Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » Seeking Sweetness

"So if you don't mind me asking, why you and your furry companion are coming along?" Artair asked then tking a sip out of his mug

"Hm, the promise of excitement, adventure...cash. Although, I might take it anyway if it promises something interesting." Nathan shrugged and adjusted the quiver at his side so it wouldn't bang incessantly against his knee. "That and Bella needs her exercise. What about you?"

"To get her out of that tavern mostly. And I'm bored. but mostly the first reason." He said sipping on his mead. "So is she gonna stop us once we get far enough out or are wegonna have to find her?"

Nathan paused to look around. They'd covered a surprising amount of distance, but after all his travels he hadn't noticed. "She did say the northernmost road, but I think we're running out of road."

He whistled sharply, pursing his lips together. A black shadow raced toward them: Bella returning from wherever she'd been. Nathan scanned the area for someone befitting the woman's description. "If I had some way of tracking her, Bella could find her no problem."

Ervaina had made it to the outskirts of town and was finally walking like a normal person when the living inferno caught up to her. At that point she started walking backwards, chuckling at the joke. "Oh, that was nothing. I'm just an apprentice Culinomancer, so I can only do little stuff. If I ever make it to the level of a master chef, then I'll show you some artistry!" She stretched her arms before resting her spoon-shaped staff across her shoulders. "That's a long way off, though. Which is why I need help once in a while. Still, it's nothing to feel bad about, you can't run a great kitchen alone!"

"What's your name, anyway? Not sure if you caught it in that commotion, but mine's Ervaina. People say I talk a mile a minute, so I'm never sure if anyone can keep up most of the time."

"Well I'm sure we'll run into them soon. How hard is it to miss a lady whose always on fire, and a small lady whose carrying a giant spoon and throws milk at people." He said chuckling a bit then finishing of his mead.."Darn..."

"I am Taromae, Miss Roka," she answered very simply, gracefully gliding a few feet away from the Culinomancer.

"I suppose my job will be to hold pots and make bad puns, Miss Roka?" she asked in a semi-serious manner. "Even when I don't know what I get into, I end up making the most interesting choices."

Ervaina reminded the elemental of her own youth; when she had the ability to talk so fast and not care what other people thought of her crazy antics. She could not be any more collected in the boss's presence.

For the sake of exposition, she asked, "Exactly what is a Culinomancer? We did not have them in my day."

"Pots and puns are valuable tools to have along, Taromae, though I'm sure you'll have more to do considering where we're going." Ervaina said brightly, her expression turning thoughtful when the elemental inquired about Culinomancers. "They're food mages, basically. I'm not surprised you haven't heard of them though, hardly anyone seems to know what I'm talking about when I bring them up."

Removing her staff from her shoulders, she tapped the ground with the end of it and started sliding along again. "See, Culinomancy is something of a lost art. There are hardly any traces of it left these days, and from what I've found it wasn't even very popular when it was more common. I haven't been able to figure out why though, too much about it has been misplaced over the ages. Seems like a great skill to me." She spun around on her heels a couple times, laughing. "I was lucky enough to discover it even existed and stumble upon something of a guide to help me with learning the abilities."

Casting a glance at the road behind them, she wondered what happened to the other man that agreed to come along. Unless he was taking his time, he should have caught up by now. Wait, that town didn't have two roads leading north, did it? I really should have double-checked the map...

Artair was WALKING along with Nathan, talking about random things, like the weather, weapons, animals, food, and booze. When finally he said. "Ok I'm getting tired of this." He handed the empty mug to Nathan then cupped his his mouth with his hands. "WHERE ARE YOU CRAZY MILK LADY!"

Nathan near-about died in amusement when Artair hollered into the air. Laughing, he shook his head and then called Bella to himself.

"There's probably a way around this, though I don't know if it will work. Do you know if this lady person got milk on her too? Bella is used to, er, finding people given particular scents. Last time it was a hot sauce. I think milk should work. Bella, here." It was worth a try.

"I guess so, or if she smell fire. We could always meet up with that fire lady." He said taking back his mug. "Now what am I gonna do with this?" He asked looking at the empty mug

"Bella, fire? Milk?" Nathan dropped a few key words for the wolf, hoping something would catch her attention. Bella raised her nose to the air but only looked pointedly at Artair. Nathan sighed. Not what he had in mind. "I guess not."

He turned back to find Artair contemplating his empty mug. "I'm surprised they let you keep it. You could save it; might come in handy when we need to boil something. Or use a measuring device." Nathan adjusted his pack slightly. "Actually, if it comes to travel, I've got a pot and a pan with me. And some food... There was only one north road, right? I'm not familiar with the area."

Artair shrugged. "Hell if I know, I never been anywhere near here." He said, unbuckling his belt, then pulling the belt though the mug's handle, and then buckling it back up again. "This is the only one I saw. I wish she didn't cause so much trouble..." He said shaking his head

Ervaina blinked, coming to a stop and glancing around. She could have sworn she'd heard someone faintly yelling one of the names she'd been called on occasion. "Did you hear that too, Mae?" She idly wondered, trying to figure out which way it had come from. The road they had been on followed along the bottom of a slope, so she ran up to the top for a better look around.

She spotted another road in the distance to the east and frowned. There were two north roads. She thought she could see a couple people on it, but had no way of telling if one was her other hire or not. Not wanting to yell or launch something at them if the man wasn't over there, she extended her staff in her left hand, holding it as if the spoon was full. Murmuring something, an orange liquid began to form in it until it was up to the brim. The liquid surged into the air all at once, changing shape as it flew in circles above her head before landing back onto the end of the staff. What landed was solid and appeared to be a foot-tall fairy with a fork just as long as it in its right hand... both it and the weapon looked and smelled like cheddar cheese.

"Brie, would you mind going over to that road and seeing if a buff guy with a big sword is over there?" Ervaina asked it. "If there is, lead him back here."

"I'm on it, Chef Roka!" The cheese-fairy said in an odd, high-pitched voice before taking off in the direction of the other road.

Ervaina smiled back at Taromae. "Okay, hopefully Brie will find that slowpoke and drag him to us so we can get this party catered."

Artair was just finish talking to Nathan when he heard a high pitched "Hello" Artair turned but didn't see anything, then he heard "Down here!"Artair looked down at what looked like a small person made of cheese.

"Huh...hi?" Artair said unsure what this thing was.

Bella leaped at the food-looking creature without warning, and it was only because she wasn't sure what it was, that she came up short.

"Bella, down!" Nathan said automatically. Though his hand fell to the quiver at his side. Nervously he glanced at Artair. "I guess this is what we were waiting for? But why is it made of cheese?"

"you're asking me why? I don't know, maybe because she uses milk?" He shrugged and looked back at the cheese creature. "So you work for that milk lady? Sorry I don't know her name."

Brie tilted its head curiously, looking from the wolf to the bowman and finally the only one polite enough to greet it back. "Huh. Buff, big sword... I could have sworn Chef Roka said a guy though. Never seen a guy in a skirt before, but whatever. Humans are weird anyway." It said to itself, but didn't bother to lower its voice.

"The Chef's waiting on you, slowpoke. Follow me and try to keep up." It said, before darting back off in the direction it came from.

Artairs eyes widen in embarrassment. "Get back here you little-! It's not a skirt, it's a damn kilt!" he yelled and started to run after the small man. "It's not a damn skirt!"

Nathan followed. "You want me to shoot it for you?" He offered to the man in the kilt.

But he was looking forward to meeting up with this lady. She certainly was unlike anyone he had ever met before.