"Thanks for the ride!" Rye yelled to the ship's captain.
"No problem," the captain said as he sailed off to the next port.
She turned and waved goodbye as she stepped off of the ship. Rye was a young dreamer from an isolated island. She hailed from
Blue Palm Island, where many of the plants were an azure blue. That's what gave the island its name. It held many tropical oddities, including
blue coconut palms, cerulean aloe, and some rare blue sand. There was only one beach on Blue Palm Island that actually had the
blue sand, making it a rarity even to the island.
She never knew much about the mainland with which her island was related. The most news that Rye recieved from the mainland
was the occaisional newspaper and word from the ships that sometimes went to the island for produce native to that island.
She had no idea where to go, so she just followed a beaten dirt path, hoping it lead to some civilization. She entered a
a thin woods, and could see some buildings through the sparsely placed trees. She headed in that direction. In the back of her
mind, many questions appeared. 'What should I do first?', 'Where should I go?', 'What should I do about money...?' She pondered
these questions, but just as she was forming some answers, she encountered a weird man near the town gate. He was quite nicely dressed, and
engaged Rye in conversation, before she had the chance to decide whether or not she would talk to him.
"YOU!! Yes, you, young lady! How would you like to be the proud owner of a new, secret technological breakthrough?" The man questioned.
"Uhm...well..." Rye stuttered. The man was a fast talker, and Rye could not get a word in edgewise.
"Yeess!! It's quite a fine product, and it can be yours for a low, low price! Would you care to take the item?"
"Uh...maybe?" Rye said. "What is it?"
"I'm soooo glad you asked!" He replied. "It's a miracle, really. It can help lighten the burden of everyday tasks!
Rather than describe to you the item, I shall show you!!"
He reached into his satchel, and pulled out a wooden object. It was a rolling pin, finely crafted out of wood, but to Rye, it looked very
familiar. It was blue, and she immediately thought to her own rolling pin in her backpack. They looked just about the same, except the one the salesman had
looked like new. Rye had hers for a few years.
"Sooo! What do you think?" The salesman asked. "It's a wonderful rolling pin! Can roll out a uniformly thin piece of dough in no time at all!"
"It's very nice...," Rye said, and she pulled hers out of her pack with a smile. "But I already have my own!"
'What??' The salesman thought. 'Impossible...! These things are crafted with wood from a special tree... How could she already have one?!?'
The salesman thought hard on what he should do.
"That can't be," he tryed to reason. "This is a rare wood from a tropical tree found nowhere near the Round Continent. Yours must be a fake!"
"Hey! This is no fake!" Rye yelled. "How dare you insult my rolling pin! I got this from my mother!"
"Then she obviously tricked you," the salesman said with a sigh. "Ok, here's what we can do. I'll give you this new, REAL rolling pin for half price if you give me yours."
"No way," Rye said. Now she started to get angry. "My mother didn't lie to me. This is no fake. I'm from the Blue Palm Island. Shall I show you?"
"What?" The salesman said confusedly.
She braced all of her strength and held the rolling pin aloft. She slammed the rolling pin right into the salesman's face, knocking him out cold.
"That's what you get when you insult my mother, or my treasure." Rye said as she turned and entered the town. "You're not worth my time.
She entered the town and tryed to take it all in, but there was so much going on. There were many shops, for food, weapons, and many specialty shops.
She looked around and tryed to decide what to do first.
"First of all, I need a map..."Rye thought. "I have no idea how to navigate my way around here. It was lucky that I got here in the first place!"
She looked around until she found a navigation store. There were many maps and cartographical equipment. She went up to the counter and asked for a map of the
surrounding area.
"Oh, sure we have some of those." The shopkeeper smiled. "Hold on right here, I'll go look for one in the back."
The shopkeeper turned and walked through a door to the back. Rye leaned against the counter, and examined a map under the glass.
"Hmmm... an unmarked mountain..." Rye said as she looked at the map. "Why would they draw a mountain on the map and neglect to name it? ...I wonder if it's
nice there. I've never been to a mountain before."
"Here's your map!" the shopkeeper said as she returned. "I see you're looking at the map of the western region of the Round Continent! That's where we are right now."
