By Shavira
You begin by climbing the long stair that winds up around the outside of the ancient tree. At the top is a landing with two large wooden doors, and when you open them up? Terror.
That was my reaction, at least. A full-sized Terick, recently created for the newly-established and thriving inn, stands in front of you. The creation is the work of Alain Tirvaad, an artist who specializes in ‘putting together monsters’ using the furs and body parts of more common creatures.
So far, the ferocious Terick hasn’t scared anyone away.
The idea came when Seraan and Emilia Tourick got tired of people mistaking their name for that of the legendary beasts, and began to do some research so at least they would know something about their ‘namesakes’. In doing so, Emilia was struck with an idea – wouldn’t the dwellings that sages reported the Terick to live in be an incredible thing to see? But so expensive to build! What if the building could pay for itself?
Their first thought was to make a museum, but the Touricks weren’t confident there would be enough interest, and their competition was great – the Museum of Aranor already fulfills that role. So they decided on an inn.
"One of the wonderful things about Aranor," says Seraan, "is that you can experience so many cultures. Now people can even experience Terick culture!"
To give people that experience, Seraan and Emilia started with a lot of research. The couple first studied numerous accounts of explorers who claimed to have seen the tree-villages of the Terick. From these accounts they built the tree-structure, which includes the main lodge-room and eight ‘nests’ – hanging baskets which serve as inn-rooms. The buildings had to be modified ‘only slightly’ to account for human bodies instead of Terick.
Then they decorated the lodge with objects from Terick society, including weapons, tools, and art.
"A few of the artifacts you’ll see on the walls are truly made by Terick," says Seraan, "but I’d be dishonest if I didn’t say that most have been custom-crafted by artisans in the city. Still, they were made according to painstaking research."
Next came Terick music. There have only been a few accounts of what it sounds like, but a group of three minstrels leapt to the occasion and designed special instruments, including a large, deep-sounding drum, an airy flute, numerous rattles, and an instrument called a ‘keln’, which produces a hollow, breathy sound that quickly drops in pitch. "This replicates the vocalizations – the ‘singing’, if you will, of the Terick people, which is done using what we would almost call ‘sighs’."
The minstrels play songs unlike anything ever heard, and have been described as ‘creating music that ranges from haunting to deeply passionate and driving.’ Already their style is being mimicked by numerous other musicians throughout the city.
Then, of course, they had to re-create Terick food.
"This was the most challenging part, and we must admit to taking liberties in this arena."
Because the Terick are hunters, Emilia and Seraan wanted to specialize in large, wild game. "We serve a variety of meats, with deer and bear forming the foundation of our meals, but with the addition of specialty meats, including forest dragon, chimera, great forest cat, and . . . snake.
"In the lands where Terick dwell, there lives a huge breed of snake which can measure over twelve paces long. This is one of the favorite foods of the Terick. We can’t provide that breed, but we do import snakes from Moraithe which doubtless approximate the flavours."
The meats are cooked in three separate manners, and I had the pleasure of sampling them each on three successive nights.
For stewing, they use a prolonged, slow cooking in a broth, with the addition of vegetables. The mixture is then thickened so that the result is an exquisitely tender stew with a dark, rich gravy. It is served with full-grained bread, whipped butter, and the house ‘dipping sauce’ – actually a dark vinegar that the Terick are said to utilize in most of their cooking.
The slow-roasting is done in actual pits down on the ground, and meats are cooked for a full-day. I was especially impressed with this, because even the deer practically melted on my tongue. Here the meat is unseasoned, but again served with the ‘dipping sauce’.
Finally, they ‘char’ meats by direct cooking over the fire. The ‘char’ is actually a glaze made up of the stew gravy which is then spread over the meat. The whole is then quick-seared over the heat of direct flame so that the meat remains quite rare inside. I found the outer, seared portions to be delicious beyond description (especially any fatty areas), but the middle of my cut was too rare for my liking.
Their wines are custom blends meant to mimic Terick drinks, as the Terick are said to have learned how to make fermented beverages. Although some of them were quite delicious, with the addition of berry juices and other ‘special ingredients’, I found many of them too sweet and their tastes unsophisticated.
Finally, I found dessert to be the area most in need of some help. Although they did a remarkable job in thinking up ‘natural’ desserts, such as honeycomb, brandy-soaked sugar mushrooms, and fresh mixtures of berries and fruit, I found myself wanting something baked and delectable after such a meat-based meal.
Overall, I enjoyed each of my three meals, and Terick’s Lodge is certainly doing good business, pulling in patrons from all social classes. They’ve achieved this by keeping their prices low and flying on the uniqueness of the whole experience. I did not try an inn-room, since all of them were booked, but I was told by numerous people that the experience was ‘very fun’, that the hanging baskets felt secure and surprisingly roomy, and that the rope-bridges that lead to the 'nests' gave them a rush of adventure every time they’d go from inn-basket to lodge.
Terick’s Lodge is certainly unique, and I’d highly recommend a visit.