After the close encounter with the roc, Baru made the decision to stay in the closest large coastal town for a week longer than they had initially planned. The entire caravan had been shaken by the encounter and morale among the pilgrims was low. Although many of their guards were already spinning the encounter from: one of pant-wetting terror into varying degrees of valiant resolve. Kahina only needed to translate the general meaning conversations she had overheard, which were usually able to be understood with rough equivalency based on mannerisms and tone alone. The more experienced ones hid their uncertainly or had quietly resolved to become stronger, the new pinnacle of strength now far beyond what they were capable of.

Kahina walked through the streets towards the busy market stalls, accompanied by Leo as her escort. Even if they were foreigners, the local expectations had to be loosely maintained. She wore more clothing than she was accustomed to, covering up most of her skin in the appropriate attire. Leo, acting as the part of a dutiful husband, upheld the cultural and religious expectations of the townsfolk. The odd snide or lurid remark for her more revealing attire was kept at bay by a firm hand on the hilt of Leo's sword.

Leo shared the generally dismissive feelings towards the overconfident soldiers, doubtful that they would perform any better than their prior performance if the roc were to appear again. One of Baru's personal guards had sought Leo out and sat down at their table, partially to vent about the attitude of his rookies to a sympathetic third-party. What the caravan guards mistook for a successful show of strength was more likely irrelevant as they did not possess whatever object the creature was looking for.

The two men, through Kahina, debated possible ways to defeat a roc of that size between mouthfuls of their dinner. Neither coming close to a possible method, even with the use of multiple siege weapons. Leo and the Guard had ordered an omelette*, a dish which involved: boiled meat which was subsequently fried in oil. Once cooked, eggs were added on top with spices, coriander, bread and cinnamon and cooked one final time until dry. Having had something similar the previous day, Kahina had opted for a serving of tahini fish that had been caught earlier that day from the harbor. The melted tahini and vinegar sauce pairing well with the freshly caught perch.

After bidding farewell to their dining companion, Kahina quickly purchased some dried fruits, bread and cheeses for Victoria in order to maintain appearances to any observers. She had also obtained a local cookbook from the local trader's hall, taking it back to their lodgings to share with Julianna**. The notion of a book of culinary recipes was foreign to Kahina, as the recipes were usually passed down through oral tradition and individual variations differing between the tribes. Each culture had its own mix of soups, stews and sauces which paired with whatever animals the tribe's men were able to catch. The new tastes satisfied her innate curiosity, enough to forget about the incomprehensible supernatural entities that she would occasionally interact with. She had become particularly fond of a particular recipe of Sour Samosas back in Cairo, that none of the villages since could quite replicate. It was the precise combination of vinegar, hazelnuts and almonds which complemented the goat meat rather well that endeared her to the dish.

Leo was generally indifferent towards his meals, as those in his line of work could not be too picky during sieges or when faced with strained supply lines. That being said, he had a vocal disdain for something called "muslin bisket***," which was close to inedible. He described it as something that could charitably be called bread but felt like a stone when biting into it. Many soldiers and mercenaries found creative ways to make it palatable, beyond simply soaking it in water or the daily stew. "I would gladly eat cooked offal with every meal, if it meant having a decent bread to go along with it.

He did, however, once describe a particularly nice meat pie he had eaten at a traveler's inn. The ratio of chicken and pork, combined with the right amount of local spices that paired well with the honeyed mead, enough to be memorable years after consuming it. It was during his younger days, serving one of the noble houses. Sadly, the place was lost during the wars of the Roses along with their specific methods. It was a pity, but "that is life" as Leo would often say.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

Upon their return, Kahina gave a courtesy knock on the door to announce their presence, allowing Victoria to dismiss any familiars based on the number of knocks. They found Victoria resting on the provided bed with Julianna quietly rearranging their belongings. Even though her mistress was asleep, as light as it was, her familiars full autonomy remained. She knew that Victoria had total control over her familiars, however rarely enforced, but seeing the level of freedom given to them was unusual. At least in contrast to most powerful entities she had encountered, who sought to dominate anything beneath them.

"Ah, Welcome back!" quietly exclaimed Juliana, moving over to help relieve Kahina and Leo of their purchases. "Were you able to find a cook book?" Reaching into her bag, Kahina recovered the small bound tome from her bags and placing it on the table. It was written in Arabic scripture, something which the familiar was unable to read by herself. Kahina was more than happy to oblige in assisting her, using it to practice her reading skills which were seldom used in her previous line of work.

"For a variation of bread loaves, take good flour" she began, slowly going over the steps. "for each ratl****, add one third ratl of seasame oil. Also add sesame seeds, pistachio and almond kernels. After kneading into a dough allow it to rise. Form into round flat loaves with a thickness of two fingers. Once cooked, take them out of the oven and eat with sweet meats." It was a simple recipe, but one which could serve as the culinary backbone of a village or army. She could easily see bakers making hundreds of these a day, practically flying from the shelves to feed the starving masses.

"This reminds me of the basic breads I made at the convent." Julianna reminisced, already committing the ingredients and ratios into her memory. "I feel bad that the children cannot taste what we are eating today. I know that Timothy would've loved these." Almost as if she was called on by the subject of children, Rose manifested herself next to Victoria and helped herself to some of the dates and figs that had been left on the table. Her usual desire for anything remotely sweet motivating her out of the shadows.

Neither familiar had a favourite or sentimental food, as both had experienced the life and diet simple peasants. Only experiencing interesting or unique foods during harvest festivals or religious events. Julianna was once given generously given some stale gingerbread by an Earl who was passing though the region. She had spoken to the chef and gotten a rough recipe in case they happen to be gifted the ingredients. Unfortunately she never got the opportunity to make it as the spices available were not affordable, or appropriate, for someone living a modest life in a convent.

The ginger that was required for the gingerbread was imported from the silk road, which was their eventual destination, and was the second most popular spice in England. For the price of a pound of ginger, one could buy an entire sheep in their home nation. The recipe called for: stale bread, honey, ginger, pepper, sandalwood and sugar. While she now had access to most of the ingredients, her lack of an oven put a damper on her culinary aspirations. When Victoria could safely change the composition of her party, then she might be able to borrow the required equipment. Until then, she would have to study via oral dictation from foreign recipe books.

Rose, similarly didn't have any particular foods she was attached to. While honeyed bread and sweet wild berries were her usual choice to satiate her cravings. Rose's sudden exposure to foreign deserts and snacks had ignited something inside of her, giving herself a goal to try every sweet in the world. It was overly ambitious, as Kahina was finding out how vast the world was. That being said, given her mistresses' life span... it could well be possible.

They continued reading recipes into the late hours of the night by oil lamp, covering: stews, roasts and all manner of sauces based on murr. Victoria stopped them, noting that it was late and they should us the opportunity to rest while the caravan had stopped in the town. Her familiars vanished into the shadows, after giving thanks for her translations, as Kahina moved towards her bed. The cool night air blowing through the window.

"With all of the talk on recipes," Kahina asked into the night air. "I don't think you have ever said what yours is." Victoria remained as she was, lying in her bed. "Even when I was human, I didn't have the luxury of choice." She said, no hint of emotion despite the implied weight of the memories. "When I began to have regular meals working under my lord directly, food was still just a means to an end. Maybe mushrooms would have been a preferred choice during the worst of those days. But that was a different time." It's interesting how the contrast between the familiars and their mistress was. Each lacked the ability to experience much of the world in their previous lives, but only the subordinates chose to indulgence in the things they lacked.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.