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“Check every room. Stop anyone you see.”
Scyld nearly swore out loud. Why hadn’t Osfrid locked the door? Now, to hide, or to make for the back door? He heard footsteps coming his way and quickly ducked into the kitchen, near which he was standing. The cook, unsurprisingly, was nowhere to be seen. Scyld glanced around frenziedly. The pantry. A horrible hiding spot, but better than naught. He had just barely closed the door behind him when he heard one of the soldiers entering the kitchen. Scyld silently slid one of his knives out of his sleeve. He didn’t want to kill the man, but if he had no other choice…
The man stepped closer, closer, clearly making sure there were no other hiding places in the kitchen. Really, the pantry was the only place to go. Scyld tensed. Any moment now, the door might open…
“Up here, men! Up the stairs, quick now!” Then the man was gone, rushing to his commander’s aid. Scyld let out a deep sigh of relief and let himself out of his hiding place, checking the hall before hurrying back through the house, away from the stairs. What had they found up the stairs? Osfrid… and Muriel? Scyld mentally shrugged. So long as it was not him or Linduial, he cared little; hopefully they wouldn’t talk. He needed time and widespread confusion; it would be so easy for him and Linduial to be detected now.
He slipped out of the house and looked around. As far as he could tell, they were all clear, but who knew when that might change? A wide, open space stretched between the back of the house and the woods that covered the back of Sorn’s property, and only a couple small buildings stood in that space, providing only minimal cover that would require dashes in between.
It seemed clear to him that back into the woods was the only way they could go; now that the rescuers had arrived, the roads would be watched, and he could not go to Edoras or Minas Tirith, at any rate, not until he trusted Linduial enough not to betray him, if it ever came to that. Into the mountains was the only practical choice then, and would also help in that horses would not be required. Men on foot could go as fast as horses in the mountains.
With this rough sketch of a plan in mind, he stole along the back of the house to the cellar door and knocked once, then twice, just as he had said he would. The door opened, and out came Linduial with Scyld’s pack, which he shouldered, urgently murmuring, “Let’s go."
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