Tabitha stopped by Joseph’s shop to pick up her things which—well, weren’t exactly all her things. Technically, only the bowl and spear were her things. Everything else in the backpack wasn’t hers. That included Runa’s sickle, a waterskin full of water from the river, and a pickaxe and axe. Though, Tabitha took those out to save on weight and since she wouldn’t be swinging them around with the current state of her arms.

The backpack wasn’t hers, either. That was also lent to her by Joseph.

Aside from all that, she had her spear which she gave to Runa to use as a walking stick. That was everything they needed for their little adventure.

So, they took off into the woods with Runa in the lead since she was the one who knew where to go.

It didn’t take long for Runa’s nose to pick up the scent of something promising. Going to it required them going off the cleared path through the forest, so she made sure to put extra care into watching where she walked. She didn’t want to end up in another trap.

“There,” Runa said. “Look under that pile of needles.”

“Already found somethin’, huh?” Tabitha asked. “Your nose really is good if there’s somethin’ under there.” She crouched down next to the pile of fallen needles that Runa pointed out and brushed them away, revealing the bounty underneath. It was a cluster of tall, thin mushrooms with red caps that had hard, brown spots across them. The spots made her think of crumb toppings on pies.

And thinking of that made her really, really want an apple pie with a crumb topping and scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

Fortunately, her trusty Analyze skill was there to distract her from dreams of apple pie.

Item Information

Name

Spotted Cariata Mushroom

A species of mushroom capable of producing hallucinations in those who consume it, recognizable by its unique, spotted sections on its cap.

Rarity

C

Quality

41

Element

Earth

Bonus Tags

[Energetic I]

[Psychedelic I]

Is Runa a drug sniffin’ dog or somethin’? Tabitha thought to herself before looking up at Runa and asking, “So, ya bring me out here, and the first mushroom ya find me is a drug?”

Runa tilted her head just as a confused dog would, making it really hard for Tabitha to not look at her and treat her like she’s a dog. “A drug?”

“Well, maybe folk in this world don’t go around callin’ fancy mushrooms drugs. But goin’ by that psychedelic tag…”

“Psychedelic tag? It has that?”

“The description from Analyze even says it’s capable of producin’ hallucinations.”

“I—I had no idea. Hanne and some of the elders ask me to pick these for them, but they’ve never told me why. They just always want me to bring some back if I find any while I’m out.”

“And they’ve never told ya why they want these?”

Runa shook her head, her expression one of innocence as she genuinely had no idea what the mushrooms were for.

“Those sly geezers.” Tabitha chuckled to herself. “Oi, Menu. The usual, please.”

System Menu

Energetic I

Slightly restores Stamina Points when consumed.

Psychedelic I

Provides a minor psychedelic effect when consumed.

“Interestin’. So, I’ve got somethin’ that restores stamina, but I’m pretty sure those advanced craftin’ skills take expertise points, not stamina points. Still, probably good to keep somethin’ that restores energy around. Only problem is the psychedelic part. Ain’t gonna do too much good to get more energy if ya get stoned at the same time.”

Tabitha took the sickle, which was hanging from the side of the backpack, to collect the mushrooms. Only, she stopped just before she did as she realized she never checked out the description for one of the sickle’s tags.

Item Information

Name

Iron Sickle

A sickle made out of iron.

Note: “Burrower Mine Iron blade, White Cedar Wood handle. Infused with a Copper Rockback’s Core.”

Creator: Joseph Kroll

Rarity

C

Quality

54

Element

Earth

Bonus Tags

[Extra Yield III]

[Durable]

“Oi, Menuuuu, I’ve got another for ya,” Tabitha said, drawing out her nickname for the system.

System Menu

Extra Yield III

Allows harvesting the same source for items an extra two to four times.

“So, Runa, tell me if I’m right. If I harvest this patch of mushrooms by hand, I’ll only get a single ‘item’ from it. Right?” Tabitha asked.

Runa nodded. “That’s right!”

“So, with this Extra Yield III tag, I’ll be able to get multiple items out of it. So, I should cut smaller pieces instead of like, one big piece?”

Runa nodded again. “That patch there is technically one, big mushroom. They share roots if you dig them up, but I was taught to always leave the roots, so I only cut the stalks off. If you try cutting or breaking a stalk off with your bare hands, you’ll only get a single item out of it. But if you use that tool, you should be able to get a few different stalks counting as items from it.”

“Ya don’t have the Analyze skill, right?”

Another nod.

“So, how do ya tell if you’re actually gettin’ somethin’ that classifies as an item out of it?”

“I got the Forager path from my Path Ceremony. Harvest Check is its starting skill. It lets me see if a source can’t be gathered any further. So, I stop gathering whenever I see the sparkles pop up.”

“Sparkles?”

And yet another nod from Runa. “The source sparkles when I’ve gotten as many items as I can from it.”

“But ya don’t get to see their info or anythin’?”

Runa switched things up by shaking her head instead of nodding it.

“Huh. So, sounds like gatherers and crafters really get to work together in that regard. That gives me an idea. Actually, this is perfect. You’ve got yourself a gatherin’ path.”

And back to nodding Runa went.

“And I’ve got myself craftin’ paths.”

It was a good thing that it was Runa’s leg that was hurt and not her neck since she nodded again.

“We make a perfect team! I can focus all my paths and skill on craftin’, and you can go all in on gatherin’! I won’t have to worry about gettin’ gatherin’ classes—paths, that way!”

Runa’s ears twitched upward as her tail wagged. “That’s right! We really do make a good team! It’s… it’s almost as if fate brought us together. No-not that I believe in fate or anything! It’s just… everything seems too perfect. I’ve always wanted to go on an adventure, and then a Summoned shows up! And I’ve always liked helping others by gathering things for them, and you love to craft and make things, so you’ll need a lot of materials gathered!”

“Heh. Well, I ain’t opposed to believin’ fate. It’s about the only thing ‘round here that can explain why I’m here, so why not? Anyways,” Tabitha paused to harvest the mushroom. “It wouldn’t be right if we let those geezers hog all the fun to themselves, yeah?”

Just as Runa innocently had no idea what the village’s elders were doing with the mushrooms, she had no idea what Tabitha was implying they do with the mushrooms.

As for Tabitha, she took after her grandpa in the sense that the government had no right to say what he could or couldn’t do on his private property as long as he wasn’t hurting anybody.

Needless to say, Tabitha’s grandpa produced and consumed many things for personal enjoyment that were not exactly legal.