Kage had a lot of stuff going on lately. His job in espionage, the construction of thousands of treant minions, and trying to get used to living in a new place. He was expected to be able to handle many things simultaneously.
Alas there was only so much he could handle without needing a break. He wanted to go on a hunt and, as it so happened, there had been sightings of wyverns to the north. They were unintelligent creatures, completely different than dragons though they shared a similar physique. It seemed like a good opportunity.
Kage decided to send for a hunter that had done some good work recently. Gorm would receive a letter asking for him to join on the 55th of Spring. The exact location would be several miles from the latest wyvern sighting, in a clearing surrounded by red trees. It would be not too far from a human village, so it wouldn’t be too arduous to find.
Kage would be sitting on a tree stump all by himself, with a large bow at his side. He hadn’t wanted much company today which was why he’d only invited one person. He saw value in getting to know Gorm a little better, especially if he was going to be sending him on more missions in the future.
Gorm’s breath was heavy and stinging the back of his throat as he ran. Trees painted red with moss blurred past his vison as he sprinted through the woods. The path was a familiar stretch, he knew there was a hard turn coming up that would take him along a creek bed. Springs arrival had caused the usual dry ground to become more and more like a river as time had passed.
Gorm was in a thin cotton shirt, linen pants, and his usual boots. A small hunting dagger was at his belt, as you never wanted to go anywhere without something to protect you, but on this little exercise excursion, this close to town, he doubted anything would happen.
Keeping fit and eating healthy were just little things he tried to ingrain in each day. Sitting through a lecture or two in the morning, and running a few soldiers through sword drills in the morning, a run through the trails seemed a perfect way to start his evening. The small bursts of speed he took on the long stretches prepared his body for the small bursts he would take in combat. Aerobics gets you to the fight, anaerobic win you the fight, at least this is what he was told. So far, it has worked out well.
He made it back to into the town just before the sun got to the highest point in the sky. As he approached his shack he noticed a letter sticking out from the doorway. He looked around cautiously as he approached, his hand itched for his knife, but a part of him thought he was being paranoid, after all, this was the common way the Aelf’s chose to do business, by currier.
An invite to a hunt.
Gorm thought over the letter for a moment. He opened the door to his shack and was greeted by the friendly wooden wolf that rose from a sitting position as he walked through. The creature contrasted with the dark wood and shabby looking home with delicately carved and crafted angles of musculature and pointed canine like ears. He was surprised it fit through the doorway. The wolf was large enough for him to ride, and strong enough to toss a man. Gorm grinned and patted it on the head. The same Aelf that had given him the wolf was who signed the letter.
“How bad could it be, huh?” He said to the wolf as it cocked his head in a quizzical way. “Your old master asked us to a hunt. What do you think?” The thing didn’t speak, though, it sat by the door expecting to leave. “I’ll take that as a ‘Yes’.” Gorm smirked. “We’ll leave tomorrow.”
In the morning gorm would meet Kage at the desired location while riding his new friend. His bow, unstrung, and sword were on his back. A quiver of arrows hung sturdy from his belt.
“As requested, Sir.” Gorm said as he approached, bowing the best he could atop the wooden beast. Gorm’s stomach was tight and his hands sweaty at the sight of the Aelf.
Kage sat patiently knowing full well that the wolf was on its way. He was glad that he’d given Gorm the pet and that it was still in one piece. Humans were so easy to please, all you had to do was give them access to one of the many things that were freely available to aelves.
He yawned and started scribbling down some spells while he waited. He had a good amount of luxiite which was excellent for making fire spells. He didn’t know if they would come in handy but he didn’t want to go fighting something as large as a wyvern without some amount of firepower. He had converted some of his luxiite into shards earlier in the day.
Just as Gorm approached, Kage finished up his fifth fireball scroll. He was pleased to see that the faelnir had brought a variety of weapons.
“Good to see you, finally,” Kage said as he got to his feet. He stretched then walked over to meet up properly.
“I see the wolf is still in good shape as well.” He looked it over superficially to see if it was damaged and if it was he would touch the broken parts to repair them.
“As my letter indicated, we’re after wyverns. They aren’t that far away. Actually, they were last sighted just a few mile away and I saw some flying earlier so I’m guessing they’ve decided to nest in that spot.” He held the five scrolls out to Gorm then continued, “these will cast fireball spells. You should use them if necessary – I don’t want to see you dying today. Some of the nearby villagers have actually died from wyvern attacks so you might end up being something of a local hero if we manage to solve the problem.”
He’d give Gorm the chance to speak and then he’d motion towards the trees so that they could get a move on.
