Open - Iván's Curry House

Hidden: OOC Notes

Welcome to Stinky Iván's Curry House! This is an open mega-thread for anyone who's a part of the curry house staff and/or anyone who just wants to drop by and get some delicious curry while in Stokbon. What does an open mega-thread mean? It means that you can come and go as you please, though we suggest you tag those you want to reply to you for convenience's sake.

Should you wish to join Stinky Iván's Curry House as a member of its illustrious staff, feel free to go here and express your interest. We're always looking for a helpful hand here and there. Have a great time!

UPDATED: After the Events of Titanius the Ancient Dissonance.

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Stinky Iván's Curry House

The place is new. That much would be obvious if you've been in Stokbon for at least a month or so. Otherwise, it wouldn't look like it. It's a tavern, a small one, if you can even call it that in its current state. It was a tavern. Months ago, years, that held true, but the owner had recently died of mysterious circumstances, and without anyone to care for its loyal patronage, the tavern was eventually sold to a mysterious masked man who smelled of blood and sulfur and ant juice.

The mysterious masked man, Iván Carl, had turned what once was a run-of-the-mill tavern into a simple curry house that served the best curry in all of Stokbon, in all of Terra Sphere even. Of course, since this was but a game, with only a few real competition when it came to making curry that would actually remind a Player of the real world, that went without saying. Still, it was very debatable, as everyone had their own tastes and preferences, but Iván and the rest of the staff of the curry house were adamant in making sure everyone considered their curry the best. Well, that was the idea.

If Iván ever believed that he was the best chef in all of Stokbon, Terra Sphere even, he would never say it out loud. His silence may be evidence that he doesn't necessarily believe himself to be the best. Surely, there'd be others out there, even others he had yet to meet, that would be better in the kitchen than him. His family's leanings towards cooking, however, does help him stay his ground. His food is great, as great as he tries to make them, and he has surrounded himself with people who are also great, if not greater, when it came to the kitchen.

Inside, the restaurant pretty much looked like every restaurant and/or tavern you've ever seen in this game. Nothing about it seemed special. Nothing made it stand out or look more beautiful than the rest of its peers. But take a seat and take a whiff (of the curry, not Iván) and you're sure to make this place your home away from home. Or at least your kitchen away from kitchen? Your dining room away from dining room?

The first thing you'll lay your eyes on as you enter the curry house is the counter. Most days, a pretty young girl with pink hair would be behind it. Some days, it would just be the strange man with the top hat. Always, it will never be Iván, as he preferred to stay in the kitchen. It's a good idea, actually, if you've ever come an inch to sniffing distance with him. There's a reason why some refer to Iván's Curry House as Stinky Iván's Curry House and often it's not just a measure of disrespect.

Sometimes, though, you'd be so unlucky and find him at the counter. Or near the door. Or serving a customer who'd be holding their nose. He'd turn to you and go, "Welcome to Iván's Curry House. I'm Iván. What can I get you?"

Your parents have probably told you it's rude to stare at someone, but with that strange mask he'd be wearing, what else can you do? Oh, boy, something smells like death, too! How can people eat in a place like this? The food must be really great!

@Darko Ljubicic @Jasper @Maeve Lox @HORIZON

 

"Curry huh?"

Horizon put her hands on her hips. It wasn't something she'd expected to encounter in an online game, especially one in this setting. Weren't spices supposed to be like super duper rare? That only increased her curiosity further, there had to be some kind of secret to this establishment! And so, Horizon opened the door.

"Well that's disconcerting... HEY! IS THIS PLACE OPEN YET OR WHAT?"

She shouted. She wasn't sure if she'd entered the establishment before the hours of operation, or if the whole joint was still under construction, but at the moment she was the only person here. Someone (@Iván Carl) was probably in the kitchen though, so she waited while looking around.

"Place doesn't look all the different from the whole tavern chic aesthetic, but then again, I dunno what I was expecting... Maybe some golden elephant? That'd be pretty cool. Then you'd know this place serves curry. Or something."

