Kat PoV


    That first night with the Nomadic Arese Tribe was rather interesting, as I helped Vka and some other of the Arese cook dinner for the rest of the entire tribe, earning some surprised looks from the rest of the women.


    The cooking was rather primitive, what withrge y cauldrons being filled with water andced with various herbs and bones, before we roasted some meats over the fire and slid them inside the cauldron as well.


    Besides therge vat of stew that we had boiled, we kept some of the giant bs of meats off to the side to be eaten on their own, while some of the other women began to grill some vegetables that looked like potatoes and yams over the fire as well.


    When it all came together, we had a vast array of dishes prepared to serve to the rest Arese Tribe, all of which was ted on some wooden tters and ready to be touted out to the women.


    Vka stopped me as I nned to continue to help out, saying "I didn''t know that you knew how to cook like that... If you wish, that could be your ''job'' during our journey, just to keep the rest of the Tribe subdued and epting of your ce here."


    Nodding, I smiled slightly as I said "I''ll think about it... I have many talents though, Vka, so I think I''ll try all sorts of things around here. Besides, your Tribe seems rather epting so far!"


    The short huntress pursed her lips at that, her eyes trailing over my body as she said "I wouldn''t go so far as to say that we''re epting as much as we are... open to being ''friendly''."


    Chuckling softly, I understood the meaning of her words well enough, but I just shrugged as I said "As long as no one tries to force me into something, you can look as much as you like; not like I can stop you. Though, the second someone tries to touch me..."


    shing her a cold smile, I lifted the tter of mammoth steaks and moved past Vka, who nodded to me as she followed with her own tter.


    "That you shouldn''t need to worry about; most of us are honorable enough to take no as an answer. Just... do avoid being aroundrge groups of us if we get drunk; I can''t promise anything then."


    Giving her a hum of acknowledgement, I made my way over towards thergest bonfire in the encampment, where the entire Arese Tribe had gathered.


    The Priestess stood with her daughter, bothughing and sipping on wooden mugs, while the rest of the Tribe graciously epted the offered foods and bowls of stew, everyone holding their meals and waiting.


    Looking on curiously, I watched as the Priestess coughed into her fist before taking a step forwards, raising her hands and quieting the assembled women.


    "Everyone, please sp your hands and join me in prayer."


    Closing their eyes, the Arese rested their tters on their knees or the ground before sping their hands together, leaning their brows against their hands.


    Everyone began to mutter quietly to themselves, and I could make out some of the various prayers around me.


    All of them mentioned Areseta, their Goddess, whilst some mentioned the names Sayik, Liaka, Maraca, and Fiarhe, the founders of the Arese Tribe.


    However, the contents of their prayers were all different.


    Vka prayed for better sess on her hunts, better yields on her prey, and offered thanks for the food gracing her tter.


    Some prayed for trivial things, like to do better at their assigned job, to bolster their confidence of will, and so on.


    Others prayed for more... interesting things, like to catch the attention of their crush, for better performance tonight, and to aid their fertility tonight.


    It was... an interesting set of prayers, but each of them were sincere in their words and desires.


    When they had all finished, everyone opened their eyes and stared at the Priestess, who raised her mug and shouted "Dig in!", earning a loud cacophony of shouts before everyone began to devour their meals.


    Sitting beside Vka, I looked over the food we had prepared and began to eat as well, starting with a roasted potato.


    Using my knife, I sliced the potato in half and scooped out the center, before cing some of the mammoth steaks juices and butter inside.


    My mouth watered at the steam rising off of the potato, and I blew on it for a few moments before taking a bite.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The soft flesh of the potato was seeped with juices, and each bite was flush with vor from the mammoth steaks.


    After taking a bite of the potato, I sipped on the mammoth stew, relishing its rich, gamey vor as well as the sharp tang from the herbs.


    Everyone was quiet as they ate, each of the Arese nodding to themselves as they finished their meals.


    Savoring the rich vors of everything, I remained seated beside Vka as some of the Arese got up, moving towards the fire.


    Sensing my curiosity, Vka turned and said "After most meals, we''ll start a dance around the fire if we wish to find a partner to spend the night with or to dance with our existing partners. For instance, Eyoli is one of the Priestess'' personal dancers and partners, so tonight..."


    Gesturing out towards the fire, I watched as the two tall women clung to each other, the muscr Eyoli wearing a meek, shy expression as she listened to the whispering of the Priestess.


    "Eyoli will be warming the Priestess'' bed in hopes of conceiving a child. She takes turns with a few other women as well, and currently the Priestess'' daughter is searching for her own group of partners."


    One of the Arese we were working with earlier approached us, her slightly wrinkled face disying her age.


    "Vka dear, let me take care of the washing tonight; enjoy your night! You''re only young for so long..."


    Giving the woman a small smile, Vka handed her tter and bowl over to the older woman, who also smiled at me and grabbed mine as well.


    Nodding to her, I watched as Vka stood up and stretched, her lithe muscles straining against her charcoal skin.


    ncing back at me, Vka said "If you''re not interested in finding a partner, go back to our tent and get some sleep. We leave early tomorrow. Don''t leave the tent alone, alright?"


    "Yeah, I got it. Have fun, and goodnight."


    Getting up, I left the ambiguous campfire behind as I made my way towards the tent, slipping into the bedroll Vka had said was mine and finding sce on my own.


    Making sure to clean everything and air out the tent afterwards, I sighed as I fell asleep on the bedroll, a few runes lingering around me just in case.


    Waking up on my own, I noticed it was still dark outside, but Vka was rolling her bedroll up and beginning to take everything down inside the tent.


    Joining her after washing my face, I packed everything into the bags she told me to, tying everything to primitive backpacks that we would need to lug over the snow.


    Eyoli eventually joined us as well, her tired expression and unkempt hair disying her rough night at the mercy of the Priestess, but she seemed happy enough as we took the tent down and rolled up all the pelts.


    We worked in silence, eventually managing to get everything packed up and ready to move out, the same as the rest of the encampment.


    Arese stood around and loaded up their packs and ced some of their gear onrge sleds, groups of them tying on harnesses to be able to pull those gearden sleds across the frozen tundra.


    Some Arese walked around and handed out strips of dried meats and small bundles of berries, which everyone ate quickly, washing it down with water.


    ncing at our packed tent and items, I opened the ice chests andid everything inside them, freeing up my back and Vka''s back.


    "Is everyone prepared? We''re making our way over to Scythiara to deposit our spoils before heading towards Pris City to sell whatever wares we have left. If you need to eat, wash, or anything else, do it now; once we set off, we aren''t stopping till we reach Scythiara."


    The assembled tribe nodded, with some making there way towards the fringes todo whatever they needed to do, before we began to make our way Northwards, towards the Arese Tribe'' home of Scythiara and eventually Pris City inside of the Nevrokopi State, where I would hopefully find myself a map to lead me back to the Empire.


    However, for now, I was back to walking across a snow covered in, the crisp, chilly air battering my face as we traversed besides the Cimmerian Mountains, which protected us from the Labyrinthian.