Chores for slaves

Clean vulo coops	The vulo are small domesticated pigeons that are kept for meat and eggs. The coops are slatted wood, kept beneath the wagons. Hot water and a good scrubbing should take care of the mess.

Collect eggs, feed vulo	The birds need grain and water, and the eggs collected daily. It is a good idea to take a candle with you, so you might hold the eggs one by one to the light in a dark spot beneath the wagons, ensuring none of the eggs bear a chick inside.

Feed verr	Domesticated verr are goats used for their milk, wool and meat. They'll need grain and water.

Shear verr wool	This is a chore that doesn't need done all that often, but it is important. Warm clothing is made from verr wool.

Card, dye, spin & weave verr wool	"Carding" is the process of pulling wool straight, using wire bristled brushes. Wool can be dyed to many colors using natural dyes, and spun by using an implement rather like a top, dropping it and rolling the wool between fingers to produce fine yarn. Weaving is done on a small hand-loom as the wagons cannot carry the large looms.

Polish bosk hooves & horns	It would be very difficult to polish the hooves and horns of the vast herds of bosk! Instead, the ones that draw the wagons would receive this special attention, particularly the 100 (yes, 100!) that pull the Ubar's vast wagon.

Milk verr & bosk	Both the towering bosk and the little verr need milking. Whereas most Tuchuk will not drink verr milk, the bosk being the lifeblood of the people, it can still be used for visitors should they ask, or made into cheese.

Make butter & cheese	The cream from the bosk milk can be churned into sweet yellow butter, using the hand-churns. Cheese is created by adding a bit of rennet (found in the stomach of the bosk, a bit of calf stomach in a clean rep may be added to the heating milk) to warm milk, simmering until it solidifies into curds. The watery remains (whey) is poured off, and the curds are pressed into a wooden hoop, resting on a piece of wood, a second piece that fits into the hoop is rested atop. Settle a rock on top to weigh it down, and the remaining whey is pressed out over time. Wrap the green cheese in a clean rep, and settle into a cool place to age. It is a good idea to save some of the curds, as they may be requested as a food item.

Pick over fruit	Check the fruit bins, dispose of overripe fruit or give to the verr and vulo.

Cooking & baking	There should always be some kind of meat on the fires, as there are not only the Free seen in the channel to feed, but it is to be assumed there are other warriors etc who make the camp run. Keep in mind if making stews or such that Tuchuk do not eat anything that comes from the ground... i.e. root vegetables such as suls, onion, or carrots. The most common bread is sa-tarna, made from the yellow grain of the same name. The loaves are flat and circular, commonly etched with lines to make tearing of wedges easily.

Make blackwine & kal-da	Blackwine is the Gorean equivalent of coffee...made from the same plant but estimated to be 10 times stronger than Earthen brew. Camp coffee is made by simply pouring the crushed beans into a kettle, covering with cold water, and allowed to brew slowly over the fire. (Which means, when serving to be careful not to disturb the grounds.) Kal-da is a searing brew of mid-grade ka-la-na wine, fruit juices, and mulling spices, simmered over the coals.

Gather bosk chips for fuel	Everyone's favorite chore...collecting fuel. There is not plentiful wood on the Plains, so the bosk themselves provide for the fires. Collect the driest "chips" in a canvas back to bring back to camp, the grass content will burn easily for cooking and warmth.

Tidy & clean interiors of wagons	The wagons are much bigger than what one might anticipate, far larger than the Conestoga wagons of the American West. They'll need sweeping, the lamps filled with thalarion oil, and dusting.

Laundry, sewing & mending clothing	Most clothing of the wagon peoples is made of leather, so get out the leather awls and rawhide strings. Laundry may be taken to the stream to wash, or use a washboard and basins of heated water, then hang on a line to dry in the fresh air. Leather of course is not washed, but brushed clean, as are furs.

Beat & hang sleeping furs to air & dry	The sleeping furs in the wagons, as well as the furs the Free rest on around the fires, need regular treatment. Shake them out, hang them to a clothesline, and have fun beating the heck out of them with a stick. (This is a great stress reliever for "bad kajira days")

Gather grasses for basket-weaving; weave baskets	The long grasses of the prairie make for ample opportunity to weave baskets. It is a good way to spend time talking to the other slaves, as well.

Make torches from woven grass & rags soaked in oil	Torches are important out here in the open air, for light and security. Soak rags in thalarion oil, and use woven grasses to hold the fueled cloth in place on large sticks.

Render bosk-fat into grease & oil	The bosk provide pretty much everything for the Tuchuk. Melting down bosk fat provides oils as well as grease for the wagon axles and other utility purposes.

Remove excess ashes from fire pit	The fires are always burning in the Camp... so the firepits need cleaned away of the excess ash. Save some for making soap, as the lye is an important ingredient.

Make soap from ashes, fat & essential oils	Here is where the lye comes in... pour ashes into a rep cloth, hold over a bowl, and trickle water slowly through, squeezing out the bag thoroughly. Add this lye solution to melted bosk fat in a kettle, stirring with care over a period of time. Essential oils of choice are added to scent the soap, then pour the thickened mixture into wooden molds to solidify.

Gather & wash dishes	Dishes can be washed in the stream, or take the time to heat water and clean them in basins, drying with a rep cloth and ensuring everything goes in it's place in the supply wagon.

Gather fragrant herbs & flowers for essential oils	There are lots of flowers mingled in the prairie grasses... enjoy the sun on your back and the soil in your toes, taking care to stay within the circle of the outriders as you make your search.