Hunting Shadows (Dandelion)

[Nathan Wolfgang]

11th of Ymiden 721, Mistral Woods

“That was a tiring job,” Dimitri said to Nathan as he steered his horse beside Nathan’s.

“Well, we gotta play the hands we’re dealt with. This isn’t like Etzos, they’re in a state of war. If we arrived seasons earlier perhaps we could make the bank.” Nathan replied as he looked at the horizon, Mistral village comes into view. “Hopefully Annie has found a new client for us by now. Vincent’s side hustle helps cover the drinks cost. Alcohol and provocative words are truly a good combination.” Nathan said as he pulled the reins on his horse to a halt.

“Well, we don’t want to get kicked out by the Rosemerta sisters because Vincent kept challenging their patrons to a brawl,” Dimitri replied.

“We need to find a more stable source of income while making a name for ourselves. We need employers with deeper pockets.” Nathan replied as he got off his horse and helped a nearby lumberjack pushed his cart out of the way.

“Well, we need to recruit more hands if we want to partake in bigger jobs. But still quality over quantity. The client’s satisfaction should still be our number one priority.” Dimitri replied as he dismounts his horse and helped Nathan pushed the lumberjack’s cart out of the way.

With the cart out of the way, Dimitri and Nathan mounted their horse and were about to continue their journey when they spotted several of their companions escorting a caravan into the village.

Nathan and Dimitri approached their fellow deserters.

“Well, thanks to Annie for that. She manages to find a job while waiting for you.” The Ironridge soldier said.

“She’s back at the inn? Anyone else out on a job?” Nathan asked

“Yep, Annie’s back at the inn. Probably helping the Rosemerta sisters in the garden or something. Aside from us and both of you, the rest went to the city with Vincent.” the soldier replied.

“Well then, let’s get back to the Rosemerta,” Dimitri said.

Nathan was about to follow them when he saw in his eyes peripheral something moved in the Mistral woods.

“Hey, you guys go on ahead. Just want to check on some plants in the woods.” Nathan said

“Careful, don’t want to be seeing you ghost any time soon.” Dimitri chuckled as he lightly pulls the rein on his horse.

“No bandit’s bold enough to be this close to Storm’s Edge,” Nathan replied

Nathan’s horse galloped to the border between Mistral woods and Mistral Village. The horse trots slowly inside the woods. The sun’s ray pierced through the canopy of leaves. Out of the peripheral of his eyes, he saw something moved again. He turned his horse but there was nothing in sight. After trotting a few meters he then dismounted his horse and tied it to a nearby tree. His eyes caught some apples on a low-hanging branch so he walked toward the tree. As soon as his hands took hold of the apple, he saw something moved again and at that moment he decided to chase after it. He didn’t notice that the ground is a bit slippery. As gravity did its job, Nathan tried as hard as he could to grab anything near him to help him stop from falling. But alas, the branches didn’t help him, it snapped off.

“Fuck!” Nathan shouted as he lay flat on the ground. He then looked at the apple, still clenched in his right hand, and he took a bite off it.

“At least it's fre-“ Nathan quickly spits out the piece of apple that he was eating as he saw a worm squirming from the apple. He threw the half-bitten apple as far as he could.

“Bloody fuck. No such thing as free huh?” He said under his breath as he lay there on the ground.

[Dandelion]

Dan was checking his snares to see if he had caught any rabbits when he heard hooves in the distance. He paused halfway through resetting the snare he was on, and looked up, still on one knee, to see if he could see anything. There was too much undergrowth between him and the sound for him to make anything out, so he finished what he was doing, got to his feet, and moved on down to the next snare. There was a young rabbit in it, his second rabbit for this check. Dan set his snares to give a quick, clean, death, but he wrung the animal's neck just to be certain, and knelt again to reset the snare.

He wore leather and patched cloth, none of it dyed, although the leather had been smoked over his fire to give it something of a weatherproofing. The smoking process also turned the leather some shade of yellow or brown. The exact shade varied depending on what you were burning in the fire to create the smoke, so none of the pieces matched. Still, the motley collection of browns and beiges broke up his outline and helped him blend into the woods better. Brown was a much better colour for blending in than green, which was why creatures who depended on blending in for their lives - like rabbits for example - also tended to be mostly brown. There wasn't much he could do about his hair though, which was sunbleached pale enough to catch the eye in here.

He tucked the second rabbit into the gathering bag slung over his shoulder, next to the first rabbit and the greens he had gathered, picked up his spear, and straightened. Not that far away, there was a loud snap and a human yell. Dan froze, turning slowly towards it, senses stretched to pick up more information. That couldn't have been one of his traps - he didn't have any up that way - but he had found someone else's nasty traps in here only a double-handful of days ago. He didn't like to think of a person being caught in one. He hesitated, unsure what to do next, and a half-eaten apple smacked into the tree beside him. He stifled a yelp of his own, but not the flinch that came with it. Was that - aimed at him? If so, it had certainly gotten his attention.

He picked his way across the forest floor, using the butt of his spear as probe and balance aid and extra support on the more slippery areas, until he came to a slightly clearer area, and positioned himself half behind a tree to look. There was a man on the ground under a low tree, dressed and armed like a fighter. A freshly broken branch on the tree showed the source of the snapping sound, and the few remaining apples showed the source of that too. What did he want? Was it a request for help? Food help? Finding his way out help? Something else?

