Medics and Advanced Survival (Attn:Rurak) Repost

[Blade]

Kael

ooc: as a heads up I am rping this as if it was before the Siege of Carhein.

 

Eyes closed Kedyn sat on the grassy plain that was used as an Archery Range. Angry for the moment. He was teaching two classes, Two! All on the same day and one of those classes was to be Advanced Survival, one that would take a day or two. He was angry because that would keep him from the Citadel for a few days, away from Lavena and the rest of the Fox's, though mostly because of Lavena.

 

He peeked an eye open to check the position of the sun to judge what time it was, almost noon, good since Rurak was told to meet him at noon. It would only add a burr under his saddle if Rurak took more time out of his days by being late. He closed his eyes again, waiting for the Archer student. Ironic since the two classes are Field Dressing and Survival.

 

Rurak wearily lifted his head from his pillow. It had been a while since had joined the band, and the initially energy associated with just joining had left him. It was getting harder and harder to get up in the mornings, and the cold outside didn't exactly serve to drive him out of his blankets.

 

He quickly shrugged into his clothes and slung his bow over his shoulder. Today was going to be an interesting day. He had begun training more extensively with the band's scouts in the hopes that he learn a few things to help him become a sniper. Group archery was fine and all, but the real skill lay in stalking your quarry, or waiting for hours for the perfect shot to line up. Nothing else would challenge his skills enough.

 

Yawning and stretching he walked out of his tent and off to the mess hall. He grabbed a late breakfast/early lunch. He made it a big one since from his last experience with Kedyn's training he might not be eating for a while. After staying and chatting for a while, he headed over to the gate where Kedyn normally waited for his trainees. As he approached the gate, rurak saw that there was no one there. Puzzled he walked off to the training yards. he didn't see Kedyn sparring with anyone, so figuring that he was just early, Rurak decided to get some practice in. He set his quiver up against a tree and had an arrow knocked before he noticed a shape lying in the grass, head leaning up against one of the targets. Looking closer Rurak could see that it looked to be Kedyn! He quickly let the pressure on his bow off and crossed the archery range's grounds, looking around to make sure he wasn't crossing anyone's line of fire. He attempted to approach the scout as quietly as possible, and since Kedyn seemed to be asleep he thought he might have succeeded, until he saw Kedyn lazily open one eye and stare at him.

 

" I'm ready for training Kedyn. Let's see what nasty little tricks you'll throw at me this time" he said with a grin.

 

"Tricks are going to be for later, and there will be many do not worry. Now we are going over field dressing, and first aid. It is my least favorite class to teach becuase the only time you use it is when someone is wounded and may be dying. It is unfortunate that everyone must learn these things but you always have to be prepared. Here," Kedyn pushed a small basic field dressing towards Rurak. "That contains a supply of clean bandages of various sizes, tourniquet, a small thin bladed knife, needles and thread, a bar of rough soap, razor blade, neatly trimmed bundles of herbs in cloth bags, and a dozen small clay jars of ointments and salves."

 

"The soap is just used to keep clean. Keeping wounds clean extremely important. A minor wound can fester and become infected if not kept clean. You should always make sure your comrades clean there wounds, keeping an unclean wound is foolish though some think that it shows manliness. Expressed juice from wild garlic, onion, expressed juice from chickweed leaves, and the crushed leaves of dock, are be used to cleanse wounds, sores, or rashes. Antiseptics you have in your packs are decoctions of burdock root, which I have shown you before, mallow leaves and roots, and white oak bark. All these are for external use only." Kedyn pointed to each of the pots as he explained what was in them. "If these run out, " Kedyn motioned to the jars, "You'll need to find replacements, and when out on patrols or long term missions you can't just go out and buy them. If you need me to go over any of these just ask and I will towards the end so I don't forget to go over anything."

 

"There are two main reasons to bandage minor wounds. One so that they heal neatly and quickly and to keep a wound from becoming infected. Some people may say it is not neccesary to bandage some wounds because they are to small, that is folly. If a small wound becomes infected, the entire limb may need to be amputated. This is esspecially imortant for a scout because many times we are seperated from the main force and having a wound slow us down can be lethal. Also, if the wound is not bleeding very much you can take a little bit of time before you take care of it."

 

"If you or a comrade has a serious injury and are bleeding heavily you should see to it immediately, though use common sense. If you are in the middle of a battle and if you help you comrade you will be easy prey so make sure there are no enemies around or there are sufficient allys around. This can sometimes the man dies. You must remember though, how cold it may seem, it is better for him to die and you to live or for you to help him and die yourself even though his may still kill him." That was one of the reasons Kedyn didn't like this class, it showed some of the less glorious sides to war. "Remeber to wrap the bandage tighty to stop blood flow to the area, and replace the bandage regularly."

 

Kedyn took hold of Rurak's arm before he went on. “If an arm or a leg is wounded, keep the limb elevated while you press firmly on the bandage, unless you suspect a fracture. An arm can be held upright by another person, a leg can be propped straight against anything suitable, even a bystander. Elevating the limb and applying direct pressure may not stop the bleeding. Find the place where the main artery above the wound comes close enough to a bone to be squeezed against it, and press that place." Kedyn pressed the spot where the main artery was. "It is not the most glorious thing, but it will save the man's life. At the same time, continue direct pressure on the wound itself. For a leg wound, press the heel of your hand into the groin; for an arm wound, press the flat of your fingers into the upper arm.â€

 

Letting Rurak's arm fall he sat on the top of the table. "I want you to practice wrapping bandages and applying pressure on my arms and upper body."

 

 

OOC: Well, it's been a while kael, but I'm back, and I don't like leaving things unfinished.

 

IC: "Tricks are going to be for later, and there will be many do not worry. Now we are going over field dressing, and first aid. It is my least favorite class to teach becuase the only time you use it is when someone is wounded and may be dying. It is unfortunate that everyone must learn these things but you always have to be prepared. Here," Kedyn pushed a small basic field dressing towards Rurak. "That contains a supply of clean bandages of various sizes, tourniquet, a small thin bladed knife, needles and thread, a bar of rough soap, razor blade, neatly trimmed bundles of herbs in cloth bags, and a dozen small clay jars of ointments and salves." Rurak looked at the items in question and only recognized the uses of a few of them. Still, it was supposed to be a lesson so it was probably best that he didn't know everything. Kedyn continued with his lesson: "The soap is just used to keep clean. Keeping wounds clean extremely important. A minor wound can fester and become infected if not kept clean. You should always make sure your comrades clean there wounds, keeping an unclean wound is foolish though some think that it shows manliness. Expressed juice from wild garlic, onion, expressed juice from chickweed leaves, and the crushed leaves of dock, are be used to cleanse wounds, sores, or rashes. Antiseptics you have in your packs are decoctions of burdock root, which I have shown you before, mallow leaves and roots, and white oak bark. All these are for external use only." As he mentioned each item, Kedyn pointed them out to Rurak, which was good, because until then, he had had no knowledge of herblore. That had always been for his village wisdom to worry about.

 

"If these run out, " Kedyn motioned to the jars, "You'll need to find replacements, and when out on patrols or long term missions you can't just go out and buy them. If you need me to go over any of these just ask and I will towards the end so I don't forget to go over anything." Rurak nodded in argreement. It only made sense, and he could probably find most of the herbs, though it would be a while before he could remember all of their uses.

 

"There are two main reasons to bandage minor wounds. One so that they heal neatly and quickly and to keep a wound from becoming infected. Some people may say it is not neccesary to bandage some wounds because they are to small, that is folly. If a small wound becomes infected, the entire limb may need to be amputated. This is esspecially imortant for a scout because many times we are seperated from the main force and having a wound slow us down can be lethal. Also, if the wound is not bleeding very much you can take a little bit of time before you take care of it." Rurak listened gravely to Kedyn's words. Until now, Rurak had also followed the school of thought that bandaging minor wounds was unnecessary and made yoiu look weak. Being an archer, he also hadn't sustained serious injury in battle yet either, though that was sure to come if he continued with this group.

