((For Eisleneth and Jorundr. I do love you both!))
South-Lands of the Kingdom of Dale,
Earldom Running, Castle Oromung
Early Autumn T.A. 3015
No one else on the castle had spoken about having a dream, in which the god of the hunt and battle, of honor and nobility would have been featured in, which led Torfrid on the next day to the fact, that he alone had been chosen to stand in contact with the divine.
Ælbdís did not appear to the breakfast and also not to the prepared lunch, because she would feel improper, so the substantiation that she let be imparted by a servant.
In her stead, did Matuk sit on the table and shoveled the meal into himself. To his complete surprise had the guards taken him from his cell and had brought him into the armory of the lord of the castle, to eat with the knight. After two days by water and bread, this manner of variety was greatly to his liking, although he did not quite know yet, what sort of game his judge was playing with him.
»I take it that your god has informed you«, said the warrior after a while. »We will depart tomorrow at sunrise. So long I will need until my entourage has gathered and the carts have been prepared for the journey.«
Matuk hesitated. »Informed about what?«
»You are blessed by your god and you do not know about it?«, Torfrid wondered. »That I call certainly a true test.«
The monk became suspicious, wiped his hands off on his robe and leaned forward. »Of what do you speak? And what for a travel is that, that you want to undertake?«
»Not 'you', but 'we'«, corrected his opponent. »Last night did Oromë appear in my dreams and he ordered me to protect you on your mysterious mission. As I know nothing of it, should you tell me by time where our travel will lead us.«
»Oromë appeared to you? You shall protect me?« Matuk let himself fall against the back of his chair. »That I would call divine cooperation.«
»Obviously, although I had my doubt about it in the beginning«, admitted Torfrid.
»What do you know about my task?«, the monk wanted to know.
»Nothing«, answered the knight and laid his hand about the hilt of his sword. »It does not even interest me. I and my entourage will take care that you will arrive there healthy and unharmed in order to execute your mission. Wherever 'there' may be.«
»We will travel towards Lake-town, to the capital. Everything else we will see on the way«, said Matuk relieved. If Oromë really had appeared to the knight, then the god must have had similar thoughts to his for telling the knight that the monk would have to murder one of the nobles.
»That will not conjure up any problems. I will have a ship be readied, so that we can travel faster on the river. Can you ride?«
»I can ride, as long as we do not try to jump out of full gallop over obstacles or perform any other tricks«, said the monk.
»That I call 'staying in the saddle', but with riding it has little to do.« Torfrid locked unto the cleric. »One thing shall be clear however in the end: You will not be granted mercy off your punishment. When you completed your task, you will return with me to my castle and remain the rest of your time in jail, brother.«
»I also have not expected anything else«, Matuk replied a bit disappointment, as he had hoped for a pardon by Oromë. After all, even though that Ilúvatar send him no sign, so was he granted over a few ways aid in form of this knight.
He thought the cooperation between these two entities a little bit unlikely, but saw in the end in it a confirmation for the importance of his task.
»How many men will come with us?«
»I will take twenty of my best knights and squires with me«, Torfrid explained. »That is small enough to come quickly forward and big enough to fight off any footpads. Whoever opposes us will not have much rejoice and even less success in it.«
Matuk's mood was more than good. Now nothing would stop him anymore. »And how fast will we be?«
The knight thought for a moment. »My horses are persistent, for that I wager that we shall not be needing more than three weeks, if the weather does not cross our plans to a bad turn. And of course if you can stand the constant riding.«
»I have to. There is no other way.« The monk began to continue his lunch.
»Another thing I will tell you in order to rule out any misunderstanding.« Torfrid took meat and vegetables on his plate. »I will not take any orders from you, I will not bring you your meals and I am not your servant. I care for your protection, as I hold it to be right, nothing more and nothing less.«
»Again, I did not expect anything else«, replied Matuk huffily
»And that is good so for you.« The knight made no effort to hold his aversion towards the monk as a secret.
