[Flashback:Solo] A little bit of work III

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A lawless town of anarchists, built on the ruins of an ancient mining city. [Lore]

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[Flashback:Solo] A little bit of work III

Postby Antar on August 9th, 2011, 12:50 am

11th day of spring, 511 av

With the rise of the morning sun, Noth eagerly made ready for work from the day before. Stretching and having a small bite of his breakfast of an apple, Antar set about for preparing the kill he had made the night before. A possum which he stored in a sack he'd flung up in a 'high' holdalso known as a Bear Bag for the night. Loosening the ropes, he brought the bag down and removed the dead carcass, drew his knife and got to work nearby the firepit. The small hollow within the earth was still filled with a small portion of warm coals from the night past.

Noth started by flipping the animal to the point where its legs pointed up in the air.

He had to in order to begin the gutting process, slicing just below the ribcage as cooled blood and entrails began to spill out. Uncaring of the mess he reached inside to pull the organs, the heart, the liver the kidneys, all of it out in one giant mess. He could feel the toughness of the animal's ribcage he savagely removed the intestines and laid it all on a stone beside the fire. He didn't want to eat such things. For they would have been tainted by the undigested material still within the critter. He took a sharp look at them just to be sure.

There was a small danger of an arrow shot piercing and making a mess of things on the inside, but he had bet upon the cool night air of spring to keep the kill from being spoiled. And it seemed his luck had paid off. For the arrow seemed to have shot the possum in the lungs, causing them to fill with blood and suffocate the animal to death. The stomach , liver, and intestines were unpierced.

With the gutting of the animal done, he flipped the corpse over. With a small grunt of effort, he chopped off the animal's head at the base of the neck, and added it to the discard pile. The tail followed.

Using his knife again Noth made a single incision, cutting a straight line crosswise through the fur around the width of the animal. He made sure to cut through the skin down to the muscle layer below before placing his knife aside. Taking both hands he placed them into the divide and braced himself to defur the beast. He started his way towards the back quarters, ripping the layers of hair and skin off with a sickening squelch as he levered the half pelt backwards, tearing the flesh up and over the hindquarters, down to going over the tail stump and finishing with the legs.

He duplicated his actions for the front, forcing it to come off the shoulders and down over the legs bones of the front feet. Noth set the fur aside, he could use it for lining boots and things with, and it was always good for sale if he could cure it.

With the immediate steps of removing the fur done, he flipped the body over and cut away at its hips, and what was left at the neck removing the creatures colon sheathe, and esophagus to finish the gutting process.

Looking at the corpse, Noth figured he'd get three days worth of meat out of the kill, so flipping it back over he began to de bone the prize. Scraping at the inside of the ribs to thin them enough for him to force the ribs to pop through by pushing down on the meat. He did this for one side, and then the other working his way with the knife closer towards the spine. With a little bit of leveraging and a sharp cutting through the soft tissues with his camp knife he had finished severing the spine from the muscles in the possum’s back.

He was able to separate the spine from the creature, it was only a matter of time before he came to the obstacles of removing the entire thing, including the tail stump before he could place the rib cage with the connecting spine and hip bones upon the discard pile with the rest of the organs. Now was the odds and ends, bringing the scapula out of the flesh, scraping just as he had with the ribs before using the flat of his knife's blade under the bone to flip it up safely through the meat. Then came the time for the legs, carving down the legs themselves he reached inside the flesh to tear out the bones of the hind legs, before severing the feet where there wasn’t enough flesh to save.

With the task done, Noth rolled up fileted meat to form a giant meat wrap, placing it in a few wet down gathered leaves for baking before he gathered up the discard pile of animal guts… He took the out of camp by a few hundred feet to dispose of it, walking ever so slightly in a zig zag pattern through the outskirts rubble before tossing it into swathe of bushes.

With the disposal done, Noth returned back to the fire pit and got it started the hard way, digging with his blade until he found a smoldering coal , heaping some of the stored dry grass he had taken in his tent to get a small fire to blossom to life. He fed it slowly in the pit, adding larger and larger amounts of tinder, then kindling then fuel to bring up the fire to safe blaze before scattering half of it with a poaked stick to form a new bed of coals. Taking the rock with the leaf wrap meat bundle , Noth wet the package down with water from his flask and placed it upon the outer edge of the bed of coals. Within the flat leaves the meat would steam as he finished the rest of the morning camp duties. And he’d dug the pit deep enough to prevent the wind catching an errant spark.

