I'd never made soap before in my life. Turns out, it's quite an involved process. When we got back, I let the skill I'd gotten more or less guide my actions. The thing of it was, I had a pretty good idea how to do the, what you might call, macro steps. The big steps. I started the Lye rendering down on the stove. I got all the fat I'd collected off the deer and started rendering it down too as I polished off the last of my stew, using my skillet to do so. There wasn't... actually a whole lot. There was a fair bit, but not compared to the animal itself, not compared to the animal's body weight and how much meat I got off it. Every bit of meat I could find with fat was subjected to my discerning eye until not a bit that could be gotten was left behind. Suddenly I regretted letting my Wolf eat so much of the unworked meat! How much fat had I just wasted like that?
What was left of the meat was put into the oven, on a low heat so it could dry. The now empty cooking pot was set to the task of making more stock from the bones, set to blanching them while I worked on the fat. It took... a while to get it down to a pure, mostly clear liquid, but it did get there as I prodded it around. Then, I got some more sage from the woods around me just outside the gate. The rain had done much for the scent of the fleeing adventurers, pounding it down and earthing it, making their scent-impressions look squashed and strange... but I could still sense them as I walked into the woods. I didn't need any senses at all, nothing special, to smell the campfire though.
That was a strange sensation. I could hear the pops and crackles of it in the distance, and smell the pleasant scents of it... but I could also, with the aid of these senses... tell which direction the fire actually was in. It wasn't big, I didn't think, for some reason I felt sure I could tell if I had a mind to, but I made no approach and paid it little mind. Sprigs of sage were taken, not enough to kill any individual plant, just enough to fill my shirt as I held it like a basket! Since I would be making more stew for later, I might as well get some fairy potatoes and ramps while I was at it!
Over time... as I spent more and more of it out in the woods foraging, I became aware... of a presence. A scent that seemed familiar to me. One that I'd smelled in the inn. I smelled... leather, some kind of oil, wood... and a man. Male. In my mind's eye, I could see him... maybe fifty feet away in a tree. As I troubled over a sage plant, I thought about what I could sense from him... and realized I felt watched.
Should I say something?
"What's wrong?" Gelidia asked softly, her voice hushed as if we were in a temple. She clearly hadn't seen him.
I shook my head without looking at her.
"Hello, Torch." I said aloud, and was rewarded with a sharp indrawing of breath! The man let out a cry, and... fell out of his tree some distance away, hitting the forest floor with a THUD that had me wincing on his behalf. I stopped myself from rushing over towards him just in time, but I'd stood and began to crane my neck to see if he was alright! I couldn't actually see him in the bushes, but... he was swearing. If he was swearing, he couldn't be too badly hurt.
Like a cat who fell off a table, the Scout got up and pretended he hadn't fallen at all, training his crossbow on me. Disregarding him, I shrugged and felt around until I could touch the fairy potato plant I'd scented, and started getting some.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
It took him a long moment to reply. In my mind's eye... I could see him still pointing that thing at me. It wouldn't kill me. Not in one shot. I'd know if he fired it, too, I felt... reasonably certain I could probably do something to avoid it. Despite appearing calm, I found myself poised to do just that.
He lowered it. "... I'm fine." he said coldly, his voice young as he was. Maybe twenty? Maybe younger? Last I'd looked I was in my early thirties... but who knows, anymore?
"Oh, good." I said. "How's your friends?" I asked, and he frowned at me. I knew that one because I glanced at him as I'd asked. "The... ones from last night, I mean." I added when he failed to respond to my question.
"... Fine also. Hey, are you a werewolf?" he asked, just, laying the elephant in the room right out there.
"Mmmmmhm~!" I admitted, as I uprooted a potato plant. "We met last night, when you... um... don't worry about it. We're square - I wallopped you good for trying to kill me already. No hard feelings, Torch."
His jaw worked, and he clearly didn't know what to do with that, blinking rapidly as he stared at me. I rose slowly, unhurried, and smiled up at him amiably. He actually took a step backward!
"Uhh... no... hard feelings..." he said, and considered his crossbow. Wisely, he put it away. "... right. Um... what are you doing?" he asked.
"Right now? I'm working on making soap! I'm gonna make some stew, too. I got a deer the other night and I wanna use him up so I don't waste the gifts he gave me." I said, holding up the basket I'd made of my oversized shirt by way of demonstration.
