Gwin is escorted to a Dunlending village; will they treat her as a friend or a foe? Enjoy!

Chapter 62

I found myself in one of the villages on the river, and wondered if I would be lucky enough to be spotted by one of the rangers looking for me. However, the chances of them still searching in the river this far upstream were slim, and it dampened my spirits even more. Clearly, it was not the village where Gevorch was from, for he seemed unfamiliar with it. I was glad of it, as his Brenin wanted me dead. Hopefully this one did not share his opinion.

We were escorted to a large tent, which I surmised was where the Brenin resided. Sure enough, we were brought before a large, stern-looking man, who had intricate tattoos on his body and a headdress made of some kind of bird feathers and twisted vines. He was much more decorated than the Brenin of Lhanuch. Noting my presence, he raised an eyebrow and spoke in perfect Westron, "Who have you brought before me, Levra and Juhure?"

Levra, who was the woman, replied, "I found this female Elichthi hiding in a tree in the middle of the plains, next to the body of a Rohir." Her lip curled, and despite her cordial treatment of me, I wanted to slap her. "She is clearly injured. Before I could question her, this man," she pointed at Gevorch, "Came out of the trees, looking as he does now. He claims she attacked him, yet she says he ambushed her first and she was defending herself."

The Brenin eyed Gevorch and I piercingly, clearing thinking. He turned to me and said, "Describe to me what happened."

I hesitated slightly, unsure how to phrase things. I could tell the Brenin was sharp, and would likely see through any lie I would tell. "I was trying to get back to my camp, which is near Lhanuch. The Rohirrim was a man who had found me when I was drowning in the river a few days ago, and gave me shelter while I recovered. When I told him where my camp was located, he offered to go there and escort my companions back to where I was, but when he did not return in the amount of time he said it would take, I became concerned. I decided to go searching for him. When I was exiting the tree line, this man ambushed me from the shadows." I glared at Gevorch. "I had a dagger with me, and tried to defend myself, which led to the wound on his arm. After he restrained me, I was able to break his nose and knock him unconscious before continuing on." I looked down at my hands, trying to hide my emotions about what came next. "I came upon the Rohir's body; he was gravely injured. Not knowing who his attacker was and unsure if they were nearby, I hid myself in a tree. Levra and Juhure came across me, and I was…forced to leave him there. The rest you already know."

There was silence for a moment, and I tried not to squirm in impatience and worry. He then addressed Gevorch, who told his side of the story, but it did not match mine, and seemed less convincing. The Brenin looked at Gevorch doubtfully, and seemed not to believe him. "Your account is not the same as that of the Elichthi."

"She lies!" Gevorch spat. "She is a witch; we all know that! Elichthi cannot be trusted!" I fought the urge to roll my eyes at his prejudice. I noticed he did not mention the events of our previous meeting, and I wondered if he was afraid it would bring the fake curse down upon him. It almost made me laugh, but I refrained, remembering the precarity of my current situation.

After a time, the Brenin said, "Both of you will be brought to cells while I consider judgement." I wanted to protest, but realized it was the best I could do for now. At least he had not decided to disbelieve my account outright.

Levra took my arm and steered me to the right as we exited the tent, and we ended up in a large hut that had a jail with cells made of thick wood. Gevorch was placed in one on the far end from where I had been put, and I was grateful. I did not think I could look at his face for another moment before wanting to strangle him. Levra addressed me, and I saw a flicker of kindness in her eyes. "As I said, the Brenin is fair. He will discuss with his council and make a judgement soon I expect." I nodded, a little surprised at her demeanor, but did not comment on it. "I will bring you some water and a little food. Will you need your injuries tended to?"

I looked down and appraised myself. My shoulder was sore but not bleeding, I could feel some bruising on my face, but had no broken bones. I had some trouble putting my full weight on my right leg, but nothing seemed sprained. I shook my head and said quietly, "I will be fine, thank you."

"She will bewitch you!" Gevorch was shouting, and Levra rolled her eyes before squaring her shoulders and marching over to him. She growled something in Dunlendish, and I could tell it was some sort of threat because Gevorch shut his mouth and looked a little afraid, despite his stubbornness.

I settled myself on the stone bench in the back of the cell, trying not to cry, or panic, or scream. I did not have the luxury of falling apart right now, and I needed to come up with some kind of plan. Even if I was believed and voted as innocent, what would they do with me then? Just release me? Somehow, I doubted it.

A short time later, Levra returned with a waterskin and some dried meat and fruit. Gevorch was grumbling, and I inferred Levra had threatened to withhold these things from him if he did not quiet down. "Thank you, Levra," I murmured. "I appreciate your kindness. I know my people are not well-liked."

Levra shrugged, "I have learned not to judge a person based on their race or appearance."

