"Sooo... five marazan wasp stingers with their poison sacs intact for five gold pieces, that's the deal?" Veria asked the alchemist behind the counter.
"Correct. I just need to make sure the sacs actually have enough poison in them to be still useful when I get them. Best to avoid getting stung while they still have some." The alchemist replied mirthfully.
"Right. Anything else I should know?" Veria asked as she adjusted the bow she had slung over her shoulder.
Barely five and a half feet tall, the young ranger wore a simple sleeveless green and brown hunter's tunic, a short green skirt and soft leather boots reaching up to her knees. Long red hair spilled over her shoulders, curling into soft locks at their tips, while emerald green eyes sparkled with adventurous spirit from a round, undeniably cute face with rosy skin. While her current outfit did not flatter her too much, it did show off enough of her rather appealing curves to turn some heads.
Opposite to her stood the alchemist behind the counter of her shop, surrounded by the shelves of potions, bottles and jars filled with all manner of liquids or ingredients and an odd, intense mix of scents which overall was rather pleasant. Almost six feet tall, she looked down at the ranger with a gentle smile. Raven black hair framed her sharp, sensual features and piercing blue eyes, reaching down to her elbows. Pale as porcelain, her skin was smooth and immaculate as far as Veria could see. Though the cloak she wore covered most of her body, It was obvious her bust was large enough to make Veria a little jealous. If Veria had to guess, she was not much older than her.
"Besides that you will probably find some in the Shadewoods? Not really. They aren't particularly dangerous, but their sting leaves its victims paralyzed for a while." The alchemist shrugged.
"I see..." Veria hummed as she considered the offer.
While it was neither the most lucrative nor most exciting job she had been offered, it was a fairly simple one and decent coin for what it was. Given she had no actual plans at the moment either, there was hardly any reason not to take it. None she could think of, at least. Perhaps she could use the coin to travel somewhere else after this.
"Alright. I'll do it." Veria declared, bumping her fist against her chest. "I'll get you your stinger... What was your name again?" She added with a sheepish grin.
The alchemist just smiled with amusement. "You never asked. But you may call me Nevora."
"Great! Nevora!" Veria bit her lip in embarrassment, cursing her blush she could feel warm on her cheeks. "I'll be back with your stingers tomorrow! You can count on me!"
"I hope so! Happy hunting, my dear!" Nevora bid the girl farewell and returned to sorting her stock as Veria left the store, eager to get the job done.
- - - - - - -
A few hours later, the sun had long passed its zenith and Veria cursed as her arrow missed the dog-sized wasp, burrowing into a tree trunk instead as her target buzzed away from her. "Come on, you ugly thing! I need just one more of you before I can go back!" She called out as she ran after the wasp. Her arrow could still be retrieved later.
Trained to navigate the underbrush of dense forests, Veria had managed to follow her prey fairly well, despite its speed and ability to fly over all the obstacles the human girl had to run around or hop over. Fortune seemed to favor Veria as the pursuit did not last long before the wasp vanished into a large hole in the ground. Perhaps some kind of nest? Skidding to a halt before the entrance to whatever underground cave was inside, Veria considered her options. She could follow it inside, just wait for the wasp to come back out again to ambush it, or try to find another wasp. Though the latter two were probably the safer options, patience was not a virtue the young ranger had mastered. As such, her decision was made rather quickly.
Crouching down, she pulled out a light crystal she had dangling from her necklace and activated it with a bit of magic she infused into it. While not a trained mage, she had learned a few tricks from her mentors, among them how to use simple but incredibly helpful magic items such as this one. Now equipped with a light source, she grunted as she crawled into the three, maybe four foot wide circular tunnel with a noticeable downward slope.
After almost a minute of moving in a squatting position, Veria was just starting to wonder if maybe she should just give up and turn around when she saw the tunnel getting wider just ahead of her. Some sort of nest perhaps? She thought she could hear buzzing ahead of her. With a deep breath, she pushed herself to move forward. Sure enough, the tunnel opened up into a small cavern, large enough for Veria to stand in. Inside, the air was warm, slightly humid and had a sharp, tangy smell, but so much to be unpleasant.
"There you are!" She grinned as she spotted the wasp she had been hunting next to a pool of... something.