Rory and Kendal walked out of their village and into the forest under a clear blue sky, though the ground was still wet from the rain they had had the previous day. They would both prove themselves as hunters this day. They were both of fifteen winters and rapidly coming into manhood. It was the second part of a threefold test on their journeys into manhood.
They had already proven their worth at their chosen trades, Kendal at iron and metalworking, and Rory at carpentry and masonry. Both young men had decided to combine their skills in the first part to build their village’s first watchtower on the north end. Kendal had forged the nails, brackets and hinges while Rory gathered the lumber for the framing and molded and fired the bricks for the foundation.
Together they worked feverishly for a fortnight, once the materials were in place, to complete it, barely taking enough time to rest and eat. The elders were amazed at the craftsmanship and sheer size of the structure upon its completion. The tower itself was roughly fifteen meters tall. Each corner post was bolted to a three-meter brick pillar, which started another two meters in the ground making the entire tower stand a total of sixteen meters above ground.
The elders stated, before they left on the morning for their hunt, that despite the fact they worked admirably as a team while building the tower they must complete this portion on their own. Neither one could assist the other. So as soon as they were about a kilometer out from the village they were required to separate. Kendal continued on to the north, mostly staying along the river, while Rory headed deeper into the forest to the east.
Kendal had with him the one weapon he had truly mastered, his longbow. He had been training with the sword, but could never quite control it completely. He knew that as part of the final stage he would need to prove himself with the blade, so he planned to practice constantly with it whenever he had time. He was gradually getting better, yet he was still not confident. His bow would be a better tool for this test anyway since his intended target would be a deer.
He walked along the river for a kilometer and a half then crossed over to the other side and made his way deeper into the forest to the west.
Rory wasn’t sure of what he wanted to bring back to prove his worth. He obviously could not bring back a squirrel, rabbit, or any other kind of rodent. If he had come back with one the elders would subsequently send him back out again.
As he walked through the trees he went over his options of the many creatures that inhabited this forest. He knew there were beavers down by the river, but decided against them for he knew they would be too easy, rather like stabbing fish in a pond with a spear almost quite literally. He was rather fond of the industrious creatures and did not have the heart to kill one. He quickly ruled out wolves knowing they were completely out of his league, though he did feel a duty to his father to slay one, for his father was attacked, quite brutally, a few days past on a his own hunt.
Badgers can get rather mean quite quickly, so he would have to dispatch the creature as soon as he came across it, or find a quick escape to come back to it later. He finally decided on a deer, even though they are timid creatures, they can also be rather challenging targets.
With his goal in mind he quickly ran through the first basic steps in tracking and killing one. He knew he needed to stay downwind of the creature as soon as he found it since they have a rather keen sense of smell, and would become alerted to his presence almost immediately. He also needed to keep as silent as possible since their hearing was just as acute. Rory also knew in order to even find one he needed to find fresh tracks, or wait till one crossed his path, which he knew could prove to be a rather long and tedious process.
Steadily he walked through the woods trying to find sign of a trail. After roughly a half an hour he spotted one that appeared to have come from the north and continued on to the southeast. He noticed that an intermittently stiff breeze had begun to blow so he paused a moment to determine its direction, which seemed to be coming from behind him, out of the west, with an occasional cross breeze gusting in from the southwest. If the deer had decided to head on a more easterly trail he would be in for a tricky hunt.
He followed the trail as quietly as he could manage so as not to spook the creature before it was even in view. He followed the trail for another half-hour before it turned slightly southward before turning directly east. He stayed to the north of the trail as he followed it in an attempt to prevent the deer from catching his scent too soon.
After a few moments of tracking this way he noticed another even fresher set of tracks cross his path from the south which turned to parallel the same path he was following. From close examination they appeared to be wolf prints. Great, competition I don’t need or could ever hope to contend with. He brooded as he continued on, now following both trails. It was never wise to cross a wolf while trying to catch a deer. His father had told him numerous times.
