"Meals make the society, hold the fabric together in lots of ways that were charming and interesting and intoxicating to me. The perfect meal, or the best meals, occur in a context that frequently has very little to do with the food itself."

  Anthony Bourdain, Chef

  The first thing Milly and Calista saw when they stepped out of the elevator was the mess in their living room.

  Piles of mismatched shirts, shoes, jeans, skirts, hats, and men and women’s underwear were tossed haphazardly across their couch and coffee table. Next to the table was a box full of assorted trinkets, from glass balls to salt and pepper shakers to a simple, fist-sized rock.

  The collection resembled an impulse buyer’s trip to the neighborhood garage sale.

  The air was filled with the scent of brewing potions emanating from the northern wall on the opposite side of the floor.

  “Rain?” Milly called curiously.

  “Over here,” Rain called, as the sound of clinking glass cut across their floor.

  Half a dozen cauldrons bubbled on three separate alchemy tables placed against the northern window. Each cauldron contained a brew that Rain had been working on all afternoon. Her Beginner’s Guide to Alchemy was cracked open on a splintered wooden lectern, its color faded with age, the first of its once-blank pages now filled with sketches and modifications to the potion knowledge in Rain’s mind. On a fourth side table, two dozen bottled potions of various sizes and colors were cooling - future stock for Rain On My Parade.

  “Here, this one is for you, Mils,” Rain said as she handed Milly a small vial of yellow-brown liquid.

  “What is it?” Milly asked as she raised it to the light. It sparkled.

  “It’s for your depression,” Rain explained. “This potion does, more or less, the same thing as your antidepressant medication back home.”

  “But I’ve been fine. I mean, mostly,” protested Milly. “I was weaning myself off my medication anyways.”

  “You’ve been running on adrenaline and fighting for your life since you got here, Mils. Now, I’m a barista, not a doctor, but I don’t think you can decide that you’ve been fine with all that's happened to us. You definitely aren’t in a state to know if you are recovered from your depression.” Rain advised. “I needed to brew a batch of this anyways. You aren’t the only one that was on antidepressants back home. I had four others approach me before we left about brewing something for them.”

  “Rain…”

  “Mils, my brother was on antidepressants for years. When the doctor finally began to ween him off his medication, it took months. A small reduction each time, so his body could get used to it and to minimize the chance his depression would return. Even then, it was hard for him,” Rain lectured her. “Unlike him, you’ve been forced to go cold turkey. That’s not healthy, especially in our circumstances. I can’t force you to take it, but I think you should.”

  “I… thanks Rain. I’ll… I’ll think about it,” Milly said as she added the vial to her inventory.

  “It’s a half teaspoon once per day,” Rain instructed, speaking now to both Milly and Calista. “And every second morning when you want to ween yourself off it.”

  Rain hobbled over to the side table on her crutch and snatched a few more vials. “Now, for something more fun,” Rain beamed. She handed them each three vials – one bright red, another forest green, and a third shimmering blue. Milly recognized the latter as a magic replenishment potion.

  “The red is a weak healing potion,” said Rain. “It’s nothing compared to Healer’s Touch, but it’s useful in a pinch for low level players. I made it to sell at Rain On My Parade but take one for yourselves. Never know when it will come in handy.”

  “Sell?” asked Calista. “You expanding your business, Rain?”

  “Teas, Coffee, and Potions,” Rain chuckled excitedly. “In that order. I don’t care what world we are in or what challenges we face. I’m not going to let this contest rob me of my dream. I am a barista first, player second. Besides, I need to get people their morning caffeine, or we’re going to have a lot of grumpy players. And what better way to earn people’s trust?”

  Rain held up the green potion. “This counters simple poisons, like the one I use in my dagger. And the blue is magic recovery, like I gave you at the battle. I made one for each of us. I’ll make these potions available in the shop for a price, but I’ll keep medications like Gabriel’s heart and Susan’s anxiety meds free of charge. I don’t think I could live with myself if they couldn’t afford it.”

  “The potions are great, Rain,” Calista said, remembering their living room. “But what’s with the exploded wardrobe?”

