Marked by the Four Beast Lords After Transmigration

By late afternoon, the smell of pepper and browned meat had reached the path outside their cave.

Nia noticed because someone passing below slowed long enough to call up, “Whatever that is, I hope you made enough.”

“You were not invited,” she called back.

The man laughed and kept walking.

Shen looked over from the preparation board. “He will tell people there is food up here.”

“He would have done that whether I answered him or not.”

Shen returned to his work at the preparation board.

Nia stirred the pepper root-and-meat stew and checked the heat beneath the pot. She had chosen it because she already knew exactly what it should taste like. They had spent several days building, cleaning, testing, and finally using the kitchen. Yesterday, Sareth had come to learn at the hearth. Nia did not want the first meal she had actually invited people to share in the finished space to become another test.

The stew had browned meat, softened roots, sharp bulbs, broth, salt, and dried mountain pepper bloomed into the fat before the liquid went in. Beside it, Shen had warmed coarse stone-wheat flatbread until the edges crisped again.

The only spring addition for tonight was the bundle of early bitter greens Sera had sent over that morning with a message that she would bring more if the lower market still had them tomorrow. Nia had washed the leaves carefully and separated the thicker stems so she could cook them near the end without softening the whole bundle into one texture.

Nia had set a small jar of preserved winter berry syrup near the cups. There was not enough left to make a large drink pot, but diluted with warm water, it would give them something sharp and sweet with the meal.

Shen had already cleaned the preparation board after the meat work. Clean cups occupied one end now, and the washed greens rested at the other. The drying basket beside the basin no longer interfered with the route between washing and preparation, and they could carry the hot pot from the hearth to the gray stone without clearing space first.

Nia looked at the basket for several breaths.

Shen noticed. “Is something wrong with it?”

“No. I think I am waiting to notice something.”

“You already moved it until the path worked.”

“I know.”

He came around the board and touched two fingers beneath her chin before leaning down to kiss her once.

“Leave it there unless it gives you a reason to move it.”

Nia smiled. “Fine.”

Heavy steps sounded outside before she could turn back to the stew.

Kael appeared at the entrance with spring mud darkening the lower edge of his boots and a folded strip of route cloth tucked beneath his arm. His attention went from Nia to the hearth.

“You started cooking without me.”

“Nobody ate without you.”

He cleaned his boots at the outer side, left the route cloth near the entrance away from the food space, and washed his hands before coming farther inside.

Nia lowered the heat beneath the stew.

Kael passed behind her and pressed his palm briefly against her hip.

“The lower bend stayed firm today,” he said.

“Even with the carts?”

“Only hand-carried loads went through. I will test one cart tomorrow morning if the edge stays firm overnight.”

Nia nodded. “So everyone complained today instead.”

“Enough of them.”

Shen slid a cup of warm berry drink toward him.

Kael drank, then asked, “Who is coming?”

“Sera and Mari. Ayari was here yesterday, so I did not invite her again this soon.”

Kael nodded and took another drink.

Nia glanced at him. “You were wondering.”

“I was.”

That was all he gave her before moving toward the entrance to check the path outside.

Sera arrived first with a shallow basket tucked against her side and a separately wrapped bundle of clean folded cloths under her other arm. Mari followed a few steps behind carrying a folded count cloth and looking as though she had left work only because Sera had insisted long enough.

Nia looked at Sera’s basket.

“I told you not to bring anything.”

“You told me you were making dinner. I had these anyway.”

Sera set the basket on the shelterbark landing. She placed the cloth bundle on the dry inner side of the entrance, opened the outer carrying wrap by its edges, and laid the wrap across the handle of her market basket, leaving the clean folded cloths exposed without touching them.

Mari left her folded count cloth beside Kael’s route cloth at the dry entrance side before stepping farther in.

Sera loosened the carrying wrap around the younger greens. “These came down after midday. The stems are softer than the ones I sent this morning.”

Nia bent one between her fingers.

“Same seller?”

“No. A household from the lower terraces brought them down. There were only a few bundles left when I passed.”

Mari glanced at the greens. “Two households spent more time arguing over the last basket than it was worth.”

“Over greens?” Nia asked.

“Over who had already promised the basket to whom. They both use the same grain grinder, so they will work it out before either household needs flour.”

Sera laughed as Nia carried the younger bundle to the washing side.

“I am using the morning greens tonight,” Nia said. “These can stay wrapped for tomorrow.”

She folded the carrying wrap back around the younger greens and left them at the washing side. Then she and Sera washed their hands after handling the market bundle, while Mari washed beside them.

Once their hands were clean, Nia lifted only the clean folded cloths from the dry entrance side and put them with the household supply.

Kael returned from the entrance and greeted Sera with a touch to her shoulder before giving Mari a nod.

Sera looked at the damp lower edge of one of his outer leg wraps. “You have been on the lower road again.”

