"It seems you don't have an answer," the man said while he moved to a corner of the cave where a set of clay utensils were kept.
"... Where is this place?" I asked, trying to change the subject to more important matters rather than philosophical ones.
"Have you heard of the Devil's Mountains?" the man inquired as he cut the mushrooms into pieces with a knife.
"I have. Who doesn't know about them?"
"These are exceptions to everything. You'd be surprised to know how much you don't know about this world," he transferred the pieces into a claw blow along with water, spices, and a few other things.
"Right now you're in this old man's cave that is in one of the mountains," he lit up a fire in a pit that was already due with an iron stand above it. He then placed the bowl on the stand and let the fire do its work.
Then he wiped his hands in the robe he was wearing and turned to face me. "Surprised?" he appealed.