2 Spiked Fruit stew

They made their way back to Dion's lodge before sundown and Luna was in awe at how adorable and inviting his home was. The little garden of cabbages and carrots that filled the front of his yard to the moss and vines nestled into the roof and walls all coming together to form a picturesque getaway.

"I love your home! It's so welcoming and warm," Luna leaned over the flower bed just outside the fence, to peer into the otherwise foggy glass windows. "Mind the flowers! They just started to bloom." Dion shouted as he unlocked the gate.

"Oh, sorry I've just never seen something so wonderful, my old home used to be in a very crowded city so a home like this is exciting."

"Exciting? This is just a small lodging, but it is home. I guess it's your home now as well so make yourself comfortable." Dion went ahead and unlocked his front door. Luna followed behind and walked inside staring at all the little details of the home. The small cozy living area with a red couch and fireplace as well as the many candles, books, and odd items on coffee tables. Luna peered into the kitchen past the living area to see cabinets and shelves full of jars, bottles, and food.

"I see that you didn't lie about your ability to cook, look at all of these fruits and vegetables," Luna picked up a strange fruit with small spikes on it from the kitchen table. "what is this fruit called?" She asked.

"That's called spiked fruit." Luna looked disappointed in his response. "How can you live in such a world and call this fruit something so dull." She put the fruit back down with a yearning to eat one.

"I don't get to name the fruit, I cook them." Smirking Dion grabbed a couple and brought them over to a cutting board. "How about I make us a nice stew with some brown ale to go alongside it?" he asked, chopping away at the fruit into cubed pieces.

"That would be great! I'm starving, that guild inn didn't provide us with any food since we got here." Luna replied as she took a seat on a small woven chair.

"That inn does provide food in a sense, if you have the coin," Dion rubbed his fingers together getting a scowling expression from Luna.

"I'm starting to think you're a bit of bully, treating your new guest with such a condescending attitude." Luna crossed her arms and got up to see Milo, who was sleeping on a hickory cushioned chair by the fireplace.

"You didn't tell me your bird's name," she ran her fingers down the pudgy yellow bird inciting a relaxed stir from it.

"His name is Milo, I found him deep in the woods while I was scrounging for mushrooms. Poor guy must have hurt his wing and his parents must have left him out there." Dion finished chopping up the spiked fruit and went ahead and started to chop a variety of colorful vegetables.

"He's so soft," picking Milo up she pressed him to her face snuggling into his feathers, "like a soft pillow."

Milo awoke, delightful to see Luna's cheerful face. "Chip-chip."

The bird reciprocated by nestling into her chest and fell back asleep.

"I think he likes you." Dion finished cutting and carefully dumping the chopped ingredients into a boiling pot behind him.

"I have some questions to ask you Dion. Even though I'm somewhat happy with how my little misstep brought me to this world I need to know why," she put Milo back near the now burning fireplace to let him sleep. "Why is your world sending out letters to people on Earth, what purpose does it serve? Why not just let the people here fight the evil that the guild keeps going on about?"

Dion was stirring the stew and dropping in bits of leaf and spice and then closed the pot with a lid. "The reason is because over 100 years ago, the wizards of this world found out about your world through experimental portal magic. Through the use of what is now known as portal letters. When we first brought people over, the old texts say that humans from Earth were more akin to magic than the people of Evermore. No one knows why but ever since we asked for help from Earth, the evil in these lands seems to be retreating."

"What evil is your world facing?" Luna asked before, shouting at Dion, "Ah! The pots boiling over!"

"Eh?!"

Dion hastily moved the pot off the stove to cool and a huge plume of steam rose up from the pot upon removing the lid. "That smells amazing, Dion!" Luna said taking the sweet aroma of the spiked fruit stew.

"Sorry about that, but to answer your question," Dion gestured to a set of little demonic statues on a shelf, "the evil our world faces has been around for generations. Goblins, orcs, dragons, and the like terrorizing cities and towns in an endless campaign to destroy the world of Evermore and plunge it into darkness." Luna grimaced at the thought of having to do battle with such creatures.

"Don't worry too much, Luna, adventuring can be fun and it's basically commonplace now. Think of it as cutting the grass and pulling the weeds. Let nature have its way and whole gardens can get choked out by invasive species."

