Tasty Travels

Earnest was pleasantly surprised. He had planned to take breaks every hour or two, but Alesia and Coltia were exceeding his expectations in terms of endurance. Earnest expected Alesia to be quite weak, being an apothecary, but there was one aspect of her profession that he didn’t consider. She offered a delivery option to her customers. Being the only one running her store though, she was the one that had to put in the footwork. Her workdays would be surprisingly busy, alternating between brewing potions and delivering them. She had built up quite the endurance in her lower half during this period, and it was actually visible.

Previously, Earnest never took notice of her legs. When he first met her, she was behind a counter, and earlier in the morning she stood behind a chair before sitting down. However, now that she was walking along with Earnest, he took notice of the bare legs beneath her pleated skirt. Her legs were surprisingly well toned, no doubt from her having to deliver all over the town, but they were also surprisingly smooth and beautiful. Her movements were somewhat mesmerizing, as Earnest’s eyes looked down to observe her legs in motion and drifted farther up her body to the free flowing movements of her skirt which occasionally caught his eye. The hem of the pleated skirt moved up and down with her steps, revealing and hiding the upper portions of Alesia’s thighs, and drawing Earnest’s attention more than he would want to admit.

Earnest also had somewhat low expectations of Coltia. She did say that she was sent on this journey by her master, so he had guessed that she may have done some footwork before, but this was beyond him. She was completely unfazed by the physical activity, in fact she didn’t seem to be breathing any harder than normal. She walked with the grace and effortlessness of a deer, and had yet to shed a single drop of sweat.

Perhaps she was using some sort of magic to accomplish this feat. Body strengthening magic came to mind, in fact Earnest had learned it himself as part of his magic swordsman training, but sustaining it for hours upon hours would be exhausting. She would be exhibiting symptoms of magic energy exhaustion by now, complaining of headache, dizziness, or drowsiness. But there was none of that. Earnest eliminated that possibility, as the amount of magic energy to do such a thing would be unfathomable.

Earnest casually questioned Coltia on this, and received the type of answer he honestly expected, an answer that only raised more questions.

“Curious isn’t it? I’ll give you a hint for free… I’m not using body enhancement magic at all. I am simply moving my body as I please. Such a fragile looking form~ yet it never tires, never exhausts, and has yet to fail me. Well~ Let’s just say that this body is built from something different than most. Maybe I’ll tell you one day~”

Given Coltia’s disposition for confusing and teasing Earnest, he conversed with Alesia for the rest of their time. Over the course of their talks, she seemed to get used to him a little more. The nervousness in her demeanor reduced and she seemed more comfortable around him, but she still said weird stuff all the time. Earnest learned about her and her lifestyle as they continued to converse.

Alesia was the apothecary of Lindow, but how did she arrive at that point? She was born to a mother who was an expert apothecary herself. Her father disappeared after finding out that her mother was pregnant. They weren’t even married, and Alesia’s mother wasn’t bothered by his departure, as she held no deep love for him. She did however, have a deep, overbearing love for Alesia. Her mother taught Alesia everything she knew about the art of brewing potions, but also forbade her from interacting with any of the boys her age.

When Alesia had grown to the age of questioning her mother, her mother made it explicitly clear that Alesia was forbidden from engaging in sex until after marriage, lest she end up like her mother. Alesia both loved and resented her mother, a volatile combination at that age which led her to the conclusion that she had to leave her mother’s care and start a life on her own.

She ran away to the nearby small town of Lindow, where she took shelter in the rundown building that her current shop would later occupy. She was quite miserable alone, but the townspeople showed her kindness, giving her food and water, and doing the right thing by letting her mother know where she was. Her mother traveled to reconcile with her daughter, and the two had a rather emotional reunion. Alesia’s mother agreed to give her daughter more freedom, while Alesia agreed to come home.

Unfortunately for her, Alesia’s inexperience with the opposite sex caused failure in her dating life, resulting in zero relationships during her teenage years. After Alesia had mastered potioncraft and grown into an adult, she left her mother’s nest on amicable terms this time. She never forgot the people of Lindow’s kindness, and returned to the town, establishing her own shop in the same building she took shelter in before.