A short distance on he noticed the wolf's trail lead away to the north, then return to parallel the deer’s further on. After another few meters he noticed the same behavior in the wolf's trail, and on and on till he suddenly noticed that the pattern he was seeing was coinciding in time with the cross breeze. And after still further contemplation he realized, at his present rate of speed, that the frequency in which the wolf’s trail would widen seemed to be corresponding with the duration, and strength, of each cross breeze that would occur roughly ten to twenty minutes prior to coming to the latest branching off point. This told him that he was somewhere between fifty to a hundred meters behind the wolf, which then meant, since the wolf was being so cautious, that the deer was not too far ahead of it.
He decided to follow a little closer to the wolf’s trail, than that of the deer, due to it being the first creature he would come across, and the more dangerous of the two by far.
Again he followed the wolf’s trail to the north side, to keep it from catching his scent. He also tried to mimic the wolf’s tracking pattern as best he could, while every so often, when their was a stiff northeasterly breeze, to cut back to the deer’s trail to make sure it hadn’t headed off in a different direction. During one of these relays between paths he noticed another difference in the wolf’s trail. Periodically there appeared to be deeper paw impressions indicating it would stop for a moment then continue on, which Rory quickly took to mean, for whatever reason, the wolf was either pausing to get his bearings, or felt it was being followed. He hoped it was the former. He did not know what he would do if the wolf turned around and came after him. A vision of his father being mauled by another wolf kept creeping into his mind as he continued along.
Suddenly, up ahead, he heard a loud crash and could just make out two forms moving swiftly through the trees to the south heading back to the west. Rory knew the creature in the lead was his quarry, and the wolf was the shape chasing it. He quickly took chase, but kept his distance as much as possible without losing sight of them.
After a few minutes of running franticly too keep up, he finally got a clear view of both the deer and the wolf. The deer was doing quite well for itself, cutting back and forth, for the wolf was alone, for what reason Rory could not fathom, he knew wolves generally traveled in packs, especially while hunting. He also noticed that the wolf was so intent on the deer that it appeared not to give any thought to whatever, or whomever, might be following it.
Rory noticed, after a time, that the deer was heading back towards the river, so he decided, instead of trying to follow in behind both of them, to cut a direct path to the river while staying completely to the north of both creatures.
After tracking dozens of different deer trails, which always seemed to peter out somehow, Kendal decided to find a tree with a good view of the surrounding area, and wait till one came to him. He came across a tree on the edge of a small clearing with a crook about two and a half meters off the ground.
He climbed up into the tree and looked around. His position was rather exposed so he pulled some branches down around himself to make a blind. He positioned it so he would have just enough room to draw his bow once his prey came into view. Once he was situated he noticed, suddenly, that the sky was no longer as clear as it had been when he and Rory had left that morning. There hadn’t been any noticeable signs, till now, of changes in the weather, and he wondered, considering the deteriorating weather, how much time he would have for this hunt.
He did not need to wait long, for not ten minutes later he heard a rustling in the forest behind him to the north. As quietly as his precarious position would allow, he turned round in his perch and settled in to wait for the creature to show itself. He hoped the deer would pass on his left since the wind was generally coming from that direction. It would be just his luck to have the only game he has seen all morning walk downwind of him and reveal his location just by scent.
As he watched, the deer came into view. It was a four-point buck, not bad for a solo hunt. Kendal brought up his bow, notched an arrow and took aim. At that moment a sparrow decided to use his arrowhead as a perch. Kendal tried to shake the bird off to no avail. Keeping completely still he let the deer come closer. It was most certainly heading around to the east of his position, which meant he had little time to rid his arrow of its new homeowner, and get a shot off before his position was revealed. He decided to risk it and just take the shot and see what would happen.
He let the arrow fly, and the sparrow took of in a flurry of loosened feathers and chirps. Kendal lost his balance and fell backward out of the tree somehow twisting around and landing on his stomach. He got up as quickly as he could, despite having the wind knocked out of him, and saw that he completely missed his mark and the deer was already making tracks back to the north. Since this was the first one he had seen all morning he immediately took chase.
