Morcster Chef Book 3- Chapter 33 (Patreon)

“Could you cast it on more people?” Arek asked. “It could be incredibly useful in sneaking into Dortusk.”

Timberly rubbed his chin. “It wouldn’t be easy, and the spell works the best when you aren’t moving. The more you move and the more people I try to cover with it, the worse the effect will be.”

“Hold on,” Belmont said, raising a hand. “I don’t mean to be rude, Timberly, but we know nothing about you. It might not be wise to assume that we’re going to continue traveling together to get to Dortusk.”

“That’s a fair assessment,” Timberly said. “Although we’re likely to meet there whether we like it or not. I personally think it would be wise to travel together, especially since you have a way to nullify the curse. If we could cure everyone we run into, we might be able to turn against the Howlers from within.”

Belmont studied Timberly for a minute, trying to stare through the man’s soul. Timberly matched it with an easy smile, not an ounce of concern in his stance.

“Would you consent to letting me use a Truesight artifact on you?” Arek asked. “That would help assuage all of our concerns.”

Timberly pursed his lips. “You’re carrying one of those around on you? Very well. That’s a reasonable request. Feel free, Arek.”

Arek dug the glass piece out of his bag and held it up to his face, peering through it at Timberly.

Timberly Truesong

Human Male, Age 52

Magical affinity: Illusion Magic

Magical power: 92nd Percentile

Magical energy: 59th Percentile

Physical power: 21st Percentile

Karma: -130

C-Rank Adventurer

Guild: None

Arek lowered the artifact. Timberly was watching him with a careful eye.

“Well?” Belmont asked.

“I’d like to ask why your karma is negative,” Arek said. Belmont and Malissa both tensed.

“Ah,” Timberly said with a wry grin. “There are many ways to lower your karma, and unfortunately, us swift-fingered folk tend to run awry of it. I’m not the greatest person to live, I’ll admit, but I’m not evil. I pose no threat to you and your party.”

“So you’re a thief?” Ming asked.

“That’s a harsh way of putting it.”

“Can you steal food?”

“Ming, you are not recruiting another member to the group under less than dubious circumstances,” Belmont said flatly. “But I don’t think a thief is the worst of our troubles. Arek, how low was his karma?”

“Negative one hundred or so,” Arek replied. “Not so low that his story is unbelievable.”

Belmont nodded, mulling over everything for nearly a minute.

“Could you tell us why you were here at least?” Belmont asked finally. “It’s somewhat strange to just stumble across someone sitting in the middle of an abandoned farm field.”

“I could,” Timberly allowed, rubbing his stomach. “Perhaps over a meal, should you have any food to share? I haven’t eaten anything proper in weeks.”

“Arek’s a chef!” Ming exclaimed. Then her eyes narrowed. “Wait. You’re gonna eat my snacks.”

“I gathered by the hat,” Timberly said. “And I can pay, if needed. Coin is not one of my concerns.”

He reached into a pocket and pulled a handful of gold out, holding it out. Arek waved it away.

“No need. We aren’t in a city right now, and gold isn’t going to do any of us any good,” Arek said. “Besides, I’d prefer to accept payment that I know you own. With all due respect…”

Timberly smirked. “Oh, you don’t want my gold, then. Although, depending on your definition of ownership, everything I’ve got is mine.”

Arek shook his head. He glanced at the others, who all gave him nods.

“You might as well join us for the time being, then. The more people we have to try and fight back against the Howlers, the better our chances will be. Welcome to the Happy Sunflowers, Timberly. For now, at least.”

“Happy Sunflowers?” Timberly started to laugh, but stopped when he realized Arek was serious. That only made him laugh even harder. “Ah, lovely. I’m honored to join you. What supplies might dinner be made of?”

“Depends,” Arek replied. “We were actually in search of a monster. Something fairly strong. I need to fight it.”

Timberly’s brows knit. “Ah. The orc wants to fight?”

“Something like that,” Arek said before one of his friends could defend him. Timberly was with them for the time being, but Arek didn’t see a reason to tell the man his entire life story. Not until he could be proven to be trustworthy. “Do you know anything about our surroundings and what’s going on?”

