THE FORGOTTEN
Mordor
Disclaimer: I do not own the Lord of the Rings.
Authors note: Any elvish will be in italics.
Lothril had the servants wake her well before dawn. She had packed everything the night before and all she had to do was eat, dress, and head down to the gate and meet up with the others. Gandalf said he would come for her and they could walk down together. She was grateful as the city was just shy a labyrinth she had had no time to figure out. A large breakfast was brought to her and after she ate, a servant helped her with her gambeson and chainmail and tying on her bracers and greaves. Once ready, she looked in the mirror to see how ridiculous she looked and was surprised. She well imagined she would look like a little girl in her older brother's gear, but that wasn't the case at all. Everything actually fit, and though she certainly looked a little thicker than usual, nothing looked bulky and oversized. Instead, what stared back at her was a slightly surprised looking elven warrior with a hand resting comfortably on a sword hilt and a bow and quiver peaking up over her shoulder.
"Well color me shocked," she muttered to herself.
"I beg your pardon, milady? I did not hear you," the servant attending her said.
"No, you are fine. I was talking to myself. Is everything ready?"
"Yes, milady."
"Thank you for your help this morning," she said.
Just then a knock came at the door and the servant answered and let in Gandalf, who only took a step or two inside.
"Are you ready, Lothril?" he asked.
"Yes, I am ready," she said as she quickly grabbed her pack and slung it over one shoulder and picked up her helm. They left the room and as they walked down the hallway she said, "Thank you for walking down with me. I am sure I would have gotten lost otherwise."
Gandalf eyes twinkled merrily as his smile was hidden by his beard, "This is certainly not the easiest city to navigate. The layout is excellent for strategy but poor for peaceful visitors."
"How long shall it take to reach the Black Gate from here?" she asked, quite forgetting the dates of things and being somewhat forgetful of what the date was that day.
"I should expect us to arrive in a week," he answered.
She looked over at the line of mountains in the distance as they reached the first stairs. "So close and yet so far."
As they walked down, she kept glancing out at the field and watched the soldiers gather and arrange themselves on the Pelannor. In the weird morning light the banners fluttered and looked grim. The city seemed to be still and quiet as they walked and when they reached the field, the mood of the soldiers was grim but determined. They reached Aragorn who was speaking with Imrahil and Éomer along with several other commanders about the road they were going to take and plans to leave guards at certain places.
They joined the others and Aragorn asked, "Lothril, do you have any plans for the road to Mordor?"
She replied, "If we go past the Morgul Vale, I may have a few passing words, but if we are successful, I shall have business at Cirith Ungol. If afterwards you would like any assistance in throwing down Barad Dur or the accursed city, I shall be happy to aid you."
Aragorn nodded then excused himself to speak with the Dúnedain as they were arranging themselves and Gandalf left to speak with Imrahil as Legolas came up. "How are you this morning?"
"Fine as one could be expected, I suppose. How are you?"
He looked east and frowned, "I am apprehensive. I saw how my father changed and have heard tales of the terror of Mordor. I only hope I do not see the slaughter my father did."
She looked around, "This is certainly not that war. A lot shorter for one thing. The war will be decided before the gates of Mordor before the month ends, despite any after battle skirmishes.
He nodded. "I think you are right."
Suddenly there were horn blasts rippling across the field and everyone began to fall in. Leofa was waiting for Lothril next to Arod who were both patiently standing amongst the horses of the Dúnedain. They mounted and Gimli rode with Legolas and the three of them rode in the front of the procession with Aragorn and the Dúnedain. As they rode she began to think about all the strange things she had done in the last six months and how this didn't seem completely strange and how very odd it was. Then she started to try to remember just when everything was occur between then and the destruction of the Ring and turned to Legolas and asked, "What is the date today?"
"The thirtieth of Echuir," he answered.
She stared blankly at him a minute then turned towards Aragorn and asked, "What is the date today?"
"By whose calendar?" he asked, having overheard her question to Legolas.
"Shire reckoning," she answered.
"March eighteenth," he answered.
"How many calendars do you know?" she asked.
"Three, but the elvish calendar is by far the hardest to reckon in if you lose track," he answered.
She frowned, "I well believe it. Elrond tried to explain it to me to little avail."
"I have not had a problem," Legolas commented.
