[Cobalt Mountains] Spring Cleaning [Dimitri]

[Jonathon DuFraine]

511 AV, 10th of Spring, Dawn

Jonathon softly closed the door of his home behind him, locking it on the way out. On his back was his quiver and bow and a small pack of various supplies. On his waist was his short sword, one he hadn't used in a while, but he was slightly skilled with.

Leaving his doorstep, he traveled through the early morning crowds. Even in the early dawn, the city of Syliras was crowded as ever with people. Slipping past the people, he finally found himself at the main gate. Vast and mighty, the gate was open as always, and letting in and out steady streams of men and women. Jonathon stood near the wall, watching the people nearby.

Jonathon looked at the sun. Precisely dawn. Hopefully the squire hadn't forgot or changed his mind, or he'd have to go out himself... not a smart idea. The Cobalt Mountains would be dangerous, especially this time of year, when wildlife was most energetic.

[Dimitri]

Dimitri was waiting outside the main gate doing his morning exercises. He had his bow across his back, his sword on his left hip, and quiver of arrows on his right. He started by running in place, pumping his arms forcefully, and bringing his knees to his chest, then would drop to the ground, do an explosive push up and hop back up into the running in place. After doing that for about ten chimes, he put his feet at shoulder width apart, and quickly squatted until his butt lightly touched the ground, then he uncoiled like a serpent, and leapt straight up in the air. When he landed, he would immediately do another squat. After doing this for a while he saw his hunting companion approach the main gates.

He jogged over to him, and maintained jogging in place, "So do you have a place in mind? And what are we hunting?" He saw the beginnings of dawn, the sky a blood red, something he always felt was ominous. Hopefully the hunt would go well.

[Jonathon DuFraine]

Jonathon shrugged. He was glad to see the squire was up and ready to go, however. "Not really. The Cobalt Mountains are vast. I know them pretty well, so we aren't likely to get lost, so we should be okay just wandering around in them." Jonathon gestured and started the walk to the mountains. They would most likely be hunting in the forests of the headlands.

While they walked, Jonathon answered the other question. "Not particularly. We simply shoot what we can find. Now..." Jonathon stopped and turned around. They were a stone's throw away from the gate. "A few pointers. One, once we're hunting, keep as quite as you can. Every noise can alert potential prey." Jonathon counted off the second of his list. "Two, have your eyes and ears open at all times. We need to sense our prey before they sense us, which is hard, so we have to pay attention. Constant vigilance is the key." Jonathon counted off the last, his hand now curled into a fist.

"Three, hands on weapon at all times. We could run into anything in the wilderness." Jonathon turned around and kept going, just now beginning the long silence that would mark the rest of the trip. If Dimitri had any questions, he would have to ask them now.

[Jonathon DuFraine]

Jonathon moved quietly through the woods. It had been half an hour since the start of the trip, and they hadn't found anything. Jonathon wasn't worried; they would find something soon enough. He only hoped Dimitri didn't suffer from boredom; he seemed the energetic type.

Jonathon's eyes watched the sides of the pathway, searching for any sign of animal existence. Jonathon had never been good with tracks; he had yet to spot any, and even if he had they would have told him rather little. Still, better than nothing... and there were other things to watch out for in the woods, anyways.

Jonathon had his bow already in hand, strung and ready. His other hand occasionally shifted to his quiver, twitching over the arrows, waiting for the chance to snatch a life. Sometimes it also hovered over his blade; monsters and wild animals could be dangerous at close range.

A rustle sounded from a bush to Jonathon's left. Immediately, Jonathon stopped, crouched, and evaluated himself. Was he quite? Yes. Silent? No, his breathing was a bit noisy, ah well. A hand signal told Dim to keep quite and draw a weapon. The wind was in they're favor; the smell of human beings led away from the bushes. Arrow to string, Jonathon waited for the animal to come out.

[Dimitri]

Dimitri was enjoying the crisp breeze that passed from the ocean and through the trees the now hunted among. Dimitri for thirty chimes or so, watched carefully where he tread, avoiding twigs and dry leaves but also attempting to keep pace and keep his eyes open for danger or targets. He was not used to paying attention to so much at once, and maintaining silence as he did so. He tried to see tracks in the brown earth but couldn't make out a deer's hoofmark from a clump of mud. He tried to listen for sounds unusual, but could only hear his breathing and their footfalls.

The path they carved through the woods wound through the massive trees, over fallen branches, through muddy soil or rocky terrain. The ground rose and fell with slight dips. He stepped lightly over a small creek, continually watching everything. He saw some song birds hiding in trees and bushes, the occasional squirrel or rabbit, but nothing big enough to deserve their attention. He hoped for a good bear, or maybe something like a wolf or mountain lion.

Dimitri heard the same rustle Jonathon did, and drew his bow and an arrow from his quiver. He slipped it onto the string but didn't pull back yet. He waited and watched, imagining where he would aim depending on the type of creature. A deer he'd aim behind the shoulder for the heart. A bear he'd target the throat, a wolf or wild cat wouldn't matter much where he aimed. He drew in a deep breath and held it, waiting.

[Jonathon DuFraine]

A head poked out of the bushes, startled to see the hunter and squire. The head belonged to a rabbit, startled to find humans here. It's instincts would tell it to bolt immediately, but right now it was having trouble with the bush. Jonathon breathed out, a whisper of breathe, and fired with the same motion.

