The Last Week of Gwirith, T.A. 3018
We finally arrived at Mossward.
The rumors were true.I can sense the desperation of the folk living here.The journey was long from Imladris, yet no road feels too long with the right company. For that, I must thank Carmiriel.
The first thing I noticed was how suspicious the townsfolk were of strangers.They kept their distance, wary of my dusty gear and masked hood, thinking I was here on ill business.I don’t blame them for being cautious.We tracked signs of Uruk movement on the way.That would explain the wounded... and the fear in their eyes...
Even the children train with wooden swords, as if preparing for war.Yet it made me smile when they saw Carmiriel, the children gathered around her like she was a light in the dark..Her presence gives them hope.I dont blame them though, she gives me hope too... and the strength to keep moving forward.
It saddens me, this state of the Free Peoples of Middle-earth.
I wish I could do more. I wish I had the strength to help them all.
We Dúnedain were meant to protect, yet we could not even hold the darkness back from our own doorstep.
I’ve seen too much...
Too many villages burned before we could reach them.
Too many lives lost because our numbers were too few.
I prepared Athelas for the folk here to ease their pain and give them something to hold on to.It helped.They began to see me not as some masked wanderer, but as someone who might actually mean to help.
They don’t need to know what I am.
Only that I am here, and that I care.
Carmiriel was deeply moved by the state of Mossward.It was clear she could barely bear to see the town like this, especially the children..
After speaking with the Town-Watch, I learned what we needed to know.
Bandits have been raiding the village and seizing the trade routes.
They call themselves Radlaw.
Now we have our mission set.
We must pay them a visit and put an end to the suffering they’ve brought upon these people for far too long.
To see one more dawn
-B.
