Completed Catch that Deer!

[Rion Whitestone]

"Well...that was fun," Rion said as he lay panting in the snow. Seeing Gray standing over him, he only flashed him a grin in response. Despite the hunter not receiving a scratch in the battle, Rion was proud of his own injury. It was proof that he had a good fight. Still, he probably could have taken a page from Gray's book and used the trees to his advantage. That would have saved a lot of time in healing. "Maybe I will try death from above one of these days," he said as he sat up. While Gray gathered up the bodies, Rion pulled off his cloak and wrapped it around his injured arm to use as a temporary cast. "It's a good thing he didn't break the bone," Rion thought. "It might still leave a scar, though. Better get some herbs to treat this." Standing up, he was about to look around when Gray offered to get medical supplies along with something to start a fire. Though leaving an injured man to guard the meal didn't seem like the best of ideas, the alternative was even worse. "Sure," Rion answered simply. "But if you're looking for medical stuff, you might wanna check by where I found the wolves. Whatever they killed back there, I think it had at least found some plants lying around. Maybe if you look around you'll see some useful berries or herbs that aren't frozen." Though he wasn't sure Gray was actually able to easily locate plants, he decided to put his faith in him anyway. Hopefully he'd be able to tell the difference between a herbal remedy and a poisonous snack. Just in case, Rion added "try to find some juniper berries if you can." Hopefully he at least knew what those were. Though he didn't say it, Rion also hoped Gray sensed the urgency of the matter. He needed those supplies fast before his wounds started to deteriorate. Of course, he wouldn't have had this problem if the deer hadn't have stolen his plants...

[Medhozic]

As he passed a last glance to the man, he realized that he would never really understand humans. In fact, the longer he spent around many species, the more he came to dislike them for their arrogance and their habits. Strange, that they always seemed to make the wrong decisions and yet there were still so many of them. Some simply made enemies out of others for the sake of their self-image, and others.. did what the farmer had done. Made idiotic and rash decisions, and then didn't seem to learn from them - the man was grinning regardless of the large wounds covering his arm, blood pooling on the floor.. and he called it fun. The Ethaefal called it suicide, trying to fight off wolves with swords. Even Ziths were smarter than that. And now, it was up to him - the one who survived unscathed, uninjured, calm and rational throughout their expedition - to pick up the pieces and a few juniper berries as well. He was lucky that Medhozic had somewhat of a rough grasp of the plants that grew around the Bronze Woods, otherwise he would have had to walk all the way back to the city and find the nearest available healer before the wounds became infected. He'd still have to do that, anyway, but at least he wouldn't be in such a rush.. probably. But a small scouting around the area revealed a few minor caches of juniper growing beneath rotted carcasses of fallen trees. And not too far away, liverwort. The man was lucky, indeed. He took handfuls of both and took them back to the farmer, with a glance to the pile of bodies.. and the blood still covering the forest floor. That was bound to attract animals. Not the ones that they wanted either. "Treat yourself with these." He passed the herbs and berries down. "I'll find the deer and bring it back." In all the excitement, the deer they'd been hunting for in the beginning had been long forgotten - whether or not it was the same deer that the wolves had brought down was unimportant. But whether it'd attracted more wolves or other carnivorous creatures was. And just to be safe, he pulled a fresh arrow from one of the wolves and set it against the limbs of his drawn short-bow before turning back in the direction that the wolves had emerged from. Except when he did arrive.. nothing. Smears of blood and heavy marks on the trees that showed signs of predators.. and a large one at that, by the thick claw-marks, but no sign of the actual creature nearby. It'd taken the deer though - the whole deer as well. He was glad it'd gone.. doubtless his short-bow wouldn't have been much use against it. All that was left, was a little cloth bag with a few berries and nuts in it - a bit of dried blood splattered over the top. He picked it up and stuffed it into the pocket of his trousers before turning back and returning to the farmer.

[Rion Whitestone]

