Eat to Live, Hunt to Eat, therefore Hunt to live... q.e.d.

[Ace of Spades]

OOC: this is for my last requirement to become a full ranger. I’ll be hunting an elk with my NPC wolf pack. Please enjoy. I will finish in one post, but it will be pretty long.

 

IC: “Light blasted lark!â€

:::: Rustle. Rustle. Stretch. Crack. Pop.

:::: Sosumo stretched his arms and back after a night of fitful slumber. He shuffled over to a pail that sat under a small makeshift tent. In it was a compact of the tooth cleaning paste he had invented, a hand carved toothbrush, a bar of soap and a grimy towel that had seen better days. Having his toiletries, Sosumo trudged over to the stream nearby his clearing home and washed himself up in preparation for the day.

:::: With a fresh feeling that comes from being clean Sosumo surveyed the work he still needed to do. He could not find anyone who was able to help him that day so he was certain that he would end up sanding down roofing boards and carving the tongues and grooves that would fit the roofing boards together.

:::: No sooner had he decided what to do than his father, or surrogate father as the case may be, padded over to him and nudged him to follow. *Bring your bow* said the wolf in a manner he seldom used. Though confused, Sosumo obeyed. He followed Ground Biter out of the clearing and a short way east.

:::: *Where do we go?* asked Sosumo.

:::: *We have been watching large prey for nearly one moon. It limps now. We attack it now and we will have food for a long time.*

:::: *My den needs to be built.* said Sosumo and made as if to turn around, but ground biter ran in front of his path and shook his head in an almost human gesture.

:::: *Without the whole pack we will fail. You will come if I must drag you there.*

:::: Sosumo could say nothing in reply. All he could do was acquiesce and follow. They walked at a brisk pace for a long time. Morning quickly turned into afternoon and Sosumo could no longer hold back.

:::: *How far is prey?*

:::: *Two days walk. I would run, but you could not keep up.* Ground biter replied, *We will meet the pack when we are close to the prey. Then we plan how to kill prey.*

 

:::: The father and son of different species traveled much and spoke little. They hunted and ate to keep up their strength but took care not to kill too much game in anticipation of the large prey they were about to encounter. After a day of solitary travel they were joined by two other members of the pack who had been called from the other side of the mountains of mist. Once the two became four the pace picked up and Sosumo’s two legs had to keep up with the twelve of his three family members. They closed the distance between them and their remaining pack mates in the span of a day. When all were gathered Ground biter began strategizing as they walked quietly through the forest to get a better view of their prey.

:::: *clean tooth with shoot long feathered fangs at the four legged hard foot to make it fall. Sleet fang, River Fur, and I will bite its good legs to keep it from kicking, and Big will bite its throat while it is on the ground. Low Grass will wait in the shadows to take over if one of us is wounded.* as the scene played out in Sosumo’s mind he looked over his equipment. He did not have arrows with heads large enough to put down the animal that was shown in the images ground biter sent.

:::: *I do not have big enough long feathered fangs to make the prey fall* said Sosumo. Five pairs of golden eyes turned on Sosumo.

:::: Big, a female with a head that was far too large for her body, nudged Sosumo’s hand, *shoot more long feathered fangs and shoot them where it hurts prey most.* the image that corresponded to the last part made Sosumo flinch and one hand drifted thoughtfully to his groin area. He agreed to that though. He would try to injure another of its good legs to keep it from moving around too much while he shot for smaller, more painful targets. He doubted he could get a head shot, as the moment he loosed one arrow the creature would immediately begin thrashing about wildly and running off even if his arrow did not hit. The slender joints of the leg were too difficult of a target, even more so than the head. His only course of action was to fire as many arrows into the larger parts of the prey as possible to weaken it. Doing so, however, would endanger his pack mates by sending them to deal with a powerful, thrashing animal far larger than they were with only their teeth and claws.

:::: *Stop thinking and improvise, clean tooth.* River fur, never one to enjoy rigidly defined plans was pacing back and forth flexing his muscles getting ready for the attack. *While we talk the prey gets farther away and other packs may attack it before we can claim it. We should attack now.*

:::: Sleet fang was normally quiet but he padded over to river fur and addressed everyone, *he has a point. Our pack needs food. Clean tooth will do his best and we will do ours.*

:::: Ground Biter padded away and sent messages to everyone from his turned back. *Everyone split up and close in on the prey from all sides. Try to be on the side you should be attacking.* With that he jumped over a log and began sprinting east and circled around the trees. The others broke up as well leaving Sosumo to track the animal on his own and sneak up on it.

:::: He had only two legs, so he was not as fast as his family members so he would trail the animal from behind and he would use his arrows to lead the beast into the circle of his pack mates and they would attack it from all sides while the prey knew it could not escape by going backward. One thing he knew of but could not calculate was the prey’s knowledge of its situation. It was injured so it knew that it must be an easy target. This put it on alert, and that made it extremely difficult for Sosumo to come near it. He could blend with his surroundings and mask his scents easily enough but an injured creature jumps at every small noise. Sosumo had to count on both skill and the serenity of his surroundings. If the leaves rustled in the wind he would not be able to sneak up on his prey. This also gave him very little time to take his shot, as the stretching of his bowstring would be cause for alarm.

