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[Amunet]

2nd day, Fall, 515 a.v.
7th bell
Endrykas

Her hair seemed to have grown over night. It was reaching her behind as she was brushing it out. It lay in a cascade of waves that was like a dark red waterfall down her back. The tips and streaks of lighter red gave it the impression of fire. The girl had the sides braided simply with no adornments to keep her hair out of her face. The girl divided it into three sections and with the smaller braids made one very long loose braid down the back. This she picked up and put over one of her shoulders. It was still hot and the breeze hit the sweat forming there nicely now. Long hair only added to the heat.

The girl moved to her mare, calling Shetanae to her. The mare came up with a mouthful of grass and sauntered over to her little mistress. The sixteen hand mare made Amunet all the more short, yet their bond was clear as she nuzzled her shoulder and bent her head down to the little woman. Amunet gently wrapped her arms around the great big head. The girl then went to examine the mare to make sure that there were no hidden issues from the journey to the Fall grounds. Her hand went slowly over the shoulder for any knotted areas or tenderness then down the left foreleg as she looked at the tendons along the leg, to the knee and the long tendon above the fetlock. She picked up the foot by leaning a bit into the shoulder as the mare picked up her hoof. The mare could easily jerk the hoof from the little hand that held it, but she was usually docile for Amunet. Anyone else may have issues with this.

The girl used a stick to pick out the dirt and muck that accumulated. Her thumb ran over the frog and pressed into the soul of the hoof. The Heel wasn’t swollen and was not scabby. She put the hoof down and ran her hand down the front of the leg. The well sloping pastern was not swollen and the coronet band looked in good color for the hoof. She went to the other leg, foot and hoof to check for tenderness, unknown or unnoticed scabs or discoloration of any kind. The other foreleg looked good. Now the back legs. The lean into the hip was the same as she gave up the foot and Amunet lifted it up and picked it out. The girl checked the elbow of the hind leg again for sensitive spots, swelling and any sign of tenderness. Nope, she was good. The red head checked the other hind leg.

She did notice one thing and that the mare was standing a bit off. “Girl, I think you need to get your hooves rasped back a bit if not trimmed. “ The horse managed to huff and snort at the same time. At least that was how she interpreted. The chuckle was warm as she straightened out her mane a little before strapping the Yvas onto her. She swung up onto the mare’s back and made her way to The Guided Horse. When she dismounted, she looked around for one of the care takers and inquired who trimmed feet. “That be Toren . He be back this here corral and that thar set of tents and then over that pavilion and then the other corral. “

Amunet didn’t say a word as she was given these set of strange instructions. “Thank you. “ The red head swung back up on the mare and went towards that location. She saw a man with a hoof set in between his leg as he was rasping it to finish it off. That must have been Toren. The little woman dismounted from her mare and edged more to the side as not to startle the horse he was working on. In a low calm voice she said “Are you Toren?”
The man came up from his bent over state patting the horse as she looked down at the diminutive young drykas woman. “Yep.” He said simply.

Man of few words. “Could you trim Shetanae’s feet. I don’t think she is standing right.”

The man looked at her with a practiced eye. “yep, nope.” He said to the question and then the statement agreeing that the horse was not standing right.

“How much?” she asked him simply, keeping negotiations in the context he is speaking with.

He went over and picked up a foot. He turned the hoof slightly this way or that. “Good feet, 2 gold mizas. “ He said.

She nodded. “Good, when?”

The man looked at her. “Now.”

Well, that was fast. He lead the other horse into a different location as the Strider was brought forward. Amunet stayed at the head to make sure she behaved as it wasn’t her who was handling her feet.
“Shetanae, be good.” The girl said soft reassuring words and tones to the mare.

