“Uncle Winter! This is really good!” Adria, that had just devoured her lunch, exclaimed.
“Why dear, thank you,” Sella pinched Adria’s cheek lightly.
“Yes, Winter. This is really good,” Both Minalan and Adria were, of course, right.
The food was delicious. Extravagantly.
It was barely a contest for Sella to win the competition. For one, there was serious shortage of Rainbow Fish, the must-have item for the competition. Most chefs had to make do with lesser grade fishes. Any higher grade would take too long to procure. Of course,there were some that somehow got a hold of a few that the players managed to fish. But the ultimate victory still belonged to Sella. Why? She had a lot more practice.
Winter did not attend the cookout, since that was his sleeping time. Besides, he hated the idea of being sandwiched in a crowd. Minalan and Adria did attend, and said it was a landslide victory. The jury had unanimously decided that Sella was the winner of the year. Winter did not hear any mention of reward for the competition, and did not bother to ask back then. But he now most assuredly knew why Sella was so set on winning. And maybe hundreds of other chefs that had needed the bloody fish.
Winter requested the food to be anything else but fishes. Yes. They could make a request now. It was different than before he slept.
Since he returned, and up to the night before the competition, Winter, Adria and Minalan had eaten Rainbow Fish after Rainbow Fish, prepared by any method imaginable. Frying, boiling, grilled. Diced in small pieces, put into a pie. Salted, spiced, sweetened, in broth, soup, anything. The list went on. All of them were great. But he got tired of seeing fishes, and more fishes. Winter helped prepare most of the dishes, too. It was an enlightening and frightening experience.
“Yes, Adria. Sella is a good cook. This roast beef is great, Sella.”
Winter answered absent-mindedly. The two seemed to see nothing strange. But Winter was still taking it all in. Sella nodded her appreciation and cleared the empty dishes. She wore a white cook uniform now, pristinely white. She was as fat as before.
Nine days ago Royal Road Time
Quest completed: Rainbow Fish
Your familiarity with Sella, the Inn Cook increased
You received Superior Sirloin x400
You received Tender Chicken Meat x300
You received Lavian Egg x 300
You received Baby Boar Ribs x200
You received Sella’s Personal Cookbook
You Leveled up!
You Leveled up!
“Thank you, Winter. Now, I may have a chance to finally win the competition.”
Sella was so excited to finally receive the fish. It was not a small fish, either. It could do some serious damage if someone got smacked with it on the head. Quite a puzzle how the whole thousand of such large fishes fit into Winter’s inventory. He barely made it back on the last day of the quest as he had to wait for his chance to pull the heist. He felt rather thankful for the rude young man now as he totally forgot about the quest until he decided to steal them fishes.
“Are you sure you want only one? I have more, if you want.”
“You do? And you are willing to give them to me?” I nodded.
“How many do you want?”
“Twenty?”
Winter began rummaging through his inventory bag. He was not used to the separation function that allowed a player to split items with a quantity of more than one.
“You do not have that many? Then..”
Sella was a little disappointed. Twenty Rainbow Fish would allow her to practice a lot. A good dish was impossible to be perfected in one or two tries. Winter looked a little uncomfortable. The mature man might not have that many fishes, and Sella was putting him in an uncomfortable position. She would take any of the fishes Winter would give her. It was already good that he had an extra.
*Flood* *Slide* *Sweep*
“Ack!”
That was rather lame sounding of Winter. But he had made a little blunder. He did not materialize twenty fishes. He materialized 200.
xXx
The kitchen was smothered in fishes. Winter might have imagined it. But there might be some still flopping around slightly. Sella, who suddenly sported a really wide smile full of inspiration, looked so intensely at Winter, that he was worried for his physical self. He recognized that sort of look. Once,he had seen it in one overly amorous male, that had sent him running for the other side of the ocean.
His discomfort was never realized, fortunately. Sella was interested to obtain all his fishes. But she had no capital to buy that large a quantity. Winter had no idea that each fish cost six gold!
Deal with Sella
Sella has interest in the 200 Rainbow Fish you dumped on her kitchen. Unfortunately, she does not have enough capital to purchase all of the fishes. She, however, could purchase it over time, if you give her enough time. Charity is fine too. Do negotiate lightly, as Sella is not a wealthy woman.
