A brief hunting excursion (Solo)

[Komax]

8th of Fall 511 AV

Komax wandered through the woods, following the deer tracks he'd found about an hour before. The creature was moving quickly, almost as if it had detected him already, even though he didn't know where it was -- only that following the trail would most likely lead him to it. He had a rock in his hand, for lack of any sort of bow. I need to buy one when I get back to Syliras, Komax scolded himself, knowing that though the rock could do the work, it wouldn't be the most efficient or accurate way.

He knew that if it didn't kill his target, though, he could throw another rock or follow it with the sword slung over his back, in the hopes that it would be slowed down and disoriented by his initial strike.

He'd been hunting for two hours even before he found those tracks, and he'd found several animals that he thought suitable, but all of his attempts at catching and killing them had failed miserably. The first time he'd tried to sneak up behind a turkey and bring his sword down upon it, but it had heard the weapon coming through the air and moved out of the way.

Well, Komax told himself, trying not to lose morale, now I know not to do that again. It didn't seem particularly reassuring.

[Komax]

Komax turned his head, barely managing to stay silent, when he heard a rustling in the bushes nearby. He had been just about to give up hope and stop following the trail when the sound had come to his ears. There, before him, was the deer he had been tracking. He was sure that this was the same one, due to a slight oddity in its gait. The creature had not taken any notice of him as of yet, and Komax hoped to keep it that way until he was seconds from the kill.

Gripping the rock he had picked up more tightly than before, Komax lined up his throw and stepped backwards slightly, preparing to lob the stone. It was a small deer, but that mattered little to Komax. What was truly important was that he managed to bring something down.

Pulling back his arm and preparing to send the rock through the air, Komax thought about what he would do if he managed to bring the deer down. He resolved that he would continue hunting for some time, hopefully killing at least one more animal and attempting to cut it, though he wasn't particularly skilled at that. The best he could hope for was a poor job.

Komax hurled the rock and it sailed through the air, straight towards the deer.

[Komax]

Komax watched in anticipation as the rock went through the air, moving closer and closer towards his target. A smile of satisfaction crossed his face when it struck home and the deer stumbled away, slower than it had been before when he'd attempted to strike it from behind. Perhaps, he thought, he would be able to finish it with just his sword.

By the time he had reached the place where it'd been moments before, the deer was gone from his sight, though the deep tracks coupled with a trail of blood did provide significant help in the search that he immediately embarked on. Another rock found on the ground entered his hand, and he prepared himself to throw it as soon as he caught sight of the creature.

Komax scolded himself for allowing the creature to escape, for even though it was probable that he would eventually catch it in its weakened state, he'd cost himself precious time, something that he wasn't quite ready to surrender. He'd already wasted enough time with the other chases, and he'd originally hoped to catch more than one animal that day.

The butcher would pay well for it, but Komax was saving up for something very special and he needed as much money as he could get his hands on, not just enough to pay for food, water and housing. He continued following the trail, more quickly now and being sure to stay absolutely silent for fear of losing the deer forever.

It would probably eventually die of its wound anyway, and in Komax's mind killing an animal without producing something edible from it was a horrendous act. He had to find that deer.

The soil compacted beneath his footfalls and under the pressure of his significant weight as he continued to follow the bloody trail.

[Komax]

Komax weaved along the trail, searching endlessly for that elusive deer that, somehow, had managed to escape from him. He had diligently planned out his assault after the stinging defeat of earlier, and yet still he hadn't managed to bring the creature down, although for all he knew it had already died of its injuries. He certainly hoped that was not the case, for he had hoped for a clean kill and if it was already dead the scavengers would soon descend upon its carcass.

The trail continued for a while until it stopped suddenly and Komax found himself looking at the carcass of the deer, lying their with its neck out in an awkward position, a look of terror frozen upon its face. He stepped forward and drew the knife he'd bought earlier, then sat down and began to cut the corpse.

He was sure that it wasn't a good job, but he still managed to get some meat off of the deer, which he placed in his backpack before scattering that which he did not desire for the scavengers to help themselves to. Better that than the very thing Komax hoped to keep.

