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Over the next hour or so a lot is accomplished. Peter has the boar cut up and there is a large joint in a pot steaming in its own juices, along with a few herbs and roots that Peter had gathered along the way. With a lot of effort the pit has been dug to an acceptable depth, and the pile in the round house has been raided to provide sufficient fuel to make a pyre. The mules have been unloaded, in the precincts of the roundhouse and then tethered, along side Elsbeth and Madelyn's horses. It is clear that keeping the livestock in the round house will make it difficult, if not impossible, to pitch the tents. Callum's sword is well sharpened. Elsbeth's wolf is well petted, and Peter has thrown a few more scraps of food in his general direction. The doghead, after a few minutes, lies down and appears to go to sleep, at least the ripping snores that arise from the recumbent body give that impression. |
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After jointing the boar and getting a meal on to cook, Peter approaches Callum. "Would you like me to dress that leg for you?" He asks. |
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Once he decides the hole is deep enough, Rolf climbs out of the pit with a sigh. He tosses the spiked club aside and works his arm and back muscles, stretching until they pop. Moving over to the piles of wood, he begins the construction of the pyre. Compared to the digging, it goes quickly. Finally, he moves over to the well and retrieves a bucket of water. He takes a cloth from his shoulder bag and, doffing his shirt again, sluices the sweat, grime and blood from his torso and limbs. That run through the woods without his shirt, much less his armor, hadn't been terribly intelligent. Feeling somewhat clean again, he retrieves his spare tunic. It's a bit wrinkled from it's time in his bag, but it beats the sweat stained one. He dunks the other shirt in the water a few times, then wrings it out. It would dry in the warmth of the pyre. Moving back, Rolf finally takes a moment to regain his strength. Settling down near Madelyn, he asks, "When do you think we should send Aenis on his final journey?" |
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Madelyn is relieved once the hole is sufficient for the job at hand, it has been hard work, but she has laboured on without a grumble. She is damp with sweat and quite worn out, but still manages to shine with some elegance. She helps Rolf with the construction of the pyre, and between them they make light work of it. She tidies up and clears away the weapons whilst Rolf goes off to clean himself up. She retrieves a clean set of clothes from her backpack and sits down beside the pyre to wait for Rolf to return not wanting to invade his privacy whilst he washes. Rolf returns and sits next to her "When do you think we should send Aenis on his final journey?" "As much as I would like to proceed with the ritual now, I think that we should rest and have something to eat first. The pyre is going to bring attention to our being here, especially as nightfall will be upon us, and I don’t know about you, but that digging has sapped my strength and I don’t want to be caught weak, if we have to battle later". She turns to him and with gentleness in her voice says, "Thank you for your assistance, it is appreciated". She then adds with a look of worry on her face, "How are your scratches, nothing too serious I hope?" Once their conversation is over, Madelyn moves over to the well with clean clothes in her hand. Not taking much notice of who is watching, she strips and washes herself down, changing into her new clothes she then un-braids her hair and pours some water through it, to rinse out the sweatiness, mud, and dust. She rinses her clothes off in a clean bucket of water, and spends some time cleaning her boots before putting them back on. Feeling refreshed and much better, she realises, that she is actually starving, and with the aroma of cooking pig in the air, her mouth is watering. She returns to the roundhouse, "How long before we eat Peter?" |
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"Would you like me to dress that leg for you?" "Aye, please, lad, if ye'd be so good. I hope ye're as handy with a needle as ye are with a cleaver." He drops his voice to a dull roar "yon lassie's not going to be much of a healer if she loses her dinner at the sight of blood, now is she?" |
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Having cleaned up a bit and meditated, Elsbeth was in much better humor. Her wolf was happy and it seemed that the preparations for Aenis' farewell were progressing. She was very curious about that. She had already decided to stay well out of the way and simply observe. Rising with a sigh, she smoothed her dress and looked in the direction of Callum. Her mother had pointed out that the best way to face something scary was to meet it face to face. To be sure, the barbarian frightened her. And interested her too, to be sure. He reminded her of the wolf: a friendly beast but also a wild one, unpredictable. She sighed. *And what must he think of me? A weak creature compared to the women in his village, to be sure!* Mustering her courage, she moved to where Peter and Callum were engaged in conversation. "So, how you be feeling, Callum?" she ventured hesitantly. |