Requirement: Unique to Winter
Reward: Unknown
Relationship with Sella may decline if the negotiation results in dissatisfaction
Since Winter stole the fishes not out of greed, he was not interested in selling them. He was satisfied with what he had in his wallet at the moment. Winter also refused to sell them for cheap or charity, because he never believed in such thing. He believed in Quid Pro Quo. It need not be exactly balanced. But he had to think of something.
After racking his brain for a minute,he came up with the simplest solution. She only needed to cook. For him, Adria, and Minalan. All their meals, every time they dropped by, would be free. It was within the means of her ability to provide such services. This solved Winter’s problem of giving the virtual little girl a good meal when he was not around. Sella was a better cook than him, too.
Quest completed: Deal with Sella
You received Free Meal for Three
Free Meal for Three
A physical manifestation of Sella’s promise to Winter. Reward from Deal with Sella quest. Free meals forever, specified for a player, Winter, and two NPCs, Adria and Minalan. Limited to what was available for the day and Sella’s generosity.
Your relationship with Sella is at maximum
This item cannot be dropped or destroyed.
Automatically spawned to your personal inventory space.
Non-transferrable
The item manifested as a parchment paper. No kidding. With all terms attached as seen above. After that, he went out to <
Minalan hesitated to accept such deal. But Winter convinced Minalan that his help would be needed later. He was probably defeated by Adria’s cutting remark that his food was terrible and delicious free meals were never to be rejected! It made Winter wonder what sort of backstory these two have. He was not one to pry, and NPCs should not have this much personality. But Royal Road continuously exceeded his expectations.
xXx
*Burp*
It was not me who burped. It was Adria. Impressively deep voiced, and long one too. I could never figure out the trick for burping, somehow. It only ever happened to me by accident. Minalan followed suit, artificially. Aside from burping, I was also terrible at whistling.
I smiled at both of them, shelving all the strange thoughts churning in my head. Without any need for words, we stepped out to go. Sella was busy swirling a large pot, that could sit four men comfortably, using a thick-handled spoon. Steam rose from the surface of the pot. We waved at her, and she waved back from the platform the stood on. She was pretty busy nowadays. No way! It was a small oar! I clearly saw it when she pulled the whole length out. I promised myself to check it out when I got back next time.
Another oddity in Royal Road. Sella’s kitchen had expanded to maybe eight times its original size complete with new chefs, its assistants and general helpers, while I was sleeping. They were all dressed in white, like a battle uniform, with Sella holding a wooden ladle like a baton, ordering them around. They were manning cooking stations that somehow sprouted new stoves, pots, countertop tables, at the same time I was in dreamland.
The inn was completely gone. Even the crusty-looking husband was transformed, while I was sleeping, into a slim, neat-clothed restaurant proprietor. The man was pretty fat and sour-looking. I had to circle the block three times to be sure I was at the right place. Even then, I did not recognize the husband, and was not sure I was not lost. It was Adria, who was tired of waiting for me, who came out to get me.
Three of us waddled slowly away. Adria was smiling contentedly. Her stomach was bulging. Distended, even. Minalan’s bulge looked real solid. I chose not to recall too closely how much the two ate. It was frightening. Defied human physicality completely.
It was what struck me dumb. A decent brick and timber inn was suddenly transformed into an upscale marble and glass restaurant. Overnight, probably. The size had expanded somehow. I am pretty sure there was a bar beside the inn, previously. It was swallowed up without a trace. Well, not really. On the second floor, where they had private rooms, there was a wet bar, with a stiff-looking bartender, polishing drinking glasses. Stocks of liquor were lined neatly on a shelf behind the bar. It looked cosy.
Since Winter had never gone into the bar before it was somehow demolished, he had no idea whether the bartender was the bar owner, or the bartender there. A puzzle.
Probably due to Minalan and Adria being NPCs, they probably found nothing wrong. I began accepting that the game had certain quirks that might take me awhile to wrap my head around. But I can manage. Full (virtual) stomach sure helped.
Minalan excused himself first, since he still had a shop to reopen. He left Adria in my care. We have no destination in mind, simply walking off the excess weight of the food. The city of Cosare looked the same to me. But it was possible that it had changed slightly here and there, like Sella’s inn. Dredging my thoughts, I could not recall any changes.
