[Bronze Wood] Hunters' Challenge (Roderick)

[Wade]

Wade started at the sound of pigs squealing up ahead. "Shyke," he muttered, realizing that he was probably too late. He continued on anyway and, from a concealed position in the bushes, watched as Roderick gathered up the little piglets and readied himself to head back out of the woods. His opponent had already managed to find what was really a jackpot in under an hour and had already taken care of it before Wade could even get close enough to spot it.

Wade moved a ways away, sat down on the ground, and leaned back against a tree. He could already hear the guys at the tavern ragging on at him for losing a contest that he had started. He rested his head in his hands as doom and gloom settled over him and threatened to swallow him whole. Rustling reached Wade's ears from some of the undergrowth near him, forcing him out of his internal torment. He immediately grabbed his bow and an arrow, peering as deeply into the bushes as possible.

He did not have to squint long as a wild boar, his massive muscles flexing and its eyes filled with hatred, came bursting out and toward the sound of the squealing piglets. Wade leapt up and seized his chance to one-up Roderick's catch by bringing down this massive boar. He aimed for the beast's neck and let loose.

The arrow whistled through the air and buried itself in the boar's massive flank. It did not pause or even slow down in the least as it furiously charged to protect its den. Wade picked another arrow out if his quiver and pursued. He came to the realization that the wild boar was furiously charging towards Roderick and would tear him to shreds when it found the human gathering up its children in its den.

Wade was a little angry at Roderick for besting him so far and he was jealous of the man's ability to get a kill in one hour that would beat what Wade could find in three days. However, he did not for one second want to see the man torn to shreds on the ground for his minor transgressions against Wade's pride.

Wade put an arrow to the string and let fly, but the boar was too far out of reach and the arrow thudded into a tree instead. He ran as fast as he could after it, shouting at the top of his lungs.

[Roderick]

While he was pulling the dead boar along behind him he heard the sounds of arrows whirring through the air and Wade came shouting and howling out of the trees after a massive boar, which was charging straight for him. Roderick immediately dropped the rope and pulled his bow free. He notched an arrow to the string, making sure to move away from the dead sow's body so he didn't trip on it. He pulled back the string, aiming for the boar's front.
His arrow whirred through the air and took it in the chest, but it kept charging straight ahead. Roderick moved all the faster, notching another arrow and loosing it as quickly as he could. It stuck the boar in the shoulder and slowed it somewhat, and he used the extra time to dash off out of its path.

[Wade]

Wade shot another arrow into the boar's butt but it didn't faze the beast in the least. He snarled, realizing that he could turn the boar's behind into a pincushion and it still wouldn't slow it down its enraged state. He would need to get a good, clear shot at one of its vital organs if he were to have a chance at slaying the thing.

Wade, intent on firing another arrow into the boar, tripped on a tree root and fell face first onto the ground. He pushed himself up and spat out dirt while simultaneously cursing the day.

He continued his chase right up to the boar's den, where he saw Roderick shooting the beast in the front before nimbly dodging out of its path. Wade fired an arrow as he continued to run, somehow managing to catch the beast in one of its massive thighs. The boar stopped.

It turned its hate filled eyes on Wade, thrashed its tusks about, and charged. The boar was closing the distance with terrifying speed as Wade's arrow, now under more pressure, whistled uselessly past its head.

Wade stumbled to a stop and then scrambled out of the boar's path. He made it to a tree and quickly ran behind it, figuring that was the best protection that he could find. He heard a huge thud as the boar smacked against the tree. He feared that the tree would topple over under the strength of the boar's huge, muscular legs, but it somehow managed to hold.

Wade took off for the protection of the next tree while he struggled to put another arrow to his bowstring.

[Roderick]

Roderick watched Wade shoot another arrow into the boar's rear, then walk forward to take another shot, only to trip over something and fall face first into the dirt. To his credit he got right back up after and kept firing at the beast.

He wasn't sure what Wade aimed for, but when his arrow struck, the boar stopped abruptly and turned to charge toward Wade. The bowman turned about and ran hurriedly back the way he'd come, hiding behind a tree to avoid the boar. The beast, idiot it was, slammed face first into the thing. Wade quickly turned and ran for shelter at the next tree.