"How many ways are there to reckon a year?" Gimli asked, sounding a little grouchy, but that was likely more due to having to ride a horse again than anything else.
"In my old world you had people that reckoned by the sun and people that reckoned by the moon," Lothril answered, "Of course, new years would start at differing times; and for reasons I cannot fathom, someone decided our new year should be ten to twelve days after winter solstice. But others have it start on a given lunar month in different seasons and so on. Solar or lunar though, a year is not able to be perfectly divided, so every 4 years in our solar calendar, we have a leap year where our shortest month gets an extra day to make up for it and keep things on track. I am not sure entirely how it is reckoned here, but I do know the Shire calendar is all even months of thirty days and I do not think they bother bringing back into reckoning the uneven length of days. The elves though… they have two years – the yení which is 144 years of the sun long, and loa which is what the rest of us think of when we say the world 'year'. The elves do try to bring things into reckoning by making up for the uneven days, but they do so by doubling the mid-years days every so many years. But then, the elven calendar starts out odd to everyone else because for reasons I do not understand yet, they like dividing everything by twelve, so their weeks only have six days. The elves that do not die have the shortest week on the calendar. So when one is trying to reckon the date of an elven calendar, one has to roll one day a week into the next, which must create an extra week every so often…" she drifted off in thought and Legolas looked particularly amused. "Bah! I shall figure it all out when I have fewer calendars to worry about."
"You have a while to figure it out," Legolas said. "After a yení or two, you should have it sorted out."
The conversation drifted to silence as every mile towards Mordor seemed to bring a new heaviness to the air and their spirits. Lothril had managed to get a good look at a map of Gondor and could remember the route taken to Mordor, but the map in the books hadn't been terribly detailed, so she was glad to have seen a more detailed map. They reached Osgiliath and after strengthening some of the defenses they crossed the river and went another five miles then all the men on foot stopped for the night. The horsemen kept on however until they reached the Crossroads. There they camped and the heralds announced the return of the lords of Gondor as other set about to fixing the fallen king and then setting up camp. There was a brief debate on whether or not they should attack Minas Morgul first, but Gandalf and Lothril both protested it. Gandalf said it would drive the men mad, and Lothril insisted that they absolutely did not want to draw Sauron's attention or forces in that direction.
Everyone was a little surprised at the forcefulness of her insistence and at length Lothril looked at Aragorn and used ósanwe to explain to him exactly what was going on.
"We are so close now I will tell you this – that Frodo and Sam are heading from the Morgul Vale towards Orodruin. I think by now they have, or will very soon, escaped the group of orcs they have been traveling with, disguised as orcs themselves. Frodo was betrayed by Gollum in Cirith Ungol and there a spawn of Ungoliant named Shelob poisoned him. Faithful Sam thought he was dead and so sought to carry on but as he did, he overheard the orcs that came and took away Frodo say that he yet lived, so he followed them into the Morgul Vale and effected the escape of Frodo – a tale worthy of song by itself! They dressed as orcs and escaped and then as they went along they came across a large unit of orcs heading from here to there, and were made to join in. They traveled along and have or will escape from the band and continue onwards. Regardless, it is mandatory we go to the Black Gate and draw all of Sauron's forces as far away from Frodo and Sam as possible and out of their path. There is still an army between them and the mountain. As soon as Sauron sees we are heading towards the gate, he will draw his forces thither."
"Do you know when they shall reach the mountain?" he asked in kind.
"The twenty-fifth by Shire reckoning. We must be in place by then or all shall be lost."
"Have you told this to Gandalf?"
"Not yet, but I shall once we are through. One more thing – when Frodo was held captive, he was stripped of everything he had that Sam did not take, including the mithril shirt. Sauron shall try to use that to cause us to despair, but it is a lie. They only have the shirt and nothing more. I shall tell this to the others also."
Speaking with Aragorn that way was odd, because it wasn't a gift he possessed, but the strength of his mind and will was such, that she did not feel the strain she had felt before when trying to speak with someone who didn't have the skill. It felt easy. As well, he was clearly accustomed to it and had done it before, but that was little surprising given he was raised by Elrond. She did not ponder this more than a moment though before reaching out to Gandalf and telling him what she had just told Aragorn. After telling him, she inquired where Pippin was so she could warn him about the shirt as well, and come to find out, he was riding with them, but further back. That errand had to wait though, for Gandalf and Aragorn told Lothril they were going to take the vanguard to the entrance of the Morgul Vale and break down the bridge. She decided she best go with them.
