Time to hunt ((Open to all,, Attn:Covai))

[Sieve]

Geirrin stood outside the armory fingering his pointed beard as he looked around.  This was the appointed meeting place though he was early.  He was supposed to learn how to hunt today.  More than just hunt, he was supposed to learn how to track prey, conceal himself, and make his way through the woods without sounding like a stampede of wild animals.

 

Geirrin was a fisherman or had been, well most recently he had been only dockhand.  His knowledge consisted of gutting fish, hauling nets, and repairing / mending fishing or sailing gear.  He knew very little outside of this.

 

He began to whistle a tune while he waited on the others or at least for his instructor to show.  He thought of the weaves wondering if they would be hunting with saidin or with conventional weapons.  Even though they did almost everything with the power he figured it would be conventional weapons since he had also been taught to wield a sword since coming to the farm. 

[Covai Seriba]

OOC: I've already stolen this guy on the other thread, so if someone wants this go ahead. But if there's no post here by tomorrow I'm hijacking this thread too :P

[Jehaine]

Martyn didn't know whether it was the prospect of actually doing something NOT involving saidin or the way it resembled what he did during his old life, but something told him he wanted to be a part of this class, even if it was for old times' sake. He knew about soldiering, but every soldier that campaigned for extended periods of time had done some hunting at some point or another, even if it was to add some flavor to the rations.

 

Though he suspected saidin was going to get involved again, he was strangely looking forward to seeing how well his experience matched up against the One Power, to the point of where the mental images of 'beating saidin' in terms of results were lifting his spirits. Taking a deep breath, he found he could hardly wait to get started.

 

At the appointed area, he noticed another Soldier already waiting. He didn't know much about the man save that he had been a forager -- something with gathering food, anyway -- before joining the Black Tower, making him stand out as a possible rival. Well, a rival in this class, anyway, and only for the sake of competition.

 

- "Ah, good morning! And here i thought i was the only one looking forward to this class." :)

 

Giving Geirrin a friendly nod in greeting, he looked around again to see if there was anyone else heading their way before looking at the dark haired Tairen again, awaiting his reply. With their instructor not present yet, maybe some casual conversation would help in passing time?

 

 

Martyn

Trying to defeat the One Power ;D

[Covai Seriba]

Covai scratched his head in confusion as he arrived. "Didn't you two get the message?" Covai was dressed in simple woodsman clothing. Tunic, leggings, boots and a rough cape for protection from the weather. Two hunting knives were attached to the sides of his belt, and his quiver and bow were strung over his shoulder. His small pack held some flint and driedstuffs, but that was about it. Geirrin and Martyn were still in Black Tower attire.

 

Tiling his head to the side, Covai tried not to laugh at the two. Either they had gotten the wrong message, or they honestly didn't have the right attire. The latter could cause a problem though, so he hoped it wasn't the case. "So do you two plan on hunting in those robes, or do you want to go get changed first?"

 

OOC: Just thought I'd stir it up a bit. Hobble off to get changed if you like and then we'll get going :P

[Jehaine]

OOC: Heh yup, sounds like him allright :D

 

IC:

 

Martyn looked a bit puzzled as one of the people he assumed to be a civilian was in fact their instructor for this class. Due to his background, he did indeed wear the Black Tower uniform as often as possible, and had put it on this morning more out of habit than anything, without thinking about it. Still, Covai had a point though. Excusing himself for a moment, he jogged back to his room to change into the clothes he had worn when he arrived at the Black Tower. No woodsman's clothes, but they'd have to do.

 

When he returned several minutes later, he was wearing an outfit that made him look like an average Andoran commoner. A rather plain looking coat was worn over a shirt and trousers, with good sturdy boots on his feet. No cloak though, being born and raised far to the north meant he still had quite a good share of resistance to the cold, and besides, the cloak could snag into a brush, chasing off all animals within miles.

 

He didn't have any weapons on him when he had traveled to the Black Tower, and hoped it wouldn't end up being too great of an inconvenience for this class. He had something that could pass as a knife, though it was far from fit for hunting, and some flint in case he had had to make camp on the road somewhere, but that was about it. Giving Covin a nod to show the man he was ready, he waited on what they were supposed to do next.

 

 

Martyn

Travels light

[Sieve]

Geirrin stood there in front of the armory leaning against one of its walls still whistling a tune.  The early morning sun washing over The Farm...no, The Black Tower they now called it though there was nothing at the moment to give the name any significance.  Geirrin kept whistling as he watched the black coated man approaching.  The man had dark hair down to his shoulders and a hard angular face.  Geirrin was not well travelled and could not tell the man's nationality.  Geirrin was 25 and the man seemed perhaps 5 to 10 years older than he.

