Hunt for Your Supper [Alvena]

[Tabarnac]

19th Summer, 511 A.V. What had begun as a simple hunting expedition had become a more specialized mountaineering expedition thanks to the addition of a Symenestra to the small band of hunters. She and Perras had left the rest behind. With her claws and his experience, they were able to traverse rocky debris to more protected areas where the wildlife was more plentiful and less wary of human predation. To say that the landscape surrounding Denval was rugged would be the understatement of the modern era. Mountains were visible from this vantage, of course, but most of the area surrounding them was rockfall that had only marginally settled in the centuries since the Valterrian. Earthquakes were not uncommon, and there were stretches of debris field that even a clever Symenestra could not traverse. Perras was the first to top the rubble and he knelt down to offer her a hand up, a bit of chivalry, but also a bit of camaraderie. He wanted the both of them to get there in one piece, the better to hunt together and get their catch back down to Denval where it could feed people. Once she was up, he pointed down to where some of the colorful houses of Denval were visible, also a portion of the deceptively placid harbor that hid so many sharp rocks that barges and rafts had to carry cargo and goods to and from the ships anchored farther out to sea. "It's beautiful from up here," he mused, his voice full of weary accomplishment, but they could not spend too much time resting or else they would miss the prime hunting time. From what he understood, Alvena didn't plan on staying in Denval forever, so she likely would take issue with the hunting trip taking several days. Then he pointed in the opposite direction, to a pocket of lush greenery. "That's like the tip of an iceberg, you know," he said. The icebergs up in the northern seas, you only see the tip, but they are huge underneath. Just so up here. You can see these pockets of green, but when you get down to their level, there's much more of it, protected little wildlife reserves. Private hunting grounds for those of us capable of getting here. "Do you want to rest a bit or start the descent?" he asked. "We can set some traps and set up camp if it gets too late, do the real hunting tomorrow, but I'd rather not get stuck climbing if the light fails."

[Alvena Celandine]

The slope got too steep to simply walk almost immediately. She followed the the only human who seemed to be proficient enough at climbing through the rubble. He was slower than her, but he seemed to know the geography like the back of his hand, and naturally took the lead. Her feet were bare, having left her shoes with one of the men at the base of the mountain in order to get a better grasp on the rock beneath her. Slung around her back was a quiver and worn bow, simply carved and seemingly nothing special, yet held emotional value to Alvena as it was her father's, who blessed her with it before her departure from Kalinor. She had to buy a new quiver and arrows at the Raster Market the day before, having left her own back home. She also bought a dagger, in case she had an unexpected encounter. The quiver was surprisingly expensive, but was well made to suit climbing, and didn't hinder her. There were 20 arrows contained sercurely inside it; She had thought it was more than enough, but once she got to the site, she realized that even with her acrobatic prowess, she wouldn't be able to retrieve a great number of the arrows she fired. She would have to be careful. "Thank you," she said, accepting the hand he offered from above, the light of the sun shining behind him. She was panting lightly, surprised at the difficulty of that climb. From afar, the rugged landscape seemed just as difficult to navigate as the cavernous environment surround Kalinor, but proved much more challenging than she had anticipated. Unlike her homeland, the rock was unstable, and she had to closely inspect the crevices she used for support before trusting her weight on them. She was not used to paying so much attention to such things, and at the beginning of the climb had slipped on numerous occasions before she could get a grasp on the nature of it. Perras was right, it truly was beautiful once they reached the top. Beyond the miles of rubble they had yet to traverse were tiny patches of forestation, and behind them was Denval. She hadn't seen the quaint town from so far since she arrived by boat a few weeks ago, and had forgotten the beauty of the view. She could still faintly smell the seawater of the vast ocean. "Let's keep going," she said without hesitation when he asked, "And get the best of the daylight." She tentatively took a few steps down from the ledge, looking back up to him in anticipation, since he knew the way and should stay in front of her. ledgerClimber's Quiver: -50gm Shortbow Arrows: -1 gm Dagger: -2gm

[Tabarnac]

Perras nodded at her judgment and walk-jumped down a couple of boulders with the grace of a mountain goat. Some of the men joked that his mother must have avoided inbreeding by practicing bestiality, but it was all in good fun. The descent would be a mite easier, and they hadn't as far to go. This little greenbowl was higher in elevation than the base of the rockfall they had climbed to get there, thankfully. "Captain's always looking for geomancers," he said by way of making conversation. "The latest idea is to get someone to find out how to cause a lot of rockfalls that won't hurt anyone, but will settle the boulders, then pour that liquid rock they can make down between the cracks and let it harden, making things more stable. But that's a lot of work for the sort of journeymen mages we get in these parts. She'd probably marry a master geomancer just to get him to stay long enough to help... Or her." He chuckled at the thought of Astrid with a lady, though he had to push that thought out of his mind before the eventual excitement tripped him up. He paused, both feet planted and arms stretched out to balance, when a boulder wobbled beneath him, but it steadied and he stepped off to another one, holding a hand up to offer her help down. "This one's a little loose, but it looks stable enough." A pause once she was down before he led the way again. "So what brings you to Denval. I mean, I know we're close, but we have been getting more Symenestra traffic in general, though you're the prettiest one I've seen lately if you don't mind me saying." His admiration was not overwhelming, however. He knew enough about the Symenestra breeding cycle that he wouldn't try to sleep with her even if he were falling down drunk. He didn't want unnecessary blood on his hands.

