Ch 6
The Grand Tethe'alla Bridge was indeed covered in Dark Chefs as the ECs arrived. They hurried to the vehicles and began unloading the ingredients as fast as possible, carting crates of sugar and satays up to the ships. DuGorge stood by, watching anxiously as the boxes were loaded bit by bit. Along with the food were crates of Meltokio steel and iron, supplies that would help fuel the growing number of Dark Chefs for the day the final showdown with the Wonder Organization would arrive. In one of them was the most precious cargo of all, the automatic doll that carried the secret Ultimate Recipe, the key to victory. Caleb was now pounding viciously on the crate, his patience finally worn hair-thin. He'd made the attempt to break through the wood the moment he detected the crate's movement from within the Elemental Cargo into open air, but the Master Chef had thought ahead. His crate was reinforced with Meltokio steel bands criss-crossing each side of the container. In cramped quarters, without the full power of his legs to back up the strength of his arms, Caleb couldn't gather enough force to burst out to freedom.
"Let me out of this! You can't get the Ultimate Recipe from me! I don't know what it is! I'm telling the truth! Let me go!" he yelled from the myriad of little holes he had burned into the walls of the crate. DuGorge managed a confident laugh as he walked up to the crate that held Caleb captive.
"Don't feed me that thin soup of a story! I know you've got the Ultimate Recipe! That's the only reason why the Wonder Chef would bother running to your rescue without the aid of his little Wonder Cook buddies!" he sneered.
"What? That idiot! I told him not to do anything without back-up first!"
"Too late to do anything now! I just had Darla go back to deal with that little blonde brat. The Wonder Chef is finally toast!"
"Wren! If you've done anything to hurt Wren...!" Caleb raged, struggling harder. DuGorge only laughed and rapped his knuckles against the reinforced wooden box. Half of the shipment of materials were loaded onto the ships when Wonder Cooks suddenly began to pour into the area on the backs of dozens of tour dragons, jumping off and launching a whole banquet's worth of okonomiyaki and sleeping potion-filled dumplings. Hordes of Dark Chefs were put to sleep before they could assemble a retaliation.
"What's this? What's going on?" DuGorge fumed as Pepper dashed onto the scene and Wren leaped off of her back. The blonde ran to where the Master Chef stood, yelling orders, and stood before him. "You? You're supposed to be tenderloin by now! What happened to Darla? And my other lieutenants?" DuGorge snapped at him. Wren held the Wonder Fork before him threateningly.
"All three of them have been taken out by me and my friends! Now, release Caleb! Tell me where he is!" he demanded. The Master Chef looked around frantically, then leaped back from him.
"Ginger! Do something about him!" he ordered and a burst of powdered sugar revealed the raven-haired spy standing beside him.
"If you say so, Master Chef." Ginger murmured and pulled out a handful of candies. She turned to the transport dragons that had been loading boxes and crates onto the ships. "Have some of my Spicy Cinnamon Jelly Beans! Roast the Wonder Chef!" she declared as she hurled out the round red candies. The transport dragons gobbled and snatched them out of the air, then glowed an eerie red as they stomped towards Wren. The young chef backed up warily, confusion on his face.
"Wh-what?! Ginger, I thought-!" he cried.
"That I would go easy on you the next time we met?!" the candy-maker retorted, "As if! What made you think I was ever going to let you get off insulting confectioners?!" She snapped her fingers and the dragons blasted fire, forcing Wren back away from her, DuGorge and the crate with Caleb in it. "You're toast, Wonder Chef!"
"Good work, Ginger! Now grab that crate and let's get out of here!" DuGorge declared and raced for one of the ships. Ginger hesitated for a moment as Wren looked at her in disappointment, then dropped a small bag, turned and followed the Master Chef onboard.
"Dragons! Feed!" she yelled at him from the deck before disappearing once more. The ships set sail immediately, leaving behind the other Dark Chef agents to stall the Wonder Cooks and a third of the total supply crates that were supposed to go to the Dark Chef Alliance.
Wren dodged the flames of the group of dragons, then made his way to the bag that was abandoned. Snatching it up before the fire could consume it, the blonde rolled away from the creatures and peered into it. The bag was filled with small blue beans. As the Wonder Cooks busied themselves with chasing away the Dark Chefs and repossessing the rest of the crates, Wren picked out one of the beans and bit into it out of curiosity. A bitterly cold liquid spurted out, stinging his teeth and forcing him to spit out what he had managed to taste.
