Chapter ‌‌3.10 G

BLACK AND SILVER ICE CREAM

 

Kingdom of Ravaryn

4th Dreamday of the Full Moon

Following Sig’s directions, Ginka turned onto a cobblestone street. She knew she was in the correct area as the entire street was lined with what looked like forges and smokestacks down the whole block.

 

Halfway down the block, Ginka found the place she was looking for. Over the front window hung a wooden sign with three Dwarfs in front of what looked like a pizza oven. Above them were the words’ Kitchen and Craft. Entering the front door, Ginka could hear yelling and cursing coming from the back. When she entered, the bell had rung, so she sat down on one of the available chairs and waited.

 

Waiting five minutes turned into ten, then fifteen. Ginka was about to get up and go into the backroom when an odd-looking creature walked through the front door and looked at her. The creature resembled a cross between a human and a peacock. Instead of skin, they had vivid looking feathers covering their body. The creature shook his head and yelled at the top of his lungs. 

 

“Dhurfac! Osim! You have a bloody customer waiting for who knows how long out here!”

 

Ginka could hear some shouting and cursing, then the Dwarf from last night came running through the door. 

 

“Ah, Ginka! Sorry about that. We’re in the middle of trying to solve a problem.”

 

“No worries. I’m not in a rush today. I wanted to know if you could make me an ice cream maker?”

 

“What is ice cream? Could you describe the maker or draw me a picture?”

 

Ginka spent the next twenty minutes describing and drawing them a picture. She wanted a simple wooden barrel with a metal container at its center that could be turned with a crank on the lid. As they went over the roughly drawn schematic, she found the older Dwarf’s name was Dhurfac. He and his nephew Osim had started the workshop a long time ago. Dhurfac said the ice cream maker was a simple request. He agreed to take free ice cream for him and his nephew until the rest of the phase. They would personally deliver the item to the inn in a few hours.

 

Leaving the shop, Ginka took the long way back to her future bakery. She stopped at the inn to put away the groceries from the market, then headed up to her living room, where she was startled to find an awaiting visiter.

 

“Hello, mam. I’m the attendant of the Champion of Bastiva. It seemed news has traveled fast regarding a new race showing up in the Kingdom of Ravaryn and securing a bounty of cores. As you can imagine, this is causing those in power to ask questions.”

 

“Um, I’m sorry. But did you break into my home? Where I’m from, you’d get a shotgun blast to the face, sir.”

 

The Elf waved away her statement.

 

“I’m here at the command of Bastiva, like some common errand boy. Bastiva would like you to help the Rubrafreet here in the kingdom. They are a Fallen race being used as slaves by most of the self-proclaimed high races. If you are willing to help the Rubrafreet with a chance at a better life, Bastiva will make sure you have the abilities to keep helping them.”

 

“Who are the Rubrafreet? And why can’t Bastiva’s champion help them?”

 

“The Champion is in a seat of great importance, and as such, can whisper in the ears of those who have the ability to affect significant change. Outwardly helping the Rubrafreet would be a slap in the face of the High Races, and he would quickly lose what sway he has.

 

“As for the Rubrafreet, you could call them Demons. The angelic races despise them for the simple fact they are not beautiful. King Thronnos and kin are Seraphim. They believe any race not of the Fae, Elves, or Angelic races, should be removed from The Games. They suffer those who create, like the Dwarfs, Goblins, Gnomes, and races such as the Kobolds.”

 

“I will try and help them as best as I can. What does Bastavia require of me?”

 

The Elf tossed Ginka a bag, the Human snatching it from the air.

 

“Level your [Summon], so it upgrades to [Contract]. This will allow you to enter into contracts with the Fallen and bind them to your soul space. As long as you maintain the required Energy to maintain the contract, they will respawn at the Crystal of your choosing when they die.”

 

“Alright, I will help them. But where can I find them? They weren’t mentioned in the Knowledge Tome.”

