[Envinyatar]

Veryadan

The scavengers had not left much of note to be seen when the three companions set out to have a look about the scene. Parts of the bodies from the shepherd and his dog were found scattered here and there, bones already cleaned of muscle and sinew by beak and tooth. ‘Interesting, though,’ remarked Veryadan as he held two gnawed pieces of the shepherd’s long thighbone up for inspection to Aidwain who was crouched down near him. ‘I can think of no animal large enough in these parts to have snapped the bone in two like this. Something with tremendous strength did this gruesome work.’

The Ranger frowned as he turned the cleanly fractured bone in his hands. ‘It couldn’t be . . .,’ he began. ‘Aidwain, have you ever been around the Troll lairs in the Angle? Seen the bones of big animals they’ve killed, broken neatly in two, the marrow sucked from them?’ He shook his head. ‘But there are no Trolls here, as I recall.’

‘There are those footprints I first found,’ Aidwain offered.

‘Too big even for a giant of a man,’ Veryadan agreed. He shook his head again. ‘Even if it were Trolls, I’ve never met one bright enough to plan and pull off raids as these seem to be doing.’

Aidwain pointed out that there was the matter of the other, smaller prints – booted and barefooted. ‘I’m certain those would be Orcs – saw enough of their trails in The War,’ the Elf went on.

Veryadan nodded at this. ‘Ugly, misshapen things - filled with shadow. But there were a number of them I had the misfortune to encounter who were as cunning as any man. Knew how to lay a plan and spring it.’

The day was growing toward evening. The two companions walked back toward their meager camp. Osric had gone off on his own; they were curious as to what he had found.

‘What I really would like to know is how big a group we’re dealing with,’ said Veryadan, as they reached the campsite. ‘Did your Elven eyes pick up any hint of this? The prints were too overrun by those of the scavengers for me to make any sense of them.’