"And there we are. One box of the Caneberry Cakes, as per usual Mr. Winters. I do hope your wife enjoys them."
The Loaf Oaf was a small bakery Matt had found one day by accident on one of his strolls through Venindale to familiarize himself with his new home city. The heavenly scent and aroma that came from the bakery that day had caught him like a fishing hook and reeled him in. There was only a small hanging sign outfront that denoted the place of business but Matt found out that despite its lack of advertising and small structure, the Loaf Oaf had its fair share of regulars Matt had come to recognize, and he had become one of them.
The owner of the Oaf, as the regulars lovingly dubbed it, was a large Nornsman like Matt who seemed to dwarf everything else in the bakery, including most of his customers. Orest Runolfsson was almost the spitting image of what Matt thought the Nordic God Thor might have looked like. He was extremely tall and rugged with bulging muscle mass, much like Matt, but he had blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. His beard was longer than Matt's though and had been braided in several places. The giant Nornsman looked just as out of place in Venindale as Matt was, and it was perhaps for that reason that the two somehow seemed to quickly get along compared to the last true Nornsman Matt had met.
"Thanks" Matt replied in short as he picked up the small white box from the counter after handing Orest the appropriate five gold pieces.
"Anytime. Any big plans for the day?" Orest asked from the other side of the counter.
"Just some more exploring today. Believe we are headed over to the Southern district if I recall correctly. Got any places in that direction you recommend I stop by?" Matt asked
"Hmm, the Southern district huh? Well actually now that I'm thinking about it, there's a nice little shop there that sells flowers down by the river. They sell all sorts of exotic flowers there, even the Frost Lilies from back home. Did those grow around where you came from?" Orest asked as he took a small break from his work with the conversation and leaned back on the flour covered counter behind him.
"Afraid not. But I would love to see something that reminds me of home. Maybe I can find something there for the wife as well' Matt replied with a slight chuckle.
"Good man. Ladies love flowers, or at least I know my wife does" Orest laughed.
"You're right there" Matt laughed along with him "Though speaking of which, where is Kat this morning?"
Matt had met Kat, or Katalina, the last time he visited the bakery. They'd only met for a brief moment in passing when Matt had been heading out the door but Matt could tell she was just as feisty as his own wife could be.
"She's out shopping with our son. He got accepted into Caster Academy if you can believe it. So their off getting him supplies and such for the start of classes next semester" Orest replied
"Caster, that's the really big magic academy on this plane right?" Matt asked
"Sure is" Orest replied, clearly with a bit of pride in his voice for his son
"Then congrats to him and your family then" Matt smiled
"Thank you brother. Odin smiles favorably upon us. And hopefully to you too, with your wedding in the next few days and all. Are you nervous?" the Nornsman chuckled
"I'm marrying the infamous Matriarch of Venindale. I'm as cool as ice" Matt retorted with his own laughter as he began to head towards the door.
"Haha, right! Well we will see how cool you are at the wedding! Odin's blessing upon you brother!" Orest called after Matt as he waved to him
"And to you" Matt replied as he shut the door behind him and stepped forward into the warm light of the morning sun's rays.
Standing out in the street, nearby the entrance to the Loaf Oaf, was Matt's own small entourage. Three different beings had been waiting for him while he had been in the shop and had made their way over to him when he exited. First, there was Flow, the ever excitable Water Genasi that Matt had begun calling a Monk of sorts by her preferred fighting style resembling that of a brawling character from popular games back home. Then there was Z, the also excitable but eager to learn Faun who was by every right an Artificer in Matt's book by the way he loved to tinker and make forge gadgets. Then lastly, there was the member of the group that had honestly surprised Matt when he had begun joining Matt on his little excursions into the city. Pyre, the Fire Genasi Halberd wielder who carried his weapon around like a child did with his favorite toy and who brought it around with him everywhere he went. The Fighter never said much on their little outings if anything at all, but he was always there and seemingly watching whatever Matt and the others found themselves up to that day.
Akira had to stay behind back at the Manor, forced to catch up on the work she had missed out on by her other advisors while she was gone. She seemed to hate the fact that she couldn't join her husband on his explorations so he had gotten into the habit of bringing her small gifts like the sweet treats back for her each time he went out.
Flow and Z were quick to join Matt as he stood out front of the Loaf Oaf and opened the box with the sweet delights inside. Pyre on the other hand took his time to walk over towards the others and still stood a few feet away when Matt handed the other two each one of the desserts.
"Thank you Boss!" Flow exclaimed before she proceeded to almost eat the entire dessert in one bite.
"Yeah! Thanks Chief!' Z also said loudly before he began to eat his treat in a much more controlled manner.
Matt couldn't help but chuckle a little at their antics before he stepped past them both and held another one of the desserts out towards Pyre.
"Come on, you have to at least try it once" Matt smiled
Pyre looked up at Matt before down at the cookie like dessert in his hand. He stared at it for a few moments. He seemed a bit reluctant at first, but Pyre reached into Matt's hand and took the dessert before taking a small bite.
"Thanks" was all he said as he looked away, still chewing on the dessert.
Matt assumed that was the most of a reaction he was going to get from the otherwise stoic Pyre and took it as a win as he pulled out one more dessert for himself before storing the rest away in his bracer for Akira. The dessert was the closest thing Matt had seen so far in this world to a raspberry thumbprint cookie. The dough was soft and flaky with a hint of lemon in it while the raspberry-like jelly in the middle called caneberry was slightly more sweet then its Earthen counterpart. It was absolutely delicious though and Matt couldn't help but take a page out of Flow's book as he nearly ate the entire cookie in one bite.
"So where are we off to now Chief?" Z asked as Matt turned and saw him whipping his mouth with his sleeve.
