“She came in with the wind from the south…I do not know what brings her here in such haste.”
“She does not seem keen on staying long either.”
The guards taking the night watch continued to speculate in hushed voices. There was usually nothing to entertain their conversations aside from the blank sky and empty grey landscape. Thus, the swift approach of one elf maiden was enough to stir their curiosity for that night.
Eliriael stood beside the tower ledge bent low, whispering to a bird. She hurriedly tied a rolled parchment to its leg with some string. As the bird hopped off the ledge and took flight, a gentle smile pulled up the corners of her lips, betraying none of her present worries.
She watched the bird for a moment and then quickly turned to the stables. “I have need of your swiftest horse. I will send her back on her way once I reach the foothills of the Redhorn Pass.”
The stablemaster turned a wary eye on her.
“I have no intention of taking a horse over the pass with me,” she assured him.
He seemed to give her a peculiar glance before reluctantly turning in towards his stables. He led a horse to her, its light grey coat glinting under the moonlight. As he handed her the reigns, he looked at her again with a scrutinizing gaze. “You had best take some provisions with you. The journey over the pass takes several days at the least.”
Eliriael nodded and thanked the stablemaster.
“The Redhorn Pass? She heads east, then.” The guards had been listening.
“I hear the days grow darker on the other side of the Misty Mountains…Rumors of war brewing. I do not know many who choose to go that way.”
The guard nodded solemnly, looking at Eliriael’s slim frame as she gave the grocer some coin for the food she bought.
“She seems ill suited to be a warrior of any kind.”
“Well equipped to run away and stay out of sight, though. I did not see her until she was standing in front of us!”
The laughter of the guards echoed in the silence of the night. But Eliriael did not pay any attention to the sound, for her mind was preoccupied. She hoped that Laurelindo had found her satchel of healing supplies. He would know how to best put it to use. Yet, she hoped that her kin would have little need of it. And would her letter reach Belegos safely? The only bird she could find was rather smaller and more fragile than she would have liked. Moreover, there was a heavy gloom surrounding their current encampment, and the search party may have started moving again.
In her haste, she had not thought to leave a message before she left the camp. She regretted leaving Belegos behind, but she could not ask him to come with her. She knew it was important to him to continue the search. It was difficult enough for her to abandon the rest of the others in their quest.
But she knew it was foolish to ignore such a dream.
Even as she lifted herself on the horse and sped away from Mirobel, she left a part of herself behind with Belegos. She glanced up at the stars. “Please watch over him,” she whispered.
