Blood and thunder were the only constants. The blood oozing from his own side mattered little to the man, while his injury was serious, it was also bound and there was no danger nearby. The more concern was of the other - his bloodied, tarnished cloak the only thing that remained from his companion - his wish still ringing in the ranger's ears, between sound of thunder and rainfall. This was good - it meant the spirit wasn't in pursuit. Those blood-curdling howls would pierce through the mightiest of thunderclaps.
He saw the trees already.
And then, he awakened.
This caused some confusion, but only briefly. He soon realised it was his gift that saved him again - that ability to work through exhaustion, do the bare minimum to keep safe before collapsing. He must've made way and made camp well after his tired mind had shut off. That it still helped the man was a source of relief to him.
What he was about to do, much less so.
After a brief check-up on himself, the ranger produced a sheet of parchment and a thin sliver of charcoal. He began to write, in elegant, but shaky letters.
"To one Silver
I wish I had the opportunity to contact you in a better circumstance, but alas. I traveled with a man I knew as Rhaug and you knew as Rowan and have been involved with. We were supposed to take care of a spirit that endangered the fortress of Fornost.
We succeeded. But it didn't come cheap. I am injured and last I saw the man, he was in agony. Before we set off, he asked of me that if anything happened to him, I were to tell you of it. Tell you that he regrets many things he said and a few he did not, and that you shouldn't wait for a phantom. I am telling you this now.
He spoke fondly of you and I wish I had better news to share than this.
I'm sorry."
He did not sign it, there was no need. It was time to check on his injuries, the state of what was left of his equipment, then move on. He would send this letter on it's way from Trestlebridge. Then, he would prepare to finish what the two have started.
For the land they both promised to protect, and for the man he considered friend.