Walking over like she owned the place, she sat at the bar-style seating near the counter.

"Gonna be kinda bummed out if this place is closed..."

And she waited.

 

Oh, no. Iván swallowed air as a tiny girl in some sort of white armor... Is that a space suit? ...made her presence known. The first thing that came to his mind was Alphabet Chocolate. It had been some time since they last saw each other. Was this her, playing more of her insane tricks on him? That would explain a lot. That would explain everything. He shuddered at memories of the last time they had met, thoughts of curry people and aggressive cheese people and hive-minded tomato people made him wince and grimace from where he stood.

"It's open," he delivered dryly, though deep within he was a hot mess. He had been in the kitchen, busy prepping the food with his stuff, but had momentarily stepped out into the counter to greet the customer, having heard the door open and getting all excited for their first patron. He was hoping it would be someone else, someone normal, but beggars can never be choosers. At least they finally had someone come in. "Please, take a seat and we will be with you shortly." Shortly? Was that offensive? She wasn't that short, right? Uhm, maybe she wouldn't take it that way. She was short. It was a fact. She shouldn't be offended by it. Iván scurried back into the kitchen and pushed a surprised @Darko Ljubicic out, before whispering to him, "It's your time to shine, my friend. Use that top hat of yours to entertain Alpha. I'll be in the basement doing uhm inventory. Call me when she leaves."

And just like that, Iván was out of everyone's way. Of course, if Darko or anyone really would find out that the tiny girl in the space suit wasn't actually Alpha and tell him about it, the stinky owner would probably feel like a heavy weight was lifted from his shoulders and resurface from the tavern's basement. He has always admired his mentor but at the same time she had such a strange mind it was often something to avoid. At least in battle. Or in situations where you wanted to impress new patrons. This was the latter.

 

As the head chef and owner of the restaurant was outside greeting the first costumer, Darko was inside the kitchen, helping with the prep work, doing everything that was needed to prepare for the first batch of curry, except if it was about the spice rack. Of course he would leave that to Ivan, since in actuality it was his recipe, and it was his restaurant. And, in all respects, the curry that he was cooking was good, as he had already tasted it once, and it was rare for him to applaud something, much less food, as he was back in the real world a veritable restauranteur. And so he would want to know up to what extent he would reach with that curry recipe of his, and decided to join his crew in the functions of a sous-chef and nonalcoholic bartender combined, although that might disparage his grinding in the field. However, he thought that being a mainstay in a place where conversations were available as well as good food would increase his knowledge of the happenings within Terrasphere, as well as major events that would net him some more gold and items. After all, preparing food to serve to a customer was a second nature in his childhood, and, as a person in a child's body, he would just relive his experiences.

The anchor of the Milosevic Group was always its food business, although its main cash raker was the Milosevic Holdings that Miroslav Milosevic had built from his profits as a food stand tender, then as a diner chef, and even thence as one of the prime restaurateurs in Serbia. He had always a passion for good food, which he had also brought to Terrasphere as he found out that his senses were not much different from the real world. He was not that regarded much in the villagers as a practitioner of black magic, and his hunts were always returned with quite less profits because of that, and so he decided to move to Stokbon and take a job as a professional taster to supplement his income. In here, he met this stinky person who served him the most fragrant curry he had tasted in Terrasphere, and so the redux of his career as a diner chef and professional restaurateur combined started in this establishment known as Ivan's Curry House.

