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Part 5 : Hunt for Red Boartober.


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#1 Weyoun

Posted 27 October 2002 - 05:23 PM

NWN Spoiler ratio : Some of Aribeth's tale, otherwise, very little. Mostly some chapter 2 stuff.

 
A'mael Mellonamin part 5 : Hunt for Red Boartober.

Smiling nervously, Alris carefully knocked on the door to Aribeth's private quarters.

"Come in!" sounded from behind the door. "The door is unlocked!"

The elven ranger, already clad in his elven chainmail and bow slung over his shoulder, did not hesitate, and once again found himself in Aribeth's home away from home. He found her quarters to be neatly cleaned, as he had come to expect, but the strangest thing was that her tell-tale armor was still hanging over the wooden mannequin.

"Just a minute!" Aribeth called out from her small bath chambers. "I'll be right out..."

Alris took a seat at the table and waited for Aribeth to appear. And when she did he could barely contain a gasp. He had never before seen her without her armor, but what he saw took his breath away. Aribeth was wearing a supple and green-colored leather armor and matching black boots, contrasting sharply with her pale moon-elven skill and dark red hair. The leather was, undoubtedly, magical and showed off her feminine curves amazingly.

"Ah, the leather armor?" Aribeth smiled. "Well, I figured my plate would be a bit bulky in the forest during out hunting-trip Alris..."

The moon-elven ranger blinked in return.

"Shall we go then?" Aribeth asked, while she tied a quiver to her back and grabbed a longbow from the corner.

Alris was merely able to nod as he followed the stately paladin out of her quarters and out into the streets of Port Llast. Most people were still sleeping, seeing it was four o'clock in the morning and the sun was only just now rising. A perfect time for a hunt.

"I borrowed this bow from Aarin Gend," Aribeth spoke, "I fear I may be a bit out of practise, since Tyr's clerics and paladins are not fond of bows and crossbows. I... haven't kept up with my bowcraft as well as I should have."

"There's a target right there," Alris said, pointing at the army's archery-range on the other side of town, surely eight-hundred meters away. "If we go to the range, you can test you skills and..."

Alris was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a bow straining under the force of Aribeth's strength as she notched the arrow and took aim. The arrow took flight with amazing speed and soared through the air, landing squarely in the middle of the center target.

"Dammit!" Aribeth sighed, defeated.

"That... that was bull's eye!"

"No," Aribeth sounded genuinely pained as she gazed at the target with her sharp eyes. "It was two-millimeters off-centre!"

"From this distance, it's still better shooting than I've seen from just about any elf I ever met before," Alris muttered.

Aribeth sighed. "You are kind for saying so, Alris, but I should have been able to make this shot easily. I've shot dead-centre in targets from over two thousand meters distance, and it took me over a century of training to get to that point. I had no idea I had gotten this rusty... I sure hope my trapping skills are still up to par..."

"Have you not kept up your hunting skills during your service of Tyr?" Alris asked.

"Sadly, no," Aribeth sighed. "But, let us see if we can combine our skills to compensate for my shortcomings."

"Shortcomings?" Alris chuckled. "No offence, but I'd call you Dead-Eye Aribeth if it didn't sound like you were a pirate..."

Aribeth chuckled briefly, making Alris blush and elated at Aribeth's reaction to his lame joke, he admitted to himself.

---

Maybe it was Alris' own elated mood at being near Aribeth, but he felt she actually seemed more content the deeper they went into the woods, and the farther away from Port Llast. Aribeth seemed to revel in her elven nature as she walked among the life of the forest, often closing her eyes to savor the moment.

So far, they had yet to find any tracks of possible targets for their hunts. Of a pride of passing deer, no individual animal was injured or seemed ill, so there was no reason to hunt them. It was the same with a flocks of ducks and a pride of Elks.

But then...

"Found anything?" Aribeth asked when she found Alris starting to the ground.

"You tell me," Alris grinned, causing Aribeth to raise an amused eyebrow. She squatted down to the floor and gazed upon the track.

