Nearly all Far more of my time has been in the company of a single person recently, and I am finding it hard to adjust to. At first I wrote "nearly all" but I realize how inaccurate that is: at least half of the time I or he or both have been out and about doing whatever was needed, removed from one another. Inaccurate as my first choice of words are, they seem telling about how I feel. The life of a scout is mostly solitary. Admittedly I am the unusual scout in that regard, as I relish the company of others far more than my brothers and sisters. But the company I relish is varied, both by nature and necessity, and by preference. I've never spent this much time around a single person, and it's an unwelcomely challenging adaptation.
All the more since he is mysterious and baffling, and even when he seems to be trying not to be, he remains so. His continued interest in me is of course a source of concern because it throws his motives into question (and that's where they already started even without that). Am I finding it hard to be comfortable in his frequent presence because of that uncertainty of intent, and what that means for the tribe; or because of some innate disinclination towards spending so much time with one person; or not because of a disinclination of nature but simple lack of familiarity; or because of something about him, specifically?
But I cannot avoid it. I suppose I could ask Frideric to change my assignment, or at least let it be shared with another. My leg is no longer a reason (even Strangsig says it's almost fully healed now). But I can't put my own unease ahead of the needs of the tribe.
Fortunately, today I will get to do something more interesting. We have word from another scout that a small caravan of dwarven merchants from the east is coming through today. I have never myself been farther east than within sight of the Last Bridge, but I have heard tales of three passes across the mountains, and each year as spring begins its northward march, they open one by one. The first one is far to the south, but it's well out of the way for the travelers from the east, so isn't used as much. Just one or two caravans early in the year, likely including this one. The middle one is too dangerous and rarely used by merchants, while the northernmost one won't be open for a couple more months, but when it is, we'll probably see three or four more caravans come through, plus more going back the other way. Prime time for trade, as the dwarves take our artifacts of Arnor and sell them on in other lands. I will ride out to meet them and encourage them to stop a night, or at least a few hours, near our Ruin-hold so we can barter, buy, and sell. Dwarves may strike many as dour or gruff, but compared to my kindred, even their severe side is comfortable, and unlike my kindred, they also have a merry and cheerful side, loud and boisterous. Working your way from the one to the other is a delightful dance, challenging and rewarding.
