Solo [The Tidepool Bar]Of Life and Blades III

[Moritz Craven]

39 Fall 521

Letting out a sigh Moritz headed off from his residence. He generally wore sandals when he worked to avoid stepping on some broken crockery or glass and cutting his foot, otherwise he would be barefooted moving around Syka proper. Beyond this he had his normal dress, the odd magical button up outfit, and the bracelet on his wrist he could not remove.

Making sure his door was shut and sealed behind him Moritz made his way down the pathway from his abode, turning and heading along the short trip from his residence to his workplace. As he walked he kept his eyes out on the plantlife and things moving within, but besides a few bird sounds and some small rustling and movement he did not notice much of interest on his trip.

It being the day before a tenday however Stu seemed busy outside when he arrived, and seeing Moritz arrive he waved the Kelvic over.

Greeting Moritz the man motioned Moritz forward, "Moritz, grab this stuff and head over with me, we have another pig we'll be roasting for the tenday. I'll need your help. Come along."

With that Stu handed Moritz a pile of items, ran back inside to grab some more stuff, and then within a chime or so was back outside to Moritz. Items in hand which consisted of tools, sacks of ingredients, boxes, and boxes of tools, the pair moved over a short distance along Syka. Moritz followed along quietly, watching the view of the plantlife on one side and the ocean on the other.

"So, another pig... How big is this one? And what all are we doing?"

Thrusting with his chin Stu pointed at a spot nearby on the beach, where someone was already building up a fire. Even from there and during the day Moritz could see the sputtering start of what was to be a large blaze or bonfire. "They just brought it over, so we will need to do all of it. Gut it, prepare it, cook it, everything. And once its all ready I'll take a break and get some rest while you watch it and take care of it, so I can watch it tonight while you sleep. Alright?"

Arriving at the fire Moritz nodded, looking over to see the pig carcass tied to a length of wood. Seeing the dead animal he felt a churn in his stomach of distaste, though as usual never enough to make him ill. An iron stomach seemed to be a effect carried over from his Okomo side, and while the idea of meat might make him feel a bit ill it never physically made him ill.

With both of them there Stu began preperations, unloading his armload before more slowly working through the items Moritz held and placing them spread out on the ground. Then with his own items he resorted them with Moritz help, placing various tools and ingredients in easy reach and where they could be found if needed by a system Stu seemed to understand even if Moritz did not.

As the two began their preparation work Moritz watched as another man he did not know worked on the fire, getting a large pit of coals and continuing to work on getting it just right as Moritz and Stu worked on the pig preparations.

Then putting out a tarp and some buckets Stu grabbed a blade and handed one to Moritz, pointing at the pig. Showing Moritz first he made an insertion of the blade near the pigs neck, cutting in deep. After this he pointed at another spot of the pig closer to the base, the hanging pig already beginning to drain some blood from the first incision.

Moritz used his knife with a bit of trepidation, careful to keep his fingers clear of the sharp edge as he inserted the blade into the base of the pig. Pushing through the resistance Moritz watched as blood began to spurt and then dribble, the process of draining the hanging pig beginning.

WC: 673

[Moritz Craven]

Once the incisions were made in the pig carcass Stu began to move about through the items they had brought, while Moritz waited. At the moment there seemed little more to do than watch and occasionally reposition the buckets the pig was draining into.

Once it was done Moritz helped Stu shift about the pig to further drain the last bits or parts of blood off in extremities which did not drain so easily. This was basically done by massaging,moving, and otherwise man handling the carcass. Eventually though this bloody process was done, and Moritz carried off to the side the buckets to be emptied or used later. He was unsure what someone would do with a bucket or two of pig blood, but there was no immediate rush to dispose of it.

With that done Stu began to further direct Moritz as he either cut into the pig and had Moritz pull or squeeze, or directed Moritz to cut while Stu pulled or squeezed the pig or its innards.

To begin with he had Moritz cut a opening across the carcass gut, with the blade where Stu began by pulling out intestines and other gut material. Which made sense to the Kelvic, as it was called the guts for a reason.

