An Audience With The King RPG

[Ringwraith Number Two]

******The Shire/Blue Mountains/Rivendell******

Orlo finished his fish and looked sadly down at the remaining crumbs.

"We could all tighten our belts and see how long we could hold out without proper food.." he suggested half-heartedly. "There doesn't seem to be any other way. The longer we stay here, the farther we'll be from the solution to our problem. I hear the Lady of the Wood is very generous."

Orlo got up and found the soggy pack in which the ruined food still remained. He couldn't bring himself to say the next few words, but he managed to get them out.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures..." he mumbled. He brushed down his clothes and shouldered his pack. The others did the same, Odo grumbling a little at having to cut his break short.

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They continued journeying. Thule, praised by everyone, found some nourishing berries that she had eaten whilst travelling in the wild before. Everyone grabbed as many as they could: despite being a little sour, they were juicy and gave the eater some energy atleast. Fanelen disappeared now and again to scout the area for any rabbits or streams where she could fish, but was unlucky.

Nightfall came. The hobbits walked on as if in a dream; Orlo's legs felt like lead and he felt slightly dizzy. He heard Ciri call them to a stop. He leaned against a tree as Ciri gave them heartening news.

"We're very near to the Golden Wood. We'll reach it sometime tomorrow, but only if we carry on walking for a while."

Mikhelm opened his mouth to complain. Hardo, very surprisingly, actually looked mutinous. Ciri cut across them.

"The sooner we get to Lorien, the sooner we'll be able to eat proper food."

She had a point. Orlo pushed himself up and looked around at the others. The march began again, and the moon has risen high in the sky when they halted, tired out, and fell asleep under an ancient tree which provided some shelter from the wind.