“What are you doing?” Jurot asked, staring down at Adam.

Adam was squatting, his eyes glued to the oven ahead of him, where an Iyrman was currently baking bread. “Thinking.”

“Your friend is queer,” Timojin said, staring at the squinted eyed half elf.

“Can you judge someone after a day?” Jurot asked, shaking his head.

“My gut tells me he’s queer.”

“Last time I trusted your gut, I almost died,” Amokan said, chuckling lightly.

“Last time you trusted my gut, you brought back a fattened boar for your family,” Timojin grunted.

“And a delicious boar it was.” Amokan nodded his head, licking his lips at the thought of the taste.

“What are you thinking about?” Jaygak asked, squatting beside Adam, staring at the oven which was creating a large number of fluffy breads for the various families.

“Food.”

“I guessed that much.”

“An oven like this can make a great many food, but there are a few I’m thinking about.”

“Food from your home?” Jaygak asked, throwing him a quick glance.

Adam nodded, sighing slightly. It was one thing to use Tricks to flavour his food, but it was another to feel the food within his mouth, the textures of his favourite foods which he’d be unable to eat again.

Timojin suddenly felt a little awkward about his comment. Adam, who had revealed that he no longer had a family, was missing the taste of home. Amokan threw the orcish Iyrman a look, admonishing him in the most smug way possible.

“What kind of food?” Timojin asked.

“Breads and more,” Adam said. “Flat breads of a certain kind, but there’s also something I want to make, but I’m not sure if there are the appropriate ingredients.”

“Which ingredients are you looking for?”

“Tomatoes.” Ever since he had arrived within this world, he had noted that a few of the fruits and vegetables he was used to weren’t in the world, or at least, they weren’t in this land.

“Tomatoes?” Jaygak asked, the word foreign to her lips.

“It’s a type of fruit, a nightshade specifically,” Adam said, standing tall. “Something which can be made into a sauce by being cut up and cooked in a particular way.”

“Do you make the sauce in an oven?” Jaygak stood up beside him, tilting her head.

“No, a pot or pan. Once it’s cooked, you can spread it over some flat dough, and then you sprinkle some cheese all over it.” Adam swallowed. “Pizza.”

“Pizza?” Jurot was trying to imagine what kind of food Adam was trying to describe.

Adam threw Jurot a look, one full of smugness. It was a look Jurot had thrown to him whenever he knew something the half elf didn’t.

“I’m not entirely certain how to make the dough I’m thinking of, but it should be fine either way.”

“Let’s make this pizza,” Jaygak said, feeling some vague sense of familiarity with what he was talking about, but she couldn’t quite place it. “So you need dough, cheese, and this thing called tomatoes?”

“We need a few tomatoes, but we’ll also need some oil and salt for the sauce, and the mild cheese I ate previously. You can use other cheese, I guess, but I think the mild cheese would go well with the pizza.”

Jaygak assumed Adam had wanted the mild cheese without him mentioning it. The stronger cheese was an Iyrman favourite, but that was only because they grew up on the cheese. “We have everything but this tomatoes you speak of. What are they?”

“They’re…” Adam thought for along while. ‘Do tomatoes even exist in this world?’ “I would have to taste the various fruits and vegetables in order to figure it out.”

“What do they look like?”

“They’re red, usually about the size of an apple. They’re green when they grow and they turn red when they’re ready to be eaten, depending on the type of tomato. Though, I’m not sure if they’re on this land, or if they grow the same way outside of my home.”

“We can bring some fruits and vegetables for you to check,” Jaygak said. “I’ll go speak with Elder Zijin.”

“Well,” Adam said, suddenly feeling a little awkward. “we don’t really need to bother the Elder. I could make it another time once I’ve found a tomato.”

“I’m interested in eating this pizza you’re talking about,” Jaygak said, elbowing Kitool.

“Yes,” Kitool replied back, finally speaking up. She had been watching the group, trying to recall if she knew what he was talking about.

“Let’s find a tomato,” Timojin agreed.

Amokan looked up to his orcish friend and then nodded. “We’ll find this tomato of yours. The Iyr has many fruits and vegetables, and there are some of our kin who bring back exotic fruits and vegetables back from their travels. We will ask around for these tomatoes you speak of.”

Adam stared at them all. ‘I feel like this is getting out of hand.’ “No, really, we don’t have to bother with it. It was just a passing thought in mind.”

“I,” Jaygak declared loudly, “want to eat pizza.”

The other Iyrmen nodded their heads. Having heard of this foreign delicacy, their Iyrmen spirit was raised. The curiosity of the Iyrmen knew no bounds, and finding an unknown fruit was quite a challenge.

Jurot placed a hand on Adam’s shoulder. “It’s too late now.” His words were like a premonition of disaster.

Jaygak rushed off to find Elder Zijin, and the other Iyrmen returned to their families to ask about any fruits and vegetables they held within their family storage.

“Wouldn’t the fruits and vegetables go off?” Adam asked, wondering how they could keep exotic fruits and vegetables.

“We keep food grown within the Iyr in appropriate storage, and any foreign foods within their own magical storage. Time passes by different within these storage, so they last for many years. My mother brought out a berry when I turned fifteen. It was one hundred years old.”

Jaygak, who had rushed away first, had found Elder Zijin in a warehouse, checking up on the inventory.

“Elder Zijin,” she called, stopping a few steps away.

Zijin turned to see the devilkin Iyrman. “Good afternoon, Jaygak. What is that you need?”

“I’m looking for tomatoes,” Jaygak said. “Have you heard of them?”

