ARC 2: Escort

Chapter 2.02: Umber-tailed Omelette

“Morning, ladies! Can we whip you up some breakfast this morning?” The waitress from last night was working this morning too, and I was remiss to admit that I don’t recall being told her name last night. It was possible I forgot it amongst all the hustle and bustle of last night, though.

“Morning! And, yes, please. I think we’re all pretty hungry this morning.” Aliz smiles at the barmaid cheerfully.

“Well, might I interest you in some omelettes? We just got some nice Umber-tail eggs in from the local Poultryman just across town. Came over early like always to deliver.” The woman smiles and Aliz looks at both me and Astrid. I nod my head in thought; Omelettes sounded great, but I had to wonder what kind of bird they came from. It would be another chance to use my curious new skill, as strange as it was that it had a use here. I had to wonder the extent of the information that could be gained from eating and drinking; could I really use it on anything.

“Yeah, that sounds great. Just water for now, please. We’ll sit at the normal table.” The barmaid dismisses herself happily with a nod, turning to head into the back of the tavern with our order. Aliz guides us to the same table as last night and we sit down in the same spots.

“So, I don’t think I asked how the night was. Hopefully Astrid wasn’t too unpleasant of a sleeping partner.” Aliz teases, sticking a tongue out at Astrid. Astrid seems to go a deep shade of red, sinking into her seat at the mention of our sleeping situation. I chuckle while watching her, tail flicking playfully out the back of my chair.

“Astrid was a fine bedmate. I actually felt a little better waking up next to her than I might have alone, so, thank you, Astrid.” I say, bowing my head in her direction gratefully. Astrid’s eyes meet mine as I pull my head back up at her.

“Oh, um… Yeah, no problem.” She scratches the back of her head nervously, averting her eyes once more.

“Dang. Here I was hoping that you’d tell me she snores or something. You’re too nice, Lillian.” I laugh at Aliz’s remarks and lean back in my chair, pulling my bag onto the table to go through the contents. I already knew all of what I had in terms of what it was, but I had to check my supply of herbs. I was running much lower on Yarrow after using a good amount on Roarke, same with moss. Moss had much less medicinal uses compared to the former though. Now that I was in the town, it wasn’t as pressing to gather more herbs just yet, but I definitely wanted to go gathering more seriously before the week was over.

Aliz reaches for the jar containing the Wormpetal bulbs hesitantly, looking up to me for permission. I nod, watching her curiously. I was also watching to make sure she didn’t eat one of them. “Aren’t these Wormpetal’s?” she asks nervously at the fact that I’m carrying them. “I thought I recognized them when you were helping Roarke, but…” Her tone trails off as she looks at the jar, “You didn’t actually use these when you healed him, right?” her face is etched with concern as she turns to me.

“Kind of. I used something from them.” I take the jar back from her, popping the jar open and pulling a single bulb out. “The flower bits of the Wormpetal are poisonous, but before they bloom they actually have this slime inside them that works as pain relief. It’s also a decent food source on it’s own supposedly.” I split the bulb open to reveal the slime to the two of them. They both lean over the bulb, looking at the slime uneasily. “Either of you want a taste? Just the slime of course, the bulb itself would make you sick.” I look at the two of them and Aliz coils away hesitantly. Astrid looks a little uneasy and I chuckle at their reactions.

“No thanks, I’ve eaten a Wormpetal before and I don’t know if I want to take that risk.” Aliz says with her tongue stuck out in disgust.

“What, don’t you trust me?” I tease. Aliz just shakes her head while looking at the bulb in my hand. Astrid gives me an intense look as I say that though, looking seriously at the bulb. She picks the bulb out of my hand and I look at her curiously. Was she going to try it?

“The slime’s safe?” She asks, looking me in the eye intently. My tail flicks behind me as I watch her, betraying my curiosity.

“Completely. Might be a bit sour though.” I smile gently. She nods, tossing her head back and downing the slime like a shot. She returns the empty bulb to my hand and I ignore it for a moment while I watch her reaction. Aliz is watching her with equal amounts of shock and awe; and maybe just a tinge of nervousness for her friend's health. Astrid’s face scrunches up as the sourness hits her and I giggle mischievously. She attempts to shoot me a glare through her scrunched expression, but the look only makes me giggle more.

