After being hired on by Calani officially, Chef was introduced to a few individuals. He met Umbra Shor’GoDen, Erato, and Shiloh Krallenxia who would be working alongside he and his boss Jo'Han Dough. Chef was one of the cooks within the Guild of the Blade and not officially one of the mercenaries. This was one of his first missions and first step into that role. He and the others were instructed to find a "Shadowy Figure". They were subjected to a trial put on by Calani and her partner Trick to prove that they could work together and were strong enough. The Chef and his golem son participated in the fight and the group won.
Their initial investigation lead them to find spots of blood within the Dyonis Park. The blood lead them to a beggar who Chef was able to pick up on something strange about him. He was able to detect high levels of magic concentration from this individual. The beggar had lead them into an alley where they would be ambushed by beings known as a Runner, On one of the Runners, Chef had found a Crest of the Star student pin. He kept it a secret as they continued through a small secret passageway into the building next to them. They found the body the beggar had picked up before vanishing. The body also had a pin on them leading them to want to go to the Frecia Academy of Magic to find out more. Here they were confronted by the beggar again warning them not to interfere in something as dangerous as this before disappearing.
At the academy he and the others needed to leave behind their weapons and constructs with the gatekeeper of the academy. Once inside they all went to inform the headmaster what they had found. She proceeded to lock the academy down to conduct a head count of all of her students. As they were underway in the lockdown, Jo'han received a phone call from an angry Calani. Chef tried to apologize for leaving behind some dead bodies in the alley for her to deal with and ensured that it wasn't going to happen again.
With the lockdown lifted, they were able to walk around and roam the campus. Chef, Erato, and Jo'han went towards the music hall found in the star district. They were able to walk in and find students already underway of rehearsals and performances. Erato took to the stage of the theater charming Chef unexpectedly. Erato used an ability in order to try and gain information out of students. This caused Chef to freak out once he was released from the ability.
The already frustrated Chef learned that all of the students were accounted for and none of them were missing. He demanded to go see his son to make sure that they were alright but was denied. However, he was promised to be able to visit in the morning with Vix Silvertail acting as his escort.
That following morning, Chef and Vix went to the stables where he learned that his son, the golem, was destroyed. The gatekeeper presented Chef with the remaining pieces he was able to find and apologized for what had happened. Outraged, Chef lashed out at the already anxious Vix. She eventually escorted him to the others in the mess hall where they eventually made their way to the library. Chef was quick to pull books on golems and different types of things relating to them.
In the library he was able to learn more about the power of lacrimas. In doing so, he also overheard the conversation had between Domino Wittenmyer and Shiloh. It was about the ability of creating a self sustaining self learning warforged being.
The group began to proceed out of the library into the courtyard where Chef was able to start picking up on some things Vix had mentioned to he and the group just the night before. It was coming from Cecil and two students and a warforged he saw her grab that morning. It was revealed that Cecil was Comedina after a fight had broken out. During this fight it was revealed that a mysterious student who had joined in was Copper. Copper was also the beggar they met the other day. He warned the group that they needed to figure out what side it was that they were really on and if they wanted to learn more to help with that decision then they needed to head to Kather's Mystics and Wares.
After splitting away from the group Chef found himself
to be alone in the mess hall. No students were around no teachers either. He
takes a seat in the empty room and watches. A plate of food appears before him tempting
him to eat it. Chef looks down at the plate, but when he looks back up he was
met with the grinning face of a pumpkin.
The sudden appearance shocks him a little but he
tries not falter.
“My apologies, I’ve been told this look isn’t
as appealing to the eyes,” Copper says shifting his pumpkin head and body into
more of a half-elven appearance. The stitching along his face making every
expression appear almost as if it were a smile. “I didn’t want to really take
off just yet…it really does seem that are paths are in the same direction. And
with that my little celestial friend we may have similar interests.” He leans
back in the chair grinning as you could feel a warmth emanating from him. The
kind of warmth as if he was a glowing fire. “Comedina, or Cecil..whichever you
want to call them was the one who destroyed the golem in the stable house or at
least that’s what my feathered friends are telling me.”
As he says this, a crow flies into the room and
begins to nibble gently at his ear.
“Seems like she took something from the pile
and I think you know exactly what it is. Now I don’t know why she took it but I
do know that it can’t be good…An aasimar such as yourself walking amongst the
people so freely with a magical essence as strong as that can’t go unnoticed from
prying eyes such as mine.”
Chef continues to meet his glowing eyes and asks,
“What’s next…”
“Easy there cowboy…Listen here...There’s
something happening that is creating an imbalance of magical energy. These
magical surges are really putting a damper on my fun and I don’t like that. For
now just be an extra set of eyes on the ground for me,” he reaches up towards the
crow with a hand and arm covered in a bark like skin. He pets the bird and
continued, “There are some things that my lil friends here can’t get into…” he
pauses before standing up from the table. “But you sir…you can do a little more
than they can. So for now…simply just be another pair of eyes for me. Find
anything interesting and you let me know alright? In return…well for now how
about you just think on that...I mean after all…we already made our pact…” he
says with a large grin coming across his face. “I’ll let you know if I find
anything about that little bit of magic that was taken away from ya alright. When
you find something you think I’ll like, all you have to do is call upon a crow.
And don’t worry, these lil fellas will bring me all the information you will
tell it. As for me…well I’ll just come to you directly how does that sound?”
He gets up from the table and adjusts his
jacket unbuttoning his shirt underneath and showing a mark on his chest
“Keep clear of anyone else who has a mark like
this. We Horrors do not like sharing our things. And with that being said,”
He buttons up his shirt again and proceeds to
take his hat off to say goodbye. Once the hat passes by his face the pumpkin
appearance returns. His eyes and mouth glowing as he puts his hat back on his
head.
