"The price?.." Syla didn't expect Errick to be so straightforward, since she also haven't thought about the appropriate price she should give for the flowers, Syla resorted to just taking anything that Errick or Verima have in their pocket. "Well, how many coins di you have right now?"
"I uhh- Only have 5 Silvers, i have more in my house." Verima replied.
"I have 5 Golds, it's from Verima hiring us, i think it should be enough." Errick added.
"5 Silvers and 5 Golds– Then i'll take 5 Silvers for each of these Drowsy Edelweiss, how about that?" Syla said as her lips formed a smile, it was a reasonable price for both of them, since they can split their money for it, if Errick paid one of the gold he had to Syla, then Verima could just give Errick her last 5 Silvers to compensate.
"Ah.." Verima and Errick were both silent after they heard the price, it'd be quite uncomfortable if they asked for a discount since 5 Silvers was already way too cheap considering they knew that Drowsy Edelweiss usually go for about 3 Golds in the market.
Thus, after a few seconds of thought, both Verima and Errick decided to accept the offer.
"Okay, we'll buy it." Errick said, taking one gold coin from his own satchel that was strapped on his waist.
"Great, now we have a deal, and no one will feel bad right?" Syla responded as she saw Errick giving the gold coin to her.
Syla took the money before giving Errick the two Drowsy Edelweiss flower, together they completed the transaction and Errick gave the flowers to Verima, which she then stored it inside her leather bag that was bigger than Syla's leather satchel.
"Ah, right.. Errick, take my 5 silvers, since the flower costs 5 silvers, i thought it would be unfair if you paid for all of it.." Verima stretched her hand with her last coins within her palm, she looked guilty for making Errick pay for everything, and because Errick didn't want to cause any discomfort, he reluctantly accepted Verima's coins.
"S- sure.. Thank you.." He said.
"Now we only need one more thing right? We've gathered the Drowsy Edelweiss and the Pacifying Orchid, what's the last one again?" Vahen abruptly said from the back.
"I remember it was–" Anther tried to answer as he thought about the last material they had to collect.
"Grass Deer's Antler." Hilma interrupted Anther's thinking to give Vahen the answer he needed.
"Right, that one." Anther said, he thanked Hilma for answering.
Syla watched with curiosity as Errick and the other mercenaries discussed about their next plan, from what she heard, it seems like they only need to collect one more thing before they're done with the quest and can go back to the town, that last thing being an Antler from the Grass Deer, which is quite common in this kind of area.
"You haven't found a single Grass Deer? I thought they're pretty common." Syla said to everyone.
"That's what making us confused aswell, Grass Deers usually lived in the outer layer of the forest, or in the grasslands, their name is Grass Deer after all, not desert deer or water deer.. But ever since we entered the forest, we haven't found any of them, even back when you approached us before we entered, there was no Grass Deer nearby.. It's honestly strange." Errick explained.
"Huh?.." Syla then tried to remember everything that had happened from before she arrived at Boonsap, to the journey she took into the forest that leads her to this place along with Errick. And after rummaging through her memories, Syla realized that she also hasn't seen any Grass Deer ever since she entered the forest.
"Now that i think of it.. I also didn't encounter any Grass Deers on my way here.. But i do saw one of them when i was still walking on the road towards Boonsap.." Syla said.
"Really? Where do you see it?" Errick quickly asked, he wanted to know if the Grass Deer that Syla saw was close from them or not.
"It's far in the grasslands at the side of the road, a couple hundred meters away.. I doubt it would still be where it is now since i saw it- probably two hours ago." Syla replied calmly.
"Is that so, damnit.." Errick was visibly disappointed by the information.
"I guess we have to keep looking." Hilma said, she and the others accidentally overheard the conversation.
"We'll have to keep looking, i don't think searching the inner layer of the forest will result in anything, so why don't we just circle around the outer layer?" Anther suggested.
"Hmm, maybe you're right, we've got the Drowsy Edelweiss anyway, so there's no more reason for us to go deeper." Yveia agreed to Anther's suggestion, putting both of her hands at the back of her head as if trying to relax.
"The deeper we go, the stronger the monster will become, i also agree with Sir Anther here.." Verima also added her opinion, she didn't want to risk anything, considering she also knew that Grass Deer isn't usually found in the inner layer of a forest.
Forced by his friends and the client, Errick didn't have any choice but to follow with what everyone wanted.
"Alright, we'll backtrack and go back to the outer layer.." He said with a sigh, though his lips was smiling in relief after he realized that his friends valued their life more than reckless challenge. "Syla, you do you want to go with us? I think it'd be better if we have more company."
"Hm?" Syla was surprised by Errick's offer, even though she wasn't a part of his mercenary, he still trusted her like a close friend. "Im afraid i'll have to decline, i planned to go deeper, since im searching for the orc dungeon, but i wish you good luck with the Grass Deer."
"Hm, ah right.. That's understandable, then we'll see you later, good luck with your dungeon search!" Errick shouted as he walked further from Syla, he and his mercenary friends along with Verima gradually faded into the distance as their body hid behind the countless trees and bushes around them.
"See ya." Syla whispered, Errick and the others already left her so theh won't be able to hear it.
Now that Syla was all alone, she began to focus on herself again, with an additional gold coin added to her inventory, Syla walked to the opposite direction of where Errick was going and went deeper into the forest.
.
.
Approximately 15 minutes later—
Grakkh!
SWING!
A lone orc was groaning in anger, its muscle tensed up with its vines almost protruding out of its skin, when the orc was about to swing its axe into a blank spot, its head suddenly fell off from its body.
Thud!
As its head touched the ground, so does its body, the orc falls pathetically, drowning in its own blood as Syla stood beside it, her sword stained with blood as she held it firmly, not cleaning it nor inserting it to the scabbard again.
"That's the 12th orc i've killed today.. Good grief, they're everywhere.. But i guess that means im getting closer to the dungeon.." Syla said while staring at the dead orc.
"Hm?" Just then, Syla noticed something within her vision, just around the corner of her eyes, she saw a tall cliff towering over the trees in the distance, the cliffs was stretched wide and had almost more than 90 degrees angle of steepness, making it almost impossible to climb since she would have to hold her body to the walls to avoid hanging.
"Hoohh, that's the first actual cliff i've seen in this forest, the ones i came across before were just small steep mounds and hills.." Syla said as she wiped some of her sweats from her forehead.
Driven by her curiosity with the cliff, Syla then started her walk to seek the tall cliff, each of her step carefully avoiding any obstacles such as protruding tree roots, insects that stick to some of the plant's leaves, and the endless swarm of mosquitos and flies.