Solo I can hear Judgement

[Mordrion]

Summer, 12th, 515

"Excuse me?" Mordrion tapped the closest person on the shoulder. He got an indifferent, dead look in return before the Nuit turned away from him and continued to walk. Useless. Mordrion scowled at the back of the man before focusing back around himself. Another person passed and Mordrion tried again but this time the Nuit looked upset that he had been touched by Mordrion. Same result in the end. They really dislike the living. Mordrion sighed and started looking for another person to ask.

There has to be a kitchen around somewhere. Or some food processing place. Mordrion could feel the Gibbat corpse burn an un-maledicted hole through his backpack. He had gone out again this morning but no luck today. To change things up and not spend too much time sitting out in the prairie, Mordrion had decided to start on his first project for his Judgement. But right from the beginning he had run into a big bump in the road. He had the skull he wanted but it was still covered with fur and flesh, things he didn't need in his project.

"Excuse me. Is there a kitchen here somewhere?" Mordrion grabbed another passerby in the hallway. The Nuit pulled his sleeve out of Mordrion's hand and mumbled something under his breath. Mordrion let him go to approach another passerby. "Excuse me. Is there a food preparation area around here?" The man, a young apprentice, this time stopped. At least he didn't scowl or curse at Mordrion. He shook his head quickly and started to move away as well. Mordrion moved his hand up to run it through his hair when the apprentice stopped and came back.

With a single word, the apprentice pointed at a man heading in their direction in the hallway. "Him." Mordrion looked puzzled at the apprentice and then at the approaching man. He's the kitchen? "Oh, thanks." He called after the apprentice as he left. The maledictor walked purposefully towards the man that had been pointed out to him. "Excuse me. I'm looking for the kitchen or some food prep area. Would you know where I can find one?" Mordrion asked as he stepped in the man's path.

The man was quite young as well, although older than the apprentice had been. "You're looking for a kitchen on Sahova..." The man let the words linger for a moment before he smiled. "I know a thing or two about cooking. I could help you out." Mordrion stared for a moment and then nodded. "That would be appreciated. Are you a cook?" The man smiled slightly and shrugged. "I know how to cook." Mordrion wondered why he had phrased it like that. "Follow me and I'll see about cooking whatever you're interested in." The man spoke as he turned around and started walking down the hallway.

Mordrion followed the man for a while until they ended up in a room where a large pot was over the fire with a table next to it and some herbs and meat were drying near the opposite wall. Apart from this, the kitchen seemed to be quite empty. "I have a Gibbat dog but not for cooking or skinning. I would like the skeleton taken out in the best shape possible. The skull is the most important." As Mordrion put the backpack down and started rummaging through it, the man watched him. "You're one of those maledictors." It was more of a statement than a question.

Mordrion decided not to answer but held out the Gibbat corpse. "Can you get me the skeleton or not?" The man took the corpse from him and put it down on the table next to the fire. "Sure, how long can you wait for it." Mordrion eyed the man suspiciously. "Now? You don't mind if I stick around a bit to see what you're doing?" The man eyed Mordrion in much the same sense as he had done just a moment before. "No problem. I'm Henrick. You?" Mordrion waited for a moment, deciding whether he should give his name to the man. It wasn't clear yet what the man was up to. "Mordrion." The maledictor said after a moment of silence.

[Mordrion]

Summer, 13th, 515

It took all of the previous day and the better part of today for Henrick to finish up with Mordrion's request. He had explained the various options to Mordrion with which he could remove everything he didn't want from the body and leave only the skeleton in the end. Mordrion had quickly decided to go for the quickest but less savory option of simmering the meat right off the bones. He had warned Mordrion about the messy and smelly result this would give but Mordrion had discarded his thoughts.

With four quick knocks on the door, Mordrion announced his arrival before opening the door. Henrick was standing over the pot of water on the fire. The room had become messier since yesterday and now a freshly skinned Gibbat skin was lying on the table, ready for preparing. Mordrion had given the skin to Henrick as part of the payment for his job. "Good afternoon." Mordrion said as he closed the door behind him. Henrick looked up from the pot and smiled. "No luck today either?" Mordrion wasn't sure what he meant and tilted his head slightly. "Luck with what?"

