Mastodon Dung

"It's not a pleasant job, but someone has to do it."

Clan member, responsible for gathering fuel for the fires.

Since the old days, some clans in Llyn (one of the Four Regions of Adhonaglamar) have mainly relied on Mastodon Dung for their source of fuel. Cooking fires, fires to keep the watchmen warm... they all rely on the thick round pellets left behind by the Mastodon.

The Mastodon herds mainly roam through the forests of Llyn, near the Boundary. It are the clans of this area that have taken to using the dung for fuel. Ideally the dung gets collected fresh, which makes it an unpleasant job. Then it is dried in the sun (either in open patches of forests or in the fields near the forest edge). Once dry, the pellets are wrapped in large leaves, to create rectangular bricks of fuel, ready for use.
Once dry the dung has lost most of its bad odour. So the bricks can be kept right there where they're needed. Near cooking stations, indoor fireplaces, etc.

Gathering the dung is usually a safe task. The Mastodon don't fear humans, as they are only rarely hunted (except during the Winter Solstice). So dung gatherers don't need to worry too much when walking around the areas where the herds pass to collect their valuable resource. Only during the mating season of the large beasts do gatherers need to keep their distance. Mastodon get very territorial when in heat, so the clans prefer to gather as much as they can before the season starts. That way they can stay clear of the Mastodons during that time.

The dung is carbon rich, due to the plant diet of the Mastodons. It burns hotter and longer than similar amounts of wood, making it useful for smithing as well. While heated, it leaves a faint sweet smell in the air, caused by some of the berries native to Llyn as part of the Mastodons' diet.

Type

Organic