23 Saun 721
Oram had fished. Oram had hunted with a bow. But Oram had never fished with a bow.
So it was with interest that the Ranger watched a man stalked along the bank of the river outside Egilrun, near the bridge where he had encountered Ruffin McGuffin; the stranger held a small bow nocked with an arrow that had twine attached to it. The twine was wrapped around a spool attached to the bow itself. The wiry fisherman waded slowly like a crane along the rushes, peering at the water. From where he stood, Oram could not see any fish, but clearly the man could, as after several expectant trills, he raised, drew, and fired the bow into the water.
Line spooled from the reel after the arrow, and came to rest along the surface. The fisherman then reeled in the line by hand until the arrow emerged, without any fish at the end. Oram could not help but feel some disappointment for the fisherman, who, just then, noticed him watching. Although startled, the man smiled and nodded a mute greeting as he prepared to reload his bow. Since he did not seem to mind the audience, Oram sat down against a tree and relaxed as he continued to watch.
The bowfisher continued to stalk up and down the riverbank, and took a couple more equally unsuccessful shots; only on the fourth try did he strike. Oram could tell by the churning and thrashing in the water immediately around where the arrow had struck. Oram noticed that the fisherman, this time, waded out as close as he dared to the fish before reeling in the arrow, at the end of which writhed a small freshwater carp. As he retrieved his prize, the fisherman looked up and smiled once more at Oram. ”You fish, sir?” he asked brightly.
Oram nodded. Curious, and taking the invitation, the traveler approached and introduced himself. The fisherman gave his name as Loris. He worked at the docks in Egilrun, but whenever possible liked to fish in freshwater. Loris was clearly proud of his hobby and his gear, and was willing to show it to Oram and answer all sorts of questions about it. As Oram questioned and listened to him, he made mental note of what he would need if wanted to bowfish himself. A bow he already had; however, it looked like he would need to either obtain or make his own reel and arrows. Fishing arrows were different from hunting ones: they were stouter of shaft, often had no fletchings, and had a distinctive head with prongs. The first two traits resembled the traits of crossbow bolts, Oram thought. The heads would require some modifications.
Oram took leave of Loris and thanked him for his time. He walked back to the Egilrun Ranger Headquarters with a head buzzing with schemes.