[Nerindel]

Feeling a gentle tap on her shoulder Fawain looked up from her pack. There before her stood a tall dark skinned man, clad in robes darker than the night sky itself, but it seemed to her that there was also a faint red glow about him.

"I noticed that you were examining a route through the Blue Mountains. I have lived there for many long years, and if you need a guide, I can help."

Hearing the man speak she suddenly realised she was staring at him. 'How rude of me' she thought feeling her cheeks burning with embaressment. But she had never meet anyone who looked quite like him before and she wasn't quite sure what to make of him. 'But we could use someone with knowledge of the mountains and he may even know of some secret ways we may have missed' she thought to herself. Finally convinced she reached out her hand saying "my name is Fawain and this is Lóthaniel of Rivendell, indeed we have an errand of great importance in the mountains and we...." Lóthaniel grabbed her arm, none to gently, stopping her from continuing. She looked at him more than a little annoyed that he had grabbed her so hard.

Lóthaniel had stood up when Fawain had introduced them, he too was staring at the unusual man before them. There was some familarity that he could not quite place, he watched the dark stranger as Fawain began to speak "indeed we have an errand of great importance in the mountains and we...". He grabbed her arm, a little harder than he had intended and the scowl on her face showed that she was not pleased, but he wanted to know more of this stranger before telling him of their errand and weather he could be trusted to be a reliable guide.

So turning back to the man he said "You said that you once lived there, but surely no man lives there through their own choosing,especially now that Skaikrish the Maimer resides there. So what brought you there and why did you leave?" Lóthaniel tried hard to keep the distrust from his voice and eyes, after all he had offered to help them.

Fawain suddenly realising Lóthaniel's reackoning, now felt slightly embaressed. She had almost blurted out every thing to a complete stranger. Again she was glad Lóthaniel was there to keep her right.

"And your name..., you have not yet given us your name" she added.