Solo Flight of the Doe

[Samuel Longwell]

Flight of the Doe Date: 4th Fall 516 AV Location: Bronze Woods Samuel Thoughts Others Samuel stood watching the man with whom he wanted to speak. The knight had borrowed some old leather armour, it was well worn and smelt a little strange but it would service his needs. He held his bow in his left hand, a quiver of arrows slung over his shoulder. The man he watched was perhaps best known for the fact that he only had one arm. The rumour was that a wild animal had ripped it off while he had been out hunting. The man's name was Intarus Molora, who now spent his time attempting to teach those who wished to learn the art of hunting. Which was precisely why Samuel had sought him out. The knight finally walked over to talk to Intarus, a friendly smile on his face. Samuel was here to learn, he didn't want to be too intimidating. “Good afternoon Intarus” Samuel said, holding out his arm for the other man to shake. The two had known each other for a few years, over which time both had become more melancholy due to their respective losses. But they bumped into each other occasionally, so they would at least be classed as acquaintances. “Hullo Ser Longwell.” the hunter replied, apparently in one of his more cheery moods, “What can I help you with today?” Samuel gestured at his bow and leather armour. “I wish to learn how to hunt.” the knight said, “I'm a fair shot with my bow but I've very little experience in actually tracking and killing an animal. I thought it might come in handy.” The hunter smiled, nodding his head. “I'm happy to teach, for the right price” he said, clearly ready to begin haggling. “12 gold mizas and I'll teach you till sundown.” Samuel spluttered, that was three times what he was paid for a days work. “5” the knight replied. “10” the other man shot back. “7, but you can keep anything we catch while we're out there.” Intarus considered the offer for a moment, then nodded. The price had been agreed. After the money had changed hands, the pair wandered off into the forest. The lesson began as soon as Samuel stepped on a twig three paces into the trees. The hunter tutted, turning to the knight. “If you're gonna be any good at hunting you've got to manage to stay quiet among the trees” Intarus instructed, “Set your feet like this, keep your stride light.” Samuel did as he was told, and the pair set off again. The knight now moved more quietly, but he still felt like a lumbering animal compared to the stealthy hunter beside him. After a few chimes of walking through the trees, the smaller man gestured for Samuel to stop. He pointed down at the ground, where there were few small markings. Samuel's eyes widened, how on earth had the hunter managed to spot those, they were barely visible. “Deer tracks” the hunter said with a gleam in his eye. “The hunt begins.” Samuel stooped to examine the tracks more carefully, he did notice the resemblance to some deer tracks he had seen before.

[Samuel Longwell]

Samuel Thoughts Others The next several chimes were spent following the tracks, the hunter pointing them out to the knight. Samuel managed to spot several on his own, but most of the time he didn't notice them until the other man helped him. After a while Intarus held up his hand, halting the knight and motioning for him to crouch down next to him. Samuel suddenly realised that there was a doe grazing just a stone's throw away in a clearing. The hunter slowly inched his way forwards, the shot would be almost impossible from this distance with all the trees in the way. Samuel followed, trying to emulate the creeping motion. Very quickly his legs began to burn with the effort. He wasn't used to holding his body in such a position. Stumbling slightly due to fatigue, his sword clacked against a rock on the ground. The doe's head spun around, staring into the trees where the two men were crouched. The knight froze, not even drawing breath. The waiting game stretched out, all three silent and still. Samuel could hold his breath no longer and it came out in a small huff. The doe clearly heard, it immediately turned and bounded away. Samuel nocked an arrow and drew it back, firing after the retreating animal. But it was to no avail, the shot flew wide. Intarus sighed slightly. “You've got a lot to learn Ser Longwell” the hunter said roughly, “Firstly, strap your sword to your back if you really have to carry it around with you. Then it won't knock into things when you're crouched down. And for the love of Sylir don't hold your breath. Just keep breathing shallow and quiet.” Samuel nodded softly. He knew he had a lot to learn, but surely it would have been best for Intarus to tell him these things before they'd started into the forest. The knight knew very little about hunting, hence why he had approached the one-armed teacher. The hunter gestured onwards and they started to follow the trail again. Samuel felt like he was learning a lot, but he found his own current lack of knowledge embarrassing. The tracks were a little more obvious to the knight now, the continual help of the hunter was seemingly starting to pay off.

