The Wooden Sea #1

A "Boar-ing" Adventure

By Kati Davis (Korva Grimdawn)

The Wooden Sea

A Dungeons & Dragons World/Adventure

By Ahmad Williams (DM)

Guild members Korva and Crow were on a mission in the Wooden Sea. They were new partners put together by The Guild, which was the collective that brought some semblance of order to the rapidly growing forest. Crow was a human clad in heavy armor with a shield, dagger and greatsword sheathed in various spots on his person. It was all standard paladin fare. A cloth wrap covered the bottom half of his face, his hair was light brown and smoothed back. He stood close to six feet tall, a stark contrast to Korva, a dwarf, who was under four and a half feet tall. She wore loose fighting attire normal of someone who hailed from a monastery. The dwarf carried a staff, and a small dwarven hammer. Korva’s gray hair was almost as long as her entire body and was kept in a tight, single braid from the top of her head all the way to the tip. The eyebrows that dominated her strong face, however, were not maintained in the same fashion and were quite unruly. Korva only trimmed them if they started to grow into her eyes.

It remained to be seen what kind of companionship could form between them, though the dwarf was a bit standoffish when it came to the man. It wasn’t anything personal; she was used to a more quiet life, and she knew humans didn’t live long anyway. She’d seen plenty age and pass in her time at the monastery and knew it was best not to get too attached. Not only that, but his character was entirely unknown at this point. That being said, most paladins had a good reputation and she hoped this one would be no exception.

Korva and Crow had been dispatched to Ofaname, which was probably one of the more modest "towns" in the collective that Korva had visited to date. Walking into the fenced-off clearing of meager, brown huts, Korva and Crow looked around. They noted that the small populace seemed very busy and that traps lined the fence surrounding the town. They were a literal people, this town populated with somewhere around a dozen hunters and trackers. Taking their jobs seriously, many had given up their name altogether in favor of their job title.

With a nudge, Crow gestured to the bounty board they were looking for, which had a handful of papers posted to it in an untidy stack. Guild boards were kept in every town within the collective and maintained by a Guild employee. A disinterested elf leaned against this particular board, staring toward the pair of them and picking her teeth. Maintaining a board in a town like this obviously lacked excitement. On the other side, sitting on the branch of a short tree, was a tiny humanoid woman with her arms crossed, swinging her legs. Deciding they would probably have a better interaction with the woman in the tree, they veered toward her. 

As Crow and Korva approached, they were given pause by a massive dog walking around the tree and sizing them up. The Guild members weren’t sure what kind of dog it was, but it didn’t seem to be trying to keep them away, so Crow lifted his head and hailed the woman in the tree. Her face lit up and she dropped swiftly from the branch. No sound reached their ears, as if a feather had landed on a mound of cotton fluff.
“Are you here to help Medic? We don’t get many new folk around here,” she asked hopefully, reaching to give the dog a quick scratch behind the ears. His head, they saw, was level with her own, putting the two at about four feet tall. Even Korva was taller than the pair.

“We’re with The Guild,” Crow assured her, indicating his rank five patch. Relief passed over the woman’s face.

“Good,” she nodded. “We’re a town of hunters and trackers. Medic, Tracker, and I went out hunting boar, but got more than we bargained for. This boar was huge and snuck up on even Mushi here.” The humanoid nudged her sharp chin toward the dog, then grabbed a couple of the bounty notices off the board She handed the papers to Korva and Crow.

“We took Medic along because we expected boar to be a tough hunt,” she continued. “But we weren’t ready for this one. He gashed me right across my side and then got Medic pretty badly when he was patching me up.” The woman lifted her jerkin to show a sutured, red line where she had been caught by the boar’s tusk.

“Anyway, we made it back, but Medic is still out there.” The petite woman shuddered as she said it. “We’re just simple folk here, not prepared for a rescue like this. Plus Medic is Ofaname’s only medic, so without him…”

“We’ll find Medic and bring him back,” Crow said nobly. Korva nodded slowly in agreement, hoping they could make good on the human’s promise. Korva valued order and if there was anywhere in the kingdom of Wheldrake that needed order, it was the Wooden Sea. It was why she had come here in the first place. Lose a cog in the machine, like Ofaname, and there could be dire consequences. After all, how could their people continue to survive in this wild place without someone with medical knowledge?

