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4: Kitchen Hand
🕑 Added 2025-08-09 13:15:02 +0000 UTCEarly the next morning, I arose from a very restless sleep, with many thoughts running through my mind. The predominant one was that I had made the right choice. In the end, it seemed correct, and worst case, I could save up my money and figure something out.
I packed my belongings, which comprised just an old, tattered academy uniform I hadn't worn since I left, the spare tunic and trousers provided by the temple, and my five copper coins held in a tiny leather pouch given to me by Martin.
With that, I left the room for the last time. Heading into the main hall, I decided not to say goodbye to Martin again—though it certainly crossed my mind—so I instead headed out of the temple into the town. Even at this early hour, the streets were bustling with activity.
After making my way to The Roaring Inn, I walked inside and was greeted almost immediately by my new boss, Larry, who was behind the bar.
"Ah, you're here early. That works. Follow me!" Larry called out upon noticing me.
"Come, let me introduce you to Geo. He's working in the kitchen, and you'll be working alongside him, as well as Micca, who rounds out our team." With that, Larry went through the door to the kitchen, and I quickly followed him. I was immediately struck by two things: how small this kitchen was compared to the temple, and how chaotic it looked in comparison. There were pots and pans hanging from the walls, a variety of utensils on hooks, and what looked to be meat drying on hooks near an air vent.
"Geo," Larry called out, grabbing the smaller man's attention. "This here is Trevor. I've hired him as a kitchen hand and all-rounder, so when you need help, he's your man. And I don't want to see you try to put a kitchen knife in my hand again," Larry added with a chuckle.
"Trevor, this is Geo. He's the cook here at The Roaring Inn, and he works wonders most of the time." Larry grinned, clearly hoping to get a rise out of the cook. He was unsuccessful.
"Hello, Trevor. It’s great to finally have some help," Geo said, holding out his hand to shake.
With the introductions done, Geo went straight back to work.
"Right, there’s rarely a quiet moment here," Larry said. "I'll show you where you're sleeping. It's not much, I'll warn you, but it’s better than nothing."
Larry led him through another door, heading deeper into the inn. "On the right is my office. It's off-limits unless you need me—always knock. On the left is the kitchen pantry. Geo will show you all of that when you start with him." Stopping before a room barely larger than the flat roll-up mattress on the floor, Larry added, "And this is yours. I gave you some fresh bedding, but it'll be your job to keep it clean from now on. There's a hook up there for any belongings you’ve got."
I looked at the space. It was tiny, but how much room did I really need?
"Thank you," I said.
"What would you like me to do first?"
Larry thought for a moment. "I'm heading back to the bar, but I'll leave you with Geo to show you the ropes. For the lunch rush, I'll have you out front. I'll show you how to pour a drink, and you can help Micca."
I was guided back to the kitchen, left feeling a little lost as Larry returned to the front of the inn, heading back to the bar. I was still gathering my thoughts when Geo’s voice cut in.
"You don't look like a boy with the cook class—far too built for it." He paused, studying me with a critical eye. "Ever worked in a kitchen before?"
"Yes, sir. I spent the last two weeks in the Temple kitchen. I’ve got a cooking class, but I can't seem to gain any experience—except for my Knifework skill," I said.
"It's not 'sir.' You're in a kitchen, not a noble house. Call me Geo—or G, if you like. I don't much care." His brow furrowed slightly. "And what do you mean you can’t gain experience? Just cook. It’s simple enough."
"I have a rare class," I admitted. "Arcane Chef. But I haven’t been able to level it, even after cooking at the Temple." The words felt heavier than they should have, with a quiet embarrassment creeping in.
Geo’s eyes widened. "Did you say rare?" His voice carried genuine surprise. "Well, that’s something you don’t hear every day. Never come across a rare class myself, so I can't say I’ll be much help with experience gains. What skills do you have, Trev?"
I pulled up my status sheet and held it out for him to see.
Basic Meal Prep
Level: 1
Experience: 0/100
Can craft basic meals at an increased pace.
