Frea inspected the ground where Archim had discovered hoof markings. Sure enough, the tracks of several horses could be seen plainly in the wet mud. Excellent; at last we have found their trail. Now it shall be a simple hunt, with a successful end.
The man patted his brother on the shoulder. "Archim, this is just the find that we needed. But it is too late to continue now. Let us follow Hama's advice, and make camp for the night."
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The Following Morning
Brytta was the first up among the group. He hurried to start a fire, and breakfast was soon simmering over the glittering light of the flames. Rochil and Liol were soon awake, and Heldor followed, but Aldwulf had to be shaken roughly before he opened his eyes and muttered several illegible words about men needing proper sleep.
Soon, the cousins sat around the fire at attacked the hot meal, their first in two days. Brytta looked over a crumpled map of Rohan, doing his best to calculate their aproximate distance to the boundary of Rohan with the other lands of the west.
"From what I can see, we are within three days ride from the Gap. Of course, that excludes any problems we may encounter along the way. But it appears as though we have an excellent chance of escaping Rohan without meeting resistance; from the authorities at least."
Rochil chewed thoughtfully on a strip of bacon. "What other problems are there, if Rohan is behind us and the west ahead."
Aldwulf answered the question, filling his mug with tea. "Wargs. Although the orcs of Isengard were slain, many their steeds remain in Rohan. Like I said yesterday, it is rumored that a group of them was spotted somewhere north of here. And Wargs travel fast, especially without riders. There could be an entire pack of the beasts waiting for us at the Gap. But Wargs or no, we must continue. I don't have this hunk of wood for nothing." The man patted the bow sitting next to him on the ground, and proceeded to fill his empty mug a second time.
After their breakfast was finished and the discussion over, the group packed their things, scattered the embers of the fire and erased footprints. Mounting, they rode off west, hoping that their easy passage out of Rohan would continue.
[ July 26, 2003: Message edited by: Himaran ]
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