Private - Inverted Wine Night | Page 2

While their other party member scribbled out his version of the tale, Destiny listened closely to Iván. Hell, she wasn’t the kind of person to ask and then not bother to hear a guy out. The thought He looks out of his damn mind never crossed Destiny’s mind—hell, who was she kidding, of course it did. That wasn’t a good reason to shoot the guy down, though, or not to believe him. She felt like sometimes people dismissed things just because they came from the wrong people, or at the wrong time, or used the wrong words. It’d always made more sense to Des to take in all the parts of a story and pick and choose what felt right or not without scrapping the whole thing based on a one-time judgment.

“Enlightened,” she tried out the word like it felt funny on her tongue, rolling it like a jawbreaker in her mouth that just wouldn’t crack. Enlightenment. What did that mean? It was always what gurus and yoga instructors were searching for, right? Somethin’ big and bright and eye-opening. Destiny leaned forward as Iván spoke on, brows raising. “You fell?” It hadn’t looked that steep, hell, now she felt bad for just standing there with the three of ‘em waving the poor guy off like a kid on his first day of school. Sounded pretty bad, from what she could hear. “Aw, hell. I’m sorry, man.” She gave another nod—she’d noticed the comms went wacky. “Static?” Early days of analog TV antennas and VCR rewind-screens flashed through Destiny’s mind. She hitched her mouth to the side. That’s pretty spooky… She swore she could hear the ringing in her ears too now, just an echo.

“Iván. Iván.” She drummed on the table in front of him with one hand, leaning forward in concern. “You okay?” She caught a whiff of the mask he was hiding and grimaced, but didn’t pull back. Somethin’ felt off—somethin’ not right, like the storyteller had gotten lost in his memory and couldn't figure his way out. PTSD? “Have some water.” She slid him hers (she'd drank most of the pitcher Brad brought already) and glanced at the blond youth to see if he’d noticed anything as weird as she had.

Nope. What he was muttering was way over her head. An ancient experiment to expunge evil? Sure. Maybe. But… Unlike Bradwynne, Destiny didn’t crave understanding. She didn’t seek to find logic in everything they’d found in the Spire, some goal or purpose. It could still be a marvel without design, it could be beautiful and strange and terrible without rhyme or reason. If there was a truth at the heart of the Spire, it was something Iván had seen, not any of them, and she had a feeling no words written or spoken were gonna capture that.

“You writin’ an essay over there? C’mon, let’s go back outside. Think we need some fresh air. What’s out back, Brad, y’all got a beer garden or anything?” She couldn’t shake the sudden feeling they had to change the subject, change the setting, shuffle things around. Destiny pulled her armor back on in a hurry, buckling the harness back over her shoulders and wrapping her scarf around her neck like a roll of toilet paper. “This way?” The lanky woman began to move through the Fancy Pepper towards the door Iván had first entered through, unable to shake the sudden tic to move, to explore. The air felt stale in the corner booth, like she couldn't breathe. Or maybe it just stunk.

 

Iván simply let @Bradwynne drone on about his theories of what happened that day down in the Spire, even going as far as conjuring up writing materials to write down his words. Perhaps there was a correlation between Temperance's warning on the communications channel and Iván's brief coma, but the illusionist had no memory of ever coming near to any sort of cairns. The last thing he remembered before getting knocked out was taking a seat next to Destiny who was seated on a log Bradwynne had procured for her, an act of love that was mostly an act of delusion thanks to the magical berries the blonde male had consumed.

The Spire was filled with all sorts of strange creatures, some more massive than others, some more ferocious and hostile than the rest, all nightmarish. It wasn't a longshot to believe that Terra Sphere's personal hell could have also contained strange magic. Although Iván was a firm believer that everything down there might have been connected, their group's individual actions might not have been. Temperance could have caused the black goo monster to appear or maybe it could have been Iván or maybe Portia or Destiny or Sharkie or even Bradwynne himself and all that had nothing to do with Iván's vision. Could. Maybe. Without any sort of concrete evidence, they were simply making conjectures at this point.

You have to come see me again... Iván twitched a little as he heard his mind's version of his savior's mechanical voice. Only I can provide you with the answers you seek. As the illusionist's mind became bombarded with Bradwynne's theory about gods and technology and true origins of this world, the otherworldly being from the Spire seemingly adding to the chaos in his head, @Destiny Divebird was able to rescue him from his own thoughts. He quickly, and meekly, accepted her offer of water. Water always helped, didn't it? For a while anyway. What Iván had, water couldn't fully help him. Not completely.