“Great,” the woman smiled brightly. “Just so you know, we’re only hiring rank five Guild members, and can pay five gold each. Is that okay?”

The companions nodded in agreement. Having both recently entered service of The Guild, Crow and Korva were still rank five members. Guild rank five was, of course, the lowest and zero was the highest. Besides, the dwarf didn’t much care about gold and earthly possessions, something contrary to her dwarven heritage that she had picked up from the monastery. 

“Okay, then you guys will want to talk to Tracker about where you’re headed.” With that, she shoved her dainty thumb in the direction of a great, burly man standing nearby eyeing the interaction. Crow and Korva approached him.

“Know anythin’ about boars?” grunted Tracker, his thick arms crossed tightly over his chest. 

“A bit,” Crow responded, while Korva shook her head.

“They’re not real smart,” the man intoned. “Boars can be pretty aggressive, though, and what’s theirs is theirs, so they’ll get ya good if you’re not payin’ attention and you’re in their territory.

“This one that got Medic, though,” continued Tracker, “he’s a real beast. As I can figure, probably eight foot long and damn near as tall as Soft Step’s pooch.” He jerked his head back toward the woman Crow and Korva had spoken to, and Mushi.

“We got him a couple of times with arrows, but at his size…” Tracker just shrugged and scrubbed the back of his neck with a hand before crossing his arms again.

“What can you tell us about the area we’re heading to?” Korva piped up for the first time since entering the town.

“Well, it’s sure not the first time we’ve hunted there,” he replied with another shrug. “Seems plentiful with boar, so it’s a prime spot. It’ll take us a few hours to get there, two if we hoof it.”

“Do you have anything that might help with the kill?” Crow asked of the man.

“We don’t have much here, but we can supply some arrows and a net with weighted corners if it helps.”

After collecting the goods mentioned by Tracker, the party of three left Ofaname. Their guide started them out at a brisk jog. Korva kept pace easily despite the sizable hunting net slung over her shoulder. Unfortunately, Crow seemed to be struggling a bit. Heavy armor clanging, it wasn’t long before his breathing was becoming slightly labored. The human shook his head when Korva glanced back at him. He waved his hand in a way that indicated they should continue with their pace.

After some time, Crow suddenly stopped, hands on his knees, wheezing hard.

“Sorry,” he huffed breathlessly, waving vaguely at his body. “It’s this armor.”

Tracker stared pointedly at the other man with frustration in his eyes but didn’t say anything. After a moment, he turned and started walking into the trees at a much slower pace, still not uttering a word. Korva and Crow followed their silent companion, her keeping close and him dragging at the rear, forcefully shoving a ration in his mouth and trying to gulp air back into his lungs.

Another hour went by and the two Guild members found themselves coming up short behind Tracker who had halted in the bushes at the edge of a wide, grassy clearing. Peering cautiously past him Korva could spot obvious battle signs. Smashed brush littered the area and the ground was broken in several places. It had been gouged by hoof and tusk. She saw blood spatter on some flora and her keen eyes followed a faint trail to a tree near the middle of the clearing. It was unmistakable that blood was pooling at the bottom. That was when Korva noticed Medic, her eyes travelling up the tree to lock onto his pale form. He didn’t look present anymore, eyes half-lidded and vacant. The bright red hand applied limply to his leg indicated severe blood loss. Honestly, she was amazed he was still in the tree.

“It doesn’t look good,” Korva half-whispered. “We’ll have to get him down as soon as possible. I’d guess he’s only got two hours left, at most.”
“What?” Crow asked Korva, shoulders heaving.

She looked at Crow for a moment before realizing he hadn’t yet seen what she’d seen. As quickly as she could, Korva pointed out the things she’d noticed in the clearing. The human went nearly as pale as Medic when he finally saw the man in the tree.

“Okay, yes,” whispered Crow. “I agree. We’ve got to get him out of here. But I need to rest. If this boar shows up, I cant handle it in this condition.”

Korva’s eyes darted up toward Medic and back to the base of the tree. There was more blood than she had noticed at first look. Large droplets were plopped around the tree, likely from the boar circling it’s escaped kill. Crow was right there with her, his eyes following the fresh drops which led away into some battered brush off to one side. He directed Korva’s eyes toward the spot and she nodded in acknowledgement at the sight of the damage. Thinking she would discover the beast’s locale, the dwarf scooped a round rock out of the dirt. It sat heavy in her palm. Hefting it at the suspect area, she easily hit her mark. It clattered noisily through the leaves and twigs, landing with a dull thud.

