Chapter XXIV

8th Narabeleth 3002 T.A

It had taken Eliel three weeks to reach the lake that had blocked her way to Dale. It took her twice as long because she was recovering from the encounter with the thieves in Mirkwood. She had deep scar on the back of her hand and a facial one that started in the middle of her forehead and travelled down passed her over her right eyebrow stopping above her cheekbone. She had saw her reflection in the water a few days ago and traced her finger over the light scar and saw how it looked new and fresh on her olive skin. "At least it will be a conversation starter now." She said to herself.

She also had managed to rip out all the knots in her hair and smooth it down so she could redo the half braids that kept the hair out of her face. Parts of her body were still a light shade of green and purple from the countless bruises that had developed deep within her skin.

Eliel did not realize until she reached this point that she was on the wrong side of the river. Eliel was now stuck with the problem of how she was going to get to Dale. The river was too wide and treacherous to swim cross and it was likely she would drown or freeze to death. The mountains in the distance looked too complicated to even reach let alone climb and could go around but she did not know how long that would take.

If she could find a boat or makeshift raft nearby she would be set.

Eliel started to back track to see if she could find a narrower place to swim across, the less water there was reduced the chance of drowning. She started to search for large enough logs that could hold her weight as Eliel had the plan of floating across the river, all she could find was sticks and timber that just sunk to the bottom.

After sometime of scavenging around she had come across a broken tree branch that did not sink completely, the next thing was preparing her body for the minus degree water that she would have to swim in for the next hour or so. Eliel took off her hood and shoved it in her knapsack as it would add extra weight and she needed something to keep her warm when and if she survives. Eliel tied the bag and resting it on top of the log in the best position where it would get the least amount of water. It was not the best plan but she was too eager to walk around and too impatient to find a boat.

Even with the morning sun starting to rise the water was so icy it stung but she was determined to tread it until her body was submerged except her head, she was frozen to the bone and her teeth rattled nonstop uncontrollably. She started to drift to the other side of the river, kicking her legs underwater to speed up the process. "This is ridiculous" she shivered through her blue lips, the coldness sweeping her body Eliel began to go numb and her movements were restricted almost to a point of uselessness.

Eliel struggled to swim in the water but luckily it did not take as long as she thought to get across. Although when she had reached the shore her skin was an unnatural shade of white and her lip had tinges of both blue and purple, her hair was dripping and stuck to her face. Eliel crawled out shivering, refusing to stand up until she got rid of the numbness that has invaded the lower half of her body. She wrapped her arms around her legs and started to guide feeling and warmth back into her body.

Over some time Eliel had managed to recover from shock she had put her body through. The morning sun well risen gave some help in defrosting her bones, Eliel put the bulky hood on and made her way up the road where she could see the silhouette of Dale being overshadowing by the mountain. Every now and again her feet would give way to sharp pains that travelled up her calves, she could see Dale right in front of her but it was as if this was the longest part of her journey. It took several hours to trek up the hill that held the path down to Dale and when Eliel reached the top a sudden feeling of excitement and ecstasy overcame her which refused to stay within her.

Eliel broke out into a light jog and on the way she noticed hundreds of coloured tents surrounding the outskirts of Dale. Eliel realized that they were all travelers coming to this festival that was in a months' time. She continued and noticed she had gotten faster, ignoring the pain in her legs every step she took. Eliel recognized that one would have to travel through alleyways of the tents to reach Dale but she did not think it would be that difficult. It was now midday and she could hear the prosperous noises of those who have already arrived.

Eliel was too thrilled to have finally reached Dale she was oblivious to notice that she had been called to a stop. She turned around to see a guard of some sort with papers in his hand.

"Are you a traveler? A Performer or Merchant?" He spoke looking down ready to write.

"Sorry?"

"Are you just traveling through? Or are you a performer or merchant? Travelers will be situated over to east of this path. Performers will be northwest and then merchants to the south of them."

"I was hoping just to be in Dale." Eliel just wanted to get to the records already, they were just in front of her and she had no time for this shenanigans.

"There are no available inns left in Dale, if you follow this path and continue to the gates you will reach the camping grounds."

"Wait, which way did you say performers go?" He looked at her scraggly appearance and hesitantly pointed to his left. She wanted to get to Dale as soon as possible but she also wanted to see if Ahnissi and her family had arrived safely after the orc attack. She thought she should have asked where they were or if this is in a specific layout. All around her were people of all sorts bringing their own flare to their music, all these people here celebrating for something they were a part of. It confused Eliel.

The constant singing was starting to annoy Eliel and she got agitated very quickly when she could not find the family and it was not until she heard a distinct lullaby being sung that she realized they were not far away. Eliel hope that it was them every corner she turned and when she reached a narrow turn that's when she saw Dorthe braiding her father's hair while singing. The little girl was the first one to notice Eliel as her father was too busy talking to Skuli and Tomas.

"Eliel" She screamed as she ran to her, the rest of the group looked up and realized that the girl who saved their lives and thought to be dead were back in their presence. It was a joyous reunion and Eliel was praised with gratitude and liberation.

"Where is Daeroch?" Dorthe asked, sadness taking over Eliel she was blunt even to the little girl. "He died Dorthe"

Ahnissi was the happiest that she had return as she thought of the girl as one of her own. Eliel was welcomed to stay anytime she wanted and decided that if her business in Dale lasted more time than she planned she would stay with the family. Over the night they shared stories of when they were separated and finished the night with songs of praise. Eliel was the first in bed as the day was caught up with her and all she had left in her body was fatigue. She could not wait until the morning.