Flashback Respite from the city Part 4

[Karsynwa]

21st of Spring, 490 AV

As the bells wore on, a few Akalaks came down to join them by the creek. The brought extra poles with them so soon nearly every student had a line in the water. Karsynwa resisted. He noticed that Tavareth was alone, and a question weighed on his mind. After a moment of hesitation he moved over to the man.

“Since we are going to be here for a while, I was wondering if I could practice navigating with that map of yours. Maybe get a good look at how our surroundings compare?” Karsynwa asked as Tavareth turned to look at him.

“You don’t want to stay with the others and learn how to fish?” Tavareth asked.

Karsynwa shook his head slightly. “I’d rather learn the lay of the land while we are out here. No offense but I can learn how to fish back home.” Karsynwa said, trying to keep his voice respectful.

“Alright, I suppose theres time for a little trip.” Tavareth said, inclining his head slightly to study the horizon. He handed Karsynwa the map and compass. “You follow me out there understand? An if I tell you to do something, you do it immediately no questions asked.” Karsynwa nodded. Unrolling the map, he ran a hand over those neat lines for a moment before looking up.

“Where are we on the map?” Karsynwa asked.

“Here by the river” Tavareth said, pointing to a crook along the Bluevein. This creek wasn’t marked on the map so far as Karsynwa could tell. Perhaps it was too small to detail. He looked up at Tavareth questioningly. “Where’s the creek?” Karsynwa asked.

“This creek bed was probably dry when the drafters of this map came by. You’ll run into this from time to time. Sometimes map makers use old maps to flesh out the parts they haven’t been to.” Tavareth said, and then started walking east up the grassy hill. After checking the compass for their direction and the spot on the map Tavareth indicated, Karsynwa followed. The hill was indicated on the map by evenly spaced contour lines that slowly shaped the shape of the land in waves. This was a gradual hill so the spaces in between lines were fat.

Cresting the hill he could see the Bluevein as it continued to stretch east. The grass ran about waist high up here with the wind blowing against them gently. Karsynwa took a moment to breath in the sight and then he looked down at the map. It was hard to put that beautiful sight with the simple lines of the map. The image was incongruous but he tried. Tavareth lingered quietly for a moment while Karsynwa read the map.

“Its hard to take in on just your second time out here. Navigating isn’t just about reading a map. You have to use the information you have on the map with what you see from the land with your own eyes. Seasons change and the land with it. If you are ready for that, you can plan appropriately but always leave room for circumstances that are beyond your control. Say there is an impassible snow drift and you have to plot a course around it. You only have so much food so you have to make the most efficient course possible based on the information you have now. Thats all you can do. An you have to be ready to adapt if the situation changes. No use in holding onto the old plan if it is no longer feasible.” Tavareth said. Karsynwa considered this for a while before responding.

WC - 599

[Karsynwa]

Date, Season, Year

“What is that over here?” Karsynwa asked, pointing to a small figure drawn on the map. It was not far from where they stood now. Just up the river a ways. Tavareth moved closer to peer over his shoulder.

“A spot on the river were the deer come to drink. Would you like to see it up close?” Tavareth asked. Karsynwa nodded. He was keen to see what kind of marks deer left in an area they were known to frequent. Looking ahead along the grass, he saw little in the way of life but it could be lurking just beneath the tall grass. Together they picked their way down the hill carefully. Karsynwa started to find it difficult to balance both his makeshift spears and the map so he tucked them under one arm with the sharp ends pointed behind him. Occasionally they bounced against the gentle slope of the hill. He hoped he’d tied his bindings tightly enough.

Away from the prepared path, he had to follow in Tavareth’s footsteps. The grass was unruly here, and he was cautious of anything lurking in the brush. A snake for one would be hard to spot in this thicket so he followed closely Tavareth who was much more familiar with this area. The grass started to almost reach his chest when Tavareth stopped them. He stopped them at the bend in the grass. Karsynwa folded the map up and knelt by the ground to get a closer look. Pushing aside the grass with his hand he saw a slight furrow in the ground where the earth had been scraped. He touched the ground lightly with his fingertips. The depression was slight with the ground hard underneath.

