#dreaming

"I.. yes?"

“Can we find them here?”

Krumble nods then sighs "that I ain't got. I shall never beat the master. I got a oatmeal and mushroom that makes you smaller...I got ones that make zombies if yo ucan shove it in the corpse's mouth, but.. not that one "

"As for finding them?" Krumble says "Depends. Buy something here, ANYTHING, and I'll tell you"

"Mmm.."

"Don't want boobs... Symon, you want that squiggle cupcake?"

"Ah, Cup-Thulu"

He snickers. “Can I save it for Sylvi’s birthday? Maybe I’ll circle back... see what else there is to se first.”

A grunt. "Okay, we can - but, like, maybe there's something good here..." She looks.

"We're only here for a month then we drift into the deeper dreaming"

"Right." Checking out cupcake labels.

Mmmm what's this?

Chromatic Cupcakes!

aren't most colorful?

"Do these change your color?"

"I'm happy being monochrome." Curiously looking on the shelves.

"They do..." he smiles

And Symon notices one Cup Cake open an eye at him, it looksaround, sees that it's been seen, and closes

"Mm." Nothing to catch her eye, it seems.

Another has sprinkles!

"That one just tastes good" He says pointing to the one with sprinkles

"Do you have anything that cures disease?"

"Just a tasty treat?"

She rummages in her bag. "How do you feel about marbles? I got aggies and tiger eyes..."

"Just a tasty treat" And he says "Cures diesase? Depends on the nature of the illness. " He moves over "I can bake you a batch that fixes the common cold .. and another that gets a fever down." Krumble then looks at Dagmar "oo.. tiger eye could be useful magic material... even in marbel form. "

"Not just any illness. The big one." He frowns. "That would be too easy, I guess."

"The Rona?" She looks at Sy.

"Oh sorry, too much banality fighting twith too much ngihtmare for an easy fix there.. well, at least one that just cures it. I can make a cake that turns someone itn oa tree and would 'cure them' that way"

"So, anyways... like, here, two aggies and a tiger's eye for the tasty muffin, and maybe this pretty blue one for information?"

She holds the marbles out in her broad blue palm. They catch the light and shine.

"Oh my you're over paying me" Krumble says "Becareful... the dimmer it gets, the higher the price. " A worried look at Dagmar "Just one tiger's eye and you get your muffin AND info." Krumble says "I may make pies that blind folks, but I'm an honest baker. " And he takes great care putting that one marble away, and then preparing the tasty treat in a box carefully adorned, then says "Yes. they are here ... Two different merchants. I warn you, you're not the only group looking for them."

Symon leans in. "Can you tell us of the other?"

She sniffs the box. "This smells as good as it looks."

"Four wilders. .. some Eiluned Sidhe lady with them sort of in charge" he says

He beams at the praise

"Oh yeah, spotted them. Wonder why they want the cookies..."

"I was wondering what they wanted with Sylvi." He whispers. "Seemed to know her."

"Well, the two merchants don't MAKE cookies, but they sell a lot of things... Seek out Mister Wellington, or Madame Sly."

"Not sure WHERE they're selling from this time. They move around"

"Right, since there's only one THE Baker."

"But we'll be sure to tell anyone who asks that the CUPCake baker Krumble does a fair trade."

"Yes yes.. oh pardon me, new customers"

Krumble grins at the sluagh "Thank you, sir"

A long haired scrawny guy.. oh, it's a girl. "I heard you have.." She sees the other two "Nevermind I'll wait my turn"

But her eyes flicker to the Double D Cup Cakes

Symon is happy to move on and leave her to her dealing.

That Madame Sly caught his attention... now, to find her..

And Symon and Dagmar leave the victim of A Cup Angst to make her purchase, and if the stories are right, learn a valuable lesson later on. Stupid Aesops are kind of patronizing that way