>>3372883
Archive: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Fantasy%20Restaurateur%20Quest

Sorry again for the late start. It'll take some time to get back into old rhythm. Bear with me.

>>3372883
>>Better to meeting hall, the more people, the greater your chance of actually striking a deal

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>>3372883
>Better to meeting hall, the more people, the greater your chance of actually striking a deal

>>3372883
Hmm… head farmers are unlikely to give us time of day given our present standing.
In meeting hall we're probably most likely to be able to strike an ad hoc deal. Surely we're not showing up there with our new minion, or if we are, we had him bathed and in some sort of at least non stinking clothes? In meeting hall we're likely to be making first impressions on a lot of people…

The less prominent farmers seem promising in terms of potentially becoming long term suppliers for us, although if their produce is for whatever reason inferior or supply irregular, we might be facing a separate set of challenges.

>>3372991
Badgers is only there to keep the carriage warm. He won't be joining you in negotiations. Not that the farmers would know his face anyway, being somewhat disconnected from the town proper.

>>3372883
>>To the house of one of the less prominent farmers, one with his crops unsold, you'll know him when you see him

>>3372906
>>3372943
>>3372991

"The meeting place I think." It's unlikely that the head honchos will even give you the time of day. They're mired in their own troubles and you'll have better luck striking an ad hoc kind of deal.

"Did the medicine help?" You ask the boy.

"A little."

So it is that kind of disease. Pitfalls of the profession, you suppose.

The cuckoo carriage draws close to a long flat structure made of stacked wooden logs, like a lone matchbox in the middle of some great marble floor.

"Stay in the carriage, makes sure the driver doesn't try to leave. I don't expect we'll find another ride home if he does."

The boy nods and leans back in the seat, rolling his hat over and over in his hands. You exit through one of the side-doors. The driver too has dismounted from the front and unclasps his giant flightless bird from its harness and leads him to a small well in front of the hall.

"A minute then, mister? Or how long I'll be waiting?"

"Till the end of the meeting perhaps. You'll be paid in full, so don't worry."

"Aye, as ye say."

The day was chosen strategically, to come into the farms when they convene for one of their bi-monthly talks. Here most, if not all, the farmers and some of their wives and sons, have gathered to talk of bean sprouts and blood potatoes. And you hope, of trade.

Inside the hall, there is a stage and before the stage a row of benches like in a church. There are men on the stages dressed in garb different from the usual farmer fare. Red shirts and stockings and buckled shoes; felt hats with feathers. The meeting begins with an address from the "committee" which amounts to little more than an airing of grievances. Requests for aid for one thing or another, to pitch a wall or tend a hand with the harvest of a bigger man's farm. Among them, there is a man who seems even more out of place than yourself. Dressed far beyond even the farmer's best wears, a full suit, top hat and jeweled cane pulsating with the faint colors of magic.

"And now Mr. Queen from the Santos Trading Company. He's going to talk to us today about maybe changing our seeds and things. Give your attention to him now if you please."

So the suit takes the stage, sniffing as through suffering an allergic reaction to the crowd. "Gentleman." Then follows a full ten second pause until the silence is so immense that you even begin to hold your breath. "I have come from a great distance and at not small cost, on a matter of irresistible opportunity, honor, nay privilege, for indeed it is my privilege to stand among you all, salt of this earth, born bearers of our civilization, and shoulder-pushers to the wheel--to extend a hand from Santos Trading." And here he really does extend a hand, as if to handshake a ghost. "An alliance if you will." Another pause. Someone coughs. Mr. Queen, small beady eyes like a bulldog beneath his rolls of fat, rounds on the eyes of the crowd as though slotting each face into a pigeonhole.