"Hmmm," Aribeth smiled as she took a closer look. "I'd say this one belongs to a boar. A young adult, and it headed in a north to north-eastern direction, towards the crags."

"You forgot to mention," Alris smiled, "that he is male, about seven years of age, weights about fifty pounds, has shaggy reddish hair and ran as fast as a horse when he made these tracks..."

Again Aribeth's left eyebrow shot up. Smiling, she patted him against the arm. "Show-off..." she chuckled.

"Hmmm, this is odd," Alris spoke.

"What is?" Aribeth asked.

"Look at that track," Alris said. "I'd say he's been shot by an arrow and is dragging his right hind-leg a bit. And that track over there. I can see that left foreleg has been broken, and was tended too... Rather clumsily, I'd say..."

"Wait," Aribeth said, seemingly in deep thought. "I remember one of my soldiers telling me that a large boar had jumped out of the bushes and gored one of the local farmers before running back into the thicket..."

"Hmmm, attacking for no reason and moving off without prey," Alris said. "This animal has a taste for blood..."

"It might be worse than that," Aribeth grimaced. "We might be dealing with an escaped War Boar."

"A War Boar?" Alris asked.

"Yes," Aribeth sighed. "I came across many of them. They are usually trained by Orcs to support their raids, born and bred to maim and kill on sight... We must take that creature down, Alris, it is irredeemable and a danger to everyone, man and animal alike..."

The hunt was on. Alris continued tracking the War Boar through great parts of the forest. The creature left an obvious trail of broken branches and crushed flora. But the most gruesome find they made one hour later : The body of a recently killed and disemboweled halfling messenger. After giving the halfling a decent burial, Aribeth examined the message container, and cursed after finding out it was the reply to her own order for a new weapon-shipment to Port Llast from Neverwinter. With renewed fervor, the two elves continued the hunt.

When it was high noon, the two elves came to a steep crag in the middle of the forest, where the tracks had ended. Together, they crept through the thicket and saw their target standing a long way in the distance : a large, red-furred boar stood near the entrance of a cave. It looked feral and dangerous, and both tusks were sharpened and covered up two razor-sharp metal spikes.

"A War Boar?" Alris whispered.

"Definitely," Aribeth whispered back and took hold of her bow. "I can't get a clear shot from here," the elven paladin added. "We need to draw him out a bit more."

"Say no more," Alris said, and crept through the thicket until he was a little to the left of Aribeth's position. When he was ready, he made a bird-call, which immediately, attracted the attention of the boar, still so far away. The boar seemed to scan the thicket, looking for a target.

Then, disaster stuck : The wind changed suddenly.

This was every hunter's bane, and not even experienced hunters like Alris and Aribeth could do something about that. Unfortunately, this time, it could have a deadly result : The boar picked up Aribeth's scent in the wind, threw his head in the sky and growled its warcry as it stormed towards the elven paladin.

All reason for stealth now gone, Aribeth stepped out of the thicket, a look of sheer determination on her beautiful face as she strung her bow, took aim, and fired.

Long before the boar would have reached Aribeth, it let out a whimper and dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes. As the two elves approached their target, they found out why. Aribeth's arrow had hit him right between the eyes, in equal distance between entry-wound and both eyes.

"Nice shot," Alris smiled.

"Thank you," Aribeth smiled as she retrieved her arrow from the body. "Hmmm, shall be bring this boar home with us?" she said as she felt the belly of the boar. "Lean and tender meat. It should make a fine meal..."

---

The next few minutes were spent fashion a carrier made from a strong branch and some bits of rope. Together, the two elves tied the boar to the carrier and slung the branch over their shoulders. They travelled for several miles, but by then, the weight on their shoulders was a painful reminder of how far they had travelled away from Port Llast. At early afternoon, the two elves, strong as they were, decided to take a short rest.

"Ooof," Alris said as he put down the boar and sat on the stump of a chopped down tree next to Aribeth.