“All morning.”

“He washed before he came near the food,” Nia said.

“I assumed he did.”

Nia turned back toward the hearth.

She cooked the morning greens last. Rendered fat went into a shallow pan, followed by the thicker stems. Once they softened, she added the leaves and a light amount of rough herb salt. A spoonful of broth kept the edges from drying, and she took the pan from the heat while the greens still had some bite. She transferred them into a clean serving bowl.

Shen moved the stew onto the gray hot-pot stone.

Sera took the bowls from the clean end of the preparation board and passed them toward Kael while Mari brought the flatbread closer to the hearth. Nia carried the serving bowl of greens over.

They settled with the food between them, close enough to reach everything without turning the meal into a formal gathering.

Sera took the first bite of greens and chewed thoughtfully.

“These are better than the ones I made last week.”

Mari tore a piece of flatbread. “You left yours in the water much longer.”

“I was trying to make sure the stems softened.”

“The stems did.”

Sera looked at her bowl and laughed. “So did everything else.”

Nia ate another bite. “Put the stems in first next time. The leaves do not need as long.”

“I will.”

Kael tore a crisp piece from the edge of his flatbread and put it beside Nia’s stew before taking another for himself. Shen had already placed Nia’s warm berry drink near her knee where she could reach it without leaning across anyone.

For a while, the conversation wandered away from food.

Sera told them that one of the lower storage households had finally repaired a leaking roof only to discover that the new runoff landed directly where the household dried cord. Mari said the repair crew had already been sent back.

Kael said two western markers needed deeper stakes before the next rain.

Mari asked whether carts would return to the lower bend tomorrow.

“If the ground stays firm overnight,” Kael said. “One loaded cart first. If the edge shifts, the rest stay on the longer road.”

“Good.”

Nia looked between them. “In spring, half the work seems to depend on which ground is still mud.”

“It is every year,” Sera said.

Mari tore another piece of bread. “Winter damage stays hidden under snow. Once everything thaws, you see what still needs repair.”

A runner appeared outside the entrance before she finished eating.

“Mari.”

She turned.

“Three salt sacks came down from the east store. One has a torn seam.”

“Put the sealed sacks on the dry count stone. Keep the torn one separate until I see how much was lost.”

“The carrier says it was not much.”

“I will count it when I get back.”

The runner nodded and left.

Mari returned to her stew.

Sera reached for more greens. “That is why I made her leave the count table.”

Mari continued eating instead of answering.

The meal moved slowly after that.

The pepper stew warmed Nia’s mouth without overwhelming the sweetness in the roots. Kael added another spoonful to his bowl before tearing off more flatbread. Shen ate more slowly, breaking his bread into smaller pieces and using them to catch the thick broth near the bottom.

Sera finished her greens and reached for the serving bowl again.

“These would be good with fresh curd.”

Nia looked at her. “Like Pella’s? I liked the sample at the market, but they were already trying to trade the curd early because it would not keep.”

“That seller gets milk from ridge households,” Sera said.

Mari looked up. “Not every day.”

“No. More often once spring settles.”

Nia put her cup down. “They milk regularly?”

“Some households do once the young are taking less. The milk comes down early because it does not travel well after the day warms.”

“Do the ridge households make the curd themselves?”

“Some do. Others trade extra milk to households that already make it.”

Mari wiped a drop of stew from the edge of her bowl with flatbread. “If you want fresh milk, you need to know which mornings it comes down. Waiting until midday because someone says it is still good is how you waste it.”

Shen looked toward Nia. “You want to taste the milk before it becomes curd.”

“I do. And I want to try the curd again when we can use it the same day.”

Sera shifted her legs beneath her. “I know one of the older women who trades with the ridge households. I can ask which mornings milk is coming down this week.”

“Ask,” Nia said. “Do not promise that I am buying anything yet.”

Sera nodded and went back to her stew.

The greens disappeared before the stew did. Nia scraped the last pieces from the serving bowl onto Sera’s bowl because Sera had reached toward them twice already.

Sera broke off another piece of flatbread. “Eggs would be good with these too.”

Nia paused. “I have only seen a few for sale.”

“Most of the early spring eggs are still being kept,” Mari said. “The first good ones matter more for the nesting birds than for someone’s dinner.”

Sera swallowed. “Some keepers sell a few once they know how many birds are laying well.”

“How often?”

“Not often enough to plan around them,” Mari said.

Sera added, “Ayari’s Tovin knows one of the households that brings eggs into the side row. He has traded baskets with them before.”

“Do they pack them in anything soft?”

“Dry grass. Sometimes fiber.”

Mari shook her head. “People still break them on the lower stones.”

Nia pictured the baskets she had seen at the market and the narrow turns between rows. She wanted to see how the keepers packed them before deciding whether the baskets were actually the problem.