Her ears went back as he lifted her feet again. The horse snorted at the strange man who had her feet. She jerked once. The man had her foot well in his large hands. He firmly made it known without saying anything that he wasn’t putting up with her behavior. For Shetanae, all it took was one time. With a sigh of resignation she relented and he went to work trimming and rasping her hoofs to the shape it should be. He worked with alacrity and made the job look easy. The mare tried to lift the back foot when he got there as he pulled it too far out. He kept a hold of the hoof till she relaxed. The man understood and moved more in. The mare relaxed a little bit. Once all four hooves were done, she was standing much better.

“Good feet, Good breeding stock.” He mused as he narrowed her eyes at her confirmation. “Big mare.”

Amunet then asked Toren questions regarding her mare’s feet. “Is there more I could do for her feet?”

Toren looked at her and pondered the question a bit. A click or two went on before he answered. “Hoof has plenty of water moisture, need oil moisture. 2 parts lard, 1 part oil, ¼ part pine tar, mix well together. Put this onto the hoof, rub into the sole and up along the pastern and heel. Massage it into the coronet band especially thick. Do this once a week for about six weeks then once a month should do it. Winter hard on hooves, very drying. “ It was the most she heard from his mouth yet. Guess you had to get him on his expertise to talk.

“I will do that, Toren, Thank you. “ The both looked at the way she was standing as he nodded in satisfaction of his work.

“Big mare with strong lines. Big foal with the right stallion.” The man said as he gauged her confirmation.

“I not ready to breed her now. I need another riding mount for me before I do that. When I do, I will be looking for a good match for her. She is intelligent, quick to turn and has a good running stride on her“

The man nodded as he didn’t discount what she was saying. “That has possibilities. Ride careful after the trim. Feet need time to settle. About a day or two”

The girl nodded to the man, passed the coin to him as she solidified the recipe for the hoof conditioner in her memory to try to make later. It seemed a simple recipe. They parted ways as he didn’t say anything else. Luckily she was just dealing with matters within the tent city.

[Amunet]

The little midwife and the dark dun strider walked through the center of town and towards the River Flower in easy strides. The mare was walking better as she felt the way she moved beneath her seat and her legs. The way Shetanae was relaxed and her long legs stretched out with a sureness of footing. Those signs spoke well of the workmanship of the trim she received. Amunet squeezed her heel to move the mare towards the River Flower waving at pregnant mothers that she had seen and those she knew along the way.

The little woman stopped at the back of the River Flower and set her Strider to graze nearby. A leisurely morning, even to afternoon, of grazing after a trim would do her good. Amunet watched the mare for a few chimes as she settled in with the general herds that circled Endrykas. Life was good at the moment. The smile she had faded as she turned around and saw the pile outside of the back of River Flower that had not been tended to. It was stacks of linen for bandages, bundles of herbs, casks of oil and alcohol for philtering, medicines, and other supplies. Were these new supplies or things that hadn’t been sorted yet from the journey to the fall grounds?

It didn’t matter as she took a deep breath and approached the haphazard display of random stuff. Her head moved one way then the other calculating and getting a loose sort of inventory in her mind of what she was dealing with. It was not that she knew exactly what was in these bags, boxes, jugs and small barrels, but that the shape and likely contents of liquid, plant material, soft goods, hard goods and categorizations of that sort. Specifics could be sorted later. With a deep breath in and a longer one exhaled she started the sorting process.

What was in this box? Amunet had to retrieve a prying tool to open the box. She slipped the flat edge into the spot from the box to its lid while using theleverage of the tool she pulled down. Amunet slid it down an inch or so and performed the same function. Once she had it open to a point she could see its contents. It was a box of amber jars and bottles. The girl closed the lid back down, bent down with her knees to get her fingers underneath the edges. The girl lifted slowly grunting under the weight as it was well packed with its contents. She carefully walked it over into the Philtering lab storage. Just as carefully, she bent at the knees and put the box down.

It was a hot day and the sweat already started to form. Next where piles of white linen that would either be turned into bandages or sheets for beds. The young lady portioned out the large pile into four smaller ones. With each pile, she get a grip underneath, bend at the knee and lift the precarious bundle. This was a bit different from the box as this was malleable. Her arms strained to keep the pile from teetering this way or that. Amunet moved it towards triage. The nurse there smiled as Amunet waved and continued. The next pile she lifted went to a different part of the tent. The pile was slowly placed on a bed. The other piles of linen she would place in different locations of the tent for even distribution.

