The line had to move faster. The Crusader did not know how long he had been standing in his position, but he knew that his stomach kept on growling incessantly. The sensation had begun to grow burdensome for some time now, which wasn’t being helped by the faint smell of cooked meat that was only getting stronger the closer he got.
He groaned as he rolled his neck, before looking around for someone to talk to. He wasn’t seeing any familiar faces at this time, but at the same time, he hadn’t spent any time talking to any of these villagers. That would definitely have to change after he got a meal, as he did need to get directions and more understanding of what exactly went wrong here.
There was some information he had. This Empire that existed. The flora and fauna turned into monstrosities and twisted things that made the whole world completely hostile. The way things would rot instantly upon death, how there were mentions of people mutating, and how horribly wrong everything felt.
What else was wrong with this world? What other problems existed that caused havoc and mayhem? He did not know, but he imagined he would find out more once the day came.
He sighed, before taking in another whiff of that amazing smell. Ah, there truly was nothing better than fresh meat being cooked nicely over a hot flame. He wondered how they prepared the body and prevented it from rotting. Perhaps the meat had to be fresh, or they had developed some way to curb the issue?
That would make sense. He didn’t know how long these people have been in this situation, but considering no one had died of hunger, they certainly have found a way to resolve that issue. Perhaps there was some kind of herb that he wasn’t aware of that prevented the corpse from rotting? Did they perhaps create some form of alchemical mixture that would keep the meat ready to eat? Or did they pray to God and receive a blessing that would purify the animal of all taint and bring it back to its former state.
He nodded to himself. Yes, perhaps the answer was all three of them. After all, God would not abandon his people. Not just that, but there was no way that there would have been at least some holy protections in place to defend against the corruption brought down by the usurper.
“Ah! Do my eyes deceive me?” The Crusader jolted, before turning around towards the source of the voice. He smiled and waved back at Martha, who was walking up to him.
“Ah, Martha! A pleasure to see you again, I had thought you had already gotten your bites already.”
“Hah!” She laughed at that, before coming right next to the Crusader. “I wish. Unfortunately, I had to deal with a few people before I came here. They were quite adamant about having the talk before dinner, but I managed to dodge them. Now, I have come to get my food only to discover this ludicrously long line.”
“A shame, truly.” The Crusader shook his head. “I’m afraid that the wait will not be getting any shorter. In fact, I believe several more people have swung by to get their food, so you might be here for quite some time.”
“No, I don’t think so.” Martha scoffed.
At that moment, the line moved. The Crusader took a step forward and that was when Martha struck. She proceeded to move right behind the Crusader, cutting in line without a single ounce of care.
“Hey! Follow the rules, don’t cut!” The man behind the Crusader shouted angrily.
Martha merely rolled her eyes at the outburst, before turning around with a grin.
“Will it be alright if I offer you five bites for your spot?”
The man, who was more than ready to start yelling even more, halted in his steps. His mouth opened and closed several times as he seemed to process the offer. He closed his eyes, before opening them and looking at Martha with a glare.
“Eight bites.”
“Feh. Fine.” With that, the two of them shook hands, before Martha hummed and turned right around. The Crusader looked at her with amusement, before they all took another step forward.
“You have quite the nose for business, I see.”
“Hmph. If that was the case, I would have haggled,” she sniffed, “I’m too desperate and hungry to bother with business. Right now, I want nothing more than to have a belly full of warm food.”
“Heh.” The Crusader couldn’t help but laugh at Martha’s honesty. After all, he’d been so used to dealing with merchants that were so shady and slimy that they could possibly be related to the snake that tricked Eden into eating the forbidden fruit. So, it was quite refreshing to have to meet one that wasn’t such a cheat. “Truly, you have your focus on what’s important.”
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“Oh, hush you!” She laughed as well, as she waved her hand. “Besides, there’s no reason to worry about the bites. I’ve got enough IOUs that I’m still positive. The only worry is getting my fill before the food all runs out.”
“I wouldn’t worry about that.” The Crusader chuckled. “I picked up quite the giant beast. So, we’ll probably have enough if they know how to portion and cook it up.”