Not that that would matter as he had assured he kept his tent at least fifteen feet away. He knew, like the wilderness, one could never be cautious enough with fire around. Camp safety was a tenant of his life and he’d be damned before he let anyone he’d been camping with to put his life in danger.

Turning away from camp he took his iron pot to the nearest working well, with the intent of filling it with water from the bucket. It was a good hike, about a quarter mile and he figured that when he returned to camp the meat on the coal bed would be just ready for turning. It took two pales to fill the pot, and hauling it back was difficult. But he managed to get it back in time to flip the meat roll with a stick and set up his pot to boil. He did this by using three cut staves, two with “Y” notches in them. The two with the branched forks, he drove into the ground over the fire pit, thinking they were strong enough to hold the crossbar of a makeshift spit. As a final act of preparation, he hung the pot of water over the half of the fire, just above the flames which were on a ‘slow’ burn as some called it. This meant that that side had enough fuel for about thirty more minutes with a few smaller fuel logs providing the heat of the fire which was provided to begin the water’s boiling.

Taking out some salt from his pack, Noth began working the leaf bundle over to the side of the coal bed and tenderly opened the hot package with his camp knife and a wooden fork, opening the meat bundle up. A small puff of heated steam rose from the opened pouch, forcing him to close his eyesas it washed over his face. It was a discomforting feeling, almost as nasty as getting a spark upon the skin, but it wasn’t anything seriously. When he opened his eyes he peered down into the package tow see that the red meat had nicely begun steaming to the brownish color of being cooked through with just a bit of pink inside. The smell wafted to his nostrils, causing his belly to ache a bit with hunger. But he disciplined himself from eating it just yet. Instead, he salted the meat wrap, wetting it down with a bit more water from his flask before rewrapping it to set it upon the coals again before checking on the pot to see the water had come to a nice rolling boil and realized it was just time to wait.

Noth settled back to finish his morning routine by whittling a stick with his dagger. Just working his hands and the blade’s edge along the wood, bringing small scrapes off with each slice. He was working on something he had seen once but didn’t know how to play. A board game with several types of pieces with the goal of capturing the board so the opponents head piece couldn’t move. He figured eventually he might learn how to make such a thing to pass the time.

About five chimes later the meat was fully cooked and cooling, and the fire had been banked to burn down to coals. Lifting the pot to the side with the stick he covered it with a lid and turned his attention back to the fire.

This time he laid the pelt flaps above the pit in the smoke of the dying fire, letting the hide dry a little as he waited a few more chimes as the smoke cleared and killed any pests that still lay within the pelt. About 10 chimes later, the drinking water he had set aside to cool, Noth drank the rest of his water from his drinking flask and set about smothering the fire with dirt and soil. Ever mindful to leave the cooling meat in the leaves room to sit, straightened his hair using his comb, and rinsed of his knife before stowing it back in the sheathe he had made for it on his shoulder.
He finished a little more whittling work, and stored the meat wrap back in the “high hold” and hung it so animals wouldn’t be able to get it. The salt and the wrapped leaf bundle would keep it safe from air spoilage and investigating pests.

In another five chimes, he removed the smoked possum pelt from the spit and laid them to dry out in the sun on one of the slum's many busted brick walls.

His final act before leaving camp was to water his horse and spend some time talking to her. It was odd how he seemed to get along more with his horse then he did with other people. He spoke to her softly for a few moments before he saddled her up for the ride to the brothers Shop. He patted her on a neck a final time before putting on her saddle, the horse blanket first and then cinching the leather straps closed, lightly swatting her in the side to have her breath out. His horse was a trickster like that, one who liked to breathe in so as not to be so discomforted by the saddle.