While all this was going on Rod took the time to dump his bag on the ground before he prepared to loose another arrow, but his fingers failed him for a moment and by the time he'd notched his arrow the boar had turned around and charged Wade. Hitting it in the rear would get its attention, but he'd rather hit it somewhere vital. He walked in a curve so he could get a sight of the boar's exposed side. When it hit the tree he took the opening. His arrow went a bit high though and stuck in the tree.
He cursed and drew out another arrow, aiming for the boar's body. It took it in the side, not killing it but for the first time it gave a loud grunt of pain.

[Wade]

Wade stumbled in the underbrush and nearly tripped. His eyes widened as he realized that the time lost catching his balance might mean the boar would be right on his tail and smashing him into the ground with its tusks. However, Wade heard the boar squeal in pain from a distance away.

Wade turned, his eyebrows raised high in surprise. He had stuck that boar so many times already that he was certain it had guts of solid rock and couldn't feel pain. The boar was turning towards him, having finally recovered from hitting that tree, but Wade saw one of Roderick's arrows sticking out of its side, perhaps injuring a vital organ. Wade snarled, considering his reputation if the longbowman took down this one as well and saved his life. He would never be able to go to the Rearing Stallion again.

Finding courage in his fear of embarrassment, Wade stood stock still as the boar charged at him once more. He calmly sighted down the arrow and released. The arrow whistled in and the boar's head swerved to dodge the arrow. The arrow found a target though as it buried itself in the boar's muscular neck. It squealed in pain but continued its charge, tusks thrashing wildly.

Wade's fear returned then, realizing that his life wasn't worth his pride. He leapt aside out of the boar's path and came crashing down into a bush. The boar swerved to pursue him but, oddly, it miscalculated and charged right past him. Wade wasn't sure who to thank for his sudden change in luck as the boar, muscles standing out on its thick legs, trashed its way past him with its eyes no longer focusing its rage on him.

The sounds of the boar's charge stopped.

Wade gathered his courage for a moment and stood up to investigate, wondering why it might have stopped. His eyes locked on the bulk of the huge beast lying only ten yards away from his bush. He smiled as he considered his arrows riddling the beast. Though his smile faded somewhat when he saw Roderick's arrow piercing a vital organ, perhaps being the arrow that had truly taken it down. He walked forward hesitantly to investigate, not sure if he saw the lungs moving on the huge beast or not. He was not eager to be skewered on the tusks of the monster.

[Roderick]

Roderick saw the boar disappear into the trees ahead. He prepared another arrow as he ran haltingly, then broke into a sprint once it was on the string. When he cleared the undergrowth he saw Wade facing down the boar, and taking a shot at it with his bow. The arrow stuck it in the neck, but it kept running anyway, straight towards Wade. Roderick loosed his arrow just after Wade decided to leap out of the way. In the next moment Wade was looking over at the boar from the bush he'd landed in. The other hunter got up and walked over to the heap the beast had landed in, while Roderick walked up behind him.
He took a good long look and could see the boar's chest moving, though only slightly; the arrow that he'd shot into it's side had pierced a lung, from the way it wheezed. Wade's arrow had torn open a nasty hole in its throat, from which life was pouring steadily.
"Not quite dead yet" Rod said aloud, to no one in particular, as he pulled out his arrows, avoiding the beast's tusks "He'll be gone before long" he continued as he wiped off the ends and put them back in his quiver." He looked at Wade, then the boar. If he killed the boar with his knife, it'd count as his kill, wouldn't it? It could have been pure coincidence that Wade had followed the other boar in the family Roderick had tracked, but then it might not have been.
"My eyes are feeling a little funny right now, Wade. Is that two of your arrows in his neck?" he exchanged a look with the other hunter, then turned around and headed back toward the clearing to collect his own prey.

[Wade]

Wade stood for a moment and stared after Roderick long after he'd disappeared behind the trees, his arms loose down at his sides and his brows furrowed. Roderick had walked up, took out his arrow, and then pretty much gave the wild boar over to him without arguing. Wade could not understand how such charity could come out of one who had caused him so much grief all this morning. Wade had felt hatred for the man when he'd come across the longbowman casually gathering up the piglets and preparing to head home after an extremely successful hunt.

