My Siege Oats Burned While I Counted Ashes

Yesterday I put siege oats beside the cookfire at my level eighteen keep, then went to count the ash by the east gate. I returned when the pot had burned black around the rim. The oats were lost, but the ashes showed damp wood beneath the top layer.

I scraped the crust into a pan with onions, salt, and the last strip of smoked hare. It became a hard brown paste that held together when dropped from a spoon. Two frightened sentries ate it anyway, because a warm mistake is still better than cold grain.

I will not share that recipe with anyone. You may have the ingredients, but not the order. First came the smoke, then the bitter crust, then one good taste of hare before the fire took everything. Again.