Rowan’s nose cringed as pushed open the fence gate that led to a farm up ahead. He tentatively walked up the path that led to a small cottage, where his client apparently lived. The mage looked about at the amount of coat manure laying about and exhaled heavily. Being a D-ranked mage definitely yielded the worst jobs. Rowan was almost afraid to inhale again, but of course he did, earning him another whiff of the good ol’ farm atmosphere. After stepping over some more piles of feces and a few chickens, Rowan arrived at the small cottage door. He raised his hand to knock on the door, but before his wrist could even make the all too familiar motion, the wooden door swung open. “Ya here to get me chicken back!?!” Rowan took a step back as the the putrid smell of the farmer’s breath hit him like a brick wall. Trying not to gag, Rowan nodded quickly before replying quickly. “Yep…”
Hours later, Rowan found himself stumbling through the nearby bushes and tall grass looking for an apparently 5 foot chicken. The search hadn’t actually taken hours, Rowan had only started about 30 minutes ago. The hours were actually filled with the farmer rambling on and on about his farm life, and how he didn’t want the mage to harm the chicken in any way. As it neared noon, the farmer noticed that it was essentially lunch-time and he invited Rowan in. Of course the mage promptly, but politely, refused before backing away. The farmer had also provided Rowan with bag of chicken feed, which was a pain to carry around, but would be necessary to round up the bird. Rowan thought that finding a 5 foot chicken couldn’t be that hard, but he was dead wrong. What frustrated him even more, was that even in the short period he had been searching, he had come across dozens of stray chickens, just none that fit the description. Rowan sighed inwardly, to avoid the stench of course, and continued his search.
The moon shined out over the forest, basking the tree leaves in its glow. The crickets were chirping and many people were sleeping peacefully in their homes. And Rowan was out in the god damn forrest, covered in mud, twigs, leaves, and other random nature debris. The mage had been stalking the target chicken for about 3 hours, and he was doing his best to push the chicken in the right direction. Before he had found the behemoth of a fowl, Rowan had laid trails of bird feed leading straight back to the farm. The only problem now was getting the chicken to one of those feed lines. He couldn’t just run out there and actually push the chicken, that would upset the farmer, and leave him with a few peck wounds. What Rowan was currently doing, was making slight noises and scaring the chicken in the right direction. The mage wondered if the chicken could smell the feed, but he shook his head and brought his attention back to the task at hand. The fowl was probably 5 meters away from one of the trails, and Rowan didn’t want to screw this up. With infinite care, the mage inched forward, making just enough rustling to make the chicken cluck nervously. Finally, and thankfully, the bird noticed the food line on the ground, and began pecking away, slowly making its way to the farm.
Rowan continued to follow the foul fowl up the trail of feed, and he silently cursed when he saw that the chicken had stopped. Squinting, Rowan could see that the reason it had stopped was because the feed line had stopped abruptly. He assumed that some other chickens came along and scooped up the bait, and now he pondered how to get the chicken to go forward once more. He decided to trail scaring the chicken forward, in the hopes that further ahead, the feed trail continued. He was right, and the chicken once again picked up the pace, eating to its heart’s content. At this point, the farm was just in sight, and Rowan was eager to finish the job.
Rowan only needed a few more feet, the only problem now, was that the chicken seemed to be full, and was starting to look around for a place to wander to. A vein almost seemed to pop on Rowan’s forehead as he realized his efforts would have been for nothing. It was time to take a risk. With a quick jump, Rowan began running towards the chicken, spouting gibberish in an attempt to scare the chicken in. Thankfully, it worked, and the chicken clucked in fear before tumbling through the fence gates. With the chicken secured, Rowan closed the gate and began heading to the farmer’s house. There, he was greeted with a painful sight, a bag of money sitting on the front steps. Apparently, the farmer was not only rambling talker, but incredibly trustful of mages, but the upside was that Rowan wouldn’t have to talk with the farmer again. With a shrug, Rowan picked up the bag and brushed himself off before heading home.
((864 Words))
Hours later, Rowan found himself stumbling through the nearby bushes and tall grass looking for an apparently 5 foot chicken. The search hadn’t actually taken hours, Rowan had only started about 30 minutes ago. The hours were actually filled with the farmer rambling on and on about his farm life, and how he didn’t want the mage to harm the chicken in any way. As it neared noon, the farmer noticed that it was essentially lunch-time and he invited Rowan in. Of course the mage promptly, but politely, refused before backing away. The farmer had also provided Rowan with bag of chicken feed, which was a pain to carry around, but would be necessary to round up the bird. Rowan thought that finding a 5 foot chicken couldn’t be that hard, but he was dead wrong. What frustrated him even more, was that even in the short period he had been searching, he had come across dozens of stray chickens, just none that fit the description. Rowan sighed inwardly, to avoid the stench of course, and continued his search.
The moon shined out over the forest, basking the tree leaves in its glow. The crickets were chirping and many people were sleeping peacefully in their homes. And Rowan was out in the god damn forrest, covered in mud, twigs, leaves, and other random nature debris. The mage had been stalking the target chicken for about 3 hours, and he was doing his best to push the chicken in the right direction. Before he had found the behemoth of a fowl, Rowan had laid trails of bird feed leading straight back to the farm. The only problem now was getting the chicken to one of those feed lines. He couldn’t just run out there and actually push the chicken, that would upset the farmer, and leave him with a few peck wounds. What Rowan was currently doing, was making slight noises and scaring the chicken in the right direction. The mage wondered if the chicken could smell the feed, but he shook his head and brought his attention back to the task at hand. The fowl was probably 5 meters away from one of the trails, and Rowan didn’t want to screw this up. With infinite care, the mage inched forward, making just enough rustling to make the chicken cluck nervously. Finally, and thankfully, the bird noticed the food line on the ground, and began pecking away, slowly making its way to the farm.
Rowan continued to follow the foul fowl up the trail of feed, and he silently cursed when he saw that the chicken had stopped. Squinting, Rowan could see that the reason it had stopped was because the feed line had stopped abruptly. He assumed that some other chickens came along and scooped up the bait, and now he pondered how to get the chicken to go forward once more. He decided to trail scaring the chicken forward, in the hopes that further ahead, the feed trail continued. He was right, and the chicken once again picked up the pace, eating to its heart’s content. At this point, the farm was just in sight, and Rowan was eager to finish the job.
Rowan only needed a few more feet, the only problem now, was that the chicken seemed to be full, and was starting to look around for a place to wander to. A vein almost seemed to pop on Rowan’s forehead as he realized his efforts would have been for nothing. It was time to take a risk. With a quick jump, Rowan began running towards the chicken, spouting gibberish in an attempt to scare the chicken in. Thankfully, it worked, and the chicken clucked in fear before tumbling through the fence gates. With the chicken secured, Rowan closed the gate and began heading to the farmer’s house. There, he was greeted with a painful sight, a bag of money sitting on the front steps. Apparently, the farmer was not only rambling talker, but incredibly trustful of mages, but the upside was that Rowan wouldn’t have to talk with the farmer again. With a shrug, Rowan picked up the bag and brushed himself off before heading home.
((864 Words))
