PM to join Reminiscent Foraging [Akasja]

[Akasja]

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Akasja appreciated how alert Pearl was being during this trip. Pearl took care to guide her horse carefully, and the stallion responded well, although Akasja could tell he wanted to speed up. Akasja's own horse was fine with the slower pace, though the stallion excited her somewhat. A couple times Akasja let her horse pick up her speed as she followed closer to Knox. Before the Desertbred could get carried away, Akasja slowed her down with a short tug on the reins. Perhaps she and Pearl would be able to run their horses on the way back. The cooler weather seemed to perk them up.

Akasja thought about Pearl's answer to her questions. Snow could fall in the desert, but knee-high snow was unheard of in Eyktol. Akasja realized that she would need to get some sort of boots before too long. Her feet were suited to walking on hot sands, and the thought of her feet freezing was a little frightening.
"I have to buy more clothes," Akasja mused, hoping Pearl knew the best places to go. For a moment, Akasja considered what she owned. It was not much. But now, with many thanks to Pearl for the opportunity, Akasja was employed. With that money, she would be able to buy things for herself. In the past, she would have had to make most of her own tools and clothing, or find someone willing to trade. "And I need to buy other things as well."
When Pearl asked Akasja to join her and her family for a dinner, Akasja was pleased. She readily and gratefully agreed, and hoped to speak to the woman named Yuki about her recipes.

While Akasja was not sure where they were heading, she could tell by the way Pearl touched her horse that she knew exactly where to go. Before long, the women arrived at a dark, gnarled tree.
Pearl pointed to it and said, "That's the Acklar Tree." Akasja had never seen a tree like it, and was intrigued. Pearl went on to explain its properties, noting that they would be using the bark for medicine. When the Drykas mentioned that too much of it could be deadly, a spark went off in Akasja's mind.

Pearl began to dismount, and Akasja followed suit, still concocting her reply. She suddenly frowned, realizing she had no hatchet. She did have a dagger, but it was not really the proper tool. She let Pearl work at the tree, steadily watching the young woman's method. The Acklar Tree seemed to be a plant that was very highly regarded, in part because it was hard to find, and Akasja felt honored to be sharing this work with Pearl.

"Pearl?" Akasja queried, grabbing a sack for the stripped bark and holding it open for Pearl to use. "This tree can be used as poison? For weapons?" Akasja thought that she might be able to take some of this bark, make a strong infusion of it, and soak blades and arrows in it. In a pinch, perhaps rubbing the freshly stripped bark directly on a weapon would coat it sufficiently. If ingesting too much was enough to kill a person, then using the bark as a poison would potentially make for a deadlier weapon. Although her mind strayed to offensive measures, she knew that using this bark properly to heal was a necessary skill to learn. Akasja looked forward to this. As Pearl's assistant, it was her duty to be so knowledgeable.

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[Pearl]

“The warmer, the better,” she responded to Akasja’s statement of needing to buy more clothes. “Might consider a blanket for your horse as well, being as she may not be used to cold that will arrive sooner, rather than later,” Pearl suggested as she continued to use her hatchet to knock off large chunks of the bark from the tree. The last time she had gathered from an Acklar Tree, Bayon had done all the hard work. Soon, she had a good pile of the bark laid upon the ground by her feet. A hand swiped at the sweat that had formed upon her brow and she let out a small sigh, “Think that’s enough to get us through winter, perhaps a bit longer.”

Laying the hatchet aside, Pearl began picking up the already stripped pieces of bark and began to tuck them into the bag Akasja was holding. “Not sure about weapon idea. It’s a possibility, I suppose,” her tone thoughtful as she continued to work and talk. “I wouldn’t think it would cause immediate death, if it were say forced into the body on the point of a weapon. Likely the weapon, if used properly would do its own damage and death would come at the wound, rather than the poison,” she shrugged a small shoulder and then dusted her hands off on her pants before retrieving her hatchet from the ground.

