[Mithalwen]

"I don't know him, but he claims to know Thomas from his time in Gondor." Elfride elided the man's accusations as she finished strapping the wound and finally rose to her feet brushing the dust from the knees of her trousers, forgetting that they were coated with the man's blood. I think there is a map or something in his pack that may guide us to Sandrina - I hope that may compensate from any delay this incident will cause us. She pointed at the bag and in doing so saw her hands and realised what a state she was in, smoke, heat and blood had all left their mark and her cloak was a singed rag.

She looked across to the where the horses were cropping grass peacefully by the river and then at her patient still bound with strips of cloth. "Can you guard him a while longer - take a look at his pack before Hama and the villagers come over ...I need to clean up a bit. Give him something to drink but watch him carefully. I won't be long".

She walked a little unsteadily to the water, picking up a leather bucket, discarded by a villager on the way. It was far too public to change clothes but at least she could wash. She scrubbed the blood from her hands feeling slightly sick. She was no stranger to the sight of blood but this was the first time she had tended a deliberate wound and the thought made her queasy. Suddenly she felt tired. She had not slept the previous night or much on previous nights and though her guests had been well provided for she had eaten little herself. She filled the bucket and loosed her hair hoping the icy mountain water would revive her even if it could not quite cleanse the smell of smoke. Leaning forward she poured the water over her head wincing as the cold water reached her scalp. Then as she sat on the bank and wrung out her hair, the horror of the still young day hit her as well as the magnitude of their task. Unbidden tears mingled with droplets from her still wet hair Samuel would clearly stop at nothing to achieve his ends. What else might he do? What else might he already have done? . "Sandrina will not be helped by your sobbing", Elfride told herself sternly, "you need to go back, to go on". she wiped her face with a grimy sleeve and returned to the others.