Shaa takes his hands out of the vine monster soup. During the boil, something happened to the barrier. While Fish was pouring a concoction into the pool, Shaa picks up a rock and heaves it towards where the barrier should be, This time, the stone sails clear. Looking over at Fish, he gives the thumbs up. For whatever reason, the barrier seems to be down. We better get going while the getting is good. 

On the way towards the wall, Shaa takes a quick moment to spit in the pool. He would have done a lot worse but they were on a clock and not much time to spare. Running through some brush towards the wall, Shaa decides to go the more direct route, and walks up to the wall. Using some of his newly developed abilities, he reaches out a single finger and turns a large chunk of the stone wall into dust. Well that’s sure a lot easier than breaking through something. Shaa motions to Fish to follow him out. He would need to practice more to see what other new attacks he could come up with. 

As he exited the wall, he noticed he could hear all the loud sounds of the forest again which was a good sign. With those sounds though, game the angry grumble of a pack of smelly Gnoll coming their way. They had the recipe. No reason to delay this any further. If they hurried, they may be able to avoid them entirely and start making their way to some very anxious bakers.

---

Dust in the Wind

Fish was curious why the barrier fell. Was it something Shaa did? Was the guy who blew himself up the one holding it together? Did that guy actually explode? Fish didn't stick around to confirm. The aviankin shrugs and without thinking climbs to the top of Shaa's shoulders to ride along like they do with Izzy.

The returning sounds was nice, even for someone who works in silence. In the brush a nervous conversation between two gnolls could be heard, but they seemed disinclined to head back to avenge their boss. The barrier disappearing and smoke coming from the manor was warning enough that they didn't want to mess with whoever caused all of that.

Fish stares at the scroll and fights the urge to just pop it open. It was just a recipe, how special could it be? This was a lot of effort to go through for muffins. If Fish just looked at it, they could memorize the recipe and capitalize on the sudden vacuum in the market. They could probably slip away from Shaa and burn the recipe......So much coin.

Before Fish can enact this plan, Shaa's tall and long strides have already brought the city back into view. Well....too late for that scam.

As they approached the city, Shaa had a feeling of calm wash over him. The.y had the recipe. No sign of anyone following them. They were both somehow miraculously alive so….bonus. The rest of this little adventure should be a cakewalk. Right? But then again, when was life ever easy like that.

Hey Fish. Shaa still didn’t feel like a had a good bead on the little avian. He got the recipe which is what they needed so that was good. But there was something that still didn’t quite sit right with him about the tiny thief. Maybe it was because the bird man didn’t say anything. Maybe it was because he was a thief by career choice. It might just be because he kind of blew up the house and Shaa never really got a clear explanation on that one. Honestly the less they talked about it the better but the cloak and dagger was starting to not sit well with him. How can he trust someone he doesn’t really know? They would have to see. 

We are going to hit the city in about an hour. Before we get there , we should probably take a look at this thing and make sure there are no surprises. Shaa holds out his palm waiting for Fish to hand over the document.

Fish for a moment seems a bit defensive about giving it up. They were the one to retrieve it after all. Why shouldn't they keep it? Then Fish remembered what it was and handed it over. They had no real interest in baking or muffins, so the scroll held no inherent interest for them. And starting a restaurant is a notoriously difficult business to get into. While it would make a good front, Fish traveled too much to be able to keep up with the overhead.

The scroll itself was what they were after, the fabled muffin recipe that had launched a thousand ships. Shaa's muffin mastery would be able to decode the beautiful simplicity of its design. The secret to this recipe was less about the ingredients used, but more about the way in which they are used.

Each ingredient is specific and the way with which it must be handled is precise. It is honestly a miracle something like this can be produced at such a scale, but that's why their target was the Monarch of Muffins, the King of Breakfast Pastries, the Duke of Deliciousness.

Shaa read and reread the scroll several times and nodded thoughtfully. You know he said I think that I am a little disappointed if I’m being honest. I always assumed that these things were enchanted or at least cooked in some cursed oven that fed on the bones of virgins or something. Who knew it was just plain old skill and mastery? I got to give props to the old skinflint. But his rein of terror has come to an end.