“Did you hear that?” Crow hissed after listening for a beat. “I’m sure I heard rustling in the brush.”

Korva hadn’t noticed it and glanced to Tracker for confirmation, but he was shifting nervously, standing back with eyes locked on Medic.

“Alright, let me rest up for a bit, then we can go for Medic,” Crow sighed, leaning back against a tree trunk.

“That’s a terrible idea. He might not make it that long.”

“I have to rest,” came the reply. “Trust me. Besides, you said he’s got another couple of hours.”

“At most,” Korva muttered.

“Alright, alright,” Crow was obviously exasperated with her. “Obviously you need something to do. Why don’t you set a trap or something? Put out some rations to lure the boar into the open and then net it.”

The dwarf’s eyes drilled hard into Crow’s, mouth set. He thought she was just going to net an apparently gargantuan boar that was, for all they knew, operating at full capacity?

“Or I have a bear trap in my pack if you like that idea better?”

She nodded her head jerkily, her steady expression very nearly slipping into one of annoyance. Crow rummaged through his pack and handed her the metal contraption. Before he could remind her to be quiet, she was darting out of their cover toward the tree. He needn’t have worried, however, because she was almost as soundless as Soft Step as her stout dwarven legs sped across the ground. 

Near the base of the tree, Korva stopped and got to work on the trap, glancing around every so often. She worked and worked, and worked some more, but Crow could see the question in her face. The dwarf didn’t know what she was doing. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes and beckoned her back over when she peeked at him from her position. Gingerly holding the now-open trap, Korva dashed back to where the Tracker and Crow were hiding.

Crow began to attempt a patient explanation, but he could have sworn he saw the dwarf’s dark brown eyes glaze over as she stared at the trap in her hands. Pinching the bridge of his nose, the human cleared his throat and started again, indicating the next steps.

“Got it?” Crow asked Korva as she silently mouthed his instructions to herself.

“Ye-es,” she stuttered in response before hurrying back out into the clearing.

With bated breath, Crow and Tracker watched the dwarf successfully set the trap. They met each other’s eyes, both humans quite relieved. But anxiety quickly set in again as the pair looked back to the clearing to see that Korva had decided to try to reach Medic in the tree. She was hopping at the base, trying to reach the bottom branch and failing miserably. Crow would have pinched the bridge of his nose again if it wasn’t for the rustling that had started in the brush where Korva had thrown the rock earlier.

“Hey!” He yelled across the clearing, standing straight and catching her attention. The dwarf looked at Crow confused, while he waved his arms toward the thicket. They were supposed to be quiet and he was yelling. This human is going to get us both killed, drawing attention like that, she thought. As the rustling noise was joined by the rumble of hooves, though, Korva got the picture and made another try for the branch. She could tell the beast was coming too fast to make it back to cover.

Crow was more optimistic. Shield and dagger at the ready, the human launched himself at the lone tree and his Guild companion. The boar came crashing into the clearing, speed set at full charge toward the dwarf. Its eyes were wide, set on Korva, and it snorted furiously as it ran. The hair on it’s right flank was dark and matted with dry blood where two arrows protruded.

Crow pushed himself harder in the race against the beast, now extremely grateful for his bit of rest. The dwarf made one last attempt for the tree, failing yet again. Panic had risen at the sight of the boar that was almost upon her, but she did her best to suppress it by bracing herself for an impact that never came. The horrendous sound of tusk screeching against metal all but drowned out the squelch of Crow’s dagger digging shallowly into meat on the boar’s head as he intercepted what could have been a fatal collision.

In the thick of it now, and thankfully still alive, Korva sprang into action, yanking the quarterstaff off her back. Dashing to the beast’s right side, she gripped the staff with both hands and swung hard at it’s injured flank. The blow landed with a dull smack on the boar. It hit a bit too high as the creature moved to counteract Crow’s frontal dagger assault. Agitated by her attack and the sting that came with it, the boar swung toward her, clipping her arm with one of its tusks in the process. Hot blood ran down Korva’s arm, but that was low on the current priority list. Crow took advantage of the distraction and threw down his shield and dagger, pulling his greatsword. He threw a powerful swing at the neck of the beast, but the boar was unwieldy, shifting constantly while trying to fend off it’s assailants. The landing blow seemed to have little impact on the creature.