Evil and dread emanated from the place like heat from a fire. They dismounted as they reached the bridge and were about to start breaking it up when Lothril cried, "Hold! Hold but a minute or two."
Everyone paused and watched as Lothril stood at the edge of the bridge and began to sing, very softly to herself with her eyes closed until every soldier in the place felt their skin tingling. At length she opened her eyes and strode forward, singing louder and louder with every step until her voice was reverberating off the rocks and seemed to be shaking the very ground. She walked backwards across the bridge and reached the side she started from as her song its crescendo and then she drew her sword and held it aloft and then drove it deep into the bridge and then quickly sheathed her sword and turned and ran back to the others.
Breathless and silent everyone watched and for a moment nothing happened and then there was a great cracking sound and the bridge split clean in half down the middle and crumbled and turned to dust and not even the foundations were left standing. Gandalf and Aragorn looked both impressed and amazed at what she did. Aragorn gave the command for the fields to be burned and once they were lit, they returned to camp.
As camp was set up and fires were lit, she made her way over to where Pippin was and after a brief discussion with his commanding officer, she was able to steal him away to where she, Legolas, and Gimli were sleeping. There was a small fire lit and she made everyone sit down. "I have something I need to tell you all, but I am going to use unconventional means so we are not overheard, and it is a strain to speak with so many at once, but I have repeated it all twice now and have little wish to repeat it thrice more." With that she closed her eyes and for the span of a few breaths felt out where the minds of her friends were then reached out for Legolas' first as his was easiest, then to Pippin and Gimli and opened her eyes and stared very intently at all of them in turn, reciting the tale she had told Aragorn and Gandalf about Frodo being captured and the mithril shirt to be used to cause them to despair and that they should not react. The further Sauron's careful calculations were thrown into confusion, the better. If he suddenly learned his bait was worthless to them, it would be one more thing to keep him from looking at his own domain and she just had a funny feeling that every minute they could buy was desperately needed. In the end, the message was conveyed succinctly and successfully and then she broke off contact with them with a great sigh.
"That was hard," she muttered aloud. After a moment she turned to Pippin and asked, "How was Merry when you left him last?"
"A bit upset he couldn't come, but he is still on the mend," Pippin answered.
She nodded, "He shall be the only one of you that has not seen that place up close," she said, nodding towards the dark mountains. "And I confess I am envious of him. I am afraid I shall be seeing more of it than I wish."
"What do you mean by that?" Pippin asked.
"I have my orders," she replied, and said no more.
They talked a short while longer then Pippin headed back to his tent and they retired into theirs, which the three of them were sharing with the sons of Elrond. The day before they left, there had been a discussion that nearly turned into an argument between Lothril and all the commanders that were trying to tell her she should have a tent all to herself, but she patently refused and refused to explain why except that it was her decision and she had made it. The truth of the matter was that, like near the Paths of the Dead, she could feel the evil rolling off the place and it scared her. As well, ever since the battle of Pelannor she had been plagued with nightmares about the battle, being haunted by the men she killed, and a creeping feeling of evil that she suspected was a result of the Nazgul's frequent spying. Sleeping by herself in Minas Tirith had been miserable and she had desperately longed to have a warm, living anything with her. There was no way she was going to be okay this close to Mordor with those nightmares and the feelings of evil radiating from the place without having a warm, living person near her. She felt silly and childish, but at the same time… So it had been much to her relief when Aragorn finally relented. She suspected he understood, or guessed, but it didn't matter. She wasn't alone and that was paramount.
The second day from the Cross-roads they ran into a force of orcs and Easterlings. The battle did not count for much, and only one person was lost on Gondor's side. Lothril killed four and managed to keep her clothes blood free, much to her relief. Aragorn and Gandalf suspected it was a feint and Sauron was trying to trick them into thinking his forces weaker than they were.
The fourth day from the Cross-roads and sixth from Minas Tirith they passed into the barren and desolate plains before the Pass of Cirith Gorgor. Many of the men who were usually husbandmen or farmers grew terrified, and Lothril could not blame them, nor could Aragorn, so he sent them to Cair Andros, so they did not have to go to Mordor. Some gladly accepted the offer, some were shamed by his mercy, and some saw Lothril and thought if they could not go where a woman was willing to go, then what kind of men were they.