Darko was still preparing the ingredients for the curry when Ivan came back to the kitchen, seemingly hiding from something or someone. Darko replied, "Is something the ma...AAA!" He then felt a push from his back, and just like that, he was out of the kitchen. Darko then turned towards Ivan and whispered sternly, "What now?" He then heard Ivan reply that it was his time to shine, and, pointing to the person wearing... uhhh... did Ivan's Curry House teleport to the moon or something, and Darko was seeing an astronaut or something being their first customer? Well anyway he had said he should entertain that person who he called Alpha with his top hat? Hell (well that's the smell of the mask that was being whispered through, but it should be out of the current topic), he could do more to entertain. Like a good plate of curry. Well he had not touched the spice rack, but maybe Ivan should have at least a mixture of spices prepared for the assistant chefs if there would be any. He would just find that later. And what, was he scared of that person named Alpha that he had to hide in the basement in the guise of doing inventory work until she leaves? "What about the curr..." He then turned around to respond, but here, he was gone as if he had awakened Aeromancy or something. He then sighed, and muttered, "Well, time to be the sous-chef." He then hung the apron to where it was supposedly hung in the place. Fortunately there were nothing much being cooked save for the first batch of curry being warmed; and bones, tendons, and tough meat portions being boiled in separate large pots for each meat. He then moved towards the person who looked like an astronaut, and said, "It would seem really odd that a Victorian gentleman would serve an astronaut in a medieval setting, but here it is. Welcome to Ivan's Curry House. Do you need a drink before I serve your order? Here is what we offer in Ivan's Curry House, ranging from mild to very spicy. Currently we serve chicken, lamb, beef, and vegetable curries, as well as other dishes." He then handed the menu list to the person.

 

Rias was taking a walk around Stokbon wearing her light clothes as her head kept a hood on to cover her face, humming a song under her breath when she suddenly dump onto a building called Stinky Iv--!​

-SINKY IVÁN'S CURRY HOUSE?!​

"Pffft...What kind of name is that?!" The girl put her hand in front of her mouth to hold back her laughter as quick as possible once she read the sign with the name of the tavern aloud. She didn't want to get peoples attention and give them a bad impression or seem rude especially when people where passing by this time of the day. However it was the first time she comes across such a funny name and it was hard not to react. If the point of the name was to get peoples attention then it was definitely a success because her feet were already dragging her inside wondering if the title actually meant something...did it smell funny inside or was the food somehow connected with the word Stinky?​

With the curiosity taking over her she stormed inside holding her breath...just in case...she thought to herself and looked around the room. It was pretty...common? nothing seemed dirty, in fact it was pretty clean and new! Plus once she saw a weird looking figure seating near the counter without covering their nose...-she was wearing a helmet...? Rias opened her eyes surprised thinking that the place would actually be really smelly since the other was having their face covered with something as intense as an astronaut helmet! So she moved moved her hand to her nose quickly feeling as she couldn't hold her breath any longer. EH what to do?! The girl looked behind her for an exit spotting the door as she immediately walked towards it but...it seemed so far! Her knees literally ending up on the floor as her hand reached towards the knot like it was her last hope and right when she was about to grab it, open it she took a huge deep breath falling on the floor. "NOOOOOOOOooooooo..." Rias cried out as if it was the end for her...after a few seconds Rias blinked realising something.

"Eh? It doesn't stink..." she muttered sniffing the air a few more times before realising that she was being weird and caused something so embarrassing. She stood up quickly dusting her clothes and looked around to see how many people saw the disaster before she took a straight posture and walked closer to the counter looking around for the owner or anyone that could greet her since one waiter was already serving an...astronaut? What was that? Was it human? Rias stared intensively under her hood and took a seat a little bit further away to examine (@HORIZON) trying to forget what she just did.

 

Corvella swears, every time she passes through Stokbon, there's a brand new establishment on the quieter side of the street. This time she assumed that it's probably a tavern judging by the size and the architecture of the building, before looking at the big sign outside of the building.

Stinky.

No, she might probably read that wrong. It's St–

"Stinky Iván's Curry House". She didn't read that wrong.

The first question should be what stinks. Either it's the curry house, the curry, or even this Iván guy himself. Why in the seven heavens would anyone call himself, or his restaurant establishment stinky anyway? The blonde thought while moving closer to the building. At second glance, the word stinky is written little differently than the other. Ah, vandalism. That's why. Still, how stinky is this Iván that people had to write it on the sign?