1/2

>>3373416
"My name is John Queen. I am a representative of our company's agricultural magics division. Gentleman, I sell insurance. I am here to insure you against the so called vicissitudes of fate. Against pestilence and plague. Against storm and flood. In a word, security. Peace of mind. How?" He reaches into his pocket and gently streams what looks like colored sand onto the podium. "We call this Agent Blue. It kills rodents, cutworms, western roaches, Malkovian short-legged thirps, brown caterpillars, and even cuttermites. The smell irritates birds and squirrels and it is harmless as fresh spring water to men and myr alike." From his other pocket he now takes out a handful of seeds and likewise pours them on the podium. "These are what we call, blue-ready seeds. Magically and meticulously enchanted by our magisters to improve crop yield, resistance to heat and wind and cold, and not only work with but thrive in the presence of Agent Blue. These are new magics, hardly a year out of development. We would like Oldstone and you the farmers of this great land, to be the first to try it out. In the field, if you like." Some slight laughter through the crowd, more nervous than anything else.

A man raises his hand in the crowd. "What's the cost?" He says. Others around you nod their heads.

"Nothing." Says the man. This sets of a wave of excited murmurs which Mr. Queen silences with a stamp of his jeweled cane. "It is offered gratis for being the first testers of these product. And although the higher powers that be in Santos will scold me severely, I will see that everyone of you that cooperates, gets a discount for our products in the future."

Whatever else was left on the agenda is now forgotten as roves of farmers move toward the stage to speak with Mr. Queen. Though not all. Those who remain behind have seen more years and are hesitate of change. Now is the time to make some deals of your own, you suppose.

>Speak to one of the older farmers, the ones that aren't crowding Mr. Queen
>Speak to one of the farmers signing on Mr. Queen, a wet rope is easier to twist.
>Wait until the excitement passes before making a move

>>3373422
>>Speak to one of the older farmers, the ones that aren't crowding Mr. Queen

>>3373422
Hmm… magical GMOs promise higher yields and so lower costs and maybe higher quality. But it's fucking magic so we can be reasonably sure some side effects are going to be expected.

Maybe we could keep separate stock of magical inflated crops and old-fashioned organic stock for premium dishes?

Right now it feels like a decision between risky early adoption and tested old methods.

I'm inclined to approach the older farmers for now.

>>3373422
>Speak to one of the older farmers, the ones that aren't crowding Mr. Queen
Their heads are better kept on their shoulders, that and if something goes bad with the crops by the farmers who signed on with Mr. Queen then we won't get screwed over.

>>3373422
>Speak to one of the older farmers, the ones that aren't crowding Mr. Queen
We are seeking to establish ourselves early. Gambling on the testing of a magic blue fertilizer/DDT combo is unwise at present. Better to stick to what works until we gain rep and build our coffers enough that experimentation is viable as a side venture.

>>3373422
>Speak to one of the older farmers, the ones that aren't crowding Mr. Queen

>>3373422
> Speak to one of the older farmers, the ones that aren't crowding Mr. Queen

>>3373436
>>3373444
>>3373445
>>3373530

While there is safety in numbers and by far most of the farmers are with Mr. Queen, you stand with the old guard. A new business venture is risky enough without putting your money into untested waters.

The man next to you, a farmer with skin in such a sag that it seems it will melt off his face any second, slaps your shoulder and leans in. "You believe this kathrash?" A word which has no direct translation out of the vulgar elvish (well deserved of its title in this case) but might mean something like "rotten food stuck in one's teeth", that is to say, hideous lies. The man continues, "I've seen these suit types before, and I'll tell you, the more they promise, the more they take in the end. They'll be on their knees till the end of time, sucking his (here he grabs his crotch in a vulgar gesture rather than complete the thought)."

"I'm Gaston." You say, taking his hand (his other hand) in a firm clasp.

"Tellerbam, most call me Tully." He squints his eyes, one of them rolls independent of the other giving a him a crazed yet somehow focused look. "You're not a farmer."

"No sir."

"Ain't no sir here, but that one." He says, nodding at Mr. Queen. "Just Tully."

"Tullly then. I'm a cook. I've just opened a restaurant in town."

"Cook? Ain't that women's work? Young man like you should be doing something little more (here he grabs his crotch again as a point of emphasis)."

"It's a trade, like any other. I came here to see about setting up a supply for inventory."

"Eh?"

