The staff of the divine Basknut

"I have the best staff an owl could ever ask for!
Cheers mates!"

Marchello Modelli

It was already noon, when Äala's bus finally arrived in the port of Scamall. She stretched her cramped wings, she was asked to keep close to her body at all times for as long as the aircraft hasn't arrived at its designated location. She stepped out of the soundproof vehicle and got immediately opposed by the busy noises of a thriving airport. People were shouting around, trying to sell their wares or haggle soundly for the best price. The hawk girl then looks behind her, at the bus she has just taken. She peeks past the sci-fi craft and in the emptiness of air behind it. 8000 meters they have now ascended with the aircraft to land on the platform that is the bottom of the flying reverse mountain Scamall got built on.
She gulped and stepped back, ornated bird feet climpering away from the ledge, and Äala started searching for the elusive location she got tasked to visit. She stepped forth to a fellow avian with artificial wingarms, heavily augmented as it was the norm for Etherium's citizens. She brushed her feathers smooth and asked with a silky voice:


"Dear gentleman, I am searching for a restaurant that apparently opened not long ago. It is called the 'divine Basknut'. Does sir knows to where I should head?"

The crow simply rose one of his metal arms made from a superlight alloy pointing down the street:


"You can't miss it, madame. Just take the main street and search for a large building that looks like a castle tower with a glass dome.", he adds, "Very good meals, I can recommend the Basknut pie, a sweet yet substantial dish. Have a good meal, dear stranger."

The avian lifts his hat and vanishes into the business of the port. Äala peeks after him, but as she wasn't able to spot the nice gentleman, she follows his instructions instead.
a few minutes of walking later she found herself opposed by the massive wooden door of the watchtower, a design reminding her of home, of the outskirts near the borders to Nemthi. She places her clawed hand on the door and pushes immediately smelling a thought to be forgotten smell. Yes! They are genuine, this is the smell of a Basknut.


Jaspaar Reez, the greeter
Entering The divine Basknut was like stepping in into a whole different world, Äala got welcomed by pitch-black darkness in form of a curtain keeping the light out of the domicile:


"Please close the door first, dear guest, we don't want to disturb the guests.", a smooth voice was asking her, which she immediately followed, "My gratitude, please let me open the curtain for you."

The curtain got gently pulled aside and the hawk girl saw herself opposed by a pitch-black male Panther greeting her with the smoothest attitude she ever encountered. A royalty like presence filled the room and red artificial eyes were scanning her thoroughly. The panther relaxes and offers her to take care of her wrap, a cloud-white puffy coat granting the small framed hawk the volume to appear more important. Her decorative helmet she was however not ready to part with, this relic would be important for later.
Äala inspected the greeter, who, after she introduced herself, introduced himself as Jaspaar, closer. He was roughly 190 cm tall, larger than her for sure, and was wearing a red and dark-grey suit, a colour immediately reminding her of the name-giving Basknut. A strange pair of goggles was resting on his forehead, highly technological, but seemingly currently unnecessary:


"How would madame Onrust like to dine? We are offering five floors to choose from. If madame likes her privacy and enjoys dining in the harmony of silence, I recommend our first floor. If you would like to get to know our famous bar and listen to rumours the second floor would be of your enjoyment. Our kitchen is hosted there as well, meaning the smell of our dishes will entrance madames beak.", they begin walking together to the circular stairway upwards, "On the third floor madame could enjoy music accomodating her dining experience. Today will the owner Mr Modelli play a traditional Do'oshmi guitar solo he used to play decades ago. The fourth floor is similar to the first, with the exception, that sometimes our benefactors dine at the roundtable. And then we have the watchtower. A lovely view over the whole city, with the atmosphere normalized for guests via a glass dome. It will feel like dining down on the ground while being above the clouds."


The panther stopped and looked at her, waiting patiently for Äala to choose her preferred surroundings. But she was on a mission, the Sisters asked her to meet up with the owner. So she asks:


"Does Mr Modelli performs in this very moment?"


"No, madame Onrust, he will begin in 40 minutes for the second round of the evening."


"Then I will dine on the second floor."


Jaspaar bowed down and offered her pathway, he then pressed a button on his ear announcing Äala's entrance to the staff, calling her a class X guest, whatever that meant. The hawk climbed up the stairway, every step of her letting her foot jewellery illuminate the atmosphere in an outlandish sound. Multiple heads in the first story peeked up, all Avians, all her people. They knew who was about to dine here and silent whispering broke the silence of the darkness.