 

"Ah, good morning! And here I thought I was the only one looking forward to this class." The newcomer said offering a friendly nod before looked around as if he expected more people or was looking to see if anyone else was coming. 

 

Geirrin still didn't know if this man was the instructor or another student by his comment.  "Good morning, looking forward to it, maybe though I don't see what good it is unless we are learning to hunt with the power."  He responded shrugging his shoulders.  "Not sure I understand it, they make us use the power for everything then teach us how to do other tasks without it."  He gave a look that said it was beyond his understanding.  He seemed lost in thought for a moment the said "name's Geirrin, Geirrin Hale" almost as an afterthought, it seemed proper to introduce himself since he hadn't met the other man. 

 

Geirrin did a double take as he noticed Covai approaching.  He knew the Storm Leader from other classes, had he not he would not have recognized then man for who he was dismissing him for a woodsman.  Geirrinn saluted, even though Covai was not big on protocol they were out in public and it was proper regardless of is manner of dress.

 

"Didn't you two get the message?" The Storm Leader asked taking in there attire.  Geirrin frowned at his long black coat, it was all he ever wore.  He didn't have any personal clothing aside from what he came here with.  "So do you two plan on hunting in those robes, or do you want to go get changed first?"

 

The other student ran off, Geirrin looked at his coat again and said "My apologies Storm Leader though I don't have much else other than tattered rags.  I've been wearing this coat for everything since I arrived, just learned to make due with it."  He finished with a shrug.  He didn't have a weapon either, he usually just grabbed something from the armory when he had training though some wore theirs all the time.  Maybe Geirrin relied too much on the power having little faith in conventional weapons since learning to channel saidin.

[Covai Seriba]

Covai nodded, somewhat let down. "It'll do." Turning around, Covai headed towards their next stop. "C'mon you two."

 

Making their way towards the archery grounds, Covai unslung his bow from his shoulders and notched an arrow loosley. Stepping up to the marked line, Covai took aim at the target opposite him. Wrapping himself in the void, the Storm Leader's eyes narrowed as his breathing slowed, centering his world around the target. Releasing the shaft between heartbeats, Covai could vaguely feel a sense of satisfaction as his arrow struck the bullseye in the centre of the target. It wasn't a perfect bullseye, but he was satisfied non the less.

 

Stretching his turn and relaxing as he turned about, Covai nodded towards the row of practice bows. None of them had been strung, as leaving them strung all the time would just cause them to warp faster, and become useless. "Go get one. You both need to be able to hit at least the target around the center before we go. I can forgive less than perfect marksmanship for now, but if you're not even good enough to hit the inner ring, there's no point moving on."

 

Stepping back out of the way, Covai turned his attention to the rest of the men traning. Soldiers and Dedicated made up most of them, with a few Asha'man spread about, keeping those training inline and making pointers. There was even a civilian or two given instructions. Covai bit back a grin. Jarron really does intend to turn us into weapons....and it doesn't matter who does it for him.. Truth be told, even he had come from outside the Tower originally, so it stood to reason that other people from outside would be needed as well. As long as they were loyal to the Dragon, everything was fine.

 

Watching his two companions, Covai was curious to see how they'd do. He was still testing the men, so he had no idea what their skills with a bow were, if any. He knew he had told them they had to hit next to the centre at least, but it didn't really matter. It was just a ruse to make them focus. Marksmen or not, there was still plenty he had to teach them.

[Jehaine]

Martyn looked at the bow, trying to recall his old memories of the Malkieri Army. As with most camps and fortresses, there were always a couple of regiments of archers among them, and even though he had never strung a bow himself had seen it be done a few times. Though to be honest, his knowledge was a bit limited on the subject, given that it happened... what, fifty years ago now? Sixty?

 

Nevertheless, he walked over to one of the practise bows, taking a bowstring from the table they had been propped up against. Though he could recall something about strings being 'reverse-twisted' and some kind of special knot regular archers used, he couldn't for the life of him recall what those were, having been an infantryman himself. If he had even known it to begin with, anyway, as most of what he knew about bows was overheard from the archery training he sometimes would watch in between shifts.

 

Figuring it couldn't be helped, he tied the string on one end of the bow with the strongest knot he knew, before bending the wood to do the same for the other side. The wood resisted being bent, and that in itself would put tension on the string. Not knowing about the amount of pressure he should use, he tried to make the strung bow at roughly the same size as Covin's, before taking a couple of arrows and walking to where he was supposed to shoot the things at the target.

