Solo Unexpected Bounty

[Lian Windrunner]

Timestamp: 16th day of Winter, 513 AV Bison. Lian could hardly believe it. Bison had been spotted out in the Sea of Grass. If the rumors were true, a herd of a hundred or more mature adults had been seen moving about the Sea of Grass. Who ever would have thought that bison still existed? Lian had certainly never seen any. Neither had his father, or anyone else in his family. None of them had even known anyone who *had* seen bison before. Lian couldn't help but hope that the appearance of the bison herd in the Sea of Grass were a sign that the luck of his people was finally beginning to change for the better. For now, though...people needed to be told the news. Highly skilled hunters and trackers would be needed to locate the herd, and kill some of the gigantic creatures. Others would be needed to assist those going out on what was sure to be a prolonged hunt. Lian knew that he would be nothing more than a burden to those who would be sent out. But he wanted to do his part all the same, and he knew that he could do so by getting the word out through the Web. He would be one of many who spread the word, but he felt that the more who spread the word, the faster it would get out, and the faster people would respond. Lian sat on his bedroll, and made himself comfortable. When he was ready, he closed his eyes, and deepened his breathing. In, and out. In...and out. As he counted his breaths, he allowed the physical world to slip away, and his mind entered the Web. The glowing strands of the Web spread out around him. To Lian, it seemed as though he was floating above them, watching the world within the Web from a lofty height. Some of the strands looked warm and familiar to him. These were paths he had traveled before many times. They welcomed him with the promise of a pleasant journey. Other strands were bright with the thrill of the unknown. These paths beckoned to Lian as well, hinting at the pleasure to be had in exploring them. Almost instinctively, Lian took a moment to examine the glowing strands. There were no dull spots, or holes that he could see. No disruptions that would have to be mended before they could tear, and damage the Web. Each glowing strand Lian examined thrummed with energy. As far as he could see, the Web in this area was healthy and whole. The melody that Lian heard whenever he was in the Web added to the sense of its good health. When healthy, like now, the melody was a sweet, pleasant hum in the back of his mind. Soothing, calm, and welcoming, like a favorite lullaby sung to a young child. Had there been damage within Lian's ability to sense it, the melody would have been damaged as well. A harsh, jangling thread of noise would have led him to the damaged area. Whether he would have been able to repair it was another matter entirely. Lian knew that any truly serious damage to the Web would be far beyond his ability to repair. Satisfied that the Web was healthy, or at least the part he was in, Lian fell into the real reason he had entered the Web. He sent his mind racing along the familiar paths, seeking the hub of life that was the members of his Clan that did not live in Endrykas. Lian had not been out to visit the Sapphire Clan in many years. Not since his parents were alive. But via the Web, however...that was a very different story. Lian tried to contact his friends out there several times each season. Doing so allowed him to keep in contact with people he would never see otherwise, and they with him. It also gave him a reason to spend time in the Web, and practice his webbing skills. And it gave him a welcome respite from the stresses of his life. Before long, his journey was over, and Lian had found what he was looking for. Familiar minds twinkled among the glowing strands like stars in the night sky. When Lian had gotten close enough, he "tapped" a few of the brighter minds politely. The brighter a person's mind appeared to him in the Web, the stronger that person's webbing ability was. And the warm quality of the light they glowed with was caused by the fact that these were minds he was very familiar with. People he knew well from speaking with them in the Web over the years. Greetings were exchanged. Polite inquiries into the lives and health of the others. Then it was down to business. Lian told the others what he had heard about the bison herd, and what would be needed for the upcoming hunt. In turn, Lian learned what the others had heard about the movements of the herd. All parties promised to pass what they learned on to those who needed to know the information. No words were exchanged during the "conversation" at all. Words were not needed in the Web. Information was conveyed via a sharing of thoughts, emotions, and information. When Lian had finished his business, he made his farewells to the others, and they to him. Then he made his way back through the Web. His mind raced along the familiar glowing strands towards home. All too soon, he was back, and it was time to leave the Web. Lian returned to the physical world once more, feeling a twinge of reluctance as he did so. As was his habit, he opened his eyes, stood, and stretched for several minutes, easing the tension of muscles that had remained frozen in place for too long.