 

"If you or a comrade has a serious injury and are bleeding heavily you should see to it immediately, though use common sense. If you are in the middle of a battle and if you help you comrade you will be easy prey so make sure there are no enemies around or there are sufficient allys around. This can sometimes the man dies. You must remember though, how cold it may seem, it is better for him to die and you to live or for you to help him and die yourself even though his may still kill him. Remeber to wrap the bandage tighty to stop blood flow to the area, and replace the bandage regularly." Rurak understood all of this. War was brutal, and you couldn't save them all, no matter how hard you might wish differently.

 

Kedyn abruptly cut off his lesson and took hold of Rurak's arm before continuing. . “If an arm or a leg is wounded, keep the limb elevated while you press firmly on the bandage, unless you suspect a fracture. An arm can be held upright by another person, a leg can be propped straight against anything suitable, even a bystander. Elevating the limb and applying direct pressure may not stop the bleeding. Find the place where the main artery above the wound comes close enough to a bone to be squeezed against it, and press that place." Kedyn followed these words by pressing down on Rurak's arm. He could feel himself losing feeling in the arm almost immediately. "It is not the most glorious thing, but it will save the man's life. At the same time, continue direct pressure on the wound itself. For a leg wound, press the heel of your hand into the groin; for an arm wound, press the flat of your fingers into the upper arm.†At the groin comment, Rurak couldn't resist slipping in a comment since he had been sitting still listening most of the time. "You won't go showing me how that one feels though right?" he jokingly asked, but Kedyn merely gave him a look and continued on with his lecture. He let Rurak's arm drop and told him to practicing wrapping bandages and applying pressure. Seeing as how Kedyn was the only person on hand, Rurak began wrapping bandages around Kedyn's Right arm and across his chest and stomach. He had never had to do this before, usually trusting to a medic to worry about such things, and so he had to re-start the loose wrappings a couple of times before Kedyn was satisfied. The pressure points were a bit easier, though he got a few caustic remarks from Kedyn about going too gentle on the pressure points. Rurak knew he was no medic, but as Kedyn had said, someday this might save either his or another soldier's life so he practiced until Kedyn was satisfied.

 

 

"This is a tourniquet. A very nasty tool and one that is only to be used as a last result. If the bleeding is to heavy, or if a limb as been severed this is to be used. To make a tourniquet, tear a long, wide strip of cloth, from a shirt if necessary, and find a stick, belt knife, or spoon, anything long enough that is handy.†Taking his belt knife, still sheathed, he demonstrated what he said.

 

"Wrap the cloth strip twice around the limb above the wound and as close to it as possible; tie a half-knot. Place the stick over the knot and tie two full knots. Twist the stick, of knife handle in my case, until the bleeding stops. Secure the free end of the stick by tying it to the limb with a strip of cloth. Then get them to the Medics quickly. Go ahead and try, making one."

 

As Rurak practice Kedyn continued speaking. "Once a tourniquet is applied, do not loosen it, or you may throw the person into shock from sudden renewed bleeding. However, if medical help is several hours away and the injury is a deep laceration, release the tourniquet every hour to hour and a half while maintaining direct pressure at the site of the wound. After a few minutes retighten the tourniquet.â€

 

Kedyn pushed the object away and went to the next subject. "The next thing we are going over is much like knitting. Sometimes there will be a need to stitch a wound close if medical care is not close by. With a clean needle and thread, washed in pure alcohol or boiled water, stitch one side of the skin bordering the wound. Then tug gently as you stitch the second side, checking to be sure the edges of the cut meet and align. The pressure should be sufficient to close the cut but not so strong that the edges of the cut curl inward.â€

 

Kedyn took one of the bandages Rurak had been practicing with and ran his belt knife over it leaving a few cuts and tears. "I want you to practice with this bandage."

 

 

This is a tourniquet. A very nasty tool and one that is only to be used as a last result. If the bleeding is to heavy, or if a limb as been severed this is to be used. To make a tourniquet, tear a long, wide strip of cloth, from a shirt if necessary, and find a stick, belt knife, or spoon, anything long enough that is handy.†Taking his belt knife, still sheathed, kedyn demonstrated.

 

"Wrap the cloth strip twice around the limb above the wound and as close to it as possible; tie a half-knot. Place the stick over the knot and tie two full knots. Twist the stick, or knife handle in my case, until the bleeding stops. Secure the free end of the stick by tying it to the limb with a strip of cloth. Then get them to the Medics quickly. Go ahead and try, making one." Rurak picked up a strip of cloth and attempted to recreate what kedyn had shown him. The wrappings and knots were relatively easy to tie and he quickly was able to duplicate what kedyn had shown him. turning the stick, Rurak could once again feel the pressure building and the blood stopping from flowing to his leg where he tied the tourniquet. While he was tying it kedyn kept speaking. "Once a tourniquet is applied, do not loosen it, or you may throw the person into shock from sudden renewed bleeding. However, if medical help is several hours away and the injury is a deep laceration, release the tourniquet every hour to hour and a half while maintaining direct pressure at the site of the wound. After a few minutes retighten the tourniquet.â€

 

Kedyn then loosened the tourniquet and set it to one side. Rurak also untied his knots and let the blood flow back into his leg. "The next thing we are going over is much like knitting. Sometimes there will be a need to stitch a wound close if medical care is not close by. With a clean needle and thread, washed in pure alcohol or boiled water, stitch one side of the skin bordering the wound. Then tug gently as you stitch the second side, checking to be sure the edges of the cut meet and align. The pressure should be sufficient to close the cut but not so strong that the edges of the cut curl inward.â€

 

After he had given these instructions, Kedyn took a bandage from Rurak's bag and cut it in several places. "I want you to practice with this bandage." Rurak glanced skeptically at the bandages. "I don't think this is going to look too pretty, but I'll give it a shot." With that he set to trying to stitch the bandage back together. For someone who practiced and refined his accuracy to such a fine degree, it was surprising how difficult it was to get that tiny little needle to find the right spot to go through the bandage. Having finally sewn one of the cuts properly, he quickly tightened the stitch, only to find that he had applied far too much pressure and had not only curled the bandage like Kedyn had told him not to, but had also torn the thread that was doing the stitching. Grumbling to himself about doing 'women's work' Rurak set back to work on the bandages, finally producing on his final attempt something he deemed passable, though it looked rather pathetic compared to what it originally should look like. Rurak hoped he wouldn't need to get any more practiced at this any time soon.

 

 

 

 

 

With Rurak finished with all of the first aid Kedyn nodded. "Keep these lessons near to your heart and do not forget. Hope that you will never have to use them, but practice often so you do not lose those skills. The first aid portion of this is finished it seems. I will see you tommorow for your next survival training. We will meet at sundown and continue for there." Kedyn nodded once and then collected the items he had brought. He nodded once more and walked off from Rurak back towards his tent.

 

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Kedyn sat on his heels in front of the main gate, fully armed and armored which meant that had a traveling cloak and his pouches and packs for traveling. Armor only slowed people down and it was useless for scouts most of the time since they relied so much on speed and tried not to be combatants, avoiding it whenever possible.

 

It was only a few minuets before he noticed Rurak walking towards him, he rose to his feet when he came close enough and nodded in a greeting. "I want to see what you remember from basic survival so we will be traveling for an hour at least, you will lead, and afterwards I want you to find a suitable campsite for tonight. The longer it takes the less sleep we get so I would hurry." Kedyn smiled and gave a small laugh, waiting for Rurak to start."

 

 

Rurak woke the next morning and set about packing his stuff. He had a decent sized pack slung over his shoulder by the time he needed to leave, and this time he was determined to keep kedyn from taking it from him if he had to sleep on top of it. Striding towards the gate Rurak found Kedyn already there, lounging against the wall. As he walked up, Kedyn spoke. "I want to see what you remember from basic survival so we will be traveling for an hour at least, you will lead, and afterwards I want you to find a suitable campsite for tonight. The longer it takes the less sleep we get so I would hurry." Kedyn smiled and gave a small laugh, waiting for Rurak to start."