“Uncle Winter, I am tired. Can we stop for a moment?”
I looked down at the girl. I was lost in my thoughts. No idea how far or how long I had walked.
“Hold on, Adria. Up we go.”
I put her up on my shoulders. Her tiny hands grabbed the crown of my head, and I proceeded to wander into the park. Coincidentally, it was the park where we met. We talked about it. She clearly had a different view regarding what had gone down. I was a mean-looking, cold-eyed, old thug about to kidnap her. I was not inclined to argue. Handling children from the get go has never been one of my main strengths.
xXx
*Creak* *Jingle*
Minalan looked up. He was about to greet Winter, when Winter signed for silence with his right forefinger. The form of Adria asleep, cradled within the crook of Winter’s arm, reinforced the message.
Minalan opened the doors that adjoined to their family space, and Adria’s room. Winter gently put her down and tucked her in. Closing the door, both of them walked as silently as possible back to the shop area, and also shut the door.
*Wave* *Clank*
Minalan waved his hand and the sign flipped around from ‘Open’ to ‘Closed’.
“You have to teach me that one day, Minalan.”
“Sorry. This is something you have to figure out on your own.” Winter nodded.
Minalan had no idea why he could not teach Winter that trick. He knew how the trick worked, but somehow, knew it was impossible for Winter to understand or learn it.
“Thank you again, Winter.”
“Don’t mention it. She is a sweet child. After she finished her rebellious phase.”
Winter grimaced at some sort of unpleasant memory. Minalan was clueless at what sort of rebellious phase Winter was talking about. To his eyes, his daughter was always sweet.
They spent a little time talking about how Winter had spent the time with Adria, after they had parted. Minalan trusted Winter with his daughter’s life, but he had to know. They then talked about his adventure, something Winter never had the chance to share, since he was busy helping Sella, and then disappeared for a couple days.Outlanders like him always disappeared a couple days for no reason. Minalan regarded it as their quirks. All his previous mage apprentices did that.They would come back when they were ready. So far, Winter had been the only one that visited the most. All the other students before him had gone to who knows where.
A pity Winter never turned up for the cookout, since it was a major event. Freya then cast her magic upon the winner, and in a night, Sella’s inn was transformed into what it was now.
Minalan waited patiently until Winter was ready to talk. From what Minalan could gather from educated guesses, Winter must have gone South in order to obtain Rainbow Fish. Rainbow Fish were unique to a particular hilltop lake, that was constantly guarded by lizardmen. Outlanders always gathered together every year to vanquish them and harvest the fishes. They continued trading small talk.
xXx
Winter pulled Sun’areth from his inventory. Minalan’s eyes bulged out so large, that Winter was worried it would pop out. His mouth dropped down too in shock while his whole body made rigid spasms.
“Where did you get that!”
His voice was quavering, his shaking finger pointing to the Staff Winter pulled out. What emotions it contained, Winter was unable to guess.
“In a cave underneath the Lakeside Swamp.”
“There is a cave there?” Minalan immediately cut him off.
Winter told his story slowly. Several times, Minalan stopped him to clarify some points, especially regarding the frozen fire dragon, Fuenos.
*Flick*
A book shot out to Minalan’s outstretched hand. It flew off from the top of a shelf, one among the long row of books there. He then flipped the pages furiously.
“There!”
Minalan immediately showed Winter the page he flipped to. It was a pretty close rendering of Sun’areth, if it was uncharred.
“Just to let you know, the staff you are holding there known by us, mages as Mother Tree’s Gift. Though I had never seen it in person until now, like most mages, we are learned in its true value and origin.
He read the caption on top of the illustration. To Winter it looked like random squiggles.
“Sun’areth, translate as Unbreakable Will in High Magi. It belonged to Grand Magi Thorandell.”
Minalan sat down, flipped to the next page, scanned to a spot, and began to read,
“Grand Magi Thorandell’s family was slain by Fuenos, the Great Fire Dragon. The act was not of malice, but of nature. Fuenos was probably retaliating to the efforts of humans to deter, injure, and kill him. Thorandell was regretfully away, else he would not be suffering such tragedy, for the Magi possessed vast powers, more than enough to deter the great beast single-handedly.”
