Entry Five.

The First Step

Well, here I am, sitting at a desk with a brand-new set of very nice-looking armor beside me. It seems the first step in my little journey has begun. Don't worry Mother, i'll fill you in. I've been sulking around the Pony for the past few days, listening in on other peoples conversations. I figured if I had to find someone to teach me some swordplay, they'd be in a tavern, right? Anyways, after doing some errands, I returned to the Pony and noticed a small group of people talking. I walked into the room adjacent to them and leaned against the wall, listening to them speak about something. I heard a few snippits about 'mercenary work' and 'mirrors'. As I turned to leave, I nearly bumped into one of the speakers. He was rather tall, and a older fellow. he had a bushy beard, too. He told me eaves-dropping wasn't polite, and I replied with a rather rude gesture.  To my suprise, he grinned, and asked why I was listening in on his conversation. I simply told him that I was looking for a skilled mercenary, and perhaps a bodyguard. I'll admit, I have been a bit on edge for the past few days. So much is happening, I find myself thrilled just as much as scared at the prospect of becoming some sort of mercenary.

Anyways! The man stated he was actually a mercenary, and he would be willing to help me. He had one condition, however. I had to tell him my reasoning behind it. I figured I should tell -someone- about it. I mean, it's not like he would tell anyone. Plus, it'd be nice to talk about it with someone, even if they are quiet and grumpy all the time. He reminds me of Father a tiny bit, Mother. We travelled to his house in Bree, where I sat down and told him..my 'story'. I did get a bit worked up towards the end, but that's acceptable. Isn't it? He decided to accept my offer, but I had to be willing to work hard, and sleep in the spare room at his house. I decided to not ask why, and eagerly accepted. He had an old set of gorgeous armor locked away in a backroom, and he urged me to try it on. It was a snug fit, and I couldn't stop looking at the smooth plates of the armor. I was to nervous to ask him who this used to belong to, but i've been thinking about it. 

I mean, it's a bit odd how he just had this armor in -my- size. To add to that, the armor clearly would've not fit him.  It was smaller, and more..'snug' for a women. Maybe he had a daughter once? It's all quite curious, isn't it. I'll need to ask him once we start talking more regularly. Anything not related to armor, swords, or bows isn't on his list of discussion topics. After I got 'outfitted' as he called it, we headed out back to practice with my bow. He gave me a rather tough target to start out with, and simply told me to shoot it. It was a tree, a little ways down by the foot of a hill. I notched a arrow, and fired pretty quickly. As you probably expected Mother, I missed the tree. He showed me how to plant my feet, and how to hold my arms while notching the arrow, and I tried it with the next shot. I managed to hit the tree on the second try. I was pretty happy with myself, before I watched him make the same shot, only from the porch of his house.

I felt pretty stupid after that, so I asked him to show me how he did it. He taught me the basics of breathing while shooting. I was skeptical at first, but once I tried it, it actually worked. He simply smirked. His smirk reminded me of Edstan some drunk I saw in the Prancing Pony. I've refrained from giving his name to you Mother, simply because I fear you will haunt him if something happens to me. But you shouldn't worry, since he's technically also my bodyguard. After this happened, he was tired. I almost made a joke about elders, before deciding against it. We headed inside, and I went to my little room. We said our 'goodnights', and that's when I started to write. I've recently taken to carrying this journal around with me. I've grown quite fond of it, and I don't want it stolen if some sort of hobbit-thief sneaks into my house.

I still have Edstan's stupid hair tie, and I just can't bring myself to get rid of it and buy a fancier one. I suppose it's a good reminder on why i'm doing what i'm doing. Maybe I could use it as a motivation thing, or something. Or maybe i'll just throw it in the fireplace. That's what I -should- do, but I can't. After all, he said I could have it, so it's -my- hair tie now. Right? I've also been thinking about the lady named Erinwyn. I hope she's okay, she was nice. She reminded me alot of you, Mother. I hope I get to see her again one day. Ha, maybe one day i'll be writing to her instead of you? I'm just kidding. Sometimes, though, I wish you would show some sort of sign you were still watching over me.

You did promise, you know..