Desperate times Desperate measures.

[Duce Hazimari]

34 Fall Sea of Grass 513 AV He was nervous to the point that the sweat running off his fore head continued to roll down his blue body drenching his shirt and causing him to smell. No. He had to get rid of his natural smell smearing more rabbit blood onto his arms and abdomen. He could not believe what he was doing. He was going out on a limb this time, and it looked to be very fragile. He checked the map given to him again by an escort passing through the Sea of Grass to see if he was in the right territory. His heart stopped when he realized that he was. He was too nervous, too afraid. Then again how would that make him look. He was an Akalak after all. A warrior who wasn't afraid of anything. A rustle in the grass made him jump. "Ok it's time to go." He thought to himself as he began to pack up all of the things that he had borrowed from those willing to give him supplies in RIverfal which consisted of A wagon and horse, Bow and arrow, and heavy chain along with his Lakan and food that he had brought for himself, but was also using it as bait. No he had to stay here, no matter how afraid he was. The word burned his lips as it exited. All he had to do was wait, and waiting is what he would do. He grabbed the bow and arrow, and took aim at the birds flying overhead. He did not know how to use the weapon nor ride the horse that was borrowed to him, but his employer insisted that he had the proper equipment for this "expedition." Even after Duce had explained that he was not the best hunter in Riverfall, he still took the job. He felt the only reason he got it, was because he was nearly the only person crazy enough to do it. He moved his aim to the Wagon firing at a hanging rabbit corpse and missing terribly. He grabbed his Lakan and listened as a rustling in the grass quickened as it got near his location. Three, two, one now Duce counted in his mind as a large hare jumped across his lap only to be snagged out of the air and silenced by his weapon. He was satisfied. Nervous, but satisfied. Why couldn't he just hunt rabbits and smaller animals? If his employer were to have him bring back 40 rabbits he would do it with no problem, but no he wanted something big, something heavy, dangerous, and expensive. The Mizas were the only reason Duce had put his life in danger. He cut open the rabbit and smeared more blood onto himself and on the ground. This was the last time he was going to do something this crazy. There was another sound of grass moving that caught his attention almost breaking his neck in the process. It was coming from behind and moving at a steady pace. The sound was too constant to be a rabbit, so what could it be. It was hunt or be hunted Duce decided as he moved behind the wagon to get a close look at what ever was coming. The swishing got louder as he carefully watched the yellow grass filled with dead animal carcasses as an orange colored head poked out giving Duce a wave of relief. It was only a snake. A constrictor that he could handle.He waited until the snake slithered out of the taller grass before he pounced onto it. He felt as its muscles tightened trying to get a good grip onto the blue warrior but its efforts were futile. His Lakan already drawn, he gave the snake a few hard pokes puncturing its skin and eventually killing it as it attempted to squirm away without any success. He was satisfied with his kill, but also even more afraid. The smell of the rabbits and birds were attracted other predators, and he could do nothing but wander what other animals might try and investigate the smell as well. Now he had two things to worry about as he went to work setting up his traps. The damn things were complicated, but he had made it work. He had dead prey, live prey, snares, box traps, and a pole trap spread through out the tall grass as he sat tinkering with the bow and arrow once again, and even firing off another shot getting closer than his first attempt. If he didn't catch this animal, then there was no use for him to hunt anymore.More time had passed and there still no sign of the animal. More snakes, more rabbits, he even managed to knock down a few birds out of the sky but still not the animal he was looking for and the day was pulling into it's evening hours. He was just ready to give up pack his supplies and return to Riverfall a failure. The horses had began to stir and whine as Duce started to put the rabbits and snakes into the wagon. Maybe he could get a few coins with these, but still not enough to pay the seasons wages seeing that most of those coins would go to the supplies and horses that he was renting. He could just skip town and find somewhere else. He had heard that Kenash was a pretty nice place. He could find work there, or even go to the Mura isle with the Konti....That would be very nice. The horses continued to stir and act as if they were agitated. Stupid animals couldn't they just be quiet and not rub defeat in his face? He walked along the opposite side of the wagon making sure that everything was tied down, when a footprint had caught his attention. It had an sideways oval shaped heel with five vertical oval toes and triangles above each one, and by the texture of the dirt it was fresh. Duce slowly stood up. Did this mean what he thought it meant. He heard a low heavy breath come from the back of the wagon and slowly crept to the back only to face an orange and black stripped figure whose mouth was wide open and roaring into his face before sending out a paw with its claws at the ready to which barely missed the Akalak as he stepped back. This was it. This is what he came for. What he spent bells rubbing rabbits blood and killing snakes for. Today he was truly going to become a man, or he was going to die trying.

