[Susan Delgado]

Thorondruin watched the barbarian's body float downstream, then turned away, brushing his hands together for a job well done. They may have lost Ozracles' sword, but he and Himelilek were both fine fighters and they were also rid of the barbarian's stupid recklessness and his impertinentness. He returned to his bedroll and went back to sleep.
He woke with the dawn, but it was not the sun that roused him. It was the decidedly unElf-like screeches of rage coming from across the firepit. He supposed he'd forgotten to tell Himelilek that the girls were gone. He rose and sleepily told her to shut her trap. He disliked being awoken by screaming.

However, it was not the absence of the girls that had upset her; she'd seen the empty bedrolls and taken it philosophically. What had her so worked up was what she'd found when she went to get breakfast off the packhorse. The two little thieves had not only killed Ozracles, they'd taken the packhorse containing all the food and barterables! They had left was Ozracles' stallion, which they'd long since discovered wouldn't let anyone but the barbarian touch him, and the five horses from the raid, and their own mounts. At least they could hunt, although hunting with swords and daggers might possibly be more trouble than it would be worth.

They mounted thier horses, then paused, unsure what to do next. Should they continue on toward the Silmaril, or should they try to find Livia and Hithduiniel and punish them while retrieving their stolen food? Thorondruin wanted to continue on, but Himelilek seemed inordinantly distressed about the loss of the food and wanted to find the girls. Logic finally won out over emotion when the man pointed out that they had no idea where the two had gone and no way finding them and they should save what little food they'd had in their clothing by not backtracking on a futile mission. Himelilek reluctantly agreed, but as they set out, she kept looking behind, as if trying to see something. Thorondruin ignored it.

They rode for several days with no more mishaps, until finally Himelilek stopped them at the base of a hill. She said, "On the other side of this hill is a lake. In the middle of the lake, there's an island. There's a cabin on the island, and there dwell Beren and Luthien."
They settled down for the night, excited that their mission was nearly over.

In the morning, they cautiously approached the cabin, only to find their care unnecessary: the place was deserted. Angrily, Thorondruin set on the Elf.

"Why didn't you tell me they wouldn't be here?!"

"How was I supposed to know?"

"You knew where the cabin was, why wouldn't you know they were gone?"

"Well, it's been a while since I got my information." She shrugged, not really caring very much, and started toward the horses.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

She shrugged again and mounted. "Home. There's obviously nothing here that I want." She took up her reins, then as an afterthought, grabbed Thorondruin's and the rope tying the spares together and went North at a full gallop. Thorondruin barely had time to get out of her way before the horses ran him down. He stared after her, unable to believe she would leave so precipetously, leaving him here. Alone. With no way to get back to civilization. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got, but he realised there was nothing he could do about it now. She had gone, and taken everything with her.

With a growl of irritation, he went into the cabin to avoid the rain, which had been off and on for days. Inside, the place was as shabby as the outside had promised. Dust covered everything and cobwebs adorned the corners. It was filthy, and there was nothing left of value that he could find. He curled up in a corner and spent one of the most uncomfortable nights he could remember.

In the morning he rose and shook the dust off his hair and clothing. He discovered that dust wasn't all he'd been lying on, either. Wadded into the corner was something soft and black. Clothing? He pulled it out to examine it. It was a cloak; black as shadow, it actually seemed to absorb the light coming in through the door. He put it on to protect from the rain and iimediately fell into a deep slumber. When he awoke, it was late afternoon and the wind had blown in through the door, causing the black cloak to slip from his shoulders. He picked it up and as he was about to put it back on, he felt the sleep start to come again. How odd. He put it down and felt no need to sleep. After a few more minutes of experimentation, he decided it must have a spell on it. Very odd! Still, even if he couldn't use it himself, it could be useful. He bundled it in his arm and left the cabin, on foot, but he had no other choice. Over the course of many days he made his way back to civilization, and if he was ever tired, he put on the cloak and slept peacefully for hours.

[ December 10, 2002: Message edited by: Susan Delgado ]