A/N: Do you folks have ANY idea how hard it is to write the details of someone's travels in Middle-earth! Finding a decent map that covers the entirety of the Anduin, and details of its course was a challenge (I can find bits and pieces about things along the way, but not a really good picture of where things are located). Plus, there isn't much info about roads, shipping lanes, communication, etc. between anyplace other than Gondor and Rohan. I'm cobbling together what tidbits I can find, and I'll just have to make up the rest. It is some 45 years since the War, so I guess I can say roads have been built that Tolkien never mentioned...
Originally, ch. 3 was going to be about their being in Dale - well, actually, ch. 2 was going to be about that. But since I am keeping this chronological, and needed to get other stuff in first, Dale got pushed back to ch. 4. The guys finally see the ladies again then...
The Adventures of Theodred, Son of Eomer.
Chapter 3 (mid-July, 43 IV)
Freahelm leaned on the boat's railing and smiled up at the sun. "This is the life! We should have done this long ago!" He turned to grin at Theodred, who sat on a barrel nearby, scribbling in his journal. "Why have we been doing things the hard way – riding long distances, camping out in the rain, hunting for our meals? Hop on a boat and the going is easier, you have a covered and dry bed, and meals are provided!"
Theodred chuckled as he closed his journal. "True, but the scenery never really changes along a river, my friend. This could get quite tedious after a while. If you want that much comfort, stay in the city and be done with it!" Rising, he moved over to stand beside the other man. "Not to mention, you specifically told me to drag you back into the wild, and force you to do all those 'hard' things!"
"Aye," Freahelm heaved a beleaguered sigh. "I did say that. Clearly I had a fever and was not in my right mind…"
There was silence for several moments, and then they both burst out laughing. Leveling him with an amused look, Theodred retorted, "I am not certain you are ever in your right mind!"
"Will we stop in Minas Tirith?" Freahelm asked, abruptly changing subjects.
"Only overnight, or a day or two if it takes us longer to get supplied. Then we will head overland along the western shore." He grinned, "We will be back in Rohan for part of the trip, even in the old ancestral land where the Eotheod once dwelled long ago."
Freahelm nodded. "And we pass where the One Ring was lost by Isildur." He made a face at Theodred's surprised look. "Do not be astonished! I had to sit through those history lessons the same as you! I suppose some of it stuck with me." He looked out over the water again and commented, "It was not all that interesting to listen to those tales, but actually seeing the places involved is something else altogether. We will even get a glimpse of the Argonath! Will that not be a sight?"
"Aye!" Theodred acknowledged, leaning on the rail. "It seems almost impossible there is so much to be seen in this world. But, with any luck, we will see much of it before we settle down and live quiet lives in Rohan!" The two fell into a pensive silence for a long time, just watching the river sliding by beneath them.
xxxxx
It took several days to reach Minas Tirith. Since they had sent word home of their plans, letters awaited them upon arrival and once they were settled in rooms of the Steward's house, they spent the next hour catching up on the news from their families. As his mother had indicated, Elfwine was making it a point to keep in touch with Theodred in their parents' stead:
2 July, 43 IV
Edoras
Theodred,
I hope my letter finds you well; Freahelm also. Perhaps it does not seem so to you, but it surely must be more than four months that you have been gone! I feel as though I have not seen you in ages. We are well here, and everyone sends their love. All your nieces and nephews speak of you frequently, and are anxious for you to return home and tell them all about your travels. They claim you are the very best storyteller ever!
We have heard from Mother and Father once since they departed, and all is going well. As Mother rather expected, Father was eager to head toward the Shire and visit with his Hobbit friends. He would dearly love to see the Shire itself, but since King Elessar has decreed that Men are not to enter that land, Father will have to settle for doing as King Elessar did years ago – setting up camp at Lake Evendim and letting the Hobbits come to him. He has sent word on ahead to Merry and Pippin, and they have indicated delight at the prospect of seeing him again. Mother posted a note on the letter, probably after Father finished writing his part so he would not see it, and says that he is beginning to act as though he was thirty again! He insists on practicing with his sword daily, and wearing his armor as they travel, and generally behaving as though he is Third Marshal again! Although she finds it rather amusing, Mother still claims he makes a splendid sight – but, then, would we truly expect her to say any different? There are instances when I am not sure her eyes have kept pace with time. It is as if they stopped seeing changes at some point, and no one grows older or changes from then on. Certainly that seems to be the case with Father. I truly do not think she sees him any differently than she did when they first met. Whatever physical changes are obvious to our eyes, she cannot see, or chooses not to do so. Truth be known, I would count myself fortunate if my own bride proves to be so willfully blind to my shortcomings.
