Happy Trails

JP with Winteroak, Bandorchu, Strangetides, and Cindy

As Islana spends a few hours just before sundown hunting for small game, she comes across the tracks of a huge beast. Each paw print easily the size of her own head. She knows about the large cats that prowl the Plains but she had never seen tracks that big before.

Meanwhile the rest of the party settled for the night. Heavy clouds covered the sky. It would be a dark night.

The huntress jumped off the palomino as she looked for tracks of some small animals. Going just a little ways from the horse, a sight of several rabbits caught her eye. Perfect.

Creeping closer, her eyes caught something. Glancing downward. Islana backed up, just a little to get a better look. Inspecting it from all angles.

The paw print was huge. There were large cats in the area but this was the biggest print the young hunteress had ever seen.

Turning her head and listening to get a good idea of what was around her, There was no hint of anything that could have made that print. Which might have been a good thing, as she wasn't exactly sure what her ability worked on.

Back to the task, at hand. The rabbits had run off. A sigh. Back on the horse to find something else.

It took another hour or so but Islana had secured what ended up being a decent variety of small game. Certainly enough for a hearty stew. With the would be dinner caught, and the track on her mind, Islana headed back to the group.

They had begun the journey in good order, the excitement and Alexis' planning had contributed to a painless and happily busy environment as the group came together and organized the baggage and set out into the wilderness. After the recent rain it seemed the weather had wrung itself out with the heavy storm of nights past. The weather was clear if not perfectly pleasant for the first day of travel.

The group alternated amongst themselves in discussion, as Alexis led from the front with Islana forging ahead and falling back to the check their surroundings, reporting in then off again into the distance. She rarely left sight completely now as the trees and groundcover was thinning away and they entered the plains proper.

Gonyaul's antics had entertained Nicolaus for a large part of the afternoon. He had been careful to observe with only his peripheral vision looking to the horizon on his left and right. No need to make the man self-conscious. He was clearly new to the saddle, but had remarkable control and dexterity which was somewhat making up for his inexperience. His only difficulty was not to give himself away by breaking out in applause when he was summarily dismounted and landed on his feet. The man was an acrobat.

It was into the late afternoon when he saw Islana stop beside Alexis and gesture ahead. From their demeanor it appeared they would be making camp soon. So far he was surprisingly good, the palfrey was actually an excellent mount with an easy gait. What was the saying they used on the continent?

‘A good horse should have fifteen properties and conditions, namely: three of a man, three of a woman, three of a fox, three of a hare and three of an ass: like a man, he should be bold, proud and hardy; like a woman, he should be fair breasted, fair of hair, and easy to lie upon; like a fox, he should have a fair tail, short ears and go with a good trot; like a hare he should have a great eye, a dry head and run well; and like an ass, he should have a big chin, a flat leg and a good hoof’.

Perhaps he should name the creature for its fine service? He mused as he glanced up at the heavy clouds that had rolled in.

Sometimes Alexis wondered if it should worry her, that she felt more in her element in a setting of constant lingering danger rather than the comfort of a secure home.

Then again, her father took her into the band when she was, what, 13 years old?
And she had been a rather adventurous child even before that. So, in all honesty, it wasn’t too surprising.

She adjusted quite easily to the role of leading her small but merry party, keeping on high alert while also keeping them on track. And if that happened to include to subtly adjust the speed of the group to accommodate for Gonyaul, yet again either falling off his incredibly patient horse due to his antics or happily veering away from the group a bit too much for her liking, no one would be the wiser.

Islana, on the other hand, took fully to her newly appointed duties, and the mercenary couldn’t help but feel a bit proud of her.
So when Islana told her she had found a good spot to rest, Alexis easily trusted her judgement.

And rightfully so. Arriving at the appointed place, Alexis let the group stop and organised the setup of the camp.

Gonyaul was the last to arrive. He slowly pealed himself off of the horse and placed his feet thankfully on the ground. His style of riding was tiring and the fact there was no more riding today was a pleasant thought.

He thanked Amu for the ride as he rested their foreheads together for an intimate moment. Amu had learned by now just to go with it. It was very fortunate Islana custom picked this particularly calm and reliable horse for Gonyaul.

After tying up his horse with the others and tending to its needs, Gonyaul needed to stretch. He wanted to keep his bum off the ground as much as possible so he found himself into a handstand and was performing the splits. His leg span was going beyond 180 degrees and the stretch felt amazing after a very long time riding. Even though his bum had probably been in the saddle the least out of the group, his lack of experience made it feel like forever.

He looked to the others to see if anyone needed help before he would begin tending to his own setup.