Ferns

Ungrateful bastards.

I crossed out the Bloody Bloom from my list. It was the main ingredient to make Blood Potion. They thrived in graveyards and fed on the worms and rotting flesh, but it would take at least a week or so for the two moons to unite into a red Moon. Without the red moon, they wouldn't bloom. After the red moon, the flowers wilted. That was why not many knew of it.

Not many ventured outside when the two moons united into a red moon. All manners of none humans roam in the dark, and vampires' strength doubles when that happens.

The red moon was GrimHeart's gift for its vampire inhabitants. The vampires gain double in strength and speed as well as regeneration, and humans believe that it was the time of the night that vampires roam the most. But in truth, it was the vampires' horniest night since their lust for blood, especially the blood of their mate, intensified.

Mostly, the red moon was sacred to the vampires as the blue moon was to werewolves. If you're a noble and a pureblood vampire, the red moon was a sacred day, for it held the mating rituals for two vampires or other vampire festivities.

The Red or Blue moon only came out when the two moons united once a month. They usually alternate in the whole twelve-month cycle. And for this first month of spring, according to GrimHeart's Calendar, it would be the month of the Vampires.

I bit the end of my pen. I didn't have the time to wait for the red moon. If I wanted to make Lady Catherin a spy for me in Rhazien's Kingdom to look for Razim's mark, then I had to act fast.

And who knows when the Vampires would take Lady Catherin into their Kingdom. By that time, it was already too late.

I scratched out the Bloody Bloom and opted for the Blood moss. It wasn't potent as the Bloody Bloom, and it could only hold a Vampire's thirst for hours, but it would do. They usually grew on dead carcasses of animals and were parasitic in nature, and I think I could find one in the forest tonight.

Besides the ingredients, I also listed the tools I needed for the potions. Running through my list, I think I needed a good amount of gil to get everything. That meant I had to work with the pot of gil first.

Nodding to myself, I looked over the sky. It must be ten in the morning, and the stalls in the town square should be open about now.

Unlike the market in the harbors that only sell raw food, the town square was a lively place for all tourists and traders alike, selling different wares and products for the people at an affordable price compared to shops. It was usually the commoner go-to for shopping.

Deciding to go there, I changed the price placard on my fish and sold it half the price. We wouldn't make the quota anyway, so it was better just to sell all these fish and receive little money than none at all.

Within minutes the fish in my stall was emptied dry, and I huffed a smirk and crossed my arms at the other stalls who glared my way. Though there were that rumors about warts and pimples, it still couldn't beat the unbeatable, and that was the proven and tested might of selling cheap.

Alright, now that I was free most of the day, I closed the stall and went into the town square in high spirits. It's been ages since I lost set foot on one.

Like the master plan layout of most towns, the town square was located in the central plaza lined by stalls that sells all kinds of stuff.

Some stalls and wagons sell fruits, pickled jars, freshly baked pastries filled with meats and fish, and all kinds of kebabs. There were also fabrics, laces, balls of yarns, knitted mittens, scarves, polish stones, and crystals in various shapes and sizes.

First stop, the food stall. I paid two gil each to the kid on the kebab to roast the fishes I have. As I waited for my food, I spotted my one and only item for the pot of gil tonight.

At the corner near the alleys flanked by shops and restaurants stood a little girl that sells wildflowers to passerby. She looked ragged and tired, and her clothes were sewn fabric put together, too loose for her scrawny frame.

She occupied a spot in my memory since she had a collection of rare herbs worth much more than she was selling them –– in the right hands, of course. To the passerby, they were just a bunch of grass but in the hands of a witch . . .

Too bad that I didn't have any use of her herbs except for the ferns. I couldn't store them either since plants had to be fresh and new to be used in anything. There's no Either in welted herbs.

"Hello, how much for the ferns?" I asked the little girl.

The girl was stunned for a moment. Maybe she didn't expect that someone would really buy her wares as she stuttered, "A-a . . . a g-gil for five."

Too cheap. I gave her ten gil.

"I-it's too much," she said and attempted to return me the money.

"Keep it. These ferns value is much more than that."

She was confused. "T-they're just ferns."

I bent down and hoped that my smile didn't creep her out. "They're more than just ferns," I whispered and gave her a wink before I went back to my roasted food.

But right at this instance, something caught my attention. From the narrowed alleyway leading to the poor's cramped houses, I thought I spotted Dorothy.

"What is she doing?" I thought and followed her.

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