[Lian Windrunner]

Working in the Web always made Lian hungry, so he ate a couple of handfuls of berries to take the edge off of his hunger. Then he glanced at the clothes he had tossed in a heap in the corner of his tent. The outfit he was wearing was the cleanest of the four he owned. The others were definitely unfit to be seen in until he broke down and washed them. Lian sighed. He hated washing clothes. It was useless to hate something that had to be done whether he liked it or not, but he hated it all the same. Knowing that his clothes weren't going to wash themselves, Lian gathered them up, and stuffed them into one of his yvas bags. Then he grabbed his short bow, and quiver so he wouldn't be alone and unarmed out in the Sea of Grass while he accomplished his task; that was only begging for trouble, after all. Finally, he got his yvas, his knife, and a few more empty yvas bags. When he was sure he had everything he thought he might need, Lian made his way out of the tent. It was a nice day, given the season. While there was a definite chill in the air, the sun was shining, and there wasn't even a hint of clouds in the sky. Which was a very good thing since the last thing he wanted was for it to rain just as his clothes were drying. The first snow of the winter had yet to fall, and Lian couldn't help but be glad for it. As Lian neared the edge of the city, he was ambushed by a small group of children. Clearly overexcited by the news of the bison herd, and riled up even further by their parents' excitement, the kids crashed into him accidently. Caught up in their excitement, they barely noticed his presence as they laughed, and shouted, and raced about. Amused by their antics, Lian grinned as he watched them admist the chaos. But after a while, his amusement faded slightly. He did have things to do, after all, and putting off an unpleasant task never made it any better. So Lian grabbed the nearest kid, a boy of about ten years, and tickled him into submission. The boy screeched with laughter under the assault, begging him to stop. And when Lian agreed to let him go if he would stop including him in his fun, the boy agreed quickly. One by one, Lian tickled the other kids into submission, as well. Still chuckling, he went back to what he was doing. Once he was at the edge of the city, Lian whistled for Talise. Several minutes passed before she raced into view. And when she arrived, she danced in place, tossing her head. Lian groaned inwardly. Talise was clearly feeling frisky, and that always meant that she would be more of a challenge for him to control. It took Lian nearly half an hour to settle his Strider down enough to put his yvas on her, and that was only with the aid of several treats. Even then, he had to fight with the mare to get the yvas on since she kept inhaling when he did so in the hopes that he wouldn't buckle it as tightly as he usually did. It took longer still for him to get her to hold still while he tied his yvas bags and his waterskin to the ring tethers designed for that purpose. Finally, Lian was ready to go. He mounted Talise...only to have her break into a spirited run that had Lian clinging to his handles for dear life. While not as bad as the panicked flight from the glassbeak a few weeks back, simply staying on Talise's back was a challenge. Actually controlling her was out of the question. Still, Lian managed to cling to his Strider's back somehow. Eventually, she began to slow. Then she stopped abruptly. Lian...didn't. He went sailing over her head unceremoniously, and landed on his rear with a loud curse. Talise stood over him, and snorted wetly as she watched him. "You think that's funny, do you?" Lian grumbled as he stood. Talise snorted again, sounding very much as though she was laughing at him. Lian grumbled as he sorted himself out. He knew he would have bruises the next day from his unexpected flight, but he was otherwise okay. "You may have a point. At least no one was around to see me fall this time." he muttered. Lian looked around, only to realize that he was lost. They were far enough from Endrykas that they couldn't see it, and there weren't any landmarks visible for him to recognize. All he knew for certain was that Talise had taken off in the opposite direction than the one he'd wanted to go. And that she'd changed direction several times as she ran. If Lian had been an outsider, he would have been in serious trouble. But he did have a vague idea of how far they had travelled, at least. Lian looked around carefully, searching for any signs of danger. There were none, so he took a moment to close his eyes, and enter the Web. By doing so, he was able to pinpoint his location exactly, and determine that he was