She scratched the ground with one of her front hooves in a mix of boredom and irritation before she let him have his way. He mounted up into the saddle and turned for the road that lead out to the Sunberth woods. After all, there was a long day of work ahead and the fruits of hunting alone wouldn’t be enough to butter his bread.
Last edited by Antar on August 10th, 2011, 7:10 pm, edited 3 times in total.
"I am the Shadow and the smoke in your eyes, I am the ghost that hides in the night."
~Back, but slow. :)
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[Flashback:Solo] A little bit of work III

Postby Antar on August 10th, 2011, 7:14 am

Noth gripped the reins of his horse Dawnstride loosely in his hands as they walked past the old cemetery. The ride to the brothers shop was a difficult one, for him at least, traveling the distance took a good 15 chimes past the slum's outskirts by horseback, about a half day's walk, so Noth was steadfast in his determination to gain some measure of competency so he might actually stay on a horse for long rides.

Before in his travels he was always taken by a ship or a horse drawn wagon, not on the back of a steed that had to weight at least a thousand pounds. And the Ekytolian was a pretty average fifteen hand horse. That meant that even if she could go long distances without water, she couldn't get there much faster then any other breed. And rushing only lent itself to more troubles down the road. And he didnt' want to fall off of 'Dawn' again.

Truth be told, the matter of falling under a horse was a daunting one for Noth, he'd heard many a story of those crushed under horses when they fell. But almost all those stories were told at where the horse had been at a gallop. So he kept Dawnstride at a walk, lengthening his trip's length to about 20 chimes and enjoyed the scenery as he tried to move with the horse's gait. It was hard , keeping his buttocks as steady in the saddle as he could. But he was learning. Learning many things, as the horse was teaching him, just as much as he was taking in from the experience. The past had already taught him falling off a walking horse wasn't a good thing, but he'd only heard about another danger of riding a horse to be wary of. The danger of developing saddlesores.

They sounded like the most unpleasant of things.

'He didn't want to be hung up sometime in the future, not being able to sit down and enjoy the sensation of a woman sitting on his lap in the tavern because he had a few sores on his-' He cut the thought off right there and shifted to clench his legs around the horse's chest as they started to come to a rise in the road. It was like sitting astride a barrel, and he was sure it would be a most uncomfortable positions were he not wearing leather pants.

Another dip in the road brought him closer to the woods where the Brother's shop's were. And he noted he was almost to work now, just about a chime away and that felt good to him. He wanted to say that for the first time, he'd made it all the way there and back for one day riding a horse for the entire trip.

Another bend in the road brought him into the forest outskirts and as he arrived to walk Dawnstride in he shouted out the verbal command he had used the days before. "Woah." He followed the command word with a bit of talking, shakily leaning forwards enough to pat his horse on the neck as she came to a stop.

'Now was the tricky part,' Noth thought as he kicked both feet out the stirrups. His horse's legs pranced a little as he transferred the reins to his left hand. When Dawnstride tried to take a step forward Noth gently pulled back on the reins stop her and stayed there till she quieted again.

Leaning forward he placed both hands on the withers and shifted his weight to his arms before he inched up his right leg up high enought to clear Dawnstrides haunches and around over the saddle's back. With his elbows of his arms aching from from the strain he pushed himself slightly to the side to hop down to vault off the side. His momentum assisted him to clear Dawn's legs, and when he touched ground he bent at the knees to absorb the shock and thanked the gods he was off the horse.. With the back of the reins in his left hand he used his right to grasp closer up towards the bit in the horse's mouth and lead her to a nearby tree branch to tie off the reins in a pull knot.

Patting her on the side of the neck and giving her a drink of water was his way of saying thanks before he turned to walk a small ways away to stretch his arms and legs. Riding wasn't the most rigorous of activities to be sure, but to a novice such as him it did leave him the neccessity of stretching out a few kinks in his legs. So he did so before venturing inside to find a note with his name on it.

The Day's Task :
Hey there Antar,

If you're reading this welcome back for your third day. Some don't even make it this far. Good job. Today we have you on Sorting Duty, which mainly means you'll be unloading the wagons as they come in and delivering them to their assigned spots in the woodshed and the holding racks... so get a pair of gloves on and hop to it. The more seasoned workers will show you where things go if you have any trouble. So don't be afraid to ask.

Signed,
The Carver Brothers.

