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Old 10-14-2003, 05:31 PM   #100
Ealasaide
Shadow of Tyrn Gorthad
 
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Sting

Kaldir

As they rode into Bree, Kaldir led the way, followed closely by Benia and Gilly. They held the horses as much as possible to a steady but quick walk, slowing only when necessary due to the increasing foot traffic in the street. Subtly, Kaldir kept a close eye on his surroundings as well as his companions. So far, the two women had done as they were told and kept their mounts just off the flank of his own horse. The three of them, a peculiar bunch to be sure, had attracted a number of casual stares from the various shopkeepers and passers-by, but so far no one had attempted to speak to any of them. Only one individual had caught his eye as a possible problem.

They had been riding past a baker's shop. The man had been standing outside eating a hot roll and had nodded to Benia and Gilly. He was a Ranger from the look of him, which had caught Kaldir's attention. He wondered if this man were not somehow attached to the group of Rangers led by Amandur and Hanasian, with whom he had had a slight run-in at the Forsaken Inn on the subject of Benia Nightshade. He was convinced that they were now on the trail of Naiore Dannan, just he was, but one could never predict when one or another or his old brethren would take it into his head to be chivalrous and run to the aid of a lady in distress. If this man knew of Benia's circumstances, then he might have an interest in interfering. As Kaldir rode past him, he spared the Ranger scarcely a glance, but, when he reached the end of the block, he looked back and saw the Ranger still watched. Kaldir increased his speed slightly and made a turn to the right into a side street.

The side street he had chosen was more of a back alleyway between two rows of shops. By contrast to the main street, there was very little traffic, just the back doors to the butcher, the green grocer, a dry goods dealer, and a few others. The way was narrow with a slight dogleg to the left just past the dry goods shop after which it ran another hundred or so paces before hooking back into another busy thoroughfare. Kaldir led the two women as far as the bend, then looked back. Sure enough, the stranger, now on horseback, appeared in the mouth of the alleyway.

"Stay here!" Kaldir growled at Gilly and Benia. He turned his horse and trotted back in the direction of the stranger, who, in turn, had ridden a few paces forward to meet him. Holding the reins in his left hand, Kaldir lowered his hood and flipped his cloak back over his right shoulder in order to free his sword arm. He raised his right hand in greeting as he neared the stranger.

"Greetings, friend," he said rather blandly, but his pale blue eyes narrowed, sizing the man up. There was something familiar about him that Kaldir couldn't quite identify. He tried to search his fractured memory, but found that the information he sought lay somewhere beyond his grasp. He studied the man's face. "I can't help but wonder why you follow us."

The stranger nodded and returned a pleasant greeting, his grey eyes gazing past Kaldir toward the women. "Curiosity, sir," he said, smiling. "It's not often that we see such a mysterious creature as your companion this far north. Comes she from Harad?"

"Far Harad," answered Kaldir.

"It must be quite uncomfortable under all that fabric. Hot, I would think," continued the stranger in a conversational tone. Kaldir noticed that he, too, had freed his sword arm from possible entanglement in his cloak.

"She prefers to travel veiled," Kaldir explained patiently. It occurred to him that he might have miscalculated in having Benia travel completely veiled. He should have chosen a shorter veil from her pack, one that would at least reveal her eyes. With Naiore about, he should have expected that a fully-veiled woman would attract the attention of Rangers. "Though I can't imagine what the relative comfort of my wife would have to do with you. Sir."

"Dulrain of Westernesse. At your service."

"Camlis of Gondor," Kaldir lied smoothly. "At yours. My wife's name is Ailayla."

"Pretty," commented Dulrain. "And the hobbit?"

"A Mrs. Tunnelly from Archet, if you must know. She is someone my wife met there last week. She needed an escort as far The Shire. Since we are heading in that direction and it pleases my wife, I saw no reason why we shouldn't provide her company."

"I see." Dulrain nodded, but his expression had changed. Rather than looking rather casually in the direction of the two females, he now studied the unscarred side of Kaldir's face. A haunted look had come into his eyes. Deliberately, Kaldir turned the scarred side toward him.

[ October 15, 2003: Message edited by: Ealasaide ]
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