[Groin Redbeard]

After exchanging a few words with Dan, Erbrand went off to quickly skin the animals he had caught earlier that morning. Dan had never been like that before, he had never seen him so flustered about anything, but the he kept on insisting that it was nothing. Erbrand had asked him if he would like to go hunting with him later that day, which Dan immediately perked up and responded approvingly at the offer. They had made an excellent team with hunting, Erbrand was by far the better shot of the two with a bow, but Dan, it seemed to Erbrand, had a supernatural ability of tracking their game. He looked forward to tonight with great excitement.

It took him no longer than a few minutes to de-hide the rabbits, it was not a hard job for someone who knew what he was doing. As he finished, he wiped the blood off of his knife and neatly wrapped the meat in some clothe to be brought to the kitchen. He had felt out of place with his profession since moving to Scarburg, his was the only one that dealt with death on a day to day basis. Before, in Aldburg, he had depended on the hunters in the town to supply him with all the animal furs, but now he had to put his hunting skills to good use in catching the hides for himself. Although he was sure that it didn't bother the male population at Scarburg, he was certain that it had bothered some of kind hearted ladies, and especially the young boys. They had caught him several times in the middle of skinning his quarry, it was very messy work and at such a young age the boys reacted to it at being no less than barbarism. This had pained him, for he loved children and he often laughed at the way they would compete with each other.

The kitchen was alive with commotion when he arrived, the girls were running all about getting breakfast ready for the tables of hungry people. He walked up trying not to be noticed, or at least not to be a bother, and placed the wrapped meat in it's usual spot.

Today was not going to be a busy day, everyone was tired from the days of hard labor hauling the rocks from the scar to build Harreld's new smithy. Erbrand walked briskly back to his tent, where his four unfinished saddles awaited him. He pulled the canvas from his tent, before he sat down, to allow him some sufficient light to work and for the cool early morning breeze to cool him from the relentless heat of the sun. He still needed to cut out the stirrups and add another broad piece of leather to hang down, so the horses sides would not go raw from the constant rubbing of the riders garments. Reaching for his carving tools, and a wide piece of leather, he started cutting out the design for the stirrups. He had to be careful not to make a mistake, every bit of material was precious, it would take him a long time to get them cut out but he would do it without complaint or rest. Humming a soft tune to himself, to calm his nerves and prevent him from slipping with his cut, he slowly made his outline. He slowly lost track of time and the sounds of the camp slowly faded as his mind focused on his work.