The Servant and the Scoundrel: A fantasy novel (The Servant's Lament Book 1) by Chris R. Sendrowski

Author:Chris R. Sendrowski [Sendrowski, Chris R. & Sendrowski, Chris R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Chris R. Sendrowski
Published: 2023-11-29T16:00:00+00:00

15

RUMORS

The distant bells echoed across the castle, signaling evening call.

I stood and brushed off my blue tunic and trousers with a shaking hand. I was nervous and it was throwing me off my routine. Normally, before a great feast, I made the rounds in the kitchen, inspecting every dish prior to it being served. But today we had a visitor in our domain, a silent wraith standing in the corner who watched our every move.

Lorianas Worden and his cooks had arrived three calls earlier than expected. They tested each Strantodian dish for poisons and other contaminants. When none were found, they moved on to the wine and water.

“This is an insult,” Opon whispered to me as one of the Strantodian cooks lifted his mask and sniffed a bottle of uncorked berry wine.

“More than an insult,” I replied. “A damn shame. That was a three hundred turn old arbor gold he just opened. I hadn’t even planned on serving it tonight.”

The Strantodian cook moved on down the line, lifting his mask so he could take tiny bites of each dish. This was a major break in castle protocol; only the castle lorianas was allowed to act as food taster. Rather than create an incident, though, I acquiesced to their demands.

I watched Worden standing on the far side of the kitchen like a statue. He had barely spoken a word since his arrival. Even his people seemed oblivious to his presence as they moved about with silent precision, tasting, checking, nudging, wiping.

The Strantodians finally finished their inspection and slowly filed out of the kitchen. Lorianas Worden held back, staring at a plate of Opon’s roasted duckling.

Realizing it might be my only chance to speak with him, I approached the lorianas and said: “That is Opon’s best dish: roasted duckling glazed in sugar honey and stuffed with cranberries and Alimanian cheese.”

Worden looked up at me and extended his hand.

My heart alighted. A handshake from a fellow lorianas? It was a welcome break from protocol. But when I reached out to accept it, the man pushed it aside.

“Fork, lorianas,” he said. “Fork.”

My ego bruised, I grabbed a clean fork off of a table and handed it to him. The lorianas plucked a piece of moist duck from the plate, lifted his mask, and bit into it.

I watched nervously as he chewed. “The ducks were hunted along our southern shores,” I said, “They feed on the wild bay berries that grow there. That’s what gives the meat a tinge of sweetness.”

He ignored me as he continued to chew.

“Master Cook Opon then marinated the duck for two months in a brandy bath to increase its tanginess.”

Worden swallowed and turned to me. “Give my respects to the cook.” And with that, he turned and exited the kitchen.

I stood shocked. That was it? I had hoped to at least pick the man’s brain and maybe learn a bit more about his people and their strange customs. But just like their kingdom, he, too, remained walled off from me.

Opon approached.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.