[Alvena Celandine]

Alvena only listened vaguely to what Perras was saying, prioritizing her concentration on the rubble these "geomancers" were trying to fix. She was more motivated now as she could see their destination, whereas before, every bump looked like the top of the mountain from her perspective, and when she got past it she would be met with more rock. She was uncomfortable, however, with her back facing the mountain. She had more control when she was on all fours, and now she had to stand awkwardly, her hands only offering minimal balance. She stared warily at the rock that Perras had almost slipped on, searching for a better foothold. She looked at Perras' outstretched hand for a moment, and decided not to take his offer as she could see another way to get down, a place to hold both feet that was only possible with Alvena's elongated limbs. She took instead that route and they continued along their way after the obstacle had been surmounted. They continued down in silence before Perras addressed her again, his comment on her visage immediately causing her face to flush. "I-Thank you. I had a disagreement with some Symenestra in Kalinor," She explained, keeping her eyes on the mountain whilst occasionally stealing a glance back at Perras, "I'm trying to clear up the misunderstanding... Of our race. Sounds a little childish, I know." She jumped down another notch, taking a moment to look ahead and check their distance to the vegetation ahead.

[Tabarnac]

He didn't seem to take offense at her self-sufficiency. Such a trait was considered a virtue in Denval, whether in a man or a woman, and certainly two generations led by a woman trained a society to accept female leadership and a more egalitarian view of the world. Shrugging it off, he continued his mountain goat-like leaps down the boulders. This was not quite the climb that had got them over the top of the rockfall. "I don't suppose it's childish if it's driven you away from home," he said. "Though I keep saying I'm going to travel. At least you're really doing it, for whatever the reasons." He paused. "Keep an eye on the skies, too," he warned. "We've had a Zith incursion recently, in case you hadn't heard. Just taking livestock. I'm wondering now if they've been hunting in these pockets of green as well. We've seen them before, but they've never come right up to Denval proper and stolen from us. They're getting bolder, which means... I don't know, that there are enough of them to have reason to be bold or... Something."

[Alvena Celandine]

She enjoyed listening to Perras' take on her decision. Whether his support was fake or genuine, she felt that it really helped her go on with trying to accomplish her goal. She felt a little bad that she relied so heavily on the support of people around her. She would have to fix that; somehow increase her resolve. "Zith?" she exclaimed, a little louder than she would have liked. Taking a moment to recollect her memories regarding the race, she couldn't help but slightly wrinkle her nose. They were savages by her knowledge, uncivilized in every aspect. The Symenestra saw themselves as far more sophisticated than the Zith. Alvena tried to avoid being racist about them, knowing that her people also had these kind of negative connotations, and it was less than pleasant. Still, she wasn't exactly ready to have jovial conversation with one. "Sounds like a handful. I'll be on the lookout." She immediately took a glance at the blue sky as she said it, noting the clouds that were so often hovering over the beach town. She still could not get wholly accustomed to seeing this when she looked up. It seemed to stretch on forever, and up in the hills it felt like the clouds just were a little bit closer. She reminded herself this was no time to admire its beauty, but to acknowledge the danger that may come from the beautiful blue landscape. She looked back down at the rock before her, following Perras further down the mountain.

[Tabarnac]

The bowl of grass and trees was fed by the frequent rain, which gathered in pockmarked boulders and rushed under rocks to whatever aquifers hid below the rubble. Feral goats, mountain lions, and any number of animals more agile than humans found their ways here. Perras moved quietly through the brush, and their talking ceased once they were on the hunt. They came to a small clearing and he knelt down to look for tracks. "There are a couple of good sized meadows up here," he said quietly, hoping one or the other of them might find some tracks to follow one way or another. "But a trail leading to one in particular would be helpful. Actually, why don't you look for trails while I..." He began to set up a few snares and traps about the clearing. It seemed to get enough traffic that he might catch a few things to collect on their journey back, at least.

[Alvena Celandine]

She didn't say a word as they entered the clearing, allowing Perras to explain things to her. So far, everything seemed straightforward enough, a light wave of nostalgia rushing over her as she remembered her hunts in Kalinor with her father. She nodded silently at his instruction, and slipped away from the clearing as he turned his back on her to set up the traps. At first, she could follow a trail that seemed to be frequented often enough as she could see several different footsteps etched into the soil below her. It wasn't long, however, before the paths dispersed and she had to choose her direction. She wished she'd paid more attention during tracking lessons. She squatted lower, taking the bow from her back and holding it at the ready in her left hand. There was one set of steps she deemed to be the freshest, but she couldn't tell for sure. trusting her instincts, she followed them, light foot marks of her own imprinting themselves in the fertile soil below her. Every few moments her eyes darted up from the tracks and scanned the forest for movement. She listened carefully as well, so far only hearing the sound of unfamiliar insect and bird calls and her own breathing.

[Tabarnac]

She was able to track a ways before he caught up with her, having set up various traps along the way. A whistle that could only be human alerted her to his presence, but he moved quietly in her wake, wanting to see what she could do, being Symenestra, that perhaps he could not. The track she was following lead east and then south, the lengthening summer day still heading toward the gloom of evening under the canopy of trees. The tracks became clearer as they followed them, cloven hooves and strands of woolly hair caught on bushes, and the occasional scat. "More than one of them," he surmised, glancing at her to see if she agreed. Feral mountain goats were good eating, and he wondered if he would get to witness her eating. Strange thing, that.