Prelude 14 – Breakfast
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Prelude 14 - Breakfast

This time, Kaye didn’t have the faintest idea what the broker meant about districts, branches, and townships. But he settled on the number of 729. That many places like here but not here, which could be traveled to. A number several times bigger than the village. Maybe, counting all the travelers who passed through and this substantial encampment, a number bigger than everyone he ever met. That would do. A whole lot out there he hadn’t seen and may never see. But some of them could be willing to give him the money he needed to make Leaky truly happy.

It might’ve been unnecessary. He could be making some typical, grand mistake whereby maybe these creatures couldn’t digest more than a few apples after their initial capture. Checking through the assorted pet materials, he marveled at what it told him about Leaky.

Compared to wild creatures, a pet was already stronger. He scrunched his eyes at the numbers. Some were higher than the last time he checked his own levels. Especially, Leaky had an ATK of 91 against a modest strength level. Sneaking a peek, he watched as Leaky dodged between the soft, drying blades of grass and dew-speckled, still-icy ones. Kaye could feel his mind churning with possibilities even before he made it to the section detailing what a Charmie pet could do. 

-------

Ball Buster (Level 5) - Does 4X standard physical ATK.

Cute Hoarder (Level 4) - Increases drops and discovery in pet adventuring by 12. 

On Target (Level 5) - HIT contact rate increases by 9 for pet and owner.

I Heart You (Level 2) - HP for pet and owner increases 208 points. 

Pet Job Talent: Cooking (Level 3) - This Charmie is able to cook 7% better, if hired in the Royal Kitchen.
All talent levels are the same, no matter how strong the pet gets, unless altered by a Fate Pepper.

--------

Kaye leaned back. Sometimes his mind felt like a shallow closet, especially the one back home next to the master bedroom he always neglected to use. It would stick unless you turned the knob just right.

Every time he opened it, he had to rush in with his shoulder to keep all the old, dusty contents from spilling out. Placing anything new within took swift determination to spot a clear corner which could bear the weight.

With a whisper to himself, he ran over what he’d gleaned while in the icy mouth of the morning: He could feed his pet discolored, failures of meals, and it might love it. But Tersa green apples were what Charmies loved the best. And they were 3000 Zel on the multiverse market but also sold under another currency he didn’t have. The market connected... 729 places like Mithgard among the Nine Realms. Three, nine, and twenty-seven were all in there too. And now, this reference of talents. The rest drifted like ghostly fragments, disappearing into the early haze.

The light on his sales parchment flickered and flashed. A quick check revealed that he'd already sold a decent portion of the goods.

<29,164 Z in sales. Please talk to your nearest broker to collect your wares or payment, minus fees.>

Hopping to his feet, Kaye swiftly returned to the strange man. After receiving the payment, he turned around and purchased nine Tersa green apples. Then he retrieved the remaining goods off the marketplace. Broker thanked him for his business and welcomed him to offer up any further goods he found, whenever he liked.

Kaye politely, but briskly remarked that he would think about it as everything went back into his inventory. After that, he scooped up Leaky and hustled back towards their campsite. The Charmie hummed a perky little tune that made darting through the frigid air feel not quite as harsh.

“Daaaahhaadadada haaa dooo deee tweee beee neee nee waaa taaa daaadaaa nyaaa caaa weeennn taaaa waaaaahhh.”

Moments later, when they arrived back with a modest fire going and the porridge already starting to puff steam, Kaye could indulge the sweet, cute ditty. Suray and Cestia were still thoroughly asleep.

While he set up all the pots and pans he would need for cooking, Kaye placed the still-pungent, wretched platter of misbegotten substances next to Leaky. He wasn’t sure what would happen if a Charmie got sick and he wasn’t in any hurry to learn, especially with his little fella.

Still, it had responded well to the presence of the abominable entrée and the cook encouraged the idea. Before he could muddle his way through another series of nervous purchases, questions, and digging through the encyclopedia for random confirmation, Kaye placed the disgusting platter at arm’s length near Leaky.

At first, it hopped calmly around the damp patches before settling not far from the fire. With wide-eyed curiosity, the Charmdrop glanced between the plate and Kaye. He had doubts about his ability to convey the cap gift but at least Leaky wore it without protest through their trek around the encampment.

Grasping the edge of the failed meal made the Charmie retreat cautiously, but it soon bounded back when Kaye set the plate closer and gestured between Leaky and the unspeakable substance, alleged to be food.

<PLACE MEAL FOR >>>

YOURSELF/PARTY/PET/ANYONE__?

