Ah, finally! The tower had finally stood there before him! Ulrich's travels had brought him to Sky Peak Village in Dragon's Cradle. Through various conversations with the locals, he's gathered enough information on a tower that sit at the top of the spiraling mountain called, "The Bird's Perch." He's been told that it is a five story tower with a kitchen that progresses upwards, and it's surrounded by the rooms of each floor!

That is quite the thought, and it is exactly the kind of place Ulrich would like to be right now! So he made the journey upwards towards the summit, and now, there it was! He can see the smoke flowing out of the various chimneys at the top of the tower.

"Looks like the kitchen is operating in full swing!" He exclaims to himself with a big smile.

Yes, I'm famished! Why don't you take me out to dinner, Ulrich?

Ulrich's smile fades and is replaced with one of slight dismay.

Alvis, you're a spirit within a dagger. You can't eat. ANYTHING.

The dagger on his belt suddenly floats up out of it's scabbard in front of him. A voice emanates from it.

"Yes, well it's still a nice feeling to be taken out to dinner."

Ulrich sighs, and they both laugh as Alvis floats back into the scabbard. "Let's go get a bite to eat then, shall we?"

He steps up to the massive double doors leading into the tower. As he opens them and steps inside, he's hit with the aromas of various dishes being expertly prepared by cooks of all backgrounds. The vibe of the place is great! There are tables all around the kitchen which ascends into the upper floors. He's never seen anything quite like it before!

As he scans the room he spots a single man sitting at a table all on his own, and it appears that a feast has been prepared for him and his frie— wait a damn second! Did he just scarf down a whole plate of food like it was nothing?! He didn't even chew or swallow it! How the— how is he doing that?! ...And hang on, there's no other chairs at his table! Is all that food just for him?!

Blue Raspberry sat at a table that would normally seat up to six, its surface entirely covered with plates piled high with all the various foods offered by the Bird's Perch. The kitchen had initially believed the blue-haired man in a fancy suit of knight's armor and a cloak made from the skin of a displacer beast was ordering for a large group, maybe even for the whole crowd. They didn't really care as long as they got paid, and the man paid them in full. However, their beliefs were proven wrong when they knight had sat down alone and started to wolf down plate after plate on their own.

Several tables of people had turned to stare in astonishment at the man with the bottomless pit for a stomach as they ate. They practically inhaled the food, giving no sign of chewing or even swallowing. It was like the food simply dissolved into nothingness once it entered their mouth. Some people even thought they'd seen the man simply swallow the toothpicks that had been in the sandwiches and they ate the lemon slices and bitter greens that had been set on the plates as garnish.

Ate one point they asked for a new fork. Their first one had mysteriously disappeared somehow. One witness could have sworn they'd seen the fork disappear into the man's mouth along with the food that had been on it, but they must have just imagined it. That'd be absurd. The man surely would have choked if they'd swallowed a fork, even if they did have such a large appetite. Then again, the strange knight had eaten one of the cloth napkins... Well, it was better to mind their own business.

Blue Raspberry just continued to eat, showing no sign of being full in the slightest, even after polishing off half the plates on the table. They even thought about ordering seconds despite not even being done. They hardly noticed all the stares they were receiving, too distracted by the delicious food in front of them.

    He couldn't believe it. He had flown all this way in bird form for what is to be said was the best dining experience north of Sol City, and it was being terribly ruined. At first it had been fine, delicious food arriving promptly and warm. But at some point, that man began ordering. It was hardly noticeable at first, but after the first round Vikram's own orders began arriving slower and slower, as well as not being quite fully cooked. It seemed the kitchen itself was struggling under the strain of one mans orders. The table for six he sat at was lined to the end with dishes and desserts. The strange cerulean haired man seemed to actually be inhaling the grandiose meal, hardly stopping between dishes to actually taste the food. Admirable, though revolting, Vikram wondered if the man was participating in a competition of some sort. Had he just eaten a fork? Surely not.

    As the server came by for the third time to apologize for the delayed service, he had had enough. Too far had Vikram travelled to not enjoy his meal, so it would behest him to ask the man to simply share. Approaching the table, he witnessed much to his chagrin as the glutton consumes his feast. He wasn't even chewing, had this poor fellow swallowed a bag of holding? Disgust was quickly overwritten by curiosity. Standing behind him he cleared his throat, a look of disappointment on his face.

Ulrich watched as the blue haired man seemed to just inhale plate after plate of food with no indication of slowing down! Where was he putting all of this food?! He was a glutton, to be sure, so where was all that food going?!

He took a second the gather himself, taking a deep breath in and exhaling through his nose.

Okay, that is none of my business, honestly. I'll just order something to eat no matter how long it takes.

Hmmm, quite interesting! Are you sure you don't want to go over there and talk to the unusually blue hair colored gentleman there?

No, he's enjoying his mea— his feast? I'm going to sit down now.

Well, suit yourself.

Ulrich walks over to an empty table— which, funnily enough was right next to blue haired man's table— and takes a seat. He stares for a bit watching the plates pile up, but then his attentions are called elsewhere. A waiter had come to take his order of food. They were quite efficient, given the looks of shock and awe currently going around the room.

