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July 29th, 1883

Thrill of the Hunt

by Maelie Arsenault

Requests for hunting expeditions to the Osterlind Wilds had come in quickly from several nobles who were normally ill placed to find themselves invited to the dark forests. The look on Lord Declan Schaeffer’s face told Maelie that he was probably rethinking accepting anymore if clients continued to turn out to be like Baron Otto Fischer von Rosebrier and his party. The Rosebrier nobles had managed to make every mistake a hunter could make aside from shooting each other and that had only been narrowly avoided by a bit of sleight of hand by Maelie to put the Baron’s safety back on.
 
A shot rang out, followed by a cheer that quickly dwindled into complaints as one of the knights’ shots missed their mark again and the stag dashed away through the trees. Maelie glanced over from where she was keeping watch for anything approaching from the sides as Declan assured Sir Becker that he was unlikely to reload, reposition, and aim his sights in time for a second shot at a stag running at a full sprint to safety.
 
“This whole hunting business is a scam, you took my money and we still have no trophies.” Baron Fischer complained.
 
“You paid us for tracking, outfitting, escort, and licensing your lordship. The actual hunting is for the enjoyment of yourself and your party.” Declan managed to diplomatically reply.
 
“I don’t care about enjoying hunting, I want trophies for my parlors! Real trophies!”
 
“Real trophies are things you earn.” Maelie murmured under her breath just loud enough for a couple of Schaeffer’s rangers to hear.
 
Declan did his best to ignore the elf’s jab at their client, but it did help his mood. “Your lordship, perhaps we should change prey. There are some impressive looking animals that might be easier if you a…”
 
“I want things with antlers!” The gnome said with a stamp of his feet.
 
“Well, if all you want is antlers, we can offer dat service as well.” Mae said stepping forward.
 
Declan raised an eyebrow and the Baron’s party turned to regard her. “What do you mean?”
 
“Just what I said. If you ‘ave no interest in enjoying de hunt, den you can pay me to take de shots for you.” She says looking at the group of men.
 
“You? A woman firing a rifle?” One of the knights said in a mocking tone as the others chuckled. None of them noticed Declan take a step back from them.
 
“You think you can do better than the five of us?” The Baron puffed.
 
“Well, if you do not wish to pay for de service outright, why not make a game of it.” She grinned mischievously and continued despite Declan’s frown. “Each of you can take anod’er shot at a target of your choice. If you miss, I will take my shot after. If your party can bag five deer before I do, your entire expedition is free. If I bag all five deer, you get your antlers, but you pay an additional fee of fifty gold marks each.”
 
The men stared at her for a moment before one outright laughed at her.
 
“From de sounds of it, dis is a sure way to a free expedition, non? Or are you afraid of a woman wit a gun?” She teased back with a wicked grin.
 
“Take your shots.” The Baron puffed again.
 

****

 
As Declan moved ahead to scout a new game trail Maelie moved up to walk beside him. “Why did you do that? We don’t need more bad press than the scandal sheets.” He muttered.
 
“I am fixing de situation. If ‘ee keeps wasting ‘is shots and goes ‘ome wit’out anyt’ing, den ‘ee will complain. But ‘is pride demands ‘ee accept dis and now, I get to send ‘im ‘ome, make us more money, and ‘ee will never admit dat ‘ee did not do de shooting ‘imself anyways.” She whispers back.
 
“I’d say I hope you know what you’re doing, but I already know they’re going to regret this.” He smirks at her.
 
****

 
Mae stood impatiently to the side of Sir Heinz, her trigger finger itchy as she watched the deer through the trees. He’d spent probably ten minutes lining up his shot already and, despite that, his shot only clipped its fur. The deer’s ears flicked, and its hooves moved to beat the ground and leap away, but Maelie’s hands were faster. The stock hit her shoulder as she flicked off the safety, the shot already lining up as her finger moved to the trigger. Her green eyes watched not just down the sight, but to the right as she tracked the deer through the trees. When it broke through a bush and passed into the open line of fire she’d found. The rifle sang out and the beast took its last steps.
 
What had seemed like an eternity to her had been only seconds to the men watching her, Sir Heinz hadn’t even lowered his rifle before the deer was on the forest floor.
 
****

 
The next four went down about the same, although the Baron insisted on moving on to new targets three times before they found one standing in an open clearing. Mae had been worried he might manage a hit but suppressed a smirk when she saw the bead of sweat on his brow. The barrel wobbled; the shot hit the tree behind the deer. A second later, Maelie’s bullet pierced the animal’s heart, an easy clean kill.
 
“Your antlers await, gentlemen.” She grinned as she sauntered forward, but stopped when Declan drew his rifle.
 
“What is that?” One of the knights exclaimed, pointing behind where the deer lay at a feline body with a terrifying face and bat-like wings.
 
“It’s a manticore… run.” Declan said firmly. He turned and began ushering the other nobles away, waving for his rangers to guide them out. He glanced about for Maelie and then looked over his shoulder to find her aiming with feet firmly planted, rifle aimed directly at the approaching beast.
 
The manticore roared. Maelie grinned.
 
“I’m keeping this one.”

Continue reading...

  1. The Last Rule
    November 27th, 1882, - Novandria
  2. The Den
  3. Am I losing?
  4. A Close Call
  5. Plans
  6. New Toys
  7. Mistakes were made
  8. Too close to home
  9. Not like you.
  10. This City is Mine.
    February 6th, 1883
  11. Aimless?
    March 5, 1883 - Novandria
  12. The Game Begins
    February 13th, 1883
  13. Too much like You
    March 13, 1883
  14. Safer in Shadows
    April 3, 1883
  15. New Beginnings
    April 7th, 1883
  16. Ready to Run
    April 17th, 1883
  17. Home
    April 25, 1883
  18. Can you steal a heart?
    May 8th, 1883
  19. Trouble
    11th of May, 1883
  20. Heartbreak
    14th of May, 1883
  21. Hunter or Prey?
    16th of May, 1883
  22. Guilt
    19th of May, 1883
  23. Untrustworthy
    21st of May, 1883
  24. Why am I like this?
    25th of May, 1883
  25. Worthy
    8th of June, 1883
  26. The One She Left Behind
    13th June, 1883
  27. Annnd it's back...
    July 1st, 1883
  28. Learning to Fly
    July 4th, 1883
  29. Thrill of the Hunt
    July 29th, 1883
  30. From the Embers
    21st of August, 1883 // 1867
  31. Mother Knows Best
    16th of September, 1883
  32. A Snake, a Star, and a Fox
    25th of September, 1883, Novandria
  33. It wasn't him.
    28th of September, 1883, Novandria
  34. The New Blade
    13th of September, 1883
  35. Something Good
    October 31, 1883 - Novandria
  36. The wound that won't close
    18th of December, 1883 - Novandria
  37. Promise
    25th of December, 1883 - Novandria
  38. Fallen through the cracks
    6th of January, 1884 - Novandria
  39. Day to Night
    7th of January, 1884
  40. What's Left to the Shadows
    22nd of January, 1884, Novandria
  41. The World without Colour
    18th of February, 1884, Bellancourt, Montaigne,
  42. Seventeen Roofs
    26th of February, Novandria, Eisen
  43. Crossing the Board
    4th of March, 1884, Novandria, Eisen
  44. New Freedom
    May 4th, 1884
  45. Saved
    5th of May, 1884/16th of July, 1858

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by 3 Armored Kittens · Prodromos v.1.1 - World Anvil 0.9.15.042 © 2017-2024 [en] | Anvil Time: 01:13, Nov 15 2024