When Gray left, Rion took the time to analyze the bodies they'd laid waste to as well. While a few of them were fallen from what seemed like a minor arrow wound, the others were lying in pools of blood with their guts spilling out. Rion looked at it with disgust at first...but then the expression turned to guilt. Pulling Aldreda from one of them, he spent a few moments staring at the blood covered sword, deep in thought. If it wasn't for his fateful encounter with the Kelvics a few days back, he would have killed the wolves and thought nothing of it. He would have even celebrated his victory with a feast and a forest party. But he couldn't do that anymore, because he had met those Kelvics a few days back. And now, he found himself questioning even the act of wielding Aldreda in protection. "These wolves...they probably had dreams of their own. They might have had their own personalities...their own families...their own lives." The thought only raised the feeling of guilt already welling up inside of him. But in the end, he knew their was nothing he could do about it. This was the forest, so he had to be prepared to do what it took to survive. All he could do for the wolves was offer his condolences and his respect. Turning Aldreda over, he stabbed the sword into the ground and knelled down beside her. It was sign of respect that he had once seen a squire do after his first kill. "You guys at least put up a good fight," Rion said almost to himself. "If it hadn't been for Gray, you probably would have beaten me. But at least in defeat, you found an opponent worthy of your full power." Looking down at his cloak cast, Rion let a weak smile come onto his face. "We each have proof of that." Plucking the sword from the ground, Rion rose with the appearance of Gray, who tossed him the supplies to treat his injuries. However, he didn't seem to have wood for their fire. Rion didn't call him on it, though. Gray had already done enough by gather the herbs for his treatment. Walking over to his backpack, which had fallen off in the battle, Gray dug through it until he found his water skin and a small bar of soap. Until he got the fire, he couldn't properly disinfect the wound. However, he could at least clean it. As Gray left to retrieve the deer, Gray ripped off one of the outer pieces of his cloak cast in preparation for the ordeal. Sitting down, he placed the cloth on his thigh while he carefully removed the cast. As soon as it was off, he quickly doused the wound with water, knowing he had to work fast before the elements honed in on the open wounds. He also put some water on the cloth before rubbing the soap onto it. Once this was done, he brought the cloth over his wound and started cleaning. He winced at the contact, but he didn't necessarily cry out in pain like he did with the initial wolf bite. When he was done, he re-wrapped the wound with the opposite side of his cloak cast, showing off the blood spattered side to the whole world. "Now all I need is a fire so I can cook these," Rion said as he stared at the Juniper berries. Looking up as Gray returned, Rion once again saw the lack of firewood and decided not to say anything on the matter. He also didn't see the deer he had been looking for. He at least thought to ask about that. "What happened out there?"

[Medhozic]

It was lucky, that he hadn't see the man talking with corpses of wolves. It would have probably cemented the sneaking suspicion, in his mind, that the farmer had spent too much time with himself. It was a problem that he accepted and many others as well - there were those, like the Ethaefal, that could be perfectly happy in their own company. But there were others that would eventually turn a little crazy - doing things like naming inanimate objects like friends and talking to corpses. He just passed an odd look at the man sitting with his arm bound in ripped cloth. The second person that he'd met, interested in destroying their own clothes in the sake of something that they could have bound with any array of cloth.. but no. Seemed they were all interested in defacing everything they owned for no particular reason. Even themselves, by fighting wolves with swords as if it would give them some kind of dignity. "Kriital. Predators that are better not met in these times. It is no matter. Five wolves will be more than enough." He took out the little square of fabric holding nuts and berries, and threw them down with the others that he'd collected earlier. "You have nuts and berries. I have skins and meat. We are finished." In truth, he worried. The man was obviously at least partially insane, and he was armed with a sword - he could be a potential threat if, for whatever reason, he decided to attack. But he wouldn't let that challenge his right judgement.. no, he'd make a fire, skin the wolves and cut up the pieces, carry them back to Syliras, most likely with some help from the farmer to carry the others.. and that would be that. Then he'd never have to strike a deal again. First, he needed the fire to, at the least, heat their bodies. That was the easy part - a few small branches collected from the floor, and a few larger ones collected from the lower portions of the trees with a few swings from his kopis. And a few roots atop the little pile of wood, that he could use to begin the fire and then let it spread naturally over the rest. The pile was a little wonky of course - and it took a few sparks to get the thing really going, and a bit of blowing. But he eventually got there, and that was what was important. Then he could settle down with the first deer and take the short, curved blade to the point just below the back of its neck, and begin easing it between the layers of muscle and skin to peel it back. It'd take a while.. but he could manage it, at least cleanly. It'd make a fine pelt to sell.. although he actually had no intention of that. He wanted to take it to a tailor and have the stuff sewn together, he'd decided. Make a nice coat, or something along those lines - another thing to add to his rather diminutive collection of clothes. With five wolf skins, it should have been enough for possibly even more.. perhaps he'd be able to get a pair of trousers as well, from the stuff. Yes.. he'd garb himself in all of his kills. Deer skins and wolf skins.. though he didn't intend on finding a bear any time soon, during the winter would be the best chance to find a sleeping one and take it.. and then he'd have a bear skin as well to wear as a cloak, depending on the size of the thing, of course.. and how many there were, too.

