Whisky and Woes

Climbing the inside of the chimney proved much easier the second time around. The Cook even seemed to enjoy the whimsical entrance. He laughed and joked the whole way up. However, as soon as we entered the the Wellness Center, his attitude changed to annoyance. He repeatedly shouted "Where is that bastard?!" and "I'll kill him!" To no one's surprise, Todd did not greet us with open arms and a smile. In fact he didn't come out at all. It was clear that Todd was hiding. Still, I took Olivia and the Cook to Todd's office. It had the same dirty, cramped feeling as before. The only difference was that Todd was missing this time. "Where is he?" The Cook growls. "I don't know." Olivia says. "When will he be back?" "I don't know." She repeats, but with more agitation in her voice. "You want to look around elsewhere?" I ask. The Cook does not respond. He sees a half empty bottle of whisky on the table. "No, that won't be necessary." "You sure?" The Cook doesn't respond. He instead rummages through drawers and cabinets. "You sure?" I repeat. He still does not respond. He continues to rummage until he finds three shot glasses. He places them on the table directly on top of the blueprint. "Oh, I'm sure. Right now I know this is the best place to be." He pours us each a shot. We say \cheers, clink our glasses, and down the shots in one gulp. It was strong whisky. It burned like nothing I ever tasted, and I'm sure I winced while drinking it because the Cook snickered to himself. "So, your place disappeared?" Olivia asks. The Cook nods. "Did it just vanish in thin air?" "Don't know. I went out for a walk one day, and then when I cam back I couldn't find it. I couldn't find anybody. I couldn't even find my garden. You know how bad that is?" "Does it mean people will go hungry?" I ask. "It means they'll starve." He clarifies. "How does a whole village disappear?" Olivia wonders. "I don't know, but ever since this building and the clouds came in I can't see anything." "What if we get rid of the clouds?" I suggest. The Cook shakes his head. "I think we can only get rid of the clouds by getting rid of the building, and I certainly don't want to blow it up." "Maybe we don't have to." Olivia replies. "What are you talking about?" He asks. "The building is tethered to the clouds by an anchor. If we found a way to cut the anchor perhaps the building will float away, and the clouds will come with it." The Cook's face suddenly becomes more relaxed. "That just might work."