Morning light filtered in through the gap between the pulled curtains. I’d apparently forgotten to pull them closed before we’d both gotten into bed. I had snuggled up to Seraphina, murmured something about how good she smelled, and immediately passed out.

I rolled over and found I was alone in bed. Where was Seraphina? What time was it? Why did my head feel like it had been repeatedly smashed against one of Doan’s anvils?

I got up, realized I hadn’t even put on a shirt last night, and had slept sans clothing. Stumbling toward my dresser, I pulled out a restorative and studied the fluid.

“Don’t use them too often; they’ll lose their effectiveness,” the herbalist Yarrow had warned me.

I thought about returning it to the drawer, but I was suffering from more than a headache. Almost every muscle in my body ached.

“Ah, the hell with it.”

After popping the cork, the liquid went down smoothly. The minty oil coated my throat, and within a few heartbeats of it hitting my belly, I started to feel better.

I closed my eyes and waited, hoping it would kick in a little stronger, but Yarrow’s warning had been on point. I considered opening another vial but held off and instead settled for a huge mug of water from my pitcher.

As I finished it off and looked for some clothes, there was a soft knock at the door.

“Uh. Hold on," I said, frantically looking for something to put on.

Seraphina pushed the door open. She wore a long nightshirt that reached her knees and she was barefooted. She looked refreshed, her face freshly washed, smooth skin practically glowing in the light, and she was carrying a pair of steaming mugs of coffee. Seraphina looked me up and down and said, “Well, hello, sailor.” She kicked the door closed with one foot.

“Hi.” I grinned.

“Restorative?” she nodded at the vial in my hand.

“Yeah. I couldn’t help it.”

“Good. You’re going to need it,” Seraphina said as she put the coffee on the dresser.

“Why? What happened now? Are we being invaded by hobgoblins? Did a medusa show up?” Because, of course, something needed my attention in the…

Seraphina pulled her nightshirt off, revealing not a scrap of clothing beneath. She tossed the garment at me, slowly turned, and hopped onto the bed.

My head whipped back and forth between the cup of coffee, and my unclothed girlfriend. “Yeah. Coffee later,” I said with a grin and went to join Seraphina.

----------------------------------------

Later, I went to the bathroom to clean up. Thanks to Seraphina’s heating gem, I had plenty of hot water. Once finished, I dressed and headed downstairs to see what state the tavern was in. It had been a hell of a night, with the main room at standing room only capacity at some points.

The common room was quiet this early, but not empty. Lady Churl sat at a table, methodically running a whetstone along her chef-murder-knife. The one she used for chopping vegetables and, occasionally, threatening unruly customers, especially ruffians who looked at her oddly or used the wrong tone of voice.

Triolux was, seated at the bar, gesturing animatedly as he spoke with my ghostly companions. Lady Ophelia leaned forward, completely engaged in whatever tale he was spinning, while Sir Garin nodded along, occasionally adding his own comments.

"And the surface world has changed so much," Triolux said. "The architecture alone is fascinating. How you've adapted to building without crystal resonance matrices is quite clever."

Lady Ophelia's laugh tinkled through the air. "I don’t know what a crystal resonance matrix is, but you should have seen the first attempts at indoor plumbing. Absolute disaster."

Lady Churl looked up at me from her knife sharpening and rolled her eyes. "Was quieter when it was just the boss talking to them invisible people," she muttered.

“They’re ghosts, Lady Churl, and they’re not so bad. Remember that kid Raynard? Garin offered him some advice that changed his life.”

“He made it into the town guard, did he?”

“He sure did.” I nodded.

“Sometimes it’s just a willingness to take chances. I hope you congratulated him.”

“I will the next time I see him,” I assured Garin.

Raynard had been worried about fighting with his left hand, but Garin had offered some solid advice, which I had passed on. The next day, he’d tried out for the guard again and had been accepted.

I cleared my throat. "Triolux, I'm glad you can communicate with them, my friends, but we need to be careful. Most people can't see Ophelia and Garin. It might look strange to them when you have animated conversations with empty chairs.”

"They're not empty, darling. We're here. I often wonder if you're not the one in an empty chair."

"What? That doesn't make any sense," I told Ophelia.

"I think she's trying to get philosophical," Garin said.

Ophelia crossed her partially translucent arms. "I simply meant that some of these conversations are still more coherent than half of what the late-night crowd comes up with."

I shook my head at Ophelia and stifled a laugh. She wasn’t wrong.

