Welcome Back, Adventurers!

[thecanopycrew]

The wagons rolled in, the ship anchored, and the wayward journey has ended back at the tree.

After putting the sword where it now belongs inside the life Stream, it's time for a little award, isn't it?



Appearing outside the tree after the sword has been inserted is normal-sized slice of chocolate cake, enough to feed everyone in tree and more!

Come relax, talk about your adventures and catch up. Enjoy your victory!

Comments

[princeandscholar]

[There’s an idea he hasn’t heard explored yet. If he tries her point of view of thinking of this as a castle, looting following a takeover is a strong possibility. Though by whom?]

Hm… it’s alarming to think that an enemy could take this place. There does not appear to be anything missing though, does there? Our houses were fully furnished, and the gems are intact on the first floor. But new things appear regularly, so perhaps we will never know.

[Speaking of which, he glances back to the cake. It’s… going fast. (Likely not poisoned.) He glances at Naotora, curious.]

Are there cakes such as this where you come from?

[superbdianthus]

Giant brown ones? No...

[That's another reason why she's been very reluctant to eat it. She's definitely never seen anything like it.]

Perhaps in the western part of the country? It wouldn't surprise me to find something like this there. That's where castella comes from, after all.

[She wouldn't say she's an expert, but she does know her sweets. The only thing like this that she knows of comes from a recipe brought by the Xavists, so perhaps that's it.]

Have you had something like this before?

[princeandscholar]

[Heh, he didn’t mean the size. He was referring more to the chocolate. He takes for granted that giant cake would be unusual in any world.]

Castella? [He’s not familiar with a dessert by that name.]

Yes, this is chocolate cake. [His expression brightens as he explains.] That’s what it’s called at my home. The ones I had tasted different, and were smaller of course, but I think it’s still the same.

[superbdianthus]

Chocolate...

[She puzzles that one over. It's not a word she's ever heard before and she can't place its meaning.]

What's a chocolate?

[Is that what makes it such a shade of brown? Seeing as she's not quite certain what would make bread (Cake is bread, right?) that color.]

[princeandscholar]

[Oh dear, this is the second person he’s talked to today who is unfamiliar with chocolate. But this is another opportunity to introduce someone!]

Chocolate is a sweet used in desserts. This – [he twirls his fork in the icing and lifts it up] – is chocolate. It is favored by many people where I’m from.

[superbdianthus]

I see... Where does it come from? Is there a special way it needs to be prepared?

[She knows exactly nothing about cooking herself (or trade, for that matter), but she knows someone who would be jealous as hell if she found out that Naotora got to try a new dessert before she did. Oh, she'd never say as much, but as straightforward as Naotora is, Maria is the complete opposite. Still, if there's a way to serve it at their next get-together, she should probably figure it out.]

[princeandscholar]

It comes from a certain type of tree. Then it’s combined with a sweetener and melted into this form. I don’t think it comes off the tree tasting like this, but I don’t know all the details.

[He just gets reports on his desk about the harvests, and then the finished product as dessert. He’s not entirely sure what happens between the words on the paper and the packaged boxes of chocolate.]