LIGHTNOVELONLINE Pull 74 (B)elow (M)orning
*Snore* “Hu- what-”
Luke snapped awake. The storeroom was completely dark. Ash was breathing deeply an arm’s length away. Crickets *Chirped* somewhere in the distance. Every now and then a sleeping chicken in the courtyard gave a lazy cluck.
A wet nose bumped Luke’s elbow.
“Can’t sleep?” Eins asked.
Luke rubbed his eyes. “No.”
“You seem to have trouble sleeping. You wake up a lot in the middle of the night. Are you feeling alright?”
Luke adjusted his pillow. “Yeah. Sorry. It’s an old habit. I didn’t get a lot of sleep in the Capital. I had responsibilities.” Luke tried to look at his hand in the darkness. “I never noticed it before but I think that the elixir made me resistant to fatigue. So I suppose it wasn’t all bad.”
Luke stared at the ceiling in the dark. “Do you think we’re doing the right thing Eins?”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t really know what I did. I don’t really know what I’m doing. And I don’t really know if I can fix things.”
“You’re worried about robbing the Gambling Hall.”
“... a little.” Luke folded his hands. “I just wish that I knew for certain that I was doing the right thing to fix my mistake.”
Eins put a paw on Luke’s hand. “Hey now, you’re doing your best. Which is all anyone can ask of you.”
“You’re right. Maybe I’m overthinking things.”
“It’s late. And we still have five more days before we execute the plan. You should try to get some more sleep.”
“Thanks Eins. You’re a good friend.”
“Mhmm.
Luke rolled over.
Eins stared at the ceiling in the dark.
#
“Did you kids eat breakfast?”
“Yes Mr Plinth.” Luke said.
“Good. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. After brunch of course. Ho ho.” Plinth chuckled to himself. “Oh, Ash?”
“Yes?” Ash looked into the kitchen from the courtyard. An angry chicken wrestled with a corncob in his hand.
“I prepared that to-go box like you asked.”
“Nice. Thanks Mr Plinth. You’re the best.” Ash said.
Ave and Tasha walked down the stairs into the courtyard. Each of them carried a canvas suit bag over their shoulder. Tripillli sat on top of Tasha’s hair like a cephalon head ornament. The trilobites legs pinned her hair back.
“Good morning Ash.” Tasha called.
“Morning.” Ash replied.
“Are you and Luke ready?” Ave asked.
Ash jammed one of his arms in the chicken coop. “Almost. Once we finish the morning prep work we’ll head over and put on our costumes so that we can get into the Ocean’s Bounty.”
Tasha rolled her eyes. “They’re not costumes Ash. They’re dress clothes. That’s it.”
“I don’t like them.”
“It might be nice if you wore something that wasn’t covered in dust all of the time.”
Ash pulled an egg out of the coop. “That’s me. That dust is me. I am the dust.”
Tasha waved a hand in the air. “But have you ever considered maybe living a life of less… wanton putrescence?”
Ash pulled a fresh egg out of the coop. The warm butt nugget was coated with flecks of hay, feathers, and chicken feces. Ash wiped the egg on his shirt and put it in a nearby basket.
“No.” he said.
Tasha *Groaned*.
“Speaking of appearances.” Ave hefted the canvas bag on her shoulder. “We should get going so that we can make our appearance at the Ocean’s Bounty. Remember, it’s only a few days until the big event.”
“Five days.” Tasha chimed.
“That’s right. Thank you Tasha. Five days. The semifinals are today so make sure you and Luke get to the Gambling Hall on time.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll meet up with our guy and head over right afterwards.”
Ave looked over her shoulder. “Right. Your mysterious friend. Who is he exactly?”
“He’s a local, I think. His name is-”
“Ash! Tasha! Ave! Could you all come in here for a minute.” Plinth shouted from the restaurant.
“Coming Plinth!” Tasha shouted back. “We had better go see what he wants.”
#
Plinth was waiting in the hallway next to the kitchen. Eins sat on the floor next to him looking a little bit anxious.
Ash, Luke, Ave, and Tasha shuffled into the hallway one after another.
“Looks like a busy day for all of you.” Plinth wiped his hands on his apron.
Ash nodded. “That’s right. We have a lot to do before we… visit the Gambling Hall… for fun.”
