With the Rangers

Hello, dear reader! I was recently asked to describe my brother Corum and although I did this simply enough
it brought to mind a tale from our youth that I now wish to relate here.
When I was a little boy, eight years old in fact, my brother Corum was not far away from his tenth birthday.
Our elder brothers had reached a point in their schooling when they were less frequently available as play
mates so myself and Corum were spending more time together.
This was back when mother was still alive and I remember these two years as some of the happiest in my life.
In younger days we had fought like cats and dogs, and when mother passed away, we did so again, but in this brief period - we were friends.

We didn't hunt back in those days, being too young, but I would occasionally persuade two of the rangers to
take me beyond the confines of the estate into the wilds further up the hills behind the castle. I thought
we were really on the edge of civilisation, and to some extent that was true for there is not much in the
way of humanity north of the Lavius Estate, but in those days anyway it was perfectly safe.

One summer day though, the two rangers, a man called Greth and his, I suppose wife, Jenty, although I was
too young to be bothered about those sorts of things, took us up to the waterfall, which was a full days
hike. Our party consisted of the two rangers, myself, Corum and our dreadful cousin, a brutish teenage
lass called Sylvia.

Although I have not seen her in a few years now and I have no way to know what she is like, back then
she was a dreadful bully. She was bigger than us boys, even bigger than Nissa who was the same age as her
and she was forever tormenting us. Our parents encouraged us to call her big sister, and why she was always
around the estate I had no idea. At the time I knew not, but now I realise my parents were planning that
one of their sons was to marry her! What a dreadful thought!

Sylvia's parents had a surplus of daughters, and none of them were that charming. I think the plan was that
she would have to be married into one of the lesser Lavius families i.e. mine. It was all very political and
centred around the idea of the estate getting back into the hands of a 'proper' Lavius and not some
upstart outsider such as my father (although you can hardly blame dad for being a fitz!).

In any event, we knew nothing of that, being too young. She was just an unnecessary annoyance on what was meant to be an adventure into the wild woods.

We set up camp at the water fall that night, the adults in one tent and the children in another. Silvia
was starting to develop into a woman but she was no more concerned about undressing in front of us than
if we had been a pair of cats.

She noticed Corum's eyes on her though, 'What are you gawping at, idiot?'
Corum bashfully lowered his eyes, then pretended to be untying a knot on the string of his bag.
'If you two were gentlemen you'd let me have the tent all to myself and sleep outside.'
Secretly I agreed with her as I wanted to sleep outside, but the rangers had told us to stay in the
tent and I always did exactly what they told me.
'Just like all Nirel the Black's descendants. Nasty to the bone.', she continued.
Corum and myself were used to this sort of taunting and the fact that we were all descended from Nirel
the Black's father was not worth the fight that pointing it out to her would cause.
Corum silently took his blanket and bag and left the tent.
'Buh-but..', I stammered over my tongue, 'Corum, they said...'
Silvia laughed at me, 'Go on then you scruffy little urchin.'
I blushed and left the tent and joined my brother by the low burning fire.
'Don't worry Corum!', I whispered in his ear, 'She's just a big meany.'
Corum gave me a dirty look and rolled himself up in his blanket.