Now that she's talking curry, Corvella realized she had never had tried curry in her entire life. Should her first time be in a virtual game? "Well, as long as it tastes good and not stinky, why not." She said while opening the door to the curry house, revealing a rather minimalist curry restaurant. There's a faint scent of spices, enough to conclude that the place doesn't stink. She quickly found herself seated, waiting for a waiter to come and take her order. There's already one waiter serving an astronaut right there... restaurant mascot maybe?

 

"Hehehehe, Grand Witch Majolica has arrived! I would like to taste some of your curry! Hehehe!"

The Grand Witch flung the door open making a grand statement.

"So, what kind of curry do you have? Mushroom and chocolate? How about candy and mushrooms? Or something like that? Hehehe! Where's @Iván Carl oh, there! Hehehe, I've decided to come and support your efforts! Now, what kind of curry do you have, hehe, and which one pairs the best with candy and/or mushrooms?"

As she waited for a reply, Majolica set out inspecting the place. She tested the chairs and tables to make sure they were quality. It wouldn't do to have a member of the Witch Ops serving food in an inferior establishment.

"Hehehe, well everything looks up to code! Who's the chef?"

Looking towards the back, Majolica noticed someone that looked like a head chief. Making her way back there, she inspected the kitchen.

"Hehehe, you (@Darko Ljubicic ) must be the head chef! Hehehe, I, Grand Witch Majolica have decided to come and have lunch at this fine establishment to have the very best you have to offer! Hehehe! You see, I'm an ally of the owner so I had to come and make sure that everything was perfect! Hehehe, also I had to make sure that no dummies came in and tried to mess up the place on the first day! Hehe, but it looks like everything's going smoothly!"

Majolica leaned into Darko's ear.

"Hehe, when you get my order be sure to go heavy on the sweets for mine... hehehe. Add as much sugar as you can... hehehe, and maybe some gumballs..."

Backing off again, she gave Darko a wink and went back to the front to find a seat. Sitting down at a table in the middle of the restaurant, she waited for her waiter to arrive.

"Hehehe, I usually don't eat out much so this will be fun! I wonder if they have extra large bowl! Hehehe, I'm pretty hungry. Who else is going to come in today I wonder? New people for The Witch Ops! Hehehe, maybe we could get someone who cooks to help out in the kitchen and make magic food! Hehehe, super special magic food that that gives everyone more strength and stamina when we're out on long missions! Hehe, just like the elf bread from that one book about all the rings! Hehehe!"

Majolica happily kicked her feet at her table.

 

Iván popped his head back out to the counter when he heard a familiar voice call his name. It was the @Grand Witch Majolica, the Witch Ops Battalion Commander, Iván's commander. As part of the Witch Ops, he had taken the codename Bound Prince, which ironically enough was also the strange name or title that he had heard from the otherworldly being from down in the Spire.

Whether the name or title was the being's or Iván's, the masked illusionist still had no idea. His obsessive quest had been temporarily put on hold on account of his dying for the second time and not getting the opportunity for another audience with his savior. He thought a second death, a worthy second death, would have led him to meet the being again. He thought wrong and had to go back to the drawing board.

Hmm... If Majolica is here, then I don't have anything to fear from Alphabet Chocolate... Behind his stinky mask, Iván's eyes darted from the tiny girl in the astronaut suit to his Witch Ops commander. Surely, if things would go down between him and Alpha, Majo would step in to save him, right?

His concern was a bit too much, considering his mentor in the art of illusion magic wasn't out to kill him, that was never her intention from the get-go probably, but her penchant for strange and disturbing illusions were too much even for someone who fancied using the monsters from the Spire, and even the Spire itself, for his own illusion magic.

