Black branch foragers

If we don't hurry up now, the storm will close in on us. I'm not risking staying a night at this windy pit and I advise you do the same.

— A local forager to the newcommer

Short summary

Black branch foragers, sometimes called "Black foragers" was a name of the professiongiven to the gatherers visiting Coire àrd for the sole purpose of locating withered patches of Mountain shrub pine touched by the Black dew wither. The branches found on-site were covered in glistening droplets, which made them seem black on a quick glance, hence giving the name to the profession. It was popular until several decades ago, when the Black dew wither vanished. Some older foragers blame the newcommers from Gáláwá, pointing out that the high-mountain choughs had no local predator and found the pine beetle a tasty treat.

Characteristics

As people living from the crops found in the Coire àrd the black branch foragers were a group who knew all about the place. They knew of every corner of the corrie, every stream and cave in the vicinity, but most importantly, they understood the harshness and the unpredictability of the weather condtions out there. In a good year, one could visit Coire àrd in summer for only a few days and the precise date and time of the weather window changed every year. Some went as far as sleeping in and by the caves near the rivers Láita and Luath.

Above well understanding of the terrain and the weather conditions the profession demanded a lot of stamina and endurance. The foragers needed to be well equipped but also be able to get the branches in good conditions back to the village.

Traders

Even though the branch itself paid a good coin, people valued the seemingly untouched branched the most. It would often happen that the untouched branches would saturate the local market, leaving foragers with the black branches of poor quality with no prospects of being sold. These were thoroughly dried and crushed into coarse powder and would find their ways across the Sávenian land under many names as an extremely potent spice. In some places like in Cymru, the spice was bartered for easier to sold commodities, like the Lotus silk.