* * *Soon enough, Superian and I were clear of Bravil to the south. I donned a pair of rings, then smiled as the pink glow of my dinner appeared. Slipping to the ground, I reached for Slayer.
The kill was quick and clean. Moments later, I was kneeling before the small buck as I cut my arrow free. Satisfied with its condition, I wiped the blood off and returned the arrow to my quiver. After field dressing the deer to reduce his weight, I looked up from the pile of entrails on the ground to the circling scavengers overhead. "Be patient, we'll be gone in a few minutes, then you can come down and have your dinner too."
I thanked the spirit of the buck for his energy that would feed my bow and his flesh that would sustain me and others. Even his pelt would be made into a new pair of buckskin greaves for me. I silently called Superian to my side with a spell, and tied the deer to her back just behind my saddle.
We started retracing the short trip home. I would sell a portion of the deer to Nilawen, and buy some Tamika wine for cooking. Some of the meat would go to Daenlin - we often shared kills. The rest of my fresh venison would go into the stew I would share with Aradroth tonight.
I had all the necessary ingredients. Corrick Northwode, of Harm's Folly, had insisted I take a good supply of fresh potatoes, carrots, onions and leeks from his farm. Herbs and spices were in my alchemy cabinet. That worked fine as long as I didn't add nightshade or the wrong kind of mushrooms to my stew. One such mistake had made Daenlin sick for days. I now kept potions of cure poison handy when I cooked.
* * *