Beetletun; how I learned to...sew? - Part 1
"Here. Sit. Stay. Good girl."
Sometimes I felt like I was Vainard's pet more than being part of a party. I don't know why I was even listening to him; maybe because I was used to listening to teachers. He wasn't a teacher, but he was showing me things about my elements, how to control them. Something a school bench couldn't train me for.
"Catch." A leather bag was thrown at me and I caught it just in time before it hit my face. "What's that?" I asked, placing the bag on the table we were sitting at. I examined it's content; a series of needles, a small pair of scissors, several kinds of hammers and a few sharp tools I didn't know the name of. "It's a salvage kit. Didn't you learn anything in school about salvaging?" Quite frankly, I didn't attend the classes. That was the problem. "No, we had better things to do." I lied. I think he knew I was lying as well, because a brow raised on his face and all he could say was Mhmm...
"Grab your bags and empty them on the table."
We were sitting outside a merchant's store in Beetletun, at a picnic table partially hidden by a tree's shade. The weather was nice, the breeze felt good, and I was happy to see civilization. A few days spent with someone you barely know and your mind plays tricks on you. After much reflection, I don't want to kiss that stupid-head. Even if he does look a bit like Captain Thackeray.
I placed my inventory bag on the table and emptied their contents; vials of blood, basic staves, rusted blades, clothes Vainard instructed me on stealing from the enemy's corpses... I found this very odd at the time, but he was about to explain to me why I bothered, so I was intrigued. "Here, let me show you." He grabbed his own salvage kit and proceeded with using the tools inside to dismantle a shoe that was in one of his bag. "Use this tool to salvage the leather..." he began, and continued to tear away pieces from the shoe until nothing was left but some jute scraps. "And voila!" He placed the scrap on the table and grabbed another shoe from his bag. "Keep going until you have nothing more to salvage." He instructed me.
I looked at my bags. So. Much. Stuff. Did he really want me to salvage all these items? Of course, it would be nice to get rid of all that junk, my bags were filled with unnecessary items. Not all of them could be salvaged, but a big majority could. "This is going to take -hours-..." I said, reluctantly taking a cheap wand and place it in front of me. "Not if you're good at it. It took me only a minute to make a scrap of jute out of a shoe. Now, stop complaining and work at it." With a sigh, I realized he was right; I couldn't be good right off the bat. Just like I thought I was ready to take on the world and really, I wasn't. I had to work on this to become better.
So, I grabbed my kit, and prepared myself for what would be the most agonizing task I've ever done.
Salvaging dead people's items.