The fifth day from the Morgul Vale they made their last camp in what was undoubtedly the most barren, hideous, tortured looking place she had ever seen. If it wasn't for the colorful banners she would think the world had lost all color. They made fires from whatever dead wood they could find and the talk around the fire was almost non-existent and faces were grim. She knew they would win. She knew it, but being so close to Mordor made it hard to remember. After a while she began to sing to herself. She didn't even realize she was doing it at first, but as she kept singing the mood seemed to lighten a little. It was still very serious, but some conversation was had and though no one would say it was cheerful, it was certainly less dark and a little more hopeful and the evil things that seemed to be lurking outside the camp seemed to stay further away from that end. After a while they all went inside the tent to attempt sleeping. It was an uneasy sleep for everyone as they were all but on the doorstep of Mordor and creatures unknown and horrible were prowling around the camp and Nazgûl in the air, but they got some. Lothril slept beside Legolas as was now her long habit, and held his hand all night.
The next morning they marched towards the Black Gate, taking a little bit of a detour in order to avoid some of the hills. Being at the front with Aragorn and Gandalf, Lothril got an unobstructed view of the Black Gate. She had never seen anything so huge! She could hardly believe anything that large was a gate and not a wall. Though all was silent, she could feel they were being watched by many pairs of eyes.
"Yes, yes – look at me!" she thought, "Look at us all! Laugh at our folly, Sauron."
They arranged themselves on two hills that looked more like piles of rock and dirt than proper hills, as that was the only solid looking ground around. Everything in front of them looked more like a swamp or a bog than ground. Mud and stinking pools were everywhere. This battle couldn't be finished fast enough. This place was miserable. Lothril along with Legolas, Gimli, Pippin, the captains, Éomer, Gandalf, Aragorn, and an assortment of guards, heralds, and trumpeters arranged themselves and approached the gate. Once again, Lothril was up near the front and they approached. The banners were unfurled and the heralds cried for Sauron to come forth.
Silence fell. Sauron was trying to play a cruel game. Lothril began reaching out to the minds of her friends and reminding them of what she had told them a few days ago. They were getting ready to signal to turn back when Lothril reached out for Aragorn's mind and found it guarded and hostile until it recognized her.
"He is playing games with us. Wait a moment more," she said.
He only gave the barest nod. Sure enough, a moment later the gate opened with a clang and an embassy from the dark tower rode forth. At its head was a thing Lothril almost thought more hideous than the Nazgul. A large dark figure on a horrifying creature that looked like a horse, but with fire in its eyes and nose and a head that looked more like a skull. He made Lothril bristle. He was evil, it rolled off of him like a fog. She sincerely hoped that these parlays didn't require the opposing parties getting too close to each other. If she couldn't take his head off, she wasn't interested in getting close to him. He and a small number of guards rode out until they were a few paces off. Lothril had no intention of saying anything at all, and indeed, it seemed the Mouth of Sauron was ignoring everyone but Aragorn and Gandalf.
One of the Mouth's guards rode forward and handed him something wrapped in black. He unwrapped it and held up the short sword Sam had been carrying, an elven cloak, and the mithril shirt of Frodo's and waited for a reaction. There was none. The Messenger looked around, trying to see if anyone was troubled by this.
"So you have yet another of these imps with you," he said, sounding very nearly annoyed. "What use you find in them I cannot guess; but to send them as spies into Mordor is beyond even your accustomed folly. Do you not recognize these tokens? Do your spies mean nothing to you?"
"I do recognize them," Gandalf said, "Indeed, I know them all and all their history, and despite your scorn, foul Mouth of Sauron, you cannot say as much. But why do you bring them here?"
"A dwarf coat, an elf cloak, blade of the downfallen West, and a spy from the little rat-land of the Shire – nay do not start! We know it all well – here are the marks of a conspiracy. Now, maybe he that bore these things was a creature that you would not grieve to lose, and maybe otherwise; one dear to you, perhaps? If so, take swift counsel with what little wit is left to you. For Sauron does not love spies, and what his fate shall be depends now on your choice."