“The properties of the Acklar Tree powder cause a slower death when too much is taken in, and it’s not usually a violent one, at that. More like the person ends up taking too much of the powder because they have a headache and then they just go to sleep and never wake up again,” she smiled. “But it’s not a horrible idea. Even if they were to be cut and the powder forced into their bodies, it could get into their blood stream and perhaps bring about death later, when they think the battle is over.” Pearl cleaned the tree bark dust from her hatchet and looked at her fingers thoughtfully as she spoke. “It’s worth talking to someone more knowledgeable about such things. Let’s plan on talking with Dravite about it all when you come over to share an evening meal with us. I’ll even invite my father, and Bayon. They all work for The Watch, and I’m sure they’ll have suggestions and knowledge to share on the subject.”

Pearl was happy as she offered the suggestion, for it would be so nice to have a large gathering at the pavilion. “We’d best be getting on over to the elm trees. We’re going to have our work cut out for us when we get back to The River Flower as it is with grinding, labelling and storing everything we gather today.

She helped Akasja get the sack of bark tied to her yvas bags, making sure it wouldn’t spook Knox as it bumped into his side before she pulled herself up onto his back and wedged her right leg beneath the sack. Pearl looked around and located her landmark, then pointed, “Just over that rise, there to the South, by the banks of the river, that’s where the Slippery Elm Trees are. Then we can follow the river for a little while and cut that way,” she twisted on Knox’s back to point again, and go straight back to the Gates.”

Nudging her foot along Knox’s side, she urged him to turn left, away from Akasja and her mount so they wouldn’t crowd them, and head towards the rise she had just pointed out. With a familiar click of her tongue against the roof of her mouth, she stepped Knox up into a canter, but only allowed him to stay in it if Akasja and her mount were keeping up.


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[Akasja]

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It was true that the cold would come sooner than later, and that Akasja was still ill-prepared. She would have to use the wages she had been making at the River Flower to get more clothing and blankets for her mount as well. The fact that she was now making money in Endrykas continued to be somewhat unbelievable but incredibly appreciated. Akasja would make sure that she and her horse did not feel the bite of winter anywhere near to the way they did last year.

As Pearl worked at the tree, Akasja grew silent. She watched the way the young woman worked and how she angled her hatchet to strip the bark perfectly. After a few minutes, she had amassed quite the pile. Akasja appreciated Pearl's careful response about using the bark as a slow-release poison. Regardless, Akasja hoped they would never need to use it. Poisoning someone in a fight -or perhaps poisoning a wild beast- was not something Akasja looked forward to in any way. It was simply a defensive consideration. But she liked being prepared.

At any rate, Pearl informed Akasja that she would have to discuss this further with Dravite -and perhaps that would happen soon. Akasja was more than a little excited for this. Although she was a healer by trade, the allure of a good hunt was something Akasja could not deny. When not working with plants or people, Akasja concerned herself with weapons, self-defense, and tracking. Ever since she had arrived at Endrykas, Akasja had found the Drykas culture slightly strange. She wondered if the women here were as much hunters as the men. Or perhaps she had not yet met any women warriors.

It wasn't long before Pearl was tying the sack of bark to her yvas and preparing to leave the area. Akasja followed suit, making sure to pay careful attention as Pearl directed them to the elm trees. The young Drykas headed off, though at a much quicker pace this time. Akasja smiled to herself, then nudged her own horse to follow the Strider. Her Desertbred rode in a trot for a few yards, warming up and feeling out the terrain, before surging onward into a canter. Akasja could see the joy in her horse's expression as she caught up to the Strider. She hadn't been able to run like this in a while.

As the women approached the rise in the plains, Akasja leaned forward, guiding her horse up the incline, and kept an eye out for the elm trees that Pearl had shown her in the book. The trees weren't hard to spot from a distance, but it was hard to tell what kind of trees they were exactly. Akasja directed her horse toward them, watching to see if Pearl was also going the same way.
"Are those the elm trees?" Akasja called over the sound of the horses' hooves thundering against the ground.

