Day 7
A long and curious day.
From Merneth's house, we set off south as planned, re-crossing the Bruinen (or Loudwater, for those, like me, with maps in Westron!) and following a winding cliffside path. Clay's leg was continuing to improve, and she picked up the trail of the orcs without much difficulty - but for some miles it had no real chance of branching off in any case as the narrow path climbed into the hills, with a sheer cliff-face on one side, and a sharp drop into the river-valley below on the other.
We climbed for a long time; and at length, the russet stone of the valley began to give way, the land levelled out before us, and we passed back into open woodland, dominated by holly - signalling our arrival in the land of Hollin (or Eregion, as the Elves call it). Speaking of Elves, we had not gone more than another few miles before a band of them ambushed us, commanding us to drop our weapons and leading us back to their camp - rather an unpleasant shock to us until we began to realise who they were! Clay remained particularly grumpy about this for a while - I am not certain she really likes Elves very much.
They are secretive about the location of their camp, but it must be located somewhere in the northwest of that land; and their leader’s name is Almerion. We were lucky to come upon them when they did; as they too had been tracking the paths of the orcs across their land. They were able to tell us that, shortly beyond where they pulled us from the road, the trail we were following disappeared altogether - though they had caught a glimpse of the orcs, and of Fion. They knew there was a major orc encampment in Hollin, but so far had been unable to determine its location, and had lost three scouts to the orcs in the search for it; meanwhile, two families passing through on the way north had been snatched from the road.
Almerion also claimed to know what was in the box we have been chasing these last many days - I wrote down what he said as carefully as I could:
A chain; long enough to wrap around a person several times, and made of steel. Symbolic of the bonds that bind Orcs to their master. Whoever has the chain will be their leader. Human, Elf or Dwarf cannot use it - only a malicious heart may wield it.
A careful reader might remember that we learned in the Wovenvales that the key to unlocking the box, containing the chain, was the blood of a certain type of spider; and that we had taken some from its carcass. By good fortune, it was still intact in Fion’s pack, which we had brought with us on Clay’s horse. We now took the opportunity to destroy the vial of blood, agreeing that it was too dangerous to hang onto, in case the orcs were to defeat us.
Finally, we discussed what to do next. We realised many of our goals were aligned, and that we were likely to need the Elves’ help to find the Orcs’ camp - both to rescue Fion, and to take the box from them. The Elves were most anxious to rescue the two groups of travellers that had been taken from the road; and to try to capture one or two orcs for questioning. So, we agreed to help each other.
We will set out at nightfall; in the meantime, they are bringing out wine and some of their excellent waybread.
As for me… I am glad to be among Elves again; it is a relief from the long road, and I seem to find their soft voices, mannered ways, and curious aura of nobility strangely comforting. But I cannot help but wonder how I have managed to get mixed up in all this, so far from home. It is a wonder to me that this is the same band of orcs who were menacing the borders of Bree, uncounted leagues away to the north and west. I have learned a great deal on this voyage, but I am beginning to feel a certain yearning for home… and I worry how things are going back in Hamglen and at the Forsaken Inn. Clay’s horse Ruddewin (I doubt I have spelled that correctly), although a fine mare, does make me miss River all the more; and I worry how Cedwyn is keeping, and whether there has been any more brigand trouble in the South-fields... And then I think how absurd it is to be worrying about Cedwyn, when the one thing she would have all of us focus on right now is rescuing Fion.
I take some comfort in the fact they have taken him captive. It is a dark line of thought, but they seem to want him for something, though I do not know what… we can only pray that whatever it is will keep him alive long enough for us to get him out. And I pray he knows we are coming for him.
