[SP-F01] To Cook or Not to Cook <<Earning a Living>>

[Faerie 0]

Fae smiled as she made her way out of the city center, but rather than making her way again to the city gates, she took a turn on a small side street that turned off into a large courtyard surrounded by walls on all side. The intended purpose of this area was clear, with a dozen or more training dummies spaced evenly about the square. This was one of the few places to test out weapons without having to fight monsters or players. Lining herself up with one of the dummies Fae pulled her sword out of its sheathe. Coming in at a little under three feet long this sword was on the smaller side, the pommel and guard being plain in design with the blade being a light blue. 

Hefting the sword up Fae noted the weight, it was somewhat smaller than the sword she was used to, so it might take some getting used to. giving a few test swings Fae noted how the light would reflect off the blade, almost giving it a blue glow. It took concentration not to get distracted by it, but that was something she could work on with time. Getting closer to the dummy Fae dove forward slashing her sword horizontally across it's stomach, but no red line appeared, Fae hadn't swung forward enough, not used to the length of the blade fully.

Cursing under her breath Fae continued striking her sword against the dummy until she had the length and weight down, the rest she would have to get used to with time. Fae had let an hour pass here in the courtyard and it was time to head back and finish up the quest she was supposed to be doing. Sheathing her sword she wiped her forearm along her brow, more out of habit than anything else before turning towards the small road that had led to these training grounds, finally for making her way out of the Town of Beginnings. Heading West towards the Stone Valley Fae had a specific goal in mind.

Spoiler

Faerie | Lv. 2 | HP: 40/40 | EN: 22/22 | DMG: 5 | MIT: 5 | LD: 1

Gathering

ID210112 | LD: 1 + 1 = 2 | Failure!

Spoiler

Word Count: 344

 

Edited December 16, 2022 by Faerie

[Faerie 0]

Fae made her way to the West towards the Stone Valley. This was not a trip that Fae enjoyed very much both because of the end destination and because of the memories that always came to the surface when she followed the path. The last time she had seen Kas alive she had sprinted this way full speed never daring to look back. The intrusive thoughts begen to take over as Fae walked. 'Why did you run Fae, you just left him all alone, you knew he wouldn't follow you, and yet you still ran?' the words in her mind didn't even sound like her own voice as they rang out inside her brain 'You know why you ran? because you're a coward, and you always have been. He would have been fine if you weren't there, he would have joined the first rush of peopl, he wouldn't be dead now if it wasn't for you.' 

Fae stopped in her tracks only now noticing the stream of tears that was flowing steadily down her cheeks. "You're wrong." was all Fae could manage to whisper as the voices continued in her head. Fae stood there for another few minutes until the voices stopped coming to an end almost as fast as they had came. Shaking her head and wiping away the tears Fae began walking again, making her way to where the fields gave way to the valley. Fae was looking for an unassuming cave that stood on the edge of the border. 

As Fae came into view of the Valley of Stones she could feel panic rising, similar to the trip here, the sight of the valley brought up a lot of memories that Fae would rather not think about. Stomaching the panic Fae picked up her pace, once she was in the cave it wouldn't be a problem anymore, once she was in the cave she could go back to blissfully ignoring all of that horrible past.

Spoiler

Faerie | Lv. 2 | HP: 40/40 | EN: 22/22 | DMG: 5 | MIT: 5 | LD: 1

Gathering

ID210113 | LD: 5 + 1 = 6 | Failure!

Spoiler

Word Count: 328

 

Edited December 16, 2022 by Faerie

[Faerie 0]

Fae walked at a fast pace as she made her way towards the cave, it wasn't quite in view yet, but with the fact that she could see the Stone Valley she knew that the cave was close. Fae was right, and before much longer at all Fae could see the cave, just the sight of it helping to get rid of the panic that had been slowly rising in her chest. Fae made her way into the cave and it was just as unassuming as she had remembered, it was just a small cave, at most being twenty feet in diameter a small pool of water sat in the back. 

Fae had found this cave by accident with Kas a long time ago. Walking to the small pond in the back Fae sighed, this was the single worst part about this adventure. Peering over the edge of the pool one would see that it was deep but nothing special. Fae stepped back from the edge seeming to contemplate for a second before she returned to the edge sitting and letting her legs sink into the water. Shivering Fae looked down at the fifteen foot deep pool and thought about how long she could hold her breath for 'only a few minutes max, if I can feel around for the air pockets it should be more than enough.' Fae swallowed air for a second and then let herself drop fully into the water.

