80: Betrayal

Pulling out my book and looking through it, there were so many amazing options I could make, given the ingredients. But I figured it would also be worth making a list of ingredients I’d need, and the items I wanted to try, so I wouldn’t just impulsively buy everything I saw and hope for the best.

Flicking through the pages, a couple of things jumped out at me. Firstly, there were so many pies and cakes made using berries or simple fruits that looked incredibly easy to make.

The next thing I noticed was a lot of fruit reductions, which looked to be simply fruit, sugar, and some water reduced down to make a spread. Then there were fruit sauces called coulis. These all looked incredible—but it made me wonder: if I made a fruit jam, as they were called, and infused it, would I then be able to spread that onto a roll or something else that was also infused for double the buffs?

Or even just take a spoonful of preserved fruits straight from the container and get the buffs?

I looked in my inventory and saw I still had a mix of berries from the market. There weren’t many left… but I could just put them all in, right?

I decided to try. Since the oven was full and Crisplet was busy with the tail, this was going to be entirely down to me.

Pulling out a pot, I unloaded all the berries I had into it. According to the book, I’d need the same weight of sugar as I had berries. I didn’t know exactly how much that was—but I could guess?

I also added a pinch of both Blood Tear powder and some dried, crushed-up Virfolium. My intention here was to try to get a regeneration buff from it.

After adding the sugar to the pot and a cup of water Milo provided, I took it over to the edge of the oven. I took a bite of the roll for fire immunity before getting too close.

I wouldn’t take it deep into the oven, but it should be hot enough at the entrance to get the result I was after.

As I slowly stirred it with a stone rod, the sugar began to dissolve. It took a little while, but soon the water began to boil off, leaving a sticky mixture behind.

I think this is what I was after!

Taking the pot out from the oven’s entrance, I brought it back to the main living area where everyone was gathered, placing it down near where Micca and Liane were sitting. I knew both of them would ultimately want to try it once it was ready.

According to the book, I needed to let it cool down and set—so just to test, I used Infuse on it and was surprised when it worked.

That was a good sign!

While waiting for it to cool, I got my notebook from Milo and started writing down a wishlist of ingredients to get at the markets or alchemy shop. There were several cakes, and even a fruit pudding, that looked amazing, and I wanted to try making them.

I also wanted to get some empty barrels so I could ferment the sugar reed juice. Milo said that would make alcohol, which I wasn’t the greatest fan of—but if I could infuse it, having alcohol that buffed or provided certain effects would be extremely sought after.

I also discovered that the notebook could now be stored in my inventory! I had never tried again after it failed when we got it, but the system must have seen it as cooking related now.

After about half an hour, I felt the jam was sufficiently cooled, so I pulled out a spoon and had a taste. Honestly, it was really good—perhaps a little too sweet and sticky; maybe I added too much sugar—but it tasted amazing.

Liane and Micca both had a taste, and surprisingly, Liane put hers on a roll she had in storage before eating it.

While they did that, I checked to see if I’d gotten any buffs. I was actually surprised at the results: +2 Endurance, Minor Regeneration, Minor Earth Magic Potency.

I didn’t expect to get the earth magic potency without Crisplet’s help, but clearly, due to the fire being created from the Treant wood, it counted.

Most of the day passed before Crisplet came out and indicated the tail was ready. It had been cooking for most of the day at this point, and we were now approaching late afternoon. I’d even had enough time to cook a large stew using the Skywolves I had in storage.

Taking a bite of the roll, I approached the oven and observed the tail, which was now a rich golden brown—and the smell was amazing.

I used Infuse on it before leaving the oven, then stored it away for safekeeping until we’d meet with the dragon:

Would you like to store [Legendary] Nemorax’s Herb Smoked Tail x1 for 5 mana? Yes/No

Nemorax? Was that the name of the Tempest Dragon?

Coming back out, I let the team and Micca know it was done. I didn’t know how to contact the dragon, but I was sure Lily could do it. So we’d just need to wait for her—or try to call her to us.

As we sat down for dinner, I served bowls of stew to everyone in my group. Sarah’s party joined us again and paid for dinner. This time, however, Greg’s party seemed to be sitting off to the side, away from the rest, and showing no interest in the food.

Taking a bite, I received a notification that was pushed to the front—like I’d taken damage.

Notifications:

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Poison attempt failed: Poison immunity.

“Poison attempt?” I said aloud, catching everyone’s attention.

Before I knew it, the room erupted into chaos. Liane and Jen both had potions in hand, drinking anti-poison vials, and Hari knocked Micca’s bowl out of her hands before she could take a bite.

Sarah’s group wasn’t so lucky—two members had already eaten the food. Sarah herself was drinking a potion, trying to help.

What surprised me most was Greg’s group. They were suddenly on their feet, weapons in hand.

Moving toward us.

Why?

The next moment, Greg had Micca with a dagger to her throat, his party behind him with weapons out.

“You truly are a meddlesome child,” Greg snarled at me.

“Not only do you work for monstrous creatures who seek to destroy our society—but you do so happily, making a mockery of us all.” He glared at me, while I saw Sarah desperately trying to tend to her two poisoned party members—who clearly hadn’t gotten an antidote in time.

I didn’t know what was going on. My own party quickly gathered themselves. Micca looked terrified—the dagger had already broken her skin, and she was starting to bleed.

“What do you want?” Jen asked, her voice low and steady as she glared at them.

“We want you all dead—but apparently, that’s not possible. So we’ll take the dragon tail. All of it. Or the girl dies,” Greg said.

Liane had a deadly look in her eyes. “You hurt that girl, and you’ll all be dead before you so much as raise a weapon.”

“Just shut your mouth and hand over the tail,” Greg snapped, “and this silly, traitorous girl will live another day.”

“You do realise the dragon will come after you? You idiot,” Hari said, trying to reason with him.