Work Text:
Lyswen’s stomach would not stop growling. It had been two days since any of them had eaten a good meal, and the meager handful of nuts she’d found on the ground that morning had long since been run through. They needed to find something substantial to eat, and soon. She crossed her arms over stomach, hoping to relieve some of the discomfort.
Cordell glanced over at her. “We’ll find something soon, Lys.”
Lyswen cringed. She hadn’t realized she was being that obvious, and now felt guilty for making Cordell worry. He did enough for her as it was. She didn’t need him thinking she couldn’t handle herself.
Ahead of them, Minsa raised a closed fist. Immediately, the group halted their trek. Minsa cocked her head to one side and sniffed the air.
“Campfire,” she said. “Close by.” She sniffed again. “They’re cooking something. Hide.”
With that, they all scrambled to their positions. Lyswen grabbed the nearest tree branch and pulled herself up onto a limb with a barely suppressed grunt of exertion. She did better than Arvan, at least, who lost his grip and fell to the ground with a winded oof. Lyswen winced as she watched his head hit the forest floor. Thankfully, he had the good sense to stay down.
Minsa dropped into a crouch and creeped forward through the greenery. Lyswen stared anxiously after her once she disappeared out of sight, listening carefully for her whistled signal– or screams of pain. She sat there for what felt like ages, but heard only rustling. Then, silence.
The whole world seemed to freeze for a moment there. She’s dead. Dead, or worse. Lyswen’s heart pounded in her ears. She looked around her, trying to catch a glimpse of one of her companions but found only Arvan, looking up at her with pure, unadulterated panic in his eyes. She swallowed and prepared herself to slip off the branch.
Minsa’s head poked in through the greenery. “All clear,” she said matter-of-factly.
Lyswen nearly fell out of the tree. Cursing, she caught herself and jumped safely down. In front of her, Arvan scrambled to his feet.
“Gods, Minnie, you scared me half to death!” Arvan brushed the dirt and twigs off his legs and fixed her with a scowl. “Why didn’t you signal?”
Minsa shrugged. “Didn’t need to. They’re dead.”
“Please tell me you didn’t kill them, Min,” Cordell said as he slipped out from his hiding place.
She shook her head. “Dead when I got there. Let me show you.”
She led them through the brush to a small clearing. In it was a pair of small canvas tents, a campfire, and, perhaps more interestingly, the corpses of what appeared to be four bandits.
Cordell knelt down next to the closest body. “They haven’t been dead for long. A few hours, at most.”
“I can’t believe whoever killed them didn’t strip the bodies,” Lilas remarked.
Lyswen looked around the clearing. Not only were the bodies untouched, save for the crossbow bolts piercing their backs, but the area around them looked relatively undisturbed. Even the fire had been left burning, though it was now little more than embers. The entire scene brought her a distinct sense of unease.
“Well, we might as well make the best of it. Look around, see if you can find anything of use.” Cordell stood and put his hands on his hips. “Especially food.”
The group of them filtered across the campsite. As they came across useful and semi-useful items, they shouted out their finds to the others.
“Jerky!” Arvan called from a tent.
“A lute,” Lilas said, strumming it experimentally.
“Rope!” Elistan shouted from an open crate.
“And grappling hooks!” his younger sister Lillisan piped.
Minsa unceremoniously flipped over one of the bandits and rifled through his pockets. “Throwing knives and an herbalism kit,” she said levelly.
Cordell kicked at the coals of the fire. “I think this kollopi is past saving. But clearly there’s food in the area. Minsa, Elistan, I think you should go hunting. We’ll stay here tonight, unless anyone has any objections.” No one spoke. “Very well. Lyswen, have you found anything?”
Reluctantly, Lyswen turned over the body at her feet. While one of the crossbow bolts in his back snapped under the weight, the other emerged from his chest with a squelch. Lyswen suppressed a gag and soldiered on. The man’s armor was relatively simple– just a leather chestpiece and pair of bracers. As she freed his arm from under him, a bow fell from his hand.
Lyswen carefully picked up the bow. It was wood, made in the Nordic style. Running her fingers along the edge, she could tell that someone had carefully carved a swirling pattern down its entire length.
“A bow,” she called out. “And a good one.”
Most of the group trotted over to her, though Lillisan kept rummaging through her crate. Minsa reached her hand out towards Lyswen, who somewhat reluctantly handed over the bow.
The scout turned the bow over in her hands and carefully tested its strength. “This matches the quiver by the fire. It’s well made.” She handed the bow back to Lyswen.
Cordell gave it a look over himself. “It is. I wonder what these people were doing here. I don’t think any of their gear was made in Valenwood.”
“I think the bow’s from Skyrim. And they look like Nords,” Lyswen offered.
“They do,” Cordell agreed. “You like that bow, Lys?”
She caught herself just before her fingers tightened around it. “It’s nice.”
He nodded. “Keep it, then.”
Lyswen’s breath caught in her throat. “But– that’s not how we do it.” And it wasn’t. As a general rule, they pooled everything they found and shared it evenly. In the case of something especially valuable or useful, like the bow, any person who wanted it could make a claim. The group would then decide who should have it, Cordell being the last voice by default. Lyswen knew she should offer the bow up and make her case for it later, but the concept of giving it up made her realize just how desperately she wanted to keep it.
Cordell shrugged. “You’re right that that’s not how we do things, but I can’t think of any reason that you shouldn’t have it. Min and I have bows already, and Elis has his sling. Lillisan’s too young to use it even if she wanted to, and Arvan and Lilas don’t hunt. You’re a fairly good shot with my bow, you might as well have your own.”
“But…” Lyswen looked around her, expecting someone to object, and praying that none of them would.
“Just keep it, Lyswen,” Arvan said, finally breaking the silence in a bored voice. “Clearly no one else wants it enough to claim it.”
“Does this mean I can have the lute?” Lilas called from over by the fire.
Cordell rolled his eyes. “As if anyone else even knows how to play it. Yes, you can keep the lute.” Lilas gave him an appreciative wink and began picking out a song. “Lyswen, you go with Minsa and Elistan. Min will show you the ropes, and hopefully the three of you can find us some real food. Sound good?”
Lyswen breathed a sigh of relief. “Sounds good.” Even though she hadn’t eaten anything, the hunger in her stomach seemed to have abided, at least for now.