I finished cutting up the larger chunks for smoking and set them up properly. There was a lot of meat and it would take a while to smoke it. I went back to the kitchen and took three stew pots, treated them with waterproofing potion and partially filled them with water, then set them on the racks. I lit the fires and let the water simmer as I went back to the water spout and quickly washed off my feet. I put my socks and boots back on and then took the bags of goat meat off my neck.

I knew the ram meat would be tougher, since he was more muscular, and quickly diced it up and tossed it into the three pots in equal measure. I went back to the owlbear carcass and quickly skimmed and chopped up the remains of the meat pieces from it and added it to the three pots as well. I would have to wait to see what I could do with the bones. For now, I piled them in the corner of the room and left them there.

I went back to the kitchen and went to the large rack of containers. I picked each one up until I found a few spices, herbs, and things that smelled similar to what I used back home. I quickly added them to the three pots and let them slowly cook. I added little bits of firewood to the fire to keep it at a lower temperature and then took out the goat meat.

The goat must have been healthy, because the meat was completely unblemished. I quickly removed the bones and set several frying pans with oil and oven pans with a little water. I walked around the kitchen and kept sniffing, looking for familiar things, and found quite a few good vegetables and even a few tubers. I chopped up a pile of vegetables and added some spices, then split them up between the oven pans and the stew pots.

I set the larger lamb meat pieces into the oven pans and put them into the large oven. They looked tiny compared to the entire oven and I thought I could have fit the whole goat in there if I had a pan big enough. I made sure it was stoked for a long cook time and closed it up and left it. I checked the pots of stew and the meat was softening up nicely.

I sliced up the lamb into half inch thick boneless steaks and tossed them into the frying pans. They sizzled immediately and the smell was great. My stomach rumbled loudly and I had to eat a potato raw to stave off my hunger. It didn't really work. It kept my mouth busy, though.

As I cooked, I remembered back to travelling through the woods and being disappointed that there were no potion ingredients anywhere around that huge forest. I didn't even find any indication that any could have been there, either. It made me a little sad to discover that I couldn't just go out into the surrounding area to get things that I needed.

That meant the potions I had on me would be all I would have access to for the next three months, so I would have to keep using them sparingly. That reminded me about the fungus powder I had and I sprinkled a very tiny amount into the stew pots. Like the Hag had warned me, it was a rare and precious commodity and was sought after by magic users everywhere.

I was really glad that I always kept my bandoleer on me and hadn't left it in my trunk. My potions could have been requisitioned because they were needed by the army and then I wouldn't be paid for them. I was still waiting on the payment from the snake juice that Alex had taken from me, which meant that the army wasn't going to pay for it like he said.

The frying lamb meat finally finished and I took the pans from the fire. I didn't bother with a metal tray and just ate a piece right from the pan. My mouth was watering as I chewed on the soft and tender meat that had been cooked to perfection. My stomach settled down and I ate a second piece, just because I could. It was delicious. It was so good that I had forgotten to eat any vegetables with it.

I left the lamb meat to cool and stirred the pots of stew and they were coming along nicely. A few hours and they would be done as well. The smoker on the other hand, was going to take a week or more for the larger chunks. I should have asked for hunting permission before, that way I would have had more meat to replace it with at the same time that my other meat ran out.

I heard the door to the mess hall open and several people came in. It was the head cook and the other staff.

“What's going on in here?” The head cook asked as they came into the kitchen and he saw the mess I had made.

“The XO ordered me to come to the kitchen and cook my kills.” I said.

One of the others walked towards the pans of my fried lamb meat and I darted over to him and held my knife out to block him. “Whoa! I was just gonna taste it.”

“No, you weren't.” I warned him.

“Hey, there's no need to be like that.” He said.

“Yes, there is. I'm tired of people stealing from me.” I said and he gave me a surprised look.

“I wasn't...”

“Back off.” The head cook said and put a hand on the man's shoulder, who stepped back. The head cook looked at me. “I hope you're going to pay for those vegetables and spices you took.”

I took out a silver coin and tossed it to him. “I know how much you buy them for, so this should pay for a week's worth of vegetables for one person.”

“How do you know that?” The head cook asked, surprised.

“I deal with the best shipping company in the area.” I said and sheathed my knife. “I have a bunch of meat in the smoker and no one is to touch that, the stew, the pans in the oven, my fried meat, or the owlbear pelt in the butchering room.”

The others were muttering loudly to each other and I ignored it for now.

“You actually cooked it?” The perky woman asked.

“I'm only really cooking the meat in the stew. The smoker just cures it for safe storage.”

“I know that. I do work in the kitchen.”

“I haven't seen any of you working on meat.” I said and they all had slightly sad faces.

“We've already run out of this month's allotment of meat rations.” She responded.

