Closed A Tossed Hammer:Part II[I'tram]

[Clyde Sullins]

66 Spring 513(Afternoon) Clyde looked about in the clearing, and let out a sigh. He looked over at I'tram, taking in the surroundings once more. They had moved a bit further inland away from the lake. While it was safe enough during the day, to many things lingered close to the lakeshore for it to be safe near it. They were better off in the woods a bit more, away from its creatures. Their particular clearing was nice enough, a open expanse of grass, soft to lie on, but he would need to clear a spot for them to make the fire. Not to mention clear out a circle of grass, so they did not accidentally set the entire woods aflame, or the grass they sat on. A bit away, was the edge of the woods, encircling them on all sides. The trees were a bit spread out, and not as densely packed as it got deeper into the woods, which left plenty of room to move through them without having to hack a path through. Clyde set down his pack, and rooted through it quickly. He had his winter blanket, a bedroll, and a tent, everything he needed to sleep relatively comfortably. Rye at his side would serve as a decent alert should anything dangerous get near. "Alright I'tram, I am going to clear a spot for us to make a fire pit, for warmth, protection, and to cook later. You gather wood. Try and get dry wood that is good and dead. Fresher wood burns and makes to much smoke." Clyde did not know a huge amount about camping, or existing outside of a city, certainly not for more than a day or two, but fire. Fire was something he understood, and something he dealt in. He also respected it. He knew better than to mess with it. With that said, Clyde would look about, deciding on a spot to make the pit in.

[I'tram Bearguard]

As I'tram trailed a few metres behind Clyde as they walked through the forest he couldn't help but wonder why they were moving further from the lake, after all, would it not be safer nearer to Ravok and the protection of Rhysol? Yet despite his qualms I'tram did not speak out against Clyde, he was after all, the slave not the master.

When the pair emerged into the clearing between the trees the young slave felt a little.... underwhelmed. He had harboured some sort of childish notion that they would be camping in the middle of an exotic jungle filled with dangerous creatures. "Don't be such an idiot I'tram, you've been reading that book too often" After chiding himself for letting such foolish notions enter his head. It was far better to face the reality now than later, there would be no dangerous encounters with horrid monsters, instead it was a camping trip, happening just outside the greatest city known to mankind. This would serve as a learning experience and nothing more.... At least that's what he told himself.

When the command came to collect firewood I'tram merely bowed and said "Certainly master" but before he set off on his duties I'tram dropped his bag and heavy armour down in the centre of the clearing. He did however keep his gladius and his bow, as well as his arrows with him, you could never be too safe after all.

As he got settled in to the mundane task of collecting firewood which had fallen to the ground I'tram's mind wandered to other matters. The topic that kept drifting into his mind was the one of the Ebonstryfe, he had seen Clyde leave on Ebonstryfe business and he had been intrigued. Whilst he knew they were the military force of Ravok he desired to know more. After all, in I'tram's point of view Rhysol was like a second master to him, the slave served him to the best of his ability and in turn Rhysol let him stay in the city of Ravok and protected him from the dangers of the Wild and the fiendish Syliran Knights. He would have to ask some questions when he was finished his task.

Around fifteen chimes later he had gathered what he believed to be enough firewood. While most were branches or sticks he also managed to find a bigger log or two. Satisfied with his work he entered the clearing once more.

[Clyde Sullins]

