Southern Norcrofts
Hooves thundered upon the path way as two Riders made their way North. Their helms were glistening upon the light of the setting sun, and their spears were held high. They left a flow of blonde hair and cloaks flowed behind them as they went. The sky was painted orange with the sun's light, and a river that flowed far down hill was glittering beneath it. Day was thinning, and the Riders were growing hungry and weary.
At length they halted and wiped the sweat from their brows. They gazed out at the Norcrofts and they saw how beautiful it was: Lush and green, yet in the distance defilement could be seen, some crops and farm houses were burnt black. Woe has fallen upon these lands, yet there was little that two Riders could do to aid the folk - even when it were their heart's desires. Then they beheld the river with careful eyes, watching the ford for any signs of foes. They were wary of the word that had recently received, and soon their eyes beheld what they sought.
There was a small band of roving Orcs upon Wargs, patrolling the river's shores. So with haste the two Riders pressed on for the ford. Their hooves of their steeds thumped like thunder upon the Earth, and their haste was swift within the wind. Spears were held forward, and ere the band of Orcs could tell what was happened two of them and their beasts fell upon the grass, defiling no more, but had become the defilement itself.
Still three Warg-riders remained and came they sought to come about and retaliate against the two Riders, but the steeds and the spears of the Eorlingas were too swift behind them. One by one they were dismayed, seeking to turn and strike back, but every time the two Riders would best them in their turn, giving them no quarter to defend themselves ere the long spears fell upon them and their beast. With cries of pain the remaining Orcs fell to defile the green plains with corpses. And the hooves of the Riders' steeds came again, and their spears were jabbed into the corpses of Orcs to be sure that they were dead.
"I count the fingers of one hand. We have slain five." Said the man, "Five more hands." He said, casting a glance to the woman who's blood seemed still to boil even as the battle was ended.
Soon they left the scene of their slaughter, they had little time to worry for cleaning the mess created, for by then there was only but a few moments of day light left, and tall shadows were cast by formations of rocks and hills, and trees. The Riders followed the stream East. Going nigh the source they saw what they sought: There were tall defenses of wood and towers with torches lit within them on the Southern side of the river. It was plain that this was a terrible camp that the Orcs had conjoured, and the woman in her ire sought to wreak destruction upon it. Yet the man ever spoke against it, he thought that it would be wiser to not risk their lives in fool-hardiness, though he could not deny that he too wished to bring destruction upon the camp of Orcs.
Instead he took her into the woods, and there they had disappeared from all eyes and found respite while they ate. What happened to them there none know, for they have never spoken of it, and it was though there was aught of a grim uncanny nature that beset them. For when a few hours had passed some eyes had fallen upon them again; they found their way to a Trader's camp that was in vaguely in the middle of the Norcrofts. Their faces were pale as though they had seen something horrible, and they were weary. They spoke little with one another. "Never speak of this again," said the man, and the woman agreed without a doubt.
When they managed to gather their wits they had taken the horses to a post and tied them there. Speaking a bit amongst each other before the man approached the merchants with intent, seeking mead from each of them; and all but one had mead, they were bottled well, but not so cheap. It mattered not to the man, for her threw down a purse with many coins and asked for four bottles. Four he received and off he went to the find the woman.
To his delight she had already set up their bed rolls in a nearby tent, and so he went to join her. Together they drank as crickets sung in the night, and the stars in the clear skies glistened, the moon was high and hidden from their sights by the roof of their tent. The man however, soon began to rant silly things in the night, only soon to fall into a deep drunken slumber.
In the morning he had awoken with a head-pain, and he had awoken before the woman. He thought to make use of the time and he sought for someone who had word of the Norcrofts, but ere that he sought for a remedy to his head pain. He approached many merchants and remembered that had given away all his coin, but to his fortune the merchant who sold him the mead was nearby, and heard of his plight. So out of the merchant's good will he had prepared a soothing tea for the Rider who gratefully accepted it.
Only then did the Rider search for someone to find word from while sipping his tea. In his dim-wittedness he did not think to ask the merchant, and instead spoke to a Guardsman within the camp.
When his female companion eventually came to find him he had finished his conversation with the Guardsman. He looked upon her with a sore head and squinted eyes, and it was obvious by the woman's eyes that she knew what he was feeling, "How is the head?" He she asked, to which he answered with a painful look.
"it will pass with time, hopefully." She said to him, and he murmured softly, '...Why two bottles?" And squinted his eyes a bit more, taking a sip from his tea. "Why not?" the woman answered with a sly look on her face, but this was the least of their worries. Hence she gestured over to their horses that at the post, "I've packed a few more in Fram's saddle bag," she said, he almost cringed, but instead complimented and dreaded her idea. His head pained much, and he was seldom drank so much as he did the night before.
And so the two went to make ready to leave the camp. Dressing in their cloaks and armours, and so mounting upon their powerful steeds that without a doubt earned as much renown as they did their days. Their time in the camp was over, and it was time for them to continue their journey to go where ever it was they were heading.
