yoon's palace

[strawsandals]

I thought I told you to leave me alone.

Comments

[supherb]

Y-Yeah. We know everyone here's a little strapped for supplies.

["A little" being an understatement.]

But, um... [He feels so out of his depth. At least Joshua is trying the trade angle.] I can also cook, if you need any help with that...

[strawsandals]

Trade...?

[ The house is in bad shape, yeah, much like the rest of the village. ]

...Okay. That's...that's fine.

[ She'll tentatively let them both in. There is, indeed, a fire that will warm them up more! She turns to look at Arven. ]

I don't have many ingredients...and I gave everything I had for this slab of meat. If you know how to prepare it...I would be grateful if you could help with that.

[supherb]

[Arven doesn't blame her for feeling apprehensive about this, because he feels extremely awkward about it himself.]

Sorry... I know you probably didn't expect to have to deal with hungry strangers today. Thanks for giving us a chance.

[She had to give everything up for the meat? Dang...this village really is in a dire state.]

Yeah, of course! Could you show me the meat and what you have in your pantry?

[finalmix]

[ bro's gotta take the lead on this one, josh has never cooked before in his life sry :/

anyway while arven is increasing his social link with the npc woman, his curiosity means that he has to ask: ]

... Are times really bad? Did something happen to the village?

[ this new dice bot says give me the lore drop (20) ]

[strawsandals]

Of course.

[ The woman will show Arven a slab of beef, and she will also pull out a very small amount of seasoning, salt and pepper. There's also a small amount of oil. There isn't a whole lot.

As for Josh... ]

It's...it's always been like this. The Fire Tribe has always been focused on military, and the common people have been left to rot. We can't maintain our villages as a result, and bandits see us as easy targets for theft. ... Some of our own resort to it, too, though I cannot fault them, for we have nothing.

[supherb]

[After thanking her, Arven starts going over the ingredients. It's not too tricky to figure out how to make something great with these simple items. He gets the frying pan on the stove nice and hot while he seasons both sides of the meat with salt and pepper.]

Man...I'm sorry you've been dealing with this. I don't understand why they'd do this to you.

[The Pokemon world is not a military-focused one. It exists in some regions, but...there's nothing quite like this.]

[finalmix]

[ ah. honestly josh can't really relate because he is a City Boy (tm) but even he can't help but think that kind of sucks. ]

Is there some kind of conflict going on?

[ anyway while he's letting arven do his thing with cooking the food josh is just..... hovering awkwardly for now. ]

I'm sorry. Thank you for letting us partake, even if you don't have much to give.

[strawsandals]

[ Arven and the woman successfully make a ready-to-eat steak, and the woman turns to Josh and gives him 5 gold! ]

At the moment, not to my knowledge, but things happen.

[ She gives them both a nod. ]

Please enjoy your meal. I...I have not had company in a long time. That is payment enough.

[supherb]

[It's a delicious, beautifully-seared steak too!! After letting it rest for a few minutes to solidify the flavors, he cuts it and gives the majority to the woman. She gave everything that she had for this- he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he took more than a portion.

Her giving them gold also surprises him.]

Y-You don't have to go that far, ma'am! Just you letting us warm up and feed ourselves is way more than enough.