Chapter 11: Lunch Break

“So this is Merlian food?”

Kathryne walks alongside Wolfgang through the crowded market street, making their way home with a basket full of foodstuffs, lunch for the entire gnomish group. However, a few of the items pique the witch’s curiosity, recognizing the all too familiar cuisine: burgers and potato wedges.

“Never had it before?” Wolfgang asks, stealing a wedge from one of the containers in the basket.

“Well, the smell is familiar.” Kathy answers, still unsure as to what exactly this meant in relation to her past life. It’s entirely possible that cooks from this world would stumble upon the exact recipes and burgers from her old world, but the alternative implies that she is not the first person to be shunted to this world. “The girl at the restaurant said that King Merlin created the original recipes?”

“Apparently.”

Then I should do some research on him when I get the chance. Kathryne thinks, using Analysis to bring up her mental database.

Combining Analysis’ ability to perfectly recall memories and thoughts with the Method of Ioci that got Kathryne through college, the witch had an immaculate mind palace that she could quickly utilize for any mental purpose.

Flipping to a small mental library of empty shelves, Kathryne brings up a mental list of ‘Things to Research’, placing King Merlin in an entry between ‘Common Arcane Theories’ and ‘General Geology’.

Kathryne lets out a somber sigh, witnessing the ever growing length of topics she needed to catch up on. Nearly all of her free time since waking up in the world was spent burying her nose in her spellbook, familiarizing herself with the arcane nuances of spellcasting.

But a wizard must not just be versed in the arcane, but well-read and knowledgeable in all subjects.

“The waitress said that Merlin was king of Izoran. Is that nearby?”

Wolfgang stops in the road, her gaze meandering towards the nearby rooftops in thought. Kathryne pauses as well and tries to follow her gaze towards a particularly striking bird.

A magpie quietly grooms its wings, its feathers glittering an amazing shade of shimmering blue.

The two spend a couple of moments bird-watching before the slayer speaks up again. “I think we’re in it.”

“Huh?”

“Ermon mentioned that Izoran redrew some borders to include Trudid, but it may be in name only.” Wolfgang says, her eyes gazing off towards a nearby building, a tavern with a conic top that’s bustling with activity. Many people eat their midday lunches here, with a few of them brazenly wearing armor and weapons, mercenaries who protected the caravan that arrived several days ago.

“Then again, with mercenaries and a caravan coming in from deeper in Izoran, that might change soon.”

Turning the corner to Ermon’s shop, the two spot a group of children sitting down in front of the store. They crouch over a small battlefield of marbles, trinkets, and tiny wooden figurines. A fantastical battle is taking place between soldier toys of varying sizes and an evil wooden duck.

The older children meant to be supervising the smaller ones are less interested in the battle, instead listening to the radio telling the story of a knight investigator getting to the bottom of a demonic cult.

Wolfgang’s ears swivel in recognition of the show, although the slayer seems uncertain about approaching the front door. After a moment of consideration, Wolfgang turns into a nearby alley that loops around to the back entrance of the shop. “I’ll see you inside.”

“Where are you going?” Kathryne asks, unsure if she should hand over the basket.

“Ermon told me to take the back entrance when there’s customers or children around. He doesn’t want me scaring them off.”

“Oh… Well, I’ll see you inside then.”

Once Wolfgang disappears around a corner, Kathryne continues towards the front of the store, greeting the children with a wave. “Would you like me to take out some chairs for you all?”

The witch is met with a small symphony of polite ‘no’s and ‘thank you’s, although one of the older children quickly stands up, looking over the witch nervously. “M-miss? Does the big wolf lady come by here? With a sword on her back?”

“Oh?” Kathryne looks the young teenager up and down. “Are you looking for Wolfgang?”

The teenager nods and reaches into his overalls, producing a slightly creased card. Dirt and grime stick to the card’s surface, but there are hints of some decorative art hidden underneath. “Can you give this to her? This is for finding our cat.”

A warm feeling spreads through Kathryne’s heart, trying not to giggle at the mental image of Wolfgang trying to get a cat out of a tree. She gently holds her hand out to receive the card. “Of course! I’ll be sure to-”

When the card touches her palm, Kathryne could immediately feel a thin layer of slime coating the item. The warm feeling in her chest is immediately replaced with restrained cringing, stifling a gag when Kathryne spots a small trail of something unstick from the teen’s fingers.

The teen himself didn’t look too comfortable handling the card either, wiping his hand on his pants.

“I’ll… be sure to give this to her right away.”

*****

The floor above Ermon’s shop has been renovated into a living space perfect for gnomes. Every square inch has been expertly spaced and utilized, a snug labyrinth of cupboards and items to maximize comfort and utility.

