Solo A Repeated Day Part I

[Moritz Craven]

10 Fall 522

The first thing Moritz noticed was a weight on his chest. His eyes bursting open in response he brought his hands up, only to find himself holding the shirt of a small child. Letting out a huff of air Moritz shook his head and shoved the mass of child limbs a bit, sending the child tottering to the side where he giggled and laughed. "Moritz, its morning! You wanna go hunting? My dad said you could go today."

Still not quite awake, Moritz tried to think who this child was, connecting facts. He had seen in passing a hunter on the trip, who often went off and brought back food to ease the supplies of the trip. Having a good hunter along meant carrying less food, or at least being able to eat fresh food instead of the heavily preserved stocks. He had also seen several children about, most working, though this one appearing only six or so not much was expected of him. From context it seemed he was the child of a hunter, and said hunter was saying I could go along.

Recalling someone asking about the bow he had in his possessions, Moritz supposed word had gotten around and in the end the man had offered him a lesson... Or at least to help out on a trip assuming he'd be interested. In truth he did not know a bow all that well, but did not mind learning a bit about hunting. Who knew, some day he might need to know such things...

"Sure. Let me just check with Eva... Uh... Where is she..."

Having planned to ask Evalynn about what she thought, who he thought was still asleep in the tent they were using that night, he found instead she was absent. However her possessions were still about, so it seemed she had just risen a bit earlier than him and was already out in the camp.Seeing where he was looking the small child grinned and hopped a bit in place, clearly excited. "I saw the lady earlier, on the way here. She was going to... Uh... Do a... Thing... I don't know, something. But she went out. So come hunting! My dad said if you come I can come too!"

Flexing a bit and pulling on his top half of his button up suit Moritz looked about, grabbing up some items he thought he might need.

"Right, what was your name again? And your fathers? He's the hunter right?"

With a nod and grin the boy spoke, using his hands a lot as he did. "I'm Axle. And my father is Anders. So... Hunting?"

Shaking his head Moritz finished grabbing up some things along with his pack, and putting on some shoes. He also packed his bow related items, arrows, and a few blades for use in case they were needed.

"Fine, I'll go, but you have to help me pack up our stuff and get it on a wagon, before we get moving. I can't go leaving our stuff behind."

With a odd noise the boy hopped up and began moving about, knocking out one of the poles holding up the tent and nearly sending the entire thing collapsing atop them. With a sigh Moritz focused on the task at hand, moving on to go over again all the stuff in his pack, and what he might need out hunting...

WC: 566

[Moritz Craven]

Once his and Evalynn's things were stowed on a wagon and their tent packed up, and he had gathered his various supplies he would need for a short trip away from the caravan with the hunter, Moritz began following along after Axle. Hopefully he would find someone who could tell her where he went in case she asked for him later, but seeing as she was gone before he woke she was likely off doing something or other, and he did not want to bother her while she was busy. Besides they were both going to the same place, with the same people, so there was not really anything to worry about. Now if he did not see her after returning, well then at that point he would worry.

While he had various items for using a bow, including a quiver full of arrows, he did not actually carry a bow in and of itself. This was due to some odd magical quirk of the bow he had, which meant it was currently stored as a bow shaped charm on his wrist among others. It did mean he did not have to worry as much about the bow string, since it was a part of the bow and seemed to store with it, which he had come to understand was one of the more finicky parts of the handling of a bow.

Besides that and his arrows the rest of the items he had were more defense related, namely to protect his body from the string and parts while using the bow. His bow though was relatively large, and a compound bow, and so along with having good range it also had a good amount of pull strength. This also meant however it was not so good up close, but then for that Moritz had other weapons and his body to fight with.

Following along after Axle Moritz soon saw Anders, who silently nodded at Moritz. The man seemed as opposite as could be possible from his son, who was both loud and boisterous. He had nearly bounced around his tent before, whereas this man seemed almost silent. It was not for another few moments that Moritz noticed something else, a dog sitting off to the side of Anders. At first he had not seen him, almost blending in, but then a moment later he had moved and come forth from the darker area he seemed to blend in at. The hounds black pelt with slicked flat, clearly differing from his own mountain dog back home... This one would fair better in neutral or warmer climates, and not quite as well in the deep cold... It also had odd red eyes, which pulled in Moritz attention before Anders began talking. He seemed to speak in little more than a whisper, and yet he was still clearly audible to Moritz. "Axle says you are interested in come along, yes? A few rules then. First, do as I say. If I tell you to get down ,to run, to whatever, follow along with what I say. Second, when we are moving make sure to be as subtle as possible. Quiet. Reserved. That is how a hunter in action should be. Now, ready to go?"

