Just then, Marja comes in and announces, "Here, warm yourselves with some of this soup! The fish and veggies have been stewin' in a big ol' pot in the fireplace," and check at the soup being cooked in the fireplace, "It should be perfect to eat now."

"You use a fireplace? Fascinating," Jade says, amazed.

"We've got central heating and heaters, but lots of houses have a fireplace for extra heat," Epel says.

"Do fairies manage the fireplaces here too?" Grim asks.

"Fairies?" Epel questions, but soon understand what Grim means, "Oh, you mean like the ones in the school cafeteria? Nah, we just burn the wood ourselves. It'd be hard to get fairies to tend our fires way out here in the sticks. Besides, we've got no shortage of wood. It's a handy way to dispose of all the limbs we prune during harvest time."

Then Jade asks, "Do you often cook in a fireplace in lieu of a stove?"

"We always have a fire going in the wintertime, so we tend to cook stews in the fireplace," Epel answers, "It's a holdover from the old days when gas was harder to come by. With a slow, steady fire, you can get your ingredients nice and tender."

"Just sit back and savor the warmth," Marja says.

Everyone sits down as Marja serves everyone some soup. Once the food is served, everyone has a taste.

Sebek soon says, "... This is outstanding!"

"The flavor from the vegetables and fish has seeped into the soup, giving it a mild, pleasant taste," Jade says, amazed.

Epel then says, "The ingredients are the star of the show in this dish. All they need is a sprinkle of salt and pepper.

"To think you can cook as well as you sew! You're no ordinary human, Marja," Sebek says.

"Sebek certainly is forthright," Jade replies.

"Oh brother," The twins respond.

Majra then asks, "Anyone want seconds? There's plenty more where that came from."

"I'll have some, thank you," Jade says.

"Me too," Sereia says.

"I would like some," Briar says.

Trinket nods.

Sebek continues drinking the soup and says, "This soup's warming me through and through."

Still eating, Grim happily says, "munch* I could eat this all day! I'll take some more!

"May I have another bowl as well? Jade asks.

Likewise!" Sebek says

"Actually, just bring the whole pot over!" Grim says.

"Grim, the pot is hot," Tanzanite says.

Marja giggles, "Heh heh heh, the way you boys eat would flatter any chef. Makes it all worthwhile."

Then Epel notices, "... Say, where's Idia?"

"I don't know," Briar says.

Then Grim says, "Oh, he's been hidin' in a corner ever since we came in."

"Wait, really?!" Epel questions and look to see Idia is indeed sitting at the corner, more like hiding.

Epel walks over and asks, "What's wrong, Idia? Are you not feeling well?"

"No. I've had a real bad case of goosebumps for a while now," Idia answers.

"If you're that cold, then come on over by the fire! We've got plenty of hot food too," Epel says.

But Idia says, "It's not because of the cold! It's because you sprung a huge party on me outta nowhere!"

"Huh?" Epel responds, confused.

Idia explains, "Sitting at a table with a bunch of complete strangers? I only need to imagine it to know it would be torture! I don't care about the food, and the last thing I want to do is talk to people. Nope, can't do it. Not happening."

"Oh, so the goosebumps are like, an allergic reaction... to socialising," Epel replies.

Then Idia explains, "Look, I've never been a social butterfly, and I'm never gonna be. So just run along and enjoy your vapid little party. Don't worry about me."

"That's kind of a rude way to put it," Epel says, "And besides, you're not gonna have any energy tomorrow if you don't eat somethin'."

Then Epel turns to Briar, "Briar, would you mind bringing Idia something to eat?"

"Okay," Briar says.

Briar then walks over, bringing some soup over.

"Here you go, Idia. Some fruit soup should warm you up," Briar says.

This has Idia confused, "Wait, fruit soup? Isn't that cold?"

"Most other places serve it cold, but around here, we sometimes have it warm," Epel answers.

Curious, Idia takes the bowl and tries the soup.

He then says, "Wow... You're right, it's warm. And it's got all this nice dried fruit in it."

He continues having the soup and says, "Ahh, soup's such a rational meal. You just chug it. No need to cut anything, or mix in anything, or even bite down! I prefer efficient methods of energy intake to keep boring meal times as short as possible. I'm not big on flavor, but it's nice to have something hot after spending so long in the cold. After all, drops in body temperature can hamper your thinking process."

"You always do put an Idia spin on things..." Epel replies.

Sebek continues eating as he says, "Everything here is fantastic. It's a shame my plate can only hold so much."

"There's an unused set of dishware on the table. You could always—" Jade says.

But Epel says, "Wait! Sorry, but no one's supposed to use that."

"Hm? Are these dishes particularly valuable or something?" Sebek asks.

"No, they're just regular..." Epel says. He then explains, "But here we have a superstition about setting one unused place at the table. Long ago, a traveller visited a family's house and was aghast at their messy table. So they cleaned and cooked a wonderful meal for them. That story led to the popular belief that as long as you leave a plate on your table, you'll never want for food. So leave that plate alone."

Understanding it, Sebek says, "Very well. I'll use another dish for my food."

"I'll fetch one for you. I was just about to get something for myself," Jade says.

Grim calls out, "Get one for me too!"

"You guys are really goin' to town. It makes me feel good seeing you all enjoy our traditional Harveston cooking!" Epel says with a smile.