Henrick turned back to the pot and started fishing out pieces of meat and putting them aside in a metal bowl. "Catching another one of these. Your boats and legs are dusty and thorny and there's no new corpse on your bag." He pointed with the ladle towards Mordrions dusty boots, from the Prairie sands, and leggings which had several small thorns stuck in them from the Forest of Thorns. Mordrion did his best to hide that he was impressed by the man's deductive abilities. He must be an expert hunter.

Henrick continued to ladle out flesh and other pieces of Gibbat that Mordrion didn't want in silence. Mordrion watched, not finding the need to break the silence. Henrick kept ladling out meat and Mordrion kept watching. After some time, Henrick finished with the meat and pulled out the first piece of bone, placing it separately on the table on a piece of fabric. Mordrion stepped forward to observe the bone. It was indeed clean but the smell Henrick had warned him about was there as well. Mordrion made sure to breathe through his mouth as he watched Henrick scoop out more pieces of the skeleton and, finally, the skull as well. They all seemed to be in good order.

When the skeleton had been placed out fully on the table, Henrick put the ladle down and handed a piece of cloth to Mordrion. "Best not to keep them wet." Mordrion stood and watched for a moment as Henrick started drying off one of the bones, careful not to damage it in the process. Mordrion followed, picking up the skull first and rubbing against it with the piece of cloth. Roughly a bell later, Mordrion was the proud possessor of a smelly but dry Gibbat skeleton. He paid Henrick the remaining money after subtracting the pelt and meat value from the price and handed it over to him.

[Mordrion]

Mordrion rushed upstairs with his packed skeleton. He finally had what he needed for his project. Without checking if any where available, Mordrion skipped the first floor and headed straight up to the highest level with a workshop available for visitors. He put his backpack down and placed the packed skeleton on the table. He rummaged through his belongings and fished out his malediction kit as well as the scroll with his notes on the Gibbats in it. He rolled it out quickly, impatient, and checked the information he had gathered so far.

Gibbat dogs. Exceptional hearing and with those four eyes, sight as well. Mordrion slid the scroll to the side of the table so it was out of the way for his work. He opened the wrapped packet and started sorting the bones, recreating more or less what he though the skeleton of a Gibbat would look like with the skull on the right of the table and the rest of the larger bones spread out. There was still a large pile of smaller bones in the wrapping but they were too small for Mordrion's project.

Mordrion picked the skull from the set up and put it on the side together with his rolled up tool pack. With a completely unnecessary flourish Mordrion unrolled the tools. He checked his tools to make sure they were in proper order and then pulled out the middle one of the five. Not too big and not too small, it would do well on the skull of the small Gibbat dog. Mordrion leaned over the skull and set the knife against it, applying pressure and scraping it along the skull in short motions, cutting a tiny groove in the soft bone.

Once he had the first cut, things were made easier as he could move from the first cut and work his way around in the shape of his 'circle'. Blowing on the cut, Mordrion removed the little bone dust and splinters that had formed and put the knife back to the bone. With short back and forth motions, Mordrion moved along the surface of the skull, cutting the circle in the bone. He opted to go for a wider oval rather than a full circle, starting from the back of the skull and to the front.

He carved his way up the skull but made sure he kept inside of where the ears had been. Another cut, another blow of air to remove the dust. Mordrion flexed his fingers to keep the blood flowing properly and avoid problems later before moving back in, cutting from inside the ear towards the forehead of the skull, stopping just above the eyes. The skull looked very different from anything Mordrion had worked with before but in the end, skulls all provided a solid surface between the ears and towards the back.

