Chương 42: [A Diplomatic Gesture]

The King John's was quiet when the group walked in. A handful of people scattered across tables, a couple at the bar, Lauren behind it cleaning a glass. The smell of something cooking drifted through from the kitchen. Rika stopped just inside the door and looked around.

"This feels familiar," she said.

"Yeah?" Luka said.

"The atmosphere. The layout. We have something like this back in Stonehall." She looked at the bar, the low ceiling, the worn tables.

"It feels like the same kind of place."

"What's yours called?" Phil asked.

"Warden's Hearth," she said.

"I think it was built when the village was erected."

"That's a cool name. Very apt," Leo said.

"This place is called the King John's," Parmo said.

"We were actually sitting outside when everything happened. Last normal thing we did before all this." Rika looked at the table nearest the door. Then back at the boys.

"That's strange to think about," she said quietly.

"Yeah, it's kinda surreal," Parmo said. They found a table big enough for all eight and settled in. Lauren appeared.

"Back already," she said to the boys. Then looked at the three. Took them in without making a thing of it.

"What can I get you?" Leo looked at her.

"Any chance of a few bottles? Lager, beer, cider, whatever you have out back." Lauren raised an eyebrow.

"Limited supply, you know that."

"Diplomatic gesture," Phil said.

"We're introducing our new allies to Earth alcohol. It's basically a cultural exchange." She looked at the three of them. Then back at the boys. Then laughed.

"Right," she said.

"Give me a minute." Lauren came back with a tray. Bottles of lager, a couple of beers, two ciders. She set them down.

"Food wise I've got fish and chips, pie and chips, a vegetable stew and some bread. That's about it today."

"What's fish and chips?" Shai asked.

"Fish battered and fried," Leo said.

"Chips are potatoes cut into lengths then fried. Salt and vinegar on top and they're brilliant."

"I'll try that," Shai said.

"Stew for me," Rika said.

"Same," Luka said. The boys ordered. Torren leaned forward slightly.

"What's the pie?"

"Steak in gravy," Lauren said.

"Pastry casing around it, chips on the side."

"I'll try that," Torren said. Lauren nodded and headed back to the kitchen. The bottles sat in the middle of the table. The three of them looked at them.

"What do we do with them?" Rika asked. Phil twisted the cap off a beer and handed it to Torren. Luka did the same with a cider for Rika. Leo opened a lager and set it in front of Shai, then opened his own.

"It's like your mead or beer but made differently depending on which one you have," Leo said.

"Torren has beer, Rika's is cider made from apples, Shai has lager. Just take a sip first." If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Torren lifted the bottle, smelled it, then took a sip.

"Better than ours," he said.

"Considerably better actually. What do they do differently?"

"Brewing process mostly," Sam said.

"Centuries of people figuring out how to make it taste better." Torren took another sip and nodded. Rika took a longer sip than intended.

"Oh it's got a kick." She set it down.

"Sharp. Way different to the mead we drink at home." She picked it back up.

"I like it though." Shai took a sip of her lager. Then another.

"Well?" Leo said.

"It's nice," she said. Leo looked at the others.

"See that? I'm not the only one who likes this stuff."

"It tastes like piss mate," Phil said.

"All that proves is Shai has as bad a taste in lager as you do." The boys laughed. Shai grinned alongside them. The food came shortly after. Lauren set Torren's pie down in front of him first, the pastry golden, gravy already seeping through where the lid had cracked. Chips piled alongside it. Torren looked at it for a moment. Then picked up the fork. The first bite went in. He chewed slowly. Nobody said anything.

"The pastry," he said.

"What's in it?"

"Flour, butter, water mostly," Lauren said, still nearby.

"Why?"

"I make pastries." He took another bite.

"I have never made one like this."

"It's shortcrust," Lauren said.

"The fat ratio is what gives it that texture." Torren looked at her.

"Would you be willing to walk me through how it's done before we leave?" Lauren smiled.

