FSE

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Among all the places in Anteronia, there is no place as welcoming and discerning to travelers' tastes as Baker's Bakery. While many of the nobility may want to show off the peculiarities of the Anteronian way through places of indulgence that could cause the weary to quiver, it is at Baker's that one can find common ground with people of the most irritable of constitutions.

--Guide to Anteronia

--

Tik Tik sits at a booth in Baker's Bakery, the kobold kicking her feet as she reads over the letters repeatedly. Her coffee steams, and her pie simmers as she waits at her seat by the window. It's almost as if a mascot is sitting by, showing passers the sheer cuteness available at the cafe.

Stepping up to the little kobold is the large gnoll Adaeze. She grins and sits across from her companion, a practical hulk compared to the tiny enchanter. "You've gone up in the world since our adventuring days, haven't you?" She asks, lifting her meaty pastry and chomping down on its savory goodness. Through thick bites, she continues. "Hiring out your own adventurers and everything. Glad I could be part of the team."

Tik Tik chirps, taking a sip of her coffee. "Of course! Tik Tik know Adaeze do good work. Need interview others and see if good for mission, too!"

The gnoll wipes her chin with her arm, gulping down the first morsel of her meal. "So, uh, when's our first interview?"

The door opens, and the bell tingles. Adaeze drapes her arm over the back of her seat and looks over her shoulder. Tik Tik leans far, grabbing onto the table and craning her neck as much as possible.

A smooth green lady enters the establishment with large eyes and a wide smile. A pointed witch's hat is on her head, and she dresses in long, flowing robes. However, how they sway and cling as she walks tells Tik Tik that the form underneath is beautiful.

"Oh dang," Adaeze whispers.

Tik Tik's smile is filled with magical and lewd thoughts. "Grefina?" she chirps.

The froggy woman's cheeks puff. "Gero?" She turns her head, spinning on her heel, her sunny smile only increasing. "Hello! You're Tik Tik!"

The kobold conjures up a chair beside her. "Yes, yes, so happy see you, Grefina! Please, sit!"

She hops on with such poise and makes it to the seat with her hands on her knees, nodding towards the kobold and then toward the gnoll. "Hello, hello, gero! I'm so happy you're considering me for your team!"

"Indeedy, indeed!" Tik Tik says, shuffling through her papers. "It says here you make many good potions and magic items, yes?"

"Mm hm, mm hm!"

Tik Tik flutters her eyes, leaning in, her chin resting on her knuckles. Her following words come out in a low growl. "Some items quite spicy too, yes?"

Grefina tilts her head, pushing a finger to her cheek. "Hm...?" She croaks. "What do you mean?"

Adaeze pulls out an illustration, sliding it over the table. "I once worked with a lass who claimed to have selected a collection of magical items, a froggy hat, mittens, and boots. They offered ultimate protection and power to her as she quested."

Grefina nodded quickly at that, placing her webbed fingers against the table. "Oh, yes, that was me. That was my work!"

Adaeze narrows her eyes. "They didn't work because the set only works when they're the only thing people wear."

Tik Tik wiggles her brows. "Sounds like Tik Tik's kinda magic."

Grefina sticks out a long sticky tongue, adjusting her hat. "Well, no one is perfect, right?"

"Tik Tik think it work perfectly. Who cares if bits and bobs stick out? More fun things to show friend, yes!"

Grefina tilts her head, tapping her chin. "Hm... maybe, but aren't there people who enjoy their privacy, gero? Miss Gnoll, Adaeze, yes? Would you wear such armor into battle?"

Adaeze tenses up, and then she scoops the rest of her pie, shoving it into her mouth, chewing it with such ferocity as to have bits of meat and pastry fleck off onto the table.

"Tik Tik want talk about potions," The kobold says, sliding her coffee towards Grefina. "You have something for energy Tik Tik can take? Work well with coffee, help put pep in step?"

Grefina reaches down the neck of her dress, licking her cheeks as she rummages and gropes around inside her outfit, eventually producing a small vile. "All-day energy!" she exclaims, holding the bottle aloft. "May cause some side effects, though. Be very, very careful only to drink a bit, gero."

Tik Tik conjures a spectral kobold hand, lifting and shaking her mug. "Give some to Tik Tik. Enough you think Tik Tik handle."

The smile on the frog gal's face quivers a moment. Grefina unstoppers the cork and tilts the vial, slowly, agonizingly letting a slight splash fall into the drink.

Tik Tik waits.

Adaeze chews.

Grefina watches.

Tik Tik slowly pulls the drink back. "Just that much?" The kobold says. "That potent potion indeed. Well, Here goes!" Tik Tik throws her head back and chugs the coffee, letting the steaming goodness fall down her throat.

Grefina squeals.

Adaeze gasps.

Tik Tik claps her lips together and slams her drink down. "Taste sweet. Use fruit in mixture."

Grefina blinks but corks her vial and says, "Oh, I can't share my secrets. But, you really should have slowed down and sipped that slowly."

Tik Tik shrugs. "Tik Tik no become great wizard by be safe!" She smacks her chest and stands boisterously on the chair. "Tik Tik live on the edge!"

Grefina's gaze travels all over Tik Tik. The froggy potion seller's wide and cheery smile cracks only but a little as she watches the jittery form of the kobold standing before her. "So, Tik Tik," she asks, tapping a finger on the table, "Is there anything else You want to know about my skills?"