December 9

Unluckiest Khajiit Hunter

Based in the Elder Scrolls universe, how unlucky can a cat get?

Disclaimer: I do not own the Elder Scrolls universe!


Unluckiest Khajiit Hunter

 

The rustle of leaves, a brief gasp of the wind, hunter on the prowl. Kha’rakh was seeking food for his caravan. Some meat to add to the stew, another day of potatoes and leek would drive him insane. Clad in his dark leathers, with a green cloak and hood to conceal him, quiver on his back, blade by his side, bow in his hands. It was hard to hunt in Skyrim, the land was too cold for Khajiit hands, the weather unpredictable, and the land was filled with countless dangerous creatures and bandits. Not to mention the ongoing hostilities between the Stormcloaks and Imperials.

Kha’rakh’s caravan was heading south, passing through a dense forest and it was time to halt for the night. It was his turn to hunt as well. He was skilled with the bow, and had plenty of experience hunting smaller game, so this wasn’t bound to be a challenge. The Khajiit remained low, crawling through the brush and foliage, trying to catch the scent of any prey, and he did. His eyes caught sight of a hare, sticking his head out from the tall grass. It might not be much but it’s enough to give the stew some taste.

He pulled an arrow out of his quiver and notched it, pulling on the string ready to fire. Then, a contender to his prize appeared out of the tall grass, a fox. He leapt at the hare and caught it in his teeth. The struggle was brief, and soon the fox began to devour his catch. Well, a fox is a bigger prey. A bit more meat, and the fur could fetch him some more coin. He now focused his aim at the Fox.

Yet again, before the arrow could be released this time a wolf came from the forest, chasing down the puzzled fox. Kha’rakh, with a grumble and sigh, followed the wolf some distance. Even more meat, even more fur, and so on.

However, even this time his shot was disturbed by another unforeseen guest, a stag, who charged at and scared off the wolf. Perhaps a long standing grudge was between the predator and prey? Who could tell for certain, but this time the hunter was ready. A stag could keep them fed for a few days, and the antlers would make for a decent trophy.

Fate was not on his side this day, because a troll seemed to leap down from a tree above the stag, gods knowing why or how it ended up there in the first place, and began to bash the stag into a pulp. Kha’rakh never tried troll, but at this point he was so frustrated he was ready to try. Killing a Troll would take no small effort. They could rapidly recover from any wounds, and were deadly if they got close. Luckily Kha’rakh had a few fire arrows that could do the trick. A single arrow would explode in a ball of fire, engulfing the troll, hopefully killing it. A mix of alchemy and magic.

The troll took notice of the Khajiit and with a roar charged toward him, lumbering forth with a deadly bull charge. Thankfully the troll never reached the hunter, it could not. The feline’s ears suddenly heard an even louder rawr. A shadow began to hang over the beast in front of him, and with no warning the troll was smashed into the ground by a dragon.

It roared, flames firing out from its maw, scorching the forest around it. Dragons were spotted in Skyrim, ut Kha’rakh never saw one with his own eyes. He doubted he even had a weapon that could pierce its scales.

Even before the dragon was finished with its display of might the Khajiit was long gone. Running for his dear life, back to the camp. He did not look back or check whether he was followed. He would be worried about that later.

Finally, safety of the camp’s fires. The other gathered Khajiits looked to the exhausted hunter, who collapsed on the ground, just before the fire, gasping for air.

“So, no meat tonight either, Kha’rakh?” asked one of the caravan members. The hunter chose not to answer with any plain words, instead gesturing in the other Khajiit’s direction with a very rude gesture.

 

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Posted December 9, 2016 by ABielski in category "Short Story

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