"You said it," Aribeth said, rubbing her painful shoulder. "Perhaps my suggestion was not a good one."

"Maybe all this hard work will make the boar taste even better?" Alris offered.

"Hah," Aribeth chuckled. "You always find a way to lift my spirits, do you not?"

"M-my pleasure," Alris spoke nervously and blushed a little. "I feel like revereeing instead of sleeping tonight... Just too tired..."

Aribeth offered a weak smile. "Revereeing... I haven't been able to reveree ever since... since Fenthick was... I just can't attain the peace needed to slip into reveree..."

"I can understand that," Alris offered. "Myself, I like to alternate between reveree and sleep. I only reveree at inns because it's such a deep trance to be in. Heh, but I find sleeping a fascinating experience. I love dreams... not being able to control the dreams is very different from revereeing. I think it's nice..."

"I... wish I was able to reveree again," Aribeth sighed. "I've been having... bad dreams, Alris... Very bad. I... I always seem to be falling into a black abyss below. Sometimes... I see Fenthick, but he is always beyond my grasp, merely looking at me with sad eyes... pleading eyes, asking me why I have stood idly by while they killed him... And..." Aribeth said, not being able to contain her tears.

Alris immediately was by her side, nervously trying to make her feel better. Aribeth, still sobbing, lay her head on his shoulder, pressing her cheek against him.

"Like I said," Aribeth muttered. "Bad dreams..."

Alris, not quite knowing how to react, decided that changing the subject might help. "You... you said that you have seen war boars before?"

Grateful for a less recent pain to talk about, Aribeth straightened up and managed a weak smile. "Yes," Aribeth whispered. "You... remember that I told you of the death of my family, yes?"

Alris grimaced, his hopes of cheering up Aribeth seemed to be shattered.

"Well," Aribeth spoke. "The invasion was driven off, eventually. Many people suffered and lost relatives, but my fellow villagers were kind and offered to help me get through the tragedy... But I didn't want to get through it... I wanted to nurture my anger, my hatred, my lust for revenge. One day, I took my meager possessions, visited the graves of my parents and two brothers one more time, and trekked into the woods, for a bloody hunt that lasted over a decade."

"You went after the raiding party, didn't you?" Alris asked.

"At first. I picked them off from a distance, one by one... I became obsessed with wiping the entire orcish race of the face of Faerun, destroying their disgusting ilk just like they destroyed my family... without mercy. I became a killer without mercy, without remorse, without peace... and without hope. I never revereed then either... I wasn't able to..."

"That doesn't sound like you at all," Alris admitted.

"It wasn't..." Aribeth sighed. "Later," she smiled, her eyes shining with a dangerous light, "I had learned that I had become something of a boogey man for orcish parents to warn their children for when they would be disobedient. One day, my undeterring vengeance led me to chase a group of fleeing orcs into a snowstorm... I slaughtered them all, but was trapped in the storm. As I lay shivering and dying in the cold, a man came to me. I was too weak to see, but this one-handed man scooped me up from the snow, and the next thing I knew, I woke up in the Temple of Tyr in Neverwinter, being cared for and nursed to health."

"That man," Alris smiled. "That was Tyr, wasn't it? Is that how you came to worship Tyr?"

"Not at first," Aribeth smiled. "I resumed my bloody hunt, but I kept feeling as if someone was prodding me back towards Neverwinter. Tyr sent me dreams and turned ever sterner. Then," she chuckled, "to make a long story short, I eventually took up worship of Tyr. It was very, very difficult for me to give up my hunt, but I learned that my vengeance was not justice... Through worship of Tyr, I regained a sense of peace, but now, I..."

"What?" Alris asked.

"I... don't know what to believe anymore, Alris," Aribeth said, looking ever more sadder. "After Fenthick... If Tyr was wrong once, maybe he was wrong before... Maybe he's wrong about many things and... I can't find peace in my worship anymore... I truly envy you, Alris. You can go where and when you please, unbound. My duty and faith binds me to Neverwinter, but what I want the most right now is to just leave... get away from accursed Neverwinter as far as I possibly can," Aribeth sighed. "Elven Vengeance... is a terrible thing indeed..."

Even though Alris detected no malice or hateful spite from Aribeth, something about the tone in which she spoke those last words made the hairs in the back of his neck stand on end.

"But," Aribeth suddenly smiled. "I seem to be dominating the conversation... Tell me a little bit about your past, Alris?"

"Me?" Alris smiled. "Well, my childhood was hardly as... interesting as yours. I grew up on Evermeet, as I said. A very secluded childhood, though I read a lot of books elven travellers took with them from the mainland. I was trained by the finest swordmasters when I chose to become a ranger, and travelled every inch of Evermeet when I was old enough. But I wanted more. I was intrigued by the lands the books described, and I wanted to see the world..."

"Didn't your family object?" Aribeth asked. "If you grew up so secluded..."

"No, my mother and grandmother only supported me," Alris smiled. "They have travelled Toril extensively and they thought it would be good for me. Though I knew they were worried about me, they accepted my decision."

"How were your first days on the mainland?" Aribeth asked. "I've known and lived among humans all my life, but you..."

"Oh," Alris' cheeks grew red. "I was SOOOOO scared when I first got off the Elven destroyer that deposited me on the Neverwinter docks and I met the first humans. I only saw pictures of humans before but... well, everything among them moved so fast, and they weren't open and friendly, but disdainful and gruff. The other races too... Only seconds on the docks and a halfling girl stole my moneypouch."

"Plenty of bad elements at the docks," Aribeth chuckled.

"I learned about the darkness in human nature quickly, though, and it really frightened me," Alris sighed. "Even the elves in the city were very different from what I knew, though they all did their best to help me get settled... I entered the academy, in the hopes of learning more about the world. Of course, the drillmaster was very jealous of my sword-craft, since I surpassed him from day one. And, well, the Wailing Death came... you know what happened next..."

Aribeth nodded.

"To this day I feel there were and are very few non-elven people I can rely upon," Alris smiled. "The only humans I really trust are Aarin Gend and Sharwyn. My friends... Tomi, Daelan and Boddyknock, I trust implicitly too. And if it wasn't for Linu, I would have feared for my sanity..."

"And..." Aribeth blushed slightly, "what about... me?" she asked carefully.

"When I first saw you," Alris blushed, "you were holding a speech for the new class at the Academy... I was so surprised that the captain of the guard of Neverwinter was an elf... and such a graceful elf too. You were so... commanding and captivating, strong and confident... I think I..." Alris blushed very red, not believing he was actually admitting to this, "When I gazed into your eyes... I fell in love with you there... Completely and utterly in love with you... I so much wanted to meet you face to face. Something that inspired me to work hard at the academy..."

Aribeth smiled, blushing a bit herself now. "But... I was with Fenthick then. Wasn't that hard for you?"

"When I found out," Alris sighed and smiled sadly, "I was devastated," he chuckled slightly. "Well, I was content in worshipping you from afar..."

"No longer," Aribeth whispered. As Alris turned to her, he noticed she was very close to him now. He barely had time to gulp as Aribeth pressed her lips on his. Closing his eyes, he revelled in the sweet sensation. The kiss was even better than the one they had shared before, and now there was no one near to interrupt them. Carefully, while brushing their lips together, they sank into loving embrace. Clumsily at first, Alris folded his left arm around Aribeth's slender waist, while putting a trembling right hand under her ear, running his fingers through her soft, long, red hair.

Finally, Aribeth allowed for a more intimate kiss by allowing her lips to be parted. Their kiss deepened, and they tasted of each other's feelings. For Alris, the mixed sensations of Aribeth's body pressed against his, her hands rubbing over his back, and the strong scent of cinnamon from her red hair almost caused him to faint. Oh, and then there was the ever deepening kiss...

Eventually, after having kissed for what seemed to be an eternity, they broke the kiss. Both flushed, they gazed into each other's eyes, unwilling to break their embrace.

"W-w-wow," Alris managed to stammer.

"I... care deeply for you, my... beloved friend," Aribeth smiled.

"I... I..." Alris whispered, in fear of breaking a very fragile dream, but Aribeth put a finger on his lips.

"Sssshhh," Aribeth smiled. "I know... I... I want to give you something," she smiled and removed a small silver ring from her finger. "Here, take this, please... It... belonged to my father."

"I... I couldn't..."

"Please," Aribeth pressed, as if it was very, very important. "Please take it. My father gave it to me after I helped defend Thundertree from Luskan raiders," she said, reliving a happy memory. "Me, a mere 60 year old snippet of a girl stood up against the bandits with the defenders of the town... My father was so proud of me, he gave me this, a ranger's ring. He had high hopes for me..." she looked sad. "When I became a paladin, I was ordered to shed many of my most beloved possessions and keepsakes to better concentrate on my calling as a paladin, but I never had the heart to lose this ring."

"I... I couldn't take that ring," Alris said sincerely.

Aribeth smiled. "Take it. Its ranger-magics won't work for me, but they should keep you safe. Please, it would honor me and my father if you would wear it..."

"If it means that much to you, I..."

"It does..."

Alris said nothing and took the ring. Aribeth smiled as he slid it over his finger. Then, Alris smiled. Aribeth looked on as he removed a pendant from his neck and put it in Aribeth's hand. The elven paladin held it out in front of her. It was a small pendant with the inlaid symbol of a strong oak. The branches of the oak were divided into four quadrants, one part had blossoming spring-buds, the part above that was green and lush from summer, the part next to that had autumn brown leaves, while the last part had branches barred by winter.

"It's the Leafwalker family symbol," Alris explained, while he unlinked the chain and put it around Aribeth's neck with trembling hands. "It's magic deflects arrows and bolts... Please, would you wear it for me?"

"I will,"Aribeth smiled, and again, the two elves stood a moment, gazing into each other's eyes.

"Well," Aribeth suddenly announced. "We... should get back to Port Llast if we want to get back to camp before nightfall..."

---

"Bloody hell, this is some good pig," Tomi grinned as he and his friends were eating freshly cooked boar off the spit in the moonlight as the edge of town. "It tastes like I'm eating pure solar here..."

"I would not thing solars would enjoy such an analogy, Tomi," Aarin Gend spoke as he dove in for seconds.

After Aribeth and Alris had returned, the pig was lovingly roasted over an open fire, and the party had prepared all kinds of other foodstuffs to add to the barbecue meal.

"Good pork," Linu smiled, "more snout anyone?"

"You are... welcome to it," Boddyknock said, not being comfortable with the concept of someone eating a nose.

"They dragged this thing all the way back to town solely for our benefit?" Sharwyn smiled. "Hmmm, maybe I should write a song : 'Ode to the pig and the elves who brought it to us'."

"Alris," Daelan Red Tiger spoke up, "I am honored that you would share your catch with me..."

"Forget it, mate," Tomi smiled. "Alris is busy at the moment..."

A bit away from the other, sat Alris and Aribeth, very close to each other, seemingly in deep conversation.

"They look closer than they ever did before," Sharwyn smiled. "Good for them..."

Meanwhile Aribeth was as deep in thought as she was in conversation. Using knife and fork, she cut a bit of cooked meat and popped it in her mouth, but she couldn't forget. She knew the void of loneliness had been filled for now... She knew her developing feelings for Alris were true, but she could not shake the guilt for thinking she had sought out a replacement for the void in her life left by Fenthick's execution... But she knew she didn't want to be alone in either case. And what of her dreams? What did they mean, if they meant anything at all?

Sighing, she banished the thoughts from her mind and looked upon Alris, and decided she wanted nothing more at the moment that to explore the newfound feelings for Alris that were emerging...
 




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