Scouting Ahead, Part 2: The Path

[Varda]

Fainan:

As they rode from the Forest Gate, Fainan asked Auros, "Your original intention was to set out at dawn. Do you wish us to find a place to spend the rest of the night? Life in Mirkwood can be very short in the dark times, but our party can probably see it through if you wish it."

[Eonwë]

Auros:

Auros paused for a moment, considering. "I have spent all day riding, and the stop at the gate was no doubt as little rest for my horse as it was for myself. We still have many more leagues of travel. If there is somewhere safe nearby we could pass the few remaining hours of night, then lead us there. I would not have my horse over-exhausted. If there is no place safe, however, we will press on."

Auros' horse held its head high, proud and stubborn.At least I can rest my mind if not my body, but my horse cannot. Auros rested his hand on the horse's head.

[Varda]

Fainan:

"Not too much farther ahead is a place used by scouts and border guards to rest, usually kept decently stocked. It is covered and will be a more pleasant place than the road when the rain comes. Smell it in the air? Below the covered flet is an area for grazing. Both are covered by the same protections as the Path, but the protection is very narrow. Also, the protections are lessened whenever a member of the royal family is not in the Greenwood. With the prince gone to Rivendell, it is cut in half, but, heh, it's the big half since King Thranduil is still here."

[Eonwë]

Auros:

He smiled at Fainan's remark. "Very well, lead us there."
Auros rode next to Fainan, Haran sitting behind him on his horse. In the silence he began to walk in his mind through his travels that day, looking for anything strange.
Was there any clue that I missed? Did I miss a footprint or hoofprint? Haran said he was to meet an Elf and a Man.

[Eonwë]

Auros:

He turned his attention outward again to find himself sitting on a flet, his sword with its edge on the floor, the hilt resting in lightly in his hands. He was not very surprised to find himself in this position, as it was one he had become accustomed to using whenever he camped in strange lands, particularly when he wished to think. It was easier to swing the sword in an instant than to unsheath it. However, he rarely was immersed so deeply in his thoughts that he found himself emerging only to cycle again through the recent past.

He touched his right arm and found no hole in his sleeve. The bandage too felt different; not one of his.Ah yes, it was changed once we reached the flet. The shirt he now wore was more comfortable, albeit slightly less formal. The sound of contented horses far below helped to ease his concern of them.

Watching the past in his mind was something he had done for as long as he fought the Shadow, something he did in silence, and while he knew other Noldor would percieve what he was doing and take no offense to his ignoring their conversations, perhaps these Moriquendi were more sensitive to not being answered.

Looking into the night he saw slightly luminescent shapes in some of the surrounding trees.Some of the older Elves. Their spirits burn brightly for Silvans. Auros himself was brighter than they on the other side, though not yet as bright as the elder Noldor. Dark shapes blotted out the luminescent ones as they passed by in the branches. Younger Elves. Seeing both ways at once was strange at first, but in time he had become used to it. He mused at times that the Noldor who first returned from Valinor probably had to adjust in the opposite manner: seeing not only spirit but flesh as well. Of course, they had bodies in Aman, so they probably needed not adjust at all.

It was then he realized he had seen something on the other side he had not thought about in his conscious mind. Something,.. malevolent, no real form,.. escaped the body of the fallen alpha wolf as the flames rose about it. Auros shuddered. That is not a test I wish to take yet. And my mission leads elsewhere.

He looked about for the others of his party. A shape he took for the Dwarf lay close to the trunk, no doubt using it as a wall, though in this light it could have just as easily been a couple of packs. The Elves he could not readily see, nor hear them. Done with his thoughts, he sheathed his sword quietly and lay on his back, eyes closed, walking through the vales of Imladris as the last few hours of night continued to wane.

[arathorn]

Haran:

The short ride to the shelter had been uneventful. As he sat, his back supported against the trunk of a large tree, he nursed his now sore hindquarters. Even though the trip had taken only a half hour, he wondered how one could learn to enjoy riding upon another beast. Surely the speed was worthwile, yet how could one actually get used to the constant impact... up, down, up, down.. he now had a better understanding of how a pack must have felt perched on the back of its owner!

As the pain subsided, he took out a few pieces of the jerky beef that Fainan had selflessly provided and munched as he watched his new com padre in what only could be thought of as a deep contemplation. It seemed as if the elf was looking through the people and landscape around him, perhaps seeing things that a dwarf would understand little of. Elves were beings that had apparently awoken as the first sentient lifeforms that the Vala themselves had chosen. Although he had also heard tales that perhaps dwarves might have been the initial inhabitants of Arda, but were instead left to sleep until all the greater creators had agreed upon the final hierarchical unfolding of life in the land that had come to fruition.

Still, with the many contradictions in his teachings, he could not help but marvel at the different types of elves he had met, even in the past few weeks. This Auros, he himself had quite a unique essence about him. Perhaps too proud, possibly too sure of himself... and yet... a kindness and understanding behind the warrior that would prove to have an interesting tale behind it, to say the least.

Turning his attention away from the enigmatic elf, Haran stood and walked toward Fainan who was now catering to the horses. He felt slightly embarrassed trying to broach the subject he was somewhat enthralled with.. yet her braids were alluring to be sure. Ah well, he would let dwarfly pride take a second to his curiosity.

"Lady Fainan, I would have a word with you about lesser matters, should you have the time and inkling to speak of such things? I have a curiosity that needs to be quenched I'm afraid, even in the midst of our recent battles and oddities. May I bend your ear for a brief time?"