 

“In the shadows, alleys and unground. They are used as garbage collectors, cleaners, and other jobs deemed beneath others. You could summon your first and allow them to help you find the others.”

 

“You know, I...” Ginka went to say, but the Elf was just gone.

 

It was like the Elf had never been there. If it weren’t for the sack in her hand, she would have guessed she imagined everything.

 

Opening the sack, Ginka found it was filled with bright marbles. They had almost looked like miniature suns. Taking one out of the bag, she crushed it.

 

 

“That’s a lot of Energy for one core.”

 

Ginka then began to take the cores out one at a time and crush them.

 

 

“I wonder how much those would have cost to buy.”

 

[By my calculations, you could have bought a large town or small city. They are the highest known cores to be farmed by adventurers’ who are close to level 100 and sell them to those who can afford them.]

 

“Seems odd to spend so much money on me.”

 

[Maybe because you are an outsider unaffected by politics or racial bias?]

 

“I don’t have the answer. Maybe if we meet Bastiva again, I can ask her.

 

“Status.”

 

 

“[Summon] level 1 only costs 50 Energy, why would I need so much?”

 

Ginka began to level up her [Summon] skill and quickly realized how much it would cost to level the skill. The skill cost 16,250 Energy to reach 25/25, then reset to 0/30. With so much Energy left, Ginka leveled the skill to 5/35 and accepted.

 

 

Ginka clicked on the info for [Contract].

 

 

“Oh, I see what the Elf meant. I need 25 Energy per person per day. I could make eleven contracts at level 5. That’s 275 Energy per day! I would run out of Energy in a week or two. I wasn’t looking to go farm monsters and grind cores. I wonder if we could make enough money with the bakery to sustain the cost?”

 

[It’s possible. You may need to find a niche or two for food to make it work.]

 

“Thanks, Sig.”

 

Ginka, still pondering how she alone was going to be able to help the Rubrafreet, left the shop and headed to the inn’s kitchen. It was time to do some experimenting. Taking out the cream, eggs, and honey sand, she began testing different ratios to get an excellent base made. Fortunately, it only took a few tries before she nailed it. Ginka then started cooking the base in two pots, each with a different fruit. The moon orbs looked like shiny silver grapes the size of plums. They tasted like cherries with the texture of a pear.

 

“Wonder if they make wine here?”

 

[Querying the others.]

 

The Ravyn’s blood looked like a blue squash, but when Ginka cut into the fruit, it bled a thick syrup that looked like blood. The flesh inside was black as night and tasted similar to cotton candy, with a hint of lemon. It was one of the best things Ginka could ever remember tasting.

 

After letting the base simmer for a while to let the honey sand dissolve and the fruits break down, Ginka used a simple double bowl method to freeze the ice cream. She put the salt and ice in the bottom bowl and stirred the top one.

 

When the first batch was as solid as she could get it, she called for Vastra. But instead, a young woman dressed in what Ginka thought was an expensive dress came into the back. Her hair was pinned up in a unique weave, and her eyes were as blue as sapphires.

 

“I’m sorry, but dear Vastra is currently engaged with my brother right now. Is there something I can help you with?”

 

The woman tilled her head to the side with a finger on her chin.

 

“Well, nice to meet you. You’re very posh looking. I’m Ginka.”

 

The woman beamed at the word posh and swayed back and forth a bit.

 

“Many thanks, Ginka. I am Kali Thronnos, the Princess of Ravaryn. My brother Kenvar, the Prince, is speaking with Vastra right now.”

 

That didn’t take long. Shelara did warn me royalty was around.

 

“Would you mind tasting these two flavors for me and tell me your thoughts?” asked Ginka.

 

The princess walked up to the table Ginka had been working on and looked down at the black and the grey cups of semi-solid ice cream.

 

“What is it? I’ve never seen anything like it. Is it a type of pudding?”

