Closed Paying What is Owed (Pearl)

[Seirei Dawnwhisper]

A delicate bloom

aaa

Timestamp: 47th Day of Fall, 515 AV


Seirei had learned that is was customary to offer something to the River Flower in exchange for services rendered. For non Drykas, that payment came in the form of mizas. But for the Drykas, it was a true barter of services. Someone who was skilled at foraging, and knew what different herbs looked like, might offer a selection of herbs. A hunter might offer meat, or pelts from his kill. There were many different possibilities. Seirei was none of those things. She knew a very few things about herbs, but no where near enough to be useful. She couldn't trust her limited knowledge to bring in useful herbs...or even to know where to look for them. Except for cattails. She did know where to find them. Perhaps she would offer to bring some in the next time she came in.

What she did have to offer was her time. Seirei was hoping that there would be some simple task that she could help with. She hoped she would be able to help Waisana in some way. There had to be something she could do. Something that would save her friend time, but would be simple enough to teach someone who had none of the knowledge a healer would need. Seirei knew that she could be asked to help any of the healers who worked at the River Flower, but she hoped that it would be Waisana. Waisana was her friend, and one of the few healers she trusted. Although she was free now, Seirei remembered how other healers had treated her when she was a captive with painful clarity.

The twins babbled excitedly as they tugged a piece of cloth between them. Lukar was the stronger of the two, so more often than not, the cloth ended up in his lap. But Lira was clever, and creative. And she wasn't above using every advantage her young mind could dream up in her favor. So every once in a while, Lira managed to win their little game of tug the cloth.

Seirei smiled at their antics. She allowed them to continue their game for a while longer, then brought them out of the tent. She left them with Shahar, thanking him again for agreeing to watch them while she went out on her errand. Then she set off for the River Flower.

Rumors spread through the city like a breeze blowing through the tents. Today was the day that the team of hunters who had brought back the largest glassbeak would be rewarded with their prize; glassbeak armor, and winter boots made out of olidosapai leather. The celebration was to be held later that day if the gossip was to be believed. Seirei wondered who had won, and how big the biggest glassbeak was briefly, before her luck ran out, and the grey skies opened up. The rain was so heavy, that it was difficult to see. Seirei was drenched within ticks.

She ran the rest of the way to the River Flower, shivering with the cold despite her exertions. By the time she reached the tent, her sides were burning, and she was gasping for breath. Seirei couldn't help but be glad that she had left the twins back home. They would be even more miserable than she was.

Once she had caught her breath, Seirei began looking around for her friend. Waisana wasn't anywhere to be found. But she hadn't been searching for long when a harried looking healer came up to her, asking if she were sick, or injured. The older woman guided her inside, and offered her a cloth to dry herself off with, for which Seirei thanked her sincerely. When she explained why she had come, the healer smiled, and told her that she had come at a good time. Then she told her to follow her, and she'd take her to someone who could use some help.

[Pearl]

Pearl heard the sky open up and the rain begin to fall in thudding drops upon the top of the tent. Today was busy, as was usual at The River Flower, but for now she was in her office processing some of the bark and herbs that had been previously gathered. It was a tedious task, but an important one. Several small paper pouches lay lined up on one side of the table she was working at, along with an ink stick so they could be clearly labeled. The small pile of slipper elm bark was stacked up neatly at the other end of the table with the mortar and pestle.

A rather loud clap of thunder caused Pearl to startle, dropping the ink stick she held in her hand onto the table. With a small shake of her head, she looked up to the ceiling of the tent. “You got me with that one, Father Zulrav,” she spoke in jest. “I’ll be ready for the next one, just you wait and see.” Taking up one of the small paper pouches, she began to neatly write out the lettering, labeling it with the words ‘Slipper Elm Bark’.

“Doctor Blackwater?” the nurse interrupted Pearl’s jovial conversation with the God of Storms.
“Pearl, please, call me Pearl,” she corrected gently. “It’s not necessary to be so formal with me.” Not that she was opposed to being called by her married name, not in the least. But she felt more compelled to be on a first name basis with those she worked with and treated, keeping it casual and friendly instead of insisting that they refer to her so formally, as some did.
“Pearl,” Lilly, began again, “I’ve a young lady here that is offering her time as payment to The River Flower and I thought you might have something useful she could assist you with today?”
“Oh, indeed, I do, Lilly, thank you,” Pearl smiled and beckoned the young lady in with a wave of her hand. “Please do come in.”
Lilly nodded and stepped to the side to allow Seirei room to enter Pearl’s office. “If you need me for anything, please just holler out and I’ll rush over.”
“I will, Lilly, thank you again.”