 

Rurak felt a bit abashed at the words. He had grown up not far from the citadel. He hunted these very woods before he had left to see the world. He knew this area better than any other in the world. Rurak also felt a bit disappointed because he knew that Kedyn was a good teacher, and he would only be hurting his own skills by not being able to properly scout.

 

To this end, Rurak decided that he was going to find a new place to camp. That would be a feat in and of its self since he knew nearly every stream and creek that ran through these woods, and every good camping site next to them. He decided to set off for the Mountains of Mist. It was one of the few places he had been forbidden to hunt, and as a result, he had only gone there half as often as the other places, and he had never stayed the night in those mountains.

 

He set a quicker pace than normal. If he was going to be scouting, he was going to be wanting it done by night fall in those mountains. He had heard stories as a child of strange occurances there and people disappearing never to be found again. The hike stretched on, and the sun began to dip below the horizon. He had passed many of his other familiar camp sites, and had long since wandered into unfamiliar territory, but he had trouble finding a suitable new camping site. He was looking for a spring of water, since it would most likely be needed, but his luck seemed to have run out until the last rays of sunlight were slanting through the trees and glistened off of a small stream that ran down from the mountains. Following the stream up into the mountains a ways, he found a nice little rock outcropping that jutted out close to the stream where they could camp for the night. Setting his pack down, Rurak mentally noted the location of this fine new campsite, and turned to Kedyn for approval.

 

 

Kedyn sighed and shook his head, so much for a test. "I had forgotten you know this better than most of the Scout's, oh well. This will suite well. On to the next lesson." Kedyn shrugged his pack off and motioned for Rurak to sit as he did so as well. "Many times during a scouting mission there are times when silence is key and verbal commands are not possible. That is what we will be going over for the rest of the night, nonverbal commands and communication."

 

"First off is the order to move. Foreward backward doesn't really matter. It goes like this. First using your front two fingers, middle and index, tap you shoulder then pint in the way you need to go. If you see something, same two fingers poin to your eyes. If they are people show how many using your fingers, if there are few enough, then strike the bottom of your wrist if they appear hostile. Lay your fingers on the top of your wrist for unkown, or slide it along your foreharm for friendly. Some other basic order. To fan out, tap you shoulder then move your two fingers in fornt of you from shoulder to shoulder. To order them to stay put, tap your shoulder and then and then point to the ground. If you wnat to order someone to move, point to them adn then do a move command. To order teh killing of someone you see. Point in the direction of the opponect and then run your thumb across your kneck."

 

Kedyn continued explaining some of the other basic hand siganls, pausing at intervals to go over what he said. "Now I want you to show me each of the signals. And then give me an order using more than one hand siganl. When you get those see if you can find something to eat and then we can decide what to do next."

 

Rurak listened and watched attentively. It seemed rather simple enough, though there were quite a few commands. Some of the commands were even simple commands that he and his friends had used while still young and hunting these very woods. Rurak mimed each hand signal multiple times, commiting them both to his own memory and to muscle memory, so that in the heat of battle it would become instinctive.

 

Finally, Kedyn told Rurak to give him an order using multiple hand signals. Rurak got a bit flustered at this. He finally decided that if he was going to have Kedyn do something, he should actually have him do something, and conveniently at hand for the next part of the lesson was a rather nice looking rabbit in the fading light, Rurak quickly pointed to his eyes with two fingers then out towards ther rabbit. He then pointed to Kedyn and then made a half circle motion and then drew his thumb across his neck. Hopefully Kedyn would be able to interpret it. Rurak intended for him to see the rabbit then circle around behind it and kill it.

 

 

Kedyn slowly licked the greese off of his fingers, the rabbit had been a very good meal and Rurak's command had been good. The fire was burning bright and Kedyn rolled his bed roll out and settled in for the night. They were close enough to the Citadel and this wasn't Rurak's first time so there was little need for a watch.

 

Though Kedyn wasn't sleeping even though his body was screaming at him for sleep, not that loud really he had gotten used to functioning with very little sleep since he had become a Scout. He watied until Rurak's breathing had slowed and he no longer moved as if he was still awake. The fire had burned to mere embers. He already had everything he needed, a small note and a bag full of small stones. He tucked the note in Rurak's belt and then slowly faded away into the darkness.

 

On the note was a simple message: For tommorow you will have to find and get close enough to touch me three times tommorow. It will test both your tracking ability and help with developing stealth. Good Luck. -Kedyn

 

As teh Sun peeked above the horizon Kedyn hefted the first pebble and let fly to his sleeping student.

 

 

 

OOC: didn't know exactly what you wanted so I guess I'll just make up where my character finds you.

 

Rurak tucked in for the night, wrapping himself around his pack. Last time he had left, Kedyn had taken it from him and he had been forced to find his way back to the citadel without it, hunting as he could with his belt knife. Well not this time. This close to the Mountains of Mist, Rurak didn't want to fall asleep. The stories of what could happen, though he dismissed them as mere superstition, were deeply imbedded in his mind from childhood, but the day had been long, and slowly Rurak nodded off to sleep.

 

He slept fairly decently, waking only occasionally to some strange noise in the forest, but each time it was nothing and he rolled back over to go to sleep. In the morning, he woke to a sharp rap to the head. Startled, Rurak quickly rolled away from his back and behind a tree, bow in hand, and already reaching for an arrow. He sat there for a few minutes and then peeked around the tree. Kedyn was gone and had taken all of his stuff with him. Suddenly Rurak noticed that there was a note tucked into his belt. He quietly pulled it out of his belt, keeping one eye on his surroundings and read the short messgae that was on it.

 

For tommorow you will have to find and get close enough to touch me three times tommorow. It will test both your tracking ability and help with developing stealth. Good Luck. -Kedyn

 

Growling under his breath, Rurak tucked the arrow back into his quiver and set his bow and quarterstaff aside. He decided that he would have to move quietly, and the bow and quarterstaff would just hinder him. He found a small depression and placed his pack and gear into it, then covered it with pine needles and swept the area. He found kedyn's tracks and left them in place, but covered the ones in the vicinity of where he had hidden his gear. Rurak knew the rap on his head was courtesy of the scout, but the precaution was against anybody who might happen upon this area and see his gear.

 

Picking up the trail he followed Kedyn's tracks out of the camp. He knew that Kedyn must be close by, and that these tracks were probably designed to throw him off, but it was all he had to go off of. Hopefully he would just be able to track well enough, or Kedyn would be merciful enough not to drag this out too long. Rurak knew that he wasn't about to find and catch Kedyn unless he was purposely taking it easy.

 

The tracks led out of the camp, then looped back and took up the stream. Predictably, this is where Kedyn decided to throw his first trick out. Water wasn't exactly Rurak's specialty when it came to tracking. He could read trees and grass fairly well, but he had never had call for anything to run up or down stream. Rurak tracked up and down the stream on both sides of the bank for about half an hour to an hour and found no evidence that Kedyn had even come this way. Finally, perplexed, Rurak sat down to think of all the tricks he could think of. Finally, he recalled a trick of Kedyn's where he had gone completely through the trees. Sure enough, a glance downstream showed a branch that Kedyn could have climbed up that hung out over the water. Rurak quickly crossed the stream and searched the trees for any sign. He moved quietly now. Kedyn had probably gone to ground somewhere near to here. The scuff marks on the trees led deeper into the trees and abruptly disappeared. Rurak quickly scanned the ground for any tracks, but couldn't find any.

 

Puzzled again, Rurak sat down to think. Kedyn had probably swept the tracks at this point, but they had to be picked up somewhere, and sweeping the tracks allowed the tracker to gain on the target. Rurak decided to take a hunch that Kedyn hadn't gone far, but gone to ground very near to this tree, possibly in sight of it. He quickly scanned the area for likely hiding spots, but there was no good rocks or clefts nearby, and none of the brush was thick enough, plus didn't show signs of disturbance. Finally, Something caught Rurak's eye.

 

The leaves on the ground in one particular area of the forest seemed a little more sparse in one area than the rest, nearly in a circle around what looked to be a thick area of leaves. Rurak quietly approached and rooted around in the leaves and came up with a leg. "That's once." Rurak said as he pulled Kedyn out of the pile.

