ARC 1: Arrival

Chapter 1.08: Jofeya Pies

I'm jostled out of my thoughts by the sound of my name. I look up from my journal, where I had been considering the ingredients I needed in order to make shampoo and what plants I might try to find or ask about, and find that the group I was travelling with was arriving at what looked to be a Tavern. I shut the journal, putting it back into my bag and taking in the sight. It looked every bit like I expected it to; Judging by the considerable amount of talking I could hear coming from inside, it sounded like a tavern too.

"Come on in, Lillian. We'll get ya some food." Aliz gestures towards the doorway that Arthur, Roarke, and Vulmer had all presumably went through already. I nod, following her into the building, Astrid taking up the rear behind me. "Welcome to Wild Grass Inn and Tavern," she says as we step in. I can see that many patrons turn to watch us enter, giving the Sun Thorns gentle toasts when they see them.

I can see several eyes fall on me as I enter the room. Curiosity dances across their gazes and I shoot a couple smiles. I see several patrons whispering to each other and I even hear a few. Various forms of suspicion and confusion come from several of the seated townsfolk. I hadn't been paying attention to any of it when I entered the town, but there had been a lot of whispered conversations as I had walked through town earlier. It seemed that the rest of the town shared Vulmers cautions about Felisian people.

Hoping to avoid the topic of the townsfolk's wariness towards me, I decide to instead address their comfort with my group. "Everyone in town seems to like you." I say gently as Aliz guides us to a table. Vulmer, Roarke, and Arthur were already at their own table with two other townsfolk I didn't know, so Aliz finds the three of us our own table.

"The Sun Thorns are a staple to this town. We work a lot with the local businesses especially, so places like this tend to be very nice to us. Wild Grass specifically though,we have a boarding arrangement. They provide us with some special rooming for whenever we're in town." She smiles as she says it. It's kind of admirable that all the townsfolk like them. Good to know that my new friends were the good people in town. "Especially since Astrid joined us, as the champion of Deergrave, having her with us has really won a lot of people over." I turn to look at Astrid, but Astrid is looking away.

"You don't have to keep bringing it up, you know." Astrid says, not turning back to look at us.

I quirked an eyebrow at that, "What does that mean, by the way? Champion of Deergrave?" I was really curious, because it seemed like much more than a profession. Astrid turned back to give me a surprised look, but it's Aliz who clues me in.

"A Champion is a title awarded to one person every decade or so. In part, it's given to someone dedicated to protecting Deergrave and its peoples. The Champion works in tandem with the cities officials, she speaks for the people of Deergrave when needed." I raised an eyebrow at the last part.

"So, it's part prestigious title, part protector, and part local government official?" I mused, thinking it over. "Sounds like a lot." I looked to Astrid and found her sighing.

"It can be. Sometimes I feel like I'm always working." She admits. I gave her a nod, I knew what it was like to be on the clock all the time. Before I became a licensed surgeon, there had been times where my job ate into all my free time. It was a good thing I was so devoted to learning more about medicine. I know some nurse friends that the schedule drove crazy.

"Well, I think it's an admirable job. Having seen how you wield that sword of yours, I definitely feel safe here." I chuckled. Astrid's face flushes an adorable pink as she just nods back dumbly. Guess the big swordsman lady was a bit shy under all that muscle. It was a fact that warmed my heart; I really hoped we could be good friends. The thought of friends brought a stabbing pain to my heart at the memory of all my old friends that I'd never get to see again.

I could feel tears welling up in my eye, so I took a couple breaths. Feeling a little more stable, I wiped the remnant of a tear away and focused my thoughts outward.

I was just in time to notice what looked like a medieval waitress sidle up to our table. She was clearly wearing a uniform, it reminded me of the utility of a maid outfit, the old fashion Victorian era kinds. It had only a few frills across her apron, and it surprisingly had short sleeves. Coming out of the sleeves I could see the gentle toned muscle of her upper arms. I had a creeping suspicion that this girl could easily bench my weight despite being a waitress and not an adventurer.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite Sun Thorns," the barmaid cheered, turning to me and adding, "and a lovely Felisian friend you've brought home." Her eyes were genuine and I felt a little bit of tension leave me at the greeting. Her voice was kind, firm, and the slightest bit dainty. I waved at her lamely, a gesture she returned with a smile.