xxx

The next morning, we were given permission to explore round the waterfall while the ranger's gathered
some food. We were to blow on a horn if we got into trouble.
As we climbed up the steep incline on the dry side of the fall another argument broke out.
'I'm the oldest.', said Silvia, 'So I should be the one that carries the horn.'
My brother was up ahead was silent, so I said , 'But Greth gave it to Corum.'
'Only because he's a boy. That's sexist. Mother says.'
I didn't really know what that meant, but it sounded rather rude. Silvia then pushed past me and
made to grab the horn from Corum's belt.
'Hey!', he cried, 'Get off, thief!'
'You can talk, everyone knows your father stole the Lavius estate when he married your mother.'
Corum coloured red at this, he didn't mind being teased by his cousin, but if anyone ever mocked
mother then he was likely to go berserk. He shoved Silvia back, who almost stumbled over the edge.
'You could have killed me you idiot!', she lunged again and grabbed the horn which came of its
leather thong, slipped from her hand and fell into the water fifty feet below.
Silvia was about to say something like, 'Now look what you've done!' when she lost her footing and
was about to go over herself. As she teetered on the brink I saw a brief look of calculation pass
over Corum's eyes before his hand reached out to steady her.
The rest of the journey up the falls was made in silence, but I thought about what had happened.
It had seemed to me that Corum had thought for a split second of letting Silvia fall. I have to admit
seeing her plunge to her likely death was something I had mixed feelings about, but the look on
Corum's face had been something different entirely, as if he was savouring that moment when he
held her life in his hands.
The rest of that day was uneventful and the rangers did not ask how the horn was lost when we got back
to the camp, but I should imagine they had a fair idea.

xxx

The final day of our adventure and Silvia had convinced Greth to let her go hunting with one of
the short bows. We were glad to see the back of her and all of that sunny day we played in the
stream and stalked animals through the forest.
Even back then I was what my mother described as 'a friend to the animals' and I had spent several
hours of the later part of the day trying to get a young doe to eat out of my hand. Up here the
woodland creatures hardly came across men, unlike the ones that lived on the estate which would always
run at the first sign of anyone.
Corum had wandered off, I don't know where. I just about had her, when Silvia came jogging up and
shot the creature in the haunch with an arrow. It was a poor shot with not much strength in it, but
it lodged in the doe and made it flop to the ground.
'Step aside, brat, so I can finish it.', she said drawing another arrow.
'Never!', I howled in sorrow as I made to protect the creature.
Silvia drew the bow back, 'I'll shoot you then.'
I sobbed and cried, deaf to her threats.
Next to step into the scene was Corum, placing himself between Silvia and where I was crouched with
the doe.
'Leave him alone.', he said quietly.
Silvia's arm was beginning to quiver with the exertion of holding back the draw string.
'That's my animal, I shot it. Get out of the way.'
Corum took a step towards her, being about ten paces away, which made her take a step back.
'I'd be doing the world a favour, ridding it of Godder vermin.'
'That's enough.', growled my brother.
'What was a De Lucy thinking of, marrying into a family of bastards? Get back!'
Corum took another step towards her.
'She must be mentally deficient or some.. arg!'
At the first sign that she was going to say something nasty about our mother Corum had charged at
her, making her stumble back. The arrow shot past Corum's head and disappeared into the forest.
Silvia was flat on her back, covered in pine needles and it looked like Corum was about to jump
on top of her, but a calm voice said,
'That's enough now children.'
Greth didn't need to say anything other than that. Silvia, shame faced, said nothing as he took
the bow up from the ground and then relieved her of the quiver of arrows on her shoulder.

As they left, Jenty joined me, and used some of her ranger magic to heal the doe. I was amazed at
what she did. She gave me a wink as she stood up. A few moments later the doe climbed off and then
ran off into the trees, having had quite enough of humans for one day.
I resolved then and their that I would become a ranger, although, as you know, it didn't quite
work out that way. Better though I think.

I also realised how brave my brother had been, facing down an arrow is stern work, even when the bow
is being held by a girl. I idolised him for a while after that, but he didn't really tolerate it and
when mother died he retreated into himself for years. It wasn't until we were young men that I
ever really talked to him again in any seriousness. He preferred the company of our older brothers
and we never talked of what happened in the woods again until the day he saw me off at the Waterdeep
docks at the start of my journey to Sasserine.

Incidentally though, Corum and Silvia must have made up at some point, as once, at one of father's
many drunken parties after mother's death, I found him kissing Silvia in the gazebo. He made
me swear never to tell anyone, and I haven't to this day. Well, hardly anyone!