"I want to buy your crops. For the restaurant. Directly."

That changes his tone to one more serious, his lazy eye even swivels properly to match the gaze of the other. "Why didn't you say so? You're a merchant?"

"No. A cook."

"Right, right. Well how much you want?"

A little blunt but you spend the next ten minutes discussing the man's diversity and store of crops. A few other of the older farmers overhear the negotiations and decide to join in. At the end of it you shake hands with four different farmers over four different offers in addition to Tully's, not committing fully to any one of them just yet. It's quite clear that they are not giving you the best price that they can, but that's to be expected for a newcomer.

Choose one:

>Tully: He offers a diverse array of vegetables and fruit for a flat sovereign a week. However much you can carry and store in your own stock.
>Freid Brothers: A silver per 3 servings* of vegetables, but they also run a cuckoo farm and offer a serving of cuckoo meat per silver
>Delaney's: Mostly grains and hard root vegetables, but one of the bigger farms in the land and therefore much lower prices, just a quarter-silver for a 5 servings

*serving: the abstract unit of food measure in this quest. Every recipe is composed of a certain number of servings from several categories of food (Panty, Seafood, Meats, Poultry, Vegetables/Fruits, Exotic) which are used up as you sell meals

>>3373667
On the one hand, we're probably not going to get a ton of business early on so paying per serving is better. On the other hand, if we're paying a flat rate to Tully for as much as we can carry we'll at worst have plenty of food for our slimy moocher.

For now, I think I'd prefer
> Freid Brothers: A silver per 3 servings* of vegetables, but they also run a cuckoo farm and offer a serving of cuckoo meat per silver

>>3373667
>Tully: He offers a diverse array of vegetables and fruit for a flat sovereign a week. However much you can carry and store in your own stock.

Honestly with as much we can carry fruit and veg we can start experimenting with things like pickles and preserves in the future.

Plus this lets us prepare both savory (veg) and sweet (fruit) dishes, to increase the inns flavour profile.

Also yeah we also have a guard mold to feed and keep friendly.

>>3373730
We should set up some regular schedule for the mold kitty before it goes out of control. Something like its expected to keep some areas clean and in return it gets daily leftovers and weekly dedicated meal.

>>3373667
>>Delaney's: Mostly grains and hard root vegetables, but one of the bigger farms in the land and therefore much lower prices, just a quarter-silver for a 5 servings

>>3373667
>Tully: He offers a diverse array of vegetables and fruit for a flat sovereign a week. However much you can carry and store in your own stock.
Construction is going to take time, and in that time we should focus on accumulating stock, fermenting, and experimenting for high value low time investment one-offs.

>>3373667
>Tully: He offers a diverse array of vegetables and fruit for a flat sovereign a week. However much you can carry and store in your own stock.
Fruit is the main draw there - sweet dishes in the future. Also grains we can source in the market proper without too much hassle.
let's improve our equipment and get some cold storage going before we start looking at meats. Or do meats after build our client base to a point where all meat products are guarenteed to be sold out same day.

>>3373667
>Tully: He offers a diverse array of vegetables and fruit for a flat sovereign a week. However much you can carry and store in your own stock.
Once we get bigger paying per servings is gonna sting.
More stock means more room to experiment.

>>3373667
>>Tully: He offers a diverse array of vegetables and fruit for a flat sovereign a week. However much you can carry and store in your own stock.

>>3373667
>Tully: He offers a diverse array of vegetables and fruit for a flat sovereign a week. However much you can carry and store in your own stock.
Quantity is necessary first at this stage.

>>3373730
>>3373763
>>3373774
>>3373795

In the end, you settle on Tully. His farm is one of the more modest ones but he seems starved for cash. An unlimited supply (within the constraints of your own stocks) of lulberries, crownsmith apples, blood potatoes, elf's ears, several species in the cruciferous family and several species of vegetable which you've never even heard of will provide an excellent base for experimentation and a soverign a week is a small price to pay for it. You expect one day to make that much per meal and that's only the floor of your ambitions.