<<<PET>>>

He had no clue what else he could possibly express to the creature. Fortunately, something clicked. As though it hadn’t eaten in ages, Leaky tore into the brightly-colored mass with ravenous fervor. Not only did the little guy finish everything, but it scrubbed the plate and left it with a pristine sheen that looked clean enough to hold a fresh meal without washing.

With gleeful delight and squishy undulations, the Charmdrop appeared content and quite full as it gave a surprisingly deep, prolonged belch that sounded like a boulder heaved into a flowing brook. When done with that noise, Leaky slumped, lower-end first, towards the warmth of the fire and shut its expressive, coal-like eyes.

Heaving a resigned sigh, Kaye suspected he could’ve saved a lot of Zel.

Instead of focusing on that though, he quickly went to work frying the meat and preparing the eggs. Steaming gristle hissed sharply and wafted comforting aromas. The sound and smells were finally too much for the rest of his party.

Suray awkwardly dragged herself from her tent and breathed in the meal Kaye was preparing. He learned from her tired words that Rufus was called away at some point in the night. Soon after, Cestia crawled from their tent, cocooned in a blanket and asking slurred questions as she pulled stray, blue hairs from around her mouth.

Kaye kept the details of his morning to food. Getting this food from a friendly cook and picking up a few things for Leaky. Cestia checked on Cherry’s crystalline egg but opted not to summon them. Instead, she picked the tired from her eyes, looked over at the snoozing Charmdrop, and asked Kaye, “Is that...your hat on it?”

It didn’t take long for the meal to be ready and, between their travel gear and Suray’s inventory, spread across several plates and bowls. As he stirred his rommegrot, Kaye gave Cestia a look of acknowledgement. The sharpened, milky sweetness paired well with the salty meat and fluffy eggs.

“Yeah... is everything good? Taste good?” Suray and Cestia nodded eagerly between bites. The stupor and inebriation of awakening passed with the warm fire and food. Neither Cestia nor Suray mentioned anything else about the woolen topplue, even though they each had hints of what it meant to Kaye.

The sun soon pierced the jagged fringe of the forest, sublimating what lingering dew was left. Gray banks of clouds with arrowhead-shaped tufts stirred like silver soup in the sky. But the sun still burst through like a blinding, furnace coal. For Kaye, despite recent purchases laden with fresh regret and old pains to remain at the bottom of things, it was already a good day.

When Rufus returned, he hungrily accepted several bowls and dished out the details of Cestia and Kaye’s next Daring recruit quest.

Before starting though, he noticeably paused and locked eyes with Suray. Following a motion like a restrained cough, their instructor explained, “I promise to keep this as focused and straightforward as possible. You will be escorting a monster to Providence Bridge, which connects South Pronderosa and Lingsie Island. Our host, Colborn, can provide you with further details when you’re ready. Understood?”

Kaye pressed his teeth into his tucked lips. His ears felt hot despite the lingering chill beyond the fire. He resisted turning towards Suray, instead focusing on the remains of his meal and his happily slumbering pet.

He nodded vigorously and expected Cestia to answer the same way. He could take simple instructions. He could follow...go to a man, get a monster, and walk it to the bridge. That wasn’t the problem. And he’d been concentrating so hard today. He knew 729 universes could be traveled to and traded from. And such trading on a market took a tax of 9.1%. Tersa green apples were 3000 Zel. But his little guy didn’t mind eating failed, wretched food instead. And there was a kitchen, a royal one. Leaky could attack, adventure, make him stronger, and actually work jobs.

There was so much inside him, pressing against that meager closet door. But what weighed the most was the memory of the topplue. Sometimes, he managed to forget it was there, but he could always feel it.

Following a firm breath, he set it aside, just sleeping like Leaky, not forgotten. Never forgotten. Like his parents and the farm. Even though he left behind the empty shells of buildings, where a home once stood.

He shook off the attention of that well of memories, like the trailing, hooked fingers of frost as the rising sun chased them away. He looked up and gazed around at the others. No one had seen him lost in another trap of the past laid by his own mind.

Cestia’s eyes watched him, but she couldn’t read his thoughts, no matter how long they’d known each other. Not as though he felt there were great, mystical depths to magically uncover within his skull. Besides, Suray knew the worst parts and Cestia knew enough. They each had their own burdens to bear. He could contend with his.

