Food for Thoughts

Wandering over to the nearby campfire, I stared at the magical flame that burned with no fuel and produced no smoke. With an appreciative nod at Rionriv's handiwork, I took a seat on a piece of rubble as the sorceress approached from my side. I felt her presence as she hovered over me, patiently waiting while the rest of the party arrived, taking position on the opposite side of the flames.

In quiet observation, I watched as Aesandoral and her wolves took up the space directly across from me, while Sharzin with her bear sat between us. Finally, after everyone had become comfortable, Rionriv placed herself on the piece of crumbled structure beside me, locking her gaze with mine.

"What?" I asked awkwardly, noticing the way she stared at me as though I could keel over at any moment. "I can't look worse than that."

I pointed over to Sharzin. The groundling, who had rubbed the bloody tears away from her eyes, had done little to fix the stains it left against her porcelain skin. She looked over at me, confused for a moment, before glancing down at her bloodstained hands, realizing in an instant what I was referencing.

"Hey!" Sharzin snapped in reply. "That's what happens when you survive a frangulnoa bite!"

"Rionriv doesn't cry blood, you little action movie villain."

"Well, we got to her fast! Unfortunately, someone pulled out before they were done with me."

"Gah!—Phrasing!" I blushed, looking away from the rogue and her bear. "Anyways, speaking of which. What happened after I began my factory reset?"

The three looked at each other before glancing back at me. Another moment of hesitation passed as they shifted their gaze to Rionriv, who looked between them and me.

"Not everyone at once, please." I sighed, shifting my gaze to the sorceress. "You found a little boo-boo and added it to the party. You telling me there's something worse than that?"

"No!" She hissed in reply. "And that wasn't even me! It was them!"

"Okay, okay. Just. Please. Start from the beginning? After the fight?"

Finally, with a sigh, she began to retell the last forty-eight hours of their exploration of the dungeon's second level. Beginning with the aftermath of the fight, Rionriv explained that she had fed me a magical potion which all but stabilized me. Withdrawing the ice spike, she ensured the wound healed properly before wasting too much time trying to wake me from my trauma coma. In that time, Aesandoral, Moose, and Ruckus took down Goram.

"I'm sorry, what?" I spoke up, slowly raising my hand at this point. "Moose? Ruckus?"

"Well, I couldn't just keep on calling them puppers!" Aesandoral insisted, sitting up from her cuddle puddle of pooches. "So this one is Moose. And the one who was sleeping with you was Ruckus. He seems to like you."

Looking between the beasts, my eyes settled on the one named Ruckus, who indeed began to wag his tail wildly at my gaze. With a smirk and a shake of my head, I looked down into my lap before motioning for Rionriv to continue.

"Okay, fine, fine. Go on?"

Begrudingly, Rionriv did. She explained that it took her a while to understand my instructions, but eventually did manage to steep a proper tea of King's Chew and Slime Moss, which she then force-fed Sharzin. The results had been nearly instantaneous, which, from the way they described Sharzin's state, pulled her back from the edge of death. This unfortunately meant that, as was the way with Skirrtlegirt, she would now cry tears of blood. But at least she would be alive to cry.

And freak people the hell out! I thought to myself as I looked over at the small alabaster-skinned rogue. Teach that girl to let her black hair down, walk on the ceiling, and cry on command—hello, someone's paralysis demon.

After the tea was given to the girl, both Aesandoral and Rionriv sheltered in place for nearly eight hours waiting for me to awaken. With the groundling still healing, they had to alternate shifts watching over our bodies while still in the reservoir and anxiously waiting for more crocmaws to appear. But luckily, the magical orb's light safeguarded their watch, and nothing came to pick a fight with them.

"Which brings me to..." Rionriv quietly withdrew the cracked orb from her bag. "This."

"What happened?" I barked, taking the precious light source that we had planned on using in the boss's room.

"Apparently, continual use breaks it. Sorry."

Goddamn it, Phyllis. I cursed. You and your planned obsolescence!

"It's not your fault. Blame Phyllis for her crappy magical items."

