"My friend has reconsidered and will be more than happy with what you have brought," Kuri said smoothly and the girl, after sending me a condescending look, hurried off to what I presumed was the kitchen.
Kuri released my wrist and picking up his tankard he drank an unhealthy amount of the foul-smelling fluid. He shook his head at the taste of it for a moment before motioning to me to do the same.
I still had some stale water in a skin bladder out on my saddle that, although gamy to the taste, was, by comparison, a far better alternative to what the tankard before me contained. I shook my head and asked, "Why couldn't I have had water instead of this?"
Kuri's brow wrinkled good humoredly, "Have you ever had the tumbly grumblies?"
"Worms?" I asked, in verification of what he meant.
He nodded, still smiling.
"Goodness no!"
"Well, if you'd like to continue being unfed upon from within, you'll drink the beer that's set before you. The fermentation process of the alcohol kills off all the parasites and, while it doesn't taste good, it's the safest thing you're going to find around here to drink."
I stared at the tankard before me in revulsion. As revolting as it was though, it was less so than the thought of invaders twisting about in my guts feeding on me from within. I took a sip and about spewed it across the table.
The stuff was as vile as it had looked and smelled! I took a second sip and managed to hold it down and fight off the urge to vomit.
The girl was back with two steaming bowls in her hands. She sat them down with a flourish and I stared at the contents in the bowl before me. The contents of the bowl, for lack of a better description, looked like a grey mound of mud with lumpy twigs stuck here and there in it. No wonder the girl was so thin.
"Thank you," Kuri said warmly, not at all put off by the sick looking porridge before us, which I wasn't entirely sure was completely dead. Was that twiggish looking lump moving?
I glanced up to see the girl looking at me and I said, "Thank you." I saw her smile for the first time and then she left us, presumably for us to enjoy our meal.
I looked back down to the bowl before me. I poked the one lump suspiciously, but there appeared to be no movement. My reintroduction to society wasn't going well at all.
*****
With the meal finished, and feeling the worse for it, I rose to follow after Kuri, only he wasn't headed for the door. He stopped and motioned me to go back out to the horses and obediently I did.