World of Fantasy

The Help We Give

QUILL

When Quill woke up that morning, it was with apprehension and a lingering desire to just roll over and go back to sleep. He blinked and rolled over to get more comfortable and found himself looking at the other bed in the room and Jane's bundled form. Oh, right; they'd gotten a shared room because it was cheaper.

Because he'd lost half of their money.

Because he was weak.

There was just no desire to get up and start the day. What was the point, after all? He wasn't going to gain a bunch of levels. Rolling onto his stomach, he buried his face in his elbow. He knew he was being negative and defeatist. But that didn't change the truth. He couldn't change his base stats.

He heard Jane waking up and could guess from the sounds that she was pulling her shirt on while under the blanket because he was there. Then she quietly left, likely to visit the inn's washroom, which was just an outhouse on the outer wall with a jug of cold water to wash your hands with after. He'd overheard others talking about more expensive inns having plumbing and even magical features. Must be nice. Yeah, he was definitely feeling bitter.

Jane returned and had evidently decided today was a cheerful kind of day. She jumped onto his bed, which didn't bounce because it was stuffed with straw. "Up, up, lazy boy. We have adventuring to do!"

Not wanting to be a downer in front of her, he rose and got himself ready. Then the two went down to the inn's very small, three-table dining room for a breakfast of pancakes. Quill had to admit they were pretty great. As a devoted pancake lover, this actually did lift his spirits, and he was glad he'd come down. When the server, in a cute green-and-white maid-like outfit, put the plates down on their table, he looked up and asked, "Do you have any peanut butter? Maple syrup?"

"Oh! Just a moment." She swept into the kitchen and returned with three toppings. "Here you are. Cinnamon hazelnut spread, as well as salted caramel. And here's a lovely orange cream sauce." She beamed at them and departed.

Jane gave him a look. "Peanut butter and maple syrup?"

He paused in reaching for the hazelnut. "Uh, yeah. What do you put on your pancakes?"

"Butter."

"Only?"

"Yeah."

"Ew."

She rolled her eyes.

He ignored her unrefined tastes. What could possibly be better than peanut butter and maple syrup on pancakes? He could eat that for days. In fact, he had. But this cinnamon hazelnut? Curious. He enjoyed trying new things. He covered half a pancake, which was very fluffy, and tried a bite. "Ohmah frickin wow."

Jane, who had only put butter on hers, lifted her head in interest. "What did you put on it?"

He pointed at the hazelnut, which was rich and smooth, and the hint of cinnamon swirling within was perfect. Wolfing down the rest of that half, he reached for the salted caramel next. Surely that would be too much, too sweet. He stuck a piece of pancake with his fork and put it in his mouth. His tastebuds exploded. He couldn't even chew.

Jane certainly noticed his reaction. She immediately reached for the caramel. "Ok, screw it. I want some of that." She tried a bite. And melted. "Thish ish soooo goood." She swallowed. "In the real world it would be so many calories. But here? Who cares! I can sin all I want."

There had been two pancakes on his plate to start with. He was down to one. He cut it in half and saved one half for whichever of the three toppings was best. So far, an impossible choice. He put the pale orange cream with darker orange specks from candied peel on one half. He took a bite. His eyes closed, and he savoured the sweet but tangy delight. "I'm never leaving this table." He stuffed another piece in his mouth.