224: Introductions
I breathed a sigh of relief after moving everyone out of the kitchen — well, everyone who would leave, at least — so Lily, Liane, and Crisplet remained.
I quickly pulled the tubers off, draining the water, allowing them to steam-dry before I added some butter and cream. The tea grass would need less than an hour to dry off, while the sausages would take a couple of hours.
“Let’s get cooking, Crisplet!” I said happily.
My dinner plan was simple. I was not doing anything fancy. I was going to have a plate of cooked sausages, a plate of cooked onions, my sauces, a large plate of creamy mashed tubers, along with some sides of vegetables.
I really wanted to embrace the new skill, so rather than individual dishes on plates served to each person, everything I would cook would be placed on the table and shared, much like the first dinner I had at the royal palace.
I would also go back to the classic dishes I shared with the team from when I first started cooking, something I’d not made in a long time, and pulled out a boar. Although it was missing its belly, it was good to roast it whole.
I quickly seasoned the outside, and Crisplet started to cook immediately. After that, I wanted to find Archie. There were two things I wanted from the market, if it was even possible now with the chaos happening, but if anyone could organise it, Archie could.
As I walked through the dining room, I saw the crowd had now grown, with Hari and Milo arriving back, but also Elijah and Luis were there as well, Luis giving me a smirk and a wave as he sat off to the side as the rest still seemed to be in deep discussion.
My search for Archie was short, finding him in the foyer giving directions to two of the staff. I caught his attention.
“Excuse me, Archie. I was hoping you’d be able to get a couple of ingredients for me from the market,” I asked.
“Of course, sir. What do you require?” He bowed slightly.
“I was hoping to get razor crabs and juvenile strike eel. I don’t know how big the eels are, but if it’s possible to acquire them, it would be amazing,” I asked.
“How much of each do you need, sir?” Archie asked, already gesturing to Cameron to come closer.
“I’m not really sure. I want a large pot’s worth of the razor crab, enough for twenty people total,” I said, shrugging.
“And is that all, sir?” Archie smiled.
“Yes. Thank you, Archie. That will be all. I have all the other ingredients in my storage,” I smiled.
Archie didn’t wait, directing Cameron immediately. As I left, I heard him also requesting that Cameron buy wine and ale, which was smart and something I had completely forgotten about.
The afternoon passed in a haze. In the end, Cameron returned; he was unable to find the strike eel, stating that it was usually considered too dangerous. He did, however, have twenty razor crabs, which ended up being far more than a single pot’s worth, but extra would be great and make up for the missing eel.
For half the razor crab, I decided to do an experiment, as both Crisplet and I would both make exactly the same dish, only he’d just do his, which should become very spicy, then I would do mine and tone down on the chilli, especially for Darren and George, who I had learned now did not really enjoy overly spicy food.
I pulled out the fermented bean paste I had got from the store and ran through the recipe with Crisplet, following step by step what we did last time back in Greyrock.
Which was a mix of vegetables in the pot, sweating them off before Crisplet added extra chilli on his, and I only added a tiny amount, adding the bean paste to the vegetables now to cook it off slightly. Then we filled both pots with water, bringing them to a simmer, mixing it all, adding some more mixed herbs, then finally adding in the razor crabs, which we had split in half and cleaned.
Both lids were then put on and sealed by Crisplet. While he went to cook them, I knew it would only take about fifteen minutes, and then I would store them away.
The sausages, once they had been smoked, were finished on the grill. The aroma of them was incredible.
“Can we taste-test a little bit of those?” Liane asked from the corner.
I was surprised this was the first time she’d asked and had expected one of the two to at least attempt to steal something earlier, but other than the odd conversation, both Liane and Lily had been patiently waiting in the corner of the kitchen and given us our space.
I had plenty of sausages, assuming any extra would be perfect for the road, and I had not tried any myself, so shrugging, I took the first one that had been ready, using infuse on it, going for longest buff time, lowest potency. I had three kinds. This particular one was Baelvryn sausage.
[Uncommon] Baelvryn Smoked Sausage
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- +2 Strength
- +1 Endurance
- + Minor Fear Aura
- Fire Immunity
“This is really good, Trev,” Liane said, nodding.
I got a burst of sparks from Crisplet to let me know the crabs were ready, so I didn’t bother unsealing the lids and just stored them away immediately, knowing they would be ready to serve directly at the table.
The very last item I needed to cook off was the tarts. These were all ready to go and only needed to be baked, so Crisplet helped me do that.
“Can we try one?” Liane asked with a grin.
“No,” I said simply.
She didn’t protest, and I suspect she knew what the answer would be before she asked, and likely just did it because Lily made her. I was learning now.
