[Today's Companions]
Fuuki-Maruki (Tarutaru Black Mage) AKA Fuuki
Jetsam (Hume Thief) AKA Jet
[Today's Lunch]
Prepared on location
Today I found myself acting as a bodyguard for Fuuki. He wanted to go fishing, but was afraid of the sea monstrosities he might pull up by mistake. "Aha," thought I, "a chance to test my warrior mettle!"
Next stop: the paradise of Purgonorgo Isle.
Jet decided to tag along, with a glint in his eye that only rumors of treasure could ignite.
We set out from Windurst, and arrived at Bibiki Bay after four hours on chocoboback. We boarded the raftlike manaclipper in the ruddy glow of sunset, and set off for Purgonorgo Isle.
To be honest, I was a little unnerved by the lack of rails—this was a vessel built with avid fishermen in mind.
Just as we were about to pull away from the wharf, Jet was forced off the manaclipper by one of the crew! Apparently he tried to sneak on board without buying a ticket. Typical…
Our trip was down to two members already.
"I'm planning on catching some tasty-wasty fish today, so keep your chef knife ready!" Fuuki exclaimed.
Ah, I'd almost forgotten. My bodyguard duties also included food preparation! There was a rare sea creature found in this region known as the Bibiki urchin. Fuuki wanted me to make it into sushi.
This urchin was considered an expensive delicacy, and even I had never tasted it. Mithra are known for their casual consumption of raw fish, but other races are usually not so inclined.
Enter the magic of sushi—a dish made with a finely sliced piece of fish combined with delicious rice, allowing anybody to enjoy the uncooked bounties of the sea.
The recipe for Bibiki urchin sushi is only taught to those with the recognition of the Culinary Guild…which I recently had the honor of receiving. With this Far Eastern recipe under my belt and the rice in my pack, I was ready to whip up some mouth-watering cuisine. All I had to do was wait for Fuuki to fish up the main ingredient.
My black mage friend managed to reel in some bluetail from the deck of the manaclipper, but no Bibiki urchins.
Munching on some bluetail to quiet my stomach, I took in the amazing scenery. Apparently there were other manaclipper courses that didn't go to the isle, but toured around the stunning Bibiki Bay. I would have to check those out next time.
This was my first trip to Purgonorgo Isle, and after arriving I discovered that you could borrow clamming kits. I decided to give it a try. Staying close to Fuuki, I dug around in the shallows, stopping now and then to dispatch some hostile creature he had fished up.
If you managed to fill your clamming bucket right to the brim without breaking it, the clamming girl would give you a bigger bucket. I had a hard time finding the right balance, though…
Spotting something unusual, Fuuki suddenly cast Sneak on himself and ran off down the beach. I could just make out some kind of red slime… "It's a clot!" yelled Fuuki. "You can only find these on Purgonorgo."
I felt sick just looking at the thing, but there was Fuuki, playing around in the middle of it.
"Ooh, this is icky-wicky!" Fuuki said, a delighted look on his face. "You gotta try this!"
Ah, no thanks.
As I watched, Jet appeared out of nowhere and charged the slime, blades flashing wildly.
"What are you doing to my slime!" Fuuki wailed.
"Sorry I'm late!" Jet grinned. "They finally let me on the boat."
We found something called a "clot plasma" on the crimson slime, and, not knowing what else to do with it, I gave it to Fuuki for safekeeping.
I returned to clamming, this time joined by Jet, and as we competed to see who could find the most interesting shell, Fuuki finally reeled in a Bibiki urchin!
With tummies rumbling, it was time for Chef Aly to get to work.
I shaped the vinegared rice in my hands, wrapped it with Pamtam kelp, and topped it off with slices of Bibiki urchin.
Using the Gugru tuna and noble lady fished up from the manaclipper, I made several varieties of sushi. It was time for a taste test.
Not bad, if I did say so myself.
"This is scrumptious-wumptious, Aly!" Fuuki mumbled through a mouth full of fish.
"This must be the hidden treasure of Purgonorgo," said Jet, wearing a grin.
I basked in the appreciation of my friends and the last rays of a beautiful sunset. Good food and great companions. What more could a girl ask for?
Fuuki whisked us back to Windurst in an instant with Warp II, and we headed off to the auction house to sell our battle spoils.
"Aly! That plasma clot we found today can be made into jelly!" Fuuki said, eyes sparkling. "Time for dessert!"
"Hey, this jelly sells for a fortune," Jet mused. "I think I'll be heading back to Purgonorgo for a while."
People make this disgusting goo into sweets!?
text by Takashi and Asami Watanabe
Illustration by Mitsuhiro Arita
Illustration by Mitsuhiro Arita