"Oh? Where is the town on this map, then?" Rye asked.
"Are you new here?" the shopkeeper asked. "It's right here, near the coast. It's called Delica. It's a big tourist trap. Every one comes here to try the food,
and shop."
"I see." Rye replied. 'This could be a fun town...!' She thought."What about this unmarked mountain?"
"Oh..." the shopkeeper's glance fell. "Well... nobody has really explored it. Anyone who tried hasn't come back."
"Wow." Rye commented. "That's odd. Why haven't they come back?"
"I don't really know." the shopkeeper said. "No one does."
"Hmmm..." Rye thought. "Maybe I won't go there then." She took her map and walked outside.
"You'd do well to stay away from there!" the shopkeeper yelled to her.
Once outside, she noticed her legs growing weak. "I could sure use some food. I wonder what this 'Delican' food tastes like..."
She looked around and found a small restaurant. It wasn't very crowded, and their food looked good, so Rye decided to settle for this place. She wandered to a table in the corner
and sat down. The waiter walked over and asked her what she would like.
"well...I'm new here..." Rye said. "What do you reccommend?"
The waiter smiled and said, "You should try the soup. It's one of our most popular dishes!"
She agreed to the soup and sat there silently. She liked this town. The people were nice, even if she had to smash some guy's face in at the town gate. She took out a book and
started to read it. The waiter then returned with the soup, and he noticed her book. "Oh, you like to bake?"
"Yeah!" Rye said. "It's my favorite thing to do! I want to become a master pastry chef. That's why I came here."
"That's nice." said the waiter. "The bakery down the street just lost a worker. You should go there to see if you can get some experience."
"Thanks for the tip." Rye said.
She ate the soup, which was delicious, and made her way to a store with a sign shaped like a cake. She walked in and looked at the confectionaries in the display case. It was like a
dream come true. The baked goods looked very professional and quite delicious. This was Rye's dream, to become a master pastry chef. The manager walked up to the case and regarded Rye with what
appeared to be a glare. Rye looked at the manager and was startled by his appearance. He was tall, muscular, and looked like he could pick up the store with no effort.
"Yes...?" the man grunted.
"Uh...I'm...R-Rye."she stuttered. This guy looked mean, and she didn't want to make a bad first impression. "Um... I heard there was an opening for a new
baker in this fine establishment?"
The man stared at her, and asked: "What makes you think you're qualified to work here?"
She was intimidated by the man's demeanor, which affected her speech. "I wanted...to w-work here, to become a better chef! I want to become a master pastry chef!"
He stared at her further. Then he smiled, and said, "You remind me of myself! I would be glad to have you work here! My name is Rantzien, by the way. Let's see what you can do." He then lead
to the kitchen. She was relieved that he accepted her.
"So, how much experience do you have?" Rantzien asked her.
"Well, I learned the basics from my mom," Rye replied. "But I eventually surpassed her skills, and started making some of my own recipies."
"Ah, very nice."Ranzien nodded. "Have you completed a recipie?"
Rye nodded.
"Then, please, make it for me." He said. "The ingredients are in the store room, right through that door."
"All right, I'm on it." She replied. She walked into the store room. "Let's see...flour, eggs, sugar, salt...what else do I need...? Oh, yes. Vanilla...! And...
Blue Palm Coconuts...I don't see any of those!" She shuffled around some boxes in a frenzy to find some Blue Palm coconuts, and she finally found one in a small box in the corner.
"Oh no..." She said disparingly. "I need two..." She looked around a bit more, then she remembered that she took one from home to eat later. "What a relief!" She took the ingredients, and
went back into the kitchen. She started baking and a couple hours later, she made what she called a Blue Palm Torte.
"Very nice work," Rantzien said as he regarded the confection. "I can see you have a bright future here."
Rye smiled, and did a small victory dance. She sat down at the table to have a little bit of the desert.
"Yes. This is what we need!" Rantzien exclaimed. "This will bring some new culture to the shop. I was never good with Blue Palm cuisine..."
"I was surprised that you even had any Blue Palm coconuts back there!"Rye said.
