The party splits up while Zeren and Delarissa find some food

Angelika's eyes grow wide at the sight of the money she had just received and quickly skipped away, no doubt to waste it all on something frivolous. Yevelda takes her cut and heads off in the direction of the fighting pits, whether the gamble or fight is probably an even chance either way. Gwen will no doubt take the time to rest and repair her equipment, she never could leave it too long.

I look over to Del, "Would you like to join me for dinner at the tavern? I could teach you about the history of my church that you seemed to be so interested in."

"That sounds like a great idea, it seems everyone else has their evening planned out already."

Del and I walked off in the same direction that Angelika had, just with a little less gusto. Delarissa and I had spoken in the past about the differences in our magic and as such she was the first of the company that I had started to bond with, already considering her a friend.

The Bracklewhyte Arms was quite a loud place, it seemed like this was where everyone in town came to party. Fortunately I knew that they had a dining area that was a lot less rambunctious and motioned for Del to follow me there where we could eat in relative peace. As we were passing through the door Del pointed over to the crowd and I saw Angelika with her arm around a gorgeous elf lady, they were on their way up as we left the room. She really did know what she wanted and wasn't afraid to just go out and enjoy herself, no matter what it was. Del and I share a look and just shake our heads at Angelika before moving through the door and taking our seats.

We sit there in awkward silence for a minute before I break it, sounding just as awkward as the silence, "I much prefer the quiet when the work is done? Don't you?"

"Oh very much so. My childhood home was filled with so much commotion that being inside never really held that peaceful feeling that I sense it should have." Delarissa's eyes seemed a little distance even at the mention of her childhood and I was curious to know more but she quickly diverted away from the subject to the immediate need of our dinner. "I wonder what Kat has on offer tonight, she always has the strangest food and it's never a dull moment for your mouth."

Katalyst or Kat as she was known to the locals was the Tiefling owner of the tavern and one of the best chefs for hundreds of miles. She was always experimenting with new ingredients, new recipes and mixing it all up with her genius into something wonderful. Her apron was always tied but messy, her glasses slipping down her nose but even through the reddish tinge of her skin she exuded a fiendish beauty.

Del broke my gaze over at the bar, “Let’s ask her shall we?”

"Yes, of course," I said shaking my head.

I called Kat over and told her that we were ready to eat, no menus here and everyone trusted Kat with their meals. I caught Del looking off into the distance and the way the candle light played on her face was mesmerising, almost as if her skin was giving off an otherworldly glow.

"So we were going to talk about magic right? I know we've talked in the past so I know that you did not study and I know that you do not use prayer to channel it so where does it come from?" I was expecting a friendly chat, I mean we had been friendly with each other in the past but Del had never opened up about her past and often quickly turned conversation away from her magic as quickly as possible. This is why I had only been able to glean very little about it.

"I don't know, I honestly do not know. I've just always been able to summon it, as a child I was able to create sparks from my fingers by snapping them together. As I got older it got stronger and stronger. Oh, I don't know why I'm telling you this, I've never told anyone but I think that I can trust you Zeren. Something about you just makes me feel safe to talk."

"Del, you don't have to go on if you don't want to. We can just enjoy our meal and talk about something else but I am genuinely curious about magic, I only know that I channel the divine power of Deslyna through my prayers. I don't actually have the magic within me at all."

Her face was conflicted with pain from her past and I didn't want to push too far and hurt her, even with the Affection Multiplier it didn't seem right. I still cared for Del as my first friend outside of home. I decided that a change of subject was in order.

"So, anyway, do you know where Yevelda spends her time in town? She always seems to have a scrape or two when we see her again."

"Oh, yes, she has a way of finding a fight anywhere. I think that they have a gambling den around the docks where she fights, plays cards, rolls dice or sometimes all three at once."

We both laugh, Del a little more awkwardly smiling at me for the change of subject, a few moments later Kat arrives back at the table with two fantastic smelling plates.

"Hey guys, I thought I'd seen you two guys around together. I'm glad that you've made it out here for a date tonight." Kat was always cheery, especially when she was working with her food.

Both Del and myself trip over each others words and it all just comes out in a jumble, "Oh no we're not uhh date here no no date here together not." We look at each other as well, an adorable red flush coming to her cheeks. I compose myself and look at Kat, "We're not here on a date, just two friends who work together, we're with the Scarlet Adventuring Company."

"Oh, sorry, my mistake. I just assumed, you are both here eating by candlelight in the quiet area. It's a shame really, you two make a cute couple."

Del's cheeks flush just a little redder at Kat's last statement.

"Anyway, for you sir, I have jungle drake flank with steamed vegetables and a scorpion venom sauce, don't worry, it's no longer poisonous but does have a bit of a kick." The smile that she is beaming on her face puts me at ease of eating scorpion venom. The plate itself looks like a small jungle with the steamed vegetables creating a humid canopy over the meat

"And for you ma'am I have grilled skyfish with a lantern lemon sauce and sweetened waybread, I hope I got it all cooked well, I am not used to elvish cuisine." The fish was tied to the plate with twine seemingly to prevent it from floating away and the sauce glowed with sunlight as it dripped off the side. Del's face lit up with childlike wonder when she saw the meal and turned to Kat. "Thank you so much, this is wonderful, I haven't had skyfish since I left my parent's home." Kat simply smiled at a job well done and left for the kitchen.

As soon as Kat was gone Del turned back to her plate, grabbing the cutlery and began devouring her meal. Seeing as she was focused on her food I did the same with mine. I had never eaten anything that was on the plate before but Kat knew what she was doing and it was absolutely delicious, the drake meat tender and the scorpion venom sauce with just the right mix of flavour and spice to compliment the meal. When I had finished my meal I sat and watched the enchanting scene before me, both the plate of food itself and the grace that Del exhibited, even while eating. I had never thought of her as anything other than a friend but at this moment I couldn't help it, she was a vision of beauty. Everything about her was beautiful, it was difficult to believe how she had gotten mixed up in a life of mercenary work with the Company. Her fiery red mane fell down over her shoulders, without a single hair out of place, the smoothness of her face showing no blemishes and the perfect pale tone leading down to her perfectly shaped breasts, with the barest hint of cleavage showing out the top of her outfit. Wait, was I really just thinking about her breasts? Del was my friend but she was also a woman, I had never been this friendly with an elf before but I really did care for her and I was beginning to think it was more than just as a friend.

Author's Note:
I am sorry for the delay for this thread, I am trying to get at least one chapter out each week from here on out. I have a general outline for the first story arc to go over but have to commit to actually writing.