[New Quest Available: ::SAY CHEESE::]

[::SAY CHEESE::

TRACK NEW QUEST?

Y/N?]

Click. I added the selfie stick along with the rest of my purchase to my fanny pack with a happy contented smile. I donned my socks, finally feeling comfortable. Plyne set me, Fyera and Waelen up in the front room while he went to utilize his kitchen to make us a serving of the Rainbow Curry.

The text for the quest I’d just accepted scrolled in the small screen to the left of my HUD.

[::Say Cheese::]

[Take a picture with 50 people in it.]

[Reward: Unbreakable Camera Strap]

A camera strap so I could wear my camera would mean not having to summon it from my fanny pack every time I wanted to take a picture of something. Which might have been helpful earlier when I missed the bird for the compendium. Fifty people was a LOT though and getting enough people together would be difficult enough to handle.

“I’ve never had Rainbow Curry before.” Fyera said, breaking the awkward silence that had settled while I read my HUD.

“It’s spicy, but filling.” Waelen said as he lounged back on a chair, still keeping an eye on Fyera out of the side of his vision. “He doesn’t make it often but when he does it’s really good.”

“I can’t wait to add it to my compendium.” I said pulling the pamphlet back out. The picture of the dish in the pamphlet was… nice, but it looked grainy like it was taken on an actual film camera versus digital. Which hey, I’m all for regular film processing but I wouldn’t know my way around a dark room if the lights were turned on. This one was point and click and that’s what I needed and what the compendium needed was a more creative angle to really capture the dish.

“That’s so exciting that you’re making one,” Fyera said as she rested her chin in her hand, beaming at me. “What sorts of things do you need to take pictures of?”

I clicked into my compendium tag, I had several pages of full icons that were already filled. Still no where near enough to even come close to putting a dent in what was left but it was still a respectable number on it’s own. Mostly mundane things like candles, fire, water and all that jazz but that was still one less thing I had to do later so that was what mattered the most.

“As much as I can. My compendium doesn’t show me what items I need to find so I can’t afford to be too picky in what I take pictures of.” I looked back over my shoulder to the shop half of the lower floor.

“Hey Plyne?” I called up as an idea struck me.

Plyne poked his head down the stairs wearing strange magnifying goggles over his eyes, “Yeah?”

“Can I take pictures of the stuff you’re selling for my compendium?”

“Yeah. No stealing. Waelen watch her.” Plyne called vanishing back up. “Food’ll be ready soon!”

Waelen gave a grunt of acknowledgement, watching me with great disinterest as I snapped photos of everything around the store. The compendium pinged with several updates that I waved away of more mundane things like rope and camping supplies. I found a mirror and took a picture of the camera, with me standing behind it. Ker-chunk.

The image of me standing in a full length mirror in my Bermuda shorts, beach bum body shirt and sunglasses forever immortalized as the camera icon. It didn’t show much of my face, my sunglasses hiding whatever the clunky camera didn’t and that was fine with me. I wasn’t all that fond of my picture being taken anyways with most of my You-niverse uploads being of a similar style. I’m shy okay? As long as I had a working microphone I was good to stream.

If artists could sign their works then I could include a tasteful selfie in my compendium.

Plyne’s boots thumped down the stairs as he carefully balanced four small steaming bowls. My eyes watered as I walked into a literal wall of capsicum from the flare of spice, joining them at the table. Fyera and Waelen were having as difficult a time as I was, only Plyne, who’s coke bottle goggles protected him from the spice, was able to watch us with a smirk.

“One order of [Secret Recipe: Rainbow Curry], hot and fresh!” He said with pride. Waelen scooped his bowl up and tucked into it, tears streaming down his face while he ate.

“Oh yeah, that’s the stuff.” The proclaimed town’s guard sighed happily. I snagged a few prop items I could lay on the side to give the bowl a bit more pizazz. I got my camera all set up and ready but looking through the viewfinder something still seemed missing. Fyera and Plyne had also started in on their bowls, Plyne eating his as though there was no heat or issue at all, Fyera was putting on a brave face digging more for the not spiced rice underneath the wilted curry leaves.

I pulled out my pamphlet and folded it open to the page that included the description and tucked it alongside the bowl. The included logo of The Dapper Crate sat squarely off to the side. That was what was missing: a link back to where I’d found this meal.

Ker-chunk.

[Floor 1 Secret 3/10]

[New Compendium Entry: Secret Recipe- Rainbow Curry]

[‘A close guarded secret of Plyne of The Dapper Crate.’

Notes:

N/A]

“Gotcha.” I muttered while looking back at the picture. It was You-niverse posting worthy. The camera evaporated out of my hands, shrinking back into my fanny pack. I pulled my bowl away from the props that lay scattered all through my eating area. The spicy steam now cooled so I was no longer getting attacked for just breathing near it. The leaves of the bowl were arranged in the similar bullseye pattern from the grainy pamphlet picture, starting with a thin layer of the red curry leaves forming the outline against the bowl. It bled into the thick orange and yellow layer before finally bulls-eyeing back to red in the center.

“Start at the outside and work your way in if you’re not a fan of heat.” Plyne instructed pointing with his spoon. “Or if you are, just start in the middle.”

That’s what both Waelen and Fyera had done, although Waelen’s had been on purpose. Fyera dashed up the stairs without prompting and brought down a pitcher of water and some glasses for us all, hastily chugging hers.

“It’s so spicy Plyne! You’re trying to kill us!” She huffed, fanning her tongue when the water didn’t help.

“That’s why you need the full rainbow of leaves for it to taste good.” Plyne explained. “Orange and Red leaves are both meant for Fire Resist potions, the mild yellow helps cut back on their power. Yellow Curry Leaves are good cooking ingredients on their own, but paired with the other two makes the whole group edible.”