The casks and barrels were next. The jugs of oil she would, one at a time, take to Philtering storage. The girl bent at the knee, one hand on the handle and one hand underneath before she lifted up and kept the jug close to her body so she didn’t get off balance. Face plants are funny but they do hurt. This was deposited with the other jugs of similar make. Bending down with the Jug and depositing it neatly in the row it should be in. The young lady went back and forth with the jugs of various oils that were thankfuly clearly marked of what kind of oil. The small barrels were labeled alcohol from the brewers. It must be pure grain alcohol for tinctures or sterilizing. That was sometimes used in a pinch but the wrong kind of alcohol could prove problematic. This was a clear one for tinctures.

The small barrel was heavy for her but she squared up and looked for leverage to pick it up. The girl tilted the small barrel to the side to get her hand underneath it. The other hand slid along the edge to the other side. The girl kept her back straight and lifted slowly. This was her limit. She was sweating profusely. The small cask didn’t look this heavy. She tried to adjust it a bit and that didn’t help much. The girl walked slowly with this load towards the philtering storage. She got it up, now to get it down. Once she got to the storage where these casks were kept. The girl looked down to the ground that seemed further away then it was a few moments ago. She kept her back straight, ever so slowly started her descent. The moments ticked by in her head like it was forever as she tried to feel with the back of her hand where the ground was at. The girl braved a look down as she was only a foot from the ground. Amunet groaned a little as her legs and knees settled down to the remaining foot to set the cask down.

The sweaty girl stood up and put those little hands to the small of her back. The back of her legs were on fire but it was a good fire. Back out to the dwindling pile where the piles of bags were next. She wasn’t sure what was I them an experimental scrunch of her hand. It could be dried herbs. She looked for mark on the outside. With no markings she took the bag and put it over her shoulder. Compared to the cask, this was light. The next bag was marked salt. The River Flower did use a lot of it for its ability to fight infection and cleansing wounds. These bags the industrious girl would grab with her arms, pull up and put it across one of her slight shoulders and move each bag to different sections of the tent to disperse the supply. The rest she put into general storage.

[Amunet]

Once the pile had been allocated and deposited neatly where they should be, Amunet went into the philtering tent to see if there were anything needing to be done there. Besides she wanted to write down what the hoof trimmer had told her. She retrieved her journal, ink and quill from her pack and secured a spot at the philtering bench. The little sweaty woman got a cup of water to drink. She settled down to record the recipe as it was told to her into the Journal. She made the notations and little remarks from the hoof trimmer about Horses hooves. This would probably work for the hooves of the zibri and goats as well. As she thought about the recipe it seemed to be a base that if you exchanged the pine tar with herbal mixtures it could create various types of conditioners. She made those notations as mother recipes to spring from were always a good find.

Sadara Tenderbloom edged into the philtering lab of the River Flower. Some say this is her office of sorts. The dark haired Drykas looked into one of their newer additions to the staff and smiled at the red head bent over her journal to write. Such a serious child yet very determined and focused. The herbalist gently moved off of the box she was leaning against to observe her before entering into the area. “Amunet I presume? “ as the lady signed a gentle and pleasant greeting to the little redhead.

Amunet wipped her head around so fast as the quiet woman startled her. Those sky blue eyes got big as she gasped making the easy going herbalist chuckle. Amunet collected herself. “Oh, hi, “ as she signed her greeting.

“Thank you for dealing with the supplies. It would have been gotten to eventually but its good it didn’t tarry in the hot sun. “ Sadara said to the startled young woman. The girl seemed more child like sometimes and other times she saw the woman in her. “You do some philtering?” The raven headed Drykas asked her gently.