"Maybe I should go," the words crept out of Iván's mouth before he could rein them back in. He found himself standing up after Destiny, following her but only going through the motions. He shook his head, trying to shake off the nagging feeling of needing to be somewhere else. Should he follow her, them, outside? What was he to gain from continuing this charade with these two strangers? What was he to lose? Iván sighed and decided to do what they were going to do. At least for now.

 

As Bradwynne was continuing on writing, he then noticed that Ivan did not only trail off, but had actually fainted. It looked like the trauma from the consecutive events and his death was taking a toll on his body. Maybe they should have asked him when he had recovered from everything that happened. Ivan might have been experiencing the the same thing he had experienced when he died within the game. And so, much more that he had gotten enough information to produce a valid speculation about the real score at the hole, they should not pursue the matter anymore.

"There is an open space at one side of this building, don't know if that's what you call a beer garden." When the pair was about to go to the back of the bar, he then said, "Not that way, that door," He then pointed at the door just near the bar. He then moved there first to open the door to assist the two in going outside.

The open-air place of the bar had quite a good view of what was happening in one of the wide alleyways of Stokbon... it could even be considered a road by itself. There was a lone table vacant there right now; the other three was filled with people doing conversations over food and alcohol. There was a waiter there who was very tall and somewhat muscular, even taller than Bradwynne himself. As he had seated after assisting the two people to sit, he then called that waiter, and said, "We are the former occupants from table fifteen inside. Kirsten had our tab calculated, just that we needed to transfer here. And another thing, three small and three large glasses and a carafe of cold water please." The waiter was surprised when he saw Bradwynne, but quickly recovered and said, "All right, sir," and then moved inside to get the articles requested. He then quickly returned with the glasses and the cold water, and quickly placed it on the table in their supposed respective places. Bradwynne then said, "Thank you, as snappy as ever Edward." The waiter who was referred to as Edward smiled and returned to his former place, near the door. Bradwynne then poured the wine and water into their respective glasses, and then, "Maybe since we are in a different place, we should shift to another topic, since the last might have affected Ivan greatly." He then downed his glass of wine and followed it up with a gulp of cold water. "I really wonder what was in those berries that we became too crazy for love."

 

“Will you quit tryin’ to walk out? ...Out that door's fine, thanks Brad.” Destiny wrinkled her nose as they passed an area outdoors that smelled like a carcass. Or hell, maybe it was just Iván again. Was getting pretty hard to keep track of. The scent cleared and the black-haired woman was steered along to the table as the feminine winemaker showed them outside and another one of his cohorts brought more water. Bingo. She shoved another glass at Iván. Christ, we gotta wind down, he reacted real bad to that one. No telling what he might get up to if he went running into the street with his head all scrambled like it seemed to be.

Des was grateful when Brad changed the subject. “Sure. The berries?” She quirked a brow at the blond. As for what was in the berries, she wasn’t sure. “Hell, you mean like an aphrodisiac? Why, you wanna put it in your next bestsellin’ wine? Probably a market for it.” Her lips quirked. Honestly, there was probably a consumer base out there for it, but that wasn’t what she thought. Based on his tendency to wax on about complex subjects, the ranger had a bad feeling he meant somethin’ sciencey. A chemical, maybe, or a drug. She put her boots up on a spare bench, rubbing the side of her neck thoughtfully. “Magic. Coulda been anything. Rind, seeds, pulp—we both ate ‘em whole, so no way to tell. ”

Except that she had one.

One berry. Right in her pocket. One that she’d picked on the way back up that she’d kept tight-lipped about and she wasn’t sure why. Could mention it now, I guess... Hand it over to Brad and Iván, let them cut it apart and run it through a centrifuge if they wanted. Break it down into chains of proteins and chemicals. Figure it all out, what made it tic, how it made people fall in love.

But she didn’t want to.

Hell, she didn’t know why. Destiny had always liked her privacy. She didn’t share unless she was asked, she kept to herself, she didn’t get nosy. The only reason she’d been pressing Iván to spill the beans was that it was their mission. Way she figured, all of them had a vested interest in the Spire. Only reason they all hadn’t slipped down to the end together was because they didn’t have enough supplies to make it there and back. But the berry… Well, she didn’t want to give it up. She didn’t want to eat it, hell no, not again. Just…

She just didn’t want to.

