The Chronicles of Tenroha

Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Due to the lack of sleep over the past few days, Jäkob had awoken late the following day. He rolled out of bed and as he was dressing for the day he noticed his bow and the quiver with some arrows standing next to his bed. After he finished dressing, he grabbed his bow and the quiver that Matáo had made, and headed out for breakfast. He sat at the table and ate a plate with bacon and eggs and a piece of bread with fresh butter that Nìa had left out for him.

While Jäkob ate, he stared at his bow, He never took his eyes off of it. He was still tired from the previous days and he took his time eating. After breakfast, Jäkob and Matáo went to do the rest of their chores. Matáo had already completed most of them while Jäkob was asleep. When they were finished, Jäkob and Matáo went to test the bow.

Matáo set up a bundle of tightly wrapped straw so that the arrows weren't damaged after being fired. He paced out twenty steps and made a mark on the ground for Jäkob to shoot from. Jäkob removed the bow from its quiver and placed the string on it. Jäkob then stuck five arrows in the ground beside him. He then grabbed the first arrow and placed it on the string. He took aim at the target and pulled the string back. This bow was harder for him to pull. He was used to his old bow. This bow was much harder to pull back, but he managed to do so. He held the bow with the string pulled tight and aimed at the center of the target. When he was ready, he let the arrow fly.

The arrow flew straight and true and hit its mark. He then shot the other four arrows, a little faster each time, and they all hit their marks. Everything that he and Matáo had done the past few days was worth it. The bow shot perfectly. His arms were sore, but he felt good about what they had done together.

A little later that day Matáo, Nìa, and Jäkob invited the twins Jessie and Joel, and their brother Jonah for a picnic. Around midday, the six of them headed to Jäkob's favorite spot in the whole world, up over the waterfall and to the enormous tree with the hole at its base, for their picnic. The boys took their bows so they could go hunting after the picnic. Matáo built a small campfire so they wouldn't get too cold on the fall day. The sun was warm but the breeze was a little crisp. They had a nice lunch that Nìa and Jessie had prepared. As they ate, they talked over the events of the past few days.

Jäkob told the twins all the steps that he and Matáo had used to make his new bow. Joel seemed to be interested, but Jessie appeared to care very little about the tale. After Jäkob had finished his story, the group all began telling jokes, in turn, and laughing. After they had finished eating, the group packed everything away. Matáo and Jonah doused the fire with water using a pale that Jäkob kept, along with some other things, in the tree. Once it was out, the two girls headed, on their way, back to the village while the boys went out for their hunt.

Matáo and Jonah walked over to the stream that flowed near the tree to check for animal tracks, while Jäkob and Joel headed upstream to do the same. Matáo and Jonah didn't have much luck finding anything, so they decided to catch up with Jäkob and Joel. There they found all sorts of tracks. There were rabbit tracks, raccoon tracks, fox tracks, but the deer tracks, where Jäkob and Joel had stopped to look, were what caught their attention.

Matáo and Jonah agreed that the set of tracks appeared to be from a large deer and that the tracks also appeared to be freshly made. They assumed that it was frightened away when they arrived for their picnic. They decided to follow them. As they walked, they talked quietly amongst themselves and were keeping a watchful eye on the surrounding timber. They were making plans for what was to be done when they found the deer. They followed the tracks to an old game trail that Jäkob and Matáo had used many times in hunts of the past.