One thing that was working in his favor at the moment was that the creature was no longer downwind of him so he was able to take a rather controlled approach to following the deer’s trail. Though after a few minutes of following the trail the deer suddenly turned to the east, then veered southeast. From how far apart the prints were the deer appeared to still be moving at quite a clip, obviously still expecting Kendal to be following him.
Soon Kendal noticed the deer’s strides become shorter and eventually they became more uniform as it slowed to a walk. Since the breeze was coming right to left Kendal knew the deer would no longer catch his scent so he quickened his pace again.
Rory decided to head back toward the river, since it seemed to be the deer’s’ primary course, and try to head them off. He had yet to devise a plan on what he would do when he got there. He did, however, know that if he was able to take the deer and the wolf together he would come back with a highly revered kill and be that much farther ahead of Kendal.
He figured if he could find a good spot downwind of where they would make their closest approach to the river he could then set up a blind and take them down at the same time.
He knew they could be coming from anywhere. He made up his mind to press on though, and tried to keep track of their location relative to his. While his attention was occupied on this front he did not notice the badger crawling out of its home up the path.
Rory looked down just in time to see the badger turn towards him. It was too late for Rory though; he tried to steer around the diminutive creature but only succeeded in partially stepping on it, twisting his ankle and fell face first on the path behind it. He winced in pain and quickly sprang up; he looked behind him and saw that the badger was already after him.
Too concerned with not wanting to become badger fodder Rory didn’t notice his bow fly off into the under brush to his right as he took off towards the river hoping to lose it along the way.
Kendal burst into the next clearing and broke into a dead run. Completely frustrated with himself that he spooked the only deer he had seen all day for a second time. He was now, as much as he could, trying to keep track of its trail. He glimpsed it fifty meters ahead and adjusted his direction to match it. He slowed a bit and brought his bow up expecting to see it come into view between the two trees in front of him. He ran into a cloud of gnats and quickly lost his target as it disappeared behind another big oak as quickly as it had appeared.
He lowered his bow and bolted forward again cutting through trees and brush. As he came out into yet another clearing he came to an abrupt halt at the edge of the river. He saw from the tracks that it left that the deer had also came out along the river and turned downstream.
Now that he was on clearer ground he began following a bit more silently, and since he was now, relatively, downwind of the creature he could sneak up on it more easily. While keeping his senses fully aware of his surroundings he noticed that now the sky was all but completely covered with clouds and the air had become slightly cooler. As quickly as he could, he ran along the riverbank trying to keep the animal in sight ahead of him.
Gradually the deer slowed, obviously feeling as if the threat had passed, so Kendal also came to a slow jog and continued to follow it at a relatively safe distance. He moved in and out of the trees as quietly as he could, so as not to spook the deer a third time.
Finally the deer stopped along the river to get a drink. Kendal stealthily moved up on it while staying within the trees. He saw the deer bring his head up suddenly, and stopped in his tracks, obviously the creature had noticed the change in the weather as well. He tried to control his breathing; which sounded excruciatingly loud in his ears, afraid that the deer might hear him.
He couldn’t have picked a poorer spot to hide in. There was a large tree directly in front of him and another large fallen tree just beyond making it very hard to get a bead on his quarry. All he could see, from his position, were its head and the top of its back.
He brought his bow up again and tried to find a clear shot at its head. The deer then dropped its head back to the water and continued drinking. Now that he only had the deer’s spine to aim at he tried to get a high enough angle over the fallen tree as he could.
He steadied his breathing even more, then slowly pulled the drawstring back to take a shot.
Suddenly Rory broke out of the tree line on the other side of the river screaming his head off. It took a moment for Kendal to take focus of the problem, for during the distraction he loosed his arrow, which sailed well above its target. He looked back over to his friend and saw a rather mean looking badger coming out of the forest after him. For such a diminutive creature it was surprisingly swift.
Good lord, what did he do? Thought Kendal, as he turned back just in time to see the deer, he had been chasing for nearly half the day, take off back into the forest on his side of the river.
Rory stumbled into the river and was picking himself back up just as the badger came up behind him and started snapping, and swiping, at his legs. Rory whooped and scrambled backwards further into the river, vainly trying to stay away from the very irate badger.
