[Amanaduial the archer]

Stopping short, Faerim gaped in surprise and then looked affronted by Lissi's question. "Mother," he answered quietly. "Are you suggesting I had anything to do with-"

"I'm not blaming you, Faerim," Lissi replied sharply. She glanced up at her son, meeting his eyes for a second, then simply waited. Faerim sighed. It was a method that his mother had tried, tested and perfected over the years, and one that, every time, would eventually worm out all the information she wanted. Resistance, Faerim had learnt at a young age, was futile. He continued to walk slowly along the row of tents towards their own, and summed up shortly what had caused the women's panic.

"The pair of women probably told you everything you need to know, Mother - the woman's sister and son have been kidnapped by orcs."

Lissi narrowed her eyes. "Why? Why would they go out of their way to creep in at night and only steal away a woman and a child, when they could have easily slewn the entire camp."

Faerim shrugged non-commitally, raising his eyes to look straight forward. "Doesn't make sense, does it?" He hesitated, then went on, lowering his voice. "There is more, of course. The woman and child were not the only ones to be taken: three elves were kidnapped from their tent."

Lissi stopped short. "Elves?" Her startled exclamation was loud and two passing soldiers glanced over curiously. Faerim shushed her frantically then nodded. "Aye, elves. The elven emissaries. Which is why the soldiers have been roused: Captain Hirvegil is intending to go after the orcs and retrieve the captives, elves and Dunedain."

Lissi nodded mutely, frowning slightly as she walked onwards. They were only a few feet from their tent now and Faerim hoped childishly that they could get there before his mother asked the next, predictable question, so that he could find some diversion. He didn't exactly relish the thought of Lissi viewing her eldest son as an eavesdropper. But alas, it was not to be: the woman turned to Faerim and fixed him once more with that stern gaze. "And you know all of this exactly how, Faerim?"

Faerim hesitated and glanced towards their tent. "We-ell, I..." he trailed off, but with reason, his gaze fixed over Lissi's shoulder, and she turned around to see what he was looking at. When she saw, her eyes widened: two elves, advancing purposefully, their object very definitely Faerim and Lissi's tent. They paused as they reached the pair, and the taller of the two - Gaeredhel? - nodded curtly to Lissi then addressed Faerim. "We are looking for the woman who you were with at the beginning of this expedition - the woman with a child. Do you know where we could find her?"

Lissi broke in before Faerim could answer, her voice level but stern, a tone not unlike that which she had previously been using with her son. "Why are you looking for them, sir?"

Gaeredhel glanced at Lissi then looked to his brother, who pursed his lips and replied accordingly, jiggling Gilly a little to keep the child warm. "I must leave Gilly with her - the two children got on well together." Lissi nodded, apparently satisfied with the elf's answer, and motioned towards their tent.

"Where are you going?" Faerim did not mean to seem disrespectful but the question simply came out. As the two elves turned to fix their still grey eyes on him he felt like a foolish child but did not shrink against them. Rôsgollo looked across at Gaeredhel then replied quietly, "To find out kinsmen." With that, he ducked inside the tent behind Lissi to speak to Renedwen.

Faerim hovered outside reluctantly, knowing that the inside of the tent would be too crowded if he was to go in as well - he was satisfied at least that Rôsgollo would not do Renedwen or her child any harm. Gaeredhel stayed outside also, but as Faerim watched him out of the corner of his eye, he noted that the elf showed a statue-like lack of cold, despite the chill of the air. As Faerim moved to go towards the tent, his eyes darted up quickly, pinning the youth like a butterfly on a collector's plate.

Faerim shivered inadvertently, a reflex not entirely due to the cold air, and held Gaeredhel's gaze. This elf seemed somehow the more approachable of the two, as far as that was possible: there was something, some air about Rôsgollo that the other did not possess: something ancient and untrusting, Faerim deemed, of the Dunedain. The other elf, the one who had been speaking so heatedly to Hirvegil, had this also; Gaeredhel seemed different somehow. Faerim stamped his feet, breaking the elf in question's gaze as he looked away distractedly towards the tent. Plucking up his courage, he asked the question that had been nagging, perched on the edge of his tongue for the past few silent minutes. "Are you really going to find your kinsmen?"

He looked back sidelong at Gaeredhel, and the elf nodded silently. Faerim nodded quickly, fidgetty, and fell back to silence. After a moment or two, he broke it again. "But...what about Captain Hirvegil? He said to wait; the soldiers are not ready yet..." he trailed away under Gaeredhel's impatient gaze. The elf did not say anything for a moment, then he frowned irritably and replied, "Captain Hirvegil can take all the time he wants to prepare and make decisions. We cannot wait - anything could happen in such wasted time..." this time, it was the elf's turn to drift off, and he seemed distracted, worried. Faerim nodded slowly, not speaking. He understood the elf's worry. Yet at the same time...at the same time, something stirred within him, some urge to please or need to help. His mind began to tick, a plan forming. The elf was right: the soldiers were taking time to prepare, whereas the elves were already ready to go - they could be gone in a few moments to find their comrades. What was the use in wasting time? Yet...yet even if they took a horse each - which would be more practical, as it would allow them to move more swiftly and concentrate on tracking rather than on another animal - how would they get the elves and Dunedain woman and child back to the camp? Even with two to a horse, they would be a horse short, and having horses laden down with a cargo twice as heavy would slow them down, taking away the edge of their all-important get-away. They would need extra horses - and who was to take them...?

Inwardly, Faerim grinned.

The tent flap opened and Rôsgollo strode out briskly, rubbing his hands together as if at a loss for what to do with them. He nodded to his brother. "It is done," he said. Gaeredhel nodded in return and laid a hand on the other elf's arm, and for a moment their gazes locked. Faerim looked away, feeling as though he was intruding, and feeling strangely left out: it was as if they were still talking to one another, but without the inconvenience of words. Then the moment had passed, the elves moved on, striding briskly away from the tent.

"Wait!" Faerim called after them. Rôsgollo stiffened impatiently but Gaeredhel turned to see Faerim standing hesitantly behind them. He darted forward, as near as he dared, and spoke almost conspiratorially. "I could come with you."

The two elves simply looked at him, apparently unimpressed. Gaeredhel laid a hand on Faerim's upper arm and shook his head, giving the youth a slight smile as if he was a child who had asked his father to come to war. "I do not think so, Faerim."

"Hear me out!" Faerim leant forward, speaking urgently. "When you get to the orcs camp, how will you get your fellows away? I presume you are taking one horse each - you will still be a steed short even if you double up. That is if you were intending to rescue the Dunedain woman and her nephew also, instead of just leaving them there to the mercy of the orcs..." he let the sentence trail off, knowing that they would not be able to do so - or at least, hoping that Rôsgollo's strange compassion for Gilly, despite his apparent distrust of the Dunedain, could extend to another human child. The elves looked at each other, each searching the other's eyes. Faerim went on. "If I was to come as well, I could bring the extra horses - you would be able to track without being hindered by an extra animal each. It would allow a quicker approach and a quicker get-away - the horses would be quicker with less cargo apiece."

There was a pause in which Faerim got the decided feeling that he was being measured up. Rôsgollo spoke first. "Why would you voluntarily do this?"

Faerim grinned. "Why did you take in Gilly?"