NOVEL NEXT 62 Simple barter
When I first saw this dryad, I wasn't really sure what I was supposed to expect. A benevolent existence that supported all life? A vengeful spirit eager to avenge her brothers and sisters who went up in flames started by humans all over the world? Or maybe a great being with wisdom far exceeding my own, operation on a whole other level of existence…?
Maybe. But what I didn't expect this dryad to be was a damn drunkard for whom a mere mention of alcohol was sufficient to bend her will!
Yet, as much as I didn't expect it, I couldn't claim I wasn't happy when she willingly accepted the role of the guide, currently leading us away from her lush garden and towards the very edge of the huge clearing she settled. She led us through the narrow paths that were pretty much invisible to the naked eye. Only by precisely following Leinei's steps, I managed to avoid squashing tens if not hundreds of different plants and flowers. Judging by the annoyed look on the dryad's face whenever she looked back, either one of the girls behind me or both of them lacked the mindfulness I tried to show.
'Welp, no use scolding them if I don't really know what sort of relations they have,' I thought, lingering on the question for a short while. This was supposed to be Madam's territory, so why was Leinei living here? Was this some sort of show of force? Or maybe a show of compassion? According to Madam's words, only Leinei's motivation was behind their weird agreement that went against the interspecies conflict they apparently had. "There," Leinei stopped my train of thought by pointing her hand out towards an unassuming bunch of weeds growing in the shade of one of the bigger trees in the area. At first confused, I quickly figured out the dryad's intention and moved forth, gently pulling the weeds away in search of the herb she was pointing at. And while it would be much easier to just throw those weeds out of the way…
How could I do it while a damn dryad was watching every last of my moves?
"Excuse me…" I muttered a long while later, after unsuccessfully looking for any plant other than those simple weeds. "That's it," Leinei shook her shoulders with a slight hint of amusement in her eyes. "The herb you asked for is the same weed you are lovingly playing with," she spoke, only for her face to show a sudden hint of fear. "Wait, don't tell me, are you into trees or something?!" Freaking out, the dryad rushed her hands to cover her pretty much see-through outfit made with just some flowers and vines. Yet, as see-through as her outfit was… There was actually nothing to be seen below it, just some young tree buds in place of nipples… And what Leinei had for the crotch, I couldn't even be bothered to look, not even to sate my curiosity. "So that's the thing," I muttered, turning my eyes away from the dryad and towards the plants. I've been gently pushing them out of the way all this time… while the true treasure was right before my eyes all along!
I fought off the desire to grab and pluck several stalks of the weed on the spot. Leinei's eyes were still locked on my back as if she was waiting to pounce the moment I did a single thing she disliked. "Can I harvest one of them?" I asked, turning towards the dryad again. "And how do I even go around harvesting it to begin with?"
The two questions I asked were connected in a clever way. Just by answering the second, Leinei would imply agreeing to the first and the main one. "Just pull the entire damn thing," she didn't seem to mind my desires. "You can either burn the stalk for incense or just throw the thing away. It's the leaves that you want for the rejuvenating tea. As long as they are fresh, that is."
In theory, Leinei just helped me quite a lot. And if the effects of the tea made from those herbs were anywhere close to how she advertised them to be…
'Is this really that easy?' I thought, somewhat relieved. While this weed didn't bring me any closer to finishing my quest of finding three useful herbs, it pretty much potentially settled my issue with buying myself into the gang's favor!
In theory, Leinei helped me a lot. Yet, after uttering all those off-hand explanations, she suddenly started to drill her eyes into my back. And as I reached out to grab one of the plants…
"You are really interested in those weeds?" she asked, her voice indicating just how hard it was for her to believe my request was genuine. "Yes, I am," I replied with a shrug of my shoulders. I then grabbed at the plant before easily pulling it out of the ground, stalk, roots, and the entire package. The plan came out so easily, I could simply dump it into fresh earth and carry over a living sample… Which would be an extremely dumb idea. 'The moment I give up a living plant, they won't have any use for me anymore,' I realized, gritting my teeth a little before proceeding to luck some of the leaves. Yet, as my fingers collapsed on the first one, I suddenly ceased my movements. A plan was starting to form in my mind, a plan that would put me in a much better negotiating spot for when it would be the time to confront the gang. But before that…
"You see, they might have little to no worth to you, but they are of great value to me," I explained the very basis of what it meant to trade stuff. I then took a deep breath to sort the thoughts in my head. "And I don't mean to be distrustful…" I acted as if I hesitated, while in fact following the steps of the plan, I've formed in my head. "But I would like to test its effects," I stated while standing up and passing the weed over to the dryad. "Do you, by any chance, have some alcohol?" After seeing everyone's reaction to me bringing this topic up, I was quite sure the Dryad, indeed, had some liquor stashed away. Right now, it was the question of whether or not she would be willing to share some of it. "I know you just met me, so I would like you to take Madam's word for it," I started with some preconditions. And I blatantly ignored how Madam never gave me the right to throw her name and word around. 'She brought me here to get help, so she can't complain if I move to get what I wanted!'
"In a week's time tops, I will make you square with the alcohol I will bring from my world. And for every drop that we will drink today, I will pay you back two or three times over!"
If alcohol was really a rare commodity in this forest… Then it was pretty much dirt-cheap back on Earth! And while better brands could get pricey…
The cost of even a whole case of well-branded drinks would be nothing when compared to the bank I could make selling this stupid weed if it was anywhere as good as Leinei advertised! 1/3 daily 0/3 bonus
Also guys, as the time when I can write so much is coming to an end with the end of the month, I have no other choice but to remove bonus chapters from reviews and increase the amount of PS needed for bonus chapters from 50-100
The bonus chapters already attained will remain. MotivatedSloth