Butchery
Level: 1
Experience: 0/100
Able to identify usable parts, Increased yield from target.
Knifework
Level: 4
Experience: 84/1056
Efficiency with a kitchen knife
"I had the chance to butcher the rump of a boar at the Temple as well, but I got no experience for that either," I said after showing him my skills.
"That's it?" Geo asked, looking genuinely surprised. "Are you sure you're telling me the truth, Trev? Those skills don't look very rare." He chuckled, shaking his head. "You didn't lie to Larry, did you?" He was still laughing to himself.
"No, sorry—I'll show you," I replied quickly, panic creeping into my voice. The last thing I wanted was to be thrown out.
Name: Trevor
Class: Arcane Chef
Rarity: Rare
Level: 1
Experience: 0/100
Hit points: 140/140
Mana: 50/50
Stamina: 140/140
Strength: 13
Dexterity: 11
Endurance: 14
Intelligence: 5
Wisdom: 4
Charisma: 3
Willpower: 12
Perception: 8
Luck: 6
Geo just stared at me, his mouth ajar. "That's rare, all right, curious. Those abilities are worse than what I started with—and I'm just a common cook."
"Well, nothing we can do about it," Geo said at last, wiping his hands off at the basin. "I'll show you around quickly, Trev, and then put you to work. Who knows? Maybe one of these days it’ll kick in and you’ll end up world-famous like the other rare-class folk."
He led me through the kitchen. It was every bit as chaotic as it had first appeared, with plates and bowls stored in cupboards both above and below the cooking areas. The pantry was stocked with dry goods, but there was no cold room like the one at the Temple. Instead, Geo explained, he bought fresh meat and vegetables from the market daily, gesturing to the strips of drying meat hanging in the corner.
"Up there, we dry any meat we don't use, letting the smoke from the stove cure it into jerky. We sell it out front, or if we get desperate, we can rehydrate it in a stew."
Walking me outside, he pointed to a pump. "That's where we draw water from. That’ll be your job most of the time. We go through a lot between the dishes and the washing up—good thing you've got the strength for it."
Heading back into the kitchen, he showed me a large pot that already had some vegetables sitting at the bottom.
“This here will be the stew for tonight. That one over there,” he pointed to a smaller pot near the coals.
"That's the leftovers from last night, which we'll be using for lunch today," he explained, grabbing a handful of vegetables.
"Right, let's get you cutting up some veg and meat, then. Today's stew will be rabbit and mushroom, so we'll need some cheap red wine. We've got some turning over in the corner there; we need to use it up before it turns to vinegar," Geo said.
At that, I got to work, fetching the wine for Geo and returning to the prep area. He pushed some onions and parsnips in front of me, and I reflexively peeled and diced them into neat cubes, just as I’d been taught at the Temple.
"Uh, sorry, Geo—where’s the composting area for the peels?" I asked, not remembering having seen anything like that during the tour.
Geo looked a little surprised. "Oh, we don't do that here. Turnip skins go in the trash, and onion skins—throw 'em into that stock pot over there," he said, pointing toward the largest pot I had ever seen in my life.
I got into a bit of a groove, dicing up the vegetables, when Geo placed a leaf-wrapped packet of quartered rabbit in front of me.
“Let’s see if this helps with the butchery at all,” Geo said, taking one of the quarters himself along with a small knife.
"I want you to copy what I do here. We’ll be saving everything—bones and all—it’ll all go in the stew. But the larger chunks of meat, we want them separated. So just run your knife along the bone here, and it should come cleanly off. Then put both parts into the pot," Geo instructed. "Right, off you go."
With that, I gave it a try. It looked easy enough, but I was quickly dismayed to find out it was anything but. It looked like I’d ripped the chunk off with a wolf’s claw or something.
Finishing up the rabbit quarters, I glanced at my status again. Butchery was still stuck at 0/100, though Knifework had improved a bit, now sitting at 135/1056.
"Right, good job. Now go grab me two buckets of water and pour them into the stew pot while I add the finishing herbs," Geo said, chopping up a very fragrant plant I didn’t recognise.
