Rory sat up in her bed and winced as the movement pulled the stitches in her
back. Elrond immediately slid down off the window sill and came over to her to
check her wounds.
'You should not move quickly, you will open that wound again', he said to her.
He then pulled her pillows up so that her back was supported by them. 'Now you
will be able to continue your story in comfort', Elrond told her.
'If you are such a terrific warrior, how did you come to be captured', said
Aragorn sarcastically.
'I was on water collection duty. With me was a 14-year-old girl, Kathy Moore;
she was visiting her father who worked on the lion project with me. Kathy was
given water duty because there had been little poacher activity close to camp
for several weeks, and I was with her to assist and also because of crocodiles'.
Blank looks on three faces prompted her to explain about crocodiles. 'Large
reptiles, like huge lizards, with a big mouth full of teeth, they live in and
near water and eat anything they can get their teeth into. One of the few
animals that consider people to be a part of their diet. There had been several
croc attacks, including two deaths a long that stretch of river in the previous six
months, so anyone collecting water had to guarded by an armed person'.
'How big?' asked Gandalf, his wizard's curiosity getting the better of him.
'We regularly saw animals in excess of fifteen feet in length. Easily big enough to
kill cattle or horses', Rory replied. 'Of course many animals used the river,
wild lions, Elephant and Buffalo wallowed in the mud, and if surprised are very
dangerous. Anyway that's how the poachers surprised us that morning. We believed
that poacher activity had been driven away from camp, and I busy watching a
large female croc on the other side of the river that appeared a little too
interested in us for my liking. A herd of elephant were splashing about two hundred
yards or so downstream, making a lot of noise, next thing I knew I had a gun at
my head, and another man had grabbed Kathy. To my horror I realised we had been
captured by a group of some fifteen poachers. If I had been alone I would have tried
to fight my way free, but I knew that if I tried that, then Kathy would almost
certainly be killed. I saw no alternative but do what the men wanted, which was to
accompany them quietly, and to hope that rescue was not far away.
We were taken to a truck, a kind of mechanical wagon, and driven to a camp in
the dense jungle at the base of the mountains. Many miles from where we were
captured. I knew that chances of being tracked there were slim.'
She paused and said, 'Anyway to cut a long story short, we were held as hostages
by the poachers as surety that attempts to stop their activity would cease.
Kathy was quickly ransomed by her wealthy family, and so only I was left. As the
poacher's demands, either for money, or ceaseance of anti-poacher patrols were
not being met, the men took out their anger on me in various ways. One day I
killed the guard left in camp with me, and managed to get to the edge of cliff
when I was surrounded. Rather than be captured again I simply stepped off the
edge, and apparently landed here.'
Rory looked around the room and said 'So now you know as much as me, buggar all
about this time travel stuff works'.
'Indeed, it is a strange happening, said Gandalf, 'but I still believe you are
linked to the Ring magically'.
'OK, so what does that mean for me?' answered Rory.
'No-one here can answer your question at the moment. We shall discuss this among
ourselves, and hope by the time you are well we will have an answer' said
Elrond. 'There are many lore masters in this house, surely someone will have a
solution'.
'So when will you let me out of bed', said Rory. 'I'm starting to get bored
here!'
'We cannot have that!' replied Elrond, 'who knows what you will do'.
'Yeah, so what's the answer', said Rory.
'In a day or two if you behave yourself and do not pull you stitches trying to
move too much, and if you promise to rest, I will consider letting you get up', Elrond answered her.
'Hard to rest, with you lot giving me twenty questions', she grumbled.
'Very well, as you seem tired, we will leave, and either Aragorn or myself will
check on you later this afternoon', Elrond said.