Tossing the orb out from our huddle, I looked back at the sorceress and motioned for her to continue with her retelling.

I learned that the next day, with Sharzin feeling ready to continue and the triop unsure whether there was a dungeon-related reason why I wouldn't awaken, they thought it best to clear the rest of the level while waiting. Dragging my unconscious body to the pre-approved checkpoint, the three began alternating tasks, with one of the triop keeping me safe alongside the wolves, while the other two slowly cleared the remaining rooms. 

Rionriv let me know that ransacking the second-level facilities took significantly longer than initially planned. Being shorthanded slowed them almost as much as the unexpected environmental hazards caused by the cave-in we experienced. In the end, they collected the loot and slayed the remaining monsters that lurked in the shadows, but it took nearly eighteen hours. And, with that said, the sorceress patted her bag and nodded to me with a big smile.

“It was a good haul. As you said, there were quite a few beautiful gemstones, more special weapons, and several magical items. We’ll divvy it up at the end.”

“Thanks, Ri, great work.” I looked at all of them as my cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “You all did great, despite my being a handicap once again. As for the crocmaw battle—"

"Frangulnoas." Sharzin corrected me.

"I'm not calling them that, Zin," I replied, clearing my throat. "Anyways, that was an absolutely wild scenario that would have killed a lesser party. Great shots, great spellcraft. I’m sorry I worried you.”

“Thank you for saving me with that tea thing,” Sharzin said from her sitting spot, where she gently played with Sharmin’s fuzzy ears. “Dying would have sucked. I never would have gotten to meet Sharmin!”

I nodded, releasing a sigh as I watched her pet the bear’s head.

Sharzin and Sharmin. I thought to myself before releasing a soft chuckle. What a dumb name.

Following this up with a smirk, I directed my attention to the fluffy creature.

“Where was the bear?”

“They said the frangulnoas were moments away from eating it,” Rionriv answered. “Those two were out on patrol that rotation. Imagine my shock when this little surprise wandered back to camp with them.”

"Little?! It's as big as Sharzin!"

I looked over at Aesandoral and Sharzin as they cuddled on their ‘pets’ in front of the campfire. The sight alone brought a smile to my face and warmed my trauma-afflicted heart. As I watched their innocent smiles widen with every passing second that they doted on the beasts, I found the moment hard to believe. As the author of this hellish world, one that I had filled with horrendous monsters and deadly situations, it seemed impossible that someone could be so content in the middle of a dungeon dive. But, there they were, giggling and preening vicious, wild animals that they had befriended. And not just befriended, but befriended within the last forty-eight hours.

My heart swelled as I let slip a relieved sigh and soft chuckle. I felt my eyes water as an overwhelming and unexpected sense of happiness washed over me. Watching them made me want to forget everything in my recent dream. Everything from my past life. That feeling of loneliness that haunted me for years. I wanted to have a new life in this world. A world I constructed from my pain and anguish, yet could still laugh, smile, and be happy. More than anything, I wanted this world to heal me and for me to be enough for it.

I quickly wiped at my eyes, brushing away the tears so no one would see. That was when I felt Rionriv’s hand reach over and touch my leg. Gently gripping my knee, she spoke softly.

“Hey, you okay?”

“Huh-wha’?” I sniffled and huffed, keeping my face turned away from her. “Aherm—yeah, I—yeah, all good. The fire...Aherm! It's hot. Just sweating from my eyes.”

Eventually glancing over to Rionriv, I could see her casting that disbelieving glare that she wore every time I held something back. There was nothing I could hide from her, so I did what I did best. Flashing a forced smile, I sniffed in response. With a stretch of my arms, I casually rubbed the back of my head before continuing the conversation.

“Yeah, just, you know...the whole near-death thing in a dungeon is wild! Speaking of which, did you really manage to drag me all the way to—”

“Temporary Holding Ward F-One-Dash-One,” Rionriv replied casually, her look softening as she appeared to drop her concern. “Just like we planned. And don't worry, I used the wolves to drag you here after fashioning together a sled from the mundane supplies we gathered up top.”