“Hrm. True.” Martha grunted, before looking further at the distance. “Though, Davos does good work with the knife. I’m quite confident he knows how to portion each bite to make sure there’s a fair share that goes around for everyone.”
“Davos, huh?” The Crusader looked where Martha was staring, where he blinked. He could see the monster he had captured earlier all tied up. Though, considering the distance, he wasn't able to see all that much, though he did note that there was quite a lot of red and blood coming off of it.
He couldn’t help but nod at that. Yes, that must mean the meat had to be fresh. Absolutely.
Now the question was how the meat had been prepared. Had he cut up the pieces and created several kabobs to hand out? Or had he gotten some form of vegetables and created a steak and salad combo? Maybe there was some form of native bread that these people had created with the vegetation that existed at this current time?
He was quite curious. Though, he could get more information from a nearby source.
“Say, Martha.”
“Hm? What is stranger?”
“What kind of meals does Davos typically prepare for everyone?”
“Eh?” Of all the responses, that was not the one the Crusader expected, “What exactly do you mean by that?”
“Well, I was wondering how Davos would cook the meat. Does he slice them and serve them with herbs, or does he make skewers? How exactly does he prepare the food for everyone to eat?”
Martha stared at him like he was insane. He didn’t know what would cause this kind of reaction, but all he knew was that this gave him a sinking feeling in his stomach.
“Prepare? He’ll do it the same way he always does: by cooking it over an open flame. Of course, he’ll skin the beast and pre-cut pieces for us to take. But other than that, there isn’t anything special.”
That was it? Cooking over an open flame?
Something about that option sounded wrong, inherently so. He couldn’t fathom the thought of eating the same kind of food over and over everyday. There was no way anyone could enjoy their life by doing such a thing: even he had to admit that he would not be able to stand eating beef for every meal for every day of his life.
No. He had to have heard wrong. Perhaps they meant he was cooking with a giant pan over an open flame? No, that didn’t sound right, but he still did not want to believe what he was hearing. He had to make sure, just in case.
“Nothing special? Nothing at all?”
“Nope.” Martha shook her head. “The meat’s always cooked the same, seasoned the same, and eaten the same. There’s nothing he does to provide any kind of change.”
“I don’t understand,” the Crusader said, his voice feeling weak, “You mean to tell me the food is always prepared the exact same way, the exact same method, every single meal of the day?”
Martha looked at him for some time. She seemed to think of this for some time, before shrugging and giving a smile.
“Well, he sometimes put in some spices.”
The Crusader started to feel faint. No, more than that, he couldn’t understand. He still couldn’t fathom what he was hearing.
Then they got even closer. He got a better look of how Davos was cooking the food.
His eyes widened as he stared at the sight.
The creature that he had caught earlier was tied up with metal chains, all of which were holding it up and keeping it held over a giant fire pit. The entire beast had been skinned, with the muscles all exposed and blood oozing out of certain crevices. There were multiple cuts all across the flesh, creating what appeared to be several giant cubes. Each time the beast squirmed and tried to break out of its restraints, the fat man in front merely stabbed at the beast’s already pulverized knee with an iron rod, causing the creature to open its mouth in pain.
There were no sounds coming out from the tortured beast, and it took a cursory look for the Crusader to realize why. The beast had no tongue at all and its throat seemed to be almost crushed, preventing it from being able to give out any noise. He could see people in front of the beast, with the meat pieces glistening right in front of them.
Davos came forward and sliced at the cubes, causing the beast to cry and shed several tears. Without a single bit of hesitation, the person in front lunged forward and bit down on the offered piece. He did not rip the meat cut out, simply continuing to chew over and over again, making the beast cry even more. Only after a few minutes of chomping did the person finally rip the piece out with their bare teeth and swallow quickly.
The man seemed to turn a little green, taking the offered cup from Davos and downing the contents. Then he took a deep breath, his mouth and clothes all caked with fresh blood, before returning once more to continue the act.
The Crusader stared at the sight. He took several deep breaths over and over. He genuinely could not believe what he was seeing. No, more than that, even now, he did not want to believe what he saw was reality.
He failed. He ran out, his appetite gone. He kept moving even after Martha yelled out after him, out the village and into the wilderness once more.
He stayed where he was for a while, before dry heaving and gasping for air.