Dion went and grabbed a couple of ceramic bowls and spoons from a pantry and placed them at the small nook by the window. Luna took a seat opposite of Dion and he began to plate their food and pour brown ale into wooden mugs.

Taking a mouthful of the stew, Luna's face lit up tasting the savoury fruit and nectarous broth. "What do you call this? It's so sweet and delicious!" Luna chugged down her ale and wolfed down another hunk of spiked fruit.

"It's called spiked fruit stew. The fruit is hard to come by since the bushes that it grows on move around a lot." Luna stopped eating and stared at Dion for a moment.

"…what do you mean… move around a lot?"

Dion held his mug to his stolid face sipping his ale, "Do…do plants not move where you come from?"

"No! Why would they move? That absurd."

"If you think moving trees is absurd, wait until you see what else this world has to offer."

"This world is so strange, from the moment I got here none of it made any sense. One moment I'm in my kitchen with a letter and the next I'm suited up as a summoner. I'm going to be honest with you, if I knew this place existed, I would have just let my little brother take the trip." Luna covered her face and stressed over the thought. "Dion, what about my old life back home? What happens to my family?"

"Not much is known about what happens after; many of the earthlings know the risk of this being a one-way trip."

Dion held out his left hand and started counting with his fingers, "you could be presumed dead back home."

"OH!"

"You could have been replaced by a doppelganger."

"OH!"

"Or you ceased to exist all together."

Luna started to stress eat the rest of her meal in a failed attempt to avoid these horrible possibilities. "Slow down, Luna!" Dion tried to pull the bowl from her, but she snatched the bowl bringing it closer to her face. Luna started wheezing uncontrollably as she dropped the bowl to the floor.

"Luna!" Dion quickly got up from his chair and picked up Luna from behind and wrapped his arms around her chest and started thrusting in hopes of dislodging her throat.

Luna was flailing around, tears in her eyes and her face a beet red.

…

After the incident, Dion invited Luna out to the porch to drink some tea and eat some pie Dion made earlier. They sat on small cushioned wood chairs looking out at the sunset over Acorn village. The setting sun turning the thin and wispy clouds into a sky of crimson red and amber.

"Red sky at night, a sailor's delight…" Dion spoke leaning back into his chair.

"Where did you hear that?"

"I don't remember, someone told me that long ago when I was little. I think it was my…" Dion stopped himself from speaking. "What's wrong, Dion?" Luna moved in closer, concerned.

"Sorry, I didn't want to spoil your night with my worries." Dion smiled again and swiftly got up. "I'll get us some more pie."

Luna watched him enter the lodge, but he looked tense.

He came back with two more slices and they ate the rest of it enjoying the sunset. "Starting tomorrow we have to figure out what quest to do first, it's imperative that we get you a mission where you can excel at cultivating your skills. Now I'm just a companion so I can only provide advice and support, so its up to you to decide what steps to take."

"So, I'm your boss and you're the minion?" Luna clasped her hands at the fingers with a wicked grin on her face, cackling under her breath.

"…Huh? …no. I'm a com-pan-ion meaning I work alongside you and keep you safe under contract from the guild."

"My very own minion to do my bidding, o-heh-heh-heh…"

"No! I'm not your minion, I have rights… wait are you scheming?"

He shook Luna in a rocking motion, but she was lost in her madness, snickering in a devilish manner. She came back from her demonic stupor and giggled.

"You're going to be good fun." She said punching him in the shoulder. "Well it's late, I'm going to go to bed. We can talk more over breakfast." She yawned and headed back inside.

Dion sighed and gathered up their plates waving to Luna, "Ok good night." Heading off to the kitchen he placed his bowls in a sink to wash them. Then it occurred to him,

'wait… where was she going to sleep. I only own one bed.' Dion rushed down the hallway to find Luna passed out in his bed snuggled under the blankets. 'That little…' Turning around, he sighed and went off to sleep on the couch.

"Looks like I'm sleeping with you Milo." Milo slept soundly in his chair unaware that Dion was even there. He blew out all the candles in the house and unfolded a quilt from the top of his couch for warmth.

