Era of Gourmet: Curry Oasis

Zing Town, a large human settlement close to the border of E.E. and Zest Desert that has the world's largest Spice Mine. However, it doesn't mean the living condition is the best out there. With constant sandstorm, or spice storm as few calls it, few unchecked buildings are literally buried in spices and citizens constantly wears protective garbs to ward off the spices. The entire settlement is in a rather gloomy mood as a rather large spice storm had hit them last week, still having trouble recovering from it...

At the news of the Curry Oasis, people have placed signs claiming that they had encountered the Oasis and will lead some people straight to the ingredient. While others are offering to lend them their Dash Camels, a strange animal that can cross the desert at an unparalleled speed...But it's infamous for its short stamina. One could choose one of these options, or decide to brave the desert on their feet...
Silent yet smirking, White Apron moved across the city alleys with the speed necessary of a thieving opportunist. She wasn't about to turn down as profitable a venture as the Spice Mines were promised to be. She breathed in the desperate air of the city and shuddered with excitement; the thief could smell and feel the longing for the treasures of the mines hanging in the air like an aromatic cloud. The entire city of Zing Town seemed to hinge on those mines. Taking the profit from these people would be a delight unlike any she'd experienced in quite a while.

White Apron was surprised, however, to discover that no other hunters had arrived to make the trip yet today. Leaning her bare, white back covertly against an alley wall, she began to plot how best to reach the caverns herself. "There's nothing free in this world... anyone offering to take stooges to those mines is surely in it for some illicit gain. I'm not going to pay them and I'm certainly not going to pay for a camel..."

Ultimately she decided that the best decision would be to calmly wait for someone else to set off towards the mines, then steal a camel of her own and follow them out there. She figured that with her camel taking her part of the way and the energy of the unfortunate sap she tailed fueling her the rest, she could make it to those mines easily and hoard all of the wonderful spice that she could. Just the idea of leaving a poor traveler shivering cold in the ordinarily burning heat of the day-lit desert was enough to make her giggle with mirth and justify her plan.
Amidst the dull and quiet gloom of Zest Town, there was something that wasn't so dull and quiet. It started off small at first, but slowly the sound began echoing throughout the alleys and streets of the desert settlement. The sound was rhythmic... jazzy... smooth.

Dressed for success in his usual stage clothes, Diamond Sugar Ray toured the town at his own smooth pace, playing his smooth jazz on his smooth crystal sax all the while. Was he possibly disrupting the lives of every person in Zest Town? Of course not. Nothing this smooth could be disruptive.

And, of course, this applied to specific people as well as the general populace. Because Diamond Sugar Ray was touring the town at his own smooth pace instead of rigidly going straight out into the desert, he found a lovely lady lurking in one of the alleyways. Being a smooth man that loved the ladies, Diamond Sugar Ray smoothly stopped playing and lowered his crystal sax as he approached the woman. "Heeey there miss, it's no good for a beautiful girl like yourself to be all alone." said Diamond Sugar Ray his his crisp, smooth baritone voice. "Diamond Sugar Ray, smooth jazzman of the Bishokuya at your service. You don't dress like the locals, so I guess you're here for that smooth Curry Oasis rumor too?" One could ask if it was really necessary, but the answer would always be yes: Diamond Sugar Ray punctuated his smooth question to the sweet doll of a lady with a line of smooth jazz out of his smooth crystal sax.
The mysterious woman's face quickly changed from a smile to a frown as the stranger wandering the roads approached her and spoke up. First of all, she hadn't expected to be noticed in the back-alleys; it was generally in her business to get out of line-of-sight before somebody could come over. Secondly, she was irritated because the man clashed so heavily with the desperate, wanting air that everyone else inside the city projected. The guy seemed to have it so "made in the shade" that it was hard for her to imagine something he could want that she could keep from him. She wouldn't deny that he was attractive, but she couldn't want a guy who looked better off than she did.

As she spoke up, she saw a glimmer of opportunity in the shared curry interest. At the very least, he could end up being the traveler that she overtook and abandoned in the desert. "Me? No, I have no interest in something like that," she replied with a smirk, switching her leaning position from her back to her shoulder. "I take it you do, though, seeing as you're wandering around asking women these kinds of questions... Unless this is an indirect approach, looking for something else," she chuckled, shifting her hips in a way that caused the apron to shift provocatively away from its center and show off more of her lace panties.

Despite her inviting gesture, all she really wanted to do was to find a way to slip off and re-establish her stalking position. Face-to-face this early wasn't a good position for her.
Entering the town barefoot and nearly naked, Guaoul had only one reason to stop in the city and that was to pick up some supplies before setting off. He hadn't heard much of the recent reports other than there being something spicy out in the desert. That would enough to spark his curiosity and bring him all the way to this small shanty. The spice winds didn't bother Guaoul one bit and he practically revelled in the environment. It wasn't nearly hot enough to make him sweat, at least not autonomically. He smiled with a toothy grin, occasionally licking his teeth to sample the spices that encrusted them.

He entered a general store, looking for some compressed canisters of water to bring with him and new bandages. He knew all too well the potential for dehydration but wasn't that worried, though it was better to be safe than sorry. As for the bandages, he was running a little low and a recent fight had forced him to eat through some of his stockpile faster than usual.

After making his purchases, he noticed a sign advertising Dash Camel rentals but scoffed at it and laughed to himself, "...Fuck yo' camels. Ima walk it." as he strode directly into the desert.
"Naw missy, the jazz just takes me where it goes. If it takes me to a lovely lady like you, then that's super smooth." said Diamond Sugar Ray with a tip of his fedora. "But today the jazz is taking me towards the Curry Oasis. The spice is all nice, but there's sweet sugar whistling some smooth tunes out there just waiting to be put into the jazz."

Without even thinking that his words possibly needed translation, Diamond Sugar Ray raised his crystal sax once more and began walking away from the cool lady. Before he actually started playing, though, Diamond Sugar Ray added one last thing. "Just listen for the jazz if you need to find me, sweet thing." And indeed, the jazz was out there to be listened to, as Diamond Sugar Ray immediately proceeded to start playing his crystal sax again as he marched off towards the desert.

The camel renter tried to ask Diamond Sugar Ray for his business, but the jazz spoke for him. Dash Camels weren't smooth. What was smooth? Diamond Sugar Ray's sweet sugar skis. He switched his tempo to a new song, and flair or fanfare, the soles of his shoes hardened into smooth sugar crystals. The smooth diamond surfaces extended past his toes and heels a bit, giving Diamond Sugar Ray the classy effect of having sand skis on his feet. As his jazz continued to cruise through the air, Diamond Sugar Ray proceeded to slide his smooth way out into the desert, unknowingly on the same tracks as a very sweaty and not-smooth man.