Completed Boar Hunting

[Azira]

80th Fall 513AV

The idea of the boar spear was stuck in the head of the huntress. She knew that she could probably make one easily enough and that she could probably find other uses for it aside from boar hunting but she would have to think about it more. Making it though was the top priority. On the off chance that she came across another boar, Azira did not want to be totally unprepared again. The first thing that Azira needed was another knife, which would serve for the head of her spear.

She headed down to the market in search of a good sharp hunting knife. She wandered amongst the stalls examining all sorts of blades. Some were short, some thick, some thin and some long. She finally found one that was the right size, was sharp and was a good weight. The Avora wanted to haggle for it but she wasn’t very good at persuading people.

”I am an Avora! I hunt for you, you ungrateful little- It’s because of me that you even get food to eat so give me a discount!” Azira demanded. The man looked at her coldly. It was clear that he did not much like her attitude. She supposed that she was being a bit rude but she really wanted to get the knife cheaper than everybody else did. It was something that she deserved because of her status.

”I don’t much like your attitude, miss. Just because you’re a hunter, doesn’t give you the right to treat me like that,” he replied through gritted teeth. The huntress sighed and tried to think of something to say to salvage the situation.

”I’m sorry, okay? I just really need that knife cheap and I’m just so frustrated. You’ve no idea how difficult it is to catch game lately and I need that knife to make something to help me catch more food, all right?” Azira tried again, her voice softer now with less of an edge. The man’s expression softened a little and he sighed resignedly.

”You can have a discount but only a small one because you were rude to me.” Feeling triumphant, the girl paid the new amount that the seller asked for the knife. She had the right blade at last but she still needed wood and something to tie the whole thing together. Groaning, she realised that she would need to buy string, rope or something like that, as well. The huntress stamped off to look for rope, muttering darkly to herself.

LedgerHemp Rope (50ft)=1GM
Hunting Knife=2GM-5SM=1GM 5SM

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[Azira]

It took her awhile to find a suitable rope but she still branch of some sort for her spear. She didn’t bother trying to haggle for the hemp rope, not after the hassle of the first time, so she just paid the asking price.

Carrying her spoils, she returned to her room to collect her hunting gear and then made her way back into the Inner Warrens and towards the Sanikas Gate, her mind filled with the idea of what sort of branch she’d want for her homemade spear.

Once she was outside, she moved into the forest, wandering around looking for newly fallen branches. She had to try to find one that was long enough to put distance between her and a boar but it also had to be thick enough and sturdy too. It would be difficult to find one that had not begun to rot but it would be easier trying to find a fallen branch rather than having to cut one off a tree. She’d ruin her knife trying to cut through the green wood and it would be a shame to cut wood from a live tree.

The first piece of wood that Azira found seemed perfect until she picked it up. The wood split a little in her hands and some small insects began to scurry out. Dropping it in disgust, she stamped on top of it and shuddered, wiping her hands on her bryda. Continuing her search, she found plenty of wood but nothing that would do. There was always something wrong with the wood that she found.

It took her about half a bell to find a suitable branch. It was reasonably straight and the wood was still sturdy enough if a little damp. The teen did a few practice jabs and decided that it had a good enough reach. She sat down on a fallen tree and placed the branch over her legs, pulling the new knife and the rope from her backpack, she set to work. She cut off a reasonable length of rope from the coil. Holding the branch, she tied a loose loop at the end of it with the rope then taking the knife by the hilt, she slipped it into the loop and tightened it. The girl crisscrossed the cord over the hilt and then knotted it tightly.

When it was secure, Azira stood up and did a few more practice jabs, satisfied with the weight and balance of the weapon. If she found a boar then she was fairly confident that she could use this to stab it to death. It wasn’t too heavy at the end so she wouldn’t have difficulty wielding it. The huntress was actually quite proud of herself for managing to put it together. It had been an ingenious idea on her part.

Armed with her new weapon and with her bow slung across her back, the Avora set off down the mountain and into the mountain valleys, a bit of a spring in her step. She was sure that she would be bringing home food today.

x

[Azira]

Azira made good time in her descent into the valleys, reaching the lush areas in a little over half a bell. Her enthusiasm had made her far less cautious than usual but that had also encouraged her speed. In hindsight, it was amazing that she hadn’t broken her neck, especially as her footing was never completely sure. Still she had arrived at her destination in one piece and that was all that mattered.

The huntress headed straight for the area where she had caught the boar the last time, or where she thought it had been anyway. When she got there, she wasn’t sure if it was exactly the same place. The trees grew together more closely and she became more uncertain when she came across a small stream. It certainly seemed like a completely different area, which disappointed her, but she went to the water’s edge hoping to find some form of tracks to help her search for some sort of animal. Whether it was a boar or not didn’t matter hugely, although she was eager to try out her new boar spear.

The teen was out of luck for the ground either side of the stream was covered in stones and she couldn’t even get prints from then because the water had splashed them. Presumably, animals came to drink here but there weren’t going to be obvious signs. She would have to check the ground a little further afield and hope that some small impression had been made in the earth somewhere.

Crouching low, the Avora began to walk slowly along the shoreline, looking for the tell tale depressions of a creature’s passage. She found a large hoof print in the earth, too big to be a boar so she guessed at a bigger animal, perhaps a deer or an elk. There was no point trying to track it further though because it was unlikely she’d be able to take it down herself and even if she did, there was no way that she could carry it all and it would be a waste it leave any portion of it behind. Sighing forlornly, she continued on her course.

There were a few more, smaller prints a little further on. It seemed likely that they were boar prints but they seemed suggest that the creature had crossed over the stream. Hopping over the narrow channel of water, Azira began to search for signs of more activity. If it had crossed fairly recently then there should be wet footprints leading away from the water. She was thinking that it had been recent anyway or presumably the prints wouldn’t have still been there but she could not be sure; she was still learning about tracking.

