Carrie can't help the humming she's doing as she is carefully sorting out various herbs and mushrooms that lay before her, several wooden bowls stacked upon each other ready to be filled. There was also clay jars to her left, all empty for now as she carefully picked up a one of the herbs before her, softly speaking at it.
"[Ingredient Identify]" was the words said and if Carrie could smile she would as a blue box came up to her face.
Sage
A common herb that many use for cooking, medicine and alchemy. It has a faint scent of pine and earth, and its leaves are a silvery-green hue. Most often used to make minor potions of healing or as part of herbal mixes used in various cooking recipes.
The blue box hovered in the air, displaying the information before fading away. Carrie nodded to herself, placing the sage into a bowl before picking up many more from the pile before her. And using small thin ropes to make bundles of sage before she picked up a odd looking mushroom.
Its top had a odd shape, looking more like a shield than your average mushroom top. The colour was strange too, as while the stem was a nice earthen brown the cap had a metallic blue sheen to it that reflected the flickering candlelight in the room.
When she used her skill once more, this was what the blue box told her.
Shieldshine
A mushroom that when eaten raw grants a slight temporary boost to once physical and magical defense. It has a odd tingly, earthen and bitter taste to it, and is often used by alchemists to make minor defense potions.
"Hmmm, wonder what will happen if I try to dry or cook it." Carrie said to no one but herself as she puts the oddly shaped mushrooms in their own bowl. Being careful with her movments as she did not want to know what happened if the mushrooms where handled too roughly.
The next plant she picked out of the pile before her was a thyme, a herb Carrie was well aware had many uses in cooking and medicinal purposes. The thyme had a pleasant aroma that reminded her of her mother's kitchen, a warm, comforting scent that she had missed for a long time. She made a few bundles of the thymes as well before putting them in a bowl.
Over the next hour or so, Carrie continued to sort the various plants and mushrooms before her. Getting more common herbs and mushrooms like basil and mint, and a few common variety of edible mushrooms that could be used in stews, soups or when grilled.
She also found more magical plants and mushrooms as well. Aside from the Shieldshine, she had also gotten her hands on Frostberries. A type of berry that looked like blueberries at a first glance but had a small cold aura around them that made it cold to the touch and a had a much lighter blue colour then what blueberries was know for.
From what her skill told her, it was a good snack to have on hot days, used to make minor cold resist potions and was a good ingredient used to get fevers down once made into a drink.
Another magical plant was Bitter Talon, a odd looking herb whoes leafs looked like the talons of a bird, taste bitter as all hell and had a deep green colour not unlike that of a poison ivy leaf. According to the blue box, it could be used to make potions to cure poisons or as an ingredient in poisons themselves. Carrie decided to handle these with gloves, not wanting to take any risks. Even if she was just made of bones now.
Though she was unsure what to do with a bunch of poisonous magical herbs. Given the Bitter Talon was not the only plant she'd picked up that had such properties.
'I'll have to ask Ironwing if he wants them. Given he is clearly a mage of some type, he should have far better use of them then me. Well, maybe aside from the Grettle herbs. Being able to make a tea that cures minor poisoning is always good to have.' Carrie thought while she continued to sort.
Then there was the Swordcaps, a mushroom that was often found along side the Shieldshines. Where the latter focused on defense, the former was for attacks. Like with the Shieldshines, it could be eaten raw to get a slight boost to their attack power for a short while. It was also used to make minor potions that boost attack power.
These was just some of the things that Carrie had found. There was a lot more. Nuts that had a spicy taste but boosted ones responds time when brewed properly into a potion. Or gave a nice kick to any sauce made from it. More berries that when eaten gave some sort of resistance to a certain type of element or something else. Other herbs that could be used in cooking, alchemy, medicine or even enchanting. On and on she sorted all kinds of things.
By the end of the hour, about a dozen bowls and many jars filled with various herbs, mushrooms, berries, nuts and more lined the wooden table before Carrie. Her skeletal hands had moved with surprising deftness, separating and categorizing each ingredient according to its properties and what they could be used for. The candlelight danced over the bountiful array of colors and shapes, casting a nice shine of colour into her small room.
And Carrie could not be happier about it, especially since all of these ingredients was her to do what she wanted with.
A soft caw suddenly distracts her, making the skeleton turn to new addition in her small room. A stand with a bird cage covered by a well worn cloth. And Carrie was quick to go to it and remove the cloth as more caws came out of it.
"Morning Irene," Carrie greeted the bird inside, a crow that sported a few unusual features on it. For one was a small red cloth around its neck, tied to a loose bow as to avoid choking the bird. Next was two pairs of small metal bands, one pair on each leg that looked like it was made of bronze or copper, both of which have odd glowing words on them.