Eventually Astrid starts smacking her lips, as if to get the taste out of her mouth. “Ugh, that’s so… weird.” She complains, looking at me once more.

“Doesn’t taste like, you know, poison?” Aliz asks, joining me in my giggling nervously.

“No, it’s just like… I don’t know. It’s like nothing I’ve ever tasted before. It’s kinda weird. Tingly almost? It’s not bad, just… weird.” she explains lamely. It occurs to me that this isn’t the kind of sour they would have come across before in any of their foods. I smile, pulling my journal out of my bag that’s still sitting on the table. I make a note about the flavor and potential culinary uses that could be developed with this slime.

Eventually I shove the journal back in the bag, carefully packing the rest of my stuff into the bag. I look at the now empty Wormpetal bulb and toss it around my hands carefully. This thing is definitely supposed to be poisonous, isn’t it? Someone else has even confirmed that it’s poisonous, but why didn’t I get sick before. Not only that, but it took me way longer to get drunk than it should have if my alcohol tolerance was the same. Maybe my alcohol tolerance in this body was higher, but I had another theory that I was curious about trying.

There was a small chance that I had a resistance to poisons; enough that something like this wouldn’t even affect me, but not enough that I couldn’t feel the effects of alcohol at all. There wasn’t really a better way to test poison resistance than a low tier poison like the Wormpetal flower. So without any fanfare, I stop rolling the bulb around in my hands and toss it gently into my mouth. I look at my two companions, chewing slowly as they both stare me in the eye. I gulp before giving them both a toothy grin as their jaws fall open in shock.

“Lillian, what the actual fuck.” Aliz says, rubbing her eyes as if to clean them of the heinous act I’d just committed right in front of her.

"Sorry, I don't have a safer way to test a theory I have than this. Besides, Wormpetal poison is fairly harmless compared to other poisons, so even if it takes effect I think I could handle it." Before Aliz can press the topic, the waitress/barmaid arrives with our omelettes, placing them in front of us with a kind smile.

"Three Umber-Tail omelettes. You three enjoy now, okay?" We all nod at her, Astrid digging into her omelette eagerly.

"Thank you." I mumble politely as she walks away. I'm inspecting my omelette curiously, comparing it mentally to the omelettes I'm familiar with. It looked the same as a normal omelette from a completely visual perspective. It even seemed like they had mixed something similar to green peppers into the omelette.

I scoop a mouthful into my mouth curiously, savoring the taste of the first bite. I'm hit immediately by how savory the omelette is, there wasn't any meat in it, but it kind of tasted like pork. I felt the familiar flow of information filling the blanks in my mind as I continued slowly scooping bites into my mouth. The various animals on this planet are interesting and while they didn't engage my imagination in the same way that herbs and plants did, I found it fascinating to learn more about them in any case. Umber-tail's are apparently a domestic farm animal, fowl of some sort with a distinct black coloring at the bottom of its body. They were built less like chickens and more like orbs with wings, according to the information my brain supplied me. The meaty taste was a byproduct of their carnivorous appetite, farmers generally feeding them with butcher scraps mixed with grain.

I pay attention as the facts fade, as if a voice in my head was getting quieter. With the information dying down, I focus instead on the taste. It was well seasoned, and I noticed with delight that they definitely had salt and pepper available here. It felt strange to be so excited about simple things like salt and pepper, but in a new world even the familiar things seemed strange. I idly thought that my strange identification power would have been useful if I had devoted myself to cooking instead of medicine.

While I'm eating, I consider the mysterious dream that was still fresh in my mind. There was another person from Earth here? Maybe even multiple people from earth? What kind of people could they have been? When did they get here? If they’re anything like me, maybe they’re a craftsman of sorts? I’d have to pay close attention to any sudden advancements that might remind me of something a little more advanced than what I’d imagine should be here. It might help me find someone that could relate to my situation.