As I'tram set off to find firewood, as directed, Clyde set himself about creating a decent fire pit. However, he did not start on it right away, instead he took a few moments to think about what he would need to do. First of all, he would need to clear the spot of grass, which was covering this area. Which would mean tearing up a inch or so of dirt, and pulling along with it the grass embedded in it. Then, he would need to dig a barrier around the outside, to keep jumping sparks from escaping and catching things ablaze. The barrier would also serve to keep the flicker of the flames from being so easily seen from afar. Using his boot, and digging it into the grassy ground of the spot he had chosen, he slowly traced a circle in it, digging into the grass, and ripping up bits as he went. When he finally had a decent sized circle scratched into the ground almost big enough for him to lie across, he took a step back. The circle would serve a dual purpose, one as a marker for where the firepit would extend to. And two, as a straightforward means of glyphing. He intended to move everything inside of the circle, so it would serve as a focus for his magic to come. Holding his hands out over the circle, palms facing downward, he focused on the circle dug into the grass by his boot, and began to exude res. For him it was simple enough, and for the small task he had in mind, it would not take a great deal. Even a much lesser user could manage what he had in mind. Once he had a moderate amount of res before him, he sent it downward, and soaked it into the circle of ground inside of the circle, soaking it a few inches deep, and mingling it with the dirt and grass. With a simple gesture, he moved both hands straight up, to about the level of his face, and watched as the mass of dirt and grass rose as one. It was a bit odd looking, as it was more or less a circle, but rough around the edges. With a flick of his wrists to the right, the mass of dirt and grass sticking out of it moved to the right. Clyde kept moving it till it was all the way clear of his starting circle, a good foot clear. Then he released the attraction, and let the res hold in place, as the dirt it had previously suspended fell. As it struck the ground the dirt and grass fell apart into many pieces, and clods of dirt and grass. Turning back to the circle, Clyde floated his res back to it, and began to move his left hand in a circular motion. As he did, the res began to slowly move outward, forming into a spinning ring. By the time it had reached his glyphed circle dug into the ground, it had fully formed into a ring of res suspended in the air. Clyde moved it straight downward, adjusting its size a bit to match just inside of the glyphed ring, and soaked it once more into the ground. But this time there was no grass in the way, instead he soaked it into several inches of hard compact earth. He pushed both palms a few inches down, and the res moved down equally, soaking into the ring of dirt. Then with a upward motion, he wrenched the ring of dirt out of the ground, leaving a good 3 inch deep and 1 inch across trench in the earth, just inside of the glyph. The circle was about 5 feet across, which would serve their purposes well enough. It was his first attempt doing this in particular, but he ahd done similar things enough for this to not be hard on him. Building a fire pit while being a simple enough act of construction, was not hard to build. Moving the res infused dirt outward, he set it over the ring of a glyph, making a wall of dirt a couple of inches tall just outside of the trench of dirt. The wall was not as tall as the previous trench had been, but then he had to widen the hole to fit outside of it, forcing him to make the wall smaller. It was a good thing to note though, in future usage, that when one increased the circumference, it forced one to use less height. Letting out a sigh, he sucked in the leftover res, reabsorbing it into his body, just as I'tram walked back up. The silvery ethereal res would glisten in the light of the setting sun, as he approached with the wood. Looking down at the fire pit he had made, and back at I'tram, Clyde let out a small smile. "Well, it is not exactly a building worthy of the sagas, but I suppose my little fire pit will serve our purposes. Besides, it is good practice in building with Reimancy. How went your wood gathering?"

[I'tram Bearguard]

I'tram couldn't help but let his jaw drop when he gazed upon Clyde's reimancy, it was the first time he had actually seen the mage in action and he was in awe. The young slave had heard stories of the power of wizards but now that he had actually witnessed the magic he was left dumbstruck. To be able to move large portions of earth with seemingly no effort seemed like a godlike power. If Clyde had complete mastery over this skill, which he apparently had, meant could nearly be classified as a God. Not one of Rhysol's power obviously but nevertheless he held an almighty force at his fingertips. To be able to raise buildings with a stroke of his hand or to destroy cities with a small gesture seemed as close one could get to being a deity. Of course I'tram wouldn't have thought this if he knew anything about magic and how much of a toll it took on the user but of course he clueless in the arts of sorcery.

In the center of what had once been a flat clearing was now a pit, several inches deep surrounded by a small wall. Whilst the finished product wasn't a grand work of art, in fact it was fairly measly for one to look at, but if one knew how the pit was created they would take a different perspective on how measly it really was.

When he finally looked at Clyde it almost appeared if wispy tendrils of steam were being sucked into his body. Recovering his wits I'tram clamped his jaw shut and raised the firewood slightly as a gesture as if to say "well here it is" Where a few moments ago he was proud of the job he completed, now he only felt disappointed, he knew now that he could never compare magic in anything he did. After all, how could one defeat a mage who could shoot a ball of fire at you with a flick of his wrist or how could one build a structure and yet compete to a wizard you could do the same task in a fracture of the time. I'tram did find comfort in the fact that there were very few people who had the same mastery over magic as Clyde did, after all, there weren't wild rumours flying around Ravok about any other mages.

I'tram was setting his wood down beside the newly built pit, when Clyde issued a question to him, still at lost for words it took the young lad a few moments to gather his wits. "Oh it was fine master, the woods is a very relaxing place." This was true for I'tram, he always felt more at ease out in the fresh air, free from the constant cacophony of city-life. A silence had fallen between the two before I'tram spoke up again "That was amazing sir, it truly was" While I'tram would have said more he was still in a slight daze from the spectacle.