The cold hit her like a freight train, the pool was definitely colder than the air outside, and Fae gave herself a few moments to adjust before she opened her eyes. The pool was still lit by some of the light coming into the dim cave, and from inside the pool it now became clear that there was a small passage leading deeper into the cave completely submerged. From above this passage just looked like a small cleft in the rocks, it took diving inside to see it. Fae began swimming into the passage, barely wide enough for her to swim comfortably as the light faded.

Spoiler

Faerie | Lv. 2 | HP: 40/40 | EN: 22/22 | DMG: 5 | MIT: 5 | LD: 1

Gathering

ID210114 | LD: 10 + 1 = 11 | Failure!

Spoiler

Word Count: 349

 

Edited December 17, 2022 by Faerie

[Faerie 0]

Fae was enveloped by darkness as the light that was coming in from the mouth of the cave was covered by the turn in the underwater passage. Fae could no longer see as she held her hand out above her head, reaching for the ceiling of the passage she was in, swimming without the hand was more difficult, but she would need to feel for the occasional air pockets that came up along the passage. Fae's fingers brushed against the hard rock as she swam, making sure to focus on holding her breath, this swim was a few minutes, and if she let her air out she wasn't going to make it to the other side.

It was when Fae was almost out of breath that her fingers gave way into open water again. Immediately swimming up Fae popped through the surface of the water gasping for air as she floated. Letting herself catch her breath Fae just swam in place feeling lucky that this passage did not spawn any monsters, being in the utter darkness while trying to fight a creature, especially one that was designed to be in the water would be near impossible for any but a frontliner which Fae was not.

Fae gasped one more time, filling her lungs with as much air as possible before dunking her head back under water. It took a few moments in the total darkness for Fae to right herself and place her hand back on the ceiling acting as her guide. The air holes were evenly spaced so Fae knew exactly how much time she had before she reached the next one. Counting in her head Fae's fingers found another air pocket exactly when she thought they would. Swimming up Fae repeated the process all over again catching her breath before diving back into the darkness.

Her fingers back on the ceiling Fae continued the blind swim, the count continuing in her head. It was when her count finally reached two minutes that Fae began to worry. Her lungs burned, and she had clearly missed one of her pockets, and the tunnel was too tight to turn back. Another minute had passed before Fae couldn't hold any longer, gasping in the blackness of the water, feeling it fill her mouth and lungs as she tried to breathe. Fae pressed on, suppressing the urge to cough as she felt herself drowning, suppressing the urge to let go of the ceiling, if she had any chance at all she had to keep her tenuous hold on the ceiling.

When Fae felt like she could go no longer her hand finally met open water again signalling that she had found the air pocket. Struggling to swim Fae made her way up coughing as she expelled the water from her lungs. Sputtering as she treaded water in the complete blackness that was this break in the ceiling.

Spoiler

Faerie | Lv. 2 | HP: 40/40 | EN: 22/22 | DMG: 5 | MIT: 5 | LD: 1

Gathering

ID210115 | LD: 13 + 1 = 14 | Failure!

 

Word Count: 484

 

 

Edited December 20, 2022 by Faerie

[Faerie 0]

Fae kept swimming, her arms and legs burning as she struggled against the water. When Fae realized that she could see the outline of her arm in front of her, her energy returned like a torrent. Picking up her pace Fae kept swimming, she was practically there, and whether her arms felt like lead or not she would keep pushing.

Fae didn't even need to have her fingers on the ceiling as she came upon the end of her journey, the blue light from above filling the tunnel with a glow that let her clearly see all around her. Swimming up the small channel Fae found herself in a sloping basin of water, and bringing herself above the surface of the pool Fae could see her final destination. A large cave easily 50 feet tall and twice as wide. The ceiling was covered in large blue crystals that filled the cave with light, smaller white crystals littering the walls and floors of the chamber.

