Enzo had no illusions about his skill with a bow. Lea had shown him how to string the bow and knock an arrow, but beyond that, everything was beyond him. I’ll just end up losing all my arrows if I start by shooting at ratkel.

He took a length of the rope as long as his arms spread across, then doubled it and made a cut with his hunting knife. Next, he tracked down a fairly straight branch that was as tall as he was. It would serve as the post for his first target. With a grunt, he drove the stick into the ground as deep as he could, then spun it until he’d ground the end in an arm’s length deep. He tamped the ground around the base, and stood back to admire his handy work.

Decent start, but I’ll probably end up knocking it over. He glanced over to the trees and shook his head. If I was more confident, I’d just set the target on a tree but with the woods as the backdrop, every missed shot is essentially gone. At least here, with the mountain as the backdrop, I can collect everything I miss easily.

He gathered several heavy rocks, and set them around the base of the pole. Satisfied with the sturdiness, Enzo then started gathering up any pine needles and grass straw from the surrounding area. Using the rope, he bound up the straw around the pole. In the end, the target wasn’t pretty, but it did offer something he could practice with. He set the pack down in the sun and allowed nature to replenish the heat.

With that taken care of, food for the next few days was the next objective. Berries are nice, but realistically, I need to find a way to hunt without the bow. He remembered overhearing some of the hunters at Olena’s inn talk about setting snares and wanted to try some for himself.

Enzo took another arm’s length of rope and cut it off. This time, he unspooled the threads until he’d separated out the six strings that had been woven together. With these, he set around the area, looking for signs of animal tracks. He set four snares using young branches and string around the cave, with berries sprinkled in to serve as bait. Then, he made his way to the stream and set the last two snares.

The sun was high overhead when he’d finished. Birds chirped in the trees, and the wind blew softly, rustling through the leaves. Everything was at peace and the feeling seeped into Enzo as well. He walked back through the forest to the small plateau that was his home, content.

All things considered, I have it pretty good. Hopefully I can pick up a fishing rod next time I get to town, today would be a great day to relax and try my luck off the cliffs. He picked up his bow and a few of the arrows and readied a shot.

===========================================

As late morning turned into afternoon, Enzo fired shot after shot at the target. The peaceful sun from the morning now beat down upon him, angry at his incompetence. The friendly breeze was now a cursed enemy, throwing his best placed shots far from their intended destination. The birds chirped endlessly, mocking his every missed attempt.

From a distance of twenty paces, he could hit the target maybe one in five shots. At least I haven’t lost any arrows he thought as he knocked another and let loose. This one brushed off the top of the target and clattered into the cliff wall behind. His frustration growing, Enzo decided to take a break.

He returned to the cave, this time looking for a stick of charcoal. Talwen had given him an idea the night before and he wanted to see if he could copy it with his own little twist. He retrieved the charcoal and left the cave again.

This time, he went straight to the cliff wall, a few feet beyond the cave opening. He drew a large rectangle, then a smaller circle within it. He paced back ten steps, then drew a mark on the ground.

I’ll have to redraw this if it rains, but I just want to see if I can do it.

He conjured a flame in his hand, similar to the ones he’d used to light the cave last night. This time, he focused on the shape of the flames as well as the intensity, and willed the flames into a circular pattern. He rotated the pattern slightly with each pass, building upon it loop by loop. Eventually, he had a sphere of fire rotating in his hand.

He studied it for a moment while memorizing how the magic played across the surface of the sphere. When he was confident he could recreate the shape easily, he drew back his hand and threw.

The first attempt at a fireball was pathetic. The moment it left his hand, Enzo lost control of the flow and the fire sputtered and died. The second attempt was slightly better. He focused as much as he could on the fire, ignoring all other stimuli but the act of releasing it from his hand diminished the control he had.

How the hell did Talwen so effortlessly spread out those flames through the cave? Sure, she wasn’t going for the spherical shape, but they didn’t wither away the moment they left her vicinity either.

Frustrated, he kicked at the ground and a small, round rock went bouncing away. Wait! That might work… He chased after the rock and picked it up. With some effort, he was able to get the flames to circle the rock. They seemed much more stable with something to bind them to, and he was able to use less effort to create the sphere. He stepped back to his line and threw.

This time, the rock hit the wall with a satisfying explosion of fire!

It was a small fire rock and a small fireball, but the top right corner of the target was thoroughly scorched. A step in the right direction! I bet with some practice I won’t need to use the rock, but at least now I have a way to practice!

Enzo heated and threw the rock three more times before the heat and pressure finally shattered it. Undeterred, he spent the rest of the afternoon gathering stones and launching them at the walls of the cliff. As he practiced, creating the fireballs became easier and easier. By the end, he was able to insulate the rock and protect it from the heat. His last stone endured fourteen explosions against the cliff face before it finally disintegrated.

Satisfied with his progress for the day, Enzo returned to the pack and found the egg still warm to the touch. He picked up the pack and brought it inside, placing the egg in the center of their firepit and lighting the fire that would get them through the night. He snacked on some of the berries he’d collected earlier and watched the sun set.

I could get used to this kind of life. With some luck, the snares will be effective and I’ll have something more substantial to eat tomorrow.

He watched the flames spiral and swirl as darkness fell. His arms burned from the training, but it was a good burn. The feeling of getting stronger, through a good day’s work. Won’t have a problem sleeping tonight either.

At first, he was worried about how he’d keep the fire going through the night, but then he remembered the branches he’d gathered the day before. They won’t be torches, but they will do a good job keeping things warm while I sleep.

Enzo tossed several larger branches into the fire and allowed the magical fire to slowly morph into a more traditional one. Once the branches were burning nicely, he placed a few more on top, then leaned back on the pack and drifted off to sleep.