His eyes then found two other customers, a weird-looking archer (@Rias) and a familiar-looking knight-in-copper-armor (@Corvella). Wait, is that really copper? Iván's mask was making it difficult for him to distinguish specific colors from each other. Why he was wearing it in the curry house was a mystery even to him. It's probably a savior obsession thing.

The archer didn't seem familiar to Iván, but she looked just as interesting. Maybe they've worked together before? Iván was all over the place in this game, the Aristocracy, Lightning Ironworks, Witch Ops, and now his own curry house, that it was a bit hard for him to keep up how many of the faces he encountered each day were actually new and weren't just old companions from a quest here or there. The game was pretty immersive, so that wasn't his fault. Maybe.

Iván narrowed his eyes at the Witch Ops Battalion Commander's order. A curry... Of sweets?! At first the idea seemed disgusting to the stinky masked illusionist, but then he realized it could be an opportunity to unlock the restaurant's greatness. No one has ever served a dessert curry before, if his memory served him correctly, though they may be a good reason for that.

But this curry house had four of the best chefs in the game, Iván believed that, and the challenge could certainly be beaten, he hoped that were true. Darko, Jasper, and even @Maeve Lox were amazing in the kitchen. Even without him at the helm, they would impress the likes of Anthony Bourdain and Gordon Ramsay. Wait, are those two playing the game? Are they even still alive?

"Majo, welcome," he dryly greeted his commander, stepping out of the shadows but making sure he was keeping a safe distance between him and the little girl in the space suit...just in case. He turned to @Darko Ljubicic, nodding as a gesture to get whatever the pink-haired magical general wanted, "Make sure she gets whatever she wants. Maybe @Jasper has something up his sleeve when it comes to...sweetening the curry."

"What about you two?" Iván deadpanned, turning to both the archer and the knight. He picked up the makeshift menu list from the counter and held it up in the air. Whoever made the motion first, would get it first. "Have you made up your minds on what to order?"

His eyes stayed with the tiny astronaut, though thanks to his mask, it would be difficult to notice. To everyone out there, he was probably looking at all of them, which he was indeed trying to do, just in case something bad happened on the restaurant's first day. With powerful magic-users like Majolica and Alphabet, both strange in the head, things always tend to go bad.

Hopefully, they weren't here to cause problem. At least he knew that Majolica would prefer it if her strange magic would benefit the Witch Ops, which in this case didn't really involve the restaurant, but with Alphabet, it was a bit harder to know if she had anything weird up her sleeves.

 

Eryl hitched the rucksack on her back as she trudged through the streets. Her crimson, flowing hair was bound up behind heir in a messy pony tail, with many deviant strands playing in the soft breeze as she walked. She wore nothing more than a simple, form fitting brown tunic, trowsers, and leather boots. All were worse for the wear and badly needed to be replaced. Her tunic had torn, its ragged edge wrapped around her ribcage, baring her flawless, alabaster midriff. Her whole body was covered in a thin layer of dirt and smudge, and she smelt of sweat.


In one hand she gripped the sword by her side, the one thing that seemed out of place on her figure. It was a two hander, and rather expensive. It was pretty clear that was where what little funds she had went. In the other hand, the redhead gripped a wrought iron helmet. Droplets of blood seeped from its inside, onto the cobble stone. It was too large for her head, and too heavy for anything human.


She stepped into what looked like a cheep establishment on the street. Or at least just the only one it looked like she could afford.


“I require food!” Eryl shouted as she crossed the threshold. “I have no coin but I can pay in this,” she tossed the helmet on a nearby table and sniffed. This place did smell God-aweful. Almost as bad as she did. Eryl’s lips furrowed in a scowl, “And I will pay extra for a clean plate.”

 

A particular stinky person appeared before Corvella, asking for her order. The blonde zoned off as her brain starts to connect the dots... "Ah! You're that stinky bomber!" She shouted at the sudden realization. Stinky Masked Man, Stinky Iván's Curry House, means that this Bound Prince guy is named Iván (She never got his name back from the initiation). More importantly, she figured out why people wrote stinky outside of this place! Wow, she's so smart like a detective, even without needing to put a grandfather's name at stake.

