Field Trip (Jaeden & Sam)

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"Petching slavers," he muttered.

He had little to add beyond that, but took Jaeden's empty bowl and went to clean their eating utensils. When he returned, his mood had improved.

"Skinning time..."

[Jaeden Kincade]

When Sam had returned, Jaeden was in the process of setting up snares around the camp. “Grand, I’m just setting up some noise makers in case we have any inquisitive animals over the course of the night,” Jaeden informed as he pointed out the markers so that Sam would know where they were. “Get some sleep after you’re done with that. Don’t want to be too groggy when haggling with shop vendors.” Jaeden continued his work, while idly gnawing along a stick of dried beef, saving the rest of the fresh meat for later cooking or drying. His hands worked carefully along a trip rope he had anchored along the ground, a subtle tug to it causing a small number of sticks hang in a nearby tree to rattle together.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sam nodded, put the utensils away, and returned with his hunting knife and the furry animal corpses to skin by firelight.

"This is going to be hard without the sun," he observed, but he didn't want to do it in the morning when they would have more of a chance to decompose. There was nothing to do but get it over with so he could wash his hands and go to sleep, the sooner to wander back to town with the fresher meats to sell and barter.

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden, soon after setting traps around the camp, stepped over next to Sam. He reached down, grabbing one of the foxes as he slowly began to skin it. “I could always use the practice,” Jaeden simply said, as he began sliding the knife along the fox’s belly. “Some of the ladies with a fair amount of coin up in Syliras might like these skins.” Jaeden slowly began peeling back the skin, giving small, quick slices before looking over towards Sam. “You get to cut away the meat though, if you want it,” Jaeden commented as he slowly turned the fox over, “never had fox meat before.”

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"Oh, I have," Sam chimed in, carefully working on the other fox. "Get hungry enough and you'll eat anything. Or I'll eat anything. You wouldn't know it from looking at me, I guess." He smiled ruefully; perhaps with regular feeding and a more sedentary lifestyle, he would be able to put on weight, but so far he had little to show for any past meals.

"Is it even cold enough here to wear furs?" he asked. Of course, he had only come to Syliras with the spring so he knew little of their winter.

[Jaeden Kincade]

“Oh yes, it certainly does get cold enough. High elevation and cold air that falls down from the Cobalt Mountains makes the winter bitterly cold sometimes.” Jaeden replied as he began cutting away the meat from the fox, using Sam’s preservation kit to make stores for it. He then looked to Sam. “Fox furs are more elegant in terms of color and texture than they are warm, though. So it’s possible they’d sell better to those looking to make something a little more fashionable for ladies. Still, you’d just have to shop around in the end.” Jaeden then looked around the forest. “If you wanted something for warmth, you’d want to go after creatures like elk and deer. Their furs will be larger, obviously, and typically thicker skinned.” Jaeden then explained. “You could go after a Barkbear as well, but they’re notoriously difficult to hunt, and dangerous. They’re large, strong, and normally stick to the trees unlike normal bears. It’s one of the creatures to really look out for while around these parts. Not any serious worries in this patch of the forest, though. I scouted the area for signs of them before bringing you here and didn't find any."

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"I will definitely need a bow for that," he decided, finishing up with the fox as best he could and then getting to the preserving part. They didn't really have what it took to cure hides and all, but if they sold them quickly enough in town, the furriers could deal with that. "Perhaps have some fur-lined things made so I don't look like a barbarian or something. People here think they're so civilized."

He grinned and started cleaning up. If he smelled like blood, it was more likely a predator might sniff him out while he slept, fire and traps or no.

"Tired?"

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden finished up with the last small animal, beginning to clean up as well as he took a moment to look over their work. He then looked to Sam, giving a subtle nod of his head. “Yeah, furs are important in the winter. The cold will sap the energy right out of you. It’s a good idea to have some winter blankets as well for camping, so you can keep warm and get a good nights sleep.” Jaeden said before wiping his knife clean of animal blood. He then slowly gazed at the meat that was still drying out before looking at Sam over his simple question. “After a day of hunting like today, yeah it’d be rather easy to catch some sleep.” Jaeden commented before tossing the rag next to his pack. “Go ahead and turn in, I’m going to gather a little more wood for the fire before doing so myself.”

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"All right, dad. All right." He grinned and put out his bedroll. "Goodnight and... thanks."

END

[Dusk]

XP Award! Jaeden XP Award Riding: 1 XP Tracking: 2 XP Teaching: 1 XP Field Dressing: 2 XP Food Preservation: 1 XP Cooking: 1 XP Trapping: 1 XP Samael XP Award Horsemanship: 1 XP Tracking: 2 XP Trapping: 1 XP Longbow: 1 XP Field Dressing: 1 XP Lore Award Wilderness around Stormhold Castle Differences in Snares Fauna of Syliras (poor) Additional Note Babes in the woods! Samael, make sure that in a training thread you take every opportunity to have your character actually perform the things you're trying to learn since that's how you get the XP for it. For instance, when Jaeden offered him the knife to skin the elk, or glossing over the skinning/preservation of the smaller animals - or even writing out when he'd come across the foxes in the traps and perhaps had to kill one. Plenty of opportunities to expand on your character's experiences and thus get more Experience Points. Not a huge deal, but if you're trying to learn a skill the best way of learning is doing. Jaeden, kudos for all the subtle nods! He actually makes a pretty good teacher. As a note, I'm working on a Butcher Shop for Syliras in the coming weeks, so you'll have someone to make requests for certain animals if you're in the mood for a hunt.