Amunet smiled “a little. I do want to be better at it so I can make and take as needed without bothering anyone. If I am out in the outlying camps I can make what I need out there if I know how.”

The elder of the two smiled at the young lady’s practicality. “Don’t consider yourself a bothe. Leave that to the realm of men to bother. You are of the River Flower now. We work together. I can show you basic recipes that you can take anywhere. “

The little midwife could not suppress the giggle at the way she said it. For a reputed aloof person Sadara was really personable. Amunet relaxed visibly as she exhaled a long breath. “Thank you. I really want to learn more about philtering. I am discovering so many applications of it outside of medicine though.”

“Don’t get distracted, but yes Philtering can be applied in more than just medicine. Here we will focus on medicines. “ Sadara cautioned firmly.

“Oh! Alright, sorry,” as a look of contrition and sincerity crossed her face. Her eyes widened as if she had made some serious transgression.

Sadara put a hand on the shoulder of the slight shoulder of the woman-child. “Relax. “ It was if with that one word and a gentle, graceful smile the wife of Tenderbloom transferred her confidence and calm to the young serious woman before her. The hand then went to the equipment before them as she reviewed some basics and found out that the young lady at least knew how to make emulsions, infusions, decoctions and poultices. “Good, I don’t have to go as slow as I thought.”

The redhead smiled when Sadara smiled. Amunet relaxed more into the discipline. In a way Sadara reminded her of her mother in the gentleness and grace that she spoke and instructed.

“cough syrup. This recipe I have used for years. Ginger, horehound and mint. “ The woman gathered those ingredients to begin. “The ginger should be peeled. You can use a spoon to peel ginger. Metal is best for this. It isn’t reactive. “

“What is reactive?” The young lady asked curiously as she wrote the notes down dutifully as they went along.

“Reactive is when one thing touches another and it changes. It reacts to the other thing. Like vinegar turns some metals colors. While this is not usually a problem for some, for medicines this is a concern and that batch cant be used as a medicine. Wooden spoons, stone stirrers, glass stirrers are usually best options as they are non-reactive to most things. “ The woman instructed.

Amunet nodded. It would be something she needed to watch out for. These went down into her notes before putting it down and helping her peel ginger with a spoon watching her technique. The metal spoon would go against the skin. The angle was slight and it would scrape down the bumpy surface. It was amazingly effective. One wouldn’t have thought that a spoon would denude a piece of ginger of its outer skin. Sadara said you saved ginger that way and ended up with more product.

“its best of the horehound and mint is fresh but dried will do. Luckily we have some fresh.” The raven headed woman said.

“Where does horehound grow? Mint that one is easy. “ Amunet asked with some enthusiasm.

“not too far from mint as they share the same roots. It is a little pickier about its location and its rounder in leave shape and not as pointy as mint itself. “ The herbalist was in her zone with this. She brought the herbs forward. Mint was easily recognized. Horehoound was veined similar to mint but was much rounder and seemed to be almost a small round bush then a ground cover kind of plant.

“I think I have seen this, but wasn’t sure what it was.” Amunet stated as she picked the herb up and examined it. She took ink to quill and made notations.

Amunet used her dagger to cut up the ginger into bite sized pieces. Sadara got the portal and pestle after putting a pot to water. “One quarter measure of water to two measure of sugar. “ Sadara looked at Amunet to make sure she was paying attention. “take the cut up ginger and toss it in the sugar, leave for twenty chimes to soak up soak up sugar. It also flavors the sugar for later. “ They chatted while the ginger was sitting in the sugar for a few chimes. “ Now we toss it in the water. It simmers in the water till crystals form on the sides. “ The herbalist pointed at the sides of the pot in a few chimes that indicated the sugar crystals forming on the sides. “This simmers for a bell and a half. “

