7 Headache root headache

Wei soon found his first Headache root about half a kilometer from the camp and dug it out. Using Tibs' knife instead of his hands made it a lot easier.

Looking around for about quarter of an hour he found his second and third. In the next half an hour he only found one more. Since the sun was going down faster and faster down on the horizon he decided to return.

As Tibs saw him bringing four Headache roots he looked at him like if he saw a ghost.

"What are you planning to do with those damn roots?" He asked.

"Psst, keep it down." Wei gestured with his finger as he looked around if anyone saw him.

Luckily no one was paying any attention to this side of the camp.

As he came closer he asked for a bucket and washed the four roots. He poured out the dirty water and started peeling them in the bucket.

Tibs was curious but he decided to keep his mouth shut after the warning from Wei.

The outer layer was soon peeled and he cut up the roots into even sliders of different sizes about half a centimeter thick. He put them into a big pot he borrowed from Tibs and he used a small pot to brew the skins.

The small pot was soon boiling while the big one was slowly getting there. By the time half of the water of the small pot evaporated the big one boiled.

Wei removed the small pot from the fire and stirred the big one. The turnip didn't go soft yet so he just pulled it off the center of the fire to the side and let it simmer.

"Do you really expect me to eat that?" Tibs asked sheepishly.

"Yes. Why not? I mean not the skin part of course. The meaty part has no poison." Wei replied.

"Are you sure? But what did you use the skin part for then?" Tibs asked in wonder.

"I want to use it for something else. Not for eating… " Wei replied.

'I am just not sure how I can use it on them.' Wei thought inwardly.

Soon he took the bigger pot of the fire too and waited for a while for it to cool.

"So what exactly were you and your nephew doing here at this fort?" Wei asked.

"We were escorts to a merchant caravan that brought supplies to the fort. The merchant and the goods are inside the fort with a few men. But in order to save money some of us were ordered to stay outside." Old Tibs sighed.

"Well it doesn't really matter here since it's relatively safe if I stay inside or outside."

"Do you have any news on what could have happened to your nephew?" Asked Wei.

"No. I have been going around the camp all day asking if anyone has seen him. I have asked all the people I dared asking but no one knows anything or does not dare to talk."

Old Tibs sighed and looked at his feet.

Wei took a plate and grabbed himself and Tibs some freshly cooked Headache roots. He used something akin to a fork and put one in his mouth. It was sweet and tasted like a harder chewier version of a banana. He offered it to Tibs but he kept shaking his head.

"Try it. It's really good." Wei said.

"What's good?" A voice suddenly said behind Wei.

As Wei turned around he could see a bright red outline on a tall slender man. He wore better clothes than most people staying in the tents. His shoulder length blonde hair was flowing behind his back in the wind as his eagle resembling nose and small eyes were sniffing and inspecting the food Wei just tasted. It smelled really nice. At least better than anything he could get himself his hands on in this camp.

"Let me try it." He said with a smile.

Wei gave him the plate and he quickly put a slider into his mouth and bit on it.

"Mmmmm. You are right it is good. Hey boys you should try it too." He said after he chewed on it.

Two more red outlined men came from the back of the tent where they waited before for any signs of trouble. Their color was not bright like the blonde guy's but they were no good people for sure.

They each took one slider and the blonde one took another one. He looked at Wei and smiled.

"Hey friend, you don't mind, do ya?" He even winked as he said that making it especially provocative. He was just waiting for another reason to showcase his dominance.

Old Tibs was petrified at the moment and was looking around for anyone who could help them.

"Feel free." Wei said and faked gritting his teeth.

He was just contemplating on how to give these bad people a headache using the Headache root extract when the headache inducing problem seemed to offer a solution by itself.

Soon the three men ate almost half of the pot as Wei reached out for the smaller pot and pretended to drink from it and enjoy it.

"Ohhh. What do we have here? This is no way to treat your friends by hogging all the good stuff." He gestured with his hand for the small pot and took a good long sip. Afterwards he gestured to the two stooges and had them take some sips too. They seemed to enjoy tge sweetness of the concoction as they soon emptied the small pot.

"See this is how you treat your friends. Let this be a lesson for you. Now scram!" The blonde guy said to Wei and moved closer to Old Tibs.

"You must be Old Tibs. I have business to discuss with you regarding your nephew..." The last part was almost unhearable by Wei but he was sure Tibs heard him.

"Wei, would you please leave us for a moment," Old Tibs gently stated.

Old Tibs signaled to Wei he should move away from the tent and Wei had no choice but to obey and walked towards the wilderness.