 

 

 

OOC: Sorry bout that, I was trying to make a sort of hide and seek and tag kind of thing, what you did was perfect though.

 

Kedyn stood and dusted himself off, rolling his shoulder to stretch out the aches he had goten from crounching over in the bush he had been hiding in. His shoulders had begun to cramp and he was wondering how long it would take for Rurak to find him. Of course he wasn't a Scout in the end so he didn't do this as much as Kedyn was used to.

 

"That was good, I assume you got my note. Next round begins," Kedyn paused and sprang foreward. He took ahold of Rurak and slamned his leg into the man's shins, pushing the opposite way with his hands. It propelled Rurak to the ground and Kedyn said, "Now." Before springing off into the trees, pausing to send another pebble at the rising archer. When he was out of site he began to take more care in concealing where he went and generally making it hard to follow him.

 

 

 

IC: Rurak reached out and gave Kedyn a hand, helping him brush off the leaves he had been hiding under. "That was good, I assume you got my note. Next round begins," And with that, Kedyn kicked into Rurak's shins and then pushed him away, which caused him to lose his balance and fall heavily to the ground. now brushing himself off, he pulled himself to his feet when suddenly a rock came hurtling through the trees and caught him in the head. Shaking off the stars that filled his vision, Rurak unleashed his decently sized repetoir of curses at the sky, knowing Kedyn would hear it.

 

Then, with the sound of Kedyn's laughter echoing through the trees, Rurak again began the process of hunting the band scout down. This time Rurak decided to stick to Kedyn's tail and not give him the time to pull any elaborate tricks like the last one. Unfortunately, Rurak's tracking skills couldn't match Kedyn's concealment skills, and Rurak was forced to slow down. Crossing a shallow stream, Rurak found Kedyn's tracks led right up to a tree. Assuming Kedyn had followed his same tricks again, Rurak followed the trail, where it eventually met up with marks from the trees Kedyn had previously climbed through. Rurak continued to try and follow the tracks, but got hopelessly lost in the tangle of scuff marks Kedyn had left on the branches through the trees.

 

Finally Rurak was forced to stop and think. He set his back up against a tree and pondered this strange set of facts. All the necessary pieces to the puzzle were right there in front of him, if only he could put them together. As he sat there resting his eyes focused on the tracks that led up to the tree. It was a habit of Rurak's when thinking, to focus on one thing to the exclusion of all else, but in this case, it actually payed off. Recalling a previous lecture of Kedyn's, Rurak noticed that the depth of this track seemed abnormally deeper, and that the heel of the step was more pronounced. If he remembered right, that was usually a characteristic of someone who had walked backwards through their track. Getting up, Rurak backtracked along Kedyn's previous tracks for a few minutes until they branched off and suddenly lead off through the undergrowth.

 

Following along, Rurak followed the tracks as they lead into the foothills of the Mountains of Mist. A little uneasy at the prospect of entering these mountains, but having plenty of daylight left, Rurak continued to track. The ground here was much more rough, and the tracks harder to read, but Rurak managed to follow them along to a ledge, where they seemed to disappear almost into thin air. A little spooked at this thought, and recalling stories from his childhood, Rurak attempted to reassure himself that it was just one of the scout's tricks and that Kedyn had not infact disappeared into thin air. Shivering slightly from the cold wind blowing down from the Mountain crags, Rurak pulled his cloak tightly around himself against the chill, and settled back on his haunches to again study Kedyn's tracks.

 

The scuff marks from the shoe led right to the edge of this cliff. The soil around the edge was very loose, with plenty of gravel to throw off one's footing. Trying not to think about the effects of a fall from this high, Rurak continued to try and puzzle it out. The tracks showed no sign of the effects of backtracking, but just in case, Rurak walked himself back along the trail, but there were no signs of branching trails. Finally, frustrated with his lack of answers, and a bit worried that Kedyn had actually fallen off the edge, Rurak inched his body so that it hung over the edge so that he could see if Kedyn had fallen. From this vantage point Rurak was able to see a cave lower on the cliff face, and what looked like a path that had decent handholds leading down the edge. A little chagrined at his superstition, Rurak climbed down the face of the cliff and swung himself into the cave, accidentally landing on top of kedyn who was lounging near the entrance.

 

"You nearly had me back there at the edge, I thought you had fallen off! I guess that's two. "

 

 

 

It took some time to get back to the ground, Kedyn halting the trainig until they did for saftey's sake. Rurak's thoughts of him almost falling off were well founding for he had almost. He had had his head turned when he was walking towards the edge and turned around just in time to stop himself.

 

Standing on more solid ground once again Kedyn looked over to the sun, begining to dip below the horizon and send the land into twilight. He had run out of tricks and this next part would be trciky so he did't do anything bad to Rurak this time, assaulting him and such.

 

"Alright, you'll have to count to thirty before you follow me or else we'll be at this all night. I am feeling nice. Now go." Kedyn turned and sprinted off into the setting night, taking an indirect route back towards the Citadel. If he hurried he might be able to catch the tail end of dinner. Chuckling to himselg Kedyn adjusted his pack to make running a little easier.

[Blade]

Kael

ooc: as a heads up I am rping this as if it was before the Siege of Carhein.

 

Eyes closed Kedyn sat on the grassy plain that was used as an Archery Range. Angry for the moment. He was teaching two classes, Two! All on the same day and one of those classes was to be Advanced Survival, one that would take a day or two. He was angry because that would keep him from the Citadel for a few days, away from Lavena and the rest of the Fox's, though mostly because of Lavena.

 

He peeked an eye open to check the position of the sun to judge what time it was, almost noon, good since Rurak was told to meet him at noon. It would only add a burr under his saddle if Rurak took more time out of his days by being late. He closed his eyes again, waiting for the Archer student. Ironic since the two classes are Field Dressing and Survival.

 

Rurak wearily lifted his head from his pillow. It had been a while since had joined the band, and the initially energy associated with just joining had left him. It was getting harder and harder to get up in the mornings, and the cold outside didn't exactly serve to drive him out of his blankets.

 

He quickly shrugged into his clothes and slung his bow over his shoulder. Today was going to be an interesting day. He had begun training more extensively with the band's scouts in the hopes that he learn a few things to help him become a sniper. Group archery was fine and all, but the real skill lay in stalking your quarry, or waiting for hours for the perfect shot to line up. Nothing else would challenge his skills enough.

 

Yawning and stretching he walked out of his tent and off to the mess hall. He grabbed a late breakfast/early lunch. He made it a big one since from his last experience with Kedyn's training he might not be eating for a while. After staying and chatting for a while, he headed over to the gate where Kedyn normally waited for his trainees. As he approached the gate, rurak saw that there was no one there. Puzzled he walked off to the training yards. he didn't see Kedyn sparring with anyone, so figuring that he was just early, Rurak decided to get some practice in. He set his quiver up against a tree and had an arrow knocked before he noticed a shape lying in the grass, head leaning up against one of the targets. Looking closer Rurak could see that it looked to be Kedyn! He quickly let the pressure on his bow off and crossed the archery range's grounds, looking around to make sure he wasn't crossing anyone's line of fire. He attempted to approach the scout as quietly as possible, and since Kedyn seemed to be asleep he thought he might have succeeded, until he saw Kedyn lazily open one eye and stare at him.

 

" I'm ready for training Kedyn. Let's see what nasty little tricks you'll throw at me this time" he said with a grin.

 

"Tricks are going to be for later, and there will be many do not worry. Now we are going over field dressing, and first aid. It is my least favorite class to teach becuase the only time you use it is when someone is wounded and may be dying. It is unfortunate that everyone must learn these things but you always have to be prepared. Here," Kedyn pushed a small basic field dressing towards Rurak. "That contains a supply of clean bandages of various sizes, tourniquet, a small thin bladed knife, needles and thread, a bar of rough soap, razor blade, neatly trimmed bundles of herbs in cloth bags, and a dozen small clay jars of ointments and salves."

