NOVEL NEXT Chapter Forty-three
Chapter Forty-three
I liked it when Krissy had a day off. Not that I had a problem with her spending most of her time training — since I wasn’t allowed to help her, I had time to experiment, especially during the night when she was asleep. Although, my experiments had yielded limited results so far.
I was close to completing a room for storing Spirit Stuff: my Tentacle Horror instinct had confirmed that I needed to use a similar combination of Essence, Mana and Spirit Stuff as I had for Jack’s Room, but the Essence needed to be refined and altered, and that was taking time. I had time, but today I had a different project to complete.
Krissy was sipping a cup of tea, sitting on the settee in Toven’s living room. Thor, Loki and Freya were playing under the table, competing over a piece of dried meat.
Oh, how the pups had grown in a single month: they were already the size of smaller, adult dogs, like a dachshund, but not as long. Akela and Misty were both sleeping in the garden, in the artificial alcove behind Toven’s favourite tree. It seemed parenthood was an exhausting thing even for wolves, and it was heartwarming that Misty had grown to trust us enough to leave the kids with Auntie Krissy and the invisible Uncle Kevin.
Someone knocked on the door. Deni rushed out from the kitchen to let Kenta and Tommy in. They entered into the living room, bringing a small, wooden box with them. They bowed their heads both to Krissy and Deni, and settled down on the chairs around the table, leaving the box on the ground next to them. The pups, with the piece of meat now gone, decided to explore this new development, and sniffed and bit at the hard, leather boots of the men, the box, and even the legs of the table and chairs. Cute, energetic little buggers, weren’t they?
Deni brought tea for the sailors, then sat down at the table with them.
‘Is Master Toven not home?’ Kenta asked in Elvish.
‘He’s at the training ground, tormenting some trainees,’ Deni answered in Treini, ‘It’s better than him going on patrols for weeks, or …’ she paused, glancing over at Krissy ‘… fighting evil spirits.’
‘It’s what ranger’s do,’ Krissintha said, taking a sip of tea, then leaning back on the settee.
‘Unfortunately.’ Deni sighed, then turned to the sailors. ‘So, what’s in the box? Is it what I think it is?’
Kenta and Tommi smiled as they looked at Krissy, or rather, trying to look at me.
‘Go ahead!’ I said to them both.
Krissy didn’t hear me, but the two sailors sprung up and lifted the box onto the table, and pried the lid off
‘Hm. Smells nice,’ Deni commented, and even Krissy moved her head to look this time.
I snaked a tentie closer to the box to see the contents: a few, small bags of different tea leaves, a pot filled with the dried shavings from the skin of civat-fruits, some juice from the same fruits, and a bottle of fresh milk.
Unfortunately I was unable to taste or smell things, but based on the descriptions Kenta and Tommy had provided, I was sure the weird, green fruits were the closest things to lemons or bergamots or other citrus-y fruits.
‘Oh my, how many civats did you buy?’ Deni asked, still peering into the box.
‘Ah, a lot. I went spendin’ Tommi’s weekly pay on it,’ Kenta answered, while Tommy displayed an unhappy grimace. ‘Damn things are expensive.’
‘Well, they’re import goods,’ Deni said, nodding. ‘I think they come from …’
‘Thyssa,’ Krissy said without moving a muscle. ‘My … family used to own a few plantations.’
‘Yes. Thyssa,’ Deni agreed.
That made sense. The little Krissy had told me about her home sounded like a warm, mediterranean-type country, like Spain, or Italy. And from what she had said it was pretty far from here, so the transportation costs must have been high. Civats weren’t widely available here; it was expensive, but the wealthier elves liked the sour, almost bitter marmalade made from the fruits, or so I’d been told.
‘Well, we don’t need a lot of it, at least not at the moment.’ I said.
Kevin, are you sure we can go makin’ money with this? Plenty of different teas around here already. Tommi’s thought echoed in my mind.
Oi, you. If he says we can then we can. Kenta shut him down.
'Listen guys, Solace is an island nation of posh elves who love gardening, reject the way the continent does things, and would kill for nice cup of tea. They are basically my people. They will love Earl Grey.' I explained it to them.
I understood their reservations, but I was more than just confident in our little project.
‘I like the idea, but you know we don’t really like fruity drinks,’ Deni said, looking at Kenta.
‘Don’t worry, Missus Deni, Kevin’s sayin’ it ain’t gonna be sweet. Just … fragrant-y, or somethin’, but not like ‘em herbal teas.’ Kenta informed her.
‘Is this what you’ve been plotting? Tea?’ Krissy asked, sounding unimpressed, not bothering to stand up to take a closer look at the treasures the sailors had gathered at my behest.
