Chapter 154

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Chapter 154: The Botanist

Upon hearing Jesse’s question, Greed’s munching mouth came to a sudden stop.

"Yes," Kaffir said. "And quite a few. If someone accidentally gets poisoned in the forest controlled by Amani, how is it possible to always treat it in time? The aftereffects have a serious impact on combat abilities, affecting eyesight, possibly leading to blindness, affecting the ability to control limbs. In short, if left untreated, it would be almost impossible to continue serving as Farstriders."

"Is there a cure?" Jesse asked, and Greed also looked at Kaffir.

Kaffir said, "During the Kaldorei Empire era, our ancestors fought against trolls. At that time, the troll empire had already bred giant bats and snakes with such potent poison. Druids, who received nature’s teachings, could harness natural and life energies, healing these seemingly incurable permanent damages, restoring the body to its original state."

"Druid?" Jesse asked. "Does Quel’Thalas have Druids too?"

"No," Kaffir said firmly.

"So, that means there’s no cure?" Greed said impatiently.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Kaffir asked.

He clearly scrutinized Greed when he saw him.

Glancing at his eyepatch and then at his hand, Kaffir asked, "Are you the one Jesse Seso mentioned? Is your one eye a result of bat poison?"

"What then?" Greed said, "Do you want the elves’ pointed ears to stab my eyes out?"

"Stop fussing about the ears, shorty," Kaffir said impatiently, "We never thought ear shape was an issue, how is that insulting? It’s like if I called you a big-bearded man, would you feel insulted?"

Greed got really angry at this, and finally said, "Fine, I’ll do it. How about that?"

"Whatever," Kaffir said, "So do you want to cure your disability?"

"You can’t do anything about it," Greed said.

"Didn’t you say no Druid can help?" Jesse asked.

"There are no Druids," Kaffir replied, "But the Quel’dorai Arcane masters can mimic Druid magic, manipulating life forces. Since we control the Arcane, let’s rely on the Arcane to solve all problems. You know why the Songwood Forest and East Wilds are like two different worlds even though they are separated by only a hill, it’s not just thanks to the Sunwell. Our Arcane masters and botanists have much stronger nature manipulation abilities than those traditionalists, fixing your issue is much simpler than resurrecting a dead tree, Mr. Dwarf."

"If we can’t treat this aftermath, about a third of the seasoned rangers in the Farstriders are left without much combat ability. After all, we are not dwarves, injured to this extent and can still crush a young dragon."

Yes, botanist, why didn’t Jesse think of it, those Blood Elf botanists living in the Outlands, in the Stormspire, would have many natural spells, similar to Druids, really.

If it weren’t for Kaffir mentioning it, I wouldn’t have thought of it right away.

Hearing the other say this, Greed suddenly got excited. Although he didn’t want to be so excited because of the news brought by this elf, the expression on his face was getting hard to control.

He glanced at Jesse, as if expressing "This is definitely true!" or "The elves really have a way!". But he only saw Jesse still staring at Kaffir, without any particularly excited look.

"To see a botanist, do we have to enter Silvermoon City?" Jesse asked.

"Yes." Kaffir glanced at the dwarf, then looked at Jesse and said, "This is the biggest issue. Although these scholars are enthusiastic about studying plants outside of Quel’Thalas, they have no interest in stepping out of the kingdom’s borders. It’s not an easy task to make them leave the protection of Silvermoon City and venture into the wilderness outside."

"I can go in there, I don’t mind getting a bit of elf scent on me!" Greed said immediately.

Kaffir looked at him with a smile and said, "Dream on."

"Why is everything so difficult?" Greed said disheartenedly.

"There must be some eccentric scholars, right?" Jesse asked. "I mean, compared to other scholars who are unwilling to travel far."

"Maybe they do." Kaffir said, "But the plant scientists in Silvermoon City are the highest of the high society. Even I don’t have a chance to meet them, let alone the other Farstriders who are hard to reach unless they are injured. Like my friend who asked me to fetch herbs in Duskwood, he’s a servant of a plant scientist. You see, I’m still working for their servants."

Jesse felt a bit frustrated. Not to mention how challenging it is to meet a Farstriders’ instructor who is a noble elf, even if they manage to find a way to contact them, the elves living deeply in Silvermoon City are mostly extremely traditional and unwelcoming. How can they get these elves to interact with a dwarf, and even help with healing injuries?

But besides the elves, it seems like other ways wouldn’t work either. If there were any other solutions, Greed probably would have known them by now.

Apart from the elves, the Dwarven Wildhammers clash the most with trolls, and dwarves always deal with poison by resisting it head-on. If they don’t have a good plan, then others would have even fewer options.

"That’s enough for today, you two." Kaffir stood up to adjust his coat and said, "We should get going. I’ll settle the bill, you two take your time to enjoy the rest. Until we meet again."

"Thank you, Mr. Kaffir," Jesse said.

"I didn’t do much."

Kaffir bowed slightly and quickly left the tavern, leaving the two others staring in confusion.

"Cruel guy," Greed muttered, "giving hope and then crushing it with his own hands."

Jesse took a cookie that looked like what the elves usually eat and put it in his mouth to taste. It had a light, sweet flavor that seemed like artificial sweetener and a faint fruitiness. "Take it easy, Greed, don’t rush."

He handed a piece to the dwarf and said, "This thing is actually quite tasty."

"Why shouldn’t I be in a hurry?" the dwarf took a bite and sighed deeply, saying, "We need to return to Stormwind before January, which is just a month away."

Jesse said, "One month… even if Quel’Thalas opens its doors to us completely, it would still be a very long journey to get there. I think we should forget about it this time."

Greed took another piece and said, "You’re right, there’s really no chance. Let’s talk about something else."

"Perfect, I have an interesting topic." Jesse licked his lips, organized his thoughts a bit, and said, "Imagine a wealthy person who has a very precious treasure in their house. They have never told anyone about it and don’t allow anyone to know because this treasure is crucial to their family’s life, future, and so on. Now, a very skilled thief plans to steal this treasure for themselves. As an outsider who knows about the thief’s plan beforehand, how would you warn the wealthy person?"