Smoking rules

Guild of Hearth and Hook

Section IV, Subclause B: Smoking as Containment and Preservation
From the Master’s Codex on Meat Stabilization and Arcane Decay Mitigation

Article 12: Smokehouse Protocols for Anti-Transformation Preservation

"To smoke is not merely to cure, it is to bind the soul, still the twitch, and ash the echo of magic."
Master Warden Halreth of the Delta Chapter

I. Purpose

The practice of meat-smoking within sanctioned smokehouses serves a dual function:

1. Preservation of organic matter for long-term storage and trade.
2. Suppression of unstable transformation within beast-flesh, particularly from aether-saturated or morphic organisms.

Apprentices are to treat all cuts from magical, swamp-born, or beast-aspected sources as potentially volatile until properly smoked.

II. Standard Facility Types

A. The Drift-Hut (Type-1 Smokehouse)

• Material Requirements:
• Walls: Dark alderwood (anti-fungal, aromatic under heat)
• Insulation: Packed river clay and straw for thermal retention
• Ventilation: Sloped copper-lined chimney (acts as rot barrier, aether dispersal channel)
• Fixtures: Iron chains and bone-carved hooks (for ether grounding)
• Smoke Fuel Blend (Class-W):
• Ashwood: neutral burning, high aromatic content
• Salt-laced moss: mineral-laced smoke deters pests and crystallizes low-grade arcane residue
• Smoking Duration:
• Minimum 3 days, maximum 5 days
• Operator must remain onsite during smoking cycles to maintain constant ember levels and perform flesh-checks for reactive twitching

B. The Ash-Tongue Pit (Type-3 Delta Bay)

• Construction Parameters:
• Dug into raised islet with swamp-ash bricks (magical dampening properties)
• Sealed with mud-limestone mortar (alkaline stabilizer)
• Roofing: Resin-wrapped plank + scrap hide for full smoke retention
• Interior Design:
• 3 smoke bays, isolated with hanging screens
• Fire pits fed from beneath with peat, fungal bark, moss-sap
• Magical Reinforcement:
• Prayer or sigil to The Final Scale or death-bound patron recommended at entryway
• Use of sacred ash in fire pit encouraged when processing Mimiccroc, Spine-beast, or anything swamp-aligned

III. Alchemical & Aetheric Suppression Functions

Substance or Feature                  Effect on Flesh/Spirit                                  Guild Explanation

Salt-laced Moss Smoke             Crystallizes unstable aether                   Binds loose magical threads

within tissues

Copper Chimney Lining             Repels rot, channels heat cleanly         Grounds necrotic charge

Fungal Resin Smoke                    Creates reactive haze barrier                  Blocks morphic signals from

 old tissue

Clay/Straw Insulation                 Maintains temp, reduces noise              Prevents external aetheric

interference

Sacred Inscription                        Ritual neutralization                                   Finalizes spiritual

containment

IV. Operational Warnings

• NEVER remove meat from smoking racks before full smoke infusion. Early removal may result in:
• Post-mortem flesh bloom
• Twitch rot
• Manifestation of spiritual echoes (auditory hallucinations, minor apparitions)
• If meat begins to "weep smoke" or emit low chittering, immediately quarantine the chamber, douse fires, and contact a licensed Flame-Warden.

V. Certification Required

To operate a certified smokehouse handling transformation-prone meat, one must possess:

• Grade-2 Preservation License
• Aether Safety Band (blue-banded gloves)
• Oath of Firewatch for night supervision
  (Available through Guild exam office, 12-hour practical required)

This manual is property of the Guild of Hearth and Hook. Unauthorized duplication is punishable by salt ration suspension or meat tithe extraction.