[Samuel Longwell]

Samuel Thoughts Others The pair had not been moving long when Intarus stopped the knight and asked him what he saw. Samuel's eyes roved about, unsure of what the hunter wanted him to be looking for. He saw a broken branch on a tree, possibly where the doe had pushed through in its haste to escape the two men. When he mentioned it to Intarus the hunter nodded but said “There's something else that's important to spot in this area.” The knight looked more closely at his surroundings. Several chimes passed, then finally Samuel pointed at some strange scratches around a clump of trees. “Those look like tracks of some kind of animal.” the tall man said. Intarus grinned. “Yep, they're squirrel tracks.” the hunter said, “Which means this is a perfect time to teach you about traps. Don't worry about the doe, we'll keep following her tracks after we're done here.” The hunter started to explain about the different types of traps, pulling a spool of wire from his pocket. Samuel was passed a length of the wire and instructed to make a simple noose. It was fiddly work, but after a few attempts the knight managed to make a serviceable noose. Slipping it onto some forked twigs, the trap was complete. In the time it had taken for Samuel to complete his trap, the other man had completed several. Intarus then placed his first trap, showing the knight how to prime the noose. Samuel copied, setting his snare down among the squirrel tracks. Brushing off his leather armour, the knight pulled himself to his feet. “We'll check these on the way back through.” the hunter said, “Time to get back to following that doe. It will have travelled a decent distance so we should probably pick the pace up.” With these words the one armed man set off at a gentle, quiet jog. Samuel was surprised at how little sound the other man made, even at the increased speed. Shaking his head, the knight quickly broke into his own jog. The sounds he made while running were significantly louder, his feet thumping on the ground as he sped to catch up with the other man. “You need to step lighter,” the hunter advised as he heard Samuel come up behind him, “run as if you want your feet to be on the ground for as little time as possible.” The knight did as suggested, it made a tangible difference to the noise but he was still much louder than Intarus. Samuel focused on trying to be as quiet as possible for the duration of the run. He eventually settled on a strange looking shuffle that seemed to reduce the sound enough that Intarus stopped complaining about the noise that he was making. Although, Samuel thought to himself with a wry grin, that could just be the fact that the hunter had tired of lecturing him.

[Samuel Longwell]

Samuel Thoughts Others The run continued until Intarus felt they had made up the lost time for stopping to lay traps. Samuel suddenly realised that he didn't know where the traps were, he doubted he'd be able to find his way back to them. When he raised this issue with Intarus the other man smirked. “You start to get a feel for your direction the more time you spend out here in the woods.” the hunter said, “I'll be able to find where we placed them.” The knight nodded, hoping that he too would eventually be able to navigate in such a way. The pair then started to move forward again at the careful, quiet pace they had begun the hunt at. They followed the deer tracks quietly, trying to ensure that their prey would not be startled by their approach. “Try and feel for anything that might snap under your weight with your feet before you put them down” Intarus suggested when Samuel stepped on another small twig that cracked loudly as it was crushed. The knight nodded and tried to do as he was told. It seriously decreased his rate of movement but he was able to proceed generally more quietly than before. This stretch of tracking took longer than before as Samuel was moving much slower. But eventually the doe came into view. Again the pair of men crouched and began the painful creep towards the game. Samuel did not want to slip up this time, so he kept his breathing gentle and made sure not to give his presence away by snapping twigs. His muscles complained due to the unusual strain on his legs but the knight ignored the pain and focused on remaining quiet. At the hunter's signal Samuel slowly and carefully notched an arrow, drawing it back an aiming at the doe. He released and the arrow flew true, striking the grazing animal in the flank. The deer immediately dashed away, blood pouring from it's wound as it tried to flee from those that hunted it. “Quick,” Intarus said as he jumped to his feet, “we have to run it down. It's injured now so it'll be slower than usual.” With these words the hunter dashed off, no longer keeping quiet but sprinting after the injured doe. Samuel quickly followed, pumping his arms to generate more speed. The knight quickly caught up with the other man, Intarus's lopsided running style meant he couldn't move as fast as he'd like. The pair managed to keep their prey in sight, gaining on the weakening animal as it continued to lose blood.

