It was several hours before midday when Rherrin arrived at the settlement. From their makeshift camp on the outskirts of the town Awyrgan and Thoronmir watched as he appeared over the outlying hills. Riding towards them he raised his hand in greeting. Awyrgan frowned; his relationships with the other Rangers were anything but close, but with Rherrin it was almost hostile. Rherrin and he seldom saw eye to eye on any subject and had been disqualified from the most recent Ranger wrestling competition for "excessive aggressiveness." The green-eyed man grinned at the memory and turned to his companion. "I wonder if his fingers have mended yet?" Thoronmir shook his head in mock amusment and returned to rebinding his wounds. Both men were healing quickly, but the marks from the previous days encounter were painfuly obvious. A long scar was forming on the side of Awyrgan's face, a match for the one already there on the other side.
Reaching the pair, Rherrin dismounted and strode towards them. He had an slight, perhaps involuntary swagger about him that irked Awrygan. His demenor changed however when he saw the marks covering the pair, and the binding around Awyrgan's foot. "What happened," he demanded.
Awyrgan gazed slowly up at him. "Hunting accident."
"Really."
"Yes."
"A hunting accident?"
"Yes."
"Shut up," Thoronmir interjected. His headache had returned.
"A hunting accident?"
"Yes."
"What was it, a rabbit?"
Rherrin's last words were ill-fated for he had strode to close to Awyrgan and the dark man quickly swept his feet out from under him and pinned him. Awyrgan spoke with a tone of dark humor. "It was quite larger than a rabbit. Where is Tane?" Rherrin pushed the man aside and sat up. "He left the camp for a few days, I didn't here exactly why. He put Hothem in charge." He glanced at the dark expressions on the other Rangers faces. "Is something amiss." Awyrgan traced a finger across the still fresh gash along the back of his shoulder and cursed. "Yes."
He briefly told the other of their encounter with the hillmen. Pulling out the map he showed Rherrin the paths they had taken and where they had ran into the wild men. Rherrin shook his head. "Do you think they will make an attack in the near future?" Awyrgan sighed. "I don't know." "And all the townsfolk are somewhere out there in the wild?" Awyrgan nodded. "Yes, along with Alearindu's team." Rherrin chuckled. "Well I guess we have nought to worry about then." The joke passed and they fell silent, each running as many possible scenerios through their heads. Finally, Rherrin broke the silence. "What do you want to do?"
Awyrgan glanced at Thoronmir only to find that the other two were staring at him. He looked back down at the ground and scratched aimlessly at the dirt with a stick. He turned to Rherrin. "How long are you here?" Rherrin grinned. "Until you return." Awyrgan nodded. "I want to to set up on the other side of town. Alearindu has her tent there so you should be able to find some supplies." He cracked his back, sitting up a little straighter now that his mind was made up. "The villagers have as good a chance of survivial out in the woods as they do here, no defenses are prepared. We will check the nearby woods for any signs a few times throughout the day and hope that Tane passes through soon. In the mean time try to scout out any good defensive positions." Rherrin nodded, and calling his horse rode off towards the other end of town leaving the other two alone.
Awyrgan turned. "Do you think he'll stop at the tavern?" Thoronmir looked up hopefuly. "There's a tavern?" Awyrgan laughed. "No." Standing up he tried putting weight on the broken foot. It was painful, but he could manage. Striding away from the camp a short distance he let the breeze whip through his hair. It was cold.
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