“That is a track from a deer that passed through this area. You see how the grass has been bent along this little trail along the river? Because of the way the land slopes into a sort of funnel along this groove that means there could be more deer will use this path in the future. We will need some more information” Tavareth said, and started walking along the trail. They started moving a lot slower now as they followed the slight bent to the grass. Karsynwa kept in eyes on the ground trying to see some of the signs he had mentioned earlier. Tavareth’s eyes were keener so he spotted the scat before him, bending low to gesture to the pebbly mound as they came up on it. With a rock, Tavareth reached out to break open a couple of the pebbles before setting the rock aside. Then Tavareth reached out a hand to hover just over the mound for a tick before pulling it back.

“Well its not warm, but neither is it completely dried out so the deer probably came this way early this morning. If this were a proper hunt, it might be worth while to find a hideaway nearby so we could watch along this path to see when the deer came and went.” Tavareth said.

“Where would you do it?” Karsynwa asked curiously after giving a look around. That drew a contemplative look from Tavareth who stood up to study the grass around them. Karsynwa remembered him saying something about the wind so he licked a finger to test the direction. It was moving south away from the river so Karsynwa pointed in that direction. “To the south right? Down wind of the trail.” Karsynwa said while Tavareth seemed to be deep in thought. It raised Tavareth from his contemplations.

WC - 592

[Karsynwa]

Date, Season, Year

“That’s a start, yes. Why don’t we go see if we can find a good spot.” Tavareth said, moving back down the trail the way they came. They followed the slope above the bent grass this time with wide steps. Karsynwa supposed this was to minimize their impact on the grass to make sure that they didn’t alarm any deer. It seemed a little late for that in his opinion but then again, it was probably second nature for Tavareth. The man probably wasn’t even aware he was doing it. As they continued to move cautiously through the thick grass, Karsynwa tried to spy other signs or relate the land to where they were on the map. However it proved too difficult to follow along the map and move at the same time so he gave it up for now. Instead he focused on how Tavareth was stepping through the grass. He did his best to mimic it, but it was hard as the man’s legs were much longer than his own.

Together they traveled up a hill aways before stopping along its side. The grass was fairly thick here, and there was a fair bit of shade from the sun at the moment. Looking back he saw that they had an appreciative view of where they had just been as well as the spot along the river where the animals were supposed to come and drink. Karsynwa turned to Tavareth.

“Now if we were really going to stake out this position we would want to do a few things first. Namely, we’d want to cover our scent and mask our features. As I mentioned, animals have a keen sense of smell. They are good at recognizing our shapes, and most of them can run a good deal faster than us. You remember what I said about traps?” Tavareth asked.

Karsynwa nodded hesitantly. “Your asking about leaving the area undisturbed right?” Karsynwa asked.

“Yes, meaning you’ll want to do all of your preparation well before coming to this place. Covering yourself in mud is a good way to cover your scent and can make it easier to break up your form. You see, if you want to blend in, or be able to sneak up on a creature, you’ve got to break up your outline in an irregular way that matches your environment. Since this is a grassland, bundles of grass will definitely be a part of your camouflage. There is a whole lot more than that to it, but you get the point.

Now when you spot the animal you are looking for, you are going to need to stalk it. Take of your boots.” Tavareth said, leaning down to do the same. Karsynwa obeyed and set his shoes beside Tavareth, though the confusion was plain on his face. Tavareth smiled.

“Think of stalking as walking very slowly. Now crouch down and set your hands on your knees. Then follow as I do, taking only half your normal step as you move. Make sure to curl your toes as your foot comes down. When I stop, you need to stop as well, even if you are mid step.” Tavareth said as he crouched low. Karsynwa watched as Tavareth slowly raised his right foot and extended it a half a step forward. Though it felt a little ridiculous, Karsynwa followed along, twisting slowly through his instructors movements. Slowly the outside of his foot met the ground and he rolled his weight onto his heel then on down to his toes. He watched carefully as Tavareth leaned his weight on that foot and then slowly raised his left. He stopped when it was a quarter of an inch off the ground.

Karsynwa was much less graceful. He almost pitched forward when he stopped alongside his instructor, and had to grip his knees to stop wobbling on one foot. Tavareth stifled a laugh, then continued slowly with his next step. Karsynwa was slightly amazed at his muscle control. Tavareth didn’t seem discomforted in the slightest from his movements. For Karsynwa it was much different. His muscles burned from keeping the rigid position. He did his best not to tremble too much as he moved through a few more steps with Tavareth. Finally, his instructor stood up, and turned towards him with a wide grin.

