Dining together, newfound respect

Chapter 42: Dining together, newfound respect

/Obuk Ba'chak Iknog Arg! Eyldir ah unuga, eh eyldir ah murkska! Olok gnarig kum ustra at eyldir en grunga! Oh! Oh! Eyldir burut ah wallat, dra bokon eh spalat! Lugunga.

Un drika ehn chink, ehn wappor! Spika di Eyldir un wallat! SPIKA DI EYLDIR UN WALLAT!!

At drika un wappor, wappor at eyldir kum olok. Olok gnarig, iknog ... iknog murkska! Murkska Eyldir! Murkska, murkska, murkska!!! OOOOOHHHHH!!!!/

A transcript of a goblin speech, taken by Jamie Calrend, their name only known from their notes, as nothing else was found of them.

- - - - - -

After the trial, Mercury decided to treat himself to a nice meal, and went to visit a nearby restaurant, not failing to ask Avery for recommendations. As per the usual, the guild master was more than happy to oblige, and even offered to come with. And then, somehow, so did Iris, and alongside her, Lucia also followed along.

To be fair, they did make for a very high profile, albeit rather motely crew. It was certainly not a very usual constellation, but funnily enough, it seemed as though Mercury was the most tense out of all of them. Avery walked with his hands in his pockets, and Lucia seemed to be sightseeing more than focusing on anyone else, both of them perfect pictures of calm.

Iris, meanwhile, was focused on Mercury himself, and he could see the gleam in her eyes that only those maniacs who wanted to pet him had. But today he was determined. He would not be touched. It was to be a good evening, and he would not see it ruined by anyone else.

Fairly soon, they arrived at the place in question, where a very pretty lady guided them to their seat. She wore a business suit, and Mercury had always found those very stylish, even if they sometimes seemed a little out of place in this world.

There were still some things he found hard to get used to. It was so similar to what he had heard about medieval Europe, given the few things he was taught in school, and the few more things he looked up himself or read in books. He had read quite a bit when he was a kid, gotten good grades and called gifted... Ah, now was no time to reminisce.

But still. Seeing business suits, glasses, paper, and even something like a radio in somewhat medieval looking buildings was... unusual, for certain. Well, this was an aristocracy. Perhaps in monarchies and dictatorships information would be more restricted. It almost had to be, really, otherwise the people would just rebel.

Like in France with their guillotines. Terrifyingly efficient those things... Mercury didn't quite know how to feel about them.

He did, however, know how to feel about the menu, because quite frankly, there were solely delicacies on there. Roasted lamb, grilled steak, stew made from local crustaceans with mushroom toppings, as well as the usual amount of vegetarian meals. Those were quite a bit more common, given that farming was usually a bigger industry and could feed more mouths than hunting.

Well, still, even those sounded delicious, though less to his feline instincts. Smoked zucchini with roasted hazelnuts and yoghurt-garlic dip, fried mushrooms with sauce tartare and grated truffels, and even... steamed joiks with leek in spicy salsa? He had no idea what that was, and he certainly could wait to figure it out.

Plants in general didn't seem very appealing to him anymore. He was probably a carnivore now, huh. Funny, he used to try to eat very little meat. But oh well, now he was largely hunting his own food, so he supposed he knew where it came from, and that there was no waste, at the very least. That should still count for something.

In any case, back to the menu. Whirlcrab legs and jellyray steak, baked in spicy ghostmary packages, too exotic. Spearfish filet, marinated with homemade sauce and wrapped in thinly sliced bacon, now that sounded much better.

Mercury took a bit longer to decide on his meal than the others, but in the end he settled on some breezer filet, after Avery explained that those were ice attributed fish. The meat was prepared to be slightly spicy, while its natural coolness would help neutralize it and bring out more of the meat's texture and feel. Then, of course, it was served with three dips of choice, as well as some lemon and some more spices that remained hidden.

A restaurant truly never gave up all of its secrets, but during the meal, Mercury was fairly certain that one of the sauces was bell pepper base, and another one had some minced cucumber and yoghurt in there. Whatever the case, it was truly delicious, and absolutely worth the stares everyone in the restaurant had given him as he stood on the table and wolfed the meal down.

Throughout the entire thing, the table remained largely silent, except for small coughs and nods. Usually Avery seemed the kind of guy to make conversation at the table, but apparently not today. Maybe he was waiting for Lucia to thank him? Or perhaps the food was just too good...

Whatever the case, the man kept his mouth shut.

Lucia, on the other hand, didn't do much different from that. She simply ate, making sure to keep proper manners, dabbing her mouth and using cutlery. Mercury would have done so as well, but quite frankly, his lack of thumbs was still limiting him from reaching his true potential.

