161: I Am Dead Today

I Am Dead Today

Arlan signed and looked outside the window. "Don't even think about it. The rainforests of Othinia are dangerous. Wild animals can kill you in a single moment of neglect. If you are targeted by unassuming poison frogs or brushed against the tiny armed spiders, you will die in less than an hour.  If not that, given your penchant for trouble, I bet your stupidity will attract at least a few poison-dipped arrows from the small tribes residing here."1

Oriana frowned at the smug prince. 

"Every forest has its own dangers. I have spent my entire life foraging for herbs. Do not think of this as an insult, but in terms of survival skills alone, I bet I will live longer than you in the wilderness, Your Highness."

He looked at her with a mocking gaze. "You sound confident."

"The fact I am living and breathing till this moment is proof of my confidence."

"Try it," Arlan urged, "but do not expect your dead body to be carried back. I rather it be left for wild animals to feed on as a reward for your stupidity."

Oriana scoffed inwardly, not willing to argue with the condescending prince.

After traveling for a solid three hours, their delegation stopped by a river basin. The body of water was so huge that large ships could travel through it. 

The river basin branched out like intricate veins. the smaller rivers weaving together to form what appeared to be a huge network of water that connected most corners of the rainforest. The water meandered through expansive valleys, carving their way through thick forests and rolling mountains. However, thick fog hid parts of the river in the distance, making Oriana wonder whether anyone could survive riding boats in this jungle. 

The sight of the green and murky river water felt somewhat scary to her, as if a monster could appear any moment and drag a passing boat to the bottom of the river. 

'So this is a jungle.' 

Oriana took a deep breath. The smell of the rainforest was both familiar yet distinct. 

The carpet of moss and fallen leaves, together with the riverwater, released a fusion of water and earthy scents that mingled with the sweetness of the flowering plants nearby. 

'A jungle is like an entirely different world. It feels more earthy, more ancient, the ambiance more solemn and mysterious, as if I stepped inside the world written in story books. 

When they set out to camp, more knights were employed to scour the perimeter, making sure to clear the space of dangerous elements. While everyone else was doing their respective roles, Arlan's gaze was on the curious cat standing by his side, whose wandering gaze made it evident she wouldn't be able to stop herself from getting into trouble. 

Arlan sat inside the carriage with the door left open, waiting for their camp to be set, while Oriana climbed down with a rather distracted look, as if figuring out which direction to sneakily head in. 

The prince warned, "Do not wander around."

"I dare not, Your Highness. Not after you kindly reminded me of the danger around us. Rest assured," she replied without sincerity, "but there are things that I need to, umm,  attend to right away…"

He sighed seeing her fidget in place. 

"Do not go far."

She shamelessly pointed in the direction of a bunch of trees furthest away from the prince's carriage. "Just around there."

Arlan could not stop her, and neither could he order anyone to follow her. Afterall, she was a woman. Every time they took a break in the wilderness, he would generally let her do things on her own, but for some reason, his intuition was telling him Oriana would cause him a massive headache as long as they remained inside the Southern Jungle, the so-called heaven of herbalists.

As he watched her walk away, Arlan could not help but be a bit more shameless than usual. He kept his heightened senses active, with Oriana being the core of his focus.

Oriana had long thrown Arlan's warning at the back of her mind. Not to mention she was cautious by nature, she was also trained by her grandfather as a mercenary during his heyday. She took great pride in her ability to survive in the wilderness. Otherwise, she would have chosen a different line of work, one that would not require her to spend day and night deep within dangerous forests.

The fact that a royal brat questioned—no, doubted her ability, it was an insult to her as a herbalist. 

'He didn't talk to me much the entire week but today he opened his mouth, only to nag me. I am not an ignorant kid who does not recognize danger. I am only going to relieve myself. I don't even have the freedom of peeing? Not like I am going too far. Such a pain that brat is.'

As she finished her personal business behind the cover of bushes, Oriana was about to return to the camp when something caught her attention. 

'These plants, they look familiar.'

She kneeled down and checked the plants barely reaching her knee. She checked the tooth shape of the leaf as well.

'I feel like I have seen this image hand-drawn from that adventurer's travel log in the brat's private library. Isn't this silphium? It's believed to be extinct because it was overharvested. Could it be a breed that survived here in Othinia? It's only a sapling though so I can't be sure. I can just cut a stem and compare the leaves with books later on.' 

She pulled out her knife and began checking which stem to cut. 'These are too small and tender. I wonder if I can find a mature one with flowers, or at least buds on it.'

She looked around and found another cluster of silphium behind a tree. She warily gazed around. 'It should be safe.'

As she walked ahead, she discovered that the soil behind this row of trees was different. The color of the ground was richer, with few rocks or weeds on it. The silphium plants in that part were in full bloom, looking about three feet tall, with yellow flowers on them, identical to the one she saw in the book.

'They are really silphium, and more than one mature plant at that! I can't believe my luck!' 

She grew even more wary, sensing things weren't that simple, and looked around to check whether there were animal traps laid nearby.

'Could it be that I'm wrong? That the soil here is not under a human's deliberate maintenance but a product of nature?'

However, she could not resist the temptation. This was silphium! Even Erich Winfield would covet such a rare plant. 

Walking around, she discovered several moss-covered rocks and animal skulls around the line of trees. 

'There's no sign of human touch anywhere. There's no footpath or signs of it being cultivated. These are wildly grown silphium.'

After stepping past the slippery moss-covered rocks, she crouched in front of the precious cluster of plants.

'This is what I want. There's leaves, flowers, and the roots as well are not damaged. Perfect!' She was beaming with happiness. 'What if I try to cultivate silphium plants on my own? Maybe I can get a few more and try planting them…If I ask for Master's help, then—'

Swish! 

Thuk!

An arrow almost grazed her cheek, missing her by just an inch, its tip piercing the tree next to her. 

Her survival instincts kicking in, she immediately lowered her center of balance, her vision immediately seeking out the direction where the arrow came from. After doing a quick sideway roll, she stood up to run away, dodging another arrow meant to pierce her skull.

Which reminded her, the animal skulls on the forest floor, could they be…?

Her eyes widened.

'I am dead today.'

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