Forage In The Forest

Henry secretly jolted when he heard that they were going to Welkton City too. Though he didn't think that it was for him, he couldn't deny that he felt touched they were going with him at least for a little of the journey.

More than that, he was surprised to hear that Philip was going with him. Alec and Elias, maybe not so much, since they were heading the same way, but Philip? This was, after all, his own personal battle, and the other man shouldn't have been involved.

He had a life here. A job. A house. He wasn't like Henry, who had everything he'd ever known ripped out from under his feet.

Philip snorted when he saw the look Henry was giving him. "Don't think too much about it. I'm just going along to make sure you keep your sorry ass out of the fire."

Henry gave him a look that screamed he didn't believe him one bit but was thankful all the same.

"We won't be going right away. Elias and I still have to gather some funds first."

"I'll give you-"

Alec held up a hand, stopping the words he was about to say. Henry got the feeling that the kid wouldn't be too happy if he finished his sentence, and judging by the look in the teen's face, hidden though it may be, gave him the same feeling as well.

Henry wondered whether it was strange that the two of them didn't give him the feeling that he was talking to children. Even though Alec was the same age as his son, Henry still got the feeling that Alec was fundamentally different from Mason.

"Whether or not you want to come with us, that's fine. However, Elias and I will be staying another 12 more days before we leave."

Henry frowned. "Is there a reason why you're being so specific?"

Alec stared at Henry but didn't answer his question. "That being said, are you willing to show me where you go to hunt?"

Henry rubbed his chin, feeling the stubble that had grown. "Tomorrow morning work for you?"

"That's fine."

Philip pulled Henry out of the room, whispering furiously to him. "What do you think you're doing? Isn't it dangerous to bring a kid that young out of the town?"

Henry shook his head. "Being a hunter isn't all that dangerous if you know where to go, you know? I won't put him in danger. After all, I'm still in his debt."

Philip couldn't argue against that logic, though he still didn't feel good having an eight-year-old go out there with only one adult as company.

"Besides, he's got a pretty mean punch."

Philip conceded that point.

-

Early the next morning, Alec followed Henry out to the place where most of the hunters from the town liked to frequent.

It wasn't too far out from the town, but there was an area that contained a wood. Alec looked around, feeling something, but he didn't know what. The woods were woods, but at the same time, they weren't. There was something off, but he wasn't able to define it properly.

Alec looked at Henry, but the man didn't seem to notice anything off, nor did he seem to notice the change in atmosphere the deeper they went in.

Alec could tell that the man wasn't faking it. He really didn't feel anything. Not like him.

It was a strange sensation, like cold prickles making their way up his arms. It almost felt like something was watching, but that something didn't have eyes.

Not in the physical sense, anyway.

Alec placed a hand on a random tree that looked the same as any of the others in the forest.

Awakening it, the bond between the two bloomed to life, and there was a physical sense that screamed in his mind, recoiling.

The sense of someone watching him disappeared almost instantly, and Alec's slightly tensed shoulders relaxed. What was that?

Henry's expressions never once changed.

"Why do you want to come here anyway?"

"I'm looking for some plants that I've read about in Stanley's book. I want to do a few experiments."

Henry rubbed his chin. "I'm afraid I can't really help you there. I don't know anything about plants. I only know about what I should avoid. Well, most of it anyway."

Alec didn't blink. He'd expected that. "It's fine. Just treat this as more of a learning experience."

The two, man and child, trudged through the woods as they searched high and low for various herbs and plants.

"What are you looking for anyway? Maybe I've seen some."

Alec pulled out a sheet of paper from his backpack, having foreseen a question like this.

"It looks like this."

Henry peered at the sheet of paper in front of him, marvelling at the quality of whiteness. That was some good stuff. Paper that the townsfolk used were usually brown or yellowish. Only those who were in the Capital got to enjoy such paper since they didn't produce much.

There, carefully drawn on the sheet, was a common looking plant. It was erm… green. And had leaves. Henry scrutinised it but didn't really see anything that made it distinct. Then again, he was a hunter, not a botanist.

He shook his head, disappointed. "I don't know. Maybe I've seen it, maybe I haven't."

"It's alright," Alec said, keeping the sheet back into his backpack. "Do you know a place that contains a pond or lake with dim lighting?"

Henry thought about it before he nodded. There was one specific place that was in the middle of the woods that did contain a place like that. However, it was also one of the more dangerous spots because many creatures visited that place.

"That's where we're going."

Henry frowned. "I don't think that's a good idea. I can't guarantee I can keep you safe. There's always a chance that there will be relatively more dangerous animals or creatures when we go."

"Is anything in this part of the woods classified above first rank?"

"There isn't," Henry said, and he had a feeling he knew what Alec's answer was going to be.

"Then it's fine."

Based on the creature rankings, from first to sixth, they corresponded with the various stages of magical capacity Alec and most other humans used. Why they didn't just follow what they used to classify creatures with, Alec would never know.

It just seemed rather pretentious, with the way they made humans' stages sound so much more complex than they actually were, whist giving creatures ranks from one to six.

In theory, the ranks corresponded, but in reality, the creatures had a distinct edge on humans. Generally, it took around five humans of the same rank to deal with a creature of the same rank.

Alec privately thought that it was just because the creatures or monsters just lived a longer time than humans in the earlier stages, which meant that more people had to team up to take care of creatures from stage one to three.

However, once someone reached the Advanced magic stage, their lifespan increased by a sizable amount. Again, in theory, a human should be able to face off a monster or creature one on one as they obtained more battle experience.

Though Alec didn't think that he would be able to singlehandedly win against many beasts, if there weren't too many, he was sure that he was able to escape relatively unscathed.

Not only that, he wasn't planning on doing anything overt like face them all head on by himself like a reckless idiot. Stealth was obviously the way to go here.

Henry must have sensed that he would not be able to talk Alec out of it no matter what, because he didn't say another word as they made quick work to head towards the location.

Luckily, the woods in this area didn't have any monsters nor magical beasts, only animals and creatures.

The way they were differentiated was distinct. Animals had no magic at all, creatures had small, almost miniscule amounts of magic but were smart and quick to make up for it. Monsters, on the other hand, had magic but lacked any sort of advanced thinking. Magical beasts had both magic and brains, which made them the worst type to face.

Coincidentally, the Ash Phoenix was a magical beast, which was why Henry had been so surprised to be able to capture one or even find one injured.

There were faint rustles from the woods, from small animals or creatures and the wind, which calmed Alec somewhat.

He felt more at home here in the woods as compared to the Woods' family home. Whilst they were very nice putting up with Elias and himself, that didn't make any difference when he knew they were only staying temporarily. It just didn't give him the same type of calm.

As they approached the location, Alec could feel the atmosphere change accordingly. The air was more humid, and there seemed to be a faint sort of veil hanging over the place.

Looking through the shrubs, Alec could see that there were a few creatures around drinking languidly, but that was fine. Just because the plant he was looking for grew in larger amounts next to the water, that didn't mean that they didn't grow elsewhere.