Completed Herbal Promises

[Pearl]

13 Summer, 515 AV
15th Bell, Afternoon

Bayon and Pearl rode in silence for more than thirty chimes in a westerly direction from the gates. Pearl had her herbalism book in her right hand, using her thumb to turn the pages as they rode. She wasn’t affected by the silence, but used it to her advantage instead. Bayon was a strong presence, even when quiet. Pearl couldn’t help but to notice the way he held himself, unyielding against any threat that may present itself, yet fluid in his motions as he rode upon the back of his horse. The realization brought another smile to Pearl’s lips.

They stopped when they reached The Skeleton Tree and dismounted. Pearl slid down from Knox’s back easily and took her hatchet out of the saddle bag, exchanging it with her herbalism book. The stallion was given an affectionate pet as she slid her hand down his shoulder and over his neck. The tree, when she approached it, was given the same affectionate caress, her hand sliding over the bark of a branch as she felt the roughness of it. Pearl looked at the branches and the way they twisted and wrapped themselves around one another. It was a beautiful mess; she almost didn’t want to take the bark that she came to gather. Almost.

Pearl raised the hatchet and began to chop at the tree branches in an attempt to strip some of the bark from the tree. She heard Bayon bark a small laugh and quickly stifle it. “You’re welcome to come help me at any time, you know,” she called back to him as she tried again with her hatchet to knock away a strip of bark.
“Give me that before you chop off a finger instead of the bark from the tree,” Bayon said from beside her.
“Very well, then.” Pearl handed over the hatchet and took a step back away from him. “Several pieces of the bark please, about the size of the palm of your hand. Oh, and a small limb, about so big.” She held up her hands several inches apart to demonstrate how long she wanted it to be. “Perhaps a little longer in case the carving doesn’t go well, and about the size of a finger should do.”
Bayon made short work of Pearl’s requests and piece by piece he handed her the bar, then the stick she asked for. “Dare I ask what the stick is for?”
“I’m hoping to make a small tool with it. With the healing properties of the tree, I thought a tool made of the wood would be useful when removing objects from scrapes and such, you know, when they get embedded into the skin,” she tried to explain to him, but was met with a look from Bayon that clearly said he didn’t know. “Anyway, I am going to give it a try.”

The pieces of bark and the limb were placed in saddle bag along with her hatchet as she withdrew her blank journal and an ink stick. Balancing her book against Knox’s side, she sketched out a small picture of The Skeleton Tree, then wrote down everything she had been told about the properties of the tree: Grind the bark into a fine powder. Only a small pinch of the power should be used to help cure a headache or a toothache. Too much could be deadly. Pearl closed her journal and replaced it in the saddle bag along with the other items, retrieving her herbalism book, then mounted back up. “I think I saw some Curcuma longa along the West bank of the lake.”
“Okay,” Bayon responded as he mounted up.

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[Pearl]

Pearl held the book up so she could study the drawing of the Curcuma longa up against the plant. The leaf colour was just as the book described and being deep green with a smooth surface. The shape was also right; looking much like a lance with deep veins that ran upward from the stems. In total the plant was a little over waist high. It appeared to be a perfect match on the outside.

As Pearl began to unearth the roots with the aid of her hatchet, Bayon stopped her; taking the hatchet from her, he started to hack away at the lower portion of the plant, making quick work of what would have taken Pearl many more chimes to complete. “Tired of waiting on me, I see,” she teased the man.
“I’d like to get back before dark,” was his retort. The smile on his face gave away his true nature. He always did like to get one over on Pearl. She was glad she saw the smile, instead of depending on only on the tone of his words.

When Bayon held up the roots and she saw them and the deep yellow-orange colour of them, she hopped up and down several times. “Yes, yes, that’s it!” Delighted that she had found the turmeric she had been hoping for. “All of it, please? No sense in leaving the plant to die and taking no benefit from it.” Bayon grunted at her as he began to dig up the rest of the root system from the plant.

Pearl reached for her journal and began sketching a picture of the root and the plant along with all the medicinal qualities and uses: Turmeric powder is a cleanser and a pain killer and can be used to treat a wide variety of conditions, including gas (even in infants), yellowing in infants, female monthly flow problems, bloody urine, excessive bleeding, toothache, bruises, and chest pain. Keep turmeric powder in a dark, cool, dry place. Turmeric powder can be used to treat infections and can be applied directly on the wound or add some turmeric powder to warm milk and drink it every day to help the body fight off the infection. The turmeric will clean out a wound, stop the bleeding, and help control infections in wounds.


