Leo who had walked earlier walked into Alf’s office like a boss barging into their weakling subordinate’s office chest-thumping, legs apart, mocking grin, with no care in the world now walked out shoulders slumped, head low, spirit crushed like a worker who had just been chewed out by his boss.

He walked to the counter and picked up his money which made his mood sink even further once he saw its meager size when he compared the pouch he was given and Mira’s haul that was stored in a chest.

“Can you please break this for me into silver coins,” Leo dispiritedly said as he removed one gold coin from the pouch he was given as the attendant by the counter politely agreed. He took the gold coin and handed him a hundred silver coins.

He walked out of the Gold rose merchant shop and the scene he caught did little to ease his depressed mood.

Gueva and Dyr were by the carriage snickering and whispering as Dyr animatedly described his narration to her however he paused midway once he saw his father stare at him with his soulless eyes and ghostly features.

“Dyr let’s go and get your manakish. I’m already done here and we won’t be staying long,” Leo weakly murmured as he moved past Dyr and Gueva.

Dyr who was expecting a flick on his forehead was surprised at his father’s lack of reaction. He stared questioningly at Gueva who only shrugged her shoulders in response, not knowing what was up with Leo either since when she left the office he was in an energetic mood, unlike the lethargic zombie before them.

Dyr only paused for a few seconds before what Leo had just mentioned registered in his head.

“Manakish….Gueva bye I need to hurry before the miser changes his mind,” Dyr said as he jumped off the coach seat with his tongue floating out of his mouth and spittle flying everywhere as he chased after Leo.

Gueva could only shake her head at this as she smiled.

“Those two are really two peas in a pod,” she thought to herself.

Leo wasn’t worried about his carriage being left unattended because as long as it was around the warehouse its safety was guaranteed. Alf had his own guards and the city guards were also around conducting their patrols. As the area was filled with many merchant shops, the number of city guards patrolling the area was more than in other locations around the town.

“Dad wait up,” Dyr yelled before finally catching up with Leo as they made their way through a few alleys and came to a street that was flooded with the aroma of different dishes. The street was filled with numerous food stalls to the right and the left. It seemed that the street was purely dedicated to only selling food as there was little sign of other types of businesses in the area.

Dyr’s eyes were sparkling as he madly sniffed the air eyeing the different stalls. His stomach kept grumbling with every whiff he took.

With familiarity, Leo made his way to one of the stalls on the left side of the street. The stall was neatly maintained with everything in perfect order from utensils to spices. With four benches and two tables beside it for the customers who wanted to have their meals there.

The stall was manned by a slender lady who had her hair neatly tied into a bun with an apron that had the name Mama Aziz home meals. She had greying hair that highlighted her age but her face looked younger with a genial smile as she fried, stirred, kneaded dough, rolled it, and added finish touches to meals all with practiced motion and such grace that it drew people in.

Even Leo in his dispirited state had some life come to his eyes and some color to his skin as he admired the lady’s skill. She wasn’t the only one with such skill, the whole street was filled with chefs skilled in their crafts. They were not renowned but the dishes they knew how to make, they did it well. Diversity, tastiness, and affordability were what made this street so high in foot traffic.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

It’s not Caradog kingdom known for the beautiful scenery and food to match or the Halwyn kingdom dubbed the kingdom of spices but it has its charm to people. Different home delicacies from around the world can be found here. Due to its affordability, it helps those who can’t travel to other places experience travel vicariously through the food on this street.

“Leo, little Dyr mornin’, fancy seeing you here this morning,” the lady by the stall said as he moved to place the finished meal on the stall’s table which some of the customers seated at the benches rose to pick.

“Hey Mama Aziz, no matter how many times I see it I can’t help but admire the ease with which you make so many meals at once with none losing its quality,” said Leo as he took a seat in one of the benches.

“Hi Mama Aziz, I want 10 manakish,” Dyr said as he tried to prop himself up at the stall to take better whiffs and admire the object of his dreams other than training mana and getting vengeance on his dad.

