Authors's note: Again, like the first chapter, if the players of the characters portrayed in this story do not agree, please let me know and I will amend. I kept creative freedom to myself regarding the conversations for the continuity of the story. I did however borrow some of the verbal character interactions from Timandhris in order to allow continuity between her story and mine. She is aware and has given her blessings for it. However, a note of thank you from me to her. :-)
~Chapter Two~
To say that Erinwyn slept, at all, would have been a terribly misguided remark. Tied in the tent for the duration of the night had taken its toll, even on the seasoned lass, hardened by time and experience. Dark circles showed under her eyes. And yet, she still smirked defiantly as two warriors came to fetch her that morning. Naturally, they had not been gentle with the Woman, but she knew that. For whatever reason they might have had, they hated her kin, that much had been clear to her. It intrigued her, in a morbid manner, what could motivate anyone to have such little regard for life? What could motivate these creatures to be so different from all the other races? Erinwyn even got the sensation, that they felt as though the entire War did not apply to them, in their mind. How could anyone be so delusional? Her logical thought process could not perceive it. Not yet, anyway.
During the night, she had had time to think, to observe and go over the encounters she had thus far had with these strange Elves. She could not even bring herself to think of them as Eldar. In her mind – that is to say, in her opinion – Eldar was a name of a people one respected. For their wisdom, for the deeds of the past. These creatures resembled the Eldar she knew, but only physically. That is where it ended. Their code of dress, their behaviour, their manners or lack there of … Erinwyn secretly thought they resembled naught so much as savage beasts.
And now, she was being escorted, or rather dragged, to the tent of their leader, Serpent, as she liked to call Timandhris. It would not bode well, but still, Erinwyn appeared free from any fear. She did not have much to lose, as it were. Surely, there were friends, loved ones, but the reality of that was that in her experience, most of those only touched a life for so long. They would disappear, or already had. No, for one such as herself, the road was her best friend. And it would not miss an additional pair of feet. It was in part that, which gave her her edge over the Kinn-Lai, she knew it, and wasn't going to give up on that edge any time soon.
~
Timandhris' tent was elaborate, erecting it and taking it down would certainly take some time, a feat that was performed for her, as Erinwyn had observed. There was rarely something the Elf did herself, save shout orders, and sidle up to her non-Kinn-Lai companions. Each time she did, it sent shivers down Erinwyn's spine, as though the insincerity was dripping from that honeyed voice. Or was it poison?
The Woman was released from the grip of the two warriors who had escorted her.
"Make thyself comfortable... Doth thou drink?" The one Erinwyn referred to as 'Serpent' stated as she held out two glasses filled with wine.
Even if Erinwyn had touched alcohol, her hands were still tied. Another cruel game. "No." Was all she deemed the Elf worthy of. No emotion, no indication of anything at all. By all accounts though, it was also the truth. Never once was she known to imbibe anything with an alcoholic content.
"As thou wishest." Timandhris shrugged and sipped from the wine.
There was a pause as both seemed to gauge each other's stance. The silence was broken by the Elf. "The girl is dead."
Erinwyn had known what had happened in truth. Areene had been left in Bree by Edstan, who had procured a body to serve as Areene's, and had buried it, just in case the Kinn-Lai decided to investigate. But Erinwyn could not let anything show, the slightest hint of smugness would rouse the Serpent's suspicion, and so she simply retained her stoic expression. "I know. I heard Edstan speak to the others, through the canvas." Was her reply, not even her voice betrayed so much as a hint of anything that could give away the plan.
"Thou hast risked thy very life for this mortal girl, thou hast been taken prisoner and art now mine - and in the end, thou couldest not rescued her anyway. Bitter, I would say." Came the reply, the tone of voice indicating victory to be at hand.
But that was a victory the Woman could easily waylay. A sly grin appeared on her lips as she replied. "Your poisonous words do not strike me. You think you are able to break my spirit, to make me humble and follow any word of yours, but believe me when I say: Many have tried before and no one has yet succeeded."
Her verbal sparring partner, however, had a cocky reply at the ready. "I do not need to break thee. The nature of thy kin will be thy own undoing. Thou wilt learn to fear me. From thy uttermost inner it will crawl on the surface, a fear and desire for me, for what I am. As much thou feelst now aversion, the more thou wilt come to see that it is us, the Kinn-Lai thou aspirest. Fear from us; desiring to be like us. Immortal and perfect."