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
With every word spoken, the scene unfolded in the same silhouette movie he once watched, when Asric’s life story was told to him.
“The town perished due to the folly of a young lord who refused to lose a few cattles from the dragon’s feeding. Returning from his journey, the Grand Magi found his family massacred. He cared not for the city, for he was born elven. He only cared for his love, his woman, and the son and daughter she bore. Eleanne was her name, the human female with beauty that rivalled the elves, and who had captured Thorandell’s heart. Since then, Thorandell was possessed only of revenge. Unbecoming of a Magi who should stand above mundane matters of mortals. But such was the love he had, that it overcame his senses. He journeyed to the fabled land of Albion, came back with Sun’areth, the staff that signified his determination, and matched his power.
The Great Magi Thorandell then set out to find the lair of Fuenos, to exact his revenge, and was never heard of again since. Six hundred years, have I waited for his return, as I penned this book in my final days. We wondered what had happened, but were unable to find anything. Neither the elf nor dragon has been seen ever since.”
Minalan closed the book. The movie ended with the shadow of an elven figure writing on a book, while seated on his bed.
“This book was written seven hundred years ago, and has been translated numerous times. It detailed the history and ownership of every accountable Mother Tree’s Gift. I can see that you do not understand.”
Minalan guessed right. Winter was clueless.
“The Mother Tree is a legend that all that manipulate the power of Mana know by heart but not known widely outside mages community. It may interest to know you that Freya Church rejects her existence. You remember that the we Mages have a direct contract with Mana?”
Winter nodded. He now understood the reason why the staff gave negative relationship with the priests.
“It is said that the main reason that we Mages cannot use Iron, is related to the Mother Tree being the first sentient creature Mana contracted itself with. It also made the tree the strongest being in the universe, supposedly. It was supposedly the first sentient creature. Older than the even the elder races of Dragons, Dwarves, Elves, Demons and Giants, she was said to exist since the world was created. I know this will be long-winded. But bear with me.”
Winter was about to ask him to get to the point. This NPC knew him too well.
*Coughs*
“Where was I. Oh. Yes. Initially, the land where the great tree resided was accessible by anyone. But now, it is not anymore. No idea where it is or why it is gone. Maybe one of the elder races know the answer to that question. Anyway, the owner of a majority of Mother Tree’s Gift were elves, after all. As for why other elder races should know, well, their history would be more complete than ours, since what happened eight thousand years ago will be a history to them, not a myth, as they are so long lived.”
“I must say, I dreamed too in my younger days, to receive such a great gift. But, I realized after Adria was born, she was my greatest gift I could receive from my wife.”
Minalan beckoned to me to hand over the staff. Winter did not hesitate even a moment to hand it to him. He caressed the length of the damaged wood lovingly. Winter could clearly see he lamented the damage that it suffered. Letting out a final, drawn out sigh, he handed it back to Winter.
“Thank you. This is probably the closest I will ever get to the secret of Mana.”
“You’re welcome. What am I supposed to do about it?”
“Well... I don’t know?” Answered Minalan.
Winter and Minalan spent the rest of the night speculating on what he was supposed to do with it. Minalan was greatly interested in the Frozen Dragon Fuenos. Winter promised to show him to it the next time he went out. Winter could not hazard any guess on what had hit the dragon, and wanted to know badly.
xXx
Ronald had been spending a dangerous amount of time in-game recently. Excluding food, hygiene and sleep, it averaged to between twelve to thirteen hours a day. Even on weekends. He could do it because he was retired. No work to be done. No wife or girlfriend to please. And no family members to worry about. They could take care of themselves. All of them were old enough.
He decided to go through one full day without playing Royal Road. Why? Ronald could not put his finger into it. So he went through the daily motion of his daily life on a weekend before Royal Road. Breakfast with eggs, breads, jam and coffee. He has to stuff his handheld device somewhere because the first search he typed in was Royal Road information page. Reading the newspaper columns, Ronald’s mind drifted to sad-faced Adria, that had to be consoled when Ronald had to disappear for four days in-game.
’Gah! I cannot focus!’
Frustrated, Ronald threw the newspaper down on the table. He was reading about some senator’s ridiculous political gaffe, that would normally crack him up. Among the top ten things that pleased Ronald the most, was when politicians screwed up and got caught.