‘Yeah, Lady Krissintha. Tea,’ Tommy said.
‘Fine,’ Krissy said, then leaned back again and closed her eyes.
‘So, how do we do this?’ Deni asked.
***
Krissy ignored the ongoings, complained about her side hurting, then she lied down on the settee and dozed off almost immediately.
I explained to Kenta and Tommi what had happened yesterday — the guys were proud of their boss-lady holding out for seventeen seconds against that arrogant bastard. Even Deni agreed that a human who’d been training only for four months lasting that long against an elven ranger trainee was quite the achievement. So we let Krissy rest, and Deni took the two sailors to the kitchen. I stretched a tentie through the wall that separated the living room from the kitchen, keeping it over Kenta’s shoulder so I could see everything.
‘Don’t put a lot of civat, just two pinches maybe. Then brew it for two minutes maximum,’ I told Kenta, and he relayed the instructions to Deni.
Deni put some of the loose black tea leaves into the jar, added two pinches of the dried shavings, then filled it up with hot water, stirred it with a spoon, and let it sit.
‘It smells nice,’ Deni commented. ‘Sweet, even. Are you sure it won’t taste too sweet?’
‘Kevin says it won’t, unless you put honey in it,’ Kenta interpreted for me.
‘Honey? Oh my. Why would anyone do that?’ Deni asked with a horrified expression on her face.
‘Dunno, Missus Deni, it’s just something Kevin said. Don’t go takin’ ‘im too seriously,’ Kenta said, shrugging.
After two minutes, Deni poured the tea through a fine sieve into another jug, and took three cups from the cabinet.
This was the moment of truth, and I watched as the three of them lifted their cups to their lips and tasted our first attempt at Earl Grey.
‘Hm. It’s … not bad,’ Deni said, but she didn’t sound convincing.
‘But?’ Kenta asked at my request.
‘I don’t think this blend goes well with the civat. Or maybe it’s the brewing time,’ she said.
‘Then let’s go tryin’ the other teas,’ Kenta suggested.
Deni put a piece of wood on the fire under the stove, then opened the second bag of tea leaves, sniffed it, and smiled at the sailors.
‘Let’s try this one then, shall we?’
***
Deni scribbled on a piece of paper what I assumed was the latest combination of the type and amount of tea, the amount of dried civat shavings, and of course the brewing time. Maybe something more, too. I had picked up enough Elvish over the months to be better than just conversational — we all had — but the rune-like characters were many and difficult to learn.
‘This is it,’ she said, smiling at Kenta and Tommy, pointing at her cup. ‘The fragrance is great, the flavour is subtle and unique, with just a pleasantly small hint at sweetness. And it doesn’t need a lot of civat. People will like this.’
After two hours of experimenting, we finally had our elf-approved blend of Earl Grey. At least I hoped it was like Earl Grey. Oh, how I wished I could taste it. I missed a good cup of tea, but it was what it was. I had make do with the knowledge that I had a tentacle in introducing one of the greatest teas in existence to the indigenous population. I really was leaving my mark on the world, wasn’t I?
‘Hm. I’m likin’ this,’ Tommy said. ‘Still bitter, but this fruit-thing’s really makin’ it as if it wasn’t bitter.’
‘So we all agree that this is it, correct?’ Deni asked, looking serious all of a sudden, writing something else down.
‘Try a cup with milk, then try a cup with a little civat-juice,’ I told Kenta and Tommi.
Deni made another jar, using the exact same amounts of ingredients, and she was happy that the result was the same. All three of them tried a cup with milk, then another with a few drops of civat-juice, and I eagerly waited for the verdict.
‘I like it with milk more,’ Deni said. ‘I’ve never had tea with milk. It’s … novel. But I know a lot of people who would go for the extra sourness of the civat-juice. Both will work.’
‘I like it with the juice,’ Tommy said, nodding, then he took another sip of his tea.
‘Milk for me,’ Kenta said.
'Alright, I am thrilled to hear you all like it. Kenta, please ask Deni what the next step will be?’ I said to the sailor.
Kenta relayed the question.
‘We will need to go and see someone at both at the Manufacturing and Trade Committees, fill in some forms, provide a sample for approval for both, then we need to set up some sort of outlet, maybe a shop.’
‘What about advertising?’ I asked, and Kenta repaeated the question.
‘Don’t worry about that,’ Deni laughed. ‘Gal-Themar isn’t that large. Once a few people taste the new tea, everyone will know where to get it.
Deni was excited about this, I could tell; her eyes were shining with anticipation.
‘Aren’t this gonna go pissin’ off other tea-shops?’ Kenta asked. ‘I’ve seen it happenin’ before. Could turn nasty.’