[Varda]

Fainan:

Fainan lightly pushed the point of one ear with her hand in Haran's direction and grinned. "Speak of whatever you wish, Lord Haran. I have time aplenty."

[arathorn]

Haran:

He smiled to himself... the elven lady was indeed royalty... he had felt it in her essence.. as the Noldor was... they were both special in their own ways. He thought for a moment and chose his words carefully... "Elven lady, I have been enthralled by your golden locks... how is it that you curl them in a way I thought known only to my people? I myself do the same with my beard yet see a resemblance in the manner of the technique. Would you speak of the beginnings of your talent?

[ArPharazon]

Calion:

As the party rode away, Calion looked down to Helvy trotting beside him. The wolf, no matter how tired he was, could still keep up. It seemed he wanted to be as far away from the fire as quickly as possible, just as much as the rest of the party, or even more. Yet he stumbled more than once on small rocks and stones lying on the road, and Calion was glad when he heard Auros' and Fainan's decision to pause for the night, on a nearby flet where guards and scouts rested.

Even though part of the defenses were gone, with a member of the royal house gone from Mirkwood, the tree and surrounding trees were well protected. Also, the clearing beneath it was a good resting place for the animals, and just as well guarded as the treetops.

The trip, not longer then half an hour, gave no hindrance to the party, for no enemies dared enter this part of the road yet, as it was still fairly well guarded. Calion looked around him. Whispers and shapes of Elven guards moved through the trees, noticeable only to other Elves. Haran probably did not notice them, also because he was too busy whispering complaints about his sore bodypart. 'It will still be a while before he gets used to it,' Calion thought with a smile, 'if he ever will.'

Looking up, he saw the stars. They were vaguer then they usually were, especially in the South, as if a mostly translucent cloud started to spread through the heavens. "This is not a good sign," he whispered to Fainan. "The Gulhuine-cloud seems to draw closer every hour."

Finally, they reached the clearing. Haran was all too glad to get off the horse, and after climbing into the tree (he seemed unusually agile for a dwarf, something he showed before in the battle with the wolves), he placed himself against the trunk, he started nursing his 'wounds'. Auros tended to himself and his wounds, before disappearing in deep thought. 'Or was it sleep? You can never tell with a Noldo,' Calion thought. Fainan started to take care of the horses, who grazed on the clearing, and Helvy slept beside them. After a while Haran joined her in conversation.

Calion, however, could not rest. He joined the other guards in the trees, and looked in the direction of the path, and further to the south. The stars there were gone, and the skies and trees seemed filled with shadows and evil, unto Dol Guldur itself. He opened his pack, took out some of the used daggers, and commenced his work of cleaning and sharpening them.

Suddenly, he heard noises on the road and in the trees. Looking in the direction of the sounds, he saw numbers of bats flying away to the east, followed by vultures and other predators. It seemed the moths were gone at last, and dinner time was over.

[Varda]

Fainan:

Fainan held up a lock of her hair and smiled at it. "Curl? I fear to disillusion you concerning my marvelous talents, but I have no technique. The wave is natural."

[arathorn]

Haran:

Natural curl? Perhaps, he thought, while admiring the luster. But..

"Surely the braiding is not without talent applied? Even how the colours, shades if you would, complement each other. Nature would require a tweak here and there would it not? Why even Bombadil himself with Goldberry at his side would have to be impressed by such filamental artwork? Do you jest with me, or are you guarding a secret which you indeed have a right to?"

He smiled inwardly.. he had assuredly been mistaken regarding the company of elves. This journey would be unlike any other he had undertaken. Life was certainly a quest to experience. And experience it he would.

[Varda]

Fainan:

"Your words are much kinder than I would have expected, and I will give you fair answer in return. The braiding is an art taught to me by my mother and added to by friends, but no great secret. It is mainly to keep hair away from the bow and to prevent an awkward moment of not seeing during a hunt or fight. The color is my own, and I leave it as Iluvatar created, for knows he not best? Yet the greatest use for this hair is to grow it long for the stringing of bows.

"Your own braiding of the beard, however, is it not much more special? I have heard that it might signify something of your heritage? Unfortunately, my knowledge of your culture is most sadly lacking."

[arathorn]

Haran:

He was touched by her response and felt a child in her persence. He was but a young dwarf, and she was an elven queen. He bowed and tried to save face with "I am afraid my knowledge of elven skill is beyond me. Yet I am in awe of your artistry. I thank you for your indulgence."

He walked away wishing he had had a better parting phrase. But how does one say farewell to .. a newly essential friend. He would be leaving soon with Auros, and already was missing Fainan and the others he had recently met. A fine troupe they had been even in this short time together.

[Varda]

Fainan:

Fainan leaped up several of the rope ladder rungs at a time, then reached a hand back to Haran to help him up to the flet. It had been a rough day for the dwarf, and she felt concern that he might still be feeling after-effects of the poison.

"Shall we take Auros's advice and rest a little before the rising of the Lady of the Sky? Calion may need you to help him stay on his horse in the morn if he sleeps not!" She smiled, knowing Calion could probably stay in wakefulness for a few days, if not overworked.

[Varda]

Fainan:

Morning came, partly hidden behind dense trees. The growth and canopy in Mirkwood was very thick, comforting like a blanket. Fainan uncurled from her place on the flet near the ladder, and stood up, stretching muscles into wakefulness.

She smiled at the others around the flet. "The time of rising is upon us," she said in that cheery voice of the morning person. "Shall we be away?"