It's Locked

Before leaving, Tyr gave Macha an introduction to the mess hall staff and officially put her in charge of changing the menu. She took this assignment seriously. She thought of this as a way to repay Tyr for his kindness and support these past months. It was obvious that he took pride in the guild like a parent does a child, and she wanted the food to be something he could be proud of as well.

Macha reviewed the mess hall's budget. She wanted to improve the food, but not at the expense of the guild's profits. While looking at the budget she asked the kitchen how much they paid for each ingredient and where they got the ingredients from. She wrote down all of this information and went to the docks and market. It was important to double check that they were getting fair prices.

After finding out the finances, Macha surveyed the guild members and asked them about their favorite mess hall dishes. If there was something the guild liked, she wanted to keep that in the mess hall's recipe repertoire. Many replied with, "I think the breads are the best!" or "The crème brûlée is the best in town." Macha knew the crème brûlée was delicious because it was one of Luna's favorite desserts. A few even said the paella was one of their favorites.

During the evenings, Macha walked around town to see what restaurants and stalls people would eat at. She wanted to see the foods the population preferred and if she could emulate it. She found that the population enjoyed many types of food. This made her happy because she liked variety as well.

The first change Macha did was add new recipes to the breakfast menu. She added quiche, pancakes, crepes, and potage. She put these on a rotating menu and showed the staff different variations they could make. The reception was great and the guild members preferred having a variety instead of just coffee and toast.

The lunch and dinner menus were trickier for her. She made spice changes to dishes that were already served, but she wanted to add more variety. Macha also missed having the foods she grew up with and needed to experiment to find out how to recreate things like lau lau, ramen, and pho. The hardest thing was learning the names of the spices in this language. She had to experiment with even the simplest recipes because she didn't know what spices were available.

****

Aside from experimenting and researching ways to improve the mess hall, she also went to the guild's academy. Upon arrival, she underwent a general health check-up. After the check-up, she was sent to the testing center. These tests determined what instructor she would be assigned to and what fighting style she had an affinity for.

The physical tests reminded her of Physical Education courses she took in high-school. They tested her strength, agility, reaction time, stamina, and flexibility. She found the tests fun and interesting, so she didn't mind doing the tests for the first half of the day.

The second half of the day they tested her magical affinities. Macha hated these tests and continually asked the proctors for the words of power. She failed to produce results for many of the tasks and felt embarrassed at her lack of skill. Macha became frustrated because she knew she could do many of the requirements if she had time to practice.

The test results came back, and she was recommended as a physical fighter who specialized with finesse weapons. Macha nodded her head. This seemed reasonable she thought. She recognized that she lacked strength and had a difficult time with spells.

Macha was directed to meet her new instructor the following day. The instructor's training area was far from the guild headquarters. It lay on the fringe of the guild property in an isolated area.

****

Macha walked to the instructor's building. It took her an hour and a half to reach the instructor's place. She was surprised at the architecture. It was in a different style than the other buildings that decorated the guild's land. The building was egg-shaped and tilted at a 50-degree angle. The top half consisted of windows while the bottom half had no windows at all.

A tall thin female leaned on the front doors. Macha noted that this woman was tall even for the people from this world. The woman had short black hair with had a long lock of white hair running down the front. Her grey eyes had a drowsy jaded look to them.

Macha was unsure if she came to the right location so she approached the woman, "Hello, I'm Macha. Do you know if instructor Mia is around here?"

The woman looked at Macha and gave a curt nod. She gestured in a lazy motion for Macha to follow her. They went into the egg-shaped building and made their way past the lobby.

"I'm supposed to report to Mia about training under her," Macha added, volunteering the information.

There was no one inside the building and it was quiet except for the shuffling of Macha's feet. The lobby had no furniture and dark grey stone fashioned the interior. Macha admired the gothic styled ceilings that made high pointed arches. It looked nothing like the modern shape of the building's exterior. Macha felt jittery because the woman in front of her made no sound as they walked through the dark hallways.

The woman descended two flights of stairs. Macha felt awkward and tried to make small chat. "The inside of the building looks quite different from the outside. Did instructor Mia design the building?"

The woman glanced back and nodded.

They came to a thick wooden door, and the woman stopped. She put her hand on a red slab of stone that decorated the door and the latch clicked open. She motioned for Macha to enter the room first. Macha looked at the woman and felt her heart pounding in her chest. She felt uneasy because the woman said nothing the whole time. "Umm... Is Mia in there?" Macha said meekly.

The woman did not respond. She only gave a small nod towards the inside of the room.

Macha's breathing came out irregular, and she peered into the dark room. "Instructor Mia?" Macha called. There was no sound. Macha slowly turned her head to glance back at the woman. She noticed the woman had daggers on her hips. Macha swallowed. "Ha ha...I'll just go in now..." She inched forward slowly.

Macha entered the room, and the door slammed shut behind her. Macha spun around and a click echoed in the darkness. She ran to the door, but it was locked. With her back to the door, she tried to calm her breathing, but she was shaking with fright.

A few minutes went by and the silence became unbearable. Her blood pulsed through her veins and the sound of her bodily functions surrounded her. She became aware of her heart pounding in her chest and she heard the gurgling of her stomach digesting her breakfast.

The hairs on the back of Macha's neck raised and she sensed someone watching her, but she didn't know where the person was.