The Hunt
A cold front brought a blizzard to the valley. Callum was forced to huddle by his fire as he waited out the storm. Even in the shelter of his cave, Callum still regained the 'Cold' debuff.
He did brave the cold occasionally in order to gather additional fuel for his fire. Hunger forced him to try a harrowing journey to check on his traps.
Two of the traps had been triggered, but their low durability had been unequal to the job. Both were destroyed and only blood splatters remained. Dejected, he turned back to his cave.
He had barely made it back to the fire as 'Frostbitten' quickly jumped past the minor stage to the next stage. It had been touch and go as he tried to warm up faster than his health dropped. After that close call, Callum decided to stay inside.
Several times, he thought he heard some howling. But he couldn't tell if it was just the strong wind or if it was that Dire Wolf. He kept his spear handy and made some additional ones just in case.
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The Dire Wolf was hungry. It hadn't been able to find any large game to hunt. The blizzard that hit yesterday forced most prey animals to hunker down and ride it out.
It did follow a blood scent towards two dead rabbits in some sort of wooden things. The smell of the strange creature around the area worried the wolf briefly. Though it didn't stop it from eating both rabbits before it continued its hunt.
The young wolf needed a lot of calories to fuel his inner furnace and a couple of rabbits were insufficient for his needs. But the scent of new prey moving down the valley called to him and he loped along eagerly.
A small herd of elk trotted into a clearing as the wolf laid down to study the herd in detail. Keen eyes picked apart each animal below him. Experience allowed it to assess which one was most vulnerable.
It quickly identified a large male Elk, as his target. It had a large rack of antlers that looked intimidating. But old age or a lingering illness left it limping. And the wolf was determined to take advantage of that weakness.
The hunt started when the wolf revealed itself and let out a large howl.
"Aaaaaoooooooh!"
The first step in the hunt would be to separate the elk from the herd. And to do that, the wolf needed the herd to start running from him. He'd make as much noise and nip at hooves to keep the prey animals moving.
As expected, his target soon lagged behind. Several times some of the other males turned around and charged at the lone wolf. But the wolf simply danced away before resuming the chase once again.
Eventually, the rest of the herd tired of bailing out the slow male. They moved on and left him to face the wolf alone. The wolf had achieved the first part of its plan, to isolate the target. Now he would simply tire the elk out.
The wolf didn't know about stats, stamina regeneration, or debuffs. It was ignorant of the details about how the 'Tired' and 'Stamina Deprivation' debuffs could worsen and stack together. It didn't need to know for it to take advantage of the debuffs.
The effects of those debuffs were something that the Dire Wolves understood on an instinctual basis. The wolf knew it just needed to harass the elk constantly for the next couple of days. The elk could not know a moment of peace.
The hunt might take several days, but the wolf was patient. Time was on the wolf's side.
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The temperature finally rose high enough that Callum could once more safely leave his cave. After days of extreme cold, he could finally enter the world again. For three days the excessive cold kept him in his cave.
He would have normally taken a moment to enjoy the sheer beauty before him. The snow was shining down on a layer of pure clean snow. The snow seemed to shimmer and dance under the sun's rays.
But Callum was starving after three days of isolation. He had bribed a Dire Wolf with his last remaining food. And his traps hadn't turned up anything last he checked on them. He had several new traps to set and was eager to move out.
Callum wasn't sure how much snow the snowstorm had dropped. It seemed like high winds had accompanied the storm. In places the snow was scoured down to below his knee, and in other areas the snow was piled up in banks twice his height.
His blue grey eyes tried to take in the changes as he slowly made his way to the frozen stream. He was still getting to know the valley and the snow banks changed the landscape to such an extent that he wasn't sure where his traps were.
Two had been destroyed previously, but he was hoping that the other two had caught something. If he could actually locate them. As he went, he set a couple of new traps in likely areas.
The hush over the valley allowed him to pick up the faint sounds of something off to his side. He didn't know what was going on, but it might give him an opportunity for something to eat.
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The bull elk struggled to stay on its legs. His rear two legs were bloody messes and blood streamed down from other injuries. The elk was on his last legs and nearing collapse. Only pride and stubbornness kept it standing thus far.
The wolf kept circling his prey. He knew that the time for the elk's demise was fast approaching. It occasionally darted in to bite at the tired elk.
The first time the elk failed to respond to a lunge would also be its last time. In this manner, the elk lost all its stamina. And so the wolf kept up the constant harassment as it had over the entire length of the hunt.
Eventually, the elk stumbled and its reaction was late. Eager for the kill at last, the wolf committed itself fully for a bite. But this just played into the hands of the older elk.
The elk had one last thing it could try before it succumbed. It had faked the last stumble in order to bait the young wolf into its attack range. And the wolf displayed its youth and inexperience once again by falling for the ploy.
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Callum followed the sounds to a small clearing. A large elk and what looked like a familiar wolf were circling each other. It was clear that the elk was on its last legs. It let out an angry bellow as it stumbled.
Bull Elk (Lvl 33)
HP:(950/2200)
The wolf went in for the jugular as the elk stumbled. Suddenly, the elk lunged towards the overeager wolf. Its antlers caught the wolf in midjump, the sharp points easily penetrating deep into the wolf's body.
Callum was off to the side and quickly rushed in with his spear raised. Luckily, most of the snow near the elk had been swept clear by the wind. Callum aimed for where he thought the heart was. His silent charge was unnoticed by the elk.
Callum finally roared as his momentum carried the makeshift spear deep into the side of the moose. The point easily pierced between a set of ribs and dealt a mortal blow. The surprised elk suddenly twisted around.
The spin flung Callum from his spear as his spear snapped in half. A deep snow bank caught the flying farmer. He was soon up with a hatchet in one hand and a knife in the other. Only to be met by an angry elk that was charging at him.
He dove to the side, the elk unable to match the quick move in the deep snow and given its wounded state. Callum once more charged the elk, but this time he sheathed his knife to cast
The elk lifted its head reflectively in the face of an age old danger. Callum was quickly under the elk's raised antlers before it could recognize its mistake. Then Callum pulled out his knife again and he activated <
Dimly, Callum realized the wolf had clamped its jaws around one of the elk's hindlegs. Mainly though, Callum wasn't thinking. His entire focus was on the next attack he could deliver.
Due to <
Blood flowed from all combatants in equal measure.