I shrugged and turned right back around. At the top of the stairs, I was met by Baby.
“Morning Bye-bye,” Baby said, yawning and triggering another yawn from me. “If you’re looking for Rose, she wanted to take a shower first.”
“Okay, Olaf tasked me with knocking on doors. Micaela is cooking this morning,” I added.
“Well, Mardi did fire both her maid and cook last night, so . . . yeah,” said Baby, shrugging. “Anyway, I’ll see you downstairs in a few,” she finished.
It took a couple minutes, first to knock on Heath’s door a few times before knocking politely on Mardi’s door, and finally giving Gras’s door a good hard rap of my fist several times, feeling rather satisfied when I heard what sounded like someone falling out of his bed through the door afterward.
Admittedly, I was in a bit higher spirits when I returned to the dining room and sat down in my preferred seat, Vision seeking me out almost immediately and resting his head on my knee. My hand naturally found its way into Vision’s fur, giving the soft tufts a good scratch, earning a contented sigh from the wolf pup.
“Morning, Bye-bye, Olaf,” said Mardi, entering the dining hall not from the stairway but from the direction of the front door. “Who is cooking?” she asked, her nose raised in the air and breathing deeply.
“Micaela,” Olaf answered, frowning. “Where’d you come from?”
“Oh, I met with General Hammersmith and my Chamberlain to organize the rally this morning,” Mardi answered. “The rally starts promptly at the mid-morning bell, best not be late,” she added, happily taking her normal seat at the head of the table.
That meant we had until about 9:30. It didn’t give us much time to work on anything outside of town but that was okay. There were things we needed to do inside the town this morning anyway.
“Where is the library?” I asked, already planning our first stop.
“We have a fine collection of books in our archive. When you are ready to leave, I will show you where it is on my way to my own meeting,” said Mardi cheerfully. She seemed to be in much better spirits than the day before, which was a good thing as far as I was concerned. I hated to see any of my friends looking so down.
“Mardi, you really shouldn’t be going out on your own,” Olaf chided her.
“Do not worry, I did not go alone,” Mardi replied, smirking mischievously, “I took Heath with me.”
“As I said, you really shouldn’t be going out on your own,” Olaf joked.
“Not cricket, mate,” said Heath, appearing from ‘Stealth’ and looking rather comfortable in his chair, his fingers already absentmindedly strumming on his guitar.
“Sorry, saw the opening and took the shot,” said Olaf happily. “But that does bring up another point. If Heath is going to be setting up and leading a raid on Anvilton’s resources, we need to arrange a guard for you.”
“We can discuss that after the rally,” said Mardi. “For now, my tummy is making it clear it wishes to be fed.”
“Mic’s only been in there about 20-minutes, she should have everything ready in another 10-minutes or so,” said Olaf, his eyes glancing to where I knew the game clock sat in the user interface.
“Morning,” grumbled an unhappy Gras as the rather disheveled Dwarf sat down at the opposite end of the table from Mardi.
“Morning Gras, sleep well?” I asked.
“Fine until some idiot woke me up by scaring years off my life,” Gras replied smarmily.
I shrugged, not caring too much about his discomfort. I wouldn’t keep it up long, it wasn’t in me to be cruel, but giving him a hard time for a few days was deserved.
“Morning,” Rose greeted us all as she entered.
“Morning,” I said, echoed by everyone else.
Rose sat down next to me as usual. “So, what time is this town meeting deal?” Rose asked.
“Mid-morning bell,” Mardi answered.
“Great, so library and Winslow’s?” Rose asked.
“Who’s Winslow?” Baby asked.
“A shop, ‘Winslow’s Wizarding Wonders’ is as close to a Mage’s Guild as Hammerton can boast. The proprietor is an old friend,” Mardi answered before I could. “How is Wilson? I take it you have met him?”
“We did, he was quite the character,” Rose replied.
“Is he still counting the days until his son can take over?” Mardi asked with a laugh.
“Definitely,” said Rose.
