Fashioning a spear, going hunting

Connor O'Riley · January 3, 2008, 08:01 PM

Connor slowly stepped out of the gate to portshire and looked around. He had remembered something his father had told him about the woods. His father had said a few nights before he died "The woods may be not for seafaring fold like us but it holds what we use to have our trade of shipping goods and such. You can make spears to hunt or gather fruit to fight off scurvy. And get furs to keep you warm on cold stormy nights."
Connor had remembered that lesson for years. He pulled his dagger sheathed on his belt. He fingered the blade trying to find the sharpest side. He knicked his thumb slightly and wiped it on his shirt that shows his slightly tanned arms and bulging muscles. Once he good tree he searched for a strong limb he could fashion into a spear.

Ceniel · January 3, 2008, 08:43 PM

At first there was nothing straight enough for Connor to use. However soon a sturdy oak tree presented itself to him. Near the middle was a branch that was almost perfectly straight. A warm wind blew through the woods. The leaves rustled and a squirrel rustled from overhead. The perfect azure sky was cloudless. The woods were warm but had a slight nip in the air, and every so often a colder wind would blow in. The leaves of the oak tree he was going to take a limb from shook its majestic crown in the wind, and a few acorns dropped on Connor's head.

Connor O'Riley · January 3, 2008, 08:55 PM

Connor wince in pain as the acorns hit him on the head. He reached up and tried to break it off. He pulled on the branch trying to snap it and if that didnt work he would put all 215 pounds of weight onto the branch knowing that it would.
He would slowly try to lift his six foot one body off the ground and snap the branch off. Once he had the limb in his hand he would slowly try and make a sharp point with the knife he had stuck into the ground beside him.

Ceniel · January 3, 2008, 09:00 PM

Unfortunately the branch was some 30 feet above Connor's head. He didn't seem to be able to reach it. Even a giant would have trouble, sorta. If Connor wanted to try and climb the tree he would see a low lying branch he could use to get himself off the ground and then another to keep going up. There seemed to be a decent way up to the branch he wanted to take. The only question was, would Connor bother?

Connor O'Riley · January 3, 2008, 09:15 PM

ooc: Red is his past and regular is present.

ic: Connor grunted and looked around and was the only tree he saw that he like so he grabbed onto the branch and tried to climb. He was a relativly good climber because of all the riggings he has climbed in his past.

He thought back to all of the days he spent in the rigging of his father's ship. The ship was a magnificent merchent galleon. She was painted a brilliant light blue and was named 'THE BLUE MAIDEN'. He remembered the day she sank with her father aboard. She had barely mad it out of port when a giant storm hit and sank the only ship out at see, 'THE BLUE MAIDEN'. Someone had seen the ship sinking and shouted to everyone "The Maiden is sinking, The Maiden is sinking." Everyone knew what maiden he was talking about. That was when his life was changed.

Connor looked up and he was nearly there he just hoped that nothing happened before he got there like a limb breaking.

Ceniel · January 3, 2008, 09:26 PM

The farther up Connor got the more the tree swayed. When he was almost there a particularly strong gust almost knocked him off. The tree swayed slightly and after a few more minutes he got to the branch right before the limb. The limb itself was very strong but after a few moments the entire thing snapped off. Right before he fell another strong gust came, this one however instead of almost throwing him off actually pushed him back onto the branch, stopping him from falling. The tree branch was thin enough for Connor to wrap his hand around it but strong enough to stop it from snapping on the first strike. When Connor got to the ground a slight rustle of an animal rushed by him. A second later he saw it was a squirrel that was startled by him.

Connor O'Riley · January 3, 2008, 09:38 PM

ooc: I have to get off after this post. After I get done with homework I might be able to get on.

ic: Connor was so scared he nearly peed himself. But once he had the branch in his hand and safely on another branch he could finally start his descent. It took him a minute to get down safely because he was testing each branch he went down on. Once he was on the ground he grabbed his knife after he spotted the squirrel he started sharpening the stick into a spear as he tried to spot some game he could try and kill. Once he got done he would try a few practice throws.