The huntress let out a small cry of triumph then clamped her hand over her mouth. A little further down the stream from the point she had crossed to, Azira had found some damp looking prints. Apparently, the boar had walked a little way downstream in the water before coming back onto dry land. It wasn’t that difficult to believe as the body of water was fairly shallow, only a couple of inches deep. She almost skipped after the damp trail, following it into the trees and losing it there where it had dried out.

The ground was covered in a layer of pine needles so they obscured impressions that might have been visible. They cushioned her footfalls, making the sounds around her easier to hear. It was quiet. The wind blew through the trees and there was the occasional sound of scratching, which suggested running squirrels but that was all that she could hear. It was eerie somehow and she didn’t like it. It didn’t help that she had nowhere to go next, didn’t know what direction to head in so she was stuck in this quiet place. It wasn’t really something that ought to worry her. If something wanted to eat her then yes, she’d have cause to worry but worrying about the lack of sound? No, that was just silly.

The girl began circling to try to find any new signs, looking for scat or signs of feeding.

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[Azira]

   

The huntress was quickly becoming frustrated. She had been searching for signs of the boar for more than a quarter of a bell and she hadn't found any signs of it since the stream. Circling around and around had done nothing more than disorientate the Avora so she had no idea which way she had come from and it was terribly frustrating. It was like the creature had vanished after it had left the tracks by the stream, just blended away into the forest.

After awhile of checking for tracks, the teen sat herself down on the ground, stretching her legs out in front of her and sitting her makeshift . It was cold and a little damp but there was nowhere else to sit so she made do with what she had. She rested her chin on her hand and looked glumly ahead of her, wishing the boar to come out of hiding so she could stab it to death.

Why did hunting have to be so shyke lately? Everyone was having the same problem as her and yet that didn't make her feel any better. Just because everyone else was having the same rotten luck didn't mean that things were all great and wonderful. It meant that every kill was vital because it added to the winter stores and winter was fast approaching.

"Stupid petching boar!" she shouted as if that would really help matters. As it happened it did because there was a squeal and then a boar ran across the clearing only a few feet away from her. Azira gawker at the running creature for a few ticks and then struggled to her feet and took off after it. It wove easily through the trees while the Avora struggled to weave around the trees as she made an unbelievable racket running behind it.

"Come here, you little shyke," she snarled, her spear extended in front of her as she gained on the running pig. She jabbed with the spear and it was just too soon because it flew past it's tail and stuck in the ground. As she stopped to tug it out, the boar disappeared in through a gap in a bush and was gone. The huntress made a frustrated sound as she pulled the spear from the ground, resisting the urge to fling it. It wasn't fair. Why couldn't it stay still?

The teen made her way around the bush and went off in search of her lost quarry.

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[Azira]

   

Gone. Vanished without a trace. She'd lost the boar. One tick it had been there running through a bush and the next it had been lost to her forever. True, Azira tried to look for it but the creature had been smart, it had made itself scarce quickly. It angered the huntress to no end because she'd spent so long searching for the bloody thing in the first place and now it was gone and it seemed likely that she'd return home without absolutely nothing. She was also disappointed not to have had a chance to try out her boar spear.

After her fruitless search, the teen began trying to track again but her failure had agitated her and so she couldn't concentrate for more than a few ticks. It wasn't her fault that most of the animals had gone to ground or that there were no boars around for her to stab but she still felt like she should be able to do something about it despite the fact that she actually couldn't do anything. 

There was still a bell or two of light left but the Avora knew that it would make absolutely no difference whether she stayed out or went back to the city. Her chances of catching something outside were so slim that she'd probably have a better chance of catching something in the city. Azira was better off just heading back to Wind Reach and trying to come to terms with the fact that she probably wouldn't catch anything for the rest of the season. Depressing as it was, it was the truth.

As she trudged back up Mount Skyinarta, the girl wondered if she wasn't just a barely competent hunter. She'd done poorly during the season and while others had had similar problems they couldn't possibly as bad as hers. Lavira had been a better hunter than her and she had only been a provider of food for a short time, not even a full season whereas Azira had been a hunter for three years. It was a bit of a difference really and a worrying one at that. It was times like this that the teen wondered if she was really cut out for this kind of work at all.

When the Avora returned to her home, she was using her spear, blade side up, as a walking stick and so she got a number of curious and worried glances from the citizens of the city as they tried to work out why she was carrying a stick with a blade at the end. They were curious, true, but none were bold enough to approach her and question the reason behind her. She was glad because then she wouldn't have to explain her failure to anybody.

Azira made it into her rooms, dropped her bow and quiver on top of the bookshelf and left her boar spear leaning against the wooden shelves. She dropped her backpack at the bottom of her bed, stretched briefly and then set off to fulfil the monotonous actions that she did everyday, moving on automatic as she did so.

It had been a bad day's hunting and she'd get over her disappointment but would the city manage?

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[Taylani]

XP Award!

Azira:

XP Award:

• +1 negotiation
• +1 foraging
• +1 weapon smithing
• +1 land navigation
• +1 observation
• +3 tracking
• +1 hunting
• +1 weapon: Boar spear
  
  
  

Lore:

• Catch more flies with honey then vinegar
• Boar Spear: Timing a throw is everything
  

Awards :

A very crude Boar spear, probably won’t last for too many successful hunts but it is a good start! With more practice Azira will be able to craft better and more durable spears

Notes:

Comments :

Feel free to PM me any concerns about your grade, and don’t forget to edit your grade request.

TAYLANI