Then again, I was having a hard time nailing down what kind of advancements are common here. Magic really throws a huge wrench into my knowledge of technology, because magic might even be a more efficient alternative to other forms of energy I’m familiar with. I’m stunned by the thought as I think about my own craft. Are there magical alternatives to my healing techniques that are more efficient? Was I brought here for my knowledge of medicine, or my capacity to learn about medicine?

There were a lot of possibilities and as I thought more and more on the situation, it seemed almost impossible to narrow down my options with what I know currently. Information seemed to be the limiting factor in all current directions I could focus my efforts. It was useful that I had an efficient way to gain some information, so long as I could eat whatever it was I needed information on.

“-really deep in thought” I catch the tail end of Astrid saying something and look at her. She seems a little startled that I had noticed her, but I just look between her and Aliz curiously. Had I missed something?

“She returns to us.” Aliz teases once she sees that she has my attention. “I was just asking if you and Astrid had discussed your plans for the day. I know that Astrid wanted to show you around town, and I’m sure you have some places you want to go, Lillian. Namely, your date with Maylin.” Before I can answer, I’m interrupted by the dropping sound of a fork. I look over at Astrid who’s staring at me wide-eyed.

“A… date? With Maylin?” She accentuates Maylins name incredulously and I raise my eyebrow at the tone. The way she says it causes me to wonder if there’s some history between the two.

“I wouldn’t really call it a date per say, maybe a business dinner? She was asking about me after she saw Roarke’s wound.” Astrid seems to relax upon hearing that and I wonder if it would be a good idea to bring her to the dinner. She was going to be my escort for the day, but I didn’t want to put either her or Maylin on edge by bringing her. I’d have to figure out the logistics for it later, hopefully they were at least cordial with each other. I’d assume they could be, considering they’re from the same guild.

“Yeah, I’m heading directly to the guild today, so I was going to let her know you said yes. I’ve got some Sun Thorn traders to help with some inventory before an upcoming trip, otherwise I’d love to join you two on your tour.” Aliz finishes off her Omelette, gulping down the rest of her water. “Speaking of, I should head out now. Inventory can be a pain sometimes, so better to be early than to stay late.” She chuckles, earning a nod of agreement from Astrid. I even found myself nodding, sympathizing with the sentiment; I definitely hated when work ran late previously.

“Are the Bay twins helping with the inventory this shipment?” Astrid asks before Aliz can walk away.

“Oh, yeah. I forgot until now, but yes, they are.”

“Tell them I say hello, then. And remind Elna for me that she still owes me a gold crescent.” Aliz snickers gently at the request, nodding her head.

“Sure thing. I’ll see you two later tonight. Hopefully, at least.” I just wave goodbye to Aliz and she leaves me alone with Astrid.

“So then, you’re my tour guide for the day?” I ask, turning to my companion for the day.

“Er, yeah. I suppose I am.” She swirls her tankard full of water in thought. In terms of image, bringing the towns champion was probably the best person to be seen with on a first meeting. Would definitely help if anyone seemed as… distrusting of felisians as Vulmer did.

“Do you have anywhere you think we should go first?” I sip on my water as I ask the question, already considering multiple locations of my own I was going to ask to visit first. She seemed to consider the question deeply and the silence stretched between us. Our eyes met as we thought and I held her gaze casually. It wasn’t a silence that made me uncomfortable though, I was content to just wait there for a bit longer; just enjoying the ambience of the tavern.

Eventually though, she breaks eye contact and stares into her water as she speaks up, “Um, we could go to Harm’s? You want to meet the other healers in town, right?” I’m surprised by how accurate her suggestion was to my own plan, but I cool my expression and nod.

“That sounds great to me. I’m ready to head out whenever you are.” We both look at our empty plates and almost empty tankards of water.

“Well, I’m about as ready as I’ll ever be.” she shrugs, standing up and downing the rest of her water. She places the empty tankard back on the table and I finish mine off too. I fall in line next to her, making sure I have everything in my bag before we leave. With a nod to confirm that I’m ready, Astrid takes the lead and guides me out of the Tavern.