Rory desperately searched his pockets for his throwing knives or anything to keep the badger at bay long enough to get himself up and start running again. While rummaging his body he suddenly noticed he no longer had his bow and cursed himself for being so careless. Finally he found a, rather petrified, piece of bread in one of his pouches, and threw it at the badger, who paused long enough to swallow it whole, then cough it back up and spit it back at him.
Rory blanched and popped back up and took off into the woods with the badger right behind. Once he was back in the woods Rory looked up and saw a thick, dead, branch hanging loosely from a tree up ahead. He took a deep breath and veered toward it. As he came to it he jumped, grabbed it in his left hand, and spun it over into his right while falling in a heap on the ground. He sat up just as the badger came charging up to him snarling. Rory swung the branch round in front of him, flipped it over to point the narrower end at the oncoming badger and impaled it.
As Rory watched the animal go through its death throes, he pushed the animal off with his foot and threw the branch away from him. After what seemed like an eternity he numbly stood and started to collect himself.
He was brought out of his stupor by a loud crash. Shaking his head to clear it he scrambled around the other side of the tree to his left in time to see a deer jump over a bush about thirty meters in front of him. He watched the deer bound by then turned in time to see Kendal come running through the same bush hot on its tail.
Kendal threw Rory a plaintiff look as he ran passed, to which Rory just shrugged and ran after him.
“How is it going so far?” Tomas Frantle asked, as he came up behind Benjamin Higgle, who was hiding behind a bush watching the drama unfold.
“Not so good I’m afraid. Kendal had a bead on that buck you see running over to the right, but Rory riled a badger who took chase. Both Rory and the badger stumbled out of the forest and spooked the deer. What you see now is the aftermath.” He replied.
Tomas winced and asked, “Do you think they are ready for their final test?”
“Well, I do believe that Rory might be. He dispatched that badger quick enough by impaling it with a branch he stumbled upon.”
“I hope so. I just came from the village. Rory’s father died this morning shortly after Rory left with Kendal. His mother came running to get me so I would bring Rory back, but I told her that we had to let him complete this with a clear head.”
Benjamin somberly looked over at his friend. “I was so hoping he would pull through, though I am not surprised. It only appeared that the wounds he suffered from the wolf attack were superficial at best. I dare say that even Jeremiah could not have known it would have grown this serious. He will be missed.”
“That he will. What happened to Rory’s bow?” Tomas inquired once he noticed Rory was running along without it.
“He dropped it when he tripped over the badger’s home. He has not had the presence of mind to turn back to retrieve it just yet.”
As they looked on Kendal brush Rory off and called back to him retrieve his bow. Rory turned back toward the river as Kendal ran on.
“Obviously Kendal has his head on a little straighter. How long has he been chasing that deer?” His father asked.
“More than half the day I’m afraid.” Benjamin replied
“Not good.” He observed dejectedly. “He should have taken it down soon after he spotted it the first time.”
“Don’t be too hard on the boy it hasn’t been an easy hunt.” Benjamin said, as he watched Kendal disappear into the forest again. “Let’s go.” Together they rose and ran off after Kendal.
Kendal tried to keep the deer upwind of him, though it was rather difficult due to the seemingly random path the deer was taking. They had started out from the river toward the west, but then the deer circled back to the river and now they were on the other side of it running east. The deer slowly circled again to the north, but kept a general easterly heading.
Kendal started to understand the pattern the deer was taking and began to formulate a plan. If he could just remember where he had first encountered this deer he might be able to find the reason it was taking him so deep into the woods.
It finally dawned on him that the deer might be leading him away from its den, at which point Kendal slowed then finally stopped. He was rather good at keeping his bearings so he looked around for a moment and turned back toward where he knew the river to be.
By the time he reached the riverbank Rory had found his bow and was walking downstream with the badger hanging from his back.
“Rory!” Kendal shouted, as he caught up to him. “Don’t go back yet, I need your help.”
“With what?” He asked; as he turned around to meet Kendal, who looked a bit worse for wear.
“Follow me!” Kendal instructed, then ran to the other side of the river and headed into the forest.
