Avanden Erhryst, the master chef of Rirem, plated Medrin Cup before the group of dignitaries, a total of five servings. They were visiting, taking a detour on their way back, after the conclusion of the recent summit in Alhandek, the capital of the Alhaidek Empire.
"Master Avanden, you've certainly made this trip worth it. Your food is every bit worth the insufferable bureaucracy the past week!" exclaimed a pudgy man as Avanden put a portion before him. Takart of Insor, he'd introduced himself as.
"Right, if there was food this good I could listen to those Brabas oafs every single day," said Haver with a laugh. He was from Invek—like Insor—an allied nation of Alhaidek. He'd been a guest here previously on multiple occasions.
Avanden smiled, he knew the man well by now. He was frank and talked without reservations. But he knew better than to think he understood him completely—a man who'd held his position for the better part of a decade. A politician didn't last that long in office without knowing some subterfuge.
The other guests also said words of praise as he served them all. He passed the carrying tray to a waitress by his side, pulling his cuffs to adjust his sleeves. With a reserved smile, he fingered the cuff link, lingering until they started tasting the dish.
Another burst of praise followed, and he took it with mild modesty. He pinched the cuff link, it was from Eldar's Savorian Terrace, awarded for preparing a dish with a Great Beast from the Sea of Wronged. One had to catch and prepare the beast himself to be eligible for the award, and he'd done it on three different occasions.
He wore a stiff shirt, amber in color, made from baleen of the Great Beast he'd caught. He had three pairs, one from each he'd caught.
There were footsteps from the side corridor. The mist of Limbo carpeting the floor billowed with the door opening, and Wosel poked his head in from the main door to the room, gesturing with his eyes. "I should go prepare the last dish for tonight's course, if there is anything else Oviena here will take care of it." Avanden said, making his way to the service door on the side.
He waited by the entrance to the chef's kitchen, Wosel got there a minute later.
Wosel came close, whispering in his ear, "Sir, there's been notice that people from Alhandek will be arriving in about a few hours."
"Did they mention the purpose of their visit, should I prep ingredients?"
Wosel hesitated. "Um… I don't think they're coming to the restaurant. The letter mentions Master Shore. They asked to meet at your manor."
"Why are they looking for my master? He's out to meet his old friends, he met a mortal the other day." Avanden remembered his master talking about this.
Mortal traversing to the Realm between Crossings was an unusual sight, but not wholly rare. It had happened in the past. It was also how his master got his honorary name, bestowed upon him by the grandmaster when he was alive. Taken from the words spoken by one such mortal.
Wosel shrugged. Avanden motioned for him to take his leave, entering the kitchen. He would be tight on time, but if he took the Crossroad he'd be there with time to spare. In no hurry, he ordered the sous, and attendants to start preparing the fillet of Liret.
In about twenty minutes he emerged again with a trolley of dishes, pushed by his sous-chef. The dignitaries were discussing a Rotier dish. From what Avanden knew, it was a brainchild of Master Pig-Me-out. That stick of an arrogant man.
With the service door to the room opening, the conversation abated, all looking towards Avandek, anticipation written all over their expressions.
"The final dish is a mainstay developed by my master, hope it's up to your esteemed self's palate." Avanden introduced the dish briefly before plating it.
"A dish from Master Shore cooked by his disciple? Just hearing about it satisfies my palate," chuckled Haver. The others also laughed.
"Speaking of dishes cooked by Master Avanden, I'm still brooding over not being able to attend the last serving of the Great Beast. Those elitists from Eldar, with noses pointing at the sky, made it difficult for us to reserve seats." A thin man said with a thick, nasally, Krdich accent
"I'm sure you'll get a chance in the future," smiled Haver, "he's done it thrice already, if he can prepare it once more, it'll be more than any chef has ever done."
All the talk about the Great Beast made Avanden remember the glutton, he'd found on his first Great Beast catch. It'd been with him ever since, but strangely was missing since a few months ago. It did like to go hunt for beasts in the nearby forest of Solitude, and river of Wailings that entered the Sea of Wronged.
Haver looked at Avanden. "Are there plans for such a feast?"
"Not currently. The last few times were already exacting, it was lots of effort to get the permit from Drahan." The guests looked disappointed. "Gentlemen, I have some urgent business to attend to. I was looking forward to the chat after lunch. Alas, I have to step out and ask for your understanding. Oviena will take care of the rest of the arrangements." He excused himself.
***
Avanden stepped out of a grey vortex of Limbo, arriving atop a platform in one of the side halls in his manor. He'd gotten a slab of Oblivion Obsidian delivered to his house, from when the restaurant was furnished, to craft a door of Limbo. The leftover was cut into off-white tiles, which now covered his bedroom floor.
The stone inherently released a mist of limbo. Which allowed for the use of Crossroads, intersections between the spirit and material in the Realm between Crossings.
The Crossroads could, sometimes, attract the spirits of living people, who found themselves at the crossroads of life and death. That was where the name came from, in the ancient past.
The Realm between Crossings was also referred to as Spirit World by the humans. Although, for them as natives, this was just the Realm between the Crossings. Nothing more. A pit stop for spirits before moving on to the world of the divine. Of the gods.
Avanden opened the door to the hallway, Yrow, his pet spirit hound jumped on him, excited. Yrow was most sensitive to the movements inside the manor. Especially the mist of limbo. He liked sleeping on the floor of Avanden's bed-chamber.
"Ah, master Av, I expected you'd return with the use of the Platform. The guests will be here in an hour, I presume." An aged voice came from down the hallway, Old Friem came into view after. He looked spent, probably following the hound to arrive here in a hurry.
"That'd be best, I need to freshen up and change into a different attire."