“Right. For fun.” Tasha nodded along.
“No so fast. You kids have some cleaning up to do.” Plinth put his hands on his hips.
Tasha looked at Ave. Ave looked at Luke. Luke looked at Ash.
“Huh?” Ash looked confused. “What are you talking about? Is this about the chickens? Those feathers were already missing I swear.”
Plinth looked down his nose at the group. “No, not that. You need to clean up in here. Your dog left a fresh log on the dining room carpet.”
“He did?” Luke looked down at Eins. Eins didn’t make eye contact.
“That’s right. He did. *Cough* You had better go and clean it up before you leave today.”
Ash stomped into the dining room. “I can’t believe this Eins. How could you? That’s the most unexpectedly dog-like thing that-”
Ash stopped in mid stride.
Ash threw back his head. *Groooan* “Everyone else might as well come in here.”
Luke, Ave, and Tasha peeked their heads around the corner into the dining room. A block of fresh cut wood, the kind you might put into a fireplace, was sitting on the carpet all by itself.
Ash poked the wood with his foot. “A fresh log huh?”
Plinth put one hand in front of his face. *Cough* “That’s right, I did say that didn’t I. Ho ho.”
Luke smiled. “You got us again Mr Plinth.” Luke walked over and picked up Eins.
Ave bangs fell in front of her eyes. “Yes, very good. But please don’t pull Eins into any of your nonsense Mr Plinth. I’m scared that he’ll develop a wooden sense of humor.”
“Ho ho, a harmless jest. I hope you will forgive me.” said Plinth.
“You know we will.” Ave said.
Eins whispered at Luke.
Luke scratched Eins’ ears. “Don’t worry Eins. After all, who amongst us hasn’t pooped on the floor at some point or another.”
Ave kicked the log out into the courtyard. “Come on Luke. Now you’re making jokes as well.”
Luke shook his head. “Oh not at all. I’ve pooped on the floor many times. Why would I lie about that?”
“You’re serious? But, you mean when you were a baby right?”
“Nope. When I was ten I once ate an entire bar of baking chocolate. Did you know that baking chocolate is not the same as real chocolate? I didn’t. I had to learn the hard way.”
Ave looked back at Ash. “Is he joking Ash?”
“No… Why would he lie about that?” Ash avoided eye contact.
“Wait, don’t tell me that… you?”
Ash twisted his fingers together. “Look I saw him eat an entire bar of what I thought was chocolate and then I may have done the exact same thing.”
“Our mother had to throw out that rug.” Luke shook his head.
“Why did you eat it?” Ave asked.
“Because he did.” Ash pointed at Luke.
“Didn’t it taste bad?”
“Not really.” Luke said.
“What about you?” she looked at Ash.
“It tasted horrible. I could barely finish it.” Ash grimaced.
“Then why did you continue?”
“I saw Luke eating it and I thought that maybe it got better after the first few bites.”
Plinth looked wistful. “Ah, to be young again. You know back when I was training to join the Bakers the members of my troop challenged each other to a sashimi slicing contest. We gorged ourselves on fish slices so thin you could see your fingerprints through them. Those were the days.” Plinth shook his head. “Of course we all became violently ill. Too much cross contamination on our cutting boards. I was bedridden for three weeks! The barber was afraid that they might have to remove part of my colon.”
Ave’s face was a mask of confusion. “This is the most disgusting conversation I’ve ever been a part of.
Tasha nodded. “You’re right. Come on Ave. We have to get going. We need to get to the Ocean’s Bounty early.”
“You’re right let's get going.”
Luke hoisted Eins. “We’re almost finished here. We’ll take care of the rest of the prep and see you later.”
“Sounds good. Goodbye Mr Plinth.” said Tasha.
“Goodbye everyone.” said Ave.
The two of them ran out the front door.
Luke put down Eins and walked back to the courtyard. “Come on Ash. We need to clean up before we leave.”
Ash pulled at the sleeve of his shirt. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll wipe my hands before I go.”
Luke shoved him towards the door. “Ash that’s not enough. Take a shower.”
“You take a shower!”
Plinth watched them all leave. He crossed his arms and smiled to himself. “That’s better. I hate to see people walking out the door with frowns on their faces.”
#
“I noticed back in the restaurant when the men were all talking about poop you didn't say anything.”
