Mingle - Emergency Potluck

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WELCOME POTLUCK

Greetings, residents! Those more observant sorts among you may have noticed a large influx of very crowded ferries. In order to welcome our new residents en masse, Town Hall is holding a potluck in Town Square. Please bring a dish if you are able and make a new friend!

All of our newest arrivals need only bring themselves. We look forward to welcoming you all into our community, and may your lanterns always be lit.

This event is open to all! In light of our new influx of prospective players following the Great Sail Migration, we've decided to offer a small public event to tide everyone over until the TDM this weekend.

Comments

[lordoftheozarks]

"As long as you promise not to sue me if whatever I make causes you to fall ill." RIP Cesar and the fudge.

He arrives wearing the clothes he'd come to the island in. Simple cotton, with a few patches on the knees and elbows now to repair the rips he put in them whilst fighting the River Walker in its own caves. (At least there aren't any blood stains showing.)

He knocks, and then stands back a little so he can hold up the bottle of wine he's brought. He does appreciate when someone makes it easy on him by telling him what to bring in these situations.

"I hope red is to your taste?"

[immortaldemonsoul]

Don't worry, Lord Osborne. Ellarinne's stomach is made of fel iron, your bread won't hurt her no matter how weird it is.

She smiles, accepting the bottle and nodding in approval at both the offering and his choice in clothes. "It is," she agrees. "Come on in."

She leads him through the front room and into her kitchen, the tools and most of the ingredients for making bread already arranged on the table. Ellarinne's townhouse is still largely furnished with the leavings of its previous occupants, but her cookware? Ah, that's as new as she can afford.

The wine goes into the ice box to chill, and then she turns to Erik and explains in a half-teasing tone, "The first lesson every cook must learn is cleanliness. Since we're just baking for ourselves today I won't make you wear a hairnet, but it's a good habit to get into when you're cooking for a group. And you must always, always wash your hands. Just because neither of us can get sick in a way that matters doesn't mean we can't pass contamination onto other people. So," she gestures to the wash basin. "Roll your sleeves up, and wash up to your elbows for at least thirty seconds."

While he does that, Ellarinne will be carefully gathering her hair into a bun and tying it out of her face. Once he's done it's her turn to wash up, humming under her breath.

[lordoftheozarks]

Her kitchen looks exactly as he imagined, which is exactly how Max used to keep it. She does know her stuff, doesn't she? (Because, naturally, Erik assumes Max sets the bar.)

"Now, that, I do remember. Max always drilled that into me, I promise you." He does as he's told and goes to the sink with his sleeves neatly rolled past the elbows. He's used to washing his hands for other reasons, these days, but that does mean he's efficient at it.

"What's that you're humming?"

[immortaldemonsoul]

"Oh my, you really do have sharp hearing, don't you?" Ellarinne smiles at him sadly. "It's just a little song my grandmother came up with...all of us children used to sing it together before dinner, to show we'd washed our hands properly..."

She turns her face away, saying in a low, half-embarrassed voice, "It's all I have left to remember them by..."

[lordoftheozarks]

"I do, yes." He decides against telling her that he could have heard it from the next house over.

"I'm sorry for your grief, but there's no need to act embarrassed. I think that's a very sweet way to keep the memory alive. I often wish I had such memories of my own to cherish, but I was orphaned at too young an age."

[immortaldemonsoul]

"It saddens me to hear it. I was an adult, but they were all...I lost my whole family in a single night..."

She shakes herself a little. "But come," she says ruefully. "We can discuss such sad things anytime. Today we agreed we were going to make bread!" She gestures to the table, where the ingredients have already been laid out, and reaches for a small bowl containing a grey-white mixture. "I started proofing the yeast by mixing it with water and honey a quarter hour ago," she explains. "So it should be ready now. Go ahead and have a sniff."

[lordoftheozarks]

"Yes, you're right. Such conversations are better had over drinks." So, maybe they can save that for when the wine gets broken into.

He doesn't particularly need to do this to catch the sweet and tangy scent of the yeast, but he tips his face closer just to show he's doing as she suggests. It reminds him most of how fresh sourdough smells. Perhaps that's what they are making?

"I've heard it said that yeast can fail to proof. How do you know if it's gone wrong?"

[immortaldemonsoul]

Ellarinne smiles at him, pleased by both the question and how accommodating he's being.

"I so love at attentive student," she murmurs. "The scent and appearance will tell you whether your yeast has successfully proofed. See the bubbles?" The mixture in the bowl has turned off-white and creamy, with little clusters of bubbles not unlike the look of pancake batter. "They are produced by fermentation between the yeast and the sugar in the honey. If your yeast hasn't made any bubbles at all after ten minutes or so, it's most likely dead."

[lordoftheozarks]

"I see..." Erik studies the bowl carefully. He can see the bubbles, and hear them too. Those tiny organisms are hard at work and they don't suspect how short their lives will be, do they?

But, he wonders, is it possible that even these small organisms will come back to life on this island? There's an interesting thought. 

"Can it not be used at all if it's dead?"