You leave the hall with directions and a promise to visit Tully's farm. Badgers has predictably fallen asleep in the carriage and you let the lad rest until you return to the restaurant. Onul Stonefingers has already cleared out his crew by the time you return. He was here near the crack of dawn, red-eyed, staggering from a hangover, but as energetic as a rabbit in heat. He practically threw you out of your own home so he could begin construction. You had to brush your teeth outside on the road.

But, his work is of the highest quality. Not only has the kitchen oven been repaired, the brickwork reset and mortared, the plumbing system in the kitchen overhauled so that there is a working indoor sink, the cabinet doors replaced, an actual gas stove brought in (the kind that street vendors use in the city--but still) he's also put in a front door.

Your little apprentice takes charge of expressing the emotions you suppress for the sake of maintaining the masterly air of gravitas. He runs into the kitchen, wide-eyed, running his hands across the new-built stove and pipes that feed it gas from the basement.

You'll have to do something special to match the thrown gauntlet of the old dwarf. After a brief lunch (which the geline once again decides to join) you...

>Begin planning out some recipes for the dwarf's feast later this week
>Begin training the geline, it's time he made himself useful
>Continue training the boy
>Write-in

>>3373935
>>Begin planning out some recipes for the dwarf's feast later this week

>>3373935
>Begin planning out some recipes for the dwarf's feast later this week
>Continue training the boy
We can tackle the Geline after the planning's through.

>>3373935
this >>3373946
we need to secure the house's future, then secure the future of our establishment

>>3373946
Seconded

>>3373946
supporting

>>3373945
>>3373946

You have till the end of week for the dwarf's feast. With your inventory more or less secured and the kitchen something more than a bare cauldron over the fireplace, it's time to buckle down and figure out which recipes you'll use. The feast can serve as a trial run for the restaurants final menu.

To begin, your choice of ingredients are limited to the fish, clams and crustaceans the fisherman bring in to the market and your recently acquired contract for vegetables and fruit with Tully. You'll have to decide on the structure of the meal. Obviously extravagances such as the 21 course meals of the royal palace are out of your scope (for now) but a three or even five course meal is well within the realm of possibility.

Alternatively you could just serve everything family style, a la carte. A few choice dishes with some grains as the base. The standard in eastern cuisine.

And of course there's something to be said for simplicity. A single meal, brought to a perfection of balanced flavor. It may not satisfy the fabled dwarven deep stomach, but Food is more than food. The dwarf said he missed the cooking of his fortress home and if you know nothing else of dwarven cuisine, you know that it consists mostly of alcohol and roasted flesh.

>Go for several smaller courses, it's the standard in the royal kitchen, difficult but familiar
>Go for the family-style structure, a few hearty dishes on some grain-based background, noodles, rice, or fresh baked bread. Easy, simple and filling, but lacking an opportunity to show off your skill--for better or worse
>The good chef feeds the stomach but a great one, the soul. Make that singular, perfect dish, to nourish his heart and mind even as it test the limits of your abilities

>>3374403
>The good chef feeds the stomach but a great one, the soul. Make that singular, perfect dish, to nourish his heart and mind even as it test the limits of your abilities

Plating, palate, smell, temperature, measurements, there's more to cooking than just throwing everything together in one big pot. A great chef prepares food that exceeds the customer's expectations. Ask the dwarf for a recipe though, a name of a dish that he truly enjoys. The dwarf wants his hometown cooking, by God, we're going to give him his hometown cooking.

>>3374403
>>Go for several smaller courses, it's the standard in the royal kitchen, difficult but familiar

>>3374403
I want something inbetween royal and single. The inn already does take it or leave it meals, we should have a selection.

But i dont really want to focus on grains. All seafood, or all veg, AND hearty platters.

>>3374403
>>The good chef feeds the stomach but a great one, the soul. Make that singular, perfect dish, to nourish his heart and mind even as it test the limits of your abilities
Hear me out, lets use tofu

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>>3374611
>tofu
>for a dwarf

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>>3374619
He'll love it

>>3374403
this >>3374497
We need to EARN his mad respect

>>3374403
>>The good chef feeds the stomach but a great one, the soul. Make that singular, perfect dish, to nourish his heart and mind even as it test the limits of your abilities

I think I'm gonna have to continue this tomorrow. Luckily it's spring break right now so I can afford to spend some time and run a few more sessions through the week.