“There is a particular Horror that has been
having a little too much fun lately and I need to teach them a lesson. Seems to
me like she’s been playing a game this whole time and I’m going to figure out
why she went after this school. As for you…you and your little friends still
need to figure out what side of the game you really want to be playing on. Find
Kather and you and your little friends can get all of the answers you want.
Pick the side you want to be on and keep going from there. But don’t worry,
even if you pick the wrong side…you’re still on my side…you’re far too
interesting for me to lose this early in the game. Vengeance within a being
such as yourself is such a joy to watch.”
With a wink, the crows blew the doors open and
fly into the room. In a mix of the black feathers he was gone from Chef’s sights,
but he soon realized that so was the room he was in. In fact, Chef was no
longer in the mess hall. He was high up in a tree with his equipment down below
on the ground.
No clue where he was he slowly made his climb
down from the tree and grabbed all of his things. From a nearby tree Chef could
hear the cawing of a crow. The forest was fairly dense despite the fall season
starting to flourish within it. Colored leaves littered the ground crunching at
each footstep he made. The cawing of the crow continued, Chef couldn’t see it
but he followed its voice. He walked around for what felt like a few hours as
the night started to come.
After walking for so long, Chef saw a glow of a
fire up ahead. He slowly and cautiously approached. Sneaking felt like it would
be impossible with the constant sounds of the crow and the crunching of the
leaves. However, as he got closer he began to see some familiar shapes. This
was the camp of his allies. Although it wasn’t just his allies turning in for
the night. A large dire wolf and a small dog sleep by Erato’s side.
The following morning Chef and the other's investigated a large crater that was nearby. He let the others poke around the crater and examine the shop that they were supposed to find Kather in. After breaking into the shop with the others, he was met with a clutter filled shop that was trapped. They poked around with the others before a orange gel like creature caused a fight to to ensure with a treasure chest and a cabinet. He was eventually engulfed by the orange gel creature and was able to quickly make his escape.
When the fight came to an end, Kather questioned him and the others on what they were doing and where their loyalties were. Chef was clear that he was but a chef for the guild he was hired by and yet he was sent out here on this mission. Hearing each of the other's answers Kather brought them further into the shop where she revealed the answers that they were looking for. He was reluctant on the idea of potential piracy being involved, but after learning the identity of the shadow figure they were after things were starting to change.
Kather had opened up her space to the group and allowed them to stay with them while they wait for Dria Voxville. However, the deal was for them to do some odd jobs here and there in exchange. Chef and Erato took on a treasure hunting job and set forth the following morning. Realizing that he signed up for a treasure hunt with Erato and no one else, Chef was a little reluctant to go forward with the job. However, he stuck it out and continued.
After a half a days travel, the two managed to make it to a large tree. The tree was where the X marked the spot on the map that Kather had given them. Erato was able to figure out the growth pattern of the plants around the area that directed them to the top of tree. The two climbed up and proceeded to make their way down the large tree where they were were welcomed by a blue light. Following the light, they saw a few different various items within an open space and a large door with a few locks. Chef saw a skeleton sitting on the ground and proceeded to grab the keyring off of it. This is when the skeleton reacted by grabbing his wrist giving him a warning. The warning was "Put the keys in the right place or else," and those words caused an arrow to fly across the room barely missing Chef's head.
The two continued to work together to figure out which key goes into which lock using the room as the clues required to do so. After finally getting all of the keys in their right place, they were welcomed into a large room with a drop. Down below the drop sat several different tiles. Chef decided to drop down and discovered that the tiles were easy to move around. It took some time to figure it out before he was able to receive the prize. When the tiles were put in their place a blinding light filled the room and what sat in the middle of the room was a small pile of treasure, a breastplate, and the Cosmic Starknife.
The two worked together and made their way back to Kather's where she had her eyes set on the starknife. The group was reluctant to give her the weapon at first but after some discussion she took the weapon in exchange for buying Chef's chainmail.
After their adventures he and the group came face to face with Dria Voxville. It was discovered that she was alive and well and running the Guild of the Lost. After establishing her trust, she had given him and the team a mission to track and hunt down four monsters that had surfaced. It was believed that these monsters were created due to her father's interference. While the group takes these monsters down, she and her guild mates will interfere with the trade routes and soldiers.
After some deliberation based on the information that was given to them, it was decided that they would go after the creature found in Yeezla. Kather gave the group a ship in a bottle and instructed them to break it when they were in the right place. After deciding their route, Chef and the others found themselves on a bullet train where they were able to spend time conversing with one another. During one of the stops, Vix had jumped onto the train and joined the conversation with the group. She informed them that she was given the task to track down Cecil and bring them into custody but the trail ran cold for her. Disappointed in herself she asked if she would be able to join the team in the hopes that she can pick up the trail once more. It was agreed that she would take part in the hunt.
Once they had reached the Frecia Fortress, the gran ship was released from the bottle but they needed people to help sail it. They scoped out the area in search for individuals to hire where they came across a few marines having a good time. That night aboard the ship, Chef had a heartwarming moment with Vix. As he stayed awake he shared the same space with her and realized she was unable to sleep. Vix shared her anxieties to Chef as he tried to calm her down using stories he has heard to put her to sleep. In the morning the marines came to their senses leaving the others with still without a crew. While seeking out alternatives, it was revealed that a crew wasn't needed as the ship proved that it was alive. She was named Delilah and this ship was now a part of the team.