I was selected by Captain Lomdognir to send word to Thangúlhad Fortress via letter. He said that I am perfect for this errand, and told me not to loiter, but to ride straightaway. One of his men remarked that this should not be a problem, as there are no roadside taverns from Ost Galadh to Thangúlhad, which made the Captain laugh. He is in surprisingly good spirits and seems to have forgotten about his irritation with me last night. Now Swan-Hoof is saddled and brought out into the courtyard and I must put away my journal until I reach my destination.
With the help of the rain showers, we were able to evade the orcs and their venom-tipped arrows easily, and the scent of Warg affrighted Swan-hoof and made her run even faster, and so we arrived at the fortress in good time, without mishap. Swan-Hoof is not the swiftest horse, and while she is small, she is sure-footed and strong, and can ride far distances before needing rest. Thangúlhad is not as large at Ost Galadh, or as towering, but as it lies under the very noon-shadow of Dol Guldur, it is better fortified, with thicker walls, and rows of sharpened stakes set into the earth before a single gated entrance, and there are heavy wooden siege engines lying all about, some broken and in great need of repair.
I told the guards I had a most urgent message, and bid they take me to the Commander Rodelleth at once. They brought me to a large war-tent where I waited for a short while before they ushered me inside. Commander Rodelleth rose and greeted me with a salute, and then asked if I was well, for I was thrown into a great confusion and was struck dumb at the sight of my brother Culufinnel standing behind her chair! But I regained my presence of mind when I saw the Captain’s letter clutched in my hand, and recalling my purpose held it out before me. Rodelleth took it, and as she read it, she raised her eyebrows, and looked at me.
Culufinnel saluted to the Commander, and told her my name and that we were brothers. Commander Rodelleth looked surprised for a moment, and looked at me in a way that is hard to describe, but I was made suspicious at once and eager to leave. Then she told me in a cold, imperious tone that the Captain Lomdognir had brought something to her attention, and it was a wise action. And because of her respect and concern for my brother Culufinnel, she had taken a deeper interest in me, and although she was greatly busy, with many cares placed upon her, she would have me turn out arright, and she would see to this personally. The Commander congratulated me on my new beginning in her ranks, and clapped me on the back so mightily that she near drove me through the tent-pole! She said that I was a member of her Golden Host henceforth, and that I was placed under my brother’s direct command.
I began to protest that I was already a soldier, under the command of the King, and already a member of a company, and pointed at the green leaf pin on the collar of my hauberk as proof, when I realized I was not wearing it, and I could not remember where I had put it, and that I may have left it back at Ost Galadh under a bench, but I was not certain, and my heart did surely sink like a stone. Yet I do not believe it would have done much good even if I had been wearing it, for the two of them were not listening to any words that I could think to say, which were few and feebly spoken, for I was sore troubled and utterly confounded at seeing my brother, and dismayed at hearing of powerfully determined designs to seeing me set arright. And now I hear the lumbering footsteps of that great blond idiot approaching and I must end now and hide this book.
