Chapter 4: Min Leof Mund
I don't own LoTR.
It wasn't too long before everyone had set out to the fortress. The going was slow and gave plenty of time to think.
I was only half paying attention to where I was headed. Thankfully I could trust Snawfyr to go in the right direction. Most of the time at least. I was lost in thought. One hand involuntarily went to my necklace as I began to think of that day.
I was riding across the empty plains. With me I had items I would need for surviving a week. Flint and steel, A bedroll, a coil of rope, and my hunting knife to name a few. I had my dagger on my belt and a bow and quiver slung across my back. I had around two dozen arrows. There was a certain spot that I had in mind for my trip. I had been riding for a good three hours now and still had around five to go. The sun was barely up when I had set out. By now it was almost completely up. It beat down on me. My shirt was soaked with sweat.
I had slowed down to take a short break and eat something. An apple to be exact. It was around halfway through when I heard it. A loud cry of fear. It was close to my current position. My head snapped around fast enough that I heard a slight snap. I ignored the fact that the rest of my apple was stolen by Snawfyr. I swung myself onto him and slung my bow. Holding onto the reins with one hand and my bow in the other. I could see black smoke rising in the not to far from my current position.
I had gotten to the top of the hill when I saw it. What I assumed was a merchant's caravan had been stopped on the road. It was surrounded by men who wore dark colored garments of black, brown, and other nature colors. They wielded short swords and clubs. Bandits. The caravan's guards lay slain on the ground. Breaking out of my shocked daze, I started downhill. Hesitantly I removed my grip from the reins and pulled an arrow out of my quiver. I nocked the arrow and took aim. I let it fly.
I didn't look to see if I hit my target as I reloaded. I fired again. This one went down instantly, holding his thigh and howling in pain. I ignored it. My next arrow missed, burying itself into the wood of the wagon. I was forced to draw my sword as I drew nearer to the group. Unsheathing it I charged. There were only a few bandits left. I missed as I rode by. Frowning I demounted and attacked on foot. Two bandits closed in. The third ignored his comrades and I and instead advanced on the last wagon. I slashed at the first and he jumped back, a smirk on his face. He lunged forward and I stepped to the side. As I did so I brought the hilt of my sword down on his head, knocking him out. My attention imminently turned to the second. The second faltered for a moment before advancing again. I attacked. My sword swung at his midsection and hit his as he blocked. I he swung towards my head and I ducked down. His attack sent him slightly off balance. I took the chance to attack. As I dealt the killing blow a sharp pain registered in my brain. The third had come up behind me unnoticed and attacked. I spun right and connected my elbow with his jaw. There was enough force behind my strike to cause a snap. I followed up with a slash and he fell to the ground.
It was by this time that the smell got to me. I hadn't noticed it before as I was occupied but now it hit me in full force. I gagged on the smell of burnt flesh. Remembering the scream I had heard I looked around. I approached the unburnt wagon and stepped up to enter and sheathed my weapon. As I had just pulled myself to the first step something flew out and hit my chest. I gave a small yelp of surprise and fell backwards. I groaned before getting up.
"I'm not going to hurt you, whoever's in there." I called out. I managed to make it inside without being attacked again. Inside was a girl my age. She had long brown hair and brown eyes. I raised my hands to show I was unarmed. She looked at me suspiciously. She was wearing a simple tan dress and had her hair pulled back. She was holding a thick book and looked ready to throw it at a moment's notice.
"How do I know this? How do I know you're not one of those savages?" she asked me. I blinked. Never in a million years did I think that I would be mistaken as a bandit.
"If I were, which I'm not, why would I be having a peaceful," here I paused and eyed the book, "well, relatively peaceful conversation with you?" I asked. She considered my answer for a moment before reluctantly lowering her projectile.
"You have a point. I apologize for being hostile but I couldn't be sure." She said. I nodded in understanding.
"Where were you headed? I can take you there if you want. Eiether way, you can't stay here." I asked her, quite awkwardly as well. She looked at me unamused.
"The unfortunate truth. We were headed to a small village not to far from here. I would appreciate it if you would help me get there. Though before we go, I'd like to know the name of my rescuer." She replied.
"Very well. I'm Lytwig. It's probably best if we get going. I think I know of where you're talking about." I said as I ran my hand through my hair in attempt to tame it. I exited the wagon and waited. She followed. She brought a small satchel with her. I paid no attention. Quickly mounting Snawfyr I held out my hand. She took it and sat behind me.
