Snippet #1831442

Wundsten just got to the part where he was ambushed by three dozen giant cave weevils and a dozen of dozens of bloodsucking glowworms when his poor stomach, once again, rumbled greatly for a meal.

"Ah, I'll leave it at a cliffhanger, then. Why don't you come with me for a meal, Otruco?" He offered to pay for anything the cyclops chose to eat, wanting to repay some of his self-proclaimed debt to her.

The patient woman, who was lying sideways on the bench, sat up and replied, "Oh? You have money on you? Well then, let us be off." She stood up, brushing her skirt with her hands, and said, “I’ve been starving, much like you are.” Without waiting for a reply, she started towards the village center, where most of the food stalls are.

The ferner, hesitating for a moment, tucked the small brass chest into his pocket and followed her. Beyond them stood rings of venders offering delectable meals, and rows of wooden benches and tables, a bountiful number of occupants matching the bountiful produce. In the crisp air, joyous cacophony of children with laughter of the rest reverberated throughout the rustic plaza as the smells of the season’s winds and food stalls traveled around and to its far surroundings. The closer the two friends were to the center, the more saturated in color and music was the whole scene.

When they arrived, Otruco stopped in the middle of the stony street, pondering about what she would eat. With her new vision, the cyclops browsed each stall without even turning her head; there were two reasons for her not to. Steamed carrots, roasted potatoes, stews with cherries, brews with berries, Amettian seabread along with Inish cheeses of all types… Oh my, so many choices, thought the cyclops, rocking her head side to side while trying to decide.

As the she stood there, Wundsten, on the other hand, had already made up his mind, long ago. He has heard about the quality of beef roasts and jerky from the Amettian-Inish border, particularly the ones from the area around Jiender, and ever since, he’s been wanting to have a taste. He approached a butcher’s stall, which had racks of skewered meat sizzling as they were slowly turned over a large fire by the butcher’s boys. The stall itself was very large when compared to its neighbors, and people of all kinds came and went, thanking the butcher and leaving with a plate mounted high with slabs of smoking beef. Coin pouch in hand, he approached smoky stand, the bare-headed butcher already prepared to hear his order after handing a plate to his last customer.

“Ahem, good day to you, sir,” he greeted the butcher with a wave. “I would like the largest chunk of beef you have on a skewer - that one with the charred sides to be exact,” pointing at one of the skewers rotating over the fire. He held up his coin pouch and bounced it, making all the coins inside jingle.

As the butcher was telling one of his assistants to bring over the skewer, he turned to Wundsten and said, “First visit to Jiender, are ya Ferner? Well, I have to tell ya: on Magney’s day, all the food’s free for anyone with the appetite. Of course, the food you get, you must eat, hehehe.” He reached over his shoulder to receive Wundsten’s order from his assistant and handed to him.

Glad for that fact that he didn’t have to spend his meager funds, he took the skewered beef and said, “You saved yourself a whole while of bartering-talk.”

Just as he was about to thank the butcher, a commotion , which had been very low and far seconds ago, was rapidly building up. Musicians, in turn, begun to play a little louder while some, including Wunsten, looked for the source of the noise. On the same path he and Otruco entered the village center from, there seemed to be a boisterous mass of followers coming, trailing behind.

“Oh, I’ve heard about Sevrannis’s presence in Jiender. But, even with my time in Haubenor, I’ve never met him before,” said Otruco, suddenly appearing by Wundsten’s side.

Even if the ferner was more surprised about the cyclops’s sudden appearance than the crowd, he asked, “Sevrannis? You mean the painter from Haubenor?” He squinted his eyes and recognized the red-headed man from earlier, the one painting just outside of Jiender. “Well, it looks like he’s caused some trouble - look, the watchman’s got him in her arms like a bride!”