The last feature was the crows eyes. Unlike the usual eyes found on crows, Irene's ones glowed slightly and had a glint of intelligence that other crows did not.
Irene lets out another soft caw, stretching her wings for a brief moment as she did so. Carrie just chuckled as she opens the cage, letting the crow fly out who quickly lands on the messy table. Moving her head here and there at what was before her before turing to Carrie as if to ask what was going on.
"I was finally allowed to go and gather my own kitchen supplies in the forest nearby. It took Ironwing longer then he liked to arrange a couple of guards to escort me though. Theres still some awkwardness when it comes to how they should treat me." A frostberry was given to Irene as Carrie talked, the bird more then happy to take the little snack.
Carrie just let out another small chuckle at the crows antics and joy of eating the berry. "I know right. They still don't know what to do with me given how...odd I am from other lesser skeletons."
That was a understatment in all honesty. The guards, soldiers and staff had no clue how to really react to someone like Carrie. She had found out that they all have heard rumors of an unusual skeleton that was causing quite a bit of stir with the higher ups of the fortress. It was just that none of them expected the lowest of skeletal undead to be the source of the rumors.
Its been awkward at best of times when it came to Carrie interacting with the guards, soldiers and staff when she finally decided to explore the fortress a few days after she had gained her new room. Carrie was honestly curious as to what the place was like and since she had spent a month in a cell with barely anything to do, she felt a little exploring was in order.
She had just not expected how the guards or staff would react seeing a lone lesser skeleton wander around all alone. Some of the guards had been quick to apprehend her, for lack of better words, and taken her to some sort of mining site before she had even a chance to realize what exactly was happening.
When she did though, she had quickly scared the living hell out of the guards and the overseer on the site by talking. None of them had expected for her to speak at all given her kind was know to be mindless drones nor the fact that she had quickly gone into a detailed rant about how they needed to use their eyes and brains properly to see that Carrie looked different than others of her kin.
"I mean, if not for the fact I wear common clothing, then at least for the fact you can see I have markings on my skull and limbs!" She had told them in rage, all the while the gurads and overseer was looking at each other with very awkward and embarrassed looks. Both Ironwing and Thalmor had to come over to fix the situation and explain to the guards who Carrie was.
In the end though, and to avoid from such a thing happen again, a big meeting was hold by the commander herself to inform the staff and guards about Carrie properly. That way, none would think that she was part of the lesser skeletons that was going to the frontlines. Or used in the mines.
Even with this meeting clearing up a lot of things, that did not mean she got a warm respond from everyone one. To some of the staff or guards, ranks and strenght meant a lot more to them then anything else and would at best treat Carrie with cold professionalism when she had needed their help when she was lost or looking for something. After all, to them she was barely better than any normal lesser skeleton despite Carrie being clearly sentient and was stronger than most of her kin usually was.
Carrie did not give much care about that. Everyone had their own opinion and it was clear that while they did not like her much due to her rank and status as the lowest of low, they at least understand that they can't treat her badly due to the various laws and rules of the country had about someone like her.
Being someone who remember some of her past and was fully sentient, there was laws and rules inplace to make sure no one just kill her outright for no good reason. Ironwing had been quick to teach her all the rights she has in this country, making sure that Carrie knew what laws or rules she could use should someone give her grief or try something bad.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Infact, by all right Carrie was allowed to sue or even punish the guards somewhat due to how they had treated her and taken her to a place she did not even belong to. But given it was clear they had been unaware she was not some mindless drone, she had forgone any such action. Well other than that she wanted a apology from them. Which was given without issue as the guards cleary understood the wrong they had done.
Carrie's thoughts are stopped when she feel Irene poking at her fingers, the crow looking at her worried. She was quick to give the bird some pets as she speaks to it.
"I'm fine Irene, nothing to worry about." Carrie assured the bird as she gave it more pets. "You know, your the closes thing to a pet I've ever had. Neither the orphanage nor my former landlord allowed anyone to have a pet."
Her mind drifted again after saying that, but this time to how she had gotten Irene in the first place. Where she had spent only a month training under Thalmor, though the warden wanted to at least train her for at least two, she'd spend five months under Ironwing given how much Carrie had not only needed to train her magic but also in what she needed to learn about her homeland.
Frankly speaking, five months was not enough at all to give someone a proper education. Or how to properly handle magic. But the commander could only allow so much time before Carrie needed to take the final test and then be put to proper work.
Work that was a must as Carrie has kinda gained some debt by being here. Not much, given she don't need a lot as a skeleton. But still, there where some things that commander had to get for Carrie to have a citizen, mostly documents that acted as her birth papers and passport and that cost coin. Then there was also for the training she have been given so far as well. Lucky for her, most of it is taken care of by a special fund set aside for things like this. But she still needed to pay at least a quarter by herself.