 

He took a deep breath, looking intently at th target he was aiming to hit. The first shot managed to hit the inner circle, even if barely. However, the next couple of shots soon put the first one into perspective, as one hit the outer circle, and three others missed the targets entirely. Wincing, he put down the bow, waiting for Geirrin to finish with his shots before walking on to the practise range to retrieve the arrows. Only a fool would walk onto a practise range when people were still firing arrows after all.

 

 

Martyn

Not wanting an arrow in him

[Sieve]

Geirrin followed the Storm Leader to the archery grounds.  He watched as Covai unlsung his bow then notched and arrow.  Covai stepped up to a line in the ground then drew the bow.  Moments later he loosed the arrow and Geirrin stood there gaping at the target.  There in the extreme middle of the target lay the Storm Leader's arrow  slightly quivering from the impact.

 

He half jumped when Covai's voice broke him from his thoughts. "Go get one. You both need to be able to hit at least the target around the center before we go. I can forgive less than perfect marksmanship for now, but if you're not even good enough to hit the inner ring, there's no point moving on." Geirrin almost laughed out loud, he expects me to do that.  Light this was going to be worse than training with a sword.

 

Geirrin argued with himself as he walked to the barrel to retrieve the bow.  He blindly grabbed one not even thinking they could be different or what good one would be over another.  He tried several times to string it to no avail, finally he strung it then grabbed a quiver of arrows.  All around them there were other soldiers, dedicated, and even a few civilians learning to shoot the bow.  He took some time watching them to see what he should be doing.

 

His first shock came at how much strength it took to draw the bow.  Geirrin loosed his first arrow then watched in frustration as the arrow flew wide.  The second went off in the same direction so Geirrin began adjusting his aim.  He continued to fire on the target until he realized that his quiver was empty. 

 

Geirrin was so upset with his poor performace that he failed to notice that Martyn had finished and was waiting on him to retrieve the arrows.  He frowned at his target and the three arrows that were stuck in it, all in the outer ring.  He turned toward the Storm Leader and shrugged "I never shot a bow before Sir...I have no skill with it...I guess that means that I don't get to train?"  He said with a sour look expecting to be dismissed from the training.

 

[Covai Seriba]

"Not today Geirrin." Covai told the man. The soldier nodded deflatedly and turned to leave. Whistling for attention as he placed the bow back on the rack, Covai continued. "There will be no training with the bow for you today. I didn't say that means you're dismissed." The edge of Covai's lips twisted into a grin "There's still plenty of other stuff to learn. You just wont be shooting any arrows out there. Martyn, you may as well put your bow back a well. You fared a little better, but we'll leave the hunting to another day."

 

Once the bows and quivers had been returned, Covai motioned for two men to fall in beside him as they headed for the North Gate. "So tell me you two, ever had much experience surviving outside? Or are you both city boys?"

[Sieve]

"Not today Geirrin." The Storm Leader told him.  Geirrin had known it would be so and went to place the bow on the rack.  Covai's whistle caught his attention, once he had it the man began to speak "There will be no training with the bow for you today. I didn't say that means you're dismissed." The edge of Covai's lips twisted into a grin "There's still plenty of other stuff to learn. You just wont be shooting any arrows out there. Martyn, you may as well put your bow back a well. You fared a little better, but we'll leave the hunting to another day."

 

The Storm Leader motioned for them to fall in beside him.  As they headed for the North gate Covai asked "So tell me you two, ever had much experience surviving outside? Or are you both city boys?"

 

"Well Sir, If you call living on the water the outside then yes, but I assume you mean the wilderness.  In that case I have none.  I've seen a city or two, Tear and Godan, both from a distance though.  The dock area of both is as close as I've come." 

[JoarGerean]

Joar had almost missed breakfast and having eaten now he was late for his hunting excursion.  One day he was going to be ontime.  The group was just starting to leave through the North Gate.  Joar didn't say anything as he ran up and joined the other two soldiers.  He didnt say anything to Covia but he had the feeling that he didnt have to wait long to be admonished for being late again.  The only times he seemed to arrive on time were for, well not much but mostly things that werent important

[Jehaine]

Martyn smiled as he nodded in response to Covai's comment. Any soldier that's been on a campaign knew at least the basics of surviving outside, though it had been decades since the last time he had done so. It suited him fine though, it would even out the inexperience his identity as Martyn Stonebridge had.

 

- "I used to, sir, but it's been quite a while since the last time. My skills are probably be a little rusty."