It was hard to explain. It was like she’d found something in the Spire, something inside of herself, and then she’d lost it again. Holding onto that damn fruit was the closest thing she had to keeping that thing she’d lost, if only in the most materialistic way. A souvenir. That’s all it was. But hell if she was giving it up now. Destiny’s eyes flickered to Iván. We all got our secrets.

“We were side-steppin’ this a little, but your crazy-love was on me, right?” She asked it carelessly, casually, no trace of teasing or awkwardness about it. “Nobody else? I wonder how it fixates.” While her memories under the berry’s effects were vague at best, she could wind back and remember step-by-step what had happened before. “You went shimmying up that flesh-tree after Sharkie to pick 'em, right? Mm, hang on—and you fell. On Iván.” Ass first. “You threw one to me, but I didn’t throw nothing to Portia… hm.” She still had no intention of using the fruit she’d picked, but since they were talkin’ about it, it wouldn’t be bad to try and brainstorm how the thing worked. Wouldn’t want to get into more trouble if it did happen again, after all.

 

Iván appreciated Bradwynne leading them out into the open air and even changing topics. While the illusionist was indeed battling with whether he should tell his two companions everything, he was still a little wary of how much they would believe, not to mention how much they would consider helpful and useful. At the end of the day, the things Iván saw down in that Spire, down that hole, all on his own, might be too enlightening for others. He considered Bradwynne and Destiny Divebird as fine warriors but this war, his newfound religion so to speak, his personal quest might be better off kept to himself.

Taking another glass of water Destiny offered him, Iván refreshed himself, listening to the pair talk. He wasn't affected firsthand by the berries they were talking about, but those things did seem to have impacted these two very much. An aphrodisiac? Maybe he could use some for his planned curry house. A berry curry? Why not? This place was not the real world. Certain things may end up better here than offline. Magical berries that could trick people into feeling love... Those were definitely useful, if not only to distract others.

"Hmm," Iván carefully placed the glass of water, now only half full, back on the table. "It's a shame we were never able to get some of those berries back out of the Spire. Lightning Ironworks has a pretty good alchemy staff. We could've studied it and replicated its effects. Probably." By a pretty good alchemy staff, he meant himself. There were a few others but they were mostly students, surprisingly lesser in rank and knowledge than him, and Iván didn't even consider himself that great with the field. Sure, he knew a few things here and there but he wasn't Emerath Katou or Tetsunosuke. Those two were at the top of their tinkering game. Iván was but an enthusiast at best. Still, his skills could've helped them if they wanted to figure out a thing or two about those berries. Probably.

Iván returned Destiny's gaze as her eyes fell on him for some reason. Probably because of the Lightning Ironworks information he had given them. It wasn't a big deal. It was out in the open anyway. Iván didn't consider his affiliation with the tinkering company something of a secret or something that should be kept a secret. It was a hobby, a passion, and maybe a source of coin every now and then. To an extent, it was also a way for him to get closer to a second meeting with the otherworldly being he had met down in the Spire. It wasn't the only way, however, nor was it the best way, but it was a way. He knew he couldn't rely on it and had to follow up other leads out into the world. The otherworldly being was out there, not inside a lab of sorts.

Crazy love? For a moment, Iván was caught surprised. Destiny was an attractive warrior and all, but he wasn't exactly the type to get attracted at, well, anything. Not in this game. It was all pixels and avatars. None of it were real, most especially the relationships. Well, maybe in this world they were real, but outside of it? Not a chance. Some of these Players weren't who they were out there, not really. One of them could be a guy but he would be in here looking like a girl. It wasn't unheard of. It just was.

Iván took another sip of his glass of water when Destiny referenced Bradwynne falling on him. She had been referring to Bradwynne with that "crazy love" statement, too. They were, after all, the only two people affected by the magical love berries. That would explain the blonde waiter's sudden hostility towards the illusionist while they were down there. That or Iván was just annoying him. Could work either way.

"Hmm, maybe whomever you guys laid your eyes on first would become the object of your affections?" That was the stereotype. That could still prove to be true in this case. Iván turned to the area around them. He appreciated being out in the open again. Well, at this time, anyway. He still had the craving to go back down in the Spire, if only to meet with the otherworldly being. But for now, he breathed the fresh air in and relished the atmosphere. It was a good place. He was in a good place.