"Here, here." The blonde waved, signalling the restaurant owner that she wanted to order. She, though, have several questions. First off, what kind of guy wears a mask inside his own restaurant? Is he even the chef? Second, why does he reeks of blood? Are they butchering humans back there to be used as curry meat? "Uh, Iván right? I've never tasted curry before. So I might be in for a chef's recommendation." Corvella explained, ending with a little Majo-like 'hehe' shortly after.

Speak of the devil, she noticed Majolica is on one of the tables inside establishment, looking happy and all. What is this, a secret Witch Ops meeting? Just when she thought the restaurant couldn't be any weirder, a girl shouted and demanded food with a gigantic helm as a payment. The blonde remembered that she has extra to spend today. "Ah, also the best wine you have." She added. For a place that was just opened, this place quickly filled up in no time thanks to the funny name she thought.

 

Rias looked around the tavern where more and more people started entering, there were all sorts of colourful costumers and all of them stood out by attitude or/and clothes. It was funny how many different people showed up at that tavern and how everyone did it their own way...for a second Rias was so greatful that she was one of the first costumer otherwise she would have been standing embarrassed in front of a whole crowd now. Probably leaving this first impression to everyone and everyrhing AND end up being teased until the end of her game-life...

Her thoughts were interrupted by a man dressed low-key and a mask on his face causing her to almost jump from shock for a second before she realised it was just a person offering a menu. Probably a waiter...or the owner.
"Phew...jeez thank you mis-..." as she closed her eyes to let out a long sigh of relief something felt off. Did it suddenly get stinky in here? She tried not to seem too rude and looked around wondering what had that smell but nothing seemed new around her nor anyone approached her yet-...except...Rias eyes slowly travelled back to (@Iván Carl) A short pause...before the menu that was held on the counter all this time was slowly starting to slide all the way up to cover the front of her face hiding from the male who stood in front of her now...is that coming him?! Peeking from the top of the menu her eyes shined while she examined the masked male without putting the book down.
"Hmm...is this place ran by you?" She asked blinking a few times. Okay. Yes it was smelly but it wasn't unbearable but Rias didn't like stinky things, ALRIGHT?!

 

Maeve slapped her forehead, scolding herself as she opened the door a little abruptly; a little more than usual. "Why do you do this to yourself.." Maeve sulked to herself, entering with a huff of breath. She closed the door behind her, tugging at a tiny clump of hair out of habit. Her mind racing, she sighed and stood a little ways from the door, spacing out. She knows she can cook and brew, but to what extent was she capable?

Her eyes were staring into the aromatic curry air while she felt like her brain was frying from the thoughts zooming by. Was she late? Was her shift now? Did she need to clock in? What's her main duty? Does she do anything else?

Maeve continued to fiddle with her hair and fingers, letting out small mumbles as she thought. Busy, busy. She was new! What else would she expect? For her to know everything? No.. She clamped her mouth, her teeth pressed against one another. She wasn't sure whether she had to do something immediately, as her first-day jitters were kicking in and she had forgotten things.

Her eyes, resembling the galaxy, flickered from area to area, though not in any creepy way. She was merely worried. What if this was actually the wrong place? Would there have been a different curry place, and she entered the wrong one? Her left foot tapped at a fast pace, though the sound just soft.

 

Behind his scary, stinky red mask, Iván sighed when a new customer (@Eryl Justice) came in shouting that she needed food. Of course she needed food. Why else would she come in?

Oh, right. People also use restaurants to do their shady businesses, meet new people, meet other people, meet their secret lovers, find information on things, sell black market goods... Restaurants have a lot of uses for different people, come to think of it. Maybe they should charge separately for those things. Nah, he was just in it for the food, for the curry. The others probably share the same mindset. Probably.