Turning her attention to Seirei, Pearl smiled again, and extended her hand out in greeting. “I’m Pearl Blackwater. Please do feel free to call me Pearl.” She waited for the young woman to step in and closer. “Looks like you got caught out in this storm,” attempting to make conversation with her by stating the obvious as Seirei still had the towel and was still damp from the rains. “I’d not expected it to be raining to violently or so early, but I suppose we’ll all manage to get through it.”

“Do you have any experience with working at a clinic, or with herbs? Pearl asked, then went into explanation of what it was she was doing. “At the moment, I’m simply grinding up some slippery elm bark so we can use it later for poultices and teas. Have you ever done such? It’s pretty simply really.” Pearl picked out a small piece of the dried bark and placed it into the mortar, and then with the pestle she applied a pressure and twisted her wrist as she did so, thus grinding the bark between the stones and turning it to powder. “Just like so, and it turns the dried bark into a powder so we can use it for any number of things for healing.



.
.
.

[Seirei Dawnwhisper]

A delicate bloom

aaa

Seirei followed the woman quietly. Before long, she was led into an area where a woman was working. This reassured Seirei greatly. The last man who had examined her had terrified her more than a little. Seirei wanted to pay her debt to the River Flower, but she didn't think she could work with a man she didn't know. She would be paying more attention to him out of fear of what he might do to her than she would to what she was doing. And depending on the teas she was given to do, that could prove to be a disaster.

The woman in question looked to be a few years older than she was. She was also at least a foot taller than she was. Seirei couldn't help but feel tiny and insignificant in comparison. But there was a kindness in the woman's blue eyes that soothed Seirei's anxiety. She also looked familiar. Seirei had seen her before, and recently, but she couldn't quite remember where. Then it hit her, and she felt like the worst kind of idiot. She had seen this woman before...a few days ago. When she had examined her, and confirmed her fears that she was, in fact, pregnant. Seirei realized that she must have been so upset by having her worst fears confirmed that she had either blocked out basic things that she normally would have remembered, or she had been too stressed out worrying about whether she was pregnant or not that she simply hadn't noticed. Seirei didn't know which was worse.

The woman was addressed as Doctor Blackwater, but she quickly corrected the nurse, telling the other woman that she didn't have to be so formal. Had the doctor introduced herself to Seirei the other day? Probably. Her name did sound vaguely familiar. But she couldn't be certain. Seirei entered the room when asked to do so. She noticed the small paper pouches on the table, and wondered if she would be doing something with those.

Doctor Blackwater introduced herself to her, and offered to let her call her Pearl. Seirei smiled shyly at this, and nodded. Then she introduced herself in turn. When Pearl mentioned the storm, Seirei nodded ruefully.

"I was really hoping to get here before the rain started." she said softly.

She had known it was going to rain, of course. The dark clouds in the sky made that obvious to anyone who saw them. It had been a matter of when it rained, not if. When Pearl asked her if she knew anything about working with herbs, or at a clinic, she shook her head.

"I've been interested in learning about herbs since I was a child. But I grew up with a trade caravan, and the herbalist who traveled with us didn't like children much. So I don't really know anything about them."

Seirei paid very close attention as she watched Pearl grind the piece of slippery elm bark into powder.

"What kinds of things can it be used for?" she asked with genuine interest.


Word Count11,533 words

[Pearl]

“Here. You give it a try,” she said as she as she stood up from her stool and offered it to Seirei. The mortar and pestle were there, waiting for her to start working with them. “Just apply pressure while you twist with your wrist and work the bark into a powder,” she instructed. Pearl stayed close with Seirei until the woman had the hang of grinding up the bark.

“Slippery Elm can be used for a number of thing actually,” she spoke as she stepped around to the side of the table and got out some of the paper she kept there and began folding it into the small packets that she used for holding the powders until they could be used for making in tinctures or salves; while some of it was kept for use as the powder itself, or food.

Pearl watched Seirei as she ground the bark and thought the young woman looked familiar. She saw so many people through the course of a day with her work that she couldn’t always be certain. Taking up her ink stick she began to label the paper packets with the words ‘Slippery Elm Powder – Fine’ and ‘Slippery Elm Powder – Course’ in practiced, careful letters.

“It can be used for many different things,” she began to tell Seirei, “depending on how the doctor or herbalist thinks it will best help. There is the benefit of it helping with upset and sour stomachs, diarrhea, and that feeling in your chest when you eat things that are hot or spicy and you feel like your chest is on fire if you take it by mouth in a tea.” Pearl was careful to sort the papers packets into stacks as she labeled them.