"This is Lillian, she'll be staying with us while she gets settled into town. I hope that's alright," Aliz explains to her.

The woman nods affirmingly, "I'll let Joseph know. Now, what can I get for you lovely ladies." She says, looking us over.

Aliz gives me and Astrid a look as she says, "Jofeya pies for each of us?" She asks. Astrid seems to nod and they both turn to me. It seemed like some form of meat pie? Having no objections to that, I just nod.

Astrid speaks up next, "And some Mead. Me and her." She says, gesturing to me. I look at her in shock for a second before looking at Aliz.

"And water here, of course." Aliz says, smiling at the waitress. Ah, so she doesn't drink.

"Of course." The woman smiles politely before giving a small bow and moving on to the next table.

"You don't drink?" I ask, curiously.

"Oh, I do. Just not often. I try to keep it to water if there's nothing to celebrate." I nod, mind flicking to the dish she'd ordered. I was excited to try this worlds cuisine, there was a whole different culture to this world and it was familiar in some ways and different in others. There was a tense silence as the three of us looked between each other. It looked like we all had things we wanted to ask, but none of us the words to ask them. I was surprised when Astrid was the one that broke the silence.

"What's with those clothes?" I looked down at my clothes and noted that compared to everyone else around I definitely stood out.

"It's… Something I wore in the last place I worked." I offered, trying to decide how I wanted to say this. "Well, the coat that is. The clothes underneath are just loungewear. Not something you all seem to have around here." I noted, to which Astrid seemed to nod her head.

"Definitely not. It looks… Honestly, it looks kind of plain? But, I can tell that it's not made from bad materials." Astrid says lamely. I just chuckle and pull the edge of my shirt closer to her. She looks down at the offered fabric in confusion.

"Feel it." I tell her, gently. She looks at me with suspicion for a moment, seemingly trying to puzzle out if she should or not. She seems to come to a conclusion fairly quickly though, reaching out to feel the fabric. As she does, her expression lights up in shock.

"It's… It's so soft!" She exclaims, running her hands along the length of my shirt.

"Careful now, don't want to start feeling her up." Aliz chides gently. Astrid stops moving, dropping the fabric and I chuckle gently at the reaction.

"Sorry, it just- I've never felt anything that soft before." I nodded, smiling at her. It was an understandable reaction, it was a really soft shirt.

"Not a problem at all. I wanted you to feel it after all. It's made of a bit finer material than normal." The normal around here at least. I see Aliz looking at the outfit with interest now.

"I don't suppose you know where we could get more of this material?" Aliz's knightly armour and presence made me forget that she's part of a large trade guild for a second. I pondered the question briefly before sighing and shaking my head.

"Not readily. It's something that requires a lot of different things and I don't even know if you have access to any of them here, sadly." Her enthusiasm seemed to die down only briefly, as we're interrupted by the dropping of three metal mugs on the table in front of us. I think technically they're called Tankards?

"Here are your drinks, ladies. Your pies are cooking." The waitress supplies helpfully. We all nod at her, grabbing the tankards and pulling them towards ourselves.

The waitress departed shortly after and I looked at the Mead inside my glass. I was a bit of a lightweight before, only able to drink a couple beers before being considerably drunk. I expected this Mead to have a higher alcohol content than any of the beers I was used to. I'd never tried Mead before, and I was very curious about the taste. Tentatively, I take a sip from the tankard.

The sweetness of the Mead surprises me as it flows down my throat smoothly. It didn't have any of the normal burn that stronger alcohols did, but I could distinctly taste the alcohol content through the sweetness. I was so surprised by how delicious it was, that before my better judgement could kick in, I found myself downing a few gulps. I pulled the tankard away from my lips, licking them gently as I stared at the offending cup. I had just drunk a good couple of gulps of that mead, it was delicious. I could feel the pooling warmth as it travelled further into my body. I was definitely going to feel more than a little buzzed once my body had the chance to process that.

