View Single Post
Old 02-18-2005, 03:31 AM   #324
piosenniel
Desultory Dwimmerlaik
 
piosenniel's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Pickin' flowers with Bill the Cat.....
Posts: 7,816
piosenniel is a guest of Tom Bombadil.
Mithadan

Mithadan pulled his cloak about him as they rode through the night. It was not so much the chill that prompted this movement, as it was the desire for some small measure of privacy. The eyes of the three mounted clan’s men kept much to the sandy track before them, but often their eyes slid to the two northerners, or so it seemed, and their own faces, hidden beneath their shawls, were well concealed by shadow, impossible to read.

Fador’s words were still much in his mind as he rode along. The man had linked the future safety of his own clan with that of the safety of Gondor. From his brief meeting of Wyrma, Mithadan could well believe that she would at some point wish to extend her reach beyond her fellow maenwaith, beyond Umbar itself, northward to areas rich with possibility. And what would stop her and her allied clans? Driven by ambition, greed, whatever the motive, the roused maenwaith would be a powerful, a formidable enemy.

Still, true as the danger might be to Gondor, there was a deeper layer of mistrust which Mithadan felt toward Fador and his sudden eagerness for the aid of himself and Airefalas. Something lay beyond the fervent request for help in dealing with the tactical problems of attacking an established city. He considered the possibility that perhaps he and his companion had been summed up by the Elder and managed, as it were, into agreeing to Fador’s plan. And to what purpose? What hidden plans lay beneath the Elder’s play upon the northerners fear for their own country and people? Fador would certainly be looking out for himself and for his own clan, but in what way?

Twists and turns and possibilities of all sorts tumbled through the captain's head as his horse plodded along.

‘Enough,’ he murmured, shifting in his saddle, drawing back his hood. He’d set his own tasks for this expedition. Determine if Wyrma and her allies did indeed present a threat to Gondor and beyond that see to the possibility of finding a way to return to the north. He laughed grimly, at the daunting thought of attempting to accomplish either one.

Airefalas drew near him, asking if he had spoken. He had caught the captain’s laughter, but no further words. Mithadan chuckled, recalling his companion’s first reaction to Fador and his request. ‘I was thinking of eels, Airefalas,’ he said. ‘Slippery eels and the rocks they hide beneath.’ He grinned at Ariefalas’ bemused expression. ‘And remembering your good advice when we were asked to play our parts in this game.’

‘My advice?’ the younger man prompted.

‘Yes . . . “As long as we play with our eyes open” you said. And that’s what I was doing, keeping my eyes wide open . . .’

Last edited by piosenniel; 02-20-2005 at 11:25 PM.
piosenniel is offline