• Graded • They call it a Grand Hunt!

[Nauta F'mos Geey]

102 Rebirth Season 716

Working for the Blacks meant F'mos was at just the right place to know what is going on in Etzos. Well it meant F'mos was in the right place to learn what events people in Etzos looked forward to. Fine! The Blacks gave F'mos the opportunity to find out what excited the common folks in Etzos, like The Great Hunt. They've been on and on about it for the past few trials which was more than he could tolerate. The thrill of the hunt. The food they will bring. It was truly the undertaking.

Although F'mos was quite interested about the Roast which would follow. He had more to learn about the city's tastes but the hunt itself... It wasn't like he could not do it, he was alright with a bow being trained for Sirothelle's City Guard and there were many teams participating. Even if Rowan decided to hunt down game too difficult for someone as inexperienced as F'mos there were plenty others the Aukari could join, having had the opportunity to acquaint with many of those that frequent The Kettle Black. Anyone of them would work well enough to make his venture a success.

If all else fails he could even go at it alone and if he did find something during the hunt, wonderful, but even if he didn't F'mos would have more freedom to do anything he wants with the opportunity the hunt would provide him. A chance to familiarize himself with the lands that surrounded Etzos and its bounty, not that he expected venturing out to get them on his own time.

Fortunately Rowan thought it would be good to bring with him his new hireling to The North Woods, at least for the time being and it seems to be where many participants was going for their hunt as well. The Aukari thought it unfortunate for him as he was unable to find a team and had to go at it alone. He would not be able to use those advantages available to him, like his armor, because of the potential witnesses. It was not something which was worth the risk.

Although he could bring his tent along with him. His plans was to go as far into the woods as he could, over the next trial or so where he expects less competition and more bounty for him. After all, he did survive the trip to Etzos. How hard could it be?

Along the way Rowan was giving F'mos some hunting tips but unlike the Biqaj who was already used to it, he was having trouble just keeping up. The uneven ground, the weight on his back and having to try to figure out what Rowan was saying, F'mos could not keep the pace. It was only the sounds of the excited hunt's participants and the sight of them eventually overtaking him which allowed himself to keep forcing strength to his legs, allowing him to run just fast enough to keep within a few paces of Rowan.

And then there was less of the noise and more of the trees which was their time to split. Rowan repeated the more important points to make sure F'mos would remember and gave him a horn with instructions that F'mos use it in a situation requiring assistance. It may not be Rowan which would come but with so many people participating in the hunt, someone should come along...

...Or at least that was the idea.

Going on his own deeper into the forest, F'mos decided to take a break and took out the food he had prepared the day before. Nothing too fancy. Being a new addition to the Blacks, F'mos wasn't expected to participate in the finer parts of the culinary arts for a while and so as he was cutting up the meat to be added into the pot, he was cutting up portions for the next day as well. A slice for him, a slice for the pot, a slice for the hunt tomorrow...more and more and more. His slices of course he paid special attention to glancing back every so often when they were being dried, when they were dumped into the pot to soak up some of the flavor and when they were being roasted.

The meat should keep at least long enough for F'mos to use during the event.

So F'mos was quite happy to take a bite, and then spat out the mouthful. He salted the meat a little too much and the taste was too strong. He rinsed it with a little water, put in a little of his spices to stimulate his appetite and then swallowed it down quickly. It wasn't too bad all things considered and...he was off! Grabbing his gear, weapon out he went deeper into the woods. Now energized he was better able to pay attention to his surroundings and keeping the tips he had listened to earlier in mind, the man listened for the excited hunters.

And ran the other way. Away from the voices. F'mos kept to the trees, under their shadows to keep under the shade and hopefully out of sight of his quarries. Each time he got to a new one he'd stop, get into a crouch and listen intently for any signs of hunter or animal before moving on into his next cover. Only his red hair which stood out from the shadows and his bow sticking out the side of the trees each time he reacted to something he thought he had heard would have easily betrayed the Aukari.

Finally his eyes caught sight of it. Its tone may have blended in with the trees around just like how F'mos was trying to keep to the shadows but he was alerted by its movements, at first thinking he was seeing things but finally seeing it bouncing around. It was a deer and while he couldn't say if it was like any other, F'mos knew as long as he could get something out of the hunt, it was a success. Quickly readying an arrow, F'mos lined it up at his target and let loose but it was moving too fast. He missed but undeterred he fired another arrow which was just shy of the deer which moved to the side.

Shooting at the damned thing which was going all over the place was a lot more harder than shooting at people in his old job, which people generally considered the more dangerous sort of creature but unwilling to give in F'mos shot another arrow, and another, and another... It was like the deer was mocking him until it finally ran off and F'mos still tired from earlier just couldn't bring himself to follow. After collecting what arrows he could find rested again under a nearby tree.

