Chapter 60: Petey First Dates - Climax

Chapter 60: Petey First Dates - Climax

Two dwarves sat in a restaurant, their table piled high with food. They took a few bites from each dish in turn, and then discussed.

*crunch* *crunch* “Too salty.”

“I like this one, Bran.”

“Too sweet, try this.”

“Ugh, what is it?”

“Grilled cuttereel wi’ a balsamic glaze.”

“It’s foul.”

“Can’t really disagree, Pete. Try tha beer-braised roast goat and mushroom sauce.”

*munch* *chew* “Mmm... now this I can get behind. It melts in my mouth. The roast goat has a strong flavour that threatens to be a bit too gamey, but the mellow notes of the mushroom sauce counteract it perfectly. Combine that with this roasted erdroot and it almost makes me like erdroot. Shame about the shitty aftertaste of the be - *cough* - Anyway, add it to the list?”

There was a scratching of pencil on paper as Bran wrote something onto a notepad. “Aye. Needs some onions though.”

“Oooh! Maybe some shallots?”

“What’s a shallot?”

“Sigh. More like shalnots, then. Are there any fish plates?”

“Just tha cuttereel.”

“Hmmm... is it because of a lack of fishes or a lack of dishes?”

“Only a few kinds o’ fish in tha dungeon and only cavetrout in tha lakes around Minnova.” Bran shrugged. “Ya get bored of tha’ same grilled fish after a few decades.”

"Then we won't grill it. Add ‘beer battered fish and chips’ to the menu. I’ll teach it to you later.” *burp*

“Hmmm... We got a good mix here.” Bran leafed through the notepad. “A lot more than most pubs. What did you call this again?”

“We’re doin’ market research. I want to know what tha most popular dishes are in Minnova, so we have a guaranteed hit on opening night. Coupled with some of my recipe ideas and a little word of mouth, we should be full on day one.”

“Here’s hopin’.” Bran nodded. “Maybe my new Blessin’ will help with that.”

“How does it work?”

“[Artisan’s Luck]. It says that I make a bit o’ my own luck so long as I’m workin’ hard.”

“That’s... amazing? But seriously, how does it work?”

“Dunno? I think it means that the harder I work, the luckier I get. So if I work hard on these dishes, we might get lucky fer openin night.”

“That is amazing! Is there anythin’ else you need?”

“I want ta go to tha place just around the corner. They make a really mean goatherd pie.”

“Sounds tasty.”

“It is. Ground goat with steamed vegetables like killer corn and peashooter pods. Topped with mashed Erdroot an’ mixed with a ton of salty butter and garlic.”

“Mmmmm.”

“Mmmmm.”

The pair rubbed their stomachs and leaned back to enjoy the feeling of a full belly.

“Excuse me...” A well dressed-dwarf in a button-up blazer approached their table. “May I ask what you are doing? Are you two actually planning to eat all this? I must ask that you pay now before any other food is brought to your table.”

“Um...” Pete took in the massive pile of food. “Can we get this to go?”

—

“Do you know why I invited you into my office, Pete?”

“I’m guessing it has something to do with Annie moving a bunch of boxes around?”

“Well, after the casino incident, you and I are public enemy number one and two.” Aqua pointed at the ticket booth. A drawing depicting two dwarves, one blue-haired and one brown-haired, could be seen behind the ticketing agent. Large point font at the top of the drawing stated: “NO ENTRY”.

“What!?” Pete hissed. “You stole all their signs. What did I do??”

“Are you kidding? You stuffed your butter in her mouth!”

“SHHHH!!!” Pete clamped his hand over Aqua’s mouth. “It sounds so dirty when you put it that way!”

“Says tha man in love with a goat!” Aqua’s voice was muffled. She bit Pete’s finger and he yanked his hand back.

“Owch! I’m not in love with Penelope! No matter how cute her beard is.”

“Sure, sure.”

“Why did you even want to come?” Pete asked, nursing his munched digit.

“I was curious...” Aqua craned her neck around the sea of pink. “And this is new! I love new! You love new! So I figured we could check out this new thing together!”

“I do love new.” Pete’s smile widened. “I also love concerts, so let’s do this!”

The pair made it through the ticketing booth uneventfully, and found their seats near the rear middle of the auditorium. Like most dwarven architecture, the space was buried into the stone, with the ceiling sitting just above ground level. The rows of seats were inset with bright pink and white solstones, and some of the audience had sticks that glittered with light. The hubbub was immense, and Pete had to put his head together with Aqua’s to be heard.

“This looks like a rave!”

“A what?”

“A... type of concert I went to!”

Aqua’s eyes narrowed. “Yer so darn shifty!”

“That’s me!”

“I’ll figure you out eventually, you know!”

“Good luck!”

Eventually the lights went off, and the crowd grew silent. Then, there was an explosion.

A series of pink and white smoke bombs went off with a roar, and sparks flew from the edge of the stage. A spotlight snapped onto a young gnomess in a skin-tight sequin skirt and halter top. A heavy bass beat shook the stands while an electric guitar began to whine. The crowd screamed and Rasberrysyrup nodded to the beat. Then she opened her mouth and shouted,

“LET’S GET THE PARTY STARTED!!!”

Pete’s jaw dropped and he rubbed his ears. Aqua jumped up and down and roared with the rest of the crowd, then noticed his shocked silence.

“THIS IS GREAT!” She shouted.

Pete turned wide eyes her way. “YOU HAVE NO IDEA! I’VE ALWAYS LOVED THIS SONG!”

“I THOUGHT YOU’VE NEVER LISTENED TO HER MUSIC!?”

“NOPE!”

“HOW CAN THOSE BOTH BE TRUE?!”

“YOU’LL FIGURE IT OUT! ISN’T PINK AWESOME!?” Pete pumped his fist with the rest of the pink festooned crowd, then said more quietly. “Found you.”

Soon he and Aqua were surfing in the mosh pit.

—

Barck glared at the collection of high quality furniture that now dotted the bluff.

“Where are y’all comin’ from?” He grumbled.

Lunara pointed at the lounge-chair floating above them. “I was actually looking for Archis.”

“We all live here too, you know.” Aaron put in.

“At least Yearn hasn’t found us yet.” Tiara added.

There was a murmur of general agreement.