:::: Sosumo planned and schemed and viewed all the negatives and possible consequences as he ran. He breathed through his nose as he ran so as not to miss the scent by breathing through his mouth. It slowed him down but it gave him an advantage in being able to detect the prey. He heard but did not hear the voices of his pack mates telling him they were in position. River fur even sent a threat to speed the two-legged member of the pack onward. Seeing the first hoof print in the snow Sosumo slowed and sent messages to his pack.

:::: After several minutes of very careful, silent progress, The elk came into view. The antlers marked that it was clearly a male. He waited; not knowing which leg was injured. It took a faltering step. The left hind leg.

:::: Sosumo chose the right hindquarter as his target. If he hit low enough the Elk would try to compensate the injury onto the other leg and then collapse. He had seen it before with a much smaller doe. Sosumo edged over to a split tree and used its girth to hide his body and lifted his bow to aim between the tree’s two trunks. He did not pull the string yet. He summoned his emotions and flowed them one into another until they became a spring of a pure single emotion. The purity of emotion sharpened his senses and he saw each hair on the Elk’s body outlined as clear as day. He tested the wind calculated it’s speed and angle. He made a scientific estimate of the speed and force of his bow and calculated how many inches backward he would have to pull back to achieve the necessary force. He knocked his arrow without pulling on the string he made sure the arrow was perfectly straight on the bow so as not to interfere with his calculations. He listened to make sure that a stray gust of wind was not on the way. Hearing none in the distance he drew back the string precisely 26 inches and fired in a 2 degree and 3 second angle that sent the arrow in a barely perceptible arc. The arrow flew unimpeded.

:::: The Elk started but before it could fully turn and escape the arrow buried itself deep in the flesh of the animal’s right thigh. Sosumo watched as the beast instinctively shifted its weight to its other leg to take the weight off its fresh injury, and just as predicted the lame left leg buckled from the strain. The once majestic creature cried out as its rump fell awkwardly to the frosted dirt. The cry of pain was the signal and four of the five wolves launched out of the shadows. Three sets of jaws clamped down of the Elk’s legs and pulled them in different directions. Big, who had been hovering near the animal’s massive horns, barked to further rile the animal. From long experience the wolves knew that scaring the animal would make its blood pump faster and lead to a quicker death so that they could eat the carcass without feeling the protests of the animal. When the Elk was fully wide eyed with terror Big danced around and clamped her powerful jaws on the throat of the prey and shook vigorously. The screaming the animal had been performing was brought to a sickening halt as the windpipe was crushed. Blood spurted freely and covered the icy ground in red. Even though it was mortally wounded it continued to thrash. Sosumo ran out toward the prey and knocked another arrow. He pulled the bow to its full length and loosed it at point blank range into the Elk’s head. The full power of the Ranger bow shattered the skull of the prey and it started to small quiver as the nerves ceased reading the signals from the Elk’s now destroyed brain.

:::: Soon blood and brain matter stained the snow and the real work began: Moving the prey to the pack’s den in Sosumo’s clearing.

 

:::: *you are sure this will work clean tooth?* asked river fur looking dubiously at the roughshod contraption Sosumo had built. It looked vaguely like a cross between a rickshaw and a sleigh. Considering Sosumo’s trade “roughshod†was an exaggeration. Moving it would be simple as long as there was snow on the ground. The most difficult part would be getting the Elk onto the sleigh-bed.

:::: *I said many times. It will work.* said Sosumo.

:::: *The idea feels bad. Explain it again.* Chimed Big.

:::: Sosumo growled in irritation, *Three bite the branch on the front and walk forward. I grab the handles in the back and push forward and the rest protect the kill from attack from the sides. When you get tired of pushing the kill, you switch with one protector.*

:::: *What do we do when you grow tired, clean tooth?* asked Ground Biter with concern.

:::: *It does not matter if I am tired. I will push anyway.*

:::: Sosumo turned his attention to the dead Elk. The cold weather had kept all the insects away, and the constant presence of the pack kept the scavengers at bay. Because of this, the prey was still edible and would be for several more days. Sosumo had gathered round logs and placed them in the path of the elk to the cart. He pushed the elk, rump-first, onto the path of rolling logs and continued to strain and push until the elk would roll on top of the logs more easily. It was still a tiring job because the adult male elk weighed several hundred pounds. After a very long time pushing the elk onto the sled Sosumo glared at his packmates. *Thank you for the help* he sent venomously.

 

OOC: I based the wolf pack hunting movements (with liberties taken to show the inclusion of a human of course) on a discovery channel special I saw about timber wolves, which are the basis for the breed of wolves Sosumo’s pack is comprised of according to Ata’s list of Randland wolf species. At this point it is to be assumed that Sosumo’s pack will drag the nearly frozen hunk of meat back to the stedding. It is my understanding that Owen is supposed to post so I left it open for him to come in at some point to steal some of my food. Expect to be made to take shifts pushing the cart, Owen *smiles evilly*.

