Bearclaw Valley watchmen of flocks

Hoping to use for Naturalist or Spiritualist; all welcome, but maybe @Ashlar?

The broken clouds splintered to reveal a patch of smouldering gold, bright but not too bright. If he wanted to he could stare at it through the haze of gray cloud, but there was much to do within the hovel.

The boy had spent the pre-dawn hours digging up the remaining bits and pieces of Evien's collection. Most of what he found was well dried, oftentimes frozen in to the earth, but a few smelled foul and so Karst clawed them free of the earth's grasp and hurried to deposit them elsewhere.

It made him feel wrong. This was not his collection — the previous caretaker was dead and gone, yet it felt to Karst as if he were unearthing a tomb. He would have to seek out replacements for what he had disposed of; however, he knew next to nothing about the herbs and mixtures.

As he paced lethargically back to the hideaway's opening, just shy of ducking inside, he paused and took a deep, shaking breath.