Kael reached for the stew ladle and added another spoonful to her bowl.

“Eat before it cools.”

Nia looked down and realized she had spent more time asking questions than eating.

She picked up her spoon.

By the time the stew was nearly gone, the berry drink had cooled enough that Sera asked for another cup without reheating it.

Shen diluted the last of the syrup from the jar with warm water. Nia watched the dark streak disappear from the bottom as he used the final sweetness.

“We are almost out of that.”

“The berry syrup?” Sera asked.

“Yes. I still have dried berry sheets, but I want those for carrying food.”

Mari looked toward the empty jar. “It lasted through winter. That is more than some preserves do.”

Nia nodded. “I will miss having it once the jar is empty.”

Shen set the rinsed jar aside to dry.

The mountain pepper left a pleasant warmth at the back of Nia’s throat. It was good, but the market opening again had reminded her how small their current range of heat still was.

“Do visiting traders ever bring stronger food spices than mountain pepper?”

Kael looked toward her while Sera considered the question.

“Sometimes,” Sera said. “Rhaegar bought dried pods from an eastern group two springs ago. They were much hotter.”

Mari added, “They were sold as food. That does not mean every dried root or pod a trader calls a spice belongs in a cooking pot.”

Shen nodded. “Anything unfamiliar still gets checked first.”

Nia had no objection to that. After testing redvein, she had enough reason to keep medicinal heat separate from food.

“Were Rhaegar’s pods good?”

Sera leaned back slightly. “He liked them until he used the same amount he normally used of mountain pepper. Darius would not eat the meat after that.”

“Did Rhaegar?”

“Yes. More slowly.”

Nia smiled and asked, “Do those traders come every spring?”

“No. Different groups come depending on the roads.”

Kael set his empty bowl down. “More visiting traders will enter once the eastern road stops taking damage from runoff. Tarek has two groups waiting below the second crossing now.”

“Do you know what they carry?”

“Cloth, mineral salt, dried goods, and some tools. I did not inspect their food stock.”

Mari added, “If one of them has stronger edible spice, Shen can check it before you buy enough to regret it.”

Shen continued eating as though the arrangement had already been obvious.

The meal wound down after that.

Sera rose first and carried her empty bowl toward the washing side.

Nia started to get up, but Sera waved her back down. “I know where the dirty bowls go.”

Mari gathered two more and took the serving bowl with them.

Shen joined them at the basin. Sera placed the dirty bowls on the washing side while Mari brought over the serving bowl, and Shen began washing without anyone needing to clear the preparation board first.

Kael stayed seated beside Nia.

His hand settled at the back of her neck, his thumb warm beneath the edge of one braid.

“You invited them,” he said quietly. “Let them help.”

Nia stayed where she was.

A few months ago, feeding five people in their cave would have meant bowls stacked wherever there was room, wet cloths too close to food, and Nia turning sideways around someone whenever she needed the hearth.

Now Sera was telling Mari that the stew pot did not need to soak yet while Shen washed the cups, and Kael could remain beside Nia because the others had room to move around them.

Nia smiled.

Kael looked down at her. “What?”

She leaned a little more firmly against his side instead of answering.

His thumb moved once beneath her braid.

When Sera finished helping, she took her now-empty basket from the landing. The younger greens remained wrapped at Nia’s washing side for tomorrow, and the clean cloths were already with the household supply.

“Tell me if you want me to ask about the milk,” Sera said.

“I do. Just ask when it comes down.”

“I will.”

Mari picked up her count cloth from the dry entrance side. “I am going back to see how much salt the carrier almost did not lose.”

Nia smiled. “Go count your salt.”

Mari gave her a brief look before following Sera down the path.

When they were gone, their cave became quiet except for water at the basin and voices farther down the slope.

Shen finished the last cup and set it to dry.

Nia walked to the entrance beside Kael.

The light outside had softened, but spring work still moved below them. Two men carried a repaired grain mat toward the lower drying area. Someone farther down called for a missing handcart. A woman answered that it had gone uphill an hour earlier.

Nia leaned into Kael’s side.

“Is the upper slope open now?”

“The safe section is.”

“For ordinary walking?”

“Yes.”

She looked toward the rising path above Hearthfang. “I want to see what is growing up there now that the ground is warming.”

Kael followed her attention.

“The lower half is dry enough. Higher up, we stay east of the loose stone.”

Nia turned toward him. “Can we go tomorrow?”

“I can take you after first bell. I have a route check near the north turn first.”

Shen came up behind them and rested his hand lightly at Nia’s waist.

“Take the smaller gathering basket this time.”

Nia looked back at him. “I already learned that lesson in the jungle.”

Kael reached past them, took the smaller empty gathering basket from its wall place, and set it on the shelterbark landing beside the entrance.

It stayed there for morning.

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