"So cold." he murmured, shivering. He blinked as he remembered Ginger's parting words. "Could it be? She wasn't telling the dragons to eat me; she was telling me to feed these to the dragons!" he cried and looked up as the dragons closed in on him, ready to blast fire and finish him off. He grabbed a handful of the beans and threw them at the creatures. "Here! Eat this!" Eagerly, the dragons gulped down the frozen treats, then cried in shock and fell on one another, steam escaping from their mouths and nostrils as they lay in a daze. He looked around, saw that things were finally coming under control and began to walk among the crates, depressed.
"Wonder Chef!" one of the younger cooks cried as she ran up to greet the blonde. Wren sighed and nodded in acknowledgment. "Sir, we've rounded up most of the Dark Chefs and taken away their utensils, but Master Chef DuGorge escaped with a large portion of the ingredients and materials."
"And Caleb, it seems. I wasn't able to rescue him after all." Wren sighed as he watched the Wonder Cooks pry open crates with their forks. "I don't know what's going to happen to him now." He blinked when he saw one of the Wonder Cooks poke at a crate that bounced and rocked about crazily. "What the-?"
"Let me out! I'm telling you I don't know anything! What's going on? I heard explosions! If you stupid Dark Chefs do anything to hurt my friends...!" Caleb's voice raged on. Wren brightened and raced to stand before the crate as he signaled two other cooks to open it from the sides. The lid popped off and Caleb burst out of the straw, arms poised to cast a spell. "Burn! Fire-!" The blonde chef firmly whapped him on the head with the Wonder Fork, "Ow! Dammit! That's not fair! This takes concentration, y'know!" The doll rubbed his head more out of annoyance than pain, glaring at Wren. "What was that for?" he demanded once he saw he was among friends.
"Getting yourself into trouble. I thought DuGorge escaped with you onboard his ship!" Wren exclaimed, "Sheesh! But I'm glad to see you're okay. You are okay, right?" Caleb laughed sheepishly, still rubbing his head.
"Ah, yeah. I was more worried about you. How did you manage to get by those three goons DuGorge sent after you?" he asked and noticed the stain on the travel shirt's sleeve, "Guess you didn't. Lemme guess. Darla?"
"I only got nicked a little." Wren answered defensively, "Anyway, even with everyone here, the Dark Chefs got away with almost all of the donated sugar and satays, as well as some of the Meltokio steel."
"It couldn't be helped. DuGorge had this one planned out too well, and we caught on too late." Caleb told him, "Forget it for now. We should get to someplace safe and recover." The other Wonder Cooks agreed as Wren looked around him.
"Yes. You should take his advice, Wonder Chef. We'll take care of taking these crates back to Meltokio. You should head there with this gentleman and rest." one of the older cooks told him. Wren shook his head.
"No, I'm fine. Caleb, where are we going next?" he asked the doll. The redhead gave him a strange look.
"'We'? I thought I told you to go back to your duties as Wonder Chef." he pointed out flatly. Wren made a face.
"And I said I had permission to travel. If I choose to travel with you, then that's my problem." he returned, "So even if you tell me not to, then I'll just travel by going to the same places you do."
"Stalker." Caleb muttered with a grin, "Okay, fine. I'm headed back to Lloyd's place. Martel says Pepper needs to have some stone settings engraved on her bell. Then, we'll head to the Yggdrasill Tree to see what Martel wants to give me. After that, we're going to the Tower of Mana."
"More seal searching for ancient knowledge, huh?" Wren laughed. Caleb nodded brightly as he climbed out of the crate and dusted himself off. "I suppose it makes sense. The Tower of Mana will help Pepper train."
"And you might find some more recipes there while you're working on mastering the dwarven ones." the doll added and laughed as Pepper trotted up and gave him a wet kiss on the cheek. "Hey, Pepper! Thanks to the both of you for coming to rescue me. I really appreciate it."
"All right then. We know where to go, so let's go!" Wren cheered happily. The elder cook that had spoken earlier held up a sheet of paper.