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[Pearl]

“Did you know that onions, when made into a paste and applied directly to a wound will draw out the infection?” Pearl was reading what she thought would be helpful to Bayon out on missions and hunts while they began the ride back towards the gates. She held the book out for him to see that she wasn’t fibbing to him. “See. Says so right here.”
“You’re telling me that all I have to do, if one of us gets a cut that starts to get infected and we can’t get back in to see you immediately, that all I have to do is find some wild onions, crush them up and make them into a paste and put them on the wound, that it will cure the infection?” he asked, disbelief in his tone.
Pearl nodded. “Yes. But don’t leave it on the wound for more than a bell. And when you take it off, the onion paste, don’t let it touch any other part of your body. It will hold the infection in the paste and you don’t want it to spread to somewhere else and cause more problems. Simply discard it, or bury it so that no one else can accidentally get it on them. And then wash your hands thoroughly.”
Bayon grunted.
“Oh, and be sure to wash the area after you remove the onion paste, then cover it with a bandage of some sort. You can do that three times a day. That should keep you and your men up and going until you can get back in to see me,” she added, paying no mind to his grunting.

“Honey is also good for treating a wound,” Pearl continued to read from her herbalism book the things that she thought would be helpful for Bayon when she wasn’t around to treat the members of The Watch. She glanced at him as she read while they continued to ride along at a casual pace. “You just put the honey on the wound. Smear it on and then cover the wound with a clean bandage. You can leave it on for a few hours and not have to worry about cleaning it off like you have to clean off the onions.” She noticed the furrowing of his brow and the way he canted his head slightly to the left while he looked at her. He was listening and taking in the knowledge, but his look betrayed his thoughts. “You don’t believe me on any of this, do you?”
“No no, I believe you.” He held up his hand and his snarl turned into a smile. “I believe you are trying to make me look like a fool in front of my men when I set about crushing onions and slathering sticky honey all over them.”
Pearl laughed. “I am not trying to make you look a fool. I’m trying to keep you all alive when I’m not around to treat you personally,” she protested through a smile.


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[Pearl]

Pearl nudged her foot along Knox’s side next to his front right leg to get him to come to a pause in his steps. The horse tossed his head and snorted as if he smelt something offensive. Pearl sat up straighter upon his back, stretching first to the left and then to the right with her nose up in the air as she sniffed. “Do you smell that?” she asked Bayon.
“Smell what?” he questioned while he too sniffed at the air.
“Garlic, I believe it is,” she pointed to a small clump of what looked to be yellowing weeds that were falling over. “Over there.”
“Those pitiful looking things?”
“Yes,” she slid down from Knox’s back and walked over to them. Reaching down, she yanked one up from the dirt with a quick pop and then brushed the dirt away from the clove. Pearl smiled.
“Put it back. It smells awful.”
“If you think it smells awful now, wait until I juice it.”

The smile that radiated from her at the find was truly breath taking. Bayon hadn’t seen that smile on her since before Nexus had passed away. He and Trail often discussed how to bring Pearl back into the happier part of her life, after Nexus, but both had failed in their attempts to rush her into anything. Pearl did things in her own time, and in her own way. Pearl was busy pulling up the several cloves of garlic from the gathering they had found, and had missed the contemplative look upon Bayon’s face as he had watched her.

The find was carefully stored in the saddle bags upon Knox’s back, much to the dislike of Knox himself who stamped his foot several times and snorted loudly. Pearl began with her journal once again, sketching out the plant for later identification and writing out the healing properties she had looked up in the herbalism book, adding in those that she recalled her mother teaching her: Store garlic bulbs in a cool, dark and dry place. You can store them with the tops on or off. If you leave the tops on, you can braid them together and hang your garlic up by the braids. Garlic juice is very hot and should never be used in its concentrated form. Mix the juice of two to three cloves of garlic with some water. Smear this solution all over the wound and cover with a cotton bandage. This will help release the infection in the form of pus. Wipe the wound clean then and cover it with a soft clean bandage. Garlic juice can also be used to treat foot rot.


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[Pearl]

As they neared the gates, Pearl veered off to the left, thinking she saw something growing that she might need. The heart shaped leaves had caught her attention. As she closed the distance, she slid off Knox’s back, her herbalism book in her hand as she flipped through the pages to find this particular plant. Turning over the leaf she looked at it closer, it was fuzzy on the underneath side and had a lot of veins running through it in a pattern that was foreign to Pearl. There was a small dark red, almost brown, coloured flower with very pointed petals on a short stem close to the ground and half hidden in the dead leaves. Finally she found a match in the book. “Wild Ginger,” she said aloud and smiled to Bayon. “This is going to be very helpful.”
Kneeling down and using her fingers to dig at the dirt around the stem, Pearl began to loosen the soil like the book instructed, until she could see the root. Slowly she removed it from the soil and set it aside while she repeated the process on another plant. “Having fun playing in the dirt, beautiful doctor?” teased Bayon.
Pearl looked over her shoulder at him, having not realized she was on her hands and knees before him with her rear end up in the air. “Why don’t you get down off your horse and help, handsome watchman?”
Her retort was met with a hearty chuckle from him. “Alright, alright.” Bayon dismounted and headed her way. He swung his arm forward as he walked up next to her and let the flat of his hand smack her soundly on the curve of her hip. “You asked for it.”
Pearl squeaked. A sound she didn’t usually make, and then only made when startled. Doubling up her fist, she smashed it down on the toe of his boot. “So did you.”
They both laughed as they finished gathering the wild ginger.