This took surprisingly long, almost as if the pig was more guts on the inside than anything else. Even lined and balled and folded as it was the guts took up a lot of room.

In the meantime when Moritz had a free moment he watched the fire beside them, the man building it seeming to never be satisfied. He was always adding more wood, more coals being made, edging the materials and slowly building it layer by layer. In the sun it was hot work, and the fire did not help. Soon Moritz was sweating freely and heavily.

With the literal guts removed Stu moved on to other items, having Moritz hold the opening apart while Stu dove inside and cut out more bits. Organ, refuse, and other items Moritz could not name were pulled out, including many odd squishy bits he had not known existed. Some were obvious, and Stu named them off as he pulled them out. But Moritz was not familiar with anatomy and had not seen such before.

Heart. Lungs. Liver... Stomach... "

While he could see their general shape that was about it, and he had no idea what some of their functions where or what would happen to a living animal without them... Which, luckily, this carcass was not. What the petch did a liver do? Moritz did not know, and Stu didn't feel a need to give an anatomy lesson for cooking.

WC: 452

[Moritz Craven]

Once all of the organs and things inside were clear Stu handed Moritz a wet rag and using one of his own began wiping the animal carcass down. From the processing so far there was quite a bit of blood and things, along with other dirt and sand and such that had been picked up on the journey to its current state.

Focusing on the task at hand Moritz worked at this methodically, re wetting his rag as needed and switching to new ones as they grew too dirty or gory. He started at the base on his half of the pig, wiping around the cut and the belly and other such areas. Once this was wiped her worked upward, getting around the sides and up to the top, before slowly working his way backward along the carcass. The trickiest bit was the extremities, the hoofs and legs and calves and such of the meaty beast. Even in death these areas were stubborn.

He took a few short breaks to get a sip of water and to bask in the glow of the coals, watching as the fire person slowly worked with a large stick to move bits about and to nudge stubborn logs not wanting to break. He was unsure what the mans end goal was, but he seemed to know what he was doing in preparing a fire for a pig roast.

Finally the wiping and cleaning was done and Moritz and Stu set those tools aside only for Stu to pull out a large sack. Opening it Moritz could see this was full of salt, and showing Moritz what to do he began rubbing and packing the carcass with it.

Moritz for his part followed along, taking a handful and rubbing it into the flesh of the carcass. "Now Moritz the salt is important. Its for seasoning, but also for preparing the pig. Lots of nasty stuff on a dead body. Salt and fire though takes care of a lot of that."

The Kelvic nodded, taking some more salt and rubbing it into the pigs flesh on its lower gut almost at its legs. He worked it in like he was massaging it, rubbing and stroking and pushing into the flesh with his hands covered in bits of salt. This seemed to eventually do something, as after awhile the Kelvic could tell which parts were salted and which were not just by looking.

As Moritz thought they were nearing the end of this work Stu though began to grab more, positioning things and then stuffing some salt inside the pig. With Moritz help he continued at it, now salting and rubbing down the insides of the pig the same as the outside had been done. Seemed seemed to take as long if not longer as the outside, with many more bits and odd bulges to work around on the inside of the empty gut cavity as compared to the simpler outer side.

Bit by bit the two of them did it, Moritz sometimes holding apart bits while Stu worked, other times Moritz worked at it and rubbed along the innards he was salting and preparing.

WC: 528

[Moritz Craven]

Having drained, cleaned, and salted the pig, Moritz assumed the next step would be cooking the pig.

However he was surprised to see this was not the next step, instead Stu moved into the materials and took out another sack. This one however was not full of salt, instead it was an odd mix of different things. Little black bits like pepper. Small green and brown and other colored items that had been ground up were mixed in. And all other manner of dust like items were within the sack.

"Ali-right Moritz, next is the dry rub. Sort of like with the salt, but this adds flavoring and stuff. This is my own special mix. Maybe I'll show you how to make it later... For now, just follow along with me the same as with the salt.'

