Tarna lowers the heavy sack beside the roaring communal fire. She favors her bruised shoulder, and the gathered Giants make room at the cooking stones, where their smaller shield-maiden can work without stooping over towering elders.
Teethindi
Set the great catch here, little shield-maiden. Make it worthy of Aruun’s first feast.
Tarna cleans the fish with practiced care, scoring the silver flesh and rubbing it with salt, crushed herbs, and fragrant bulbs gathered from the island’s sheltered caves. The work suits her hands.
Around her, the Giants settle into a pleased murmur. Firelight catches on bronze beads and weathered faces as the first fish sizzles against the heated stones, sending savory smoke curling into the snow-bright air.
Teethindi
There. Turn it gently. Let the heat reach the bones without stealing the moisture.
Tarna follows the instruction, rotating the great fish with wooden paddles while keeping her aching shoulder steady. The aroma deepens, and approving voices rise behind her like a second fire.
Teethindi
The first one is ready. Will you serve the newborn, or show us how you would honor the clan’s elders?
✓ Quest Accepted
Serve the first fish to the newborn
“{Tarna cuts a piece of the fish off with a fishing knife, then she presents the tiny fish bite to the mom of the newborn. Tarna goes back to cook the rest of the fish alone while everyone else enjoys the drums, dances, and drinks all the ale while watching the baby try his first ever fish, as tradition with this secluded giant clan.}”
SUCCESS (Good Cooking, rolled -1)
Tarna cuts a tiny, tender piece from the great fish with her fishing knife and carries it carefully to the newborn’s mother, a giant adult woman with a sturdy build, dark hair braided with red thread, and a blue wool dress beneath a fur-trimmed brown cloak beside the fire.
The mother accepts the bite in both hands. She turns toward Aruun, whose small mouth opens at the scent while drums begin a faster, jubilant rhythm.
The Newborn’s Mother
Aruun, taste the gift of the sea, and grow strong beneath our ancestors’ eyes.
She places the morsel against Aruun’s lips. The newborn gums it, blinks solemnly, and swallows, drawing a roar of delight from the gathered Giants.
Tarna returns to the cooking stones and works alone while the Giants dance, drink ale, and watch the sacred first tasting. Her knife catches on a bone, chipping its edge.
The damaged blade still serves, and Tarna portions the remaining fish into generous pieces, turning each over the heat as smoke and salt scent the celebration.
The Newborn’s Mother
He accepts it! Shield-maiden, your hands have welcomed him well.
Cheers answer her, and the dance surges around the fire as Aruun reaches for another taste, his first fish now a feast shared by the whole clan.
Quest Complete
Serve the first fish to the newborn