Marchello Modelli, the owner
When Äala arrived at the bar of the second story an owl in his forties awaited her already, raising a brow upon hearing the for his ears familiar sound. The round face greeted her, with happiness reflecting in his amber eyes. The other member of his staff were surprised when their boss suddenly performed an overly deep bow respectfully greeting the elusive guest: "Welcome to the divine Basknut, sister Onrust, I've been awaiting a representative of the Nest already, yet I feel deeply honoured, that you took the long way up to Scamall to witness the return of the Basknut."
The white owl smiled gently and something in his mimic remembered her of memories long gone. She began to smile finally remembering him, the young temple servant who took it onto himself to research for the existence of more Basknuts after their Omenseeking nut storage was finally empty. Äala blushed and reached out her winged arm to greet an old friend:


"It is you, Marchi, I am overjoyed to witness your pilgrimage has come to a closure finally. So you managed to hold your oath to the Sisters, finding new Basknuts...wow...I am impressed.", the owl took the hand of the Sister gently, but she went in to hug her old friend for a brief moment, "Can you take a moment for me when I have ordered food, Marchi? We have things to discuss."


Kal'dor Gwenn, the barkeeper
The owl nodded and walked over to a massive purple Frilled Lizard currently polishing the wine glasses. Marchello asked him to get a replacement performance for the third floor, his performance will get postponed for an unknown amount. If he can't perform in the promised timeframe, the guests currently dining shall get a 15% discount on their food. The purple lizard, a grumpy fellow, immediately nodded and began calling someone on the stationary phone in the back of the bar, ordering a short term replacement. She noticed immediately the mechanical tail swaying around, his left leg appeared artificial as well. The barkeeper was wearing a pair of goggles around his neck, similar to the pair Jaspaar was wearing. With green lenses and an abundance of tech draped around the frame. He gifted her a brief smile when their eyes met and stante pede continued his work, busy as ever it seems. Mixing with his crafty tail a drink while preparing already the beers for another table he worked for two.

---

A few more orders later the bossowl returned to the waiting oracle bird, smiling softly leading her to a table in the back of the floor. Like all dining tables, this one looked plain at first, a black table, with black chairs, no lights and no decoration. But when Äala's talons touched the table, the black instantly changed. The furniture recoloured itself into birch wood, a white and richly ornated tablecloth got weaved by smart arms hidden in the table. The centre cracked open and a so-called fluent-metal torch generated a tree-like light array illuminating the table from above with its 'fruits'. Marchello smiled seeing Äala blush amazed by the wonders of Etherian technology...and embarrassed by how noble it suddenly looked, she wasn't supposed to make a scene, but that's that she guessed.
Marchello touched his chair, it turned into a beep-brown wooden chair with black cushions, far less conspicuous than her richly ornamented armchair, and sat down welcoming her to do the same:


"It has been long since we last met, Äala, you were barely an oracle when I left on my pilgrimage, 14 if I remember correctly. Look at how you have grown, friend. You are a beautiful woman now, able to catch eyes with your mere presence. But I derive...", he focusses the hawk with warm eyes, "To keep the haggling short so that we can enjoy the reunion I can already say that I plan on supporting the Nest with new and regular shipments of Basknuts necessary for your most precise oracle dreams. You have my word. But-"


Äala brushed gently with her large wings his trail of thoughts aside, she wasn't born yesterday, the Nest was aware, that he most likely has business partners in the shadows. She smiled and recited what the oracle agreed on:


"We are interested in a partnership and ready to pay you 80.000 credits per Basknut.-", the owl opened his eyes in surprise trying to keep his voice down, "Please, my oracle, this is way too much! My investors are ready to supply the Nest for the low price of 5000 credits per nut, it is of my will as a former shrine servant to do my part in keeping the price affordable and not bleed my country dry."


Äala was not surprised, Marchello had shown always a strong connection to his country, even if he is now working in foreign lands. But she felt bad well knowing that he purposely undervalues that thought to be extinct nut the sisters crave so much. She was about to propose a counteroffer when a soft throat clearing caught her attention:


Ignia, waitress
"Apologies for interrupting, March-san, but I should regardless do my work and take an order so that our dear guest doesn't have to starve. M'lady?"


