Greykin Mountain

| 21 | Ardelean Root

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Jackson followed between Tokala and Wesley as Damon led the way through the woods. Despite having someone to watch his left and his right, Jackson still felt unnerved. At first, heading out to a village had seemed like a great idea, but now that there were only four of them, he felt a whole lot more vulnerable. What if cadejo suddenly burst out of the trees and attacked? Would their small group be able to deal with them?

          He looked behind him, searching the foggy murk as the bushes rustled. If it were cadejo though, he'd be able to smell that god-awful scent, right? With a quiet huff, he faced ahead and attempted to silence his angst. What he needed to focus on right now was working out what he was going to say to the villagers. He wanted to ask if they knew anything about the people he was here looking for, but he wasn't going to screw up Damon's objective either. Kajika needed medicine and he was going to make sure the kid got it.

          "So...what am I gonna be looking for?" he asked Damon.

          The Alpha glanced back at him. "Ardelean root. You'll find it in the pharmacy. We'll also need a needle and syringe."

          Jackson nodded—but then he frowned. "Wait, how am I supposed to pay for it?"

          Tokala laughed.

          He looked over at him. "What?"

          "You're going to have to steal it," Wesley said.

          "Steal it?" He didn't want to steal something...but it seemed as though he had no choice. With an uncomfortable frown, he looked away from them all. "What does it look like? The root."

          "It's magenta and looks like a tree root. They usually keep it in a jar because it stinks like fish," Wesley explained. "Make sure you smell it, though, because there's also jinas root and carderry which both look just like ardelean root."

          Jackson nodded. "Okay. But how am I supposed to do all of that with a shopkeeper in there?"

          Tokala hummed as though he was pondering. "Well, first, you should head into the village, find the pharmacy—they're usually in the back somewhere, but you can ask someone, which will save a lot of time—and once you've found out, you'll signal us and the three of us will create a diversion."

          Damon nodded in agreement.

          "What's the signal?" Jackson asked.

          "That depends on where you plan to ask for directions to the pharmacy," Wesley said.

          Jackson pondered. "Well, I guess I'd ask in the pub—that's usually where most people go, and there's always a pub in villages. I could...break a glass or something," he suggested. "Accidently knock one on the floor. You'd hear that, right? And then when everyone runs out to deal with whatever you do, I can just slip out and get what you need."

          "Sounds good," Tokala said, looking at Damon. "Chief?"

          The Alpha nodded. "You'll have about five minutes to slip in and get it. We'll only be able to distract the humans for so long, especially if they're just villagers and not hunters. They'll lose interest once we reach the trees, but we'll try to keep them away as long as we can."

          "All right," Jackson said. He was confident he could do this.

          "We're getting close," Damon then said. "Watch for traps."