Not sure if this was entirely true, due to her clear disgust of Ergothorn, I forced a small smile, "That is wise, and certainly a hard lesson to learn." I looked at her earnestly. "I know you consider the Rohirrim to be your enemies." She nodded, a stubborn fire in her eyes, "But my friend is from Gondor, and he needs help. Please, can you send someone to help him? He saved my life, and I want to do all I can to save his in return."

Levra sighed, looking doubtful, "I…understand you care about him, even if we have little love for his people. You say he is from Gondor, he does not look like one." After a moment of indecision, she said, "I will ask the Brenin and see if he will send one of us to go check if your friend is alive, but I find it unlikely he will say yes."

Knowing this was the best I could do, I took a swig of water and asked, "When do you think the Brenin will decide what to do about Gevorch and I?" My lip curled in disgust even speaking his name; I was not one who hated others, but he had caused me much grief.

Levra replied, "I would think we will receive his judgement soon. He is a wise leader, and once he has decided something, he does not waste time in keeping it a secret."

I knew it was risky, but I decided I should use this opportunity to gather information. "Has your village been approached by Saruman?" She furrowed her brow. "I ask because I have spent some time in Lhanuch, and they have decided to decline his offer of an alliance, fearing he is untrustworthy."

"I know the council has been discussing it," she said slowly. "However, I am just a soldier, and do not know what has been decided." She looked at me searchingly. "I assume you agree with Lhanuch's decision?"

I nodded, "I have some experience with Saruman's Uruks, and they are merciless. He could care less if they die, as long as he gets what he wants. I fear Saruman would treat your people with the same carelessness that he treats them." I shrugged, "Those are my opinions; it is up to your Brenin to decide what is best for your people."

Levra looked thoughtful. "Would you like me to pass this on to the Brenin?"

"I am not sure he would believe me," I replied uneasily. "It took some convincing for the Brenin of Lhanuch to believe my words, and I was not in the situation I find myself in now." I gestured around myself. "I do not want to cause more trouble, but I also do not wish for your people to fall under Saruman's thumb."

"Perhaps you could bring this up during the reading of your judgement?" Levra suggested. "You will have his ear along with the rest of the council's." She moved closer to the bars. "If Saruman is as treacherous as you say, it is worth taking the risk to save our people. At least, that is what I think." She gave me a smile. "Now eat, and I will return when I have news."

I took a sip of some water and chewed on the dried meat, thankful for it. I was surprised at their kindness, and it made me hopeful that they could discern the lies of Saruman.

I was unsure how much time had passed, but I guessed it had been a few hours, before Levra returned once more. I could not read her expression, but eventually she smiled at me and said, "The Brenin has decided. I will escort you to him now." I noted Juhure doing the same with Gevorch, who looked sure he would be exonerated. It did not take us long to return to the tent, and we were asked to kneel before his 'throne', if you could call it that.

"I have spoken with my council, and will pronounce my judgement now," The Brenin said firmly. I eyed Gevorch and noticed he had lost some of his swagger and he was very pale. "I choose to believe the words of the Elichthi, for her story makes the most sense and the details add up." Gevorch looked furious, but froze when the Brenin's gaze landed on him. "I do not condone falsehoods, especially from my own people. Although you are of a different clan, Gevorch, you know our laws. The assault of a woman, no matter what race, is forbidden." Gevorch was shaking now, in fear this time. "You will be branded with an 'x' on the back of your left shoulder, as well as the symbol of our clan, and sent away from here to return to your village. In this, they will know of your misdeeds."

"No, please do not do this!" Gevorch shouted. Clearly it was more about the shame of the branding than the branding itself, and I felt the punishment to be more than fair. Juhure dragged him away, and I did not turn around to see where he went; I was now looking at the Brenin, who's eyes were unreadable.

"Now, as I said, I believe your account. However, it has been made known to me that you have words you would like to say about the wizard Saruman, and I would have you share them now." Someone must have overheard my conversation with Levra, and passed it along to the Brenin.

I nervously stood as Levra helped me rise, and I pitched my opinion as confidently as I could. As I spoke, the council began murmuring amongst themselves, and the Brenin was watching me closely, likely trying to discern if I was lying. I decided to be brave and bring up my assault, as it had seemed to help convince the council of Lhanuch of the truth of my words, and I found it was still difficult to speak of without getting lost in the memory of it. I saw some compassion in the Brenin's eyes, and hoped my statement was enough.

After I finished, I had to work hard to keep eye contact with the Brenin, as I was very nervous, but I did not want to appear weak. He motioned for the Brehures to gather by his side, and Levra had me move further back to allow them some privacy. She squeezed my shoulder, clearly able to tell how nervous I was, and I gave her a shaky smile. "Thank you," I whispered. "You did not have to be so kind."

"You are welcome," she replied just as softly. "Stay strong; you spoke well today."

I just hoped it was enough.

Well, looks like Gevorch wasn't exonerated like he expected; serves him right! Now the question is, will they ally with Saruman, or fight against him? And will anyone go to see if Ergothorn is still alive? Stay tuned! Thanks for reading, and leave a review!