Morcster Chef - B3 Ch3 (Patreon)

Malissa distributed the food amongst the party and watched them expectantly. Arek raised one of the triangles to his mouth and ate half of it. The chicken had a warm kick of spice and a hint of smoke that meshed very well with the crunchy dough and cheese.

“This is very good,” Arek said, giving Malissa an appreciative nod. “Did you come up with this on your own?”

“Not really,” Malissa admitted. “I saw a street vendor doing something similar and basically just ripped her off. I didn’t get an ingredient list, though. I made that myself. Do you think that the balance of spices is okay in the chicken? That’s what I’m most worried about.”

“It’s perfect,” Arek said. “You can always change things in the future, but this is a brilliant first attempt. I’d gladly serve these at my restaurant, and I’d love to learn the recipe whenever you get a chance to share it.”

Malissa flushed. “That’s high praise, Arek. Thank you.”

“They really are quite fantastic,” Belmont said with an approving nod. “I’m no food connoisseur, but I enjoy these a lot.”

Ming didn’t say anything. She’d stuffed three of the little triangles into her mouth at once and her cheeks were bulging out like those of a chipmunk. The small mage realized everyone was staring at her and gave them a thumbs up.

“Don’t speak,” Belmont said, stopping Ming before she could spray food everywhere across the camp. “I’d normally say not to fill your mouth with food, but since you’ve already failed at that, just try not to choke on it.”

Ming scrunched her nose and made a face. She eyed the remaining sandwiches, but the other members of the party all grabbed some for themselves before Ming could eat everything left.

They finished eating a few minutes later. Ming sent a despondent glance at the remains of Malissa’s meal before they all set up for the night, taking cover from the snow in their tents.

When the next morning dawned, the group packed their belongings up and snuffed out the smoldering embers that remained from the fire. It was still snowing, but it had let up since yesterday.

After a quick breakfast of jerky, they set back off along the road.

“If you’re starting to cook for the party, Ming might have to split her fees between us,” Arek said, a grin tugging at his lips. “It looks like you’re out for my job.”

“Oh please,” Malissa said, rolling her eyes. “I don’t think I’ll be replacing you anytime soon. There’s no way to beat experience.”

“Sure there is,” Arek said. “It’s called training.”

“Training is good,” Ming said with a sage nod. “You should do a lot of it. Maybe have some competitions with Arek. I’ll be the judge.”

“I could be one as well.” Belmont grinned.

“You can’t be the judge,” Ming said. “We need an announcer. You could be like Betsy. We could get you a dress and everything.”

“You’re just trying to hog the food for yourself,” Belmont accused.

Ming didn’t even try to deny it. She just shrugged and stuck her tongue out at Belmont. He shook his head in mock annoyance, but Arek could tell that the man was secretly amused.

The rest of the day passed with little excitement. Malissa caught several rabbits and Arek turned them to jerky similar to the one he’d made back in Red Mount. He considered cooking something more, but he didn’t want to use up too many ingredients before they got to town.

Snow fell in gentle sheets around them that night. Arek marveled at it from within the relative warmth of his own tent. It had been years since he’d seen so much snow. He was tempted to dive into it, but the powerful chill it promised was enough to keep him firmly planted in his sleeping quarters.

It didn’t let up all night, and their tents were half buried when he got up the following morning. It took nearly an hour to dig everything out. Belmont was the only one who didn’t get snowed in, and that was only because the man had added heating runes to the base of his tent.

They continued onward, but their progress was significantly slowed. Initially, Arek couldn’t complain. The plains were like something out of a painting. Trees devoid of leaves bore icicles that twinkled in the sunlight.

Snow, unblemished by anything other than the trail of the Happy Sunflower’s footsteps, stretched on as far as Arek could see. It was completely and utterly pristine. And cold. The more they trudged, the more the orc realized that snow was wet.

His pants and boots quickly grew soaked. He had to use his acceleration magic every half an hour just to keep the party from freezing their lower halves off, and his magical reserves weren’t meant for that amount of usage with any magic that wasn’t for combat.

Despite the temperature, Arek’s forehead was covered in a thin sheen of sweat by midday.

“Are you okay?” Malissa asked. “You look exhausted.”

“I’m fine,” Arek said with a grimace. “Only a day or two left until we make it to Seaside. I’ll make it, but I wouldn’t count on having dry pants for much longer.”

“I could get rid of the snow,” Ming offered.

“Would that involve blowing everything in our path up?” Belmont asked.

“Probably.”

“Let’s hold off on that,” Malissa suggested. A snowflake fell on her nose and she scrunched it. “For now, at least. If any more snow falls, I might lose my patience.”

Luckily for all of them, the weather didn’t grow any worse. The next two days of travel, while far from comfortable, were passable. Arek saved his magic, only casting it once every hour or two and before they went to bed.

By midday of the second day, a massive sheet of ice came into view. Before it was a massive city made of white stone, its spires rising high into the sky and disappearing behind the clouds.

“Wow,” Malissa breathed. “It’s beautiful.”

“I wonder what kind of food they have,” Arek said. “Hopefully something warm and spicy. I could use some heat.”

“Only one way to find out,” Ming said, picking up the pace. “Let’s go. New recipes await!”