Ch 3
The next day was spent on gathering supplies for the trip into the desert towards the Renegade base northeast of the city. From food and ingredients to last them several days, to protective clothing and plenty of water, the amount of supplies was barely under the weight limit Pepper could handle. The mana beast studied her loaded harness, then experimented with walking and running.
"Careful, Pepper! We need that in one piece, and I don't want you to strain yourself!" Caleb called out to her as Wren wrapped the new cloak around himself and pulled it up to cover his nose and mouth from the sands.
"I think she's finding it to be a useful way of strengthening her body." the chef pointed out, "Carrying more weight will train her limbs to be more powerful and will give her lungs and heart a good exercise. Don't worry so much about her."
"If you say so. Come on, Pepper! Time to go!" the doll called.
Within the hour, the three friends were in the desert, walking beside Pepper as she practiced dissipating the heat from the sands and winds. With FireBlossom blood in her veins, she could have an influence over fire and heat under the blessing of Efreet. When she wasn't scattering the mana to areas outside of their little bubble of safety, Pepper was drawing it into herself, then pushing it into Caleb's crystals for a steady recharge as he functioned. Wren pulled the hood of the cloak further down over his head, shielding his eyes from the sunlight and the sands.
"The rate we're going, we should arrive at the base in another couple of days." Caleb murmured and looked back at his friend, "Wren, how are you holding up?"
"Doing okay. I can combat the heat with fruit cocktails." the chef answered distractedly. "When we get to the base, I'll see if I can ask someone there for help. I don't have much influence with the Renegades, but if I feed enough people we might get someone to fix the data crystal reader."
"I can help pull strings, too. I can pretend to be Zelos and talk a few Renegades into helping us." Caleb added. Wren smiled.
"I suppose it's useful sometimes to look like a celebrity." he commented. Caleb laughed embarrassedly.
"Only when I show myself to the right people. The rest of the time it's just a hassle." he admitted.
Walking through the desert proved to be just as much of a hassle as Caleb's unintentional impersonations. During the time it took for the three friends to reach the Renegade base, nearly half of the food supplies wound up being used to ward off thieves and monsters in the desert. At the doorstep of the large blue dome that served as the base for the Renegades, Caleb hesitated for only a moment before he triggered the door alarm. Wren stuck close by him, the Wonder Fork already in his hand. It took a few minutes, but the doors finally opened to them and a few of the troops inside emerged with swords drawn.
"Who are you and why are you here?" the captain of the guard demanded of them. Caleb went into his impersonation mode.
"Are you guys stupid or something? I'm the Hot and Sexy Chosen, the Great Zelos Wilder!" the doll announced imperiously, "And I have a very important relic that must be repaired immediately!" The guards all looked at each other, then at him.
"You must be joking." the captain told him, "You're not Zelos; you are the automated doll called Caleb!" The doll looked shocked.
"Wh-what? How did you know? I have Zelos' personality and his speech perfectly imitated!" Caleb cried.
"Lord Yuan has given us orders to aid you in your journey to archive the world's knowledge. There's no need for you to impersonate the former Chosen. The questions were just formalities anyway." the captain explained to him, "So what is it that you truly need?"
"Just what I said." Caleb replied, relief on his face, "I have a relic of magitechnology that needs to be repaired so I can get access to a data crystal."
"Who is the person beside you and what is that strange beast?" the Renegades questioned. Caleb blinked and rubbed his head.
"Ah, well. The white and red creature is my friend, Pepper. She is a mana beast of the FireBlossom and Ascension clans." he began, "And this is my human friend, Wren. He's a cook."
"A cook? What need would a doll have of a cook?" one of the soldiers asked in suspicion. Wren pulled down the hood and muffler, gazing at the group. "Ah! You!"
"I am the mysterious gourmet, the Wonder Chef!" Wren announced, "I'm traveling the world with Caleb to master new recipes and protect the culinary community from the influence of the Dark Chef Alliance!"
"You could have just said so." the captain muttered and motioned to the doors. "Everyone inside. We'll see what we can do to help."
The Renegades sat around a table and studied the broken down computer as Wren spent time in the nearby galley preparing lunches for the group. Caleb had offered to help, but the chef declined.
"I'm working something out. I need some time alone for it." he had simply said and shut himself in the kitchen. The doll sat with the Renegades as Pepper slept nearby, resting after having walked the desert with packs weighing her down. The captain studied the device carefully and shook his head.
"It's beyond my comprehension. Why such a thing is in any human ranch is beyond me." he finally remarked, "This type of magitechnology was lost during the final years of the Kharlan War, and to know that Mithos Yggdrasill had maintained part of it throughout these four thousand years... Suffice to say there are very few of us who can repair it."
"So not even the Renegades can help us with this then?" Caleb asked with a disappointed sigh.
"I didn't say that. I can make a call to Lord Yuan and see if he can send down help from Exire." the captain corrected and looked up as Wren entered the room with a tray filled with platters of food, "Ah! Wonder Chef, you've outdone yourself as always! What's on the menu, friend?"
"Every recipe I gave the Heroes of Union, from sandwiches filled with the kindness of a friend to the morale-boosting paella that was key to helping them compete in the Meltokio Coliseum!" Wren declared with a smile, setting the huge tray onto the table as Caleb scrambled to pull the reader to safety. The Renegades whooped and fell onto the feast, taking portions of everything set before them.