“Sorry for the wait everyone,” said Micaela, finally emerging from the kitchen with a large serving tray. “Now, breakfast is a little different this morning so . . . uh . . . yeah. You’ll let me know how it is.” She then set a single plate in front of each of us, each plate a mirror of the plate next to it. Two eggs, sunny side up, two slices of bacon, and a small bowl of oatmeal.
“It’s kind of smaller than usual,” Heath commented.
“I know,” snapped Micaela, clearly nervous about something. “Please, just . . . eat the meal. All of it, it’s very important.”
I shared a look with Olaf, with a shrug of my shoulders, which he also mirrored, we dug in. I had never been a fan of oatmeal and even as well spiced and sweetened as Micaela’s was, I still wasn’t. But I ate it. I cleared my plate.
“Really good, babe,” said Olaf first, pushing his cleared plate and bowl away from himself.
“And?” Micaela asked expectantly.
“And what?” Olaf asked, clearly unsure of what he was supposed to say.
“Did it work?” Micaela asked.
“Did what work?” Olaf asked, expressing the confusion I was sure we were all feeling.
“The food, did it give you a buff?” Micaela asked nervously.
My gaze shot straight to my status bars in my user interface, there was, in fact, a buff image there, it was an image of the sun with a knife and fork crossed in front of it. I focused on it for a second, prompting a system window to pop up in my vision.
Most Important Meal of the Day – Starting your day off with a well-balanced meal grants you +1% Spell and Skill Experience gain for the next 4 hours (03:58:12)
“I’ve got one,” I said, now that I knew what Micaela was looking for. “Is that your cooking profession at work?”
“Yeah,” said Micaela, breathing a sigh of relief. “I was so worried it wouldn’t work. I knew the recipe said it would but . . . well, first time and all that.”
“We always eat breakfast though, why haven’t we gotten the buff before?” Rose asked.
“Because we always overeat and it is never a balanced meal,” Baby chimed in. “That and maybe Micaela infused the food with magic or something.”
“I do actually use magic to season the food, makes it higher quality than you would get otherwise but yeah, we don’t ever really eat properly,” said Micaela.
I just learned that real ‘Cooking’ had real benefits and that as an adventurer I should have paid more attention. I mean, Dogson’s breakfasts in Hurligville were a hangover cure of sorts but I doubt that was real professional cooking at work, though it was quite tasty.
“Okay, so Micaela just volunteered to cook all our meals going forward,” said Rose, making Micaela light up excitedly.
“Yay!” Micaela cheered.
“That’s great, babe, I’m happy you like your new profession. Now, why don’t you sit down and eat one of the meals you spent so long preparing for us,” suggested Olaf.
Micaela blushed, but did as suggested, enjoying the fruits of her labor.
“So, ‘Cooking’, who knew,” said Rose.
“Oh yeah, and I’ve barely scratched the surface,” said Micaela. “This is only the first meal of the day . . . also the first meal I’ve learned for the profession.”
“How did you figure out how to make it?” I asked curiously.
“Well, learning to cook individual things is easy. I have recipes for all kinds of dishes. The real trick is to make them into a balanced meal. This was kind of an experiment, I wasn’t sure if it wo
uld work at all,” said Micaela.
“Then how did you know to add mana when you were cooking?” Baby asked.
Micaela laughed nervously. “I might have experimented . . . I promise I’ll replace the pans that melted,” she added quickly, looking at Mardi guiltily.
I couldn’t help but laugh, something everyone else was quick to join in on, even Mardi.
“I do not mind a few melted pots and pans. It gives me an excuse to forge some new ones,” said Mardi once she finally stopped laughing. “So, you go right on destroying my cookware and learning new, exciting recipes and meals for us all to enjoy.”
“Can do . . . um . . . how soon do you think you can make some new pots and pans?” Micaela asked.
“How many did you destroy?” Mardi asked, suddenly appearing to have second thoughts.
“Five pans . . . three pots . . . six spatulas and two spoons,” Micaela answered hesitantly at first then barreling through as quickly as she could.
“I did not think I owned six spatulas,” said Mardi thoughtfully. Shaking her head, she said, “I will see what I can do but you might just need to purchase a few to tide you over until I get the chance.”