 

"The soap is just used to keep clean. Keeping wounds clean extremely important. A minor wound can fester and become infected if not kept clean. You should always make sure your comrades clean there wounds, keeping an unclean wound is foolish though some think that it shows manliness. Expressed juice from wild garlic, onion, expressed juice from chickweed leaves, and the crushed leaves of dock, are be used to cleanse wounds, sores, or rashes. Antiseptics you have in your packs are decoctions of burdock root, which I have shown you before, mallow leaves and roots, and white oak bark. All these are for external use only." Kedyn pointed to each of the pots as he explained what was in them. "If these run out, " Kedyn motioned to the jars, "You'll need to find replacements, and when out on patrols or long term missions you can't just go out and buy them. If you need me to go over any of these just ask and I will towards the end so I don't forget to go over anything."

 

"There are two main reasons to bandage minor wounds. One so that they heal neatly and quickly and to keep a wound from becoming infected. Some people may say it is not neccesary to bandage some wounds because they are to small, that is folly. If a small wound becomes infected, the entire limb may need to be amputated. This is esspecially imortant for a scout because many times we are seperated from the main force and having a wound slow us down can be lethal. Also, if the wound is not bleeding very much you can take a little bit of time before you take care of it."

 

"If you or a comrade has a serious injury and are bleeding heavily you should see to it immediately, though use common sense. If you are in the middle of a battle and if you help you comrade you will be easy prey so make sure there are no enemies around or there are sufficient allys around. This can sometimes the man dies. You must remember though, how cold it may seem, it is better for him to die and you to live or for you to help him and die yourself even though his may still kill him." That was one of the reasons Kedyn didn't like this class, it showed some of the less glorious sides to war. "Remeber to wrap the bandage tighty to stop blood flow to the area, and replace the bandage regularly."

 

Kedyn took hold of Rurak's arm before he went on. “If an arm or a leg is wounded, keep the limb elevated while you press firmly on the bandage, unless you suspect a fracture. An arm can be held upright by another person, a leg can be propped straight against anything suitable, even a bystander. Elevating the limb and applying direct pressure may not stop the bleeding. Find the place where the main artery above the wound comes close enough to a bone to be squeezed against it, and press that place." Kedyn pressed the spot where the main artery was. "It is not the most glorious thing, but it will save the man's life. At the same time, continue direct pressure on the wound itself. For a leg wound, press the heel of your hand into the groin; for an arm wound, press the flat of your fingers into the upper arm.â€

 

Letting Rurak's arm fall he sat on the top of the table. "I want you to practice wrapping bandages and applying pressure on my arms and upper body."

 

 

OOC: Well, it's been a while kael, but I'm back, and I don't like leaving things unfinished.

 

IC: "Tricks are going to be for later, and there will be many do not worry. Now we are going over field dressing, and first aid. It is my least favorite class to teach becuase the only time you use it is when someone is wounded and may be dying. It is unfortunate that everyone must learn these things but you always have to be prepared. Here," Kedyn pushed a small basic field dressing towards Rurak. "That contains a supply of clean bandages of various sizes, tourniquet, a small thin bladed knife, needles and thread, a bar of rough soap, razor blade, neatly trimmed bundles of herbs in cloth bags, and a dozen small clay jars of ointments and salves." Rurak looked at the items in question and only recognized the uses of a few of them. Still, it was supposed to be a lesson so it was probably best that he didn't know everything. Kedyn continued with his lesson: "The soap is just used to keep clean. Keeping wounds clean extremely important. A minor wound can fester and become infected if not kept clean. You should always make sure your comrades clean there wounds, keeping an unclean wound is foolish though some think that it shows manliness. Expressed juice from wild garlic, onion, expressed juice from chickweed leaves, and the crushed leaves of dock, are be used to cleanse wounds, sores, or rashes. Antiseptics you have in your packs are decoctions of burdock root, which I have shown you before, mallow leaves and roots, and white oak bark. All these are for external use only." As he mentioned each item, Kedyn pointed them out to Rurak, which was good, because until then, he had had no knowledge of herblore. That had always been for his village wisdom to worry about.

 

"If these run out, " Kedyn motioned to the jars, "You'll need to find replacements, and when out on patrols or long term missions you can't just go out and buy them. If you need me to go over any of these just ask and I will towards the end so I don't forget to go over anything." Rurak nodded in argreement. It only made sense, and he could probably find most of the herbs, though it would be a while before he could remember all of their uses.

 

"There are two main reasons to bandage minor wounds. One so that they heal neatly and quickly and to keep a wound from becoming infected. Some people may say it is not neccesary to bandage some wounds because they are to small, that is folly. If a small wound becomes infected, the entire limb may need to be amputated. This is esspecially imortant for a scout because many times we are seperated from the main force and having a wound slow us down can be lethal. Also, if the wound is not bleeding very much you can take a little bit of time before you take care of it." Rurak listened gravely to Kedyn's words. Until now, Rurak had also followed the school of thought that bandaging minor wounds was unnecessary and made yoiu look weak. Being an archer, he also hadn't sustained serious injury in battle yet either, though that was sure to come if he continued with this group.

 

"If you or a comrade has a serious injury and are bleeding heavily you should see to it immediately, though use common sense. If you are in the middle of a battle and if you help you comrade you will be easy prey so make sure there are no enemies around or there are sufficient allys around. This can sometimes the man dies. You must remember though, how cold it may seem, it is better for him to die and you to live or for you to help him and die yourself even though his may still kill him. Remeber to wrap the bandage tighty to stop blood flow to the area, and replace the bandage regularly." Rurak understood all of this. War was brutal, and you couldn't save them all, no matter how hard you might wish differently.

 

Kedyn abruptly cut off his lesson and took hold of Rurak's arm before continuing. . “If an arm or a leg is wounded, keep the limb elevated while you press firmly on the bandage, unless you suspect a fracture. An arm can be held upright by another person, a leg can be propped straight against anything suitable, even a bystander. Elevating the limb and applying direct pressure may not stop the bleeding. Find the place where the main artery above the wound comes close enough to a bone to be squeezed against it, and press that place." Kedyn followed these words by pressing down on Rurak's arm. He could feel himself losing feeling in the arm almost immediately. "It is not the most glorious thing, but it will save the man's life. At the same time, continue direct pressure on the wound itself. For a leg wound, press the heel of your hand into the groin; for an arm wound, press the flat of your fingers into the upper arm.†At the groin comment, Rurak couldn't resist slipping in a comment since he had been sitting still listening most of the time. "You won't go showing me how that one feels though right?" he jokingly asked, but Kedyn merely gave him a look and continued on with his lecture. He let Rurak's arm drop and told him to practicing wrapping bandages and applying pressure. Seeing as how Kedyn was the only person on hand, Rurak began wrapping bandages around Kedyn's Right arm and across his chest and stomach. He had never had to do this before, usually trusting to a medic to worry about such things, and so he had to re-start the loose wrappings a couple of times before Kedyn was satisfied. The pressure points were a bit easier, though he got a few caustic remarks from Kedyn about going too gentle on the pressure points. Rurak knew he was no medic, but as Kedyn had said, someday this might save either his or another soldier's life so he practiced until Kedyn was satisfied.

 

 

"This is a tourniquet. A very nasty tool and one that is only to be used as a last result. If the bleeding is to heavy, or if a limb as been severed this is to be used. To make a tourniquet, tear a long, wide strip of cloth, from a shirt if necessary, and find a stick, belt knife, or spoon, anything long enough that is handy.†Taking his belt knife, still sheathed, he demonstrated what he said.

 

"Wrap the cloth strip twice around the limb above the wound and as close to it as possible; tie a half-knot. Place the stick over the knot and tie two full knots. Twist the stick, of knife handle in my case, until the bleeding stops. Secure the free end of the stick by tying it to the limb with a strip of cloth. Then get them to the Medics quickly. Go ahead and try, making one."

