Sanctuary
The rain was cold and hard. It pelted at the man like hundreds sharp pins and had soaked the ground so much that it felt like he was treading though the marshlands of the south. He lost his footing halfway up a slope and fell face first into the muck, sliding back downhill in the process. The man was fiercely shivering when he picked himself back up. He pulled his soaked cloak around himself as a desperate and hopeless attempt to warm his self a little. These miserable conditions were only making his wound where the creature had bit him only worse. It had been cleaned and tended for at the last place he had stopped but now was the bandages were soaked through with mud and his arm was inflamed with the mistreatment. The sky was so dark with rain and storm clouds that the man could not tell when the sun had set. As tired as the man was, he knew he was close to his destination that it seemed nonsensical to him to stop and rest for the remainder of the night. If he was on the right course and he stayed on it, he should be there in a few hours and the man would be safe and dry.
The water of the river flowed swiftly around with knees constantly threatening to pull him down and drag him away. A bolt of lightning branched across the western sky followed moments later by a deep roll of thunder. The man was just thinking that it was not possible for anybody to get wet than he was when, to his dismay, he stepped awkwardly onto a loose stone and went down. He struggled to put his head above the water before he drowned. The current carried him into a rock and he managed to grab hold tightly, his arms were straining against the pull of the current. Using the rock, he regained a standing position and slowly made his way across the rest of the river. He pulled himself up onto the muddy bank and lay there for a moment on his back to regain his strength. He had made his way to a large forest. Making his way through the foliage, he tried to find one of the small white paths that ran through the forest, but with no moon or stars that night, he struggled to see even the trees. Once or twice he almost fell into a gully. Then for a moment he felt no foliage around him. He stepped back and knelt to the earth. He felt the small stones beneath his fingers and knew that he had found one of the paths he sought. He walked slowly to stay on the path and so as not to fall into one of the various bogs or ravines that filled the forest.
His toes felt the edge of a cliff and looking down he saw beneath him the place he sought. Only a few lamps were lit this late at night but it was a welcome sight nonetheless. He would have to make his way north a bit before he would find a path down the valley-side. He crossed a small wooden bridge that ran across one of the larger streams in the area. It was narrow with one rail on the side. The normally open doors of the house were shut. He knocked gently on them. A moment later, soft warm light spilled onto his face and an equally warm face greeted him. The servant ushered him in quickly then fetched a dry blanket. The man removed his wet things and was wrapped in the blanket. Warm water was ordered to be drawn for a bath. The man was taken to the healing wing to tend his wound.
Once in the gentle embrace of the extra warm water, the man slid down as far as he could, enjoying every minute. He stayed there till the water had cooled and almost fell asleep there. He sat up and cleaned the mud off him. He stepped out of the tub and dried himself off. He dressed himself in the clothes that had been laid out for him. His arm was rebound as the servant told him that they had not wakened the Lord of the house yet. If the man wished the servant would fetch the Lord but was denied. He could and would wait for the morning. Every step to his room seemed a mile and growing. He never thought a bed could feel so good as he settled himself down into the bed and pulled the soft bedcovers over him. There was a smile on Aragorn's lips as he slept. He was happy to be safe and comforted from his troubles in the sanctuary of the Last Homely House of Rivendell.
The End