[Aylasa Caves] Reunion (Sturlin & Sam)

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

55th Spring, 510 A.V.

This time Sam had ranged farther than before, looking for good things to eat and trade, trapping animals, hunting, gathering. He liked the city of Syliras well enough, but walls made him leery after too long. His best memories in life were always in the open air. So it was that he wandered farther out, though never so far away as to make Syliras inaccessible. There was still a soul-deep premonition that something was coming for him there, something important.

Horse was carrying him upon a decent path, clear and visible from the mountains. It was noon. The sun was high. If he found a decent place to camp and set it up quickly enough, he could put out some of his snares. Finally he settled near the shore of a small alpine lake. Fresh water meant fishing in his spare time, and in a clearing where he should be able to see anything coming for him with time to spare.

In only a few hours, he had his camp set up and his snares set out at a far enough distance that his presence would not keep the game away. He fished for his supper, and then started a small cookfire. While that began to burn down to a usable fire, he prepared a feedbag for Horse, then settled down to cook up some trout.

In the late afternoon, a bit of smoke rose from the fire. A fall of rain the previous day had wet all the available wood, and he was lucky to get the fire started at all.

"This is the life," he said to Horse. The animal snorted and continued eating his own meal.

[Sturlin]

Sturlin had been searching through the caves for a suitable home, and had relocated himself here. They were dry, at least, and with a few proper touches they could feel more home-like than any tent. He was ranging through the area collecting firewood when he caught the whiff of some smoke. Wood smoke. At least he knew that it wasn't likely to be a monster. With his luck it was bandits or slavers or some such.

He hiked back to his cave to deposit the wood first. No sense in investigating with an armload of useless logs and sticks. Unpacking his bow he strung it and collected his arrows, striding out of the cave. The hunter took his best care to move carefully through the rocks to seek out the source of the smoke, the camp site of the visitors.

The horse looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. Sturlin was not exceptionally good at remembering human faces most of the time, let alone the faces of their animals. When he altered his angle of vision he spotted Sam, though, cooking some fish. Curious. Curious that they would run into each other again without looking for each other.

Knocking a rock aside with a toe to announce his presence, he began walking down toward the camp with his bow resting against his shoulder. "Not always a good idea to burn wet wood Sam. Never know what might be sniffing around your camp site." His welcoming smile looked strange on his face, and as usual it was highly lopsided from the scars on his left.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"Sturlin?" he asked, looking up immediately. His sudden presence filled in the blanks of Horse's recent behavior, unfazed by the familiar scent of the man. "Ho, Sturlin." He grinned then, wondering at the serendipity of their meeting twice himself. "I hope Mister Pickles and Francis are doing well. I'll have to give you some fish for Mister Pickles. Would you care for some yourself?"

With a spread hand, the hospitality of his camp was offered as hospitality, grudging perhaps, had been offered to him weeks previous. He was a creature of open places, but he did not disdain the company of his fellow men.

His weapons were all within easy reach; contrary to popular belief, he wasn't stupid.

[Sturlin]

"I could try a bit of fish. Are you a better cook than I am, at least?" He said as he walked forward carefully and offered the man his hand to shake. His eyes wandered with a wariness that had not been there before. Sturlin had seen and done things in the short time since their last meeting that had made him more eager for human companionship and yet much less willing to let his guard down.

The location of the weapons was noted, and the camp was inspected in a glance to make sure that there were no signs of another guest. There was always the possibility that this was a trap, rather than a coincidence. When it was clear that Sam was here alone the hunter relaxed, but not entirely. Monsters still lurk in the wilderness.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"Oh, I don't know about that," he said modestly while shaking the man's hand. "Better stocked than last time, I think. I've been replenishing my stores since settling a bit in the area. Found a local who helped me take down some bigger game and teach me some of the local lay of the land in exchange for riding lessons and someone to cross swords with for a bit of practice. Have a seat if you like."

When Sam had the comfort of already knowing someone, his tongue was more inclined to wag. Though they were far from bosom buddies, Sam was at least moderately sure that Sturlin wouldn't slit his throat while he slept, or steal Horse, or do any number of things that he didn't want happening.

"Anyway, you're welcome to share some dry wood if you have it. Everything I found was fairly damp from a rainshower so I do what I can."

[Sturlin]

"I've some dry wood, not much of a hike from here. I'll gather a load while you cook, if you like," Sturlin said as he looked the man up and down once over. He appeared to be healthy, and that was good news. For some reason he half-expected the man to be missing a leg, or at least a foot.

Rubbing his hand over his scalp he looked up at the sky, trying to guess if it was going to rain again or not. As he considered this question he wondered if fire wood was enough of a trade for the meal. With this in mind he added lamely to the end of his statement, "I've also a bit of jerky, if you like."

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"If you like," he allowed, "but there's plenty of fish for two with some left over for Mister Pickles. And the wood isn't terribly wet."

He motioned Sturlin to sit down. Hospitality was in his blood; once you sat down by the fire, you were a guest and accorded certain respects.

Sam might have lost a leg what with wolves and monsters, bandits and general dangerous in the Sylira Region, but he was a survivor and he had Horse to look after him, if not the other way around.

"What news of Sturlin?" he prompted.

[Sturlin]

At the insistence of Sam he took a seat by the fire, resting his bow and pack next to him as he did so. "No news of note. My business in the forest has gone well. So well in fact that I have moved on to these caves, and perhaps after winter I will move on again, deeper into the forest or the wildlands. Earned a few new scars though," he added as his hand went to his thigh, rubbing it through the leathers as he remembered the wound.

It was still tender at times, but that could have been more his imagination than any real injury remaining. The Konti woman had done well in healing him and his other injuries had long since disappeared from his body. As he took his hand away from his leg he repeated the question to his host, "What news of Sam?"

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"Oh, like I said, hunting, trapping, trading, exploring Syliras and these areas around it. Meeting a few people. You know, living, I guess. What happened to your leg?"

It was unconscious now, the way he deflected meaningful answers to questions about himself, but he asked with such sincerity about other people that they usually didn't notice, were just pleased to find someone willing to listen to them. He was curious and concerned, so it wasn't an act.

The leg was something about which he felt he could ask, though the other business he left to Sturlin unless the man chose to share.

[Sturlin]

He did notice that Sam tended to deflect. Not that big of a deal. Sturlin deflected all the time. When the horseman mentioned his leg he looked down at it for a moment. "I was attacked by a monster. I've got its head back at camp. Big brute." The statement was finished with a shrug, as if the combat were of no consequence.

"I was lucky enough to make it to Syliras before I bled to death. The knights there are something else. Pretty woman fixed me up, wasn't that expensive come to think of it."