Chapter ‌‌3.18 G SHOPTOPIA

Kingdom of Ravaryn

5th Lightday of the Full Moon

Ginka rolled out of bed at the midday’s break bells. She had today all to herself. Vastra and the other inn owners didn’t serve dinner on the 5th Lightday of each cycle, as they held an innkeeper’s meeting on that day. Ginka planned on going to the alchemist to pick up the different batches of baking powder and experiment more inside the kitchen. After speaking with Bastiva yesterday, Ginka decided tonight she would summon and contract with her first Rubrafreet.

Hopping into the shower, Ginka cleaned up and got into her regular starter clothes. If she was going to be in the kitchen most of the day, no way in hell was she going to wear any of the summer dresses the princess had bought for her.

Making her way to the alchemist’s shop took a bit longer than she had imagined it would. Being midday’s break, the streets were packed with people either heading home or to their favorite food shops for lunch. Just before walking up to the alchemist’s shop, it dawned on Ginka that the alchemist was closed for the break as well. With some time on her hands and an empty belly, Ginka decided to find a place to eat nearby.

She found a cafe with an outside patio that looked to be popular, as it was almost packed. Taking a seat at a small table, a waiter came over a moment later, handed her a menu, and promptly left without a word. Looking over the menu, she realized the cafe primarily served sandwiches and soups.

The waiter came back a few minutes later, and Ginka asked what the most popular item on the menu was. He quickly pointed out the Golden Sander. Ginka ordered one, even though she didn’t quite know what a Sander was.

Over the next ten minutes, Ginka watched the people of Ravaryn going to and from their destinations. In many ways, the scene reminded her of New Houston.

Well, if Houston had a medieval district and everyone was dressed like it was Halloween.

She was still giggling to herself when the waiter brought her food and a glass of what looked like juice. Taking a bite of the sandwich, Ginka was amazed at how flaky the meat was. It tasted more like a well-grilled fish. The crunchy vegetables and what she thought of as a mix between mustard and mayo made the sandwich absolutely delicious.

Taking a sip of the glass confirmed her suspicion that it was indeed juice. It tasted of apples and pears, with a hint of something sour. The juice was a perfect way to wash down each bite from her sandwich. Soon after finishing her meal, the waiter came by with the bill. Ginka paid, leaving the surprised waiter a tip as well.

She walked around the various shops till she heard the five rings of the midday’s break end bells, then made her way to the alchemist’s shop.

“Ho, welcome back! I think I’ve done what you’ve asked of me. I have four different batches prepared for you. I’ve marked them one through four. When you find out which works best, I can make a bigger supply for you,” said the alchemist.

“Great! I can’t wait to try them out. Do I owe you anything else?”

“Oh lord no, with the amount of Horde Vouchers you gave me, you can come back for the next phase to get more of your baking powder.”

“Thank you again.”

Ginka left the shop with the four small bags of white powder. Getting back to the inn, she found Vastra and Aelithis chatting up at the bar. No one else seemed to be sitting around today. Her Bast friend looked more like herself today. Ginka waved to the two and headed into the kitchen.

Removing all the ingredients she needed out of the cupboards, Ginka began to measure out enough of each to create four batches. The individual mixtures would use only two spoonfuls from each bag. Ginka hoped the alchemist got it right with at least one batch.

The first batch tasted terrible. The cake came out flat and tasted stale. The second batch was a bit better. It had more small pockets of air throughout the cake but was dry as a bone. The third bag was spot on for what Ginka was hoping for. The cake came out soft, fluffy, and moist. When the cake came out of the oven with the fourth bag’s variation, Ginka could see an issue right away. It looked like that batch of baking powder formed far too much carbon dioxide during the baking process. This caused the cake to rise far too high, then collapse on itself. The cake still tasted good and was both soft and moist. But since it didn’t hold its shape, this one was a failure as well.

Happy with the third bag’s mixture, Ginka made a second cake and frosted it with a mix of butter and honey sand. Satisfied with the finished product, she cut the cake into six large slices and plated three. Ginka took the plates out to the bar’s front to have the Bast and Lamia try them out.

“Here, guys, I think I got my cake mixture right now. Let me know what you two think.”

Vastra and Lelithis looked down at the plates of yellowish cake with orangish frosting adorning them. Aelithis was the first to take a large bite and squirmed as she began to chew. Ginka thought she would throw up, but the Lamia just bounced up and down a few times, then took another large bite.