Ulrich smiles to himself at the thought of finally getting to fill his stomach with some good food. He turns toward the blue haired man again, but now another man stood behind him. He did not looks so pleased with the fellow sat in front of him. The new man clears his throat, and Ulrich knows this could either go nicely or very badly. Either way, it wouldn't be his problem... Is what he would like to think, anyways.

Blue Raspberry feasted, oblivious to any problems they were causing for the other diners or for the kitchen staff. They weren't a rude or entitled person, they simply were stupid and didn't think things through. If they'd known the problems they were causing, they would have stopped. In their mind, they just thought if they gave money, they got food. The effort of preparing it and the limited capacity on what the kitchen could make at any given moment were details that didn't stick to their ooze brain. Or lack of brain. The only thought on their mind currently was eating.

They heard the sound of a throat being cleared close behind them. Thankfully, they had learned in their travels that people don't actually clear their throats because their throat is blocked by anything. That'd be called choking. No, instead people do it to get someone else's attention for some reason! Blue Raspberry thought that sounded weird. They didn't actually have a throat themself, but they could imitate the sound of clearing one. Though, they thought just saying hello or something was better at getting attention. Still, they turned for a moment to look behind them and see who was trying to get their attention. They saw a disappointed looking bearded man standing behind them and staring directly at them.

"Hi. Uh, did you want to talk to me?" they asked politely, a friendly smile on their face.

    The blue haired man turned around, showing an innocent smile as they sat before their feast. Vikram got the impression that the man was largely clueless as to any disturbance around himself. Sad, it would mean that in order to even be angry at him he would have to explain what it was that he had done wrong. 

"My friend, you seem to have quite the stomach. I find it quite impressive. However, to my disappointment, it seems that in your gluttonous consumption you've eaten the very last Cinnamini Cuail in the kitchen. What's worse, it appears as though you didn't even savour its taste! Such a treat deserves to be appreciated, contemplated, and enjoyed wholly, Not simply shoved down your gullet!"

    The distress on his face apparent, the rare Cinnamini Cuail of Dragons Cradle had been a delicacy partially responsible for bringing him here. It was his understanding that its rarity came partially from its difficulty in acquisition, though he did not fully understand where that came from.

"I dare say lad, it would be remiss of me to not encourage you to truly taste the intricate profiles of the Cuail. They say it comes from nearby"

    Unspoken was the desire for he himself to have it, for otherwise it would be a hole in his stomach that would never be filled once he departed from the perch.

Ulrich watches as the blue haired man turns around, innocently smiling up at the bearded man that stood behind him. His gaze shifted back and forth between the two men.

The Bearded Man expressed his distress in the other having consumed the last of the Cinnamimi Cuail. What was that? Ulrich had never heard of this animal while on his travels. Well, then again, it wasn't often that he found himself here. That was something to take note of for this destination.

The Blue Haired Man simply had that innocent look on his face as if he were a child that knew not of the social norms, and why the Bearded Man had come up right to him. A look of puzzlement washed across Ulrich's face as he pondered upon it.

Then the Bearded Man relays the information that the Cinnamini Cuail comes from nearby. What was his plan here? Was he going to go out and retrieve this creature himself or was he conscripting the Blue Haired Man into retrieving with him? Maybe he was trying to have the Blue Haired Man retrieve it for him?

Well, all that was left was for the Blue Haired Man to respond, and then Ulrich would see if he would have to maybe step in.

Blue Raspberry was completely lost. They didn't understand everything the bearded man was talking about, but they did get one feeling. They made a mistake! They completely forgot about limiting the amount of food they ordered to something humanly possible without Astrid to keep them in check. The food here just all looked so good, they couldn't stop themself and ended up ordering just about everything without even knowing what most of it was.

The ooze also truly didn't take any time to savor anything, barely tasting the food as they ate it. They had to admit that the man might have been right. Maybe they should try eating more slowly, but they just wanted to eat everything as quickly as possible.

"Ci- suh- Sinny Minty Kale...? In cricket profiles...?" They mumbled under their breath in confusion as the bearded man spoke. The last part they understood though.

"From nearby?"

From what the man was saying, that kale sounded delicious! They didn't remember eating any kale though. Maybe he was right about them just shoving everything in their gullet. But they wanted to try eating it again and savoring it! And if it was nearby, they could get some more easily.

"That sounds delicious! Let's go get some more! Oh, but can I finish eating this first? Oh, uh, did you want some?"

    Perhaps this was a mistake. The poor cerulean knight could not understand the difference between Sinny Minty Kale and a Cinnamini Cuail. One was minty for Solarias sake! He pinched his nose in frustration but did indeed sit to discuss the situation. Also because his food hadn't arrived yet and Vikram was notably famished.

"Where on Charon do you find the room young man. You seem to be oozing with energy and gusto despite having scarfed down half of the stockpile of a regionally renowned kitchen."