 

Well, another heavy underestimation there. He hated to lie, which meant he would have to hide himself in half-truths like this one, not lying and still giving off an easily misunderstood explanation. Light, but i'm going to turn into an Aes Sedai if i keep this up. Smirking at the sudden thought -- as well as the irony -- he quickly straightened his face again as he waited for the Storm Leader's reply.

 

 

Martyn

Training to be an Aes Sedai

[Covai Seriba]

OOC: Martyn is training to be Aes Sedai?? :P

 

Covai nodded. "We'll start with the basics then." He was a little disappointed to see that they had little practice between them. Martyn might be a surprise though. Covai assumed he had been a guardsman, merchant guard at some stage. The man was familiar with a blade, but like he said during their first practice, his skills were rusty. He'd have to push a little harder to get the man back to his prime. The other two would just have to try to keep up. He didn't see much point in slowing down the training for the two of them. Most instructors were harsher than Covai, but as long as they wouldn't die if left alone, Covai considered his job done.

 

Nodding in acknowledgment of the gaurds of the guards at the gate, Covai led his three trainees down the road for a while before diverging down a small side path. It wasn't intially obvious if you were on foot, but Covai knew you could see it clearly whilst in the saddle. Scratching at the stubble on his chin, Covai led the way down the path as it wound into the forest, ducking the odd branch along the way.

 

"Okay, this'll do for now" Covai said as they reached a small clearing. Well, it wasn't much of a clearning to be honest, just a bare space with a few trees to one side. "We'll start with basic shelters to begin."

 

"First, find somewhere with cover. Trees, rock formations, light, even a bush or two is better than nothing. Even with thermal tolerance, a night out in the elements with no protection can wreck a man, and I've seen it done. There's nothing weak about trying to find warmth and shelter of a night."

 

"If you're uninjured, there's nothing wrong with using Saidin to help ease things out a little. About 5 mintues at most of channeling and you'll have yourself a fairly workable shelter." Closing his eyes as he seized the source, Covai focused an the space between two of the trees, raising the earth up to form a wall between."

 

"Be careful when you do this though. Do it do fast, or pull too much earth up, and you'll end up uprooting the trees." Covai kicked the root of a tree which had been pulled upwards from his tampering. "Like this. The last thing you need is the forest falling about around you."

 

"As for a fire, just gather whatever twigs, sticks, branches and such you find around the ground. If you can, avoid cutting down a tree for firewood. If you need to, go ahead, but otherwise leave things as they are. It'll be more effort than its worth, espeacially if you end up disturbing a birds nest or a bunch of bugs. You won't be able to get any sleep that way."

 

Glancing around, Covai looked for some loose branches, but could see any nearby. "Alright, I want everyone to spread out. Find as much loose wood as you can, and if you find a spot that looks like it might make a good shelter if you were stuck out here, call out. I'll be getting each of you to practice the basics here before we go any further. Find or make a suitable shelther, and be able to start a fire. It doesn't have to be fancy, just as long as it keeps you from freezing to death."

[Jehaine]

OOC: Nah, just him poking fun at hiding behind misunderstandings the way Aes Sedai are generally rumored to. He's still male, don't worry :D

[Covai Seriba]

*Bump*

 

OOC: This thread is still going people. Get posting! :D

[Sieve]

Geirrin set out looking for loose branches to use for a shelter.  He also kept a lookout for twigs, and whatever else they could use to fuel a fire.  He had always been cautious around fire, it was the one thing that sailors feared most.  One of the first elements he had learned to work with was fire, how ironic he thought.

 

He didn't see anything out of the ordinary that would make for a great foundation for a shelter.  Another thing he found odd was the fact that he had grown accustomed to doing everything with the power.  It seemed that each day he channeled he became stronger and found more uses for saidin.

 

After roughly ten minutes Geirrin returned to Covai with an armload of branches.  "I hope these will do Sir?  I can go back for more.  As for a location for a shelter, I didn't see anything different than what we have here."  Geirrin shrugged his shoulders, he was certainly no woodsman.

[Jehaine]

Martyn walked around the forest, keeping an eye open for good dry wood. He picked up several branches, dropping them again when they were too wet from the ground, or filled with bugs. He kept an eye open for a good place to take shelter, but was unable to find a good one that would be facing the sunrise. There were a couple of alternatives though, but nothing really worth calling out to the others for.

 

He returned with a fair share of branches as well, having deliberately opted for smaller ones to avoid having to slice them in half with saidin. Not that he could get himself to channel, of course, but as it was the thought of doing something without saidin was a welcome change from having to keep hiding his inability to get around his block every other day.

 

- "Same here, sir. A couple of decent alternatives, but i'd call them last resorts at best."