Chapter 56: The Wanderer’s Path
--Chapter 56--
Title>> The Wanderer’s Path
Sir Buttallo’s expression tightened like stone as they arrived at a slightly more secluded part of the Green Solace Garden.
"They’ve been coming from the south for two weeks now," the fairy began ranting.
Xavier’s attention as a response, shifted toward the southern end of the secluded area.
The roots there grew denser in that direction, intertwining into a natural wall around the cultivated rows. Beyond them, the ground disappeared beneath folds of thicker vegetation.
If the creatures were coming from there, then they weren’t simply wandering into the garden.
Needing a closer look, Xavier moved in. And sure enough, several small holes dotted the earth between the roots.
"Burrows?"
Sir Buttallo followed him, adjusting the rimmed glasses that had slipped further down his nose.
"Some of them."
Xavier crouched beside one of the holes and examined its edges with his fingers. "Some?"
"I find a burrow one day, and by the next morning they’re somewhere else." Sir Buttallo sighed. "I’ve sealed three already today."
His fingers tightened around the little gardening knife.
"If only I could find that nest," he grunted under his breath.
Xavier’s looked briefly at the tiny knife and shook his head. He could understand the frustration.
Two weeks of dealing with creatures that kept appearing from somewhere he couldn’t follow, eating through plants and disappearing before they could be caught, would irritate anyone.
Instead of inspecting the hole further, Xavier reached toward the damaged plants instead.
The moment his fingers brushed one of the remaining roots, his Alchemy skill stirred up loudly.
And this time, Xavier allowed it to do its thing.
Information surfaced and poured into his mind at a controlled pace.
It turns out the plant stored mana within its roots and petals, slowly accumulating it from the surrounding environment.
And when properly processed, it could be used in alchemical preparations that improved mana recovery and absorption.
Xavier’s fingers remained against the root for another moment. Almost to further digest the information.
This plant was by all means worth the fuss from the man.
His fingers barely left the edge of the roots when it came.
Ding!
[A Side Quest has been Initiated]
[Garden Menace]
[Objective: Remove the creatures damaging the Green Solace.]
[Rewards: Unknown]
Xavier only read once before dismissing the notification.
This had turned out to become a side quest that he needed to handle but Xavier knew he couldn’t just go in blind, even if the quest looked simple enough.
He had no idea how many of the creatures were out there, but finding out seemed simple enough. If he actually indulged himself.
Sir Buttallo was still holding the gardening knife while staring at Xavier intently.
Xavier reached for the knife. "I might need that."
Sir Buttallo withdrew his hand back slightly at Xavier’s approach but only a second later, he quickly handed it over.
Xavier took the knife and tested its weight in his palm.
For him, it was tiny and an almost useless weapon.
Still, it was better than going empty handed.
***
At the southern end of the garden, Xavier slowed down a bit and studied the ground carefully.
The soil here was looser than the cultivated rows behind him, and it didn’t take long to see why. Small holes dotted the ground around the roots, some fresh enough that loose soil still clung to their edges.
They weren’t scattered randomly, Most were on the spot the thick roots left natural gaps beneath the ground cover.
There wasn’t just one way into the garden. It was a network of paths.
Xavier crouched beside the nearest opening.
And just as he was about to act, one of the rodents revealed itself almost as if it wanted to tease him.
The system sprung into recognition mode.
[Creature Identified: Root Rat]
[Classification: Wanderer ]
This was all the system could grant him since he was still lacking any form of appraisal.
But that was all Xavier needed. His attention settled on the classification.
A Wanderer.
The mere sight of it brought the Wanderer’s Compass to mind.
The Bog Strider in the Scar Swamp had been his first encounter with one, and the Compass had tracked its migration path, turning a route through otherwise impassable terrain into something he could actually follow to get the Fallen Prince.
Then there was the cliff. The compass pointed downwards towards a location that Xavier wouldn’t have taken if it wasn’t for the circumstances and of course...V.
Now it was obvious, it hadn’t been pointing towards just where Bog striders travelled.
Because the Compass had never belonged to the Bog Strider he had killed back when he was level 1.
Instead,.it.belonged to all Wanderers. And these Root Rats were Wanderers too.
Xavier’s fingers brushed the edge of the hole still deep in thought.
This meant the rats had a path. A consistent one and if the route was established enough, there was a chance the Compass could pick it up.
His attention shifted toward the southern edge of the garden. The fairy village’s southern boundary was somewhere past there.
And these things had somehow found a way through. Migrating together like Wanderers that they were.
That was considerably more interesting than anything else but he couldn’t dwell on it. He had some rats to murder.
Xavier followed the disturbed soil along the root line. One hole after another when he realized the network was larger than Sir Buttallo had believed.
These creatures were moving between several access points, using the tunnels beneath the garden to emerge wherever they found something worth eating.
That explained why sealing individual burrows hadn’t solved anything. You couldn’t deal with a network by closing one entrance at a time.
Xavier straightened and looked back toward the garden.
However, in the time, he was analyzing. Twelve Root Rats were now scattered across the cultivated rows.
One sat beside a burrow a few meters to his left. Another perched atop a root cluster behind it.
A third emerged besideone of the damaged root there.
Xavier’s gaze moved between them. Noticing they weren’t interested in the plants anymore.
They were all watching him.
Under normal circumstances, Xavier might have missed what happened next but the new instinct he’d gained from his Survival passive caught it first. Something pricked at the back of his awareness.
Without warning, one of the Root Rats moved. There was nothing slow or clumsy about it.
The creature shot across the ground toward his left boot, moving far faster than its round body had any right to.
Xavier stepped back and brought the gardening knife up.
The little blade had looked almost absurd in his hand was put to work.
His agility was too much for the rat, as he slashed up, sending the creature flying in the air.
It landed where his foot had been and immediately twisted before red lines appeared on its body separating at the torso.
Behind it, the others were moving..Xavier’s eyes swept across the garden.
Pinpointing all the entrances, roots and routes they could use to reach him. And probably try to retreat.
One thing was clear to Xavier, these things had been using the tunnels to move through the garden.
If he wanted to deal with them, chasing whatever happened to be in front of him, would only scatter them back into the network.
He needed to close the exits first. Then deal with what was inside.
Xavier’s fingers tightened around the reddened gardening knife.
A second Root Rat launched from his right.
He turned toward it. And simply flashed the blade.
Slash!
--End of Chapter--