So, what is on the menu in this volume? Well... we have vegetables grown from golems, bread prepared with the help of some orc refugees, treasure insect snacks, some surprise sorbet, and boiled mimic.
Not all at once, of course. Each item is individually prepared and served at the end of its very own chapter. Said chapters also allow of one, perhaps two, of the group members to step forward and take center stage.
First Chef Senshi takes care of his golem gardens. Marcille then engages in a fierce debate with an orc regarding the ethics of plundering and how colonialism can fuel and forge ongoing conflict. It was a pretty lively debate that did not give arbitrary moral high ground to one side over the other, which made reading it all the more satisfying.
The group then discovers the remains of another deceased hunting party and must do battle with poisonous treasure insects. Here is where Laios learns his sword just might have a mind all its own. The group's bug battle aftermath draws the attention of some ghosts looking for fresh bodies to possess. Some quick thinking on Senshi's part leads to his finding a rather unique method of creating sorbet!
Chapters 12 and 13, Court Cuisine and Boiled in Salt Water, respectively, are my favorite of the tasty and zesty dishes offered up in this volume. Cuisine has Laios venturing into living pictures, so that he might return with some food for the group. Something easier dreamed than done.
In Boiled Chilchuck gets trapped in a room with a mimic, alone. Now he has to stay one step ahead of a hungry monster, while also trying to figure how to unlock the trap that is keeping him in the room. It is a really fun romp.
The volume ends with Senshi introducing the group to a kelpie he befriended while he fished from a large underground lake. Reluctant to the point of being hostile to the use of magic to cross the lake, Senshi hopes to the enlist the aid of his kelpie friend and shenanigans ensue.
This was another delicious delight that left me craving to learn what would be served in volume three.
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