“You’re a rockstar, Ri,” I said, looking at her with a smile. "You know that?"

“Again, with the weird things. What is a—Rock? Star?”

I laughed, caught in an awkward situation once again because of my World Eighty-Two terminology.

“It’s like a bard that puts on shows for entire cities. Like DJ Demilich—eh, actually more like Power Word Thrill.”

“But in this context, how does that work?”

I laughed and shook my head. “Never mind, never mind. You’re just—you’re amazing. Thank you for taking such good care of useless ol’ me.”

Staring into her eyes, I watched as her expression softened and, for the briefest moment, I could have sworn I saw the faintest bit of colour grace her cheeks. She turned away from me with a start, huffing frustratedly and crossing her arms.

"Yeah, well, someone has to take care of you. You're our payday afterall!"

And with a small chuckle of agreement, I sat in silence for a little while, enjoying the warmth of the fire as everyone chatted more about the things they saw exploring this level of the dungeon. Before long, I watched as Sharzin moved towards the pot that had been set atop the fire. Scooping an odd concoction into a bowl, she arrived at my side, handing me something that smelled delicious but equally looked atrocious.

“What’s this slop?”

“Eat it.” Sharzin insisted, pushing it closer to me while watching expectantly.

Looking down, I inspected the awful-looking meal. Before me was a bowl of something red, whipped until smooth and fluffy. Then there was a slab of mystery meat that had been overly cooked to the point of being horribly charred. Finally, a clear viscous liquid drenched the entire meal.

As I stared at it, my stomach simultaneously churned and growled.

Make up your mind. I thought, cursing my insatiable hunger. God, what is this? I don’t want to be rude. But I also haven't eaten for, what? Two days?

“Thanks, Zin,” I spoke, hesitantly taking the bowl and setting it in my lap. "Appreciate it."

Cutting into the goo-drenched meat first, I was surprised at how moist it was. That was when I realized it had not been charred. Instead, the meat was blackened all the way through, and the crispy exterior was a thick layer of spices at least half an inch thick. Hesitantly, I took a nibble, chewing cautious bites before—

Delicious!

“Oh my gods, Zin! Is that Tennessee Fried Chicken?”

“Mwahahahahaha.” She cackled proudly.

I scooped the red substance next, shoving it into my mouth eagerly. Whatever the fluffy slop was, it tasted as though it were the creamiest and smoothest potatoes I had ever consumed. Finally, enjoying the clear substance by itself, it became apparent that it was a gravy of sorts, and equally delicious.

“And mashed potatoes with gravy. Sharzin, I’m in love.”

One of the wolves yelped in reply to my elation, drawing my attention to it. With a glance over, I could see it looking up at Aesandoral with a questioning expression. The elf, who stared my direction, suddenly looked back down at the wolf, realizing that she had accidentally grabbed at its fur a bit too hard. With heavy pets, she scrubbed at the beast's back in an attempt to make up for the hurt feelings.

“No, I do not consent to your proposal,” Sharzin replied quickly. “But is the food satisfactory?”

Choosing to ignore the first part of her odd reply, I shoved another scoop into my mouth.

“Yes, it's nearly identical. Tell me your secrets.”

"It's quite easy, actually!" She proudly boasted. "We collected some red cavern tubers from the frangulnoa camp and then used the remaining Kings Clear mushrooms to purify the meat dripping! And then, I found a secret thirteenth spice that made all the difference. Mwahahahaha!” 

She cackled before clearing her throat and eyeing me as I took a big bite of the juicy meat once more.

“Oh, and lizard meat instead of griffon.”

“What?” I stopped midbite, glancing down at the thick steak before me.

“Yeah, the lizard meat cooks up nice. Aside from the colour, it’s a perfect substitute for that deep-fried flavour.”

This gave me pause as I looked down at the meal and felt my stomach churn once again. Giving the already half-consumed bowl a shrug, I continued to scarf down the food. And with that, we all talked and laughed for a nice while, enjoying the rest of the day before deciding to bed down.