[Duce Hazimari]

34 Fall Sea of Grass 513 AV The tall Akalak looked down upon the grass bear from a safe distance as it prepared for battle. He couldn't tell if it was a male or female from his position, and did not want to find out at the moment. He was without any weapons or armor, and would have to rely on his fighting skill and 210lb of weight to at least get to his Lakan and chain and that was taking if the bear did not half way rip his heart out in the process. He felt confident, until the animal stood up on it's hind legs and nearly was the same height if not taller than Duce himself. If animals could smell fear and intimidation like it was said they could, the blue man was giving off a very strong scent. The two stood there quietly starring each other down. This was the intimidation period. Where both fighters would put on their best macho man pose and attempt to make the other retreat. Duce tried his hardest to stand with the bear, but was desperately loosing and nothing had happened yet. That was it. The bear had gotten to him. Giving out a loud cry, the Akalak ran toward the bear fist at the ready and attempted a punch that was absorbed by the bear's muscle and dealt back with a roar and sharp claw swipe that grazed the man's shoulder forcing him to back up to safe distance only to have the bear go back on all fours and starting to run after him. He wasn't prepared for this. He thought it was all a dream, but the butterflies in his stomach assured him that this was reality and it was hitting him hard. The grass bear was gaining and fast. Oh shyke why didn't he pay attention in survival training as a boy. That really could have came in handy right now. he felt the hot breath of the bear on his lower back dropping to the ground sliding under the beast only inches away from its saliva drooling maw. Well one thing was for sure, it was a male, and it was ready to mate. Duce got up off the ground taking the bear semen stained shirt off and using it as a distraction for the bear. "Come on. Over here. Come on." He said taunting the bear who charged him head on shifting his weight and slammed into Duce pinning him onto the wagon and scarring the horses once again. It was a good thing they were tied down or he would not have had a way to transport this thing back to Riverfall. Seeing this as a really painful opportunity, he took this as a chance to deal a few strikes of his own, punching the bear in the back and sides with loud thuds until the animal had gotten up off of him and circled for another attack. Wasting no time Duce went for the chain and Lakan. Those were his only hope. He kept an eye on the bear that finished it's circle and charged again only to miss, but managed to move the chain out of Duce's reach just as he was about to grab it. He had moved out the way again as the animal stood back on it's hind legs to diminish the disadvantage dealt to him. Now things were serious. Duce moved in keeping his head low and throwing in a jab that bounced off the bear with no affect, and dodged a high paw that could have taken off his head. How was he supposed to take this thing down? It was pure muscle. A machine. One hit from its paws and.... His train of thought had distracted him and had made his eyes miss the low swinging paw that had directly hit his leg thus sending him to the ground with a bleeding thigh. Things were going too fast How had he fallen? How did he miss the paw? The bear moved in swiping at him doing more damage to the already damaged limb. Duce did the best he could to defends against the claws and teeth but to no avail. He threw another punch aiming for the nose only to feel the sharp pain and hear every sound