Damn you, toebeans!

Still, seeing her try not to scrunch her face up as she watched him eat was more than worth it. Maybe he was being a little spiteful, but at the same time, he was happy she was holding back. After all, to him, Lucia didn't really seem like a woman with a lot of restraint. Then again, everyone had their flaws.

For example, Mercury himself didn't have thumbs. A truly sad fate.

But he was making the best out of it. Really, he was trying very, very hard to make the best out of it. Sure, every now and then he still cried himself to sleep, thinking about Cherry, Gladiator, Second, and Juno. He also missed Kintra a lot, and he still hadn't quite gotten used to being in life-threatening situations, but he was trying.

He was still searching for them. He would never give them up. Not even if he had to make his way to the end of the world to fi-

"Would any of you like to have some dessert, dear customers?" their waiter asked, interrupting Mercury's thoughts.

[<Daydream> has levelled up! <Daydream lv.3 -> 4>]

Alright, fair enough, he supposed he should focus more on the here and now.

"I would like a dessert menu, if I might?" Lucia asked.

"4 of 'em," Avery quickly added.

"Of course, one moment." The waiter gave them a quick smile and nod, before disappearing to bring them some menus.

"You know, this seems like the point in time at which some of us should have really started talking," Mercury said. "Not that I mind daydreaming, but like, this is seriously awkward. Why did you guys come with if you didn't want to?"

For a moment, Mercury thought he could see Lucia's brow twitch, but surprisingly enough, she didn't lash out at him.

"Well, dearest Mercury, as you have overseen our case, and had plenty of opportunities to allow my faction to be sabotaged, I have decided to repay a small favour, by paying for this meal."

"Why didn't you tell me before? I would have ordered thrice as mu- ow!" Avery's rambling was quickly shut off as Mercury jabbed him in the side.

"We appreciate it very much, thank you," the mopaaw said, giving Avery a short death glare until the waiter came back, handing all of them a menu.

"What are you gonna get?" Mercury asked, looking over the menu himself. As promised, language comprehension allowed him to read it, and he could sometimes literally see the letters shift as they formed into an english structure that was understandable for him. Though sometimes, only very rarely, there were small bits and pieces that didn't quite translate perfectly.

Though those were rare enough to be unnoticeable.

Instead, he decided to focus on reading, when he got his first answer.

"Hmmm, that cake looks pretty good," Iris said, pointing at a picture of a chocolate pie.

"I'll go for some ice cream," Lucia said. "Maybe they have some with flambee? And something to drink, I think these are occasions on which I am supposed to propose a toast."

"Some crème brûlée for me, probably. I like cracking it open," Avery said.

Wow, all of those were really good picks. Huh. Mercury usually would go for something cold himself, but quite frankly, he didn't know if he could stomach any of the meals on the menu. Well, then again, nothing ventured nothing gained.

"I'll take some cream tarts for today," he said out loud. He usually wouldn't go for those, but hey, he felt like something creamy right now. He still had a slight salty aftertaste in his mouth from the fish, and he thought the cream would most likely deal with that.

And so, their orders were placed, along with a bottle of "their best liquor" as Lucia put it.

Well, she was paying after all, so not like it was gonna be bad for Mercury. He just had to keep in mind not to drink too much.

Right, cat body, too much alcohol and he dies. So, only a tiny sip.

The bottle was covered in a label, white, and quite glossy, with many fruits Mercury had never seen before on it. It looked... weird, but intriguing. Then, when Lucia popped open the cork, everyone was presented with a glass, though Mercury opted to use a small bowl instead. It looked almost like he was prepared to drink some sake, heh.

The liquid inside the bottle was thick, almost syrupy, but still runny enough to qualify as a liquid. It had a slight tint to it that seemed a little different depending on where you looked at it from, a little like an oil spill on the ocean, though usually it appeared slightly blue, with the colour seemingly more visible around the edges.

The whole thing smelled very fruity, and also strongly of alcohol, probably because it was, in fact alcohol.

And finally, after a whole evening, when the drink was poured and dessert was served, the people around him seemed to relax just the slightest bit. Tension was sailing a little lower than usual, and he was fairly sure he even saw Lucia let loose a slight smile as her ice cream was torched. Maybe he was imagining things.

What he surely wasn't imagining though, was the incredible combo of whatever the fuck that drink was and his cream cake. He was almost certain he had cream in quite a few spots on his face by now, given how he had plunged into it, and how Avery had attempted to make him do the same.

Ha-ha, for sure. The good 'ol cake in the face trick, who could have seen it coming. Oh, wait Mercury did and bit the guild master in his fucking finger like he deserved! Sweet, sweet revenge. And even sweeter cake!