The sheer mundanity of that statement seemed to throw him. "... But you're a monster!" he said. I quirked an eyebrow at him at that. Gelidia laughed, her voice echoing on the wind, and that clearly spooked him a fair bit.
"Rude!" I protested as my cheeks went red. That only made Gelidia laugh harder - a belly laugh that had no business being the noise a spooky wind conveyed on the air to the Scout's ears.
"What is that?!" he asked, eyes huge! His voice, I kid you not, actually cracked in the middle of the word 'that'! He looked about to bolt!
"Remember that bit about 'Twice-Cursed'? That's my friend Gelidia. She's haunting me!" I said "And laughing at me too! Rudely!" my cheeks heated some more!
He blushed too a bit, and stammered "I-I m-mean--!" he took a deep breath and I let him flail a moment before taking pity on him a bit.
"It's fine, I know I'm a monster. Believe me! I've noticed!" I said, taking a running jump at humor with a grin at him! I threw a potato at Gelidia, who was still chuckling at my expense, without looking! It bounced off her head, and she sputtered into silence, before picking it up and throwing it back! I caught it deftly in my basket after it bounced off my chest. Apparently Torch couldn't see her... because he BLINKED and shut his mouth with a little 'clop!' and seemed to get ahold of himself.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Torch shook his head. "What a weird week this is being..." he muttered. I know it was rude, he wasn't exactly talking to me, but I said
"Tell me about it!" and he started when he realized I'd absolutely heard him! "Hey, Torch? Are you guys... doing okay on supplies? It's not really any of my business... but" I blushed "... I was going to make some stew anyhow?"
That floored him. He didn't know what to say to that, clearly - so he did his fish impression again and stammered a bit! It didn't floor Gelidia! She crossed her arms at me, and her mouth thinned into a line.
"I don't know if I want those three in my town again. I mean, they did attack my citizens and fight the guard." she said "This one nearly killed you, and you want to invite him him over to have lunch with them?!" she said, and I was grateful how she'd carefully worded that.
"Sure... I mean... we wanna know what they wanted to do here, right?" I said to her "tit for tat and all that. Besides!" I beamed at Torch! "I wanna grind my Cookery skill!" Gelidia bobbed her head to the side.
"Well... I mean..." she made a damn good impression of a sigh, even though she did not breathe anymore, puffing out her cheeks. "... Fine, but I'm watching them. " She said. I nodded to her.
"Very fair! Very fair." I said, and looked back to Torch.
He looked at me.
I smiled at him!
"I'll ask Roxala, she might actually... go for that, but I don't wanna put words in her mouth. Can you meet me at the north gate in half an hour?" he said, and I nodded at him, and turned my back quite deliberately on him, starting to march towards the town. I watched him in my mind's eye as he hesitated for a moment... then turned as well, and walked back in the direction of the campfire. I had no idea where exactly it was, just its vague direction - towards the great-tree. Couldn't be that far at all! I felt sure it was closer than the tree, their little campsite.
By the time I got back, the fat was rendered completely. I just had to scrape some tasty bits off the top and as I chewed on them, I cleaned the veggies and sage leaves. Most of the sage went into the oil, and I started the process of infusing the... tallow? with sage oil, frying them on as low and slow a heat as I possibly could - the goal wasn't to cook the leaves, but to get their oils into the fat. By now, the bones were blanched and I set them to baking alongside the drying meat. The Lye was cooking down, and needed scraping. Very, very carefully, I started to do so - not much liquid was actually left, it was more or less... crystallized at this point. As I worked it, the last of it seemed to dry and I was left with a nasty, chemical-smelling... stuff. I inspected it.
> Lye, Common, Good quality. Created by Emily Smith. A common corrosive household cleaning agent made from hardwood ashes.
Awesome! I had lye! And the scent of sage was suffusing the room! I scraped the lye crystals into a mug, and used the other boob of the bra I'd used to store glue to cap it off with some twine cord. This one, I smeared with green from a sage leaf all over the top so I would NOT MISTAKE THE TWO. Then, I got up and made my way towards the gate.