“It’s so sweet, but the bread is so soft and moist! I’ve never had bread like this before! I love it, Ginka!”

The Bast also seemed to enjoy it, but not like Aeli did. Ginka explained the cake was a type of desert and not bread. With her two friends’ approval, Ginka claimed victory and headed back to the kitchen to clean up. Once everything was washed and put away, Ginka plated the last three slices, placed them in her inventory, and then headed back to the alchemist shop.

“Back already? Don’t tell me none of them worked,” the alchemist said.

“Oh no, bag three worked perfectly! I wanted to bring you an example of what the powder helps me make.”

Ginka placed a plate with a cake slice on the counter. The Elf dipped his head over the plate, closed his eyes, and inhaled deeply from his nose. He couldn’t help but smile. The alchemist quickly looked around his immediate area for something that could serve as a utensil. Finding nothing to his liking, he told Ginka he’d be right back in a moment.

The Elf soon returned from the back with an oversized gold plate fork. At the top of the handle was an onyx inset. Engraved on the onyx was the letters RFS. Ginka guessed the letters might be his initials. He delicately carved away a piece of the cake and scooped the sugary morsel into his mouth.

“Oh my, that has got to be the sweetest and softest bread I’ve ever had. You said you call it cake?”

“Correct, the baking powder you made for me helps change the bread into cake. Mixed with the right ingredients, it adds tiny bubbles of air inside during the baking process, and that is what makes it so light and fluffy.”

“Amazing, I’ll make sure to mix a larger bag of the third mixture for you soon.”

“I don’t need a large bag of it. I could use maybe two or three pounds at most. One of these cakes, a full one, only requires two spoons of baking powder. So it will take some time for me to go through the bag you already made for me.”

“Alright, give me a moment, and I’ll have your three-pound bag,”

The alchemist disappeared into the back again. Ginka wandered the front room looking at the paintings of the brightly colored glass bottles with healing and mana potions. Seeing the prices below the images, She was amazed at how fast they went up in price. A few silver for Lesser to a Royal for a Splendid. The alchemist returned not long after with what looked like an ordinary sack of flour or sugar one would find on Earth.

“Here you go. If you need anything else made, let me know. One more thing. Do you mind if I advertise your baking powder? If it sells well, I can give you a portion of the sales.”

“Oh, I didn’t think about that. I have no issue with you selling it. Just be sure to let people know they only need a small amount, so they don’t ruin too many batches,” said Ginka.

“Thank you again for using my shop.”

Ginka left and headed off to the Kitchen and Craft workshop to speak with Dhurfac. Arriving, she didn’t bother to wait in the front of the shop like last time. She just walked straight back into the workshop itself and flagged down the Dwarven blacksmith.

“Aye, Ginka! Got something else for us to craft for ya?” asked Dhurfac.

“I do indeed, my friend. I need cupcake trays, at least four of them.”

Ginka then spent the next thirty minutes speaking with Dhurfac, explaining what cupcake trays were for and how they looked. She made a few pictures for the Dwarf to use as rough schematics. After he understood the shapes and dimensions, he promised to have them finished in a day or two. Dhurfac would need a bit of time to make forms for his press. He then would be able to shape the cups from one sheet of cast iron.

Before leaving, Ginka had the Dwarf point her in the direction of a cheesemaker. She loved butter frosting, but cheese frosting was her absolute favorite. The directions took her back to the west part of the outer ring. She had learned that most of the animal and crop farms were located just west of the city. So it was only natural the cheese, wine, ale, and other artisans all had their shops in the west district.

Ginka found what she was looking for pretty quickly. The cream cheese she was after was aptly called cheese butter, and she found it was always in stock due to its high level of popularity among many of Fantasy’s races. Ginka bought the shop’s entire supply out with two Horde Vouchers.

Leaving the cheese shop, Ginka stopped and smacked her forehead.

Damn! I forgot about the cupcake liners.

Walking back into the cheese shop, she asked the young Elf behind the counter where paper goods could be made? The shopkeeper informed her the paper artisans were located back in the east, not far from the alchemists.

Leaving the cheese shop, Ginka spotted the large purple Crystal for the west side not far away and decided to register herself. She walked the five minutes to the purple rock candy-shaped Crystal.

Hmm… I wonder if they have rock candy here?

Ginka placed her hand on the Crystal and registered.

You have registered at the Western Ravaryn Crystal.