Almost immediately they came upon it, and the Svefra decided to take his leave, moving away from the bloody body and off towards more bountiful game. He intended to make at least one more kill that night, and if he had his way it would be a better one.

[Komax]

Though he had scoured the area for the past hour since he had made his first kill of the night, Komax found himself simply unable to locate another set of tracks. He saw plenty of rather edible looking animals, but they were flitting in between the trees, far out of his reach. Once he tried to throw a stone towards a bird, but he failed miserably at that. His rock simply sailed through the tree branches and hit the ground a fair distance away.

Sighing, Komax turned away and considered leaving. Almost immediately he scolded himself for even having that sort of thought. No, he thought, I must continue. I must find another one. He wanted to earn his keep, and so far the two methods he had in mind were hunting and working over at Qayla's Quill. Both were profitable, and both would help him to find the money he needed.

He wanted to get as much gold as possible into his hands, then go out onto the ocean again. That was the way of the Svefra, he reminded himself, and he'd been staying on the shore in Syliras for far too long. It was longer than he'd ever stayed on shore at one time. The destruction of the winter's bite had changed his life forever, that was certain.

Just as he began to think to himself of all the things he could do once he had raised the money, Komax noticed another set of tracks, this one seeming to be coming from some sort of bird. He smiled and began to follow the trail.

[Komax]

Though chicken wasn't what Komax would have preferred to have found, it certainly worked and as it was the only creature that he could locate, he followed the trail eagerly. This he could probably bring down with a single well-thrown rock, he just had to make sure that his aim was good and his arm strong.

Still, perhaps this wasn't the best method of hunting. When he had access to a bow, he'd been able to shoot more than this in the same amount of time, but alas, that had been destroyed along with the Winter's Bite. Stepping next to the tracks that the chicken had left in the ground, Komax crept along.

Eventually he heard a loud noise from nearby and there before him was the very creature he had been searching for. The chicken seemed to notice him and the rock in his hand, registering him as a threat and immediately turning away. Letting out a loud, distressed noise, it turned away and began to run for its life, leaving the ground in short bursts of flight that seemed almost half-hearted.

Komax threw his rock and hoped that he would strike true.

[Komax]

The stone moved through the air like a streak of death and Komax's aim was certain. He smiled in satisfaction as the stone struck against its target. He had hit the chicken right in the head and was fairly certain that it was dead. His belief was confirmed when the creature let out a small, pitiful sound an instant after it was struck, then collapsed to the ground. The rock bounced and landed nearby, revealing a bloody wound.

Drawing his knife again, Komax moved towards the chicken and tried to visualize how he could cut it. He wasn't very skilled in the art of cleaning a kill, but he could tell what was edible and what wasn't, and separate the two. Slicing into the flesh, he began the rather disgusting job and for the next few minutes had his hands covered in blood.

Putting the edible bits in his backpack, Komax sheathed his knife and walked towards a nearby stream, where he crouched down and cleaned his hands in the rushing water. Perhaps they weren't truly clean, but at least the blood would be washed away in the current. He'd just make an effort to not eat anything until he had truly cleaned his hands off, something which would probably be a rather simple task.

Komax turned away and began to look for the way back to Syliras.

[Komax]

Though Komax had been sure to leave a clear path that he could follow backwards to his temporary home, it was still a rather difficult task to locate it. He'd been treading lightly this last hour or so and was quite confused as to the location of the last footprint he had left for himself. All of the others were too light to tell what they were, but he had stepped deeply into the soil on purpose earlier on, in order to leave a trail.

Komax scoured the forest for a few minutes, worrying about becoming lost in these mountains forever, but his fears were soon assuaged when he noticed a very deep boot-print in the ground. "Good," Komax said, though he hadn't meant to speak out loud, and began to follow in his own footsteps, going backwards, towards Syliras.

It had been a rather successful hunting trip, Komax knew. In days past he'd barely managed to catch enough to eat, but he had rations with him and knew that he could sell all of what he had killed that day. A good thing, because he was still trying to save up as much gold as possible.

[Growl]

Appreciation Time! Name: Komax Experience: +1 Tracking, +1 Hunting, +1 Rock Throwing Lore: What Deer Tracks Look Like Additional Notes: Where does the chicken come from? PM with questions or concerns.