Chapter 143: She Barbecues....
Skye perked up at the sight of the vine python, watching intently as it moved here and there.
"Hey, Robin." Skye spoke up. "Do you know any good snake recipes?"
"Snake recipes? I can recall a few. Why?" Robin asked.
But Skye had already taked off towards the python, slicing its head off in passing. The body kept wriggling on the ground for a while after the head was gone. Skye landed on it after it had stopped moving. Then Skye patted the dead snake.
"Cook this, please!" Skye licked its paw. "I wanna know what this tastes like cooked!"
"All right, sure!" Robin agreed.
"So we are going to ignore the fact that a cat just downed a 30-foot snake?" Christian asked. Skye looked at him sharply.
"I know, I know, flying cat, right?" Christian said, realizing his mistake.
"Don't you forget it!" Skye turned its head away with a humph.
"So, when were you going to tell me that you knew how to fight?" Robin asked, as she gathered the dead snake.
"Well, first, you never asked. And second, it must have slipped my mind." Skye replied. "I've eaten these things before. They're pretty yummy, but I prefer cooked food."
"So I see." Robin sighed.
"You're not really going to cook that, right Robin?" Gerard asked. He had overheard her conversation with Skye earlier.
"Why not? It's non-venomous, and there's a lot of meat on it. I don't see why not." Robin replied.
"But think of all the people it might have eaten!" Jasmine looked at it in distaste.
"As I recall, that wyvern we killed had probably eaten far more, yet you were fine with it." Robin pointed out.
"Hear me out. If you don't want to eat it, that's fine. Not everyone is good at eating certain animals. But hold off on your decisions before I finish cooking it. Ponzu will make something else for those that don't want to try it."
After a certain amount of grumbling, the company agreed. Coincidentally, Keith, Liam, Elise, and Chelsea were fine with it. Skye enthusiastically guillotined every python they came across until Robin decided she had gathered enough.
"If you kill them all, there won't be enough to eat later. Let some of them live to make more pythons for later." She pointed out.
Skye reluctantly agreed, halting it's bloody massacre of the vine pythons.
After that, Robin cast cleanse upon the company to get rid of the scent of python blood. As they drew closer to the city, most of the company began to sweat in the steamy heat. Liam was normal, as expected. However, surprisingly, Quinn was also fine.
"Aren't you like 97 percent water?" Robin asked. "How are you still fine?"
"Insulation." He replied smugly, at which Robin rolled her eyes. She changed the subject.
"So, any reason why it's getting hotter the closer we get to the city?" Jasmine wiped the sweat off her forehead.
"That's because, the dwarf country is situated above a semi-active volcano. They use the heat to forge, and are naturally lava resistant." Quinn explained.
At this, Robin's eyes twinkled with a strange light, as she suddenly became serious. "I just have one question then."
"Ask away." Quinn permitted, feeling strangely pressured in a sense. He prepared himself to answer a difficult question.
"Are there hot springs!?" Robin bluntly queried.
Quinn paused, feeling somewhat overcome by a feeling of 'Wait, that's all?' before opening his mouth.
"There are."
"Wait, you mean the legendary hot springs that would rejuvenate and beautify your skin? Those hot springs!?" Jasmine interjected.
"I have heard as such, yes." Quinn replied.
"What are we waiting for, let's go!!" Jasmine continued forward with a renewed energy, surprising the others.
Soon they came to an unnatural clearing in the dense jungle area, where it was hotter than usual. In the center of that clearing was a cone-like hillock, from which smoke continued to rise. The scent of sulphur was in the air.
"Either that's a volcanic vent, or we are about to encounter a devil." Robin joked.
"Heavens no! Devils are stuck in their own continent, due to their requirements to live. The devil continent has a poisonous air that can't be found anywhere else. It's fatal for humans but vital for devils. Thus, finding a devil out here is like finding someone that's okay with not breathing. And those things are usually dead." Quinn explained.
"Oh, so there actually are devils here? What about angels?" Robin asked.
"Well I've never met an angel before, so I can't tell you. Perhaps they live atop the Solar Plateau? No one has been able to get up there, due to the perilous climb." Quinn pondered.
"No worries then. But now I have an idea..." Robin stepped into the hot area.
"What are you doing?" Chelsea asked.
"It's about lunch time, so I thought it's the best time to take a break and eat some lunch." Robin pointed out.
"But what does that have to do with the volcanic vent?" Christian asked.
"I just got a whole pile of fresh ingredients. Why not take advantage of this natural oven and cook something?" Robin hinted.
"Snake barbecue?" Quinn asked.
"Among other things, yes." Robin admitted.
"Moreover, with this clearing, we can be assured that nothing's going to sneak up on us. So we can enjoy our food, worry free."
"Barbecues usually take hours though. I thought we wanted to get to the city before dark?" Quinn asked.
"Do you honestly expect the dwarves to let me use an oven to barbecue a bunch of snakes?" Robin pointed out. "Besides, this will only take one hour at most, I promise."
"...You promise?" Quinn asked.
"I'd cross my heart and hope to die, but I'm much more afraid of the wrath of these guys." Robin indicated the company. "So let's just say I haven't broken my word, yet-and I'm not planning to."
"Fine." Quinn sighed. "But only one hour."
"Thanks for that~" Robin immediately got to work casting several barriers.
The first barrier was at the mouth of the vent, blocking any sulphur or poisonous fumes from coming out, but allowing for heat and non-harmful smoke to emerge. The second barrier was set above the vent to hold the food. It was similar to the first barrier.
Robin quickly prepared the pythons, setting them atop of the barrier skewered in sections. She also added vegetables like mushrooms, peppers, onions, and tomatoes. The third barrier she cast was around the vent and food, trapping the heat in, yet allowing the smell to diseminate.
Instantly, the surrounding area seemed at least twenty degrees cooler, like entering the shade of a cloud on a blazing hot day. Finally, Robin cast a barrier around the perimeter of the clearing to prevent the smell from disseminating through the forest. She didn't want to attract trouble, after all.
After that, she used a cantrip magic hand to flip the barbecue remotely. Ponzu just glared at Robin. "How could you! You know I can only do kitchen magic!" He sniffled.
"Chill your curly head, Ponzu. There's nothing special about this except for the barbecue technique. This could be done just as well atop a metal grate suspended over hot coals." Robin flipped a vegetable skewer over to toast it on the other side.
"The important thing you need to know is the burning point of the ingredients you are working with. If you're good enough, everything will have a lovely caramelized exterior. we want to brown the food, not burn it-although some might prefer their food burnt." She flipped the meat skewers.
"And how are you expecting us to eat all this food?" Ponzu asked.
"Stick what we don't eat into the food storage for later. If no one is partial to snake meat, then we can just keep it for Skye." Robin replied.
"...Does snake meat really taste that good?" Ponzu asked. The smell was disseminating through the camp, making mouths water.
"Well, those who like chicken and those who like fish generally like it." Robin replied.
"The thing is, if it's a poisonous snake, then you need to make sure to carefully remove the poison glands without puncturing them. Or you could just cut the head off..."
She checked the food again. "Oh! This one's done! Care to try a bite?" She smiled holding the skewer of browned meat out to Ponzu.
Ponzu hesitated, but convinced himself to give it a try. "One bite." He said.
Robin used another skewer to slide a small bite-sized piece off, and handed it to him.
"Careful. It's hot." She warned.
Ponzu blew carefully on it, then took a bite.
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