No one answered him, and no one looked particularly disturbed or upset. This threw his game into confusion and he had to quickly recalculate a means of getting at them. "If you care nothing for your spy, then you will not care that he endures slow years of torment in the Great Tower. When he is broken we shall release him to you and then you may see what you have done. Surely this will happen unless you accept my Lord's terms."
Gandalf asked him to name the terms, and the Mouth seemed pleased as this seemed to be at least some hint that they cared for the spy and his game was getting back on track. He named the terms, but all the while felt unsettled. He never erred so greatly in his game… Gandalf told him that Sauron's terms were ridiculous for the release of one servant.
"These we will take!" Gandalf said, flinging aside his cloak. He seized and took Frodo and Sam's things from the Messenger then said, "But as for your terms, we reject them utterly. Get you gone, for your embassy is over and death is near to you. We did not come here to waste words in treating with Sauron, faithless and accursed; still less with one of his slaves. Begone!"
"Hold!" Lothril said to the Mouth. "Be of some use and tell your master the Lords of the West wish him to know there is no mercy or reprieve for him this time. He is utterly rejected and shall next answer to his maker. And you, oh Mouth of Sauron, are warned and may warn your fellow servants that none of you shall receive mercy or succor either."
"Ah yes, we have heard of you. Messenger-girl for the Valar. They are not permitted to interfere!"
"You may take it up with the Name when you are brought before him for judgement," Lothril said simply.
The Messenger grew afraid and leapt onto his horse and rode off. No sooner did he return than the gates opened and the hosts of Mordor came forth. Quickly, they rode back towards the hills and Aragorn arranged them as best he could in haste. On the hill with the sons of Elrond and the Dúnedain stood Lothril. The fighting was going to be thickest right there, and Aragorn knew she was fearsome in battle, but he placed her up near himself. In the gathering mirk and gloom of Mordor the Nazgûl came crying words of death and all hope was quenched. Lothril was not going to wait for the lines to clash. She began to sing in answer a song, a song once sung to Sauron by Finrod. A song that made even the Nazgûl quail. They began to wheel away from that hill and circled it wide.
The lines clashed and she sang on, reaching as far into Mordor with her mind as she could. She knew Frodo and Sam were somewhere on the mountain. Did Sam see Gollum yet? Were they finding the path? She sang of hope and strength and hoped it would reach them, but at the very least bolster the soldiers around her. The hosts of Mordor were breaking on the hill like waves upon rock, but she knew if things did not happen soon, they would surely break. They were simply outnumbered. It didn't matter. On she sang. She noticed a troll and Pippin and another soldier fighting it. She saw the troll fall upon Pippin, at the same time she heard Gandalf cry 'the eagles are coming! The eagles are coming!'
With reckless abandon she shoved through the ranks down to where Pippin was as the armies of Mordor quailed at the sight of the eagles and the Nazgûl flew with all speed back towards safety – but not quickly enough. Legolas saw her shoving her way down and followed suit. He hadn't seen what she had, but whatever it was that drove her, but he wouldn't let her do it alone. She reached the fallen troll and with a great heave rolled it off Pippin and towards the line of orcs and creatures, all of which scrambled to get out of the way. She drew her sword and stood upon the troll's corpse. She knew it would be decided in a minute, but she wasn't about to risk Pippin. Legolas came up beside her, sword drawn.
"What is happening?" he asked, coming beside her as the world seemed to stop. A great cloud of ash and fire went up from Mount Doom and the earth shook.
"They have done it," she said quietly. She looked around and saw Gandalf calling to Gwaihir. Before them the hosts of Mordor were scattering like dust in a wind. She looked at Legolas and said, "Pippin is injured and I shall tend him. Stand guard so I needn't worry."
He nodded and stayed and watched as Lothril knelt behind him next to Pippin and began seeing to his injuries. He watched wide eyed as suddenly Gwaihir, bearing Gandalf, and two other eagles sped off towards Mount Doom. Suddenly he realized it was a rescue mission and hope leapt up in his heart where he hadn't realized there had been despair. He may see Frodo and Sam again. They may make it. If they escaped that blast… The tower of Barad Dur was crumbling in on itself, the Towers of Teeth were a pile of gravel, the wind was driving back the shadows of Mordor and the sun was shining down into a land long dark. He never thought he would have a front row seat for the downfall of Sauron. He had never dreamed he would march upon Mordor. He took a deep breath and sighed. Many were now avenged.