’Wonder if that Bill Clinton is still alive.’
The man lied under oath. Ballsy move. But also drew a shitstorm to him. He could not recall which part was funny. But somewhere, he thought it was priceless. He also believed that the president would be mad for not having any interest towards the hot interns that got posted there every year.
*Glance*
*Tick* *Tick* *Tick*
’Great. Now I am counting seconds.’
Only at nine in the morning, Ronald’s determination had eroded by a large margin. The morose expression of Adria’s flashed up into his head again. Oh dear.
xXx
*Swish* *Swish* *Swish*
*Crash*
“Oh, crap.”
Workout would be a great way to distract himself, or so Ronald thought. Ironically, he spent the workout not running, doing sit ups,push ups,or normal calisthenics. He spent it recreating swordsmanship he learned in-game. And the digital TV was the victim. The side where his absent-minded swing clipped was cracked.
Forty-five inch, clear crystal display, priced at 5000 USD. The perfect home theater must-have. And Ronald never turned it on after he took it out of its package. No idea where the remote was too.
’No big loss there for me. When was the last time I watched TV? Ten years ago?’
Ronald decided to clear up what was left of the TV, dismantling it before dumping it into the trash. For good measure, he smacked it a couple more times much more seriously. He did not remember whether he signed the warranty or not. Might as well give it a couple more good whacks.
The round wood broke off after a couple strong blows. A drying pole was not designed to hit hard surfaces. The clear display had a large hole in the middle after Ronald thrust at it with his whole strength.
“Well, that was refreshing.”
Ronald tossed the broken piece of wood together with the junk pile. Sweat was running all over his body. He was not bothered by the heat at all, since his core body temperature was higher than the air due to his exercise.
“Practicing your sword skill?”
A voice called from his side. It was his neighbor standing on the other side of the fence. What was his name? No idea. Ronald was saved from any need of answering.
“Nice move. You play too, I assume,” the neighbor continued.
“Yeah. I do,” Ronald answered.
Somehow, Ronald knew the mature man was talking about Royal Road.
He wiped the sweat on his forehead with the back of his left hand. This neighbor of his was much older than him. Around his sixties, if Ronald wanted to be conservative. Completely gray hair with a balding center. He sported a thick, broad, bushy beard. Made him look real smart and wise, with the old style square spectacle he wore.
“Albert Neuman. Nice to meet you,” Albert extended his hand through the low, waist-high garden shrub that separated their property.
“Ronald Hanover,” came the automatic reply from Ronald. They shook hands.
“So. What do you play, Ronald? I play a Wizard.”
“I am a mage,” Ronald answered in reflex. Albert cackled at that.
“A mage. That is a good one. Nice swing by the way.”
Ronald’s enthusiasm for the conversation immediately wilted. Albert thought he was making a good jest. Ronald could see how it could be construed as funny. Ronald laughed awkwardly with the elder man.
*Honk* *Honk*
A car horn blared twice. Both of them twisted their head to see which car did it. A red sports car stopped at the kerb. On his neighbor’s side. An equally aged man, with a full hair this time and a merry smile, sat on the driver’s seat and waved at their direction.
“That is my ride. Sorry that I cannot talk with you longer. I have to go to the meeting. You should come too when you have the chance.”
“Meeting?” Ronald wanted to end it there. But he had always been a sucker when baited with something he had no idea about.
“Yes. Royal Road meeting. You really have no idea?”
Ronald shook his head. He decided not to be offended at the ‘sad for you’ smile on Albert’s face.
*Honk* *Honk*
“Albert! Get in here now! We are going to be late!”
“Okay! Just wait a second!” Albert yelled back. He had a surprisingly strong voice for his age.
“You heard him. I have to go. Hope we get to talk again later,” Albert walked away without waiting for Ronald’s reply. His steps were quick too, for his age and diminutive frame.
The car sped away noisily but gracefully. Probably burned some rubbers on the asphalt, too. Ronald was nonplussed at their meeting and conversation. He never went out of his way to seek friends. He also never rejected a friendship when one came seeking for him. He decided to see whether his neighbor Albert would seek him out later.
xXx
Ronald was done showering off the sweat and grime he had accumulated. Since the day was too beautiful to be cooped up inside his home, and he kept looking at the wall clock whenever his mind was wandering, Ronald decided to have an early lunch at the delicious pizzeria he sometimes ordered his food from. Like his imagination, the inside was rustic, everything made of wood and glass. The most advanced equipment he could see was the cash register, that still made a ding sound when the green bills were stored. A real cellist sat at a corner, playing a slow beat melody. The cellist was the youngest person inside, probably not even legal drinking age.