"Tomorrows a new day Milo, imagine all of the good we can do now that we have an adventurer to work with." Taking a deep breath Dion closed his eyes and dozed off.

…

The sunlight slowly flickered into the living room in small beams of light cascading across the room. Dion awoke to find Milo sitting on his chest staring at him.

"I'm already up, Milo…" Milo puffed out his chest and started his chirping,

"Chip-a-chee!" The bird hopped of his chest and flew to the hallway to find Luna.

He lazily got up from his new bed and went off to the kitchen to prepare provisions for their first adventure. Taking some dough from his fridge, he kneaded it into small balls and then prepared a chicken filling. A mixture of soy sauce, sugar, and herbs went into the filling and then he flattened out the dough balls to place the filling at the centre. Carefully bringing the edges of the dough together, Dion finished making several batches of meat buns. Afterwards he placed them in a steamer to cook.

Taking a medley of green beans and mushrooms, he chopped them up and boiled them in a gravy of water and fats to create a thick soup. Later, he pulled out purple yam cakes from a bread box to have them for dessert. The cakes were glazed in a white frosting along the top and he neatly wrapped them in paper.

Afterwards he placed all of the goods into his knapsack. Luna approached Dion while holding Milo like a baby in her arms.

"You spoil that bird, he's nothing but trouble," rubbing his belly with her fingers she dismissed his words, "How could you stay mad at this little guy," she pushed Milo into Dion's face.

"Say sorry."

"chip-chip"

"…sorry."

Satisfied, she put Milo Down on the kitchen table where he wandered off down to a water dish to drink. "So, Dion what's on our agenda today? Do I get to start summoning powerful creatures today? How about our payment? I want to earn lots of gold!"

Dion saw her jumping enthusiastically, "Hold on, first we need to make sure all of your skill points are down on paper," taking a piece of paper he placed it on the countertop, "put the palm of your hand flat down on the paper. It will transcribe your skills so we can see them."

She held out her hand and in moments her hand glowed a yellowish hue and small streams of yellow magic started flowing into the paper forming words and numbers.

"Let's take a look," he slowly went over the skills and noticed a something peculiar about the intelligence skill tree. "Luna… I'm not sure what to tell you – the intelligence skill is unavailable and replaced with 'creativity'?"

"What does that mean? Am I going to end up casting terrible spells!? What if I summon myself out of existence?"

"That's a possibility."

"what!?"

In tears, she grabbed onto Dion's arm, "Don't say that! How do we fix this?"

Scratching his head, he held up the skills sheet with the faded-out intelligence skill. "We have to go down to the guild inn before we go on any adventures. They should be able to sort this matter out."

"Luna, this is a skill that I've never heard of and its tied to your summoning skill tree as well. Not sure how the two are connected but I'll let Reginald take a look at it. He's the guild inn owner for this village, that portly rabbit with the vest."

"Oh, I remember him. He's that uptight jerk our group met when we first arrived." Luna said grimacing over the harsh treatment he gave her.

Dion started to pack all of the provisions along with other commodities such as a frying pan, metal cups and a couple of sleeping bags. They would be most likely taking a quest beyond the village and a quest usually took a day or more depending on the location and the level requirement.

Preparing to leave, Dion noticed both Luna and Milo anxiously waiting by the road to pressure him into moving faster.

"Hurry up, Dion!" She stood there waving her hand as did Milo with his little wings. Her hooded tunic shimmered brightly as the sun reflected off of it.

'She's starting to look like a real summoner now,' Dion thought to himself.

"Just a second Luna! I need to lock up the house before going." He pulled out a skeleton key from his pocket and placed it into the door. The whole house emitted a faint amber light and then flickered out.

"What did you just do?"

"That's just a spell I cast over the house - its added security to prevent thieves from getting in. Now off to Acorn village!"

Strolling up to the village, the guard watching over the gate nodded to Dion as they entered.

"Before we go to the guild inn, lets try and barter this wizard hat of yours. Let's hope we can get something useful for it."

"Can't I just keep it! Aren't magic users supposed to have pointy hats?" She stomped her feet in disapproval but subsided after seeing Dion's serious glare.

"Point hats are a novelty anyway. They're not as common with new adventurers these days."