With a nod Moritz moved over to the sack, grabbing some of the dry rub and moving to the pig carcass. Slowly, almost lovingly, Stu worked at rubbing the material into the pig. Moritz tried to copy this, but he did not seem to have the same level of devotion or joy in his work. For him it was more of a task he was completing, a motion committed but not overly cared about. But then he had never eaten a roasted pig, so perhaps he was not - for good reason- as excited as Stu at the prospect of the flavor and such. He had no plan to eat it, simply making it for others to eat and as it was his job.

Still he could see from watching the care and devotion Stu took in his craft, clearly excited for the task. The same could be said for the firemaker, the man lovingly working at his task of preparing the flaming pit of coals over which the pig would be cooked. Moritz had seen artists painting who had less devotion to their task as these two men had in their respective duties of rubbing a pig down and banking coals. The flames sometimes burst or sparked or flared, but the man kept the heat and flames in control and never let it get loose in the sands.

While he hoped some of this might rub off on him, Moritz just did not think he had it in him to be so excited by a task such as these.

Slowly as with the salt he worked into the carcass, massaging and pushing at the meaty pig carcass as he rubbed it into its skin. Up the sides from the gut. Along to the top. Back slowly towards the rear and along those sides. And then over to the rear of the pig, the legs and hindquarters and other meaty bits which needed a bit more time and care such that Stu ended up helping him in his task before he was done.

This kept up for awhile until in the end the outside was done, and then the two of them moved to the inside. More rubbing. More stretching. More moving, as they patted and pushed and massaged the insides and outsides alike with the blend of rub Stu had created.

WC: 528

[Moritz Craven]

While Stu and Moritz had finished up with the seasonings, the firemaker had seemed to finish his task. Moritz eyed the flames, seeing how well maintained and perfect they were, like a bed of molten glass laid across the ground. Someone had also set up stands at either end, which would hold the pig up on the spit.

With a smile Stu let out a sigh, moving over to some more equipment off to the side. After a moment he returned, holding up a large metal skewer or spit. Motioning for Moritz and the other man Stu moved to the back of the pick, having Moritz and the man hold the pig in place while he worked.

With a shove Stu pierced through the back end of the pig, guiding the spit through the empty internal area carefully. He slowly guided it in, the force pushing and moving the pig about which Moritz and the other man had to hold down. Stu kept at it, carefully weaving the spit through, eventually moving it out the other side and finishing with exiting the pig carcass.

With this done the next task at hand was to transfer the pig over. With Moritz at one end and the fire man at the other they watched as Stu untied the pig from the wooden rod where it had been secured. Since this wouldn't do for cooking over a fire the metal spit was instead needed and needed to be secured.

As he untied it from the wooden rod though the pig drooped, the weight moving to rest on the metal spit Moritz and the fire man were holding. With a grunt the two took the weight, watching as Stu moved quickly to finish untying the pig, letting out a yell and gesture once it was free so that the two could move the pig. With another grunt Moritz pulled, Stu moving around the middle and helping to support the weight during the short transition to the fire. They slowly moved it, getting it close to the fire pit and over the coals. Finally once they were their Stu helped them settle each end one by one into its supports, until finally all of the weight was onto the stands rather than the spit and leaving Moritz free to let go.

The exertion of moving the heavy pig had been straining, but still Moritz felt satisfied for finishing that bit of the task. He waited a bit just in case something moved, shifted, or fell, watching as Stu worked to secure things, tying some spots into place, putting some caps on to secure the spit, and tying a few parts of the pig to the spit with some kind of twine or wire. After a bit it was done and clearly secure, letting Moritz take a short break a few paces from the hot flames, letting out a sigh of relief that the transferring step of the process had worked and was done.

And if nothing else now the pig was ready to cook, Moritz wad fairly certain.

WC: 513

[Alric Lysane]

Your Grades

Moritz Craven

Skills

Body Building – 2
Cooking – 5
Endurance – 2
Interrogation – 1
Observation – 3
Organization – 1


Lores

Butchery: Blood Draining
Butchery: Carcass Cleaning
Butchery: Disembowelling
Butchery: Starting Incisions
Cooking: Dry Rubbing A Carcass
Cooking: Salting A Carcass