A Quest for the Stars

19th of Cobre, 12:51pm, 1659 (166 days before Starflower's trial)

It was now the fifth day of the trip to Thule. Thanks to Gabrielle's patience and generosity, the party was more relaxed despite having taken five days during the trip, two of those which were needed to cross the Butterfly Plains. The plains were mostly devoid of humanoid life, with travelers to and from the next town occasionally sharing the road with them and rangers tending to the fields and wildlife spotted here and there. The plains had their own ecosystem, but all save the fire butterflies knew better than to linger close to the roads.

And then, on the 19th of the month, they arrived at their next destination. A lone guard in leather armor watchfully stood by the main gate. After inspecting the wagon, he let the group through. The town itself was small, with a single dirt road flanked by adobe buildings leading to a massive gate in the distance. Some of the villagers stopped to watch the newcomers' arrival.

"This place looks like a town in one of those gunslinging books I've read about. I wonder what problems this little thorp has." Lenoria sat on the driver's seat next to Alistair. "Think we'll run into trolls next time?"

"Or necromancers?" Alistair pulled the reins gently, prompting Chestnut to slow down without coming to a full stop.

"Troll necromancers?" They both said simultaneously.

"The two of you can relax." Tsukuyomi flew above the wagon and dropped Clara on the driver's seat between Lenoria and Alistair. "Monster sightings are rare in these parts. It may be a tiny hamlet, but they have the backing of the Jaguar army from across the border. Monster sightings are rare because the Jaguar army can get here in just minutes. There's always someone standing by to defend these people." She closed her book to meet the stares of the couple. "Instructor Gardens always said that knowledge is power, and books are its fountain."

"Our apprentice bard saves the day again!" Lenoria pulled Clara in for a hug.

"What can we expect from this town, Miss Clara? What do the locals call it?"

"Camino de los Muertos, or 'Road of the Dead.' It's quiet during the rest of the year, but between the months of Hong and Weiss it becomes a tourist attraction during its Day of the Dead celebration."

"Day of the Dead?"

"The one time of the year where the spirits of the dead come to visit the living. There's a lot to it, but the gist of it is that the locals visit the graveyards, adorn the graves of their loved ones with orange marigolds, and make altars at their homes with food offerings. The marigolds are said to help guide the dead during their trip to the world of the living, and the essence of the food on the altar is absorbed once they arrive."

"I'm concerned about the 'spirits coming back to life' part."

"Don't be; they're not evil spirits like wraiths or shadows. These spirits are those who come from the afterlife to visit their loved ones. There's no explanation for this phenomenon, but people usually have a good time."

"You seem to know a lot about this place, Clara," Lenoria said.

"Oh, I did pass through here many years ago, back when my family and I traveled across Helix."

Lenoria smiled. "If nothing else, I guess the festival helps people accept death more easily. We could come here for the next festival if you like, Al."

"Maybe." The boy paused. "If you finish Lady Gabrielle's commission in time."

"Seven months from now. It's a date!"

***

The trio decided to stop by a restaurant, named 'El Rancho.' The inside was similar to The Drunken Chef, with barstools at the counter and booths throughout the rest of the small restaurant. The air had the smell of cooked meat and a variety of spices that no one except Alistair seemed to easily identify. Some of the locals - workers and farmers, Lenoria assumed - sat by the counter drinking coffee and talking about their day.

The trio sat down on the barstools, where they were warmly greeted by the man behind the counter, a middle-aged man who wore a tan tunic and blue slacks. "Travelers, welcome! What would you like to drink?"

The group was given their menus, Alistair appearing unimpressed compared to the girls. "Water for me, please."

"Si, señor. And for the women?"

"It's a little late for coffee," Lenoria commented. The options were mostly alcoholic, with only milk and limeade as the available non-alcoholic options. "Limeade for me."

"Tepache for me," Clara said confidently.

"Right away. I'll be back in a bit to take your order." The man behind the counter went to the back, which was soon followed by the sounds of running water.

"Is your liver made of iron or something," Lenoria asked.

Clara shrugged. "Hey, we're just passing through and who knows when we'll be back here. Besides, the alcohol level is supposed to be mild. It's been a while since I had anything pineapple flavored."

Alistair's curiosity grew. "What is tepache, anyway?"

"It's a drink made from the peel and rind of pineapples and sweetened with sugar and seasoned with cinnamon."

Alistair took out a notepad and wrote it down. "I see. Thanks, Miss Clara."