[Rion Whitestone]

Picking up the other supplies that Gray threw down, Rion stared in bewilderment at the blood covered bag. He didn't need to have witnessed the scene to know just what had occurred. Knowing that the deer died carrying his seeds made him reluctant to take the bag back. However, his stomach told him to be happy with what he got. It would be a long road to recovery, and he needed food in order to do that. "I'll just have to stomach these until I get back to Syliras," Rion thought bitterly. Despite having left Syliras in order to travel the world, he found himself having to return because of what he saw as a small flesh wound. But he knew that a bar of soap and juniper berries wouldn't be enough to fix his arm up. He needed a real herbalist's aid if he wanted to stay alive and well. Opening up the bloody bag, he poured its contents into his hand and frowned at what he saw. The deer had had a feast after all, leaving only a few nuts for Rion to chew on. "Yeah, I'll definitely have to go back," he said to himself. Shoveling what he had into his mouth, he began to watch as Gray finally set up their fire. It didn't occur to him until then that he actually didn't have anything to cook with. In all the excitement of fighting wolves and trying to patch himself up, he'd forgotten one of the most important parts of herbalism: a bowl to mix with. Even if he only had that, he could have at least used his eating knife or something like that to mix with. Without the bowl, gathering the juniper berries was a useless task. However, he wouldn't tell Gray that. After all the trouble he went through to find the stuff, he didn't want to tell him he did it for nothing. So instead, he simply decided to save the berries - as well as the liverwort - for later. Seeing as his previous berry bag was bloodied and empty, Rion decided to instead put them in with his nearly empty bag of bread for the time being. Seeing as the berry plan was a bust, all that was left was to go to Syliras and make sure he hadn't been infected. In the mean time, he decided to sit and rest by the fire with Gray. They both had been through a lot today - more so Rion then Gray - and they deserved some time to recover. Unfortunately, Rion couldn't enjoy this because Gray spent this time ripping through carcasses. "And that's why I don't like meat," Rion said in disgust. And yet, Gray would probably end up cooking the dead beast anyway.

[Medhozic]

He didn't have time to listen to the other man moaning. Yet he found himself drawn, more with curiosity than anything else, as he finished skinning the wolf and bundled the furs in a small pile, before sinking the small knife into the flesh again to try and carve some large chunks of the stuff out for cooking. Mostly because the man sounded so dejected as he went on.. it was as if he didn't want to return - and he knew it was return by the phrase 'go back'. He'd spent his fare share of time in Syliras. Not much, agreed, barely a season at most and before that, three or four seasons in Ravok, learning how to function as a member of society. But in his time, he'd found little wrong with the place.. secure. Moderately comfortable. The Syliran Knights were different in a way that they wouldn't kill you if you looked at them the wrong way.. and while they had differences between them obviously, they were a somewhat reliable, affable service. The city was friendly to the best of those around and at least talked with those who weren't.. and there was a wide range of trades peddling along. "Why would you not want to go back." As he spoke, the meat was skewered on smaller branches and held aloft over the flames, turned ever-so-slowly to make sure that the thing cooked evenly. He wanted to make sure that none of the blood managed to leak over his pack.. then he wouldn't be able to bring it with him on more expeditions. Deer and other creatures could smell the stuff a mile away and associate it with a predator.. they'd be off into the Cobalt Mountains faster than a speeding arrow. But there were still more to go.. and after cooking one rather thoroughly, he had to pack the dried meat into his sack and making sure that it'd all fit. It did, but it took up all the space. They'd be carrying two wolves each, uncooked as well, if he was going to get it all back to the castle. He'd take over around the gates. As he hoisted the bag over his shoulder, however, the man only managed to confuse the Ethaefal even more with his words.. as if he didn't have enough of a precarious grasp on the humans. "How can you not like meat. You are made of meat. You are meat." This, ironically, was why he hated humans.. and it was why, regardless of the rather wonderous service that had been given by commoners and knights alike during his small stay in the city of Syliras, he'd decided that he would leave immediately, as soon as possible in fact, in order to find sanctuary in one of the other cities around Mizahar and the regions. "Speaking of meat. Take those two wolves and help me carry them. I will show you the way back to Syliras in exchange." After all, what were a few bleeding wolf carcasses to carry.

