"The path is lost!"
"Turn back now!"
Eofeole cried out to his Dwarf companion, they were in the midst of a storm high on the pass of Caradhras. Cold and shaking were their very bodies, snow pouring down from the clouded skies. They could hardly see the path before themselves in the blizzard and were more lost than usual. The Dwarf could have gone on, but Eofeole would not go any further and had decided to turn back, with or without the Dwarf.
Slowly he trailed his path back down the mountain through knee-deep snow. His resilient body lasted well through the storm, after two hours back down he finally made his way to the ground. There he walked a bit longer till he found a patch of trees. He gathered up some wood and lit a fire which he sat around with his hands out towards it. It was dark by that time, and the moon was out in the now clear skies, glistening brightly on the lands below. Eofole then placed his cloak beneath himself and lied down on his side next to his campfire. Slowly he began to close his eyes, falling asleep to the warmth when he had noticed a blurry figure with his tired eyes walking towards him.
He sat up and rubbed his eyes, ensuring that what he was seeing was real. It was. The figure was that of his Dwarven companion who had come from the mountain and had come to join him at the fire. "Cold, aye?" Said the dwarf sitting down next to the fire and removing his gloves, "I should have turned back with you, lad. I went hither the top for about an hour longer before I had discovered that the path was completely sealed by a wall of snow. Bah! It matters not, there are other ways of getting across the Misties, or around. But that will take many more days and the path will be dangerous. Perhaps more dangerous than the colds of this mountain I say!"
Eofeole managed to laugh heartily at the Dwarf's words, "I am glad you have returned. I care not how far I have to go, I do not mind as long as I have some one along to speak to as I walk." They smiled and laughed for a while, then spent another hour speaking and laughing beneath the tree before falling asleep peacefully next to the fire.