"Wonderful job." Rantzien said again. "It is getting dark. You don't have anywhere to stay, do you?"
Rye choked on the water she was drinking. She had completely forgotten about a place to stay. She was too caught up in her success in her baking exploits.
"Eheh..." Rantzien laughed. "You can just stay in the room above the store. You have to use the stairs outside to get up there."
"Wow!" Rye exclaimed. "Thanks a lot! You're such a good person!"
"Aw, stop...!" Rantzien said.
For the next few weeks Rye learned a lot from Rantzien, and likewise, he learned some of the Blue Palm cuisine from her. Rye was given the responsibility of assisstant chef, and gathering ingredients
from the town, and surrounding areas. She adventured to forests to get berries, went to an old mill near a river for some flour, and to an orchard to get fresh fruit.
One adventure would come that she would not soon forget.
"RYE!!" Rantzien yelled. "C'mere!" He grabbed the broom and thumped on the ceiling, which was Rye's floor, to get her up.
Rye stumbled out of her bed and quickly got dressed. She went down into the shop to see what he wanted.
"Good morning," Rye said to Rantzien. "Is there something you wanted?"
"Yes," Rantzien nodded. "Today, you're going on another adventure. I want you to go out to the Rethiel berry patch and get some strawberries, blueberries, and whatever else you think we may need. We
need those two kinds of berries in particular, though. Can you do it?"
"Oh yeah!" Rye exclaimed. "I'm good to go!"
"Good," Rantzien said. "I knew I could count on you. There is some coffee on the counter for you."
"Yay!" Rye said. "Thanks, Rantzien."
"No problem." Rantzien said, as he went back into the kitchen to make some fresh bread.
Rye drank her coffee, albeit a bit too fast. She burned her toungue, but she didn't really care. She was really excited to go on a new adventure. She gathered
her rolling pin (for defense), her provisions (some tasty cakes, and a few sandwiches), and a map (she wasn't really that good with directions). She walked out the door and breathed in the fresh air of the new
day. She walked toward the end of town, greeting all of the new people she had met in her few weeks at the Round Continent. Once outside of the city, she looked at her map, and realized that the Rethiel berry
patch was near that unmarked mountain that she looked at on the map all those days ago. She couldn't get that mountain out of her mind, but everytime she thought of going there herself, she shook her head, and
called the idea just plain crazy.
She walked a few miles and once she was nearing the patch, she decided to take a break. She sat on a rock and ate one of her sandwiches, and stared at the sky, thinking about the mountain again. 'What
was its appeal? Why am I thinking about this so much?' She wondered. She started to zone out, and just watched a crow flap through the sky. It joined another crow, then another... There was something weird to
her about the amassing crows... They had a group of about five now, and they then dove to the ground near a bush down the path from Rye. She had nothing better to do, so she got up to check it out. Once Rye reached the
bushes, she let out a gasp. Concealed by the bush was a bloodied man, laying on the ground, being bothered by the crows.
"Get away!" Rye yelled. "Go away! Leave this guy alone!" She waved her arms at the crows, and they scattered. They all flew away, but one gave Rye a painful peck on the arm. "Agh! Stupid crows...! Are you alright?"
She examined the man, looking for signs of life. He had on a torn overcoat, and an odd hairstyle. The poor guy looked ravaged. It was as though he had not had food for a week, and his left arm was bleeding.
"Ugh..." the man rolled over to face the sky. He slowly opened his eyes. "Who're you...?"
"My name is Rye." she replied. "Can you tell me your name?"
"I'm...Flying Mullet," he croaked. "Where am I?
"Flying...Mullet?" she was distracted by such an odd name. "Uhm...we're near the Rethiel berry patch."
"That doesn't tell me anything!" he cried. "Where's Delica??"
"Oh!" Rye said. "Um, it's a few miles back the way I came. Do you want me to take you back there?"
"Yeah..." Flying Mullet said. "Please... I'll explain, later..." He then lost conciousness.
Rye was starting to panic, but she couldn't let this man down. She grabbed him, and ran to town.