Hmm, she doesn't have money... How was she going to pay extra for a clean plate? A cleaner plate, that is. All our plates are clean. Aren't they?

His thoughts were interrupted by the knight (@Corvella) who had referred to him as a stinky bomber. When did he ever bomb a place? Was that because of how he looked? Was that racist? Wait, no, she probably couldn't even tell what race he was with the way he looked. Still, what prejudice! These knights were all so high and mighty, they thought the rest of them were beneath them.

He sighed as he gave her the menu list. "Yes, I am Iván," he deadpanned, keeping his eyes, at least from behind his mask, at the knight. "The art of matching the perfect wine to a dish can be a hobby in itself, but the aromatic spices in a curry can be an overpowering force when paired with wine. My recommendation is the perfect compromise for a wine lover: a less spicy curry paired with a fruity rose." He meant the drink but he still pronounced it as the flower. This was why the curry house has its own brewmaster (@Darko Ljubicic) who wasn't Iván.

"Yes," he turned to the archer (@Rias) without missing a beat, invading her private space with his masked face. "I am the owner of this fine establishment. What can I get you?" They stayed like that for a couple more seconds, enough time to traumatize the archer, before @Maeve Lox finally appeared for her first day of work.

Iván leaned back, standing upright, and turned to the only female member of their culinary team. "Hello, Maeve," he greeted her dryly. "Glad to see you're here. Would you like to take over taking the orders?" He just stood there, waiting for her to respond, like some strange, stinky automaton.

 

As he saw the influx of customers in the shop, Darko secretly wished that there were more chefs and waiters in the area. But since it was still a budding restaurant, he understood that he would have to do much of the work for the meantime, being assigned as sous-chef. He would have to manage everything in the restaurant: from the dishes to the service and even thence to general order in the shop. And since there were no waiters yet, he had to move into the kitchen to cook food and out of the kitchen to serve it. And now they had five customers all of a sudden. Fortunately only three had placed an order (although one had...uhh...all right, no payment in total), and only one had placed a... very original order. As Darko had thought, as he saw the variety of people in the restaurant, this would be a very major headache. Of all the people here, the armored blonde was the only sane one.

The Sweet-Tooth: @Grand Witch Majolica

Darko had met the person before when he was doing his first hunting mission, and long story short, he was not that amused with her that time. She was quite the childish one, insisting on the title of Grand Witch but she was then unable to defend herself from a boar. Now how the times had changed. She was now truly befitting of the title, with loyal followers at her beck and call... including the owner and head chef himself, who said to him to serve her anything that she desired... wait, did he need to think of a candy and/or mushroom curry? Mushroom curry, possible since he knew some Indian curries that use less meaty-tasting main ingredients than mushrooms, but candy curry? That's an impossible feat... wait, how about he gun for something that had ingredients for curry, smells aromatic like curry, but made up of a sweet mushroom and other ingredients of sweets? Darko then moved quickly towards the kitchen, and afterward the smell of a confection being prepared wafted around the air, and then after that, the smell of peppermint and cinnamon, and thence to something that really smelled like curry. That was the time Darko had emerged from the kitchen, this time with a plate nested on a tray. He then served it to the Grand Witch, saying, "Well I really had no idea about a candy curry, but as it was an order from a friend of the owner I will take the challenge. Here it is: a black truffle confection curry." From the outside and aroma, it was just an ordinary curry, but when it would be tasted, the taste would be different: the dark yellow sauce was caramelized butterscotch, the portions which looked like meat were chopped black truffles, the portions which looked like chopped potatoes were chopped toffee apples, and portions that looked like spherical carrot pieces were actually gumballs colored the same way as carrots. "Enjoy the meal," He then said as he moved towards the next customer.

