The Fourth of May, Year 3006 of the Third Age
It has been long indeed since my last writing, for my travels have left me quite occupied as I have walked my southward road. I have ventured well over a hundred miles beyond the hospitable village which saved me from the brink of death in this strange land some two years ago. The stars are strange over me in the cold nights, not quite like the familiar heavens in my homeland of Gondor, and the landscape has changed over the course of my journey. Where once there were yellow grasses and far flat plains, the strange trees grow denser and greener the further south I tread.
I have found much less difficulty in hunting for my meals, with no small amount of thanks to the gracious instruction from my Southron caretakers further north. I have even felled a great cat, a perilous and troublesome task to say the least, and its hide has given me much warmth as I have slept in the branches of what trees I could find. Sadly, I have seen no mûmakil cross my path in these months, unless the tales of their monstrous size have been exaggerated and I have mistaken them for common elephants.
I have found some towns willing to offer me refuge as I have travelled south, where I have bartered my wares for much-needed supplies. I only wish that I had sooner learned the intricacies of Haradrim haggling, for in hindsight I realize that I accepted no small amount of unfair offers from the merchants in my earliest encounters. To little surprise, some towns have been unwilling to grant me passage or aid, and some few have even openly attacked me on sight thinking me to be some spy out of the North. I suppose such should be expected in this land; it would not bring me much surprise were I to hear of such hostility towards the Southrons in the towns of Gondor. I give my thanks to the Valar for every village willing to aid me in my travels.
The Ninth of May, Year 3006 of the Third Age
I see in the southern horizons a wonder beyond all thought! Far to the southwest, the shadows of a great range of mountains can be seen on the edge of my sight. My wandering has not been with clear destination aside from a general southward march, but now I must turn my path towards this sight. Not since the wondrous Ered Nimrais or the dreadful Ephel Dúath have I seen sight of any mountains in my travels. To bask in the shadow of such glory again would be to my mind as a clear spring restores my weary body. I ask myself now, looking upon the high hills upon the horizon, what might I find there? What passes and valleys might I tread at their feet?
I wonder now if these are the ancient Grey Mountains of which my mother spoke when she told me the tales of the years before the Sun or Moon when the Valar shaped the world. If indeed they are, I now have some clearer idea of where my wandering has taken me; my mother told me that the Grey Mountains were raised in the south of the world continuing beneath where the Ered Luin stand in the north, upon the westernmost reaches of Eriador. If such is the sight before me, my wandering must have taken me some 600 miles westward at the very least, much moreso than I could have guessed.
A new thought has dawned on me: if indeed I see the Grey Mountains before me, shall I find the Belegaer waiting beyond them? What a marvel it would be to see the blue waves before me once more! A sea of sands giving way to a sea of crystal waters! O, what I would not give to feel the misty winds upon my face, to set foot into the waters, perhaps even to find passage northwards to home ere my journey reaches its end. I wonder now, was this sea-longing the reason for my westward straying?
All these thoughts I cannot answer for myself here, for my soaring spirit will not carry me hence upon the winds. I journey southwest with all haste! Let neither beast nor Man nor burning sun hinder my endeavour! I shall write again of what I find ere I reach those towering hills, and perhaps the Great Sea beyond.