"Yeah. Course." Shai's fish and chips had arrived alongside it. She looked at it, picked up a chip, tried it. Then picked up a piece of fish, the batter crisp, the fish soft underneath.

"I've had fish so many times," she said.

"I've never eaten anything like this."

"It's the batter," Leo said.

"Fish and chips is kind of our country's specialty. Some people knock it cos it's plain or boring but they don't know what they're talking about. You can't beat a good fish and chips." She tried another piece without responding, which was answer enough. Leo watched her for a second then nodded at her plate.

"You should try it with salt and vinegar."

"What's vinegar?"

"Just try it." She looked at him. He picked up the bottle and shook some over her plate then added salt. She tried a chip. Her ears tilted forward.

"Oh yeah, that's good," she said. Leo grinned.

"Don't you look pleased with yourself?" she grinned.

"What if I didn't like it?"

"Only an idiot doesn't like salt and vinegar on fish and chips. I didn't take you for an idiot Shai." She gave him a look that wasn't quite a glare but she was fighting the grin trying to make another appearance. Across the table Phil had noticed and smirked. Rika had been working through her stew steadily. She looked up.

"This is completely different to Torren's," she said. Torren glanced over.

"Is that a complaint?"

"No," she said.

"Both are good. Yours is familiar, comfortable. I know yours. This is all new." She took another spoonful.

"There are things in here I can't place."

"You should ask Luka, he loves his veg. Loves telling people how much he loves his veg as well," Parmo said, laughing in Luka's direction. Luka gave him the finger in response.

"I like them though," she said, and went back to it. Torren had finished most of his pie and was looking at the pastry like he was taking it apart in his head. Lauren passed by and he stopped her.

"The gravy. What did you put in it besides the stock?" She told him. He listened, asking follow up questions she clearly hadn't expected. They went back and forth for a few minutes, Lauren talking him through it properly while he took it all in. When he came back to the table the others were pulling jackets on.

"Right," Parmo said.

"Before we go." He looked at Lauren.

"You should do a games night in here. Cards, board games, that sort of thing. The games shop in town has plenty of stuff in there. Dungeons and Dragons if you're up for it." Lauren stared at him.

"Why did I not think of that."

"You play?" Leo said.

"I've been DMing for six years." She looked genuinely annoyed at herself.

"People need something to take their minds off things. That's perfect."

"Games shop's got everything you need," Sam said.

"Warhammer stuff too if that's your thing." Lauren pointed at him.

"Don't tempt me." They filed out into the afternoon, Torren ducking the doorframe on the way.

"Okay, I think we go see the marina before we head back," Leo said.

"Come on." They walked back through the town centre and out the other side. The street dropped away ahead of them toward a bridge, low and wide, cars parked either side.

"Why is there a bridge here?" Shai asked.

"The ground looks flat."

"Train tracks run underneath," Luka said. He stopped.

"Actually, you won't know what that is."

"Nope," she smiled.

"Trains are like carriages but massive and they run on metal tracks. No horses, an engine powers them. They can carry hundreds of people or thousands of tonnes of cargo at speeds a horse couldn't touch. Before all this you could get from one end of the country to the other in a few hours." Shai looked at the bridge.

"There are tracks under there right now?"

"Yeah. Station's just down the steps there." She looked at it for a moment.

"The more I hear about how your world does transport and moving goods around, the harder it seems to believe. Do you think you would be able to recreate any of this in our world?"

"I think so, eventually," Leo said.

"It's less a case of being able to do it and more a case of having the materials we need and getting the right gear set up to make stuff. None of the things we have are magical. All of it is explained in the books we have. I don't see why it couldn't be done." They crossed the bridge. The marina opened up ahead of them, the water catching the light, boats moored along the far side. On the left stood the local supermarket. To the right sat the entertainment strip, the cinema, the takeaways, the bingo hall.

Beyond all that, further along the coast, a row of large industrial buildings sat solid against the skyline.

"So yeah," Leo said.

"This is the marina."