Claws of Truth

The Housekeeper

"So, kid, what do you think of the francach gloinithe?" Eda asked.

Eda, Luz and King had just made it into town when Luz's stomach decided to let out another loud, low pitched gurgle; one that Eda could not, and did not, miss. They found the nearest food vendor which was serving up what was allegedly identified as "The Best Francach In Gastrow." Eda said it was a local cuisine not much sought after outside of the city, and for good reason, though she had intentionally left out that part when telling Luz about it.

"It's actually pretty good!" Luz chirped between bites. At this point she was more than halfway through her skewered meal, quickly devouring her way through the second half. She took another bite and was happily chewing the mixture of flavors and textures similar to pollo guisado, a meal passed down by her great great grandmother, which her mom made on special occasions.

It was like a small piece of home; something she would happily take.

"Well I'm glad you like it!" Eda smiled, with King nodding along with her, consuming his own serving. "Not many witches take to glazed rat so easily. Guess it's more of a human thing." She gestured to Luz.

No sooner did the words leave Eda's lips before Luz had spat out the partially chewed chunks all over the ground in front of her. "What!?" She squeaked, before scraping at her tongue to rid her mouth of street vermin. She was used to some tastes that even humans would consider alien, considering the past few years she spent on the Boiling Isles, but she drew the line at things which scurry around like creepy little roombas, eager to take whatever scraps they can find.

Eda couldn't help but crack up at the distressed disaster of a girl beside her. It was times like these which really reminded her just how much fun she could have with Luz. That when it came down to it, this lowley human girl who managed to stumble her way into the nightmare called the Boiling Isles had also stumbled her way into her heart. And although Eda never really phrased it in such a way, she had hoped it came across well enough in her actions.

Like having Luz try a likely expired glazed rat on a stick.

"It's actually one of the best food choices you can get around here." King chimed in, completely ignoring Luz's futile mouth cleansing. He took another bite and continued to talk, mouth full of food. "Muth bether den duh insech shalad."

Her face dropped at the mention of such a stomach wrenching dish, which somehow sounded even worse than what she had just wolfed down. "Oh God. The what now?"

"One thing at a time, King. Sheesh, we may give her a heart attack, and I'm not ready to carry around a corpse like the rest of the low lives around here."

"Oh yeah, I thought you said this place was full of rough and tough killers? It seems pretty quaint to me." Luz pointed out, now having completely moved on from the rabies she likely ingested.

"There are many things I lie about. Mostly to steal from people I don't like, but not about that. Trust me, kid, you're gonna want to watch your back as we head in. Titan knows we'll probably get ambushed at some point"

It was the rare instance where both student and mentor were correct in their own regards. Eda, Luz and King were all currently on the outskirts of Gastrow, just barely within the limits of the city. It was similar to what they were used to in Bonesborough; the stands various witches and demons set up lined the large paths in a colorful, eye-catching array, the residents were clustered together yet scattered about the entirety of the strip buying, selling, and haggling various products, and the heavy musty haze combined with the city like brown sounds made this place feel like a home away from home.

That is, until they started to make their way towards the center of the city. With each passing step the ground became more uneven and the stands gained additional security spells which were at the ready, watching over the less dense crowds clumped in front of them. People started to become more closed off, covering themselves up to the point where nothing but an outer layer of cloth was visible. And it was getting easier to tell who was a witch since more and more people began having staffs out and at the ready. Even the air got thicker with the heavy sense of dread lingering like a thick fog, consuming everything in sight.