of the world pause to the sight and feeling of the bear's teeth chomping into his arm and holding it with its jaw in a grip that could rip his limp off. The Akalak screamed in pain as he fought for his limb with the tugging bear. He screamed and kicked cursing in Tukant at the animal as its paws continued to scratch and maul his thick muscular arm. Tears of pain trickled down his cheek. He was not going to get out of this one alive. This was his ticket. His last reckless act. He pulled his blood running arm as the bear tried to run up atop of the male to finish him off. Duce fought for his life backing up as fast as he could on one elbow trying to buy time to escape the bears death grip until he fell onto the ground unable to catch himself. This was it. This was how it was going to end. He closed his eyes and the orange blur made it's way up his body. This was the end. He heard the final roar, and he was dead. He had moved on to where ever those that died went. He sat still for a few seconds taking it in until a thread of grass tickled his neck forcing him to open his eyes to see a 300 pound grass bear caught in two snare traps each holding one of it's hind legs temporarily restraining him but not for long. He had gotten lucky. He was supposed to die just then. To be a dead blue caucus out in the Sea of Grass. Wasting no time captured and not looking a gift horse in the mouth, Duce slowly began to crawl past the bear and toward the wagon to fetch the chain before the animal could escape the trap's hold which wasn't that long as the bear began to drag itself behind the man with its powerful front paws. Two meters had never seemed so long to the Akalak as he raced to get to the restraints against the man eating animal not to far behind him. He wasn't moving fast enough the evidence being the large bear closing the gap between them faster and faster with each pull of its paws. He began to launch himself off of the ground using his good leg, but had the consequence of landing on both his injured limbs. He winced at the pain as he made more progress than he was doing before. He was almost there, only a few more leaps before he was in arms reach of the wagon. He could feel success and victory on his side. He was going to live. He was going to survive. The pain of sharp claws re-registered in his mind for the bear had manage to slip one restraint off and close the gap significantly. Duce let out a loud scream. One that had pierced the air and shook the mountains. He was going to die. His luck had ran out. No...Not today. He looked at his blood covered leg trying to justify how much damage was already done to it before he decide to go forth as if nothing had happened. He closed his eyes and took hold of the wooden planks on the wagon and began to pull himself up the bears claws ripping through his skin and meat as if it were cheap paper. The pain was unbearable as the Akalak fought in mind body and soul to reach the chains skipping over his weapon. No, he needed this thing alive. He needed to capture it. He was relieved to feel the claws withdraw from his leg, but let out another cry of pain when he felt the teeth of the beast apply it's grip to replace the merciful claws. He was dizzy as everything began to blur but the pain of the grip re-positioning brought him back to reality once more. He couldn't do anything but laugh. He had to laugh for the moment only to subdue the pain that he was about to bring unto himself as he grabbed the Lakan from the wagon and sat upon the ground starring at the equally tired but less injured bear. He had to thank the man that recommended the heavy ended snare traps if he ever made it back to Riverfall.