All in all, after only a few licks from the booze, Mercury was feeling a little tipsy. He knew the feeling, this was how he would feel if he knocked back a cold one faster than he probably should. He had sometimes done so back in the old days, when he had gone out to a bar with Hank, sometimes even Susan, after a long day of work.

Maybe that part wasn't so bad, huh...

Still, he was pretty sure he shouldn't drink too much of that stuff, given that he wasn't exactly very heavy, nor did he have too much meat on him. And if it already set in enough to make him tipsy this quickly on a full stomach, he definitely didn't need to find out what happened if he drank more.

Instead, Mercury decided to sit back, and simply enjoy the mood. Get swept up in the jokes, and such.

Slowly but surely, as the four of them continued eating and drinking at their table, the restaurant cleared out. People were going home for the night, as everyone was getting just a little more cozy.

It seemed almost... nice. They weren't black-out drunk, just enough to not be too aware of their problems with each other. Mercury smiled to himself as he thought about this, as he watched Avery chat about his latest adventure, he laughed when Lucia mocked him for only doing pen-pushing, and he gave wide grins whenever Iris decided to pitch in a small anecdote about herself.

It was nice. For sure, he could almost fall asleep like this. He was drowsy, so very drowsy.....

And with that, Mercury's lights gently turned off.

- - - - - -

Nira sighed and shook her head. She had underestimated just how much work it was to run this guild. When Foss was in his office, he always did it with no complaints, no grievances, and no sighs or mutterings. He simply did what he needed to do. Gave commands, allocated plots and funds, supported or withdrew support from members.

Their guild wasn't as closely-knit, as the godseekers, certainly. She had her own grievances with their leader, thinking him too passive and slow, perhaps too much of a people-pleaser, but Foss still tried to rebel in his own small ways. In sometimes making slightly more risky maneuvers than some members would like to see him make, and always standing by his word once it was given, no matter what anyone else said.

The older woman shook her head as she thought this. Perhaps she had been too harsh on that idiot. She now most certainly understood the position he was in, and the pressure he was constantly under. So many request, so many things to do, the work seemed to continuously flood in, faster than she could hope to deal with it.

Did that guy never sleep? How did he make sure to answer so many pleads and yet keep his success rate high, when there was also constant input and nagging from so many other members, criticising his every decision? No matter what she did, someone was unhappy, and even though she was used to it, the sheer amount of complaints she had gotten in the half day since Foss was punished had been astonishing.

Certainly, once the man was back in his office, she would tell him more often that she appreciated his work, even if he a little clumsy or brash sometimes.

Then, Nira sighed again. Sure, she would be more thankful once he was back, but she had to even last until then. If the members wanted her gone from this position, it would happen, but perhaps they were not as agitated as they seemed after all.

She was still in this office and in this chair, wasn't she?

Though she couldn't get complacent. This mountain of paperwork wouldn't get itself done, and there was no better time to continue going at it than now. She was sure that three hours of sleep would do for the day.

Perhaps this was why Foss had turned to stress-eating? Hm.

Request for funding for market study, declined. Funding for startup bakery, declined. Funding for startup smithy, long time apprentice? Granted, for now. A letter from a branch in a smaller city, detailing the goings there, and paying the small amount of tax they owed to the main branch, all noted, filed and properly stored away.

And then, it came in. The letter she had dreaded for a while now. She had been in the business for a while, and she was very well at reading others. Nira knew better than anyone, perhaps better even than the person in question themselves, she knew that they were going to send this letter.

How could he resist, after all? The count was a greedy child, not a golden. Not all that glitters is gold, and if the man was anything, he was a glistening trap, promising riches and bringing doom.

A glistening trap she was prepared to step into. Perhaps to expose the man for his dirty deeds, perhaps to show the city who he truly was, perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.

And perhaps it was simply to prove to herself she could make it back out from there? Well, it mattered little. Slowly, but surely, Nira brought her quill onto the paper. She started writing.

Writing on how she would love to cooperate with the count. It would surely be a great opportunity for both of them to increase their reach. Certainly there could be an agreement reached between their guild and his banks, and of course, there was nothing she would rather do than shake his slimy, blood covered hands and spit in his face.

She hated blood money, hated it with a passion like all people she considered merchants. If one got money from blood, one was a warmonger or a butcher, never a merchant. Money at the cost of human lives was hardly money at all, and much more a stain in one's purse. She didn't like it, couldn't like it. Perhaps now was finally the time to expose the count.

Perhaps now that she had all these resources at her fingertips, she wouldn't fail, couldn't fail. Certainly, no?