Chapter 345: Chapter 310 – A Feast in the Jungle

“You know, it’s a very common misconception that druids loved nature so much that they would refrain from harming other living creatures or eating meat. People tend to get this misconception because most elven druids from the Great Emerald Forest were vegetarians. That’s more due to their culture and personal choices, though, nothing to do with their affinity.

 

In actuality, we do feel a greater attunement to nature, but by no means would we fully refrain from harming other living creatures. Neither is avoiding meat something that makes any sense, for after all, plants are living creatures too.

 

What we mostly believe in is in the law of nature itself, in the circle of life to which every creature, big or small, is bound to. It is only natural for the predators to prey on others, just as it is natural for those prey animals to in turn prey on the hapless plants or other smaller, weaker creatures. Everything just went as life and nature intended.” - Avila Ileasstrin, Druid and Shaman from the Greenmeadow Isle.

Most everybody pitched in to help prepare for the feast that night. Vark manipulated the earth to create a large fire pit near where the chunk of meat lay, which his daughters and Krystal then filled with hardened, red-hot stones, over which they scattered a smattering of wood chips which burned and released a pleasant smoky smell.

 

Cal, her students, Elaina, and Sidonie helped butcher the massive serpent’s tail, with Kino occasionally lending a hand on some particularly tough parts. It was quite laborious physical work to deal with a chunk of meat that large, and it took them a while before the best parts of the meat were nicely portioned and cut into either slabs or chunks.

 

Dalorian and Rosalind brought several kinds of fruits and herbs and a large bowl. Rosalind used her magic to control vines to squeeze the juice out of the fruits into the bowl, into which her husband tossed in the processed herbs - either minced or crushed depending on the exact herb in question - and mixed them together with a long wooden spoon.

 

The fragrant mixture was then used to marinate the meat, while Thelos also returned from his fishing session and brought several large fish to add to the feast. Rosalind skillfully turned the fish into filets and pierced them with wooden skewers, before she set them aside for her husband to season with herbs.

 

Dan and Fheeri had helped make a rack which was set on top of the firepit, close enough to let the heat cook whatever was laid on it, but not close enough for the wood to burn. The food, both the seasoned meat and fish, as well as some vegetables from the druid couple’s gardens, was set either directly on the rack, or on flat stones that were placed on the rack and soon turned hot from the heat below.

 

Before long, the fragrant, mouthwatering smell of roasted meat began to waft through the air, as juices dripped out from the serpent flesh and onto the red-hot stones below, where it evaporated in a plume of smoke and meaty fragrance. Large onions were also sliced and fried on top of a flat rock, while to the side, Rosalind made a stew of some sort with the meat and various vegetables from the garden.

 

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For his own part, Dalorian tended to the skewers and slabs of meat with a skilled hand, the old druid clearly no beginner at cooking in the wilds like this, and flipped them around to prevent overcooking. A couple skewers he roasted to a slight char closer to the heat, then passed on to his wife to incorporate into her stew.

 

After a while, the food was prepared, the roasted meats served on large leaves that served as their plates, while Rosalind kept the pot of stew simmering over a small fire, hung from a tripod that kept it secure. Everyone sat down on the grassy ground around the platter of meat, as the old druid scooped up and passed off bowls of the hot stew around.

 

The stew was full of leaf vegetables that lent it a refreshing, slightly bitter flavor, which mingled well with the rich flavor of the meat, and the various herbs used to spice things up. Large chunk of tubers - Cal thought it tasted sort of like potatoes, but noticeably sweeter - were also added, which soaked up the stew’s flavor while contributing their own mild sweetness to the mix.

 

What struck her the most was the texture of the serpent’s flesh. Cal was no stranger to eating snakes, but unlike most snakes which had tasted more like a mix between chicken and fish, this serpent was altogether different in flavor and texture.

 

Its meat was close to crunchy in consistency on the harder, charred outer layer, almost like cartilage, while the insides was noticeably more tender, not unlike a good cut of beef, its copious juices sealed inside by the charred exterior. Its flavor was also stronger than the typical mild flavor of snakes she knew, more of a strong meaty, savory flavor with a touch of a gamy aftertaste.

 

The gaminess was more pronounced on the roasted meats, which were cooked until the meat was tender and toothsome. It tasted not unlike venison or boar meat, Cal thought, though somewhat milder in flavor with a different texture. The marinade it was soaked in before cooking gave the meat a sweet-sour tinge of flavor, while the herbs helped cover up the gaminess as well.

 

Cal kept a note of the fruit-and-herb marinade for future use, as the rest had agreed to let her keep the rest of the serpent’s meat, which was still a massive amount to say the least. A few ways to cook it was something she kept note of.

 

Along with the serpent, the fish Thelos caught from the lake served almost like a palate cleanser, as the lightly cooked fish - Dalorian had only cooked it briefly to sear the outside of the flesh - had a light, clean flavor, which contrasted well with the strong flavors of the stew and roasted serpent flesh.

 

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