I have fallen in chiefly with two rangers during my time in Evendim; Nethrandir and Orchalwe. The former has a rather sly sense of humor, I have found, and we passed many enjoyable afternoons on the banks of Men Erain, discussing the places we had been and the things we had observed.
Orchalwe is more serious by far, and I have never met a Man who, like so many of my kin, seemed to live much of his life in days past. But he is a wealth of history, and I have learned much more from him than I have time to chronicle here--on the histories of men, and chiefly of the city of Annuminas.
We were conferring, about a week ago--Nethrandir, Orchalwe, and myself--and I told them that I had so far seen little to compare with the beautiful views of the region--the sunrise as seen across the lake from Emyn Uial, to climb atop the statue of King's Cross and see the waters spread out before me in the dusk like rippling violet.
It was then that Orchalwe told us of his favorite view; that of Tinnudir from the upper entry of Ost Elendil in Annuminas. Nethrandir and myself were naturally moved to curiosity. I need not trouble you with the lengthy debate that followed, but after a great deal of cajoling on Nethrandir's part (and many airy assurances on mine), Orchalwe agreed that, if we could fight our way across the great bridge that spanned the city itself, we could enjoy the view for ourselves.
All three of us set out. Again, I will not trouble you with the details of battle--suffice it to say that this beautiful city is overrun with servants of the Enemy, and we had a hard fight indeed. There are thankfully several waypoints throughout Annuminas that are kept by the rangers, so we had moments of reprieve here and there.
We set out at dusk--our idea being to move in stealth whenever possible, as an outright assault would have been madness. Thus it was that, exhausted but victorious, we took the bridge just before dawn (after a brutal fight with some sort of troll, the likes of which I have not seen before).
It was worth it.
Orchalwe kept a little aside, obviously lost in some sad memory, while Nethrandir and I sat on the edge of a small grassy cliff. We watched the moon set over Tyl Ruinen and the sunrise slowly tint the distant walls of Tinnudir, indigo and peach and pinks all spilling across the sky and reflected in the lake.
To see such a sight with good friends, and more, to see in their eyes how much this moment meant to them (for this city carried far more weight in their hearts than it did in mine)...'twas truly a humbling thing, perhaps more impressive than the view itself.
Now, of course...we must fight our way back.
