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Madelyn stops digging and walks over to the round house, passing Kerim in the doorway. Kerim walks across and asks the resting Rolf about camping and then starts unloading the mules. Peter, hands the reigns of the mules back to Kerim and strips down to his shirt before returning to help Rolf at the grave site. The pit is now just over a foot deep. Smilo sits on the stone capping the well cover and Elsbeth busies herself with her new wolf friend. Mandrake cast a spell and the dog head cowers visibly, and then starts when Mandrake addresses him "Mi cazza Mandrake" … "Fe cazza". "Rrrl, Yarrl oof Grrrap" it replies with a shrug of its shoulders Callum spends a few seconds controlling his breathing and the starts to move quietly through the under brush. Suddenly a wild boar burst out of a bush and stands looking directly at Callum. After a moment or two, it charges directly for him … |
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Callum sets his spear to receive the charge and braces it to impale the charging boar. |
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Callum crouches and sets his spear but to the gronud, the point aimed directlty at the snout of the pig. The pig comes on but jinks at the last minute and the spear point drives into it shoulder. The spear is pushed out of Callum's hands as the boar drives forward, goring Callum along one thigh and causing him to lose balance. The boar trots forward and tries to turn, but has difficulty with the spear lodged in its shoulder. It is slowed and not sure of its next move OOC: Callum hit and did 7 points of damage |
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Suddenly, off to the west, there is a roar and a squeal. The roar is obviously Callum, the squeal sounds like a pig in pain. The mules and horse all prick their ears, the doghead looks up in alarm and tries to reach for a weapon before realising he is bound and weaponless. Elsbeth's wolf leaps to its feet and takes a pace or two towards the sound before looking around at Elsbeth. |
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Shaken out of her reverie, Elsbeth leaps to her feet, her eyes wide. Without thinking, she looks at the wolf, draws her scimitar and runs in the direction of the sounds. "I hope the lad hasn't got too far," she whispers as she runs. |
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Callum rolls and climbs quickly to his feet, testing out his injured leg and trying to ignore the pain as he pulls his sword over his shoulder. "Now mo cullach, I'll be having my spear back!" |
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At the sound of the roar and squeal, Rolf pauses in his digging and turns in that direction, keeping his heavy breathing as quiet as possible. Before Rolf can say anything, Elsbeth charges towards the sound. "Damn! Stay here!" he shouts. Rolf leaps from the hole and, in nothing but breeches and boots, wielding nothing but the spiked club, charges after Elsbeth. |
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The boar looks at Callum and starts to back away, the spear in its shoulder, obviously hampering it and causing considerable pain. Seeing Elsbeth start to move towards the sound, the wolf's gives a series of short yips and heads off into the brush towards the sound, leaving the following Elsbeth and Rolf behind. |
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Hearing the noise, Peter looks up from his digging. Seeing Rolf, Elsbeth and the wolf heading off into the bushes, he sits back on his heels for a moment watching. Then calls across to Kerim and Mandrake, "You say that round house is clear? Do you think we ought to move over there?" |
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Breakfast |
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"Sounds like will ave bacon in the morn," said the hobbit, his mouth watering. |
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Callum leaps forward while the pig is confused and brings his sword overhead in a huge arc, striking the pig squarely across the shoulders. OOC:What size is it - if it's medium, that's 11 points of damage, if it's large, that's 12. |
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As Callum leaps forward the boar squeal and trys to turn and run, but the spear shaft digs into the ground hampering its movements. By the time Callum has completed his swing the boar is faced away and has started moving and the sword strike comes down against the hind quarter, almost severing a leg. The injury to its hind leg and the spear embedded in it shoulder are too much for the boar and it sinks to the ground unable to move. Its eyes are still open and it squeals even more loudly and continuously than before. Back at the round house, Rolf and Elsbeth have just reach the edge of the cleared area around the ruined building. Unless called back the wolf is already into the bushes. OOC: It was medium sized - I'm not that mean. |
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Elsbeth calls out to her wolf, "Wait for me boy!" even as her breath becomes ragged with running. With Skarlarna in her hand she hopes that she arrives to find a dead beastie and not a dead barbarian... |
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The wolf holds back slightly - continually looking over his shoulder towards Elsbeth. He leads both Elsbeth and Rolf unerringly through the bushes, the scent of blood clear in his nostrils ... |
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Callum sticks his sword blade down in the ground and quickly pulls his eating dagger and cuts the boar's throat. HE then retrieves his spear and sets about gutting the pig. Once this is done, he will collect all his weaponry, shoulder the carcasse and head back to camp. |
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Elsbeth, Rolf and the wolf arrive just after Callum starts gutting the boar. The wolf arrives first and stands at the edge of the small clearing, front legs splayed and teeth bared, growling gently. Elsbeth and Rolf arrive a few seconds later. |
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Rolf rockets ahead. Without the armor and other equipment weighing him down, he manages to catch up to Elsbeth right at the edge of the clearing. Their efforts of speed hampered by the scrub, Rolf winces as small branches whip across his bared torso. Crashing through the brush, Rolf is rewarded with the sight of Callum, dagger in hand, gutting the dead boar. "What happened, Callum?" he demands. |
