《War on Chips》


 Prologue: Spy

    The castle walls stood tall in the moonlight. The territory was the oldest in history and the strongest throughout mankind, led by generations of war between countries. If his family and friends knew he was in the Nacho Cheese territory they would exile him from theirlineage. And If the officials caught him...he would get banished from the Kingdom of Cool Ranch. That was a risk he was willing to take.


    He couldn''t last forever staying hidden within the slums of the city. Pulling his hood over his head he continued towards the inn he had slept the past three nights. Splashing through puddles of mud as he marched through the darkness. The fires all extinguished by merchants and sellers who bartered throughout the day.The roads were dark with only the moon lighting his path.


    Being the only Cool Ranch to enter the city walls since the flavored wars 200 years ago he was always tense. His kingdom wasn''t as poor as the Ranchero Kingdom who struggled to keep their walls protected. No, he was from a poor family of farmers south of the Cool Ranch Kingdoms walls. Barely being able to scrap by which had forced him to leave his land in search of riches to bring to his family.


    He was by no means an adventurer. He didn''t have the royal seasonings like the Tier 1 Ranches who lived in the upper walls of their kingdom. He was a Tier 3 who couldn''t even defend himself against a sword. He relied on his wit and trickery alone which had gotten him past the border. It was the reason he survived countless nights with no money and hunger that clawed at his stomach.


    He had decided to walk along the outer walls to make a map of the slums leading up to the border of the castle. Fewer people during the night to run into who would realize he wasn''t a Nacho. It had gotten dark, so dark that he had to turn back before he could finish his layout of the slums.


    Pulling the hood tighter around his head he pushes the inn door open. Laughter floated through the room as he walked towards thecounter. His stomach growling he gave his best smile before talking to the innkeeper.


    She was a middle-aged woman, divorced and from his understanding for a good reason. She was bitter but it hadn''t stopped him from kissing her ass for a room or a hot meal.


    "Hey Cheddar looking lovely as usual, what''s today special? Anything good?"


    "Oh, it''s you." She says frowning. "Today''s special is queso sauce with barley bread."


    "That sounds delicious, the usual price right I''ll take that at the corner table in the back."


    Scowling she snatches the coin before walking away. Sitting in his usual seat he ran his eye''s over his map. The layout was almost complete and soon he''d finish and begin his task.


    Sneaking into the Nacho Castle wasn''t an easy task. For him who had never been in the upper levels of a city, it left a knot in his stomach. He was after the seasoning that all Tier 1 Nachos had, with it he could sell it in his country and no longer live in poverty. Of course getting passed the guards and finding it in the castle wouldn''t be an easy feat.


    "Blue your meals ready."


    Looking up a familiar bright face smiled at him. The server Feta daughter of Cheddar brought over his meal. Her orange hair spun in a single ponytail that traveled down her back which he admitted suited her. Her timid personality being the reason she was the only one who knew his real name.


    "Thanks again Feta, this looks good." The smell was nauseating as it traveled up his nose. Being in the Nacho Kingdom he hadn''t realized they used cheese with everything. He had eaten enough cheese to the point it made him want to vomit. Of course, the locals loved the endless cheese so he had played the part.


    "No problem Blue, you should stop eating with your hood on at the table. Some people have started to complain about it." Laughing she walks away avoiding eye contact with the other customers.


    Of course, it was strange for him to eat with a hood on. He never took it off unless he was safe in his room away from prying eyes. Every Nacho had a distinct characteristic, their orange hair. His was a deep blue being from a different land.


    Simply put they would imprison him on sight if they caught him even if it made him look suspicious it was a necessary risk. He noticed the eyes watching him as he struggled to swallow his meal and headed to his room.


    Unclothing, he falls into the bed staring out the window at the moon. "Only one more day."


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

 Chapter 1: Do you have the Spice? Part I

    The streets in the slums reeked, old cheese drifted through the dirt streets as Blue walked through the road passing all the vendors who beckoned him to their stalls trying to sell cheap wares. He had woken up early to avoid the traffic of the crowds and to finish his map of the slums only to run into a horde of Mice men raiding the run down buildings for homeless Nachos.


