"I hope you all love meat because we are going to have a ton of them!" Erigald announced.
They all sat by the wooden table awaiting their meals, including Erigald's daughter, and a few seconds later, out came a woman dressed in a maid uniform and with a trolley of plates of food.
This was the first time Ren spotted utensils in this world, seeing the steel plates and spoons invoke memories of dinner with friends and family. He was soon pulled from the train of thought once the plate of food got in front of him, with its aroma burying itself inside his nose.
"Mutton, try it, nothing short of delectable." Erigald commented right before throwing a piece into his mouth, before beginning to chew loudly.
Ren received a large piece he assumed to be a part of the sheep's flank. The meat was garnished with vegetables and there was syrup just by its side.
A knife, folk and a spoon all laid by the plate, his instruments. All had begun eating aside him, and Elizabeth. He glanced at the woman who smiled at him nervously.
'She must be shy, just like how I am.'
He had done this hundreds of times, nothing was easier. "Come on now, I will feel terrible if you do not at least try the food." Erigald commented with a mouthful.
Ren shook his head, 'What am I feeling anxious over? It's just food.'
He dug the knife into the large chunk, cutting out a piece, and then with a fork, he led the piece into his mouth.
"Hmph," It was mouth-watering, the best piece of meat he had ever had, Ren was certain.
He heard a soft chuckle, and he opened his eyes to see Elizabeth smiling, she had been watching him. Seeing Ren gave her the courage to take her first bite, and soon enough all of the table were eating.
"Ehh, see. Erina makes the best meals. I pay a good amount of money to have her here." The statement flustered the maid, "Oh Lord Erigald, I love cooking for you just as much."
"Of course you do," He turned to Ren and whispered, "If you're getting that much from a job, of course you will love it." He recoiled and laughed at what he took to be a joke he made, except none on the table felt it was funny.
Erigald rubbed off the tears in his eyes, "So Ren, just how did you kill that pig? I saw the wound you inflicted. However you did it, it must have come fast."
Of course, Ren wasn't about to reveal his trump card, but he knew that in as much as Erigald was proving to be a silly man, he was not stupid. He would be smelt should he tell a bad lie.
"A warrior never reveals his ace." Ren responded, it sounded like a wise saying but
the line was something he simply made in the moment.
"Honourable, I too would not tell anyone my ace were I a fighter. I have even milder secrets that I would tell no one not to mention power."
Ren nodded, and raised his tankard of wine at the little lord.
"Many of our customers, even lords had advised us, asked us to move closer to the capital so that our wine would always reach there on time, but I say no to them." He gestured wildly as he spoke, this was clearly something that he was passionate about.
"There's more to life than profits, Abba for instance. My grandfather built the winehouse because he sought to entertain the villagers and then he realized that he could make a living out of it. My father continued on the path. If they chose to remain in Tunish why should I be the one who looks differently?"
Ren nodded, but if he was Erigald and knowing that he would make money from moving to the capital, he would do so in a heartbeat.
Ren's eyes continued to drift to the little girl even though he tried not to look at her. It was difficult, he did not want to seem like he was staring, but the little girl's asymmetry and atypical appearance invoked too much curiosity. He turned to the Eldrad and Elizabeth who both have their attention on their food.
The girl Abba did not look anything like her father, she barely looked human with her proportions, and the way she struggled to eat with her thick three fingered hand was disturbing, Ren had not seen anything like it.
'Three fingers? She has three fingers?'
He turned to Erigald, meeting his eyes. Erigald stared at Ren with a stoic demeanor, and let out a sigh.
'Oh fuck.'
Ren hurriedly looked away, but not before seeing his hand, and that he too did not have five fingers like most humans do.
"How's the meal?" Erigald asked, suddenly wearing a smile. Ren smiled wryly, it was the best thing he had ever had, "Delectable, I am jealous that you get to eat this all the time."
Erigald nodded in approval, he let Ren take some more bites of his food before he continued "I am half dwarf, and Abba here is a quarter." As soon as he said this, Elizabeth and Eldrad paused with their meals.
"Dwarves bear four fingers like I do." He stated, raising his hand, "Abba has three. My other children seem more human than dwarf, nobody would be able to tell that they have dwarven blood in them thanks to their mother, but Abba's different. The city will be difficult for her. It's a miracle that she's lived this long."
Ren could only look, he had no words to give, what was he to say? How should he react? On Erigald's speech however, one word got stuck in his mind, 'Dwarf.'
He had thought Erigald was simply an eccentric looking man, but he was also part dwarf. Dwarves, an existence that he had only heard about in folk stories.
"Erigald, I think I could help you maximize your profits from here in Tunish."
The businessman leaned forward slightly, urging Ren to continue. "I have some fruits, berries that are extraordinarily unique, you could probably find no other in this world. You could make a special set of wine with these fruits and sell them at a higher price capitalizing on their rarity."
"Is this true? Does he have fruits you've never seen?"
"Yes, they were unlike any that I have ever seen." Eldrad responded.
Erigald cupped his chin in thought, and then smiled.
"I heard that you're a farmer, but nobody mentioned that you're a businessman." He smiled brightly at Ren.
'Yes!' Ren was glad with excitement. The dinner had paid off greatly.
"I have a taste of these fruits, and then we will have a deal."
"You won't be disappointed, Erigald."
"I trust that I wouldn't." He raised his tankard, "To more partnerships." The rest raised theirs to him.