Äala saw herself opposed by a softly burning woman, an Ifrit she noticed with amazement. It was rare to see a guardian of the forge not devoting her life to protecting her area. A being of rock and sapient fire, formed together to appear like a beautiful woman, having reformed her body to simulate the work attire of this establishment, was now about to take her order. She was unable to contain her emotions and the Ignis smiled softly noticing the glances. But she kept a professional attitude while holding a presumingly fireproof tablet waiting for her to choose a meal from the card Ignia provided her with. She briefly studies the card and selects eventually a jug of mountain water and a basknut pie. The Ignis grinned softly, tipped a few buttons sending the order into the kitchen. Not wanting to disturb her boss' doing any longer, the large fiery woman waltzed over to the next table. Äala looked back to Marchello, question painted all over her face:


"Oh, Ignia? Yes, I met her on my research for the Basknut, what is with her?", the hawk looks a bit concerned, and Marchello immediately understands giggling softly, "No worries, she won't burn anything down. Her flames don't desire to harm, which means they only burn if she chooses to do so. Or do you see her wearing fireproof shoes? The carpet would be long gone already otherwise."


Äala nods slowly, she wondered if that Ignis might have something to do with how he found the basknuts, they are of fiery nature after all. But back to their deal:


"That is far too low, Marchi.", a thought appeared in her head, "How about 8.000 credits per basknut and the rights and our official support to promote this restaurant in Do'oshmi, so that our kin can enjoy this love letter to the edgeland culture for themselves. I think this would be to your investors' liking?"


The snow-white owl nods and agrees, his business partners would be satisfied with anything above his offer, that was their part of the deal. Marcello agrees verbally to these conditions and they began chattering instead about the past, over how much ruckus they both caused when he was still her protector. Time went by and the hawk girl's tummy began rumbling, eager to taste the ritual nut finally again, she was barely able to remember the taste, having only tasted twice in her life a piece of the kernel. Finally, the kitchen door swung open and a male night elf carrying her meal stepped out and walked over to the pair.


Álthair Haship, chef
Taking heavy steps, Äala noticed a metal clanking in every impact of the elven's feet, she instinctively looked down his suit noticing metallic grey ankles shining through the red and grey suit, he has seemingly lost both legs of his. Her brief glance of pity got repercussions by the chef with him narrowing his azure eyes:


"Don't give me that look, lady. It is not nice assuming such things around here. Most of us, me included, have chosen to alter ourselves. I am Álthair, former ace in the radiants airforce. Chose to follow my passion of being a cook instead after the radiant had fallen. And a damn good one if I am allowed to brag. Dig in!"


Äala apologized with a slight bow and inspected the dish, the basknut pie. Decorated with a fine seasoning of seeds the fuming hot pie caressed her senses. That smell of the Basknut was stunning, even cooked, mixed and seasoned with many other ingredients the smell of her childhood was entrancing, causing her to briefly relive the first and last time she used the smoke of a Basknut to dive into the Omenseeking visions of the Nest.
She was about to lose herself in memories as Álthair gently placed down an opened basknut on the table, proving their case. She gulped down, the melon-sized molten stone shell, cracked open, the glowing red kernel peeking out of the grey fruit. This was the real deal, looking even healthier than the half-rotten nuts, that got stored as Do'oshmi's national treasure ... they found a living stone forest, it must be the case. She gasped:


"Wow...never have I seen such a great-"


"It is a beauty, right?", Álthair interrupted her, desiring to bolster a bit, "Our carbunclo couple, Ruspia and Rhada, did a great job harvesting them yesterday, choosing only the fully riped ones."


The hawk's beak remained gaping open, she was unable to believe what the elf just said, freshly harvested!? She looked back at Marchello, who returned her gasping with a gentle nudge to fill the open beak with a slice of pie. She felt a sense of proudness making her happy, her childhood friend did not only hold his word, he took that word and inflated it for all to see. Slicing the pie, Äala took a taste of the on the inside red-glow pie. A taste so divine, she was unable to stop enjoying her dish until everything was gone:


"This basknut pie - Divine!"

A divine experience

Founding Date

4986

Type

Corporation, Food Industry

Leader

Marchello Modelli

Parent Organization

Acolytes of the Old

Location

The divine Basknut

Notable Staff

Owner

Marchello Modelli (4944 - )
is the founder of the Divine Basknut and the official owner of the restaurant.
The snow-owl was formerly a shrine servant of the Nest, who went out in a long pilgrimage to find a new source of Basknuts to allow his country to experience true visions once more.
In 4985 he came across people able to help with his search being successful. The expedition ended in him opening the Basknut with his partners acting as investors and suppliers out of the shadows.

