"Oh, Garden Beast, you're here!" Celia greets you as you saunter through the cooking station.

"Huh, you know how to cook Celia?" you admire the large crock hanging over the fire.

"Yep! I may not be the best at alchemy, but this sensitive nose of mine is pretty helpful when it comes to making food."

"Hoh... so what's on the menu?"

"Glad you asked!"

She dips her ladle into the sauce-filled pot and brings it up to your lips. It gives off a sweet aroma.

"Careful, it's hot," she says with a confident smirk.

You don't really heed her warning, as one of your talents circumvents injury from heat. And what spreads throughout your tongue is a rich and savory flavor that trumps all the stews you've tasted over the decades.

"That's amazing! What is it?" the taste stays in your mouth even after you swallow.

"It's our traditional meat glaze. One part venison stock and one part mushroom sauce finished off with a splash of Elderwood Mead. Drizzle some of this on the venison steaks Grimdal's team brought home and you won't be able to stop eating."

"Mind teaching me the recipe?"

"Sure, you are here to learn from us after all."

She runs you through the process, showing you how the different ingredients interact with one another and letting you taste for perfection. Her explanations are delivered with such zest, that it is as though it brings her great joy to share the wonders of cooking with you.

Recipe Learned:

[Elderwood Meat Glaze]

"Ahh! Now I get it!" you absorb the recipe like a sponge.

"Don't forget to reduce the sauce before adding the mead!" she reminds you.

"Mm, noted. By the way, is it alright for you to teach me while the other cooks are scrambling to get dishes out?"

"Oh whoops! Forgot I was lending these guys a hand. Sorry, but that's all I can help you with today, Garden Beast! I can continue this tomorrow if you'd like though!"

"I"ll take you up on that offer. Thanks for the lesson, Celia."

She waves you goodbye and you leave her to aid the struggling chefs. Walking into the main streets you are reminded of the merrymaking that consumes the village. Song and dance can be found in every corner and the elves celebrate this auspicious day.

The day you freed them from the clutches of starvation.

The people catch you roaming through the brightly-lit roads and gather around to greet their savior. In addition to warm praise and words of gratitude, they also utter questions they had about you for years.

"Garden Beast is it true you can breathe fire?!" one elf asks.

"Well," you cast Ignis and a flame appears on your palm, "I have mastered fire spells. Doesn't mean I spray it from my mouth though."

They ooh and aah at the spectacle, and another elf raises her hands. "What about your bestial form? Can you actually transform into a monstrous fox demon worthy of the title 'Garden Beast'?!"

"Uh, I think you're talking about the Mystfox. And he's the farthest thing from a monster."

"Hey, Garden Beast. I heard from the mother of my friend's father's half-sister that you eat rocks for a living! Is that why you didn't consume the food you gave to us?" a daft-looking man comes up to you.

"What the heck kinds of rumors are being spread about me?!"

From between the throng of people though, you espy your Mystfox friend playing around with a group of young children. And his tail wags as he dashes around these little bundles of energy.

Such a scene brings a smile to your face and you forget that you are virtually drowning in a sea of elves.

Then thankfully, emerging from behind the masses is Elder Anna, accompanied by a line of guards and two familiar faces. They break up the crowd and open a path for you.

"Back it up, everyone! Make way!" the Elder says as she approaches you. "You're disrupting the peace and making our guest feel uncomfortable!"

"Anna!" you're happy to see her come to your rescue.

"Hurry, Nameless Seer! We'll keep these guys at bay until you can escape. Keep heading east past the trees until you reach a cliff. It's a hiding spot we council members frequent."

"U-understood!"

"Oh, and take this," she hands you a fruit skewer and chunks of marinated venison enveloped in a large leaf.

[Fruit Skewer]

Description: Small chunks of various fruit on a stick. Remember not to eat from the front, lest you stab yourself.

Quality: Good

Weight: 0.1

[Glazed Venison]

Slices of venison doused in Elderwood Glaze. The ultimate combination of sweet and savory.

Quality: Good

Weight: 0.2

"These are..?"

"Elven dishes. The best way to learn about a culture is to sample its cuisine. It'd be a shame if you didn't at least try our food before you leave."

"Ah, okay. Thanks!"

"No problem, now let's cut the chit-chat and get you out of here!"