Ceniel · January 3, 2008, 09:47 PM

The spear was unbalanced. He threw it several times, but it only fell to the ground useless. Connor would have to figure out a way to counter balance it or something. The back was to heavy and caused it to fall short. Also the bark caused it to flutter in the air to much and turn on it's side. The sun was starting to reach it's pinnacle and the animals in the forest seemed to be hiding from Connor.

Connor O'Riley · January 3, 2008, 10:29 PM

Connor saw the problem and set out to fix it. He took out is knife and started cutting away at the bark and the back of the spear hoping to fix the problem once he finished he would see if he fixed the problem by throwing it a few more times. He then remembered when his dad was teaching him to fix problems with a mode of a ship.

His dad brought him into a small shed blindfolded. Once he was inside he took the blindfold off and saw a small tow ship with working parts. From then on out Connor used this model to simulate on board ship problems his first one his dad set up and the ship wouldn't move with the wind but the sails where full. This was the hardest one he ad to fix because he had to check the sails and rudder. Connor had thought of the answer when he saw a ship raising anchor. He had cursed himself on his way to his tell his dad the answer to it. His dad just smiled and nodded. He had finished his first puzzle.

Connor was still trying to fix the spear when he stopped day dreaming.

Ceniel · January 3, 2008, 10:38 PM

As Connor cut away from the back of the spear a cloud appeared in the sky. It was small and wispy and had absolutely no impact upon him. When Connor finished he would find the spears path as close as he could get it to straight as possible. Almost as if to signify that he had finished a rabbit hopped away 30 feet to his left. There was a hint of rain in the air now. The cloud was growing and would probably start raining withing a few candlemarks. The rabbit ran very fast away from Connor and then suddenly stopped. It was sniffing the ground in front of itself. And then it became still and alert, ears forward and front paw up.

Connor O'Riley · January 4, 2008, 06:38 AM

ooc: Sorry for short post before school.

ic: Connor jumped a little as the rabbit ran out in front of him. He knew he had only one chance to hit it so he drew back his arm and let it fly. Connor hoped that it would hit it in the chest through the heart. If he missed he would curse loudly and grab the spear and try and throw it at it again.

Ceniel · January 4, 2008, 09:16 AM

The spear flung throught the air and right before it hit the rabbit jumped out of the way. The spear buried itself in the dirt below. The rabbit jumped off as Connor's swearing startled it. A breeze blew by and something started in the distance. A small fox lifted itself up and chased after the rabbit. The forest was peacefull and nothing seemed to indicate that Connor had just tried to kill a rabbit. When Connor pulled up the spear however he notticed that it had left a small hole in the ground. Closer examination showed the there was a small tunnel underneath the spear hole.

Connor O'Riley · January 4, 2008, 06:05 PM

Connor had an idea that if he dug the hole up he would probably find the rabbit in there. So he stuck the spear repeatedly into the ground trying to widen the hole. Once he got it wide enough he would stick his hand in there and widen it more. After he finished widening the hole he would hold the spear it the hole and wait however long it took for the rabbit or whatever hole this is.

Ceniel · January 4, 2008, 06:13 PM

After several strikes with the spear the whole was wide enough for Connor to see the bottom easily. A colder gust of wind blew over his face and hands. After several minutes Connor heard a gentle thumping. Then quite suddenly the animal appeared in the hole. It stopped for only a few milliseconds directly under the hole. The rabbit was unusually colored. Its entire body was the purest white and its eyes were red. The white of it's fur was only slightly stained brown from crawling through the dirt.

If Connor struck he would hit the rabbit right between the ribcage. The animal uttered a pathetic squeal and blood spurted up. Then it went limp, dead. It's eyes glazed over and mouth set in a perpetual look of defiance.

Connor O'Riley · January 4, 2008, 07:04 PM

Connor looked in surprise at the rabbit then quickly got his composure back and jabbed at the rabbit. The spear pierced the lung of the rabbit and it died relatively fast. He pulled out the rabbit slowly and tried to pull the spear out without too much damage to the insides. Once he had it out he would grab it by the legs and carry it to the city to get it skinned and sell the meat.