“Let’s try to maneuver it toward the trap,” Crow shouted, but Korva was already positioning herself next to the injured flank again. Crow backed away toward the metal object, the boar’s attention on him, as she pushed all her strength into another swing of the staff. It connected with the blood-soaked flank, driving one of the arrows in further. The sickening noise of cracking bone filled the air.

The great boar collapsed to the ground, snuffling and twitching, it’s eyes unfocused. It seemed the beast was down for the count.

“Throw the net,” Crow called to her, and that is what she did. Or tried to do. 

Korva didn’t manage to snare the entire boar on her first throw and in an attempt to cover it the rest of the way, she found herself being swept up onto the beast’s back as it made an unexpected recovery and righted itself. It limped, whined and growled distinctly while trying to dislodge Korva. Fresh blood flowed freely from it’s wounded flank and minor head wound. The dwarf desperately grabbed as much coarse hair as she could to keep herself from being tossed.

Crow was stunned as the situation unfolded in front of him. He shook his head minutely to bring himself back to the fight. Recovering his shield and dagger, he attacked the boar again, but only landed a paltry blow on the flailing and aggravated creature. Switching tactics, he lunged for the swinging net. A tusk glanced off of his armor and met skin to open a gash on his leg. Ignoring it, the human successfully tugged the trap the rest of the way over the boar, causing its feet to become tangled.

The boar swayed toward the ground and Korva dove off, moving herself away from the impact. The creature squealed and fruitlessly tried to free its feet. Korva grabbed her discarded staff from nearby and started toward the beast, but Crow stopped her.

“Wait,” he panted. “This thing is gonna be really hard to drag all the way back to Ofaname. We should calm it down and see if it will walk back.”

The dwarf stared at the human blankly. Her brain felt like it was on overload trying to handle what he had just said.

“This thing is a wild animal,” she gestured toward the wriggling boar, speaking slowly and taking care to stay clear of it’s head. “It’s not just going to walk back for us. Besides, we need to focus on getting Medic.”

Both sets of eyes scaled the tree trunk where, against all odds, the gored man still clung to his branch and the shreds of his life. He was completely unaware of everything that had transpired below.

“We’re lucky to even have this slight advantage over it. The fight needs to end now before things get worse.”

“Fine,” Crow snipped, continuing to size up the tree. “You finish the beast, I’ll get Medic.” 

With that, he jumped and caught the bottom branch with ease. Korva’s nostrils flared slightly. She should have made that stupid jump. Hefting her quarterstaff in both hands she went to complete her task. She waited a moment for the head to be where she wanted it and brought the staff down mightily across the back of it’s neck. The creature whimpered at impact, an audible snap ripping the air. Korva immediately followed the blow with a swift kick, coming up against the boar’s throat and effectively breaking any remaining bones that had held under the first hit. With a weighty thud, the boar hit the ground and was still.

Back in the tree, Crow had scooped up Medic and was clambering down. Korva rushed to help should they fall. The dwarf was prepared to valiantly attempt to catch one of them, though she couldn’t be sure of the outcome of such an act. As it was, the paladin made it down safely with Medic, and she was glad for it. The two Guild members laid the wounded man flat and pulled his tunic away. Korva carried an herbalism kit in her pack and she hurriedly began cleaning and applying a poultice to the site. Crow put his hands upon the man, calling on his holy magic to flood Medic’s body.

Thankfully, it wasn’t long before the man seemed to stabilize and come back to himself. Medic’s eyes opened fully and refocused, bewilderedly taking in the dwarf and human leaning over him. Tracker, who stood behind them watching closely, nodded discreetly to Medic.

“It’s okay,” Crow assured quickly. “We’re with The Guild.”

Korva slightly bobbed her head in affirmation, barely taking her eyes off the wound as she kept applying poultice. A few more minutes passed and the pair finished their work. Observing Medic, they decided he should be fit enough to walk back to town on his own. This was a good thing, considering the current dilemma facing the party; they had to carry back the boar meat.