"RANTZIEN!!" Rye carried Flying Mullet over the threshold of the shop.
"Oh, Rye!" Rantzien greeted her. "Did you get the berries? I need to use some of the strawberries!"
"No time for that!" Rye gasped. "This guy needs medical attention!"
"Woah!" Rantzien noticed Flying Mullet. "Take him up to your room, and I'll call for a doctor!
She took him upstairs to her room and put him on the bed. "Please don't die... I won't let you!" She tryed to make him as comfortable as she could. She sat and waited for the doctor, who arrived soon after
she took Flying Mullet upstairs.
"Here's Doctor SilverWind," Rantzien said rushedly. "This guy is one of the best. I have to go back downstairs, there's a customer here."
"Well..." The doctor said. "He seems to have bleed quite a lot, and hasn't eaten for a few days... You did well to try and stop the bleeding, young lady."
Rye nodded.
"Yes," the Dr. SilverWind nodded. "I do believe he will be fine, but he must rest for a few days."
"Thank you doctor!"Rye hugged him.
"Oh, it was nothing," Dr. SilverWind laughed. "So how about the bill?"
Rye just stared at him. 'The bill...? That's all he's thinking about??' She thought inwardly. "Uhm... ask the big guy downstairs! You know, the guy that called you."
"Ah, yes," the doctor said. "The large fellow. Good. All is in order then. I shall take my leave." He put his top hat back on, and left Rye's room.
Rye sighed, and said, "Good... I'm glad you're gonna be fine, Mulley."
"Flying Mullet just lied on the bed and slept.
When Flying Mullet came to, he noticed that he was in a very comfortable bed. He tryed sitting up, but immediately got dizzy. He just layed on the bed and looked around. He tryed to remember what happened, but it took
him awhile to recall what exactly had happened. He remembered what had happened, and that he ended up on a dirt road, and that someone had saved him. Just then Rye entered the room.
"Ah, I see you are awake," Rye said. "How are you feeling?"
"Ugh..." Flying Mullet grunted. "It's hard to sit up."
"Oh," Rye said. "I would imagine. You were in a bad state. You just lay down and take it easy."
"You saved me then?" Flying Mullet asked. "It was Rye, wasn't it?"
"Yes," Rye nodded.
"Ah,"Flying Mullet sighed.
They sat in silence for awhile, until Rye asked, "So, where are you from?"
"I'm from up north," Flying Mullet replied. "From a snowy town."
"North?" Rye asked. "Snow? What's snow like?"
"You don't know what snow is like?" Flying Mulled asked, shocked. "Snow is the greatest. Even if it is really cold, you can throw snowballs at people."
Rye laughed, "That sounds like fun! Though...how did you get all the way over here, then?"
"I traveled..." Flying Mullet said. "I heard legends of a mountain without a name..."
"OH!", Rye exclaimed. "I know about that mountain! I've been thinking a lot about it recently."
"Then, are you going?" Flying Mullet asked.
"Whoa, whoa, hold on there," Rye said. "I don't know about it. It seems really dangerous."
"Well of course it is," Flying Mullet said. "That's the point of adventure. It would be boring otherwise, wouldn't it?
Rye pondered these words for awhile. "So are you going there once you get better?"
"Yeah. I have to try again." Flying Mullet said with firm resolution.
"Again?" Rye asked. "What happened the first time?"
"well, the mountain is assumed to be unnamed, because there is no trace of a name on any map," Flying Mullet explained. "But when I got there, there were horrible
people guarding the entrance to the mountain. They beat me up because they said that I was 'trespassing'."
"How horrible!" Rye gasped.
"They have the mountain secured," Flying Mullet continued. "I went there to get the rumored treasure on the top. If I want any chance to get it, I need to fight those people who call themselves 'Shinra'!"
"Count me in!" Rye exclaimed. "I'm going to help you find the treasure!"
"Really?" Flying Mullet asked. "Are you serious? Everyone else I've talked to just laughed at me."
"I'm completely serious!" Rye replied. "I'll help!"
Flying Mullet nodded. "All right then. I'll leave in a few days. For now, I'm going back to sleep."