about a two hour ride from where he wanted to go. He sighed in irritation, then mounted his Strider once more. "You aren't making this any easier, you know. Washing my clothes is bad enough. I really don't want to deal with any more trouble out of you, got that?" Talise snorted again, but she didn't fight him when he signalled her into a brisk trot. Trotting was uncomfortable at best after taking a fall the way he had, but he wanted to get to the stream, wash his clothes, and get back to Endrykas with enough time for his clothes to dry before dark. Talise settled down, and they rode in companionable silence until they got to the stream. Lian dismounted, and took his clothes from the yvas bag. Then he turned his Strider loose so she could graze while he washed his clothes. He took a moment to look at his reflection in the stream. Frowning, he raised a hand up to his beard, and rubbed it ruefully. Growing it out was definitely a mistake. I'll have to shave it off as soon as I get the chance. he thought, definitely not liking what he saw. Lian didn't have the proper tools for washing clothes, so he looked around until he found a large rock that could be substituted for the rod one would normally use to cause the suds to form. When he found what he needed, Lian lay the first shirt on a flat rock that was partly buried in the ground near the stream. He pulled out a bit of soap, and was about to crumble it into his shirt, when a flash of movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Startled, Lian looked to see what had distracted him, and he was amazed to see a good sized stag approaching the stream. Judging by the size and number of prongs on its antlers, Lian guessed that the beautiful creature was around three years old. Lian froze in place, scarcely daring to breathe as the stag studied him, not wanting to frighten it away. A part of his mind remembered that a stag's antlers fell off during the winter, but not exactly when during the winter it was supposed to happen. He vaguely remembered his father telling him that a healthier stag might lose its antlers later in the winter than an unhealthy one would. After several tense moments, the stag turned its attention away from him, dismissing him as harmless. It moved towards the stream, and lowered its head to drink. Ever so slowly, Lian edged towards the short bow laying on the grass near the shirt he'd been about to wash. All thoughts of washing his clothes were forgotten in the face of the opportunity that lay before him. It took several agonizingly long minutes for Lian to reach his bow, stopping and starting several times when his movements drew the attention of the stag. And after getting his short bow, he then had to reach his quiver, and get an arrow as well. But finally, he had everything he needed. Gripping his bow in his left hand, Lian pointed it at the ground while he used his right hand to place the shaft of his arrow on the arrow rest. Then he attached the back of the arrow to the bow string, fitting the string carefully into the notch at the end of the arrow. Using three fingers to hold the arrow steady, Lian raised the bow so that it was pointing at the stag. Judging the distance between himself and his prey wasn't much of an issue since the stag was only a few short yards away from him. A brisk wind was blowing towards him, blowing his scent away from the stag. Lian realized that as a result of the wind, the stag might not realize he was a predator. Talise was nearby, after all, and while she wasn't a deer, she was clearly not a predator. Perhaps her presence, and the fact that the wind wasn't betraying his scent was enough to convince the stag that he wasn't a threat. But as much as the wind was helping him, it was an obstacle as well. Shooting an arrow directly into a fairly strong wind was far more difficult than shooting one when their was no wind to interfere with its flight. The wind would slow the arrow's flight, and shorten the distance it could travel. At the same time, the stag was so close that a shortened flight wouldn't make that much of a difference. And Lian didn't dare wait too long for fear that the wind would shift and blow his scent to the stag he was attempting to bring down. Lian pulled back on the bow string slowly, until his right hand was by his ear. Finally, he released, letting the arrow fly. The arrow flew true, but unfortunately, the sudden movement startled the stag. It jerked its head up, and whirled around to face him. The arrow still found its target, but the stag's sudden movements turned what might have been a fatal shot into one that injured the creature, instead, biting deep into the stag's shoulder. The stag bawled in pain, whirled, and bolted.

