187: Uniform

Milo pulled out a stack of papers, along with a small book, shuffling through them before passing a couple to Hari.
I couldn’t help but wonder what was going on.

“Right, so it’s important to note we don’t actually expect any trouble from House Valrith at the dinner. Word has reached us that they were visited by the princess and have been told if they attempt to intimidate or basically interact with you in any way, they’ll be stripped of their ranks,” Milo began.

“That’s good, right?” I asked.

“Sort of. You won’t get any direct threats, or anyone obviously trying to take advantage of you at the dinner. However, what you will get is people going all out on their scheming nonsense,” Milo said.

As I thought about it, the solution seemed really simple.

“I’ll just take Lily with me as well.”

Milo and Hari both looked troubled for a moment, so I decided to continue.

“Look, Marcus knows I am not a noble, and he knows I was confronted in the market. It would stand to reason he would know I will bring Lily along to keep me safe.”

“I suppose. The invite is only for a single plus one, though,” Hari said.

“Do none of the houses come with guards?” I asked.

Liane just let out a snort of laughter.

“They do… but they usually wait outside,” Milo said.

“Who’s going to tell Lily no if she tries to walk in though?” Liane asked.

“Good point,” Milo muttered. “Well, we suspect David Greyrock and Marie Belwyn are absolutely siding with Valrith. House Boltron, we’re unsure of. Outside of that, you have House Blackmere, who I suspect wants to stay neutral, with Fairmont, Lindberg, Calder, and Fellwood taking your side, and subsequently the side of the King.”

“That all seems simple then! I’ll just hang around them and the royals. If they try anything before or after, Lily will deal with it. For now, I’ll be honest, I’m over the political thing, and I want to get back to cooking. I got a bunch of lemon tea grass to dry and candies to make,” I said happily.

Milo let out a sigh, but Hari chuckled before commenting, “I should start looking for what we are going to do when we leave the capital then, eh?”

“Yes, please!” I said excitedly, before Liane put a dampener on it all.

“If we leave the city now, it won’t take us long before we’re knee-deep in snow, but you still have your runes to learn, right?” she said.

“You’re right,” I muttered.

“And the sugar reed rum to finish,” Milo added.

I made my escape from the table of boring politics and slipped back into the kitchen. I needed to check the smoking meat, make sure it’s not too hot.

I spent the rest of the afternoon making basic sugar candies, twenty-four at a time. I made the first batch with mana tears, which provided minor mana regeneration and +2 intelligence.

On the second batch, I had a large blunder. I got distracted and, without Crisplet’s help with heating; I came back to burnt sugar in the bottom of the pot, which took me far too long to clean. On the second attempt, I was successful, using frost cherry again but making sure I never took my eyes off it, getting candies with +1 perception, minor stamina regeneration.

The third and final batch was made with Ril berries, which are a small blackberry that is incredibly sweet. I had just recently purchased them from the market, so I was curious what buff I’d get from them. Following the same steps I did for frost cherries, these were one of the most interesting candies I had made yet. They were common with +2 luck.

If I wasn’t mistaken, to date I had only got the luck buff a single time, which came from the razor crab.

Checking the meat again in the smoker, I saw it still wasn’t ready. So I figured I would leave it overnight and pray to the goddess it didn’t overcook or spoil.

Deciding I would make dinner while I was in here and go back to my roots, which would help me get used to the new knife. I would make a simple Baelvryn stew. I wouldn’t need Crisplet to help me cook it, and I could get in plenty of practice chopping up the vegetables.

The afternoon had passed in a blur of cooking, and I was joined in the kitchen by Liane and Lily, who again both appeared at the same time, along with Crisplet, who came bursting through the kitchen door.

I attempted to reach out with my mana. Rather than just pushing happiness like I usually would, I attempted to push across the feeling of a greeting, which was easier said than done. How do you convey the feeling of a greeting?

I don’t think I was successful though because all I got back was brief confusion followed by happiness, so I suspect the greeting didn’t work, but Crisplet was just happy to communicate. I tried several more times, but all I got was happiness and excitement from Crisplet. I’d need to have a proper chat with him later about what the goal is.

***

The next morning, the first thing I did was go out to check on the jerky. I was pleasantly surprised to see it felt ready. It wasn’t completely hard, and it had some bend in it, but it snapped cleanly, and taking a bite I was pleasantly surprised. This was one of the grarok pieces and it really intensified the flavour. There was a good amount of chew to it, but it wasn’t overly dry. The hint of pepper that came from the virfolium was just right as well.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

I ran into a slight issue with what I would hold the jerky with, as I’d need to keep it together to infuse it as a group, or I’d be out of mana instantly, when an idea struck. I could use the crates from the lemon tea grass, since I would take the grass out anyway to dry it.

Removing three crates, I placed the grass on the nearby counter as I pulled down the meat, keeping each type separate. I expected it to be more difficult than this. When I was hanging it, the Baelvryn and Grarok looked very similar, but now the Grarok had a much deeper red colour, with the Miremaw having a light brown, almost white colour.

Once all three crates were loaded, I infused them all, happy that all went off without a problem, then looking at the buffs before I tried them.

[Uncommon] Miremaw Smoked Jerky

+3 Perception

+ Minor Health Regeneration

[Uncommon] Baelvryn Smoked Jerky

+2 Strength

+1 Endurance

+ Minor Fear Aura

+ Minor Stamina Regeneration

[Uncommon] Grarok Smoked Jerky

+3 Endurance