  “Practice,” replied Rain excitedly, leaving the potions behind and leading them into the living room. “I’ve been thinking on how my creation talent works while you have been away. I have some of the basics figured out. The combination of Hephaestus’ Protégé and Creativity of Hephaestus from my necklace lets me craft in two ways. First, I can enchant an existing item using talents that one of the three of us possess. The stronger the talent, the more magic it costs. The same is true if I want to imbue more than one talent on a single item. The more talents I add, the higher the cost, and that cost is exponential.”

  “So you could, say…” Calista said as she walked over to the coffee table and held up a lime green T-shirt embroidered with the Statue of Liberty. She made a disgusted face at its hidiousness. “Enchant this… thing… with Milly’s fire magic and make it fireproof?”

  “Well, at my level, more likely just a bit fire resistant,” Rain answered after careful consideration. “But when I get strong enough, then yes, that’s possible.”

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  “Well, that’s cool, but you shouldn’t do that, at least to this shirt,” clarified Calista. “I don’t support any action that would prevent this abomination from being burned in a fire.”

  Milly laughed. “What’s the second way, Rain?”

  “The second way you’ve already seen. I can take raw materials, like iron ore or leather, and make custom items of any design, such as I did with Calista’s dress or my tailcoat. The rarer the materials, the better the item and the easier it is to imbue it with higher-level enchantments. The downside is it consumes a lot of magic and resources. Even with the class boost to my magic attribute, I’ll need a great deal more to create truly powerful items. Especially if I use Blank Canvas to break the normal crafting rules.”

  “Okay, but why the… rather eclectic wardrobe?” Calista asked cautiously. “Why not just buy a dozen identical black hoodies for Milly?”

  “Cally, that’s the sexiest thing you’ve ever said,” cooed Milly.

  Calista winked at her playfully.

  Rain shrugged. “It’s more fun this way. Plus, Tutoria’s collection wasn’t exactly inclined to normality. Well, do you want to get started?”

  Milly’s stomach growled. “Can it wait until after supper? I think my appetite just came back.”

  “Oh, speaking of losing your appetite,” Calista said, opening her inventory and lobbing Rain’s share of Gorath’s fingers and the Fairy Killer Roast over to her. “Here. Eat up.”

  “Thanks Calista,” Rain said, popping Gorath’s finger into her mouth without a second thought.

  Milly lost her appetite again as Rain spit the bones into her palm and added them to her inventory for future crafting.

  * * *

  After picking Passiflora up from the medical clinic, the child chattering excitedly about her day, their unconventional family headed down to Billy’s Barbecue for supper. They snagged one of the tables beside the grill before the crowd of players descended on the restaurant. By the time Billy served them the usual boar and mushroom fare, every table was occupied, and it was standing room only. A line of hungry players stretched forty deep along the beach, exhausted from their work at the Castle of Glass or from exploring the wilds.

  It was the first supper they had spent around other players since they had returned to the Castle of Glass. Gossip and whispers reverberated amongst the CEO-aligned players, targeted at the girls and the fairy child they had brought into their midst. It continued until Billy finally shouted that anyone who didn’t like it would be banned from his restaurant, and they could fix their own damned supper from now on.

  The whispers instantly stopped, and the pleasant rumble of regular conversation soon replaced it.

  “Everyone is a critic until their food is on the line,” Calista derided.

  “Yah, and thankfully Billy knows it,” commented Milly, as she rubbed Passiflora’s back. The child had tried to shove three mushrooms in her mouth all at once and nearly choked. “Slow down, Passi. Your food isn’t going anywhere.”

  “So hungry,” Passiflora responded as she struggled to chew the mouthful. “Ying is a worse taskmaster than grandpa was. I haven’t eaten all day.”

  It was the first time Milly had heard Passiflora mention a member of her family.

  Maybe she is starting to heal, if only a little bit.

  “I hear that, Passiflora,” said Billy. “You should see what’s she’s like at home. A real ball buster.”

  “Billy!” Milly scolded, covering Passiflora’s ears with her hands. “Language.”

  “Oh, right,” Billy said. “Not used to having kids around.”

  Passiflora waved Milly’s hands away with a child’s impatience. She looked Billy square in the eyes. “What’s a ball buster?”

  Billy’s moved his mouth like a fish, but no words came out. Milly nearly choked on her roasted boar as she suppressed her laughter.