“A fair bit,” Timberly said. “I believe I promised your warrior friend that I would tell you what I was doing here over dinner. Do you need to find the monster before then?”

“It’s probably fine to push that back a little,” Arek allowed. “But I was planning to get ingredients from whatever we killed. If I can’t, I’ll be working with a lot worse ingredients.”

“Trust me, it can’t be worse than what I’ve been eating as of late,” Timberly said with a shudder. “But please, don’t inconvenience your group too much for me. I’ll do my best to fit in with the lot of you and stick to your schedule.”

“Food! Now!” Ming proclaimed. “In honor of our new member.”

“He’s not a member,” Belmont said wearily. “But I want to know what’s going on before we do much more. Arek, would you mind throwing something together?”

“I never mind cooking,” Arek replied. “Start talking, Timberly. Malissa and I will make dinner.”

“Deal,” the old man said, rubbing his hands together. Arek glanced at Ming, who dug ingredients out of her bags and started piling them up for him and Malissa to inspect. He paused, doing a second glance at the ingredients.

“Ming, didn’t we use up all the tomatoes when I made the chips?”

“I didn’t take them all out,” Ming said sheepishly. “I was saving a few to throw at people.”

“You? Throw food?” Belmont asked, his eyebrows shooting up. “I’ve never seen you waste food.”

“It’s not important,” Ming said, glancing to the side, the usual cheer in her voice gone. “Just use them if you need them.”

“I certainly can,” Arek said, taking several. “Malissa, how many eggs do you have left?”

“A fair few,” she replied. “What kind of dish has both tomato and egg in it, though? That sounds like a weird combination.”

“I thought the same when I first heard about it,” Arek said. “But the man that trained me showed me a fairly simple dish that just used spices, tomato, and eggs. It’s normally a breakfast meal, but I think we could all use something warm right now.”

“Please,” Timberly said, watching them eagerly.

Arek picked some green peppers out of Ming’s pile and set them aside, along with an onion – was she really going to eat that raw? – and a jar of chunky cheese.

“Perhaps you should start talking,” Belmont suggested. “I can’t imagine it’s a short story.”

“Ah, it isn’t,” Timberly said with a nod. “And very well. I hail from Grimsvale. Funny little rhyme, no? Alas, that’s genuinely the name of the town where I’m from. I was a bard there for years.”

Malissa pulled some of the dried grass up, arranging it in a pile and starting a fire while Arek continued to gather the rest of his ingredients. He blinked out for a few minutes to gather fresh herbs, then reappeared and added them to the pile.

Timberly didn’t even blink.

“After years of working as a bard, I started getting involved with some adventurers. Got into the business. I found that it really wasn’t for me, though,” Timberly continued, plucking on the strings of his violin forlornly. “I like happy stories. The types where everyone wins in the end, you know?”

“And you didn’t find that while adventuring?” Belmont guessed.

“No. I didn’t. Too much bloodshed. Too many people died,” Timberly said, letting out a weary sigh. He sat down, laying his violin across his lap. “And frankly, I’m not one for combat. Not even my magic is that great at it. I’m more of a storyteller, you see.”

“And a thief,” Ming added.

“And that.” Timberly laughed. “I quit adventuring and amused myself by lifting what I needed from other adventurers while I sung for them in taverns. It was quite fun, I have to say.”

Malissa started the fire and Arek set his wok in it. He took his wooden bowl out, pouring a healthy shake of paprika and cumin into it. He added some garlic powder, then mixed it together with a claw.

With his other hand, he poured some oil into his wok, swirling it around to coat the bottom.

“Want me to chop the veggies?” Malissa asked. Arek nodded, and she gathered them up and got to work.

“So how did you end up here?” Belmont asked.

“Bad luck, mostly,” Timberly replied. “You see, it doesn’t take too long for people to figure out I’ve got sticky fingers, so I roamed around between towns to avoid getting caught too quickly. I also occasionally go into dungeons when its needed, and I heard rumors of a monster horde in a F ranked dungeon near me.”

“You went in on your own?”