    The Mice men are hated by the Nacho Cheese Empire and every other territory they have an alliance with. Of course, the Mice are allies of any Empire not involving cheese and are often used as assassins to eliminate competitors within the Nacho alliance. The Mice Men had mistaken him for a Nacho and tried to devourhim.


    Luckily he had escaped at the cost of an elderly Nacho who wasn''t fast enough to get away. The crunches of his death to forever haunt his dreams. He shivered as the images flashed through his mind.


    "Hey, Blue what are you doing up so early?


    Turning around he''s greeted by Feta carrying a bag full of food, "Oh hey Feta, just out getting some fresh air before I start work, are you shopping for your mom?"


    "Yeah before the customers wake up we need to finish preparing breakfast so I have to go." Smiling she begins to scamper off, before shouting in the distance, "Don''t get to much fresh air, you might get stale."


    Chuckling to myself I look up at the store sign, Crispy Needs.There was a store in his Empire with the same name but an entirely different meaning. His mom had caught him and his older brother coming out of the store and never looked at them the same way again.


    Entering the store he''s greeted by an elderly man with large round glasses sitting at the counter, "Hello there can I help you find something?"


    His smile was warm, unlike Cheddar who repulsed anyone who laid their eyes on her. "Yes, I was wondering if you had anyAlouette Sweet Powder,I''m an alchemist and Ijust ran out, I heard you sell it here."


    This powder is the spiciest cheese in the continent, he was told this was the only place to obtain it in the slums territory. It would be expensive, and him being broke and draped in a hood and long gown didn''t help the bartering he would have to do, but it was a necessary step if he was going to make it into Tier one.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    "Ah, I''m not sure it''s quite expensive, how much of it do you need exactly?"


    "Not a lot just a few kilos you do have that here, right?" The old man sips from his mug before adjusting his glasses.


    "You know son I''ve been in this business a long time now and I can smell a nark a mile away!" Grabbing his mug he smashes it into Blue''s face before darting into the back room.


    "AAAHHHHHHH!" Screaming blue clutches his face while rolling on the floor.


    Wiping the hot cheddar soup and glass out of my face I run to the back room anger pulsing through my body. "And here I thought you were a nice guy."Pushing through the back door Blue stumbles into the dark drafty room, frantically looking for the old man.


    "Where did that crazy bastard go?" Walking through the room he realized he was in the storagecloset. "Maybe theAlouette Sweet Powder is here.... he owes me anyway."Looking through the shelves Blue rummages through the dark room to no avail.


    "He did say it was expensive maybe he keeps it somewhere hidden."The room was dark and hard to see in, looking around it was disorganized long before he arrived, "it looks like someone has already raided this place."


    Turning to leave he notices a small light from behind the shelf in the cornerof the room, "Oh you sneaky old bastard." Moving the shelf a stairway lit by torches spiraled down into the ground. As he started to descend the draft became cooler as the flames started to flicker. "What kind of old man has a secret chamber in his store!"


    Reaching the bottom he could hear soft laughter coming from the room, "Leave me to die, and expect to get my precious powder! I''ll show him... I''ll show them all!!"


    "Leave him to die?" He didn''t know anyone from this Empire but the people at the inn. "Wait.... he can''t be" Thinking back the old man look familiar but he couldn''t quite remember from where he recognized him.


    Peeking around the corner a shadow of the man appears in the dimly lit room, crawling in the room the old man continued to mumble to himself as he frantically mixed chemicals, his back exposed as he hovered over a long table.


    "This is my chance if I knock him out now I can get theAlouette Sweet Powder and get out of here." Settling his resolve Blue grabs an unlit candlestick from the opposite table, as he approaches the man his murmuring grows louder.


    Swinging the stick he strikes the old man on the head, with a large "THUD" he falls forward onto the table before he droops to the floor. "Ahhh...revenge is always sweet, now where''s thatAlouette Sweet Powd...e..r." Stopping as he glanced at the old mans face his heart thundered in his chest.


    "Aren''t you suppose to be dead?" Lying on the ground was the homeless man who had been eaten by the mice men...how was he still alive?