Order List

Fig and Pozza look at the list of orders. They’ve got their work cut out for them. They decide to begin after a cup of tea.

Barley’s Farm, outside Myddul

A field of golden wheat stretches far outside the window of the old farmhouse, coming to a stop just before a windmill next to the Swamp. The aroma of baking bread fills the farmhouse’s kitchen and the kettle comes to a whistle on the stove.

Over tea, Barley discusses the frequent monster attacks from a few weeks ago; they’re glad that those attacks are now at an end following the Villain’s defeat. Now the only problems are from the usual troublemakers, and they can be resolved with a stern talking-to.

After the break, work resumes. The dough is divided into three, and Barley, Fig, and Pozza each knead their lot.

Goji’s Place, Lux City

Goji’s home is a short walk from the Tunnel, and it’s surprisingly chilly. Made even more so by Goji’s lack of an oven. The fennec explains that the lack of ventilation means it gets far too hot when cooking, but he’s found ways to work around it.

He brings out a no-bake cactus-fruit cheesecake, placing it on the table in front of Fig and Pozza. He cuts three slices, presenting two to his guests and taking one for himself. The three eat in relative quiet.

Goji offers a tour of Lux City before Fig and Pozza head off to their next destination. The three end up spending most of the afternoon bowling.

Chili’s Home, Lizard’s Fangs

“Ah, perhaps I made it a bit too spicy,” Chili says, noticing Pozza’s pained expression. Xie grabs a bowl, ladling in some yoghurt and honey, before handing it to the Shadecrawler. “I think bread is meant to help with the heat as well, but I don’t have any plain bread to hand.”

After settling the burning sensation, Pozza says, “It was nice. Although yes, it was certainly too spicy for me. Sorry.”

“No need for you to apologise,” the rabbit responds. Xie takes one of xir freshly-baked chilli tarts, chewing as xie ponders the flavour. “I’m so used to spice that I never know how to properly balance it. I promise I’ll have a more mild treat to bring to our upcoming get-together.” Xie smiles at Fig.

“Get-together?” asks Fig, only hearing this for the first time.

“Oh, did Pearl not tell you? Uh… Well… Surprise!” After a short pause, xie adds, “You should probably ask her for more details.”

Pearl’s Patisserie, the Raft

A line of cream, delicately piped atop pastry. Another layer of flaky pastry, gently placed atop the cream. The precise process is repeated twice more, before a dusting of icing sugar. Pearl gives a satisfied sigh as she displays the completed bake to Fig. Fig thinks Pozza would love this too, but they didn’t want to come to the Sea of Light after last time.

“I suppose the letter must have gotten lost,” Pearl says. “But I thought it would be fun to have a reunion of the Pack. All of us, meeting up, bringing our best bakes, sharing recipes. And, well, I was wondering if you’d like to host?”

Fig thinks. It’ll take a while to get their home ready for such an event, but it sounds so wonderful that he couldn’t possibly refuse.

Fig’s Bakery, Secha Town

The spread of bakes fills the whole table in the dining room, as well as some of the kitchen’s counter space. Barley’s rustic loaves sit alongside Pearl’s perfect patisserie pickings. Goji’s chilled treats pair well with Chili’s spicy bakes. At the centre of it all is a showstopping bake that Fig and Pozza spent the entire previous evening working on.

A toast is raised to baking, and a promise is made to keep up these get-togethers more regularly going forwards.

There are more people than Fig was expecting. It seems that word about these baking classes has spread a lot. People have come from all over the kingdom to be here. There’s just enough space to fit everyone in, but it’s a bit of a squeeze.

Fig flicks through her recipe book, finding the one that she had bookmarked for this session. A simple sponge cake. The instructions aren’t too difficult to follow along with, and decorating it afterwards will allow people to flex their creativity. It should be a piece of cake (and hopefully the rest of the cake as well).

Fig pushes down their nerves. He needs to be confident in order to teach this class. Fortunately, they’re not alone. Pozza has offered to help out, and Goji is also visiting from the Sunshade Desert to assist. Ingredients are divvied up and assigned to each workstation, along with a copy of the recipe. The importance of following the recipe is made clear; it’s much better if you do the baking by the book.

At the front of the room, Fig runs a demonstration, showing everyone what needs to be done. The other helpers move around the room, helping where they can when anyone happens to have questions.

Ingredients are sifted, beaten together. Eggs are cracked, more ingredients are added, and eventually a range of batters are formed. A few people have brought their own additions and flavourings, looking to make their cakes more unique. Goji points out a few that might alter the batters’ textures, and suggests adding more flour or milk to compensate.

With the batters in the ovens, there’s time to mingle and talk. Stories are told and gossip is shared. A few people start brainstorming potential recipes they’d like to try out in future classes. Despite many of these people being strangers just an hour ago, everyone is getting along like long time friends, brought together by the simple baking of cakes.

Finally, the cakes are ready. A few don’t come out brilliantly, but Fig reassures the bakers that everything should still taste good. The cakes are given time to cool – decorating while things are still warm just leads to disaster – giving time for more chats.

After the decoration is done, it’s time for tasting. Everyone shares and compares, and they all feel more confident in their baking ability. It looks like a lot of people plan to come to the next one. Fig starts thinking about what recipe should be next.