03 — A Recipe to Die For

03 — A Recipe to Die For

A man was brooding in the kitchen of Merratoni’s Adventurer’s Guild.

“Gah, it’s a bust! How do I turn this into food?” He stared reproachfully at the freshly cooked creation, then he ever so carefully brought a bite to his mouth. He promptly retched, his wolflike ears twitching in distress and tears welling up in his eyes. He didn’t even bother to chew and simply gulped it down with a quick glass of water. As he struggled to catch his breath, he removed his nose plugs, hands trembling, then went out like a light at the wretched stench.

This unfortunate wolf-man’s name was Gulgar—head chef of the Merratoni Adventurer’s Guild—and the circumstances of his collapse were far from ordinary. He was creating something: a new menu for the guild. But not just any old menu. No, this one focused on a special ingredient.

“Smell...bad...” he mumbled, half-conscious, while the dark purple Substance X gurgled nearby.

Crafted by a sage about a century earlier, it was said the substance had the power to awaken potential in anyone who drank it. However, not just anyone had the ability to stomach it. Its stench alone made it a near impossibility for beastfolk given their heightened senses of smell. The courageous ones who could endure that first step then had to brave a mouthful as the rankness seeped throughout every orifice and assaulted their nasal cavities from the inside out, paralyzing their senses. Most who made it that far would shut down completely, their brains unable to physically process the taste. Those who didn’t were the substance’s chosen few.

Gulgar’s first encounter with Substance X had been in his early adult years, when he’d followed in his brother’s footsteps and become an adventurer. The veterans were holding a ceremony, a “baptism,” they’d called it, and having the newbies take drinks. That day, they knew true fear. Gulgar ran without even trying it and didn’t look back until some time later. But the rancid smell piqued his curiosity, and one day it got the better of him. He cast aside his inhibitions and decided to give it a go.

He felt his knees tremble at the sight of the bubbling liquid before him. But if he didn’t put this to rest here and now, he’d live his life wondering what could have been.

“Let’s do this!”

He threw the mug back, and the world went dark. When he came to, he was surrounded by darkness. The only thing he could see was his own body.

“What’s goin’ on?”

Gulgar strained his eyes to get his bearings and noticed the counter of a bar, of all things. Something was very wrong here, so he approached it slowly and peered into the nothingness. There, he saw the purple liquid shift and change into an anthropomorphic figure. He gulped in fear.

He heard a voice echo inside his head. “I see you.”

The figure lumbered towards him and suddenly attacked. It was slow but horribly foul.

“I know that smell!”

He threw his fist at the creature made of Substance X, believing that defeating it was his way out, and it blew apart with surprising ease.

“Yes! Now I—” The droplets on the ground quivered just as Gulgar was assured of his victory. “What?!”

The puddles grew larger, then assembled into more figures of liquid. Fear crept up his spine, and he ran.

“Waaaiiit for uuus.”

“Get me outta heeere!”

The figures didn’t let up, never rested, and Gulgar kept running. But then he came to a dead end. The figures closed in, and there was no way out. Just when all hope seemed lost, a light broke through the darkness.

Then he woke up.

Gulgar gasped for air. “It was a dream? Oh, thank the gods.”

“Good morning.”

“Oh, Galba.” His older brother had been watching over him.

“Your nap didn’t look very relaxing.”

“I was bein’ attacked by Substance X, bro!”

Galba laughed. “They say people who waste that stuff earn a punishment from the sage himself.”

“That was punishment? Wait, how come you weren’t punished?”

“Me? Why would I ever drink that stuff? After all, I’m made of Substance X.”

Galba’s face melted and his body turned to liquid.

Gulgar jolted awake. “Just... Just a dream,” he wheezed, then grunted. “Gotta get ready to open up. Think I’ll give whoever manages to eat this crap half-off. Incentivize ’em a bit.”

After that traumatizing experience during his youth, Gulgar would never dare to cross Substance X again. At the time, no one knew it could make people stronger, and he only found out the shocking truth after Galba’s sleuth work around the Adventurer’s Guild HQ.

Substance X could enhance physical growth for several hours after consumption. Once this came to light, Gulgar knew how to put his cooking abilities to use. One day, he would successfully create a recipe that incorporated the liquid seamlessly.

He pulled himself off the floor and prepared for another day of hungry adventurers.