Arcane Journey

Chapter 4 Halfling Food

"Your Excellency, if this is the delicacy you fell in love with at the first sight, then your vision is really good."

A short halfling said with a professional tone, "Three-layer mushroom is one of the most precious and temperamental plants in the darkness of the Underdark. Only the gnomes in the distant city of Blingdenstone know how to cultivate and prepare it." secret.

Traditionally, the rhizomes of the three-pronged mushroom fungus are washed, soaked and dried to make a delicious spongy bread, which is most popular in the markets of the ancient city of Orens.

But what you will definitely not find in the market is triple mushroom lasagne, a dish that smurfs will only keep to themselves.So its name is: Snebri three-layer mushroom lasagna. "

Brian looked at the squat halfling standing in front of him with interest.

The halfling smiled, and his long gray hair was curled around his ears, leveling with the elegant and smooth neckline. Even in this kind of closed stone room with only a few ventilation holes, as a captive, he still wore well-tailored clothes. Expensive clothing.

Anyone can tell at a glance that this is a halfling who knows how to enjoy life.

Because halflings are a comfort-loving race, with a strong love for peace, quiet, hearths, home, and most importantly, food.

In stark contrast to humans, these simple pleasures are the only ambitions of this unique and ambitious group.

Whether living in the luxury of a halfling cave in a lush pastoral setting, on the rugged road of adventure, or even as a slave, halflings are constantly alternating between two emotions for food: tasting and longing.

Because of this, halfling slaves are among the best treated in the drow cities of the Underdark, and are often prized as servants.

Brian cast his eyes on the sumptuous food on the stone table.

Now, as a slave, he has come to Ancient Orens City for nearly two months, and he has stayed in this stone room that is surrounded by the surroundings from the beginning to the end, never leaving half a step.

Fortunately, his treatment is not bad.

The drow wizard arranged for him a halfling servant with excellent cooking skills, and he was almost allowed to enjoy the wine and food.

The most important thing is that he has systematically learned the magic knowledge about the Underdark region here.

For him, this special opportunity is simply something that can only be met but never sought after.

If it wasn't for worrying about his future fate, Brian really wanted to stay for a while longer.

However, as he continues to learn, he has clearly felt that the upcoming destiny is rapidly approaching.

After all, out of his understanding of the evil race of drow elves, he understood that the better the treatment and attention, the more dangerous the role he will play next.

"I just said it casually, I didn't expect you to actually make it." He looked at a bowl of food that was very similar to spaghetti on the table, and said casually.

This otherworldly pasta is made from ground up the root of the nut-like three-pronged mushroom and filled with a faux vegetable stew made from the tops of the rare plant.

This is a bowl of food that moved him quite a lot. The only flaw is that the bowl containing the food is only the size of a palm.

"Mistress Joanara told you that as long as it is your request, I will try my best to satisfy you." The halfling still had a smile on his face, but his tone of voice was deliberately amplified, as if there was some mystery hidden in his words.

Brian's expression changed when he heard the words. He recognized the meaning of the other party and smiled, "Thank you for your help, Elton, you let me taste the long-awaited delicacy."

After speaking, with a thought, a small bowl the size of a palm flew into his hand.

Then, he concentrated again and cast the ability "Secondary Creation" that he mastered.

Secondary Creation.

For wizards, it is a conjuration spell that requires at least the ability to release four-ring spells to master.

But in the hands of psions who are proficient in the creation department, it is only the lowest level of psionic power.

The fundamental reason is that Psions of the Creation Department have the means to extract astral energy from the astral world, and there is no need for wizards to prepare complicated spell-casting materials.

The so-called 'star world' is somewhat similar to the universe starry sky in the real world.

It is said that the origin of all matter in the multiverse was born in the astral world.

Originally, Brian didn't quite understand this point of view, but since he mastered the creation knowledge about psions, he faintly felt that there was still a certain basis for this statement.

Because the psions of the creation department don't need to prepare expensive and complicated casting materials when they create things out of thin air. The only thing they need is the celestial energy or crystals they have drawn from the astral world.

Just like the psychic power he was using now, with the light blue light surging in his palm, in the blink of an eye, two slender crystal chopsticks appeared out of thin air in his hand.

Under the surprised eyes of the halfling Elton, Brian slowly digested the food in the bowl.

Although he has been immersed in the study of magic knowledge for the past two months, it does not mean that he has not considered his situation and the method of escape.

And the halfling servant in front of him is one of the links when he thinks about his escape plan.

This is the good fate he has accepted with the other party after many trials and verifications.

Even though the small favor of asking the halfling to help him has no effect on the situation in front of him, he thinks that he is well prepared, and he may use it at any time.

However, Brian was worried that the drow elf Jonara, who was a wizard, was secretly monitoring his every move, so he could only choose to use very cryptic words to exchange messages with the halfling servants.

The two of them seemed to be having a discussion about food just now, but what they really meant was that Elton conveyed to him: he has successfully completed what he explained.