 

As Rurak practice Kedyn continued speaking. "Once a tourniquet is applied, do not loosen it, or you may throw the person into shock from sudden renewed bleeding. However, if medical help is several hours away and the injury is a deep laceration, release the tourniquet every hour to hour and a half while maintaining direct pressure at the site of the wound. After a few minutes retighten the tourniquet.â€

 

Kedyn pushed the object away and went to the next subject. "The next thing we are going over is much like knitting. Sometimes there will be a need to stitch a wound close if medical care is not close by. With a clean needle and thread, washed in pure alcohol or boiled water, stitch one side of the skin bordering the wound. Then tug gently as you stitch the second side, checking to be sure the edges of the cut meet and align. The pressure should be sufficient to close the cut but not so strong that the edges of the cut curl inward.â€

 

Kedyn took one of the bandages Rurak had been practicing with and ran his belt knife over it leaving a few cuts and tears. "I want you to practice with this bandage."

 

 

This is a tourniquet. A very nasty tool and one that is only to be used as a last result. If the bleeding is to heavy, or if a limb as been severed this is to be used. To make a tourniquet, tear a long, wide strip of cloth, from a shirt if necessary, and find a stick, belt knife, or spoon, anything long enough that is handy.†Taking his belt knife, still sheathed, kedyn demonstrated.

 

"Wrap the cloth strip twice around the limb above the wound and as close to it as possible; tie a half-knot. Place the stick over the knot and tie two full knots. Twist the stick, or knife handle in my case, until the bleeding stops. Secure the free end of the stick by tying it to the limb with a strip of cloth. Then get them to the Medics quickly. Go ahead and try, making one." Rurak picked up a strip of cloth and attempted to recreate what kedyn had shown him. The wrappings and knots were relatively easy to tie and he quickly was able to duplicate what kedyn had shown him. turning the stick, Rurak could once again feel the pressure building and the blood stopping from flowing to his leg where he tied the tourniquet. While he was tying it kedyn kept speaking. "Once a tourniquet is applied, do not loosen it, or you may throw the person into shock from sudden renewed bleeding. However, if medical help is several hours away and the injury is a deep laceration, release the tourniquet every hour to hour and a half while maintaining direct pressure at the site of the wound. After a few minutes retighten the tourniquet.â€

 

Kedyn then loosened the tourniquet and set it to one side. Rurak also untied his knots and let the blood flow back into his leg. "The next thing we are going over is much like knitting. Sometimes there will be a need to stitch a wound close if medical care is not close by. With a clean needle and thread, washed in pure alcohol or boiled water, stitch one side of the skin bordering the wound. Then tug gently as you stitch the second side, checking to be sure the edges of the cut meet and align. The pressure should be sufficient to close the cut but not so strong that the edges of the cut curl inward.â€

 

After he had given these instructions, Kedyn took a bandage from Rurak's bag and cut it in several places. "I want you to practice with this bandage." Rurak glanced skeptically at the bandages. "I don't think this is going to look too pretty, but I'll give it a shot." With that he set to trying to stitch the bandage back together. For someone who practiced and refined his accuracy to such a fine degree, it was surprising how difficult it was to get that tiny little needle to find the right spot to go through the bandage. Having finally sewn one of the cuts properly, he quickly tightened the stitch, only to find that he had applied far too much pressure and had not only curled the bandage like Kedyn had told him not to, but had also torn the thread that was doing the stitching. Grumbling to himself about doing 'women's work' Rurak set back to work on the bandages, finally producing on his final attempt something he deemed passable, though it looked rather pathetic compared to what it originally should look like. Rurak hoped he wouldn't need to get any more practiced at this any time soon.

 

 

 

 

 

With Rurak finished with all of the first aid Kedyn nodded. "Keep these lessons near to your heart and do not forget. Hope that you will never have to use them, but practice often so you do not lose those skills. The first aid portion of this is finished it seems. I will see you tommorow for your next survival training. We will meet at sundown and continue for there." Kedyn nodded once and then collected the items he had brought. He nodded once more and walked off from Rurak back towards his tent.

 

-------------

Kedyn sat on his heels in front of the main gate, fully armed and armored which meant that had a traveling cloak and his pouches and packs for traveling. Armor only slowed people down and it was useless for scouts most of the time since they relied so much on speed and tried not to be combatants, avoiding it whenever possible.

 

It was only a few minuets before he noticed Rurak walking towards him, he rose to his feet when he came close enough and nodded in a greeting. "I want to see what you remember from basic survival so we will be traveling for an hour at least, you will lead, and afterwards I want you to find a suitable campsite for tonight. The longer it takes the less sleep we get so I would hurry." Kedyn smiled and gave a small laugh, waiting for Rurak to start."

 

 

Rurak woke the next morning and set about packing his stuff. He had a decent sized pack slung over his shoulder by the time he needed to leave, and this time he was determined to keep kedyn from taking it from him if he had to sleep on top of it. Striding towards the gate Rurak found Kedyn already there, lounging against the wall. As he walked up, Kedyn spoke. "I want to see what you remember from basic survival so we will be traveling for an hour at least, you will lead, and afterwards I want you to find a suitable campsite for tonight. The longer it takes the less sleep we get so I would hurry." Kedyn smiled and gave a small laugh, waiting for Rurak to start."

 

Rurak felt a bit abashed at the words. He had grown up not far from the citadel. He hunted these very woods before he had left to see the world. He knew this area better than any other in the world. Rurak also felt a bit disappointed because he knew that Kedyn was a good teacher, and he would only be hurting his own skills by not being able to properly scout.

 

To this end, Rurak decided that he was going to find a new place to camp. That would be a feat in and of its self since he knew nearly every stream and creek that ran through these woods, and every good camping site next to them. He decided to set off for the Mountains of Mist. It was one of the few places he had been forbidden to hunt, and as a result, he had only gone there half as often as the other places, and he had never stayed the night in those mountains.

 

He set a quicker pace than normal. If he was going to be scouting, he was going to be wanting it done by night fall in those mountains. He had heard stories as a child of strange occurances there and people disappearing never to be found again. The hike stretched on, and the sun began to dip below the horizon. He had passed many of his other familiar camp sites, and had long since wandered into unfamiliar territory, but he had trouble finding a suitable new camping site. He was looking for a spring of water, since it would most likely be needed, but his luck seemed to have run out until the last rays of sunlight were slanting through the trees and glistened off of a small stream that ran down from the mountains. Following the stream up into the mountains a ways, he found a nice little rock outcropping that jutted out close to the stream where they could camp for the night. Setting his pack down, Rurak mentally noted the location of this fine new campsite, and turned to Kedyn for approval.

 

 

Kedyn sighed and shook his head, so much for a test. "I had forgotten you know this better than most of the Scout's, oh well. This will suite well. On to the next lesson." Kedyn shrugged his pack off and motioned for Rurak to sit as he did so as well. "Many times during a scouting mission there are times when silence is key and verbal commands are not possible. That is what we will be going over for the rest of the night, nonverbal commands and communication."

 

"First off is the order to move. Foreward backward doesn't really matter. It goes like this. First using your front two fingers, middle and index, tap you shoulder then pint in the way you need to go. If you see something, same two fingers poin to your eyes. If they are people show how many using your fingers, if there are few enough, then strike the bottom of your wrist if they appear hostile. Lay your fingers on the top of your wrist for unkown, or slide it along your foreharm for friendly. Some other basic order. To fan out, tap you shoulder then move your two fingers in fornt of you from shoulder to shoulder. To order them to stay put, tap your shoulder and then and then point to the ground. If you wnat to order someone to move, point to them adn then do a move command. To order teh killing of someone you see. Point in the direction of the opponect and then run your thumb across your kneck."

 

Kedyn continued explaining some of the other basic hand siganls, pausing at intervals to go over what he said. "Now I want you to show me each of the signals. And then give me an order using more than one hand siganl. When you get those see if you can find something to eat and then we can decide what to do next."

 

Rurak listened and watched attentively. It seemed rather simple enough, though there were quite a few commands. Some of the commands were even simple commands that he and his friends had used while still young and hunting these very woods. Rurak mimed each hand signal multiple times, commiting them both to his own memory and to muscle memory, so that in the heat of battle it would become instinctive.

