Legend of Ransera

The most glamorous part of the job. Now that was a fucking lie and everyone knew it. However Dakkur like the rest of his peers would never being that up as it was already hard enough to get field work let along get it consistently. It was just a shame that in order to get more experience they had to do all this grunt work which if was really as good as the senior archeologists claimed it was should mean they would want a piece of the action too, which they did not. Oh they gave the usual excuses like wanting to do their part to nurture the next generation but if Dakkur own opinion of it was any indication, the seniors' beloved next generation already had enough of it. They were fully aware they were brought as nothing but cheap labor with the will to perform admirably despite also knowing that they would barely be credited for any breakthrough gotten out of this expedition.

And yet, they were still working hard digging into the sands, drilling into the rocks, peeling out the dirt and grime from suspected artifacts left behind from long ago. Dakkur thought by now he would have done enough fieldwork already to be allowed to do more but in the end he was still stuck with those damned brushes. "Because I haven't uncovered anything yet?" It should be that obvious so why was he being questioned of his choice of brushes? "I mean I could but that would be slower and Dr Da-" Well the doctor even if he was a fairly well known figure was not in this expedition and whatever he said and allowed his workers to practice were not applicable under the leadership of another, "but the entire community agre-" was not a good excuse either because the entire community? They were not at the site either.

If it was not enough Dakkur was forced to use the ineffective brushes which would leave him longer under the hot sun, he now had to listen to a lecture on the different types of brushes and how they were supposed to be used in digs. And then it came back to the old tricks that it was up to the seniors to oversee the work and teach their juniors how to do things right. It was to this insufferable individual giving Dakkur a lecture who was losing out on being able to do the actual work which matters because he had to take the time out to educate Dakkur and make sure he did not fuck up and bring down the entire integrity of the profession which was a cute idea as there was no integrity here.

Because it was as soon as he heard the news that something was uncovered on the other end of the site, he raced straight there without finishing his very educational lecture on brushes which ought to have benefitted Dakkur. Because he had to contribute to the works and see the expedition succeed! It was someone else close to Dakkur who was also a witness to this because he too was assigned to some good brushing who had something to say about it, stealing credit. "Remember this, I didn't say anything about that" was all Dakkur had to say about it although him nodding his head in agreement was enough to show he too knew the same. "Too bad we can't just leave and head there too but rules are the rules I guess. The doc used to say a disorganized camp in anarchy would only destroy everything we work for."

But that was just for work because after meals were had and it was dark out, all pretenses of order were thrown out the window. Dakkur and his peers could not be begrudged from a good venting session. "And then he went and did that, can you believe it? If I wasn't there to see it you couldn't convince me it happened even if its true." This went on for nearly an hour with each person taking a turn, taking a shot at another person in the camp the someone brought it out. "That's pretty kinky. What weird fetish do you have to have to bring it here of all places? Necrophilia? If you want to be arrested, go ahead but leave me out of it" Dakkur said once the whip was presented to the group. "Well I am funny, that's why you lot keep me around but seriously, spill. What's that for? You going to go at the Jackal or something? Better not get caught?" Dakkur understood completely. As long as you are at the camp there was that one person you wanted to take a shot at and it does not matter who you were. You just do.

This had nothing to do with the Jackal however, but Splinters. Such was the way they referred to people in the camp, especially the more iconic characters as even if they were overheard by some outsider, no one could be certain of who to rat out the groups conversation to. "So what are you going to do with this then? Expose the Jackal's disgusting little secret? Hold the dirty thing ransom? Use it to drive him out of our hair?" All rather good suggestions for as hated a person as the Jackal but it was going to be neither of those, yet. First they were going to have some fun. "But my ideas are fun..." Dakkur said in a barely perceptible whimper in his disappointment that his suggestions were not taken seriously.

But when it came to whips, they had become quite the trend all thanks to a play which had become popular in Zeraphesh a few years back. An instant classic as it was a story of adventure and heroism against the evil Zaichaeri in a race for an artifact which could shift the balance of power in the world. The play had become so popular that leather jackets, fedoras and whips for a while were even considered the height of fashion. On that night they were not going to accessorize with the whip however. They were going to play around with it, just like in the play and think nothing bad of it. A whip is something meant to be used, not hidden in a drawer in the bedroom. "Wait hold up, watch how you say it because you are making us sound like degenerates!"

As the night went on, their reservations dwindled. Dakkur's turn came around the middle and unlike everyone else he was not content to just crack the whip to give people a fright. "I'm going to do it!" he declared as he headed to a nearby outcrop and whipped at it hard. "I swear they made this look easier in the play" he said after being unsuccessful with so many attempts that his arm begun to feel sore. It was obvious he did not know what he was doing. In fact, none of them knew what they were doing as those which stepped up to give him a hand and lead him through the motions did a worse job than he did. Not to be outdone, the great hero of the group stepped up to take a swing at it and Dakkur saw he swung it hard enough it went right round and wrapped itself up on the outcrop. "You can do it" they all said in trying to encourage him, no he cannot they all knew and when he pulled himself up, just as they all expected immediately he came tumbling down.

The next one went up, "make sure to test it if it can take your weight before you fully commit" was but one of the many bad advice which was sent his way. It looked like Dakkur's input was well received as the current candidate took a few hops and pulls before he jumped into a swing to get to the other side. As good as he gave it however he missed the other side wide and swung back like a pendulum but the more important display of force there was the old what comes up must also come own and Dakkur watched even before his buddy could return from the rock they all started at, he was already struggling to keep his grip and eventually slid down until he fell.

Failure after failure to emulate one of the most iconic acts of the hero of the play had the group deciding to try something else, to see who could hit the most targets set up with the whip. With plenty of opportunities to observe the other's Dakkur felt he understood how to do it. He rolled the whip up and let it fly, "there, I did it!" but what about the others? "The others?" he barely even got to do one which was why he failed when he tried to rapid fire the whip with some quick coiling and unfolding at the targets.

Then the night came to an end and the whip was planted at a place it would never be found, or be found as another uncovered artifact. Both results being quite enjoyable to watch as long as no one else figured out they were responsible and the next day though tired in body, the group was well recharged mentally. For Dakkur the latter especially was a good thing, his was sent instead to chip around at the harder materials the next day with the picks on artifacts uncovered at the other side of the site. Though the job needed some strength he also knew it needed a larger degree of control and precision. The best part yet, no lectures by opportunistic seniors just biding their time until a chance to steal some credit which was true until the man from yesterday ran into him again with yet another agitating comment followed by one more lengthy lecture about the picks this time.

Fortunately Dakkur was saved as a group needed some help in scraping off something big stuck in the dirt. "How would I know what I did to offend him? It's not like I ate his pudding" or something but observers felt there was indeed something going on even if Dakkur did not know why.