"If you are on your way, Wonder Chef, then take this with you. We've distilled two more of the dwarven recipes and modified one for your use. The first one is called bacon, the second is fudge brownie. The fudge brownies were difficult to work out, but we managed to modify it so that it will act like a super glue." he explained as Wren accepted the sheet and studied it carefully, "Also, eating a fudge brownie will restore a moderate amount of mana for spells, so it should be useful for mages and other spell-casters." The cook scratched his head and hesitated for a moment. "Ah, I suppose I should also mention that the Council of Gourmet Chefs is trying to petition for your denouncement."
"What?!" Wren exclaimed in shock as Caleb and Pepper looked stunned by the news. The elder cook spread his hands helplessly.
"The Organization is still divided despite your successful return to Hima with these new recipes. There are those who agree with the Council that you should be replaced immediately, citing that you've done nothing but endanger the Wonder Organization since the day you became Wonder Chef." he explained and looked around secretively, "There are some cooks here who are of that mind, and they will surely report this to the Council as additional evidence of your... ineffectiveness... as Wonder Chef."
"Endanger?! If it weren't for Wren, the Organization would still be going back and forth between divided worlds, or worse, just not exist at all once Mithos had his way with the people of Symphonia!" Caleb hissed as Wren groaned softly and rubbed his head at the new turn of events. "It was because he taught those recipes to the Heroes of Union that they maintained the health and stamina they needed to take on that insane angel!"
"Caleb, quiet. I'm trying to think." Wren told him and turned back to the cook, "How many of the Wonder Cooks are siding with the Council?"
"We think it's about two hundred, maybe more." the elderly cook replied as the blonde chef inhaled sharply, "There are rumors that they're searching for a new Wonder Chef successor, and it's not Duke Bryant. They won't even acknowledge him because you discovered his talents." The other cooks gathered around him nodded in agreement, worried expressions on their faces.
"Does my father know about this?" Wren asked in concern, "Will my family be safe there in Hima?"
"We've alerted him to the fact that the Council of Gourmet Chefs was not pleased with your return, but he's refusing to abandon headquarters. As long as you are Wonder Chef, the Council won't dare to harm them." the cook assured him. Wren sighed again and shook his head in frustration. When had the Wonder Organization fallen to the pettiness of political bickering and back-stabbing? It was founded on the ideals of protecting everyone, and now it was on the verge of crumbling because a handful of chefs were striving for more power. He who holds the bounty of the land, wields all power in his hand. The saying his father taught him since childhood echoed in Wren's mind. If he wasn't careful, the Wonder Organization would be destroyed from the inside and all the Dark Chef Alliance would have to do was just sit back and enjoy the show.
"Wren? What do we do about this? If what he says is true then shouldn't you go back to defend your position again?" Caleb murmured. The Wonder Chef opened his eyes and shook his head emphatically.
"No. That's probably what they want me to do. As long as I'm traveling, the Council won't be able to track me down to do anything to me. It's when I'm confined within the walls of the Hima mines that they could make a move on me." Wren told him seriously. The other cooks looked aghast.
"Sir?! You mean... assassination?" another of the members asked in disbelief, "Are you sure?" Wren shook his head again.
"Not entirely, but I wouldn't put it beyond the Council to stick me on another quest with every intention of it killing me." he pointed out, "They know what happened to me in Moria, right? They weren't too happy that Caleb and Pepper saved me down there."
"Then stay with us. We'll keep you safe again." the doll urged. The other cooks agreed wholeheartedly, promising to keep in touch and update him on the condition of the Council's growing support towards his banishment.
"My thoughts exactly." the blonde remarked and held out the Wonder Fork as Caleb and Pepper stood by him. "Now, let's go to Lloyd's house! Bon appétit, everyone, and make sure the pot doesn't boil over! We haven't maintained the Organization for seven thousand years just to have it fall apart in a matter of months!" he declared and the group vanished in a blast of white smoke.
Evening was settled over the Aurion household when the three friends arrived. Three swordsmen heads were glaring at the heap from the top of the stairwell as Wren sat by Caleb, who was half-pinned under Pepper. The doll was drumming his fingers on the wood floor, arm propping him up and resting against his cheek.
"I thought I told you to change teleportation spots." Caleb grumbled. Wren smiled sheepishly at him.
"Heh. Sorry." he apologized.
"At least you're breaking up the monotony." Kratos muttered.