Triolux's crystalline features shifted to a smile. "I will take that under advisement, friend Varix. Though I must say, your spectral companions have provided invaluable insights into the evolution of surface culture."

"Reckon you could provide those insights a bit quieter-like?" Lady Churl grumbled. She pulled up her sleeve, placed the blade against her arm at an angle, and smoothly shaved off a few dark hairs. "Always bringin' 'round the weird ones, Varix. This 'en's the strangest."

Triolux looked at Lady Churl and laughed. "I should like to point out that you are all strange creatures to me. Thank you for the hospitality, Lady Churl. You're a fine host."

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

“I am, ain’t I?”

I laughed at Lady Churl, then said, "I'm starving. Does anyone else want a meal? Triolux, how is surface food treating you?"

"Ah," Triolux said, turning to me. "I very much enjoy what has been on offer.”

“Well, hold onto your butt, Triloux. I’m about to make you something really tasty.” I turned to Lady Churl. “A plate for you?”

"Yeah. I’ll help ya, boss. No-"

I cut her off. “No onions. I know. And relax, Lady Churl. I’ll take care of breakfast.”

She shrugged and held her knife out, eyes sliding across the blade. “Thanks, boss. I’ll keep working on this fine blade.“

“Don’t mention it,” I told her and entered the kitchen.

I walked into the kitchen, expecting it to be a mess, but it was surprisingly clean. We all pitched in after the tavern closed each night, but I’d been so tired last night I could barely see straight. Thankfully, my crew had done an excellent job.

Pans were put away, dishes were stacked, glasses and mugs were neatly stored on shelves. I peeked into the little back dish room and found it equally well-organized and clean.

I sighed and leaned against the door frame. A smile creased my lips, and I gently shook my head. There was no getting around it. My crew was so good they could work just fine without me.

Heading back to the stove, I pulled out a large pan and put it on over the burner. Lady Churl had already stoked up a fire, so I cracked a vent to get some direct heat on the metal.

Next up were a few yellow potatoes from the pantry.

Opening the cooler, I rummaged around and found some smoked bacon and Shellen's special spicy sausage. I had purchased a batch of uncooked sausage, which was the perfect time to try a new recipe. In the back of the cooler, I spotted a pitcher of milk. I sniffed it and determined it had about one day left before spoiling. Perfect timing.

I set another pan on the stove to heat. As the pans warmed up, I diced the potatoes and a few red peppers, then l halved some large white mushrooms for Lady churl. I cracked half a dozen eggs into a bowl, beat them until the yolks and whites were well combined, and added a pinch of salt.

A jar of congealed bacon grease sat next to the stove. A generous dollop went into the pan. It melted and started sizzling in seconds, so I tossed in the potatoes and shook them around to coat.

I crumbled the sausage into the second pan. A moment later, the sausage started to release its oil and was quickly broken up with a wooden spatula. Next in went a generous knob of butter. After it melted, I stirred in a small scoop of flour and stirred it around until it became mostly invisible.

After tossing the potatoes around to ensure even cooking, I added the diced peppers, mushrooms, and some chopped bacon to the mix, cranked up the heat slightly, and returned to the country gravy.

I slowly poured cream into the pan with the flour and sausage, stirring as I went. It quickly thickened, so I added a little more, going by look and feel. When it was thick and bubbling, I lowered the heat and pushed it half off the burner so the cream wouldn't curdle. I seasoned it with salt and a generous amount of ground black pepper, tasting it as I went to get the balance just right. Country gravy was always best when it had a strong pepper flavor.

A few moments later, the potatoes were crispy and golden. I poured the beaten eggs over the top and let them cook for a moment before I stirred everything together. The result was a mouthwatering country hash, ready to be topped with the savory sausage gravy.

"Good morning," Seraphina's greeted Lady Churl and Triolux out in the main room.

They chatted for a few seconds before she pushed her way into the kitchen. "Hey. Something smells delicious in here."

"That would be me. I put on clean clothes."

Seraphina laughed and pointed at the food. "I meant that."

She wore fitted trousers in a deep blue, tucked into soft leather boots. Her shirt was a lighter shade, with delicate embroidery around the collar and cuffs that hinted at magical symbols. A belt cinched her waist, and I spotted a few pouches that likely held enchanted gems.

"You look beautiful," I told her, my own smile widening.

Seraphina crossed the kitchen to me and leaned in for a kiss. I happily obliged, savoring the moment.

As we parted, I murmured, "I really enjoyed our morning together."

"I did, too. It was a lovely way to start the day."

