handed Kyra her bowl.
Kyra eyed the offering with a questioning look. “I’ve never seen rabbit prepared that way before.”
Bazur shrugged. “The badlands provide ample food for one who knows what to look for. However, it is often a strange assortment. I’ve been trying different combinations of dishes since I entered the badlands. Some regrettable, others quite edible.”
Kyra put a chunk of the rabbit in her mouth. At first, her lips puckered at the sour bapa juices, but the sweet and spicy seasoned rabbit quickly overwhelmed her taste buds. She looked at Bazur in surprise. “That is probably the best tasting rabbit I’ve ever had. I’m sorry for doubting your culinary skills, Bazur.”
Bazur grinned. It had taken many disastrous attempts to perfect that recipe. He’d had many of nights where he couldn’t stand his own cooking. However, moments like this, where he could share his passion for creating unique and flavorful dishes, was worth all the effort.
When they finished the meal, Bazur took Kyra’s bowl and gave them both a good cleaning.
While Bazur cleaned, Kyra took out Prince Valentine’s notes and started to study them.
Bazur watched Kyra reading the journals. He could almost see her brain working. Each nod of her head, or quizzical tilt, was like a map of her understanding of the problem. From the number of times her head tilted, it was obvious that she was finding more questions than answers. When she was really focused on an idea, Kyra would bite her bottom lip. Bazur thought back to the first time he’d met her. He’d been delivering documents when they were attacked by a band of bandits attempting to steal the documents for themselves. The bandits had not been prepared to face a warrior like Bazur, and the fight didn’t go well for them. During the entire fight, the young woman he’d been sent to deliver the documents to just stood there watching. She didn’t try to run away or fight. When a bandit got too close, she deftly sidestepped so Bazur was between her and the bandits. When the battle was over, Bazur asked the young woman why she didn’t run away. Her answer was that she’d watched the first attack of the bandits and decided that the bandits were not a match for him. She also had gambling debts and needed the income she would get from the documents Bazur was carrying. Bazur had been impressed by the young woman barely out of her teens. She had a calculating mind and showed no fear. That she was very attractive had not gone unnoticed either. For a human woman, she was average height, perhaps a bit smaller, but she had that wiry athletic look of someone who was deceptively strong. She certainly hadn’t been what Bazur had expected from a document forger. The years since then had been kind to Kyra. She still had that athletic body but her womanly curves had developed. She still had the bright eyes that sparkled in the right light, but now there was more wisdom behind them, making her even more intriguing.
“Are you going to stare at me all night, or are you going to help me figure this out?” asked Kyra.
Bazur had been so caught up in his reminiscing about the beautiful thief that he hadn’t noticed she’d stopped reading and was watching him as he watched her. “How can I help? You are much smarter than I.” Bazur decided it was safest to just pretend he hadn’t been caught staring at her and keep the conversation focused on the work.
“Don’t give me that false modesty ‘I’m a big dumb orc’ crap. I know you can read, and I know you know the badlands better than I. Many of the attacks have happened in the badlands or nearby. Maybe you can see the pattern.”
It was true that Bazur could read. All the orc children in Lagvon Stronghold had been trained to read, and Bazur’s mother had spent extra time with him. She insisted that he needed balance between his warrior training and the rest of his studies. Bazur hated it, but he had always respected his mother’s
Kyra eyed the offering with a questioning look. “I’ve never seen rabbit prepared that way before.”
Bazur shrugged. “The badlands provide ample food for one who knows what to look for. However, it is often a strange assortment. I’ve been trying different combinations of dishes since I entered the badlands. Some regrettable, others quite edible.”
Kyra put a chunk of the rabbit in her mouth. At first, her lips puckered at the sour bapa juices, but the sweet and spicy seasoned rabbit quickly overwhelmed her taste buds. She looked at Bazur in surprise. “That is probably the best tasting rabbit I’ve ever had. I’m sorry for doubting your culinary skills, Bazur.”
Bazur grinned. It had taken many disastrous attempts to perfect that recipe. He’d had many of nights where he couldn’t stand his own cooking. However, moments like this, where he could share his passion for creating unique and flavorful dishes, was worth all the effort.
When they finished the meal, Bazur took Kyra’s bowl and gave them both a good cleaning.
While Bazur cleaned, Kyra took out Prince Valentine’s notes and started to study them.
Bazur watched Kyra reading the journals. He could almost see her brain working. Each nod of her head, or quizzical tilt, was like a map of her understanding of the problem. From the number of times her head tilted, it was obvious that she was finding more questions than answers. When she was really focused on an idea, Kyra would bite her bottom lip. Bazur thought back to the first time he’d met her. He’d been delivering documents when they were attacked by a band of bandits attempting to steal the documents for themselves. The bandits had not been prepared to face a warrior like Bazur, and the fight didn’t go well for them. During the entire fight, the young woman he’d been sent to deliver the documents to just stood there watching. She didn’t try to run away or fight. When a bandit got too close, she deftly sidestepped so Bazur was between her and the bandits. When the battle was over, Bazur asked the young woman why she didn’t run away. Her answer was that she’d watched the first attack of the bandits and decided that the bandits were not a match for him. She also had gambling debts and needed the income she would get from the documents Bazur was carrying. Bazur had been impressed by the young woman barely out of her teens. She had a calculating mind and showed no fear. That she was very attractive had not gone unnoticed either. For a human woman, she was average height, perhaps a bit smaller, but she had that wiry athletic look of someone who was deceptively strong. She certainly hadn’t been what Bazur had expected from a document forger. The years since then had been kind to Kyra. She still had that athletic body but her womanly curves had developed. She still had the bright eyes that sparkled in the right light, but now there was more wisdom behind them, making her even more intriguing.
“Are you going to stare at me all night, or are you going to help me figure this out?” asked Kyra.
Bazur had been so caught up in his reminiscing about the beautiful thief that he hadn’t noticed she’d stopped reading and was watching him as he watched her. “How can I help? You are much smarter than I.” Bazur decided it was safest to just pretend he hadn’t been caught staring at her and keep the conversation focused on the work.
“Don’t give me that false modesty ‘I’m a big dumb orc’ crap. I know you can read, and I know you know the badlands better than I. Many of the attacks have happened in the badlands or nearby. Maybe you can see the pattern.”
It was true that Bazur could read. All the orc children in Lagvon Stronghold had been trained to read, and Bazur’s mother had spent extra time with him. She insisted that he needed balance between his warrior training and the rest of his studies. Bazur hated it, but he had always respected his mother’s
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