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[Genteven - Solo] - A Groggy Morning in Frost

Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2022 1:11 pm
by Gloomcrest
41st of Frost, 4622
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The freezing morning rays was something that Jared was not akin to, though living on the streets for the majority of the scoundrel’s life. Winter was often associated with sleep, death, remembrance & fleeting beauty often leaving everything behind in a wake of silence. Waking up to the barely warm rays of light that the sun provides, running along his scarred face; the amber-eyed thief groggy wakes up from his rest, comfortable to say the least.

Currently in only black briefs and blanket covering hap-hazardly over his stomach & left leg; the amber-eyed thief wasn’t the most elegant of sleepers by no means, recalling the fact that most of his friends back in Alistian would comment at how much of tosser he was during his sleep and on occasion having bouts of flinching in his sleep. From what Jared could think of, it could be related to repressed memories that his mind has yet to resolve but doesn’t pay much attention to.

Groaning loudly as he slowly picks his body upright, groggy rubbing his right eye before letting out a loud yawn. His hair is more scruffy than usual and his scars that run along his right side of his mouth, arms, chest, back and more; acting up from the cold temperature that lingers in the room.

“Ehhhh… Fuck me… Stupid scars are acting up again… Gotta get the fire starting again.”

Quickly swinging his legs to the side of his bed, Jared would stretch out his arms wide before moving it upwards, briefly flexing his muscles before returning to a relaxed state. Over the past two seasons, there has been a notable improvement in Jared’s physique and while Jared had a lot of the physical features that would be desirable by some, his self-confidence in his appearance would stifle his attempts at trying to seek out potential companionship despite seeking it deep down.

In any case; Jared would lazily make his way over to the next room which hosted the kitchen and his tiny living space in Genteven that he was currently using for his refuge for the past few seasons that he landed into Genteven. It was a lovely city for sure and Jared couldn’t complain about it, life he knew back at Alistian was similar in some aspects but Genteven had more to offer in his personal opinion.

Nevertheless, Jared would make his way over to the hearth; cold but not as bothered as most people would be as he starts to gather a few logs that have been set to the side of the hearth for convenience sake. Once a suitable amount of logs has been set, the amber-eyed thief would take a moment to sift through the counter for some premade kindling that he had on hand since today was rather a lazy day for the thief.

“Where was the char cloth… I just had a bundle of them somewhere… Ahhh!... Found it.”

Slightly happy at not needing to make kindling for the morning, the amber-eyed vagabond gathers a few bundles of dried grass, bark & twigs to start the process of bringing the hearth alive in a roaring flame once again. Taking a piece of steel, Jared takes a moment to start striking the rod piece with a piece of flint, aiming directly at the char cloth as it was processed in such a way that it could catch alight rather quickly which the kindling will be provide a nursery for the embers to take hold and start the fire.

As the ember roars into a flame that could plague the room in its warm embrace; Jared would take a moment to sit on the cold stool, briefly muttering under his breath as if he should have put on some pants rather than moving around in the home in his briefs.

“What should I make for breakfast… Some porridge would be a nice start for the morning, kind of tired of having bread & wine to start the day… Might as well make an herb tart. The dough is easy to make and can be filled with other sorts of items as well… Gotta check what is in the pantry however… We are running low on a few key ingredients and hope that people are willing to barter or be semi-expensive… The cold season does make life harder to live after all.”

Taking a brief moment to look into what materials he had in stock, it was the usual staples that were running low such flour, milk, eggs and so forth. Letting out a light for a moment, the amber-eyed thief made a mental note about what was needed to be picked up from the marketplace for today or within the week at least.

First thing to prepare was heating up the earthen oven, taking a moment to pick up some metal tongs used to transfer logs from one section to another, Jared would pick up a few logs from the open hearth and move it deep into the earthen oven, allowing the heat to slowly build up to the point that it was suitable for baking with the occasionally filling of additional logs as well.

For a moment, the amber-eyed thief started to collect some flour, butter, well-water, salt & sugar so that he could start making up the tart base for his herb tart. Mixing up the three golden white powders which consisted of flour, salt & sugar before kneading small chunks of butter, enough to coat the flour mixture in a generous amount of butter so that the tart would become slightly airy to the bite once the baking process was done.

Once the dough was prepared, the Alistian cook would take a moment to roll the dough out into a thin sheet before rolling it up with a rolling pin before transferring it to a suitable circular pan & lay it out, tucking at every corner as best as he could to make sure that the tart dough had direct contact with the pan before trimming off the excess dough and rolling out another thin sheet for a miniature version as to minimize the waste of his cooking before using a fork to make little divots to allow steam to escape during the baking process.

After laying out the dough, the citrine-eyed thief pulls out a wooden bowl so that he could start making up the herb custard for the tart filling. All it took was whisking cream, eggs, onions, salt & pepper, herbs & some pieces of smoked sausage; in this case, adding some dried herbs such as chives and a small amount of rosemary.

Once the batter was formed it was time to do a blind bake with the herb tart base. Adding some clay beads to weight the tart base down, the amber-eyed thief inserts the tart base inside of the side of the earthen oven but not so close to the flaming pile of logs; Jared had to wait for just a couple of minutes for the base to cook just enough so that the tart would not disintegrate when the filling was added.

Couple of minutes passed and while the time was ticking away, Jared was cleaning up his workstation feeling well about his meal for the day & how the hearth was keeping his home warm throughout the cold morning. Nevertheless, Jared would take out the semi-cooked tart base out of the earthen oven with the use of some tongs & some rags to prevent his skin from coming into contact with the oven-heated pan, allowing it cool for a moment before adding the filling and returning it back in the oven for about half an hour or longer depending on how it was cooking a visual level.

While the food was being made, Jared took a moment to head back into his cold room, gathering his clothing & equipment and began to dress himself accordingly for visiting the town square, mainly in hues of earthen browns, beiges & green face cloth that is draped across his mouth. Once he was fully dressed, it was time to do some minor maintenance in the form of cleaning up the remaining sections of his home and by then, his meal should be ready.

Returning back to the earthen oven, the amber-eyed thief takes a moment to remove the tart out of the oven and check the consistency of the filling. Using a wooden skewer, the thief would poke the center and analyze the surface of the filling, noting that a light brown skin has formed.

“Damn… A little bit overcooked but better than nothing to be fair… Not everyone has it easy and has options to each… Not planning to eat bread and wine again for a long time…”

Sitting down at his table, the Alistian thief would take a moment to allow the tart to cool before serving a slice of tart for himself, slowly delving into his meal for the day ahead in resupplying essential ingredients and tons of haggling that needed to be done.