The night had arrived. The moon in the dark sky illuminated the ground. Acting as the sole source of light, the moonlight provided the creatures below a solace from the darkness that threatened to devour everything.
In the river after the Forest of Death, also known as the Sasmuan River. One would see a flickering orange light. Zooming in, the silhouette of eight people grilling a fish in the bonfire could be seen.
Dunn, holding a makeshift grill using green branches from a non-toxic tree. He began to season fish with herbs, oil, and salt. Caleb wondered how the hunting party had salt in the first place when they were far from the city.
It turned out that, In some wilderness areas around them, they found natural salt deposits on rocks or in caves in one of their travels. These deposits can be scraped off and collected. And when they found salt-rich rocks, they broke them into smaller pieces using tools like stones or a makeshift hammer. Lastly, once they have collected salt rocks, they grind or crush them into finer granules using stones. Yeah, it was that simple... According to Dunn, at least.
"Guys, you can dig in now. But be careful, it's hot." Dunn removed the fish from the makeshift grills and put them on a large banana leaf for plating.
Most of the plants in this world were similar to Earth except for some other ones that Caleb couldn't identify. But that doesn't mean they don't exist on Earth. It may be that he was just unfamiliar with them. After all, there are thousands or even hundreds of thousands of varieties of plants.
GRGHHH!!
Suddenly, the sound of stomach growling broke the silence of the night. Jin, Fushigiro, Tamasai, Caleb, Dunn, Miles, and Athena simultaneously turned their head at the culprit. There, Rina was touching her stomach with red cheeks.
"Uhm... Don't be shy. You can get yours first." Caleb said.
Rina glared at Caleb for a second, then hesitantly reached for one of the grilled fish. It has an attractive golden to brownish color on the outside. Prominent grill marks and charred lines on its surface, give it a visually appealing, slightly caramelized appearance. The fish's skin, if left on during grilling, has become crispy and browned. When Rina bit the fish, the members saw the flesh inside appear flaky and opaque.
The arrangement of the sleep was clear from the start. Most of the members began to sleep. Except for Dunn and Miles, who were responsible for the watch. Every three hours, someone would replace them. Luckily, they didn't include him, thus allowing him to have a long uninterrupted sleep. With that, Caleb felt the tiredness of the day catch up to him, and his mind started to become less active.
...
Caleb woke up as the first ray of sun hit his face. When he stood up, he saw Rina and Miles already waiting for him in the open field. A yawn escaped from Caleb's mouth and he unconsciously stretched his sore arms and back in a straight line.
'Why are they so early?'
"Johan, come here. Today, you're in our care." Miles said tiredly while looking at Caleb with his tired eyes. Two dark heavy eye bags could be seen just underneath them. "Are you ready?"
Caleb walked to them and gave Miles an apologetic expression. "Can I wash my face first?"
Rina smiled. Unlike Miles, she looks as refreshed as a fully bloomed-sunflower. Her usual indifferent expression was replaced with serenity.
'Someone was fully rested.'
Miles nodded his head without looking at him and said impatiently.
"Go on... Make it quick. I want to sleep again after this."