[piosenniel]

Gondor - Visitors in the night I

‘Hasten, brother!’

Wahid took hold of his companion’s elbow and hurried him to the gate’s entrance. Only one guard stood on either side, and both their attentions seemed drawn to someone passing down to the tiers below. Wasim picked up his pace, speaking low, ‘There lies only one last gate between us and the completion of our journey. One last thing to do, and then we can return home.’

As they emerged from the gate, Wahid’s brow puckered beneath his hood, and he drew his brother closer into the shadows of the wall. A quick glance had revealed the guard’s interest – a giant of a man was preparing to enter the gate to the fifth level. Wahid squeezed his brother’s elbow, both their noses catching the scent of the passing stranger.

‘Who was that?’ hissed Wasim as they made their way toward the final gate. ‘I know not. But he has gone now and does not concern us.’

A tall planetree in the courtyard of the Houses of Healing was their intended destination for the moment. Slipping into the shadows afforded by the leafy branches, they stood leaning against the flaky bark of the trunk to catch their breath, collecting their thoughts for the last leg of their journey. Their vantage point did not allow them a look at the buildings that stood in the upper tier, but then they did not need one. The images on the map they had been given were burned into their memories, as were the previous nights' flyovers they had done. Clear to them, though, were the number of guards that stood at the ready on either side of the entrance to the city’s last gate. And near to it stood the Guard House, many of the small windows in the long row down its side still lit by burning lamps.

The two brothers pushed back their hoods, nodding their twin heads to one another. A flutter of wings . . . a soft rustling among the leaves . . . and there in the top branches, two small crows perched, their dark brown eyes fixed on the King’s residence . . .