Wrapping up the scroll, Shaa knows where they need to go next. His friends with the printing press were waiting for them just inside the city gates. Hail friend Shaa! A tall and striking fellblood woman and a dark elf approached them, appearing from nothing. By your arrival, your mission was a sucess? Said the woman with a mischievous grin. She had dark hair but a pale white countenance. Her most staggering feature however were the large black horns that curled about her head. We heard about the mansion burning even from here, it teaches us to deal with amateurs. Said the dark elf with a snear. Yeah we got it just fine. Didn’t hide in the shadows like an ooze. Who you calling an ooze ground shaker? If the slime fits. The fell woman swipes her sharp hand between them to interject. Gentlemen please. This is a time to great joy and celebration, not petty bickering. The dark woman turns to fish like a cat to a canary. Ahhh this must be your hired brigand. Greetings young Avian, I am Madam Evalyn, purveyor of the mystic arts…(leaning in low and whispering quietly) and dedicated muffin fan. Standing back up she holds her long hand open towards Shaa. So, let’s see it then?

Shaa hands the scroll to Madam Evalyn. Even though they were currently aligned, there was something about her that always give his instincts the creeps. it was unfortunate as Shaa was a somewhat regular customer at her shop when he needed a new Tatoo or something specialized. Shaa wondered what Fishes take wold be.

Ahhh interesting. Well, a deal is a deal isn’t it Shaa? As agreed, copies of this will be on every house business and door frame by morning. The secret will never be safe again. Long live free enterprise. The fellblood turned and walked away, the dark elf close behind her. Now it’s just off to the bakery to try this thing out, and pass out some samples. Want to give me a hand?

"Maybe there's a code to it, make it seem simple, but it's a recipe only they know." They offer up the idea to Shaa from their chalk and slate before they meet back up with Shaa's friends.

Fish looks curiously between them, Fish somewhat assumed Shaa was doing this for himself. Oh well, they were very used to people having their own motives for doing things in their own way. The aviankin without warning just hops away to find a little place to sit while Shaa argues and talks with the others.

They stay in eyesight, only a few feet away, but pull out a puzzle box to start playing with. Zoned in on the task at hand, it may seem like they have stopped listening, but they do look up when they hear talk of birds. Fish stares blankly a moment then goes back to the puzzle box.

When Shaa approaches, they look back up at the minotaur. A silent moment pauses as they think a moment before nodding and hopping down, puzzle box tucked away as they follow Shaa.

It doesn’t take them long to reach the bakery. A small shop with a wooden sign hanging of the frame that says “Reynaldo’s”. Shaa knocks lightly on the old wooden door. A small elven woman comes to the door. She looks around briefly and quickly ushers the two inside the shop.

Come in come in! Don’t hang around out in the door frame like some sort of lost shade. As they entered the shop, the smell of fresh bread and pastries was pervasive throughout the shop. They followed the small woman to a room in the back. In the back was a long wooden table filled with raw baking ingredients as well as various pans and flatware for muffin baking. Ok , did ya get it? Shaa smiled and gave her a piece of paper with the recipe. Shaa had to admit the Madam did good work. Even on the walk over, copies of the recipe were cropping up everywhere. 

The woman looks over the paper several times and gets a puzzled look on her face. Looks pretty…straightforward. She holds up the paper in different directions like she expects to uncover some sort of hidden muffin secret. That’s what I thought too but that’s it. Ok… guess nothing else to do but try it out pally. Grab the sugar over there. An hour later the first batch comes out of the oven. Hmmm, they are good…but not the same. They give another go with some tweaks. 2 batches , 3 batches, 4….something was missing.

While Shaa goes to start cooking, Fish plops themselves down at the table with a copy of the recipe. Their beady little eyes start to scan the paper in a strangely mechanical way. If the others thought something was off, then Fish would trust their expertise. The bird could in turn use their expertise to figure out the code in this recipe to figure out if there is a secret.

A notebook is set out beside them as they start to work through the notes. Was there some secret ingredient? Alchemists coded their notebooks all the time to protect recipes, it makes sense a baker would do the same. So, what's the secret?

After about an hour, Fish starts to tippy tap thinking they've figured it out. Writing out the phrase from the code they get 'The secret ingredient is love.' Fish stares at it a moment before crumpling the paper and throwing it in the fire. Love is not an ingredient, unscientific trash.