-45g Luxiite
45/3*2 = -30SP converting them into shards for the spells
529 wc
Gorm took the scrolls. The paper was rough and had a language written on it that he could read easily. He nodded at the thoughtful gesture and placed them strategically in his quiver; easy access if needed in a bind. As he did so Gorm noticed the Aelf running his hands along the wolf and mending it as he went. By the time they were on the way, it looked like it had the day he met the construct. He’s grown fond of the thing, as it always listens, never has an accident in his shack, and is always attentive.
“I appreciate it.” Gorm said, nodding half to the wolf and half to the fireball scrolls. “They are very helpful.”
Gorm swept his leg around and dismounted the animal. “Stay close, I’ll let you know if you are needed.” He said to it. By this time the thing knew what Gorm meant, “stay within hearing range, but out of sight, and if it seems I need help, feel free to jump in.” With a curt nod the thing trotted off.
Gorm nodded again to the Aelf. “I am ready when you are.” The whole time Gorm’s face has not changed. A mask that was not a mask. The face of a man whose emotions have been swept away, his thoughts of family and love replaced with knowledge of war and warcraft. His only friends now hung on his body, his sword, bow, and arrows.
His master lead the way.
The red woodland sounded them. Many of the animals also bore the red moss of the woods. A magic that stained them all, down to their deepest parts. For a moment Gorm wondered how deep, but the thought was interrupted by a screeching that pierced through the sky. Looking up, Gorm couldn’t see anything through the trees. They indeed were close.
He didn’t give any thought to the idea of becoming a hero. Though, saving some of the villagers from a threat would surely feel nice. Putting his skills to good use always felt good. Even going on the other hunting missions. The spell castors that would seek to destroy the Faelinar way of life needed to be stopped, he just wished he had volunteered. Instead, the seals on his arms and legs stopped him from being able to use magic, in conjunction with something more sinister that he knows he doesn’t know about. No, he must use his wit, cunning, strength, and warcraft to bring down his enemies. Surely that is why the Aelf has brought him here, a test of his might.
Gorm swung the bow from around his back, pressed it against the ground and bent it through his legs, pulling the string taunt from one end to the other. He stood up, cocked an arrow, and started to stalk his pray.
The sound of the animal. Why would it make the sound? Perhaps it’s calling out to another, after it has killed. Maybe it uses the sound for travel, to see more clearly. Wyverns were not an animal that he has delt with very much. He knew they flew, but not how fast. He knew they had nests, but not how big or if they put them in trees. Though, logic spoke to most of his he would have to rely mostly on fight and learn as he went.
Gorm started to stay low. Shielding himself behind the occasional tree and kept his eyes on both the ground as to not trip, and in the sky, hoping he would catch the direction it was flying.
Kage nodded to Gorm. They didn’t end up talking much, which was fairly normal. Most aelves would appreciate humans who knew not to talk out of turn. Kage was a bit of an exception, but it was difficult to communicate that. It made him wish he had the ability to shapeshift in a human, but he lacked that sort of power. Perhaps Gorm would open up more after they’d gone on a couple adventures. Or maybe Gorm was like Kage, focused in the moment. Wyverns could kill most men in an instant so keeping one’s eyes and ears open was more important than talking.
Much of what Kage saw and heard as they moved along was foreign to him. This wasn’t his first run in with wyverns, but there were so many varieties of every kind of creature so it was hard to know what to expect. One could know, generally, how a wolf behaved… but there were wolves in a region of aelheim that could open their mouth and spew smoke and flames. Call it a hunch, but Kage felt uneasy the closer they got to the wyvern nest.
One flew overhead while making a strange sound. Kage’s bow was already ready to go – he held it at the ready in unison with Gorm. They were approaching the spot where the wyvern had just landed. All they had to do was clear a couple rows of trees then they would have a clear shot…
CRASH
A sudden rustling of leaves followed by breaking branches came from behind. Kage turned to look just in time to fire an arrow at a massive wyvern that had spotted them from afar. It had dived through the treetops to get to them.
The arrow went right into its stomach, but the beast was already in motion – an arrow wasn’t going to stop it. It landed on all fours, reared up on its hind legs, then snapped its jaws down at the old aelf.
“Fuck!” Kage shouted in common. He held up his longbow, making the wyvern chomp down on that. He held the bow steady with one hand and used his other to try smashing the beast’s jaw… but it didn’t seem to be doing much. It was times like this that he really wished he had a more offensive form of magic at his disposal.
Amidst the chaos, a screech came from nearby. It was a clear signal that at least one more wyvern was on its way.