[Nauta F'mos Geey]

His luck for the rest of the day did not improve as much as he would have hoped. The deer had been the only game with any worth, more like, the only game he was able to find. Had he actually made the shot it would have been done. He could have went back and be celebrated for capturing something despite being alone but no. He was stuck here in the North Woods and he could not go back empty handed with nothing to show for in his venture.

However F'mos remained a little optimistic of his chances. He had paid attention to what Rowan had to say and so did as he was advised to do. F'mos in this part of the North Woods could no longer hear anything of the other Hunt participants. Perhaps it was already because it was getting late but it meant his efforts would eventually pay off. With no one else to disturb him, with no one else which would steal his prize, he would be spoiled for choice.

He will return with something to show for his participation in the Grand Hunt, or die trying. Actually, maybe not die...

And it was not going to be something as insignificant as this rabbit he had. It was a tiny thing and something F'mos wouldn't have expected to have captured, not because it was something he would not have wanted for the Grand Hunt but... if he could not catch the deer from earlier how could he have caught something a lot more... slippery?

The answer to that of course is much more simple than someone would guess. Back in Sirothelle, back when Nauta had been a part of the City Guard, the Aukari made sure to not put himself in harms way or if he had to, that he had the advantage. Where part of his vocation involved capturing wrongdoers, Nauta had to have a better way other than beating them into submission with drawn out fights like his peers. With that idea in mind he learned to use something extra, not required by any Guard to do their job but it has paid off even now when he isn't capturing criminal scum.

It was no more harder for F'mos to obtain his new net in Etzos after his assistance in locating those weapons for Sauncraft earlier in the season than it was to capture the rabbit in it. Like capturing people he only had to cast the net wide when chancing on the unfortunate creature and made sure it was at the middle so no matter where the rabbit tried to run, the net would have landed on it. A simple method, but effective.

Obviously as it was not suited for his contribution to the Grand Hunt, F'mos decided to have the rabbit for dinner as a change to his earlier prepared rations which proved no good. No longer at the mercy of the elements of Cylus the fire was made without much difficulty in his newly set up camp for the night and F'mos got to it. Even being without the proper equipment for the task would not deter him because it would hurt his confidence too much on his chances of success for the hunt and even the roast which would follow.

Without other ingredients to work with F'mos grabbed some of the plants, the nice green ones he knew were safe unlike those other colourful and possibly lethal plants. Along with some water, they became some sort of a paste as he mashed them in his pan. The rabbit was easily prepared for the cook's own meal after being rolled around in pan and paste until there was nothing left exposed for a stick to be skewered right through it. And then, all he had to do was wait. It was among the first things he had learned when he started to cook. That the visual cues were the easiest. That he only had to wait for the meat to change into a darker shade although...he should not be waiting until it becomes all black.

And for his meal to have that appetizing smell. That was the other cue he had learned when he started out although that experience wasn't as pleasant as he would like to remember. The smell of burned meat had imprinted itself in a young Nauta's mind when the young Aukari accidentally dropped a huge slab into a fire too intense for him to put out on his own without risking igniting himself. He truly didn't like the smell, usually trying to avoid it altogether but now he was trying to avoid another smell entirely. Any smell actually in fear that it might attract some predator and see his role in the hunt reversed. He promptly stopped once a smell started to appear hoping it was enough.

His meal. The one without the nice aroma and its not so appetizing appearance was quietly being consumed in the forest. It was not too bad all things considered, when he thought he heard some sort of scream. F'mos ignored it, thinking it was just his imagination after his senses had been stimulated by the preparation of his meal when he heard it again. "None of my business..." he thought to himself as he continued until another scream had him on his feet, gathering what he could quickly.

He did not make this decision out of the practice of having had been a protector, the authority role only assumed as long as it had benefited him and neither did he do this to help his fellow man. It was trouble, whatever it is but it would be a travesty for F'mos to not at least find out what was going on especially when he himself would expect aid if he ends up blowing that horn he was given. With that thought, getting something out of the hunt became the furthest from his mind as it became the Aukari's biggest desire to never get into a situation which he would need to use that instrument.

► Show Spoiler

Purchase

Gladiator net: 15 gn

[Nauta F'mos Geey]

Much like the horrible scene before him. Man can't compare to the savagery of that beast and Nauta, in his duties as a guard in Sirothelle has seen his own share of...unspeakable things. Even so, F'mos couldn't pull his eyes away from it whether because of fear to or appreciation of the creature. Even the screams of its victim did nothing to help the Aukari understand the mess he found himself in, at least until said victim suddenly looked right at him and yelled for help specifically from him.