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[Pearl]

“They are indeed,” she smiled as she heard Akasja ask about the trees. “It’s the inner bark we need, so pretty much the same process of stripping the bark as we did back at the Acklar Tree, only when we get back to the clinic, we won’t grind up the entire portion of bark, we peal out the inner layer and set that out to dry, then grind that into a powder. The remaining outer parts I usually save to put into the kindling pile. That way we aren’t wasting,” she explained. “Have you used much slippery elm before?”

As they neared the trees she drew her heals back over Knox’s sides and slowed him back down to a walk. Once he was walking easily she leaned forward and pet over his neck. The stallion had been wanting to break away from their slower pace for a while now and tossed his head now that he had been brought back to walking. "I know, but this is a work day too. Soon, I promise we’ll go out just the two of us and run with the wind.” Knox’s answer to Pearl’s promise was a knicker and another toss of his head as he attempted to catch a quick glimpse of his rider.

As she dismounted she took her waterskin from the yvas and took a small drink from it before moving around to Knox’s head. She cupped one hand and slowly poured the water into it, making it so that Knox could have a drink. Knox, having been used to this process, sucked up the water as quickly as he could. It didn’t make for much for the horse to drink, but it at least gave him something to wet his mouth, which always helped after a short run.

“We can stop along the river on our way back and let them have a proper drink,” she said as she held the water skin out to Akasja. Pearl looked up to the sky and gauging by the sun’s position, she guessed they had been out for the better part of two bells. All in all, not a bad day so far, she thought.

With the hatchet in hand, Pearl approached the trees and looked them over closely. It was better to cut the bark away from the trees that hadn’t already been stripped by animals or other people, so as to leave the trees intact and able to continue their growth so they could be used again at another time. When she found just the right one, she began her stripping of the bark; the first few pieces coming off in smaller chunks until she was able to get a good start on the process and yielding them longer strips to work with.

Several chimes passed and Pearl paused, reaching up to smooth the dampened tendrils of hair that escaped their confinement of her plait back from her face. “Care to give it a try?” she made the offer to Akasja, holding out the hatchet to her handle first. Pearl’s arm was just a little shaky from all the effort her muscles had given so far. Plus she knew that they needed to head back soon and perhaps a fresh pair of hands at the task would make it go a little more quickly.



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[Akasja]

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The slippery elm grove that Pearl and Akasja headed towards was another exciting landmark. Those elm trees were something that Akasja knew about, but had only handled a couple times at most. Using Pearl's explanation for reference, the bark Akasja had once traded for had already been peeled and dried. "I have used it before," Akasja replied to Pearl as she began to slow her horse further, "but not very much."

As they dismounted, Akasja enjoyed the cooler air brought on by the shade of the elms and the nearby river. Trees in Eyktol were always celebrated, as usually they brought respite from the sun and indicated that plentiful water was near. Considering this, Akasja took the water skin from Pearl even though she did not much need to drink. The dense organ she was born with, which held a store of water, was still fairly full. Akasja's horse, despite being a Desertbred, would need a drink more than she. Following Pearl's lead, Akasja poured some water into her own hand and offered it to her mount who happily slurped it, swishing her dark tail. Akasja looked into the distance and anticipated reaching the river to drink from it as well.

Akasja watched again as Pearl chose a tree that was untouched and began to use the same motion with her hatchet as before to remove the bark. It started off a little more difficult, but Pearl was able to peel off strips of the bark before long. As she turned to Akasja and offered the hatchet, Akasja paused only a moment to realize what was happening and then gladly took the hatchet from Pearl.