By the time Alesia finished telling her story, the sun was at its midpoint and Earnest’s stomach felt ready for another meal. He proposed a break, to which Alesia agreed, saying that her legs could use a rest. The group found a nice spot beside the road and began to prepare for lunch.

Alesia put her bag down, then started looking for materials to start a fire while Earnest removed the hunting bow and arrows that were attached to the outside of his pack. While he was doing this, he noticed movement, and looked up at Coltia removing her hat. He immediately froze solid and stared in disbelief, as he saw her hat move, but the antlers stay on top of her head. Coltia ran her hands through the hair that was previously covered by the large sorcerer’s hat, and Earnest saw that the antlers moved with her head. Coltia took notice of Earnest’s stares.

“Hmm? Stunned by my beauty? Well~ you wouldn’t be the first. Many a man and woman have expressed their adoration of me, saying that I was the most beautiful creature to walk this mortal plane. Well, they might be right, but I know of another beauty, one that I myself yearn for…”

“Ah, um, yes Coltia, you are very pretty indeed, but I was just surprised by… by your antlers.”

“Oh these?”

Coltia raised her hands, touching and rubbing the perplexing antlers.

“Well~ They’re eye catching, but not very useful~”

Earnest wanted to ask the obvious questions of how or why she had antlers in the first place. Were they a result of some sort of magic, some sort of transformation spell or potion? Perhaps she was not even a human in the first place, and something else entirely. Perhaps she was a beastkin? He had heard legends of their existence, but he knew not a single person that had seen one before, and considering that he knew many knights that adventured across many lands, that was nearly proof of their non-existence. He wanted to ask Coltia about it, but stopped himself, as he already knew that she would never give him a satisfactory answer. If she wanted to explain, she would have, but her playful, coy response told him all that he needed to know.

Alesia returned with some tinder, as she repeated the same reaction that Earnest had to Coltia. She, however, lit up with a multitude of questions, all of which Coltia evaded and non-answered perfectly. Earnest recollected himself, and left with the hunting bow while Alesia and Coltia set up a fire to cook with.

After searching for tracks and signs of game, Earnest found a rabbit quite quickly. He crept up on it, staying downwind from it, and released a shot with the hunting bow. The arrow struck true, as the small creature died nearly instantly.

He said a quick prayer to the gods, thanking them for the life of the rabbit and the sustenance it would bring. He usually wasn’t one to do such a thing, but after he was saved a few days ago by a miracle, he decided to at least give thanks after a successful hunt. He cut into the rabbit to drain its blood as he returned to camp, hanging it to let it continue to drain as he prepared to cook its meat.

Alesia and Coltia had managed to get a sizable fire started. Alesia collected more dry wood while Coltia lit the tinder ablaze with elementary fire magic. Earnest thanked them, glancing at Coltia’s antlers once more, then going to his supply pack to make use of the expensive ingredients that he had purchased. He detached the metal pans that hung on the outside of the pack, and placed them over the fire, one being smaller than the other. In the larger pan, he added some water, dried white grains, and seasoning. In the smaller pan, he added some oil and waited for it to heat. He went back to the pack and produced some onions, which weren’t expensive, but were an essential ingredient for many dishes. He diced them skillfully with his knife, adding them into the hot oil, then seasoning them with dried herbs and spices, which were quite expensive.

He returned to the rabbit which was completely drained by then. He skinned, gutted, and butchered it until he only had usable cuts of meat. It wasn’t much, but it was enough. He returned to the fire and seasoned the meat before adding it into the smaller pan. There was space now, since the onions shrank as they cooked and browned. He seared the meat, and as it cooked through he took out a set of three dishes and utensils, setting them out in preparation. When the meat was ready, he added some herbs as a last step, taking the pans off the heat before the herbs wilted and overcooked. He portioned out the white grains, which were now soft and fluffy, and then placed the cooked onions and meat on top. He poured a small amount of dark liquid sauce on top of the dishes, and served them to the awaiting ladies.

