Bear stew

Night had draped the town in a blanket of darkness by the time we opened our eyes. A quick, familiar path led us back to the mayor's house, where Raven awaited us by a campfire, a large pot of stew simmering enticingly.

Raven eyed us with a critical gaze, “What took you guys so long?” Her voice was as sharp as her gaze, yet held a hint of curiosity.

Zarah's temper flared at the seemingly ungrateful remark. “What took so long? You ungrateful-- We were down there busting our asses for you!” She began, Oman interceding quickly to pacify her rising anger.

Raven responded unfazed, her gruff tone unchanged. “Relax, Zarah, it was just a question. Now sit down before your stew gets cold.”

As we huddled around the campfire, Raven distributed bowls of bear stew. The aroma wafting from the stew was mouth-watering, tantalizing our tired bodies with the promise of a hearty meal.

But as I grabbed my bowl, it was filled with…gruel? It was the color of baby food, any sort of resemblance of food was no longer there. I look at my teammates bowls, in their hands were morsels of beautiful brown stock with tender pieces of meat swimming between chunks of carrots, potatoes, and celery root. I take a bite, The broth was thick, chunky, and mildly neutral, with the ghost of the bear stew steeping through the bowl of mash. I stir a little, causing chunks of broken oats to float onto the top of the bowl, she watered down the stew with oats. That being said, however much flavor was in his bowl was still enough for me to swallow it in large gulps at a time.

“Hope you're all enjoying,” Raven interjected, “That stew's got bear meat, local herbs, carrots, potatoes, and some of my special seasonings. Had my fair share before you guys came back, so it should be good.”

With that, she left us to our meal and retired for the night. “Don't dawdle too long. Set up your tents and get some rest. Tomorrow's going to be another long day.”

We relished our dinner, the warm, hearty stew rejuvenating us after the exhaustive day. Once done, albeit my portion was somewhat unsatisfying, we started setting up our campsite. Tents sprung up from our storage, beds were made, and before long, sleep claimed us.