Adventure. Action. Romance. Dragons!
Once, Gandalf hired a burglar, now he needs a scout! It was a simple task, nothing more than spying upon treacherous lands. But Safirah felt she was meant to do something more. Running away from home she followed...
The stop over was quick, we had to ride again after regaining our strengths. The tragic tale (Aramis told) was stuck in my head. The fact that someone like me tried to bend an elf is extremely frightening!
I grew up in a farm with a loving father who raised me well, I suppose, and I can't imagine myself trying to bend another human, much more an elf. What would I feel waking up inside someone else's body, a human being, an Elf, or even an Orc?
Never did I think of it!
We rode faster as we hit a more even ground, down a valley where thistles and yellow rock-roses dominated the land. There were pines and larches here and there and the grass grew bright green in places where water could be.
The journey was not easy, Rivendell is a fortnight away if we travel by foot, five days if by hoofs, and each night grew colder and darker as we drew away from inhabited lands. Many times I thought of home, of soft bed and warm bath; and father. He could be in Bree by now.
The sun was sinking from behind the hill-tops behind us but we did not camp until we have past the marshes. Dusk faded into night and the trees were gray and wind became silent, then we camped under an old lark and gathered firewood.
There we huddled near the fire as we shared a meal; bread and bacon and few slices of cheese. Gimli cracked a few japes to break the silence and he had the loudest laugh (which I find annoying at times).
He told about the night he drank a barrel of mead and smashed tables with his friends. (A horrible sight I would imagine) Legolas testified to his atrocities and that was when I discovered the two were good friends.
Aramis took a small wooden flute and started to play but the off-tuning angered Rod that he grabbed the thing and tossed it to the fire. Aramis, unaffected, pulled another one from his satchel and smiled, for he got a dozen spares.
Sometimes Rod would tell tales of missions he had in the past, killing a group of highwaymen in the South, the day he won a tournament in Rohan and many others. Aramis would tell how Laketown was like before the battle for Erebor, how his humble ancestor killed the dragon Smaug, and how the last Oakenshield died on top of the icy mountain, cutting off their royal bloodline.
He knew it very well as if he was there.
I hardly noticed the hours passing by, and I fell asleep in a bed of grass and a roof of thick boughs drooping down likes a canopy. Came morning, I found myself covered in cloth and we ride after breaking the fast with same food we had eaten last night.
It was late afternoon. We've crossed a dead river walled with giant stones, rocks I have never seen before. We had to walk on foot, the horses struggled to walk on rocky and sharp stones in the dried riverbed.
Gimli, deprived with agility and longer legs, cursed the path as he slipped and stumbled many times. We dared not to laugh! (Though I was certain everyone else struggled to contain their laughter). We snaked through the thick forest, I had a few slaps from the twigs until I decided to tug behind Legolas who seemed to know how to find the excellent way through.
Finally, we have come to the other side of the forest, a leaping river ran southwards, the water sparkled clear and silvery under the fading sky. Gandalf decided to camp near the river and to give our horses a repose. If only they could talk, the poor souls could have complained already.
Rod and Aramis built a small tent out of brown canvas and three wooden poles, while the elf and his little friend gathered twigs for the fire.
Gandalf invited me to join his company as he searched for something invisible in the sky. He stood at the edge of the river, holding his staff. Something's strange about him, though I don't see it in his eyes, I could sense he was not at peace.
'What is it, Gandalf?' I whispered standing beside him, looking up as if I am intrigued by something. The sky was still blue and clear with few clouds floating above the horizon.
The old man wore sadness on his visage, his light blue eyes looked weary and foreboding. At length we stood in silence glaring to the sky as if watching a spectacle. Finally, he turned to me and forced a thin smile then said, 'Good day it is indeed! Can you scout above? Let me witness your gift.'
His words brought a slight sting in my chest and I felt my neck muscles tightened. Suddenly, I found it hard to breathe. My hands were cold as if awaiting punishment. 'Alright, I shall if you please.'
Those were the only words that came, I never had this strange feeling when I am about to do it, never until now, and Gandalf will be the first one to see it. Maybe I am anxious, afraid to let anyone see me leave my body and enter another.
Sometimes I wonder if my gift was actually a curse, for I see no other well-founded purpose on stealing other forms than just having fun.
I looked around to find a comfortable place to lay. The old man suggested I should be inside the tent. Later then I realized, the tent was intended for me. How nice of them, or should I think they just don't like to see a lesser human performing a fiendish act?
I watched Legolas and Gimli started the fire near the tent, though the sun was still hovering the horizon. Well, not too early to cook for supper. Legolas will look after me, I forgot for a moment that he was my guardian. I saw his lips curved up as they spoke, I'm glad to know that the cold hearted elf actually knows how to smile.
And an unfamiliar feeling kindled within me.
I stole some more glances while walking towards the tent until he caught me. Frozen like a frightened child, he stared at me as if I've made a terrible mistake. I fear him (knowing he murdered someone like myself).
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'Anything you wish to say before you go?' the old man shouted. I didn't realize he wasn't following.
'Just... do not disturb me while I'm gone,' I stammered. And I went inside the tent almost fainting.
I heaved to calm down, my heart was pounding. I imagined my head flying off my neck, blood splattered all around this canvas. What if that elf would kill me while I'm gone? I would be trapped inside a terrifying realm forever, no feeling, no purpose, no end.
I sat straight with legs folded and my hands tucked together. With my chin up, I closed my eyes and entered the dark. Fear made me tremble, the feeling was overwhelming.
Soaring high, below me were five souls of beautiful beings, blurry in white, constantly shifting like dancing light amidst the wind that blew one-sidedly. I went higher and higher until I caught a vessel. A raven, the easiest creature I can bend. When I opened my eyes, I am inside another form covered with black soft feathers.
...
Trivia #7
In the book, Bard was the captain of the archers in Lake-town, not a boatman. He had no children in the book too. He was described as a tall man with dark hair, grim-voiced and grim-faced.
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