Ah well, I do not wish to bore you with such mundane matters when you are off seeking adventure. I understand you are headed into Dale and we may not hear a great deal from you, but do write if you can. Perhaps you can keep an eye out on your travels for ways to improve travel and communication with that land. I sometimes think we forget that Gondor and Rohan are not the only settled lands in Middle-earth. Rohan should probably make a greater effort to seek commerce in that direction, and I will welcome your recommendations on the subject.
Do be careful, but have a wonderful time nonetheless. In many ways, I wish I could have come with you. See what you have done – inspired wanderlust in the entire family!
Your brother,
Elfwine
Theodred and Freahelm had perched themselves in chairs on the balcony, off the chamber they shared. July in Minas Tirith was miserably hot and, now that it was nearing midday, the sun was almost full up and torrid.
Leaning back in his chair, Theodred contemplated what his brother had written. He could not help but grin over letters from home, and this was no exception. In addition to Elfwine's letter, several of the nieces and nephews had scribbled short notes to him, the youngest ones drawing pictures for him. Theodwyn had also sent a short letter advising that she had heard from Freawine and all was going well. Mother seemed to be coping adequately with living in a tent, during the times an inn was not available. She said Father kept trying to keep a low profile and not flaunt who he was, but the name Eomer was too well known in the Riddermark for anyone to be much fooled, and he was forced to suffer deference despite his best efforts.
Theodred had always found that to be one of the interesting things about his father. Even though he had proven to be an excellent king and leader for the people of the Mark, he had never managed to become entirely comfortable with the pre-eminent position it put him in. He had always retained his desire to be 'one of the men', gathered by the fire and swapping stories at day's end over a good tankard of ale. Surprisingly, his mother, who had been raised as royalty in the palace of Dol Amroth and brought up to the formal, stilted life of such, much preferred the relaxed nature of her husband and the Rohan court. True, they could not entirely set protocol aside and just be merely a married couple, but one glance at the king and queen of Gondor in comparison, and it was abundantly clear protocol was not equivalent in the two lands.
Freahelm had finished reading and looked over at him. Quietly, he observed, "I had not expected to miss them so much. This is far different than being gone for long stretches with my eored." He held up a braided flower chain that was quite crumpled from being mashed inside a letter. "From my niece, so I would remember her!" With a grin, he settled it on his head like a crown, since it was too small to go round his neck, and they both broke up with laughter.
"I think you should wear that at the next dance!" Theodred encouraged. "The ladies could hardly resist you then!" He paused then added, "Or better yet, bring it to Dale. When Fritha sees you wearing such finery, she will beg you to marry her!"
They laughed so hard then, that tears rolled down their cheeks. Not until they were interrupted by the appearance of a servant, indicating dinner was ready, did they pull themselves together.
They dined alone as Faramir was eating while he continued to work on some important project he had in progress. When they finished, they decided a soak in the tub to cool off and then a good long nap in a shady spot was in order. They would wait for the sun to drop, later in the day, before venturing out to get their supplies for the trip. Many of the shopkeepers closed for several hours during midday anyway, due to the heat, and then reopened later and stayed open longer than usual to allow their customers to avoid the worst part of the day.
xxxxx
Two days later, they started west just after dawn. It had turned out that the 'project' Faramir had been so studiously engaged in, was to provide them with a very concise map for their journey. Pulling from several different maps of the various regions, he had simplified the information down to a basic map of the essential topography they would encounter, with notations of anything Faramir thought might interest them or need to be drawn to their attention. They had thanked him profusely, understanding the effort that had gone into such an undertaking, and promised to make notations of their own on it, along the way, and share the results for anything new he wished to add to Gondor's maps.
The Entwash joined the Anduin and created a large area of marshland called the Wetwang. In that area, the Anduin was difficult to navigate, so it was more reasonable to travel overland toward Rohan, cross the river at the Mouths of the Entwash, and then follow along the western shore of the Anduin. Since they were interested in seeing some of the sights along the way, once they crossed the Entwash, they swung back over to the Anduin. Stairs had been cut into the hill along the Falls of Rauros, enabling them to backtrack the path that the Nine Walkers had followed from Lothlorien.
At Amon Hen, as they stood surveying the surrounding area, Theodred relayed some family history to his friend. "My uncle Boromir, one of the Walkers, was overcome by the One Ring here and tried to take it from the Ringbearer. He quickly regained his senses, after Frodo had fled, and died valiantly defending the other hobbits against the minions of Saruman. My uncle Faramir told me he had a long talk with the Ringbearer, and that he had forgiven Boromir his lapse, understanding the deadly power of the Ring to corrupt. King Elessar, the Elf Legolas and the Dwarf Gimli gave Boromir a hero's funeral and set him adrift in a boat to go over the Falls of Rauros."
