Having never seen such food, the Tavectans sampled the dishes cautiously.Having never seen such food, the Tavectans sampled the dishes cautiously. They were salty, with an unusually tangy flavor and a stringy interior texture which differed from the smooth, slightly wrinkled exteriors on which their tongues could detect tiny ruffles. Still, they were interesting and palatable, but clearly not vegetable as first thought. The long strips of meat were tender, while the small round bits were somewhat chewy, but flavorful, like excellent beef. Curious and considering making the dish a centerpiece for the next masked ball, during the approaching Harvest Festival, King Fionn asked his host what they were, just as Sir Edward beckoned the girl back from Toggle who had just taken another large helping. The Dark Lord only smiled as he cleared the last of the meat from his plate, followed by the remaining spheroid and washed them down quickly with a large gulp of wine. He was glad to be done with them and on to the more appealing appetizers. After a bite of the chicken patty, noticing the cook had been heavy-handed on the rosewater again, he commented, "You like them, do you?" "Oh, quite," King Fionn returned, noticing the some of the other diners who had taken them had not even touched the appetizer. "You set a fine table, Great Lord, but please, what are these called. I'm sure I've tasted something similar, but I'd like to be sure." "Pooshnok," the Dark Lord answered, gesturing with his wine- glass to the brown spheroids Sir Edward was adding to his plate, "served in accompaniment with Javooka-du-Shagga." "Is special hobgoblin delegate," Toggle added from across the table between enthusiastic bites. General Oakleaf stifled a snicker in his wine-glass as Sir Edward blanched, his jaws momentarily ceasing their chewing. |