[Clyde Sullins]

I'tram simply gestured with the wood, in response to Clyde's question. He stared at him for a few moments, wondering what his issue was. Then he realized, he had been standing their while he did his work. He had assumed he had gone off to get firewood like he had said, but instead he had been to lazy to even go out of sight range to do so, and so had been watching him work his craft. Not to mention, he had given him specific order on how to get the firewood, and he found it nearly ludicrous that he had gotten that much dead wood without venturing farther out. Looking at the pile of wood, he noticed one bit that looked like it had fallen off a tree last week. "I said to get wood that is good and dead, not that just recently fell. Look at this, it is still fresh! Do you know why I specified old and dry wood? Because living wood smokes. It gives off lots of smoke. So do leaves. And since it it still day out, the smoke will be clearly visible to anyone or anything, that we are making camp here. So you will know how to blame if we are visited tonight. Your wood." Clyde looked about his stuff, his gear for sleeping, his weapons, and his staff ever at his side, or in his hand. What was next? He thought for a few moments, what would they be in need of next? Food. Yes, food, that was what they needed. "Alright, now we need something to eat. Which means we go hunting. Have you hunted before? I mean, you do have a bow. I am sure you can hit something with that." Clyde walked over to Rye, and scratched him behind the ears. He had sat silently, the entire time Clyde did his magic. He had seen it enough to not be skittish of his Reimancy, and was trained to obey and be loyal to Clyde, his master. Looking back at I'tram, he waved into the trees haphazardly. "So, lead the way. Show me you can get us some food."

[I'tram Bearguard]

There was a brief moment of silence before Clyde spoke, while his voice was calm, it was clear that there was anger behind his words. about how the wood wasn't dead enough and it was going to smoke and alert possible threats of their position, I'tram glanced down at his wood pile, all the wood seemed to be good and dead, sure there was one or two pieces of fresher wood but surely that couldn't make too much of a difference. He would still feel guilty if they were attacked but he doubted any would be aggressors would do too much damage, they were going against Clyde after all. I'tram had gone out of sight of the clearing to get the wood, but dared not wander too far, less he get lost. Whilst it was unlikely that such an event would have happened he didn't want to risk it. Near the end of the mage's rant I'tram realised why he must be so aggravated, it must have appeared that I'tram had been observing Clyde the entire time but of course this wasn't the case, though yet again I'tram did not speak out.

While I'tram had no hunting experience himself he had seen how it was done, during one of his trips with a slave caravan he had been instructed to help a hunter lug his kills back to camp so he had some idea of what he needed to do. I'tram smoothly equipped his bow before nocking it slightly with a regular arrow. Crouching slightly I'tram entered the forest. He watched every step he took, checking the ground so he wouldn't make any noise by stepping on a twig. Every step he took ended slowly so the foliage on the ground wouldn't make any loud sound. I'tram carried on walking this way for a few minutes before finally finding something to follow. There was a large gap in a bush, even to the novice eye it was clear something went through here not too long ago, and if that wasn't enough to convice I'tram, Rye, Clyde's dog's ears went up and let out a small growl, turning to Clyde he couldn't help let out a small smile "Looks we've found our dinner Master". Now that he had a trail to follow he would have to move even more carefully to avoid making any sound.

Around fifteen minutes later their game came into view, standing in front of them was a Spotted Deer, the doe was facing at an angle to them so the pair weren't in her direct line of vision, eating something on the ground. I'tram raised his bow, took aim and let the arrow fly.

As the arrow flew through the air it was clear it was going to hit the deer but would it be a killer shot? The arrow punctured the deer's chest, it was certainly a fatal shot but the doe was not yet dead, startled, it stumbled through the bushes and trees to escape. Barely holding a curse back I'tram turned to Clyde "Don't worry, it won't get far with a wound like that" I'tram would wait to see Clyde's reaction before moving on through the forest.

After a three to four minute walk they found the deer lying on the ground bleeding out, it had so little fight left in it that all the poor creature could do was raise it's head to witness it's incoming fate. I'tram walked over swiftly and cut the creatures throat in one clean movement. The deer's head hit the ground hard, it's eyes empty and staring into a bush. Now that his prey was dead he could finally examine it. While it was slightly smaller than he thought it was originally it was still enough to comfortably feed the pair for more than they needed for the camping trip.