“Wait a minute, I can’t, we’ll both be disqualified!” Rory shouted, running after Kendal. Kendal stopped and turned around just in time to have Rory nearly run him over. “Besides, I have to finish my hunt.” He finished, after he skidded to a halt just beyond his friend.
“What do you mean ‘finish’? That badger should be more than enough to allow you to prove your worth to the elders. But you’re right, besides, I think my father is out there watching us right now anyway, so we wouldn’t be able to explain our way out of it even if we tried.” Kendal replied dejectedly.
“I hope you’re right about the badger, though you didn’t see how I killed it, but I guess what they don’t know won’t hurt me.” Rory turned to the south to head back to the village and heard Kendal take off into the forest.
He was about half way back when Tomas and Benjamin stepped out onto the trail behind him.
“A very fine hunt indeed, young Rory.” Benjamin said in greeting, nearly causing Rory to jump out of his skin. He had half expected, though, to meet someone along the way. He turned around to meet them and saw the older man had an amused grin on his face clearly indicating they had planned to startle him. “I must say it was quite amazing how you dispatched that badger, especially without the aid of your bow. I am glad you were able to retrieve it. Not only have you shown your prowess as a hunter and tracker, but you also displayed your ability to keep your bearings once the unexpected occurs.”
“I quite agree.” Kendal’s father nodded. “You might’ve also gotten your chance at the buck again if you hadn’t given up after you finished off the quarry that wasn’t even your intended target.”
Rory looked down at his feet feeling as if he was being chided for not bagging the deer. He knew it was purely by accident that he killed the badger before it crawled up him and tried to rip his face off.
“Don’t be so hard on him Tomas, it’s not like you always accomplish your original goals either, besides, you were just as amazed as I was when he skewered that animal.” Benjamin interjected. He then turned to Rory, with a slight grin, and said, “After careful contemplation amongst the two of us we have decided to inform the elders that you have passed your hunting test.”
Rory looked up at both of them and appeared as if he was about to burst at the seems with joy, though he caught himself and emphatically said, “Oh, thank you. Thank you so much. I can’t wait to tell my father.” Rory was about to take off towards the village again when he caught the look Benjamin and Tomas shared. “What is it?” He asked at length fearing the worst.
“Your father passed on this morning, shortly after you left with Kendal for the hunt.” Benjamin stated. “There was nothing anyone could do.” He called after the boy, as Rory dropped his quarry and ran off into the forest. Benjamin started to follow, but Tomas held his arm.
“Let him go, he needs to deal with this on his own. We need to go find Kendal to see how he’s faring anyway.”
Benjamin watched as Rory disappeared into the woods in the general direction of the village. He couldn’t help but feel responsible, somehow, for having sprung the news on him the way he did. Benjamin knew Tomas was right though, and after a few moments they both headed back to the north.
After another half an hour Kendal came to an abrupt halt as he stepped into a small clearing. This was the same clearing, he noticed, where he first saw the deer a few hours earlier. Working off of the assumption he made earlier that the deer was purposely trying to lead him away from this very location. Why, he had not figured out yet, he just knew that the deer did not want him to be in this area.
He took a moment to get his bearings. Looking up at the sky he noticed how dark and ominous the clouds had become. It will start raining soon; I just hope the deer arrives before that happens. He contemplated before focusing back on the task at hand. He knew that if he could find a place downwind of where he first spotted the deer he would have a better chance at it this time. He started to the south then circled back toward the east, since the wind was coming from the northwest.
He stalked another hundred meters back toward the river when he had the sudden sensation he was being followed. He knew some of the elders of the village were out here watching and judging the hunt, but he knew it wasn’t them that he was feeling.
Kendal stopped and crouched. He strained his hearing trying to get a sense of where this feeling was coming from. He figured since he hadn’t felt anything till this point that whatever it was had just come upon him so he scanned the forest ahead of him. He kept completely still for what seemed like forever. The feeling didn’t relent. He slowly stood and continued to head east.
He had only gone a few more steps when he heard a rustling in the forest behind him to his left. He turned in time to see a dark shape move through the forest far to the north. It can’t be back already! But as he made his way northward the shape took form into the same buck he had been tracking.
