Chapter 68: Chapter 68: The Legend of the Winterband of Heroes

With only two moons away from the Green Moon Festival, the kitchen at Quincy's Lodge was a hive of activity. For Nay, this was the equivalent of catering prep for a big event. She always loved serving at food festivals back home, but this event brought the extra pressure.

It was like being in charge of the food at a wedding. If she fucked up, it could ruin someone's special day. There was a layer of tradition involved, and her job was to enhance and not mar the experience.

Nay and Nom were mixing batches of pastry dough for the moon cakes. Tuk-Tuk was in the kitchen with them. He had volunteered to help prep for some of the other dishes. At the moment he was butchering some pork for the Char Siu bowls.

"Tuk-Tuk, you know this isn't required of you," Nay said. "You don't have to help."

"I would like to stay a little longer and experience this Green Moon Festival," Tuk-Tuk said. "If I am going to partake it is only right I contribute."

Nay had learned that the men and women of the Twelve Tribes were big into doing their part and paying their way. Nothing was freely given, and nothing was freely taken. It was a culture of reciprocation and exchange and she wondered if his people were all like him. Bound to their honor.

"Suit yourself, then," Nay said. "I appreciate your help."

She watched him cut strips of pork and set them in the marinade. He knew his way around a butcher's knife.

"Won't your people miss you, though?" Nay said. "You've been gone for a while, right?"

Tuk-Tuk continued with his work without looking at her. "It is my job to protect the land. Your town is part of the land. It is important I bring back knowledge to my people so that we may act and prepare accordingly. I will return after the Green Moon Festival has concluded."

Nay heard giggling and looked up and saw Bryja and Ulla peaking through the kitchen doors, watching Tuk-Tuk. When they noticed Nay looking at them they scattered.

"You seem to have admirers," Nay said.

Tuk-Tuk glanced at her and then looked out into the tavern. He returned back to the work of cutting the pork and half-smiled.

"Can I ask you a question about something you said earlier?" Nay said.

Tuk-Tuk nodded. "Of course. Part of the agreement I made with Quincy was sharing my people's knowledge with him."

"Back at the Moonglum's, you mentioned something about The One in the Black Ice."

Tuk-Tuk put a lid over the bin of the pork and marinade and went over and set it on the rack in the walk-in cooler. He came back and washed his hands in the sink. "Do you mind if we go out back so I can smoke my pipe while we talk?"

/////////

After Nay had finished prepping a tray of moon cakes and storing them in the walk-in, she met Tuk-Tuk out back. He was already up on the cliff part near the ash tree, puffing his pipe and observing the elder flowers.

"These are flowers of the First Ones,” Tuk-Tuk said. ”Teriannaq. We call them the Fox People."

"Yes, they were a gift from one," Nay said.

"You must have done something impressive to earn this gift, especially if it was from a Teriannaq," Tuk-Tuk said.

"There were some hoops to jump through, yes," Nay said. She remembered Vampra and the bizarre botanical garden. She felt like her skin was covered in goo just thinking of it.

"The First Ones are the ones who entombed The One in the Black Ice," Tuk-Tuk said. "Most people just think it's an old legend. But we in the Twelve Tribes know it to be truth. I've been on the border of that cursed land and have seen the taint of the Black Ice from afar."

"What is it?" Nay said.

"Kigatilik," Tuk-Tuk said. "A Nether Lord. It came to our realm seeking a lost artifact said to have fallen from the sky. That land was home to a flourishing hub of trade where all the tribes would gather. Now it is called the Black Ice Waste.

"It's a cursed and haunted land. As children, we are told stories about the things that roam there. The land itself is tainted. Many have disappeared there. So we know to stay away.”

“So the Nether Lord tainted the land?”

Tuk-Tuk nodded. "With the Nether Lord came his tower and his nether minions. They cut into the ice and earth searching for this artifact, their machines tainting the land and creating the Black Ice. Their arrival disrupted the peace. There were many incursions of these foul creatures into the land of the tribes.

"This didn't just upset my ancestors but also the First Ones. It was decided that an alliance of First Ones and tribesmen would confront this Nether Lord. The Winterband of Heroes. Except the Nether Lord wouldn’t meet them out in the open. He hid like a coward at the top of his tower. While these heroes ascended the tower to face him, their forces met with the Nether Lord’s forces on the battlefield before the tower. The Battle of Icelorn Fields.

"The alliance half-succeeded. While the battle was at a standstill, neither side gaining an advantage over the other, the tower fell thanks to the efforts of the Winterband of Heroes. They had ousted the Nether Lord. But he was too strong. The Friends of Men performed magic to trap the Nether Lord in the Black Ice. But it would be with consequence. Several of the heroes became trapped in the ice with him.”

“What was the artifact he was originally looking for?” Nay said.

“A weapon.”

“What kind of a weapon?”

“I do not know. I only know the name. It was called Dark Brother.”

"And you and your people think someone or something is conspiring to free this Nether Lord?"

"That's what my Angakkuq says. That children are being taken, their lives needed to perform the dark ritual that will melt the Black Ice."

"And are your people doing something to stop it?"

