I regret leaving Siward behind in the manner that I did, but I could not chance him following. Not after what he told me.
He is a friend of Blaecwyn and an occasional warrior for her militia group. As such, he believes as she does; that we are to look after our own. I know he does not like me all that much, but he would look after me for the sake of his friendship with that fierce woman.
I saw him in Bree when I passed by in the hopes of finding Flannery to give her the clothing that I had made for her baby. He asked where I was going to and who I was searching for and promised to escort me as far as I would allow it. It was as we made camp on the first day that he told me. He had been hired to killed my love by none other than Rosabur! That treacherous little mare!
I let him take me as far as Dwaling and then, after we had stopped for the eve and he had done me the courtesy of removing my stitches, I left him there. He was sleeping at the time. The man sleeps like a corpse and, as such, did not notice as I slipped away into the night.
From there, I made my way north through Evendim. I have travelled a small portion of this land before, but that did not stop me from becoming lost along the way once or twice. Still, I managed to avoid any bandits by pure luck, I think, and make my way back to a more familiar area.
I stopped for a time in Kauppa-Khotta. I remembered this place from the time I came out here to find Baradar. I left my horse with them, knowing I would be better off on foot from there, and traded some of my posessions for some thick animal fat to smear on my face, hands and feet to help ward off the cold, and some provisions.
The way ahead was hard going. I recall it being so from my previous trip here, but even after so long of recovering, I still find myself out of breath easily and both my back and stomach ache abominably. I fought through the pain, though, trudging on through the ice with a grim and weary determination until I reached the hot springs in the tunnel.
Now I sit in wait for them to come.
I know that they must for I studied Blaecwyn's maps and books extensively in order to give myself something to do during my incarceration and I recall distinctly that there are only two ways out of the snow-lands. One is through this ravine and the other would mean sneaking past an army of hostile men and creatures to pass into Angmar. No one in their right mind would attempt that pass right now.
It is warm enough here, I suppose. The wind whistles eerily through the tunnel and the steam of the springs makes it difficult to see through the mist. The sounds echo back and forth, making it seem that every falling pebble is a stampede of sheep, but it is still better than being out on the open ice fields.