After several minutes of apology and explanations, the group came to an understanding. Lloyd examined Pepper's bell as Zelos chewed on the bacon strips Wren tested out in the kitchen. Kratos dozed off sometime after it all, resting his chin on the tabletop.
"How many stone settings should I carve into it?" Lloyd finally asked as he turned it over in his hands.
"Well, there are ten Summon Spirits, right? So ten settings should do the trick. Pepper needs to gain the powers of the other mana beast clans." Caleb pointed out. The swordsman brightened.
"Pepper's gonna make pacts with the Summon Spirits?" he asked.
"No. Not really." the doll sighed. He rubbed his head and looked at his friend. Wren was staring at the other redhead as he kept nibbling at the strip of meat.
"Well? How is it?" Wren asked. Zelos gave it another nibble, then put the bacon back on the plate.
"Weird. What is it again?"
"Bacon."
"Is it supposed to be burned?"
Wren returned to the kitchen for another try. Caleb sighed and returned to watching Lloyd.
"I'll have the bell done by morning. There's a guest house out back you can have for the night." Lloyd muttered, studying the bell. Caleb thanked him, then left, hoping Wren didn't do anything drastic to the original redhead.
--
The next day, Caleb returned for the bell and blinked at the plates of bacon and goulash littering the table. Lloyd sat at one end with the completed bell, waiting and grinning at the scene before him. Wren looked exhausted where he sat, studying Zelos as he nibbled at another strip of bacon. Caleb blinked again, then frowned.
"Zelos! Knock it off and actually taste the damn thing already!" he snapped. The other redhead grumbled and ate the strip.
"It tastes perfect. Like everything else the Wonder Chef makes... if he were having a crappy-ass day." he remarked sarcastically. Wren slowly blinked, head propped on one arm resting on the table.
"If I could move... I'd hit you..." he murmured softly, half-asleep already.
"Good morning, Caleb! I finished the bell!" Lloyd announced brightly. The doll accepted the newly engraved bell with thanks.
"So, where's Kratos? I've been meaning to tell him that I found his sword in Moria." Caleb added, looking around.
"He went to Iselia to pick up a few things. Did you bring the Excalibur and the Topaz Ring?" Zelos asked hopefully. Caleb shook his head, raising an eyebrow at the mention of the Topaz Ring being lost. "Why not?"
"You try getting a shiny sword while a dragon is trying to kill you and your two best friends. Then tell me how easy it was for you, sans angel powers!" the doll growled. He walked over and picked up Wren by the waist, holding him under his arm like a sack of flour as the chef dozed off. "Well. Thank you for your help. I'm off to see Martel. What will you guys be doing?"
"Returning to our journey. Zelos finally gave us the okay to go back to collecting Exspheres, after he gave us an earful for giving Noishe the spaghetti." Lloyd answered. Caleb winced.
"Ah, yeah. About your journey... do you collect Cruxis Crystals, too?" he asked hesitantly. The two angels looked at one another in confusion.
"Hadn't thought of that but I guess, yeah. Cruxis Crystals are complicated, though. I mean, we both have one and we're not sure what will happen if we gave them up." Zelos answered uncertainly, rubbing his chin at the idea, "We're Symphonian angels, so we technically don't need them, but we're not sure if losing them means we'd lose some amount of our lives or something. They took human lives to become what they are, so eventually we're going to have to lay them to rest."
"Yeah, well. If there's a crystal out there that didn't take a human life to evolve, would you still take it?" Caleb pressed. The two angels blinked.
"I don't think so. Why?" Lloyd asked, puzzled by the strange questions.
"No reason! Well, see ya!" Caleb answered cheerfully and raced out the door with the Wonder Chef in tow.
Martel gave both men her best scowl. Caleb and Wren blinked at her, then at each other. They shrugged in confusion.
"We had baths this time." Caleb said defensively.
"I used soap." Wren added in a small voice. Martel's eye twitched.
"You two are just like children!" she growled between her teeth, "How is it that I have all the patience in the world to deal with Lloyd but whenever I have to deal with you two, it all evaporates into the air?" The two friends laughed nervously. "I feel like a mother... I don't have time to be your replacement mother! I'm the Guardian of the Yggdrasill Tree! It's already bad enough that the people keep calling me their Goddess!"
