Ch 2
Getting to Meltokio was easy; traveling through it was hard. After having to apologize to Seles Wilder multiple times for showing up in her house without invitation and answer a multitude of questions about Genis at the same time, Caleb, Wren and Pepper then had to deal with a part of Zelos' old groupies that remained bitter about his 'break-ups'. Having soldiers and angry women after their tails encouraged new speeds in them, though they ducked into the first shop they found along the way.
"Why didn't you put on that mask and hat of yours?!" Wren cried between gasps for air. Caleb dug into his pack for the items as Pepper introduced herself to the shopkeeper just before the poor man fainted.
"I forgot I needed to hide my face. It's been a while since I needed to disguise myself." he remarked and tied his hair up in a bun with a few hairpins. "It's gonna be a bit before I'm clear to go. Can you check and be sure Pepper's not scaring anyone too badly?" Wren nodded and hurried to see if the shopkeeper was still in one piece.
Pepper was poking at the man when Wren managed to squeeze by her for a look. The store manager seemed all right, but would take time to actually wake up. The chef gave Pepper an exasperated look, which she returned with a smile and a cheerful clack.
"We really need to get you more exposure. We can't go around in every city of the world with you and leave behind a wake of passed-out citizens." Wren sighed.
"Okay, ready." Caleb announced, beret pinned in place and sunglasses hiding a good portion of his face, "I'm sorry about Seles whaling on you with her purse. I kinda forgot she uses it as one of her weapons." Wren blinked and rubbed his head sheepishly.
"Ah. That's all right. I was just surprised to see her there. That's Zelos' house; I was there as an unopened gift during the World Reunification." he explained.
"Really? Didn't know that. Well, let's go and see where the ECs that are taking over the sugar and satays are located. Then we can stake them out and jump the Dark Chefs when they show up!" Caleb remarked brightly, "This is gonna be fun! I haven't had an opportunity to let 'em have it since Flanoir!"
"We're not here to attack them, Caleb. We're here to scout and find out if Ginger's really on the level with us." the chef pointed out dryly, "The Wonder Organization works in the background of everything; we do it better than even the people of Mizuho. Why do you think the world went seven thousand years without true knowledge of us? We are considered a whispered myth to cooks, and a passing interest to anyone who happens to hear about us."
"Adam Voraci, Ninja Cook Spy."
"Ugh. That was horrible." Wren grumbled as Caleb and Pepper snickered and snorted behind hands and paws at the teasing. The chef sighed and shook his head, opting to ignore the laughter, "We do all our work in secret from the people. An all out attack on the Dark Chefs just won't do; it'll cause a panic. Besides, what are we to do if we're outnumbered?" Caleb stopped laughing and pouted.
"Spoil my fun, Wren. I was kinda hoping to practice my spells some more and Dark Chefs seem as good a bunch of targets as any." he complained and whistled, "Let's go, Pepper! Lead the way, O Chef of Shadows!" Wren frowned and whapped his arm with the Wonder Fork, face turning red with embarrassment as the doll took the blow with a laugh.
When it came to finding out what was going on in the big cities, the best place to go would be to the king himself. Since that wasn't really an option, the next best was the Cathedral of Martel's Dream, a variation of the Church of Conscience that Colette spearheaded and located in what was once the Martel Cathedral. Wren stayed outside of the building, keeping an eye out for suspicious activity with Pepper sitting nearby on guard. The mana beast went back to her old bag of tricks and neatly began impressing upon the people passing by them that she wasn't really all that interesting to look at or remember.
"I'd like to donate satay to the gifts being sent to Iselia." Caleb told the new Pope once he was able to meet him. He took on an arrogant and imperious air, pushing his sunglasses higher on his nose. "Might you tell me the location of the Elemental Cargos that will be taking the food supplies over? I want to be sure there are enough to carry all of my donations." he added almost contemptuously. The Pope laughed heartily, belly shaking as he did.
"Ah, a generous young gentleman! Yes, yes, that's good!" the man chuckled and wiggled his fingers, "Ah, all donations are being stored in the food bank to the east of the Trupelos armory on the second tier of the city. They'll be taken through a gate in the back of the city to the docks near the Grand Tethe'alla Bridge, where they'll be loaded onto cargo ships and taken to Iselia. The shipment will leave Meltokio tomorrow morning."
"How very grand. I shall also see to it that those ships are of an adequate size to hold all the food I shall send the Sylvaranians." Caleb murmured, trying to keep from laughing.
"Isn't it, though?! Ah, the idea to gather food as a peace offering to Iselia was mine and the king certainly found it to be quite an ingenious one, too!" the Pope added happily, "I'm so glad to know that I'm of much more use than the old Pope!" He wiggled his fingers again, looking almost delirious with joy. "Well, I have to head off now. There's a box of my favorite chocolates in my office and I do so love my sweets! May Martel and your conscience lead you to prosperity and good health!"
"Many thanks and good day, Your Eminence." Caleb returned with the customary nod of respect as the Pope hurried off to his chambers. The doll dashed outside to meet with Wren as he sat on the steps of the church with some bread and meat in his hands. "Wren! I got the information we needed!" he exclaimed and cocked his head in confusion, "Eh? What are you doing?"
"Uh..." Wren began, face flushing as he looked up at the doll, "Well, uh... since it took so long to distill the goulash recipe, I thought it might help if I tried to invent a few dishes myself." He looked at the mix in his hands, "Sandwiches are great and all, but they can only do so much before somebody gets sick of them. So here's something that will extend the supply of bread and allow for some interesting recipes. You cut a roll halfway and stuff some meat into the fold, then add on some cheese or anything else you like." Wren examined the roll and meat combination. "Ketchup looks like it would work well, too. What do you think?" he asked.
