The Duke fell quiet as Hela and Brynhildr came near them. The
Marquess's face was alight with happiness and joy. Gunnar found
himself wistfully thinking of the day she learned that he was noble
born as well and how her face lit up in a similar manner. “Father,
for the wedding feast, we ask that there be a hunt and game for all
to eat,” Hela said cheerfully, “It is a small request and I know
how much you enjoy hunting. The day is early yet, perhaps it might be
possible.” The Duke thought about it and looked over at Ivar who
sat idly tumbling dice in a cup.
“Ivar!” he called, “Let us go in search of a stag!” Ivar
bolted to his feet and snapped off a salute reflexively before going
to prepare a hunting party. Gunnar covered his guffaw at his
brother's reflexive salute with a cough and looked over to see the
Duke's eyes dancing with amusement. “I will never tire of putting
him in surprise like that,” the Duke confessed quietly before
chuckling. “Ride with me. The other Intendents will be curious
about you and I'm sure have much to advise you upon,” he said to
Gunnar.
Gunnar gave a small smile and nod. The Duke clapped his hands and
eyes turned to him. “Summon the chamberlin, the butler, and the
vinter.” A servant scurried off to find the three people. Nearby
the Maragrave sat talking quietly with the Marquess and his ward. As
the three men summoned approached, the Duke turned to the Maragrave.
“I presume that you had plans for this the whole time,” he said.
The Maragrave smiled and gave a small shrug. “Well, inform them of
what you need. I and my party shall find some game for tonight and
tomorrow,” the Duke said, “The gods have been kind today. They've
granted us victory. We shall make merry and celebrate. Tomorrow we
celebrate the union of the house of Erick Bearsbane with the house of
Morgan Shieldbreaker.”
Ivar walked briskly into the great hall as the Duke stood and stepped
down from the dais. Gunnar walked at the Duke's side as the Duke told
Ivar to find the other Intendents. Soon, they were mounted and on
their way into the wood. Ivar's beaters laughed and joked with each
other. The hounds strained at their leashes eager to chase anything
that moved. Ivar, for his part, was scouring the path they followed
into the wood for tracks. Soon he found something. Ivar began to jog
along the path as the beaters quieted and fanned out behind him. The
hounds picked up a scent and began to bay. The beaters slipped the
leads on the hounds and moved aside for the mounted hunters to come
forward. As Gunnar rode past Ivar, he leaned down and reached out a
hand. Ivar took it and vaulted on to the horse behind Gunnar. The
brothers rode swiftly down the path. As they passed by one of the
servants that was part of the party, carrying spears, Ivar pulled one
from his bundle.
“What do you think it is?” Gunnar shouted to his brother. Ivar
kept an eye on the path and listened to the hounds ahead of them. The
wind shifted and that was when the smell hit them. “Ah, gods,”
Gunnar groaned, “Not another sounder.”
“I think there's just one boar,” Ivar shouted. The Duke who was
riding beside Gunnar looked over at Ivar. “Just beyond the rise, I
think it's there,” Ivar called, pointing forward with the spear.
The Duke held out his right hand. Ivar tossed the spear to the Duke,
who caught it easily. He smiled at his master of the hunt and surged
ahead.
“Odin's eye, he's as mad as Brynhildr,” Gunnar breathed as they
popped over the rise just behind the Duke to find him facing an
enormous boar. Laughing, the Duke charged the boar and stabbed it
with the spear before wheeling away as the boar came after the horse.
He did this again and again, enraging the deadly animal. Gunnar
passed his bow back to Ivar, who strung the weapon and drew an arrow
from his brother's quiver. Firing over Gunnar's shoulder, Ivar struck
the boar in the side. The boar's attention shifted from the Duke to
the brothers on the horse. It gave a powerful bellow before charging
at them.
Ivar fired two more arrows in rapid succession as Gunnar wheeled the
horse around. One of them struck the boar in the eye as the other
struck it in the shoulder. The boar whipped its head back and forth.
The Duke dismounted and approached the injured beast. He thrust the
spear deep into the boar's side before drawing his knife. With a
ferocious snarl, the Duke wrestled with the boar until he was able to
slash it across the throat. A great fount of blood sprayed out over
the Duke as the boar dropped to the earth.
The Duke laughed as the remainder of the hunting party arrived. Ivar
dismounted and handed Gunnar his bow. “Now, that was a challenge,”
the Duke laughed, motioning over one of the men with the party who
had a wineskin. The man gave the Duke his wineskin. As Ivar looked
the boar over, he gave a low whistle. It was big and black with
impressively large tusks.
“I think we found the old boar,” Ivar said. The Duke grinned and
nodded as he passed the wineskin to Ivar. “The unmaking will be a
task. I'm not sure if we'll be able to carry the meat back. This is
one big boar.”
“We'll build a sledge and carry the carcass with the horses. This
should fetch enough for a few days meat,” Gunnar said. The Duke
looked at the other Intendents of the North and the South. They
looked somewhere between disappointed and frustrated with the
prospect of their coursers being used as pack animals. Ivar took a
drink and passed the wineskin back to the Duke. He then motioned over
his crew. As they began the process of the unmaking, the Duke walked
up to his Intendent of the North.
“You look troubled, my friend,” he said, “What ails your mind?”
“It is a long walk back to the castle,” he answered. The Duke
chuckled and slapped the man on the knee. He passed the wineskin back
to the Intendent of the North.
“You won't be walking alone,” the Duke said jovially, “And I'm
sure that the Maragrave will send riders out to meet us on our way
back. After the business of the last several days, I can't see him
doing otherwise.”
No comments:
Post a Comment