[Lian Windrunner]

For a long moment, all Lian could do was watch in stunned dismay as the stag vanished into the distance. Then he cursed, and dove for his clothes. Unwilling to leave them behind, Lian scrambled to grab his clothes, the soap he'd dropped when he went for his bow, and the rock he'd been planning to use to beat up the suds. He whistled sharply for Talise, who came at a run. Then he stuffed everything except for his quiver and bow into his yvas bags. Those were slung over his shoulder so he'd have them within easy reach when he needed them. When he was ready, he mounted Talise, and signaled her into a brisk trot. Following the trail was no easy matter for one who had no tracking skills to speak of, but Lian was determined to try anyway. His task was made somewhat easier in that it had rained several days ago, and the ground was still damp enough that the stag's hoof prints were easier to see. Especially since they were fresh, having been made only moments before. And since he was following the trail of a single animal, rather than a herd, there were no other prints to confuse him. A distant part of his mind noted that these prints looked like the hoof prints he had seen a few weeks ago on a different hunting trip. While it had nothing to do with his current task, Lian felt the knowledge was useful all the same. It meant that he would be able to recognize deer tracks in the future if he saw them. Every so often, Lian saw drops of blood on the ground. With any luck, the injury he had dealt the stag would hinder its movements, and he would be able to catch up to it before too long. When the trail Lian was following met up with a wide swath of muddied ground that was muddled with a myriad of hoof prints, Lian was certain that he had lost all hope of finding the stag. But after a few minutes of desperate searching, he found several splotches of bright red blood that helped him to identify the trail he wanted to follow. Luckily, while his stag crossed the path of what was most likely a herd of deer, it didn't decide to follow them. Instead, the stag crossed the confusing jumble of hoof prints, and the trail emerged once more some distance to the north. After about an hour, it was obvious that the stag's injury was causing it considerable difficulty. Instead of drops, or even small splotches of blood, there were large splotches of bright red blood on the ground. They were appearing more often now, which suggested that the stag was bleeding more heavily than it was before. Talise clearly didn't like the scent of the blood on the trail. She kept stopping, and tossing her head uneasily. Each time, Lian would take a few moments to soothe his nervous Strider before signalling for her to continue on once more. It took them another hour to catch up to the stag again. By now, it was moving a lot slower, but it wasn't ready to give up yet. Every so often, the stag stumbled, but it got up once more, and continued its attempt to escape. Still Lian continued to follow he stag. His skills with the short bow weren't up to him taking a shot at the creature while he was riding Talise, so he didn't even try. Shooting from the back of a Strider that was standing perfectly still was one thing. Shooting while riding was another matter entirely. Instead, he urged her into a faster trot in the attempt to press the injured stag even harder. His attempt paid off. The stag stumbled again a few minutes later. This time, it collapsed, and didn't get up again. Lian shifted his weight, signalling Talise to stop a short distance away from the downed animal. Given her intense dislike of the scent of blood in the air, he didn't trust her not to bolt if he dismounted. So he didn't. Lian carefully took his bow off of his shoulder with one hand, and pulled an arrow out of his quiver with the other. Talise trembled slightly, but she remained still enough that she didn't require Lian's full attention. Lian carefully pointed his bow at the ground while he used his right hand to place the shaft of his arrow on the arrow rest. Then he attached the back of the arrow to the bow string, fitting the string carefully into the notch at the end of the arrow. When he was ready, Lian took his shot. The arrow flew true, killing its intended target. Lian felt like cheering, but he kept quiet out of concern that any sudden noise might send his nervous Strider into flight. After making sure that the stag was indeed dead, Lian took the time to soothe Talise's nerves. He stroked her neck gently, and spoke to her quietly until she calmed down. Only then did Lian realize his predicament. He had gone out with the intention to wash his clothes, not go hunting. And while he wasn't stupid enough to leave his bow behind, and go out into the Sea of Grass unarmed, he had no means of bringing the stag back to Endrykas with him. Knowing that the scent of blood was likely to bring predators, Lian moved Talise a short distance away from their kill. He hoped that in doing so, if anything came to investigate the scent of blood, they would find the deer, and be satisfied with that, leaving him and Talise alone. After taking that measure of safety, Lian looked around, studying his surroundings carefully. There were no signs of danger, so he allowed himself to slip into the Web. Doing so without entering a light trance first took more effort, but there was no way that Lian was going to take the risk of entering a trance out in the dangerous Sea of Grass. Especially with the scent of blood nearby to draw predators into the area. Entering the Web was risk enough, but he had no other real options. The first thing Lian did once he was in the Web, was check to see if there were any predators in the area. Luckily, there weren't. The nearest predators were a pair of glassbeaks, and they were several hours away at a gallop. Lian hoped to be long gone before they noticed the scent of blood, and came investigating it. When Lian was relatively certain they were safe for the moment, Lian allowed his mind to flow out along the glowing strands of the Web in search of what he was looking for. He found it several minutes later; a cluster of minds that belonged to Drykas rather than outsiders. Lian contacted one of them, and confirmed that they were, in fact, a hunting party as he hoped they would be. He explained his situation, and the hunter agreed to change course and meet up with him since they were nearly ready to head back to Endrykas anyway. They had had a successful hunt, too, and it was agreed that Lian would give them a small portion of his own kill as payment for helping him to bring it back to Endrykas. When all parties were satisfied, Lian told the hunter where he was, then followed the path of the glowing strands back to his own body. Then he settled in to wait for help to arrive.

[Verin Rush]

Lian Windrunner

Knowledge :

Skills

Skill	XP
Horsemanship	+1
Hunting	+2
Observation	+3
Riding: Horse	+2
Tracking	+1
Weapon: Shortbow	+2
Webbing	+2

Lores

*Calming an Over-Excited Strider
*Stalking a Deer

Micellaneous :

Injuries

*None

Loot/Expenses

*One Deer!

____________________________________________

Notes

*This was an amazing thread, and was a real pleasure to read, Lian!
*You had so much going on and your description deserved more XP than I could dish out; next time maybe split it into more posts so that I can give you everything you deserve. Really, really well done.

Feel free to PM me with questions, comments, or concerns, if you have any.
Also, remember to either delete your grade request or edit it as 'graded'.
Thank ye!