With Leaky out of its egg and cooing dreamily, Rufus commented, “For this quest, it would be good to have each of your Charmies present, since you’ll be on your own. I see that...Leaky, right?...” Kaye quietly nodded before Rufus continued, “...your pet seems very comfortable this morning. Shall I cover pet affinity? Notes on that should be in both your encyclopedias and with the colorful little bag I gave you yesterday.”

Kaye knew Suray meant well, but the change in Rufus’s instructional style felt embarrassingly obvious. And it felt wrong to call him out on it. Instead, Kaye resolved to show them he would be a different man today.

Swallowing the last of his breakfast with a gulp of water from his canteen, he recited all the things bundled together in his head related to a Charmdrop pet. His words gave him momentum, until he came to the apples.

“You bought nine from Broker?” The question came from Suray, but Rufus wore a sharp squint at the forefront of a similar concern. Cestia settled into a slight frown.

“Yes. For Leaky. I wanted to make sure my pet had enough to eat.” He fought off a warble in his voice before it threatened to become worse. And he countered, “Although I learned Leaky likes bad food, I wanted him to have his favorite stuff too: Tersa green apples.” He said the last almost a little too loud.

His mental closet lost the order of dominant elements somewhere in the back overnight, but at least he had this. Suray gave the smallest sigh and responded, “Understandable. I can see you care immensely for your companion. But you also need to take care of yourself, while not going broke from pet treats. How much Zelver do you have left and what’s in your inventory?”

He didn’t want to show her. He wasn’t a little boy anymore. To his village and everywhere in their homelands, the Runic lands, and all of Mithgard, he was practically a man. One who had taken care of his companion, fed the party (including his instructors), and conducted a business trade...

But, as someone of age, he understood, beneath the flares of indignation, to keep calm about it. Bracing the quavers in his voice, he told her it was “approaching a thousand” even though it barely cleared seven hundred and he frontloaded the most plentiful remains before admitting to a single, healing ambrosia.

Suray shut her eyes and brushed back the crinkles of her tightly-bound hair like grooming rays of sunlight. Heaving a long sigh, she opened her eyes and announced, “I am stunned you managed to sell enough in one early morning. And weak healing things? You found people to buy that trash? Only two healing types are worth saving for yourself: Medrew and Royal Medrew. It’s a special kind of honey with sweet sap certain insects make from potent, healthy trees connected to Yggdrasil.”

In addition, Suray expressed surprise Broker accepted some of the things Kaye sold, according to the parchment. “Most of these, you’re better off chucking at a friendly merchant and hope you get a few Zelver back. I have thoughts, but I just wanted to say…well done. Although, with ten of those apples you’re going to make Leaky love you beyond measure...for life. Are you prepared… for that responsibility?” She flashed a warm wink with a rising smirk.

The trembles of asserting strength to his words passed with relief as Kaye smiled back. His next reaction though was to offer up some of the apples for Cherry, but Cestia raised a hand and assured him it was fine.

Rufus rose from his spot on the other side of the fire, icy breath no longer flowing, and explained that “bad“ meals were found by research to be quite enjoyed by tamed creatures. Paring down his abundant words carefully, he noted, “Even humanoids and demi-humans. They can eat and find regular food for themselves. But the gift of food, along with tokens of warm sentiment, is what matters between you and your pet.”

Kaye looked over at Leaky as it jiggled and roused from slumber to peer back with contentment. He had no trouble understanding that.

=======

After cleaning up from breakfast, activity not only started to circulate around their camp but also throughout the entire encampment. Like the ephemeral heart of some immense beast spurred Nortmen and others around to action. Kaye made sure he was ready and packed up first, so he could help Cestia put away the things she didn’t mind him handling. Rufus directed them to Colborn, the jovial, bearded man from last night. Suray lingered behind, with her arms folded, as Colborn detailed the quest.

<BEGIN MAIN QUEST - "TRAVELING WITH MONSTERS".>

“A few days ago, we caught an unusual creature in a baited trap. Some around the camp just wanted to kill it and be done. But a trapper recognized it as something you only see around... a ruined, horrific kingdom to the west I prefer not to invoke. It didn’t attack but a sickly, oily blackness seemed to rise forth. Like corruption spilling from the ground. Don’t know why. Prefer to get rid of it whatever way’s fastest.”

It didn’t take Kaye long to notice the oak and iron cage standing about the height of a child and off to the side. Only inky blackness showed through the bars. Colborn approached it as he continued, “A Doctor Gustav Lemkey, representing the Schwartzchild Republic, offered to pay transit from Lingsie Island’s port by ship. We just need someone willing to walk it there. Then, it’s their problem.”

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