The Will-O-Wisp Cafe can only be found by accident. If you are a fan of travel, you're sure to hear about it eventually. Just don't expect any consistency of detail.
Some say the quick service restaurant's eerie lights flicker on a distant mountainside of the Ashlume Mountains. Other travelers will swear it's in the Sunken Sea, glittering like salvation on the hot sand of the endless desert. Many more will argue that it's only in the forest, linked to fog.
Then there are the niche opinions. Wander long enough and you'll meet a fair few who've been there more than once. That is, if folks who trade stories over campfires are to be trusted about such things. Some say the correct mind frame is needed to find the cafe's doors.
Heartbreak, intoxication, fear; you name it. There are perhaps innumerable stories about Will-O-Wisp Cafe, and they only share one detail in common. The food.
You will find a line leading up to it, flickering entities behind it's expanse dishing plates of food out. They say when it is your turn, you will get to pick from an assortment of unrecognizable but tantalizing dishes.
No matter what your confused mind lands on, legend says it will be the best meal of your life.
Oh! The stories that are told of the offerings at Will-O-Wisp Cafe!
If you arrive with a fierce hunger, your eyes will land on hearty selections aplenty. Rich broths filled with tender ingredients that own no names in any dialect. Hunks of bread filled with strange flowers, accompanied by fragrant pitchers of what seem to be water.
It's said the food is so good that you may begin to feel delirious.
The Will-o-wisps have perfected the art of snack making. Bards and healers across the realm have remarked on this skill, as the snack can be the most beneficial deployment in a crisis.
Although you may be thanking your lucky stars as you bite into the creations of these mystical creatures, soon you may find that you curse the day it happened. No chef, nor baker, nor street cart vendor can recreate these eats.
Men pine to companions found on the road, expressing a consuming desire to visit again.
Yes, you'll hear plenty of stories of snacks that were so good, that they plague the ones who enjoyed them. Bites that are crispy, creamy, sweet with a kick... Many speak of forever craving a food that they know can never be found again.
Carrying the same distinct texture and vague smell, travelers who were rushed along the serving line and ended up with this fish claim it is heavenly. Yet, they can never compare it to a fish of this world.
They say there are flat and stretchy breads incorporated, odd plant materials as a wrapping, or sometimes doughy pods.
For those who will argue to the bitter end that Will-O-Wisp Cafe is found in the desert, the water like substance becomes a focus of the memory.
Although few visit the cafe without enjoying some of the invigorating liquid that centers each table in a metallic pitcher, those from the desert slug it down. Tales are told of parched mouths reconstituted in the dining area of the restaurant, and the oddities that come after.
Don't be surprised if you find yourself at The Will-O-Wisp Cafe, and things begin to get even stranger. Your plate may begin to shift, become something your eyes cannot comprehend.
You may find that your hand cannot stop reaching for the pitcher as you eat, its scent reminding you of everything you truly love. No account of its taste is the same, yet there is some sort of emotion that comes across in each telling.
The more a storyteller remembers drinking, the wackier their recollection will be.
It's not uncommon at all the hear that someone does not remember leaving the establishment. They don't even want to talk about that moment. As you ask, they will remember another detail about what they saw inside. By the time they complete the account, you likely will not remember what you asked them at all...
This is my take on Worldbuilding Prompt #700 - Quick food. When I joined Hive, I was writing short stories about characters in my novel to help me develop them. I think I joined the world building community sometime around then, but I've never actually posted here.
In the world I built, most quick meals would be found in a tavern. It was fun to think of something a little different... As a lurker of this community, I often find new angles to consider from the daily/weekly prompts here. It was fun to finally write for one, thanks for the inspiration! 😎
I enjoyed the story, but my eye kept getting drawn to the funky-looking food. Especially the rice in the first pic, which turned out looking an awful lot like fresh brain...or at least brain coral.
Needless to say, when I finally got to the bottom and found the explanation of why the photos are as they are, I was immensely relieved. Trippy indeed!
Thank you for this fun little jaunt into what I'd say must be a "cafe of requirement;" so-named after the room of requirement in the Harry Potter books.
