The Dungeon Inn - English

B1C03 - The first dish

The next day I first sent Karl hunting for rabbits and then let him continue to fetch wood. Unfortunately, the poor boy can't transport wood that easily, which meant our wood storage grew slowly. I sent him on a rabbit hunt as our inn needed its first dish. Roasted rabbit with mushrooms and the secret sauce. What secret sauce? Well, the cave has slimes and slimes are not poisonous. So you can eat them. The only problem is, as soon as I destroy their core, they melt and I have no way of storing soup at the moment. Hollowing out a stone is far too difficult without tools. So I came up with the idea, of simply letting the slime melt over the rabbit and maybe give it a little kick with that. To my surprise, the plan worked and the rabbit didn't taste too bad with the mushrooms. Karl looked at me reproachfully, as I had only told him yesterday, that I wouldn't take meat away from him. But I was prepared for that and gave him the rest, causing him to quickly forget what had happened. The disadvantage of the slime was, that it sometimes dripped into the fire, creating small clouds of smoke, which escaped through the hole.

After our little experiment, I sent Karl out looking for resources again. As he was delivering wood, I suddenly felt a deep fear. I was busy with the slimes, so I couldn't be the source of it, meaning the crystal must be sensing something. Karl also seemed to be looking towards the hole, as if something was wrong.

"Whoops"

An adventurer jumped in.

Had our time come?

"Oi, the damn dog has a master, come down."

One, two, no, three more adventurers appeared and watched me suspiciously.

"Sorry for the interruption. We had seen small clouds of smoke outside and as we got closer there was this dog with a stick. We just had to see what was going on."

"Ah, I see, I asked him to collect some wood for our fire."

"Isn't it easier and quicker to collect some yourself."

"Well, that may be true for others, but I live isolated here and don't like going out that much."

"You live here?!"

"Yes, this is my humble home."

"You must be joking!"

"I'm completely serious. But I don't expect you, to understand that. I guess I'm a bit... well, peculiar."

"For sure. What's that smell?"

"Oh, that was my first creation for my inn. Do you want to try it?"

"Inn? Hmm, it's time for food, as far as I'm concerned. Then show us, what a recluse like you has to offer."

"One moment. Make yourself comfortable somewhere. Ah and the side cave is off limits, that's my private area."

With that, I disappeared into said side cave and prepared two rabbits. It's a good thing, I tasked Karl to get several of them. Otherwise I would be in trouble right now.

"Oi boss, are you sure, we can eat something from him?"

"You can eat the usual grub, if you want, but I'd rather try what makes this smell."

"What if it's poisonous."

"He and the damn dog are still fine, it can't be that bad."

I took the two rabbits covered in slime to the fireplace and roasted them in front of them. As I was leaving, I noticed that Karl was standing guard at the entrance to the side cave the whole time.

"Oh, so that was rabbit meat. What kind of sauce is that?"

"That's the secret ingredient."

"Ah, trade secret, I see."

"Here, enjoy your meal!"

Two of the adventurers each picked up a skewer and examined it closely. One of them then looked over at the boss, who took a quick smell sample and then bit into it. For a moment time seemed to freeze. The adventurer's eyes grew larger.

"I knew it, it's poisonous, get ready..."

"What are you talking about? The taste was just too surprisingly good. You should have taken one too."

"... No thanks. I renounce."

"Your loss."

"Boss is right, it tastes fantastic."

The two adventurers ate their portion with relish. The other two looked on skeptically.

"If your inn ever opens, I'll definitely come by. What do we owe you?"

"That would make me happy. To be honest, money isn't that important to me right now. I rather need someone, to bring me the necessary supplies."

"That's right, you don't have any plates, tables or chairs here. What do you think of a deal? We'll help you set it up and you'll reveal the secret ingredient."

"Hmm, how do I know you're not tricking me?"

"Do we look like crooks? We keep our promises, I promise!"

"And once you're out of the woods, you don't remember anything. I need reliable security."

"How about this, we pay in advance as a thank you for the food and then your damage is limited."

"And what is this advance payment?"

"My buddy here has a grade A battle axe. You can also use them for cutting wood. We can cut down some trees for you. You can use the logs as seating and use the rest to make a fire. That would help you, doesn't it?"

"OK agreed."

The four then set off again and later brought a few tree trunks to sit on, as well as larger blocks of wood to burn.

"Our part is done. So, what is it?"

"So you promise, to help me set up the inn?"

"Yes, like I said."

"Well, the secret ingredient is slimes."

"WHAT?"

"Haha, boss ate slimes."

"You're kidding me. What is the secret ingredient really?"

"Like I said, it is slimes. I have limited access to ingredients down here and slimes are now one of them."

"This can not be true."

The two adventurers, who had avoided the food, seemed to be having a great time, while the others were still grumbling.

"Whatever. It just tastes good. Promised is promised. We are in the area from time to time to take care of the monsters. What should we bring you next time?"

"I'm currently lacking basic things. So if you could bring a pot, cups and plates or bowls with you. It would help me a lot. Ingredients would also be welcome."

"Plates and bowls are no problem. Pot will be a bit expensive, but before you cook something for me on stones, I better get you one. It's already getting late, do we have permission to stay here overnight?"

"As long as you don't invade my private space, that's fine by me."

This gave me important support. I could never make a cooking pot myself and it is essential for soups.