“Tomatoes?” Elder Zijin tilted his head. “No. What are they?”

Jaygak explained the fruit, as well as the situation, to the Elder.

He blinked a few times. Jaygak was a troublemaker, but even she knew when to stop a joke. “You want me to provide one of every fruit and vegetable for the son of Fate? Do you understand what you’re asking of me.”

“He wants to make pizza, Elder Zijin. It’s a food from his home, which he can no longer return to.” Jaygak stared up at the Elder with her pleading eyes.

Zijin sighed. There were very few ways to persuade an Iyrman, but to invoke the demise of Adam’s family, it was something even the Elder couldn’t refuse. “Very well, but I will taste this pizza which has taken your hearts.”

“Thank you, Elder!”

“I’ll write down your permissions once I’m done double checking inventory. Come, I’ll need a second set of eyes to make sure I’ve counted correctly.” He didn’t really need her, but since she was asking for so much, he’d have her work for it.

Jaygak nodded and remained nearby to assist in his work. It was the promise of pizza which fuelled her, but even Elder Zijin was curious about the food of this half elf.

The purples of dusk basked the Iyr by the time they had reconvened within the courtyard. There were near countless fruits and vegetables within baskets, some fruits and vegetables were as large as Adam’s forearm, and others were smaller than his pinky nail, in a myriad of different colours.

“We brought whichever exotic fruits our families held in storage too,” Jaygak said, revealing one basket, which was smaller than the rest. She then held out a large knife, to be used for cutting the larger vegetables. It was silver and purple, made of puthral.

Adam began to sweat heavily, seeing their expectant gazes. ‘This is way too much pressure.’ He inhaled deeply to calm himself. “Alright, I’ll try to find it.”

“What are you doing?” Sonarot asked, walking out from the house, a hand on her rough stomach. She had seen the youngsters return to the courtyard not long ago, and seeing all the fruit and vegetables had piqued her interest.

“We’re trying to find tomatoes,” Jurot said, as though it explained everything.

“It’s to make pizza,” Jaygak added, which didn’t help the explanation.

“What’s that?” Sonarot raised her brow at Jaygak, who would often cause trouble.

“It’s food from my home,” Adam said.

“Oh?” Sonarot stared at him for a moment. “Your home?”

“Yes,” Adam replied, nodding his head at her question. As one of the only Iyrmen who knew his story, she was no doubt asking about his first life.

She beamed at him expectantly. If it was food from his first life, she wondered how it would taste.

Adam wondered how much damage he was taking internally, sighing once again to calm himself. With that, he began to taste the various fruits and vegetables.

The Iyrmen waited patiently, eating and roasting some of the vegetables he had finished tasting, not wanting the food to go to waste. Their families soon joined, eating and chatting as Adam tasted the various fruits and vegetables. The story was explained to them, and the anticipation of the Iyrmen grew.

The flavours of the various fruits and vegetables were all familiar and foreign in many ways to his tongue. He found many different tastes, some of which surprised him. There was a fruit which tasted awfully like chocolate, one he’d need to keep in the back of his head, though it seemed to be one of the exotic fruits.

“No!” Jurot shouted as Adam brought a seed to his lips.

Adam sat up in surprise. “What?”

“Don’t. It’s poisonous.”

“How poisonous?” Adam quickly placed it down.

“It will not kill you, but it will pain your stomach for the entire night.”

Adam nodded. The half elf cut into a large fruit which looked like a red pumpkin, and he bit into it. He was struck by a tang, and then a slight sweetness.

“Oh,” he said, surprised.

The Iyrmen near him glanced his way.

He ate another piece, feeling the way the soft skin gave in, and tasted the seeds too. “It’s slightly different than what I’m used to, but this is definitely the same flavour and feel as a tomato.”

“That’s from the south,” Jaygak said, smiling. “From the land of my ancestors.”

Adam smiled. “I’m not sure if I can do them proud, but I’ll do my best to try and make a pizza.”

Omen: 5, 7

“Tomorrow,” Adam said. “I don’t feel very lucky today, and I’ll need some time to remember how to make the pizza properly.”

“We’ll wait,” Jaygak said, nodding her head.

The Iyrmen dispersed, excited that Adam had finally found the last ingredient he needed.

Adam returned to the Rot family house, and Turot stepped in too. He stared at the half elf. “Can I have some pizza too?”

“Of course,” Adam said, chuckling. “I’ll be sure to make some great pizza.”

“Turot, go bring Adam a stylus and a book,” Sonarot said. “It’s best to prepare the recipe beforehand.”

Turot quickly scampered away, before returning with a small book and a stylus a few moments later. The stylus was essentially a mechanical pencil, where the long strip of rock could be slowly pushed out by twisting the body of the wood.

“Thank you,” Adam said, taking the pencil and book.

“I can’t wait to eat this pizza,” Turot said.

“I can’t wait either,” Sonarot said.

Adam spent the rest of the evening trying to remember how to make pizza. It wasn’t a difficult process from what he recalled, but he wanted to make sure he didn’t miss out something obvious. There were too many Iyrmen to please.

Intelligence Check

D20 + 3 = 5 (2)

He stared at the recipe for a long while. There was something off about it, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He sighed, placing the book aside before he turned in for the night.

Adam pulled the blanket over his head, going deep into thought. ‘These Iyrmen are more eager than me. If I fail…’ He tried to shake the negative thoughts out of his head, but the stress filled his entire body.

‘Belle, how much experience does it cost to reroll?’

[100.]

He wondered if he’d really spend so much experience trying to make pizza of all things.