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PostPosted: 19 Jan 2006 04:17 pm Post subject: Reply with quote

It was always easy to track the unwary, even when you had to concentrated on keeping downwind of them, Owen wanted no hint or warning that Sosumo was being tracked. They moved through the woods like a summer breeze, leaving no hint of their passage, nor tracks that could be followed. Owen was crouched next to a large Oak tree, there were in the part of the forest that contained trees that were nearly as old as the mountains, and looked as tall from Owen’s position. Slowly he turned his head, scanning the forest for John and Lorelai. Even for Owen, who knew where they were, it was very hard to make out their shapes. Silently, using the hand language that Arein had taught him, and he had passed on to the other two Rangers, Owen signalled for them to flank him, John to the right Lorelai to the left. Both were dressed in off white breaches and white cloaks, their heads and faces were covered in a white hood that was tucked into the shirts they had on, on their hands they wore white leather gloves. Once they were in position, Owen signalled for them to wait and then he disappeared along the same trail Sosumo had recently used. Catching sight of his quarry, Owen dropped behind a small outcrop of rock, and signalled back to the two Rangers to move up to his position.

 

When they arrived, they watched Sosumo, and his companions, take down a large buck. Owen was not that impressed with Sosumo’s shot, and thought he would have been better to have aimed for the upper shoulder, at least then it would have been a clean kill. But, Owen realised this was more a demonstration of cooperation between man and wolf, rather than Sosumo trying to kill the buck with one shot. The there Rangers continued to watch as Sosumo gutted his kill. When he was nearly finished, Owen turned to John and Lorelai and using his hands issued their instructions.

 

John, you go in first, keep him talking. Lorelai, circle round to the south and wait for a count of 100, then you join the two men. I will go round to the west side, and wait for a count of 200. John, suggest we take the meat to the miners. I have an idea for a further test for our young apprentice…any questions?

 

John and Lorelai indicated they understood, and as John made his way towards Sosumo, Lorelai disappeared into the under growth to make her way south. Owen waited a few moments, then started off to the west. Before he was in postion, Owen was joined by a large female wolf, her white fur glistening even in the sparse light filtering through the trees. Along side her was a male grey wolf, smaller than his sister, his fur seemed to shimmer in the light and Shadow nipped at his sister’s flank so that he could move along side Owen. Finally the three of them were in position and after a lengthy discussion, mostly centring around Ice and Shadow’s desire to eat the buck now, they settled down to watch the events unfold, and await their time to enter the unfolding drama.

 

Owen

 

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Last edited by WhiteWolf on 23 Jan 2006 03:20 pm; edited 1 time in total

 

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PostPosted: 19 Jan 2006 06:10 pm Post subject: Reply with quote

Lorelai watched Owen's hand signals closely and nodded in comprehension. The task at hand was clear. Sosumo was to go through an initiation test to become a Ranger. He was ignorant of this, the element of surprise being crucial for this test. Owen was very clear on that. So, that meant that Sosumo had to be drugged. Lorelai tugged at her pouch to make sure it was there. It was filled with herbs she picked up earlier from the Sages. It wasn't an instant tranquilizer, since it wasn't necessary. Sosumo would be knocked out eventually for at least 12 hours, more then enough for what they needed to do.

 

Lorelai watched John as he went straight to where Sosumo was and started her way south, in a circular direction. She didn't feel uncomfortable about what they were going to do. It's just something that has to be done. Besides, Lorelai found it quite amusing to spike his drink. She was anxious to do it. It brought out the child in her. Slowly and surely, she rounded around until she got to 100. She stood erect and walked towards the two men.

 

"I thought I heard someone about." Said Lorelai as she walked next to them. "I could hear you from quite afar. The sound of chattering. Thought I would end up finding two old ladies, but hey, a girl can be wrong sometimes." Lorelai smiled in amusement.

 

 

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PostPosted: 23 Jan 2006 05:26 am Post subject: Reply with quote Edit/Delete this post

OOC: I’m not sure where this is going… but just so you know Sosumo has a wolf mother and 15 brothers and sisters back in the stedding to feed, so Whatever it is had better not involve taking all my food or you’ll have some very unhappy wolves on your hands… a couple more things: its snowing, wearing green and brown nicht gornisht helthin (it wouldn’t help you), furthermore I never gutted the elk, if its getting thrown to the wolves why bother. Just pointing out a few things you overlooked when posting because I can *big grin*. Anyway, on with the fun.

 

IC: Very shortly after loading the kill onto the sled Sosumo heard the crunch of a boot sinking into the snow. He spun and reached for his long-hilted sword. Much to his surprise he found his fellow Kin, John walking toward him. Sosumo eased up from his crouch but kept his hand on his sword. Something about this smelled wrong. Not because someone had snuck up on him, but because that someone had no reason to keep his presence hidden the whole time Sosumo was pushing the pack’s kill onto the sled. John was his friend. Why would he be clandestine about his presence?

:::: ‘Something is rotten in Denmark…’ he thought, and quickly became more uneasy since he had no idea what a “Denmark†was.