 

"Well," Bradwynne downed another shot of the wine before drinking a gulp of water, "...just frustrated about what happened to both of us while under the influence of the berries." He then refilled all empty small cups. "Maybe Ivan could tell us what happened during that time. I still don't know what happened at that period of time except threatening Temperance over the chat. All that I know is, that time I fell in love with Destiny, and it was of a form so insidious it was giving me chills even when I think about that."

He then took another shot and a gulp of water, and then refilled his cup again. "All right, I am never really this used to drinking much without something to munch on. Waiter?" The waiter then beckoned forward. "I will have three orders of Sizzling Spicy Steak en Flambe." The waiter then moved inside the building. He then stared again at the two, and then said, "Trust me, the steak is one of the bestsellers in this bar. A large hunk of meat, although the meat was not prime-grade, made on par with them by the boss' special cooking technique, then marinated with a spicy but flavorful marinade, grilled to perfection, transferred to a ceramic plate to maintain the cooking process. Whenever I think of it, my mouth really waters. One of the best dishes of the boss, worthy of its spot in the Seven Spiced Wonders." As the waiter delivered their order, three generous servings of meat served in their respective ceramic plates with some of the marinade, Bradwynne, true to his words, just gulped the saliva that had formed in huge quantities within his mouth. "And this is where the fun starts," he then watched as the waiter poured a bottle of an alcoholic mixture over the steak, and with a burning taper, set the three steaks on fire. The fire burned for a few seconds, exuding a very rich aroma of combined spices and alcohol. "The alcohol adds to the flavor of the dish, and the fire assured that even when it sizzles on the hot plate, the cooking will be even on both sides. The result is a very delicious dish, tender on the outside while maintaining most of the juices on the inside. I am really excited about this." The waiter placed a small plate, a knife and a fork on the table for each of the three of them before leaving. "Well, mind me if I will go first?" He then took a slice on one of the steaks on the table, and the knife just passed through the steak without any effort. As he knew he could not pick up the slice effectively, he drew the small plate near the hot plate so that he could move the slice to the plate. He then took a small slice with the knife then picked it up with the fork to eat. As he ate the slice, he could not feel but smile as he chewed on the slice and then swallowed it. "Well it tastes just as good as I tasted it before." He then took another slice, and then after swallowing it, he then said, "Back to the topic. Maybe the berries would take effect after a couple of minutes, and we would fall in love on someone who we had stared for a long time." He then took a shot of the wine again, and stared at Ivan. "Ivan, did you see me do anything shameful from the time I ate the berry to the time we defeated the giant hedgehog? Don't be afraid to say anything, I will not cut you down if you say I danced around Destiny bare naked."

 

Destiny pulled a face at the phrase insidious love (what the hell?!) and hitched her mouth to the side like she had a plug of tobacco in her cheek. “That really love, though?” She didn’t know where the words were coming from—hell, like she was the one to be talking—but she pursued it, awkwardly stabbing at the abstract thought. “Love is selfless, love is kind? All that wedding speech, y’know.”

Philosophy wasn’t her strength. Neither was love. But vague though her memory was, it had been gripping—it had been powerful—it had been selfless, which every bruise on her falling, bouncing body had proven down those ledges. Des grimaced again, rubbing the back of her head. “Aw, I dunno. Magic’s magic, I figure.” Dismissing the topic didn’t mean dismissing the way she felt about it. Like the still-concealed berry she’d picked, it was still hers.

And now there was flaming steak on the table and that goddamn stole the whole show in Destiny’s opinion. Grateful for the distraction (she was pretty sure @Iván Carl would be too, shook up as the begoggagled man still seemed) Destiny made the appropriate ooh and ah sounds when the meat got lit even though (as usual) Brad’s unusually detailed background info didn’t mean a damn thing to her. “Wow, fire!” she drawled in response to words like marinade and ceramic. No kidding that @Bradwynne was excited. Hell, who wouldn’t be if you got to eat steak and drink wine on your break at work. Maybe this wasn’t such a bad gig after all.