Such a short shot was paltry for Jonathon, and Jonathon finished the job with a slit from his short sword. "Just a rabbit. My nerves are a bit high, I apologize. Don't worry; we'll be finding more substantial prey by tonight, I'm sure." Or maybe tonight. Wolves frequented the Bronze Woods...

"Let's keep moving. Or, actually, we could stay here. The smell of fresh blood might attract..." Jonathon hefted the dead rabbit into his own pack. "Hmm. No, would take too long." Jonathon nodded to the squire. "Let's go." Behind him, just barely visible to the squire but unable to be seen by Jonathon rose a column of smoke. Light, about as strong as a campfire...

[Dimitri]

Dimitri saw the rabbit's head pop from the bushes. He was surprised to see such a bold and dangerous move for such a skittish creature. He lowered his bow, no need to waste an arrow on such a creature. He noticed it was stuck in the bush. This raised his suspicions of the area. Rabbits didn't just get stuck in bushes, nor do they suddenly get bold to view strangers without hiding. Dimitri then watched his hunting partner put an arrow into it, then ended it's life with his sword. What was the point? They didn't come here for small fry. Seemed a waste, and possibly reckless.

He kept his senses on high alert. The rabbit just didn't seem right. He looked around the area cautiously, looking for any signs of danger or anything unusual. He scanned the trees, the sky, looking for anything. Off in the distance he saw it. A small rising puff of smoke. Looked to be from a campfire or something similar. He motioned for the man and pointed into the distance, keeping his silence.

[Jonathon DuFraine]

Jonathon turned around, noticing the plume of smoke. "Hm. Probably fellow hunters... Or maybe something else?" Just as he said so, a loud yell echoed from the location of the fire. The sound of a human male, it would seem, either in fright or pain. Jonathon jerked in surprise, then raised an eyebrow at Dimitri.

"...Let's go." Jonathon ran after the campfire, dodging his way through the foliage. His mind worked furiously. What's happening? Why are they yelling? The sounds of a primal yell, of some dangerous beast made Jonathon pick up the pace. That explains it. Attacked by a bear... Which was odd. Bears generally weren't hostile. Maybe they were near it's cubs, or perhaps they had attacked it?

Just before he crashed into the clearing where the smoke was, Jonathon stopped and moved more silently, approaching the campsite. He gestured for Dimitri to do the same, as well as draw his weapon if he hadn't already. He then quitely approached the clearing.

The yells had stopped. At the ground in the clearing lay a single dead hunter, torn to death by bear claws. Jonathon gagged a bit at the sight of the body. Standing over him, seeming to gloat in triumph, was the huge body of a bear. It had seemed to have suffered minimal damage in the ambush. It's snuffling nose appeared to have picked up another scent. Probably us.

Jonathon adjusted his footing, not looking where he put his feet. A loud crackle sounded throughout the clearing. The bear looked up, staring directly at Jonathon. It was still affected by anger, and had seen new enemies approaching her cubs, it would seem. She let out a shout, and charged towards Jonathon.

Jonathon went pale as a sheet. He had fought boars, but that was the biggest he had ever hunted. This bear was huge, dangerous, bloodthirsty. Jonathon fired a single arrow; even at this range it missed. It was a surprise Jonathon's shaking hands could even fire anything. The bear was rampaging towards him, and would surely kill him if nothing was done.

[Dimitri]

Dimitri tried to call out to the man, to tell him to be more cautious and not just burst into a clearing without scouting it out first. Dimitri thought the man, as a hunter, should know better, really it was common sense to anyone who had ever lived around here and isn't a total idiot. As the man broke through the brush, Dimitri stayed, grabbed and nocked an arrow into his bow as a precaution.

He peered through and saw an enormous bear standing over the mangled and bloody body of a man. The situation just became extremely dangerous. Bears during spring had young, could run as fast as a horse, and scaling a tree was no escape. He drew back the arrow, feeling its tension grow stronger, as he saw his partner catch the bear's attention. Was this man really a hunter? Then the bear charged.

He watched as his partner loosed an arrow and missed. The bear's massive and powerful legs carried it forward. Dimitri didn't go through his proper method of releasing an arrow and simply let it go, hoping to catch it in the shoulder. He did not however. Because he didn't take the time for a proper stance, aim, breathe, and release, the arrow went high. But it wasn't entirely a miss. He watched as it punched through the thin flap of skin that was one of the bear's ears. As it continued into the distance the bloody, tattered ear flopped down as the bear roared in pain. Dimitri drew his sword with his right hand, his left holding his bow, and he charged into the clearing, waiting for the bear to make a move, hopefully toward himself.

[Archon]

Illumination of Development Jonathon DuFraine +3 Hunting +2 Weapon: Short Bow +2 Stealth Lores: Not all rustles are dangerous, Bears are dangerous Other: +1 Dead Rabbit Care to see more? : Hunting experience for the hunting throughout, Weapon: Short Bow experience for the couple fired arrows, and Stealth experience for the attempts to be silent. Dimitri +2 Stealth +2 Hunting +1 Shortbow +1 Body Building Lores: Rabbits are worthless prey, Slow and steady is best Care to see more? : Stealth experience for the attempts to be quiet, Hunting experience for the hunting throughout, Shortbow experience for the arrow fired, and Body Building for the morning exercise. Notes: An interesting start to a thread. It would have been interesting to see where it would go.