"How do you propose we bring it back? Are you able to do it with magic or will I grab a branch so we can lift it together?" If I'tram had the strength to lift a fully grown deer by himself he would have gladly brought it back by himself but of course he was not yet fully grown and had no where near the strength required. Despite himself not being able to bring the deer back by himself he felt a feeling of pride, finally he had done something right without any error, perhaps Clyde would forget previous misgivings once he had a bit of venison in his stomach. On top of this he hadn't even gotten them lost, the deer had made a clear trail for them to follow back to camp.

[Clyde Sullins]

At I'tram headed off, Clyde followed. He would let him try and prove himself to him, give him a chance to show he was not worthless and could follow an order. Though really, he had not explicitly disobeyed... He had simply not gone to the letter of his orders. But he had to come to understand that when he was specific with his orders, there was a reason behind it. And he could not truly trust him with anything of importance, until he had proven he could follow orders exactly. For if this had involved magic, and he had given an explicit order, and he had not explicitly followed it, but only did it half way, then likely he would have gotten himself killed, and possibly Clyde to. Magic was not something to be messed around with, nor was it something to not be done exactly. He had already had quite a few close calls with magic, and he was very careful and very precise with his work. In general, it was when others got involved that issues arose. As they crept along, Clyde did his best to be quiet. The last time he had been in the wood hunting, with Aello, he had also been attempting to be quiet... And that had not turned out to well... He had learned a bit about sneaking, and gotten better. But then, when you were as bad as he had been, and failed so completely at sneaking, it was hard to not do better. This time he was careful not to step onto any branches, especially dry ones, as he had done last time. He carefully put one foot in front of the other, watching his step, getting into a rhythm as he followed I'tram. He carefully stepped over a branch on the ground, and some loose leaves, and then he*smack* Clyde fell a step back, and barely kept on his feet. He looked up with a pain in his forehead from the strike, to see that he had walked his head right into a low laying branch. I'tram had been short enough to go right under, and he had followed, but Clyde was taller and it had caught the top of his head. He had been so busy watching the ground to make sure he did not step on anything and make a noise, that he had made a noise by hitting a tree branch. Not to mention, this also hurt quite a decent bit. Which stepping on a branch on the ground did not. He immediately decided he did not care if he stepped on a dozen more branches, he would not be walking into any more living ones in trees. And so Clyde's attempt at stealth ended, admittedly better than his previous try. Clyde followed along till I'tram managed to find some tracks that were fresh, aided by a growl from Rye. Then soon enough they had found a deer, and he had shot it. But petch, he had not even killed it, not even shot at the head or eyes. Instead, he had caught it in the chest, which admittedly was a bigger target, but it was still up and about and running. It did not look like he was proving himself to well, unable to even kill a deer properly. Clyde said nothing, but followed, as I'tram ran off to follow it. "Bring it back, with my magic? I can pick up the elements, not other random objects. I am not that kind of mage, if there even is such a magic. Figure a way to get it back. Though next time, you might want to go for something a bit smaller, instead of a deer. We will likely have a lot left over. Which is never good in the wilds. Extra food attracts predators looking for a meal. They will smell the blood and meat cooking. Hopefully they wont track this thing bleeding as we bring it back to camp." Clyde would give I'tram time to figure out how they would get the deer back to camp, and would assist once he got it figured out and ready, to bring it back to camp. Though he would make sure to keep clear of getting any blood on him. He was not squeamish of blood, but he did not want to be walking around bloody in the woods at night, and attracting everything that ate meat for miles.

[I'tram Bearguard]

Once again I'tram found himself the source of Clyde's critique. Even though he followed Clyde's orders he was still being told off. Here in front of him was a deer, dead from I'tram's hand but yet Clyde still found something to complain about. If he had killed something smaller Clyde probably would've complained it was too small, besides, how was I'tram going to let a perfectly good opportunity go to waste. Besides, the leftovers could be eaten by I'tram, Rye and if he didn't mind eating leftovers, Clyde back in Ravok. There was the problem of bringing the deer back to camp though.

I'tram stepped back and surveyed the deer, thinking of the easiest way to bring it back the camp, the way Clyde was standing back made it seem that he wasn't going to assist him so he would need to lose as much weight off the deer as possible.

I'tram crouched down as he drew his gladius, while it wasn't very practical it was the only thing he had on him, after all, he had only packed for a training session, petch, he hadn't even brought a bedroll for the night, never mind a knife suitable for butchering a deer!. Taking a moment to brace himself for the grizzly work he inhaled deeply before beginning to cut through the underside of the doe. Within a minute the belly of the deer was cut open. I'tram shoved his arm into the cavity and grabbed at the first piece of flesh he could find and pulled. His arm came out covered in gore and clenched in his hand was some entrail of some kind. I'tram wasn't usually queasy around blood but this was an entirely new experience. Determined not to appear weak I'tram carried on, emptying the deer's body of organs and it's other innards.