>>3374813
Nice. Have fun.

>>3374403
>The good chef feeds the stomach but a great one, the soul. Make that singular, perfect dish, to nourish his heart and mind even as it test the limits of your abilities

Hey guys, a thought for paying off the dwarf, instead of giving him free meals for the rest of eternity, how about we charge him only %50 off all meals until he has eaten the amount of food we owe him in sovereigns, and throw in having him as one of our, food testers for new dishes whenever something new is added to our menus?

We definitely are going to be hiring the dwarf later on to do more renovations, and maybe add-on or additions to our restaurant, not to mention furnishings too.

Better than him getting to eat unlimited food, and occasionally bringing in like 20 dwarven friends over.

>>3374403
>>3374497
Supporting

>>3374497
supporting

>>3375332
how is bringing in more customers a bad thing? i think the offer of free food only extends to him

>>3375332
Definitely 100% free taste of all new dishes forever. That is the most value for both parties.

There should be a timespan of no charge, if only so the bookeeping is easier, but the story's different if he brings friends. Maybe 40% off on dishes, but if they ever start a drunken brawl that discount will not extend to drinks.

On the other hand, every time we order a major renovation we can hold a soft-opening feast with a permanent invitation for him and his friends. That is ALSO good value for both parties, since we'll be accumulating a lot of stock during renovation and need to test out new equipment/staff.

>>3375891
A time frame could work either way in our or his favor.

I'd prefer him eating away at our tab, this way we have a more objective way of paying him back and he gets half off, so its not like hes getting a bad deal. This way also is more flexible with him able to bring friends and claim that the bill will be put on his tab.

>>3375847
Well, until we figure out if it only extends to him or not, I'd rather play more conservatively.

so did that mimic turn into a waifu?

>>3378638
Not yet. Unless you think cat is fine too.

>>3379109
>iunderstoodthatreference.gif

>>3378196
>more objective
thats the problem. Not everyone likes "objective" ways of repayment.

>>3379300
Well the only other alternative officially so far is letting him eat free forever.

I don't mind the idea of a limited time frame, its like a very long all you can eat buffet, and the free sampling of dishes is somewhat mutually beneficial since we can gauge how our dish compares to other races and appeal to a larger audience.

Likes or dislikes aside, whats "the problem" in repayment for you?

Vote closed. Soul food it is.

Before we go further, I feel I should introduce the recipe/cooking system for this quest.

The foundation of the system is the following roll:

>d(20-X)+Y+Z

Where X: Difficulty, Y: Taste, Z: Price modifier

The above roll denotes how many meals of a particular recipe you sell on a given day. The product of this roll with the price of that meal (which you set) is the revenue from that meal for that day. The number of recipes you can reasonably maintain each day is (i.e the total number of rolls/day) is half the combined cooking skill of your staff, rounded down.

Let's look at each variable in a little more detail:

Difficulty - This describes the complexity/time for a particular meal. +1 for every additional cooking technique (saute, frying, braising etc.) beyond the first. +1 for certain ingredients (meat, seafood, exotic), +1 for pan sauces or other complex sauces, +1 for complicated presentations, -1-5 from enchanted equipment and the like

Taste: Pretty self-explanatory. +2 for caramelization, +1-5 for flavor (pic related is what I'll be using, but this also encompasses flavor in the sense of good write-ins), +1-5 for sauce, +1-10 for cooking skill, +1-3 for certain ingredients

Price Modifier: In general this is just 3-(price in silver). Once you start charging more than 3 silver a meal, it becomes a negative modifier.