"It was very good soap." Wren tried to placate her. Martel huffed and stamped her staff into the ground, using her power to rejuvenate both men.
"You know I can't keep doing that just for you two. It looks like I'm playing favorites." the goddess scolded, then softened, "But I'm happy to see you both are well, and in far better condition than the last time you pulled this stunt on me."
"How's Genis doing?" Caleb asked as the half-elf boy ran up to greet them excitedly.
"Caleb! Wren! Great to see you! I got a ton of information down about mana beasts! Want a copy?" he exclaimed. The doll nodded and accepted the papers Genis held out, speeding through the notes and sketches as he recorded them in memory.
"Wow, you learned a lot!" Caleb remarked after handing them back, "Are you going to be an expert on mana beasts?"
"Maybe, but there's lots more for me to learn. I'm gonna try to study everything in the world!" Genis answered with a laugh and ran off to see what else was happening in the meadow. Martel gave Caleb a wry smile.
"He's very enthusiastic about all this. Sometimes to the point of testing Orator's patience, but they haven't killed each other so I suppose that should be a good sign. At least they can talk to each other when Genis isn't taking notes on mana beast diets." she sighed and held out her hand, "Now, about that gift I promised you. Here." A small charm materialized in her hand, shaped like a miniature Eternal Sword. "I asked Origin if he could make this for you. It's not quite the same strength as the true Eternal Sword, but it has enough power to take you to Derris-Kharlan and back once." Martel pinned the tiny sword to Caleb's jacket. "When you're ready to go to Derris-Kharlan, place your hand over the pin and tell it your wish. Remember to say exactly what you want, the Eternal Sword and this charm both are very precise artifacts."
"Thank you, Martel, and Origin, too. Once I've completed my study on the Summon Spirit Seals, I'll head for Derris-Kharlan." Caleb told her, "Wish us luck!"
"I wish you both sense, but I suppose luck will have to do." the goddess muttered under her breath as the two men and Pepper vanished once more in a burst of smoke.
"Asgard?!" Caleb yelled once the three friends managed to get out of Linar and Aisha's house without causing more damage than they did to the Mirage in Triet, "You had to warp us to Asgard?!"
"I forgot I had a teleportation spot in Luin. It wouldn't have done any good anyway. It was set for old Luin, not the new one Lloyd helped build. The mana signature is different." Wren grumbled defensively. Pepper drew some startled looks as they walked down the paths that would lead them out of the city. She only smiled brightly and waved a paw at them, scaring a few back into their homes.
"Well, then, we're just gonna have to stop by there and have you make one so this kind of thing doesn't happen again." Caleb growled irritably as the blonde made a face. Pepper trailed off, following the scent of someone cooking a delicious meal. She was due for a snack anyway. Licking her lips, she trotted onto another path and plunked herself down by a cook who was too absorbed in what he was doing to notice her. She whistled at him and the cook finally looked up, blinked, then yelled in shock.
"Agh! A monster!" he cried, scattering still more people as Pepper ignored him and sniffed at the pot of bubbling soup, smiling cheerfully at the scent of mixed vegetables, satays and meats. The cook blinked and looked wary. "You're not gonna eat me?" he asked as Pepper clacked and looked at him expectantly, "You want to eat some soup?"
"At least I know if anything's happening with the Dark Chefs or the Council, I will definitely be alerted by my father or one of the Wonder Cooks still supporting me." Wren sighed, "I just hope this all doesn't blow up in my face one way or another." Caleb stopped suddenly and looked around in concern.
"Hey, where'd Pepper go? Wasn't she following us?" he asked as he searched the area. Wren blinked and scanned the city as well.
"Yeah, where is she? Pepper?" he called out and sniffed at the air, "That smell... Someone's trying to cook something weird..."
"Where there's someone cooking, there's Pepper. Wren, follow that smell!" Caleb declared and raced back the way they came.
"Do I have to? It's kinda making me dizzy." the chef complained, following the doll anyway.
--
Pepper was tasting the soup as the two other friends arrived on the scene. She licked the bowl clean, waited a moment, then wrinkled her face in disappointment. The cook watched her reaction, then tapped his chin thoughtfully.
"I suppose it can't be helped. I guess I'm missing some of the ingredients, and I still don't have that frying pan." he muttered.
