23 – Oath Stone

Asha’s eyes remained narrow, her brow creasing as she tilted her head to the side. “What do you mean, ‘you cheated’?”

Ren maintained what he hoped was a casual smile, acutely aware of the aura rolling off the woman. “I mean that I cheated. I didn’t play fair.”

She started to close the narrow gap between them.

“And,” Ren added quickly. “If you want to join Stubbs and I in the kitchen, I’d love to tell you all about it.”

From the side, Jax found his voice. “How did you do that? I’ve never seen you move like that!” Jax said, loud enough for even passers on the street to overhear, had they the inclination.

“Jax, why don’t you follow us?” Ren said, turning to walk towards a smiling Stubbs. “Come with me.”

“What a show!” Stubbs called out to the few people still dumbstruck in the common room. To the side, the teenage girl was openly pointing as she muttered to her mother.

“Free entertainment like that can only be found at the Bee’s Bounty, now back to your drinks folks. Celeste! Go around and refill the mugs, won’t you?”

The young sandy-haired woman appeared from the side with a pitcher.

Ren passed the large innkeeper and, together, the small group went around the bar and into the spacious kitchen.

Asha paused as they entered, “It smells delicious in here, Stubbs. I seem to remember that you were a good cook, but…”

“Don’t look at me.” Stubbs replied gesturing to Ren.

“So how did you do it?” Jax asked, quieter this time.

“Well, I was about to tell you, before our new friend came in,” Ren said. “I cooked the rest of the food. The musttel meat.”

“But that’s not how it works, it was strength and reg—” Jax darted his eyes towards Asha. “The other thing.”

We don’t really know how it works, man. “I used some different ingredients.”

“Wait, hold on for a moment.” Asha interrupted. “What do you mean you ‘cooked’?

Ren motioned to the pan of rested steaks, now glistening. “Why don’t you try one, it’ll be easier to explain that way. Jax, we need to eat these in the next fifteen min— ticks, can you go find Kaylin?”

“I…” Jax’s gaze paused on the tray of meat for a moment. “Yes, of course, I think she had asked for a bath.” He disappeared back out the door.

Moving around the wooden table in the middle of the room, Ren grabbed three more plates and set a steak on each one before spooning over the mushroom cream sauce and activating fusion to bind the two together, his hands and the dish flickering momentarily. On a hunch, he used insight on the dish a second time.

“[Fused musttel filet, mushroom cream bonded. Single dish boon; If consumed within twenty minutes of preparation, grants enhanced speed for three and half hours. Only one boon may be active at once.]”

Looks like the ingredients degrade even if I wait to fuse them. Good to know.

Asha’s eyes went wide with understanding. “Ah, I see.”

“Why don’t you try some and then we can chat.” Ren insisted.

Asha looked over to Stubbs. “It’s fine, I tried some as well. You can trust him.”

Hesitantly, the dark-haired woman reached over to pick up one of the wooden plates, holding it up to her nose. With a shrug, she unsheathed one of her knives, cut off a portion, and took a bite. She sighed, her eyes closing briefly as she chewed. “That is… quite delicious.”

Ren grinned, “It should give you something called a speed boon for roughly the next.” Ren shut one eye cocking his head to side as he did the math. “Three or so turns, I think.”

“You think?”

“It’s not an exact thing.”

“So… speed?”

“It’s incredible, watch!” Stubbs said. He blurred, moving from near the entrance over to the stove on the far side of the room near instantaneously.

Fast as he moved, Asha still appeared to be able to track him. “Interesting. I could have sworn that you had a martial path. At least the the way you stood showed you’ve had a lot of training.”

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“Yeah… I, uh, I can also cook.”

“Wait so which is it? Are you artisan or martial?”

“Um… both?”

“You split your core?” She sounded incredulous. “What would posses you to do that? Nobody in their senses splits their core. What guild branch would even let you do that?” She paused, face going thoughtful. “But you three are newly refined, which means you used a wild one. Hmm… interesting.” She shrugged, taking another bite. “Can’t argue with the results, I guess.”

“Jax, I swear by the council and my core, that if this is not of the utmost importance, I will freeze your legs together and throw you off the bridge.” Kaylin’s voice carried through the doorway.

“Just trust me, cousin.”

“Like that’s not never gone wrong before, remember the Erdis vineyard?”

“That was a completely different situation.” Jax came through the kitchen entrance followed closely by Kaylin in a wrinkled sage green robe, her long braided hair damp and resting across her shoulder.

“I don’t think it was different at—” She cut off abruptly, eyes darting between the gathered faces. “Ah, Stubbs. And Asha, correct?”

“Nice to see ya again,” Asha waved, the brief seriousness of the moment before completely gone from her voice.

“So.” Kaylin gracefully folded her hands in front of her, the entire posture made less noble by the growing dark damp area on her shoulder. “What, pray tell, required that I depart from the first warm bath I’ve had in over a fan?”

“Come now, it hasn’t been that long, six days at most,” Jax said.

“Are they always like this?” Asha asked, head tilted.

“Mostly,” Ren replied. He turned to address Kaylin. “I cooked the rest of the musttel steak.

Her eyes went wide, “Oh! Excellent. But why the rush?”