:::: Sosumo sniffed the air and noted that John’s scent was distinctly bland, as though he were putting a little effort into keeping his emotions in check. It was faint but clearly all was not as it seemed. Sosumo made no effort to hide his scent. He wanted John to know he was suspicious, and maybe he would slip up because he knew that Sosumo knew that he was up to something. It was a quick train of thought that pumped suspicion into his scent and his hackles continued to rise with every step John took.

:::: “Considering how you appeared, You’ve likely been watching me for a while. You could have helped me with the beast you know. Courtesy and friendly urge to help out should have prompted you to.†Said Sosumo with the same venom he had shown his packmates.

:::: Soon after the shreds of an uneasy conversation began to form, Loralei appeared from the trees as well. The sudden appearance was not as surprising, but it put Sosumo even farther on edge. Next he was expecting to find that the entire stedding had moved itself and he was somehow in the town square.

"I thought I heard someone about." Said Lorelai as she walked toward them. "I could hear you from quite afar. The sound of chattering. Thought I would end up finding two old ladies, but hey, a girl can be wrong sometimes." Lorelai smiled in amusement.

:::: “What was that dearie,†said Sosumo acidly, “I couldn’t hear you, I thought you were going to explain why you are here.â€

:::: “You seem a tad prickly today.â€

:::: “Oh, I’m not prickly. I’m anxious to get food to the rest of my family, and now people are jumping out of the trees. I think my response is more than polite enough. My apologies, if you are here because of our kill, you can have some if you ask Ground Biter, and help us push it back.â€

 

OOC: Just assume Sosumo’s suspicion only extends to the food. I am ok with him being duped into thinking you are a bunch of scavengers…. *mutters* Dirty little meat thieves.

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PostPosted: 23 Jan 2006 03:24 pm Post subject: Reply with quote

Chuckling at the exchange between Sosumo and Lorelai, Nights seated himself on a near by log. Sosumo’s scent oozed with wariness and removing an ale pouch from his bag he took a long drink and handed it to Loreali. Rummaging through his pack some more he found his pipe and thumbing it full of tbac lit it with a flint before speaking.

 

“Come now Sosumo the sight of a fellow Wolfkin should be welcome after so many days on your own.†Lorelai offered the ale to Sosumo but the man waved it off. Nights gave his most sincere and innocent face as he puffed at his pipe. “Loreali were just doing some scouting and the wolves told us you were near so we thought we would pay a visit to someone who was about to join us in the brotherhood of the Rangers.â€

 

Lorelai nodded and took another long draw from the skin handing it back to Nights who had a long pull himself. “If you intend the meat for the wolves that is fine we can scare up a few hares and make a meal fit for kings and queens can’t we Lorelai?â€

 

The young woman smiled innocently hands on her hips and nodded. “Do you need us to help you with that carcass or are the wolves going to feed right here?â€

 

It was all Nights could do not to grin and laugh aloud. What they had planned for the young man would keep them laughing for many nights to come. He remembered his final Ranger test and while it had not been fun in any stretch of the imagination at the time, he looked back on it now and often laughed. Any moment now Owen should be appearing and that should put the young man even more on edge.

 

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PostPosted: 23 Jan 2006 04:23 pm Post subject: Reply with quote

Owen waited until the three had struck up a good conversation then slowly made his way thought the snow laden trees, careful not to disturb any snow, apart from anything he did not want to get covered in freezing water, the temperature had not been above freezing for a while now, and he doubted it would climb today, certainly not where they were headed anyway.

 

“Well what do we have here, a group of Wolfkin sitting around drinking ale and chatting as if there is no work for them to be doing.â€

 

Owen strode into the middle of the group and knocking the snow from a tree stump, sat down and reached over for the ale skin. Removing his hood, he took a long drink of the ale and then replaced the stopper. “Actually I am glad I have run into the three of you, and this elk you have here is just right for my purposes today, as are you three.â€

 

Seeing the looks of dismay on their faces Owen smiled and continued talking. “Don’t worry, it is only an over night trip, and I think it will do some of us good to be away from the Stedding.†Owen glanced over at Lorelai and winked at her, this would be the first time she had been out since she had learnt about Kare’el’s disappearance and he thought she needed to start living again instead of moping around, not knowing what to do with herself.

 

“So here’s the plan, we take the meat from this buck up to the mining village and present it to the miners as a gift. Along the way we can see if we can catch any other game to add to this.â€

 

Before Owen could finish speaking, Sosumo had jumped to his feet and started to talk about how his pack needed the food, and how there were hungry mouths that needed feeding back at the Stedding. Owen thought Sosumo was not going to stop telling him how important the meat was back in the Stedding, but eventually he had to draw breath and Owen was able to respond. “Do not worry, my friend, everything is taken care of, you do not think I would ask you to help me in this if it meant our own going without did you? Why even now Ice and Shadow are off hunting, and I see your wolves are accompanying them. So you see there really is no need for you to worry, everything is taken care of, isn’t that right Lorelai?â€

 

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PostPosted: 23 Jan 2006 05:08 pm Post subject: Reply with quote

Lorelai sat herself down, next to John, expecting Owen to enter the scene any moment. When he did, she jumped up, a puzzled expression on her face. She always did act nicely. She was even able to give off the scent of startlement. "Well what do we have here, a group of Wolfkin sitting around drinking ale and chatting as if there is no work for them to be doing. Actually I am glad I have run into the three of you, and this elk you have here is just right for my purposes today, as are you three." Lorelai frowned, exchanging looks with both Sosumo and John. If she didn't know any better, she would have believed that Owen really did just stumbled along to recruit them for a job.