“Can do,” said Micaela.
It took a few more minutes for Micaela to finish her breakfast before the eight of us were out the door and heading into the city.
“Ah ha, I knew you were around here somewhere!” Bushy shouted before the gate even closed behind us. “Trying to ditch me like that, I think not!” she shouted, leaning forward and pointing an accusing finger at us.
“Um, who is this?” Mardi asked, not so subtly shifting behind Olaf.
“Bushy, we grouped with you yesterday for the battle, that was it,” said Rose. “We’ve got our own quests and our group is in good shape. You need to find your own group and do the same.”
“Nope, nope, nope,” said Bushy, refusing outright. “You are my group now. And don’t think you can run away. I’ll just keep following you around.”
“Want me to call the guards to get rid of her?” Mardi whispered.
“No, I don’t think that is necessary,” I said. Annoying as she was and as much as she reminded me of Heath, I recognized her talent in that fight. I would not want her to join the other side if we scorned her.
“See, he accepts, why won’t you?” Bushy asked, suddenly latching onto my arm and earning a glare that promised pain from Rose . . . I think. The directionality of the glare could have been directed at me or Bushy, maybe both of us.
“Oh, let her tag along,” said Micaela.
“Are we having rabbit for dinner?” Vision asked, appearing at the most opportune moment.
“I am not for eating,” said Bushy, relinquishing her hold on my arm to confront the spirit wolf.
Vision sniffed her a few times. “But you smell like a rabbit. And rabbit really tastes good.”
“Hassenpfeffer with eggs anyone?” Micaela asked with a laugh.
“Micaela,” Bushy cried, sniffling back fake tears. “I thought we were friends.”
“She’s a little crazy, yeah?” Heath asked, appearing next to me.
“Yeah,” I replied, crazy might be an understatement as I was discovering.
“I’m not a little crazy,” said Bushy, her fake tears completely forgotten. “I’m really crazy . . . crazy like a rabbit . . . wait, wait, is it rabbit season or duck season right now?”
Heath laughed, “Duck season!”
What was this rabbit season versus duck season nonsense? I had the feeling there was some joke playing out that went right over my head. Looking at my friends, apparently, they didn’t get it either, except for Heath, which made me wonder just how old he was if the reference was historical in some way.
“Great, then I’m definitely a rabbit,” Bushy stated before yelping, her eyes drawn down to her ankle.
Vision took her declaration of being a rabbit as permission to eat and as such clamped his jaws around her leg.
“Vision,” said Micaela quickly. “Spit that out, you don’t know where she’s been.”
Vision whined but released his dinner. “I was trying to bring home a good meal for everyone. There is more than enough of her to go around. I do not mind sharing either.”
“Listen here talking-ghost-wolf-pet-thing, I am not food. I am only half-Rabbit. The other half is made of crazy and unpredictable and I don’t feel like telling you about it. Anyway, where are we going?” Bushy asked, assuming she was coming with us.
“I don’t care anymore,” said Olaf. “We’re wasting time just standing here. We’ve only got 2 hours left before Mardi’s rally and we need to get things done before then, so let’s get moving.”
“Huh, I thought for sure he would resist a little longer than that,” said Bushy, hopping into line with Micaela and taking her free arm. “So, you and I have yet to have that conversation about a certain forbidden love interest for this heroin.”
“Oh Goddess, what have I done?” Olaf questioned himself. I was questioning him as well. It was Heath all over again.
“Mardi, please lead us to the archive first,” said Olaf, moving to allow Mardi to move in front and lead the way.
“I don’t like her,” said Rose as she came alongside me and took my arm possessively.
“I have no idea how to get rid of her,” I said. “It would seem we’re stuck with her, at least for the time being.”
“If she doesn’t stop messing with us, I’m going to make it violently clear how unwelcome she is,” Rose said, gripping my arm tighter.
I had the feeling Rose was feeling a little insecure because of the bunny girl. “I don’t like her,” I said.
“You sure? You don’t seem to be fighting very hard to get free of her,” Rose replied.