They sit back down, brow furrowed as they get back to work. When the fourth batch comes out, Fish pops back up again having found something actually useful. In their excitement they sprint into the kitchen and hop up onto the table, sending a little puff of flour everywhere. A paper is held out to Shaa.

'Add 3 parts crushed pixie dust to make the batter extra light and airy, use earth magic to knead the dough together.'

Shaa loved his muffins but after batch 7, this was starting to get excessive. They were good, there was no denying. But they were just muffins. A little sweeter, a bit fluffier but still not right. He would be really frustrated if he wasn’t having such a good time. This was like the best adventure ever. Shaa seriously considered punching a muffin to see if it did anything when, from the corner, Fish seemed to be excited about something.

Ok ok bro, I’m reading, hang on. Shaa read the note a couple times and furrowed his brow. 3 parts pixie dust… ughh are you sure? Weirdly enough, he could actually handle all this. Earth magic? Pshhh no problem. Pixie dust….that was going to be a little more tricky. He had a pixie, sure. But Vulcana was….colorful.

If it was just her and Shaa in an open field, Vulcana was amazing. She was funny, she was helpful, she was a great companion. But when she got into the city…eghhhh…she was also a bit of a pyromaniac. Fire, just all the time. He had tried talking to her, making her see reason. She would just smile her fiery smile and set a chair ablaze. It was stuff like this that made Shaa adamant about not owning pets. She wasn’t a pet, she was his friend….who lit stuff on fire. 

Vulcana… From behind Shaa’s horn, a small fire pixie emerges and spins around the room a couple times. Shaa grabs a bowl and puts it on the table along with a mortar and pestle. Can I get some dust here? We need it for the muffins. Vulcana spins around the bowl a couple times and gets a confused look on her beflamed face. Just need some dust in the bowl…no the bowl. As she lights the table on fire, Shaa quickly stamps it out with his hand. No no, just need some dust…in the bowl. It took a couple minutes ( and several spot fires) but the bowl was soon full of fire pixie dust. Shaa grinds the dust down, lighting the pestle on fire somehow, but soon he’s ready to kneed the dough with Terramancy. 

In the pan and 15 minutes later, the magic batch comes out of the oven. Shaa pulls one out and hands it to Fish and another to the owner of the bakery, whose name was Lucille. Taking a third for himself, he hood it up in the air. Ok , let’s see what we got.

---

Fire Pixie

"It is what the recipe says, Fish gains nothing from lying. Pixie dust can help making things lighter if properly used. It was important enough to put into a cipher." Fish plops back down and takes a seat on the table to watch Shaa bake.



Fish had no interest in doing any of the baking, but this was fun to watch. There was a science to it which was enough to hold their interest, plus Shaa's enthusiasm for it was fun as well. Shaa seems to have a lot more to him than most would guess at first glance which Fish appreciates. They likely don't see eye to eye on a wide variety of things, but there was common ground at least.



Is this how friends are made? Fish tilts their head, pondering the question silently as they stare at the minotaur. When the muffin is handed over, they look at it for a moment, not immediately picking up that this is a taste test. With the others, Fish will pick off a bit to toss back into their beak.

Shaa closes his eyes and bites into the muffin. His eyes light up with surprise and delight. That’s it! I can’t believe it! It’s a little bit spicer because of the kind of pixie they used but nothing wrong with a little variety. YES.  Now we just need to let the Madam know about our little correction and we should be good. Now, it’s time for our own food delivery.

They baked and baked until the early hours of the morning. Soon they had dozens of baskets of muffins ready for delivery. Volcana was huffing in the corner, exhausted by the effort. She was so tired she couldn’t even light the table on fire for fun. Thanks buddy, you are good, take a break. Vulcana hugged Shaa’s finger and disappeared again behind his horn. 

From the outside, Shaa could hear the sound of several wagons pulling up outside the bakery. It didn’t take very long and soon the wagons were full of fluffy muffins, ready for delivery. Shaa looked at the wagons as they pulled away to make deliveries and yawned. Looking back over at Fish, he tosses over a bag of coins. I believe that was the negotiated rate. Thanks for the help, glad you didn’t die. Shaa stretched out his arms wide and made his way over to a small patch of hay in back of the bakery used for crate stuffing, turning it into a makeshift bed. He could finally add this recipe to his list. The villain was…well blown up somehow and he would take that as a win. He was soon snoring, dreams of tasty baked goods dancing in his brain.