She helped herself to some steak, sawing a cut for Iván as well, and dug in. She popped a bite into her mouth and paused, actually impressed by the meat’s flavor and consistency. Her brows raised. “Mmmm!” Terrasphere sure didn’t slack on its sensory input. The leftovers the neighbors brought her had nothing on this. “Pretty damn good! Nice call, Brad. You sure know the hot items on the menu here.” Get her funny joke? Destiny snorted at herself as she chewed, curious what Iván would say to Brad’s latest question as well. "Only naked person I remember's Temperance, so you're clear in my book," she said with her mouth full.

 

@Bradwynne was already droning on about some sort of steak not long after. Iván wasn’t that big of a fan of steaks, but they sure filled him up. When they came, he could do nothing else but kneel to their magnificence. Bradwynne spoke true, and as the waiter set their meat on fire, the masked illusionist grinned from behind his mask. Culinary artistry… How wonderful. Iván took a whiff of his wine before digging in. The steak was simply delicious.

“All I remember was you side-eyeing me, Bradwynne,” Iván grinned from behind his mask, though he made sure to keep his tone monotonous to hide his true emotions, his true feelings regarding the events that had transpired. For the most part, the expedition down in that Spire was horrifying, with a lot of them failing to remember parts of it, but there were certain instances that could bring a smile to the masked illusionist’s face, instances that were now made clearer by the revelation involving those berries. “You offered @Destiny Divebird here a log to sit on at one point…” That was before he passed out, right? That was before he had that vision…

That vision… What was it again? Trembling… Yes, his mind, his brain, was trembling… At the sight of… Something? Yes, it was the truth behind closed doors, a sneak peek into censored enlightenment, neither magic nor magitech, something that was more than either, more than both, more than sorcery. It transcended the natural order, the usual manner of casting, even tinkering itself, even modern science itself, reducing every known variable, including human willpower, into robotic, pre-programmed, mere scientific functions. With that vision, all interpretations, romantic and falsehoods, of God were no more, all its mystery reduced to ashes, leaving nothing but the beautiful, the perfect truth. If he had known religion, that kind of fervor, he would know it was quite similar to what he was feeling thanks to this sublime form of magic, this art form.

Absolver… This virtuoso, the one who stripped away all sin until only purity was left... Iván found himself quieted once more. He found himself once again trapped in his own thoughts, with only an unexplainable delusion as his companion. Or maybe it wasn’t as unexplainable as he thought? Maybe it was connected to the purple god down in that Spire? Maybe, maybe, maybe. He couldn’t be sure until he had more information. He must find out more, especially about his purple god. He must, he must, he must.

“Oh, yeah, Temperance got naked. It was weird.”

 

As Bradwynne was still munching on another slice of the spicy and juicy steak that was one of the ultimate dishes in the menu of the bar, he then heard @Destiny Divebird applaud his choice of dish for the three of them, noting that particular pun that she used. Apparently Bradwynne had appreciated the pun that she said, as he replied after swallowing the steak with a cheeky grin, "Of course I will be sizzling with furious disappointment if they do not have such a dish. Or if I don't have something to learn about while I am working." He then took another slice of the steak as he listened to @Iván Carl about what he did while he was under the influence of the berry.

Apparently that time he was side-eyeing Iván most of the time. Since that time there were two males and three females in that dangerous mission, it would have been logical to side-eye the person of the opposite sex if he really fell into that insidious love... no. As he swallowed the slice of the steak again, he then said to Destiny, "Yeah, it should not have been called love, sorry for my inadequacy of the choice of words. Maybe 'arousal' would be the better word that could fit what we had felt after eating the berry?" Yeah, that might be a better word, he thought. That carnal feeling could not be called true love, or even love for that matter. It was just some influx of testosterone that he felt after eating the berry, whether it was inherent within itself or whether it was propelled by the magic within the Spire. There were too many mysteries in that area that he wanted this return there again. But of course he would not if that guild would handle again that mission. That guild was notorious for giving out meager salaries for those who had risked their lives to explore the area. Especially when two people had died exploring the area: Iván and Temperance...

He then heard the two others mention Temperance again. Yeah he had already seen the naked body of Temperance twice: once in the subterranean lake, and once in the hot spring where they hunted for loot. Although he was quite relieved that he did not dance around Destiny as naked as he was born, it made him remember Temperance again. Although they were saying that it was not his fault that she was dead, he really wanted to carry them all back to the surface together. He failed in what he had been always saying, that no one would be left behind.

