The next day, Lord Rodger arranged for a small breakfast for all of his guests. The group didn’t eat too much, but they made sure to pack some of the food with them. The hunt could take quite a while and the party might need to take some meal breaks throughout the day.

  Varre would be the guest of honor, but fortunately that position didn’t require him to actually make any decisions. By now, everyone understood that his amnesia eliminated all of his knowledge related to hunting. Rodger would assume responsibility instead and lead the way.

  This wasn’t at all unusual. Aristocrats from many areas of the kingdom came over to visit places such as this one to experience the purest form of a chase. An important and powerful person deserved a privileged spot, but it was best to leave the actual details to the real experts. Men like the local lords who spent their entire lives living around these forests.

  Hunting was a sport reserved for nobles, but some areas were simply too populated to allow a proper experience. Technically, each village had to have access to a nearby forest, if only as a place to collect firewood. Such areas were often inhabited by deer. Still, chasing animals through such small thickets and across open fields was very different from doing so in a real wilderness such as this one.

  The first difference was the sheer amount of people that would be required for this endeavor. Fortunately, since Ashbourne was a frequent destination for such adventures, there were enough skilled servants to perform all of the duties. Trackers scoured the forest ahead of time, making sure that suitable deer were present in the area. Others took care of the animals and equipment, and later joined their masters as they gallivanted around the woods.

  Many of the royal servants would stay behind in the manor. Having a hundred people follow behind the main group, especially since many would be left without horses, wouldn’t be a good idea. They’d only get in the way. Even the Royal Guards would be a problem.

  Of course, with the danger posed by wild animals, and even monsters, the monarch couldn’t be left completely defenseless. Forty of the elite warriors would join with the hunting group. Most would keep their distance though. They’d be able to respond quickly, but they wouldn’t crowd the area too much. Only a few would follow right behind their liege. The last ten would stay and defend the manor, just in case anything happened.

  Women didn’t join events like this one too often. They were welcome to participate in rabbit chases, where dogs or falcons went after the animals, but deer were generally reserved for men alone. Of course Esther didn’t care. Even back when they were children, she didn’t want to stay too far apart from Varre. She’d been hunting together with her father for years now and was now far more experienced than the amnesiac king himself.

  Elvira and the twins were also invited. As mages, they were far more capable fighters than even a knight like Rodger. They could take care of themselves, no matter what happened.

  Once they moved outside, the group discovered that the lord prepared a change of horses for everyone. Many of the councilors travelled in a carriage, but even for those that went without, their mounts were inappropriate for today’s needs. The woods were dense and full of foliage. Heavy, powerful animals would struggle to maneuver through it. It was better to get on smaller, more agile coursers instead.

  “Alright,” Rodger announced, while everyone was sitting in their saddles, “our tracker pinpointed a good target for today. A large stag, not too far from here.”

  “Was he alone?” Kerryn asked.

  The man was a commoner. He didn’t have as much formal experience with hunting like the other nobles. However, his decades of service as an adventurer more than made up for it. He tracked plenty of monsters and other dangerous creatures throughout the years and no doubt knew how to act properly. Likely, he even killed some deer occasionally. It was forbidden of course, but with deadly beasts in the area, no one would risk their lives to come and check.

  “Yes. They often are at this time of year,” the lord replied, “we spotted him drinking from a nearby stream. I expect him to travel further East, towards one of the clearings there.”

  Etty looked out towards the treetops visible over the palisade. “Did the tracker find any droppings?”

  Rodger nodded. “They were mostly out West, which is why we assume the stag will continue walking in the same direction. I’ve deployed the dogs on the Eastern side of the stream.”

  Varre checked his saddle one last time. “Are we ready to move out then?”

  “We can start moving,” the lord said, “but we need to wait for another message from the tracker. There’s no point in running through the woods aimlessly. We’d just get lost.”

  When the group finally left the hamlet, the king understood what he meant. Even with most of the people staying behind, the party was still made up of around sixty horsemen. There’d be absolutely no way to sneak up on any animal with such numbers. Chasing too would only end up causing problems, as the mounts crashed into each other while trying to squeeze in between the trees. It was better to split up.

  After about half an hour of riding and stumbling upon various small groups of servants holding dogs on leashes, they tracker had finally managed to find the target again. Just as Rodger suspected, the stag moved towards one of the clearings. It was currently eating at the edge of the tree line.

  The party slowly made their way closer, though they remained mounted. One of the servants holding dogs on leashes went with them.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  The tracker led them all the way towards the clearing, where his companion stayed behind, keeping an eye on the stag. Noticing the arrival of the nobles, he signaled for them to stop.

  The lord got off his horse and whispered to Varre to follow him. The king dismounted and soon was joined by Etty. The girl was too curious to leave them alone.

  The group approached the crouched tracker and looked in the direction he was pointing at. Indeed, a large deer was standing there, eating some leaves off of another bush. He seemed completely engrossed by the task and had yet to notice that he was being watched.

  “Ready?” Rodger whispered.

  Varre wasn’t sure what would happen next and didn’t want to accidentally ruin the hunt by scaring off the animal too early. Rather than voice his reply, he showed a thumbs up.

  “Then let’s begin,” the lord said, rather loudly and stood up.

  The deer noticed him, and tensed up, preparing to flee. Then, Rodger pulled out a horn and sounded an alarm.

  The stag immediately started running. But he wasn’t alone. The servant released his dogs at the same time and they sprinted after the target.

