Death Comes To All (Book 1) by Travis Kerr

been told about such animals
they were supposed to live further south, in and around the deep
swamps, but he had no intention of taking any chances. Certainly
there were rattlesnakes and moccasins to be found nearby, and they
were dangerous enough to warrant caution.
    Malik
threaded his way through the thick scrub for nearly an hour, down a
path only he could see.
    He
certainly wasn't lying about this place being difficult to reach, Roland thought sourly, as the bottom of his tunic caught on the low
hanging branch of a tree and held. The fabric tore before he could
stop himself from going any further forward. With a disgusted snort
he glared down at the rend.
    I’ll
need to repair it when we stop for the night, he thought, hoping
he would remember to do so. He was certain that Malik
wouldn’t be very happy if the uniform he lent him was destroyed
while they stomped through the woods.
    Finally
they came to an area where a narrow stream ran through. Small trees
sprouted sporadically along its banks, and the brush along the ground
was much thinner than what they had been walking through to get
there.
    "This
is what we want to gather first," Malik told him, bending down
to pull a small, narrow leafed plant out of the ground, roots and
all. Tara must have known already what they had come for, as she had
already started picking the plant he indicated without looking to see
what Malik had said.
    Roland
nodded and starting gathering the strange herbs. He could have been
certain that this was a plant he had seen before. It look
disturbingly similar to a plant his father had pointed out to him
once when he found it growing in his fields. The plant had leaves
that were extremely poisonous, he had been told. Still, he had been a
small child then.
    This
must be something different.
    A
light breeze in the air caused Roland to pause, sniffing. In the span
of two heartbeats he traced the smell back to the plants that his two
companions were picking. The smell was similar to basil, though
different in a way he couldn’t quite put his finger on.
    It
smells absolutely delicious!
    "Do
you think there will be enough that I can add some to my dinner
tonight?" Roland asked finally, interested in testing the taste
of the fragrant weed.
    "Not
if you want to reach the city," Malik answered in amusement.
"The leaves of this herb can be boiled down to a deadly poison.
Just eating them raw is likely to kill you. The roots, however, can
be used to help break fever, and is gentle enough that it can even be
used on infants, which few medications can claim. I'll sell the roots
to a healer in the city. As for the rest of the plant, I'll keep that
for myself. I don't often use poison, but on occasion it can be
useful. The poison I make from this takes several hours to take
affect and leaves little trace. When you want someone to appear to
have died naturally, it works well."
    Roland
looked away and said nothing, grateful that he hadn't simply tasted
the plant before asking anything about it. The group continued
picking for another hour before moving on to a different plant, this
time one that Roland recognized as an herb generally used to flavor
poultry and fish. It wasn't something he had any interest in, but he
was certain that his companions would likely be using it that night.
    After
several hours spent picking various plants, Malik decided they had
enough for trading in the city. They only needed enough to give the
appearance of herb traders, he said. They weren't actually trying to
make a living this way.
    "Once
you’re finish with your evening workout, wash your clothing in
the stream," Malik ordered. "Both the uniform you are
wearing and your old clothing in your bag. Once we’re close to
the city you'll be changing back into your regular clothing. There
are sure to be Thanes in the city, and they have certain ways of
recognizing each other that you don't know about yet. It would take
too long to try and teach you. No one has seen your face in