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3rd of Ymiden 720

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Praetorum
Approved Character
Posts: 1425
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2019 11:08 am
Race: Ithecal
Profession: Mercenary
Renown: 1020
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Wealth Tier: Tier 5

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Salt and Smoke


Date: 3rd of Ymiden, Arc 720
Status: Prepping

Weapons: None
Armor: Leather

No Current Magical Effects
Prae sighed heavily, staring mournfully at the pile of fur at his feet. Nearby, a river burbled softly in response.


"What's with you, big guy?" Ricky asked, dabbing something at a cut on Sneabru's arm. One of these strange.. catlike creatures had quite literally bumped into a scouting Sneabru, and had lashed out in surprise, leading to the situation they now found themselves in. 


"Nothing." Prae told him. "I just always feel bad for these things. They're so......."

"Useless?" Clarissa suggested, sorting the stekir corpses by salvageability. The creatures were more or less harmless to experienced fighters, but were so small, and moved so fast that a few of their blows had accidentally punctured the gut or the stomach. If they really had to, there was some meat that could be salvaged from such corpses, but that wouldn't be necessary here, not with Sivan standing as far forwards as her reins would allow, practically drooling as she stared at the pile of bloody prey. 


"Something like that." Prae admitted, setting his trident and shield down by his mount. "At least with prey animals, there's a sense of dignity to their deaths. These animals are just embarrassing. How is it that they've survived a place like this—" he gestured broadly at the plains of Gauthrel—"for so long?"

"Breeding." Clarissa told him, picking up the three or four ruined corpses by the tail and tossing them to Sivan. The Kheledzan wasted no time, immediately dropping her head to crunch into a head that was half cat and half fish. "These things breed faster than rabbits, and everything here feeds on them. They—" A yawn interrupted her explanation, and she nearly brought her hand to her mouth to stifle it before remembering it was covered in blood. "Ugh. They're pests, but the Lotharro say they're a good food source, so we should take as much as we can."

She and Prae both looked down at the pile of remaining bodies. They had stumbled across a colony of these creatures, it seemed, and the ensuing fight had attracted even more of these pests to their deaths. Leaving aside the ones too ruined to salvage for meat, that meant there were over a dozen stekir corpses waiting to be turned into food. "I know you can field dress animals well enough; how much do you know about preserving meat?"

Prae shrugged. "Not that much. The legion had continuous supply trains, so we never really wanted for fresh meat. I know during the Nashaki campaign, we did end up having to eat quite a bit of dried jerky, but.... that was in a desert." It was still early in Vhalar, so Prae wasn't so sure that that would work in this case. And besides, the sun was starting to go down. "I have curing salt in my kit, but I've never actually used it."

Clarissa nodded. "Right, well, let's eat what we can now, and smoke and salt the rest. Ricky, go get some firewood." 


Finding a clear spot close to the river, Prae sat, and pressed his hands to the ground beside him. The earth rumbled under his touch, and parted easily for him, digging a deep hole close to the pile of bodies. "For refuse." He clarified, when Clarissa looked at him strangely. "Since we're going to be camping here, we ought to keep it clean so we don't end up slaughtering even more of these things."

Clarissa nodded, and tossed him his hunting knife from his pack, before laying out a large sheet of waterproof canvas on the ground. Settling down on the opposite side of the refuse hole, she pulled her own hunting knife out, and reached for one of the stekir. Prae did the same, grabbing one that his scythe had nearly decapitated, and flipping it onto its back. 


word count: 668
Let's play 'What's Weird About Prae'

Head

  • A fiery rune shines under his right eye
  • A firey glow in the back of his mouth

Arms

  • A ring of blue runes floats over each of Prae's wrists
  • A silver shield marks the back of his right hand
  • A ring of light around his left forearm

Misc

  • His tail is about eight feet long, usually knotted around his waist
  • His body temperature is uncomfortably high

Surroundings

  • Wind gusts with every step he takes
  • The area around him is slightly more static-y than normal

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