“12 manakish coming right up. Consider the 2 a gift from me to celebrate your upcoming birthday. It should be close right?” Mama Aziz said as she offered Dyr a kind smile.

“12 REALLY?!! Thanks, Mama Aziz you’re the best...Yes, I’ll be turning 4 in a week. Dad, can she and Aziz come over to celebrate?” Dyr suddenly asked as he begrudgingly moved his head away from the stall’s kitchen.

“She can if she wants to...Mama Aziz, we would be happy to have you over if you can. You, Aziz and bring Gavi too. Make sure he brings that tea of his he always brags about. Tell him I’ll offer him a jar of gold honey in exchange for a jar of it,” Leo said but as if he remembered something he quickly added,

“And he better not try to pull something with that tea like last time and sneakily mix in some other things. I want the pure stuff.”

“Hahaha, sure I will,” Mama Aziz said as he started working on Dyr’s manakish. The deep and rich aromatic smell of za’atar flooded the area accompanied by the nutty smell of fried sesame seeds.

12 circular doughs were made and were then stuffed with za’atar, cheese, thin strips of already fried beef, fermented yogurt, tomato paste, and the sesame seeds that were crisp and light brown.

Leo who had not planned to eat anything couldn’t help but reconsider once he saw the alignment on the stall.

“Maybe I’ll have one or two. I doubt Dyr can finish all twelve by himself,” Leo thought to himself as he licked his lips.

Dyr as if running on the instincts of a promising gifted glutton sensed something and quickly turned back to find Leo covetously eyeing his manakish.

“Get your own. Those 12 are mine,” Dyr said with a vicious glare of a beast defending its hunt. Leo on seeing this could only acquiesce as he asked Mama Aziz to add 3 more to the number.

“I need to get Kel the feeds I promised him too.”

Seeing Dyr’s beastly look made him remember the promises he had made to the kelpie to make it come.

After around ten minutes Mama Aziz was done as she carefully packed the manakish in two separate bags at the behest of Dyr who didn’t want his manakish and his dad’s to be in the same bag.

He had to be wary. What if Leo ate all his manakish up out of spite for what happened this morning? Dyr couldn’t take chances where manakish was involved.

Leo paid 52 silver coins for the 13 manakish as he thanked Mama Aziz before leaving for his carriage with Dyr in tow who had already slapped one manakish whole into his mouth with glee on his face.

Leo decided to follow Dyr’s lead too as he took one manakish out and ate as he walked.

“80 gold coins may not be enough to take care of the creatures for the next three months but if it does end at best I’ll just beg Mira. What’s the worst that can happen? She gives me and holds it over my head forever? Ppsch she already does that with a lot of things and I’m still alive. But how do I get that dragon of a wife to part with her coins? She’s awfully stingy with it especially when she learns it’s for my next of kin creatures as she likes to call them.” Leo silently thought as he strategized and dismissed ideas back and forth. Before he knew it they were already at the carriage and Dyr was five manakishes down.

Leo waved goodbye to Gueva and the other workers of the Gold rose as he made his way to one of the merchant shops that dealt only in livestock feeds. The shop was just as full as Alf’s shop which was a given as the feeds were sourced from the Apricus kingdom. It was known to have the best fodder even the best meat is sourced from there due to the rich quality and range of their fodder.

Once Leo had gotten everything he packed them into the wagon with Kel showing as much delight as Dyr did with the manakish.

They slowly made their way out of Bremdal town as Leo exchanged a mild banter with Padrig and Greg but when Padrig suggested he would bring his wife and kids for Dyr’s birthday and possibly stay a night, Leo took it as his cue to bolt.

Even missing a few ingredients from Mira’s list didn’t terrify him as much as Padrig’s suggestion. Once upon a time when he was ‘politely asked’ by Mira to go back and spend time with the friends that made him not come home for 3 days he ended up spending a night at Padrig’s. Leo could sleep soundly to the cries of the creatures in his backyard but the snore of Padrig’s wife inspired him to study noise cancellation spells and runes.

One can never be done with learning different kinds of spells no matter how unimportant they might seem. Who knew when and where they might just be a lifesaver?