With a slight nod, rather thank spoken words, Moritz agreed, following along after the others. Axle, Anders, and the dog. Anders explained a few points as they walked by using the same whispered tone from earlier. Apparently they would be taking a bend in the route, and meeting the caravan later. Hopefully with some meat in hand. Anders for his part seemed ready, armed with a large knife, a hatched, and a bow. And those were just the things Moritz could see.

WC: 624

[Moritz Craven]

After making the needed preparations the hunting group made its way further into the wilds. While the entire route between cities was technically wilderness, the area closer to the road between Zeltiva and Syliras was at least somewhat tamed. It did not take long however after leaving that path before the wilderness took charge of the land.

Bits of the land was mountainous, while other bits were open, and other bits were wooded and forested. For the moment the area they were traveling through was more wooded than anything, Moritz eyes flicking from spot to spot as they moved. As they had left the group Moritz had done as he often did when moving about carefully, focusing for a moment the djed in his eyes to will his Iraso sight to activate. Once he did it was like a whole new color painting the world before him, a whole new layer of complexity. Though, as he focused on what he saw while moving, he did have to admit it was easier now than other times closer to settlements or groups of people. Here he saw a few trails there and such, but only a few random ones crossing in spots. Nothing like what he had to often try to puzzle over and pick through. But then, he reasoned, that made sense. In such an area foot traffic would be almost non-existent, mainly being animals or other hunters like Anders.

Away from the caravan Moritz felt a bit freer, like he could properly breath. There was no smell of dense people so common among it, not as bad as a city but still strong. And the noise was of a different sort. Natural, instead of the chatter and noise of people. Moritz found this almost soothing, not having realized until it was gone how much it weighed on him. Of course once he got to Sunberth this would likely increase even more, so it was only a short respite.

Doing his best to stay silent, Moritz tried to copy what he saw Anders doing, but admittedly he was not very good at moving without leaving any trace as the hunter attempted. Even Axle, a child, now that they were hunting, seemed much less noticeable and silent compared to Moritz.

Step with a food there... And when he came to a root he went over and around... Silent, oh a dry twig snapping... Carefully placing his food, focusing up and down at once. Both where he was going along with where he was stepping. Then Anders cut off to the side down a small path, and Moritz followed along with Axle. Here the hunter began to speak, barely a whisper, pointing at the ground. "Something passed here... By the markings... See here... I believe it was a deer. Somewhat fresh. Lets follow the track, and perhaps we will find it. "

With a nod Moritz followed along silently, or as silent as he could be while moving through the woods. Now that he had something to track he focused his Iraso sight, seeing the trail moving through the marking and heading off in the direction Anders was following... Seeing as the trail he saw coming off it was also the same, likely this was the djed trail of that same animal. Rather than spreading out his focus as he had before now that he had a single thing to focus on Moritz did his best to tune out the other paths and distractions and focus only on following Anders as quietly as possible and tracing the trail passed through the marking on the dirt.

WC: 601

[Moritz Craven]

As Moritz moved along he focused on only two things. One, his motion. How he stepped, where he stepped, moving his body, and trying to be as quiet as he could. he watched Anders as he did, copying what he saw him doing, following along behind him and trying to do what he did. As he did he felt his body oddly tense in moments, unsure what to do, but muddling through as best he could. He still had only a rough understanding of the trails the animals took and that Anders seemed to follow, but it did seem much easier to move through the wilds when following it.

The other thing was to focus on the trail and djed trail of the animal they were following. As he followed along behind it, seeing it as clearly as Anders seemed to be able to follow the path without magic, Moritz began to pick up on more details from the trail. Having been one of the longest times he had spent focusing on a djed trail, particularly since he had gained a higher level of usage, he had not before noticed any such thing. Now though he felt like he was getting an... Impression, off of it. Not quite the same as recognizing a djed pattern of a unique person, but similar in some regards. As they moved along and he watched the trail the impression grew stronger, until an almost clear one came to mind... There was a sense of maleness, of the thing they were following being male... And then there was that of hooves and antlers and... Deerness... The essence of being a deer. He could only assume it was something related to him further mastering the usage of his Iraso sight, that he could sense such impressions after following the trail for awhile. A male deer, it seemed, which was close to what Anders had found it not more detailed.