"Your Excellency, come and try this again." The halfling Elton saw that Brian had finished eating, and immediately pointed to another delicacy, winked playfully, and introduced with a smile:
"If you have ever followed a caravan, or traveled around the Sword Coast, you must know that to the east of Baldur's Gate, two months away is Green Town, a halfling town surrounded by walls.

Then there's a good chance you'll miss the real town altogether, since the whole ground appears crowded when quaint country cottages are joined together by narrow paths, so the town's buildings are mostly built in spacious cellars.

These cellars can extend up to three floors below ground, where the halfling inhabitants interconnect the tunnels of the underpasses and run shops and inns in these cozy, hearth-lined subterranean spaces.There, you'll find the town's most culinary signature: crispy bruschetta with plump tomato broth. "

Hearing the halfling's eloquent words, Brian pretended to listen with great interest, and searched for information in his long words.

It wasn't until the other party finished speaking that he looked at the other party thoughtfully, secretly remembering Baldur's Gate and Greenest Town in his heart, and then turned his attention to the food with a bunch of smelly and long names.

Obviously, the halfling Elton helped him with a small matter, and if he was lucky enough to escape, he would also need to fulfill the other party's small request.

In fact, he is quite familiar with Zhilv Town, and he was fortunate enough to go to the halfling's underground tavern to taste the food.

As for the 'crispy fried cheese bread with plump tomato broth' mentioned in Elton's mouth, I was also fortunate enough to taste it.

Halflings not only know their cheese, but know countless ways to prepare it.

Bread spread with butter and a layer of cheese strips, sprinkled with seasonings, then deep-fried before being cut into strips or dipped in soup.

These sandwich breads are sometimes served with a spicy kick, often sprinkled with dill, nutmeg, basil, etc., depending on the chef's mood.

The same goes for the accompanying soup, usually chunky tomato but occasionally a smooth red pepper puree.

It's always kept warm and acts like a dip, once the cheese is perfectly melted into the soup, it's easy to drink.

Crispy Cheese Bread is one of the most characteristic halfling recipes, popular all over the Sword Coast.

Thinking of this, he showed a very interested look, picked up the spoon and tasted it with relish.

Seeing the change in Brian's expression, the halfling Elton smiled and bowed as usual, and left the room quietly.

Brian has long been used to this situation.

When he finished enjoying the delicacies sent by the halfling, as usual, he picked up a magic book called "Seven Changes of Shadow Energy", and carefully studied and read it with the help of the light of the candle.

After nearly two months of study, he not only learned the basic principle of the spells released by the group of drow wizards who lived in the dark area all the year round, but also learned two low-level spells that were fairly practical based on the knowledge he had mastered.

They are the second-ring protection spell "Magic Field Backlash", and the third-ring magic spell "Slime Devour".

The former allows the target to be backlashed by his own spells when he casts a spell, while the latter summons an 'ooze monster' with a challenge level of around level 5 to assist him in fighting.

As a wizard, he knows very well that the truly powerful spellcasters are not how many spells they have mastered and how many powerful magic equipment they have, but how many unknown and strange spells they have researched.

Because during the battle, if one were to duel with others according to the list of spells commonly used by spellcasters, it would be easy to be targeted or counteracted by various fancy counter spells.

For example, from the moment you raise your hand and chant, ready to release "Fireball".

Some spellcasters with rich combat experience will instantly judge the power, flight speed, and trajectory of the fireball through the arcane energy surging in the air, and then think of countermeasures and counterattack methods as quickly as possible.

Relatively speaking, if the caster releases an extremely strange and unknown magic.

Then when the enemy responds, not only can they not understand the effect of the spell in the first time, but also need to spend more time to judge the characteristics of the spell through their own arcane knowledge.

In this case, it is impossible to quickly think of the simplest and most effective means of defense.

Therefore, the well-known spells mastered by spellcasters are generally used to deal with non-spell-casting professions who don't know much about spells.

When confronted by real spellcasters, using these well-known spells can easily backfire.

This is also the real reason why it is difficult for the casters of their player group to get cheap in the hands of the native wizards.

Because of this, as a spellcaster, Brian will always try his best to learn or research his own magic.

He also knew that the drow wizard Gorana provided him with good food and drink, and asked him to do everything possible to understand the real purpose of learning drow magic.

After all, his opponent is a talented drow wizard, how can he do it without some preparation.

Thinking of this, he quickly recalled a young drow witch he once met in the ancient city of Orens in his mind.

"No matter how strict a society is, there will always be one or two heretics."

Recalling this sentence, Brian vaguely speculated that his opponent might really be that weird drow he knew.
If this is the case, he feels that if he chooses to go head-to-head, his hope of survival is very small.

In this case, he would have to change his original plan.

Regardless of whether it is her or not, it is always right to be prepared, he comforted himself in his heart.

"What are you afraid of?"

Suddenly, a cold voice came from behind without warning.

Brian, who was in a trance, looked startled, and instinctively turned to face the drow wizard Gorana Taks.

He sat on the chair, put down the magic book in his hand, raised his head slightly, met the wizard's scarlet gaze, and realized that his comfortable study career might be coming to an end.

(End of this chapter)