“I did not.”
“Oh no, Tasha, you too?”
“It’s not like that. It’s just that, when I’m traveling on the road I drink a lot of coffee. Then I forget to eat and it all builds up and…”
“Tasha…”
“I don’t like to talk about it.”
#
“Morning…”
Rosy shambled down the stairs into the restaurant. Her hair was collapsed to one side like a wooden shack after a tornado. One of the buckles of the sword braced to her chest flapped loose.
Cophin stepped out of the kitchen. He tossed a log into the pile next to the stove. “Good morning Rosy. How did ya sleep?” He took a sip from a cup in his hand.
Rosy leaned against the wall. *SNiiiF* “Is that coffee? I would love some coffee.”
“Can I fix you some coffee?”
“I would love some…” Rosy absentmindedly scratched her abdomen. “But I really shouldn’t.”
*Clatter* “That’s right.” Plinth shut the shutters that faced the front of the resting restaurant. “After all, coffee? In the morning? Coffee is for the evening when you’re tired. It’s mean to be consumed at the end of a meal, preferably supper.”
Cophin stared over the lip of his cup. “You’re outta your damn mind. Coffee is a morning drink. It helps you wake up.”
“I’m the Alchemist and what I know is that in the morning you need protein, for energy.” Plinth said.
“Don’t be pedantic. You need fiber. For bulk. So you can have your first big bm of the day. And speaking of fiber…” Cophin turned and walked out into the courtyard. The door to the privy closed behind him.
Plinth finished latching the shutters and turned to Rosy. “Speaking of first meals, there’s some fresh cantaloupe for you on the kitchen table, with some low fat yogurt on the side. I also prepared some granola for your mid morning meal. And there are some fish rolls in the ice box for your mid afternoon snack.”
“You take such good care of me Plinth.” Rosy smiled.
“It’s a pleasure to cook for someone who appreciates it.” Plinth took off his apron and folded it neatly on the table. "Are you sure you don't mind watching the restaurant for the day? We'll close up til dinner time, but I don't want to leave you here by yourself if it's to much trouble."
"It's no trouble. As long as you don't mind me eating all of your marmalade."
"By the way. I left some rum bonbons in the ice box."
"Plinth, you know I really shouldn't be eating something that rich."
"I added dark chocolate and coconut but made sure to bake off the alcohol."
"You didn't need to bribe me. I'm happy to watch the shop for you."
"Don't be ridiculous. I only wanted to thank you. That's all."
"Well maybe I will have one."
Cophin walked bowlegged out of the toilet.
"That was incredible. It was a complete race to the bottom. I think I feel five pounds lighter. Watch this. I can finally touch my toes." Cophin bent over and touched his fingers to the tips of his toes. “If that don’t prove coffee is a morning drink I don’t know what does.”
Plinth opened the front door. "Alright let's get going. Come on Cophin we need to get up the hill."
"Where are the two of you going today?" Rosy asked.
"Tha Ocean's Bounty." Cophin groaned.
"Really? That doesn't seem like you two."
"What does that mean?" Cophin raised an eyebrow.
"Nothing. Only that you two don't seem like the types that enjoy gambling."
"Well you are correct. But we're not going for gambling. There's a separate event being held there today." Cophin said.
"We were invited to attend.” Plinth added.
"Plinth and Cophin, my very best of friends.” Lux appeared in the doorway and held out his arms. “Are you ready for the conference today? It should be an incredible event. I have heard that guest speakers have been invited from all over the Kingdom."
"A big banner event and a hospitality convention at the same time? This is too much excitement for one city if you ask me." Cophin scratched the scar on his arm.
Plinth nodded. "Haha, yes. Let us hope that nothing else unpredictable happens this week. Ha ha..."
"Ha ha..." Plinth and Rosy shared a nervous laugh.
“Haha ah. Excellent laughter everyone. A great way to start the day. If you two are ready, shall we go?” Lux made way for the others.
"Very nice. We should be back before the dinner rush. We will see you later Rosy." Plinth waved.
"Have a good time you three."
"See you later Ms Rosy." said Lux.
Rosy waved as they left. She watched them turn the corner of the street. When they were gone she shut the front door to the restaurant and then sprinted into the kitchen to find the ice box.