For the next few days, Flying Mullet convalesced, while Rye went back out to the Rethiel berry patch to get the berries she didn't have time to get earlier.
"I have the berries, now." She said as she walked back into the shop.
"Good," Rantzien said. "I can finally finish these orders. Thanks Rye."
"No problem..." Rye said. "So, do you think I could... take a few days off?"
"Really?" Rantzien asked. "We're kind of busy... What for?"
"I need to help Flying Mullet." Rye replied.
"Oh. The kid, eh?" Rantzien said. "I guess. But you are going to have to work really hard when you get back here."
"Alright." Rye said. "Will do."
Rye walked upstairs to her room, to check on Flying Mullet.
"Are you ready, Rye?" he asked.
"Uh, yeah." Rye said. Just let me get my supplies in order."
She once again gathered her stuff. They then set off toward the mountain.
Once they were there, they hid behind a rock, and surveyed the area. "These guys aren't really that hard." Flying Mullet said. "The only reason they got the best of me last time, was because
they surrounded me with larger numbers than I could take. We could just isolate a few at a time, and we'll have this area cleaned out in no time." He brandished a nice sword, although it looked like it had
seen better days. "Let's go!"
They snuck around to the back of some Shinra members, and won handily. "Wow, that was easy!" Rye said.
"Yeah, nothing to it!" Flying Mullet said.
They continued in that fashion, until most of the Shinra lookouts were vanquished. "Now all we have to do is scale the mountain, now..." Rye said.
"Shouldn't be that hard..." Flying Mullet said, sarcastically.
"I'm sure we can do it!" Rye said. "Come on, let's follow this path as far as we can."
They walked up the mountain path, and found a cave. The entrance to the cave was guarded by three Shinra guards. "Wait here. I can take them" Flying Mullet said.
He took his sword, and dashed toward the guards, who brandished their own swords, ready for the attack. What they didn't expect, was a burst of speed from Flying Mullet. He zigzagged through the
guards at a high speed, and downed them in one move.
"Nice one, Mulley!" Rye exclaimed whilst jumping in victory.
"Thanks, it's no big-" Flying Mullet stopped mid-sentence once he realized what she said. "Wait, what did you call me?"
"Mulley?" Rye said. "It's just a nickname."
"Eh..." Flying Mullet wasn't sure about it.
"Do you not like it?" Rye asked.
"No, it's fine." Flying Mullet said. "Whatever. We need to move on."
"All right!" Rye said.
They entered the cave. The further they got into the cave, the more suited for living it became. The floor had become tiled, and there were lights in the ceiling. They eventually
made it to a large room, suited for meetings. In there was a long table, and at the table sat three people.
"Give it up, Undead Hero!" Flying Mullet yelled.
"Hmm?" The figure at the head of the table wasn't facing the two adventurers. "You want me to give up this mountain? Why should I listen to you?"
"This mountain should be everyones!" Flying Mullet retorted. "Mountains aren't private property!"
"I'm tired of this dull banter." theundeadhero said. "Get him, GoldenBoko."
Goldenboko rose from the table, and walked toward the team. He stopped in front of them and got into a martial arts fighting stance. "I'll defeat you."
"No way!" Rye yelled. She readied her rolling pin.
"You are fighting with that wimpy thing?" Goldenboko snickered. "That is hardly a weapon!"
"Anything can be a weapon, if you use it right," Rye replied.
They engaged into combat. His strikes were few, but very accurate, and hard-hitting. She used the rolling pin to block his attacks, but it was taking a beating.
She got in a few good hits on him, and it would seem that they were well matched. They were breathing hard, and both near defeat.
"I will finish it with this last attack." He focused his energy in to a hyper kick, which she tryed to block with her rolling pin, but the rolling pin broke in half.
"Nooo!!"Rye crumpled to the ground in defeat. "My rolling pin..."
"Rye!" Flying Mullet yelled. "Are you OK?!"
"My rolling pin..." Rye stared at the two pieces with tears in her eyes.
Goldenboko rose from the ground. "I told you it was useless." He got ready for another attack.