“If you make it into a salve, you can use it on burns and wounds. It helps then with making the pain less and taking the swelling away. If you can’t make it into a salve, you can use the powder alone as a poultice on a wound to help. Just have to be careful to cover it with a bandage and secure it over the area.” Pearl enjoyed teaching others about medicine and herbs. Most of her knowledge had come to her by another teaching her; first in the form of her mother and trial and error, and then later with mentors and the like.

When Seirei had that batch of bark ground up fine enough, she passed her a few of the paper packets marked ‘fine’, “You can put that in these packets for now. The next batch, we won’t grind up as much, leaving it a little lumpy so it can be used in some different ways.”



.
.
.

[Seirei Dawnwhisper]

Seirei listened closely to Pearl's instructions. Then she tried to do as she was told. It was easier than she had expected it would be. She thought it would take a lot more pressure than it actually did to ground the bark into powder. As she worked, she tried to twist her wrist the same amount each time since she wasn't sure if that was important or not. She could feel the bark crunching as it was ground up under her efforts.

When Pearl told her what slippery elm bark could be used for, Seirei listened very closely. She wanted to commit each new tidbit of information to memory. The part about curing the burning feeling you got if you ate hot, spicy foods was especially interesting to her. She usually made an effort to avoid such foods because of the way they made her feel after eating them.

"How do you make a salve? Or a medicinal tea?" Seirei asked when Pearl told her that a salve made of slippery elm bark could ease pain and swelling of wounds and burns.

It seemed to Seirei that such a salve would be very useful, especially now that she was a mother of twins, and had a third child on the way. Seirei had always been interested in herbs, and now that she was a mother, it seemed like a very good idea to her to keep a few simple remedies on hand at all times in case they were needed. Just ones for common ailments like coughs, and minor wounds that kids were prone to getting. But for that, she was going to need to learn a great deal. Like what herbs were safe to use on children, how to make said remedies...the list went on.

"How long does a salve, or a tea last before you have to make a new one? Can slippery elm be used for children as well as adults?"

Seirei's eyes were bright with interest as she asked her questions.

"I've always been interested in herbs, but there isn't much of a chance to learn about them when you travel constantly with a trade caravan. Now that I have kids to look after, I think it would be a good idea if I could make a few of the more common remedies that I am likely to need for them. Or for me, for that matter."

Now that she was pregnant again, there might be remedies she could learn to make that would make the symptoms of her pregnancy more bearable. Seirei continued to work until Pearl told her to put the powder she had just made into pouches that had been marked for it. She obeyed quickly, but was very careful as she poured the powder into the pouches. She didn't want to risk spilling any, and wasting the medicine.

"Does the texture of the powder affect the medicine? Would fine slippery elm bark powder be used for different things than coarse powder would?"

.
.
.

[Pearl]

Pearl tried to answer each question Seirei had carefully as they worked together. Having someone to work with and teach kept her own melancholy at bay, at least for the time being. “Well, Slipper Elm is different than most herbs to make a salve out of it. All you have to do with this is add a little water and it swells right up and makes a very slippery, squishy salve all on its own.” Pearl continued to write on the paper packets labeling them appropriately with her ink stick for what they would contain.

“Which is why it’s so easy to use on burns and small scrapes and the like. It’s very soothing when it’s placed on a wound in the salve form. And it also protects the wound and helps keep it clean by keeping dirt and other substances out of the wound while it’s in place. You don’t even have to cover it with bandage if you don’t want to. For the salve you need to use the bark that isn’t ground up into a fine powder. Just a few of the larger pieces, say about ten of them the size of a grain of rice, placed in a little water until they get spongy and slippery, then put that directly on the wound and that’s all there is to it. It’s perfectly safe to put on young children too, though I would explain to them that it’s very important that they leave the medicine on their wound and not put it in their mouth. It wouldn’t hurt them to eat the Slippery Elm Salve, but after it’s been on a wound. It can get very confusing for younger children, is all.”

She smiled to Seirei as she continued, “Slipper Elm is actually very safe to eat, for us all, children included, but they simply don’t need as much as we would. That’s how it helps with that burning sensation after you eat spicy foods, and other issues like diarrhea and upset stomach. You make it into a jelly like salve and you eat a spoonful. That’s all it takes, for an illness. If you just want to eat it to help yourself feel full, then you can eat more, it won’t hurt you. And sometimes when you’re out and there isn’t any food, having this to eat will certainly help. Some people even add milk and honey to it and heat it up, making it into a porridge; the elderly and infants love it that way and it’s a very good source of food for them, especially when they can’t keep anything else down.”