As though the monster of a boar had picked up on the request and the newcomer, it stopped for a few moments. F'mos could see it clearly. Bright red blood glistering off its dark hair in varying hues like the fire every Aukari was taught to fear, reflecting the torch of its victim which was wildly waved about to fend it off. He was in a trance. A trance he was in for moments which felt like bits and he only snapped out of when the boar gave what he could only perceive as a warning, and its victim's continued pleas for assistance.

It was his first time which made it all apparent to F'mos that he was not prepared for this at all. Not the hunt, not by being alone and definitely not against that monster. He should have at least brought along the cat.

His instincts, the one which was always the voice of reason when he found himself in trouble had a solution. The same solution it gave Nauta everytime he was in doubt. That he should run away and put this event behind him. That it would be easy as there is only one other person which would know of his cowardice and would be of no consideration once the boar was done with him. In that state, he became much more sensitive to any danger which may fall on him and believing the boar was attempting...something on him, he could only think of fleeing.

Which was when something remarkable happened to him. Remarkable, but useless in the circumstances.

At first he thought it was the fear getting to him, making it seem like he was shrinking before the world and the threats it presented to him. Something he had not experienced for a long time. It was all getting so big and menacing, not just the boar or its victim and F'mos could feel the strength leaving his arms. They felt powerless even to the slow breeze of the night which seemed to be pushing them back. Was his fear so obvious that even the victim seemed to pause in his defense, as if he too could see that something was off with the Aukari, eyes fixated on him that way.

He too started to feel something was off, even more off than someone looking at his state instead of the immediate danger and then he found out the reason why. Even if he only had a chance to see it for a few moments when it had happened before him, it was bizzare enough for him to commit it to memory just like so many other occurrences he had to remember happening in front of him as part of his Guard duties. He might be mistaken but the way he looked now reminded him of the Sauncraft job earlier in the season, or at least what that thief was trying to do.

Adding to his long list of worries was if this was going to be a permanent condition for him. May Faldrun's scorching gaze sear that thief wherever he is! The Aukari could feel his troubles were getting to him, that he might as well ignite himself and draw the boar to him in a giant blaze when suddenly he felt himself landing on the ground. Back to his normal self as it so were and back to a unenviable choice of escaping or trying to rescue that other person being attacked, if he was still holding out.

And he made his decision. A decision to stay and fight although it was still for a selfish reason of his own. F'mos could tell now that the...change had taken its toll on him. He couldn't feel himself all that well. He felt different from his peak hunter form just moments ago which felt like a lifetime. He could try to run but he would probably end up stranded alone for the beast to catch up to him. His only chance was to take it down before it could take him down.

How fortunate for him then that there was something, someone distracting it already. Just the type of situation that Nauta would have taken advantage of back in Sirothelle, letting his comrades take the first shot at glory and then come in to take the credit after.

F'mos quickly grabbed his weapon and took aim. Even if it is stationary and would be an easier shot to make compared to that deer he had failed to subdue earlier he still had his problems. He could still feel the aftereffects of whatever it was that had happened to him and his mind was already looking into the possible consequences a missed shot would have on him. And even after all that, even if he was able to compose himself to make a shot there was still the issue of the cries of his unfortunate...distraction constantly being at his ear.

All in all, it was still the situation he had wanted to avoid when he embarked on determining the source of the screams he heard when having his dinner.

[Nauta F'mos Geey]

But the old Guard tried to ignore all of that when he pulled his bow. There weren't many places for him to take his shot despite the boar still so focused on its victim that its back is still turned to F'mos but he knew his time for action is coming to an end. Already his distraction seemed to be losing his vigor and energy in defending himself. Losing his life as it so were. He had to make his shot and had to make it soon.

The point started scanning to where F'mos thought was the spot which would do damage. He lamented on his position in this one encounter. While the boar wouldn't be paying any attention to him and he could take his shot at his leisure, all the spots which he knew would be effective for sure, as it is shared by so many other creatures are all at the front. The eyes, the head, even the neck if he could see it. None of them were available to him here from the rear.

And to make matter's worse his distraction flailing around was obstructing any other shot he could make, limiting the effective zone of his attack but F'mos couldn't procrastinate any longer in taking his shot.

His arrow struck right into the back of the boar which it seemed to have ignored, continuing to attack the victim it had before it. F'mos took another arrow and lined the next shot shot at a different spot since the one he just took didn't seem effective. The second seemed to have an effect on the boar and he shot another arrow into its vicinity hoping to do more damage. While it was not what he had intended, the arrow did do something as the boar's victim started attacking his assailant again with renewed vigor.

All those distractions the Aukari seemed to have had before vanished as F'mos started getting into the rhythm shooting shot after shot until finally the victim made the killing blow, although even after the boar seemed to have stopped he was still screaming, sending attack after attack against his fallen assailant. F'mos warily approached not wanting to make himself a target but he didn't have to as upon realizing that he was safe, the boar's victim too collapsed. Safe at last. Peace...

