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So the story goes....

Not long after Touching, three Candidates - two friends, Okassis the trader and Sovann the seaholder, and Inaari the Cotholder's daughter - began debating the way to make the best cup of klah. Okassis, having traveled all over, claimed that he knew how to make a sort of "klah with a kick" - whereas the resident kitchen girl was sure that her klah was already as good as it got, despite the boys' having already tried and stuck up their noses at her mix. They decided to settle the dispute like civilized folk, and hold a contest at breakfast-time the following day to let the folk of the Weyr decide.

Rumors had begun circulating rapidly among the Candidates (fueled in large part thanks to our own Nandeli "the Nose"), and in the fertile ground of anxiety and anticipation in the Lower Caverns, the competition quickly grew into a topic of much speculation. In the course of one day, the excitement even inched its way to the rest of the Weyrfolk - there's no one except-Okassis-himself that doesn't like a good cup of klah in the morning, after all, and what if there really was a better cup than what they were getting served?

Between the rumors and the active recruitment efforts of the competitors, a number of taste-testers among the Candidates found the prospect intriguing enough to put their taste buds on the line; and, more surprising, a few dragonriders as well. There's rumors that even the Candidatemaster himself will be participating, to show his support before the upcoming Hatching! For a simple contest, in the span of a single day, this sure has caused a lot of buzz within the Weyr; but would the secret "kick" be worth it, giving Sovann and Okassis the attention and respect they craved? Was young Inaari, little-noticed and under-appreciated, going to get her chance to shine with her practice-perfected klah? Would the kitchen staff chortle when the regular klah won out over all the upstarts? And what about....

TUNE IN TO FIND OUT, NOW, ON A VERY SPECIAL EPISODE OF "ALL THE WEYRS OF PERN": THE KLAH-OFF!

The Klah:

Pot #1 This klah is rich and flavorful, but strong enough to jump-start any taste buds into wakefulness. There's a myriad of tastes in it - heavily tasting of cinnamon and hazelnut, lighter hints of chocolate, snatches of coffee beneath the rest.

Pebbles in dish: o o o o


Pot #2 There's a unique flavor about this pot that's hard to put a name to. Earthy, if anything. It's a bit thick, and although unusually light on spice, there's a subtle complexity to its flavor that would elude even the most discerning of klah connoisseurs. More grit than usual is at the bottom of the pot, but this doesn't much wind up in cups to affect the taste.


Pebbles in dish: empty

Pot #3 This klah tastes... fishy. Very, very fishy. Not even delicately, "oh that's strange, there's an aldersmoked salmon hint", but it's like sucking down hot fish klah.
Bitter and black, hot and stimulating, tasting faintly of cinnamon and a bit of cocoa, faintly powdery. This pot tastes simple, not that simple's bad; more like a homebrew, that warm pot a wife might have heated up for her husband before he went to earn a living.
Pebbles in dish: o o

"Got it," Okassis agreed, turning to start filling cups. His attention was divided, though, just as interested in the crowds as in his work. Anytime that someone got too close, he'd grin and greet them, use that Trader swagger and charm to get them to buy in - like this young lad that was eying their layout with a proper curiosity....

"Hey there, you got a few seconds? We've got a bit of a contest going on here, and maybe you could help us settle it, eh?" Okassis asked Kellar, using that special boom that lifelong hawkers naturally acquired. "There's some freemarked klah in it for you if you'll give these three pots a taste for us, and vote the best!"

Perfect! Okassis grinned, watching as Nan clambered up in order to do what she did best. There was nothing that he couldn't appreciate about her flair for showmanship - there were more than a couple Holds he'd been selling in where he knew he could've used someone with lungs like hers to move goods. He didn't have any doubts: With the Nose on the case, they'd be pulling testers like flies to honey!

Flashing a grin towards Sovann, he continued the work of setting out hot mugs of klah for any brave taste-testers, taking care not to spill any. The last thing he needed was to cement his status as a klutz in front of Nan, after all. One was bad enough, thanks just the same.

They were all very good? That must be a mistake, but Inaari stoutly refused to try the boys' klah until everything was said and done. And even then, she wasn't quite sure she wanted to try theirs anyway. It looked somewhat dangerous. Watching the stone go into the bowl for the normal klah, she tried to keep a straight face.

"Thank you for the compliment! And for voting, it's rather important to us." And it was! If she won, she might permanently be affixed to the morning shift, and that daily freedom was something that Inaari craved even more than recognition from the other Weyrfolk.

Pulling a bench closer to the table, she considered a bucket of water...and a good deal of cotton for her ears if those two were going to screech like that all day.

The dark haired girl had come to the event to stem off the growing feeling of bordom that had lingered about her all day long. It was one of those days that no matter what she came up with for entertainment didnt seem to work. She had even done her chores today! The day just seem to druge on.

When word of this 'Klah off' reached her it barely perked her intrest but after awhile milling about the weyr aimlessly she had found herself joining in. It was then that a most devious thought had crossed her mind. Boys agains girls eh? Thats how she saw it anyway.

The slender girl wandered around, becoming just another face in the crowd. Quietly she made her way to the kitchen, acting as if it was the most natural thing in the world. That was the best way to get around with out having questions asked after all. Look as if you where on an errand. After all wasnt strange to see a canidate in the kitchens.

Slipping inside she began to look for something that would turn the tables....