At least, if you were a gnome.

Wolfgang grumbles to herself as she hunches around, avoiding the low ceiling and many protruding cabinets. She’d avoid being upstairs if she could, but with Ermon and Errick dealing with a couple of customers, she had to stay out of sight.

Luckily, she won’t be lacking for company. Kathryne soon arrives at the kitchen table as well, giving a friendly wave to Wolfgang. The witch had an easier time maneuvering around, but she still had some issues with accidentally knocking things off of other things.

Carefully placing the basket of food on the table, Kathryne moves towards a nearby wooden slab decorated with ritualistic carvings. Since she’s been spending plenty of time identifying items for their enchantments, she’s begun experimenting creating some enchantments of her own.

Placing a hand on a designated circle, mana travels through a brilliant, burning path on the slab and activates a magical spell. The air next to Kathryne shimmers in the vague shape of a small humanoid before settling, a conjured servant.

“Set the table for food. The others will be coming.” She says, glad that the wooden summoning board was still functioning. It had its problems, as it could only summon one servant a day for an hour, and the burning mana eats at the wood itself, but it serves functionally for now.

Watching the invisible servant starting to grab the food in the basket and setting it out, Kathryne smiles and reaches into her pocket. “By the way, one of the children had a gift for you!” She says, motioning for Wolfgang to hold her hand out, trying to stifle a mischievous smile.

Wolfgang does as she’s asked and the witch quickly drops the card onto her palm, or at least tries to. The slimy card clings to kathryne’s fingers, even as she tries to shake it off. The slayer very patiently waits and watches Kathryne wipe the card on her hand like a wad of snot.

Feeling the texture of the grime covering the item, Wolfgang’s nose slightly wrinkles in disgust. “Why is it sticky?”

“They gave it to me like that.”

“Couldn’t you have cleaned it first?”

“... Yeahhh…” Kathryne sighs, disappointed that her revenge for Wolfgang giving her a gross bug was met with such a mild reaction. With a practiced gesture, the card begins to hover a few inches above Wolfgang’s palm. It then spins, the grime and dirt blowing upwards into a small tornado of filth that dissipates, leaving the card pristine and sparkling.

Wolfgang picks at the card out of the air, inspecting the art on its surface. A strange texture or material depicts Knight Julius of Izoran, a man donning impressive metal armor and a fiery cape. A small blurb of text at the bottom describes his title as the ‘Blade of Kethys’, as well as depicting a few stats.

The wolfess has an uncertain look about her, placing her bag somewhere that won’t bother the invisible servant and begins reaching deep into it. “You’ve been getting better. You don’t make a face when you cast anymore.”

Kathryne raises her brow before touching her face, not realizing that she had such a habit. “Oh.. Thanks?”

Sitting down at the small table with plates of food floating around, Kathryne watches Wolfgang pull out a rectangular box, removing the lid to reveal a long stack of cards.

Errick walks through the doorway, having been summoned by the scent of food. However, he is quickly distracted by the deck of cards Wolfgang holds. “Are you collecting cards now?”

Before Wolfgang can respond, Ermon appears in the doorway followed closely by Merlin. “What? Did you let them pay you in cards again?”

“No.” Wolfgang says, slipping the card into her impressive deck and putting it away, keeping an eye on the cat to make sure it doesn’t try anything. “The card is from something else.”

“And what about the greenhouse job?” Ermon climbs into his chair and begins to unwrap his food “Getting paid in real money this time?”

“Hm. 50 coins and a machine to kill a wererat.”

“A were-rat?” Errick asks, his brow rising in curiosity and concern. “Are those dangerous? What if it bites you?”

“All lycanthropes are dangerous, less so to the unprepared.” Wolfgang responds, finally starting to bite into her food, her sharp teeth easily slicing through the meat. “I’m more concerned with the ratlings.”

“Will they be letting you into the undercity?” Ermon speaks casually, his white mustache bristling as he chews. “I heard that there still might be valuable items in the rubble.”

Kathryne’s ear wiggles slightly when she hears of possible treasure, although the witch keeps quiet for now.

Errick looks up from wiggling a soggy mushroom at the cat. “I also heard the place is filled with undead. Do you have anything for that?”

Wolfgang stops chewing for a moment, only to then steal one of Errick’s wedges. “If the ratlings can move around, they either have a path around or aren’t threatened by them. Both work for me. Besides, I need the money.”

The room falls into a quiet munching, each person taking a pause in the chatter to eat.

Kathryne’s eyes keep darting in between her food and Wolfgang before she finally breaks the silence. “Could… I come with you? I could help you find some magical items, or something for the shop? Maybe even help with the ratlings?”

