#7 | The Love of the Hunt

Unfortunately, he'd picked an area of the path that was too well-ventured. There weren't any nettles in sight, indicating they probably grew in an area that was a bit more dense and undisturbed. He'd have to explore around a bit to increase his chances of finding some - perhaps areas with more bushes and overgrowth?

Where he'd ventured next was a much more viable option. Bushes were overgrown and the path was all but nonexistent. With so much wilderness and mingled vegetation, it took a little while to identify what were possible nettle patches and what was... something else. Whatever the other plants were that grew outside of his level of experience.

There was a rather thick patch of nettles, but his increase of luck didn't feel like such when it became apparent that he wasn't going to have a good time collecting anything. Like everything else, the nettles were also overgrown. The bigger ones were not longer useful in potions, but had to be navigated in order to reach some smaller and newer sections that were perfect as ingredients.

And these nettles hurt. Any touch of bare skin or too-thin clothing would sting. Anything more significant or left untreated would cause horribly painful rashes. Tom had the opportunity to collect up to three nettles, but each one would cost him - as each one forced him to venture further. And he still had to then escape the patch afterwards. He just had to be careful, and decide how many ingredients were worth getting.