The Unwitting Thief

Chapter 7b - First Night Out

When the time finally came to to set up camp for the night, Thomas nearly collapsed with relief. But, letting his muscles seize up would have to wait. As stifling hot as the day had been, once the sun had disappeared, the chill had start to set in, and now that they were stopping, it would only get colder. So he had been sent with a few others to collect wood for the fire.

Harvesting dinner had been a task appointed to the specialists, so, unsurprisingly, he hadn't been one of those selected. But as he scavenged for dead, dried up wood, he couldn't help but wonder where the hunters were and what they were doing.

Looking around at the wild forest surrounding him, he tried to imagine a map of Asthaea in his head. Where would they be now? He had heard of towns and villages outside of Aeredale, and of course everyone had heard of the other cities dotted around Asthaea. But, living in the capital, he had never had the need, nor the means, to leave.

He had always assumed that these other places were relatively close by. But, they had walked all day, and he hadn't seen sign of another town or village, not even another house. He thought of all the merchants that came to Aeredale, with wares from all across the land. He had never really appreciated how far they had to go before now.

Picking his way through the trees, he heard some of the Travellers cheer back at the camp. Curious, he took his pitiful excuse for a bundle of fire wood, and headed back.

Monty had a deer wrapped around his shoulders, and Avelyn was taking an exaggerated bow with her bow still in hand, and quiver on her back.

Thomas nearly dropped the wood, and felt more than just useless as he took in the magnificent beast as Monty spun to show it off. He didn't want to admit it, even to himself, but he also couldn't help but feel a bit jealous.

He had never had such a reception after successfully completing a task allocated to him. He shook his head to rid himself of the jealousy before it turned him bitter, and smiled over at the two victors. At least he would eat well tonight.

He wasn't used to being able to eat well, and he had never had enough coin to try venison, unless it had been the bits no one else wanted thrown into a stew. However, he was accustomed to eating regularly, and in relative comfort, sat at a table. Now he was sat on hard ground, feeling little relief from their trek, his muscles aching from the miles they had covered, and his stomach growling in anticipation of the food to come.

Monty dropped the deer at Lou's feet, and Lou set to work.

Having never seen a wild animal prepped for a meal, Thomas moved closer to watch as Lou ran two knives off of each other to sharpen them. But, when Lou sliced the deer up the middle and started to pull out it's insides, Thomas had to move away and sit down with his back to the whole thing. His stomach heaved, hunger suddenly forgotten, and he chastised himself for being so squeamish.

"Don't worry, I'm pretty sure only everyone saw that expression on your face."

Embarrassed, Thomas turned to look at Avelyn with her hands on her hips, and a big smile on her face.

"Nice catch that." He nodded his head sideways at the deer without looking directly at it. "How'd you manage it?"

She tapped her bow, "This baby here has been with me for years now and she never lets me down. I've always been more of a marksman than a swordsman, or should I say woman."

Thomas smiled, but inside he was thinking of how he was neither.

She moved over to sit with him. "You know, I could teach you how to hunt? It's a really useful skill. You might not be able to snag a beast like that. But, even a smaller animal is enough to keep you going." She reached over and patted him on the stomach, prompting another growl.

She howled with laughter, rocking back and forth. "Your stomach just agreed for you, no need to say more there. I'll help Lou get things underway a bit faster shall I?"

She gripped onto his shoulder to lever herself back up, and bounded over to Lou, to help him strip down the deer and prepare their dinner.

Thomas moved his hand to his stomach, and knew he was more than just hungry for deer.