They had made good time up the river. Entering it in the late afternoon, they had covered nearly half the way to the caverns. The moon shone full and bright now in the dark night sky, an occasional, opportune cloud scudding across its surface.
'We should pull in here.' called Pio softly back to Mithadan. 'We are a little less than a mile from it.' They maneuvered the skiff in along the bank, beneath the cover of the overhanging trees. Levanto tied it off to a downed tree's trunk, partially submerged in the water.
'Are we at the caverns already?' whispered Rose, who had fallen asleep against Cami, and now just awakened with the ceasing of the skiff's motion. 'No.' came the low voice of the Elf. 'This is the place where Mithadan and I are getting out for a brief while, as we told you earlier. We have some business to conduct, and will return shortly. You need not concern yourself about it. Only stay in the skiff and keep yourselves very quiet while we are gone. Levanto will stay with you. He will keep watch.'
Pio went quietly back to where Mithadan was seated. 'Are you ready?' she asked. They would need to check for the red cloth she had marked the ship with, before they attempted to board it. If it were still there, then they would know it was the same ship she had scouted earlier.
She stripped off her tunic and tucked the unsleeved shirt covering the one of mithril beneath the waistband of her leggings. Her belt wrapped about her waist twice, holding her sheathed blades. She removed the two knives from her forearms, and laid them on Cami's lap.
The Elf offered the small pot of thick grease mixed with fine ground coal to the Man for his use. She took a generous quantity for herself, and darkened all her exposed skin. Her two knives secured once again to her forearms, she slipped into the river and waited.
[ October 22, 2002: Message edited by: piosenniel ]
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Eldest, that’s what I am . . . I knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless - before the Dark Lord came from Outside.
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