They talked of small little things, of herbs and the wider world of philtering in general for the time while watching the ginger simmer. The ginger became clearish or more translucent as she helped her get the ginger out of the syrup into the plate of sugar and tossed it more. This was carefully jarred for the River Flower use and shelved. The remaining syrup a measure of water was added. They then took the mint and horehound leaves, bruised them in the mortar and pestle by using the pestle and breaking the fresh leaves a little before this was put in the simmering syrup. “We will let this steep in the hot syrup for a few chimes. You can leave the herbs in the syrup or filter it through a fine sieve. Personally I prefer the herbs in it. “

Amunet nodded her head as she helped her with these tasks. Then jotted the steps down with the little notes she provided on the side. It wasn’t pretty but it was meant for her own reference not for anyone else. It looked at a glance as just a hodge podge of notes. But it was systematic notations in a pattern of the How to mixed in with the recipe.

It was at that point that she assisted the herbalist in bottling the now yellowish green syrup that smelled heavily of mint, ginger and something else on the backend she could only discern was horehound. These were labled carefully and put on the shelves for the River Flower use. “get your own supply and you can come and try the recipe out. I am sure your family could use this as we are coming into the season where more lung problems show up. “ The herblist told her.

The redhead nodded. “I will remember that. Looks like I have an herbal expedition to perform soon. “ The both smiled and laughed.

“We will have more of these lessons. This will be good for a start. Ginger for upset tummies and do a fair job at inducing warmth in the cold. It is also good in baking.” The last was whispered to her ears. “The syrup is good for coughs. “

[Amunet]

As they were finishing, one of the nurses cleared her throat as both ladies turned their head. “Amunet we have a child in the infirmary. Skinned knee nothing serious but the other Doctors are busy. “

Amunet smiled and nodded waving goodbye to Sadara Tenderbloom and gathered her journal to walk with the nurse to where the child and mother was at. Her eyes widened as it was more than one. “Hello, I am Amunet. What do we have here?”

A couple of the boys were trying to fight back tears as their knees clearly were removed of skin. The girl was also fighting tears just as much as Amunet gauged the competitive nature of these three. The mom looked upward and used a long exhale to gather her thoughts. “They thought that goats would make riding mounts. The goats won.”

Amunet turned away as she tried to bite back the smile as the picture of these three trying to ride a goat had to be recipe for divine comedy. The redhead took a deep breath and used that to calm and school her features. “Lets take a look. “ She smiled softly as she turned to wash her hands thoroughly. She then went to examine how bad it was as she crouched down. Her being short had its advantages as she could get down to the children’s level. “It is not that bad.” The young midwife said softly. She gently picked the girl up and set her on the table so the knee was closer to eye level.

“is it going to hurt?” The little girl asked.

“a little, but it wont last long.” Amunet answered honestly but softly. “You know what. I have a trick where you will barely notice a thing.” The redhead offered to the little girl gently.

The girl looked up into her eyes. “really?” she sniffed a little.

Amunet nodded softly. “Now you wait right here. I am going to get something to clean that. “ She went about to get a cleansing wash, wintergreen tincture, calendula ointment and bandages. The way Drykas children played cleaning this was equally important as the actual treatment.

“Now I want you to look at your mom and sing after me. “ Amunet got the cleansing cloth ready and as she gently touched the wound and the girl hissed Amunet sang softly: “One, two put on my boots.”

The girl looked at her as the nonsensical yet melodic words gave her a start. Amunet kept cleaning gently dabbing at first as the girl repeated the words. “Three four do the chores.” As she reached for a clean cloth and passed over a second time to clean the wound. The girl repeated the words wincing a little but was trying hard to focus on the words and her mom. “Five, six pick up sticks. “ She giggled a little with that one as Amunet got another cloth and put wintergreen on it to put on the wound and held it there gently. “seven, eight we all just ate.” The little woman used her free hand to poke her gently in the stomach as she giggled more. “Nine, ten we do it all over again.” With that done, she lifted the cloth and applied the calendula ointment, which was followed by the bandage.

“See, nothing to it.” Amunet said to the girl. The girl smiled and she set the girl down to sit with her mom. Her mom had visibly relaxed. Amunet got the next one up.