"Peppermint FireBlossom! What are you doing running off like that?!" Caleb shouted as the mana beast winced and looked back at him, ears pulled down and shoulders hunched as she tried to look cute and sorry at the same time. The doll frowned and reprimanded her, "Don't give me that! Did you scare this poor cook? Did she scare you, sir? I'm sorry if she did."
"No, not after I learned she just wanted to try my stew." the cook replied absently, still focused on the contents of his pot. "It's not quite doing what it's supposed to, I think." Both Caleb and Wren peered into the pot, blinking at the bubbling brew.
"It doesn't look very appetizing." Caleb muttered as one of the bubbles popped with a splash of broth.
"What exactly is it supposed to be?" Wren added under his breath, "A stew for warding off bad spirits?" He thought about that. "That doesn't sound like a bad idea, actually. It might work."
"Who are you people anyway? And stay out of my stew! You might throw off the balance." the cook grumbled. Both men jumped and looked annoyed.
"I'm Caleb. These are my friends, Pepper and Wren." the doll replied, "And you should be a little nicer to people. Never know when you might run into a celebrity or two." The cook finally looked up at them in confusion.
"Celebrity? Like a Hero of Union? Are you two Heroes of Union?" he asked.
"No, but you never know." Caleb answered, "So, what were you trying to cook? Maybe Wren can help you with it." The blonde nodded.
"Sure! I'm the Wonder Chef, after all!" he pointed out. The other cook blinked.
"You're the Wonder Chef?" he asked blankly. Wren nodded. "Oh. In that case..." He grabbed the ladle and whapped the blonde on the head.
"Ow! Hey! What was that for?" Wren griped, rubbing his head. The cook whapped him again and Wren pulled his hand away, shaking it painfully. "Hey! Cut that out!"
"That's for insulting my cooking! I've been looking for you every place I go!" the man yelled, whapping him once more.
"Ow! But... ow! I... ow! I didn't... ow! Insult... ow! Your... ow! Cooking... ow!" Wren yelped at each knock on the head. Caleb calmly reached out and snapped the wooden ladle in two with his fingers. The cook looked startled, then scowled at Caleb.
"Hey, stay out of this! This is cook business!" he growled. The doll confronted the glare with a steady look.
"It's my business, too. I'm a Wonder Guard." he returned. Wren blinked at him in confusion, rubbing his head with the unhurt hand.
"What's a Wonder Guard?" both he and the other cook asked in unison.
"Me." Caleb simply answered, "Now, why do you think my friend, Wren, here would insult your cooking?"
"I went to Palmacosta to further my training as a chef for the Cool Breeze. It was there that I got a small time job as a cook for the local Palmacosta Academy until I finished my training." the cook went on, miffed, "Then I heard the Wonder Chef was seen wandering in the harbor, so I sent a messenger boy along with a bowl of my best stew to see how I fared. It was a busy day, else I would have gone myself. When the messenger returned, he said the Wonder Chef said my stew tasted like boiled shoes! I've spent three years searching for a way to get revenge, even to the point of cooking the best recipe in the world!"
"Which would be...?" Caleb inquired.
"Which else? The Ultimate Recipe!" the cook declared, and frowned at his cooking pot. "But I only got some of the Legendary Ingredients, and without the Legendary Frying Pan, it doesn't work." He huffed. "It doesn't matter anyway. I'll just even the score by taking it out on Blondie!"
"I never got any soup in Palmacosta. I spent my whole time there in the academy, waiting for Lloyd's group." Wren protested, "And I never wandered in the open! Father was too afraid Mithos would yank me out of the worlds if I was seen in public."
"There, you see? Wren never insulted you." Caleb pointed out. The cook didn't seem convinced.
"Of course you'd believe him. You work for him!" he snapped and grabbed a fresh ladle, resuming the raps on the head, "You better take back what you said and tell everyone here I'm the best cook in Asgard, or I'm not gonna stop following you for life!" Caleb sighed as Wren yelped painfully.
"This wasn't what I had in mind when I worried Wren would run into a hit-man." the doll muttered as Pepper rolled her eyes and shook her head, one paw pressed to her cheek in an expression of exasperation.
After a night's rest at one of the less expensive inns, the three friends resumed their journey to the Tower of Mana, this time trailed by the angry cook from Asgard as they raced to gain distance from him. Caleb ran alongside Pepper, who carried Wren on her back as they fled the City of Ruins.