 

Finally, Kedyn told Rurak to give him an order using multiple hand signals. Rurak got a bit flustered at this. He finally decided that if he was going to have Kedyn do something, he should actually have him do something, and conveniently at hand for the next part of the lesson was a rather nice looking rabbit in the fading light, Rurak quickly pointed to his eyes with two fingers then out towards ther rabbit. He then pointed to Kedyn and then made a half circle motion and then drew his thumb across his neck. Hopefully Kedyn would be able to interpret it. Rurak intended for him to see the rabbit then circle around behind it and kill it.

 

 

Kedyn slowly licked the greese off of his fingers, the rabbit had been a very good meal and Rurak's command had been good. The fire was burning bright and Kedyn rolled his bed roll out and settled in for the night. They were close enough to the Citadel and this wasn't Rurak's first time so there was little need for a watch.

 

Though Kedyn wasn't sleeping even though his body was screaming at him for sleep, not that loud really he had gotten used to functioning with very little sleep since he had become a Scout. He watied until Rurak's breathing had slowed and he no longer moved as if he was still awake. The fire had burned to mere embers. He already had everything he needed, a small note and a bag full of small stones. He tucked the note in Rurak's belt and then slowly faded away into the darkness.

 

On the note was a simple message: For tommorow you will have to find and get close enough to touch me three times tommorow. It will test both your tracking ability and help with developing stealth. Good Luck. -Kedyn

 

As teh Sun peeked above the horizon Kedyn hefted the first pebble and let fly to his sleeping student.

 

 

 

OOC: didn't know exactly what you wanted so I guess I'll just make up where my character finds you.

 

Rurak tucked in for the night, wrapping himself around his pack. Last time he had left, Kedyn had taken it from him and he had been forced to find his way back to the citadel without it, hunting as he could with his belt knife. Well not this time. This close to the Mountains of Mist, Rurak didn't want to fall asleep. The stories of what could happen, though he dismissed them as mere superstition, were deeply imbedded in his mind from childhood, but the day had been long, and slowly Rurak nodded off to sleep.

 

He slept fairly decently, waking only occasionally to some strange noise in the forest, but each time it was nothing and he rolled back over to go to sleep. In the morning, he woke to a sharp rap to the head. Startled, Rurak quickly rolled away from his back and behind a tree, bow in hand, and already reaching for an arrow. He sat there for a few minutes and then peeked around the tree. Kedyn was gone and had taken all of his stuff with him. Suddenly Rurak noticed that there was a note tucked into his belt. He quietly pulled it out of his belt, keeping one eye on his surroundings and read the short messgae that was on it.

 

For tommorow you will have to find and get close enough to touch me three times tommorow. It will test both your tracking ability and help with developing stealth. Good Luck. -Kedyn

 

Growling under his breath, Rurak tucked the arrow back into his quiver and set his bow and quarterstaff aside. He decided that he would have to move quietly, and the bow and quarterstaff would just hinder him. He found a small depression and placed his pack and gear into it, then covered it with pine needles and swept the area. He found kedyn's tracks and left them in place, but covered the ones in the vicinity of where he had hidden his gear. Rurak knew the rap on his head was courtesy of the scout, but the precaution was against anybody who might happen upon this area and see his gear.

 

Picking up the trail he followed Kedyn's tracks out of the camp. He knew that Kedyn must be close by, and that these tracks were probably designed to throw him off, but it was all he had to go off of. Hopefully he would just be able to track well enough, or Kedyn would be merciful enough not to drag this out too long. Rurak knew that he wasn't about to find and catch Kedyn unless he was purposely taking it easy.

 

The tracks led out of the camp, then looped back and took up the stream. Predictably, this is where Kedyn decided to throw his first trick out. Water wasn't exactly Rurak's specialty when it came to tracking. He could read trees and grass fairly well, but he had never had call for anything to run up or down stream. Rurak tracked up and down the stream on both sides of the bank for about half an hour to an hour and found no evidence that Kedyn had even come this way. Finally, perplexed, Rurak sat down to think of all the tricks he could think of. Finally, he recalled a trick of Kedyn's where he had gone completely through the trees. Sure enough, a glance downstream showed a branch that Kedyn could have climbed up that hung out over the water. Rurak quickly crossed the stream and searched the trees for any sign. He moved quietly now. Kedyn had probably gone to ground somewhere near to here. The scuff marks on the trees led deeper into the trees and abruptly disappeared. Rurak quickly scanned the ground for any tracks, but couldn't find any.

 

Puzzled again, Rurak sat down to think. Kedyn had probably swept the tracks at this point, but they had to be picked up somewhere, and sweeping the tracks allowed the tracker to gain on the target. Rurak decided to take a hunch that Kedyn hadn't gone far, but gone to ground very near to this tree, possibly in sight of it. He quickly scanned the area for likely hiding spots, but there was no good rocks or clefts nearby, and none of the brush was thick enough, plus didn't show signs of disturbance. Finally, Something caught Rurak's eye.

 

The leaves on the ground in one particular area of the forest seemed a little more sparse in one area than the rest, nearly in a circle around what looked to be a thick area of leaves. Rurak quietly approached and rooted around in the leaves and came up with a leg. "That's once." Rurak said as he pulled Kedyn out of the pile.

 

 

 

OOC: Sorry bout that, I was trying to make a sort of hide and seek and tag kind of thing, what you did was perfect though.

 

Kedyn stood and dusted himself off, rolling his shoulder to stretch out the aches he had goten from crounching over in the bush he had been hiding in. His shoulders had begun to cramp and he was wondering how long it would take for Rurak to find him. Of course he wasn't a Scout in the end so he didn't do this as much as Kedyn was used to.

 

"That was good, I assume you got my note. Next round begins," Kedyn paused and sprang foreward. He took ahold of Rurak and slamned his leg into the man's shins, pushing the opposite way with his hands. It propelled Rurak to the ground and Kedyn said, "Now." Before springing off into the trees, pausing to send another pebble at the rising archer. When he was out of site he began to take more care in concealing where he went and generally making it hard to follow him.

 

 

 

IC: Rurak reached out and gave Kedyn a hand, helping him brush off the leaves he had been hiding under. "That was good, I assume you got my note. Next round begins," And with that, Kedyn kicked into Rurak's shins and then pushed him away, which caused him to lose his balance and fall heavily to the ground. now brushing himself off, he pulled himself to his feet when suddenly a rock came hurtling through the trees and caught him in the head. Shaking off the stars that filled his vision, Rurak unleashed his decently sized repetoir of curses at the sky, knowing Kedyn would hear it.

 

Then, with the sound of Kedyn's laughter echoing through the trees, Rurak again began the process of hunting the band scout down. This time Rurak decided to stick to Kedyn's tail and not give him the time to pull any elaborate tricks like the last one. Unfortunately, Rurak's tracking skills couldn't match Kedyn's concealment skills, and Rurak was forced to slow down. Crossing a shallow stream, Rurak found Kedyn's tracks led right up to a tree. Assuming Kedyn had followed his same tricks again, Rurak followed the trail, where it eventually met up with marks from the trees Kedyn had previously climbed through. Rurak continued to try and follow the tracks, but got hopelessly lost in the tangle of scuff marks Kedyn had left on the branches through the trees.

 

Finally Rurak was forced to stop and think. He set his back up against a tree and pondered this strange set of facts. All the necessary pieces to the puzzle were right there in front of him, if only he could put them together. As he sat there resting his eyes focused on the tracks that led up to the tree. It was a habit of Rurak's when thinking, to focus on one thing to the exclusion of all else, but in this case, it actually payed off. Recalling a previous lecture of Kedyn's, Rurak noticed that the depth of this track seemed abnormally deeper, and that the heel of the step was more pronounced. If he remembered right, that was usually a characteristic of someone who had walked backwards through their track. Getting up, Rurak backtracked along Kedyn's previous tracks for a few minutes until they branched off and suddenly lead off through the undergrowth.

