Bloodlines
Act I Chapter V
Lucifen woke up with a sudden rush of water pouring onto his face and into his throat. His eyelid's were weak and his sight dim as the bright sun pierced his retinas. With having a thirst for water for several days, he didn't even let a second past before he graciously accepted the water into his mouth.
Rathel stood above him, wearing leather armor and a quiver. He would hide a faint smile as he poured water from his tankard onto the man's face. "My... aren't you the thirsty one?"
Lucifen could barely see, even after the last drops of water fell on his face. All he saw was the silhouette of a man standing above him with the sun directly behind him. He tried to speak, but his voice crocked.
After emptying out his tankard on the man's face, he places it back into his belt and draws his short sword. "You don't look Haradrim, but how do I know you're not an enemy?" Rathel speaks harshly as his points his blade at the man's face.
Coughing up rather intensely, he tries to wave away the man's concern with his arms. As he does so, he is reminded of the pain his body is in. "I-" he tries to bargain his innocence before starting up another cough.
Rathel gives the man a frown as he pokes him lightly with his blade. "You what?"
Lucifen, surviving the coughing fit, manages to speak a full sentence. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Curling a brow, Rathel pokes him once more. "Eh? What're you on about?"
Defeated from exhaustion, Lucifen rests his head against the ground. "Got anymore water?"
At first, Rathel didn't know what to make of the man. Unsure of him being friend or foe, he took the needed precautions to ensure the safety of both himself and the people he is protecting. Realizing that the men before him is a mess, he sheathes his blade. Pulling out a second tankard, he throws it at the man.
"Answer me this one question at least, friend or foe?" he asks the man who accepted the tankard with greed.
"That depends now, to whom?" Lucifen says after a long sip, acting more smarter than he really is.
Sighing inside his helmet, Rathel speaks the obvious. "To Gondor."
Lucifen stops himself from drinking anymore as he does a spit take. "T-to Gondor?!" he speaks as he coughs up the water in his lungs.
Curling up another brow, Rathel seems more confused of the man. "Why is that a surprise?" he asks the man as he watches him wipe his mouth. "B-because I was in Bree not too long ago!"
From there, the two looked at each other in silence.
It took a lot of convincing, but after explaining to the man everything Lucifen remembered and did, Rathel was sure the man wasn't lying. "Where is Gondor anyway?" Lucifen asks, not knowing Middle-Earth very well.
"Far, very far. Whoever owned that wagon took you for a ride for atleast several days. You must be in very bad condition to not be awake for any of them." Rathel speaks, intrigued by the man's tale.
Lucifen buries his face deep within his hands. "Bloody hells, what did I get myself into?"
Shaking his head at the man's unfortunate turn of events, Rathel offers him a hand to get himself up to his feet. "You've gotten yourself mixed up in a nasty place." he says with a slight smile, amused of the man.
With some pain, Lucifen accepted the man's hand and got himself off the ground. "I-I've got to head back." he says before remembering. "What of the men in black? Where are they?" he speaks out of concern of his safety as he looks around.
"I managed to scare them off, but things could've went bad real soon if it wasn't for good luck." Rathel says as he places a reassuring hand on the man's shoulder. "Don't worry, you're safe now."
"Who were they even?" Lucifen asks, a bit rustled up from coping with all this information. But the man only shook his head, "They were foes, that's all you need to know." Lucifen nods, feeling he isn't in the right position to be asking all the questions.
"I'm Luc by the way."
Rathel would only curl his brow before patting the man's shoulder. "Alright Luc, let's get you somewhere warm and safe for you to heal up.
Lucifen was about to ask for the man's name, but he was honestly satisfied enough that he found someone willing to help him get through the mess he created. "S-sure..."
Little did Lucifen know, that was the day he encountered someone from his past. A past long forgotten by him for the crimes he created. A past to which Lucifen thought only ghosts would remember. And a ghost he did find that day.