Swimming to the edge of the basin Fae pulled herself into the stone flipping onto her back and gasping to fill her lungs with the air that she had had a severe lack of. Fae played there for minutes as she let her limbs rest, knowing that if she tried to stand now her legs would give out. Finally standing, her legs shaking Fae looked around the cavern. Eyes landing on a sparkle on one of the crystals Fae smiled "Thank God." the words echoing as she made her way to the crystal and broke off a chunk, placing it into her inventory. This was the last ingredient Fae needed, and with this she could head back to Maggie and finish the quest.

 

 

Faerie | Lv. 2 | HP: 40/40 | EN: 22/22 | DMG: 5 | MIT: 5 | LD: 1

Gathering

ID210116 | LD: 16 + 1 = 17 | Success! +1 MAT

 

Word Count: 286

Edited December 18, 2022 by Faerie

[Faerie 0]

The trip back from the crystal cavern went without a hitch, she had found all of the air pockets, and made it out to the smaller cavern that acted as the antechamber for the cave system. Leaving the cave into the open air outside Fae took a deep breath and followed the path from the Stone Valley the concept of finishing this quest being the only thing keeping her calm.

The journey back to the Town of Beginnings was unremarkable, and soon enough Fae found herself walking the cobbled streets, making her way back to Maggie's restuarant. Fae opened the door to Maggie's shop "Hey Maggie I'm back with those ingredients you needed." popping her head out from the door to the kitchens Maggie smiled a warm glowing smile "Hey Hun, welcome back, why don't you come back here and we can get started." Maggie's head disappeared back into the kitchen as Fae walked to the door opening it to see Maggie cleaning up, right now the resturaunt was practically completely vacant, so there wasn't much cooking going on.

"Well, go on then, what'd you pick up?" Maggie gestured to an open counter for Fae to put the ingredients she gathered on. "I was thinking of making an apple crumble. It's always been my favorite." Fae pulled all of what she had gathered out of her inventory and placed them down. Today Fae would be using the apples, lemon, orange, nutmeg, cream, cinnamon log, wheat, salt crystal, and sugar cane. All of the rest were for Maggie to keep. A look of surprise passed briefly on Maggie's face at the ingredients. Most people didn't grab everything they needed, and even rarer did they bring extras. "Well don't you look like you have some experience." Maggie's smile was still warm as she looked at Fae "Yeah I've picked up a bit here and there. But I'm nowhere near your level yet." Fae thought of her life before SAO, food had always been something her and her dad could share, and once he grew sick she started pursuing it more heavily, just looking for something that could bring a smile to his face. Now she was here in SAO and cooking wasn't something that was easy to pursue, the cooking in SAO took a decent time to level up, and you had to do this quest in order to get any of the buffs from it. "Well I guess I'll give you free range here in the kitchen. If you need anything you just holler hun." Maggie wiped her hands on her apron as she walked out of the kitchen.

Left alone Fae got to work immediately, first she would need to prepare the Ingredients, and where some if these things would take months, here in SAO they could be accomplished easily with just a few taps on a HUD. The first thing that Fae did was grab the cinnamon log grabbing a knife from the counter she sliced thin strips of the bark off before putting the log away. These thin strips of bark were what Fae was looking for, and in the real world when they were dried for long periods of time and then ground into powder they would become the cinnamon you could find in stores and In game the process was much the same. Fae took the strips of bark and placed them to the side gently tapping them to get a HUD to appear. Tapping a few buttons a small loading bar appeared above the strips seemingly content Fae turned back to her ingredients this time grabbing the sugar cane, this being the other one that would take a longer amount of time.

Similar to with the cinnamon Fae started out by cutting thin strips off of the sugar cane making sure that she got an ample amount before putting the sugar cane to the side. The first step was to squeeze the strips of sugar cane and separate the juice from the plant. Gathering all of the slices of sugar cane Fae loaded them into a fruit press designed to squeeze the juice out of berries and other fruits. The press was made of two parts, the upper part which was made of a flat plate used to press into a second plate that had small holes in it, the bottom was a detachable bowl that collected all of the juice from the top section. Fae pressed the plate into the strips of sugar cane and watched as the juice filled the bottom bowl. Once she was satisfied that she had enough Fae took the bowl and poured it into two metal pots sitting on a brick stove. Tapping her fingers on the pots Fae pressed some more buttons, setting one pot up to make regular sugar, and the other pot to make brown sugar. Confirming that the loading bars had appeared Fae started the fire before turning back to her pile of ingredients. With the two longest processes started Fae could now finish the rest of her prep work.

