Epilogue

After much searching, the sailors had found a passage to the eastern shores of Middle-earth. They had explored for a little bit, and then turned their head for home…but a storm had caught them. It began with a strong wind from the West that was hard to fight against, and then a blinding rain. By the time the storm had abated somewhat, they had no idea where they were. So, the captain had decided that the crew would keep sailing east, in hopes of finding some place to land and make repairs.

Now, as the Haerain and the Berthas approached a familiar shoreline, Berett — who was standing at the prow — grew more excited. The tall ships came closer and closer, and sailors on the docks noticed. The Ranger could see them pointing toward the two ships and scurrying around on the quays as they made ready to meet the ships.

Soon enough, a small dinghy shot out of the harbour and approached the Gondorian vessels. Berett dropped out of sight but stayed above deck just under the shadow of the main mast. He listened to the voices as the Gondorian sailors and the Araluen sailors talked back and forth.

Eventually, some of the sailors climbed up the rope ladder lowered by those aboard the Haerain. A man Berett guessed was the dockmaster was the first to come up. He was followed by several sailors, who looked about them warily. But despite that, the sailors and dockmaster — as any good mariner would — were awed at the huge, well-built ship.

"I am Dockmaster Hagen." The dockmaster, a tall, simply-dressed man, said. "Who is in command of this ship?"

"I am." Haerain's captain stepped forward with a neat bow. "Captain Trevador at your service."

Hagen then asked, "Who is in the other ship?"

"That would be Captain Thangur, commander of the Berthas." Trevador answered.

"Berthas," Hagen repeated to himself. "An interesting name." Then he asked what brought the two ships to Araluen's western coast.

As Captain Trevador went on to explain what had brought them there, Berett could see Hagen and the sailors with him continually look at each other with astonishment.

The Ranger quietly slipped away to gather his things.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

After he had bid the captain and crew farewell, Berett disembarked the Haerain and made his way inland. Only a few weeks of travel brought him back to his home-fief of Redmont. It was not where he was stationed, but was a stop on the way there.

Berett was nearly stopped at the gate, but the guards recognized his mottled ranger cloak and let him pass. The Ranger was halfway to the front doors of the castle when he heard a voice call out to him.

He turned around, and what he saw brought tears to his eyes. Two men — Baron Kieran and his mentor — were staring at him like he was a ghost. Berett's mentor was the first to recover, walking quickly across the distance between them and grabbing his old apprentice in a firm hug. The Baron quickly followed.

"We got news that something bad had happened." Calix muttered. "I feared you would be dead."

"I'm…I'm…startled, and glad, to see you." Baron Kieran said slowly, as if seeing the Ranger was still a shock to him.

As the Baron was speaking, Calix looked up into Berett's face and frowned. "Where did you get those scars?" He asked.

Berett's hand went to his face. The struggle he had with Gollum had resulted in some scarring on his face, from when he had struck at the Ranger's face with a rock.

With the hood pushed off his head, the Baron could see the scars also, and expressed the same sentiment to know what had happened.

"Let's go inside," Berett suggested, his hand drifting toward the pocket where he kept Lady Galadriel's gift. "It's a long story."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

At the end of his tale both the Baron and Berett's mentor were astonished. They could hardly believe what they had heard, yet the evidence was before them. Berett was there, scars and all, now wearing the brooch that he had received.

"And you say that the captain you sailed with is still here?" Baron Kieran questioned, returning to the last part of the tale where Berett said that he had sailed with two Gondorian captains and ended up coming back home.

"I'm not certain now," the Ranger said. "But the ships did take substantial damage, so I expect they would be."

"What I can't believe," Calix spoke up, "is how you managed to find out about your origins. And how you came to Araluen in the first place?"

Berett shook his head. He didn't know either, but he did know one thing. Nothing would ever change the fact that Araluen was his home.

As a final note:

I thank all of you readers for being patient with me and my sporadic updates, and I hope you enjoyed reading this story.