Leaving the boar behind was not an option. Ofaname needed to provide to The Guild to meet their portion of the collective quota. If the town didn’t send their required contribution, they would be cut from the collective, thereby losing the stability and protection of living under The Guild. Surviving separately from The Guild was not ideal for anyone who called the Wooden Sea home, especially for a community so small.

Korva could see Tracker glancing toward the sky, gauging how much light they had left, but he didn’t seem overly concerned. Yet. In the meantime, Crow had redrawn his greatsword and approached the boar carcass. The dwarf came over to help pull the net off of it, while she and the human debated how to cut the thing up. They knew Medic wasn’t going to be carrying any, so Crow set to the body, hacking it into three separate pieces. Korva took the head and wrapped it in the net, preparing to drag the load along behind her. Tracker used some rope to fashion carriers for both parts he and Crow would bring. Lastly, Crow dismantled his bear trap and stowed it in his pack, and Korva stuffed a ration in her mouth.

Tracker led the group out of the clearing, urging Medic to stay close as they let the woods swallow them up. The hodge-podge companions went as fast as they could through the dense forest, and it was a pretty good pace considering Medic had been barely alive not an hour ago. They hadn’t been travelling nearly long enough, though, when the wheezing started. The group stopped and turned to face the member at the rear.

“Do we need to slow down?” Tracker asked, voice even. He gave himself away, though, as his eyes darted furtively to check on the light left in the sky. The human obviously did not want to be out after dark. This was a good thing to avoid in the Wooden Sea under normal circumstances, let alone while hauling hundreds of pounds of raw meat.

“No,” Crow was doubled over, one hand on his knee and the other waving them on. “Lets keep going. I’ll be fine.”

A half an hour passed and they were stopped again. Crow dropped his load and was panting, sweat dripping from his chin. Each bead hit his chest armor with a tinny tink.

Not wasting any time, Korva spoke up.

“I’ll take his portion.”

Dragging one hunk of meat tied with rope and the other in the net, Korva set off after Tracker and Medic once more, Crow following behind. He awkwardly tried adjusting bits of his bulky armor to make the trip easier.

Dusk set in as the party stepped over the fenced threshold of Ofaname. There was palpable relief on the faces of Tracker and Medic, as well as Soft Step’s, who was pacing impatiently by the entrance while Mushi watched. She may as well have been hovering for all the impact she made as she flew over to her friends. Mushi followed close behind, but his eyes were focused solely on the raw meat as he bounded up to them. Korva watched the mammoth mutt carefully.

“You did it!” She exclaimed. “I didn’t actually think you’d make it!” 

“Thanks,” Crow said hesitantly, a question laced in his tone.

“Here’s your payment,” Soft Step dropped the promised gold coins into outstretched palms. “Now, lets get this meat cut up so it can be delivered.”

Most of the dozen or so Ofaname townspeople got to work, separating meat from fur and bone.

“Do you know of any leads for jobs?” Korva asked Soft Step while she worked.

“We don’t have anything else here, but if you’d like to hitch a ride, this meat is gonna be making the trip to Profit tomorrow. Always work to be found there, I’m sure.”

The Guild members nodded in agreement to that idea. They were then presented with two large steaks.

“We’ll cook these up for you as a thank you,” Soft Step smiled warmly and winked. “You deserve it. And what’s a pound or two if The Guild doesn’t know.”

Korva wasn’t much interested in deceiving The Guild, but she was also in no position to pass up a free meal, let alone one that smelled so good. Crow just watched the steak frying with an eager look on his face. The two hungrily devoured their meal when it was presented to them. Korva sat content with her full stomach, but Crow had decided to try to wheel and deal a bit. The dwarf had to restrain a violent flinch when the human asked their hosts if they could spare more meat. Of course they couldn’t, and the townsfolk were quick to inform him of that. Quotas had to be met. Korva was relieved when Crow didn't pursue the issue any further.

Before retiring for the day, Crow and Korva checked on Medic. He seemed to be recovering well despite his near-death experience. Tracker graciously put the Guild members up in his bare-bones hut for the night, and they slept easy on his floor. The calm was a welcome respite in the face of adventures to come.

SPECIAL THANKS! To my co-worker, Bob, for editing this piece and assisting with my outrageous comma use: you're awesome and I appreciate you! After reading this, Bob asked me if I was naming it "A Boar-ing Adventure" so I told him I would in his honor. I'm always happy to acknowledge a pun :)