“That’s because your boy is a wimp,” said Bushy, appearing suddenly on Rose’s other side and taking ahold of Rose’s arm. “Try to break free of my grip without causing a big scene.”
I watched as Rose strained to break Bushy’s grip, finally releasing her hold on me to try and use her other hand.
“See, your boy toy tries, but he just doesn’t have the strength to break loose, same as you,” said Bushy. “Now, the Crushhammers might be able to break my grip . . . maybe . . . I should try to find out. But that will wait until later. Now, I’m going to give you just thirty seconds of not fun bunny girl and be serious and honest. I am not interested in your boy there. He’s cute but clearly completely smitten with you. I don’t condone cheaters or cheating in any way shape or form. Now, as for my pushiness, I like you guys, you’re a tight group that knows what they’re doing. That is something I have been looking for, but I am not going to stop having fun in this world. If at the end of whatever this event is, you decide you still don’t want me around then I will go. I’m just asking for a chance.”
“Fine, don’t mess up our quests,” said Rose, retaking my arm. “You can let go now.”
Bushy grinned and kept on walking. “Speaking of chances, any chance of getting a spar with you later? You look like you can take a beating.”
Rose raised an eyebrow as she studied Bushy. “Alright, we can do that. If I win, no more flirting with Jack.”
“Ooh, stakes . . . I like it, you’re on,” said Bushy, letting go of Rose’s arm and extending a hand to shake on their bet.
Rose shook the offered hand.
“Okay, that just leaves the child to win over,” said Bushy, moving to the back of the group where Baby was flying along behind us.
“She’s a real menace,” Rose commented, though I didn’t hear any anger in her words, maybe a little exasperation. In fact, I’m pretty sure I heard the start of amusement and dare I say it, friendship. I got my first inkling that Bushy might be sticking around for a while, even after we save Hammerton and Anvilton.
“You realize she didn’t give you any terms of her own, right?” I asked Rose, making her stumble slightly.
“You don’t think she would ask for anything crazy, do you?” Ro
se asked, glancing back over her shoulder to where Bushy and Baby seemed to be deep in conversation.
“This is the town archive. It is not as grand as the libraries you will find in Root City but our curator has done a pretty good job of gathering a wide breadth of books covering a great deal of knowledge. Though admittedly, most of the material within will be related to crafting as my father is the chief deity of worship,” Mardi said, stopping unexpectedly and pointing to a large building front, like all other buildings it was carved right into the face of the rock. It made it difficult to judge just how deep the building went. “I suppose this is where I leave you for now. Heath, be a dear and escort me. Gras, you are coming as well.”
“I’ll get her to the General then come back,” said Heath, appearing momentarily then vanishing again, my ‘Perception’ failing once again to spot him. He must have been improving his ‘Stealth’ a lot faster than I was improving my ‘Perception’, or else he learned a new subskill that improved his ability to avoid detection. Either way, it was another reminder of yet another skill I needed to improve upon.
“See you all soon,” Mardi said with a small wave, leading Gras away. I was only comforted by the fact that Heath was with her and soon she would be surrounded by her military leaders.
“Remember, we’re looking for passive skills,” I repeated my statement from the night before. We needed skills that improved our combat potency without costing us SP or MP.
Inside the library, I felt a little underwhelmed. While it was leagues bigger than the two bookshelves in Hurligville, it was maybe a quarter the size of the library I visited in Root City.
“Welcome,” a voice boomed as soon as we entered. “Welcome, welcome,” the female voice repeated, her brogue was thick but inviting.
“I thought libraries were supposed to be quiet places,” Micaela wondered aloud.
“Bah, this is not a library. It is an archive,” the voice stated firmly. I finally spotted the source. It was by far the shortest Dwarf I had ever seen. She was two feet tall at most. She made Baby look tall by comparison. She had long blond hair tied in a ponytail that dragged along the floor behind her. Otherwise, she had the same bronze skin tone of the other Hammerton Dwarves. “I am the curator of this archive, but you can just call me Libre, it is a nickname, do not ask for the story. I am way too sober to tell it.”
The Mountain Valley War Page 31