Vinegar

"Did you just say something about killing Guyl the Slack?" Spade asked.

"Aye," Serenica replied. "I guess I did. What about it?"

"If you really intend to do that for me, you'll have everything you ask." Innai returned the keys to their rightful place.

Serenica noticed her heart was thumping quickly, violently against her ribs.

"What do you want? You need to say something, healer." The old man fetched a bowl. It was full of dried pieces of fruit.

Serenica tasted some, quite confident that they weren't poisoned.

"How much wood do we need?" she asked, looking at her captain.

"Three trees will do." Spade helped himself to a cup of hot chocolate. "We do still need other supplies, too."

"Can you give us enough to last us until we reach Neul?" Serenica asked Innai.

"Neul...I'll give you enough to last until you sail off the edge of the map. A figure of speech. I do know the world is round." Innai chuckled. "Bring your miserable men and your beautiful wife to me, Spade. Let us put our differences aside. Today I will throw us all a feast. First - I must negotiate with the healer."

"Say no more, old friend," the captain said and left.

"Are you really cooking for so many men?" Serenica asked.

"I gathered you wouldn't mind helping me out," the old man said and winked.

As they were preparing a whole pig for the feast, Innai wanted to talk about the actual act of getting Guyl the Slack killed.

"I know I can't ask you to pull the trigger yourself," the old man said. "As I told you, the Kings of Lean have some delicate information about the king that he would not like to spread around. It would be a pity if someone in the kingdom heard about it."

"You don't happen to have any idea what it could be about?" Serenica asked.

She was going to make a Raelian bean salad next. Rich and creamy, it called for the addition of some mushrooms.

"Are these edible?" she asked about a jar of pickled brownish mushrooms.

"They are perfectly edible. Now, if I knew anything more, you would not need to go to the Leans at all, would you?"

Serenica tasted her creation. It needed just a little pinch of pepper.

"How do I do it, then? I guess I will have to consult the Leans first. But what will come after it?"

"There is a man they call the Warp. I don't even know what his real name is." Innai frowned. "He lives in Aja Vana. To set the events in motion, you need to bring the information to him."

"Sounds suspiciously easy," Serenica said.

"Easy? It could start a war." The old man dipped his hands into a bowl of dough. "Do the men even like white bread?"

"They would eat nothing but white bread and butter if I let them," Serenica replied. "Don't you think some gravy would be nice?"

"If you know how to make some." Innai began to knead the dough.

"Of course I do," Serenica said. "Just give me some flour and butter. Oh, and more pepper. Cream, too."

The fires inside the multiple ovens and the ones under the complex settings for different pans and pots were warming the house to the point where Serenica had to take her shirt off. Luckily she had layered her outfit that morning.

"I hope you don't mind," she said, tugging at the hem of her white camisole.

"That camisole is going to get awfully dirty as you cook, young lady," the old man said. "I guess you can buy a dozen of those once you get your pay."

Serenica did her best to make the gravy delicious enough that it could pair well with Innai's bread.

The old man was slicing some fish into a pot of a traditional western butter sauce. Sinfully rich and fattening, it was an universal comfort food with fish, and it didn't even require much spices.

"So, is that really it?" she asked as she made a few finishing touches to her gravy. "I meet a Lean. I hear something and I repeat it to the Warp."

"You make it sound like you talk to the Leans every other day," Innai laughed.

Serenica was happy that she could amuse the grumpy old man, even if it was just a little giggle here and there.

"Oh. You have no idea," she said.

"Is it the Dreamer?"

Serenica froze for a moment. "Yes. Yes it is."

"Be careful with that one. I believe he has the power to do worse things than...than even killing you or imprisoning you."

"I have some obsidian," Serenica replied.

"That is not going to be enough," Innai said, shaking his head. "You will want to get rid of the protection. He is fun, that's why! He is adventurous and charming and he talks like a common man. He is the Dreamer, and he is also the dream."

"Whose dream? I don't dream of marriage," Serenica said sharply. "Don't you think we should throw some vinegar on some vegetables and -"

"Vinegar, yes, do you think I am a complete savage? Of course we will have fresh vegetables in the table. That's one reason for the way I am living. And while you may be a proud spinster now, wait until you are thirty and three. That's the age where I've seen most of my female friends go crazy about the prospect of a proposal." The old man put the dough aside to let it rise for another moment.

Serenica found it hard to believe that a man like Innai had any friends. Still, perhaps some people still visited him.

"I know you are young and you do not believe me," the old man continued. "But you need to be real careful with him."

The pirates arrived. They still had to wait a few hours for the food.

Innai was very generous with wine and snacks. Everything from cheese to crackers and dry date cakes was served.

Serenica was ravenous by the time the men had been seated inside and just outside the house. The house was packed with people. The pig had to be good.