He kept low and moved silently through the trees trying to circle in behind it. Just as he had thought, the buck was heading right for the very clearing he had been moments before.
Just then he heard a rustle in the bushes behind him. He quickened his pace as much as he could without creating too much noise so as not to startle the deer again. He changed direction to make toward the small clearing.
The rain started as Kendal came up to a thicket of bushes on the eastern edge of the clearing and waited for the buck. He heard a rustle far to his right and knew it to be his quarry. Quickly he took his bow from off his shoulder and notched an arrow. The rain was becoming a torrent where it was difficult to see. The buck stepped out of the trees on the western edge of the clearing. Kendal slowly drew back his bow and lined up his shot.
He suddenly felt all the hairs on his neck stand up. His body went rigid. At that moment he heard a twig break behind him.
Time seemed to come to a crawl and everything appeared to happen in slow motion.
The deer’s ears perked up and it turned its head toward the eastern edge of the clearing. Kendal planted his right foot, spun around to his left, and brought his bow to bear horizontally almost slipping in the mud due to the now increasingly unstable ground. As soon as he came around he let fly just as a large timber wolf jumped out of the bushes five meters behind him. Kendal’s aim was not true and the arrow caught the wolf in the left flank. The shot was just enough to cause the wolf to flinch, which stole its momentum, and it fell into some underbrush three meters short of him crashing into the underbrush and dissipating the puddle that was quickly forming underneath splashing Kendal with the muddy water. Kendal, wiped his face and quickly notched another arrow, took aim, and let fly just as the wolf snarled and sprang forward. The arrow flew in just below the wolf’s head, sliced through its throat and lodged in its right lung. The force of the blow stopped the wolf in mid air and dropped it unmoving three feet from Kendal’s feet.
Kendal immediately stood up and turned back to the clearing while notching another arrow. The deer was almost out the other side of the clearing when Kendal was about to let fly again. Something he glimpsed right where the deer stopped caused Kendal to hesitate. He let his eyes focus below the deer and he suddenly realized why it had been leading him away.
Tomas and Benjamin had arrived at the scene moments before Kendal slew the timber wolf. They stood there in awe at the spectacle of what had transpired. It took a moment for them to tear their eyes from the dead wolf and look back toward the clearing where they had seen the deer enter from the far side expecting to see Kendal loose another arrow at its retreating form. Instead they saw Kendal just standing there, bow drawn and ready to let fly his next arrow with a curious look of realization on his face while staring at the deer that was now standing just outside the clearing.
Suddenly, what had once been a curiosity as to why Kendal hadn’t shot the deer turned into utter astonishment as to why the deer wasn’t running away at top speed. They looked back over to Kendal who was slowly easing off on his bowstring and walking very carefully toward the deer.
“What is he doing?” His father whispered.
“I cannot say.” Benjamin replied.
They continued to watch as Kendal placed his bow on the ground in the center of the clearing, returned his arrow back in its quiver, and moved over to where the deer stood looking down into the thicket next to which it was standing. Tomas and Benjamin circled around to their left in hopes of getting a better view. Kendal suddenly stopped while looking into the thicket where the deer was standing. He continued slowly over to the deer, bent down while reaching for something they could not see. Unexpectedly, Kendal’s shoulders seemed to become a bit rigid. He slowly stood up and turned around, picked up his bow and walked over to the dead wolf while the deer bounded away in the other direction.
Tomas and Benjamin, torn between coming round to the west of the deer’s position, hoping to get a better look at what had caused Kendal to walk away from such an easy kill, and wanting run to catch up to Kendal to demand his explanation, just stood there dumbstruck not knowing what to do. Bagging the deer alone would most assuredly have proven his worth as a hunter; instead he was satisfied with bringing back the timber wolf as his prize.
They had to admit the wolf alone was enough to prove his worth, but they were completely at a loss as to why he would just let a deer of this size get away. Finally, despite their curiosity, and partly because of their desire to get out of this sudden downpour, they ran off to catch up with Kendal, who was almost out of sight.
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