So to summarize. You want to minimize complexity/time, while maximizing taste and profit. The last factor is your inventory which you want to use up every week to minimize spoilage and which consists of the following:

Pantry - Basically all the supporting ingredients in cooking. Oils and fats, cooking alcohol, acids, flour, spices, water, aromatics (assuming a vegetable supply) etc. All recipes require at least 1 serving of pantry ingredients. This does not spoil.

Meats - Cuts of meat from common sources, such as cows, goats, sheep, game, etc. Spoils every week.

Poultry - Generally the meat and eggs of the cuckoo, which is a giant chicken that doubles as a mount. Spoils every week.

Vegetables/Fruit - Self-explanatory. Spoils every week.

Exotic - These are any ingredient from any of the above categories that would be considered uncommon or special. Your mimic salt falls into this category. In general exotic ingredients will be superior in some way to their ordinary counterparts, but may also confer greater complexity. Spoilage is case by case.

Refrigeration will increase time-to-spoilage. Right now your storage capacity is the following:

Pantry: 20
Meats/Seafood/Poultry (it's shared): 20
Vegetables: 20
Exotic: 10

Feel free to ask questions if something is unclear or doesn't make sense. The system is still tentative and I'm open to modifications.

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>>3379516
Forgot pic

>>3379516
Won't lie, I saw the algebra formula in that post and immediately thought 'well, shit. Too complicated. Fuck it, I'm out.'

You might get some fans of Court of Swords, though, and I don't mean that as an insult. But in general having to do math beyond a grade school level for entertainment doesn't vibe well with me.

That said, I bothered to read the rest of the post, and it looks thoughtful. Though I worry about potential cheesing, it seems very crunchy, pun intended.

Not my bag, though.

The difference between a cook and a chef is not just who gets to wear the tall hats. It's a difference in what one feeds: the stomach vs. the soul. Your master pointed out that difference the first time you made fun of the tiny portions of the 21-course dinner parties of the royal family. True perfection always leaves the customer wanting more.

And besides, trying to satisfy the dwarf's stomach is a futile endeavor, better to try for his heart and mind. The quickest path to that destination is via the well-traveled road of nostalgia. If you can cook something that reminds him of home, you'll have him coming back forever. For better or worse.

Unfortunately you're not particularly familiar with dwarven cuisine. You do know that they tend to cook heavily with alcohol and that they favor roasts over all other techniques, but ingredient selections are surely different below the surface. True, pretty much everything tastes like cuckoo in the end, but there must be subtleties of flavor between roast chicken and roast underground abominations that might otherwise ruin the effect.

Luckily you have a secret ingredient. The mimic salt will shore up any inconsistencies, using the dwarf's own tongue to generate the optimal combination of flavors to suit his palate. But it can't work miracles, you'll have to ensure the base recipe is solid. Maybe you should just ask the dwarf for a recipe? Granted, that ruins any element of surprise and doesn't exactly inspire confidence in your own abilities but it does reduce the risk of making something that's way off the mark. A bad surprise is worse than no surprise at all.

>Ask Onul for a recommendation
>You'll do it yourself, how hard can a dwarven roast be?

>>3379516
Now you've got me interested.
I hope the math part doesn't impede too much on the story party, though.
>>3379546
>Ask around, surely someone in this town knows about dwarven recipes better than we do

>>3379546
>Ask Onul for a recommendation
We don't have much in the way of alcohol, so the key will be in making everything that CAN be made without alcohol.

>>3379516
[d(20-X)+Y+3-A]*A

expected value of a dice roll....

(13.5-X/2+Y-A)*A
Revenue= -A^2 + (13.5+Y-X/2)A
max value at 2A=13.5+Y-X/2
A=6.75+Y/2-X/4

Wow. We are charging a LOT more than 3 silvers. The Inn can keep their cheap crap, we can charge 5 silvers and STILL be relying on quantity over quality.

>>3379546
>Ask Onul for a recommendation
He'll know the stuff

>>3379516
>that whole post
Color me impressed

>>3379470
The premise of your plan is in looking for a method that
>is "fair" to both parties
>is resilient against risk
>focuses value on concrete benefits(aka money)

which is not bad. The "problem" is that not everyone runs on the same rules. There are people who:
>put more value on non-concrete benefits(a story to boast, a feast that everyone knows is free, something exciting and new, etc.)
>value convenience over fairness or security
>WANT risk, for more potential benefit
>will NOT stop haggling until they think they pulled one over the other party
>have a distaste for people who make decisions "for" them.