"An early morning workout deserves a hearty breakfast," I said, pointing at the two pans.

"Country gravy?" she asked in a low voice.

I nodded, picked up a clean spoon from the counter, and dipped it into the country gravy. "Here, try it. Let me know what you think."

Seraphina took the spoon and sampled the gravy. She closed her eyes as she savored the flavor. "Delicious, Varix. It brings back a lot of memories."

Pleased with her approval, I returned my attention to the potatoes. They were just about done, crispy and golden. I poured the beaten eggs over the top and let them set for a moment before gently pushing the mixture around with a spatula, allowing the eggs to cook through.

Seraphina moved to the cupboards as I worked and began pulling down plates. "Four?" she asked, glancing over her shoulder at me.

"Yes, please," I confirmed, removing the pan from the heat. "I told Triolux he's in for a treat."

"He's chattering away with your ghosts. It looks strange."

"I know." I shrugged. "I don't know what to do about it. I told him that my patrons might find it odd behavior, but the more I think about it, the more I realize that he is a very odd creature, anyway. Could be that no one even bats an eye. I can tell them that he's talking to the spirits of the tavern. Might be good for business."

"Or it might scare people off."

I laughed and said, "True. It could go either way."

Seraphina set the plates on the counter, and I began to divide the potato and egg hash between them, and added most of the mushrooms to Lady Churl's plate. The golden diced potatoes, bacon, and eggs smelled mouthwateringly good. My stomach grumbled, reminding me that all I'd had today was a cup of coffee. Had I even eaten the night before?

I ladled the country gravy into a sturdy stone vessel and placed a small serving spoon beside it. "There," I said. "Now everyone can add as much or as little gravy as they like."

Seraphina and I brought out the plates to an appreciative audience.

"Ah. That smells wonderful. I can't wait to try it," Triolux said.

"If only I could smell." Lady Ophelia sighed.

"T'would be torture. I'd not want to smell his cooking and be denied the taste. Better to remain ignorant," Garin added.

We sat down at a table near the front and ate in companionable silence, with the exception of Lady Churl, who let out happy grunts every time she ate a mushroom. The country gravy was wonderful and had just the right amount of spice. As we finished, I asked my friends what they thought and got positive feedback.

"I'm going to put this on the menu. I'll call it the Farmer's Hash. It will come with toasted bread, and the gravy can be poured over the entire meal."

"Reckon this'll be a bestseller." Lady Churl smacked her lips.

Triolux ate quietly, though he glanced over at Lady Ophelia and Sir Garin occasionally as they chattered about the ferrokin and what a nice creature he was, with Ophelia frequently glancing at me as she said it. I ignored her, as I did most of the time.

"Wonderful meal, friend Varix.”

"I'll put it in my recipe book later," I said as I reached across the table and held Seraphina's hand. She had given me a blank recipe book, and I'd been busy filling out the pages.

She smiled back.

I sat with my friends while we finished up our breakfast before I told Lady Churl that I would be traveling to the capitol in the next few days.

"I ain't goin' if tha's whacher askin'."

"That's not why I brought it up," I told her. "I want you in charge while I'm gone."

"Eh. Me?"

"Of course. I know you can do it, Lady Churl. I think you're smart and level-headed."

Lady Churl stabbed her fork into the last mushroom on her plate. "Course I can do it. That ain't the problem." She popped the piece into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully. "It's them others what might not like it. I ain't got your... what's the word?"

"Patience?" I offered.

She shook her head. "Nah. Your way of bein' too nice about things."

"What do you mean?" Seraphina asked, though her lips curved into a knowing smile.

"Well," Lady Churl said, gesturing with her fork, "when some drunk fool starts causin' trouble, Varix gets all diplomatic-like. 'Sir, I must ask you to leave.' Me?" She shrugged. "I just show 'em my knife and tell 'em to get out before they become tomorrow's special."

I burst out laughing, and Seraphina joined in.

"Poor Jessara and Milo might not know what to do with that management style." I shook my head.

"Reckon not." Lady Churl grinned. "Jessara's got that look she gives people, yeah? All quiet-like disapproval. But me?" She pulled out her knife and examined the blade. "I ain't so subtle."

"You don't say," Seraphina said, still chuckling.

"And Milo? Sweet kid, but he jumps if I sneeze too loud. Might have a heart attack first time I threaten to dice someone into the soup."

Triolux looked between us, his crystalline features reflecting confusion. "Is this a common surface world management technique? Threatening to convert patrons into sustenance?"

"Only if it gets results," I replied.