‘I don’t think so,’ Deni said. ‘There will be an initial rush, I imagine, when everyone will want to have a taste. Then it will slow down. Ours will be somewhat pricier than other teas, and people will still keep buying their old blends. But I expect steady sales.’
‘So that’s fine then,’ Kenta nodded.
‘There is one issue, though,’ Deni said. ‘The only reason merchants bring civats to Gal-Themar is because of that marmalade-man … I forget his name, but he’s the one buying most of it to make that goo. We’ll need to make a deal with him for the skins of the fruits. I don’t think he’s using them for anything, but we’ll need to check. You can leave that to me.’
‘Awright, what else?’ Kenta asked.
‘Well, obviously I want in on this, so we’ll need to set up an official partnership,’ Deni said. ‘We can do that at the Trade Committee’s office.’
I didn’t have a problem with this, in fact, I was going to suggest it myself. We weren’t going to stay in Solace forever, that much was certain. We hadn’t heard from Wensah ever since her last visit, and I had no idea when she’d show up again, telling us to go here or there to set up a Bureau for her. I knew it was coming sooner or later, and Deni was just the person to handle business in our absence.
Kenta agreed to everything on my behalf, and Deni smiled as she took another sip of her milky tea.
‘Uhm … what was the name again?’ she asked.
‘Earl Grey, I think.’ Kenta said.
‘Earl … Grey. Alright, it sounds exotic. Should work,’ Deni said, nodding. What does it mean? Does it mean anything?’
‘Dunno, Missus Deni, it’s somethin’ from Kevin’s mind, I think.’ Kenta said, and I didn’t think it was necessary to explain the origins of the tea — they got the name right, and that’s what mattered.
‘Well, it’s not midday yet, so maybe we could go get the paperwork done, or at least get the forms?’ Deni said.
She then listened to the growling, whining and clattering sounds the pups were making in the living room. What shocked me was that Krissy slept through the ruckus as if she was in a soft bed in a soundproofed room. Deni excused herself for a moment and let the pups back out into the garden, then came back to the kitchen.
‘So, shall we wake Misery up and go to town?’ she asked.
***
Krissy wasn’t happy to be woken up, but she rubbed the sleepiness out of her eyes, complaining a bit about her side still hurting. She begrudgingly let Deni help her change into … well, civilian clothes — she lent her a nice dress and an overcoat. I didn’t think the dress would have fitted her a few months ago, but she was almost as tall as the elf, and she had become quite lean. Deni scowled when she saw the large bruise on her side, and the smaller, older ones elsewhere on her body, and she swore she was going to have a word with Toven about the training methods employed by Fenar’s Third Rangers. Then we all went out for a walk.
Toven and Deni’s house was closer to the edge of town than to the center, and it took about half an hour of slow paced walking to get to town proper. The paved roads — wide or narrow — were all flanked by trees to the point I really felt like I was in a forest with a lot of houses thrown around haphazardly.
Because of the trees, Gal-Themar was a rather dark town, even at the end of winter where most trees were still naked. People didn’t seem bothered by this, however — sunlight might have been an overrated phenomenon amongst the elves, who knew.
The people of the city were out and about — most of them exchanged greetings with Deni, some even recognised Kenta and Tommi, and nodded their heads to them. I saw a few elven kids, which had been a rare sight, at least for me, who spent most of his time with Krissy at the Third Ranger’s training grounds and barracks.
As we approached the centre of town, the view changed. The trees all but disappeared, giving way to an enormous clearing paved with light green, stone tiles. People just called it the Plaza. I was sure it had a name — as most streets had names, very much like any city back on Earth — but I didn’t know what that name was.
The Plaza was easily the size of four or five football pitches, if not more. This was the place where it all happened. This was where statues and monuments had been erected to past heroes or leaders. This was where the important offices of important committees occupied some of the three and four story buildingg that surrounded this huge square. This was where the main markets and shops were. This was where the only theater in town was located. This was where you came to sit in a shop or restaurant to socialise when not in the mood to invite people over to your home.
Krissy and I had visited the centre of town only once before — the sight and the experience of the busy, bustling place was still kind of new to the both of us. Deni of course knew the place like the back of her hand, and Kenta and Tommy seemed comfortable. The three of them moved among the people, the statues, the stalls, as if they had spent a lifetime here already. Krissy followed them without a word, looking left and right, speeding whenever a street vendor called out to her to have a look at some wares.
Deni took us to the building that housed the offices of the Manufacturing and Trading Committee — luckily they were in the same building.
‘So, are we ready to make this official?’ she asked, looking at my three humans.
‘We are.’ Kenta said, relaying my words.
Krissy just stared at them with eyebrows raised, and I realised we had forgot to fill her in on the details of what was going on