Lex of Rhule

Chapter 2: Traders

    The wind raged forcing Lex to tighten his grip on shadowmere in reverence of falling off. The storm was unforgiving but the mare pushed on. His horse had been a gift from his uncle Olaf who owned the local tavern. He wasn't actually a blood relative but his father trusted him and His family was the closest thing to a family Lex had ever known.

    He could remember playing swords with Olaf's son Rory all throughout his childhood. He would never forget when they let all the chickens  out of Mrs. Cagle's coup. Then forced to climb a large oak and sit for hours until Olaf and Zander got her to call off her hounds with the promise that she would never have any trouble out of the boys and assure her they meant no harm.

    Squinting into the distance he could see the glare of what were no doubt the lit up windows of the tavern.
Lex urged the horse forward with hopes of a warm fire and a belly full of mead.
He had been out in this mess for far too long and was worried Shadowmere had twisted her ankle in the mud on the trek up the hill.
The weather was unusual for Mirthwood this time of year it was normally dry and chill.
With the war going on  it made people uneasy.

   Finding the stables Lex let Mathias, the stable boy take and care for Shadowmere . Watching them disappear behind the stall he hoped that With any luck she would be fit for their journey home.

    Warmth and laughter greeted him as he ducked inside Olaf's. Making his way to the bar he ordered a pint of mead hoping to shake off some of the cold by warming his belly. It wasnt long befor his order was delivered.
Returning with two pints of mead was none other than Rory grinning from ear to ear.

"Where on earth have you been?" Rory exclaimed.
" I'm glad your here. I have been meaning to talk with you but this blasted storm won't give up."said Rory as he handed over the second to his friend.

   Lex accepted the glass of mead and slapped him on the shoulder haughtily as he steered them to a table where they could talk without hindrance.

"I know I haven't been very social lately but its my father. He needs help. Something is wrong and I don't think its from the cold. Every day he looks less like a man and more like death. I can smell it on him. Ree, i can feel its presence. The mixtures Kairi sent are gone and he is worse off then when he started them and i know if she cant help him then i need to try something else. I need magic." Lex replied.

Rory stared at him in disbelief.

"Surely you know as well as I do that the knife ears are the only ones with those kind of skills and they have sealed their borders. With fear of Sarim laying siege  and tightening his hold on the land there will come a time when the emporer will have an army big enough to take the lands of the elves and dwarves and hold power over all of us.

   And even if you made it there it would take a miracle to get one of them to agree to travel across all of Agramond to save one soul. They do not take kind to strangers and can not be bought. Keep giving him the herbs Kairi sent home with you. If they are gone as you say then have her make more.

   If all else fails I could ask Da to see if any of the travelers have any information on a healer. But I'm afraid once he learns the state of your father he may leave Ma in charge while he goes to see for himself. "said Rory.

Lex looked at him with shame and sorrow on his face.

"The herbs are gone ree. He took to a bad fever and kept calling me Farren , he kept saying they have found us at last that his wretched brother would have his revenge. He told me to keep my mother safe and tell her he loved her that he never stopped loving her." Lex paused as he took a long swallow.

" My mother is dead and I don't know who Farren is. I thought he was at deaths doors so I gave him double the herbs and it brought his temperature down. I said nothing of what he said to anyone but you. Its just the way he said it. Like he had lost all hope and had given up. "