This was the space that Mordrion was carving a circle out of now, working his way back up from the forehead towards the other ear, blowing away dust and splinters as he moved to the back of the skull once more, forming an irregularly, but taking up the most potential space possible, oval shaped malediction 'circle'. When the knife carved back into the original cut after having gone around full circle, Mordrion pulled back to look at his work. A good start but a bit irregular perhaps. Not so important as long as it works. Mordrion blew away the remaining dust and scraps of bone, using a soft cloth to wipe off the circle's surface.

[Mordrion]

With the circle in place, Mordrion could get started on what was most important: the creation of the story that would draw out the power of the creature. Gibbats were known for their hearing and sight so that would be what Mordrion would focus on. The problem, one that kept coming up for every single malediction Mordrion did, was how to present what he wanted in the best possible way. He took a small, soft cloth to wipe the knife he had used before putting it back in his kit and picking the smallest of the chisels in his possession out of it.

With the chisel in hand, Mordrion stared at the circle on the skull. They can hear a leaf falling is what the text said. Perhaps... Mordrion set the chisel against the skull but didn't hit it yet, still trying to visualize what he wanted to put on the skull. For a moment it seemed like he would start but then he put the chisel down again. He knelt down next to his pack and started rummaging through it until he found the ink well he was looking for as well as the set of brushes he had bought. Picking the smallest detail brush out of the lot he started to unscrew the well. Both brush and well were placed on the table next to the skull.

Carving would be permanent and final, no going back. But with the ink he could afford some minor mistakes. In the end he could simply carve out the ink he liked and scrub the rest away. Mordrion dipped the tiny detail brush into the ink, making sure he touched only the surface to prevent spilling or leaking ink on the skull. With the brush in hand, Mordrion started to paint, slowly, drawing long lines as he saw them. A sharp angle near the eyes, up and down, to make the ear and some thin lines at the top to represent the tuft of fur the Gibbat had had there. Mordrion also painted a bit of the inside of the ear but left the details out.

In the middle of the circle, Mordrion started painting tiny leaves, one at the bottom, flat on the invisible ground. A brush stroke up a little and then outwards and curving back inwards. The brush was dipped into the ink again. On the opposite side, exactly the same, touching the first curved line at the beginning and end, forming a leaf on the skull. A thin line in the exact middle of the two, another ink dip, with some lines running left and right to both curved lines formed the inside of the leaf. Leaning back and looking at his work from afar, Mordrion saw that it was passable as a lead. Would it be worth having a real painter to do the images?

Above it, tilted somewhat, another leaf. the same procedure, curved line left, curved line right and a thin line in the middle. The angle made it look a bit misshapen but the end result was equally satisfying to Mordrion. A third leaf was put near the top of the circle, on the opposite side of the first leaf. At one end of the leaf, where the two curved lines came together, Mordrion drew a fine lines together, making a short branch hang from mid air, representing the tree. Now he had his falling leaves and his ear, all he had to do now was to make the 'sound' go from the leaf to the ear.

Since sound was something you couldn't see, it would be difficult to draw. Perhaps music notes? Or write 'sound'? Mordrion went over several ideas but in the end simply settled on making due with thin, soft lines from the leaves to the ear. That would have to do. Taking the brush in his left hand, Mordrion flexed his fingers a few times, making sure that a lack of blood wouldn't cause trembling in his fingers. With a very soft touch, barely brushing the skull, Mordrion pulled some lines from the leaves towards the ear he had painted in the beginning. This will have to do.

Taking an ink stained piece of cloth from the brush kit, Mordrion dabbed the remaining ink from the brush onto the cloth and made sure it was as clean as possible. When he was finished, he would clean it with hot water to make sure all the ink was out before putting everything back properly. He screwed the well shut and put the brush next to it. Again, leaning back, Mordrion looked at his painting. It was crude, even a bit childish, but it showed what Mordrion wanted from it: an ear hearing leaves falling.

Picking the chisel back up, Mordrion placed it carefully against the inked skull and angled it. The chisel would scrape off the skull where the ink had been painted. Since the skull was thin, it was necessary to angle the chisel to prevent cracking it if the force was too high, something that had happened a lot when he had just started. Now, he knew better. Mordrion held the chisel in place and with a small rod, tapped the back of the chisel grip. The chisel scraped away at the ink line on the skull, revealing the white skull underneath.