But they were not out of the woods yet.

As an unforeseen boon to his unwanted act of heroics there was a boar with no one to claim it. F'mos could just as easily claim it for his own but after a quick examination of its victim he could also tell that the man wasn't going to make it for long in the condition he was in. Of course part of his training with the City Guard was a little first aid but the injuries the man sustained went beyond that, and F'mos had no medicine that he could use to do anything other than a quick patch job. If the man was to survive through the night, he was going to need help from someone other than F'mos if not someone qualified back in the city altogether.

However before actually making that decision, F'mos decided to at least treat those injuries he was capable of treating to leave the man in a stable condition. Lacking any other tools or materials, F'mos made sure the man was still out before sterilizing his wound with some of the boiling blood cut from the palm of the Aukari's own hand and washing it out with water. He didn't want to waste too much time waiting for water to boil and to make the fire to boil it. Then like he had been taught he grabbed some of the greens around him, definitely not the ones in groups of threes and white berries which he saw around him, and mashed them into paste before applying them over the wounds he could see.

It was after he had torn the man's clothes apart, the parts which he could salvage which wasn't full of blood to use as a makeshift bandage, that F'mos was back to the decision he had wanted to avoid but by then he was already close to the solution. Where he had made his camp wasn't too far away and and he could easily take the man there, after throwing over the boar some of the natural foliage around him and placing his hopes on them being enough to hide his prize from another's sight in the dark of the night.

Pfft...

PPPppraaaat.

TTOOOOTT!!!

It didn't take long for another group to respond to the horn and they were surprised at the scene. F'mos explained that he had found the man full of injuries when scouting the area and quickly brought him to where he thought would be safe before realizing that he wouldn't be able to treat him. There was still no sign of whatever it was which attacked him as far as F'mos could tell the group. Leaving the man to the group and promising that he would promptly blow on the horn if he should run into that unknown danger, F'mos couldn't help but smile at his success and waved the group off wishing them good luck because he needed it no longer.

He had gotten something for the hunt after all, although he would probably have to wait until the next day to avoid any suspicion and, on recalling the night's events he might have actually learned something useful. Altogether a successful day for him. Saving the man? Probably nothing important. F'mos would rather if not die, that the man ended up unable to recall anything about the night than to get any credit for saving him but it was too late to regret his decision. As far as he was concerned, all that was left was the roast part of the season's festivities.

[Maltruism]

Come and get your Loot!

(There's plenty more where that came from)

NAUTA F'MOS GEEY:

Rewards:

• Story: +5
• Collaboration: NA
• Structure: +5

Knowledges:

• City Guard Training Not Much Use in the Wild
• Cooking: Burning Meat Does not Attract Predators
• Cooking: Local Herbs for Flavoring Paste
• Cooking: Ways of Reducing Too Much Salt
• Endurance: Running With a Load On Your Back
• Etzos Area Location: North Woods
• Hunting: Always Collect Your Arrows
• Hunting: Don't Hunt Where Other Hunters Are
• Hunting: Practice "Leading" a target on Something the Same Speed
• Hunting: Start Taking the Shots to Dispel Distractions
• Kettle Black: Common Crowd Good for Hearing Rumors
• Kettle Black: Regular Meet for Hunting Parties
• Medicine: Applying a Poultice
• Medicine: Boiling Aukari Blood to Sterilize a Human Wound
• Monster Boar: It's Going to Take More Than One Arrow
• Monster Boar: Savagely Intelligent
• Net: Aim the Center of the Net on the Target
• Ranged: Being Careful to Aim Where You Won't Hit Friendly Target
• Running: Hard to Keep a Steady Pace Over Uneven Ground
• Stealth: Keeping to The Cover of Trees
• Thrown: Net
• Transformation Stone: Effect Can Be Reversed
• Transformation Stone: Takes a Physical Toll
• Transformation Stone: Triggered By Emotion

Loot:

Purchased Gladiator Style Net
A Prize Boar for the Roast

Loss:

A Few Arrows and let's Say 15gn for the Gladiator Style Net

Injuries:

Just a Few Woodsy Scratches and Bruises

Fame:+1

Killing a "Monster"

Comments:

Just to warn, Taking all the credit for a 2-man kill may come back on you.

Knowledges are no longer divided between "basic" and "specific"

It's tough not to come off as a nit-picky ass when discussing grammar issues.
So I want to start off saying I've seen improvement on the run-on sentences.
Mostly there's still some inconsistent punctuation and some switching of contexts within sentences.
There were a few sentences I had to go back over to be sure of.
PM me with any comments or concerns