"RYEE!!!"Flying Mullet ran towards Rye, but he couldn't make it in time. Goldenboko struck. In mid attack, Goldenboko fell to the ground, unconcious.
"The fool must have overestimated his limits." theundeadhero said. "Alright, Pure Ghetto. It seems that the woman is indisposed. Kill the swordsman."
"Right." Pure Ghetto jumped up from the table, and landed in front of Flying Mullet, and Rye. "Unlike that dolt, I won't embarrass myself." He weilded his katana.
"You stay here, Rye." Flying Mullet said. "Everything's going to be fine. We'll just get rid of these two, and we'll get the treasure." He readied his sword, and they
clashed, sparks flying as the metals met in steely combat. Every blow was fierce and meant for a vital spot of the body.
'Agh...my arm is still a bit weak...'Flying Mullet thought.
They slashed, and slashed, not giving up for a minute.
"You really think I'm going down that easily?" Pure Ghetto asked. "I'm done playing around with you."
He unleashed a swift strike accross Flying Mullet's abdomen, and Flying Mullet fell to his knees. Rye watched with horror.
"Flying Mullet!" Rye yelled. "Don't give up!"
He got back up and sidestepped Pure Ghetto's incoming attack.
"Oh, so you can dodge...!" Pure Ghetto taunted.
"Yes, I can," Flying Mullet said. "Can you?" He rolled to the side of Pure Ghetto, and slashed his legs. This knocked Pure Ghetto to his knees, and before he could do anything,
Flying Mullet unleashed a flurry of slashes to him. Pure Ghetto was felled.
"That's how it's done." Flying Mullet said.
"So..." theundeadhero said, rising from his chair. "You defeated my friends... They were hard to defeat, but I think you will find that I will be near impossible, compared to them."
"We'll see!" Flying Mullet said. "Rye, give me your rolling pin!"
"But..." Rye hesitated.
"There's no time!" Flying Mullet yelled.
"Ok..." She tossed one of the pieces over to him.
"Thanks," he said. "This is all I need." He stuck the rolling pin piece onto the end of his sword.
The whole time, theundeadhero was walking toward him, and was now upon him. "Now we will see if you can defeat a hero!"
He struck Flying Mullet before he had time to stand up. He hit the wall, and struggled to his feet. He summoned all of his strength, and leaped into the air. Trusting deeply in his
swordsmanship, and his and Rye's friendship, he used his signature move. "Flying Mullet!" He used the added heft of the blue rolling pin piece to strengthen the blow, and smashed in theundeadhero's face.
Theundeadhero was defeated before he had a chance to do any real damage to Flying Mullet.
"That was sheer luck...!" theundeadhero cursed. "I will get you! You haven't seen the last of Shinra...!" He dispersed into a thin mist, and dissapeared.
Rye got up and went to help Flying Mullet up. "Come on, let's get to the top of the mountain."
They limped up to the top of the mountain, and at the summit found a large ornate chest.
"This is it," Rye said.
"That's what I've been waiting for..." Flying Mullet said. He walked over to it and tryed to open it. "It's kind of hard to open..." He tried to lift the lid, and with difficulty,
got it open. He stood a long while staring at the contents.
"Rye..." Flying Mullet said. "I think I want you to have this..." He reached in, and picked up the sturdy, shining object. He walked over to Rye and gave it to her.
She looked at it, and said: "Really? I can have it?"
"No doubt about it," Flying Mullet said.
"It's beautiful..."Rye said in awed excitement. It was a sturdy silver rolling pin. "Just like the legend says...this rolling pin was used by master pastry chefs long before our time...
Thank you, Flying Mullet."
"No problem," Flying Mullet said. "As for this mountain... I'm going to name it Mullet Mountain."
They trekked all the way back to town, to tell of their adventures, and the defeat of the Shinra. All and all, it was an adventure worthy of a master pastry chef.
Master of the Fork
Psychologically, brighter colors are a far better choice. If everyone used Fluffy Puff the forum would be a better place. Can you imagine the joy that would be spread, the love that would radiate throughout the forum, like it was being given unto us by an Iraqi with a used uranium rod?
Originally Posted by Goldenboko