[Duce Hazimari]

34 Fall Sea of Grass 513 AV He analyzed his bear covered leg to see how much he would have to take off to get his leg back. By the looks of things, the bear did not get his whole leg, but had only snagged a whole sum of meat from one side. He really did not want to do this, but he had no other choice. The Rabbits were not cutting it, he was bad with a bow, and anything else left to hunt were in packs and could fight back. This was his last resort. he leaned his head up against the wagon as he looked up into the sky debating if he should just give up. To just wait until the bear regained it's energy and let it consume him piece by piece...But what would all of the fighting would have been for. What would the fighting, the blood shed and the stealing and hiding from the landlord have been for? No, he HAD to take this beast to Riverfall. He looked back down toward he animal that was still tired and holding his grip in place. He could not believe he was going to do this. Carefully slipping the chain around the bears mouth trying not to disturb it too much and biting his tongue at the occasional pull from it's mouth, Duce managed to close the animal's mouth to where it would not be able to open or close it once he operation was done, and double checking his work so he would not loose another limb. He knew he had to work fast once he started or he would not be able to make it to Riverfall in the time needed. The sun was at it's highest point of the day, and it would take him at least most of it to drag the animal back to the city without running into any other hunters or dangerous animals. He stuffed the his shirt into his mouth biting down hard as he poked the area where the teeth of the beast were to see how much would have to go. He began to panic. He couldn't do this could he? What if he didn't tie the chains correctly and the bear got a better grip? What if he had to go without a leg? These questions raced through his mind just as fast as his heart was beating. Deciding to stop stalling, he pushed the Lakan through his leg biting down in agonizing pain tears pouring down his face as if he were an infant crying for it's mother. This was hell, or at least the tour of it. He couldn't stop there. All he did was get through it. Now he had to start cutting. Shyke! Why did he have to start in the middle. He started toward the most tense end slowly cutting through his tough meat as blood ran down the weapon until he finally felt the dagger loosen and finish it's cut while managing to nip his ankle a bit. Now for the other half as he raised his shaking hand and started his journey back through hell. He continued to cry as he cut but the feeling of the blade hitting the bears teeth made his heart drop. Due to the angle of the bear, one side was in deeper than the other. If he were to cut any deeper, he would risk cutting something majorly important."Why me?" He asked an invisible person as he stabbed the Lakan into the ground to where it was protruding outward. Gripping his leg and bracing himself, Duce continued to remove the meat of his limb by pulling his leg away from the animal's mouth. His entire body began to shake as he used all his will to torture himself until he finally felt the skin pull away and the grip loosen completely. He didn't want to look down neither to his leg, or the bear's mouth, but he could feel more blood run from the wound as he tied his shirt around it to slow the bleeding and by him some time. Wasting none, he moved as fast as he could first bounding the bear's paws and legs before the rest of it's body and adding even more weights while using a tree limb to substitute his injured leg. He needed to get out of this area, this land. He needed to get home. Using the horses to pull the now re energized but heavily restrained bear onto the wagon, Duce loaded the cart, readied the horses, and headed back to Riverfall to turn in his hunt. He hoped that the mizas would be worth the trouble he went through to get this stupid animal. He needed food, water, a bed, and a healer most importantly and as quick as possible. He was sure he had fallen asleep, or passed out many times before seeing Riverfall not too far. He screamed hoping that someone, anyone would see him in the grasslands and would come help, he had the contract for the bear signed with his name in his underwear. He didn't care about anyone finding it. All he needed was help. He had made it. He was going to survive, but he needed help because he was sleepy. He lost feeling in his entire body as if he was leaving it. No he couldn't die. Not now. Was this what death felt like? He heard yelling and grass rustling. Everything was black. He couldn't feel anything. All the sound had stopped. Was he dead? He couldn't be he was breathing right? Right? He couldn't tell. "All...I.I.I needed was...help." he whispered to who ever was there to hear. Before everything went black. Was he dead? No he was breathing. He couldn't die. If he died then it all would have been for nothing....Nothing.

[Gossamer]

Moderator Intervention The Issue(s): Hi there. I'm afraid we have to null this thread because of your lack of asking permission in acquiring jobs, supplies, and because you have been utilizing creatures in ways that are not site appropriate. This thread is a classic example of you not roleplaying your skill level. You have a bear attempt to mate with you before you attack/kill it. A full grown bear would eat a man alive as unskilled as you are with no weapons and or armor and training designed to defend against such things, especially with a Lakan. We don't particularly like miracles either. The snares catching the bear? Really? No. You have no approved employment, and you are not allowed to have a wagon that starts out with a horse, then two horses... those things cost considerable amounts of coin and are harshly monitored in ledgers if they are not accounted for. You have not accounted for these things nor can you say they are on loan or gifts. Basically it boils down to this. You have frustrated two of my Cyphrus staff beyond belief. You have not listened to them nor the staff. And when you logged on to chat to ask advice you did not listen to them either. I will no longer allow you in Cyphrus with this PC or any of your alts. If you cannot follow the rules and stop metagaming, then you will be asked to leave the site. Please take your character out of Cyphrus... and if I hear that you don't follow the rules and don't react well to your next location, the next step is a sitewide uninvite. Please read the rules. Please follow the advice of fellow players. PM Gossamer when you have the above issues corrected and this intervention will be removed. .