“I did. It was several ranks below me, after all. I am – was – a C rank adventurer,” Timberly said with a shrug. “And I actually cleared it out without too much trouble. Killed a whole bunch of goblins. I thought I’d done everything well, but I got hit by some damn green light while I was trying to leave.”

“That’s what happened to me as well,” Arek said, glancing away from the wok. “Did you see what did it?”

“Unfortunately not. One minute I was leaving the dungeon, and the next I was cursed. It took a while to find out exactly what it did, though.” His face darkened and his knuckles turned white as he clenched his hands. “That’s why I’d like to do what I can to stop the source of this curse. I’m no adventurer any more, but I’ve still got a few tricks left.”

Malissa pushed the cut vegetables into a bowl and handed it to Arek. He took the onions and peppers out and tossed them into the wok.

“Now, I’m sure you’re wondering how that led to me sitting in the middle of a field,” Timberly continued. “I’ve been hunting a monster.”

“Here?” Belmont asked, looking around. “And that’s the strangest method I’ve ever seen someone use to hunt something.”

“Well, it’s not like hunting a normal monster,” Timberly said with a chuckle. “Frankly, I’m not convinced it is a monster. I haven’t seen it, but I’ve seen what it did. Watched an entire adventuring team get ripped to shreds a few days ago as they passed by a cornfield – leaving only one person alive. I ran to help them, but…”

“They were cursed, weren’t they?” Malissa asked.

The fire crackled as Arek stirred the vegetables around in the oil, a grim expression on his face. Timberly nodded.

“Yes. I was forced to kill him in self-defense. He was too strong for me to subdue and blind. The monster spared me too – it must be working for the Howlers somehow, only attacking people that aren’t Blessed.”

He spat the last word like a curse, anger flashing across his wrinkled features.

“So you were trying to pretend to not be Blessed?” Ming asked.

“I hoped the cloak would make the thing see me as a normal person rather than a Blessed One. If it was a stupid monster, it might have worked. Alas, I fear that isn’t the case. It never tried to attack me.”

“You mentioned a cornfield,” Belmont said. “How did they die?”

“Some sort of black magic,” Timberly said, rubbing his chin. “I didn’t see anything too close. I barely even saw the fight. There were just blasts of purple and black light – then people were falling apart. It was awful.”

The Happy Sunflowers all exchanged a grim glance.

“What?” Timberly asked. “I’m missing something.”

“When we arrived, we were near a cornfield,” Belmont said. “There was some rustling, but we got attacked by a centipede monster. It wasn’t too strong and Arek killed it without much difficulty. I’m wondering if that just happened to be another monster in the area, and we were getting scouted out by the thing you were hunting.”

“Why would it have left you alone? No offense to any of you, but you can’t be stronger than C rank.”

“That’s a relatively accurate guess,” Malissa said. “Arek, what should I do with the eggs?”

“Nothing for now,” Arek replied. “We’ll crack them in at the end.”

He poured the tomatoes into the dish, then followed them with the spices. Arek mixed everything together, stirring at a constant rate to make sure everything was evenly distributed. The acidic, slightly sweet smell of cooking tomato rose from the fire, filling his nostrils.

“Maybe the monster was hunting someone specific?” Ming asked. “Or maybe something about us scared it off.”

“Perhaps,” Timberly allowed, but he didn’t look particularly convinced. “Either way, you know what I was doing now.”

Belmont rested his chin on his palm and drummed his fingers on his jawline. “If you saw the monster a few days ago, I don’t think it would line up to being the same one we saw – unless the monster had some way to travel very quickly.”

“We don’t know it’s abilities,” Malissa pointed out. “That can’t be entirely out of the question.”

“Well, we can try to join you in your hunt tomorrow,” Malissa offered, looking up at the darkening sky. “It’s getting too late today. Do you have a tent or lodging?”

“I do,” Timberly replied, but his eyes were transfixed on Arek’s wok as the sauce started to simmer within it.

“Eggs time,” Arek proclaimed. “Just crack them in.”

Malissa nodded, cracking half a dozen eggs into the wok. She and Arek sat back, watching their meal sizzle and bubble over the campfire.