The Common Customer: @Corvella

The next customer was less of a handful as he thought, but still very daunting. This time it should be how to pair curry with the best wine they got. Darko, although was a good wine taster, could not be trusted in making wine on his own, so it was a godsend to have a brewer, @Maeve Lox, in the crew. Maybe in the future he would make his own wine, but for now his expertise was in nonalcoholic beverages, although he could give a good suggestion about the best wine for a dish. But this time, although he quite frowned from the owner's pronunciation of the word rosé, his suggestion was right.

"Well the suggestion of the owner was right, a mildly-spiced curry and a fruity rosé should work best with each other. Although unfortunately we only hired an in-house brewer this day, we do have stocks of different wines right now. We had also cooked a mildly-spiced curry as our first batch in consideration to less resistant patrons, and we can serve your order immediately." He then moved towards the kitchen; returning with a plate, a bottle and a glass on a tray within five minutes, and then served them on the blonde's table. It was a generous serving of curry, the very fragrant aroma emanating from it wafted in the air. He then poured the contents of the bottle into the glass, and a light red liquid poured out of the bottle and into the glass. He then said, "The head chef's recommendation. If you needed rice or bread delivered to you, just call me." He then moved to the final customer.

The First Troublemaker: @Eryl Justice

His next destination in serving, of course, was this redhead... What was it with redheads and arrogance? Like, she had claimed the restaurant for herself. She just splattered blood from some giant helmet on the cobble stone flooring that he tried so hard to clean, then she dumped that blood-soaked helmet onto the table that he had polished, and now she demands food and clean service? All right then, that's what she will get: a fine dissing service worthy of three Michelin stars.

"My, oh my, what have we got here," Darko examined the helmet... or the table that the helmet was sitting on. Looks like it took too much damage from that helmet that it was unusable, and certainly Darko would add it to her tab. The helmet for its immensity could only go to the scraps, for he doubt that a collector would be interested in such an item. Taking note of the damages, he then moved towards the kitchen. After a few seconds, he returned, wearing clean white gloves, with a tray with a blindingly white plate on it. The smell emanating from the plate indicated that he would be serving curry. He then moved over to the woman, and then served the plate. "Of course, as the name says, this is what this diner offers." The plate, blindingly clean and white on its underside, was also blindingly clean and white where the curry did not touch, and the curry, with a stalk of fresh coriander on it, seemed appetizing. The only problem is: the portion was very small: a small piece of potato, little sauce, and the coriander stalk were the only things there. As Darko was writing some sort of receipt, he was muttering, "Requires food, check. Value for the helmet, check. Cleanest plate, check." He then placed the receipt on the table, and then would move back to the kitchen, awaiting for more orders.

 

She hadn’t meant to break the table—but oh well. She watched as the waiter came to tend to her. She furrowed her brows, he was just a kid! A sprout! What kind of sweat shop were they running here?! She took a deep breath in, holding it in without a word.


Her brown eyes squinted, the radiance blinding her. She needed sunglasses, she needed something. It was so white. It was so clean. Arguably, the cleanest plate in the entire game. Its Tide pod-level cleanliness blinded her so deeply, Eryl couldn’t see how empty it was until the plate was served to her. Her nostrils flared. The indignity. How could she fill her belly on this small morsel? It could never do. She needed something more real.


“Hey!” She shouted after the teen as he moved back to the kitchen. “Stop right there.”


The redhead pulled her rucksack from her shoulders, propping it on the table for a moment as she dug through its contents. It was worn and ruddy, and anyone who looked in could see a variety of typical quester’s junk; rope, candles, matches, a map, scraps of paper, clothing bits, armor care kits, a med kit, and scattered among it, loot. She pulled from the battered leather sack a goblet made from some sort of bronze-gold like material. It was strangely carved with some sort of tribal significance and lacked any jewels encrusted on it, but it was a fancy enough cup.


Eryl begrudgingly slapped it on the table. This was a fair bit more loot than she was willing to plop down on her return journey, but she had to eat. Her stomach was killing her, “Bring me more, you sassy vagrant.”


She was Hangry, you wouldn’t like her when she’s Hangry.

@Darko Ljubicic