Tessa crouched down and began assembling her cooking area. She came prepared to make a very good meal with real ingredients—at least better than the porridge swamp mess that had destroyed her stomach back at the cave with Valen.
That time was the worst. Horrible and embarrassing, and she didn't want it to repeat itself.
She used the same setup as before but improved it, building a better-looking local stove. Flat stones stacked neatly for airflow, like a mini oven. Then she tied bamboo into a crude rack for roasting.
"Salt… dried herbs… oil…" she muttered like a villain preparing a grand plan of destruction.
Zane, who was watching, blinked.
"Aren't those medicines for various ailments?" he asked.
Tessa shook her head. They must have taken them as medicine, though she had no clue why. But that was exactly how you seasoned food—making it spicy and delicious. Since they all ate their meat bland, today she would make something different for them. Yummy and good.
