Lusseriel was sitting near the fire and trying to enjoy the peace of the night and the sound of the fire nearby, a sound and scent that stayed a comfort through the years. The sky was clear, the rain had finished falling some time ago and in the sky the moon was brightly shining.
And yet that beautiful sky did nothing to abate Lusseriel’s strong feelings regarding the past day. So she picked her diary and started writing in a sloppy, angry handwriting.
“Ilthirian, Ardirien, Arcangar and I were joined in Avardin by Andrahir.
Andrahir commented that apparently the group helped a lot in Tal Methedras… Well… They surely did, yes. They looked like they had more than enough by the time I arrived so…
During our discussion, we all agreed on the fact that the news of Saruman’s treachery was spreading but there was several questions that remained without answer: would it be enough to convince the men of Dunland to refuse him? Would they fight?
But none of those questions will find an answer anytime soon I’m sure.
And then Andrahir found interesting to use the fact we were in the middle of a conversation and so somewhat distracted to go speak to Ilthirian, offering her to keep his cloak…
That was the start of the most awkward day of this century! I do NOT thank him for that.
Can’t they keep their relationship, lack of thereof, and suspicion of one for themselves? Another day where that damn cloak starts an awkward situation and it’ll end up thrown accidentally on purpose in the nearest fire at hand.
An elf named Athlardal joined us about then, and he has the most terrible sense of logic.
It wasn’t long after this, thankfully, that we decided to ride to the Dunbog.
And we found Nona near the swamp. She pointed us at the scout and the camp nearby, she wasn’t able to tell if they were friendly or not.
The scouts weren’t overly friendly but they weren’t there to attack us clearly so that was enough for me.
Athlardal didn’t quite seem to like the swamp though. Poor elf.
We decided to head to the village to see if they needed help with anything and I dearly hoped the answer was a resounding no, but…
Anyway, we headed to the village and… who ever in their right mind decided that the middle of a swamp with avancs, and no shortage of mosquitoes was the perfect place to build a village?
“Come on, let’s go live where there’s no way we can keep any of the usual crop growing, where we can be miserable all year long: from the heat, dampness and mosquitoes in summer and from the cold and the damp in winter ? I swear it’s a great place to live in…”
Sounds promising no?
I mean… Even at the worst point of my life I’d have ran far from here, so… Now of course there is a village and families around so I guess I get why they stay but the ones who settled here however long ago… What madness took them to settle HERE?!
And Andrahir had no instinct apparently for he went straight to Arcangar to ask what the matter was.
That wasn’t the best thing to do I believe but what do I know?
At some point Athlardal joined Andrahir’s and Arcangar’s conversation, followed by Ilthirian and she left them soon after, and went hunting.
I’m all for people spending their pent-up aggression on some productive endeavor, but I couldn’t help wonder how far the company would be able to go if that situation lasted too long. Not to be blunt, but the area really isn’t safe as it is already, and alas it’s going to get worst and worst as we get closer to Isengard, we soon won’t have the opportunity to say : “I’m feeling murderous so I’m going hunting”. Because if you’ll go hunting alone, chances are you’ll never come back alive.
That is unless you’re very, very good or very, very lucky. Or both.
Ardirien went with her, I wished her luck.
I stayed behind as at least someone needed to be able to tell the others were they were going, just in case.
When their conversation broke off, to whatever end or resolution it found, Arcangar came to know where Ardirien was.
They ALL need to work on their communication abilities.
Andrahir soon left us to go and rest, the rest of us gathered around a fire… Somewhat to my regret as I was right there to see Arcangar offer his apologies to Ilthirian, which, great but again, private conversation, no?
And then I was right there to listen to Athlardal…
He lacks of experience so much, it's terrible. He's a damn danger and it's a miracle that he's still alive now ! For example, he went during the evening telling us the following or something close enough : “we have many tales and songs of old, should we not sing along the road in merriment, this was always our way no? So the stories say…”
I mean. Let’s cross enemy territory singing at the top of our lungs like it’s the best and safest place in the world. Because that’s not a guarantee of a swift death at all…
Well, I mean, unless you’re prince Fingon, but then no one here is him. And actually he was quite insane to do it anyway, so there, no excuse.
No seriously, HOW did Athlardal survive long enough to go that far into Dunland? He said it was the first time he left Imladris and yes, I can believe it, it showed!
If he disregards our warning and starts to sing on the road…
Come to think of this, the whole group being their own brand of agravating, perhaps we could just throw them at Saruman, Athlardal included and he'd run away far, fast and screaming...
Actually, I think I’ll follow Ilthirian example from earlier and go out hunting or I’ll never manage to find rest tonight. I haven’t found a group half as irritating and prone to awkwardness in centuries, and they’re all reminding me neatly of why I chose to become a messenger and accepts any and all message so long I don’t stay in one place for long! That’s impressive skills!
I actually miss my company! They were the most annoying elves I ever met, being with people who knew you as a baby and an awkward child would do that, but in this situation… Yes, I can say it again, I miss them…”
Lusseriel huffed and threw her notebook and pen into her bag, picking up her weapons instead before leaving the village discreetly, with just a nod toward one of the villager’s standing sentries.
The man stopped her and told her to be careful for there were orcs roaming not all that far from the village…
Lusseriel visibly perked up at that and her smile made the man step back with an uneasy look on his face. He let her go without further protest and she went on her way silently, but with a clear purpose.