Your "objective" way is not bad, but people are seldom objective.

>>3379597
Yep. Though keep in mind there are inventory, wages, advertising, and equipment costs to consider.

The real fun will begin once you start hiring adventuring parties to hunt down exotic food (which you'll need to enter the Adamantium Chef competition).

>>3379589
>>3379605

There's no sense in trying to guess what the dwarf wants. Dwarves are a straightforward (at least of the ones you've met) and it's best to be straightforward in return. You leave Badgers to do some more prepwork for dinner while you take a trip down to the quarry to speak with Onul.

The dwarf is not in his office (which is nevertheless open) when you arrive, but is relaxing in his inner chambers. You knock on the stone circular door at the back of the office and it soon rolls to the side to let you in.

"Ah, the cook. And how did he find the renovations?"

"He found them quite to his liking, thank you."

The dwarf cheers at that. "Sure and is the meal here already?"

"Not yet, but that's what I came to speak to you about. To take your order if you will."

"Sure too, and come in then." He leads you into a drawing room as spartan as his office. There aren't even chairs, just some cushions on the carpeted floor--which admittedly are of the same high quality as the desk and chair in the office. The whole place has a desolate quality to it, a sense of sterility as though he'd just moved in. "Something to drink?" He says, already pouring himself a glass from a gently smoking bottle.

"No, I think it's a little early in the day for me."

He shrugs and drains his own glass before pouring himself another and joining you on the floor.

"So you want to know what I'd like, is that it?"

"Specifically some favorite dish from your home. I'd like to try to recapture that, if I can."

His eyes hold for a moment on your face, half in thought and half in pleasure. "Sure, a dish from home. How about...hmm, a good roast, ripe from the bone. And taters and sweet-sour sauce, sticky and thick like syrup. And malt beer."

"What kind of roast?"

"What kind?"

"Beef, pork, poultry?"

"Hmm...all the same there. But the cooks in the home would make fine roasts from cave crawlers. Very fine indeed."

Cave crawlers are species of arthropod closely related to the common milipede, except that crawlers are about the size of kittens. The flesh inside of their hardened carapace is quite soft and succulent. The closet thing to imitating their taste and texture would be some kind of shelled crustacean, crab or better, lobster. Clams or mussels might work equally well. Though a roast wouldn't be appropriate for such ingredients. As for the sauce, there are a few options.

"Alright. I think I have some ideas. Thanks."

He seems sorry to see you go but doesn't say anything.

---

You spend the next few days experimenting with ingredients (training your little assistant all the while). Eventually you settle on:

>Lobster
>Crabs
>Clams/Mussels

for the primary ingredient.

>>3379737
>Lobster
They're the closest thing to the rough shape of a Cave Crawler they have.
Crab might be nice for a next time, since it has a more chicken-esque taste to it but with a different texture.

>>3379737
>Lobster
Awww shit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vz65vonktMA

>>3379737
>>Lobster

>>3379737
>>Lobster

Gonna call it here for now folks. For some reason I just can't concentrate, the words aren't coming.

>>3379830
That's fine man, take it easy and stay alive.

>>3379830
What that guy said >>3379850
Thanks for running

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1021 KB GIF

>>3379737
>Lobster

>>3379516
>pic related

>>3379830
Tsk, that's a shame. Alright, see ya later and thanks as always.

>>3379737
>Lobster
it's definitely not crabs, they're muscly bois.

Clams/Mussels are potentially very close, but they could also be EXTREMELY off the mark.

>>3379643
Fair enough. Might be easier to keep track of time passing than the meticulous effort needed for that kind of bookkeeping.

>>3379737
>Lobster
Cave crawlers could be a offshoot evolution that found caves started living in them since there were less predators.

Last post, lol

HAH Got'em