[Deorlin]

Deorlin grimaced as he finished the last of his stew. "No, Sadbh, I didn't expect any news. I'm just very worried. You see, the last several months, I have travelled about Middle Earth, acting as an emmissary of sorts for my king, trying to test the waters as it were. He's anxious to know just where the other peoples of Middle Earth stand regarding the Dark Lord, his rumored rebirth, and the growing threat of Mordor. I know to those in the far north, such as Dale, these threats may seem distant, unreal even. And in a quiet backwater like the Shire, it's likely that peoples such as these good hobbits may not even remember those dark ages past as anything more than myth."

"But we of Rohan know more certainly of what danger lies to the east. And our oft times allies in Gondor face the most immediate peril." Deorlin sighed and passed his hand over his face. "I have been gone too long! I must get back to Edoras and make my reports to my king. My family is of the Westfold, so they should be safe enough, for the moment. Saruman and Isenguard are near, and he has always been a friend to my people. But I worry . . . I worry."

Seeing the anxious looks on the faces of his companions, Deorlin was sorry to be speaking of such grim forebodings. To change the subject, he recalled Sadbh's original query to him regarding the royalty of Dale. Now why would she think that travellers might have some knowledge of the Prince? Had he left his father's kingdom?

"Well, I could bore you both with talk of myself and my people. I'm but a rough and ready soldier, just like my father." Deorlin failed to add that his father, Deorwine, was one of the first knights of the Mark, and answered directly to the king. "Tell me of yourselves - what brings two women of Dale to this peaceful and quaint corner of Middle Earth?"