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Rolf nods as Madelyn says, "As much as I would like to proceed with the ritual now, I think that we should rest and have something to eat first. The pyre is going to bring attention to our being here, especially as nightfall will be upon us, and I don’t know about you, but that digging has sapped my strength and I don’t want to be caught weak, if we have to battle later." He doesn't like the idea of making Aenis wait any longer than he has already to begin his journey, but he, too, is exhausted and Madelyn's words make sense. He's surprised when she says gently, "Thank you for your assistance, it is appreciated." He shrugs, "You have that backwards, Madelyn. As the leader here, it's my duty to see to see that Aenis is properly set on his journey. So, it is you who deserves my thanks." She continues, "How are your scratches, nothing too serious I hope?" "They are of no concern, Madelyn, I've had worse more times than I can possibly count." He replies. Once Elsbeth returns, he addresses the group. "In the morning, we'll send Aenis on his way, so we'll be here a while yet. On watch tonight, make sure you keep an eye on our captive. He might still prove useful. Kerim, Peter, you have first watch. Callum, you and Smilo take second, Elsbeth and I will take third and Madelyn and Mandrake will take the dawning watch. Any problems with that?" When the time comes, Rolf tears into the greasy pork with abandon. Nothing like hard labor to give one an appitite. After complimenting Peter on his skill, Rolf finds a comfortable place to lie down. He sets his weapons at convenient reach and wraps himself up in his cloak. |
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As Peter walks across to Callum, he calls "Food should be ready in about half an hour Madelyn". Peter inspects Callum's leg, and pulls a small tin from his pouch which, ehen opend, is seen to contain a sticky looking ointment. Peter smears a little of the ointment into Callum's wound and then draws the edges of the wound together. He places his hand across the wound and closes his eyes in concentration. After a short while callum feels the palm of Peter's hand warm slightly, and then the hand is removed. Using a strip of cloth Peter then binds the wound. "You will have to stay off this leg for a while, if you want to get the benefit of that salve. Take your watch tonight sitting down, and take tomorrow easy and that salve will work wonders for that gash, otherwise you will be limping for a fair few days." And then turning to Rolf, "Rolf, Callum really needs to rest tomorrow, I've put some salve on his leg but he wont get the full benfit if he is walking all day tomorrow. We are going to be here most of the day anyway, if you aren't going to light the pyre until the morning, so perhaps we could plan on staying here tomorrow night as well?" Peter then busies himself laying some meat on to cook so that the party will have cold meat for the following morning, clears up the cooking pots and prepares for his watch. |
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Peter asks, "Rolf, Callum really needs to rest tomorrow, I've put some salve on his leg but he wont get the full benefit if he is walking all day tomorrow. We are going to be here most of the day anyway, if you aren't going to light the pyre until the morning, so perhaps we could plan on staying here tomorrow night as well?" Rolf seems to consider the question, his tiredness vying with his thoughts. "I'm a little wary Of hanging this close to his friends." He nods to the slumbering doghead, "But it's probably a good idea." |
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Watch |
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Smilo sits on a log and chats with the barba- er, Callum-- then seems at a loss of how to get the grease off his fingers, fingers dripping with pork fat. "Not a bad peg. Not bad a tall," said the hobbit, deciding to suck as much grease from his fingers as possible and then whipe the rest on his britches. He looks around. "Yaknow wat'd go good wit this? A nice read wine." He leans close to the fighter and whispers, "Kerim's got a couple o barrels o wine yaknow. Shame to see it go to waste on some innkeep who'd just water it down anyways." |
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"So, how you be feeling, Callum?" "Oh, fine lass - the leg's stinging a bit, but Peter's had a look at it. It'll be fine in a week or so. I'll be for changing the bandage the morn' so ye can look at it then." |
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Having unloaded the mules and seen to their needs, Kerim rests, watching Rolf and Madelyn build the pyre (wandering what form the ceremony will take). The smell of the roasting boar reminds him to get cleaned up, and he finds a relatively soft place to sleep for the night. He bites into the pork, "A proper meal this" he say to himself. If we're staying here, he'll need to find a place for the mules to graze. In answer to "Kerim, Peter, you have first watch", he replies "Fine by me" and finds a place to keep watch on the surrounding countryside. As he settles down into the watch, he thinks about Smilo's obsession with wine, "I'm glad I sold them to the Innkeeper when I did". |
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