Greeter

Jaspaar Reez (4966 - )
worked initially as a bouncer for various nightclubs in Scamall. The black panther with piercing red eyes was a feared sight for ruffians, able to scan and identify them with his artificial eyeballs in an instance. He was the definition of the no-bullshit rule. Modelli recruited him at his lowest, fed up with always acting as the bad guy, he desired a career change, where he can be cordial and nice to the people.
Still a bouncer, but in 'good'.

"Welcome to the divine Basknut marshal Fide, please allow me to set up a perfect evening for our military leader.
Is that of your liking?
(...)
How did I know about your preferences?
I use the same information platform as you do, sir, I know that because you decided to make that info known."

Barkeeper

Kal'dor Gwenn (4962 - )
is a charismatic workaholic with a moody personality. The Frilled Lizard's gallow humour is legendary and part of the mixer deal you get when deciding to pay the bar of the Basknut a visit. To maximise his working prowess he got himself one of these artificial tails with superior movements, able to be used as a third arm. Kal'dor is seen always working, his hands are never restless, the bar is never dirty.


Modelli recruited the lizard after hosting a competition trying to fill in that role. The purple purist made short work with the competition and the rest after the drunken evening is history.

Chef

Álthair Haship (4957 - )
was a former ace of the army, specialized in supersonic scouting. The night elf decided to replace his lower legs with robotic counterparts to minimize the risks of suffering from supersonic speed by altering his body's bloodstream. With the crumbling of marshal Borsello's empire and the switch to repurpose the army to hunt and kill instead for sore protection, Álthair quit, not wanting any blood on his hands.


He honed his cooking passion afterwards, not having to worry about paying the bills for a stretch and became a skilled chef, who enjoyed putting a smile on faces. When the Basknut opened, he saw in the new ingredients a chance for him to create something new, something to build a legacy.

Kitchen personal

Galva (4979 - )
Voltage automaton, who is linked to Álthair. Speedy cook, taking over every cutting task, cleaning, preparing; simply everything tiring. The girl is a bolt running the kitchen's tedious tasks allowing her coworkers to create tasty dishes without worries.

Riano Kaves (4960 - )
The storch is the good soul of the kitchen, able to cook the finest sauces, he is famous for being the final iteration giving every dish his trademark 'kick' pushing the delicacies that get created by the staff far beyond the edge of perfection.
He has developed the guilt pleasure to force Galva at the end of each day to slow down with caring pats and snuggles until the speedster is as relaxed as he is. She might not appreciate it at first but is always thankful afterwards eventually starting to ask him to hold her by herself.

Further employees:

-Zenny Nector - female Wildcat - (4962 - ) - pastry
-Nici McZoar - female Human (4951 - ) - cook - pyromancer

Waiters

Ignia (2730 - )
Was the bored guardian of the subterrain Basknut forest. She was delighted when the expedition crew arrived and immediately tried to bond with the strangers getting out of that isolated badland. The fiery ignis has a charming and captivating aura getting called by regulars the 'Basknut's sun' illuminating the mood of the restaurant whenever she has a little more time.

Hacata Hiss (4860 - )
Elder sister of Raja Hiss, a famous Watcher. The snow elf finds joy in the simple things not trying to achieve one big thing, but many small feats. Being a waitress of the Basknut is only one of her multiple jobs and she loves all of them giving her everything to spread a good mood cracking genuinely funny jokes.
She sometimes performs as a replacement entertainer on the third floor.

Further employees:

-Grata Mey - female human - (4958 - )
-Jesper Kiss - male high elf - (4799 - )
-Opal Histl - female Kobold - (4961 - )

Harvesters

Ruspia (4340 - )
Self-proclaimed older sister of Rhada. The ruby Carbunclo got found venturing around alone with Rhada through the underground stone forest, the location of the new Basknuts. Over centuries have they both developed unique charming personalities without the aid of the link.
Ruspia is the guide of those visiting the subterranean level and directs the harvesting process supplying the divine Basknut.

Rhada (4339 - )
The rhodium carbunclo sparks with a sunny and helpful attitude and loves to be helpful, be it while the harvesting occurs or then and when acting as a waitress in the restaurant.
She has a weakness for Mr Modelli and attempts all the time to get his attention with every method available.