“I certainly wouldn’t mind that,” Arek said, nodding. “But not yet. I like to cook when I’m stressed, and I think my runes reactivating is sufficient cause for stress. I know we just ate, so I’ll keep the portion small.”

“None of us are going to object to that. I know magic can drain your energy, and we’re all quite active now that you force us to get up before the sun,” Malissa teased, giving the orc a smile. “I don’t think a little extra food is going to hurt any of us.”

Ming was less subtle. She tore her gaze away from the book and threw her hands into the air with a cheer. Several people in the crowd glanced in their direction, but many of them were regulars at the tavern.

The Happy Sunflowers antics had started to become something of an expectation rather than a surprise, and the novelty had quickly worn off. Almost everyone returned to their meal after rolling their eyes or scoffing in Ming’s direction.

“What are you making?” Ming asked, clutching her new book. She licked her lips like a predator.

“Nothing too complicated this time,” Arek said. “We don’t want to spend all day cooking. If Voulier will let me use his kitchen, I think I know exactly what we need. Malissa, are you going to be helping?”

“If you’ll let me,” the tall woman said, nodding. “I’ve been having a lot of fun learning so far.”

“Good,” Arek said. “That’s how it should be. Now we just have to hope Voulier doesn’t mind us bothering him again.”

Ming and Belmont claimed a table while the other two made for the kitchen door. It swung open before they were halfway there, revealing a rather irate looking Voulier. The man angrily stroked his moustache and adjusted his hat.

“You’re late,” he said irritably.

“How did you know we’d be coming?” Arek asked as the two stepped inside and Voulier shut the door behind them.

“There was a ruckus in the dining room. Everyone other than you is always polite and silent.”

“That’s fair enough, actually,” Malissa said as she bit back a laugh.

“Don’t worry. This won’t take too long. I’m just going to be making some fried rice,” Arek said. The disguised orc paused for a moment, then sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. “Ah, could I buy some rice off you?”

“If it’ll get you two out of my kitchen faster, you can have it,” Voulier snapped. “Chop chop. Get to your spot and cook. Unlike you adventurers, the rest of us have a real job to do.”

The other cooks, who were all watching Voulier’s exchange with the Happy Sunflower members, quickly turned back to their stations and pretended to be busy.

Voulier stormed over to a cupboard and started rooting around in it while Arek and Malissa walked over to their station. The tall woman grabbed the apron from the hook on the wall on the way. The orc couldn’t help but notice that, while the wok had already been placed on the stove, there were no signs of the station being in use by one of the other cooks.

Arek set his travel pack aside and started placing some of the spice jars from his bandolier on the table. Voulier shuffled by them, practically tossing the sack of rice onto the countertop before vanishing behind the island in the center of the room.

“Malissa, could you start by washing the rice? It’s important to get rid of the starch so it doesn’t stick together,” Arek said. “Just pour it into a bowl and fill it with water. Swish it around a bit and then pour it out – do that two or three times.”

Malissa nodded. She finished tying her apron on and got to work. The bag of rice was rather small, so she dumped the entire thing into a clean bowl on the counter and stuck it under the faucet.

While Malissa worked, Arek placed two small vials and a bigger canister on the counter. He turned to locate Voulier. The small chef was already striding towards him, half a dozen ingredients cradled in his arms. Voulier placed them on the countertop and crossed his arms.

“Anyone can make fried rice, but few can make it well. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

“Very well,” Arek said, a smile crossing his features. He let go of the gold piece in his pocket that he’d planned to pay the other chef with and assessed what he had to work with.

Voulier had procured several eggs, three thin red peppers, a few green onions, a small pile of shrimp, and a healthy amount of garlic.

“I’ve got the rest of what I need,” Arek said before Voulier could dart back to get more ingredients.

“Why are you telling me that? I don’t care. Any chef worth his salt will be carrying the other ingredients,” The shorter chef said. He huffed and crossed his arms, hiding a bottle of soy sauce behind his back.

Arek turned so that Voulier couldn’t see his smile. Malissa had already finished washing the rice, so Arek commandeered the sink to wash his hands. He then washed the produce and set it aside to dry.

“Do you know how to cook rice?” Arek asked.

“I do, actually,” Malissa said. Her inner brow raised and she pressed her lips together. “My mother taught me, before the kobolds.”

“I’m sorry,” Arek said, setting the bowl down and turning to face the woman. “I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories.”

“It’s fine,” Malissa said. Her voice quavered slightly. She blinked quickly and turned away. She took a pot from the wall and poured the rice into it before adding water and setting it over the stove. “I’m replacing the bad memories with good ones.”

Arek couldn’t find an appropriate response, so he settled for taking his cleaver and finely mincing several cloves of garlic. He grabbed a bowl from his pack and tossed the garlic in. Arek then shuffled around his bag until he found his soy sauce and poured a healthy glug into the bowl.

He followed it with a dash of a dark liquid from a canister on his bandolier. The unmistakable smokey smell that came off it identified the liquid as sesame oil.