After this gruesome process was complete I'tram stood up and looked around for a thick branch. His entire body was covered in blood and gore, and his lower wasn't too clean either, just not as bad. After surveying the area he saw a branch hanging from a tree he thought would work. I'tram bent his knees before jumping up onto the branch, using all his weight to snap it from the tree. With a little bit of effort it snapped loose, leaving I'tram with a long thick branch. Only then did I'tram realise his plan had a flaw, he didn't have any rope, not willing to admit his plan wouldn't work he decided to improvise. Walking over to the deer once more he undid his weapon harness from his body. Placing the stick between the legs of the deer he began the mundane work of tying the deer's legs to the stick using the thick leather of his weapon harness. This was surprisingly harder than I'tram thought it would be, he barely ever tied a knot as it was, never mind tying one with something not designed for that purpose.

Standing up once more I'tram surveyed his work, it didn't look pretty but the weapon harness should hold, bending down onto his hunkers I'tram gripped the stick. For a moment he thought about lifting the deer himself but realised it would be a foolish endeavor. Even if he could somehow lift the deer all the way back to camp he would be too exhausted to do anything else but sleep. I'tram quickly scanned his mind for any other way he could make the deer carryable by himself, unfortunately he could not. The young slave raised his head and gave a questioning look that held a meaning so clear that it would be pointless to embody it into words.[/color]

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde just shook his head, as I'tram began using his blade, his weapon, to gut a deer. What the petch? He had not even bothered to ask if he had a better tool, that he could use. If he had asked, Clyde would have taken out the dagger he kept in his pack, though rarely used. But he did not, so he was forced to use a ill equipped weapon to cut into the deers flesh. Clyde just stood and watched, as I'tram got all mucked up, and bloody, sticking his limbs into the deer. Something he certainly had little plan of doing. Once he was done, he would shake his head, and look at the boy. "You know, I actually have a dagger you could have used, all you had to do was ask. And make sure you wash that off, I don't want it attracting half the beasts for twenty miles. Either way, with all this blood and guts, I would not be surprised at all if some predators came by looking. Every action has a reaction, nothing is let go in the wilds without retribution." Once I'tram finished lashing up the deer, inside of his weapon harness, and to a stick, Clyde bent down and took one end of the stick, the side in the front, and then lifted once I'tram also had a good grip. Between the two of them, the deer was more or less manageable to carry. With that done, Clyde began to lead them off back to the camp, having taken the front side. The trip back was more or less without incident, and they set it down next to his fire pit. "Alright, give me a minute and I will have a fire going." Clyde began gathering various sticks, small and large, and began to sort them all within arms length of the fire pit.

[I'tram Bearguard]

At this stage I'tram was beginning to realize that Clyde wasn't the most helpful of souls, after a good twenty minutes of hard, gruesome work, made even harder by the lack of a proper tool, only then he bothered to quip in he had a dagger in his pocket. All I'tram could do was refrain from shaking his head, he did however allow himself to roll his eyes when he was waiting for Clyde to help him carry the deer, fortunately I'tram was looking at the ground so his master didn't see, at least I'tram hoped he hadn't.

I'tram did however listen and take in the criticism, it still did seem rather stupid that Clyde hadn't given him the dagger as soon as he saw his slave the dagger when it was clear that he was ill-equipped. One sentence did firmly lodge itself in I'tram's mind "Every action has a reaction, nothing is let go in the wilds without retribution."

The journey back took a lot less time than it had previously since they didn't have to sneak in fear of scaring away potential prey, but then again they were making enough noise to attract something that might view them as prey.

When the pair reached their campsite I'tram couldn't help but feel relieved to be back in a familiar place, while Clyde set about making the fire I'tram would retrieve his weapon harness and practice his archery on a nearby tree, if that proved too easy he would try hit smaller targets such as a bush, a branch or sometimes even a leaf, more often than not he would miss the smaller targets but he had it in his mind to make that change. This all of course hinged on the hopes that Clyde would cook the deer, I'tram had absolutely no experience of cooking, the previous masters he had served had one or more female slaves to do all the mundane household tasks.

As I'tram crouched down to begin his work he couldn't help but steal and occasional glance at Clyde working his magic.