With several more taps against the back of the chisel, Mordrion removed more and more of the ink. When he reached the tip of the ear, he removed the chisel and blew away the dust and bone chips from his work. Turning the skull around so the point of the ear was pointing towards him, Mordrion started tapping the chisel back up, this time across the second line that made up the pointy ear of the Gibbat. The ink made room for the white skull underneath and after a few more taps, Mordrion reached the end of the ear. The tufts of hair each needed only a few soft taps since they were supposed to be irregular and fur-like.

With the ear complete carved out, Mordrion leaned back, placing both hands on the edge of the workbench, his tools still in hand. Dust and specks were removed with blowing air and Mordrion could regard his work. The lines were a bit shaky, because of the different tapping strength and aim as he worked but nothing that he hadn't accounted for, nothing that would mess up the final result. With the ear done, Mordrion skipped the 'sound lines' he had painted last and moved to the leaves, which would require a bit more work because of the curving outer lines and the thin, irregular inner lines.

[Mordrion]

Mordrion set the chisel against the first leaf he had painted and angled it away from the skull as much as he could. With light taps, he started moving the chisel along the line, hitting the tools together slowly so he had ample time to change his angle as he moved along the curved line. Where the ear had been straight and relatively stronger taps could scrape off longer lines, the leaves required constant altering of the angle of the chisel before hitting it in order to keep the curved line.

Outside of Mordrion's attention, time passed and midday had long changed to afternoon. As the chisel continued to slowly chip away at the bone, afternoon turned into evening. However, the unchanging lights in the windowless workshop made sure Mordrion wasn't disturbed by such things as the passing of time. Focused only on his work, Mordrion tapped and chipped along the ink lines he had created before. With the work being so detailed, Mordrion made sure to sit back often and look from a distance at his work at the same time taking a moment to wipe away the sweat that had formed on his face and blink his eyes.

The second curve of the first leaf reconnected with the first chip he had made in that inking and he moved onto the inner carvings, chipping very lightly along the lines there, barely scraping the skull. The more of a thin or vein like effect he could make, the better. The second leaf followed the first one together with some turning of the skull as Mordrion worked on this one, making sure the leaf was tilted compared to the first one he had made. With the first two leaves having provided him with some good practice, the third one went relatively smoothly, although quite a chunk of time still passed while he was at work, unnoticed by the maledictor.

Once the third leaf had been carved into the skull, Mordrion set to work on the single branch depicting the tree the leaves had fallen from. It was some straight forward lines that combined it into something branch looking. Mordrion continued to carve up the skull along the inked lines he had placed earlier. In order to keep his focus properly, especially after the extended time of work he had put in so far, Mordrion unconsciously stuck the tip of his tongue out, keeping it between his teeth. The last few taps on the chisel worked away the last of the branch as it hung from the edge of the circle, almost touching it.

Leaning back from his work, Mordrion put his tools down and flexed his fingers, cracking them loudly. Having held onto the tools for a long time it felt satisfying to extend them again. With the pressure of not making a mistake quickly leaving his system, Mordrion could feel the rush of tiredness coming on. He had to stifle a yawn, covering his mouth with his hand, before finishing his work. He wasn't finished yet and he had to finish now. The more time he spent sleeping off his tiredness, the more time he wasted. But then again, if he made a mistake because of tiredness, he would waste much more time.

Mordrion considered this for a moment as he started cleaning his tools with careful motions. Just as he was about to start on the brush, a voice sounded from near the door of the workshop. "There you are, Mordrion." Mordrion looked up from his work and saw Henrick standing in the door, one steaming bowl in each hand. "I figured you may want some food after your hard work." He said as he stepped in the room and towards the table. Now that he was so close, Mordrion could not only see the contents of the steaming bowls but could smell them as well. They smelled delicious and only now did Mordrion realize how hungry he was.