 

Following along, Rurak followed the tracks as they lead into the foothills of the Mountains of Mist. A little uneasy at the prospect of entering these mountains, but having plenty of daylight left, Rurak continued to track. The ground here was much more rough, and the tracks harder to read, but Rurak managed to follow them along to a ledge, where they seemed to disappear almost into thin air. A little spooked at this thought, and recalling stories from his childhood, Rurak attempted to reassure himself that it was just one of the scout's tricks and that Kedyn had not infact disappeared into thin air. Shivering slightly from the cold wind blowing down from the Mountain crags, Rurak pulled his cloak tightly around himself against the chill, and settled back on his haunches to again study Kedyn's tracks.

 

The scuff marks from the shoe led right to the edge of this cliff. The soil around the edge was very loose, with plenty of gravel to throw off one's footing. Trying not to think about the effects of a fall from this high, Rurak continued to try and puzzle it out. The tracks showed no sign of the effects of backtracking, but just in case, Rurak walked himself back along the trail, but there were no signs of branching trails. Finally, frustrated with his lack of answers, and a bit worried that Kedyn had actually fallen off the edge, Rurak inched his body so that it hung over the edge so that he could see if Kedyn had fallen. From this vantage point Rurak was able to see a cave lower on the cliff face, and what looked like a path that had decent handholds leading down the edge. A little chagrined at his superstition, Rurak climbed down the face of the cliff and swung himself into the cave, accidentally landing on top of kedyn who was lounging near the entrance.

 

"You nearly had me back there at the edge, I thought you had fallen off! I guess that's two. "

 

 

 

It took some time to get back to the ground, Kedyn halting the trainig until they did for saftey's sake. Rurak's thoughts of him almost falling off were well founding for he had almost. He had had his head turned when he was walking towards the edge and turned around just in time to stop himself.

 

Standing on more solid ground once again Kedyn looked over to the sun, begining to dip below the horizon and send the land into twilight. He had run out of tricks and this next part would be trciky so he did't do anything bad to Rurak this time, assaulting him and such.

 

"Alright, you'll have to count to thirty before you follow me or else we'll be at this all night. I am feeling nice. Now go." Kedyn turned and sprinted off into the setting night, taking an indirect route back towards the Citadel. If he hurried he might be able to catch the tail end of dinner. Chuckling to himselg Kedyn adjusted his pack to make running a little easier.

[Blade]

The sunlight was fading as Rurak slowly finished counting to 30. Kedyn didn't seem to bother even attempting to hide his tracks this time. A trail of broken twigs and bent blades stretched out in a line that if the light were better, would have been clearly visible to any tracker of any skill. As it was, the tracks were still relatively easy to follow. From the distance between the strides, It looked like Kedyn was really moving, and didn't look to be slowing down any time soon.

 

As Rurak continued to follow the tracks, he noticed that the surrounding terrain was starting to get awfully familiar. Kedyn tracks cut right through the center of an enclosed meadow that the cavalry were known for using during sparring or maneuvering. The splashed through a stream running nearby which Rurak knew fed into the Citadel's water system further downstream. Finally, the tracks grew indistinguishable as they crossed into the well beaten path that led straight into the citadel's main gate. Just to be sure, Rurak checked both sides of the pathway for a ways, but found nothing. He wasn't surprised though, he had an idea of what Kedyn was planning for the final trick. He quickly entered the citadel, and was immediately swallowed up in the crowds of soldiers and people milling about.

 

"Figures" Rurak muttered. He would probably find Kedyn lounging in the back of an inn having a party and a nice meal while he was forced to search every single building and inn in the citadel. A tall order with the number of displaced peoples and new trainees coming into the citadel every day. He asked a few people, but of course, nobody had seen the band scout come or go. Apparently Kedyn wanted to teach him to stalk someone through a city. Rurak wandered through the crowds, searching everyone's faces for Kedyn. Some of his friends gave him wierd looks, but he was too focused on the task at hand. Finally, after a few hours of wandering through crowds and poking his head into inn after inn, he found someone who might match Kedyn's figure. The man was slumped in the corner with his back to a wall and hat tipped low. Sliding into the seat across from him, Rurak prepared to give a chuckle and a witty comment when he realized it wasn't Kedyn. The man looked up, gave him a grin, and a mocking laugh. "sorry kid, but he's not here." Growling to himself, Rurak stalked off without further comment.

 

Finally, after having turned every inn, in the place upside down and inside out, Rurak decided that maybe Kedyn had given up on 'hiding' and simply gone to bed to mock him. Striding into the barracks, Rurak could immediately tell that Kedyn was somewhere nearby from the number of furtive glances and half smiles that immediately went around when the people saw him. A search of Kedyn's bed revealed that though it looked like he was in the bed, it was in fact a mannequin. Finally, Rurak opened Kedyn's office and found him sitting there with his feet propped up on the desk apparently asleep. Rurak attempted to sneak in and get to him without waking up, but before he was halfway across the room Kedyn spoke up. "Took you long enough!"

[Blade]

The sunlight was fading as Rurak slowly finished counting to 30. Kedyn didn't seem to bother even attempting to hide his tracks this time. A trail of broken twigs and bent blades stretched out in a line that if the light were better, would have been clearly visible to any tracker of any skill. As it was, the tracks were still relatively easy to follow. From the distance between the strides, It looked like Kedyn was really moving, and didn't look to be slowing down any time soon.

 

As Rurak continued to follow the tracks, he noticed that the surrounding terrain was starting to get awfully familiar. Kedyn tracks cut right through the center of an enclosed meadow that the cavalry were known for using during sparring or maneuvering. The splashed through a stream running nearby which Rurak knew fed into the Citadel's water system further downstream. Finally, the tracks grew indistinguishable as they crossed into the well beaten path that led straight into the citadel's main gate. Just to be sure, Rurak checked both sides of the pathway for a ways, but found nothing. He wasn't surprised though, he had an idea of what Kedyn was planning for the final trick. He quickly entered the citadel, and was immediately swallowed up in the crowds of soldiers and people milling about.

 

"Figures" Rurak muttered. He would probably find Kedyn lounging in the back of an inn having a party and a nice meal while he was forced to search every single building and inn in the citadel. A tall order with the number of displaced peoples and new trainees coming into the citadel every day. He asked a few people, but of course, nobody had seen the band scout come or go. Apparently Kedyn wanted to teach him to stalk someone through a city. Rurak wandered through the crowds, searching everyone's faces for Kedyn. Some of his friends gave him wierd looks, but he was too focused on the task at hand. Finally, after a few hours of wandering through crowds and poking his head into inn after inn, he found someone who might match Kedyn's figure. The man was slumped in the corner with his back to a wall and hat tipped low. Sliding into the seat across from him, Rurak prepared to give a chuckle and a witty comment when he realized it wasn't Kedyn. The man looked up, gave him a grin, and a mocking laugh. "sorry kid, but he's not here." Growling to himself, Rurak stalked off without further comment.

 

Finally, after having turned every inn, in the place upside down and inside out, Rurak decided that maybe Kedyn had given up on 'hiding' and simply gone to bed to mock him. Striding into the barracks, Rurak could immediately tell that Kedyn was somewhere nearby from the number of furtive glances and half smiles that immediately went around when the people saw him. A search of Kedyn's bed revealed that though it looked like he was in the bed, it was in fact a mannequin. Finally, Rurak opened Kedyn's office and found him sitting there with his feet propped up on the desk apparently asleep. Rurak attempted to sneak in and get to him without waking up, but before he was halfway across the room Kedyn spoke up. "Took you long enough!"

[Kael]

"Took you long enough!" Kedyn laughed to himself as he took his feet from on top of the desk. His last test had been a rather cruel one, one that Kedyn was particularly proud of. Rurak looked none the words for the wear, though Kedyn had been surpised Rurak hadn't heard his laughter when he heard the scouts outside laughing, no doubt when he found the manequin in his bead.

 

"Well, I have shown you tracking in every possible area you might need to know so I guess this lesson is done. You are dismissed if you have no other questions." Kedyn sat foreward and fished out a pen to make the last few notes on his report as he waited for Rurak to ask him anything or to leave.

 

Kedyn

[Blade]

Thank you sir, but no, that'll be all. I'd like to turn in grab some chow and maybe what's left of some sleep.