Chapter 45: 46 – Deer

The deer chewed on the goblin head for a bit, before kicking out its hind legs. The look of fear was still stuck on the goblin’s head. The poor monster didn’t even realize what happened before it perished. 

The last surviving goblin froze in terror, seeing that the last member of its merry band had been killed so quickly. The group had started with four goblins not so long ago, but now that group had been reduced to one.

And the kick reduced that group to zero.

Rowan watched in horror as the deer hooves destroyed the goblin’s head with a splat. The poor thing probably didn't even see the legs move before the goblin met its end.

Seeing the deer bought back faint memories of when Almar was still alive. The deer was one of the first prey the elf had brought back to feed Rowan. The boy had used the pelt for a long time before it wore out due to weather and time. 

How had the elf hunted such a monster?

That was Rowan’s first thought.

Another thought popped up in Rowan's mind as he recalled those memories. The deer was the perfect hunting target that he had been searching for. While the massacre the deer just did made Rowan break out in cold sweat, it matched everything he was hoping for in a hunt.

Was it alone?

Yes.

Would the deer’s body offer usable material?

Yes, the pelt was exactly what he needed. He could also use the meat for himself as he hadn’t tasted actual meat for so long. Any unusable part would work as excellent fertilizer for the Mother Tree.

Had the deer noticed him?

This was the most important question. From the looks of it, no. Rowan was still safe. The deer had begun eating the dead goblin bodies. If the deer had sensed Rowan’s presence, the boy would be running for his life already, or for the worst, dead. 

There was no time like the present. It was hard to say that such a perfect opportunity would show up again. A prey that matched all of Rowan’s requirements? It was almost perfect if not for the fact that the deer could kill Rowan when it discovered the existence of the boy.

That’s why it was important not to miss.

Rowan nocked an arrow and took aim. He was only going to get one shot and he was determined not to miss. Years of practice and training instantly took over as he focused on the deer. The large mammal was busy gorging on its meal for it to notice the boy. 

The goblin bodies didn’t offer a lot as a meal, so Rowan had to end it quickly.

As Rowan’s arrow took aim, the boy noticed a slight tremble in the arrow head. No matter how much he had practiced at the camp, matters of life and death were different.

Rowan took a deep breath to calm himself. The arrow stabilized as he focused on the prey. After making sure that the deer was completely focused on its meal, he released the arrow.

As soon as the arrow left his fingers, he knew it was good.

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The arrow flew straight and true, right into the deer's right eye. Before the deer could register what happened, the arrow pierced through its head, killing it instantly.

Rowan wanted to shout out in excitement for his first successful hunt, but he kept it to himself. He was still in the Forest of Death and it would not do for him to draw unwanted attention.

As today proved, there were so many creatures in the forest that could end his life if he was careless. 

In the end, Rowan let out a sigh of relief to calm his trembling nerves. This was a gamble of life and death and Rowan had won. If his arrow had missed, Rowan was sure he would be sharing the same gruesome fate as the goblins.

Now all Rowan needed to do was drag the deer’s body back to the camp. He didn’t feel easy if he skinned the deer here. A lot of animals have a sharp sense of smell. Not to mention that the blood of the goblins still linger in the air. Skinning and cleaning the deer was a momentous task that required all his attention. He did not want to be caught off guard by an animal sneaking up on him as he completed the skinning. All his hard work would go down the drain. No, that simply would not do. Rowan only felt safe if he performed the skinning back at the camp. 

The only problem was the deer was quite heavy. 

Rowan let out another sigh, this time it was one of weariness. Stalking the goblins had taken a good deal of the day. Given a few hours and the sun would set. Rowan wanted to get back to the camp before then. Luckily the camp wasn't too far, but Rowan still wasn't looking forward to the daunting task of dragging the deer body back.

Rowan finally gave up delaying and took a step forward to moving the deer carcass.  Just as he was about to approach the body, something in his body screamed. He instinctively ducked down in the grass and looked around.

SWOOSH!

The wind blew past Rowan. Something large and red had flown past where Rowan was. Right at the spot where the deer’s dead body originally was is now empty. 

Different emotions conflicted against each other in Rowan’s mind. The first one was anger. The prey that he hunted down was snatched right out of his grasp.

The second was horror as he realized what had grabbed the deer.

A large crimson reptilian monster with two wings and four clawed limbs.

At first Rowan had thought it was a wyvern, but when he counted the limbs, he knew it was something different.

A dragon.

Anger rose in the boy’s heart as he recalled what happened five years ago. All he wanted to do was nock an arrow into his bow and shoot it with all his might at the monster. He wanted to empty his quiver into the body of this creature with as much force as he could and as fast as possible. No amount of arrows in the world would be enough for Rowan. In his mind, the image of the dragon becoming a pincushion solidfied. The anger in his heart threatened to consume his mind as an arrow was already drawn and aimed at the dragon.

However, at the last second, rationality came over him. He was no match for the legendary monster and currently very ill equipped to face a dragon. There was no guarantee that his arrows could even scratch the dragon’s scales. He would only be throwing his life away.

Fortunately it seemed the dragon had no wish to go after the human as it flew away with the deer in its claws.

Watching the dragon's silhouette becoming smaller and smaller in the distant sky, Rowan did not know if he felt relief or disappointment that it was gone.

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