Akasja approached the elm tree and recalled Pearl's movements, finding the task to be fairly easy since the process had been started already. Akasja was full of energy, and she hoped her efforts let Pearl get a bit of rest for the time being. While Akasja worked, she found that sometimes she cut too deeply into the tree and had to dislodge the hatchet and start over in the same spot, using less force to get the right amount of bark. Eventually she became comfortable with the exact amount of pressure needed and had amassed a fair pile of the elm bark. Akasja paused and looked over her work. The tree, although with a few new notches in it, didn't look too bad. Akasja turned to Pearl for guidance.
"I continue? I cut more?" Or, Akasja speculated, the other option: "We have enough?"
Akasja enjoyed the feeling of her muscles tensed and warm. Doing work like this was satisfying, and it was for the benefit of others. She would be happy to cut a little more, but was not sure how much longer Pearl wanted to stay in this area.
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[Pearl]

Pearl watched as Akasja began to cut the bark away from the tree, smiling at how quickly she became accustomed to the effort. Upon Akasja’s question, Pearl looked up to the sun, shading her eyes from the direct glare so she could try and tell the approximate time of day from its position in the sky. It was beginning to fall over into the later portion of the morning, it appeared. “We should probably start heading back for The River Flower so that we have time to process what we have gathered.” She was pleased at the progress they had made and set about placing the bark into the yvas bags so they would be able to transport it all back safely.

“If we go now, we’ll still have plenty of time to stop by the river and water the horses properly as it’s on our way back to the gates.” Those words from her brought about a happy nicker from Knox as the Strider stamped his foot on the ground indicating his desire to do just that. “That’s a yes from, Knox,” Pearl chuckled petting over his neck as she put another stack of the slippery elm bark into the yvas bags.

When they were mounted and riding towards the banks of the river, Pearl turned enough so she could look over to Akasja. She admired the woman for her strength and her learning. She had seen nothing but perseverance from the woman since she arrived in Endrykas, and she was comfortable with, even proud of, the woman that she now called friend.

“Would you like to go out to The Watch with me tomorrow?” she asked as they drew up to the banks and she slid down from Knox’s back. “I usually go out and see if any need treatment for either illness or injury first thing in the mornings. The members are usually too stubborn to give up their duties to come in for any treatment.” She left Knox to drink his fill while she took the water skin and refilled it alongside him.

Knox nudged at her back, his nose pushing hard enough that she had to take a step forward or lose her balance. Turning she sat a hand to his jaw and scratched and pet him there. “Alright, I’ll ask,” she said. “Knox would like to run back to Endrykas. Do you think your mare is up for the run?”


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[Akasja]

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The work here had been rewarding, but Pearl let Akasja know it was time for them to head back. Akasja was getting better at Common, but it was still not perfect. She understood enough of what Pearl said to know that they would be taking their horses to the river. Lifting herself onto the strong back of her black-coated Desertbred, Akasja eagerly trailed the younger Drykas. It had been a good day.

At the river, the landscape was lush and still rather verdant. Akasja deeply inhaled the scent of the water and the soil, exhilarated by it all. Knowing the whereabouts of such an amount of water was always necessary. She would not forget how to get to this place. Akasja's horse nickered, excited by the sight of the river. Sliding off the Desertbred's back, Akasja let her horse drink to her contentment.

After some moments of silence, Akasja caught Pearl's gaze. She knew the younger woman had been looking at her earlier, but if Pearl had no comments to make aloud, Akasja did not want to ask what the young woman was thinking. Her actions would probably show enough. The Drykas woman then thought to invite Akasja to the Watch on the following day. It had something to do with treatment and injury. Akasja pondered this invitation. She did not really know the men of the Watch, although she had interacted with a few. For the most part, she kept a respectful distance, though she studied them as much as she could. They were highly revered and given a lot of responsibility. In truth, Akasja wanted to know more about them. As of yet, most of them seemed very mysterious and somewhat separate from the rest of Endrykas.
"I would like to go to the Watch with you tomorrow," Akasja agreed. She hoped she would be able to answer a lot of questions that she had.

