This is part of Faranesque's World Building Challenge from r/WorldBuilding. Check out my hub post for details.
Preface: Most of my posts from this point on will likely focus on the crew of the Rōnni and the refugees with them, now I've done some of the cosmic establishment from Day 1.
In today's installment, the crew of the Rōnni provides a repast for the refugees...
XX FEAST
Jalen stared at the tables and the food upon them. He turned to Keldie, wringing his hands. "Please, you didn't need to go to all this trouble for us--"
Keldie shook her head, clasping his hands in her own as she meet his eyes. "Nonsense. You and yours have had enough troubles. Let someone else shoulder the burden for once." She smiled. "You have all chosen to leave your World. For that alone, we are happy to provide."
The Rōnni had spent some of the prize money they'd earned for assisting with the downfall of Oded Balvene in this. Extra food was bought, enough for the entire company and their guests for this night. There was something from every People in the repast. A pot bubbled with tubers and vegetables in a spicy Yalleni broth, a hearty stew which was eaten with flatbread. Ladled onto a bowl and scooped out with a spoon, the gravy sopped up by the bread, or instead served into a folded piece of bread to be eaten together. There was also a roasted rib rack, marinated with a sweet and tangy sauce, then slow-cooked until the meat came off the bone with a light touch. Jalen watched as several of the Ship's company shook the meat into their stew and ate it all together.
The Rapponi had gone for seafood. Salt-water fish caught and filleted, lightly seared and seasoned. These were served with noodles drenched in a savory sauce. The Rapponi would take a piece of fish, then tangle it up in the noodles, so that it soaked up some of the sauce before being eaten. There were also balls of a lightly sweet meal, breaded and fried, which proved to be quite popular.
Whardoni cuisine was generally eclectic in any case, but for the feast they'd dressed some game fowl and breaded the meat, cooking it in a creamy sauce and sprinkling it with cheese. The noodles they provided were often served with the sauces and sprinkled with shredded cheese as well. Cheese, it seemed, was a key part of it all, sprinkled on almost everything, along with cracked black pepper. Colorful vegetables were sliced and sauteed, served alongside their fare.
The Pacami preferred extremely spicy food, too spicy for the refugees' preference, though they at least showed willing. Combinations of rice and meats were stuffed into peppers and cooked, often steeped in further spices. They also provided a sort of stew, full of beans and ground meat, but which had been marinated with even hotter peppers. The lightest spicy things had been a milky drink they'd offered, which helped to cut the burn in the mouth. And even then, the Pacami were often dabbing their own food with a bright red sauce whose pungence stung the eyes, just to add a little more bite.
It was perhaps not surprising that the Maldasi were cooking an enormous slab of meat on a turn-spit. They'd been at it for hours, basting it with some manner of tangy sauce, so that the drippings sizzled on the heating coil beneath it, filling the air with the aroma. Beneath the main slab was another spit, this one run through a number of slices of meat and vegetables, all coated in a sort of minty cream-based sauce. It had taken hours for everything to be cooked to what the Maldasi deemed right, but this was surprisingly not burned, despite the blackened appearance it all left. The steaks cut from the slab were served with a tuber mash and a great chunk of some vegetable whose name Jalen hadn't gotten. If steaks weren't preferred, then the spit of the minty kebab was hauled out and pieces were sliced off directly onto the plate.
The captain had also seen to it that libations were provided. There were several casks of wine available, of various vintages and Worlds. There was beer available as well, from palehues to darkhues, and any variety of other liquors, with a few cocktails on offer. Jalen had demurred when Drazen Scarhide had challenged him to try a Maldasi cocktail called a Naked Singularity, preferring his Rapponi ale and its nonthreatening pale color and earthy taste. He wasn't too surprised, however, when Izzur had agreed to try it, followed by Etane and one of the other refugees.
Everyone had gathered around a table as the concoction was mixed up and several short glasses provided. Three of the Maldasi stood across from the others. Ferrin Sharpmaw grinned her glinting smile at them, something echoed by Maqin Knifekin, and the glasses were raised as one. Drazen pronounced, "Here we sail among the Stars, our selves laid bare before them, so now we drink to those who watch us, and pray we never bore them!" He knocked his other fist on the table once, twice, three times, and then all six of them drank in unison.
Izzur and Etane both started coughing and wretching, eyes watering. The Maldasi were all slamming their hands on the table as they howled their own pain, while the remaining drinker simply went over backwards, caught by a couple of fellows. As Izzur hacked and coughed, Drazen grinned through his own tears. "Naked Singularity. Drink What Burns Your Soul. May the Stars laugh, yesno?" He slapped Izzur on the back and then offered him a glass of palehue to soothe his throat.
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