[BONUS]
Zakou was welcoming and urged Ren and Elena to drink and celebrate. He offered the two the party goblets of wine and invited them to dance.
Upon [Appraisal], Ren found that the wine was enchanted, and anyone who drank it would be charmed by Zakou for one minute.
Of course, the Princess had keen eyes and sharper senses than Ren, and she found the drink sprinkled with magic at first sight.
"No, thank you. We're already full of wine from last night," Elena respectfully declined.
Zakou didn't take offense and didn't push the drink into Ren and Elena's throat. Instead, Zakou welcomed them to make themselves at home, and he returned to playing the flute and ignored the party.
"They seemed weak and friendly enough," said Elena. "Should we have a look? It surely wouldn't take an hour."
Ren found that the Princess was oddly attracted to the party, and there was obvious curiosity flickering in those emerald eyes of hers.
And when Ren nodded his head, the Princess was faster to join the others even before he could mouth a word.
The Princess went to converse and had a feel of the party. She didn't dance, though. Too bad because Ren might have stayed to watch her do so. Instead, he decided to explore this part of the area.
Leaving behind the bright light of the campfire, Ren's eyes adjust to the dim glow before him. As he stepped into a corner of the clearing, his eyes were drawn to a field of pink and purple mushrooms faintly glowing in the dim light.
Based on the description of the mushrooms provided to him when he used [Appraisal], this was a field of Dampshade and Frogbeak.
Dampshade was a consumable poison, while a Frogbeak has unique healing properties. When ingested, it restored 5% HP and would cure minor curses. And these shrooms only grew in these parts. So they were quite rare.
Ren brought out his [Herbalist Tool] and got to work extracting the mushrooms. He crouched down in the damp underbrush of the forest, a leather satchel slung over his shoulder and a curved herbalist tool in his hand.
He really didn't need a satchel if he was going to store it in his inventory, but since he was going to placed it inside his Dimensional Wristband, he needed something to hold them together to keep them safe and organized in there.
Ren carefully scanned the ground for the tell-tale signs of the mushrooms he sought. As he moved deeper into the dense foliage, Ren's sharp eyes finally caught sight of the small, ivory-colored caps of the poisonous mushrooms peeking out from the earth. He approached them slowly, his heart racing with excitement and trepidation.
With a flick of his wrist, Ren drew his curved herbalist tool from his belt and knelt down beside the mushrooms. He carefully positioned the blade of the tool beneath the stem of the first mushroom and gently pried it free from the earth.
Ren repeated this process over and over, expertly collecting the Dampshade and Frogbeak and placing them into his satchel. He knew that one wrong move could mean disaster, as even a small mistake could result in contact with the deadly toxins or worst, the shrooms would wilt before even extracting it from its source.
Despite the danger, Ren felt an immense sense of satisfaction as he carefully harvested the mushrooms. This Alchemist class was really a good fit for him.
Finally, Ren's satchel was full, and he carefully tied it shut and stored it in his dimensional wristband before rising to his feet. He looked out over the lush forest, taking a deep breath of the cool, damp air. With his task complete, Ren made his way back to the camp.
Stepping away from the fields of shrooms, Ren moved into a dimly lit corner of the encampment. Behind a line of trees that obscured the campfire, he discovered a few crates and a single bedroll on the ground. The area was lit by a few candles.
Ren searched the crates and found that they were empty. He searched under the bedroll, and he encountered what appeared to be a small spot of disturbed dirt. He dug it with his shoveling tool and was surprised that a pocket of gas was released.
It made hissing sounds, and the green mist exploded right on his face. Ren didn't fall back or staggered away. He casually sipped an [Antidote] to get rid of the poison and continued his search.
Beneath the trap were four human skulls and a jewel-encrusted dagger worth at least 2 000 gil when he appraised it.
When there was nothing left to check, Ren went back to the Princess's location. It was time to resume their journey.
As Ren returned to the campfire, he was struck by the total silence that had replaced the music and boisterous dancing. The revelers now stood silently watching him as he returned.
The dancing had ended. The revels had also changed. While Zakou looked no different, the others who were partying a while ago were now undead. The two humans were little more than skeletons, while the Minotaur was rotting and bloated. The illusion magic that hid their true forms was no longer in effect.
And the Princess . . . she was smiling and watching and seemed to be talking to the dead. She was dancing now. She was an awkward dancer but twirled like she was the greatest dancer in the area.
Ren knew that something was fishy, but he didn't expect such strong Illusion magic that even doped the Princess and him.
Ren had to admit that he was confident that nothing would go wrong because she had the Princess with him. But he wasn't also naïve to expect that their visit here wouldn't cause any trouble.
Every encounter brought troubles. He mused.
And now Ren was going to fight Zakou the Restless, a necromancer and a bard from the looks of it. His ATP wasn't high, and his spells and skills weren't that great, but Ren feared that he got something on his sleeve to be able to charm even the Princess.
"I did say you're welcome to the party." Zakou smiled creepily. "But I didn't say that you could leave."
