Chapter 25: Chapter 23 – Wedding Feast

"Contrary to popular belief, orcs are surprisingly strictly monogamous once they are married, despite the observed open and freely-shared promiscuity unmarried orcs tend to display. Married orcs are best compared to wolves: once they chose a mate, they mate for life, and only death will part them. It is probably for this reason that orcs had no word for the concept of 'Divorce'." - Adalbert Cunningham, author of "A Treatise on Nomadic Orcish Culture."

Cal watched with curiosity as the orcs busied themselves with preparations for the feast. The sacrificial auroch was expertly butchered, yet in a curious manner that left the fatty layer under its skin and the general shape of its torso untouched. Its entrails were carefully washed, and processed into several large pots of stew with various herbs, along with the cracked-open bones of the cattle.

 

Meanwhile, Cal noticed as the orcs rubbed spices and herbs on the insides of the auroch carcass, before a layer of its meat was stuffed back inside, followed by a layer of hot stones, heated in the bonfires, then another layer of spices and herbs, this time with cuts of fat, more meat, and more hot stones. Instead of meat, the last layer stuffed into the carcass was the auroch's de-horned and skinned head, already rubbed with a mixture of spices and herbs in rendered fat. The open belly of the carcass was then sewn shut, the whole carcass wrapped completely in clean leaves, before it was lowered into a prepared pit lined at the bottom with hot stones. More heated stones were lined up so they surrounded the carcass while soil were packed in to keep everything in place, until the wrapped auroch carcass was covered by a layer of hot stones and then buried with soil.

 

Cal recognized what they did, for the hot stones and the pit together would create what roughly amounted to an oven, where the meats would be left to bake until ready. As a form of appetizers while they waited for the meat to cook properly - at least an hour or two by Cal's estimate -, platters full of fruits and cheeses were served to the tables, while those busy with the meal preparation simply snacked on the same as they worked.

 

The fruits were mostly a mixture of various berries - likely foraged for -, as well as a small selection of likely imported preserved fruits, of which Cal was particularly fond of the sliced peaches preserved in honey. The cheeses came in several types - she assumed they milked all their herd, and likely just made cheese out of each kind of milk, or even mixed some -, many of which were completely foreign to her. She quite enjoyed most of them, but to her surprise the one that truly tickled her taste buds was a soft cheese with white rind and many bluish-green veins visible on its cut surface. Blue cheeses weren't something she was fond of normally, but the pungent, yet rich and nutty flavor of this particular cheese coupled with its melt-in-your-mouth texture really struck her fancy, and she quickly polished off a small wheel of said cheese while she had a chat with chief Bogdan and his wife.

 

Some of the recent news they shared with her matched and confirmed her own suspicions. Incidents caused by a cult of human supremacists were on the rise in Ezram, and many orcish tribes has steered their caravans away after one last trade in preparation for the winter months, as their intent was to stay out of their neighbor's internal issues, and they planned to reassess the situation come next year. Cal decided that was indeed a wise course of actions, and her own planned course would have her pass the winter in the orclands anyway.

 

They were distracted from the conversation when the newlywed couple emerged out of the wagon they had retreated to earlier in order to have consummated their marriage.

 

"Looks like Davor won the second round." Cal commented. The groom looked full of self-satisfaction, and walked with his head held high and chest proudly displayed, while the bride behind him sulked and grumbled somewhat, while a faint blush was still visible on her cheeks.

 

"It's why I had Mira double her combat practice, so she could at least be equals with him!" Said Bogdan with a laugh from the belly. "Most any youngster in the tribe know already of Davor's prowess between the sheets. I swear the boy was almost as popular as I was when I was his age!"

 

That comment earned the orc chief another elbow in his ribcage, courtesy of his wife.

 

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The ceremony that followed were simple, where an old orcish shaman used ink on her nails to scribe matching tattoos on the newlywed's backs, after which both youngsters had their hair arranged into a somewhat elaborate hairstyle, and they were led to a table right next to where Cal and Bogdan were seated, which were saved for their use.