Ginka made her way back to the southeastern part of the city and found the paper crafters and artisans section. She spent over an hour going from shop to shop looking for anything that could be used in baking, but she came away empty-handed. However, while browsing the last shop on the street and still not finding anything, she was just walking out the door when the shopkeeper stopped her.

“Excuse me, what is it you're looking for?”

Ginka explained she was looking for parchment paper used for cooking. The paper could come in square sheets, but they used corrugated circler liners where she was from. This formed nice cups of paper.

“What you want is butcher’s paper. We don’t sell it in our shop, but you could go to any of the butchers on the west side and ask to buy a roll or two? I think they get the paper from another city that specializes in it.”

“Oh, thank you so much.”

Ginka left the paper shop and began walking across the city yet again towards the west.

I really hope I can get a mount or something in the game. All this walking is killing my virtual feet.

Arriving back on the west end, she was directed by a nice Koala Beastkin to his favorite butcher. Walking in, Ginka was amazed at the size and cleanness of the shop. On the left side of the store was a wall of glass from floor to ceiling. On the other side of the window was what Ginka guessed was a large walk-in freezer. The glass allowed the butchers to put their meats on display without compromising the temperature.

Through the glass, Ginka saw many of the meat cuts were larger than herself, and some had odd colors such as purple or blue. Stepping to the back of the line, Ginka waited for a little while till it was her turn. She asked the beautiful-looking Rabbit Beastkin if they would sell her some of the butcher paper they used. The rabbit gave her an odd look before shrugging and then calling out over her shoulder.

“Nickola! A pointless eared Elf is asking to buy some of your meat paper!”

A few moments later, a Fox Beastskin came out of the back and looked around before zeroing in on Ginka.

“I’ll take the customer, Juda,” said Nickola.

The Fox waved Ginka over to the side.

“You want to buy meat paper?”

“Yes, if it’s what I’m looking for. A shopkeeper told me it’s what I call parchment paper.”

Nickola ducked into the back and returned a moment later with a small piece of brown paper and handed it to Ginka. It only took a moment for her to realize it was the parchment paper she was after.

“Yep, this is what I’ve been looking for. Is there any way I could buy some off you?”

“Sure, I’ve got tons of the stuff. I always buy it in bulk.”

“I have coin and Horde Vouchers. How much would you charge for a roll or two?”

“Oh, it’s cheap paper. I wouldn’t take a Horde Voucher for such a thing. How about five silver a roll?

“Sure, can I buy five rolls?”

“What the hell are you cooking? A herd of Gatronards?”

“Sorry, how big is a roll?”

The fox walked back into his shop and a few moments later brought out a huge roll of paper slung over his shoulder. Ginka, seeing the size of it now, understood what he had meant.

“I’ll take one roll, please. And that may last me forever.”

Nicola placed the roll of parchment on the ground, and Ginka handed over the five silver. She then placed her hand on the paper and let it vanish into her magic bag.

“I’ll never get used to that. Thank you again, Nicola. I’m Ginka. I’m looking to open up a bakery next to Zippy’s Thorn inn on the southside of town.”

“A bakery? That is wonderful. Let us know when you’re up and running. My Juda has a nasty sweet tooth.”

“Oh? Here, have her try this. It’s a sample of one of the things I’ll be making for my shop.”

Ginka pulled out her second plate of cake and handed it to the fox. He disappeared into the back and returned in a flash with a fork. Taking a small bite, his ears pressed against his head, and he started saying something. Unfortunately, Ginka couldn’t quite make out what the fox had said.

Nickola brought the plate and fork over to Juda and pushed it in front of her.

“Try it. It’s amazing.”

Juda gave him an odd look, then one to Ginka. The old Elven customer also gave Ginka a strange look, then seemed to grow curious as he looked over the slice of cake. Juda’s ears curved forward as she drew in the sweet smells wafting up from the plate in front of her. She stabbed at the slice with her fork, cutting away a large portion. Taking a bite, the rabbit’s eyes went wide with surprise.

“What kind of bread is this?” Juda asked.

“It’s called cake, and I’ll be making this as well as smaller versions at my bakery soon. I could also make carrot cake as well,” said Ginka.

“I would love to try them out when you’re open. What’s carrot cake?”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I assumed you liked carrots and had them here.”

Juda gave her an odd look, and then the two butchers thanked her for letting them try out the cake. Just as she was leaving the shop, Ginka heard someone calling out for the green-haired one. Turning around, she saw it was the older Elven customer from inside.