章 60: Chapter 60

Stepping out of the thick foliage Alvar was greeted by the familiar sight of their campsite. Tents of different forms and sizes littered the clearing while a few swaths of smoke rose up into the air here and there, no doubt with food cooking or clothes drying besides them.

Here and there an adult was handing out food to some child who swiftly bolted over to the friends they had made, or still had from their days and lives in Hoelbrak, in order to join them while eating. Their breakfast roused even the most sleepy of the lot as Alvar observed bouts of laughter or small quarrelling between the small groups of children which sometimes even required the intervention of an adult but all in all the scene he came upon, once he stepped out of the thick foliage of the forest, had something homely to it and Alvar couldn't help but smile at the sight.

After observing the happenings of the morning for a bit the lad, with his sword hung over one and his bundle and prey over the other shoulder, marched over towards the camp. His form was soon spotted by one of the adults that sat at a bonfire nearby, cooking breakfast for all, and was thus waved over to join them.

"Good morning Alvar. Are you well? We were worried that something had happened to you when you didn't come back even once in those last three weeks." The woman said while she waited for Alvar to put down all his things and once he had done so was handed a bowl with steaming stew inside of it, smelling of cooked vegetables and smoky meat, causing Alvar's mouth to water at the aroma that wafted through the morning air.

"You didn't have to worry you know? I told you that I would be gone for some time. Oh, before I forget. Those are for you." Alvar motioned over to his bundle. Next to it laid the prey he had brought back with him. A few hares, birds and squirrels. Not much but Alvar had never been the best of hunters out there when it came to gathering food.

"Thank you. We've been in dire need of some restocking of our supplies. Those will do just fine." The woman replied, a mesmer if Alvar remembered correctly, after which she turned back around to the cooking pot boiling over the bonfire.

"Have you seen Veli yet by the way? We wanted to meet up today if I'm not mistaken." Alvar asked after a while of simply eating in silence and filling his stomach with the comfortable warmth the stew supplied him with.

"Oh, Veli came back two days ago. The lad got bit by a snake and wasn't sure what to do so he returned to not risk anything. He's fine though so you don't need to worry. One of our healers drained the poison out of the wound swiftly without lasting damages to the boy. I bet he's still sleeping in his tent. I swear, not even a horde ogres could awaken the lad if he doesn't want to wake up…" The old woman said with some mirth tinging her voice towards the end when she recalled how they had tried to wake Veli up one morning but could do whatever they want. He simply did not wake up but continued to snore away.

Thinking back to his encounter this morning Alvar rather doubted her statement but remained silent as he knew just too well how deep his friend slept. Suddenly a wicked idea sprung up in Alvar's mind and with a grin he gulped down the rest of his meal and after slinging his weapon and bundle over his shoulders went towards Veli's tent with a small wave of goodbye towards the friendly woman, sitting at the bonfire, who waved back with a small smile after which she returned to her task at hand.

On his way over to Veli's tent Alvar unclipped his drinking hose filled with water from the side of his bundle, all the while dodging energy filled children that ran like maniacs through the camp, and grinned wickedly to himself in glee at what he had planned for his friend.

Stepping silently through the tents entrance Alvar had to crouch down in order to fit into the tiny tent but didn't mind that and, while holding the drinking hose on a cord between his teeth, crawled over on all fours towards his victim.

Slightly lifting the covers up from his snoring friend Alvar cackled like a witch to himself before he poured the ice-cold water onto his friend's groin who promptly was awake and began to clamour as if there was no tomorrow, jumping up and down like a lunatic in the tiny tent.

Alvar meanwhile was roaring from laughter, rolling on the ground at the show his friend supplied him with. But he had better done so elsewhere as his friend soon came to understand what evil had been done to him and thus promptly began to wrestle with the still laughing Alvar, which caused the tent to collapse onto the two, all to the amusement to the rest of the camp who came to spectate the ruckus the two were making.

After a few minutes of venting the two friends sat on the ground with the remainder of the tent they had taken down in their wrestling strewn all around them while the spectators slowly scattered and went back to doing whatever they had been up to.

"It's good to see you, asshole…" Veli grumbled out, picking a few strands of grass that had found their way into his hair all the while, to which the still chuckling Alvar only replied: "Ye, you too dumbass, hehehe…". Afterwards the two stood up and began to repair the tent they had destroyed in their grappling.

Truly, the camp felt like a home away from home to Alvar. 'Or maybe it's just the people inside of it?' Alvar mused to himself but soon forgot those thoughts as another occurrence spiced up this rather eventful morning, namely the two adults who were tasked with visiting Divinity's reach had just returned. It was promising to become an interesting day…