After the women were done at the river, Pearl's invitation to run their horses sounded perfect.
"Yes," Akasja replied, checking the distance ahead and finding it empty. The world seemed stretched out endlessly before them. "We can run."
Akasja gave her mare an excited pat on the thigh before climbing onto her back again; the Desertbred's energy picked up almost immediately. Waiting until Pearl and her horse were ready, Akasja clicked to her horse and urged her forward. They moved from a trot to a canter without hesitation. Seeing Pearl's horse darting ahead excited the Desertbred further, bringing her straight into a gallop. The horse's body seemed to explode with power as she released the energy that she had kept pent-up during the day. Her gate was like liquid silk, her tail streaming behind her muscular body like a dark banner. Akasja could not help a grin from forming on her face, feeling like she and her horse were almost one being.
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[Pearl]

Knox wanted to have his head, to run at full speed, but gave in when Pearl held him back with a slight tension in her legs and one hand upon his neck, her left leg drawing back along his side every so often to keep him in check so as not to leave Akasja and her mare alone on the Sea of Grass; even so the run had been exhilarating for both Strider and rider. Pearl made sure to follow her sightings so they kept on track and did not stray away from their path back to the Gates of Endrykas.

Once the Gates were in view, she drew both of her heels back along Knox’s sides to slow him back to a walk; both breathing harder and through their smiles that the run brought to their faces. Perhaps another couldn’t tell Knox was happy, but Pearl certainly could and his happiness was as important to her as her own. “Thank you for understanding,” she cooed to Knox as she leaned forward to pet over the side of his neck, the stallion nickering his response as he tossed his head to the side.

Pearl led them through the street of Endrykas and back towards The River Flower. “We’ve lots of work ahead of us know,” she spoke to her friend, “what with preparing everything we’ve gathered today.” It had been a truly pleasant day, despite the amount of work both of them had already put towards gathering the much needed supplies for The River Flower, or so Pearl had thought. “Thank you so much for joining me. Having you along made the day, and the work, so much more pleasant.”

When they arrived at The River Flower, Pearl slid from Knox’s back and began to remove their gathered items from the yvas bags, anxious to begin the processing of the barks to turn them into useful medicines for the good of her people and the many patients of The River Flower.


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[Tribal]

G R A D I N G

Pearl

Experience

• Philtering: 1
• Riding, Horse: 5
• Organisation: 5
• Horsemanship: 2
• Socialisation: 5
• Rhetoric: 4
• Medicine: 3
• Observation: 5
• Cleaning: 2
• Leadership: 2
• Storytelling: 1
• Teaching: 4
• Botany: 1
• Land Navigation: 3
• Stroytelling: 1
• Foraging: 2
• Herbalism: 2
• Wilderness Survival, Plains: 1
• Animal Husbandry: 1
• Mathematics: 2
• Endurance: 1

Lore

• Riding through a crowd
• River: Hurt during training
• Medicine: Suturing
• Akasja: Helpful
• Botany: Slippery Elm Tree
• Racing a horse against Akasja

Loot

1lb Acklar Bark
1lb Elm Bark

Akasja

Experience

• Philtering: 1
• Herbalism: 1
• Observation: 5
• Grooming: 1
• Animal Husbandry: 2
• Socialisation: 5
• Rhetoric: 3
• Riding, Horse: 4
• Botany: 1
• Logic: 2
• Planning: 1
• Organisation: 1
• Foraging: 3
• Horsemanship: 1
• Endurance: 1

Lore

• Endrykas: Winter temperatures
• Pearl: A skilled doctor
• Pearl: The good doctor
• Yvas: Drykas horse gear
• Botany: Slippery Elm Tree
• Pearl: Married to a Watchman
• Dravite: Pearl's husband
• Botany: An Acklar Tree
• Acklar Bark: Used for medicine
• Racing a horse against Pearl
• The speed of an Endrykas Strider

Loot

1lb Acklar Bark
1lb Elm Bark

Notes

Wonderful thread ladies. Enjoy the rewards.