What to do with leaves and such - Basic Herbalism [Theying]

[Adamnen]

They'd once been vineyards, but now belonged to the master herbalist, Theying. Already some of the area was beginning to look green, but there was much to be done. In one corner of the vineyards, seated and leaning against a few mortared stone blocks that had once comprised a wall or some structure, was Adamnen.

The katta was waiting for Theying. He was going to learn the basics of the master's trade, today, if it killed him. That was how he was. And as if to drive the point home, he was utterly lost to the world in the book the herbalist had given him. Page after page of short descriptions of herbs and fungi and plants with special properties. Perhaps most would have considered it boring. The katta might have been reading to save his life.

[Theying]

Theying came up to the katta. There was plenty of work to be done. He needed to cover the basics of practices in training. There weren't any books that could teach that. So much of herbalism was FELT rather that KNOWN. Adamnen needed to get his hands... paws... whatever... dirty.

"So, you ready to actively learn herbalism?" Theying asked, quite out of the blue. "That is only one third of herbalism. You need to know how to prepare and tend herbs if any of that is to ever mean anything."

[Adamnen]

"Ready as I can be." came the quick reply. "Reading this book cover to cover tells me next to nothing of what to expect, only what a few uses these plants have..."

The katta shut the book and looked up at the human.

"Where do I start?"

[Theying]

Theying had to figure out a good deal of what he knew on his own. It wasn't that any of the stuff he was using was unique, but rather the skill really was something that needed to be self-taught more that copied from a book. The master herbalist hoped that he would be able to guide Adamnen to find his own relationship with the plants.

"Ok," Theying began. "What's the difference between a herb and a weed? What is the easy way to distinguish between the two? What are the three major elements of herbalism?" It wasn't covered in the book, but Theying hoped that the katta in question could catch on to what the goals of his questions really were.

[Adamnen]

The katta held back a curse.

I hope this is just to see how much I know...

"I'd start guessing but that would just make a fool of me. I prefer humility: I don't know. However I have a guess at weeds: it's a weed if you didn't plant it, and the difference is you don't want weeds. Herbs have uses, weeds don't."

[Theying]

Well, the master herbalist had to figure out where to start, and that gave him the answer he was looking for. But, Theying hadn't expected Adamnen to be so close with his guess. That was a very, very good sign. The Katta had good instincts that would serve him quite well in this trade.

"Well," Theying began to explain. "That's very close. Herbs are plants that you can use, and weeds are plants you don't want growing there. It is entirely possible for a plant to be both a weed and a herb at the same time.

"Moving on to the nature of herbalism. In order to claim to be a herbalist you need to know how to apply herbs, how to prepare herbs, and how to both find and grow herbs. The first one you can learn on your own time with that book I gave you, the others I must teach you now. So, are you ready?"

[Adamnen]

Adamnen was equally surprised at the closeness of his success.

"As I said, ready as I can be."

OOC: Wow, and that was me guessing...

[Theying]

Theying got things together, more or less. He needed to familiarize Adamnen with the tools of the trade first. He hoped that the simple explanation would be enough.

Theying placed a ceramic bowl with a heavy cylinder on the table. Next to that he placed a smallish pot. After that the master herbalist placed a fine mesh screen on the thing. Finally, Theying placed his dagger on the table.

"All these are the basic tools of the trade," the young man explained. "All of them are necessary for most of the things that you will be making, but you may need to acquire and master other tools as time goes on. Moving on, do you have any idea on what they are used for?"

[Adamnen]

"Mortar and pestle, used for crushing various ingredients into a pulp." The katta indicated the first item, the bowl and cylinder. Then, pointing to the pot with the mesh, "I can only begin to guess at that." Finally, of the knife he said, "That would be your basic tool for gathering and cutting herbs."

[Theying]

Adamnen was still quite on the ball. Theying was beginning to think that he had picked one of the best possible people for this sort of thing. Although, there were significant knowledge gaps.

"You are right about the Mortar and Pestle," Theying answered. "The pot is just a pot, you boil things in it. That happens suprisingly often. As for this mesh, it's a filter. Often times you have to be able to separate the solid remains from the liquid. The knife commentary is mostly correct, but you have to realize that the knife is one of the most common tools you will be using. I suggest you get used to wielding them soon."

[Adamnen]

Adamnen nodded through all this. This was quite simple and, moreover, it made perfect sense. Having read the book Theying had given him over in its entirety, he had read many such cases where the liquids and solids had to be separated, herbs had to be boiled, or crushed... it was a good sign. For all his reading he could not call to mind examples of these but... a good sign nonetheless.

He only had one question so far, and it was a slight side track at most.

"Any kind of knife? Are there special or useful things too look for in buying one?"

And when it came to wielding knives beyond herbal uses, well that he stored in the back of his mind for later reference. He'd find a teacher for that later.

[Theying]

"The size and shape of the knife or dagger depends entirely on the way you want to use them," Theying continued to explain. "The important thing is that you have strict control over where and how you use it and a sharp, straight edge. You want to keep a really keen edge on it, however."

Theying hoped that he had answered the question in an entirely satisfactory manner. The thing was that he didn't have any specific advice on the topic. Theying preferred larger daggers himself, and his Dirk sported a blade about a foot long. Others used much shorter blades with equal proficency around him, so the master herbalist came to the conclusion that the bade must fit the wielder more than anything else.

"Moving on," Theying continued, getting back on track. "We'll now be covering the herbs that you will be preparing in the shop. The first we will cover is called Spikewort, this is by far the easiest to prepare. Do you have any clue as to how this one is to prepared?"

[Adamnen]

Spikewort...

"As I recall its seed is covered in thorns, and acts to numb pain. There wasn't a lot in the book but... shell it?"

The katta could picture the page in the book Theying had given him, but he did not remember anything specific about the preparations. He had a feeling this might be because there weren't any, or they weren't mentioned.

[Theying]

He had tossed a curve ball on this one, but the kattadidn't quite fall for it this time either. Then again, when Theying really thought about it this one wasn't all that tricky at all. The master herbalist nodded to Adamnen.

"You only need to remove the shell," he stated. "However, it's better to do that immediately before use. It's much more sanitary that way. Ok, since you're getting the hang of this much quicker than I expected, let's move on then. What do you need to prepare Ta'Finnel, Pru Leaf, and Juniper Berries?"

[Adamnen]

I told him I could devote myself to this... best not to get cocky just yet, though.

"Ta'Finnel's berries have the best affect when applied to a wound fresh. Or a paste could be made that would keep longer, less affect though. Making the paste had something to do with seaweed, I'm not sure what role seaweed plays. could you explain that?"

"Pru leaf is also best applied immediately to burns, or can be dried out and moistened for use. Again, less affect."

"All I remember about Juniper is it had a long period of preparation, and the resulting fluid's effective lifetime could be enhanced indefinitely with alcohol."