The three then looked at their menus. One of the dishes, which had the image of a poultry drumstick bathed in a brown sauce, caught Lenoria's attention. She raised an eyebrow when she read the name of the dish. "They serve mole meat here?"

Clara looked over at what Lenoria was staring at. "Oh, no, no, no. That's mole. It's a spicy sauce the locals around here like to use for their meat dishes. Turkey is the most common meat here, but they also use it on chicken, pork, and lamb, and usually served with a side of rice." Clara looked over at the menu again. "Oh, look. The meat comes from the local terror birds."

"Terror birds?"

"Predatory birds the size of horses." Alistair wrote on his notepad once again. "The Jaguar people must be incredibly brave to hunt them."

"Oh, I see." Lenoria closed the menu. "I'll try it."

"Same here," Alistair said.

"Are you sure? Heat levels vary, but mole is usually spicy," Clara warned them.

"If I'm going to be traveling the world later on, I have to try every dish," Alistair justified himself.

"And you know me, Clara. I won't back down from a challenge."

Clara looked over at what Lenoria was staring at. "O-kay, then. Don't say I didn't warn you. Guess I'll just order the sope dish, then."

The trio's drinks were soon delivered, and they received their food approximately half an hour after they ordered it. Lenoria and Alistair's dish was a plate of poultry drumsticks marinaded with a brown sauce with sesame seeds sprinkled on top, served with a side of rice. Clara was served a plate of two thick tortillas topped with chopped beef, crumbled cheese, lettuce, mashed beans, and avocado slices.

"And a stack of tortillas for the two of you," the server said to Alistair and Lenoria, pushing a stack of tortillas to them.

"I never knew such food existed," Alistair said as he curiously stared at the food.

"Handmade tortillas are the best!" Lenoria removed her neck scarf and replaced it with a napkin.

Clara nodded. "Agreed. Enjoy the meal, you two. You might feel some pain digesting everything later," she mumbled the last part.

Alistair had already taken a huge bite, and after some chewing, he swallowed his piece. "What was that, Miss Clara?"

"Nothing! Just musing to myself."

With Clara and Alistair already eating, it was Lenoria's turn to take a bite. She took note of how Alistair ate; not wanting to dirty his hands with the sauce, he used a fork to hack at the drumstick and bite down on whatever chunk that had remained impaled on it. She decided to do the same with her own fork, dunk the piece on the sauce that had stayed on the plate, and chomped down. "Wow. Thish is delishious!"

Clara calmly sipped her drink. "3...2...1..."

"YAAAAAH!" The girl breathed fire from her mouth and nostrils as her head turned completely red. Without putting much thought into it, she took a huge gulp of her drink - iced water with lime - and sighed a breath of relief. And then... "D'oh! Brain freeze!"

Meanwhile, Alistair kept chowing down. He sucked the air through his teeth with each bite and was sweating bullets, but nothing seemed to stop him. "This is good! It's got quite a kick, but the chicken dishes back home are nothing compared to this!" He raised his hand, gesturing for the server to come over. "Sir! You must tell me this recipe!"

"I can't," the server said. "That's my grandmother's recipe."

"I understand. Could you at least teach me the basics? Just give me a list of ingredients to make the regular kind; I'll figure out the portions and what other ingredients to use to make my own unique batch."

"Ah, so you can cook?"

"Yeah. I studied to become a chef, and you see..."

Alistair chatted away while Lenoria and Clara continued eating. Lenoria ate at a slower pace, and while she could not finish her plate due to the spiciness overwhelming her, she made up for it with nine additional orders of limeade to help alleviate the pain.

"You could have just ordered something else," Clara said flatly. "You're going to pee like crazy later."

Unable to walk, a bloated Lenoria jumped off the stool and rolled around on the floor. "Pop would freak if he ever found out I didn't finish my plate."

***

Somewhere on the other side of the world, a balding man wearing a navy-blue kimono and hakama pants stopped hammering away at some newly made horseshoes and looked in the direction of the sun. A middle-aged woman wearing a jockey's outfit and helmet strolled inside the shed he was working in.

"Is everything okay, dear?"

The horseshoe smith, wearing a grim expression, said with a raspy yet no-nonsense voice, "I don't know why, but I feel like scolding Lenoria next time I see her."

***

Once everyone finished up, Alistair waved around his notepad victoriously. "I'm going to the market to buy some ingredients. We're going for round two tonight, ladies!"

"Ugh," Lenoria groaned. "Can't we just have tacos instead?"

They had tacos later that night.