Pearl sorted and organized the packets when they were filled up onto the tray so they could be taken to the storage trucks and used for later. “You’re doing well with that. Sure you aren’t an herbalist?” she teased before continuing to explain the benefits of the Slipper Elm Bark. “The finer powder is what you use to make a tea to drink, or to sprinkle on a deeper wound. Just a little pinch of it in some water and then put it on to boil for a chime or two. Season it as you like with anything else, sugar, honey,” she gave as suggestions, “and then drink the cup of tea. Some times that is easier for folks to get down if they aren’t feeling well rather than taking a spoonful of the bark jelly, as my mother used to call it.” Pearl winked. “If you’re going to put it on a deeper wound, like a bleeding scratch that is more than just a scrape, but doesn’t need stitching, you can sprinkle the fine powder over the wound, but then you definitely have to put a bandage around it to hold the powder in place so it can do its job with the healing.”

“It just has so many uses, so any time we get close to a grove of Slipper Elm Trees I take as much of the bark as I am able to, without upsetting the balance, of course. You can even put some of the fine powder directly on a tooth ache, or on a baby’s gums and rub it in gently to help them while they are teething. Or make what my mother always called a bark teat by putting some of the course ground bark in a cloth and letting the baby chew on that. They will get it wet and it will turn spongy and gooey for them and they just chew away the pain.”

Pearl found it easy to talk with Seirei. Teaching someone that truly wanted to learn was indeed a joy. “But you don’t want to keep a salve or a tea for a long period of time. Not that it would go bad, but it’s very inconvenient to store in that form. Better to simply grind up the bark into the fine and course powders and store them, then make how ever much you need of whatever you need out of it when you need it.”



.
.
.

[Seirei Dawnwhisper]

Seirei listened very intently to Pearl's words as she worked. She wanted to keep everything straight in her head. Coarse powder was used to make salves. All that was needed was ten or so rice sized pieces and some water to make the salve. And the salve could be used on small wounds directly without a bandage to hold it on the injury. Or a spoonful could be eaten to help with the feeling one got when eating spicy foods. It could be eaten in larger amounts as a porridge with milk and honey to help a person feel full when food was scarce. It was safe for children and adults alike. It was especially good for children and elders when they couldn't keep anything else down.

It was the fine powder that was used in teas. The teas could be sweetened with sugar, honey, or other things without worrying about them interfering with the way the medicine worked. They could be drunk by people who didn't feel well even if they were having trouble eating the bark jelly. Or the powder could be used on somewhat deeper wounds. Ones that bled, but didn't need stitches. But unlike the jelly, a bandage would need to be used to hold the medicine in place. And all that was needed to make the tea was a pinch of the fine powder, added to water that was then to be boiled for a few chimes. Both forms of the powder seemed like they would be very easy to use. But while they wouldn't go bad, it was harder to store in those forms, so it was best to keep the medicine in powder form until needed.

When Seirei thought she had a good understanding of what she had learned so far, she found that she had even more questions.

"You said that people who couldn't keep anything else down would benefit from eating the slippery elm bark jelly as a porridge. Would it help pregnant women as well if they have trouble keeping anything down when they have severe morning sickness?"

Seirei remembered that when she had been pregnant with the twins, there had been days she had had difficulty keeping water down, never mind food. And even the thought of food had been enough to make her sick. If porridge made from slippery elm bark jelly might help with that, then Seirei definitely wanted to know about it. The signs that accompanied her words suggested that she had a personal interest in the answer to her question beyond curiosity.

"What do the trees look like? Where can they be found? You mentioned taking as much bark as you could any time you found a grove, and I think I'm going to want to start doing the same thing. Also, how do you know how much bark is too much to take? How long does the powder last in powder form? Does it get weaker, and need to be replaced over time? I think I remember someone saying that medicines got weaker over time so old ones had to be replaced by new ones every so often."

Seirei worked for a while. When Pearl teased her about being an herbalist, she grinned.

"I'm sure. But it something that I've always been really interested in. Carving will always be my passion, but herbs are truly fascinating, too. In some ways, they are a little alike. With carving, you take a piece of wood, or bone, and you release its inner beauty as you turn it into what it is meant to be. My mother always told me that a good carver doesn't decide what something is going to be. They see the shape hidden within the material they are working with, and they release that inner form. I believe that with every fiber of my being. If you force your raw material into something it wasn't meant to be, your efforts will always fail."

