The oven of Suzon's Kitchenette is part of a Voodoo system supporting navigating the Suzon, more or less independantly of winds and streams. But getting it to work assumes that our friends Young Pirates, first, discover it, second, manage to operate it!

How to « choose » an appropriate Voodoo recipe?

Assuming that our Young Pirates understood anything about it, let us start by reviewing the various possible sources of information regarding the proper use of the Kitchenette, knowing that no user's manual is available directly in the Kitchenette itself. Hence, we have, the easiest to find, the recipe out of the pockets of Delgado. The only little problem being that it is probably also the most erroneous!

If one is indeed the Game Master, and no Player who « has got lost » here without his or her own carelessness knowing it, one will find further in the text some details about a recipe which the Governor holds in his possession: the Suzon was his Ship and, assuming our friends guessed about the Voodoo properties of the Kitchenette at least partly, to think that the Governor necessarilly has some data on the topic is not crazy… That said, this is not the kind of paper he would have let lying on his desk just like that! Hence, it's no easy stuff to find but probably a much better source of information.

Last, but not least, there remains the possibility to think that the Swamp's Witch – Brrrr ! Shivering! – could well be the best source of information, no doubt her being an experienced practitioner of all sorts of Voodoo things! On the other hand, one may guess that such an information will be difficult to negociate, unless one manages to make an optimal use of the Medallion, while not forgetting to use a lot of diplomacy!

No way, we'll have to try!

The recipe from Delgado's piece of paper is not very exciting. But what could be an exciting Voodoo recipe? Delgado himself will admit, if he's in the mood for it – and it must be one of his good days upon that! – that he himself never had the occasion to test his recipe since he never had all the ingredients and that he could never again leave the Suzon after the fatal night; he doesn't look so much convinced but it is maybe also because he doesn't want at all to leave the place where the Medallion with a horse-like head is immersed…

The recipe - which, on a successful Roll versus Rituals and Maledictions, one can identify as a variation of the Navigator's Pot – looks like that:

« Prepare and mince three big onions, two well juicy carots and a handfull of wild thyme. Put the whole to boil a few minutes in a big pot of sea water in which one has mixed a big mug of rum vinegar. Put to wait out of fire and open the Key and the Door.

(Some elements of the recipe obviously require, you'll admit that dear Game Master, some more notions of Voodoo Ceremonies to avoid a potentially big trouble!)

Soak in the somewhat cooler stock a dried chicken leg, three pickled lizard eyes and a small dozen of dragonflies wings crystallised in beet sugar. Let macerate a whole night – which you will spend in prayers to Agweh to avoid a big trouble ahead! – and, in the morning dew, have an Agweh Mount filter the juice and singe the other ingredients and a Grog diluted in its own volume of kerozene before you add the juice again to put out the fire. Put back in the oven to simmer. At the boiling point, add a swig of mackerel's bile while invoking ‘Ridin' Baron Sturdy’ » (A way to invoke the Great Z… Lwa without naming it because it is really not advisable!)

Indeed, not doing so would immediately lead the Ship to sink like a « Titanic »! (typical reference of Ol'Salts of which the meaning has long been lost): « A brownish smoke must then come out, up and most importantly go away through the chimney and in that moment a sort of magical wind will start to blow and you'll set sail for where the winds of your desire will carry you! »

Errors and accessories

Upon a few little mistakes, which change everything in the result, that which the recipe does not mention is that, in order to bring the whole to proper operation, a Highly Voodoo-Adapted Compass (HVAC…) has to be inserted in the helm…

Actually, that version of the recipe indeed produces a magical wind but huge black stormy clouds come quickly with it and it starts almost immediately to rain slimy frogs like curtains, that until the oven in the Kitchenette be stopped or that il n’y ait plus d’ébullition dans le chaudron. That said, even then, if the « HVAC » is put in the right place, the wind blows in the right direction… Better than nothin' for a lan'lubber!

Without « HVAC », it is impossible to appropriately « translate » one's wishes in navigation understandable instructions for the Voodoo system, which will thus sail at its own will, that is to say completely at random: do you ever heard of browniesian movement? Anyway, you'll know it!

At last, or as well as a first pre-requisite, it wouldn't be so useless to know word by wordthe famous invocation to « Baron Sturdy horse-ridin' » to avoid any serious trouble, there too, ranging up to « Titanic » effects; but the recipe does not give any clue to the said invocation…

So, what can be done? Our Young Pirates may well come into a dead-end or even much worse but it is exactly the reason why we created the whole stuff, so let's hope it'll be of some use! Things could develop slightly better by using the recipe from the Governor's Treasure… It is indicated there that mackerel's bile creates bad side-effects and that it can be mildered by mixing it to… fermented turnip juice! Indeed, the latter one brings an earthen element which reduces the density of frogs and, reminding of land, ensures that the mixture will lead the Ship to another coast… Which wouldn't otherwise absolutely be guarranted?! One will ask us? It is quite likely that the complete answer goes: « It is absolutely not to be taken for granted! The author of the recipe can in no way be hold for responsible from the consequences of its use… »

Moreover, that second recipe is annotated from the very Governor's hand who clearly indicated that one has to place the « HVAC » in its housing on the helm before letting the Voodoo soup boil. No clue is available in this recipe either about the text of the invocation to « Baron Sturdy horse-ridin' » of which one can truly doubt if one can get it…

Let us note before we go on that the Governor has in his possession (in his Treasure) almost all the dried preservable required ingredients for the Voodoo soup… Up to the kerozene, which is worthy of noting, as long as our Young Pirates haven't found the almost empty bottle aboard the Suzon… In any case, it is advisable to try to get more, « just in case »…

« Baron Sturdy horse-ridin' »

The invocation to « Baron Sturdy horse-ridin' » is powerful in many circumstances, as well in the frame of Hattean Voodoo as in that of the Voodoo of the Great Z…-Lwa; however, the latter is a difficult and mysterious craft, hence only a few know about the said invocation. And it is actually nowhere written in any organised book, only in the note books of some crazy or ignoring people, having no care for the number of their remaining days, for you cannot expect to live long practicing such a Voodoo…

Even if one cannot know it is possible to guess or to try one's own chance: yet unexpected, it is a fact that the Swamp's Witch knows that invocation… (And the Governor as well but here's the question how to get it from him?!)

The whole of the problem lies in finding a suitable argumentation to negociate the formula with her. And to those who would intend to act like Pedro Delgado did, beware! They should have understood that they have no chance by that way! As for the remaining, also negociating the recipe of the Voodoo mishmash for navigating the Suzon is still theoretically possible but it makes the whole negociation package quite big in total: that may result in neverending cleaning and cooking tasks for the Witch! (Or even worse as we discuss somewhere else…)

To close the topic of the Kitchenette and the Voodoo cooking, with or without the right formula, with or without the right recipe, there is no way out of a strict respect of the instruction to avoid a disaster and a Roll versus Power + Strange Voodoo Things will have to be successful. In case of a Failure, either Normal or Critical, whatever where the instructions, potential consequences can be more or less funny and / or dangerous and / or disastrous… We leave it up to your imagination, friend Game Master, using that which we already wrote, hoping for some surprises to remember for our little Crew in the Blade!

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