Wolfgang’s ears flicker slightly, but her expression hardly changes even as she stops eating.

Ermon and Errick look up from their meals in surprise and concern respectively, but the slayer speaks up first. “I don’t really do protection.”

“Oh, I have defensive spells, if it helps!” Kathryne says, poking her food around. “And a spell that can make you stronger! I just need a few minutes to prepare it.”

The wolf woman pauses in consideration again, her slitted eyes dilating and staring at Ermon, as if to give him the final say. The elder gnome gives Wolfgang an affirmative nod, only briefly looking up from his food to ask the invisible servant to clean up the shop floor.

“Alright.” Wolfgang starts to stand, quickly wolfing down the rest of her burger. “I’m going to brew some things. Be ready in 30.”

“Thank you!” Kathryne smiles, starting to take small quick bites of her own food.

“Be careful down there, Kathryne.” Ermon says, stealing a wedge from her. “Bring us something good, will you? I might have a good reward for it.”

*****

“Do wolf people have claws? Or is your only natural weapon your bite?”

Walking back down the path to the greenhouse, Kathryne mentally reviews her spells and character sheet, hanging on to the slayer’s cloak in order to avoid bumping into the crowds of people.

“Just the bite.” Wolfgang squints in the afternoon sun, her eyes thinning into viper-like slits. Being so tall at this time of day seems to come with annoyances in the form of every reflective surface around bouncing rays of sunlight into her eyes.

“What about your daggers, then?” Kathryne holds a book in her hand, a bestiary filled with notes of Wolfgang’s monster studies. “If they’re not that strong, then it might be more useful to focus on the quantity of attacks than pure strength. Your greatsword would be overkill, and if you’re buffed with my spell, you’ll be able to mow through them with your axes and bite attack.”

“I’m not using my bite attack on the ratlings.”

“What? Why not? It’ll be as strong as a longsword!”

“I don’t know where they’ve been.” Wolfgang huffs, her nose wrinkling up at the imagined taste of ratling. However, a distant sound makes her wolf ears twitch, turning to scowl at someone behind them.

Kathryne follows her gaze and spots a familiar cleric getting caught in the wandering crowds. Sam waves to the two while he struggles to break through the crowds, his cloak hiding his uniform from the public.

“Hi, Sam!” Kathryne smiles, patiently waiting to give Sam a chance to catch up. “What are you up to?”

“Hey!” Sam’s eyes dart between Kathryne and Wolfgang, seeing that both of them are wearing less casual clothes. Wolfgang had her usual slayer attire, a leather jacket and bandoliers hidden underneath her wolf’s cloak, and Kathryne had her spellbook hanging on her hip in a leather carrier. “Are you two heading out to kill the wererat?”

“We are!” Kathryne smiles, closing Wolfgang’s bestiary and putting it underneath her arm. “We were just talking about strategies and synergies.”

“Oh, good.” Sam clears his throat and rests his hand on the holy symbol dangling from his neck. “Do you have need for a cleric?”

Wolfgang’s eyes narrow at Sam’s offer, stepping forward and crossing her arms. “We’ll manage fine on our own.”

“I’m sure you can. But if I help, you spend less resources getting to the wererat. Besides,” Sam pauses for a moment to clear his throat, feeling anxious underneath the slayer’s unnatural gaze. “I’m one of the very few battle clerics in Trudid. If there’s ever an expedition to take the rest of the undercity, I’ll need to have experience with fighting undead.”

During a moment of consideration, Wolfgang looms over the smaller cleric and appraises his gear, checking his chainmail for any deterioration and leaning in close to note his scent for signs of deceit.

Sense Motive: 13.

Kathryne watches Wolfgang scowl in recognition of something, but she doesn’t turn outright hostile to Sam. Instead, the wolf woman locks eyes with Kathryne in her moment of consideration, before taking a step back. “Fine. Don’t expect me to share the reward.”

Sam lets out a breath he was holding, slightly gripping his helmet closer. “That’s absolutely fine.”

“Kathryne.” Wolfgang gives the wizard a quick gesture. “Use the ring.”

The wizard nods and steps towards Sam, holding out her left hand. Sam looks down at her finger and spots the black band wrapped around her index, the eyeball in the crown staring at him.

“... What is that?”

“It’s a magic ring!”

“Why is it blinking at me?”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s just a me thing. Wolfgang got one that’s way cooler.”

Sam stares at the extended hand, unsure of what effects touching the weird eyeball might inflict on him, but Kathryne’s bright smile puts his mind at… some ease. At least he’ll be sure it won’t bite him.

Probably.

Sam joined the party!