A Meal Above Ground

The team climbed up one of the large trees, reaching up the tree, they were met by a clear and flat top. Surrounded by thick leaves and branches.

"Normally I'd make houses on trees, but the top is convenient enough to stay on." Once everyone was at the top, they admired the view of the field and river behind them, still visible from where they were, barely blocked by branches and leaves.

"This is probably the flattest top I ever climbed on a tree. And the largest." Quill commented, taking a seat near the torch in the middle of the place. She placed her hands near the fire, trying to warm herself up.

While they settled down, a distinct grumble interrupted them.

"Yeah, I really am not used to these long range adventure things. Always had a meal on standby in the carriage." Celestine, embarrassed.

Quill looked at Myo with a curious face.

"Say, didn't you say the place had rabbits and stuff?"

"Yup, and some mushrooms or other random stuff. Never seen them before though." A smirk appeared on her face.

"Hey Ms leader, did we manage to get a book on cooking?" Calliope began to think before responding shortly after.

"Yes, a few actually. Given our location, one seems useable." A book appeared in her hand, taken out from her storage. She handed the book to Quill.

As it settled on her hand, it quickly began to get absorbed. Slowly disappearing on her hand. Once it fully vanished, Quill took a deep breath, seemingly taking in all the information in it.

"Ms Leader, if i may. I could perhaps create a stew or at least something to eat for the team." She asked. Calliope began to remember the last time she was even allowed to give Quill food.

"Very well, Colton. Follow her." She commanded.

The two walked to the edge of the treetop, and began climbing down hastily until their boots touched the grass.

"Lay low." The two moved around the quiet and dark forest with no light whatsoever, but coming from a forest town, Coltom was used to the darkness.

"That book really had some good ingredients in it." She commented as they continued slowly creeping around. She stayed in front of Colton, looking out for any food or animals they may use. For eating.

With the silence and lack of life, Colton was doubtful. But trusted Quill, being a fellow forest dweller and someone supposedly from a hunting village.

"Say, what did you eat in your home?" Quill asked.

"Just bread and some berries. Whatever we had at the time, or what the merchants would give us for our coal and iron." Colton chucked a bit, remembering fond memories once more.

"What about you?"

"Eh, whatever was near our home." Quill laughed for a brief moment.

"Normally just meat to be honest. Deer, rabbit, anything the forest had."

They continued their movement across the forest, trying their best to not make any loud sounds.

"Sometimes I envy you people." She remarked.

"Why?"

"Well you don't have to go out for food and either survive or get mauled. You just rely on merchants who pass by. And you work only inside the comfort of your village." She explained.

"Well, hunters have a much better time to be honest. Or that's what the elderly say in the village."

"What makes you think that?" Quill quickly stopped, plucking something from the ground.

"The mines are dangerous work. And spending the entire day in those tunnels is suffocating. Smashing away at the rocks for some glint of iron or black coal to send for a few coins. There was a reason I left my home." Colton sighed.

"I can see why now…"

A brief silence followed as Quill suddenly stopped, she plucked something from the ground. A cloth.

"Why would something like this be here?" She quietly asked, Colton remained silent, dumbfounded as well at the discovery.

"I guess we'll think about it later on." She placed the cloth inside her pocket, returning to moving around.

It had been half an hour since the two had left the tree, Colton's satchel was filled with mushrooms and fruits they found. Quill kept what little meat they found.

"If only it was day, back in the forest we would just perch up on a tree and wait for anything to pass by. They call it the lazy catch." She chuckled. Passing the time with a memory of her own from the forest.

Suddenly, she stopped.

"What's wrong?" Colton whispered.

"Something feels off." She bent down again, this time holding a broken piece of metal. Seemingly torn off from something.

"What the-" She examined it intensely, even more curious.

"Looks like a piece from some metal armor." Colton spoke.

"I suppose it'll be better in your hands then." She smiled, before handing it to him."

Their harvesting continued, plucking up anything Quill deemed consumable. Until. A distorted but ear piercing howl echoed out to the forest, forcing the two to cover their ears. Once the howl stopped, she looked at Colton with a serious face.

