185 The Next Three Ingredients (1/2)
It was now late in the evening, and Daniel, Alesia, and the rest of the town's cultivators had just managed their way back into the town.
At the same time, Serf had gone back into one of the laboratories within Daniel's company building to produce large amounts of antidotes for the poison of the dryads.
Daniel and Alesia stood quietly to the side, and observed the various mixture of reactions to the events of the previous few days. A few cried for the loss of their relatives, a few were happy to see their family members back alive, and most of them were relieved by the news that the dryads were not a menace anymore.
A couple of hours passed until finally, Serf came out of the laboratory while holding a bunch of vials and other items in his hands.
The cultivators already knew what these vials were, so they quickly grabbed one each, and listened to Serf's instruction on how to remove the poison from their body.
The way the dryad's poison was removed, was by breathing in an airborne solution made by the hearts of adult dryads, the blood of the young ones, and a few other ingredients. Each vial was attached to a soft mask, and a small flame was placed underneath it, so that it could evaporate, allowing people to easily inhale it.
The moment the last of the cultivators started to breathe in the cure, two different windows appeared in Daniel's mind.
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*No Time For Poisons*
First objective complete.
Reward: Karma Points 2,500,000 / Luton reputation +100% / Region contribution for the Golden Karma company.
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*Primary Quest started (Chain): No Time For Poisons*
-Description: Find a cure for the Poison of the Night Blue Thorn.
Second objective set: Obtain the saliva of a ten years old black opal snake, a fifty years old white-scaled snake, and a two hundred years old green-skinned snake.
Reward: Unnamed cure for the Poison of the Night Blue Thorn / (Optional) Partial Poison Immunity / The Poisonous Rose Reputation +75%
Time limit: 26 days
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”Fantastic.. Three more..” Muttered Daniel to himself.
”What is it?” Asked Serf from behind him. He had just finished checking that everybody was following his instructions, when he heard Daniel talk to himself.
After hearing Serf's voice, Daniel turned to look back at him, and said ”It's nothing.. By the way.. Is there something more.. Specific.. that you can tell me about your family poison?”
Serf was surprised by the sudden question, but regained his wits after only a couple of seconds, and said ”You actually already have one of the poisons of which it is composed. The heart of a hundred years old dryad, along with the poison of three different snake-like beasts, and two types of fishes.”
”That's it? There is nothing else?” Asked Daniel in sudden relief. He wasn't sure how long the quest would take, but since he had obtained the quest for all of the three snake poisons at the same time, there had to be an occasion that would have allowed him to obtain all at the same time.
”That's all.. Unfortunately finding a cure is not that easy.. We know the ingredients, but the method of production, the method of assumption.. You know how medicine is.. Just a bit too much of poison, and you're more dead that you would have been without taking the antidote.” Responded Serf with a matter-of-fact tone.
”Sewah, my options.” muttered Daniel in his head.
Daniel spent a few minutes studying the various methods, until finally, he made a decision on his course of action. He then turned to look at Alesia and Serf, and asked ”Ready to go?..”
”Let's sleep here for tonight.. At least to be sure that the antidote did its job.” Responded Serf with a hint of worry in his face.
Daniel had already noticed that after giving the antidote to the group of cultivators, and explaining to them how it worked, Serf had received a good amount of positive karma. For him to want to make sure that the people he had helped were safe, was no surprise.
In the end, Daniel accepted to spend the night in the town, where its now healthy and joviant citizens threw a party in order to thank them of their help.
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”Hey..” Said Alesia while approaching Daniel from behind. ”What are you doing out here?” She then asked.
Daniel, which was now sitting on a large chair placed in a garden, turned towards her, and said ”I got used to spending a bit of time outside before going to sleep.. And it's better when it's with you.. Join me.”
A faint smile formed on Alesia's face, as she walked towards a second chair which was already present next to Daniel.
In between the two chairs, was a small round table, and on it, were two glasses and a bottle full of dense golden liquid. Its consistency was just a bit more liquid than honey.
These were all items which Daniel had prepared while he waited for Alesia to show up, and when she did, they made her immediately understand that he was waiting for her.
As she sat on her chair, Daniel opened the bottle of honey-like liquor, and poured a glass each.
The liquor was not bubbly, but had a sweet taste. It was clear that sugar or honey were added to it, yet, they didn't mask the faint burning that one felt whenever they swallowed a sip of it.
After a couple of minutes of quietness, Alesia asked ”So, are you going to tell me what we are here for?”
Daniel did not want to tell her that the poison was still within his body, but he also did not want to lie to her. So, he told her a half truth.