  “Hey Billy, got a surprise for you,” Calista called, saving their chef from having to stammer out an answer.

  “What’s that, Cal… oh my god!” Billy said in surprise as Calista retrieved one of the truck-sized geese from her inventory. It crashed into the sand with a meaty thump next to the grill that caused every table in the small restaurant to rattle.

  “A little variety for our diets!” Calista declared, as much to the crowd as to Billy. “We’ve got eleven more where that came from. You’ve never had true cuisine until you’ve tried roasted goose.”

  Murmurs of excitement quickly spread through the crowd from both ally and CEO-aligned players. A few cheers rose up from the back of the restaurant to celebrate this new addition to their rather limited culinary options.

  Milly’s eyes scanned the crowd and tried to memorize the faces of those who cheered.

  Potential allies? Or maybe just people willing to trust their own eyes instead of taking the CEOs at their word.

  She’d counted half a dozen supporters before her gaze fell on Cosmo Shufflebottom, the CEO of EnergyWave. Milly hadn’t seen him arrive, and her hands grew clammy with nervousness. He stood beside his newly constructed performance stage, calmly chatting with his band, The Radicals, as they prepared for evening’s performance.

  The CEO, still dressed in his jester costume, met Milly’s gaze. Milly’s heart began to beat wildly. Her left hand fell on Passiflora’s arm, ready to grab the child and run if Shufflebottom attacked, while she ignited a flame in the palm of her right hand, its light hidden beneath the picnic table.

  Shufflebottom just tipped his jester hat in her direction. His eyes flickered briefly to Passiflora before he returned to his band.

  Milly let her flame fade away, though her heart would not calm so easily.

  “He’s a strange man,” Billy said, following her gaze. “I’m not sure I will ever trust him, but he does keep the crowd happy. His band gets better every day.”

  “He hasn’t been attending the faction meetings with Stone and Brass,” Calista whispered as they huddled together. “Remember the negotiations on the beach when we first got back? The only thing he was interested in was Lightpaw. He spent the rest of the time staring into space.”

  “Was he involved in what Stone and Brass did at the Battle of Tower Beach?” Milly asked. She didn’t recall seeing the CEO in the lobby on that horrible day.

  “I don’t think so,” Calista responded. They’d spent so much time focused on Stone and Brass, that the strange behavior of the third CEO had slipped their minds.

  Diwata, a Freelancer from EnergyWave, leaned over from the table next to them.

  “He’s always been weird,” Diwata said. “He’d play his guitar in his office in the middle of the day. He implemented Wacky Hat Wednesdays. Once he just left in the middle of an all-staff meeting. And I don’t mean he snuck out the back. He was literally in the middle of his speech when he got bored, grabbed a donut, and left. We all sat there for an hour before we realized he wasn’t coming back.”

  “He’s a loon,” Calista said. “Alison said he’s unpredictable and dangerous.”

  “She could be right,” Diwata agreed. “People say all the lawsuits against his company broke his brain. He was set to lose everything before this contest sucked us all here. But despite all that – or maybe because of it – most of our employees liked him. He always made sure we got paid, even when the banks were closing in on his own fortune.”

  Milly considered Diwata’s words.

  It’s been Stone and Brass making all the aggressive moves. Is Shufflebottom part of their game, or is he just along for the ride?

  Then a disturbing thought came to her.

  Or is he playing a game of his own?

  “Well, if he wasn’t broken before, he sure was after they defeated that Arena,” Billy added. “Comes back to the Castle in a jester costume, starts a band, and spends every minute he can either on stage, wandering the wilds, or just staring blankly at the sky. Did you know half the casualties from that Arena were from EnergyWave?”

  Milly finished her boar and used her magic to wash their plates before handing them back to Billy.

  Shufflebottom is still a CEO, and until I learn otherwise, I’m going to treat him as such. He may still stab us in the back with a song on his lips.

  “Thanks for supper, Billy,” Milly said as they rose from the table. “Goose tomorrow?”

  “For the Witch of the Castle of Glass, the Huntress, and the Alchemist?” Billy smiled. “Anything you want, Milly.”

  The Non-Canonical Aftermath: