>>43344759She taught him how to track wild animals and other prey. Jack caught his first elk after their first week together. Ciseat calmed it down and released it. "Today was a lesson, Jack, but promise not to trap a creature you don't plan to eat." Her boisterous demeanor receded whenever she spoke of such important matters. It was reminiscent of some advice given to him and Pyfren by the druids. Jack took it to heart and swore to her. "This is all I can teach you. The rest is up to the forest."
Back to her hearty self, Ciseat ended Jack's training with a standing offer. "There's always room in my tent for a companion, Jack." He had grown fond of her, but his conviction pulled him away. He swore to get revenge against the Chelish bandits somewhere in the depths of the forest. Once he was done with them, he still owed Pyfren a story, his own.
The money he had saved was well spent. He bought a chain shirt and his own crossbow, fitted for his small stature. He was ready to take out those vile thieves. Using Ciseat's teachings, he tracked down their camp. Only four men in all, two tents and a campfire. The leader-looking fellow had a thick beard and sat picking at a skewer. They had cooked an elk, maybe the same one Jack had released.
Jack leaped around the trees, getting closer to the camp with each hop, keeping to the blind spots of each of them. He climbed up into a tree near the north side and laid on the thickest branch facing the camp. He planned to snipe the three in the tent first before killing the leader.
He watched the shadows and adjusted for the wind and his height. One shot, one kill. He broke the skull of his first target. The nasty reality that he had killed a man pitted his stomach. He vomited a little bit in his mouth. He had never killed anyone before, only rabbits and squirrels. Somehow, Jack was sure this was much different.
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