P.S. Nice job on the tools yesterday. We expect them to be kept in shape like that all the time, no excuses.


Putting the note back down, Noth ventured to the side wall and put on the leather work gloves he had used from yesterday. They were still a little tight, mainly because they had been restitched for someone with thinner wrists then he had, but he'd make do. Or worse came to worse, he might try to dethread them and fix their measure. Putting such thoughts aside, Noth turned and made his way around towards the back of the shop where the wood stacks were and prepared himself for a grueling day's worth of work ahead. Thinking about the money, and the debt to Tua. He hoped all of it would be worth it eventually...
"I am the Shadow and the smoke in your eyes, I am the ghost that hides in the night."
~Back, but slow. :)
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Antar
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[Flashback:Solo] A little bit of work III

Postby Antar on August 12th, 2011, 5:42 am

Nobody understood just how hard woodcutters worked. Not really, not around sunberth or even in other parts of the world. Woocutters were just one set of jugglers of entire set of crafts that combined more aspects of organization to keep themselves safe than anyone would ever believe. It wasn't just going out into the woods, and felling trees to bring them back to be cut.

There were large sorting areas, set aside for particular types of trees. Oak, Pine, Fir, Cork Oak, Maple, just a small representation of all sorts of plants and animals that were found within the mixed forest types around sunberth. Much of the land nearby was still unknown, untamed... wild and uninhabited since the valterrian and many mysteries seemed to be present just beyond the next ridge or hill. Or something that seemed hidden in each forested valley. It wasn't as dangerous as the Taldera to be sure. But it had its own charm, its own unique mystique that kept people living here on the outskirts of a lawless city.

If anyone ever really began to develop the terrain, Sunberth and its countryside could have been quite a powerhouse in the world if not for the ever leeching draw of selfish fools bickering over each other’s scraps in its streets. It wouldn't be fair though to say the city and the woods didn't have their own organization. A more natural order of kill or be killed, eat or be eaten, take the resources for your own use or let them lie fallow till another found them for their own gain. No, as he reassessed the countryside and city more and more, he realized they were pretty similar in most regards.

And that relationship could have been easily explained in the Yards behind the Cutter and Carver Brothers store:
Even though it was a small operation, wagons brought in from members of the woodcutting crews of the day were passed onto sorters, who sent them aside in different sections before they were taken to those who manned the large two man saws. The pieces then cut into proper lengths for further carving for specific jobs, and construction were set aside in different wagons to be shipped into town later.

While many were just sorted and stored in the woodsheds for later. Noth couldn't have seen more than five people in the yard at a time, but they all did their tasks with efficiency even as they sometimes didn’t get along. Unsure of what to do, Noth took a step towards the nearest one only to be forced to step back by an interruption of “MAKE WAY!” as two men carried a twenty foot log past him. One of them cursed Noth out for his ineptitude as they ventured by to drop it into a bin before marching back to the wagons like a pair of worker ants.

It was chaos in the Yard, but it was an ordered chaos. Gulping loudly Noth closed his eyes to take a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh before he opened them again to take another look at his new place of employment. One of the other workers on the far side of the yard by the wagons saw him and waved him over, and he knew his day had just begun.
In the short amount of time it took for him to jog cross the field, Noth could see the other man giving him an appraising glare when he slowed up to come to a standstill. It wasn’t’ one of the brothers, just a random worker.

“You Noth?”
“Yes Ser.”
“Where’s your belt?”
“Belt Ser?” Noth asked as he looked down the leather one holding his pants up. “Erh.. I.”
“Not that one you petching idjit! You’re on lifting duty today right? Where’s your back brace?”
“Uhm, where do I get one Ser?”
“Storeroom , on hooks, to the left. Get one and get back here double time, you’ll be helping me unload logs today. Name’s Herbert, but you can call me Herb, most everyone does.”
“Yessir.” Noth replied as he sheepishly trotted back towards the store and the storeroom. When he returned he had a large leather strap around his waist and Herbert waved him over to a set of tree stumps that were held by one of the wagons. “Alright listen up, this is your first day here, right? So we got to start small you see.”