 

As Owen spoke, revealing to them what they had to do, she sighed, a picture of pure laziness. "But, Owen...", she started off, trying to find an excuse not to come. The man just cut her off and went on. Sosumo didn't seem suspicious any more. He was more into arguing with Owen about the buck, which Lorelai was thankful for. Let Owen handle the pig headed man. In the end, Owen got his way of course. Lorelai caught the end of the conversation. "So you see there really is no need for you to worry, everything is taken care of, isn't that right Lorelai?".

 

Lorelai smiled widely. "Oh, of course. Everything is taken care of." Lorelai couldn't help but tug her pouch while saying that. No one seemed to notice. Sosumo resisted a few moments more, but then gave it up. They cut the buck into pieces and wrapped them with a cloth. Each of the four picked up a piece and carried it and so they started their way towards the miners' camp. On the way they were lucky enough to encounter some forest animal. Lorelai herself caught two rabbits, and Owen and John had some luck as well.

 

She felt a bit odd, heading out of the stedding. Since she learned that Kare'el left, she vowed she will go after him as soon as she could. But Owen asked her to join as a personal request and she didn't feel she should refuse. She was needed today. Tomorrow will be a new day. Tomorrow she will think of Kare'el. She frowned at John. The man could be so obvious, with that smirk over his face. He just winked at her. He could ruin everything. Bloody stubborn man.

 

 

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PostPosted: 27 Jan 2006 03:54 pm Post subject: Reply with quote

The day passed uneventful as the four journeyed through the snow toward the mining community. Before they left Sosumo had managed to track down another smaller deer and kill it for the pack to eat. After they had gathered their things and started off a light snow began to fall. Wrapping their cloaks about them the small group kept the mood light with jokes and stories of their exploits as they traveled.

 

Knowing this area well the Wolfkin made good time easily picking the easier path. The food they had collected for the miners was being dragged behind them on makeshift sleds they had put together for easy transport. By the time they had reached the miners encampment the sun had begun to wane in the afternoon sky. Hues of red and purple hung across the darkening skies as stars began to appear. A small group of miners was just returning from a hard days work and noticed them approaching.

 

Shouting a greeting a small man ran up to Owen and shook his hand. After exchanging greetings the man, Tynar, led them to one of the larger houses in the village. Smoke billowed from the chimney and leaving their sleds outside the Wolfkin entered the wooden hall. The warmth of the fire was a welcome site to all and as they were warming their hands several more miners and their wives appeared.

 

“We have brought meat to fill your stomach’s†Nights told the small crowd who quickly went outside to gather the kill they had brought. “Could we trouble you for a warm fire and a room for the evening?†Soon they were shown rooms they could use and Nights had gone outside and hauled a barrel he had brought with him into the main room. “Brandy the finest in the stedding.†He announced calling for glasses. Owen slapped Nights on the back and two shared a mischievous smile.

 

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PostPosted: 08 Feb 2006 06:45 pm Post subject: Reply with quote Edit/Delete this post

OOC: Since I cant advance the plot I will have to resort to a meaningless post that fills space.

 

IC: Trekking with humans was far easier than with wolves, but the situation still perturbed the scarred wolfkin. Everyone was calm and composed and though the mood had somewhat settled onto Sosumo he could not shake the feeling that there arrival was not as spontaneous as the others made it seem.

:::: It wasn’t simply the appearance of the others. Ground biter had given up the Elk’s body very easily, even after all the work the pack had gone through. A kind wolf though he was, he was the leader of a large pack and giving away big game to others was not in character for him. Furthermore Lorelai and john often exchanged looks that were at once unreadable and deliberate. Of them Owen acted the least suspicious, but his presence was the most perturbing of all.

:::: There were many variables that Sosumo considered and only a small number could be attributed to coincidence, and all taken together could never dream of adding up to anything but deliberate, but no matter how he put the thoughts together the scarred wolfkin could not find out anything more than the fact he had already established: it was very suspicious.

 

:::: Only after finding another smaller deer and killing it for the pack to drag home, followed by days of travel Sosumo grudgingly put his guard down. The other rangers were his bretheren, and they had no reason to bring him harm. As nothing yet had happened it was safe to assume one of two things: he had been mistaken, or they had a plan that was slow in unfolding.

:::: They reached the mining camp and some unpleasant memories resurfaced of the time when he had last been here to liberate the place. His memories brushed upon the children and Sosumo cut off his thoughts and concentrated very hard on the first mundane item in view.

:::: A person of the village came to greet them and John immediately told them of the meat and spirits they had brought. Sosumo grumbled once about the meat being his packs, but resigned himself to taking payment for the meat by drinking as much of the brandy as he possibly could.

