Kidnapped in Kilanthro [Valo]

[Whim]

Magic was the sort of thing you honed with age and experience. Maybe it was physical maturity, or maybe it was the patience that adulthood brought, but Ewan didn't have the same hold over his powers. A faerie called Gylawyn promised a short-cut if Ewan recovered an acorn stolen by her former lover. It seemed a simple affair.

Of course there was a wyvern ambush during their ascent of Kilanthro which scattered his companions. Ewan spent the better half of an afternoon wandering the forest alone. The boy tried to at least work a spell to find his dog. Either Shaggy was dead or far away and he felt sick. It was easy to forget how scary the woods could be without food, shelter, or a road to give you direction. As close as he was to Connlaoth he'd welcome any traveler at this point.

Ewan broke for lunch near a stream to gorge on a blackberry bush he found. Most were rotten or unripe. That's when he saw a campfire across the way.

[Valo]

[FINALLY HERE! Okay let's see how rusty my writing is.. sorry in advance :-D]

That morning was very ordinary. Navire woke up, dressed up, ate some porridge and thanked the lovely old granny, who had given shelter for him. He bowed and left the house smiling like always. It was another perfect day for an adventure! He went to the barn and greeted his horse, Stardust. He stroke his old companion and gave him some water.

When the day was about to turn into night, Navire found himself from the great mountain's side. He had traveled the whole day from the city, and somehow it had felt right to come here. Now he was exhausted and asked Stardust how was he.
"I think that maybe we should camp here this night", he said. "Here is some lichen for you and I can feel a stream coming down the hill side." The horse of course didn't understand, but Navire had always find Stardust a very good companion, with whom he could always share his thoughts. Navire jumped off the horse and touched the ground. "The stream is this way", he said and Stardust followed him, when he walked towards the water. The water was terribly cold and clear. Navire was so thirsty, that he drank so much that his stomach started to ache. When Stardust was drinking, Navire picked up some branches and made fire using his flintstones, that he always carried with him. A very ordinary evening.

It was getting dark, but Navire didn't feel sleepy anymore. He lay against Stardust's side and glanced the sky. He could see some blinking stars and the moon was rising. It wasn't cold, but still Navire wished that he'd had a better jacket. He should buy one of those before the winter. Suddenly he hear a crack and he straightened his back to see better.   
"Hello?" he asked and jumped up. "Who's there?" The noise came behind the bush. Navire could see somebody's head. "No need to worry, it's just me, Navire! Hey, are you feeling cold? You can come and sit with my by the fire. He saw a boy who was maybe a few years younger than him, but seemed as big as he. Well, Navire knew that he was really short for his age, so that wasn't a surprise.
"This is my friend, Stardust. Why are you here alone? This isn't a good place for somebody to be alone! You can be with me!" Yes, finally something unordinary!

[Oh well.. that was terrible.]

[Whim]

Ewan jumped a foot in the air when Navire started shouting. Then he saw it was just a child. A friendly one, at least. The sorcerer preferred to avoid 'real' children if he could help it. The last ones he met coerced him into arm-wrestling; Ewan lost badly. But there was no passing up a fire, company, and probably food. So the boy scurried forward to warm himself.

"Hullo Navire. I'm Ewan," he extended a grubby hand to shake with a shy smile. "Don't suppose you've seen a woman and a dog? Got lost a bit lost."

"And I can take care of myself. Much older than I look, you know. And just what's a kid like you doing out here alone?" he added, sounding a little more haughty than he meant. It felt silly to admonish the boy who was roughly his new age.