Chapter 355: Chapter 319 – A Feast by the Seaside

“Good food and booze while relaxing by the seashore, such is the best in life.” - Saying attributed to Remmic the Nancorian, pre-historic philosopher.

Although they returned to the village near sunset, the villagers of the hidden tribes impressed Cal with how efficiently they processed the carcasses of the prey the group hunted. Barely half an hour after sunset, there was nothing left of the two horned lizards and one Jednoroz other than some inedible bits that were tossed into the manure pits to decay into fertilizer. Every bit of the three animals that had any use had been carved out by the villagers and stored accordingly.

 

Kyara herself came over - dressed in tribal garb unlike what she wore while she traveled with Cal - and invited Cal to dinner, as the therian matron mentioned how Willa had impressed the hell out of the hunter group that day.

 

“Since she impressed them that much I bet that girl’s going to be swamped by mating proposals all night long,” said Kyara with a wistful tone. “My tribe worships strength, and that girl of yours definitely got that in spades.”

 

“Willa’s an adult anyway, she’s free to make her bed however she feels like it,” said Cal with a shrug. She knew all too well that Willa was a rather sexually active woman, and had nothing against that. “Don’t blame me if a bunch of your youths ended up drained and listless by the morrow though.”

 

“Well, as you said, that’s their own beds to make,” replied Kyara with a laugh. “Come on, now, you and your students are our guests of honor for tonight’s party. Wouldn’t be nice if you all were late to the festivities.”

 

The festivities, as Kyara termed it, was more like an open party by the seaside. Large fire pits were dug out in the sandy soil of the beach, and meat from the hunted animals were cooked right there on the spot. With so many fire pits around the beach was almost as bright as if it was merely late afternoon, while a large portion of the villagers joined the feast.

 

Drinks were distributed freely - mostly served in cups carved out of wood - as the villagers reveled in the night, the strong drink made of fermented fruit, one that was somewhat sour and spicy in flavor. Kyara told Cal that her tribe couldn’t taste sweetness that well, so most of their cuisine had not involved sugars as a flavoring.

 

They did serve some fresh fruits from the forest as well, though compared to most fruits she was familiar with, they tended to be more on the sweet-sour side. Some were picked while they were half-ripe on purpose, like mangoes that were still green and crunchy, with a sour, refreshing flavor.

 

Cal noticed that such sour, half-ripened fruits seemed to play a role in the villagers’ way of cooking. One of the first dishes that were served was large platters of seared, barely cooked meats from the choicest cuts of the horned lizard under a pile of shredded fruits and herbs, doused with a sauce made from mashing other fruits with more herbs.

 

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She saw how the villagers would take a slice of the thinly sliced meat and roll some of the fruit toppings and sauce within before they munched on the resulting roll. Cal did the same, and found that the fatty meat was tender and unraveled on her tongue, while the seared side gave a slight smoky tint to the meat. The accompaniments lent a spice, sour, and herbal flavor that helped to cut the meat’s richness and combined into a pleasant, mellow flavor in her mouth, while the crunch of the half-ripened fruit gave a nice bit of textural element to the dish.

 

A second course was presented soon after, that of a thick, steaming stew made from various organs of the beasts. The offal presented a myriad of textures, with how some crumbled in her mouth, while others were chewy or even crunchy in texture, most with deep, earthy flavors. A liberal sprinkling of juice freshly squeezed from what looked like a local citrus - it was far smaller than most Cal had seen, though intense in its sourness - helped make the overall flavor more balanced, though still on the hearty side.

 

When the next platter was brought before them, Cal saw the meticulous preparation that the villagers had put into the meal. The meat had been sliced into long, thin strips that were cooked evenly, with a good sear on one side and the other side left somewhat rare. The strips were then rolled with some sauce slathered on the inner surface, and the rolls cut into neat, thin rounds perhaps half as thick as one of her fingers.

 

The way it was cooked made the already tender meat - which Kyara informed her was from the Jednoroz - even more so, as the meat practically melted on Cal’s tongue. The flavor was strong, nearly intense even with its meatiness and strong gaminess, cut somewhat by the herbs and fruits that were used in the sauce within. It was clear that the gaminess of the meat was intentional though, with how the flavor of the sauce highlighted it rather than covered it up.

 

While many people, especially well-to-do people who lived their lives in the cities, tend to balk at gamey meats, Cal found that this sensation of gaminess was not unpleasant at all, and in fact added to the meaty, savory flavors in general. It was quite unlike most meat she had tasted, probably closest to the tyrant lizard’s meat, though with a stronger yet more gentle flavor to it.

 

What was served as dessert on the other hand was a display of the ingenuity of the villagers. They lacked many modern amenities in their secluded village, but had made do nonetheless in their own ways.

 

Several ice-affinity mages from the village condensed blocks of solid ice, which was then shaved into fine slivers and stuffed into bowls. To that shaved ice the villagers added freshly squeezed fruit juices, and garnished the rim of the bowl with more slices of fruit before they served it.

 

It was cold, sour, and very refreshing, especially in the warm and humid summer night of the time.

 

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