Timeline

The major stops on one long, winding expedition.

In-world dates are given in "Boils" (B) — the Macaroni calendar counts from the mythic First Boil. All entries are in-world fiction.

Hatch-day, ~62 B

Penne is "hatched" (as pasta children say) in Al Dente, the youngest of a loud and loving clutch.

~74 B — The apprenticeship

Apprenticed to Cartographer Cannelloni. Draws dragons in the margins. Customers delighted; master despairing.

~79 B — The shepherds' supper

Lost near the Boiling Springs, Penne tells the First Boil to a shepherd family and discovers his calling.

~84 B — The bookstall page

Finds the water-stained clue to the Lost Recipe in Little Italy. The hunt begins and never quite ends.

~90 B — The Soggy Years storytelling walk

Walks the flooded roads telling stories at every shelter. Pastalia remembers.

~101 B — Meets Ricky

A 13-year-old rigatoni becomes his expedition assistant and most devoted audience of one.

Today

Still hunting, still telling, still late for dinner. The map room grows. The compass still spins. The sauce still sings.