“Alright young man, you managed to get both of your knees. “

The boy looked down. “well the goat took off and my knees were both… Kind of … “ His shoulders slumped as he couldn’t really describe it well enough.

“He didn’t lift his legs up. “ Supplied the girl. The boy she was examining gave her a scowl.

“That is enough.” Amunet turned her attention to the issue not the cause. “Cleaning it is going to sting and hurt a little. “ She warned.

The boy nodded. “I am Drykas. I can take anything.” He gripped the sides of the table firmly.

She started cleansing the knees one at a time. “We could try the song? “

“No sappy song for me. I’m going to be on the Watch someday. Papa said so.”

It was the same sort of strategy. Amunet entreated the child to talk about that while she cleaned. “Oh really, tell me how you are going to do that. It is a very prestigious position to attain. Takes lots of hard work.” Meanwhile her hands are busy cleansing the knees.

“I know. I already started the bow. Papa said he teach me spear when im a little bigger but the short javelin I can throw a little.” The boys eyes were excited and he hardly winced as she cleaned the knees.

“That is fantastic, “as she put the wintergreen with a clean cloth on one of the knees.

“How is your riding coming along?” The little lady asked. She guessed that would have to be important for someone of the Watch as it was for every Drykas to ride.

“well im not bonded yet. I know it will happen soon. It has to.” The boy had a hopeful look.

Amunet nodded and applied wintergreen wet cloth on the other knee. “I am sure it will. Striders pick on strength and integrity not tricks though.” She applied the calendula ointment to the knees and bandaged both of them

“That is what papa said. “ He was had an infectious encouraging kind of personality that was hard to not smile at.

The young midwife nodded at him. “Good, it wont be long till I see you in the Watch’s ranks. I will be looking for you.” The young lady said with a soft sterness.

“yes ma’am. I will do my best.” Off he scooted and went over by his mom standing straight as she got the third child. He was a quiet boy.

Amunet looked into his eyes as the boy looked back into her own rather deeply. When the red head smiled softly, so did he. He just nodded and took a deep brave breath. Strong silent type it seemed. Amunet started cleaning and watched him as she hummed a little soft tune. The boy became fascinated with her hair. He was fingering it and examining it. He seemed to be a very textile child. There was a rough piece of stone with a knot work etched into it that she got from her pouch. She said very quietly. “My father made this. “ He looked at the stone as his fingers traced the knot design. The little woman cleaned his knee while he was intently tracing the knotwork.

Once the skinned knees were all taken care of she gave the woman what remained in the bottle of wintergreen and the small jar of calendula. “keep it clean for a day or two. If you see any redness or they have pain, bring them back here.”

The mother nodded and signed her thanks. The quiet boy was as much as quiet as her mother. Amunet watched the group go out of the infirmary and she cleaned up the area. The records were documented with care and with what she provided to them from the stores. Taking the cleaning soiled cloths she put it in a burn bucket where the staff periodically would take it and burn the discarded bandages and soiled cleaning clothes that could not be recleaned or resterilized. She exited the River Flower and made her way home.

[Tribal]

G R A D E S

Amunet

Experience

• Weaving: 1
• Animal Husbandry: 1
• Socialisation: 3
• Bodybuilding: 2
• Rhetoric: 2
• Organisation: 2
• Observation: 2
• Writing: 1
• Philtering: 1
• Cooking: 1
• Childcare: 1
• Medicine: 1
• Cleaning: 1
• Singing: 1

Lore

• Weaving: A basic plait
• Animal Husbandry: Caring for a horses hooves
• Toren: An expert eye
• Shetanae: Quick to turn
• How to lift heavy object correctly
• Philtering: Used for more than just medicine
• Philtering: A recipe for cough syrup
• Ginger: Good for an upset stomach
• Childcare: Comforting an injured child

Notes

Great skill-grind, interesting thread; a couple of ideas I've seen used recently in other threads, re-used here. You covered a lot of skills, well done; enjoy the rewards!