“Thank you for waiting. Spaghetti Bolognaise with homemade tomato sauce, an order of Panini and unsweetened Citrus juice. Enjoy your meal!”
The blonde, middle-aged matron placed Ronald’s order and moved on to the next order. The kitchen area was visible. The chef was about as old as Albert, but had deft hands. Probably a husband and wife team. This neighborhood he stayed in had a very large retiree population. The two restaurateurs here probably opened the pizzeria not for making a profit. He even saw an ad for free piano lessons.
The meal was good. Ronald would rate that the pizza was slightly better. If there were fine details he should be commenting on, he would not know where to begin. He knew good food, but was not a gourmet. Having paid the bill, Ronald exited the place. It had began to fill up due to the lunch hour.
Ronald walked slightly faster, since he hated the heat of the noon sun beating down on him. He managed to get into his fully sealed and air-conditioned home before he broke a sweat. He was agonizing upon what he should spend the next nine hours or so doing. His practice pole was broken, with the thoroughly smashed TV as its companion in the rubbish dump. He was not interested to read novels, news or anything else. He was also not keen on spending time outside. Sleeping?
*Buzz*
“Ronald here.”
“Hey, Ronald. What are you doing?”
“Nothing, Daniel. I just had lunch. How about you?”
Only a limited number of individuals have his mobile phone number. Daniel was the only one old school enough to call. The rest usually texted him.
“Well, I have not logged in since the last time we parted.”
“That busy, huh.”
“Yeah. Anyway. Are you free for the next week or so?”
Ronald had to chuckle at the question.
“Daniel. I am retired.”
This was typical of Daniel, buttering him up, asking questions before landing the bomb. Usually he dropped only the good ones.
“How do you feel about assaulting a castle?”
xXx
Ronald logged back in before his 24 hours self-imposed ban expired. Daniel’s phone call was the last push that got him to re-enter the capsule before the ban was up. Winter respawned outside Minalan’s Spellshop. He wanted to get going immediately, but decided to at least inform Minalan first.
“Ho, Minalan!”
“Hello, Winter. You are back early.”
“Uh... yeah. I have to be gone real soon. Where is Adria?”
Ronald was expecting another tackle hug from Adria shortly after he entered the shop. It was disappointingly absent.
“She fell sick shortly after you left. I put her in meditative sleep so she can recover.”
’NPC can get sick here? Meditative sleep?’
“Will she be okay?” Winter felt guilty, weighing between leaving Adria alone or going to a castle assault.
“Yes. This happens once in a while to all of us. Somehow you outlanders are immune to our diseases,” Minalan went on.
“Go for your adventure, Winter. She will not be awake for a few more days, at least. Come see her next time you are back. Any idea when, so I can tell her to expect you?”
Ronald did a rough calculation in his head. He believed he could reach level 90 by dungeon diving and grinding for maybe six to ten days, probably. Ronald believed he could level up twice a day on average. He would then come back, see Adria, and then leave for Harine, and level up on the way. It would leave him with extra days too, just in case.
“Maybe two weeks? I will take her out for a bit when I am back.” Minalan nodded.
“Okay. Safe trip! I will let her know. By the way, Sella asked you to drop by.”
“I will look her up later. See you, Minalan! Take good care of Adria.”
Minalan looked badly offended that Ronald even had to mention the last part. But Ronald was getting too fond of the bad-mannered little girl that had grown sweet on him. If Minalan said something, Ronald did not hear it. He was already outside the shop.
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Author's Note:
1. Credit to -The Slacker- for the diligent PR
2. Special Credit to Veresliosi and Vim1inc. Not to forget Ramzicmain for bouncing stuff around
3. Do let me know of mistakes you find. Try as me and my PR to spot them, we might miss some.
4. I am only releasing up to chapter 16 this week, folks. Next chapter will be beginning of the Castle Siege.
5. Thanks for the support and encouragement up to this point
6. Enjoy!