Bonepicker
Those who harvest the endless bones around Geganna's behemoth.
The sun beats down upon the workers, their heads covered with white cloth. Bones of varying sizes are dislodged from the sands for weighing, sorting and valuation. The remains of magical creatures are hotly contested, the workers who find them being paid a dividend for their efforts.
Between Bhurm and Istabi, in the desert wastes of Geganna, lies an expansive boneyard formed around the skeleton of a behemoth creature. Through unknown means, bones rise up out of the sands each night and an industry has built up around collecting and processing these bones as a crafting and building material.
The behemoth skeleton itself is left alone due to superstitions around it causing this phenomenon.
Career
Career Progression
This role is usually one performed as temporary work for those who require a lump sum of currency after a length of time. A bonepicker will usually work for a few weeks before returning home, their supplies exhausted but their purse full.
Those who regularly return to the wastes gain a reputation and may find employment as supervisors or guides. Others may find work in the supply lines and transit for harvested materials.
Payment & Reimbursement
Payment is almost exclusively completed on a weight basis. However, additional, rarer bones may be worth a finders fee. Examples include bones from dragons or other magical creatures.
Perception
Social Status
Bonepickers are not highly regarded, on the same general social level as farmers or miners in human society. They are, however, respected for working around the behemoth skeleton and when back within society are often asked to describe the location.
Demographics
Most bonepickers are male and less than middle aged. Supervisors are a more diverse group due to distancing themselves from the intensely physical labour. At any given time, there are a few hundred people employed to sift through the bones.
Operations
Tools
Workers have only a small selection of personal tools - usually a brush and a shovel. They rely on group labour to excavate larger items and will place down wooden stakes with canvas panels stretched between them to wall in and hold back sand from flowing into new digsites.
Notably, due to the harsh environment, workers are expected to maintain their own provisions for the duration of their work. Usually, a worker will bring their own barrels of water and food that will last a few weeks before they travel back to society. It is considered a grave crime to take or tamper with another's provisions.
Workplace
Due to the shifting sands and rearranging bones, there are no permanent constructions in the area. Tents and coverings are used for shade during work and for rest. Work is completed during the day due to the shifting of the sands during the night - it is not safe to be too close as people and possessions are lost in the dark.
Summer Camp 2021
Article Links
Bonepicker, Chazbar, Church of Thirasmus, Creep Rot, Derrick & Sons Lumber Company, Domesticated Hippopotamus, Eldrin Sarsatra, Elf, Frost, The Eye that Blinks, The Fabricators, The First Mast, Geganna Salt, Great Arctic Tern, The Great Vortex, Heston Lockheart, Human, Khijian, Katakan, The Last Rebellion, Liberty, Lions of Dun, Magister, Mechanical Grafts, The Mercy House, Mt. Sang, Rubyfall, The Sapient Crown, Seeds from the Sky, Sin, Stockade, Thir Met, The Threat of Endless Fires, Truthscribe Quill
This was an article originally written as part of the 2021 Summer Camp challenge. I have edited the article since then, so what appears on this page no longer reflects the original competition entry. - Theoclymenus
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