�When I returned to the wagon I saw the bosk had already been tended, though it was early in the day, and that there was a kettle on an outside fire boiling. I also noted that the dung sack was quite full. I bounded up the stairs and entered the wagon.� (Nomads of Gor, 147)
All slaves are expected to help with chores around camp when not serving Free Persons. This is a suggested list of chores that can be performed. One chore a week is expected. When a chore has been completed, a slave should copy and paste it, with the time stamp included, to the message board. If there is a Free in the clan that covers a chore, a slave can ask that Free to assist with tasks for that clan.
Chores, too, are an excellent training ground for new slaves. There is always something to do in a Tuchuk camp. Be proud of the chores you do. Take pride in your effort. Honor your collar and home.
SERVING WAGON
Fruit: Check fruit daily for freshness.
Shelves: Tidy shelves daily for a �fronted� appearance, such as bottles all pushed to the front.
Dishes: There are always dishes to be done and the serving wagon to be kept clean. Goblets, bowls, platters, plates, tankards, etc., are to be washed and checked for flaws, then returned to the shelves. Any broken crockery is to be taken out to the box behind the serving wagon and smashed. The floor is to be swept and washed. The counters need to be scrubbed clean.
Supplies: Check the supplies in the serving wagon and refill them as necessary from the stores in freight wagons.
Cooking and Baking: Prepare and cook a meal daily. There is daily baking of pies, bread, etc., every morning.
Grinding: Grind sa-tarna grain for flour. Grind black wine beans.
Hot Liquids: Kettles of water, black wine, and kal-da must be kept well stocked.
Water: Haul water from the river. There are barrels throughout Camp, many by various wagons that are to be kept filled. They are placed so that, in case of raids, fires can be extinguished easily and quickly (Much more fun to be tossed into a barrel of water than into an empty barrel, should there be a jest played or punishment given. Buckets to haul the water and a yoke capable of holding four buckets at a time can be found in the freight and serving wagons.
Perishables: Rotate daily the perishables on shelves, in baskets and in pits, so that older items are used first. Make sure that the items are all neatly pushed towards the front.
Chill Pit: The chill pit is often overlooked. It needs regular cleaning and straightening. Stocks of butter, milk, eggs, and other foods that will spoil need to be rotated, the oldest to be used first. There are baskets, bushels and containers of vegetables, fruits, and other foods in the serving wagon.
DAIRY
Milking Bosk: For a continuous supply of fresh milk, cream and butter, milk each day. Three-legged milking stools and sterile pails are kept in the storage wagon. The milk bosk are located in a pen near camp. Milk the bosk by pulling the teats. Empty the buckets into the vat in the chill pit.
Butter: Skim the cream from the milk vat in the chill pit and pour it into the butter churn. Pump the handle up and down, moving the paddle inside the churn. The mixture will become thick and it will be harder to move the handle. Eventually, a ball of butter will form. This should be pressed into a mold and put in the chill pit. Pour off the buttermilk and whey. Check supplies in the serving wagon. Feed the whey to the pet sleens.
Cheese: Take milk from the vat and place it in the cheese vat. Light the fire, add the starter and cook until curds form. Add rennet and any flavorings (herbs etc.), cooking until it is the right consistency. Drain and wrap the cheese in cheesecloth and set it in the chill pit to age.
Eggs: Gather the eggs with 3/4 going to stores and 1/4 for hatchlings for meat when they are grown. Vulo eggs are to be stored in the serving wagon.
Fermented Milk Curd: This is a traditional drink of the Tuchuk. See the fermented milk curd page for how it is made. It includes a method for collecting fruit yeast for it.
PROVISIONS AND GAME
Curing Skins: Cure skins of game brought to camp. Skins are in the storage wagon. Clean them of any fleshy debris and stake them out in the sun for a couple of days. Once dried, rub the skin side with a stick or a rock until it is soft and smooth. These will be used as furs. For other hides, remove the fur by scraping it away with a clam shell or something similar. Rub both sides until soft and smooth. Store the hides in the storage wagon.
Cleaning Game: First, if the hunter is around, ask whether the horns or antlers are wanted. If not, remove them and put them in the storage wagon for those who are making things. Skin the animal carefully, keeping the hide in one piece. Put it in the appropriate wagon for ones who are curing hides. Gut the animal, saving the gut for casings for sausages (Must be sterilized in a solution of water and disinfectant and hung up to dry) and the bladders (Must be sterilized and set to dry). Store in the provisions wagon. Cut the meat into roasts and other portions and put it in the chill pit.
Preserving Meats and Other Foods: Meats can be dried and made into jerky, hung up and smoked like hams, salted down in barrels, canned or frozen during winter. Other foods, such as vegetables, seeds, nuts, and fruits, may be dried to extend their use.
WAGONS
Freight Wagons: The freight wagons must be kept straightened and organized so that we have easy access to supplies and are kept aware of what we run low on. Also described as supply, provisions, stores or storage wagons.
Grease Wagon Wheels: Greasing is done to prevent rusting and wear. Grease is a combination of several animal fats and is kept in a storage wagon. With a long stick, grease the axle of the wheels with a large amount of grease. Most wagons have eight wheels or more.
Frees' Wagons: Clean or otherwise service wagons of Masters and Mistresses at Their request or when permission is asked. Those with no slaves may want the service.
Decorating Wagons: Tuchuks love color and painting wagons help to protect them against the weather, as well as brighten up camp. Wagons may also be decorated with braided pieces, leatherwork, wood ornaments and plaques, many items that make it interesting and personal.