Suddenly though Anders held up a hand and motioned for Moritz to slow, growing slower himself and moving only in a creep. As he did he took out his bow and readied and arrow, Moritz seeing this and doing likewise with a knocked arrow. Another step. Careful... And then another step after that... A bit beyond that Moritz saw a small opening in the vegetation on the path they had been following. As he did he heard a small sound, a crunching. His eyes focusing he saw then the trail of djed moving along, and coming to rest... On a deer. It had large antlers, and was moving its head up and down as it munched at some plant on the ground.

By this point Moritz almost felt silent, barely even breathing as they sneaked up on the animal... And then a sharp snap off to the side, his eyes shifting by instinct to see Axle. Frozen in mid step the boy had hit a dry bit of wood. Not wanting to miss his chance Anders launched an arrow, but the deer already bounding away in a rush his strike went wide.

Moritz for his part did not even have a chance to shoot, having responded to the sudden sound instead of the deer, and so not having fired a shot. By now it was too late, and the deer was off, likely running for awhile till it felt safe. With a sigh Anders motioned for their group to move off in a new direction. "Might as well go back, head to the point where we will meet the caravan on the road. It will take too long to track that buck down again."

Nodding in reply Moritz followed along with Anders and Axle, not overly sad that their hunt had failed but also a bit sad at the same time. An odd mix of emotions at once.

WC: 641

[Moritz Craven]

Heading back to the road behind Anders Moritz continued to focus on the steps the man took. Being a hunter he seemed infinitely more skilled at the task. Moritz tried to note each thing the man did, but was having trouble following his logic. Somehow he seemed to find the right path which was both the one of least resistance and easiest to travel, while also being the quietest. Not only that it was also how he stepped, how he moved, which made him seem to almost blend in with his surroundings. If not for his Iraso sight and the glow of his djed being visible he was half sure he would lose track of the man.

This was made easier by said Iraso sight, since he was able to more cleanly follow his trail by literally following his djed trail. When the land headed that way, the foliage would go... Or no, that way... And that was easier to move on... This way. It was in small almost imperceptible steps, but he did feel like he was slowly gaining a better grasp and in a few moments here and there could predict which way Anders would choose to go.

Trying to focus as he was on the route and how he was moving he did not notice right away when Anders grew tense. Which once considering it Moritz found odd, seeing as they should have been nearing the road... Anders had done some simple math and route planning to take them out on the road close to where the caravan was expected to be. But when they came out on the road from the deeper wilds... Looking both ways, the caravan was no where in sight. The hunter frowned seeing this, glaring back down the road. With another motion they began moving, heading back in the direction towards Syliras. Which, Moritz supposed, made sense. If they had missed the caravan it was not likely due to them speeding up suddenly, but instead them slowing down or stopping unexpectedly. Which meant going back in the direction they came from to find them.

Growing even more serious and silent Moritz watched Anders who clearly was worried about something. And then Moritz jumped back and tensed, suddenly seeing a dog next to him. Where the petch had that come from! Looking around he recalled the hound from earlier, but he did not recall seeing him for awhile. Had he just lost track of him? Or maybe he was just so focused on what he was doing he had not noticed the animal... Either way he felt a bit chagrined at his reaction.

Pushing that aside he focused on the serious face Anders was making, and followed along... And a bit further... And further than that... And then a slight bend in the road, opened up a length of road... But this one was not the same as the others. Moritz could smell it before anything else. The strong scent of blood.

Increasing his pace Anders raced off, diving into the caravan. Moritz for his part sped up and came close, looking around the caravan. As he was nearing it he paused, holding up a hand to his face for a moment. Not out of sickness, but just... Disgust. Bodies. Dead bodies. Human bodies strewn about. And so much blood. And that was... An arrow? Just as he saw that stuck in a mans chest Moritz felt a sudden pressure from behind, and then all was black and he knew no more.

WC: 589

[Moritz Craven]

Grade Award!

Name:Moritz Craven
XP Award:
Detection 1
Hunting 2
Pathfinding 3
Stealth 3
Tracking 3
Wilderness Survival 3

Lores:
Hunters on a long trip mean less supplies needed
Axle: Son of a Caravan hunter
Anders: Father of Axle and a caravan hunter
Tracking a deer
Using Pathfinding to assist mundane tracking
Pathfinding: Sensing the djed trail of a male deer
Wilderness Survival: Finding the best path through foliage
Finding a destroyed caravan

Penalties & Awards: N/A

Notes: N/A