More than that though, as the taste lingered on my tongue, I could feel the unbidden knowledge of mead invading my senses. I found myself understanding the spices inside and the reason it was so smooth. The specific type of bee that the honey the mead was made of came from, and even that this mead had just over a fifteen percent Alcohol by Volume. That was quite a bit more than I'd been expecting, so hopefully the pies came soon and could take a bit of the bite out of this mead. I gently pushed the tankard away and focused on my companions. It pained me to do so, because the mead was really tasty, but I didn't want to be wasted right now.

"Like it?" Astrid beams as she sips on her own tankard.

"Yeah, it's delicious. I'm just kind of a lightweight, I need to take it slow." I say, nodding my head at the tankard I'd set aside. "Never had mead before though, I didn't realize it was so… Sweet."

"Well, Joseph's is sweet, that's for sure. Best damn Mead I've ever tasted." Astrid says, taking another sip from her tankard. I smiled, looking at my own drink.

"Well, it doesn't mean much as the only mead I've tasted, but, I'd have to agree." I laughed gently.

"I'd have to give my apologies to Joseph because he makes a lovely mead," Aliz says with a smile, "buuuut, the best mead I've ever had was made by my father."

"Your dad makes mead?" Astrid asks in surprise.

"Occasionally. Makes it for the family. Used to let me help make it, before I had to worry about my training and the Sun Thorns." Aliz has a smile as she reminisces. "Maybe I'll ask for some one of these days. Get a jug of it."

"Please! I'd love to see what Winther Family Mead is like." I gently pull the metal mug holding my. Mead back towards myself and take a much daintier sip from it. The sweet smoothness of the sip warms me as I just listen to the two of them talk. I didn't have much to add to any of their conversations. I had led a much different life and it was harder to communicate any of my experiences.

So I just listened, sitting there and absorbing all the things they said. Not only that, but occasionally I'd pick up bits of other conversations that caught my ear. I'd feel a gentle fluffy flick up on my head as I instinctually adjust my ears to listen to whatever conversations around me caught my attention. I was finally pulled back to attention as I heard and saw the waitress making her way over to us. As she drew closer, the other food smells around the tavern became background smells as I laid my eyes on three piping hot pies resting on a wooden tray she was carrying. They were a modest size for one person, but definitely on the bigger side. Next to me the meal looked big, but seeing it next to Aliz I realized that it was probably a modest size for the tavern's normal adventurer customers.

"One, two, and three Jofeya Pies, straight from the oven. Do either you want a second helping of our house mead?" I just shook my head in response, picking up a wooden spoon that had been set down beside my pie.

"I'll take another, please, Anni." Astrid slif her tankard across the table and the waitress, Anni, told us that she'd be back soon with it. The two beside me begin digging into the pie hungrily. Not wanting to wait any longer myself, I follow suit. As I shoveled the first bite into my mouth, I realized that I had been right about it being a meat pie. I realized quickly that the meat was rich and flavorful, but seemed to be small. My stomach growled hungrily at it's first real meal of the day and I tried to just continue eating as my mind supplied me more information about my meal.

It seemed that the namesake of a Jofeya Pie, the Jofeya, is a small type of forest creature native to the woods around here. They were around the size of a rabbit, and each one only had enough meat for about one pie. They mate like crazy though and local hunting is one of the only things keeping them in check with all their natural predators being scared further into the woods by the large presence of the humans. The rest of the pie consists of carrots, onions, and a starchy crop that kind of tasted like a potato, but my brain told me it was called a kacha root. I didn't get much more information from the pie though, and as the information coming in trickled to a stop, I was able to eat in peace.

Whatever this new power was, it was neat and very helpful, but dang it I was really hungry and just wanted to enjoy this food now. Because gosh was the meat delicious. I could name most of the seasonings put into the pie and I was convinced that a majority of the flavor came from the Jofeya meat. I had been worried that the food here might not be that great, but this homey pie put my fears at ease. Considering how often I'd had to resort to fast food in the past because of my busy schedule, I realized that my fears were a little silly. The food in this world was way better than half the stuff in my old world.

Though, I would have to see if this world had pasta of any kind. I would be a little sad if they didn't have pasta.