The Moon Thief

Heinald told Dane and the others that he had to go to the Mesqur Region. He also told them why he wanted to go there. He didn't tell them that he had a Spirit Potion formula, but he said he needed the Fire Emerald Herb for important research. Although he trusted these people, he did not want to tell such a secret, they could get into trouble if they accidentally talk around it.

"Check this out! This is a Communication Crystal, I bought this from a traveling merchant during our journey. We can communicate with you using this." Dane gave Heinald a scarlet crystal, which radiated a faint magic energy.

Dane and the others soon said goodbye to Heinald and left town. They too would take a journey to the Bone Hills hundreds of miles wide to question the accuracy of a sensation they had previously received.

Before long, Heinald made his preparations and left town. He had an incredibly long road ahead. According to his calculations, it would take about two or three months to reach the Mesqur Area. If misfortunes happened to him, it could even be four months.

***

After a long and tedious journey of three months, Heinald entered the borders of the Mesqur District. Fortunately, no misfortune happened to him during his travel, because traveling so long alone had already bored him.

-

Still, his morale was not too bad along the way, as he was pleasantly surprised by the book he bought from the auction, which included high-quality and useful information not only about herbs but also about potion brewing. By the time he finished this book, the properties and uses of tens of thousands of plants had penetrated into his mind. His understanding of plants in general had increased exponentially. According to him, this book deserved dozens of times more than the crystals it gave.

"This area is pretty high above the ground..." Heinald shrugged as he glanced around.  Mesqur Region was a region located on hills that lay side by side. Therefore, when viewed from its borders, the enormous Moonwind Valley that remained behind could easily be seen.

Mesqur Region was a colder and windy place compared to other places he traveled to. This region could look like a steppe on the same great hills. Far ahead, the hazy peaks of a great mountain were visible, but this mountain was outside the Mesqur Area.

He got there after a few hours' journey as he was close to the southeast part of the area. A rather large tower had entered his field of vision. This tower was so large that Heinald could not calculate its exact length because clouds blocked his view. The tower was surrounded by high walls.

"Greetings! This must be the Risclaw Clan territory, right?" Heinald went to the guards guarding in front of a large gate.

"Right! Who are you?" Guard nodded.

"I came here hoping to make a deal." Heinald said.

"Deal? What deal?" The guards looked at each other.

"Aren't Fire Emerald Herbs controlled by the Risclaw Clan? I urgently need the Fire Emerald Herb so I came here." Heinald had a solemn expression.

"Ah! So that's the point ... Please come with me." Guard nodded.

"Am I going to deal with the clan leader?" Heinald asked as he followed the guard.

"No, Master Kunes will take care of you." Guard shook his head.

After the guard and Heinald entered the tower, they used the stairs leading to the lower floor of the tower. After a long time descending a spiral staircase, they came to a cold and large area. There was a large tree in the center of the field, its leaves were blue and radiating a pale blue color around it.

"Master Kunes!" The guard went over to a middle-aged man standing by the tree and bowed his head to greet him. This man had wavy hair that went down to his shoulders. Each of the hair strands seemed to be made of silver.

"Hm?"

"This lord wants some Fire Emerald Herb, sir." the guard said.

Master Kunes turned his gaze to Heinald.

"Greetings. I'm a Potions Master and a botanist, I need the Fire Emerald Herb to complete a research I've been working on." Heinald bowed, slightly bowing his head. He could not feel any aura from this old man in front of him.

"Oh? Are you working on potions?" Master Kunes' eyebrows rose slightly.

"Yes."

Master Kunes began to ask Heinald various questions about various herbs and potion brewing steps. He was trying him to confirm what the young man in front of him had said. His conversation with him evolved into a mutual exchange of ideas as the young man in front of him gave very good answers to all the complex questions he asked. This young man he met was probably just in his twenties, but knew more than most of the old potion masters he knew.

"If I had it, I would give you Fire Emerald Herb right away, but according to the new rule introduced by the clan, the Fire Emerald Herb is only exchanged for Contribution Points." Master Kunes sighed.

"Contribution Points?"

"Yes. Clan members receive Contribution Points for the various tasks they complete and with these points they can buy various resources."

Heinald's expression took a thoughtful turn. He did not want to join any clan because clans both restricted freedom and piled responsibility on it. Besides, he had his own plans to work out.

"Do I need to be a clan member to earn Contribution Points?" asked Heinald.

"Look what I'll tell you. I'll talk to the clan leader and try to convince him to make a deal with you. Without being a clan member, brew various potions for the clan for cooperation, and earn Contribution Points in exchange." Master Kunes understood from the testimony of the young man before him that he did not want to join the Risclaw Clan. So he told him about an idea that came to his mind.

"Come with me."

Heinald and Master Kunes entered an elevator-like vehicle on the right. When Master Kunes pressed his finger against one of the white spheres, the sphere glowed blood-red and the ground beneath them began to move upward.

"How does this tool work?" It was the first time that Heinald had seen something like this.

"There is a wind formation below and it is pushing the ground below us. So we can reach the floor we want of the tower." Master Kunes answered.

After climbing hundreds of floors, they reached the top floor of the tower at the end, with a wide and long corridor in front of them and a large gold-embroidered door at the end of the corridor.

"First I have to talk to my clan leader and then I will introduce you to him." Master Kunes said.

Four guards were waiting in front of the door. Master Kunes said something to one of the guards, and the guard knocked on the door behind him. Then the door opened and Kunes entered. When he came out after a while, he signaled to come to Heinald.

When Heinald entered, he saw a large room surrounded by bookcases. There was a big window in the back and a table in front of that window. A man with long white hair stood beside the table. Since no energy waves were emitted from him, he could not tell exactly what level he was, but it was clear that his level was high.

Heinald bowed his head and greeted the old man in front of him.

"Kunes told me you are a Potions Master, my young friend, you need the Fire Emerald Herb as I understand it." The old man stroked his long beard.

"Right, sir." Heinald nodded.

"We can make a deal with you, my young friend, but first let me introduce myself. I am Alvares Rinton, founder and leader of the Risclaw Clan."

"I'm Heinald, sir. I'm honored."

"Our clan is working on the northern part of the Mesqur District, but that area is full of toxic gases. So Kunes is trying hard to brew a Poisoneater Potion, but unfortunately this is not enough." Alvares sighed.

"I ask you to help me produce the Poisoneater Potion. I will give you the formula and I am sure with my help you will be able to brew the potion in a short time. I will show you all the tricks in detail. All this combined with your skill, I hope we can do good things in a short time." Kunes smiled softly.

"For every Poisoneater Potion you produce, we'll give you Contribution Points so you can get Fire Emerald Herb with them. And you won't have to join the clan as this will be a cooperation agreement." Alvares leaned against the table.

"Alright! I'll do my best!" Heinald nodded steadfastly, this deal seemed fine.

Alvares and Heinald immediately made a Blood Agreement. According to this agreement, Heinald would earn 10 Contribution Points for each potion he brewed. One Fire Emerald Herb was worth 100 Contribution Points and there would be absolutely no change in pricing. It was added to the agreement that neither side would resort to fraud whatsoever.

"I will arrange a room for you, and now that we are considered partners, if there is something you do not understand, you can come directly to me." Kunes and Heinald had left the clan leader's room and were heading back to the lowest floor.

"Thank you!" Heinald smiled and nodded.

"No problem! We're going to work together now..." Kunes gave a slight laugh.