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Elsbeth comes to a halt behind the wolf, breathing heavily. "That's a good boy," she tells the wolf softly. "Stand easy..." Her voice trails off as her eyes take in many sights. The dead boar. Callum gutting the beast, covered in more than the creatures blood. "By the Gods and all," she whispers, horrified. "Callum? What have ye done? Tried to kill yourself as well as the pig?" She turns and goes even more pales at the half naked man behind her. For a full moment she does nothing but stare, her lips making not a sound. She puts a hand to her mouth to hide her shock, carelessly sheathing her scimitar, her paleness giving way to a full blush rising on her face. Obviously too many sights at once. "He'll... Callum, I mean..." stammers Elsbeth. "He'll be needing my help, I think..." |
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Mandrake waits with the prisoners as the others rush off, giving up on the idea of communicating with it for now. |
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"Och don't fash yerself, Rolf, lassie. The blood's no' mine - well the most of it, anyways. This culloch here charged at me. I didna quite skewer it at the first trying and it gave me a wee bit scrape there." He indicates his gashed leg. "That'll be why boar spears have sic long blades and the guards on them. But it wasnae so fast with a spear in it." He cuts a length of intestine and throws it to the feet of the wolf. "There beastie, have a bit tripes. Will one o' you help carry these fine bits of innards? I can carry the pig, but I hae only the two arms!" He aims a broad, bloodstained smile at the two at the edge of the clearing. |
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After thanking Peter for looking after the mules, Kerim started unloading them (idly wandering what Mandrake was saying to the Doghead; What Madelyn would make of the round house and thinking of the Wolf and Elsbeth). Hearing the noise of battle between Callum and the wild boar, he stopped what he was doing and started moving towards the sound of battle. Seeing that both Elsbeth (along with wolf) and Rolf were getting there first, he shouts a reply to Peter "Probably not, sounds like Callum's killing breakfast for us, any good at roasting meat?". |
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Callum cuts a length of intestine and throws it to the feet of the wolf. "There beastie, have a bit tripes. Will one o' you help carry these fine bits of innards? I can carry the pig, but I hae only the two arms!" He aims a broad, bloodstained smile at the two at the edge of the clearing. The blush fades from Elsbeth's cheeks as she regards the 'innards' Callum needs assistance with. Being vegetarian, she is revolted enough by meat. The gutted beast was bad enough as well. This is too much. All color fades from the young woman's face as she turns and stumbles away. |
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Peter replies to Kerim "Roasting meat? Yeah, sure I can do that. Gonna set camp inside the round house?" And then stands waiting for the others to come back. |
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Rolf watches Elsbeth stumble back towards camp and shares a smirk with Callum. "You sure you can handle the boar with that leg?" he motions at Callum's injury. [Assuming Callum can....] Rolf reaches down to the innards and picks up what he can with his left hand, keeping the spiked club in the other. "Let's get back to camp, you've got a leg to tend to and I've got a grave to dig." Leading the way back through the brush, Rolf takes the time to avoid the worst of the scratches waiting to latch to his well tanned chest. |
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Elsbeth stumbled a short distance away, falling to her knees and unceremoniously emptying her stomach of what little remained of her midday meal. Moaning, she rocked back, cradling her head on her knees. For not the first time, the woman wondered if her great uncle had indeed chosen the right person for this quest... |
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Seeing both Rolf and the bloodstained Callum returning with the dead pig, Kerim becomes more relaxed and resumes his unloading of the mules. He replies to Peter's "Gonna set camp inside the round house?" - "I guess so, can't see why not. Here's Callum now with dinner". When he sees Elsbeth stumble to knees, he abandons the unloading and rushes over with a water skin to see what's wrong. |
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Seeing Kerin rush off, Peter raises a single eyebrow, and then checks that the mules aren't going any where, before resuming his digging. |
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Elsbeth looks up miserably, still hugging her knees. She appears to be quite embarrassed. She takes the proffered waterskin and splashes a little on her face. "I'm okay," she tells Kerin. "Our bonny warrior was just having a wee bit too much fun with his pig-gutting for me, I suppose." She closes her eyes for a moment, suppressing the memory. "I'd never make a hunter, to be sure." |
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"Ach, I'll manage!" says Callum, in response to Rolf's query, then follows their leader back to the camp. At the sound of retching, he stops. "Never mind, lass - a good bit roast pork'll settle your stomach." He carries on back to camp. Upon arriving, he moves over to where Peter is setting up his kitchen and dumps the pig carcasse, passing Rolf a pot for the offal. "I'll borrow a pail if ye don't mind, Peter" he says, picking up a bucket and tying a rope to the handle, before moving over to the well and drawing some water. He moves some distance away towards the edge of the trees before washing the blood off of himself. It takes more than one bucket. He then cleans and binds the wound on his leg before finally stripping off and washing the worst of it out of his furs. He throws the furs over the round house wall to dry and then sits down and begins sharpening his sword and spear. |
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Madelyn takes a good look around the inside of the Roundhouse |
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Seeing that Elsbeth is not injured, Kerim will leave the water behind, so that she can clean herself up in peace and quiet. "See you back at camp" he says, walking back to the mules. As he walks back, he considers how she'd cope with some of the weevil riddled ship's tack he's had to eat in the past. Having got back to camp, he finishes unloading and looks with interest to see what Madelyn can find of interest in the round house. |
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Elsbeth thanks Kerim, taking a moment to make sure she's presentable. As Callum makes his comment, she grimaces, taking a deep breath before her stomach rebels again. "Some traveler you've proven to be," she tells herself sternly. Standing, she looks for her wolf and makes herself ready to return to camp. *Our leader will like as not be boiling mad at me,* she realizes grimly. |
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