"Wren, what are you doing?" Caleb whispered fiercely, "What does cooking all that have to do with anything?"
"I'm testing something." Wren muttered back and waited until the feasting was done and everyone sat back in contentment. "I trust the meal was to your liking?" the blonde chef asked.
"Delicious as always." the captain remarked, leaning back in his seat, "Though, there was something just a little off. I know that you make the best food in the world, but today must be an off day, no?" Caleb blinked and looked quickly over at his friend, who listened to the Renegade's words with an expressionless face.
"Is there anything else? Anything about the flavor, the texture, the blend of tastes and color?" Wren pressed on. The Renegades all mumbled in a group.
"Just a little off. Tiny bit of something not quite right. You can barely tell unless you were looking for it. Dunno, lemme try that again... yeah, something's lacking just a teeny bit." they muttered and murmured. Caleb continued to watch his friend as Wren's eyes narrowed slightly.
"I see. Then, there is something wrong with me." he whispered.
"I'll send for help to repair your device." the captain told them with a smile, "Right after a nap."
The nap lasted most of the day and it wasn't until the moon was starting to rise over the desert that a message was sent to Exire. The captain of the guard reported to Caleb and Wren that it would take time for a response to come. Caleb thanked him dutifully, then closed the door to their room and walked back to check on Wren. Since the feast earlier, the chef had seemed to retreat into himself. When they were given the room and a stall for Pepper in case the response to their request took too long, Wren immediately flopped onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling blankly.
"Are you all right? Is there something bothering you?" Caleb tried to reach his friend as he sat on his own bed.
"Tell me something, Caleb." Wren murmured, "Say that you were deemed a paragon in something, declared a master of masters in something you loved to work with, and you had every confidence that it was true. Your life revolved around that title and the understanding that you had the skill and knowledge to prove time and again that you were rightfully named." Caleb blinked at him, but the chef wasn't even looking at his friend. "Then, one day, it's all taken away. In an instant. Poof. Gone. But then, it comes right back, almost that same instant. Poof. Here again. Like it was never gone to begin with. But, because of that tiny gasp of time, everyone begins to wonder if you can still back up your claim."
"This is about that ultimatum again, isn't it?" Caleb muttered.
"Wait, wait. I'm not done yet. Everyone is doubting you so you try to prove to them that they're wrong and you fail. You take it in stride, say it was just a small mistake, it would never amount to anything." Wren went on and sighed, "But... it does. You fight it with all your strength and soul, but deep down inside, right there in your heart of hearts... you begin to doubt yourself. Maybe, they were right... and you've lost something very important in that tiny half-gasp of time. Something that made you what you were, something that was the key to why you were the expert, the master, the almighty. Something that was there one moment, then gone, and everyone knew it but you."
"That's why you cooked all that food for the Renegades?" Caleb asked him. Wren nodded. "Did you learn anything from it?"
"I think I'm missing something. I'm not sure what it is though." he began as a knock came on the door, "Ah, who's there?" The door opened and one of the Renegades poked her head in.
"There's been a response! Come to the Rheaird hangar and bring that device of yours!" she exclaimed and disappeared from the door. The two friends looked at each other in brief confusion, then scrambled to get ready and meet with the captain.
The hangar for Rheairds was crowded with the captain of the guard, his troops, a half-elf and a dwarf all waiting for Wren and Caleb to arrive. Once the two showed up, they were quickly introduced to the newcomers to the Renegade base of Triet.
"This is Vera, she's an engineer from Cruxis who joined the Renegades early in the battle. She designed much of the magitechnology used by Cruxis and the Renegades." the captain introduced the half-elf to both men. Vera smiled and bowed slightly, her mint-green hair pulled back in a braid as she looked prim and proper in her white lab coat and plain brown dress. Next, the captain motioned to the dwarf. "And this is Darleena, a dwarven craftswoman who was once an apprentice to Altessa himself."
"This is a female dwarf?" Caleb cried in shock, staring at the irritable dwarf scowling up at him, dressed in a robe and covered in tools and heavy packs.
"Aye, that I am! Are ye having a problem with me being a woman?" Darleena barked gruffly. Caleb shook his head as Wren tried to contain his laughter. "I've got me eye on the skinny blonde here, thinkin' he can get away with snorting at me looks!" Wren blinked and turned red, shaking his head in denial. "Don't ye be trying to lie to me, young man! Dwarven Vow Number Eleven; Lying is the first step down the path of thievery!"
"I'm sorry! Really!" Wren exclaimed, waving his hands in defense as Darleena stepped forward with a growl, "I've just never met a female dwarf before."
"You probably have but didn't realize it." Vera interrupted in a smooth and soothing tone. "Female dwarves and male dwarves are so alike that it's often hard to tell which is which. You usually have to wait for the beard to grow out, if they're young." She turned to her companion, "Darleena, don't be so harsh on the boys. I'm sure they meant no harm."
"Now that everyone's gotten to know one another, I'll lead you all to a laboratory where you can get to work on that thing." the captain of the guard remarked brightly and spun on his heel, leading them out the door.