Bayon put the ginger in the now bulging saddle bags as Pearl dusted the dirt from her hands and then sketched a crude drawing of the wild ginger plant, adding in the information from the book next to the drawing: Ginger works as a strong cleanser. It helps draw out the pus, which relieves some of the pressure on the wound and also acts as a natural painkiller. Ginger can be sprinkled on the wound or you can use ginger oil, and cover up with a bandage. Repeat this two to three times a day.

Ginger is also good for helping with nausea, or as a sweet treat. To prepare, wash and drain the ginger root. Put a small amount of chopped ginger root in a pan of water and cook until tender and almost clear, about twenty chimes. Drain the water from it. In a pan, boil one and a half cups of sugar in one and a half cups of water, until all the sugar is dissolved. Add in one and a half cups of the tender ginger root pieces. Boil for another twenty or thirty chimes. Drain. Save the syrup that you drained and use it to quite a cough or to help soothe a stomach ache. Let the crystalized ginger root air dry about a day or so on a flat surface, then roll it in sugar. Repeat this drying and rolling in sugar until the root is no longer sticky. Store it in a jar. The crystalized ginger root is good for helping nausea, including morning sickness in pregnant females, and is also safe for small children

Bayon led them back through the gates of Endrykas; the darkness of night upon them. “Thank you for going with me today,” Pearl smiled to him from upon Knox’s back. The stallion pawing at the ground as he was anxious to be on his way and home once again.
“It was my pleasure, Pearl. You know I wouldn’t let any harm come to you, if I could possibly help it.”
“I know. You’ve always been there for me and Father. You’re a good man.” Bayon smiled and Pearl thought she saw a hint of colour rise to his cheek, but with the darkness masking everything in shadow, she couldn’t be sure. “The River Flower and my patients await,” she said quietly.
“Remember to take some time for yourself, Pearl. You and little Garrison,” he added.
“Yes, yes, I will.” Pearl tightened her leg over Knox’s right side to turn him and urged him forward with a small clicking sound with her mouth. She hated saying goodbyes, and instead lifted her hand to kiss her fingers, then blew the kiss to Bayon before she disappeared into the streets, heading for The River Flower.
Bayon made no move to catch the kiss with his hand or show any outward sign that she’d even made such a gesture, but his eyes never left her form as she urged Knox away from him. He stayed rooted in that spot, watching, until he could no longer see her form. Only then, did he turn his own mount and head back to his position at the gate.


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[Tribal]

G R A D E S

Pearl

Experience

• Horse, Riding: 3
• Land Navigation: 1
• Observation: 4
• Animal Husbandry: 1
• Persuasion: 2
• Body Building: 2
• Socialisation: 4
• Mathematics: 1
• Planning: 1
• Drawing: 4
• Herbalism: 5
• Research: 1
• Foraging: 4
• Seduction: 2
• Medicine: 1
• Philtering: 1
• Teaching: 3
• Rhetoric: 1
• Horsemanship: 1
• Unarmed Combat: 1

Lore

• Bayon: An intimidating man
• Acklar Tree: The Skeleton Tree
• Acklar Tree: A beautiful mess
• Mathematics: Using body-parts for measuring
• Mathematics: Inches
• Acklar Tree: Healing properties
• Herbalism: Curcuma longa
• Curcuma longa: Yellow roots
• Herbalism: Turmeric
• Turmeric Powder: A cleanser and pain killer
• Turmeric Powder: Used for a variety of conditions
• Turmeric Powder: Store in a dry, dark, cool place
• Turmeric Powder: Stops bleeding and control infection
• Onion: Helps draw out infection
• Onion: Remove from wound after within one bell
• Onion: Holds the infection it draws from a wound
• Honey: Good for treating wounds
• Observation: The smell and look of Garlic
• Garlic: Store in a cool, dry place
• Mix garlic juice water for smearing onto wounds
• Garlic: Can be used to treat foot rot
• Herbalism: Wild Ginger and its uses
• Bayon: A handsome man
• Bayon: A good man

Rewards

3 x pounds of Acklar Tree Bark
1 x handful of Curcuma Longa Roots
10 x Cloves of Garlic
2 x piece of Wild Ginger

Notes

Great thread, Pearl; loads of information that made awarding skill points quite easy. Let me know if you think I have missed anything here and be sure to edit your grading request.