WC - 722

[Karsynwa]

Date, Season, Year

“You keep this up and you will be a fine hunter one day” Tavareth said as they heard shouts across from where they came. Both of them raised an eyebrow and immediately started back to see what was up with the others. Turned out one of the boys caught a fish, a decently sized fish with what looked like whiskers protruding from its face. Karsynwa gave the fish a funny look as they drew close.

The other boys were surrounding the one with the prize catch with the older Akalaks standing to the side. Tavareth joined them while Karsynwa hung back and dropped his spears onto the ground. Looking out to the water, he thought about trying his hands with one of the rods when he remembered he still had Tavareth’s map and compass. He walked over to join the older men, handing Tavareth his possessions.

“Thank you for letting me practice navigating, I thought it was some pretty interesting stuff.” Karsynwa said with a slight grin. Tavareth nodded and unfolded the map. After briefly looking at it, he gestured for Karsynwa to come around and have a look.

“Another thing you want to remember when you have a map of your own is to mark out your favorite spots. Like that potential hideaway we scouted in the grass. It was about here I think so why don’t you take a stick of charcoal and draw a small triangle.” Tavareth said, producing the charcoal stick from a pouch on his belt. Elated, Karsynwa took the stick gingerly and leaned over to sketch out a crude triangle out onto the map. It looked more or less like a dot, but Tavareth didn’t comment about it as Karsynwa sheepishly handed the stick back.

“Pretty soon you’ll be filling up a map of your own with all sorts of information. I hope you come to me to compare maps one day when you become a good hunter.” Tavareth said, clapping him on the shoulder. Karsynwa simply nodded before slipping away. He wasn’t quite sure if he was going to be apprenticing under a hunter when his time came, but he certainly found the activity interesting enough to pursue in the meantime. The fact that it was necessary for their trial just made it all the easier to drive him to learn more. He wanted to be as prepared as possible and there was still so much he didn’t know. Like his spears, or fishing. He examined an abandon pole by the water for a moment before finally deciding to go over there and give it a shot.

Picking it up like he saw the other boys doing, he gripped the handle with his left hand over his right. Then with a gentle swing he sent the hook out into the water where it landed with a little splash. He sat down with the rod still in hand to wait and watched some of the other boys as they continued to reel in their lines.

WC - 501

[Karsynwa]

Date, Season, Year

When he’d watched enough of the boys do that, he decided that there must be something to it and started to reel in his own line. There was a tug on the end of it and for a heart beat he thought he caught a fish. He tugged harder but the line didn’t budge at all, then he tried letting go an the rod went slack. No fish then he guess as he couldn’t imagine it deciding to sit still the second he released the line. Karsynwa raised the rod high above his head as he tried reeling it in past whatever had the line fowled. No such luck. Whatever it had hooked into, it had gone in good. He struggled like that for several chimes until Tavareth came over with a look that told Karsynwa he knew more or less what was happening. It was a knowing look he caught from his mother, or father sometimes when he had done something particularly rash. It came from experience.

“When this happens, its best just to cut the line.” Tavareth said, reaching over with a small knife to cut the tension out of the line. Karsynwa handed off the rod so Tavareth could string the line through the rod and tie off a new hook. Karsynwa watched carefully as he threaded the string through the small hole before making a small knot to secure the hook. He threaded the string over and under a few times to do it, something Karsynwa would try to remember when he decided to start tying off his own hooks. With the hook set, Tavareth slipped onto the hook a fat worm that writhed on the hook after it had been pierced through the middle. Then slowly after making sure Karsynwa was watching, Tavareth arched the rod back over his shoulder at an angle before swinging it out towards the water. His line went much farther than Karsynwa’s toss had gone and after letting it sink for half a chime, Tavareth started reeling it in at a measured pace.

“You want to make the hook as attractive as possible, which means getting it to move at the depth you want, and putting something on the end of the hook that is too attractive to the fish to pass up.” Tavareth said. “In a creek like this, its easy to get fouled up on debris that might be at the bottom that has washed in from the river. So you want to keep it moving from just above the base line, or draw your line out at such an angle that you aren’t likely to get caught on anything.”

Karsynwa could see the hook now just underneath the water with the worm still wriggling weakly on the end of it. Tavareth drew it all the way up before handing the rod to Karsynwa. “Try tossing it in overhanded a few times and see how that works out for you. I’ll return in a bit to see how you do.” Tavareth said.

“Okay, I’ll let you know how it goes.” Karsynwa said. He gave it a few moments, then he chucked out the line to land toward the middle of the creek. Better this time. He waited for half a chime and started to reel it in.

WC - 549