Archie appeared in the doorway. “Sir, Clifford and his wife have arrived. Also, Kathrine was hoping to speak with you but didn’t want to disturb you in the kitchen.”
“Thank you, Archie. She’s fine to come in. I’m nearly finished with all the cooking,” I smiled.
It was only a second later, as if she had been waiting, that Kathrine appeared next to Archie.
“Trevor, I have a bit of a selfish request, and it’s perfectly okay if you say no,” she started.
I patiently waited for her to ask, half expecting her to have a specific dish or something she was after.
“Is it possible for my mother and father to join us here tonight?” she asked hopefully.
Archie’s eyes went wide, but he didn’t say anything. I really didn’t have any reason not to invite them here, and I’m sure there would be some political dramas if there was a big show of it.
“Sure, but all I’d ask is they don’t make a big scene of arriving. We’re leaving tomorrow, and I don’t want to cause Micca any issues when we’re gone,” I smiled.
Kathrine seemed to let go of a breath she was holding, saying, “We’re leaving too, so this will be nice. Thanks, Trevor. I’ll send a messenger and let them know.”
She left the kitchen after that, not elaborating on them leaving as well. I knew Luis was leaving, obviously. He had a job up north. But not the others, so I did a double take upon hearing that.
“Sir, if you’d excuse me, I need to prepare the staff for the King and Queen’s arrival,” Archie said, bowing.
“Thanks, Archie. Just don’t make a big thing of it, please,” I asked.
I knew saying this was hopeless, but it is what it is. At least we’d have wards to hide prying eyes once they made it to the house.
“I’ll try, sir.” Archie quickly left.
Liane made me jump when she spoke up. “I bet all the royal children are heading in different directions and they are checking up on nobles. They probably don’t trust their advisers anymore and want to see things for themselves.”
That made sense, but I had no time to think about it, as Crisplet gave me a burst of sparks to let me know the tarts were ready.
“So it’s not just our farewell dinner now,” I said, nodding.
“Probably, though they won’t say it, and don’t you say a word while we’re out there. Not unless they bring it up,” Liane cautioned.
Nodding, I was just running through my last checks when there was a knock at the door. Half expecting Archie to enter again, I was surprised to see Sylverith standing there, her form no longer translucent, and next to her stood a girl.
No, at a quick glance you’d think it were a girl, but it was a poor imitation of one. She was short, barely coming up to Sylverith’s shoulders. Her skin was so pale it was almost white, while her hair was silver. Her eyes, though, if I thought Lily had piercing eyes, these were on another level. Eyes like jade, but they were so incredibly deep.
“Trevor, dear, I felt it only right that I introduce you to my friend, Huling. She is another illusion magic user, and I felt it would be worthwhile introducing the two of you, especially as you head north towards her territory,” Sylverith said.
While she was talking, Lily had immediately appeared next to the small girl and was rubbing her head against her hand, clearly a friend.
A very soft-spoken voice, sounding more like a whisper, went directly to my mind. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, young Trevor. I have heard much about you, and your event today has caused much attention.”
“Uh, thanks? Any friend of Lily and Sylverith is a friend of mine,” I said, smiling.
There was a soft, melodic laugh. “She still has you calling her Sylverith, does she? Not Sylvy?”
Sylverith went to tap the girl, clearly disapproving of the pot-stirring, but before her hand even hit, she was already on the other side of Sylverith, a smirk on her face.
“And this is his companion, Crisplet,” Sylverith continued, as if nothing had happened after the miss.
“Oh, the one ’Lira likes. He’s calling you Sylvy,” the voice said.
“Trevor is welcome to call me Sylvy if he likes. He’s just never asked,” Sylverith said shortly to Huling.
She batted Sylverith’s arm lightly. “It’s okay. I’m only playing. This will be a fun dinner. It smells delicious. Thank you for having me, Trevor.”
They both left, with Lily standing there looking between us, clearly torn.
“It’s okay, Lily. You won’t miss out on any food,” I said with a laugh, knowing the real reason.
A moment later, she vanished, clearly heading out to spend more time with this newcomer. As I looked over to Liane, who hadn’t said anything this whole time, I saw she was just staring at the door.
“Something the matter?” I asked.
“You know who that was, right?” She said in a whisper herself.
“Huling?” I answered, confused.
Liane let out a deep sigh. “It’s a spirit. A fairly notorious one for being both benevolent and malevolent. Often takes the form of a fox and is always known as a trickster. Tricks that will lead someone to their death or fortune.”
“Oh… well, they seemed nice,” I said, going back to double-checking everything for dinner.
“You’re hopeless sometimes, Trevor. You know that,” Liane laughed.
I barely heard it, running through everything one more time. Then we’d just wait for Marcus and Amber to arrive, and then it would be time for dinner.