Eduwiges of Faldham was angry to the point of madness. She arose several hours before the dawning, saddled up Oenone and rode out of Rivendell at breakneck speed. She crossed the bridge and forced the watch to scatter as she thundered by. Sindarin curses littered her wake like hailstones on a tin roof. Oenone raced up the hills and back and forth on the switch backs as Eduwiges tried to clear her mind of the nightmare she had so recently experienced in the hallowed halls of Imlaid Gelar.
The wind of the cool night air was invigorating as the rush of the wind blew her hair back over the circlet she wore. The same intricately worked silver headband the guards of Imladris had gifted her for serving with them. The same watch she had ridden through in anger moments before. She topped the final switchback and raced onto the highlands of the Trollshaws and coursed through another set of the watch guarding the gates of Imladris. Once she was free of the gentle hostility of the elves she slowed Oenone to a trot. The trail was lit by the light of the stars and the glow of the moon. She wondered if the moon was watching her as she made her way through the giant trees and grassland of the moor. Eduwiges rode for an hour seeking solace for her soul.
She was wearing the slick bodysuit favored by the woodland elves. The stretchy fabric covered her like an extra skin, taut over her muscles. She wore light shoulder guards that were sharp edged and winglike, Extra padding was built into the elbows and knees of the garment. The armor was made for elves who roamed the forest hunting fell creatures like orcs and trolls. Designed for stealth, there were no buckles or straps that might rattle during an ambush or get caught on a tree limb. Eduwiges felt deliciously unencumbered and knew she made the right choice to eschew her heavier armor on this journey. The trade off, if there was one, was that she could not go toe to toe with many armored foes. Speed and stealth was the object of her mission.
‘There!’ she thought to herself as she came closer to the high cliffs of the Bruinien Gorge. A large limestone rock with creatures embedded in it from ages past sat half out of the dirt to the side of the forest trail. Sharply, she turned Oenone off the tail and into the canopy of the forest. Her anger now dulled like a throbbing fracture, had cooled somewhat. It boiled beneath the surface of her mind but she had disciplined herself to channel it where she could properly use it instead of rushing off blindly and damn the consequences. After the incident on the bridge at Imlaid Gelair, Lord Elrond had tightened the security around Imladris and all of the way stations in the Trollshaws. He forbade patrols and had the watch look inwards to scour the remaining masked ones from the refuges. Eduwiges had heard tell of a small camp of Angmarim scouts stirring up trouble. She had her old friend Moriaith, the Night Thorn, tell her where the patrol was last seen. She decided to take care of them herself. The Angmarim owed her and her friends a debt and she was going to collect it.
As Eduwiges trailed through the woods she eased her sword in its sheath and made certain her dagger and other weapons were securely in place. She had left her great sword behind and chose to bring Morinehtar, darkness slayer, instead. The curved blade was much better for close in work and stealth. The nightmare, or whatever it was had shattered her soul. Eduwiges was nothing but loyal to her old homeland and to be called a traitor and a whore was a terrible shame. The visions of her father dealing in corruption in Rohan had shaken her as well. She knew the visions could not be true but they were so real! When the people of Faldham had tossed her father’s head to her feet at the base of the dias and his sightless eyes stared up at her she had gone catatonic. When she came out of it only the sweet words and love from her friends, Calidis, Finchley, Nethrida and her Lethy had returned her sanity. The next day when Addiela cooked her a home cooked meal from the Mark and talked Edu through the false visions, her anger rose like fire from a dragon. When she heard the guards discussing the Angmarim patrol she decided some action would sate the intense feelings she carried inside her. The unsealed had to answer for Finchley, and Ryn.
Suddenly as the sun began to rise she caught the scent of woodsmoke and came to a complete stop. She stood up in the stirrups and spied a glimpse of a camp ahead. Red robed figures were gesturing manically around the white smoke of a campfire. She could hear the strange clipped accent of the Angmarim speaking and her ears caught another voice speaking in response. She took a deep breath and judged there were four, a typical Angmar patrol along with the one she could not see. Eduwiges cracked her knuckles and pulled Morinehtar from its sheath. She took a deep breath and booted Oenone into action.
The scouts froze as Eduwiges and her horse charged forth from the tree line and into the camp. There were two tents several feet from the fire and four of the red robed scouts looking up at her in shock as the black steed bore down on them. To the left stood a tall masked elf frozen in a gesturing posture towards the scouts. The enemy had no time to even breathe when Oenone’s shoulder knocked one of them hard to the ground. The other one, on the left fell silently, his head rolling in the dirt from Eduwiges’ attack. The horse maiden wheeled Oenone and rode back to the remaining men around the campfire. Eduwiges flew from her horse and ran one of the men through. The other had finally gotten his sword out but had no time to use it. Eduwiges pulled Morinhtar from the man’s chest and booted the other with the sword straight on. He fell to the ground, hard.
The Angmarim whom Oenone had shouldered was moaning. His ribs and shoulder were shattered and he could not move. His insides must have been damaged because he was fading fast and blood ran from his nose and mouth. Eduwiges finished her turn from booting the man in the chest and followed up by splitting him near in two as her sword clove him from where his neck met his shoulder. That left the elf.
Eduwiges was a bit off balance from her last move and she could not get her sword out of the man she had just killed. The elf rushed forward with a dagger meaning to stab her in the back. Eduwiges left her blade where it was and rolled forward. The elf missed her blow and staggered with her momentum. Eduwiges came up with a piece of old tree log, spun like a top and brained the elf with it at the base of her skull. The elf hit the ground, lifeless like a rag doll. Her limbs splayed out like a marionette whose strings had been cut. Eduwiges came to a guard position and viewed her handiwork. Three dead for sure, one dying and one unconscious. She spat on the ground and grabbed the hilt of her sword. She put her foot on the dead scout and pulled. Morinehtar came free and she cleaned the blade off on the robe of the Angmarim.
Eduwiges disarmed the dead and kicked the dagger away from the masked elf. She began going through the camp searching for letters, maps or evidence of what the scouts and the elf were up to. She found nothing until she riffled through the elf’s tunic. Just inside, seated next to her breast Eduwiges found a parchment with wording written in a language she did not recognize. She tucked the letter away inside her own tunic then stood there wondering what to do next. An evil grin came over her face and she got to work. She cut the ropes holding the tents up and trussed the elf up like a yule goose. She picked her up and tied her to the back of her horse. The steed would resent the restriction of movement and the weight but would perform as asked. The elf began to stir and watched wide eyed as Eduwiges put a personal touch on the camp. She aligned the dead up in a row by the fire and put the head of the first Angmarim she had killed on his chest. She then stacked their weapons by the fire.
Eduwiges stood back, hands on her hips, satisfied. A clear message had been sent. Continue at your own peril! The elf began to struggle with the gag in her mouth and with her bonds. Eduwiges walked over and smiled. ‘You did not see this coming did you?’ she said.
She pulled the mask off of the elf and stood back in shock when she saw the familiar face. Her eyes lit fire in anger again as the elf smiled wickedly around the gag and mumbled in Sindarin, mocking Eduwiges, ‘You did not see this coming, did you?’
Eduwiges smiled bitterly and stuffed the gag back on the elf and put the mask back on her face. She jostled the elf to be certain she was secured on the horse and would not fall off. She patted the elf on the head and said, ‘Enjoy the ride bitch.’
She mounted up and rode for Rivendell.