The sheer arrogance made Erinwyn smirk inwardly. She knew the truth of her thoughts, unlike this savage, who deemed herself so perfect, that she was blind to the fact that not all looked through the same eyes. That not all minds worked alike. A careful mental note was made of that, but no response was given. No, that would be something that she would keep as proverbial ammunition. A verbal arrow to strike true when shot from the right lips, to pierce where no weapon could.
Nothing could have prepared the Woman for what was to come, however. In retrospect, had that been the case, she might well have forfeit her life in the tent.
Black gloves, donned with sharp, silver, claw-like nails. Initially, Erinwyn had not thought much of it. It was not as if she had never been at the receiving end of torture in one form or another. Unlike many Women she knew, her pain threshold was actually quite high. Pain was not amongst her fears. Not any more.
But much to her surprise, the gloves were not intended for Erinwyn at all.
She was escorted outside of the tent by two warriors, who proceeded to take a hold of her. Again, Erinwyn's thoughts turned to torture, perhaps these savages wanted to set an example, by performing some manner of torture upon her, before the eyes of the other companions not of the Kinn-Lai.
And she was partially correct. But only partially.
Outside, Edstan stood, speaking to the Eldar Daerundros, the two being amongst Erinwyn's closes allies on the trip, them, and the Dwarf Twion.
"Edstan, I need to speak to thee!" Timandhris called out, causing a hint of suspicion to spark in Erinwyn, but as always, she cautiously kept her thoughts hidden from these creatures.
What happened next would, whenever it passed Erinwyn's memory, forever be played off in silence. The words themselves losing their importance, paling against the cruel and unforgiving act performed by the Serpent.
Using the nails set upon the fingertips of the black gloves, accompanied by the sickening sound of bone and sinew snapping, Timandhris took Edstan's left hand pinky finger, leaving a pathetic stump. Indeed, the Man had given a trophy of himself in exchange for the release of the Woman who had secretly begun to mean so much to him.
~
"How could you do that?! Valar knows what she'll use it for...?!" Erinwyn's voice verged on the edge of hysteria as soon as they were safely out of earshot of the Kinn-Lai. Edstan's wound had been seen to, rather expertly, by the Eldar Daerundros. She in turn, seemed to care more about the two of the race of Man than she was letting on. Her reasons? Unknown to the Woman, who was nonetheless more than a little grateful for the presence of the wise Eldar.
Edstan sighed as he was battling a combination of a lack of blood and a myriad of emotions, centred around the scolding Woman. Perhaps for those reasons, he gave in and whispered. "One makes such sacrifices for someone one loves... Would do it again too."
Erinwyn blinked. Unbelieving what she heard. Surely, it must have been the sheer exhaustion. She stopped dead in her tracks and simply stared as he walked away.
Closing the scouting party was the Dwarf Twion, who upon coming across Erinwyn standing numbly on the hillside, gently ushered her along whilst she muttered at no one in particular. "But... how? And why didn't he...? I mean..."
Shifting effortlessly across the Weather hills, the Eldar Filhindros, Daerundros and Laenir travelled light on their feet, while Edstan struggled to keep up as a result of the morning's happenings, followed by Twion and Erinwyn who remained the rear guard for the entire scouting endeavour. Until they all came to a sudden halt at a mean looking cliff. Travelling with the wagons would be a challenge, particularly made difficult by the fact that the only passage ran conveniently through the middle of an orc camp. Not sizeable enough to pose a threat to life by any means, but still large enough to cause damage to the wagons, which would considerably restrain them on their journey. Worse still, in order to continue scouting, they would have to make their way through.
Not spotting much movement from the valley below, the adventurers decided to risk a closer look. And that is when they saw it. Those orcs that were still in camp, had been slaughtered. Arrows protruding from heads and necks, arrows not of Eldar make, which caused more than its fair share of raised eyebrows. Of course, the sense of being followed had stalked the group since the moment they had left Imladris, but this... this was the very first tangible proof. And whomever was following, they seemed for all intents and purposes to bear no ill will.
Cautiously making their way across and past foul-smelling corpses, they finally reached the pass they were bound for.