Noth nodded affirmatively, but said, “I’m not above a hard day’s work sir.”
“Glad to hear it, ya runt, because that’s all that’s here for you right now. A hard days work. Now you see that stump?” Herbert said as he pointed to a tannish brown barked tree stump with a darker wood with many rings on the inside. “That’s Birch, you can see that from the wood color, so tell me, how old is it?”
Noth was confused a moment as he pondered, and hesitantly spoke, “At least 10 years old sir?”
“Sure, ten years old… boy you’re a calf in the woods aren’t you? Each year a tree grows a ring forms, Noth! The more rings the older it is! You got that?”

Taking a closer look to see what the man meant , Noth nodded before sheepishly muttering an assent as the man continued, “Good, cause we’re going to lift it, and move it over there,” Herbert said and pointed towards the chopping block where firewood was split for sale. Noth saw another man constantly moving bits of trunks up to the block and splitting them with an axe or a wedge. That was all he was doing. “The block is where Wiley is today.”

“Do you guys work here like me?” Noth asked Herbert as he bent over at the waist to try to lever up the tree stump. The brace around his spine was a bit tight and hindered him as he began to pull, but his attempt was cut short by Herbert yelling at him, “Stop ! You buffoon, you got it all wrong!”
Noth looked at him bewilderingly before muttering a ‘”Wrong Ser?”
“Yes Wrong. You ever lift something heavy before?”
“Erh, depends on the item Ser.”
“Petching git. Listen up and listen up closely.” Herbert said as he knelt down to the stump himself, and bent at the knees. “First things first. You always got to know where ya’ be, and where ya’ are going. Figure out if there’s anything in the way between here and Wiley boy , will ya?”
“Noth looked and saw a few branches in the path, “Couple of things, nothing much.”
“Then clear your path out , ya ‘git! No need to get awkward steps by trippin’ over somethin’ We’re going to do this one together, each one of us on each side, but you got to do what I say, alright? Bend at the knees man! Bend at the knees!”

“Sure, I get ya.”

Noth crouched down to mirror the man’s state, Herbert worked his hands down under the trunk and Antar followed suit as Herb spoke again, “You gotta lift towards your body, straight up. Hold ‘em close so yours’ legs are more stable. Don’t lift something at the end of your reach kid, and always get a firm grip . Keeping it close to you means you keep it balanced. Alright? Now when we lift it we want our feet apart to spread the weight so let’s do so on three. One… Two… Three…”

Noth heaved the trunk upwards with Herbs help, pulling the trunk to his waist as Herbert did the same, Making sure to keep his legs spread about shoulder distance apart. “Alright, we take it slowly now, short steps. Just count with me alright. One step. Two step, Three step… Get that spine straight boy! Suck in your stomach with your muscles to keep you upright, the belt will help you.”

As they shuffled forwards Noth concentrated on his posture like he was told as he could feel the burn on his abdomen as they began to make headway.

When they got across the yard, the man chopping wood Herb shouted a question, “Cleared to place, Wiley?”
Wiley replied, “Cleared to place, Herb. I heard ya, go ‘head.”

It was then with a glaring Herb starting speaking, “Alright once above the block we lower it nice and slow at the knees. Let your legs do the work, not your back! Legs are just stronga’ that way. Help keep your legs straight by keeping your eyes up. Best thing to do if tired- get some help like we’re doing now. Now you never venture towards a man with an axe or other tool without letting them know your there, say something, Clear to Place, going by, Make Way! Got that Nothie?”
“Yes Ser.” Noth said as the stump was laid down and Wiley smiled at them. Scratching his head, Noth had to ask, “So you guys work the yard often?”

It was Herb who answered “Nah, not all the time, we just come help out from time to time when there’s big orders. The brothers are kinda good at keeping nice with those that helped ‘em before. Long as your straight with them, they’re straight with you. Even that cemetery man gets coffin’s from them for those that can afford ‘em. Usually, Wiley and I alternate a few times, just trying to get by you know. Little honest work in Sunberth, so what’s there is a godsend. Since they had the last guy try to steal from ‘em you’ve been the only new hiree. You seem enough of a sort so long as you follow directions.”

“Yes Ser.”