Aragorn was busy arranging what to do about enemy troops who had surrendered when Lothril suddenly looked up and saw the eagles returning.
"Legolas! Stay with Pippin. I have business I must now attend to," Lothril said urgently, taking off towards where it looked like the eagles were heading.
Legolas jumped down lightly off of the troll and stayed with Pippin who seemed unconscious, but breathing fine. He suddenly wished he was a healer. He glanced up at Lothril who was running full speed and noticed as Gwaihir broke off from the other two and wheeled down, meeting Lothril while the other two continued on to the camp.
Lothril had reached out to Gandalf's mind as she saw him approach and begged him turn aside with Gwaihir so she may attend her business. They landed near her and she speeding up and said, "Gandalf, Lord Gwaihir, I am sorry I could not speak of this sooner, but I can now and I seek aid. Today is a day of much reckoning and I have been given orders to see that the evil spawn of Ungoliant living in Cirith Ungol is destroyed as well as Minas Morgul. I know how I am to do it, but it is dangerous as I shall be bringing down parts of the mountain. I have no desire to risk my life and failure of my mission in her evil tunnels, so I am going to collapse them on her and then cast down the Morgul Vale to ruin. Gwaihir, I do these things at request of Manwe whom your people serve, and as what I seek to do is likely to kill me if I cannot escape quickly enough, I beg aid of you to bear me there and away from there so I may do this safely, if you would be willing to aid a fellow servant."
"I would consider it a personal favor," Gandalf said.
"I will bear one favored of Manwe gladly," Gwaihir said.
Lothril bowed low and said, "How soon can we leave?"
"This moment," Gwaihir replied.
"Do either of you know where the pass is?" Gandalf asked.
"At the top of the Endless Stair," Lothril replied. "Do you suppose between Gwaihir and I we shall be able to spot it?"
Gandalf only had to think a moment before he replied, "Probably."
"Then we are off," Gwaihir said, stooping down slightly. Lothril leapt lightly up and they sped south along the mountains. They found Minas Morgul and Lothril said it should be just past it. They did one great circle and spotted the stair and the top of it and the entrance to a tunnel.
"Set me down as near the tunnel as you can," Lothril said. They wheeled down and he landed very near the tunnel and she leapt off. "I shall go but a few feet inside and sing. If all goes well, it shall start collapsing at the furthest and deepest end and work its towards us."
The eagle nodded and watched as she drew her long knives and headed in until she was just inside. She began to sing and her voice reverberated deep into the tunnels. Gwaihir could feel the rocks begin to rumble beneath him. At first it was just a light vibration but it grew stronger by the minute. Suddenly Lothril stopped singing and thought she heard a strange scream amongst the falling rocks. Quickly she darted out of the tunnel and leapt onto Gwaihir's back and immediately he leapt into the air and they dove down towards Minas Morgul and the Vale. Behind them the top ridge of the mountain collapsed a couple dozen feet and a huge plume of dust shot out of the tunnel and then all was silent.
They landed in the evil land and Gwaihir said, "I do not like this place."
"Neither do I," she replied. "We shall not stay long. I started this work a few days ago." With that she began to sing again and held her hands out before her. The earth beneath them seemed to shake, but she remained unmoved and kept singing. The tower trembled and began to fall in on itself. She dropped her hands and turned and leapt onto Gwaihir again who immediately climbed high up into the air. They circled a few times and saw below them the entire tower seemed to fall in on itself and collapse into the earth in a cloud of dust.
"Shall I take you back?"
"To the camp, if you will. I have no business on the battlefield," she said. "And I thank you. This should have been a much longer and more dangerous job without your aid. If ever may return the favor-"
"That you have helped bring this day about is enough."
"Gwaihir, did you fly over Mirkwood on your way to Mordor?"
"I did."
"How did it look?"
"There was much burning and battle, but the King's halls seemed yet untouched," he answered.
She thanked him and rode in silence. Flying was a fantastic thing. The speed! The way he could glide for what seemed like forever! Soon he was descending in huge spirals and she looked down and saw injured and wounded starting to be transported back from the battlefield. She spotted Legolas and Gimli heading back along with the Sons of Elrond and the Dúnedain and some others. They landed just on the edge of the camp and she thanked him again, remembering at the last minute the proper phrase for such things, and he took off again. She waved and headed into the camp.
