“Out of the seven largest Isles of the Western Isles, the Greenmeadow Isle was the least populated by far. The main reason for this was because the island’s geography was mostly dominated by the extremely dense and lush jungles in which myriad species of beasts and monsters had made their homes.

What few inhabitants lived in the isle lived along its coastlines, where the jungle was less dense and the more dangerous beasts rarely ventured to hunt to. The inner regions of the island were forbidden land for the locals, with many legends of ancient guardians and demons abound.” - Alina Knizhnyycherv, Researcher of Therian Cultures at the Verozgrad University, circa 672 FP.

“You look excited, Tal,” asked Vark as their boat approached Greenmeadow Isle, the fifth isle the group visited on their trip. The group had spent a couple weeks of relaxation on the Crystal Atoll, which the younger members had especially enjoyed, as they frequently swam in the crystal-clear waters of the lagoon.

Back then, Tal was also quite excited, though he was more excited about diving and watching the many kinds of fish and other sea creatures that lived in the lagoon than anything. Today, however, the young human looked positively giddy and excited, much like a young child before a trip would be, which was a rare sight to say the least.

“To visit Greenmeadow Isle… had always been my dream,” admitted the young man. They recalled that he learned monster biology and was greatly interested in seeing the creatures he learnt from his books with his own two eyes. “Though practicalities had made that rather difficult until today. Nobody in the Isles or the Empire are willing to guide people into the jungles.”

“Well, we ain’t just any random bunch,” replied Cal as she approached and leaned on the railings of the boat on Tal’s other side. “Besides, other people don't have local guides who know the jungle routes by heart either.”

As if to punctuate her words, Ashani raised a paw and waved at them from the other side of the ship’s deck. Both she and Kyara had kept themselves covered under their hoods and cloaks in the isles, where their tribe’s reputation was amplified to boogeyman levels by the locals, unlike in the Empire where they were more nonchalant about it.

Since most of the population of Greenmeadow Isle lived on its periphery, the shorelines were quite bustling. Fishermen on their boats populated the waters, while divers went deeper in search for clams, oysters and other edible creatures from the sea floor.

There was a simple dock by the village, one that could at most accommodate a boat like the one Cal and her group was on, and nothing larger. The boat they took lowered its anchor and settled by the dock, and the passengers - most of which were locals who had gone to the Atoll to trade - disembarked in an orderly manner.

The village by the dock was mostly populated by two different tribes of therians, one that resembled wolves much like Willa, who seemed to make up the village’s hunters and fishermen, while the other tribe being one with a strong resemblance to deers, with the males sporting large, multi-pronged antlers on their foreheads. They mostly tended to the patch of agriculture that dotted the village’s surroundings.

Unlike the other Isles the party had visited so far, there were no inns or the likes on Greenmeadow Isle. Tourists were practically unheard of on the island, while traders would usually rent a room at a villager’s house or simply sleep on the ship instead. As such, since they arrived rather early in the day, Cal and her group decided to directly head to their destination deeper into the forest after they all had a meal in the village.

It was not difficult to find some villagers who were more than willing to cook them some food for gold, and before long, the party had seated themselves on mats, directly laid on the sandy beaches, while the locals brought platters of food for them, along with bottles of the local liquor to wash them down with.

With how the village relied heavily on hunting and fishing on top of what few plants they grew or gathered, the meal itself was heavy on meats and fishes. A couple chickens were roasted whole on a spit, flavored mostly with a sharp, pungent local herb that, while a surprise at first, becomes quite pleasant to taste after a while.

Other than that, the caps of large, translucent jellyfish were cleaned and chopped up into noodle-like pieces, dressed in the juices of a local citrus and some chili peppers, for a crunchy appetizer with a salty, tangy and spicy flavor. The jellyfish itself had little flavor, and was mostly used as a canvas for the texture it brings to the mix.

Several large starfishes were cut open, with their brown, rather gooey insides then spread out on small loaves made from mashed and baked plantains, which were then grilled over charcoals until the innards were lightly charred on the surface. The flavor was salty and briny, and meshes well with the mostly plain, lightly sweet plantains.

Fresh fish was gutted and cleaned, then encased in mud and then roasted whole over a fire until the mud dried and hardened. Then the local chef expertly yanked them by the tail, pulling out the bones in one go, before they broke the mud casing in half to expose the hot, steaming flesh that awaited inside. A drizzling of sauce was then added to the cooked fish, a mixture of the same citrus and chili used for the jellyfish. Some small bones remained in the flesh, but they were soft enough to eat, so not even little Ilena was bothered by their presence.

Clams and crabs, along with small crayfish, large prawns, and a few lobsters, were all boiled together with copious amount of fruit juices and spices in a large pot, until most of the liquid had seeped into the seafood, then served whole on a large platter. The infusion of fruity flavors heightened the natural sweetness of the ingredients, and pretty soon everyone got their hands messy with the juices of the crustaceans as they peeled and ate to their heart’s content.

More of the juice was provided as beverages, along with bamboo tubes of the local liquor, which was made by fermenting those same juices into alcohol. The liquor was lighter than most ales on the mainlands, more a fruit juice with a slight alcoholic kick, but it suited the heavily flavored meal served alongside it well.