"It looks like a wiener dog." Caleb muttered.
"Well, I'm trying to figure out what to do with the extra stuff from one of the dwarves' recipes. It said that they'd make small snack sausages out of the pork by-products, but I was hoping to be able to add something on to it all. Hmm..." Wren remarked thoughtfully as he studied the odd bit of food in his hand, "I'll keep working on it. Meantime, what'd you learn?"
"On the second tier of this city, past the Trupelos armory, is the food bank where all the donations to Iselia are being stored." Caleb reported, "From there, the Elemental Cargos will take it from the back of Meltokio to the Grand Tethe'alla Bridge, where the food will be loaded onto ships bound for Iselia." He looked worried. "However, the ECs are due to leave Meltokio with the entire shipment tomorrow morning." Wren frowned, standing up as Pepper continued her mental shielding.
"I don't like the sound of that. It's just sugar and satay. I can understand the need to move quickly if it was taking over a lot of other herbs and spices, but if properly dried and stored, all of those seasonings will keep for at least a month or so." he remarked, "And the sailing from the bridge to Iselia was clocked at taking three weeks at the most by one of the Wonder Cooks."
"Factoring in the speed of the ECs and the time to travel from here to the bridge, the departure date can be pushed back at least eight more days." Caleb added in concern, "You're right; the shipment is being rushed out of here. Someone wants it sent out fast. And that's another thing that's bothering me. Why is Meltokio sending just seasonings? If this is a peace offering, why aren't they sending along other foods, even cloth and building supplies or medicines? Iselia isn't known for its great culinary conquests. They can barely work out how to avoid stuffing themselves on sandwiches!"
"We don't have time to worry over things we don't understand. All we can do is follow the Elemental Cargos and hope I have a chance at contacting the Wonder Organization to warn them about this." Wren pointed out and leaped down the steps, "Come on! Let's stake out the food bank!"
As sunset neared and the three friends watched the movements of clerics and priests around the Elemental Cargos from the top of a nearby mansion, it became clear that things weren't quite right with the mission to donate seasonings. Crates of food were loaded onto the vehicles under the watchful eye of the church members. A servant circled among them, carrying a tray that the men of cloth would often pick at. Wren squinted, then sighed irritably and sat back, rubbing his eyes.
"I can't see anything that's really going on. This is why I use disguises, y'know. I like being up close and unnoticed when it comes to checking things out." he griped. Pepper looked over at him and whistled sympathetically before deftly swiping his chef's hat and placing it delicately on the back of her paw. Wren noticed the missing item almost immediately. "Pepper! Give me back my hat!" he yelled. The mana beast wiggled her toes and moved her mouth as if to speak, clacking almost mockingly. Caleb gazed down at the food bank's occupants, telescopic optics adjusting to study each human that buzzed around the ECs and the crates of food.
"Pepper, don't be too rough on Wren's hat. It's the only one he has that matches his travel outfit." the doll murmured absently and continued watching the church members. "Well, they're loading everything right now. I don't see anything out of the ordinary. Maybe we were duped by Ginger after all." Wren sighed in disappointment at the doll's words.
"What a wild goose chase. And I thought for sure that..." he began to mumble when Caleb suddenly sat up straighter.
"Hold on a second! That's a Dark Chef, isn't it?! That guy there with the big blue fork?! He's not looking my way so I can see his face, but you can't mistake that outfit and utensil!" he cried. Wren blinked and looked with him, following Caleb's finger as the doll pointed out a figure issuing what looked like commands to the servant with the tray. "That spy was right! The Dark Chefs are gonna hijack the shipment of satay!"
"What?! Right now?!" the blonde chef exclaimed in shock.
"No, doesn't look like it. They've got Papal Knights stationed at the entrances and exits of the place, and no one's worried about a Dark Chef in their midst." Caleb answered and looked concerned, "I don't like this. I don't like it one bit." He switched back to normal vision and looked over at his friend, "You'd better get some Wonder Cooks in on this. If the Dark Chefs are gonna hijack the ECs tomorrow morning, then they'll probably do it once the shipment's out on the road. I'd say after a few hours of travel, the Elemental Cargos will be too far for the guards protecting it to call for reinforcements once the Dark Chefs do attack."
"All right. I'll head back to Hima. Widespread communications to the Wonder Cooks are done from the control center within the mines." Wren told him, "I'll have the Organization put out an alert. If there are any Wonder Cooks in Meltokio, they'll be ready to interfere with the Dark Chefs in a few hours."
"Pepper, give him back his hat already!" Caleb scolded the mana beast, who by now had the chef's hat perched daintily on her head as she pranced about the rooftop. She stuck out her tongue at the idea of her fun ending so soon, but picked it off her head with her paw, then plunked it down on Wren's head, smashing it flat when Pepper decided to rub his head in affection as well. Caleb smirked as he watched the blonde pull on the white fabric that seemed to have swallowed his head. "Heh heh. Sorry, Wren. Anyway, you go ahead and mobilize our backup. I'll sneak in with Pepper's help and see what's going on in the food bank itself." the doll plotted, "I want to know for sure what it is that Dark Chef is doing here; whether he's going to have the shipment taken over or poisoned or whatever."
"Mmmph!" Wren muttered and finally pulled the hat off, then set it back on properly, "Uh... huh? What?" He blinked as Caleb gave him a small grin and shook his head.
"Truly a blonde." the doll murmured, "I said for you to go ahead and alert the Wonder Cooks. I'll sneak into the food bank and do a little interior investigation."
"Got it. Be careful in there." the chef told him and vanished in a burst of smoke. Caleb nodded and looked at Pepper as she began her evening preening and grooming.
"Hey, Pepper. Want to do some more stealth work?" he asked with a grin and the mana beast lifted her head, matching it with a toothy smile.