System, are you messing with me?

Ark 4 - cooking is an art

Shu Ning walked through the market place, looking at the new items that were up for sale. He had been back from the spiky mountain for two days now and took this time to get some rest. That meant No quests, a lot of sleep and especially no Protagonist. It had been awfully boring and so he was desperately wishing that something exciting happened.

A familiar form pushed past Shu Ning in the crowd and he watched as the other almost crashed against a lamppost. The guy looked around in embarrassment, hoping that no one saw his mishap and locked eyes with Shu Ning. The latter raised an eyebrow as the male flushed to the eartips and and made his way over.

"Hello 'Potatosoup'. Do you still remember me?"

"Yes... You are the guy from the mountain."

"I'm called 'Black_cat'. It's nice making your aquintance."

"Like wise."

"So, what were you doing just now, that you didn't notice the lamppost?"

"Well. I was thinking."

'Potatosoup' cleared his throat and sheepishly shrugged his shoulders. Shu Ning swallowed down his laughter as the other automatically rubbed his forhead and winced from the pain. 

"What were you thinking about?"

"A skill quest. It just suddenly appeared in my logg book when I was camping in the forest. I'm not a fighter though and I'm very sure that it has to do with monsters."

"What does it say?"

"I'm supposed to find a kettle. The map is directing me to some part inside of the forest, but I haven't descided yet if I will go there or not. There is just too little information about it."

"Don't worry about that. Sometimes the quests are like that. Especially for certain skills. How about I come with you and keep the monsters away."

"What? Why would you do that? We don't even know each other yet."

"Then let's change that. And what would be better than a little trip."

"Well, if you are sure...."

Shu Ning nodded and pulled 'Potatosoup' towards the south gate of the town. There he let go of his companion's arm and trotted off towards the first row of trees. The other followed not too far behind and flinched at every noise that came from the dark. The guy was a realy scaredy cat and at some point just clung to Shu Ning's back the rest of the way.

Their surroundings got darker and darker as the vegetation grew closer together and most of the sounds quieted down. Just a few glowing eyes followed their treck through the underbush, but nothing hindered their advance. When they arrived at their destination they gazed into the wide opening of a cave. It was partly hidden behind thorny shrubbery and the stone was covered by green moss, wiggling up on the sides. No wonder they did not notice it from further away.

Shu Ning used his sword to push away the bush from the entrance and then sliped in. 'Potatosoup' stumbled in behind him and together they walked in. As none of them had any light with them, they carefully groped around in the dark, trying to feel along the stony wall. At the back of the cave glimmed a small fire that they headed towards. 

Wood cracked as they drew closer and the air around them grew warmer. A small figure crouched over the bonfire and poked around in the ember. It was an old woman with wrinkled hands and greying hair. She looked up from her work when Shu Ning approached and frowned at him warily. Once she layed eyes on 'Potatosoup' though, her expression changed to one of hopefull desperation. She lounged at the other male, grabing his shoulders and shaking them.