 

OOC: There. Not much, but I gave you pretext to have Sosumo drink with reckless abandon. I assume from context clues that you are going to slip something into his drink so I figured I’d give you an easy opening.

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PostPosted: 14 Feb 2006 05:20 pm Post subject: Reply with quote

While the guys started to help unload the meat and settle in, Lorelai headed off to one of the houses. A house wife was kind enough to give her a little space at her kitchen to work at. She took out the forkroot and examined it carefully. Then, she boiled some water and dropped it inside. Normally, a tea would be made with the liquid, but since she spotted Sosumo drinking like there's no tomorrow, slipping something to his brandy, rather then convincing him to have a tea, was more reasonable and more likely to work. Sosumo was a very suspicious person, bordering on paranoid. But alcohol clouds one's mind. It would work

 

While the liquid cooled down she went for two cups of brendy. She poured some of the now cool liquid into the brendy. Not too much, so the taste of it wouldn't be felt. Besides, to Lorelai's knowledge it was more then enough to put Sosumo out for a few long hours. It would also take minutes to take affect. Her minds couldn't stop racing at the thoughts of what would be done to Sosumo. Owen could be ruthless if he chose to. Lorelai couldn't help but smile.

 

She joined in on Sosumo, John and Owen laughing with a bunch of minors. Lorelai handed the drugged brandy to John and when Sosumo asked for a refill, John handed him the cup. Lorelai sipped her brandy, in tranquility. She did her part of the job. The rest was up for Owen, unless he had further plans for them. Either way, it turned out being an interesting night. She enjoyed the light conversation muchly. Until Sosumo passed out, his face crashing on the ground. A smile escaped her lips. It was show time.

 

 

Lorelai

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Ace_of_Spades

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PostPosted: 21 Mar 2006 01:51 pm Post subject: Reply with quote Edit/Delete this post

ok.... still waiting for the next part of what im supposed to do....

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PostPosted: 22 Mar 2006 03:15 pm Post subject: Reply with quote

Blowing a ring of smoke into the air Night laughed when Sosumo fell of his chair unconscious. The three Ranger’s were on their feet immediately picking Sosumo up and carrying him outside. They place the man on a small hand card and secured him with ropes. With a quick thanks to their hosts Nights began to pull the cart toward the mines.

 

The night was cold and dark and pausing only long enough for Owen and Lorelai to light some torches the three entered the mines. Being more familiar with the mines than the other two Owen led them through the maze of tunnels than sloped downward as they went. Reaching a pile of rocks that blocked their path but offered a small clearing near the top of the tunnel the group stopped.

 

“We will have to carry him the rest of the way John.†Owen commented and the two hoisted Sosumo out of the wagon and carried him over the rocks. Two hours later the group had finally reached their destination deep in the mines. The air was pleasant but smelled of sulfur and they laid Sosumo down next to a large boulder.

 

Owen gestured ahead to where a small rise let to an air shaft out of the mine in the tunnel roof. “We will seal that when we are outside.†Lorelai flashed a wicked grin and knelt and began removing Sosumo’s clothes.

 

“I think you are enjoying that a bit too much my dear.†Nights laughed and Owen joined in slapping him on the back.

 

Lorelai shot them a sharp glance and continued her task. When she had finished all that remained on Sosumo was a cloak. Leaving a belt knife close by Lorelai folded his clothes and joined the other two Rangers. Quickly climbing up the slope the three squirmed through the hole in the roof made their way outside minuets later. Nights located a large boulder and with the help of Owen and Loerali rolled it over the hold in the roof. The weight of the thing would be impossible for Sosumo to move. The Ranger would have to find his way out using his wits.

 

Very proud of themselves the three who emerged from the tunnel made their way back to the village. Seated in front of a fireplace with mugs of ale and brandy in hand they all made wagers on how long it would take the man to find his way out.

 

John Dunbar

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New postPosted: 27 Mar 2006 12:29 pm Post subject: Reply with quote

Owen was the last to leave the prone Sosumo, this tactic could be considered dangerous and foolish by some, but Owen knew that at times the Rangers had only themselves to rely on, oftentimes far from any of their brothers and sisters. With this in mind, Owen had devised the final test to suit the person taking it, and no two final tests were ever the same. The method may be similar, but the locations, and challenges were always different.

 

Once he had climbed the rope, Owen pulled it up behind him, Sosumo would not be able to leave the cave by this route, no matter how good a climber he might be. The hole Owen had just used was situated in the center of the cave Sosumo was now in, and could only be reached by rope, or ladder, neither of which Sosumo had at his use.

 

Taking one last look at the sleeping body, Owen smiled to himself and then signalled to John and Lorelai that it was time to leave, there were others in this cave system who would ensure that Sosumo did not get too lost, although he would not be aware of their prescence. They were miners who knew the tunnels and caves as well as the Wolfkin knew their forest, and were equally elusive in the tunnels as the Wolfkin were in the forest.