Weatherproofing Wagons: Mix dirt and straw with water. Use a stick to press the mix anywhere there is a crack or a hole in a wagon.
ANIMALS
Feed Animals
- Sleen (3 pens): 1 bucket of water in trough per pen, 2 buckets of leftovers from slaughters per pen. The sleen hunt at night when they are released to guard the camp. Do not worry if there aren't any scraps to feed them.
- Kaiila: 2 buckets of water in trough and scraps from the servery. Once a week, an older or injured verr is lead to the kailla pen. Kailla need the kill as much as the meat.
- Verr: 2 buckets of water in trough, 2 buckets of feed grains.
- Vulo: 1 bucket of water, 1 bucket of grain.
Groom Animals
- Kaiila: Wash and comb the silky coats of the kaiila. Manicure their teeth and claws.
- Milk and Team Bosk: Wash and comb their shaggy coats. Polish and oil hooves and horns.
Clean Animal Pens: Rake out old straw and dung and put in fresh straw. Dump it onto the fertilizer heap.
CRAFTS
Rope and Twine: Make rope and twine from fibers, such as hair (kaiila and bosk) and rep cloth. They can be braided into rope or rolled into twine.
Baskets: Weave baskets using reeds, twine, twigs and other materials. Baskets have such a broad range of uses, there is plenty of opportunity to express creativity, as well as making something useful. Feel free to make them as complex as wished. Materials may be dyed or painted.
Carving: Carve little animals/novelties from horn, wood and bone. Uncarved horns are kept in the storage wagon. These carvings can be Gorean animals, warriors, Free Women, etc. They can be colored with dyes or paints. Anything carved belongs to a slave�s owner. Permission must be given before a slave may gift these items to another. Many carved items are sold or used as trade. Get permission to use something to carve with.
Beading: Make earrings, belly chains, bracelets, binas. Beads, wires, chains and other materials are kept in a chest by the serving furs. Use imagination, making them as intricate as you like. If you beg a Free, they might let you use gold, silver, jewels or other precious materials to make jewelry for Free Persons. Gold and silver have to be melted and poured into a mold or beaten into shape.
Weaving: Make cloth, such as different colored silks or veils for dances, blankets, cloth for tunics and robes. Threads and yarns are in the sewing wagon. Thread must be warped upon the loom (that's putting the thread/yarn on) and woven by going under and over each string. A shuttle is used to push what has been woven tightly together (pull on the shuttle every few rows). The design can be as intricate as you wish. When you have finished the piece, you must tie off the ends and then cut it from the loom. You'll need permission to use a quiva to cut it off the loom.
Leather Work: Make purses, boots, pouches, and other items from leather, which is kept in the storage wagon. Make a pattern and cut out the leather. Get permission to use scissors or a quiva. Sew the leather pieces. A design may be tooled (Tooling means cutting slightly into the leather to make the design.), dye the leather with a design, or leave plain. Get permission to use a small quiva),
Needles: Carve slender bits of bone and sharpen one end. Drill an eye at the thicker end (ask permission to use a quiva).
Spoons and Other Implements: Take tabuk, bosk, other horns, wood and bone to carve eating and cooking utensils and other tools. Ask permission to use a quiva to carve.
GARDENING
Flowers: Pick fresh flowers for the wagons.
Weeding: Weed Pathways. Paths go to the river, hot springs and throughout the camp. Check for and remove any plants that can harm. Check paths for rocks or other sharp objects. Many that walk them are barefooted.
Snow: Clear snow in winter.
GENERAL
Furs: Fireside furs should always be kept clean, brushed out and ready for camp Free and for guests. No Free Person should ever have to arrive at our fires and sit upon a mess. Slaves are responsible for making sure the furs are beaten clean of dust, aired and brushed every day. If a Free Person requests that a slave clean their wagon furs, then the slave is to do that as well.
Fuel: Collect dried bosk dung for fuel. Collect in a sack that is kept near the animal pens to add to the fires. Additional sacks are kept in a supply wagon.
Dance Pit: Maintain the dance pit. Check for anything that may harm feet. Inspect the pole to make sure it is smooth and free of splinters. Oil and polish the pole.
Spar Area: Maintain the spar area. Check for anything that may interfere with free movement or damage bare feet. After clearing the area, make sure there is plenty of sand and rake it smooth.
SEWING
Mending: Do daily checks for mending. Clothing to be mended is kept in a trunk at the far corner of the serving furs. Two mending baskets are kept in the trunk. Permission is not needed to use sewing needles. Sewing threads may be cut with the teeth or with scissors. Cord used for sewing may be too tough for teeth.
Laundry: Launder dirty clothing, rags, towels etc., as needed. During the cold season, it is best to do laundry in a wagon. Water can be heated for it and carried there. Leather clothing is cleaned differently than fabrics. There are cleaners and conditioners especially blended for it. See the Leather Worker.
Embroider: Many items of clothing can be embroidered to enhance their appearance. Linens and other items may also be embellished in this way. There is no limit as to what designs are used. Permission is not needed to use sewing needles. Sewing threads may be cut with the teeth or scissors used.
Leather Clothing: The person should be measured for the items to be made. Take bust, waist, hip size and inseam measurements for each piece. Make the pattern and cut out each piece. Ask permission to use a quiva to cut out the leather (leather is kept in the storage wagon). Sew the leather item with thread or cord used for such. Leather dresses can be made for the Free Women, while leather pants and tunics can be made for Free Men. Vests and other articles of clothing can be made for anyone. Some protection for the fingers is good to prevent sore fingers from pushing the needle through. |