 

Word Count: 845

Edited December 19, 2022 by Faerie

[Faerie 0]

Fae grabbed a large mortar and pestle from a side counter and a few bowls to place the ground product into. Next up was the grinding, a lot of the materials that Fae had right now were in their raw form and needed to be processed into various different powders. Grabbing the salt crystal Fae broke off a smaller chunk and placed it into her mortar and pestle, the issue with the salt was just that this rock was too big to actually use in cooking. Slowly crushing the large chunk into finer smaller salt Fae looked around the kitchen, it wasn't the largest kitchen in the world, but it was decent enough, one side having a large counter space for chopping and storing all of the in progress food stuffs the other wall having more counters and cupboards for storage and a large basin sink for cleaning, in the corner was the large brick oven that Fae was currently boiling her sugar on. Pausing in her grinding Fae looked at the salt, satisfied that it was at a sufficient size before pouring it into one of the bowls.

Fae did the same with the nutmeg and wheat pouring them each into their own bowls before looking at all of the ingredients she still had to process and over to the stuff she had preparing, she would need to grind up the cinnamon once it was done, but for now it was still drying and she would have to wait. Grabbing the cream and a bowl Fae decided that the butter would be the next step. Pouring the cream into the bowl Fae started stirring, it was not easy to do this in real life, and that stayed true in SAO, it took a fast pace to get the cream to harden into butter. Keeping up a furious pace Fae watched as the cream slowly became thicker and eventually reached the consistency of a soft butter Fae kept stirring until she was satisfied with the consistency. Grabbing a rectangular dish Fae scooped up the butter and deposited it inside placing it into a cooled chest in the back of the room that acted like a fridge.

Next Fae grabbed a grater and the lemons and oranges placing two bowls on the counter she grated some of the rind off of both fruits and let them fall into the bowls before cutting them in half. Grabbing the press again Fae squeezed out the juice from the orange and lemon also placing them in separate containers. Fae checked back up on her ingredients currently in process the cinnamon had just completed and was now ready to be ground up into the powder that was easier to work with, and the sugar would be done soon after. Grabbing the cinnamon and mortar and pestle Fae went to work turning it into dust, grinding it until it resembled actual cinnamon before putting it into its own bowl. Fae looked to her sugar which had finally completed and pulled out two more bowls for that as well, normally in real life there were a lot more steps for making sugar, but this was one of those conveniences that Fae had thought of earlier, after crystallizing the sugar would just be good to use directly. With all of her ingredients now prepped, for the most part, Fae needed to prep the apples, grabbing a knife She started by peeling all of the apples before coring them and dicing them. Fae smiled as she grabbed a bigger bowl and placed it to the side, everything was now prepped and she could get started on the baking, the best part.

 

Word Count: 612

Edited December 19, 2022 by Faerie

[Faerie 0]

Fae took all of the cubed apples and tossed them into the larger bowl alongside the lemon and orange zest and juice, some of the sugar, some of the flour, some of the cinnamon and the nutmeg smiling as she smelled the cinnamon and nutmeg, already smelling wonderful. Fae moved the bowl to the side before grabbing another one this time putting in the rest of the plain sugar, the brown sugar, the rest of the flour, the salt, and the rest of the cinnamon, mixing it together until it was all evenly distributed. Going to the chilled chest Fae grabbed the butter and started taking small portions of it mixing them into the sugar and flour mixture until it resembled the large crumbs that she was looking for. Fae placed the bowl to the side, the smile not leaving her face as she neared the final product of the pie. 

Taking the bowl of apples covered in sugars and other sweets Fae poured it into a pie tin evenly so that it filled out the pan completely, nothing was worse than biting into a pie and not getting any filling in the bite. Grabbing the bowl of crumbs Fae spread them over top of the apples making sure that there was an even covering before stepping back and looking the pie over before smiling "That is a mighty fine pie if I do say so myself." Fae picked up the pie tin and moved over the the oven, placing it inside and making sure to start the fire again. At this point it was just a waiting game for the pie to be ready so Fae made her way back into the main seating area for the small restaurant where Maggie was currently wiping down tables "Hey Maggie, I got my pie in the oven now, so I figured I would come out here and see if there is anything I can help you with." Maggie dropped her towel on the counter she was cleaning and looked at Fae with a motherly look "Oh no hun, I wouldn't have you help me, besides I have probably wiped these tables down a hundred times today. Why don't you just have a seat and we can wait for that pie together. I can already smell it, and it is delicious." Fae sat in the chair that Maggie pulled out for her and smiled, waiting with the motherly woman until her pie was done.