~
The clear water running through the gulley was a welcoming sight, cool from its springs far up the hills and untainted by poison. It didn't take Edstan long to plummet his injured hand in it – since the injury had been obtained he had ached to cool it down, wash it clear. Despite the bindings Daerundros had applied. As a result, he remained unaware that a few feet off, a potential drama was unfolding.
"By Thorin's beard...!" Came the cry from a deep, thundering voice which seemed to gain in strength as a result of the cliff surfaces it echoed off of.
Most in the party quickly looked in the direction the shouting was coming from, only to see the figure of Twion being swept away with the current, desperately paddling to get to the shore, giving off the impression of a particularly hairy, drowning puppy.
Try though they might, none of the onlookers could manage to keep a straight face at this point, much to the displeasure of the focal point of that laughter: Twion.
In the process of casting out a piece of rope he could hold on to, the sturdy, self-sufficient and above all proud Dwarf shrugged it off as he clambered ashore aided only by his own strength, or more accurately, his willpower. "If this get out, I'll hunt yer all down..." He growled, in particular to the Eldar present, who seemed amused above all others.
~
Much to the relief of all those in the scouting party, the journey back wasn't nearly as eventful and they made their return in good time, before dusk set in. Upon reaching it, Twion beckoned Erinwyn to follow him. He lowered his voice as he nodded to Bertha, the vicious axe which, after the ordeal of being captured by the Kinn-Lai, had been returned to her by her Dwarven friend. "You need to take better care of her, lass." He stated, not scolding, but rather taking the tone of voice a father would when teaching a child of the world around.
"I know I should." Erinwyn began, nodding. She knew the truth of Twion's words and although absent-minded, she ran her left hand gently along the wooden hilt. "She means a lot to me..."
Twion nodded, the observant Dwarf had noticed, but was respectful enough not to ask the tale, if it was to come, it would in its own time, at its own pace. He took off his backpack then and fumbled around in it, until he retrieved a carefully wrapped item. It bore the vague shape of a dagger. When his calloused hands unfolded the cloth, that guess was confirmed. A beautifully crafted dagger, the hilt set with jewels so precious Erinwyn had rarely seen anything of equality. "T'was my fathers." Twion explained. "I want you to have it." And held it up for Erinwyn to take.
A sense of honour came over Erinwyn, catching her somewhat off-guard. Her lips curled into a smile, the first true sign of humble emotions she had shown when around the savages. Thankfully she caught herself doing so and quickly shook her head. "I can't take that, it..." She started, but was given no chance to finish.
"Please. For the day that you might not have Bertha with you. I want to ensure you're safe." The Dwarf insisted and once more presented Erinwyn with the dagger. "I'd want nothing so much as fer it to be driven through that serpent's heart..." He added, narrowing his eyes dangerously as he looked in the direction of Timandhris' tent.
Moved beyond words, and knowing the insult she would bestow upon refusal, she took the dagger, a lump forming in her throat, for Erinwyn felt once more the memory of old Gothidox surface, strengthening her respect and friendship with the Dwarf now before her. "Thank you." She whispered.
They were not given long to enjoy that moment, when behind them, the voice of that very same serpent sounded. "Ah, and so though art back with us..."
Erinwyn spun on her heel, skilfully hiding the just-received gift behind her shield. She narrowed her eyes dangerously at the creature moulded into Elven form, for she could scarcely call it 'Elf' anymore.
"And so perfect are we, that thou will always returnest to us... Why, soon though deepest desire art naught but to be like us... beautiful, terrible, unyielding and immortal." She crooned, almost purring as her wicked gaze came to a rest on Erinwyn, gloating in what she deemed her superiority over the Woman.
"You think I would want to be like you? Do you really think, that I would want to be immortal after having had such disrespect for life, and forever having to exist with the consequences of my actions?!" Erinwyn shot back, scarcely holding back a dismissive laugh. "No, you are sadly mistaken. If I were you, I would be wishing I was not cursed with eternal existence, for the consequences of my actions will be terrible indeed, so no, I am glad I am not in that position." She barked, then bowed her head to Twion in respect, before striding off, likely not interested in losing her temper in the presence of the serpent. Besides, night would fall soon and then, finally, she would get some much-needed sleep.
