[Earendil Halfelven]

He wiped the last of the rolls through the gravy-like remains of the stew. Ahhh, delicious. He was surely going to visit this homely inn again. Darian watched as Reed got up and took a chair by the fire. The others made no more suggestions. Except, they talked amongst themselves and dispersed throughout the inn. He decided to get up and go introduce himself to Reed. The young woman sat with her back toh im as she sat mesmorized by the fire. With her cloak off, he saw top of a tattoo that was on her neck-a tattoo of a rose.

"Nothing quite like a fire and a warm inn to make one forget the snow storm outside," he said as he approached her.

She turned and smiled a bit as his comment.
"Yes," she said. "This is a nice little inn."

Darian took a chair that was next to Reed, and relaxed. "My name is Darian, Ranger of Ithilien."

"Thanks for supporting me, Darian," she said.

"Don't mention it. It's a good idea, one that I hope Barak considers," he replied. "So, I see your in the Order of the Black Rose."

"Yeah. They...got me out of trouble," Reed said. Darian sensed a little hesitation, so he decided not to persue it.

This time, Reed spoke. "How does it go in Ithilien?"

"Not bad, except our forces there cannot stem the flow of forces into Mordor. The men there have been fighting valiantly, but there are not enough of us. Captain Faramir knows that an attack on Osgiliath is inevitable."

"I wish I could be there. The Order, however, has appointed me here," Reed said.
"Is there a lot of action?" she asked.

"Yes, plenty of it. But it is never easy being under the eye of Mordor."

As the rest of the company settled down, Darian and Reed sat in the comfortable glow of the fire, and talked of experiences past and experiences to come.

[ May 23, 2003: Message edited by: Earendil Halfelven ]