Downing another shot of the wine, he then poured again for himself another small glass full of it, as he then said, "Well that might have been two troubles for you Iván." He then downed another shot, and then followed it up with a quick slice of the steak. After he had swallowed it, he then said, "I am sorry for side-eyeing you that time, and also not giving others except Destiny something to sit on." He insinuated, from what he had heard from Iván about what might have been his second sin, that in his offering a log for Destiny to sit on, that he had not offered others something where they couod be seated to rest. Clearly, that erotic berry had given him as well as the others a load of problems.

 

What was with Brad and spicy food? It was a damn good thing Des had grown up with Chinese parents who threw chili paste and peppercorns in every sack lunch or she might have turned her nose up at spicy wine and spicy steaks, even in a VR game. Or hell, maybe not—after all, Iván didn’t seem to have a problem. Destiny was pleased and delighted that Bradwynne seemed to have a funny side, and that he’d liked her joke. Y'know, Brad’s all right with me.

As for the brand of love the berry manufactured… Hell, Des didn’t remember feeling particularly aroused, unless you could call your heart jumping every time you heard a certain person’s voice as if someone had planted a couple defibrillators over your sternum and shouted CLEAR “arousal.” Maybe just temporary insanity. Insane or not, it was sure somethin’. She held back the urge to defend her girly-flowery-white knight true love and popped another bite of steak in her mouth instead. Won’t do any good arguing about it—I felt what I felt, and I did what I did. Like the true purpose of the Inverted Spire which perhaps only Iván had glimpsed, she was content with experience over understanding.

“You did give me a log,” she agreed with her mouth full, the memory dawning on her. “I remember Portia sittin’ on somethin’.” She squinted at Bradwynne, registering that conjuring a log was a pretty damn unusual act even on a good day. Coulda used a camp chair, at least. “Where’d you get that thing, anyway? Thought all the trees down there were fleshy berry-trees.”

She hadn’t missed Iván’s prolonged silence again, she just—hell, Des was at a loss for what to do about it. Maybe it woulda been better to wait on this little talk, let the guy recover a little. How was she to know they’d be dragging up some late-dungeon trauma, though? Hell, Des had just been imagining a wholesome Spire reunion while the journey (what parts they still remembered) was still fresh in their minds.

“Guess Portia and Tempest are no-show,” she commented dryly, swirling the bottom of her wine glass and tipping it back into her throat. Destiny smacked her lips, enjoying the burn, and gave a sigh. She hitched her mouth to the side. “Shame. Would’ve been nice to see 'em again, and hear their take on all this, too.” She figured Temperance would have caused some kinda scene (alcohol and nudity both likely) but maybe some misunderstandings would have been cleared up too. Same with Portia. Guess I’ll have to catch ‘em around another time, she thought a little wistfully. Least us three got to hang out and talk a little. Steak and wine on a clear night in Stokbon, who could ask for more?

 

Iván raised a hand towards @Bradwynne's direction, shaking his head, "No apologies are necessary. Whatever happened down there...stayed down there, I think. We were all under the influence of greater forces. None of us might have been able to stop what they had intended for us."

All things considered, that were true. Whatever the Spire was, it was too powerful for any of them, and perhaps even all of them combined, to beat. From what he could gather, both Brad and @Destiny Divebird had their wits taken from them, @Portia Ahrens lost an ear, and for the most part, he didn't really know what Temperance had been doing all that time, only that she had rescued him from that blob monster thing and later died at the hands, rather feet, of a giant monster.

Speaking of Portia and Temperance, Destiny was perhaps right about them not coming to this little get-together, an after party if Iván could be so bold. The mere idea could've allowed him laughter, if only his head wasn't in the dark clouds. He wondered how Temperance was in particular. Death wasn't such a good experience for him. He could only imagine how it was to her. Iván was only able to survive his first brush with the afterlife through the grace of the purple god. Temperance didn't have that luxury. Or did she?

Portia would've probably opted to stay in and avoid them for the time being. Losing her ear, a part of her face, that would've been traumatic to anyone, especially a warrior like her. She had always seemed like a tough cookie, hardly able to crumble, but she was still human despite all of this. Regardless of her pain settings, she would now have to live with the fact that she had one ear missing. That could've funny, if what they had gone through their expedition didn't include traumatic experiences. That was probably he was going to see Portia for a long while.