[Samuel Longwell]

Samuel Thoughts Others Even though the doe was injured it still managed to stay ahead of the pair for a good distance. The knight was breathing heavily, his heart straining to supply his body with the necessary oxygen. He leaped over tree roots, ducked under overhanging branches and swerved round trunks as he tried to keep up with the fleeing animal. But he soon paid for his lack of care. Not lifting his feet high enough as he attempted to jump over a tree root without slowing down, he caught his toe and came crashing to he ground. Pain flashed through his knees and he winced as he pulled himself to his feet. Intarus had turned to check on the knight, when there was a roar from the direction that the doe had been travelling in. “I'm fine,” the knight whispered, “let's go and see what just happened.” The pair crept towards the origin of the sound, stopping just outside of a clearing. There, standing over the dead body of the deer, was a large black bear. Samuel could see his arrow sticking out of the corpse, clearly in its haste to escape the men the deer had unknowingly stumbled into the path of the large predator that was now eating it. Neither of the men had any wish to tangle with such a beast, so they began to move away from the clearing. There was no point in risking their lives or their bodies for the deer, Intarus' loss was a firm reminder of that. But in his haste to put some distance between him and the bear, Samuel forgot to pay attention to where he was placing his feet. A group of twigs snapped loudly and there was an answering roar from behind him. The sound of rushing feet made the knight spin, the bear had spotted the men and was charging them down. Samuel threw himself to the side, narrowly avoiding the deadly animal's charge. He pulled his blade from it's sheath on his back, there was no way that they could outrun a bear. From the corner of his eye he saw Intarus draw a long dagger. Samuel was glad that the hunter had lost his left arm rather than his right, he wouldn't fancy the pair's chances if one of them had to fight with their weaker hand. Not that the knight particularly likes the odds anyway, but he would stand strong anyway. The bear had turned itself around and was approaching the hunter, so Samuel quickly dashed forwards and slashed at it with his sword. The blade made a superficial cut in the bear's hide, but succeeded in drawing the beast's attention to the knight. Samuel quickly stepped back, avoiding the powerful claws that swung towards him in retaliation. Again he stepped in, striking at the animal. He again managed to draw blood, but it only seemed to rile the bear up further. As the knight continued to dance around the raging animal, he could see Intarus trying to sneak up behind it with his dagger bared.

[Samuel Longwell]