»I know what you think«, began the monk after a while. »You think I would be a witless cleric who does not even have the wrong god, but also receives the help of Oromë, while he actually belongs into the dungeons.«
»Excellent observed.« Torfrid cheered at him. »You even are a bit unpleasant, what however does not stop me, from protecting you with all I possess.«
»How re-assuring. Can't we at least agree on a truce between one another?«
»I have already agreed on a truce about you.« The knight wiped the grease, that dripped from the meat, off his beard. »Otherwise I would not undertake this little journey with you, before you have not sat off your rightful jail-time.«
The door was opened and a visible chipped Ælbdís entered. Her beige skin seemed dull and mat, the white-blond hair hung tousled over her shoulders. »I wish a good morning.«
»It is already far over midday«, said Matuk friendly. »Did you have a restless night?«
»Not that I know«, muttered the knight. »I wasn't with her.«
»I could not find rest, indeed.« The elvish woman sat down carefully as if her body would have been made out of the thinnest porcelain, on the chair at the middle of the table and charged her plate with five thick slabs of meat. The vegetables she did not even recognize.
»Do you Elves need so much meat?«, asked the monk. Torfrid looked a bit disconcerted upon the pile. Unerringly had the priestess picked out the slabs that were in their inner still almost raw and bloody.
»Yes, if we are hungry«, answered Ælbdís scarcely and began to chew on a big piece. For a few seconds had Matuk the vision in his mind, of an elvish woman who feasted slavering on raw flesh and tore it apart with her sharp fangs.
After the third slab, her movements became slower and more relaxed, but she took again three pieces, for which however she let herself more time.
»I heard how preparation were made on the courtyard for a travel«, she said. »Are you moving your prisoner or why is brother Redwine allowed to sit here?«
»That name I shall remember«, Torfrid laughed and stroked the long, blond dyed beard into form, which was because of the amount of grease no problem. »Brother Redwine and me are companions by the will of the gods. I will accompany him on a travel to Lake-Town.«
»Have I heard correct?«, Ælbdís said incensed. »He tries to kill me and thou art helping him so nothing happens to him?« She coughed suitably and laid her hand on her throat, where still the red welts could be seen, turned slightly into Matuk's direction and blinked conspiratorially. It took a while until he understood that she played a small drama for the knight.
The knight reacted, his eyes became narrowed. »I have gotten the order from Oromë himself. When he has accomplished his mission, he will sit one year in my dungeons, no matter what hero's deeds he will perform.«
»Then I will come with ye«, decided the Elf. »I will go, as I said already, anyway into that direction, and so I can be certain that thou wilt not care for him too well.«
»I admit, I am a little surprised of your hard stance, because it was you, who first wanted to keep it by a mere excuse.« Torfrid looked at her. »What changed your opinion?«
»I had gotten used to the thought that he would receive a hard and justified punishment«, the elvish woman defended herself, whose skin had gotten back by now its beautiful sand-color tone. »Forgive me my outburst.«
The knight waved dismissive. »It is not bad. I just wondered about it.« He looked at her empty plate. »Are you full or shall I have more meat be brought for you? The cow seemed to have tasted well?«
»It is a peculiarity of my kin«, Ælbdís smiled apologetic. »If we do not feel too well, we eat a lot of meat to make us feel better again. It gives us power back.«
»In that point you are not different from the men of Middle-Earth.« Torfrid stood up. »Excuse me now. I have to take part in the preparations so that my castle is not turned into a pile of lonesome rocks as soon as I leave through the gate.« Elegant did he leave the armory.
»You have played him a nice drama there«, said Matuk after a while and suggested applause.
»Was I too obvious? I hope not.« The Elf grinned from one ear to the other. »If I would not have let my contradiction be known, it would have been all a bit worse, dost thou not think?«
»You have not been speaking to Oromë by chance too, have you?«
»I? How could I? I do have the wrong belief for that. But I prayed to Manwë and might have helped his dreams, by sneaking into his room and whispering into his sleep.«
As the monk heard that, he suddenly realized what Ælbdís had accomplished. »I am standing definitely in your debt, for currently I must believe that the reason, for why I have been freed from the dungeons before the year was over, was alone your cunning. What a luck that the men did not kill you back at the fateful day.«
»I thank thee.« Ælbdís took the last slab of meat from the plate and ate it.
