Stone Death

Cause

Saltroot Vine Tips are a hugely popular delicacy in The Reivers' Marshes. However, they need to be prepared and cooked in a precise way if the consumer is not to fall ill or even die from eating the root.

Reivers know how to cut the lily-white tubers into strips, fry them in swamp sage oil, season them with salt, and usually serve them with meat. The tips also make a tasty snack during the day.

However, the roots need to be explicitly fried in sage oil, as it requires the oil's searing heat to make them digestible and prevent crystals from forming in the kidneys.

Symptoms and Prognosis

Severe cases can lead to kidney failure and ultimately death, which is colloquially referred to as 'Stone Death'. Additionally, the stones can be excruciating to pass if formed. Frying saltroot tips in other oils is not always satisfactory. Only swamp sage oil can reach the needed temperature to break down the high doses of sodium oxalate contained in the tuber.

Treatment

Kidney stones can be particularly challenging to treat in severe cases. In mild cases, drinking plenty of fluids mixed with diluted apple cider vinegar and consuming foods high in citric acid, such as lemons and oranges can help dissolve the kidney stones. Sometimes, giving the patient an herbal supplement, such as nettle leaf, might also be helpful. It is also recommended to avoid consuming proteins such as meat, as well as foods high in salt.

History and Cultural Reception

The Saltroot Vine is a common plant of the Reiver's Marshes. One can also cultivate it in flooded fields, and the tubers are extensively grown around the cottages of the Reivers. The tubers are welcome during the winter months and can sustain a whole family during the Dark days of the year - if stored and prepared correctly.

Health problems arose during times of hardship when sage oil was not always available to fry the vine tubers. Many famished clansmen were eating the tips without properly frying them. They considered a full stomach more important than avoiding kidney stones.



Visitors to the Marshes rave about the Saltroot tips, and some enterprising expats have opened up Tipperies (see Tippery) in Highfort where the saltroot vine tubers are fast becoming the new food craze. The tips go for a lot of gold in certain wealthy districts of the capital.

One of the most famous (or infamous) Tipperies in Highfort is the Gilded Tip .



All images are AI-generated unless otherwise mentioned.