Taking a shortcut down a small road, the three made their way to a narrow street of small shops and shanty houses. Eventually reaching a small weather torn brick house, Dion approached it and used the doorknocker.

"Granny Ackza! It's Dion, I got an item I want to sell…," the door creaked open and no one could be seen until Dion looked down and saw a little raggedy racoon wearing a leather cap.

"…What do you want?"

Dion pointed to Luna, "My friend here would like to sell a level 22 wizard hat." The racoon eyed her up and down, slowly narrowing its yellow eyes.

"Did you bring those buns you always make?"

"Couldn't forget those," he opened his knapsack and pulled out a bun wrapped in paper and handed it to the racoon. Snatching it with its little paws, the racoon took a big bite into it munching away at the soft bread.

"Needs more salt. But it is a worthy offering…you may enter." The plump racoon took off into an aisle of books leaving behind a trail of crumbs. "Granny Ackza! We have guests, it's Dion and he brought along one of his concubines."

'That little weasel!' he turned to see Luna, fists clenched and eyes ablaze with anger. "Don't worry he's just kidding,"

Dion led Luna further into a house past the foyer where they sat at a coffee table surrounded by artifacts and small statues. The main room of the house hadn't aged well – the paint was peeling off the walls and almost everything was either covered in cobwebs or dust.

"This…Granny Ackza, what exactly does she do? This looks more like someone's house rather than a shop."

"Granny Ackza used to be a wizard back in the day but now she offers her services to a select cliental."

Out from the darkness of a back room emerged an ancient hermit-like lady wearing a floral dress. She was smoking a cigarette and her face was wrinkled but revealed a soft demeanor. Her hair was tied back into a bun creating a sophisticated look.

"Hello dears!", walking over to Luna she pinched Luna's cheeks and then tightly hugged her, "Aren't you the sweetest thing. What's your name honey?"

In a gripping embrace she managed to free herself, "Luna…," she breathed in heavily before letting out another word, "thank you for seeing me."

The old lady released Luna from her suffocating hug and sat down across from them in a tall leather wing back chair. "So, Dion what do you have for me today?" She leaned forward waiting for a response.

Pulling out the wizard hat from a paper bag he handed the hat off to her, "It's a level 22 hat, I was hoping we could trade it in for one of your specialty items."

"My wares… are not like that junk at the guild inn but for you because you're friends so adorable, I'll make an exception and do a trade with you. Lumin, get the items!"

Her audible scream echoed through the small house and then a light tapping of feet could be heard down one of the hallways. The racoon that had greeted them earlier hurried to where they were siting and stood at attention.

"Let me see those," the old woman took a wooden case from Lumin's paws and presented it on the table before Luna and Dion. Intricately detailed and fashioned in metal trimmings, Ackza opened it to reveal two rings and a wrist band.

"These are hand-made items, enchanted with old spells passed down from my family for generations."

"This one reads mega-mart on it." Luna pointed to an engraving inside the wrist band.

Dion, shocked made glances to both Luna and Ackza hoping she didn't ruin their chances of trading off the hat.

"…That's nothing…you see…it's what's…it's what's within the band itself that counts. This item allows its wearer to maximize their abilities. For you summoning a simple elemental can be improved by using the band to increase the elemental's strength."

"What about the other two items…the rings?"

"These are power rings more suited for healing and endurance."

"Let's go with the wrist band. Summoning seems to be the one major priority I want to get down first." Luna picked up the band and put it on her right hand, it glowed for a second before fading out.

"Good choice, you'll be the envy of all the summoners in Acorn village." Smiling, Ackza got up and congratulated Luna on her new item.

"Dion don't bring me anymore of these guild inn items, they are inferior and don't have the spirit of adventure! Now off with you then, Lumin and I have a tea party at noon so go find somewhere else to mingle."

"Ok! Thanks again…grann..," before he could finish she pushed the two of them out of the door and quickly slammed it shut behind them.

"She seems…rather nice. At least I got this wrist band which is a plus."

"Yes, it should come in handy but let's start making our way to the guild inn and pick up a quest. We need to also figure out what this creativity skill is."

'This better be a decent skill or else I'm going to be stuck with a summoner who can't form spells and summon creatures.' Dion continued to speculate as to what it might it be.