    No answer would truly satisfy their curiosity honestly, as no amount of competitive eating talent could compare to actually enjoying their food. He had grabbed a chair to the right of the insatiable knight, grabbing a plate of whatever was nearby and not currently in the process of being consumed. He ate, slowly and cautiously, always ensuring one hand remained on his plate while the other carefully brought food to his mouth. All precautions taken to ensure his only plate so far didnt gravitate too closely towards the culinary black hole at the fore of the table. Though delicious, none of it could compare to the rare juicy tang of the Cinnamini Cuail.

Ulrich pulled out his sketchbook with notes on the region. Furiously perusing through the pages he finally finds the bunch of information that he's looking for. Even though the mention of the Cinnamini Cuail did not ring a bell, he did have notes of it within his sketchbook! He must've heard of the beast on another one of his stays here in the region!

His eyes peek out from the top of his sketchbook in the direction of the two men now sitting next to each other. While he had determined that he would stay out of it, the many mentions of the Cuail had now piqued his interest. He stood up and approached the table of the two men.

"Excuse me gentlemen, I couldn't help but hear your conversation from over there. I am a traveling scholar of sorts, and the Cinnamini Cuail was mentioned, and it seems that the two of you plan to go and find this beast after this! I was wondering if the two of you wouldn't mind having a third tag along?"

Ulrich's excitement was plain to see. Not only did he have to witness this creature for himself, the bearded gentleman had made it clear that it was also a culinary marvel! He would have to try it for himself as well if they even managed to catch one for themselves. Well, that's if they decide to let him tag along anyways.

Blue Raspberry looked up as some guy came up to their table as they shoved a meatball on a toothpick into their mouth. They didn't recognize the guy at all, but he seemed friendly. This guy also seemed to know a good amount about the kale, but they didn't know what beast they were talking about. It would probably be helpful to have them come along, and Blue Raspberry didn't mind having more help. They were already teaming up with one total stranger, they might as well team up with two of them.

"Sure! I don't mind. I just want to finish eating before we go. You want some?"

    Vikram also wearily looked upon the newcomer, though his enthusiasm certainly put him back at ease. He motioned to an empty chair across from the table, next to the gluttonous knight. The man approaching looked quite the scholar, though the scars on their forearms told of significant experience. Excellent! He's even got a fancy dagger, quite the party of melee fighters they had gathered here, in this remote kitchen on a mountain.

"Indeed, the more the merrier."

    His pleasure slowly turned to dismay at the realization that the ending split of Cuail meat had just gone from half, to thirds however. How disappointing. 
    

The two men agreed to his request, and his eyes lit up with excitement. Another scholarly adventure to find the Cuail he's heard about here!

He was snapped out of his thoughts as the Blue Haired man offered some of their food.

"Oh- ah, yes! Of course!" He quickly says as he takes a seat at the table with the two men. "Thank you!"

He proceeds to eat alongside the two, and he notices that the place had gone quite for a bit as the three's meeting wasn't exactly on the quiet side. The busy noise of the chefs in the kitchen and the constant talking soon resumed.

A few moments later, Ulrich had realized that he hadn't actually given his name to the two. Actually, had any of them properly introduced themselves?

He swallowed down some food he'd been chewing while he thought.

"My apologies, I hadn't properly introduced myself earlier. My name is Ulrich, Ulrich Ambriz. It's a pleasure to meet the both of you!"

"Oh! Sorry!" Blue Raspberry suddenly realized with Ulrich's introduction that they hadn't introduced themself yet, just invited two strangers to dine with them without even asking for their names. They put their fork down and stood up noisily, their metal armor clanking and rattling. They reached out a gauntleted hand toward both of their new tablemates, offering a firm handshake to each of them. They wanted to be friendly. They were about to go out on an adventure, looking for whatever it was the bearded man wanted after all. They should be friends.

"I'm Wolfe! Nice to meet you too!"

With their introduction finished, they sat down and went right back to feasting. They picked up their fork again and started in on a T-bone steak, spearing it on the fork and lifting the entire thing to their mouth, practically inhaling it, bone and all. The knife sat on the table the entire time they ate, completely unused.

"Vikram, and the pleasure is mine." Standing briefly to shake hands with Wolfe and Ulrich. Reseated, and with a cautious eye on the glutton, Vikram went back to his meal. Not one to let a plate go to waste, it would be foolish not to finish before setting off on such a taxing task.

"Have you ever seen a man devour something so hastily Ulrich? You know you really ought to slow down, many a great king has found their reign cut short to a poorly chewed bite." stated between bites of his own, subtly coughing up a piece of steak devoured quickly with the subconscious need to keep up with the man, however impossible that may have been. After it had been mentioned, the question would be raised. Has this man chewed anything at all so far? It was like watching a seagull jealously swallow a fish twice its size just to spite the flock, except the fish just disappeared.

    No, something was off here. This man, this was no ordinary knight. He had a special quality that set him apart from every other adventurer here. The realization horrified Vikram, having finally put all the pieces together. The knight....Wolfe....He was........extremely hungry. Who could fault such a famished individual for a lack of manners at an all you can eat buffet. Vikram resolved to be less judgmental of those in dire circumstances.