Mud followed behind Eliot as they both went into the Tikbalang eatery. She guided him to the end of the line, where there stood heaps of sliced and diced veggies. Broccoli, carrots, sprouts, peppers of all colors and spicinesses, and then at the end of the line were smaller tubs with frozen meats, beef, pork, chicken, mutton, venison, it was all laid out for someone to make a plate with.
Speaking of that, Mud handed Eliot a bowl about a foot in diameter, and grabbed a second one for herself, filling it with noodles, green peppers, onions, pineapples, sliced Fenapples, and then began to ladel up large amounts of Kohanian cooking wine, teriyaki type sauce, and some ginsing oil. She then moved towards the cooks, massive beasts as they were that towered over even Mud, and handed the bowl to them.
Dumping the bowl onto the heated metal, the food began to sizzle and pop, the air filling with steam as the sauces and water instantly turned to a gas, and wafted towards the ceiling in thick clouds. The cooks talked back and forth to each other as they slid the food back and forth, like a hockey player would with a puck, then turned to say something in the language of their people, to which Mud shook her head, getting a nod from the two chefs before they slid the food expertly off the metal, and onto a large plate. They then handed the steaming hill of food to the tall brown mare, who sniffed it with a happy murr before turning to wait for Eliot to get his meal.
==~~==
Blazing sky had been waiting patiently, not even lifting the lid off of her food until Nicholai got there. When he did arrive, and complimented her tune, she smiled almost embarrassed.
"No, it's not common. Every family has a different tune that they teach to their offspring. It is passed down through the generations and held with the highest regard."
She motioned for him to have a seat near her, and then began to prepare her meal, mixing the steaming vegetables with the rice from another little pot. She then uncorked the bottle of wine that she had bought, and poured a small amount into two cups that looked to have been carved from black marble. One she kept for herself, the other was offered to her companion.
"This is a Kohanian delicacy, Mr. Nicholai. It is made from a mixture of grapes, and the juice of fenapples. It is very rare, since the actual brewing process has been lost. Rumors say there is an undiscovered tribe who live in the mountains of the northern continent," She pulled a rolled up scroll from a pouch on her right hip, and began to unroll it, showing a crude, but amazingly detailed map of the continents of Neo Kohana.
On the Eastern continent were many mountain ranges and forests, with small squares marked to show where towns and villiages were located. The same was true for the Western continent, but it was much more flat, with great plains stretching over most of the continent. To the south was a large area that was darkly colored, marked with lettering that was impossible to read. But the northern continent was just an outline, with nothing within it, and even the shape seemed to be of debate as there were many different patterns for the outskirts.
"No one has ever been willing to go on an investigation of what the Northern Wastes hide. It is winter almost all the time, and when it is not, the snows and ice melt to make the land nothing but a soupy mudbog, and on top of that, it rains whenever the snows are not present...It's much to dangerous for anyone to investigate..." She repeated the last part for emphasis, and then rolled up the map, and with a grin and a small bow, she held the map out to him.
"For you. If I know The Administrator, it will not be long before he has convinced your queen to accept his mission. He is a very good negotiator, so I have no doubt that your people will be going down to the surface soon. And if that is true, you will need this. Please, do not mention where you got this, or even that you have it. This was given to me to protect because I served in the Grand Library of the Scibes, and this map shows many things that no off worlder should ever know about. For instance..."
She pulled the map back, unrolling it and pointing to three squares on the Eastern Continent.
"These are the Holy Cities. All three of them hold the treasures of our predecessors in vaults beneath the temples. No one is allowed into the vaults except the Avatar, who dwells here," She pointed to a large square in the mountains to the north. "This is the Seat of the Avatar. A temple heavily guarded by his hand selected warriors, the Templar. It is believed that each of these fighters has been imbued with everlasting life, as none have ever fallen in battle. Some believe it is because they serve the Avatar, that they have trancended the boundries of life itself..."
Blushing softly, she rolled the map back up and rested it on the ground, looking away to begin eating without facing him. She just knew that she had said too much, she was like a little foal on the plains agian, talking incessantly and boring her friends...She scooped up a bite of rice and vegetables, and put it into her mouth with a pair of finely crafted chopstick like utensils and just stared off into nothingness, berating herself in silence.
