13 Winterfilth
It has been four days since we had to leave the battle in Dol Guldur and abandon our post. Things have never been so dire before, and no, I am not only talking about the war.
I don’t know which way to go, I don’t know if we are going to make it or not. Aeralin is getting worse day by day. I am desperate, I do not know what I should do anymore. Nothing seems to help. I tried to brew yet another potion, but I can see that she is not getting any better. I keep singing to her, in order to keep her morale up, for a second, she even found the strength to ask me to sing a little tune of Mirkwood.
They said they couldn’t spare anyone to escort us back. Camaenor, a skilled healer examined Aeralin as well in Dol Guldur before we left and he also had no clue how to cure her. He advised us to go back to Ost Galadh and meet his tutor there. I knew if we stayed in Dol Guldur, she would have had no chance at all...
16 Winterfilth
We have been walking for days now. This morning I woke up to Aeralin talking in her sleep, she was delirious. I unbuttoned her shirt to tend to her wound. Her right shoulder was almost turned to a greenish black. It wasn’t this spread out two days ago. I am worried about her. The poison is spreading quickly.
She opened her eyes, looked at me like she wanted to say something. Words barely spilled out of her mouth: “Can I have some water?” The water they were able to spare for us before we left Dol Guldur was almost gone. I am not trained in tracking resources, even if I were, the forest is too dense and foggy for me to find anything anyway.
I gave her the last sip of water we had.
18 Winterfilth
It is getting worse.
We were attacked by two orcs last night. We were camping for the night, we hadn’t made it far anyway, we are walking slowly, Aeralin seems to be getting weaker and weaker every day, she has trouble walking, talking... She developed a high fever two nights ago.
At least we no longer have a problem with water. It started raining yesterday and I stocked up. This should be enough for at least another few days.
While she was resting last night, I wanted to brew another potion, we were running low and my songs were only enough to put her to sleep. We needed to keep walking. I used the herbs I had in my bag. I did not think even for a second that the tiny campfire I lit could draw the orcs to us. Aeralin woke up as she heard me screaming, I do not know where she found the strength to draw her bow and kill the orc that was onto me. Then she collapsed in pain, I could see she was bleeding again, she was in agony. I had never felt that desperate in my entire life. Not even in Sirion, running for my life… The responsibility of not only my life, but another’s was on my shoulders this time. I had sworn to find a way to cure Aeralin, my own kin, and I was going to do that no matter what.
I grabbed the sword of the dead orc, covered in filth, started swinging it towards the second one, not knowing what I was doing, until I hit something.
Should we survive this, I am going to learn how to wield a sword, I cannot bear feeling that helpless once again.
I put the fire off quickly.
According to the map they gave me in Dol Guldur, we are supposed to be in Sâd Gúlnir. That means we still have at least another week before we make it to Ost Galadh, where they might be able to help us.
24 Winterfilth
It is the fourth day without any food. It is raining without a break, thus we at least don’t have any problem finding water. It has become more difficult for Aeralin to even drink water, but I need to feed her, I can see that she is falling even weaker without food.
Today while we were resting, I was humming a tune to keep her spirits up she talked to me for the first time in days.
“It looks like we are headed south. Weren’t we supposed to go west?” She was probably right, I am not even sure where we are anymore. I have only been trying to avoid running into orcs since that night we got attacked.
“You mustn’t worry about these things Aeralin.” I said, tending to her wound on her shoulder, which has turned completely green, covering her arm down to her elbow. “We should get there soon enough.”
She didn’t look like she believed me.
“Do we have any food left? I can try to hunt…” She didn’t even look like she could lift her arm, yet she was still trying. I felt even worse about my wilderness and survival skills.
“You rest now. I will find something.”
I looked around all night, for something, anything that we could eat. No fruit grows here. I saw some berries the other day, they smelled like death…
I don’t know for how long we can go on.
26 Winterfilth
This morning I saw a serpent, crawling its way behind the bushes. I helped Aeralin sit under a tree and lean back. I had sharpened a wooden stick days ago. I never thought I would use my instrument making skills to make a weapon.
I took the wooden spear and lied in wait, silently, watching the serpent.
I had watched Aeralin before, on our way to Dol Guldur, as she hunted. I tried to apply her methods, I focused on my breathing, kept my eyes on my target.
I threw the spear, it left my hands and as the serpent quickly crawled away, evading my shot, the spear got stuck in the soil, wet and soft after the rain.
We won’t be eating today either.
27 Winterfilth
I hunted my first serpent today. Aeralin had trouble eating it, I had to chew it before feeding it to her. Her fever is getting worse, her muscles are weaker.
2 Blotmath
The forest is not as dense anymore, we are getting closer to Ost Galadh. But Aeralin seems less willing to survive.
As my fingers pressed onto the strings of my lute, trying to ease her pain with songs, she looked at me. “If there is no cure, I want you to leave me behind.” She was barely talking, I leaned towards her to hear what she was saying.
“You know I cannot and will not do that! We are going to find a cure.”
“I can feel this poison taking over me. I cannot eat, I cannot even drink the potion you made for me. Eleanias, I came this far because you carried me. You cannot keep doing that. If there is no cure, I do not wish to keep suffering like this.”
Were those tears running down my cheeks or was it the rain… I didn’t know. I know there is a cure. I know she is not going to die like this.
3 Blotmath
Her right shoulder and her whole right arm turned dark green. She is sleeping all the time. I made some potions, I keep pouring them in her mouth, but it’s not helping anymore. She keeps talking in her sleep “Let me die, let me die…” I cannot bear it any longer. I HAVE TO cure her. Maybe saving Aeralin could also save my Fëa...