Seirei paused as she focused on the bark she was grinding for a few ticks.

"Plants, though...plants are amazing things. They grow almost everywhere in some form or another. And there are more uses for plants than there are stars in the sky. They feed the animals that we rely on for food, labor, and transportation. They feed us too, for that matter. A pretty flower given as a gift, can brighten the mood of someone who has had a bad day. I work mostly with wood, so without plants, I would have nothing to carve. And herbs...herbs save lives. They ease suffering. People who work with herbs take plants and release their inner power by shaping them into medicines that can do wonderous things. A carver will never save someone's life with a spoon, or figurine that they have made the way an herbalist can save lives with their medicines. But both take raw material and shape it into something that is better than what it was before."

Seirei blushed, and looked down at the bark she was grinding. Her hands signed a quick apology.

"I'm sorry. That probably made no sense at all. It's something my mother taught me when I was young."

The bark that Seirei was working on was done, and Seirel looked around to see if there were any more pieces of bark to grind.

"Are there other simple remedies like this? Ones that would be useful for someone with children? I would love to learn more if you would be willing to teach me."

.
.
.

[Seirei Dawnwhisper]

A woman came to stand in the doorway as Seirei asked her questions. When there was a lull in the conversation, she told Pearl that there was an important matter that needed her attention. It wasn't an emergency as such, but it involved one of the healer's patients, and needed to be seen to sooner rather than later. Pearl quickly excused herself to see to her patient. Once she was gone, the woman turned to Seirei.

"I'm only an apprentice, so I don't know as much as Pearl does, but if you'd like, I can try to answer the questions I do know the answers to." she offered.

Seirei smiled.

"I'd like that. Thank you."

"I can't be certain that slippery elm would work against severe morning sickness, but it does make sense that it would."

Seirei nodded. She felt a little silly for asking the question. If the herb helped people who could keep nothing else down, it seemed to make sense that women with severe morning sickness would not be an exception to that. Seirei decided that she would try it the next time her own morning sickness got that bad.

"Slippery elm trees are tall, but their trunks are thin. They have light gray bark. The bark is rough, and grows vertically in raised strips. Slippery elms have bright green oval shaped leaves that are pointy at the end that is not attached to the tree. Then have jagged edges, and V shaped veins going from the middle of the leaf to its outer edge. These veins are distinct, and easy to see. And they start near the point where the leaf is attached to the branch, and run all the way to the tip."

The woman paused to give Seirei a few ticks to commit the description to memory. Then she continued.

"Like most trees out in the Sea of Grass, you will find them fairly close to water. Not necessarily at the edge of a pond or river the way you would with willow trees, but you will likely be able to hear water near by. When you harvest the bark, try not to take too much from any one tree. Don't leave large areas of exposed wood where you've stripped all of the bark away. And don't ever leave a ring of exposed wood on a tree. That will kill it because sap cannot flow through the exposed wood. It will simply seep out. Sap is...well, it's like a tree's blood. When it can't flow properly to all parts of the tree, the tree will die."

Seirei's eyes widened.

"Kind of like a person bleeding to death from severe injuries?"

The woman nodded.

"Yes. Just like that."

"Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions."

The woman smiled.

"I was happy to. There are a lot of simple remedies that you don't need to be a healer to use properly. I'm not the best person to teach you though, as I am still an apprentice myself. But you are welcome to come volunteer whenever you have time. You can learn a lot about herbs that way."

Seirei smiled.

"I'll keep that in mind. Thanks again."

With that, Seirei took her leave.

.
.
.

[Jasmine Stormblood]

Here you are dear. Please let me know if i missed anything!

 

Seirei Dawnwhisper

XP

• Running: 1 XP
• Medicine: 4 XP
• Socialization: 3 XP

Lores

• Seirei: wants to learn about herbs
• Medicine: ground bark to the Slipper Elm into powder
• Medicinal Tea: can be sweetened with sugar or honey to hide the taste
• Medicine: salve and tea are hard to store, keep as a powder until needed
• Medicine: add water to Slippery Elm powder to make a salve
• Course Powder: used for salves
• Fine Powder: used for teas
• Slippery Elm Salve: safe for adults and children to swallow
• Slippery Elm Salve: used on burns and small wounds
• Slippery Elm Salve: reduces pain and swelling
• Slippery Elm: good for morning sickness
• Slippery Elm: has rough bark and opal shaped leaves
• Slippery Elm: paste best used on burns