[Rion Whitestone]

Rion looked up in surprise when Gray asked about his reluctance to return to Syliras. The fact of the matter was, Gray had no real ill-feelings towards Syliras. In fact, he'd even enjoyed his time back there. He formed some strong bonds and made a generally good living under the protection of the knights, so what exactly was there for Rion not to like? "Because they're still looking for me," was Rion's only answer to Gray. And that was the actual truth of the matter. Rion didn't want to go back simply because he didn't want to be found...at least not yet. He'd promised himself he wouldn't see everybody again until he'd been all the way around the world. Thus, as he then reluctantly decided to go back to Syliras, he knew he'd have to avoid familiar faces at all costs. As Gray continued to work on his meat, he seemed genuinely surprised when the farmer said he disliked meat. "Why is it so shocking?" Rion asked. "I told you when we first met that I'm a vegetarian. Meat tastes awful anyway." Remembering the horrible taste he'd acquired as a child, Rion grimaced in disgust. His expression contorted even further when Gray told him to carry the wolf carcasses. However, he sucked it up with a groan, since Gray hadn't complained when he asked him to get the berries - or when he had to make the fire. Walking over to the dead bodies, he struggled to fine a good grip on both wolves with his one good arm. When he finally did, he shivered as he found residual traces of blood still leaking out. "Okay...I think I got it."

[Medhozic]

The man still confused him to no end. Vague answers, or ones that simply did not answer his questions. Whoever 'they' were was of little concern to the Ethaefal and yet he was so curious.. that many thoughts began passing through his mind, one dispelled after another as he tried to run through possibilities. Had he broken some law, or some religious forbiddance that now meant he would be hunted down when they reached Syliras again? Had he managed to annoy the knights or some higher order that lived there, or had he managed to do the same with a lower gang that now wished him dead. It could be none though.. the man seemed perfectly law-abiding in his own rights, and there was no hint of malice.. or even enough ignorance to bring about his own death. Surely, there were many other things.. but the man had proven with his little spell with two wolves that he didn't really have enough foresight to plan such intricate plans that would leave him alive by now, regardless of running off into the Cobalt Mountains to seek sanctuary. No no.. but then, what else was there? Well, he'd find out in the end.. the man was walking with him all the way into the Stormhold Castle, and if any knights caught sight of him and tried to stab a long-sword in his back, well he'd know the truth of why the man did not want to go back. For now, though, there was still the confusing matter of the vegetarianism.. which just made him prey, really. "Vegetarian. You mean herbivores. Like the one that was eaten by wolves, and then a Kriital." If that could even have been a Kriital.. though he doubted that it could be anything else by the marks that were left in its wake.. and the fact that an entire deer had vanished. Usually, if it was another animal, they would have just cut away parts of it. Not even a bear would be able to just pick up a whole deer and vanish with it.. no, it'd just sit at the edge and nibble away, and he probably would have come across it and had another chance of catching extra meat and furs for the market. He almost wished it was a bear for that very reason. "Now come. We're wasting Syna's light." Indeed, the rays were fading from the skies.. and it was a long trek back to the city, with five wolves between them. He wouldn't question the man anymore, though.

[Radiant]

Rion :

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Observation	+3 XP
Foraging	+1 XP
Hunting	+2 XP
Intimidation	+1 XP
Rhetoric	+2 XP
Socialization	+1 XP
Planning	+1 XP
Tactics	+1 XP
Acrobatics	+1 XP
Weapon: Broadsword	+1 XP
Medicine	+1 XP

Lores

Lore Earned

Location: Bronze Woods

Foraging: Finding Berries In Winter

Fauna: Deer Are Skittish

Gray: A Strange Horned Man

Gray: Son Of Syna

Lore of Religion: Syna

Tactics: Acting As A Decoy

Loots

Medhozic :

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Observation	+3 XP
Hunting	+2 XP
Tracking	+1 XP
Stealth	+1 XP
Climbing	+1 XP
Weapon: Shortbow	+1 XP
Intimidation	+1 XP
Rhetoric	+1 XP
Socialization	+1 XP
Leadership	+2 XP
Planning	+2 XP
Tactics	+1 XP

Lores

Lore Earned

Ethaefal: Still Requires Food In Their Mortal Seeming

Berries: Strange Food

Rion Whitestone: Vegetarian Human

Rion Names His Sword "Aldreda"

Tactic: Decoy And Shooter

Loots

Notes :

Medhozic, the first two shots were quite fast and both hit their mark... as I've told you in previous threads, he's still a Novice in Shortbow, I want you to remember that. I'm giving you XP penalty for this.

Rion, you have 5 points in Weapon: Broadsword, five means he's an early novice, a beginner, and should be stumbling just to even hold the blade, you play him like a Competent swordsman here, this is called overplaying and highly looked down upon in Mizahar. Since this is your first issue, I'm giving you an XP penalty for this. Please keep this in mind for your future threads.

Guys, please realize that both of you are novices in each of your weapon skills. From the Dictionary,

A person who is new to or inexperienced in a certain task, situation, etc; beginner; tyro

I think this should clear everything up. A beginner wouldn't be so confident in using such combat skills.

On a final note, enjoy your grades.

My radiance is not bright enough?

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, beam me a PM and we can work it out.