You nod and scurry out of the area, following Anna's instructions. You take care not to drop these toothsome dishes and make it to the edge of town. Here, you find a slope hidden in the woods that lead to a grassy hill overlooking the valley.

And by the precipice staring wistfully at the stars, is none other than Grimdal.

"Elder Grimdal! You were here this whole time?" you stroll up beside him.

"Huh? Oh, Garden Beast, it's you. Never thought I'd see you here. Also, there is no need to call me Elder. I am but a normal man named Grimdal."

"It's fine, isn't it? You look elderly anyway."

"Is that... a compliment?"

"Beats me."

The old man redirects his focus to the night sky and silently gazes off into the distance.

"You like stargazing?" you sit down next to him and unwrap the food in your hands.

"Not particularly. I just prefer this quietude to the festive mood back home."

"Eeeh... is that so? I like stargazing. It reminds me of whence I came from."

"Whence you came from? Are you not of the forest like all of Gaia's Spawn?"

"Nope. I existed in this black void, no different than the endless abyss looming over us right now. I was probably there for thousands of years prior to waking up in this ruined city located far north. It is at this point I consider myself born, but that was a few decades ago. I'm pretty young if you think about it..."

"T-the ruins? Tales of that accursed place have been passed down from generation to generation. Our ancestors viewed it as a region rife with bad omens and death. Elder Anna says even the humans don't dare touch it."

"Ooh, I kinda get that. I was pretty scared of entering the skyscrapers myself," you take a bite of the marinated meat and immediately squeal with delight. "You should try some of this stuff Grimdal, it's out of this world!"

"Y-you're surprisingly laidback for a powerful and mysterious being..."

"I'm not that powerful. I've almost died a few times, granted that was before I attained all my talents."

You hold out a fruit skewer and tilt your head. It takes a while for Grimdal to respond.

"What?" he stares at you oddly.

"Take one. I don't need this much food."

"Sweet things are the bane of a healthy warrior's diet. We are to eat raw vegetables and unflavored meat."

"Whaaat? It's only one skewer!"

"I need to maintain my discipline, lest I set a bad example for the soldiery."

"But, you're no longer head of the Elderwood Warriors right?"

He pauses as the realization sinks in. And he turns to you with a placid expression.

"You're... right..." he mouths, eyeing the succulent pieces of grapes and apple berries on a stick. "I don't have to be so strict on what I eat anymore huh? I'm retired..."

"Exactly!" you lightly poke his shoulder with the skewer. "And today's a celebration. You don't have to hold back—have as much fun as you want!"

"Fun... I haven't heard that word in centuries."

He takes the stick of fruit and sniffs it for poison out of habit.

And he pulls the strawberry off the tip with his teeth. One bite and a sweet yet sour juice gushes forth and coats his mouth with sugary goodness. The life in his single visible eye is restored and he quickly goes in for a second bite.

"This is..." the wrinkles on his cheeks curve up. "This is... out of this world..!"

"I know right?" you grin at him. "Doesn't this blow your unflavored meat out of the water?"

He plops his butt on the ground, sitting cross-legged, and leans in to grab another fruit skewer. You are mesmerized by his childlike elation, and you watch him with dimples on your cheeks.

"There's nothing wrong with being prideful. But if your reputation's all you pay attention to, you blind yourself from the things that could make you happy. And living life this long with no happiness is practically life not lived at all," you bask in the moonlight as the midnight clouds part. "Why would you deny yourself such joy when it is abundant in this beautiful world?"

Upon looking down at the leaf though, you realize all your food has been eaten by Grimdal.

The man beside you lets out a satisfied burp and rises. "I feel much better now! I think I've got a new perspective on life."

"H-hey my food!" you jump to your feet, absolutely fuming. "You ate it all?!"

"Hm? Didn't you say I could have it?"

"I said you could have some of it! Not all of it!"

"Oh well," he turns around and ambles away, "I'll see you first thing tomorrow for that longsword training!"

"O-oi... but what about my—"

"Hoo, what a snack! I should probably wash it down with that Elderwood Mead everyone talks about!"

And he leaves you alone on the cold desolate cliff, where you reflect on your kindness and ultimately come to regret it.

"Ah... whatever..." you shrug and sigh deeply to yourself, wrapped in a thin blanket of starlight.