Wade shook his head even as he cast aside his previous opinion of the longbowman. He felt a bit like the villain now. He'd challenged the man's pride, sent him out on the hunt in the early hours even after a night in their drinks, and then stalked the man in hopes of stealing his kill. Wade smiled at his own childish mischievousness. His actions today shattered his notions that he had been growing up a lot lately.

He turned around, prying his gaze from the trees, and knelt beside the boar. It was wheezing and occasionally letting out breathless squeals of pain. The boar was sitting right outside of death's door but struggling to turn the knob. Wade drew his dagger and stabbed it in the neck, throwing the door wide open for the boar. It was a massive beast and would fetch him a pretty coin. In fact, it was large enough that he might still have won this contest at the end of the day.

Wade started picking the arrows out of the beast's muscular hide. A thought struck him and he turned his head in the direction of the other hunter. He opened his lungs wide and shouted loudly, "You should have just skewered him with your spearbow!" He laughed at his own joke, determined to repeat it to Roderick over an ale later that evening.

[Roderick]

Roderick heard Wade shout something about a "Spearbow" and "Skewering". He laughed as he walked back into the clearing and retrieved his pack. The piglets had quieted down, though he still heard them scuffling around inside. He loosened the top a bit to let some air in so they didn't suffocate, then put it on his back, slipped his bow over the top, and grabbed hold of his prize.
He started dragging it up to where Wade was with his own kill. The boar was dead when he got there, a new bleeding hole in its neck which wasn't there before. Roderick made no mention of it, instead shifting his grip on the rope.

"Good kill" he told Wade "Though it'll be a pain dragging it's arse back to Syliras."
He looked over at the other hunter "How about we wrap some of my rope around it so we can take it back easier?" knowing how that would sound he added "We'll be sharing the burden as we go. I'll help drag your kill if you help drag mine." Roderick hoped Wade would notice the significance of him saying "your kill."

[Wade]

Wade recovered what arrows he could from the hide of the pig. He winced almost audibly when he snapped one. He was comforted somewhat by the pounds of muscle that had forced him to struggle so much to remove the arrows. There were a couple of his arrows hidden out there in the underbrush as well and he did not feel like spending hours trying to find them.

The sheer bulk of the boar, though, was impressive and told him he'd make quite a bit, far more than what it would take to replace the arrows. Wade bubbled with excitement as he slapped the dead thing's belly; it was his first wild boar. He'd never been able to get one of the sturdy beasts on his own due to his shaky aim and fear of getting mauled. Oh boy, it'd even be a struggle to drag this thing home.

Wade had removed his cloak and was about to drag the corpse into the folds of it when the other hunter reappeared with his heavy burden. Wade silently looked from "his kill" to Roderick's as he spoke, trying to decide which weighed more. A little bit of him, the competitive side, was still wanting to win this contest after all of that.

He nodded when the longbowman offered to share the burden with him. It would alleviate the boredom and struggle of the journey home. He sometimes struggled with a heavy deer and oftentimes the thrill of getting a good catch would fade away and be replaced only by the aches in his shoulders and his back. Why, he was practically forced by the hardships of the journey to spend some of his coin on drowning away his aches.

"Sure, I'd be glad to share the burden of our kills," Wade said. He bagged up his cloak around the boar and tied it off with Roderick's rope, having forgotten his when he set out this morning. He took it up on his shoulders beside the other hunter and looked to the sun to figure out where they were and the best direction to set off towards home. The sun was just short of its highest point and it would be noon soon.

Wade looked to his companion after a moment. "Uh, which way is home?"

[Roderick]

Roderick had been pleased when the other hunt- Wade - had agreed to share the burden of carrying the boars back. He wasn't so happy when Wade asked, "Uh, which way is home?"

He took a moment to think...
"We came up an incline on the way here, and before that was the big clearing filled with leaves." he gripped the rope more tightly and led the way back to the clearing where the boars had lived. When they were there he led the way back to where they'd first entered it, down the incline, toward the dung. Memory served well here, though mostly he just followed the smell.
After they made it past they crossed the leaf-strewn clearing on the top of the hill, then descended from it and carried on to where they had started off.
By that time they were both sweating heavily, straining with the load.
They pressed on though and when they finally reached the city both of them sighed in relief.


OOCLol, kind of forgot myself. Took a moment for me to remember where he'd went