I headed through the main inn toward the outside. I saw Micca had already started work, and she quickly spotted me.
"Oh hey, already started?" she called out.
"Yeah, just grabbing water for the stew," I replied, making my way outside.
A short while later, I added the water to the stew, while Geo carried the pot over to the coals, removing the other one from the heat. What shocked me was that he grabbed it with his bare hands.
"Isn't that hot?" I asked, wide-eyed.
Geo just laughed. "Fire Resistance from the class passives, Trev. I could grab a coal directly and feel nothing."
I was stunned. "You’re immune to fire?" I asked, barely believing it.
Geo found this incredibly funny—it took him a moment to stop laughing. "No, not at all. I’ve got resistance to cooking-related fires and heat. If this were a smithy’s forge, I’d be burnt to a crisp."
With that, we cleaned up the kitchen before I was told to head out into the main inn area. Outside, I was once again greeted by Micca, who was busy cleaning mugs behind the bar.
"Geo said to come out and help you with whatever you need," I said, making my way over.
"Help?" She glanced around, clearly a bit surprised. "Most things are already done. I wasn’t expecting a helper today, but here—take this bucket and cloth. Can you wipe down all the tables before lunch?"
I set to work and soon had all the tables wiped down.
"Now we wait," Micca said, still cleaning mugs. Although I could have sworn it was the same mug she’d been scrubbing since I first came out.
Before long, people began filtering into the inn. It started with what I was pretty sure were the same two drunk men from the day before. They sat straight at the bar, not saying a word before Micca had a drink placed in front of each of them. I just watched, wondering how busy it would get. Yesterday, there had been at least twenty people inside.
After a short while, Micca came over and leant in, speaking low.
"Just observe for now until you get the hang of it. If anyone asks, a drink is one copper—that covers ale and mead. Lunch is also one copper, and Larry likes to handle the room prices because he says he can always spot a sucker." She shrugged.
"If anyone gives you a tip, it’s yours," she smiled. "That’s where I make most of my money, so make sure you’re nice to the customers, alright?"
I just nodded.
Lunch service went by smoothly, I floated between the front and the kitchen helping Geo plate up some bowls and delivering it to the table that Micca pointed out to me along with some bread, It never really got too crazy like I thought it would be yesterday.
How wrong I was.
That all changed that evening when the night service started. It began much like lunch, smooth and steady, but then more and more people kept pouring into the inn. I wasn’t even sure there were enough seats. They just kept coming.
Before I knew it, I was in the kitchen, watching the chaos unfold as Larry and Micca worked together to serve drinks. A voice from behind caught my attention.
"It gets pretty rowdy out there at night. You get used to it," Geo said, lifting his own mug from the kitchen’s corner.
"At this point, we won’t get many meal orders since there’s nowhere to really sit and eat out there. So, feel free to grab a bowl yourself and have some dinner. Good work today. You made it through," he added, returning to his drink.
Eating my bowl of rabbit and mushroom stew, I was immediately taken by the flavour. I was sure it was the best thing I had ever eaten. It must have shown on my face, because Geo laughed.
"Good, huh?"
"Amazing!" was all I could manage.
I didn’t say another word until I’d finished every last bit in my bowl. I grabbed some water and waited, knowing I’d be required to clean up once the rush died down. Larry had told me as much when he shooed me out of the way, so until then, I would just wait in the kitchen.
Before Geo left for the night, he told me he’d get me up early so I could come to the market with him and help buy the produce for the day—in case I needed to do it on my own in the future.
After what seemed like forever, the night passed and the inn grew quiet again. People wandered off home or up to their rooms upstairs. I went outside to help Micca clean up while Larry returned to his office, which I was told also served as his bedroom.
Honestly, the inn wasn’t as messy as I expected, considering how noisy it had been. After wiping down all the tables, Micca threw some buckets of water on the floor, which I swept out the front door, and then she called it a night.
"Have a good night, Trevor! You did well," she said as she left, locked the door behind her as instructed.
I went off to my room, my thoughts racing over the events of the day. There was so much to take in.
