The Three Kingdoms

7: Hollen-garth

Beinion was the first of his company to awake, which was not unusual. For a while, he laid on his cot in the barracks, listening to the sound of Bor's snoring in the cot next to him. Inside, it was mostly quiet. Quiet enough for him to hear the bustle going on outside: horse hooves moving past on the road outside, followed by the rumbling wheels of a wagon full of goods, various chattering, and the everyday comings and goings of Hollen-garth.

Slowly he sat up, and quietly made his way to the tall window on the far side of the large room, being sure not to disturb his sleeping companions just yet. The room they were in was rather large, and was neatly lined with several dozen cots, and the floor boards quietly creaked beneath his feet.

Having a rather high ranking, he was able to get the four of them some beds on short notice in the mountain-elf barracks, rather than having to pay a fee to stay at the local inn. This was always to his pleasure, as he preferred the barracks not only because they provided a free bed, but he felt like the offered a bit more privacy as well. It was closed to traders and merchants, and was open only to military of the mountain realm.

Carefully, he peeked through the faded gray curtains, and winced as his eyes adjusted to the sunlight that was let through. Judging by the sun, he guessed that it was much later in the day than he had anticipated, and they had probably slept until about noon. They would have to be getting on their way very soon if they still wanted to make it to the river kingdom in decent time, and he was hoping to leave without drawing much attention to themselves. He didn't feel like explaining that he had specifically gone against the wishes of Lord Vehiron by entering Gúl... and even worse, being captured and held prisoner there.

He turned back quietly closing the curtains behind him and made his way back to his sleeping companions. He returned to sit on his cot, and turned to Bor who was sleeping next to him.

"Bor." Beinion called to his slumbering friend.

Bor grunted and stared at his captain through squinted eyes.

"What time is it?" he grumbled as he staggered to his feet.

"Around noon, or a little after." Beinion guessed. "We need to keep moving. We still have a ways to go, and we are expected by Lord Dorainen this evening."

Bor grumbled in agreement, pushing the light blanket off himself, and begrudgingly getting to his feet and quietly his way to Nithron's cot; there was no way he was going to miss on a chance on being the one to wake Nithron from a peaceful slumber.

"Wake up princess, you've had enough beauty sleep." He said with a proud smirk as he kicked Nithron's cot swiftly.

Nithron jolted awake with a shout, clearly startled by the abrupt awakening from Bor, and looked at his friend rather begrudgingly. Bor laughed proudly, satisfied to see that he had accomplished his goal. Fortunately, Nithron's shout was also loud enough to cause Eruviel to stir, sparing the group from having to debate the appropriateness of waking their new companion with a startling kick.

Eruviel woke up with an initial feeling of confusion to her surroundings, but was quickly reminded of her whereabouts when she saw the tall and looming figures of Beinion and Bor standing near her.

Blinking the sleep from her eyes, she slowly sat up and stared quizzically at Nithron who was now hunched over and rubbing the side of his head. After a moment, she turned her gaze to Beinion, who was also staring at Nithron with amusement.

"Is he alright?" She questioned. This seemed to amuse Bor, as he let out a quiet snort.

"Fine." Was all Nithron managed to grumble as he began to fumble around, searching for his boots beneath his cot.