I nodded through my tears and readied myself while he talked, ignoring the updates added into my compendium as he spoke. A spoon full of the red and a heap of the yellow immediately surrounding it. I hated spicy foods but here I went anyways, I clamped my eyes shut expecting the worst. The curry hit, a heat filled my mouth followed by the warmth of the fluffy rice. I opened my eyes, looking down at my bowl in confusion. It wasn’t edible fire like I’d expected but more like a vegetarian cabbage curry. At least that’s what the limp leaves reminded me of diced up how they were. It was wonderful and not nearly as spicy as the other two made it out to be. At least it wasn’t a slaw…

If heaven was noodles, hell was coleslaw. The devil take that nasty side dish and shove it in the trash where it belonged!

“Pretty good, eh?” Plyne asked with a grin watching my reaction. I ate another bite expecting a heat to finally kick in. Still delicious and still not killing me. It was TONS better than whatever oatmeal paste ration Roqor had given in the starter pack. Waelen nodded at me in approval, his eyes red from uncontrolled tears. Fyera stared at me in shocked jealous awe.

“Plyne this is fantastic!” I told him.

“[Tourists] and Dwarves are about the only ones who can stomach it thanks to their class granted constitution bonuses.” Plyne settled back in his seat, effectively lounging as he took another bite. “Can’t have you getting sick while trying the local cuisine.”

A constitution bonus and actual factual dwarves! Plyne has been dropping helpful compendium information left and right now that I’d started hitting the right path.

“And you have to shred it?” I asked. Plyne nodded sagely.

“That’s how you get the juices out. Shred, then boil for—oop!” He caught himself and we shared a chuckle. “Oh no you don’t, you keep that outta the compendium. Trademark [Secret] is what it is.”

“Plyne you seem to know a lot more than you let on. You know an awful lot about [Tourists] and even what it is I’m looking for even before I knew what I was looking for.”

“That’s what’cha get for not reading the pamphlet as soon as you found it.” he chastised me.

“I woke up in a wizard’s tower, I’m not going to pay attention to a measly pamphlet when there’s a whole library of information surrounding me!”

“And therein lies your problem, so focused on the big that you forget the small exists too.”

I blinked and picked up the pamphlet on the table. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, Plyne was right. I was a [Tourist] and I’d blown right past the hotel help desk and straight for the casino: with a gamble of finding what I was looking for. I had to stop and slow down more, my class wasn’t built for a race: it was built for a vacation. That meant leisure, taking my time enjoying the sights. I’d only stayed to enjoy Roqor’s Tower because it was dark when I’d arrived.

Okay Walters, let’s do better.

I nodded. “Yeah, I guess so. Can you tell me anything about the other [Secrets] on this floor or the viewpoints I have to find?”

“I can tell you about those things, now that you’re asking the right questions.” He said, finishing the last of his bowl and setting it on the table. I paused waiting for him to continue as he looked at me expectantly, eyebrow raised in anticipation.

A very verbose yes if I’d ever heard one. I picked up on the subtle hint he’d repeated a second time: he could only tell me things if I asked in the right way. But what constituted as the right way? The right phrasing? Hitting a key word? Yes or no questions? Something clicked: he only answered that he COULD answer my question, not giving me any solid answers beyond that. I asked if he COULD not if he WOULD.

“Will you please tell me about the other [Secrets] on this floor or the location of the viewpoints I have to find?” I rephrased, hoping that would be the key I needed. He shook his head and pointed to the pamphlet. No answer was still an answer: He couldn’t answer a broad question like that and just GIVE me the answers. That’d be cheating.

“Are there any fun things to do in Seamyst?” I tried to be more delicate in my phrasing with the only other landmark I’d heard Fyera mention. A smile crossed Plyne’s face.

“I’ve heard there’s a Seabed Stroll you can sign up for. Explore the bottom of the nearby reef. Who knows you might even see a shark or two.”

My compendium chirped with updates. Results!

“What about here? Is there anything else worth checking out?” I asked hopefully.

“You’ve found all the [Secrets] to be found here in Green’s Peak, but be sure to let me know if you need help with any quests.” He stated the last bit forcefully, I blinked. He was leading me again.

What Quest would I need his help with? I scrolled through my HUD which showed my actively tracked quests:

[::Escape the Tower:: Quest pt 2: ESCAPE THE TOWER, ALIVE] - Seemed like this one wouldn’t be going away for a while.

[::Escape the Tower:: Quest pt 2, Subquest 1: FIND WAY TO FLOOR 2] -Would he be able to just outright tell me where the exit to the next floor was?

[::Guidebook Ghostwriter::] -Rainbow Curry would have to be my first entry into the Guidebook. I’d work up a write up for it later.

[::Complete the Compendium:: : Side Quest (Optional)] -He’d already let me have the run of the shop and I’d gotten a ton more mundane things over and done with.

[::Say Cheese::]

I paused reading the requirements for the last quest in my tracker. The one I’d just gotten from having wagered a random bush I found in the woods for a selfie stick.

[Take a picture with 50 people in it.]

“Hey Plyne?”

“Yes, MykaReviews?” He was waiting for this.

“How many people live here in Green’s Peak?”

“Including myself, forty nine. Why? Is there something you need help with?”

There it was. Plyne laid it out so smoothly, my receiving this quest here in this specific town was no accident. An absurd quest right at the beginning, that you could solve if you managed not to piss off a whole town.

“If you wouldn’t mind,” I said as I materialized my camera in my hand. “How would you like to be in my compendium?”