How to mill your flour

[kayleth]

23, Ash 4622

Kayleth sat at the wooden table nestled by the only window in his home. The hearth behind him burning a steady amber as a pot of water teetered on the edge of boiling. Only a few weeks into Ash and he could feel the crisp harshness of Frost nipping at its heels. He cherished the silence of the early mornings when the Athran had not awakened yet but the signs of life could be seen stirring in grass and trees. Time was slower in these moments and he felt it easier to squeeze thought and inspiration from his mind. However, today was different. The steam above his pot beckoned him to tend to it as he dropped a small pouch with a blend of dried leaves dark in color into the now-rolling water. He took the pot off the coals of the harth and placed it on its stone lip to steep.

His eyes wandered to the two notes given to him by the royal emissary. He had yet to open them if only to ponder the implications that could befall learning of their contents. Moreover, the signit sealed onto the wax contained strong symbolism he did not recognize and that the same time felt a quaint familiarity to. Lines in varying sizes almost akin to a squiggle formed a circle. Inside circles layered on top of one another and overlapping. Their borders meet in some places and others just touch forming a beautiful harmony of a pattern. It resonated something inside him so much so that he often spent hours at night ruminating over the symbolism of it.

He brought his attention back to the water which was now a beautiful amber color. He poured the contents into the lone cup he owned and sat back down at the table. He took a sip of the bitter tea he had grown to like. It had a lovely floral scent with a deep nuttiness and a touch of earth. A leftover from home he was running out of. One thing Kayleth learned quickly here is that coin talks and more coin silences. He let out a restful sigh and slunk into his chair positioned perfectly to observe the world from his window.

Kayleth had only occupied this cottage no longer than Earth’s Rest. Hard to believe he owned something although he assumed that the nobility of this land probably had a namesake for it. However, the luxury it afforded his anxiety might be worth whatever cost he would need to pay to continue living. The young Sil’ Norai waited to see who would come to his door demanding things of him. He placed his intuition on the Esquire he met at the begging of the month but, day after day no visitor came. Freedom was a hard concept for Kayleth to get used to. He was a practical man and did not need for much. He logically sorted out his needs and how much money he had left from his trip and the few items he was afforded to bring with him. He ate below his wages and did not spend money on lavish things if there was no practicality for it. If he did need something he would wait until the list of needs outgrew a certain comfort level he found to be acceptable. This extremely practical mindset limited trips he needed to make to the town mentioned before. Unfortunately, there was much in the way of stock he needed if he was going to make a living in his new ‘homeland’.

He had enough money to last through the next season but, that would not be enough for his unstifled ambition. He needed to become self-sufficient in things like cooking, hunting, gathering, and homesteading in general. He was not unaccustomed to living off the land but for much of his life, he had been a part of a community and was afforded illusionary independence when it came to things like this. He did desire to not have to go to town to get provisions to live in when there was wild land all around him he could easily tend to. He also did not know how to truly defend himself if his life were in danger without throwing his arms around or flailing with a blade praying for a divine-driven strike. Additionally, he needed to procure means of employment. Unfortunately, he did not understand how he would go about using fragmentation in such a remote area that very well might not even have access to arcanacrags. He saw many in the research completed as well as the ones he was able to be a part of smuggling for a more elite benefactor. He was used to rare, but this might prove even more so. Lastly, he needed to understand the land he was now living in and who exactly he answered to if anyone at all.

Many problems presented themselves to Kayleth and each would need his full attention before creating any kind of independence. He would do the thing he did best, research and then execute. During his last visit to the village, he did not see anything that would depict a library but, that does not mean there was no such thing there. Most likely though he would need to learn through observation and mentorship until he could find a reliably stocked library.

His stomach ached and reminded him of the mortality he had. Forgetting to eat was a habit of his which in poverty could be seen as a skill. He reached into a cloth sack and pulled out some bread along with some meat wrapped in paper. The bread was stale and the cuttings he had were the fattiest bits he could get. He did not seem to mind although if better food was available he would surely welcome it. With precision, he cleaned up his morning mess and placed everything back where it belonged. The bit of food he had left on the table, his empty cup with the rest of his wooden dishes, and his pot hanging on the wall. He looked around at the sparse state of his home with a desire to change things and make them his own.

