[Aylasa Caves] Reunion (Sturlin & Sam)

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"Don't mention it," he said, grinning. "Especially if you wake up sore in the morning from your lost battle with the ground."

He reached over to give Horse some loving attention; the beast got a little peckish sometimes if he wasn't getting attention when other horses were.

[Sturlin]

Brushing his back and the seat of his pants clear of dust and dirt he gave Sam a half-smile in response to his joke. As usual the disfigured side of his face twisted into a grimace whenever he smiled. Walking over to his pack he pulled out a water skin. Unstopping it and lifting it to his lips he took a deep drink before offering it to his companion. "Thirsty?"

His gaze wandered to Francis the horse, and horse the horse. Both were fine companions to have. The hunter was still unsure whether he would become a regular rider. It seemed that you were giving entirely too much control to a beast. A clever beast, to be sure, but still a beast. After a moment his gaze searched the camp for the whereabouts of Mr. Pickles.

The bald cat had managed to climb to the first branch of a nearby tree. Curled up in a little ball of pink flesh, he napped away the rest of his day. Sturlin was not looking forward to retrieving the cat when he awoke. Cats and magicians had so much in common. Always were they climbing to places they could not bring themselves to escape from. The excuse was usually 'It felt like a good idea at the time.'

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"Thanks," he said, accepting the water skin and drinking his fill. He passed it back and then moved to sit down near the fire again. When the sun began to hide behind the trees, it could still get chilly. Thankfully not as bad as he remembered from Taldera. He didn't worry about Horse wandering off because Horse knew that it was in his best interest to stay near the campfire. There were still monsters out in the unknown. And then there was the fact that whatever passed for brotherly love in horses was what Horse felt for Sam.

"It's beautiful up here," he remarked, unable to remember if he had already said that. "There are so many beautiful places."

[Sturlin]

Sturlin looked around, as though not sure if he was willing to use the word beautiful in conversation at the moment. Then he nodded, "Yes, it is beautiful. I do not often stop to admire it. I guess my mind wanders to other things." With that he picked a stick up and tossed it into the fire. Brushing his hands off on each other he sat near the fire and released a heavy sigh.

"What other places have you seen?"

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"It's good to stop and smell the flowers," he said, and it might have been sententious but for his youth and obvious sincerity, "you know, to enjoy the little things. Sometimes little things are all the gods grant you."

His dark eyes went distant for a moment, traveling to those places he might mention, perhaps editing some of the information he wanted known.

"Mostly Sylira... except Ravok. I'm a little leery of that place. Some of Taldera. It's beautiful up there, too, but you have to know how to stay warm in the snow. Winter comes fast and hard. Beautiful, but deadly."

[Sturlin]

As Sam mentioned stopping to smell the flowers Sturlin turned his left hand over in his right and examined it absently. He did not often stop to enjoy the scenery, but there was not much he found enjoyable about the scenery. It presented itself to him as a series of dangers and benefits granted by the terrain depending on the situation. There were things he enjoyed in life, but most of them did not fit his analogy.

"I've visited large portions of Sylira. Mostly Wildlands, rather than cities. Never been to Ravok, or Taldera. Why is it that you avoid Ravok?" His knowledge of the cities of his region were lacking. It was true that he was beginning to learn more about Syliras, and venture into it on occasion, but he had no such familiarity with other settlements. Kardeg had often left him at camp when he had entered a city to trade for goods.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"It's Rhysol's city," he said, voice suddenly hushed. "I didn't really fancy becoming a slave." Especially, he thought, after recently escaping from slavery. "From what I hear, it's a strange, backward city. They claim the god of evil is good and other nonsense like that..."

Suddenly he hoped that Sturlin wasn't secretly some priest of Rhysol lurking in the wilds to captivate and capture unsuspecting victims for the use of the Black Sun. That would put a serious damper on their burgeoning friendship.

[Sturlin]

Rhysol was a name he was familiar with, but not because he was a worshipper. "You never know what makes people think the way they do." Given different circumstances he might have sought out such a place. If you avoid getting taken down by the bigger fish it certainly gave a man a kind of freedom he lacked in a place like Syliras.

Reaching up he ran his hand over his scalp. Looking up into the trees and out into the sky he wondered what such a place would be like. "I guess to some people evil is just a matter of perspective. What did you think of Taldera?" The subject change was not rushed, but it was abrupt. His eyes returned to Sam's face as he waited for him to respond.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sam had seen evil in his life, but he still wasn't sure he could define it properly. What he did know was that it frightened him, especially now that he was rather alone in the world but for Horse. The parents he thought invincible had died long ago. In any case, he didn't comment on evil just then.

"Taldera was beautiful. Winter was beautiful, but dangerous. Everything was cloaked in white, and it was painfully bright in the sunlight, but when the moon was full, it was magical. It was just far too cold. Horse doesn't get much of a winter coat and my clothes weren't much thicker than they are now. I was wearing everything I owned whenever I went out of doors. I had to hole up in a village, trading my horse skills for room and board and to borrow a winter coat."

[Sturlin]

Sturlin could empathize with that. "I do not like the cold. In the winter I plan to travel further south. Snow and ice make my bones ache." As he said this he massaged the soreness out of his left hand. A good winter cloak and some thicker clothes were present in his pack, but that didn't mean he had to like the idea of staying near the Cobalt mountains in the winter.

"Do you often share your horse skills?" Sturlin's own gift was the sort that was distrusted in most circles. He could not exactly go about trading Reimancy for a stout bed and a square meal.