The three were there, sitting outside at their ease. They had their things, and looked uncertain, but there stood Roxala, in front, arms crossed as I approached. In human form, I could appreciate how much bigger than me she was. I smiled at the orcish woman, her nearly black skin glinting green with sweat, her dark eyes hard as they glared at me suspiciously. I'd tied my blouse up so it wasn't so loose again, and done my best to clean it a bit, but it was still dirty. She took it all in, from my bare feet to my intricately braided hair, and nodded at me.
I returned it with a cheerful, nervous smile. She looked so cool... so confident! And her skin was so green! Like the sage leaves! She stood a whole head and shoulders taller than me, and had to outweigh me by eighty pounds, at least!
"My name is Emily!" I said, and offered her my hand. A first friendly gesture. She considered it... then wrapped her huge palm around mine in a firm grip. It was huge, and tight, but not uncomfortably so. We shook for a moment, and her brow furrowed, but she let go. Had she tried to crush my hand? Some kind of social gauge or power play? My Wolf was smug in my breast. I realized... that was exactly what had happened.
I hadn't even noticed.
"... I am Roxala, shieldmaiden of Rucksberg. You've met Torch, our scout. This is the wizard Felorikaan, our sage. You are... truly the beast Goldtail?" as if she didn't believe it, but I nodded easily. She clearly hadn't really expected me to admit to that. "... You're... not shy about that. Okay." she seemed to bounce back easily. "I was told you wanted to talk?" the big woman said, and I got the impression she didn't smile or use many tones aside from 'gruff'. She sounded like she could turn 'Good morning' into something that sounded like distant thunder! Her voice made my ears tickle.
"And grind her cookery skill!" Torch supplied, and the wizard Fel chuckled as Roxala glared back at him.
"Yes! It isn't much, but won't you join me in the inn?" I said "I'm working on making soap, and currently cooking our lunch up as we speak."
Roxala nodded, and glanced back at her companions.
"Very well... let's do this properly. We three of Wayfinder's guild do solemnly swear to behave as guests, on our honor, if you will extend Guestright unto us in turn, and swear to behave as our hostess." Roxala growled, glaring at me with naked suspicion. I blinked at her stupidly until Gelidia spoke for me.
"We agree." Gelidia said from beside me, and Roxala's brow met like two furry caterpillars on her head as she tensed. "I, Gelidia Windbinder, lady of this town, swear to behave as a host might." Then, she turned to me. "You say the same - swear in your name, and the Wolf's name." I had to think about that. I conferred with my Wolf - seemed only right!
GUEST? HOST?
They mean they won't hurt us if we won't hurt them. We're promising to be kind to each other.
THIS IS GOOD.
I felt a tingle inside me, a bit of approval? A good feeling just the same. My wolf... was happy with my consulting her about this, not just... swearing for her, despite her being... well, me.
Of course I'd ask you! We're a team.
That made her, me, even happier.
TEAM, YES!
After that hesitation, I nodded and stood straight. "I, Emily Smith, Goldtail Twice-Cursed, Hound of Lambstock, swear to behave as a host might." And that got their attention. As I'd spoken, named myself in full, they'd tensed enormously. I'd admitted I was the beast before but I got the impression this was more serious an admission. It was no joke, not some comment that could be misconstrued. Roxala glanced at the Wizard of the group, and he held up a blue-glowing hand for a moment, before nodding.
"Genuine." he confirmed, and the three of them relaxed. Like, alot. But not completely - especially the Armiger.
"Right this way!" and I motioned them to follow me, a little bounce in my step! Despite everything, I felt excited! For one thing, these were potential friends! Sure we'd gotten off on the wrong foot, but that was quickly wandering out the door! I could try cooking for a group of people instead of just myself, too! Ooh! And I'd get to talk to them about their classes! I had soooo many questions! In my mind's eye, I could see the three hesitate and confer together.
"Eyes open." Roxala said. "Be on your guard. Honor is only as good as the people who possess it." I couldn't blame them.
"Windbinder... is an old name. I wonder if this... Gelidia is of the windbinder Dynasty? If so, we may trust her word at least. And I sensed no obfuscation from Emily. Also - I am resonably certain she will be able to still hear us." he said, somewhat reproachfully.
"Good." Roxala growled gruffly "Then she knows where I stand."
Oh yeah. She'd be a tough nut to crack.