On Our Way to Jellow King - 1.1

Dramatis Personae:

Youna Louet, a woman with a hyperfixation on figure Hroland.

Alara Mehnot, beloved companion of Youna who is along for the ride.

KiNg Hroland (???)

On Our Way To Jellow King 1.1 - Reviewing the Menu

Youna took the formaldehyde resin tablet and narrowed her eyes, scanning the particular menu she’d been given. 

“Gwynwen Bacterial Perfection,” she said, reading the name of the dish. “This is a super rare recipe, one that only few have ever tasted. I heard that Hithwenia herself showed Hroland how to make it, and since then only her descendants have…”

“Is that why you chased down Madam Ina this morning?” Alara asked, referring to one of Hithwenia’s offspring who happened to be in their team for the Catu Samonii.

Youna sighed dramatically, heaving her shoulders and shaking her head. “Yes… if only. If only Ina cared! If only she loved jellow! But she has no interest in it, in fact, she gave this heirloom menu to me as if it were a plaything!”

Alara felt more motivated to go on this quest hearing both Youna's excitement and that Madam Ina had provided the clue. She had worried about where Youna had found that menu, because there were many imitation menus meant to lead seekers into traps for brigandry. Getting to see a limited edition Jellow King menu on its own was enough for Alara, but her companion Youna was dedicated to the lore of King Hroland in a way few could comprehend. And so the companions searched for the pathway to the legendary special detailed on this rare menu - only available if one stepped through the correct dimensional rift with the menu in hand.

How Hroland had managed this amount of illusionary work was another deep dive for another day. Alara glanced at the ingredients.

Our Gwynwen Bacterial Perfection is made with onlye thee finest ibgredient. A blbend of delectablble bacteria scraped from most nubile of phantom Lociie, a true raritye of King Hrolandb treaty with Pebnwythion Castel.

The lettering was archaic and difficult to parse, so Alara narrowed her eyes, searching for instructions.

Once ;.theye/' have been found, the pheremones of Gwynwen Elfrix the Lesser, whose phantome now pay alblegigance to King Hroland, he, the most nubile of delectablble guides will show youe the way to Jellow King.

“Do Gwynwen… do they even have senses of smell?” Alara asked, wondering if all of the menus had this kind of wording. She supposed spending an  Eskern-long Oak and Laurel Cycle stuck in the horrible bogs around Lake Weird would rub off on a person.

“Well, they have chemical signals. I guess this Elfrix must be trained to follow and find people who smell a certain way.”

Blended with fermented onione, for a delicious fizzble, we use onlye the best.

“Fermented onion, huh,” Youna said. As a Maga Suprema who specialized in wild terrains, navigating dubious places like Eskern Forest was her specialty. “Well that has got to be the Spring of Tears nearby, The Anthomiya consider these onions sacred, so… we might need to sneak past a few shrine maidens with weapons.”

Alara steeled herself, but she had abilities to help detect slight vibrations using her blood mycellium skill so they could surely find a way through. “Are there any other ingredients we can find by the Spring of Tears?”

Gelatin made frob only the best villager marrowe.

“Hmmm…. Given that, I think we might need to kill one of the shrine maidens,” Youna peered over Alara’s shoulder with a serious tone to her voice that sent shivers up Alara’s spine.

“Youna, no!”

“We can cut off a finger or two, that marrow should be enough!”

“Youna!”

Youna wrinkled her nose and sighed. “Well we’re going to have to find something that can lead us to a scavenged carcass then. And hope that at least one bone is intact. King Hroland will not settle for redweed gelatin. It would be an insult.”

Alara thought about it for a moment, taking a breath to process her companion’s enthusiasm and bloodlust. “With the blood mycellium, I can help locate a body.”

“That’s why you’re the best,” Youna gave Alara an affectionate pat on the shoulder and full on grinned, which despite the skeletal white petroleum face paint she used, did truly emanate a warm energy.

 “Anything else we need to draw out the Gwynwen?”

Youna read further, and saw a drawing of a strange looking tree with yellow fruits. Only one word was etched into the resin. 

Lelmon.

“Lel...mon?” Alara squinted.

“Lemon,” Youna said. “Those don’t even grow in the wild here. Man, this really is a tough menu!”

To be continued…