"I've ordered the maids to draw a bath," Old Friem said. Moving forward, he helped Avanden remove the long coat he was wearing. "Leave the clothes on the basket in your room, I'll order someone to collect them and send them to get washed together with the coat."
Avanden grunted in agreement. His feet, intimately familiar with the manor, carried him to his chamber in no time, Yrow following behind. As he opened the door to his bedroom, Yrow leaped into the room, agitating the mist, snapping its maw at it. It rolled around the bedroom floor.
Avanden smiled, he sat on the edge of his bed. Stretching his hands above his head, he loosened his back, falling onto the bed. He sighed, feeling comfortable.
He was getting a little drowsy, but he roused himself off the bed, not forgetting what he was back home early for.
***
It was half an hour after his hour-long bath and getting dressed that the guests arrived. It was an entourage of three individuals. He recognized one of them, Master Pig-Me-Out. Why was he here?
The other two, he was unfamiliar with. But from their attire, he could guess they were from Eldar's Savorian Terrace. Their collars had the insignia of the Terrace. A fork and knife crossed over three images. Two beasts, one plant. All exotic.
Avaden's cuff links from the Terrace had a similar insignia, with only the image of a Great Beast on it. He noticed, Master Pig-Me-Out, was wearing the very same cuff links.
Master Pig-Me-Out nodded a greeting. "Lad, it's been a while. Where is Avlev? There is something these gentlemen wished to discuss with your master," he said with a tone of an elder. "It's business from the Terrace." He seemed impatient. He'd never liked the fact Avaden, despite having fewer years in culinary arts, had caught and prepared the Great Beast more times than him.
The two from the Terrace nodded, inquiring about Avaden's master, Master Shore.
"Master has gone out to meet some old friends, he mentioned a mortal man chancing upon the restaurant a few days ago." Avaden explained patiently. "Why don't you guys come in and have a seat? You can discuss the matter with me, I'll pass it on to master when he returns." He gestured for them to follow, leading the way inside his manor.
"A mortal?" Master Pig-Me-Out exclaimed, the other two looked interested too.
"Did your master discuss the encounter?" One of the two unfamiliar—dark-skinned and long-faced—fellow asked, voice deep and gravelly. "I'm Mithal, a two leaves chef, my companion is the same. His name is Orlev." Orlev nodded.
"He only mentioned that he encountered a mortal, he hasn't shared more with me. Perhaps when he returns, he'll say more."
"Did he say if he conversed with the mortal?" Master Pig-Me-Out seemed very interested in the topic. It was always great even to meet a mortal. The exotic sounds they brought were even used as honorary names, like the names of his master, Shore, and Master Pig-Me-Out.
"I'm afraid he hasn't shared that with me." He hid his master's mention of giving him an honorary name from his conversation with the mortal. It was not his place to discuss his master's encounter.
They arrived at the spacious hall that served as an area meant to receive guests. He gestured for the others to take a seat on the long sofa. He sat by a single couch, adjacent to the others.
"Right, what brings you gentlemen here? You can say your business to me, I'll make sure to pass it on master." Avanden inquired.
"It's somewhat of an urgent matter. Some of our people near the borders to Drahan mentioned seeing a Great Beast traveling up the River of Wailings. We'd like to employ your master's service to capture the beast before the military gets involved and destroys it. It'd be a waste of nature's treasure." The dark-skinned chef from Terrace spoke. Avaden noticed the other was a man of few words, the whole conversation he'd said nothing, only grunting or gesturing with his head.
"A Great Beast traveling up the River of Wailings? Don't they always stay in the Sea of Wronged, why would one travel up a river?"
"We're unaware of the reasons too, who knows how the damned beast thinks, only a select few have ever understood some of their peculiarities to capture them. Like me, or your master." Master Pig-Me-Out said, avoiding mentioning Avaden, despite his presence.
"Like your esteemed self too, Master Avaden," said the only man who talked from Terrace. Master Pig-Me-Out shot a quick, irritated glance at the man, but said nothing.
"If the matter needs immediate action I am willing to lend a hand in my master's stead. It would be me taking action in my capacity, I wonder if that is acceptable?"
"It would be better than nothing, although it's regretful that Master Shore isn't available, the Beast has already been traveling up the river for the past three days, if we delay it'll reach the city of Caelens in a few days at most. Then it's inevitable those military brutes will destroy it." The man from Terrace replied, reaching out a hand.
Avanden shook the man's hand. "Then I'm more than willing to help. When and where are you planning to intercept it?"
"Master Pig-Me-Out has surveyed the Beast's route, there's a bulge in the river a few kilometers out of Caelens city, we'll set up there. We've already sent some tools via Crossroad, the bigger equipment is being shipped as we speak. We can set out whenever it's convenient for you."
"I'll have to inform the staff in the restaurant. It just so happens that there are friends interested in a dish made from the Beast, it can be said to be a fortunate coincidence for them," Avaden laughed. "Maybe they will get a chance to taste it, after all."
Master Pig-Me-Out looked uncomfortable when he said this. The trio left after discussing some finer points about the operation.
Avaden returned to his bed-chamber, taking off the constricting clothes he laid on his bed. He kicked his shoes off, they disappeared into the mist of Limbo that twisted and curled on the floor of his room.
He dipped his naked feet into the mist, feeling comfortable all over. The mist had that effect on him, no matter how stressed his day was, once he got to feel the mist, it all melted away.
He stretched, glancing sideways at his bookshelf, there was a conspicuously empty spot there. He, uncertainly, remembered having a cookbook there, with a ritual recipe used to attract a Great Beast he'd devised from his previous three experiences. He must've put it somewhere else, he'd search for it sometime later.
The soft, curling mist caressed his feet, feeling a little ticklish. It was cool, and crisp to the touch. He dozed off as he looked forward to the upcoming hunt.