"The Southern district. There's a flower shop there I'd like to go to and pick something up for Akira" Matt replied.
"I nuh ai ah ith!" Flow said excitedly around a mouthful of the cookie.
"Please swallow what's in your mouth before you speak Flow" Z chided her
Their small group had gotten pretty comfortable with each other on their small outings. At first, Z had been far too nervous and polite to say anything past a simple reply whenever he was addressed. Something had changed in the past week in half and now he seemed much more outgoing. Clearly he felt even comfortable enough to reprimand one of Akira's advisors for acting too childish even though he was the youngest amongst them all. Flow was… Flow. She was like an excitable puppy that could and would tear your throat out like a wolf if you dared cross her path. Matt had had too real her back a few times now though lately she seemed to be a bit more under control ever since Pyre joined the group. As for Pyre… well he at least walked only a few feet behind the group now instead of seemingly stocking the others from afar. Matt was still wondering why the Halberd user had apparently decided to join them in the first place, but he wasn't going to ask.
It was a beautiful day in Venindale and the sun gently bathed everything in its warm embrace as the four made their way through the streets of the Southern district. A few hours had since passed since they'd left the Loaf Oaf and Matt had already purchased a beautiful bouquet of flowers from the shop that Orest had recommended. Matt was told that most of the flowers in the bouquet were native to the main plane of Tytaura and were a bit more expansive due to the fact that they grew in the northern mountains of that plane. The pricing really wasn't an object for Matt but it had been that so many of the other flowers seemed so foreign to him in the shop that it just so happened that the most expensive one looked the more familiar. Z looked skeptical at the price of the purchase but he ultimately didn't say anything when Matt paid nearly a thousand gold pieces for the flowers. Instead he only sighed when Matt handed over the coin and placed the flowers away inside his bracers.
"Chief, I don't mean to be rude but… you definitely got bamboozled back there" Z said as the group was walking down the street together.
"Yeah. I thought that may have been the case too, but think of it this way. Maybe in the future she'll feel bad for scamming me and give me a better discount" Matt chuckled.
"Hah, I hope you don't believe that to be true there Chief" Z replied with a nervous chuckle
"Time will tell young padawan. Time will tell" Matt said, holding his chin up high.
"Pada… what now?" Z asked confused
"Don't worry about it" Matt sighed as he slumped his shoulder forward a bit.
Matt knew there was no way the kid could have ever seen one of the greatest cinematic masterpieces of all time before, but it still hurt a little for him to know that there was no one around to get his references.
"Anyways Chief, do you mind if we make a small detour? There's a place not to far from here I really wanna-"
Z was suddenly cut off when he collided with someone walking in the opposite direction from him and was knocked flat on his ass.
"Ow! Shit that hurts. Oh I-I'm so sorry!" Z said as he quickly rose to his feet.
Matt stood nearby ready to help if need be as he looked at the situation unfold. The other party had fallen flat on their face on the ground and was now rising to their knees as Z was holding out a helping hand towards them. The other individual was shorter and fully robbed from head to toe in a dark yet fine looking cloak with a hood that was pulled up over their head that had somehow managed to stay on the entire time. Matt wasn't sure which of them had actually run into the other or if it had just been a case of neither really paying attention as a hand reached out from under the cloak and began reaching for Z's hand.
"No no, it's alright. I wasn't paying enough attention so it's my fault" came a voice from behind the hood that Matt felt like he was all too familiar with.
His brow furrowed slightly as he continued to watch the interaction with a bit more attention as he watched the gloved hand take a hold of Z's.
"You really oughta be more careful Zeezee," Flow chided as she took the opportunity to get a little revenge for always being the one to get in trouble.
"Oh hush" Z replied, rolling his eyes as he struggled to lift the hooded individual to their feet a little.
"Seems like you pretty close friends" the hooded figure said as they finally came to their feet.
"Huh? Y-yeah I guess so" Z replied as he gently rubbed the back of his neck but sounding a bit confused
"Good to see you've surrounded yourself with some decent folk for a change Matty" the hooded figure said as they turned their head just enough for Matt to see their face.
His eyes went wide. She had a wide, almost impossibly large grin that looked to be lined with razor sharp teeth like that of a carnivorous predator. Her sun kissed tan skin looked perfectly smooth and almost completely flawless. Strands of ash colored hair poked out from underneath the hood and partially covered the large yellow eyes that stared over at him with an amused expression. Matt felt his heart stop for a moment.
"Gotta say big guy, I'm honestly pretty pissed off that you're here. I'm practically having to hold back every fiber of my being just to not kick your ass right here and now. What are you doing here?" the woman added, still smiling but sounding quite upset.
"Hey runt" said Flow in a low growl as she stepped forward "How dare you talk to the Boss like that? You got a death wish or something"
Flow began to approach the shorter woman while loudly cracking her knuckles, a look of pure murder on her face. The other woman didn't even seem bothered by Flow's display of aggression as she continued to smile her wicked grin and stare at Matt. Flow was only a few feet away from the other woman and was looking more and more annoyed by the moment as the other woman paid her no attention, when Matt suddenly called for her to stop.
"Flow, stop. That's a fight you'd lose for sure" Matt said before he looked back at the shorter woman again "As for you. What in the absolute fuck… are you doing here?"
"Funny, I believe that I asked you that first, Matty." the woman replied.
There was a moment of silence before Z, who had stepped off to the side until now and was watching the exchange, spoke up.
"C-Chief? Who is this woman? Do you know her?"
Matt didn't reply at first but kept his eyes locked with the smiling woman for a few moments. When it was clear she was going to let him be the one to answer, he let his shoulders drop slightly and let out an exasperated sigh.
"Yeah I know her." he replied "Her name's Rem, and she's my former teammate."