He made his way towards Nurin taking careful note of his surroundings to see if there were any changes along his usual path. Despite not having The Court of Dusk breathing down his neck he found it a hard habit to break. The trek was a pleasant one. Far rolling hills of wheat, a decent timberline at the edge of a dense forest, and a lake filled by a river that connected to [major river]. The travel was quiet most of the time and he found himself getting lost in the pleasantries his new life was affording him although he could not help but shake a feeling of larger impending doom he could not see. Before he knew it the tops of the small village were viewable from afar and the recently harvested fields of grain blanketed the land. He navigated his way to one of two entrances to the village.

In a perfect world, Kayleth would have made a list of things he wanted to purchase but, paper and even ink were in short supply and he wanted to keep as much of it as he could for his work should he ever have the opportunity to use it. The village of [insert] was primarily one of production leaving little in the way of quality of life, education, and desire. Signs of a strict grip on the commoner people by the gentry as he learned to call them here were everywhere. Life was not impossible here but, it was rough and the logistician's mind could not help but dream of ways to improve the lives of those here and selfishly in turn his own. Thoughts of that would need to wait as he needed to take care of himself first.

He made way for a bakery that he had bought from a few times before this. The first time he arrived here many confused his appearance for nobility. His striking features and unique beauty seemed to elevate him from his station. He humbly corrected them and would explain who he was. That still was not enough to reduce the number of looks he received from passersby. He was a Sil’ Norai ways away from home after all.

Nurin did not have stores per se but it was common knowledge of who sold what with the townsfolk. His first experience here took some time to locate but, when he did he came upon a home with the word Bread written in charcoal on its door. Kayleth smirked at the primitive yet effective method when he initially saw it. The house had a large room on the ground floor with two large stone hearths for baking. It smelled sweet with hits of charcoal and with the windows open it was quite lit. Attached to the house was a small room in which the family all fit intimately for sleeping. It was quite warm with the heat growing in intensity the farther into the house you stepped. A stout round woman covered in flour up to her arms greeted the young elf.

“Kayleth, finally back for some fresh bread I see… getting a bit stale has it?”

Ciara was the wife to Bain the man of the house. She was simple-minded and did not shutter from labor-intensive work. She had a warmth to her much like the bread she made. Kayleth found her endearing despite being boring to talk to.

“Ciara, a pleasure to see you as always. It smells lovely in here today.” He let out an awkward chuckle before responding to her question. “You know me too well it seems. I am here for another loaf or two but, I had another question for you.”

She was mid-kneed when her ears perked up. From the few times she interacted with him he’d never asked for anything other than a basic transaction. Call it motherly nature but she had a soft spot for Kayleth who lived out in the middle of nowhere with no one to take care of him.

“Ai, what it be little Elf.” A nickname she had given him and one that irritated him profusely.

“Could you teach me about bread making… I find myself in need of learning.”

Her eyes lit up like fresh coal had just been shoved into her Kiln. She stopped what she was doing immediately and patted whatever remains of flour she had onto her apron. She ran up to the boy and gave him a big messy hug dirting all of his garments. “Oh, how could I turn a face like dat down. I’ll have to run it through Bain first you see but, I don see any reason why not. Matters a fact, we have a bunch of new grain in today that needs smashing to bits in the quern. You do that for me and I’ll have Bain’s ear.”

She hurried out the door with excitement to ask the man of the house for his approval but Bain had also come to have a soft spot for the isolated elf and would most likely approve. Ciara had four children all varying in age. Three boys and one girl. One of them, Cayden, was operating the quern which was no more than a long piece of carved stone with a well and another piece of stone sometimes even just being a smoothed stone itself to essentially smash the grain and grind it to bits. The Fragmenter raised an eyebrow at the instruction and even the method and instantly began thinking of ways to improve it while exhaustively grinding out the flour.

“This will take all day I take it.” Cayden awkwardly answered. “Sometimes two.”

[Salen]

Kayleth

Lores
Cooking
~ Basics of Bread Making
~ How to use a Quern
~ Picking the right grain
~ Desired consistency in flour
~ Grain to Flour return rates
~ Generic Cooking Lore

Loot: N/A
Injuries: N/A

Points: 5, may not use on Raw Magics.

Comments: Great start to the threading, can't wait to see more Kayleth action *w*! Also Welcome to the site *hug*