“I ain’t a Ser, Ser’s are them brothers. Most call me Herb as I said, or Big Herb when then don’t know me. Now it’s time to get back to work so for the start, you just need to work with Wiley here. Bringing the stumps over for him to split, or saw out the knocks. If you have to, make a pile of ‘em about ten feet away if there’s backlog, got it Nothie?”
“Yes Big Herb.”
“Alright, you might as well begin without me, I got sorting duty for the small logs today. If you need to ask what any type of wood is, ask Wiley, he’ll tell ya so long as you keep on task and proper distance.”

“Yes Big Herb, I hear ya. Thanks for the help and showing me what to do.”
Big Herb just eyed him a little, “Don’t mention it, just don’t make it a waste for the brothers to be paying ya’ and you’ll be just fine round here, Ant. Hear me?”

“Yessir.” Noth said before he turned to trudge back across the yard. There were two more dodges out of log carriers ways, with more shouts of “Make Way.” But in the end he eventually crossed as he could to start the task of lugging the next stump across the yard to the chopping block for the start of what would become one of the most tiring days in his life.
"I am the Shadow and the smoke in your eyes, I am the ghost that hides in the night."
~Back, but slow. :)
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Antar
"A thousand voices screaming in unison..."
 
Posts: 768
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[Flashback:Solo] A little bit of work III

Postby Antar on August 14th, 2011, 9:30 pm

‘Damn. Wood was heavy.’Noth thought to himself as the day wore on. Though the task was tedious and seemingly without end, he began to develop a routine of sorts. Hopping across the yard as a frog might skirt across a busy road in the midst of traffic was harder then it seemed. He had to time it as every seven feet, fate seemed determined to thwart his progress as other work crews plowed through their set paths with their own loads. But after a time, he got used to the ebb and flow of everyone scurrying about in the yard became easier in theory, but not in practice as he gained a bit more awareness of those flitting past him.

The sun ran across the sky as the day wore on, with the tree shadows waxing and waning as time came and went. The only reprieve from the grueling work was lunch. Of which Noth had none, but was gifted by a wild apple one of the cutters brought in from a nearby tree. He saved the seeds, thinking they would be a good thing to pass the time planting somewhere. Before long, it was back to business, hauling more heavy blocks of wood over to be split into smaller pieces. By the end of the day , Noth was tired, his hands were sore from the chafing of the leather gloves, and his back, even with the leather brace around his spine was aching a bit.

There were times when he felt his knees were like jello, and other times where his arms seemed as if they would flop around worse than Gumby’s. It was a disheartening experience for him, but each time Noth pondered quitting he forced himself to think, this was nothing. It was nothing compared to what he knew he had to prepare for in the future. If he couldn’t stand one measly day’s work in the yard then he’d never be ready for those who eventually would track him down. When it almost reached he bell to go home, he noticed a few men pull a whitened tree from the back of the last carriage and curse as they looked over it.

With the amount of work slowing for the day, the display drew quite a crowd. Noth’s head began to swivel, going back and forth looking between all those who were speaking. One of the workers hauling it chirped, “God damn it Herb, Look! Petcher brought us in a salt-water logged tree! We can’t use this for nuffin! The damn things just one large piece of driftwood, and too off color to plank out.”

Herb chimed in, “No. I do suppose you’re right, can’t use that much more then for sawdust! Speaking of which, how much of this do you have?”
“Bout fifty feet! Petcher shoulda realized this was no good even if it’s Elm.”
“Hey there.” Herb said, “It is good for sumfing’ if you think about it. I don’t think the bosses made much paper recently and this type of wood is perfect fo’ some quality stuff of it.”

“Paper? We’d have to grind the thing down to sawdust for it! That’s after taking the time to chop it to bits! We could get ten trees from that hardened bit.” Wiley cursed.
“Well ya’ see… that’s true, but I think we can have a little fun with this one. Let it take us a few days.” Herb spoke in a calming manner. “How long ‘as it been Wiley since we boys got a little target practice? I see enough here to saw out a few sections for throwing some hatchets , and we even got enough rope left to make up a training dummy for those that are interested in helping. It’s the last wagon of the day too, so we might all chip in to help out, get it done lickety split. Over the next few days we’ll get enough chips for a paper batch so long as we collect it up and put it in a barrel. How’s that sound? You up for a bit of fun, guys? Get the rope boys, we’ll have this up in a jiffy!”

