Travelers

Chapter 3 - The Reunion

Jacob had found them. They were all together again, sure Vince seemed to be an evil overlord, but they were together. Then he looked around and noticed there was only 2 living people in sight and himself. Vince had fled, leaving his friends here. He guessed Vince wasn't joking about wanting to rule. It was a great feeling to know that at least he had Cat and Mal with him. He rose from his cover beside the road and walked to the path and greeted his friends.

"Alla!" He shouted. They looked at him like as if he was a complete stranger, then he realized what he had just said. "Sorry. It's a greeting I learned from the elves," He explained. Mal rode over to him, just as he reached Cat.

"I didn't know you could ride a horse Mal. When'd you learn that?" Cat asked, curious.

"When'd you learn to wield a sword?" She countered. As the two girls started their chatter, Jacob decided he should do something useful. It was then that he started listening, and it was then that he heard the rustling.

"Quiet, girls!" He hissed, sharply, trying to be quiet himself. He drew an arrow as they looked at him in disbelief for his stiff command. Knocking his arrow, he called, "Who are you? Come out or I will put an arrow through your foot." A shuffling came from the bushes as a figure stood. In the fading light, Jacob could see it was a young boy, barely in his teens. "Vince? That's not you, is it?" Jacob asked. The youth finally attempted to speak, but it was Cat whose voice was heard.

"Ryan!? Why are you here? Did you follow me?" Cat erupted with questions for the knight in training. The boy seemed to shy away from the barrage of inquiries, so Jacob simply summarized.

"Who are you, and why are you following my friend?" He asked.

Finally, the boy said something, "I thought I might be able to prove myself if I could help her find you. After she beat me, I had to find some way to do it, but now what am I supposed to do?"

"Sorry guys. This is Ryan, a knight-in-training back in Gondor. I proved to him that even a girl can kick his butt." Cat explained. At that, Jacob snorted, and Ryan looked discouraged by that, so Jacob decided to explain.

"You thought you could beat Cat? I couldn't do it before we got here, and I probably stand no chance now. Challenging her to a duel now would be like challenging a dragon to a battle, while using a wooden shield and a stick." Jacob commented, completely seriously. He continued, getting to the point, "Though, now we do need to bring you back to Minas Tirith now. What way are we going Cat? You're the smartest here, and the one who arrived in Gondor."

"Alright, follow me. We're going straight east for now, then we'll start heading south." Cat replied, accepting the role of leader for now. As they walked, Jacob glanced at Ryan often, for he seemed to be staring at Cat in complete awe. Jacob thought he might know what the problem was.

"Why do you continue to stare, Ryan?" Jacob whispered in his ear, startling him and causing him to break his gaze. "You have barely taken your eyes off of her since I found you." Ryan turned to Jacob as they walked and looked as if he understood.

"Not to worry, sir. I will not stand in your way. I have simply been wondering where she learned to wield a blade, much less master the shield. There is only one warrior in all of Gondor who I have even heard of with her skills that I see now, and that was Borimir, son of Denethor." Ryan replied. Jacob backed away, realizing he might have misjudged the look.

Jacob said back to him, "I'm Jacob, not sir, and I heard something similar said about myself. I was told that I reminded one of the elves of an elf named Legolas. I think that wasn't a coincidence. I think we all gained traits of some of the heroes of this land."

"But what about your other friend?" Ryan thought aloud, "He can't be a hero, but he could be a villain." They continued in silence, walking down the road. Jacob realized that they needed to start setting up camp, as it was full night by now.