“It strikes me that we’ve got quite the contrast going on here,” Timberly said with a sarcastic laugh. “Cooking a homely meal while talking about the gruesome slaughter of several people.”

“Life has to go on,” Arek said, tasting the sauce off his claw and adding a little more seasoning into the mix. “Us eating poorly will not improve the situations of those who have passed on. The best thing we can do is eat well, be strong, and avenge them.”

“Well spoken,” Timberly said, something passing behind his eyes. “But, now that you’ve gotten my story, will you share yours? I’d love to know how an orc came to be an adventurer. I’ve never heard of such a thing before.”

“I can do this one!” Ming said cheerfully. Belmont shot her a warning glance, and she gave him a slight nod in response, but didn’t stop talking for a second. Ming launched into a very truncated summary of everything they’d done ever since Arek had joined the crew, removing the names and other pieces of important information and spending a disproportionate amount of time on the food she’d had, ranging from what Arek had cooked to what snacks she’d packed in her bag.

By the time she was done, Arek had already taken the wok off the fire. He didn’t have nearly enough bowls for all of them to eat out of, so he just distributed spoons from Malissa and Belmont’s bags while Ming talked. It was probably for the best to start eating before she could get to the food anyway.

Timberly accepted a spoon with a silent nod, completely enraptured with Ming’s story. Arek used his own, oversized spoon to claim a portion of the food for himself. The meal was simple, but it was far from plain.

Even with the few spices and ingredients, it was a refreshing mixture of spicy tomato and creamy egg. The yolk, not completely cooked through, mixed with the myriad of flavors for a refreshing combination.

It did well to fight off the encroaching cold judging by the expressions of the others as they ate. Arek didn’t consider it his finest work, and he would have loved to give it another try in a real kitchen rather than a campfire, but he was still relatively pleased with the results.

Ming noticed that they were eating and immediately dropped her story, diving for a utensil and shoveling what was left of the meal into her mouth. Arek couldn’t help but notice that she somehow hadn’t noticed until everyone else was just about done, and most of what was left was just what would have been her portion. A small grin flicked across his face, but he suppressed it before Ming could see.

“That was quite the meal,” Timberly said, rubbing his stomach and leaning back, letting out a satisfied sigh. “I have to say, for something that you just put together with stray ingredients, you did very well. I would have been satisfied with that as a paid meal at an inn.”

“Thank you,” Arek said.

Timberly picked his violin back up and stared at it.

“Are you going to play something?” Ming asked.

“No,” Timberly replied, dropping the instrument. It vanished before it hit the ground. “Just brings back memories. I don’t play much anymore. You just like to reminisce as you get older, you know?”

“No. I’m not old.”

Timberly let out a curt bark of laughter. “Fair enough. I think I’ll set in for bed, then. Would you like me to take first watch?”

“I’ve got it,” Malissa said, waving the offer away. “You look like you need the sleep more than us anyway.”

The old bard snorted and inclined his head. “Much obliged, then.”

He reached out, plucking a bedroll from midair. Arek wasn’t sure what sort of magic the man was using. It didn’t even look like he was casting anything. Timberly was just pulling items out of thin air.

The bard didn’t look particularly eager to share more information about his magic, so Arek didn’t bother pressing. He and Malissa just washed the dishes they’d used and set about preparing their camp.

After everything was prepared, Arek shuffled into his tent and laid down. Their surroundings still put him on edge, and while the night passed without incident, his sleep was restless and poor.

When Belmont woke Arek for his watch, the orc was almost thankful. He nodded to the healer, who returned it before slipping into his own tent, and then made his way over to the embers of the campfire to sit down.

The ever-present gray clouds still hung in the air above them. Faint specks of snow drifted down, evaporating as soon as they got close to the ground. By the faint hues in the sky, Arek could tell he’d gotten the last watch.

Wind whistled through their camp, nipping at his skin. It wasn’t nearly enough to make him cold, but he suspected it would have been uncomfortable for the rest of the group.

Timberly rolled over, muttering something in his sleep. He’d only brought some sort of sleeping bag rather than an entire tent. The bard’s eyes snapped open, and he bolted upright, breathing heavily. He locked eyes with Arek and let out a breath, shaking his head.