Chapter 95: Deathweed

"It's normal that you don't recognize it. Even ordinary herbalists might not know how valuable it is," Ursula explained. "The name alone should tell you how dangerous Deathweed is. Don't touch it with your hands. Let me take it out for you."

While searching through a box for the right tool, she continued, "Deathweed... Certain groups in Stormwind may have a great need for it. But my advice is not to get involved with them. Don't let them think you can find Deathweed for them. Otherwise, moving around Stormwind will become much harder for you, Jess. You're already one of us. Don't take on another burden."

"SI:7 isn't especially good at dealing with groups like ours. They don't trust magic, so they lack people who understand it. But when it comes to thieves, rogues, and assassins... Anyway, just burn these herbs."

She picked up a pair of long-handled tongs and gripped the edge of the ragged sack.

"This bag isn't yours, is it?"

"It belongs to gnolls," Jess said. "And that's the problem, Ms. Ursula Deline."

"You encountered gnolls?"

Jess nodded. "Not only that. I found their alchemy room. They're carrying out some sort of experiment there, and there are a lot of dead murlocs. They're using murlocs for experiments. I don't believe the gnoll tribes' final goal is just to poison those murlocs."

"You mean the gnolls want to poison Sentinel Hill or Moonbrook?" Ursula asked.

"I'm not sure yet," Jess said. "Can you tell from these herbs what they're trying to make?"

Ursula moved the plants around with a fork and shrugged.

"There are many possibilities. They could make something deadly to spellcasters but harmless to ordinary people. Or a poison that contaminates water supplies. But it looks like they're still missing some ingredients. There's Deathweed here, lots of Deathweed, and Briarthorn, plenty of weeds, Mageroyal... I can sort out the herbs you need for mana potions."

"Thanks." Jess passed her the sack. "Should I take it to the Wizard's Sanctum and ask them to report it to the king?"

"Even if you told the king, what could that little fellow do?" Ursula sighed. "The fighting in Redridge is getting bad. I've heard rumors that gnoll warlocks attacked Stonewatch Keep with dark magic a few days ago. Gakin is planning to go there to see whether he can find clues about any new spells. Under these circumstances, where would the kingdom find troops to send into Westfall to hunt down a group of gnoll alchemists? It already has enough men guarding the trade routes between Moonbrook, Sentinel Hill, and Westbrook Garrison."

"Have you heard about the new gnoll leader near Westbrook? He's supposedly wiped out two groups of mercenaries already. But apart from mercenaries, what else can the king use? If you ask me, he's almost out of money to hire outsiders to solve these problems. The bounty on Hogger is only thirty silver coins—and that's after they raised it. What kind of fighter do you think thirty silver would attract?"

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Hearing thirty silver, Jess felt a flicker of interest. Then he remembered how strong Hogger had been when they met, and that interest vanished.

Judging by the battles Jess had seen, Hogger's raw strength was far beyond that of any ordinary gnoll, and well beyond the elven ranger's. From what Gred had felt, Hogger might have been only slightly weaker than that Redridge shaman when the orc used wind elements to enhance his strength.

And given how wild and vicious Hogger was, even the shaman might not stand much chance against him.

After all, the orc needed to keep communicating with the elements to draw on that sort of power. It took tremendous effort. Hogger's stamina, though... For the leader of a people who worshiped raw violence, it seemed almost bottomless.

If even Jess gave up on thirty silver after thinking about Hogger's strength, stronger mercenaries would be even less interested. The bounty really was too low.

He remembered Baron Ellian, the king's secretary, telling him at Stonewatch Keep that the treasury was in terrible shape. The kingdom couldn't even spare ten gold coins to reward the heroes of Stonewatch. Maybe the thirty silver bounty had been offered reluctantly, too.

"You're short on Silverleaf," Ursula said, one hand on her waist. "Will you buy it from me or somewhere else?"

"I'll get it from you."

"Four silver per pound."

Jess remembered the outside purchase price was two silver and fifty copper. He immediately protested, "You're ripping off one of your own?"

Ursula smiled. "I'm guessing you've sold herbs to Lumere out there. Try buying from her. Her price is even higher than mine."

Jess rubbed his forehead. He had very little money left. Having to buy Silverleaf would hurt.

"Could you make the potions first? I'll see how much Silverleaf you use, then gather some more and replace it. How's that?"

"Don't take too long."

"All right."

"Oh, one more thing," Ursula said. "How did that errand I gave you go? Don't tell me you never even saw a murloc and ran home as soon as you met gnolls."

"Didn't see any murlocs." Jess pulled the largest of the three scales he'd brought from his bag. "But I found this."

"A naga scale!" Ursula narrowed her eyes. "This... this is beautiful."

"Picked it up on the beach."

Naturally, Jess wasn't going to tell her he had a whole bag of them at home.

Watching Ursula's reaction, he almost regretted not bringing back the naga's head. But seeing that head at night had nearly drained his sanity points.

Ursula held up the scale. "These scales are excellent materials for enchanting with frost magic, Jess. Robes made with them can provide better frost protection, improve a caster's affinity with water elements, and strengthen water spells. How many did you find?"

"How many scales do you think someone can just find lying around?" Jess asked. "How much could I sell this one for?"

"This one's in very good shape," Ursula said. "Give it to me, and I won't charge you for the Silverleaf. What do you say?"

Jess frowned. "You're not cheating me, are you?"

Ursula smiled. "It's rare, but there isn't much demand for it. Only the frost-magic students at the Wizard's Sanctum use it. Otherwise, it's useful for making poisons. Yes, it's mildly toxic, too. Even if you sold it elsewhere, you'd have trouble getting ten silver for it. I just... need it for a formula I'm testing. Give it to me, and I'll make you six bottles of mana potion, supply the missing Silverleaf myself, and return whatever ingredients are left. How about it?"

"Deal."

"Come for your potions tomorrow morning, Jess."

When Jess left The Slaughtered Lamb, he'd already decided to visit the tailor shops in the Mage Quarter and ask around. He had so many scales. There weren't many as large and complete as this one, but even if he sold each for just one silver, that would be thirty or forty silver coins!