The entire restaurant smelled of apples and cinnamon when Fae went to grab her pie out of the brick oven. Walking carefully Fae placed the dish on the table that she and Maggie had been sitting at, two plates already being set up for the pair to eat from. "Oh well don't that just smell and look amazing hun." Maggie gave an approving nod as she stared at the pie, the crumbly crust a perfect golden brown, steam rising off of it "But the most important test is to come. How does it taste?" from out of no where it seemed, Maggie pulled out two forks handing one to Fae before diving in herself to get some of the pie. Fae watched in a mix of fear and excitement as Maggie tasted her dessert. "Oh this is wonderful hun. You have the makings of a fine chef." Maggie had barely finished speaking when the bell signalling a patron rang out "Oh well deary me, I guess it's my time to get back in the kitchens." Maggie stood from her seat and headed back to her kitchen "Thank you Maggie." Fae called out as a screen popped up in front of her 'Congratulations you have completed quest "Earning a Living" you now have access to the cook profession skill line.' Fae closed the screen and looked back at the kitchen door, picking up the pie before heading out the door.

Spoiler

Crafting

ID210273 | CD: 10 | Success! Crafted T1 Uncommon Dessert

 

Word Count: 651

Edited December 20, 2022 by Faerie

[Faerie 0]

Fae walked slowly through the Town of Beginnings once again head lost in thought, the path from Maggie's restaurant and the Wayward wasn't long but Fae didn't take the most direct path choosing to wander. 'It's already getting so late, I spent way too long out today, I told Angel I would be home by dinner. . .' Fae didn't pick up her pace as she just let her feet wander 'I told Kas I would be heading to the frontlines starting tomorrow, but I'm not even finished with most of what I wanted to do before leaving.' Fae snapped back into reality when she found herself back at the gate out of town, the sun setting in the distance, and the stars starting to become prominent in the quickly darkening sky. Clearly her mind was made as Fae looked back to the town behind her, a quick message sent to her only friend as she headed out into the night, ignoring the message she got in return as she left her feet to carry her westward. 

Before long Fae found herself in a small clearing surrounded by some trees a large rock siting in the center, completely smooth but for the carving that marred its surface 'In memory of a hero, Lighbringer'. This was a gravestone, one that Fae had made herself for a friend long gone now, the memory of which still haunted her every day. Placing her fingers on the engraving Fae's eyes welled with tears "Hey Kas. . ." Fae let the words fade from her lips as she stared at the rock, not able to put into words all of the things she wanted to say to her hero. Fae climbed to the top of the rock, dangling one of her legs down as she stared at the moon lighting up her little clearing. 'You were supposed to be the one to live Kas, I can't do this without you, I can't play the hero like you could.' Fae let the thoughts drift into the night air as she stared at the expanse of space that she could see from atop her rock.

Fae stared for a long time before her eyes steeled and she opened up her chat window and sent a message to someone that she hadn't seen in years, if she was about to do this she would need support, and she couldn't think of anyone better to have with her.

To: Nari-Lanreth | Hey, it's been a long time. Could you meet me here? |

The message was cryptic but that was fine, she didn't even know if Nari would respond or even remember her, but she was the only person she knew other than Angel, and Avoryn, the latter of which she hadn't heard anything about in years. Fae attached her coordinates to the message before sending it and staring back at the sky, hugging her legs to her chest atop the rock.

 

Spoiler

Word Count: 487

 

Edited December 20, 2022 by Faerie

[Faerie 0]

Thread Summary

Faerie:

1,602 EXP: (1,302 Thread Contents + 300 Quest Rewards)

400 Col: 400 Thread Contents

5 MATS: Quest Reward

3/4ths of an Apple Crumble [T1 | Dessert | +1 LD]

<<Cook>> Profession

Standard <<Cook>> Shop