"Ok, let's go." I mumbled to Snawfyr as we started off. The town we would be heading to was, at minimum, a day away. I wasn't exactly excited to but it was the right thing to do.
We made camp after a few hours. The sun sunk faster as it was now early winter. I tied Snawfyr's lead to a tree and set up camp. I made the bedroll before going to start a fire. It started after multiple unsuccessful tries. As soon as it was crackling merrily I leaned back against a tree. An awkward silence fell.
"I just realized I never got your name." I spoke in hopes to start a conversation. She looked at me for a moment.
"I suppose it's only fair, I'm Windfola." She answered. We fell back into and silence. "Did you happen to get hurt during your fight?".
"What? Ah, yes. It's only a scratch." I answered. I had completely forgotten about the wound.
"I highly doubt that. Your sleeve is quite bloody."
"Now that you point it out I see what you mean. How about this, you see if you can rest, I'll stand guard and deal with bandaging it." I suggested. There wasn't much to guard against to be honest. The only hostile things I could think of were the insects that were drawn to the fire.
"I don't doubt your medical skills but doing such a thing with one hand is not going to end well. Turn around and show me the wound. Also, do me a favor and start boiling some water." She all but ordered me. I felt shocked for a moment before doing so in confusion. The level of awkwardness skyrocketed. I tossed her the medical bag and put some water to boil. She looked through the contents. She found what she was looking for before coming over.
"Let me see the injury Lytwig." She actually did order me. Shuffling around I managed to get my arm out of the sleeve while leaving my shirt on. I could only imagine the teasing Fastere would lay upon me if my current situation. I could only hope he never found out.
"There. Can we get this over with? It's quite cold out here." I asked. It wasn't really that cold as the sun was still going down. Windfola laughed at my embarrassment.
"So is that why your face looks like a ripe tomato?" she spoke as she cleaned the stab.
"I don't know what you mean." I replied.
Soon enough the arm had been cleaned and bandaged. I flexed my fingers and, with slight difficulty, managed to get my arm back through my sleeve. I scooted away as much as possible without the action being noticed.
"I'm going to grab some extra wood. It's going to get colder soon and I have no desire to freeze." I used as an excuse to leave. She made a small sound of acknowledgement.
Gathering wood was both a physically and mentally painful task. Most of the fallen wood was either wet, prickly, or so bug infested that I wouldn't risk picking it up. I quickly grew frustrated and chose a few bits and pieces before returning. Needless to say, I was not pleased.
"Well, if you want you can take my bedroll over there. I don't mind really." I offered. She looked at me oddly before nodding. I turned so my back was facing her with my bow in hand. Being this far out, I wasn't going to be caught off guard. I shuffled a bit to get into a comfortable position. This would be a long and awkward night.
Time crawled by as I sat against the tree. More than once I had to gather more wood. I fumbled to my feet. I turned to see if I had awakened Windfola. She stayed asleep. I paused for a moment before taking a step away. I slowly made my way into the forest.
I made my way through the woods, bow drawn. I was keeping an eye out for any small game that may be out and about. I nearly jumped out of my skin as an owl hooted. I paused and listened. A skittering in the leaves. I scanned over the foliage in the dim light, eyes straining in the darkness. The small shrub a little ways away shuffled. I smiled and aimed at the animal. I let the arrow fly. A swish of branches as the projectile flew. I heard the squeak of whatever had been skewered on the point. I quickly made my way to the location. I moved the brush aside to reveal the animal. A small rabbit. I raced down and picked it up.
As soon as I returned and tended to the fire, which by now needed fueling and even relighting, I began to clean the carcass. The rabbit wasn't big but for two people it would be fine. I set strips of meat to smoke. There were still hours left until dawn's first ray.
The night passed without incident. I extremely grateful. The fire had died down during the night and was now a pile of ash and embers. I had cleaned the rabbits pelt and packed it. Windfola stirred. I glanced up before going back to what I was doing.
"Good morning to you." I said. My teeth chattered and my fingers shook. The sun was barely up.
"I'm going to assume that we plan to leave at once?" she replied through a yawn, standing and stretching. I nodded. She turned and rerolled the bedroll before bringing it to me. I nodded and packed it as I gave the clearing a quick look over.
"Here. We want to take advantage of the time we have. You can eat as we go. We're riding slowly for right now, not much light to see and all." I said as I handed her a piece of the smoked rabbit. She accepted it. Finally, we mounted and rode out.