Dan would linger, watching, for a few moments longer, and if he didn't see the man do anything dangerous, he would emerge quietly from the trees and offer the man a wary hand up off the ground as a start.



"Signed words" Spoken words

[Nathan Wolfgang]

Nathan squinted his eyes as droplets of water pierce the canopy overhead and somehow manages to land right on his face. He tried moving his head a bit to the left then to the right but still the helmet he was wearing hinders his head’s movement. After looking around and making sure that nothing would pounce on him, he unclasps the clasp from his helmet and took his helmet off.

He took a deep breath, he could feel the cold droplets fall on his face. At least it’s peaceful here. This feeling’s hard to come by. But still, nothing can top off a hot bath and a bottle of Starlight wine. Nathan thought to himself as he sighed. He could feel the gentle yet cool breeze blowing on his face, the sore and tense muscles due to riding back and forth between Rharne and the Zynyx Market under the rain began to loosen up, the melody of the rustling leaves. He slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He’d never felt this peaceful this past few trials. He truly took his time to cherish the moment.

If it ain’t for this storm, it would have been paradise. Nathan thought to himself as he slowly stretches his legs and arms. Shit, it’s gonna be difficult in growing corps right? Should probably invest in a ship or two sooner or later, commodities and imports should be in demand, right? Need also to learn how to hunt from those hunters back at Hunter’s Base. Can’t truly rely on the harvest right? Got to have a stockpile or two. Could grab some of these apples and maybe other fruits to bring back to them. Maybe Apple would pair well with that bottle of Starlight, as well as some meats. Ah yes, a hot bath with a bottle of Starlight paired with a meat platter and accompanied by the rhythmic sound of the rain hitting the roof. Nathan thought to himself as he tried counting the apples on the apple tree.

Well, I should probably pick those apples up. Nathan weighs his option between picking up the apples and staying on the ground. A cup of tea at Tio’s sounds good too. But it’s too far away.

[Dandelion]

There was a cluster of early hazelnuts in the next tree over, and Dan plucked them out of habit. They broke free with a snap that sounded very loud to his ever-on-alert ears. He followed up by absently pulling a pair of wild carrots as he thought. The problem with only signing, the way he did, was that there were far fewer ways to get someone's attention from a distance, especially if they weren't looking at you. Signs made no sound. No matter how widely you waved, it wasn't the same as being able to yell at or for someone. He took one of the nuts and threw it at the prone man, stored the rest in his bag and then stepped out into easy view, walking down to stand beside the man with the carrots swinging from his hand. He laid his spear at his feet, where he could easily snatch it up again, but it freed his hands to talk and should be a gesture of peace. "You threw apple at me?" he asked, following it up with more generic gestures. He pointed at the man and the apples, made a throwing gesture and pointed to himself. At the same time, he looked the man over for injuries. "Hungry?" He dropped one of the carrots on the man's chest, and made eating motions at the other carrot. They weren't bad raw, but he liked them better cooked. "Hurt?" He added out loud one of the few spoken phrases he knew, mimicked like a bird's song, and hoping he'd got it right. IonlyknowSign. He cocked his head on one side, waiting for a response, and held out a hand in a silent offer to pull the other man to his feet.



"Signed words" Spoken words

[Dandelion]

Dan's mind never really stopped taking in information, or running through plans and options. Even as he waited for a response, part of him was busily creating multiple plans for what he coul eat and how best he could use his current supplies - if he went home alone, if he had to feed the man in front of him, if there were more of them out there, because he had definitely heard muliple riders earlier, and that was most definitely a horse tied up nearby.

He had two rabbits. That was enough to feed several people if he made a stew and bulked it out with carrots and something starchy. He could garnish it with the greens. If it was just the man in front of him, he could make the same kind of stew, but with only one of the rabbits, turning the other into dried meat for the colder weather ahead. If he only had to feed himself, he could make the one rabbit stew and eat it two trials running, or he could indulge and roast the rabbit in the coals of his fire, stuffed with the greens and served alongside the cooked carrots and starchy roots.

There had to be some form of roots or greens involved whatever the final result, because eating just rabbit was a direct route to making yourself ill, and he had neither the intention nor the desire to make that mistake more than once.


Filler Text, Filler Text

"Signed words" Spoken words

[Doran]

Dandelion:

Knowledge:
Logistics: planning for multiple possibilities
Cooking: roasted rabbit
Cooking: bulking out a stew with roots and starch
Cooking: stuffing a rabbit with greens
Caregiving: offering a hand up
Caregiving: offering food
Caregiving: asking about injuries
Socialisation: using a tangible example

Loot: -
Lost: -
Wealth: -
Injuries: -
Renown: -
Magic XP: -
Skill Review: Appropriate to level.
Points: 15

- - -

Comments: It’s unfortunate that this thread was abandoned. I really enjoyed the opening post where Nathan and his fellow deserters discussed their job. That dialogue was well-written in my opinion, and what more, it made me interested in Nathan and his companions and their life!

I don’t think that I’ll ever get tired of Dandelion. You write a wilderness PC very well, and I’m impressed by the way you write about using sign language. I was amused when Nathan threw the apple with the worm inside away and Dandelion thought he had thrown it at him.

I wonder what Nathan would have said and whether he would have understood Dandelion!

With that being said, I commend you for writing some sort of conclusion rather than submitting the thread for review as is.

Enjoy your rewards!

P.S.: Nathan, if you come back, send me a PM and tell me which knowledges you want, and I'll give you your rewards!