System of the Beast Slayer [litrpg Adventure]
Copyright© 1999 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 79
Behind the mural, in a small cultivated plot, ten strange plants stood upright.
They rose over two feet, with purple stamens and verdant leaves, exuding an overwhelming, almost obscene vitality and greenness; beside them, a patch of black, withered plants sprawled.
Merely looking at them stirred in a person an almost irresistible urge to pluck one.
Roy stepped closer and drew a deep breath; the effect was instantaneous, as if he had been cleansed from within, his mind clearing and his spirit brightening.
The pulse of longing inside him only grew stronger.
Blood of the Sun Aliases: Devil’s Tail, Fennena Ichael, Dwarf Mountain-Mouse Herb
Legends say that an elven marksman once loosed an arrow that pierced the sun itself. The sun’s blood dripped from the heavens, seeped into the earth, and trickled through ancient cracks in the stone—giving birth to this miraculous herb. Rare beyond measure, it is famed for its uncanny and inexplicable properties.
Type: Perennial herb Age: 52 years Habitat: Mahakam, Tir Tochair, the Dragon Mountains; found in the dark recesses of mines or abandoned shafts.
Uses: 1. Brewing the Panacea of Beauty
2. Brewing a universal antitoxin
3. Consuming more than five ounces may trigger unknown—but apparently beneficial—physiological changes
Side Effects: Unknown
“Blood of the Sun.” Roy mouthed the name in a daze.
Though he had studied many arcane whispers of the Witcher world, he was not omniscient. Mysterious, alluring herbs like these lay outside his knowledge.
Scrying had returned scant information; both beneficial and adverse effects were listed as unknown.
Still, a notion stirred in his mind: the last mural showed Blood of the Sun dripping from the sky, which suggested these herbs did not originate from this realm but had come with the elves aboard the White Ships, cleaving the heavens and arriving from another world.
“You’ve seen this elsewhere?” The Witcher sounded surprised at the name. “There’s no mention of it in the notes I gave you.”
Roy said nothing.
Letho did not press; he knew the Kid held many secrets.
He crouched and, limping slightly, reached out to touch the nearest Blood of the Sun’s leaf.
The touched leaf, as if a shy child surprised, drew in with a soft peep, curling against its stem; the once-erect stalk bent back as if the warmth of Letho’s finger had burned its tender form.
“Shape, touch response, habitat—all match the descriptions. These herbs may well be what you called Blood of the Sun,” he said.
“Careful,” Letho warned when he noticed the boy’s hand, and pulled it away. “Don’t be clumsy and damage the treasure.”
Roy looked puzzled. The Witcher paced haltingly around the plants and explained, “I once heard my teacher Ivar Evil-Eye speak of certain wondrous herbs. Witchers, mages and noble houses covet them. Sadly, most survive only in ancient records and tales; few have seen them. Blood of the Sun is one such plant.”
Letho turned, his gaze sweeping the almost sentient bed of herbs.
“The Panacea of Beauty and the universal antitoxin, both considered pinnacles of alchemy, use Blood of the Sun as a primary ingredient. Regrettably, their recipes are lost...”
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