And then there was the fact that by law, she needed to have do some work every day. This country don't allow for much layzness, specially when you already have your class.
Anyways, Ironwing was well aware of the fact that Carrie was far from prepared and had gotten books for Carrie to read as a parting gift on the last day of the lessons she had with him. The books covered law, history and many other subjects that Carrie could read in her spare time to further expand her knowledge. And train her magical abilities as best as she can on her own.
It had not been the only parting gift either. The last lesson she had with Ironwing had been about forming a familiar contract.
Familiars was pretty much like those told about witches back on earth. A creature you bond with magically and can communicate with on a level that went beyond words. It was a way for many mages of all kinds to not only gain companionship but also gain a helper that could aid them in their daily lives or even in battle.
And Ironwing wanted her to have just that. Granted, her being a cook instead of a mage or witch made it strange to have one to begin with but Carrie did not see it that way. The only issue she had with it at all was what kind of familiar she'd end up with.
See, everyone gets a different familiar when making a familiar contract. Certain aspects like how you are as a person, your magical and physical power, what you do and many other things influance what you end up with. But there was other things that remained constant.
The bond was unbreakable and once a familiar had been picked, it would stay with you until one of you died. Unless you do something to break the bond, which was something Ironwing had told Carrie not to do unless she wanted to suffer great consiquences.
So when her lesson was over, at least in the theory aspect, Ironwing had help her set up the summoning circle, the contract and the needed items to get her own familiar. And that was how she had gotten Irene once she had made the contract.
Ironwing had been the one to make the metal bands, after Thalmor had come with the needed metal to make them. These bands was a way for people to know that Irene was a familiar instead of a normal crow. And Carrie had added the small red cloth later on to further help distinguish her from other crows.
And yeah, while Irene looked like a normal crow at a glance, the bird was anything but. When a creature becomes a familiar they become something called a magical beast. A odd creature inbetween a animal and monster.
Most wild monsters are originally animales that have evolved thanks to absorbing a lot of mana and gaining vast amounts of experience. Along with gaining the ability to use either magic, special skills or something else that influence their evolution.
Magical beasts are for lack of better words a mutated animal with some magical abilities. Wether by skill or spell. Instead of evolving, they just gain abilities that makes them stronger than normal animals tend to be but not as strong as their monster version are. They are pretty much the middle ground and often needs a lot of training and care to become powerful beings.
Something any wild monster needs as well. Its just that theres a clear power difference between the two at the start. And monsters tend to be a lot more wild and dangerous then magical beasts are.
In Irene's case of being a magical beast, the crow have some good stuff. For one, she has the basic skills all bird regardless if they are a normal animal, magical beast or monster.
[Peck], [Talon Attack] and [Swoop] may not be very good or powerful skills, but having the basic is always good to have in hand where other skills would fail. At least according to Thalmor who'd helped Carrie finding out what her new companion could do. And since Irene was a crow, she also had the [Treasure Finder] skill too. A skill that made it easier for her new friends to find shinies, for lack of better words.
Then there was the skills that came from being Carrie's familar. Being a cook, Irene had been given the skills [Gathering] and [Cooking Support]. The former allowed Irene to find more ingredients that Carrie could use in her cooking, along with having a better chances at finding said ingredients and the latter meant that she could help Carrie out in the kitchen.
Unfortunatly, since Carrie is still banned from the kitchen it meant that the latter could not be tested. Which both annoyed and frustrated her to no end. But there was little that she could do to change it.
As for Carrie being a fire varient? Thanks to that her crow had gained the fire resistance skill, along with another resistance skill against the dark element. This made it harder for anyone to just kill her bird with fire or dark magic.
The dark resistance skill came due to Carrie being a undead. The dark element and the magic that comes form it is the backbone to a lot of the necromanic magic used by necromancer to summon undead and do their bidding. And since it was something that came natural to all undead, Ironwing had made sure Carrie could also cast the most basic attack spell from it.
Dark Bolt may not be strong damaged wise, but the spells main strength lies in the fact that theres good chances that you gain one of several debuffs or bad status effects. Things like Confusion, Drained, Fear, a decrease in attack power or defense, there was many options when someone got hit by a Dark Bolt.
Carrie was honestly cuirous as to what other effects the spell had. But she had no proper way to really test it given she's has yet to get someone to battle against.
Beside the resistance skills, Irene had also gained the skill [Flame Coat]. This allowed her little crow to coat herself in flames for both defense and attack purposes. Anything that wanted to touch or attack Irene would have to deal with the fact they'll get burned by doing so. And when Irene attacked they will once again get burned by the flames covering the crows body. The skill even made it so that any attack skill used also got coated in flames as well.
