[Bronze Woods] Worms (Sam)

[Aedai]

41st Spring, 510 A.V.

The setting of the sun usually always marks the time when one should start getting home. That is what his father always told him, whenever they did stay in the forest overnight instead of heading to their cottage that lies in the middle of a clearing in the forest, they would make camp along one of the paths they deemed safe enough or rather his father said it was safe enough. It would usually look like a clearing alot smaller then where his old home was located and one clearing, of that Aedai knew of, is alot closer to the cottage..

The Bronze Woods, his old home, grew wider the closer they approahed it. It was nice to see the familiar sea of trees that spread as far as his sight would allow him to see. Aedai didn't know exactly how big the forest is but he knew how to get through just fine. He could smell the sweet scent of the forest that spring brought with it. It was always the best time of the year, to see the transformation the forest went through from falling leaves, to growing it back again.

He already noted three paths in which he could enter from where they were walking in from. He smiled at this, sixteen years of his life was spent in this place and now at least for a little while he was back. He gazed at the horse trottting alongside Sam and stared for a bit at the shovel, they had talked a bit about themselves on their way to the Bronze woods. Then rested his gaze on Sam. It was nice to make a friend, the only friend Aedai had was his mother and his father. They were his very best friends but now it was just his mother, the memory was pushed aside as he stretched his arms.

"Well, we're finally here, this spear on my back is quite the bag", he said almost laughing and stretching out his back. He heard a few cracks from the stretches that he did while he was walking keeping his breathing to at a normal pace. It felt better to stretch but he didn't know it would be this uncomfortable to carry the spear for so long on his back. He couldn't wait for some rest as he usually did whenever he went out with his father. Sweat trickled down his leg as the setting of the sun brought a comforting shade. "Thank the sun it went down, gets worse in the summer", he said nodding a bit and smiling.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

41st Spring, 510 A.V.

The journey had been a strange one for Sam, walking while Horse was perfectly willing and able to carry him. His legs were weary and sore, but he wasn't going to complain. A smile remained on his face, and he had his scimitar belted on across his back similarly to Aedai's spear, the better to keep it from catching on bushes and branches. It had been nice to share a campfire with someone who spoke common for a change; Horse was a good companion, but there were some limits to what a horse could offer.

Some of the paths had been familiar to him from his wanderings, and some where new and unexplored, at least by him. So far so good, but no great adventure. That didn't matter, though. Adventures were dangerous, and he wasn't fool enough to go searching danger out. Usually.

"Are we here?" he asked, looking up from the ground. "Well, Horse could've carried our weapons, but it's best to keep them close just in case you need them quickly."

[Aedai]

He shook his head, "No I would have to grow accustomed to carrying this spear around, its my fathers". His smile vanished as he stared off into the distance, into the bronze colored forest. "Yes we are here since this forest is the only one I know of with bronze trees". He smiled and touched one of the trees as they approached it. The rough bark of the tree felt nice after not being so close to the forests.

He walked through a familiar path in which him and his mother had went through to get out of the Bronze Woods. He had cut through the path since his spear got caught up in a vine. Immediately though as soon as they entered he grabbed his spear from the strap and pulled it free. He held it with both hands as he began his way through the forest smiling at the familiar maze that he recognized. Holding the spear diagonally with the sharp point facing upwards and the end pointing downwards.

He looked back to Sam and grinned, "Should always be careful, especially if we want to get to a safer place to make camp as quickly as possibly".

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sam didn't really know what to say about fathers, so he ignored that comment. He didn't really want to think of his own father, dead all these years. Instead he followed Aedai's lead and unsheathed his scimitar with a slithering metallic grate. He turned it around in his hands in a slow arcing until he held it at the ready, assuming the other lad knew when danger approached in his own familiar haunts. Horse followed patiently behind, his own senses not picking up anything of note.

"Wait, are we almost there or not? Camp? I thought we were going to a cottage or something."

[Aedai]

He shook his head, "The Cottage is not close to this entrance, if we are lucky we might reach it before total darkness but camp is closer". It was a big if, since the sun left little light for them to start navigating in the forest. By this time, camp was a much better option. Lurking about in a forest at night only spelled danger and flinging a torch around could be worse since any little thing might make the torch fall and burn part of the forest. That was something Aedai didn't want to cause.

"If you'd like we can travel in the dark", he flashed a grin back to Sam as he pushed some plants aside with his spear that were in the way. He still didn't notice any herbs but then at this time it would be harder to catch sight of them. He wondered if Sam had a torch with him, he thought he might be thirsty.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sam grumbled for a moment, but only half-heartedly. "No, no. I don't have a lantern or a torch, so I suppose we'll have to make camp before it gets too dark."

He kept his eyes everywhere while the light was good, memorizing landmarks when he was able to do so. Having a good idea where they were, he knew he could get back to Syliras, but he was still trying to learn the lay of the land as best he could.

