Open To kill a Deer

[Rodywyn]

23 Summer, 513

The morning sun poked its head over the trees, sending long, tired shadows, in soft blues and purples across the forest. Dew collected on the leaves, and the birds began to sing their songs. It was still, as a lone deer bent to eat some of vegetation it needed to survive. It was on its way back to its bed, the deer would be moving into shelter, it would be to hot for them to forage as the sun continued to rise above the Syliran horizon. There was a slight creek, like a branch bending, the deer lifted its head lazily, looking for the source of the sound. It looked for almost a minute, before continuing to eat the delicious plant.

A man, not tall, not short, not bulky, and not skinny, stood motionless, a bow in his hand. It was a simple wooden bow, the bow itself was much shorten than a longbow, it was easier to mange on horse back, and in the thick woods outside the city. The bow quivered slightly, it was still hard to pull and hold, but the man needed to wait until just the right moment to release the arrow at the deer. Too soon, and the deer would jump at the sound of the bow, and the arrow would miss. Too late… well that one was obvious.

The man breathed deeply, and steadied his hand. He looked down the shaft at the deer, aiming at the sweet spot, just behind the shoulder blades. He breathed out, slowly, then breathed in again, as his lungs were filled with air, he released the arrow. The bow sang as the arrow flew towards the deer. The deer flinched, and there was a loud ‘thwack’ as the arrow found its mark.

This didn’t stop the deer, it ran west. The man cursed briefly, and chased the deer at a slow jog. It wasn’t hard to track, the deer in its wounded state, bled profusely, and made an obvious trail of broken sticks, and trampled undergrowth. The chase lasted almost an hour, before the deer had lost too much blood to continue its flight. It collapsed slowly, and let out a low moan, calling for aid, aid that would never come- not in anyway the deer would have expected, if you can say a deer would expect what would come next.

The man neared the deer, a small hunting knife caught the morning sun. It was pitted, and slightly tarnished, but the blade gleamed, and told of its sharpness. The deer bayed again, weaker, and more panicked now. The man quickly closed the gap, his pace told he hated to see the suffering of such an animal. In a brief, moment, the deer was dead, its suffering ended in a clean strike an arrow cannot deliver. By the time the messy work of field dressing was complete the sun was well above the horizon, and the deer weighed much less now, it was light enough for the man to carry.

The man picked up the carcass, and looked up at the sun, then continued south, towards his camp. He quickly began the work to preserve the meet of the deer, the salt and wrappings would allow the meat to last much longer, and he could always help his company with food. And Sylir knows that goes a long way to help with morale. It was noon, before the man had packed up his camp, and kill, and headed back towards the city. It would be almost evening before the gate would come into view.

[Ehati]

"Halt." Ehati heard the sharp command from the mouth of the Wing leader, Hjarges. She stopped immediately, the reaction completely ingrained into her psyche to the point that she didn't even have to think. She crouched, instinct urging her to get below eye level, and wasn't the only one to do so. Silence desended over the Wing eerily and the rustle of the leaves in the wind replaced the sound of the footsteps and lowly muttered voices they had been using before.

They heard then what had caused Hjarges to call for a halt and Ehati drew her bow and notched an arrow, ready to approach this person. It was nearing the end of the patrol and she relished the chance to meet an unwelcomed visitor before the day ended.

They waited for the wordless sign, the hand gestures that would tell them what to do, and when they saw it they moved out as one. Archers like Ehati were readying their bows as the ones more adept in using a sword took lead, ready for an inevitable fight.

They emerged en masse from the trees into a glade as a man drew a carcass through the ground towards the distant sight of Syliras. It was apparent, painfully so, that this man was a hunter come back from a successful evening, but they still maintained their wary stances out of necessity and training. They couldn't afford to let an enemy escape although the idea was in Ehati's head that this was just a poor man wanting to go home after a long day. She lowered her bow and relinquished the tight grip she had on her arrow even as Hjarges frowned and opened his mouth.

"Good evening," he began in his most formal tone as though he had not just thought that they were coming upon a man they would have killed or arrested. "Care for some company back to the city?"

[Rodywyn]

The emerging wing of knights startled Rodywyn, only briefly, His pack was just a little out of reach, and awkward to get to. He remembered seeing the leading knight on patrol, but he could never remember his name, was it something uncommon? He couldn’t recall. “That would be wonderful.” Rodywyn was exhausted, he had preserved the majority of the deer meat, and broke down his camp. His gear was loaded on his back, rather awkwardly with the additional 80ish pounds of meat he had with him now. He looked the knights over, they seemed exhausted as well, must have been a fun patrol for them. “I’m Ser Rodywyn.”

He continued towards the city, nearing the knights. “I have a little freshly smoked meat in my pack, if any of you are interested. Its not the best, but I do what I can.” He hoped the knights wouldn’t take it as a sign of aggression, he would hate to end up with an arrow in him. That would be a terrible, and ironic way to end an otherwise nice hunting trip.

[Ehati]

Ser Hjarges blinked at the man, Ser Rodywyn, before cracking a smile. "Well, fall into line, son! We don't want to lose the sunlight just gallivanting around, do we? Some of us would like to be inside before the supper bell and that's hardly going to happen out here." He seemed remarkably chatty, almost glad, that he had led his company across a fellow knight.

They returned to their formation, then, and Ehati allowed herself to return her bow to it's proper place. She sighed, as though disappointed, but when this other knight offered some of his smoked meat, she was one of the few that called for some. She wasn't picky, so long as she wasn't eating a bird.

[Katelyn Marks]

Due Rewards

“After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.”

― Philip Pullman

 

Ehati

Skills

• Observation 1
• Stealth 1

Lores

• Rodywyn: A Hunter
• Rodywyn: Syliran Knight

Misc.
Sorry that I couldn't give you more. I did what I could.

 

Rodywyn

Rodywyn, if you ever return please send me a message and I will reward you for this thread.

If you have any concerns or questions about your rewards please feel free to send me a message. Also, please edit your original grade request and mark it as graded. Thank you and enjoy!