"Yes, it is a shame." There was sadness in Iván's voice, try as he might to conceal it. This was certainly not his night. The very idea of meeting up with the same people that were linked to his first death in the game should've warned him about it, but he did want to catch up with this party. Why? He truly did not have an answer to that. Perhaps it was simply nostalgia. "Especially since Destiny's paying for all of this."

Iván turned to Brad after taking a sip of his wine, "Does this place have curry?"

 

Bradwynne felt relieved as @Iván Carl forgave him for that fault of his at that time. Commonly he would not side-eye a person without any moral reason for him to do so, and if he did offer somebody a seat to relax in a campfire, he would give everyone a seat, not show favoritism to someone. Clearly it was not true love that spurred him to do those things, it was a distorted form of affection, so carnal, sensual, demonic. It was a reminder to him that he should be more vigilant with what he would take into his body next time, so as to prevent this kind of embarrassment from ever happening again. When he was then asked by @Destiny Divebird about where he got the log, he replied, "Beats me, I can't even remember how I found that log." He then took another slice of the steak and put it into his mouth.

As he was still munching on the steak, he listened on as the two other people were talking about those which were not yet there: Portia and Temperance. As he was still thinking, he would still need to apologize to those two. Those messages that he sent while he was still under the influence of that berry was still gnawing on his mind, although the two others who were there were saying the death of the latter was not his fault. Somewhere, somehow, he should find a way to find these two and apologize for what he did. He then quickly downed a glass of wine to flush off the frustration welling within him. He then said, "Yeah, such a disappointment that those two did not show up yet. There were many things to talk about, and a lot of wine to share." He then heard Iván's quip about Destiny being the one who would pay for all the food. "...And that." He then took another slice of the steak and munched on it.

As Iván then inquired about if they had curry served in this shop, Bradwynne replied, "Well now that you asked, I have not tasted curry for quite a time. Although I can cook curry for you, and the bar allows for custom orders, it seemed that there were no places that serve curry among the residents of this whole area." He then looked at the table, and it seemed that the three plates of steaks were gone in a flash. Bradwynne scratched his head as he said, "Well looks like we are all out of food. I really wonder who was the glutton among us." He then remembered that he had taken four large steak halves as they eatingatung and drinking. He then laughed at his own fault, and said, "...well looks like I am that glutton. Sorry for that. All right, a huge pot of curry, coming up!" He then stood up, and before he opened the door to the inside of the bar, he then said to the waiter, "We are finished with the steak. I am about to serve a custom order, and so prepare for us three deep plates and new spoons." The waiter then moved towards their table, diligently removing the hot plates, the serving plates and the cutlery, while Bradwynne himself moved towards the kitchen. The waiter also moved towards the inside of the bar, and then returned with the deep plates and spoons, and laid one for each of them on the table before returning to his position near the door. A knock was then heard from the inside, and as the waiter opened the door, Bradwynne was then seen carrying a huge copper pot, which he set nearby his chair as he then sat. He then grabbed one plate at a time, and then filled it with a brown curry, its aroma wafting around the area so much that even their table neighbors stared towards their direction. Although the vegetables were of the common sort that could be seen in any restaurant, the meat was of almost the same quality as the steak from before, the marbling on each slice was clearly shown, and the sauce looked very rich. He ladled the curry for the two others before serving himself, and then quickly started to eat after he had served himself. As he shoved a spoonful on his mouth, a smile showed on his lips. "Well maybe you had picked a good dish right now," he then said to Iván gleefully after he swallowed the whole thing.

 

There she was, sippin' her wine happy as a clam (who knew where a shellfish had gotten that positive rep, but there you go) when Ivan had to go and mention the bill. Destiny choked. "A-aw, but Brad's got a discount or somethin' here I can borrow, right?" she said, massaging her burning windpipe. Was the blond just gonna munch calmly through that sentence? Dammit, she hadn't realized Brad was pullin' all these dishes outta nowhere because it was on her tab. Guess I offered, that's what I get. Could probably cut a deal at the end of the night, right? And if she walked out on her tab what was the worst that would happen, the kitchen and bar manager would send some sort of fantasy hit squad bounty hunt after her--

Hell, that sounded like exactly something that would happen. This was Terrasphere, real-world logic didn't apply here. She'd have debt-collecting assassins after her in game-life now as well as real-life. Christ, hope I have the gold. She wasn't a big spender apart from necessities and the occasional splurge like this one. How expensive could a vintage limited-edition experimental Pompeii wine bottle be, right? Right?