 

The three Rangers made their way back to the surface and returned to the small mining village, taking some well deserved refreshment when they got there. John and Lorelai were soon laying bets as to how long it would take Sosumo to find his way out of the cave system, but when he did Owen had another surprise planned for him, one that even John and Lorelai did not know about. As he drained his tankard, a smile appeared on Owen’s face, one that did not bode well for Sosumo.

 

Owen

 

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[Ace of Spades]

OOC: What am I trying to do here? Just find my way out of the cave using my wits and awesome wolfish physique? I suppose I can do that…

 

IC: Upon waking he felt something was wrong… ‘Where is that blasted lark?’ thought Sosumo, and then noticed a second problem. ‘Where is the sunlight?!’ Sosumo looked around only to find inky blackness. Confronted with the sudden loss of sight the scarred wolfkin began to feel threatened. He stood up and spun around searching for a light source and found one on the ceiling in the distance. He rushed to inspect it and found it was too high and that was the only exit in sight. Panic was setting in.

:::: ‘Stop it!’ he told himself. ‘logic will prevail. I didn’t walk in here by myself… I’ve been that drunk before and I know I don’t wander, so someone put me in here…’ he reached down and felt skin where his pouch should have been. Quickly he felt left, and right and felt nothing but bare skin. ‘And whoever put me in here must have had fun…’ Returning to where he had woken up he found his cloak and his hunting knife nearby, but not the rest of his clothes. With his cloak in hand he sat down and shot up immediately at the feel of the cold stone against his skin. He sat down again and forced himself to stay while the stone warmed up. When he was more comfortable he started to think.

:::: ‘Well the miners wouldn’t do this… they know me, and I do business with them. They are practically a way station for my raw materials, and they make money off of my business, so they would have no profit in doing this… I don’t think anyone has a grudge against me… wait. I’m going about this in entirely the wrong way. It was those three… I was suspicious of them from the start, and this is exactly Owen’s style of humor… John would laugh just as hard as Owen, and Loralei is too mischievous to say no to a venture like this.’ With the culprits decided on he knew his next course of action. He got up on all fours and began sniffing the ground. If he got lucky their scent would still be faint, but there.

:::: ‘Success!’ He thought as he found the faint scent of Lorelai. As he thought, she had been having fun, so her scent was undisguised and stronger than the others. It was miniscule, but surrounded only by the blank scent of rocks Sosumo picked it out with relative ease. He began to follow the trail of scent and found that what he had feared was correct. The trail lead to a sudden stop just underneath the hole.

:::: First he checked for signs of use in the tunnel… he trailed his hand along the wall of the cave and found no support beams, which meant that he was in an unused or untapped section of the mines… without support beams there would be no lamps and thus no hope of light if he went deeper into the cave. With his knife he began scratching at the stone on the ground and then felt the floor for his handiwork. He found a faint scratch, and set up again to make it deeper. When he was done he had gauged and arrow into the ground. Since he was unable to go upward and out, there was only one direction he could go: farther inward. Taking his knife and cloak with him he traveled deeper into the cave. It got dimmer and he frequently stopped to allow his eyes to adjust to the light, or lack thereof. Every so often he would gauge another arrow into the ground to mark his progress.

:::: His best option was to try and find a path that sloped upward, since the mine was below ground. Soon he came to a fork in the tunnel and found a dead end where a cave-in had blocked the exit. He was too smart to start digging his way out. That could cause a further cave in and bury him under rubble permanently. ‘I guess I will just have to find another way out.’ He returned to the fork and crossed out the arrow that lead to the dead end, and continued down the other path, marking his place as he went. As he moved farther inward the light became too dim even for his wolfkin eyes, but he continued fumbling in the dark, checking the walls to make sure there were no alternate paths, and making gouges in the floor. He began to taste moisture in the air, and heard the sounds of his own footsteps joined by the faint sound of dripping water. Soon the echo of his steps changed echo changed. A wall he had been feeling along suddenly disappeared and his footstep reverberated as though he were in a cavern. He thanked the creator that he did not smell bats. Where there were bats there was guano and in a poorly ventilated cavern he could easily suffocate on gas fumes. Though that was a real threat that was not the worst of his worries if he encountered a bat cave. Living alongside bat guano was often flesh eating dung beetles, and considering his lack of clothing he would not last long wading through guano barefoot.

:::: He cringed as the scene played out in his mind. First he would be weakened by the scent of guano and the gas as beetles slowly ate his legs. When they began to chew his leg muscles he would inevitably fall and either drown in guano or be eaten alive, and that was only if he failed to disturb the bats… If he did then his demise would be far quicker and more painful.

:::: The feel of moisture was emanating from the cavern he was in, and the rocks at his feet were growing slick as he came farther in. The dripping sound grew louder and Sosumo got down on his hands and knees and crept forward. He wanted to be sure that he did not fall down into an even deeper cavern or underground lake. He was relieved to find that the lake was not below him, but rather right in front of him. He judged with certainty that it was in fact a lake, because of the sound that the dripping made. Sosumo tested the water and cringed… it had an unpleasant coppery taste, but it was not rancid or covered in scum, so he drank as much as he could. He put his cloak down and sat by the water after drinking his fill. He needed a course of action.