  “What are you doing?” the king called out, confused, “weren’t you going to shoot him?”

  The lord chuckled. “Where’s the fun in that? Now come on, we gotta get back on our horses.”

  He jogged towards the mounts and another peasant helped him clamber on top. Varre and Esther ran towards their own equines. The king quickly looked around at the other participants. Everyone was excited and eager to continue the hunt. Apparently, everything was still going according to plan.

  Once the guest of honor was mounted again, Rodger blew into his horn once more. At the signal, the entire party threw themselves forward and started racing after the stag.

  It was rather dangerous. The horses achieved high speeds and the foliage was dense. Varre had to hold on tightly to his reigns, constantly afraid of falling off. He just hoped that if he did end up tumbling down, he’d manage to instinctively enhance himself in time. Perhaps the increased toughness would help him survive without major injuries.

  The courser itself was clearly experienced and instinctively knew what it was doing. Though the king had many opportunities to ride horses by now, even in the thick of battle, there’d be no way for him to accurately direct the animal in between the tree trunks. He just had to trust it. It did a pretty good job in following Rodger and even managed to avoid many of the low branches on its own. Varre kept his head down and had to lean occasionally, but didn’t get too scratched up.

  After a couple of minutes, the group managed to catch up to the deer. They were still a fair distance away, but at least the stag was in sight again. It was slowing down and getting tired, but so were the dogs. Fortunately, at around the same time, an entire new group of hounds came out from the tree line and continued the chase. The second group of servants must have let them loose.

  The tired dogs slowed down a bit, increasing the gap between them and the target, but the fresh ones more than made up for it. They kept up a constant pressure.

  After another couple of minutes, they were replaced again. Then again. With each switch, the stag was getting slower and the hounds found it easier to keep up. If they really wanted to, they could probably even manage to catch up to the animal and kill it by now. They must have been trained not to do that.

  Suddenly, the deer stopped and turned around, roaring and pretending to charge at the chasing dogs. It must have realized that escape was impossible. Or more likely, it was simply too tired to continue.

  “There it is! It’s baying!” Rodger called out.

  The horsemen surrounded the animal from all sides, as it kept roaring and trying to scare them off. Now, every avenue of escape was blocked. There was no way out.

  The lord rode up to the king. “It’s your time to shine. Spear or sword?”

  “What?” Varre turned around, confused.

  “You have to make the killing blow. Which weapon do you prefer?”

  The monarch looked at the stag again. It may have been tired, but it was still angry and dangerous. It was massive too. It wasn’t that much smaller than his own horse. He considered his options carefully.

  Technically, he had much more experience with the blade. He’d been training with the weapon for months and mostly used it in all of his duels. Of course, fighting a desperate animal would be very different than fighting a human opponent. And he hadn’t had as many opportunities to battle on horseback. He’d prefer to keep as much distance as possible.

  “Spear,” Varre simply said and accepted the weapon from one of nearby servants, travelling on a mount of his own.

  The king looked at the lord, checking whether he was supposed to get down on the ground, but he saw no such suggestion. Instead, he carefully rode up closer to the stag.

  The animal knew what was coming. It stopped trying to scare off any of the others and instead of focused its gaze squarely on the approaching threat. At least the horse seemed unimpressed. It must have done this dozens of times already, so it was used to such antics.

  Varre sighed. The stag had large, impressive antlers and they could probably break through the cloth gambeson he put on today. Even though there was a healer nearby, it would be better to avoid getting impaled.

  He considered doing it carefully, but he deemed it too dangerous. While he had more control, the animal would as well. It might even manage to wrestle the weapon out of his hands if he managed to get it tangled up in the antlers. It wouldn’t be dangerous, but it would be embarrassing.

  It was better to pick up some speed and try to pierce through the deer in a single blow. He’s seen other knights employ the same tactic on enemy soldiers during the war.

  He braced himself and forced his mount to charge forward for the last couple of steps. The stag was surprised and it couldn’t manage to defend itself properly. The horse passed harmlessly besides it, while Varre stabbed out with his spear.

  The lance embedded itself right into the animal’s neck and it released a final roar as it fell to the ground.

  The king turned around and wiped the sweat off his brow. The other horsemen were politely clapping and congratulating him on the kill, while a few servants were already running forward to secure the animal.

  Rodger dismounted and was already calling for Varre to come closer. When he did so, he was handed a knife.

  “Here,” the lord said, “you can do the honors.”

  The king took the blade from him and looked first at it and then at the dying animal. “What do I do exactly?”

  “Father!” Etty yelled out. The girl had gotten off her horse and was walking towards the pair, “don’t forget his amnesia.”

  “Right. I suppose it’s better if I do it,” Rodger scratched the back of his neck.

  He took the knife back and kneeled behind the deer. He finished it off with a swift move, but then kept working. He was quickly and efficiently removing the skin off the animal and cutting it into parts right on the spot.

  “Wait, hold on!” Elvira called out and rushed over, “something’s not right here.”

  The lord looked at her with a frown. He clearly didn’t appreciate being interrupted in such a vital moment. He wasn’t ready to argue with a member of the royal council though. Especially not the Court Mage herself.

  “Do you feel it girls?” the witch asked her apprentices.

  Curious, the twins came closer and each cast a simple investigatory spell.

  “Magic,” Perry said after a moment, “it’s coming from the deer.”

  “Exactly,” Elvira nodded, “someone cast a spell on it. And it wasn’t us.”

  The noble should try to get his hands dirty.