The World Dragon's Heir - Chapter 742: Chocolate
Chapter 742: Chocolate
“Speaking of sweets and all things holiday treat, I see that there are Dragonberries growing in the woods near the Manor. Are we going to have Dragonberry pie?” Benedict asked hopefully.
“I think so. We just have to be a bit careful with it. The Princess isn’t dragonkin, and it will put her to sleep. The same with most of the Nobles, as well as the chef.
So, it’s a rather limited quantity snack.”
Benedict chuckled. “In that case, I will ask Larry to make it for us. Trolls can eat them just fine, and they’re likely the ones who have been cultivating the bushes I found.
They certainly weren’t wild.”
“That seems likely. They do enjoy the berries, and they know that they can’t just put them in the soup if they’re going to be sharing it with humans. So, they’ve likely got their supply separated.
I will ask them to get us some of the good stuff for the holidays.
That’s a load off my mind. If we can supply a proper block of chocolate for every household, I’m sure it will be better than most years.”
Both of the other men laughed. “We have been looking into it, and for the ones who were already in Kinewen and Stansia Provinces, it will be a huge improvement. Many of the Barons only gave a few squares per family, enough for one small cake, or to add chocolate flavour to a berry sweetened cake.
Things hadn’t been good here for a long time, and you know how they treated their mages.
There was certainly no chance that they were going to openly admit to their magic, even if they had the spell. But I wonder if the Duskblade Sect, has it? They might be able to help us out with this project.”
Dominic shook his head. “I doubt it. It’s not a tradition in Axbridge. They don’t celebrate the same holidays because their seasons are different.
No point in celebrating the end of the wet season when your country sits on a desert and doesn’t get enough rain to begin with. They do throw the most wonderful parties when it rains, though.”
“What will you do while we work on the chocolate?” Gordie asked.
“I am going to make insulated boxes to ship it in. We don’t have a refrigerated truck, but keeping chocolate from melting before delivery will improve the quality.
Actually, that’s not a bad idea. I should get them to make us an insulated delivery truck for fresh meat and other things that shouldn’t get warm.
We could just put it all in a storage ring, but I don’t have any of them lying around.”
Benedict shrugged. “I will make one for the deliverymen, then. It’s not going to be as incredible as the one I commissioned for the Princess. But it will do the job and hold an order of chocolate.
Well, I might have to make a few of them. But I can just use cheap metal rings for it.”
Dominic laughed. “Give me an hour and I will make some good ones out of cart bright, or Dark Iron. Might as well put the upgraded creation magic to use. I’ve even got a signet for the Wistover Manor Guards.
It’s from the time when this was an Earldom, but I’ve never changed the heraldry, so it should still work.”
Benedict nodded. “That would actually be a wonderful gift. If you make signet rings for the Guards, every one of the lads will be overjoyed. Then the same for the City Guard, if you have a signet for them.”
Dominic nodded. “That I do. Good thinking, I can make those up in the forge this afternoon, then I will rely on your magic to turn them into storage rings.”
“Before we get started, how big should we make the blocks? I usually make this size, which are a fifth of a kilogram each.” Benedict explained, then made a stack of dark chocolate bars, which were designed to be split into ten smaller pieces for use in baking.
“Those look good. They’re dark baking chocolate, so more flavour, less sugar. And that much will either make a large rich cake, a pan of brownies, or a lot of chocolate buttermilk frosting to put on cupcakes.”
Benedict chuckled. “My mother used to do that with Dragonberries. We had a terrible time getting them to grow at home, so she would make sweet buns, then put Dragonberry frosting on top, so that a handful of berries would make enough to last her for weeks.”
Gordie smiled. “With my mother, it was cheese croissants. Father is horribly lactose intolerant, but absolutely loves cheese. So, she would sprinkle it on top, but not actually put any inside.”
Extra visible, without actually using enough cheese that she would regret making them for him, Dominic noted.
Benedict made the [Create Chocolate] spell gem, and Dominic recorded it in his Sorcerer’s Spellbook, to the immediate envy of the other two men.
“One day, I will find out how those were made, so I can have one too. Though, as I’m a mage, I suppose it’s not quite as important. It would save a huge amount of time memorizing new spells, though.
Just keeping the book at a moderate level for all the utility spells that simply aren’t worth the weeks and moths it takes to learn them.”
“That is a fair assessment. If I had to memorize all these spells, I would be in deep trouble, given that I’ve got a blacksmith’s trade skill core.” Dominic agreed.
“Well, perhaps not as much as you suspect. Dragonkin are pretty good with magic to begin with. But that’s hardly the point. Now, did we have more business here? Or should we split up and get our respective parts of the holiday preparations made?
If you can make ten rings for the Royal Guard, it will be enough for all the chocolate.
Then, we can accompany you to the Baronies, pass it out, and let them do the distribution.” Benedict suggested.
“Excellent plan. I will make the rings, you can come with me to enchant them, and the rest of the Royal Guard can make us a few tonnes of chocolate.
Have them make a bit extra as well. We will send it with the next shipment into Dagos.
I know that they don’t have the funding to buy it for anyone, but the King would look good if he could manage it, and it would earn us some gratitude from the workers in the Palace.”
“Got it. Bribes for the Dagos Royal Guard and Palace workers it is. We will make more than enough, and ensure that the Merchants’ Guild understands the mission.”