"It is time we went back. I think this is enough." They started heading back from when they came, staying vigilant and a bit anxious after hearing the howl.

Colton felt the cold winds of the forest, even with what he was wearing, it somehow managed to pass through.

'This place really does feel like home huh?' He thought to himself, causing him to chuckle a bit.

The two finally returned to the tree, climbing to the top with an assortment of items for the team.

"Oh, you two managed to come back. With the howl I thought you two were gonna get stuck in something." Marcus greeted the two, waving as he did.. The two began setting down what they managed to find. Unfortunately, the meat they found was small in amount.

Quill looked at the pile with her finger on her chin, thinking what to do with it.

"With the surplus of fruits among other things, and the lack of meat. Along with the lack of any cutlery or container, this will be rather difficult." Quill explained, her demeanor and attitude changed almost immediately, speaking like a professional.

"You want bowls and stuff? I can make some for you if you want. Won't be any time at all." Myo stood up, searching for larger pieces of wood before scratching on them with his blade.

"As for cooking, I doubt the torch will be enough, we may need to slightly expand it. Just enough that the fire won't cause the leaves to start burning." She continued. After a few seconds, she turned to Calliope.

"I'll return down to grab a few branches and twigs." Once done speaking, she dashed to the ledge of the treetop and began climbing down.

Colton sat near the torch, placing his gloved hands near the flame, warming himself up in the cold night.

"The intensity of the howl suggests that it is near. Either that, or perhaps something else." Calliope began to wonder.

Quill returned with a few sticks and twigs. Without delay she started setting them up around the torch, creating a makeshift campfire.

In a few minutes, she finished constructing it. Providing a place to create food and get more warmth from.

Myo returned just as the campfire was done, with a stack of crude wooden bowls in his hand. Handing them to Quill.

"Alright then, I'll see what I can make with the ingredients at hand." Quill sat down, sitting next to the ingredients along with a bowl.

While she was preoccupied, the rest in the team were noticeably closer to the fire, all feeling the same cold breeze of the forest.

"To repeat, once the night is done, we will resume our mission." Calliope reminded the team, but Marcus felt doubtful.

"How sure are we that the job is even real? Maybe it's fake. Like the map." Celestine questioned. But Calliope simply took out the map.

"Although it is likely, it may be the best option to obey if we wish to safely maneuver through this world." Calliope replied.

While they waited in further silence, Colton took out the metal shard in his pocket. Putting it near the light of the fire, he tried to get a better look of it.

"It seems you have found metal from the ground below." Calliope commented, staring at the metal.

"Yeah, looks to be from a set of armor. Odd for it to be here."

"I ponder why such things are here. Perhaps there is something else at play. Or history unknown to us in this place." She rubbed her hands near the fire.

After a while, Quill finished her preparations, and placed the bowls above the flame, cooking whatever was inside them.

The scent that it gave off was otherworldly, putting some of the team members in a trance, staring at the bowls with no other thoughts other than the smell. Celestine being the most affected, moving closer to smell it while it cooked.

"The recipe is more for a quick snack for adventurers, so it's rather fitting for our situation." She chuckled.

"Sooo delicious…" Celestine murmured, still stuck in a trance. Calliope and Clarissa seemed to be the only ones not as affected by it, simply looking around.

The dish she planned finished, she poured small servings on other bowls, handing them to each member with a smile. Like a cook seeing her customers.

The food resembled a mess of cooked vegetables with a few fruits in them, and little bits of meat mixed in with it. Quill handed the team a few of the crude spoons Myo managed to create.

Colton took a bite, and in an instant. Flavors rushed around his mouth, only making him want more.

It didn't take long before the rest of the team began wolfing down the food in delight.

"You lot seem to like my food. Maybe I'll try." With one bite, Quill felt the same as everyone else around her.

"This is so delicious!" Celestine gulped down the food in joy.

Calliope and Clarissa ate at a slower pace, still not as affected by the scent.

"This is much better than the royal banquets of the cathedral!" Oliver remarked, enjoying the food greatly.

The team kept on eating, conversing as they did. Continuing into the night.