“Those roasts were delicious.” One of them commented. “It's too bad the CO ordered them divided up and used for just the meals served to the officers this week.”

“We were supposed to cut them up for everyone to use.” The perky woman said. “They were too nice to waste like that, so we cut up hundreds of pork chops on the first day of basic training and we use that when we need meat for the troops.”

“Which is only at supper most times.” The head cook said. “Private, may I have a small sliver of that fried lamb meat to taste it?”

Without looking, I picked up a normal kitchen knife, reached back and sliced an inch wide piece off of a ten inch wide piece of lamb meat, skewered it with the knife, and held it out.

“Thanks.” He said and took the meat and popped it into his mouth. He chewed on it for several moments and then swallowed. “What spices did you use?”

I pointed to the table behind him and he turned to look.

“Those aren't supposed to work together.” He commented and looked confused. “The tastes should have contradicted each other, especially on such a tender cut of meat.”

The others turned to look as well and were confused, too.

After a few minutes, the head cook looked back at me. “Can I try the stew?”

“No.”

He didn't give me an angry face at my refusal. “Can I ask why?”

“You can't handle it.” I responded and he had slightly wide eyes. “I made it for me to eat and only the Hag or I can ingest it without problems.”

“What did you put in it? Poison?” The perky woman asked.

“Yes.” I said, referring to the fungus powder. “It's the same with the smoked meat. I can't have people stealing it again.”

“Did you really poison it?” One of them asked and looked at the head cook with concern on his face.

“The lamb meat I fried is fine. The pieces in the oven are not.”

“The oven, too?” The head cook asked and opened the oven to look at all the pans of broiling meat and vegetables. “How many animals...”

“A ram, a female goat, and an owlbear. There's a lot of meat on an owlbear.”

“You used nearly everything?” The head cook asked as he closed the oven.

“I left the entrails in the woods.” I said.

“Aww, lamb liver is the best.” The perky woman said with a pout.

“The wolves took that almost right away.” I said and she hiccuped and then coughed.

“Wh-wh-WHAT?!?” She exclaimed.

“There's a wolf pack a few miles away in the woods.” I said and she exchanged worried looks with the others.

“You told the CO, didn't you?” The head cook asked.

“The XO and Drill Sergeant know, too.” I said.

“They'll gather people to go hunting them tomorrow.” The head cook reassured the others and looked at me. “I suspect you'll be called to go, too.”

I shook my head. “I have basic training tomorrow.”

The head cook looked surprised and then turned to wave the others away. “Let's go back to our bunks.”

“But... are you really going to let...” One of the men started to say.

“He's under orders to cook his kills. We can't interfere with that.”

“The smell is all over the base.” One of the others said.

“I should tell you to hold your breath.” The head cook said with a chuckle. “We both know it'll be hours for the stew to simmer and the roasts to cook, so I won't. It'll also be weeks for the smoker to finish.”

The others sighed in defeat. As they shuffled out of the kitchen, I relaxed, because they didn't steal my meat or demand that I hand it over, despite using their kitchen to cook it.

_______________

You have a minor choice to make. It could change your relationship with the kitchen staff.

A) Stay silent. B) Offer some meat. C) Scare them. D) Yell. E) Be nice. F) Be mean. G) Choose two.

I sighed, because the kitchen staff didn't really do anything bad to me. Their worst chores were things I did for the Hag for years, which was why I didn't complain about it. It was easy.

I guess I'll give them a chance, too. I thought. I'll choose E and B.

_______________

I picked up the piece of lamb I had cut a sliver off of. “Just a second.” I said as I cut it in three, then cut another up into three. I picked up both pans and held them out to the kitchen workers. They knew right away why there were six pieces and the five of them grabbed one each and left the slightly smaller one for the head cook.

The head cook chuckled and took it. “Thank you, Private.”

“Sir.” I said and saluted with the petrified hand.

He laughed and the kitchen workers left the kitchen with delicious meat in their possession and happy expressions on their faces. I took out a canvas bag and sliced up the fried lamb into easily eaten strips, treated the bag, and cut the bag off about a foot from the bottom. I filled the much smaller bag with the lamb strips and sealed it. I was quite happy with the amount.

I ignored the lights out order that came some time later, mainly because I wasn't using any. I could easily see by all the fires I was using and spent half the night cooking the stews and the roasts. When everything was done, I extinguished most of the fires with a wave of my hand. I left a few going, so it would stay warm in the kitchen.

I treated three more canvas bags with waterproofing potion and filled them with the stew from the pots and sealed them. I took the pans from the oven and put them on one of the workbenches to cool as well. After that, I found a nice spot in the corner of the kitchen, next to several bags of vegetables, and curled up into a ball on the floor and drifted off to sleep.