But even with all these fancy skills that no crow would normally get, Irene was still normal by magical beast standers. Ironwing had been disappointed at this given how special Carrie herself was. But Carrie was just glad that by the end, her familiar had not gained anything negative.
She already had enough to worry about as it is. Now that she had no more lessons or training to do, time was ticking down to that final test that the Commander would be issuing soon. Both Ironwing and Thalmor had taken Carrie to a more private room to properly explain what and why this test was importent to begin with.
Carrie alreay knew partly that the reason that final test exist was to properly check that she could be of use to the country as a whole. And be able to survive as well. It might sound harsh, but even in these 'modern' and good times everyone needs to pitch in where they can. Even without a war that was in a stalemate, there where other dangers found around in this new home of hers.
Monster Waves, raides by either wild monsters or the enemy countries, nobles going at each others throats and causing all sort of messes are just some of the more common things that happened here than any other country. It was not easy ruling over a country where many races existed. All who had different values, cultures, views and so on. And the fact that the rule of strength and power was one many followed did not help matters.
It was one of the reasons, as both Ironwing and Thalmor had told her, that many liked how Lord Agen have been able to rule for so long. The Demon Lord have been able to keep a 'peace' of sorts and gotten rid of a lot of corruption throughtout the many centuries of his rule. According to both, there is no doubt in anyones mind that should Lord Agen die one day, they may never know this peace anymore as it was no guarantee the next one would be as good as Agen is.
Infact, its quite common when a Demon Lords dies, chaos tends to erupt. As everyone scrambles to gain the title for themselves. A lot of damage usually happens and its know that a lot of valuable knowledge and other importent stuff gets destroyed or lost due to this.
But what other reasons was this test for as well? Truns out it was also used as a way to weed out the bad seeds too. The Demonic Country has no use for the useless, weak or those that would do it harm. And if Carrie failed this test, it would not bode well for her. She could end up being sent to the mines at the best or just be killed on the spot.
So yeah, no pressure at all to pass. Yep, no pressure.
"I hate this waiting. I'd have that test weeks ago now if it was not for that head chef refusing to budge on me not being allowed in the kitchen. Even Ironwing is loosing his patience with it." Carrie murmured to herself as she continued to stroke Irene.
"Then again, according to some of the maids that chef is a demon of Pride. And if its anything like that what I was told back on earth, those kind of demons are a pain to deal with. Honestly, its hard for me to believe that Thalmor is also a demon from the Pride faction as well, given how he seems to know when to swallow his pride to avoid problems in the future."
That was a ture fact. When Thalmor had first told her what part of faction Thalmor belonged to among demons, after Carrie had gotten basic lessons from Ironwing on the 7 factions that demons are born into, she had honestly thought the Warden Lord was joking.
Much like how it worked back on earth, the seven deadly sins plays a big role for a lot of demons. Pride, Greed, Wrath, Envy, Lust, Gluttony and Sloth all had their own faction and followers. And while not all demons followed these sins to the point, they certainly had a big impact on how they acted and how they were seen by others.
Which explained partsly why Thalmor was so different then the head chef despite both being born demons of Pride. Demons of Pride tend to be very selfsentered and demanding, not caring much for others unless it served their own needs. But some, like Thalmor, are born with a bit more level headness then what is normal. Which means they are aware that there are just those times when swallowing your pride is the better option if you want to survive.
The head chef though? Very much like most typical demons of Pride acts. His a good chef and has good reasons to be as proudful as he is. But that pride makes him very stubborn and unwilling to let anyone who he sees as inferior to him into his kitchen. Especially if your of a race that is seen a good for nothing for centuries on end. Sure her status as the weakest type of skeleton undead those not put her in very good graces. But still, she had proven herself to be quite the capable person already in many other ways.
And thanks to this not only can't she not take the test as cooking is going to be part of it. But she can't even do anything related to cooking as a whole. Her class has been slowly driving her nuts and its noticeable. Even those who don't like Carrie much, mainly due to her low status, gives her looks of pity that her own class is driving her insane due to disuse.
At least with being allowed to go gather her own ingredients now helps curb it a bit. Her [Ingredient Identify] skill helping her finding all sorts of useful stuff. Granted, she had been ignoring what it had said at first due to how eager she was to do anything other then self imposed fight training and reading the books Ironwing had gifted her.
But this was at best a temporary fix. She needed to cook something fast. And Thalmor, Ironwing and the commander was very aware of this.
A sigh escape Carrie once again, then she looks at her table again.
"No use thinking about it. I should just get this cleaned up and stored in my inventory for now. Thalmor has already said that he and Ironwing are working out a solution, should the commander not be able to get the head chef to see reason." She speaks to herself as Carrie starts once again to clean her little work space. Irene watching it all from her place at the window.