:::: ‘I should follow the water’s edge until I hit a wall or come full circle. If I find a wall I’ll follow it till I find another branch of the cave… but I should check to see if I’ve been there already before I follow it…’ he wasn’t happy about his lack of options but he had an ace in the hole. The cave system had to connect to the mines at some point, and the mine meant a myriad of scents that would lead him to a straight path to the exit. It had been bothering him for some time why he could not smell them before, but finding the water explained it. He was far enough away from the mineshaft for the scent of civilization to be faint, and a moist cavern inevitably led to the formation of scum and funguses that drowned out the scent entirely. Now he knew what to do, but his problem had changed. Which direction should he follow around the water’s edge? And if he found no tunnel with the smell of a mine, then should he take whichever he comes across? Too many questions… not enough answers.

:::: ‘No choice but to go,’ he thought. He marked the stone where he had been sitting with an arrow so that he would know if he was going in circles. He got back onto his hands and knees and felt along the waters edge. Without light or anything to go by he couldn’t tell how long he had been crawling along, but his body ached from the slow progress and the discomfort of nudity. He was about to rest when his hand touched solid rock. He stood and felt that it was the cave wall, so he continued along it to see where it would lead him.

 

:::: Sosumo had walked along the entire wall of the cavern. He knew this because eventually he came in contact with the lake again. He deduced from his surroundings that the lake was in fact a large puddle caused by a dip in the ground nearby one of the walls of the cavern and filled over hundreds of years by the steady dripping of a single water source at the roof of the cavern. Excluding the tunnel he had entered from there were five separate tunnels he could take. Two of them had sloped upward and one of them was covered in stalagmites and stalactites and virtually impassable. The remaining two lead downward. After traversing the full perimeter of the cavern Sosumo had tried both the up sloping tunnels and found a dead end at one, and in the second one had begun smelling the odor of bat guano, and after his mental images earlier he decided to not risk it, even though it meant proximity to an exit for the bats to go out and feed at night. A bat cave was far too dangerous for a nude wolf man.

:::: He stood at the mouth of one of the down sloping tunnels and placed his foot gingerly on the stone. There was a crumbling and a sound of rocks falling. He removed his foot and followed the wall to the other path. That path was less steep and he followed it downward marking his path with his knife every so often or when he came to a fork in the path. If he came to a choice between tunnels after following another split he would return to the first fork and check the other side. If both led to multiple paths he forced himself to choose.

:::: It was a happy accident that he caught a whiff of burned kerosene, but he followed the scent, and as it became stronger it mixed with the smell of human sweat. It was still dark when he located the source of the scent: an extinguished lamp hung from a support beam. Reasoning things out he figured that it was nighttime outside and the miners had been here recently working, but left hours ago and extinguished the lamps. Despite this logic the smell of human was still quite fresh, and something seemed wrong about it being so, but Sosumo was too tired and hungry to ponder it, all he wanted to do was follow the mine shaft all the way out, find Owen and land a solid punch right into his nose.

 

:::: The door of the mining settlement’s makeshift inn swung open to admit Sosumo, cloak and knife in hand. Many heads turned and there were gasps and one or two impressed stares. For once Sosumo was not the least bit defensive about his scars. He saw his three fellow wolfkin sitting at a table. With anger in his stride he approached the table as Owen stood up, mug in hand and smiled at him. Sosumo held back his fist, but snatched the mug from his hand, drained it, and shoved it back into the ranger leader’s chest.

:::: “Now where are my clothes?â€

 

OOC: there. And I didn’t even need your silly little miner friends to save me from being lost. So there :P

[Ace of Spades]

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[Ace of Spades]

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[Ace of Spades]

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[WhiteWolf]

The anger did not surprise Owen, Sosumo had never learnt that he was not in control, that he had to obey the wishes of his superiors, and his petulant display did nothing more than further confirm Owen’s opinion of him. His anger was misplaced; it was supposed to be aimed at Owen, and the others, but mainly Owen. Instead though, it was really aimed at Sosumo, he was the target of his own anger simply because he had not learnt a fundamental lesson, one that Owen doubted he would ever learn, and this would cause him many problems throughout his life.

 

 

“Your clothes are over there, washed and mended, all your equipment is piled next to it, cleaned and sharpened, repaired where necessary. You will also find that there is a new cloak amongst your belongings. That and this broach are the trappings of a full Ranger.â€

 

 

Owen stopped talking, and turned back to the table reaching out for his tankard and swiftly draining it, then he turned back to Sosumo. “Although they mark you as a Ranger, I am not convinced that you know what that is, or even will learn what it means to be a Ranger, your arrogant and petulant attitude, displayed in full here, are not the attitudes of a Ranger. But you have completed all the training, whether or not you have understood the lessons I am not sure. I can only blame myself in that, a good friend once told me that there are no bad students, only bad teachers, it looks like he was right.â€

 

 

Owen thrust the green broach into Sosumo’s hands, then signalling to the others, left the Inn, and the village, making their way along a mountain trial that would bring them of the mountains and on their way home.

Owen

The WhiteWolf

 

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