 

“It’s called ice cream. It’s one of my favorite desserts from Earth.”

 

“Oh Gosh! You’re the new race everyone is talking about!” the princess squealed.

 

The Princess ran around the table and picked Ginka up in a hug like she was nothing but a pillow.

 

“Can’t breath!” Ginka wheezed out.

 

“Oh, I’m sorry, I forget not everyone is above level 75. Let me try this ice cream of yours.”

 

The princess turned and grabbed the silver-colored moon orb ice cream, then took a bite, then quickly another. Ginka watched the many expressions on her face change from one to another. She sat the empty cup onto the table. Kali then picked up the black-colored Ravyn’s blood ice cream and took a few small bites.

 

“BROTHER!!!” the princess screamed at the top of her lungs.

 

Ginka jumped back, startled as a handsome man with skin that seemed to be aglow in plate armor, came running into the kitchen with his sword drawn. Two other armed men were right behind him.

 

“What’s wrong, Kali?!” the man in the lead shouted.

 

“Nothing! You simply need to try this. It’s positively one of the best things I’ve ever tasted!” Kali yelled at the flustered prince.

 

The prince sheathed his sword but gave Ginka the stink eye as he walked around the table to the waiting princess. Kali handed him the cup of Ravyn's blood ice cream. The prince picked up a spoon and took a tiny bite of the now melting ice cream. Then he went back for a much larger spoonful.

 

“How is it so cold, but not solid like ice?” he asked.

 

“Trade secret, Prince Kenvar,” Ginka responded.

 

“Bah, you crafters and your secrets. Could you make me a large amount of this to take back to the castle?”

 

“Sure, do you want both flavors?”

 

“Yes, please! Mother would love this silver one,” said the princess.

 

“Well, if you can wait around a bit, I’m waiting for a delivery to make it better.”

 

“Better than this?” Kenvar said as he placed the empty cup on the table and picked up the silver one.

 

“Yes. It’s supposed to be solid, but soft, not melting like those.”

 

The prince and his men went back up front to do whatever they were doing with Vastra. Ginka decided to start making a larger batch of the two flavors while chatting with the princess. Dhurfac showed up not long after with the prototype ice cream maker.

 

“Good day Princess, I see your brother is trying to get V to join his personal guard again. Ginka, your order.”

 

The princess just shrugged and looked at the device the Dwarf placed on the table.

 

“Oh, thank you. Let’s test it out now, and you can take some back to Osim.”

 

Ginka took out one of the ice blocks and began to chip large chunks off the ice, then place them into the outer ring. When the Dwarf and princess weren’t looking, she poured salt all over the ice. She poured the first batch into the center metal barrel, placed the lid on top of the barrel, and then noticed the crank was missing. 

 

“Hey Dhurfac, where is the handle to turn the center barrel?”

 

“Oh, sorry, lass. We took the liberty of placing a rotation rune at the bottom of the center canister. You said you just wanted the ingredients inside to spin, correct?”

 

“Correct.”

 

“Place your hand here at the bottom and push your mana into the rune.”

 

Like the water runes, Ginka found the engraved symbol and pushed a trickle of mana into the rune. She immediately heard the liquid inside start sloshing around. It took several minutes for the sound of liquid to vanish. Once it did, Ginka let go of the rune. Opening the lid, she found the ice cream inside had frozen perfectly. Grabbing a large bowl and cover, she scooped enough to fill the bowl and gave it to Dhurfac.

 

“Here for you and your nephew.”

 

Ginka then filled a second bowl and gave it to the princess. The rest she placed into the runed ColdBox for later. The princess stood quietly and watched Ginka make the second batch and give her a bowl of the black Ravyn’s blood. Cleaning up, Ginka removed the cheese and crackers she had bought from the first trip to the market.

 

“What are you making now?” asked the princess.

 

“Cheese sticks, then tortillas. Going to need to figure out how to make salsa, though.”