The moss on the trees marked north unless there was some Fragment about messing with the laws of nature, and his quick eyes found a cluster of edible mushrooms. He sheathed his scimitar again and quickly knelt off the trail to gather them. Horse stopped, and before long he was putting them into a saddlebag for dinner; they would cook well with whatever else they ate.

Smiling with his luck, he considered putting traps out near this cottage they would eventually find, but for now caught up with Aedai, drawing his scimitar again just in case something jumped out to eat them. One never did know out in the wild.

[Aedai]

They were almost there, he knew from the marks his father had left on the tree. Aedai considered it to be damaging the forest but his father was the one that taught him he had to mark a path out. The forest afterall can still be a maze no matter how familiar it is, with secrets in dark corners that Aedai never had discovered. He stopped when he heard the horse stop, he looked over his shoulder and saw Sam pulling something. He thought it was probably something edible. He brought bread from his house with some cheese, his mother had left it there for him knowing where he was going.

He grabbed his waterskin from his waist and lifted it to see how much water he had left. He would have to find a lake soon, the still night would make it hard. He put the waterskin back in its place and started to pick any branches he could find. He had flint in his bag with the steel his father gave him so he would build a fire easily with supplies from the forest itself. He held the dried branches on his left arm and continued to look for more, keeping to the path. He noticed Sam caught up and said, "I have some bread and cheese in my bag and its probably the only food my mother would probably allow me to keep". After this he knew he would be the one buying food the next time he wanted to head out.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"Well, I just picked these mushrooms," he said, "and I have some other stuff in my packs. Some water, too, but if you know of a nearby stream or something, we should probably camp near water if at all possible."

His tone of voice was pitched as harmlessly as possible; he didn't want Aedai to think he was second-guessing him or assuming him too stupid or unskilled to know how to pick out a proper campsite, but on the other hand, his comfort for the night and day following depended on fresh water and a comfortable place to sleep.

"Why doesn't your mother let you keep other food?" he asked, curious. It had been a while since he had a mother telling him what to do. He wasn't sure he missed that part.

[Aedai]

He found it a little irritating that he had already made a mistake. Arriving at the forest at night when one needed water wasn't the smartest thing to do nor was it something he was taught. He decided to use one of the branches as a torch to fill the waterskin and anything else Sam needed him to fill.

When he heard what Sam said he realized what he said came out wrong and he shook his head. "No sorry thats not what I mean't, I mean I have to find a job soon to pay for my own food thats why this is all I got". He laughed a silently and continued, "I'll use one of these dry branches I collected as a torch to find a lake that I know of". The small bag at his waist beckoned for him to eat it, and the dry branches along with his weaponed urged him to throw it down and rest.

It was a little uncomfortable collecting things while holding a spear in one hand. He could have easily put it away but he wasn't accustomed to carrying one around, only using one with some skill.

He finally found the clearing, just as soon since the light was so dim he almost couldn't what was ahead of him. He checked around the clearing to note if it was safe, it was the last time he was here. He placed the dry branches on the floor and plucked some of the grass that was nearby. He smiled towards Sam but he doubted he could see it in this little light, "Well time to make a fire". Close to where he lay the branches he placed the grass in a area where there was less, he plucked more that surrounded it and added it to the pile. He wanted to clear to area so that nothing nearby caught fire. He reached for his waist for the pouch where he kept his flint and steel. He fit nicely inside which was why he carried it in a pouch, he didn't know if it was ideal or not. Pressing the steel against the flint and striking them together he was able to make sparks. One of them caught the grass. He grabbed some of the branches he collected and set it on the slowly burning grass. Finally light was beginning to show, that was the first time he made a campfire without his mother or father around.

"There you have it, a campfire", he said showing a smile through the light that the fire was beginning to make as it grew.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sam was mostly quiet until the fire was lit; not unfriendly, but quiet and meditative as the day wheeled inexorably toward night. While Aedai was doing that, he unsaddled Horse and gave him a good brushing while he cropped at the grass himself. He didn't like to groom Horse overmuch when within civilized walls for fear that someone would steal him even as he had stolen him originally, but out in the wild, he was happy to note the way Horse enjoyed his ministrations. It was important to him that Horse was happy in whatever way horses were capable of human emotion.

He tossed some grain into a springy patch of grass upon which Horse immediately advanced. The grass supported much of the grain, and Horse was an old pro at getting to what he wanted to eat.

Sam watched the fire building as he poured water into his biggest bowl for Horse to drink; he had watered at the last little stream they passed, so Sam knew he was nowhere near dehydration, but still... He wondered how much time Aedai spent in the wild and how much in the city. There was an easier way to build a fire, but he didn't want to pooch the deal on their good relations by offering what might seem like criticism, so he decided to make the fire next time where Aedai might learn from his example and decide whether or not Sam had a better way.

"Good man," he said, smiling in the firelight. "And you know, we have enough water if we will get there tomorrow... if there's water there. And there must be or why build a home, right?"