Samuel Thoughts Others As soon as the fight had begun, all Samuel's doubts and worries dropped away. The knight could only see one way out of the situation and he threw himself whole heartedly into the resolution of the conflict. Samuel was a large man, but he even his strength paled in comparison to the power that the great beast he faced had under its command. The bear was well over 350lbs, a blow from one of its paws would do some serious damage. Samuel was well aware of this as he darted in and out of the bear's reach, trying to stab at its face. The tactic didn't seem to be working, he couldn't get close enough to cause any serious damage without opening himself up to a bone rattling counterstrike. Which he was not really willing to do. Samuel just hoped that he was doing a good enough job as a distraction for Intarus to strike a fatal blow with his dagger. The hunter finally picked his moment, the blade was plunged into the animal's back. The bear roared in pain and Samuel dashed in to drive his sword into its gut as it flailed about. The bear stumbled backwards, wrenching the blade from the knight's hands. He pulled a dagger from his belt, it was not what he was used to but it was all he had to hand. It was barely secure in his grasp when the bear crashed into him, knocking him to the ground. He fell on his back hard, the impact knocked the breath from his lungs and he lashed out blindly with his dagger. The bear's weight pressed down upon him and the knight kept plunging his blade into it until he realised that it was no longer moving. The bear was dead. Samuel looked up to see a hole in the creatures face, his dagger must have went through the animal's eye during his wild stabbing. Straining his muscles, the knight managed to heave the dead weight off his body and slide to the side. He rested for a brief moment, letting his exhaustion reign for a few ticks. He then pulled himself to his feet to find Intarus. The hunter was just pulling himself to his feet, the bear had knocked him flying after he had stabbed it. The one armed man motioned to the bear. “I'd better to show you how to skin this thing.” he said, rubbing at his head. Samuel pulled his hunting knife and under the instruction of the hunter, started to remove the hide. He did his best to avoid ruining the hide anymore than it already was but his inexperienced hand slipped and tore it multiple times. It was messy work, but the knight was no stranger to gore. The process took a good few chimes, and the bald man breathed a sigh of relief once the butchering had finished. He dutifully passed the the hide to the hunter, who wrapped it up tight and put it into his backpack. While he had been preoccupied with the skinning Intarus had looked over the deer carcass but had found very little that could be sold. So the pair sat down to eat a meal before they began to head back towards the city.

[Samuel Longwell]

Samuel Thoughts Others Once their meal was finished, the pair prepared to head back towards the city. “This is a good time for you to practise following human tracks.” Intarus said, “I'm sure that'll be an important skill to have at some point in your line of work.” Samuel grinned. “Aye, I guess it could be.” he replied. The knight began to follow his boot prints backwards, any full print had an obvious direction of travel which made them easy to follow. Occasionally he needed the help of the more experienced tracker but the pair slowly made their way back to the city. They had been travelling for half a bell when the hunter stopped him with an arm on his shoulder. Intarus pointed silently at a bird that was perched on a branch of a nearby tree. Samuel placed an arrow on his drawstring and fired his bow. The arrow whizzed just over the bird's head and it immediately took to it's wings in flight. Samuel sent another arrow its way but hitting such a small moving target was next to impossible for an archer of his ability. The knight cursed his original inaccurate shot and kept following his own trail backwards. The quiet movements the knight made were still not on par with those of Intarus, but the knight felt that he had improved. His presence was betrayed only by the soft rustling of fallen leaves under his feet as he wound his way through the trees with the hunter behind him. No other wildlife was spotted until the pair reached the area that they'd placed the traps. One of the hunter's traps had caught a squirrel, the noose ending the small animal's life. The hunter explained how to gut and skin the animal and Samuel did his best to do as he was taught. However the squirrel was very small and by the time he was finished the squirrel was in several pieces. “All good practice.” Intarus said with a small grin. The knight grimaced, he had made a real mess of butchering the squirrel. The hunter packaged up the meat and the pair travelled the rest of the distance to the city slowly and carefully, their eyes searching for any other possible signs of prey. Another bird had been spotted, which the knight had successfully brought down with his bow, but no other animals were seen before they reached the gates of the city. Samuel thanked the hunter profusely for the lessons and walked wearily back to his room. It had been a long day and he needed a rest.

[Dove Brown]

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Samuel Longwell

Skills

• Negotiation 1
• Socialisation 1
• Stealth 3
• Tracking 4
• Trapping 1
• Hunting 3
• Butchery 2
• Endurance 3
• Weapon: Shortbow 3
• Running 2
• Weapon: Longsword 1
• Bodybuilding 1
• Weapon: Dagger 1

Lores

• Stealth: how to walk quietly
• Intarus Molora: one-armed hunter
• Tracking: deer tracks
• Tracking: squirrel tracks
• Skinning a bear
• Mauled carcass = unsaleable

Miscellaneous

• Mizas (+/-) | - 7 gm (hunting lesson fee)

Comments: Thanks for already updating your ledger. Enjoy your grades.