"The Twelve Tribes have been preparing for war. Already we have parties patrolling the border of the Black Ice Wastes. We also have scouts inside. We will confront whatever forces we meet."

She should get word to the Gloom Rangers. If everything Tuk-Tuk was saying was true, then there was evil brewing on their borders. It was also their job to protect Stitchdale from The Scar. But surely they would be interested in another powerful and monstrous threat so close to them.

"And Quincy knows all this?"

You are reading story MONSTER MENU at novel35.com

Tuk-Tuk nodded. "Just as me and my people watch over the land, he is as well. He's watching for signs in this town."

He had probably already sent word to Fort Nixx and also to Ilyawraith.

"Do not worry," Tuk-Tuk said. "My people will stop this event from happening. Every generation has been preparing for it in some way. We have guarded the Black Ice Wastes. There have been other attempts that didn't succeed thanks to the Twelve Tribes."

/////////

Nay found Quincy behind the bar, taste-testing some of the brews from Nom's conjured table. He had a notepad next to him. He took a sip of a beer labeled Nom's Pale Ale. His face contorted and he forced himself to swallow.

He coughed into a napkin and then scribbled on his notepad next to Nom's Milk Stout, "No."

"I don't like milk stouts," Quincy said. He coughed again, clearing his throat. Nay took a seat at the bar in front of him.

"So what are we gonna do about what's happening at the Black Ice Wastes?"

"We stay here, for now," Quincy said.

"But what if Tuk-Tuk's people need help? We can't just sit around here while some crazy Nether occultists try to free something trapped in the ice!"

Quincy could see she was quite serious about this. He set down the new beer he grabbed. This one was labeled, Nom’s Cthonic Cider. He pushed it to the side. "Ilyawraith is doing reconnaisance to see if there's any truth to this tale."

"You don't believe Tuk-Tuk?"

"The Twelve Tribes have many myths and legends. Some of it is based on fact, but usually they're just stories told to their children to teach them things. Parables and such."

"There was no tower and no battle with a Nether Lord?"

"If there was, it happened so long ago any recollection of it has been distorted."

"But we can't just ignore it..."

"I agree. That's why Ilyawraith is scouting. To gather firsthand information to see if there's any credence to the situation."

"And then what?"

"For now, we tend to our town and our people. We enjoy the festivities the Green Moon celebration has to offer. And we stay alert for any happenings. If Ilyawraith reports back and there's truth in this matter, then we will take the appropriate action."

Nay thought about it and found herself agreeing. Let Ilyawraith see first, then act if needed. It made sense. For now, the best way to look after Lucerna's End was to be present here.

"The Eldritch IPA is my favorite," Nay said. She headed for the kitchen.

Quincy grabbed a flagon of the Eldritch IPA and took a sip. He made an mmmm sound and did a double-take at the liquid, reacting to the hoppy-ness. He picked up his pencil and went to jot down his notes.

/////////

There was a trick preparing the eggs for the moon cakes. It required boiling the egg just long enough for the yolk to still be runny. But she had made herself enough ramen with the type of boiled eggs with the runny yolk that she knew the method. Just the fact that she was doing it in bulk was a little disconcerting. It created a challenge.

It was a matter of temperature and timing. With her Chef's Thermometer ability, the temperature wasn't a problem. She just had to be alert with the timing. Even a few seconds too long, and the eggs would be overcooked.

The next step was rolling the paste around the egg and then setting the whole thing in the cake mold trays, where the pastry was waiting for the filling. Then the final piece of pastry was placed over the top and then into the ovens they went.

Her and Nom were baking around the clock, and the racks full of cooling moon cakes where taking up most of the free space in the kitchen.

It was an assembly line of sorts.

As she worked, her thoughts went back to the Groom Rangers and how Martygan was missing. The last time she saw him, he was in a coma from his fight with the Nether Sister. She recalled the stalks that had sprouted from the Nether Sister's wrist stump had been inserted into Martygan's mouth and throat.

What if it implanted him with something? Was that why he was in a coma?

That night was so chaotic, but what had happened to him was one of the more traumatic images burned into her brain.

She wished she could speak with Lain. Ilyawraith's Whispering Winds ability would be a fine thing to have right now. Lain would be one of the people patched into her party. She wanted to know what exactly was going on at Fort Nixx.

She pulled the last tray of moon cakes out of the oven. When she did, she was hit with an interface prompt.

---

[Quest Complete!]

[Prepare One Thousand Moon Cakes Completed!]

[Congratulations!]

[You have been rewarded Vigor Points]

---

Thank Christ. The moon cakes were done and there were enough of them for the people of Lucerna's End to have a proper nosh.

Now, it was just a matter of getting everything to the beach at Lac Coinescar and working the Green Moon Festival itself. With mysterious happenings brewing at Fort Nixxiom and to the barren north, it would be a challenge to focus solely on celebrating.

But she would try.

You can find story with these keywords: MONSTER MENU, Read MONSTER MENU, MONSTER MENU novel, MONSTER MENU book, MONSTER MENU story, MONSTER MENU full, MONSTER MENU Latest Chapter