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Ladavan
Finally the journey was at an end.
The creaking caravan came to a halt in the muddy track, and people were running to meet it. Ladavan saw gaunt faces with hungry eyes looking at the horses and wagons, some with joy etched on their features, others with blankness, as if they did not trust their own sight. He had heard talk of the dearth the freezing season had visited upon this part of the country, of course.
For the moment, though, it was still hard to envy them; Ladavan's thoughts returned again to the previous night, when they'd been stopped, preparing for the last stage of the ride.
He had been stooped over, looking at his horse's hoof, when suddenly something bumped him firmly, knocking him to the ground.
He'd rolled over and looked up to see a large, yellow-haired man about his own age, gazing down at him.
'Oh, sorry' he said, with a mocking look on his unpleasant face.
Ladavan stood and looked around. There was no reason the man could have done that by accident.
'Skûdthu viaren!' The curse escaped Ladavan's lips before he could stop it.
The man stepped closer and Ladavan tensed, waiting for a drawn blade. But the man only smiled thinly.
'I know little of your tongue, Dunlending. But that is no matter. I give you advice. It is not by right you stand here in Rohan, but by the mercy of King Éomer, and behind him, the Lord of Mundburg. But you would do well to remember this: not all here are as merciful as kings, nor as forgetful of the past.'
He had then stalked away without a look back.
Ladavan had since in turn been angered over the incident and worried, wondering if more of the same would come.
But now someone did approach him. This was a younger man, though. He wore the same look of hunger and weariness as the others streaming in to meet the caravan. He spoke.
'I am Léof, the ostler here. Can I take your horse, or show you where he will be stabled?'
The was no sign of hostility here, but it was still better to be cautious.
'You may do both,' Ladavan said. 'And there are things a stranger needs to know in a new place. Perhaps you could talk of them as well.'
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