"Are you sure you didn't taste that guy's soup?" he yelled up as they made good time down the road to Luin. Wren nodded, then yelled out the affirmation. "Then why in the world would he think you were the one who insulted him?"
"I don't know! Maybe I've got an imposter somewhere!" he called back.
"Well, if he was in Palmacosta, then he's dead now! That should be fine enough revenge for that half-baked cook!" Caleb exclaimed and grimaced, "Wren! Your puns are rubbing off on me!"
"They're not all lemons, y'know!"
--
It took a few hours of running, but once they reached Lake Umacy, Caleb called it quits and they rested by the lake. Pepper preened by the shore, using the surface of the water as a mirror. Caleb sat under one of the trees, writing in the journal he had bought a lifetime ago when he still lived with Altessa as a servant. Wren pulled up water from the lake and set to boiling it to make supper as the sun began to descend over the hills of Asgard.
"Practicing another recipe?" Caleb asked without looking up from his book.
"Yup. I'm going to get this goulash right even if it means I have to use up every last scrap of meat in our packs!" the Wonder Chef declared and began to sort through the ingredients, "Now, can you tell me what a Wonder Guard really is?"
"Ugh, I hoped you'd forget I said that." Caleb muttered, hiding behind his journal, "I figured if I'm going to have to keep protecting your butt this whole trip, then at least I should have a cool title to go with the job."
"Hey, sometimes I save you!" Wren yelled, waving a spoon in the air for emphasis, "Does that make me an Automated Doll Guard?"
"No, it makes you look needy." Caleb taunted and earned a frying pan hurled his way. He grabbed it before it could hit and sniffed. "You have to do better than that, Wren."
"Pepper, don't you have anything to add to this?" Wren cried to the mana beast, "I'm not needy!" Pepper only looked at them both, then rolled onto her back with all four limbs in the air, looking at them expectantly. The blonde's face fell as Caleb laughed, rolling about on the ground. "Pepper! That's not helping!"
--
Night passed quickly and once morning rose, the group was back on the road to Luin. They kept up the same breakneck pace as before, all in efforts to make sure the Asgard cook couldn't ever catch up. Once they reached the city, Caleb dragged the blonde around the town in search of a good teleportation spot. The citizens of Luin stared in shock at Pepper and didn't relax until a few of the kids ran up to pet and feed her fruits, excited to see the 'giant kitty'. One of the kids brought along a cat to meet Pepper. The two men walked on as she stayed behind to play.
"Kitty!" the kids all exclaimed cheerfully to Pepper. The real cat meowed and she looked at it in surprise. This was an interesting sound, different from the noises the kids and her friends made. One of the children brought out a treat and fed it to the cat. Pepper's eyes lit up. The sound meant the creature wanted food and it got some! She tried to meow and the sound spooked the cat, sending it tearing off towards a safe haven and the children jumping in shock. Pepper looked around in confusion. No treat. Maybe it worked differently for her?
Caleb and Wren came back for her a few minutes later, apologizing to people who had been startled by her appearance. Pepper perked up and trotted to them. She meowed at them, hoping it would earn her a treat. The two men looked at each other in confusion.
"Did she just...?" Caleb asked as Wren nodded. "Pepper, you're not a cat. Meowing isn't really what you do." The mana beast sighed, ears drooping disappointedly. "You're trying to learn how to communicate with us, huh?" the doll asked sympathetically, "If only you could speak our language like Orator can. Then Wren wouldn't have to worry about nosebleeds anymore." The blonde shot him a glare.
"I heard that." he growled as Caleb grinned sheepishly back at him. "Let's get going to the Tower of Mana. I've heard that there used to be a large library in the first room." Wren suggested, shrugging off the jab, "And I'd like to stay out of public view for now. I don't know all the Wonder Cooks that might be in Luin, and some of them might be on the Council's side." Caleb nodded as he rubbed Pepper's snout affectionately.
"Good point. Once we have the information stored in the tower, we'll move on to the next seal, Balacruf Mausoleum." he agreed. Wren shivered and made a face.
"Ugh. I don't like places where there are dead people." the young chef muttered as they made their way out of town.
"Be glad I didn't say we would go there when you dropped us in Asgard." Caleb told him.