While he was preparing the meal, Alesia and Coltia became more and more interested in the dish as its intricacy increased and the aromas emanating from the pan stimulated their hunger. Neither of them had ever had a dish like this before, but the incredible appearance and smell coming from it already told them that it would surely be delicious. They received their portions and dug into their meals while Earnest watched for their reactions.

As soon as they put their forks in their mouths, they looked shocked. It seemed to be a good impression, as they didn’t spit it out or anything. Earnest never had as much access to expensive herbs and spices as he did now, thanks to Coltia’s generous funding, so he wasn’t certain of the taste himself. He was, however, confident in his past experiences that developed his intuition, confident enough to attempt the new combination that ended up on their plates.

Alesia swallowed her mouthful first, and burst out in praise.

“Wow! Earnest! That was delicious! It tasted really really really good! Wow! The meat was good, and the other stuff that went with it was good too!”

She continued to try to describe her experience, but she seemed to only have “good” and “delicious” in her vocabulary. After she seemed to run out of words, Earnest thanked her for her compliments, and expressed his gratitude that she enjoyed the meal. He then turned to Coltia to get her impressions.

While Alesia was talking, Coltia had been silent. When Earnest looked at her, she was eating another mouthful, and judging by her dish, she had been eating quietly the whole time. She seemed to really be enjoying the meal, maybe a little too much. Her eyes looked unfocused, almost glazed over, as she continued to chew. Earnest noticed that her legs were moving under her robe, squirming and rubbing against another. She swallowed what was in her mouth and her whole body shuddered as it went down.

Her figure seemed… intense, like she was fully focussed on experiencing the flavors and sensations that entered her mouth. She was practically emanating energy with every movement as her body physically reacted to the ecstasy that her mind was experiencing.

Earnest and Alesia found themselves staring at the strange sight. Coltia, who always seemed to be composed and in control, was showing a very strange side of herself. Watching such a beautiful face enraptured in pleasure brought strange feelings to both Earnest and Alesia, who blushed slightly as they watched on. She was totally focussed on eating, well, if you could even call her self indulgence eating anymore. She seemed blind to everything else. Earnest and Alesia were stuck watching the majestic sight, as she continued until her dish was empty, at which point she seemed to regain her focus and noticed the two watching her.

“Earnest… Earnest tell me, what was that?”

Earnest snapped back to attention, and listed off the ingredients and cooking techniques that he used to put the meal together. After hearing the recipe, Coltia continued with another question.

“And Earnest, tell me, where did you learn to make this?”

“Ah, well, I didn’t learn this recipe, I sort of just… made it myself. I wanted to try something new with the herbs and spices you afforded us.”

“You made this yourself. You thought of this yourself? All on your own… I see…”

“Yes, and I have a few more ideas too, since I still have herbs and spices that I haven't used.”

Earnest was surprised to see that Coltia was visibly excited by this, as she uncharacteristically exclaimed, “Really?” with the tone of a hopeful child. She took notice of her own behavior, and pulled back, perhaps even a little embarrassed. Earnest had learned a bit about Alesia earlier, but now he seemed to be learning about Coltia. He continued talking to her.

“Yeah, there’s more to come. I’m glad that you seem to really, uh, enjoy my cooking. Pardon me for asking, but do you always eat like… that?”

Coltia seemed a little embarrassed again, but tried to give a response in a more commanding tone.

“No, this is an exception. I simply did not expect such quality, and I must compliment you on creating a taste that entertained me. It seems that my senses may be a little… sensitive to such a thing, and my reactions may be a bit… exaggerated. Now that I think about it, this mouth has only known the fruits of the land, and never touched meat before. Well, anyways, thank you for your contribution, and I look forward to what you may bring me in the future.”

“Of course, I’ll be glad to keep cooking for the duration of our travels.”

Coltia’s expression seemed to change as Earnest said the last part of that sentence, becoming complex and unreadable. She seemed to be thinking about something, so he left her to her own thoughts and started eating his own meal, which had cooled down a bit in the meanwhile.