(Morcster Chef) Feast! - Ch. 102 (Patreon)

“We haven’t seen even a tenth of the city yet,” Malissa promised. “There’s a lot left we can do, but that can wait. Should we get Ming and Belmont? No point letting the food get cold while we talk.”

“I was just about to suggest the same,” Arek said. He slung his bag over his shoulder and glanced at the oven again. “We’ve got a bit until the cobbler is ready, and it’s best hot. So long as Voulier doesn’t mind, we can leave this alone until it’s ready and just eat the other dishes.”

Voulier, who was on the other side of the barrier pretending to stare at an empty pot over a cold stovetop. He jumped slightly when he heard his name and muttered a curse as he readjusted his oversized hat.

“Anything to get you out of my kitchen,” Voulier said. “Just make sure you come back and get your food before it burns. I will throw it in the trash at the first sight of black smoke.”

“Noted,” Arek said, holding back a chuckle. No matter how hard the man tried to disguise it, he was clearly pleased to see Malissa learning how to cook.

Arek stuffed the nonperishable ingredients into his bag while Malissa put the remainder within her bag of colding. The orc then claimed the bowl of noodles. Malissa took the took the mushrooms and they headed out of the kitchen, making sure to keep a healthy distance from the other chefs to avoid bothering them.

The tavern had grown slightly busier since they’d started cooking. Several tables had groups seated around them and talking in hushed tones. Many of the adventurers had clearly just woken up and didn’t seem particularly pleased about it. Arek and Malissa set their food down on a table far away from the other groups at the side of the room.

“Do you want to watch the table while I get the others? I know we’re supposed to wait for the guild to reach out to us with the reward for dealing with the Greenridge Den dungeon, but they can find us just as easily down here as they can in our room,” Malissa said.

“Works for me,” Arek replied, pulling out a chair and gingerly sitting down. He only put a small portion of his weight on it at a time, unsure if the wood would hold his weight. Luckily for the orc, it was well made and didn’t even let out the slightest creak as he relaxed and sat down completely.

Malissa headed off to the stone flower in the depths of the adventurer’s guild as Arek drummed his fingers on the table and rested his chin in his other hand. The travel pack leaning against his leg, unbalanced by all the stuff haphazardly shoved inside it, tipped over.

The flap holding it shut fell open. Arek’s hand darted out and he grabbed the bag before it could completely empty its contents on the ground, but he was too slow to stop a blood red patch from falling onto the floor.

Arek stared down at it, unmoving for several seconds. Then he let out a heavy sigh and reached down to pick it up. He ran a finger of the plain material, his mind drifting many years into the past as he turned it over in his hand.

“I think some things are better left in the past,” Arek decided, his words no more than a faint whisper. His hand started to close around the patch, his muscles tightening and veins bulging. Then he froze.

A faint glimmer of familiar light danced across his claws, so small that he would have missed it if he wasn’t watching them closely. The light vanished as if it had noticed the orc’s attention, but it was too late. Arek raised his hand to eye level and squinted at it.

He drew in a sharp breath, turning his hand over and examining it closely before checking the other one. Blood rushed through his head. The sound from the tavern faded into the background as he stared at the runes on his claws.

They sat there innocently, as intricate and perfectly carved as ever. Arek’s hands trembled. It felt like there was a black hole in his stomach. The jagged line that he’d painstakingly carved through them was gone. The runes were whole once more.

“Am I dreaming?” Arek whispered in disbelief. A faint green light flickered through the runes again, mocking him. With a start, the orc realized where he’d seen that color of green before.

“Hey Arek!” Ming called cheerfully. She ran over to the table and hopped into a chair. Belmont and Malissa weren’t far behind her.

“Hello, Ming,” Arek replied, lowering his hands and forcing a smile onto his face. This could be dealt with later – there was no point spoiling the meal that he and Malissa had just worked so hard to make. He forced the worry to the back of his mind and shut it up tightly within a mental box. “I’m glad to see you’re doing well.”

“I’ll be doing better once I eat whatever this stuff is,” Ming replied, licking her lips. “What did you make?”

“Malissa actually did most of the work today,” Arek said. “I just gave her some pointers and helped out here and there. We’ve got mushrooms and noodles, with a desert coming soon.”

Ming’s eyes lit up. At the same time, Belmont grimaced slightly.

“Giving Ming sugar? Bold of you, Arek. We’ll be lucky if she doesn’t bring the guild crashing down on top of us.”

“Stop complaining and eat,” Malissa ordered with a smile on her face.

Arek produced bowls for each of them and they all claimed a portion of the food for themselves. Ming’s was probably about three times larger than anyone else’s, but that didn’t particularly bother them.

Arek speared several mushrooms with a fork and popped them into his mouth. The rich buttery flavor of the crisp mushrooms flooded his mouth instantly. The texture was sublime – slightly chewy, with crisp edges. They’d caramelized perfectly, creating a sweet undertone that turned the entire dish into a work of mouth localized entirely within the orc’s mouth.