“There’s blood. The dust is full of it. Shards of clothing, too. See that piece of bread there? It was dropped, and kicked around unconsciously by someone. There was a skirmish here,” Whisper concluded, squatting on her knees and pointing to each piece of evidence to show Jorgen. The man nodded simply, eyeing everything. Jair was ‘investigating’ the bushes on the left side of the road to Minas Tirith, and Seshan was enjoying the shade of a tree on the right side.
The group had stayed crouched or hidden in the underbrush on either side of the road, for they did not wish to be recognized after Cair Andros. Jorgen and Jair’s carelessness left them no way to deny that they were the arsonists from the port of Cair Andros. But the obvious markings of a skirmish had caught Whisper’s eye, and led her to sacrifice their secrecy for an investigation.
“Varda of the skies!” shouted Jair suddenly, and then proceeding to holler out several curses before Whisper sprinted over to him and slapped her hand over his mouth. Jair stopped cursing and opted to point to what had caused his horror.
Five men were laying in a row underneath a tree. Dead men. They were hacked or sliced in so many ways that Whisper could not even begin to contemplate the pain. When Seshan finally reached Whisper, Jair, and Jorgen, he was able to identify the weapons used to make the wounds. Sword…and axe. He had been there. The axe-man had been there! Killing again! Not that Whisper personally knew any of the dead men. Joal’s killer was close enough to chase down!
“The axe-man,” Whisper breathed, unable to say anything else. What else could she say? All she cared about now was finding and killing the thing that killed Joal. Whisper still had a job to do, but that priority was fading with every second that passed after Joal’s death. Revenge would be sweet for Whisper; it would be a chance to make up for all the times she had criticized Joal and would pay homage to the boy that had been her partner.
“The axe-man was here! We…we have to hurry. They will be at Minas Tirith soon! We need to catch them there. We will not let him leave Minas Tirith alive!” Whisper murmured, her voice slowly growing from a mumble to a dull roar. This was it! It wouldn’t be much longer until she would feel the blood of the axe-man on her hands.
With those last words, the group left the road for the underbrush, creeping swiftly and silently towards Minas Tirith.
[ July 12, 2003: Message edited by: Aylwen Dreamsong ]
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...Come down now, they'll say. But everything looks perfect from far away - Come down now! But we'll stay.
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