So... curry. Curry. "Seems specific," Des said, squinting at the stinky illusionist. "Wait, more?" Brad had already eaten two-thirds of that steak, he still wanted a whole damn pot of something not even on the Fancy Pepper menu? And of course it was still on her tab. Well, maybe the fact that it was a custom-sorta thing meant they didn't have a way to bill for it (she hoped.) Even if not, she didn't have the guts to back down now, since she was having a hard enough time keeping Ivan from skating out the door as it was. "Sure... curry," she said with less-than-great enthusiasm as another waiter showed up to clear their plates, 'Sounds-- hey!" They were leaving!

As Brad left to go to the kitchen to cook curry without them, Destiny let her breath out in a sigh. Sounds about right. She looked back down into her wine glass, swirling the deep red liquid as if it could tell her something. "Just you and me, beautiful," she said. She was talking to the wine, not Ivan. Eventually Brad came back with more food (could you stick leftovers in your inventory? Des sure as hell hoped so) that smelled pretty good. She had an itching feeling it was gonna be spicy, like pretty much everything else (including the drinks) in a place called The Fancy Pepper. Predictable, in hindsight.

"Hell, that was pretty fast. You sure you don't usually serve this here?" she said to Bradwyne. She passed her bowl and spoon, giving up on any kind of objection. "Thanks. I'm gonna let it cool down for a minute." Maybe give her a second to digest the last huge portion she'd already eaten. A whole serving of spicy curry wasn't really her idea of dessert. "You like curry, Ivan?" Des had it often enough as a kid, but it'd been awhile.

@Iván Carl @Bradwynne

 

Iván sighed. There were a lot of things a lot of them couldn't remember from that expedition, try as they might, though perhaps, both @Bradwynne and @Destiny Divebird were forgetting more things than him. Perhaps it was because of the berries they ingested. Or perhaps the purple god had been blessing Iván throughout their journey. Then again, wasn't he also forgetting a few things? At least not remembering them? He did pass out that one time. Maybe it was just because the purple god wanted to talk to him, to enlighten him, something about the Absolver.

He smirked when Destiny suddenly felt a change of heart with her offer of paying for everything. Brad had been ordering a lot. He could tell she hadn't expected that, though to be fair, they did enjoy everything that was presented to them. Maybe he should split the bill with her. It was the least he could do for offering him respite from his own thoughts. Then again, she did offer to pay for everything. She might take offense if he offered to help her pay for everything. That could be misread into him belittling Destiny's financial capabilities, even though he would just be trying to help.

When Brad mentioned that there was no restaurant specializing in curry to his knowledge, a light bulb appeared over Iván's head. Figuratively. There was no real light bulb appearing anywhere, especially not anything anyone else could see. He simply had a bright idea, something that didn't involve the Spire, the purple god, the Absolver. He had gotten quite a lot of unexpected knowledge from the cookbooks he got from the crippled alchemist near that cursed village, having read it all in such a short span of time. Perhaps, he could use that knowledge to expand his horizons. In more ways than one.

As Brad left, Iván found himself alone with Destiny who awkwardly called him beautiful. He narrowed his eyes towards her. Was she already drunk? She looked like she really liked her wine. Maybe instead of offering to split the bill, he could get her a nice bottle as a token of his gratitude. It would just be a friendly gift, of course, nothing else. Iván didn't want to get side-eyed by Brad again. Not ever. Who knows? Maybe the next time something like that would happen, Brad would also add a log to Iván's head. Magical berries or not, Iván couldn't be too sure. Maybe Brad did feel something for Destiny and vice versa. Maybe the berries just amplified all that.

Iván could smell the aroma of the delicious curry even before Brad walked back to them, carrying that pot. He offered his bowl to Brad and nodded in gratitude, both for serving him some curry and for actually cooking it all. While Brad ate his share, Iván took his time and savored that aroma. It was almost as filling as eating it. Iván was in love.

"I do, I suppose," Iván slowly, carefully, gulped a spoonful of curry, savoring that taste, that spice. It was heaven for him. "It's one of my favorite things to eat, to make. It's my favorite food." He took another spoonful and again savored the taste. He was really enjoying himself. "What about you two? Any favorites?"