A rousing chorus of jeers and laughs came to Noth’s ears as the men began unloading what had been a cause for earlier cursing. Noth helped carry the trunk with five guys, lifting it to waist before jerking it up to rest on one shoulder before they let it settle on the ground. The two man sawyers set to work, first cutting a seven foot log, which was quickly pulled away by the rest to be upright at the side of the meadow by the front of the shop. With a sledge, one man began driving it into the ground. Herb called Noth over to help him as the rest went back for the rest of the tree which was quickly being sawed into round targets that were nailed to boards.

With Herb, Noth learned to lash the rope around the trunk of the training dummy, twisting it around the central shaft and letting it become tighter with each pull. Herb showed him how to square lash the timber trunk to a secure a crossbrace two others were holding. They began with a clove hitch on the vertical pole beneath the horizontal pole and he had to tuck the loose end under in alternating wraps to form, going around the trunk, and then behind the back pole, over the front pole about three times each before frapping the line. Each turn around the poles Herb directed him to inch each wrap further inside the previous turns to keep them parallel and with a minimum of crossing each other to keep the it flush with the two wood pieces. They finished off by pulling it all together as tight as possible; tying off two half hitches before anchoring it off with a clove hitch.

After that, Herb took a few pelts the woodsmen had been drying and tied them to the poles , in order to help cushion things when they started wailing on it. When the training dummy was done, Noth’s final sight of the day was the other workers bringing back several circles of trunks mounted on two by fours to drive into the ground farther on in the meadow. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood, but Herb cautioned two of the men to bring out a barrel or two for the sawdust, and a dustpan as he martialed all back to the yard to finish storing the wagons in the shed and tending to their individual horses. Weary from the day’s work, Noth eeked off the borrowed leather gloves and the back brace and placed them back in the storeroom where he had gotten them. For the second time that day the rogue swore he’d have to re-stitch the seams of the gloves to give him a bit of a better fit. But at least they had protected his hands from the splinters and such.

Before long, he was saying goodbye to the rest and saddling up Dawnstride. One of the boss’ , he still was having trouble telling the twins apart, complimented him on a good job and told him they’d expect him tomorrow... Feeling good about himself for once, Noth angled Dawn towards the road and began to make his way back to his tent for a good night’s rest. The trip back was uneventful at a walk, but Dawnstride didn’t seem to mind it. He watered his horse, and ate a bit of the possum meet he had cooked and salted before finishing off the last of the days chores- collecting more firewood, fetching another pale of water from the well to boil it. It was a routine he had to finish, before making himself ready for sleep. His muscles seemed to burn long after the day's exertions, but the rogue knew tomorrow he'd wake up to do it all over again.

~Fin

Thanks for reading, Hope you enjoyed it :D

Skills Request :
Weapon(dagger).
Riding(horse)
Bodybuilding. (lifting tree stumps, water buckets, etc)
Skinning,
Cooking.
Wilderness survival,-fire and camp safety-bear bag etc.
Any others you see :)

Lore:
Boiling water for drinking?
How to gut an animal safely,
The Elements of Lashing: Square lashing
Making a training dummy
Making a wood target for projectiles
Making a spit for a campfire.
Steam cooked meals are delicious.
Any others you see :)
"I am the Shadow and the smoke in your eyes, I am the ghost that hides in the night."
~Back, but slow. :)
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Antar
"A thousand voices screaming in unison..."
 
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[Flashback:Solo] A little bit of work III

Postby Cantrip on October 2nd, 2011, 12:44 am

Did you want something?
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Antar:
XP Award: Wilderness Survival +3; Skinning +3; Cooking +1; Carving +1; Horsemanship +1; Riding +2; Bodybuilding +2
Lores: Safely Caching Game; Gutting a Carcass; Square Lashing; Crafting a Training Dummy; Crafting Targets.

Additional Notes: Good to see you expanding on the previous threads.
Notice: thread tickets are sold out.
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Cantrip
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