Chapter 44: Chapter Forty-One – Recognized

The street bazaar of Tokarefes was chaos incarnate. As far as I could see there were street vendors of various races hawking their wares. Some from behind wooden carts, a handful from makeshift storefronts, and the rest simply peddling what they had from atop rugs and blankets.

The moment we came into view the street merchants near us were shouting for our attention. Attempting to describe their wares loudly, or simply flattering us to draw us over. In the entirety of my life, I’d never experienced anything like it.

“Are you okay Bernie?” Eurycelia asked furrowing her brows.

“Yeah, this is a lot to take in. But… it’s amazing. I’m glad you brought me here.”

Smiling Eurycelia pulled on my hand to take me further into the sea of peddlers. “Let me know if you see anything you want Bernie. I’ll buy it for you.”

“You really don’t have to.”

“I want to. Please. I’m not great at making things like Kyra and Adelita are. But I’ve held a high-paying position for a few years. I have more than enough to splurge on you.”

“Okay, I’ll let you know if I see something interesting,” I giggled. After all it didn’t really matter much to me. It wasn’t like we had to put any money back to pay rent.

As we traveled along a sea of merchants one finally caught my eye. The merchant was obscured almost entirely by a cloak, and was serving fried pastries from a small cart. Though the pastries weren’t what I was interested in. It was the beverage they sold along with the pastries.

The merchant poured a mix of powders into a small copper pot with a wooden handle. Then they cut open the top of a fruit that looked awfully similar to a coconut. Pouring the liquid inside the fruit into the pot.

From there they swirled the little pot in a pan of heated sand until it was steaming. Mixing in a white cream that had the consistency of meringue, and a dark liquid from a flask. Serving it in a stone cup after grating some kind of nut on top of it.

“Euri, I want to try that!” I said, nodding toward the vendor with my chin. As both of my hands were presently held by my companions.

“You, want to try a hand pie?” Eurycelia asked, watching the merchant.

“Well… those look tasty too. But honestly, I was more interested in the beverage served with the pies.”

“Alshu? Ah, I didn’t even think about it. The humans don’t seem to care for it much so you never see anyone serving it in Ciriczar. Sure, It looks like the merchant has set up a few tables beside his stand. Why don’t you and Kyra snag us one and I’ll buy the pies and Alshu.”

“Sounds great!” I couldn’t help but smile. Even if coffee and tea were foreign to this world, I’d always thought they had to have iconic beverages of their own. Now that I’d finally found a merchant selling one, I couldn’t wait to try it.

Maybe it’ll taste like something I’ve had before.

Most of the common fruits and vegetables here were just color-swapped versions of what we had on Earth. So it stood to reason that their traditional cuisine might overlap with the traditional cuisine I was familiar with.

“Alright here we are,” Eurycelia hummed placing a plate of hand pies on the table. Before going back and grabbing two glasses of the Alshu.

Bringing the Alshu to my nose I sniffed the warm spicy aroma. There was a sort of astringent smell mixed in, but the spices covered it up enough I struggled to make it out. “Hey… are you sure you can drink this Euri?”

“What do you mean?”

“Are you sure there isn’t any cinnamon in it? If you have an allergic reaction now, we don’t have anybody here that can help you.”

“Now that you mention it… I always got this terrible itchy feeling in my throat when I’d drink Alshu. It’s why I didn’t think much of it while living in Ciriczar. It was already something that I was avoiding. You think…”

“I told you before that mild allergic reactions can develop into more severe ones. From the smell alone I wouldn’t be surprised if there is cinnamon in this. It’s obvious the merchant is mixing a bunch of spices into it. I don’t think you should drink it.”

“Alright. I’ll let you have mine too. The last thing I want is to die because I refused to be cautious.”

“Agreed. I don’t know what I’d do if I were to lose you.” I smiled, taking Eurycelia’s mug away from her.

From there we split up the hand pies which surprised me by not being desserty at all. Instead they were full of meat and vegetables.

It was strange. Especially because the Alshu was sweet. It tasted a lot like pumpkin spice, as much as it troubled me to admit. Only there was this somewhat bitter flavor mixed into it. It was good, and by the time I finished my glass, I happily took Eurycelia’s and polished it off too.

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“This is good,” I giggled, sitting the second empty glass of Alshu down. “But now my head feels all fuzzy. Seriously if we weren’t in public I think I’d curl up and take a nap right here.”

“I’ll bet,” Eurycelia softly petted one of my ears. “That was a good bit of strong alcohol. I’m glad you’re not a lightweight Bernie.”

“Wait… what?” I blinked and stared at Eurycelia. “There is alcohol in Alshu?”

“Yeah. Is that a problem?”

“I’m not r-really old enough t-to be drinking.” I replied, my thoughts starting to get jumbled. It felt like I was growing dizzier by the second. Which was not what I wanted to happen.

“Old enough?” Eurycelia wrapped her arms around me. “You have to be a certain age to consume alcohol in your world?”

“Yeah.”

“Hey small-horns,” Kyra spoke up. “There are some guys over there that seem to be watching us pretty intently.”

Eurycelia and I both gazed over to the spot that Kyra had indicated. Sure enough, two well-dressed individuals seemed to be staring in our direction. The moment they realized we’d noticed them, they began making their way towards us.

“Kyra,” Eurycelia muttered under her breath. “Carry Bernie back to the carriage.”

“W-wait,” I slurred. “We’re not leaving you by y-yourself.”

“Eurycelia Bezmelnazir,” A man dressed in very showy armor called. He looked like he belonged in the honor guard of an extremely wealthy noble. His black hair was slicked back with gel. And his horns, while shorter than Harriette’s, glowed bright enough that they were hard to look at. “You look identical to the day I last saw you. Do these ladies know they’ve been spending time with a murderer?”

“I didn’t kill anyone.”

“If that were true, why’d you flee town?” The man shot Eurycelia an oily smile before turning to me. “I am Eonaghan Galorett, may I have your name?”

“Bernice Edelberg,” I hissed. Doing my best not to slur. “Before you try a-anything, Euri belongs to me.”

Eonaghan smirked at Eurycelia before looking at Kyra. “And you miss. May I have your name?”

“Kyra. I am an undead in service to Master Bernice. I’ll warn you to take her words seriously. The only reason you’re not a stain on the paving stones right now is because my Master has not asked me to harm you.”

“Well, I can’t say I didn’t expect for you to have poisoned the minds of your companions Eurycelia. I’ll have to spend a great deal of time consoling them once they are freed from your magic.”

“They aren’t under my control Eonaghan,” Eurycelia’s shoulder shook. “And if you dare touch either of them I’ll rewrite your consciousness so that you believe you’re a footstool.”

“Did you hear that Erakar? The Serpent just threatened my wellbeing. I believe that justifies use of force doesn’t it?”

“Yes, Milord.”

“Once this is over, that low-level bunny is mine.” Eonaghan laughed, drawing his blade. The bazaar erupting into chaos, as vendors and civilians alike rushed to get away from the coming battle.

“Of course Milord. I’ll be happy just to watch you work.”

Dodging the thrust of Eonaghan’s blade, Eurycelia chanted her spell. “[Sleep].”

For a second I thought Eonaghan was going to drop. He teetered a bit before righting himself, his lips curling into a sinister smile. “As if I would approach you without a countermeasure for your magic. Face it Eurycelia. Today, you die.”