Marganil could barely feel her feet. The long road South of Bree had left her exhausted, so many endless days of walking… but the sites, oh the sites! All the marvelous vistas that they met on their way made her feel like a toddler once again; excited about every small thing they saw. She had to admit that sometimes, she felt overwhelmed too. When this happened, she did her best to keep her tears from spilling over. Her two companions did not deserve that. They had been supportive and enthusiastic and able to keep them on route to a destination she had asked them to go to. It was her family that they were going to seek out in Dol Amroth.
After a long road, they had reached Enedwaith. They had found themselves camping amongst ancient Elven ruins. Who had lived here? What did they do? Were they happy? Those were thoughts that ought to cross her sleepy mind waking up from a long night’s rest. Instead, she kept thinking, why is there a goat chewing my boots?
It was right at this moment that Thurintos rejoined the campsite, with pep in his step and the rising sun to his back. His shirt was formed into a makeshift bowl for apples. “I’ve found some apples! They’re nothing to write home about but good nonethe-” He stopped to look at the big goat munching on some boots. “Well, hello new furry friend! If I knew boots were on the menu, I wouldn’t have gone looking for other things to eat”.
Finnvi, who had been squatting on top of a half crumbling wall surveying their environment, hopped down by the campfire. She inspected the gathered apples before snatching one. “Did you stumble on an orchard?” A moment later she asked with a mouth full of the fruit. “Goats and apple trees… do you think there are people living around here?”
Marganil also chose a juice apple from Thurintos’ shirt; took a bite and then offered the rest to the goat. The goat had moved away from her as she rose up, but the promise of food brought him closer to her again. “This one has no fear” she yawned. “Its masters must be nearby”.
Thurintos’ eyes began to squint. He had not thought of the possibility that the apples belonged to someone. “I didn’t see a fence, so those apples were fair game in my opinion. As for the goat, there’s a good chance that people live around here since it is close to the road”.
“I don’t have moral concerns about the apples” Finnvi chuckled. “But it could be… impractical to be seen as thieves by the whoever lives around here”. Ever practical Finnvi tried to examine the animal for a brand. “Maybe we should try and give it back”.
The animal in question got a nice large bite of the offered apple. Marganil decided to test her theory of it being a pet and used to people by… scratching it behind the ears. Her soft head scratch was accepted with visible satisfaction. “That is nice, Hennes, no?” She cooed at the goat. “We can try to find to whom it belongs… a goatherder perhaps. We do need information about the region”.
“Aye, that’s the best. We could go west to a region named the Gloomglens… I think. I’ve seen grasslands and hills perfect for this little guy and his friends” Thurintos took another bite of an apple and begins talking while munching. “Ya know? I’ve got this feeling that this is going to make for a nice story later. I like it”.
“Let us see if whoever tells the story will make us into the grand heroes or the lowly goat-thieves” Finnvi muttered, but her face harbored a smile. She had a curiosity inside her that only grew hungrier with each mention of a new place they could yet discover.
The three friends gathered up their sleeping equipment from around the campfire. Marganil took an especially good look at her salvaged boots. Visible signs of overuse and goat were easy to detect. She would need a new pair soon, but this was a problem for future Marganil. She pulled them on and looked at her friends, who also had their eyes on her boots. She sighed and they all stood there, ready to go forward.
As in a cue, Hennes the goat bolted away. Thurintos was the first to react; he bolted in the thicket in which the animal disappeared. The two women could hear him shout “No! Goat! Friend! Come back! You need to be returned so we can guilt trip your owners into giving Marg a new pair of shoes!”
Finnvi let out a sigh in the most dramatic way possible and followed the ranger. Marganil laughed at both of them and she set on their morning stroll chasing a goat.
