A rather minor ritual for a bit of harmless fun.
This ritual requires:
Nine coupons for the same sort of food, expired at least year ago within the same four months,
Wooden chopsticks from take-out,
One container from delivery, cleaned, with a tin or foil being preferable,
A fridge,
A timer, and
Matches.
The coupons may be from different establishments, provided they are for the same sort of edible—Pizza Hut coupons work just fine with coupons for bake-at-home no-name frozen pizzas from the local grocery store, just as Burger King and Mcdonald’s work just fine, if you’re after a cheeseburger. It isn’t limited to fast food—if you can get enough of any sort of coupon, it can work, provided it’s for food or drink.
Stick the coupons together, licking them like stamps to do so. Set this bundle in the delivery container, and set it on fire by touching the burning tip of one chopstick to it.
Note: If you should wish to make a specific order, from what freedom the coupons if use give you, you may write it on a paper napkin, wrap it about the coupon bundle before burning it, and tie it in place with a straw wrapper. There’s nothing wrong with the random selection, though—though your bibliomancer, allergic to nuts, will probably be quite put out while the rest of the party chows down on cashew chicken.
Again, I leave charge cost up to you.
It’s harmless fun. Except it’s easy to do, and everyone uses the same pizza place. And word has got out about the ritual: everyone is doing it, most thinking it only works with that place. The ritual is done, and a meal appeals — one just made at the place. They’re having to fire staff for incompetency and theft (once, even ‘industrial espionage’ when the manager snapped entirely). But the ritual keeps on working: makes you wonder who hates that place so much, doesn’t it?
Free magical food, why not? Sounds like a great way to really mess with someone so long as you can guesstimate where the food is coming from. But perhaps it could be used to locate people? If you know someone is using the ritual and where the food is coming from, maybe they could be tracked. The ritual could leave some kind of residue, magical or otherwise.
Alcar: Infinity Pikachu, who encouraged this to be posted, says she quite likes your scenario for a hook. I’ve gotta agree.
VictoriaGothic: Good point.
I was imagining the food not really coming from anywhere, this being one of the weak little cheat code of reality rituals, but I do like these potenial consequences.