Chapter 72: Better Than Nothing
Elmo sighed as he finished up with the cooking for the night. He'd done some cooking in the past, but nothing to this extent. He'd thought when he'd first agreed to help with the cooking that it would be something simple. And while it was, in a way, it kept going on and on.
He first was set to peeling potatoes, then to chop them up in cubes. Then chop carrots. Then celery. Then keep an eye on the stew by continually stirring it so what was on the bottom of the large pot didn't burn. Though, he couldn't help but wonder if it really was a pot or a cauldron. It was much larger than any pot he'd ever seen and that included what he'd seen in movies when there would be a scene going through a kitchen. Either a fight scene or a chase scene.
As Elmo walked out into the common area, he was sweaty and would like nothing more than to take a bath and go to bed. However, as he looked at the table where he'd last seen the rest of his team, he saw Jonas talking with a man who was examining Kim, looking in her eyes, checking vitals, and stuff. Which made him suspect that this man was the one who Jonas could find who might be able to help Kim.
As Elmo walked around the room, as much as he could, he noticed that Elin seemed to be handling herself better than he'd expected with working as a waitress. She was struggling sure, but with her occasional glance towards Kim, Elmo suspected her difficulty was because she was having trouble focusing on her job at hand.
Although, the patrons didn't seem t mind any waits or other problems she had. At the very least, she hadn't dropped anything, or as far as Elmo could see. Though, he did noticed how she handled patrons who were a little too free with their hands. Which seemed to deter others from doing the same and were a source of entertainment for the companions of those who got hit with her Magic Shot spell.
Elmo did his best to not get Elin's way, though he wished that the room wasn't so crowded or that maybe there was a path along the edge. Yet, despite that, he was happy when he sat down at the table where Jonas was at.
Which was when he noticed Owen's team was present as well. Not that he was bothered by their presence, Elwin and Leon seemed to be in good spirits as they drank, Own had his head on his arms on the table, and looked like he might be asleep. Bart, however, seemed to be studying the wood grains in the table and looked rather depressed. Not that Elmo could blame him.
Elmo listened to Elwin and Leon go through a drinking song that he couldn't make heads or tails of, let alone understand a word they said. Which made him wonder just how much they'd had to drink already.
"Sorry, this curse is beyond me," Elmo heard the man who Jonas had been talking to. "I mean, if I had magic that could stop her stats from being drained then I probably could even cure it, but with how she is right now, there's nothing I can do. It's like it's draining her constitution and feeding on it or something."