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Ahahahahaha I was thinking as I edited them that folks would think they are AI or something... They really did come out SO bizarre !LOLZ
If you're curious- the first is curry, then bacon wrapped jalapenos, then spring rolls, and lastly stir-fry lol 😂
Cafe of requirement, YES! I love love love HP, and that comparison makes me smile! 😍 Thanks for checking out my story 🤗
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Yummy and strangely attractive. I wish to find the doors to this café some day !LOLLZ
May I be a bit of a nitpicker? Thank you.
I don't quite get this sentence.
And ... to hear?
Great storytelling. Please, we want more :)
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My idea was that the "water" and general atmosphere intoxicate the diners, so many leave in a euphoric state. Perhaps this is to cloak the location, or maybe Will-o-wisps are just mischievous like that hehe
Looking over it now, I wrote that bit kinda dodgy !LOLZ
Thank you so much for this fantastic comment, I'm really glad you liked it!! And thank you again for asking that question, it helped me to see something that needed to be cleaned up if I were to submit this to a publisher. 🤗
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This is brilliant - thank you ! The idea of a cafe that turns up when you most need it, but can't be found just by looking for it is fun. I might have to steal it and pop the place into my D&D world as a recurrent location 😁
Thank you so much! I'm flattered that you'd want to add it into your D&D world, I'm a big fan of D&D 😁😎!
What version do you DM? My family heirloom is a dungeon, my dad started it off of the OG greyhawk when he was still a youngin, and it's grown and grown since then.
That has very simple stats and operates on a 12-die system for the most part. I haven't played in years, but I sure hope I get to again soon someday! There is so much history and lore in that dungeon, I think of it often... Oops, I'm rambling about D&D again 😂 !LOLZ
Thanks for the awesome comment! 😁
I mostly run D&D 3.5 these days, but the setting is pretty system-agnostic. It started off just as AD&D was launched, then went to 2nd Edition, skipped 3rd & 4th (a lucky escape....), and currently works in 3.5 and 5th Ed. As long as parties using different editions are in different bits of the world and never directly meet, it works fine 😀 But I always make sure that rumours of what each party does reach any others, and what they do can affect each other.
I love the idea of a family heirloom dungeon 😁 Makes me think I should train someone up to run mine after I'm gone so all the work doesn't evaporate.
I've been running Argull for... umm, nearly 44 years on and off, so it's got quite a bit of lore (as well as so many crazy events that have happened to characters). When I pulled out the world map for one party a little while ago, I was asked how old it was. When I told them, one of the girls was "like yeah, that's twice as old as me...."
Also: rambling about D&D is good ! You should set up a game and find some players to dip into that dungeon of yours 😀
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You know, the older I get the less food 'wows' me. I could do with some vouchers and a magic carpet ride to a place like this.
Ahahahahaha! With your love for travel, maybe you will find it one day 😉💚
Wow, this is beautiful 😍. A place where you'll get intoxicated by the presence of food then cursed because you can never find the taste elsewhere!
That's brilliant, and I did have fun reading. My eyes kept getting bigger and bigger until the end. Haha.
Hahaha! After writing this, I'm totally unsure if I'd like to visit there or not 😂 !LOLZ
Thanks for the awesome comment, I'm so glad you liked it 🤗💚 !LUV
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Lol, never say never. The human's is filled with uncertainty towards some things.
You are welcome 😁.
This is such a cool idea. It has a vaguely fae feel to it and that sliiiightly sinister undertone like it's hiding a darker reason for getting folks to eat there. Absolutely fantastic, thanks for writing this!
It's fantastic to hear what kind of vibe this gave you- that was totally what I was going for! 🎉😄
Thank you so much for all the awesome prompts you write! I'm coming out of a stint of writer's block and jumping back into novel writing, the prompts really help with freewriting and plot advancement! Sometimes you just need to think from a new point, and it all starts flowing haha
Cheers 🤗
That's exactly what I hope for my prompts! Glad to hear that they are helping you!
I think it is true that it can only be found by accident
I love to make research of restaurants and so on but never heard of this
Their dishes look so good
Nice one!
I'm glad you had fun checking it out, 😁 thank you for stopping by and commenting!
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