For quite some time, they stood in silent homage to the past, and the brave men who had fought for their freedom. Then, with unspoken mutual consent, they moved on. Passing Nen Hithoel they finally reached the upper end of the lake where stood the Argonath, as majestic a sight as they had heard they were.
There was not a great deal more to see as they made their way into The Wold and crossed the Limlight. Despite some rocky terrain, they were making good progress on their journey, averaging about ten leagues a day. They picked up the pace in flatter, more open areas, but did not want to press their horses so hard they would founder.
Lothlorien did not prove nearly so impressive as they had heard that it once was. With the departure of the Elves, it was little more than a normal forest, but still it proved pleasant shade from the summer heat in which they traveled. When they reached the Gladden Fields, even Freahelm knew the history there – of Isildur losing the One Ring in the Anduin, and its remaining there for nearly twenty-five hundred years.
Once they passed that point, they were on land where their ancestors, the Eotheod, had lived for over a hundred years. Eventually, those people had moved farther north until they went to the aid of Gondor, and were given the land now known as the Riddermark but, for a time, this had been their home.
It was well into August when the two men reached the Old Ford over the Anduin. After the War, the Beornings had set up a waystation there, and they maintained the road and crossing with tolls they charged. They had also built waystations, a day's ride apart, along the Old Forest Road through Eryn Lasgalen. Though the majority of the Giant Spiders had been wiped out during the cleansing, they were not completely gone, and the waystations provided safe sleeping places for travelers.
Theodred enjoyed the five day trek through the forest more than Freahelm, who kept a wary eye out for spiders and urged his companion not to tarry along the way. In reality, there wasn't really much to actually see anyway, but Theodred found himself replaying all the history he knew of the place, though his efforts to share it with Freahelm met with a less-than-enthusiastic audience.
At long last, as the month was nearing its close, they reached the River Running. They stayed another night in an inn there, before finding portage on a boat that could accommodate carrying their horses. It had been a long and tiring journey, and they saw no reason to push the horses further if it could be avoided.
Both were fascinated as they passed through Lake-town, having never seen a town built on stilts and completely over water. Though tempted to stay and explore it, they decided to save that for their return trip. Instead, they pressed on, arriving finally in Dale in mid-afternoon.
Once they had secured a room at an inn, and seen their horses well tended, they made their way to the King's castle to give greeting.
King Darf welcomed them cordially, though surprised by their presence. Despite his daughters mentioning the plans of the two men to visit Dale, he had not been entirely sure it wasn't idle conversation to impress the ladies, and that they wouldn't change their minds when faced with the actual prospect of such a journey.
"Gentlemen, I look forward to visiting with you, but I was just preparing a messenger for Minas Tirith, and I should like to get him on his way before we see to the amenities, if you do not mind."
Theodred and Freahelm cast a glance at one another, and Theodred ventured, "Not at all, my lord. In fact, if we might beg paper, would it be possible to send letters of our own with your messenger, to assure our families we have arrived safely?"
"Of course! I shall get you writing implements. My courier can delay a half hour while you write a note."
Normally, Theodred's letters tended to be lengthy, as he enjoyed describing things in detail and trying to let the recipient envision what he was telling them, but under the pressure of time constraints, he restricted himself to a short note. He could always go into more explicit description when he saw his family again.
Not sure if his parents were home from their own travels yet, he addressed the letter to Elfwine, knowing it would be shared if his parents were there.
29 August, 43 IV
Dale
Elfwine,
Well, brother, we have finally arrived in the far north. It has been a wonderful journey with many incredible sights, but I will not venture to describe them here. King Darf has been kind enough to delay his courier so we could get these messages sent home.
As it happens, Freahelm and I have discussed the matter, and we have decided to return to Edoras for the winter. We both miss our families terribly, and wintry weather is not exactly inspiring for camping under the stars. Likely we will remain in Dale at least a month or so, depending on how things go, and then make our way home across the Eastemnet. We had considered going over the High Pass and coming through Rivendell, to see that place, but fear that it would be too long a journey with winter coming. Also, this course will give us the chance to do as you requested and determine a possible route for increasing commerce. The path we chose in getting here likely is not best for that purpose, but our more direct road home should work. I will also discuss the matter with the King and learn his thoughts.
I hope this letter finds all well there, and look forward to seeing everyone soon. I realize you likely will not be able to write to us here, and we do not plan on stopping in Minas Tirith on the way home, so further communication will have to wait until we see one another in person.
My love to all,
Theodred
TBC