 

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At that point of time, the cooks served the newlyweds several dishes as per orcish tradition. A dish of grilled auroch tongue, purposely charred slightly, with a sprinkle of sour citrus juice and chilies, so that the couple would always speak only truth to one another, regardless of how bitter the truth may be. Served next were the auroch's reproductive organs, braised in a sauce of wild berries and liquor, a prayer for the ancestors, that they blessed the couple with plenty of offspring. Last was the auroch's heart, simply roasted whole with a dry rub of spices, which symbolized that the married couple would now be of one heart, until death do them part.

 

Several orcish cooks had dug out the auroch carcass from the pit while the newlyweds had their ritual meal, and busily set to work as they divided the meat into many large plates. The head cook personally delivered a large platter full of the choicest cuts of meats, crowned with the well-baked head of the auroch in the middle, to the table where Cal sat with Bogdan. Also brought to them were a bowl full of a brownish powder, accompanied by several small bowls.

 

Bogdan showed Cal how to serve herself some of the powder, which were staple food for the orcs, composed of various kinds of dried nuts ground to a fine powder mixed with barley flour. He simply scooped a handful of the powder with his hand and put it into a smaller bowl, then poured a measure of the hot, salted, buttered tea to the bowl, then he worked the mixture with his hand until it formed a very thick paste, the consistency of uncooked bread dough. Cal followed his example, a bowl of the thick, warm dough prepared, when Bogdan reached for the auroch's head and plucked its eyeballs with a small knife and offered one to her.

 

"For the guest of honor." He said, as he nonchalantly tossed the other eyeball into his own mouth and chewed with relish. "I usually would offer my dearest wife, but she had never accepted."

 

"Well, I definitely don't mind giving it a try." Cal said, as she accepted the offered eyeball and similarly tossed it into her mouth. The eyeball was still warm, and as she crunched it with her teeth, she could feel the hot savory fluids contained within burst out, while the solid flesh gave out a pleasant crunch due to the cartilage it contained. Altogether an unusual, but quite a pleasant culinary experience. "Pretty good." She replied to Bogdan.

 

Bogdan laughed out loud at her response and busied himself with the auroch's head, as he filled Cal's bowl with meat from the auroch's cheeks before he filled his own bowl. "A woman of good tastes!" He praised. " Were I unclaimed I might consider proposing on the spot!" He added in jest, his wife once again elbowed him in the ribs.

 

"Now, now, chief, you would make the chieftess jealous if you jest like that." Cal replied with a smirk, as her hand worked a piece of meat into a small portion of the dough and brought the mixture to her mouth. The slightly bitter, buttery flavor of the soft dough cut the rich, spice-rich flavor of the meat well, the sensation pleasant to the tongue, and Cal quickly devoured the contents of her bowl, only to have it refilled again and again by Bogdan.

 

By now the orcs mostly only used the salted, buttered tea to make a dough out of the floury powder, as barrels of milky arrack were brought out, and mugs were filled with the liquor. Each tribe likely brewed their own liquor, as the arrack was quite different to the one she had with Helga's tribe, less rich and milky, and instead flavored with what tasted like tangy berries and some herbal spices too.

 

All around the bonfires the orcs celebrated. By now even the cooks have sat down and joined the feast, many youngsters danced a wild, tribal dance with powerful movements around the fire to the accompaniment of two drum-players, while yet others wrestled one another to the cheers of those around them. Many young orcs had discreetly slunk away from the festivities in the company of another and snuck into the wagons - to the rolled eyes of the adults that spotted them.

 

It was a rowdy, happy night full of joys, full of sights utterly foreign to Cal, sights she had not even imagined prior to her journey. Sights that mesmerized her soul with their savage harmony.

 

She felt her decision to walk the lands reaffirmed, not only in search of the sights spoken of in her father's stories, but also for the sights unseen that lay beyond.

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