[Arry]

It had always been Brand’s habit to let the older person speak first, or even to let them direct the conversation. But Rædwald, it seemed, was a tough nut to crack. And so it fell upon Brand to move their dialog along.

At first, they discussed their villages, and then ensued a general bit of talk on goats versus sheep; ailments in the flocks and their medicines; best types of feed; the use of dogs to tend the animals; how the pasturings were determined by season. Brand had a good head on his shoulders for this type of discussion on the relative merits of sheep and held up well against a die hard goat man.

The route to Edoras was also discussed, though not in such detail. Brand had never been far from his village and its surrounding lands and so intended to rely fully on the instructions his Lord had given him. It was with some relief he learned Rædwald had been to Edoras a number of times, and would be able to find it if there were some reason they could not follow the river any longer or were unable to head straight west to where the Snowbourn met the Entwash. A tale or two of Rædwald’s days among the Riders of the Mark were interwoven at this point of the conversation. Brand hoped that he did not seem like a gawking child as he listened wide-eyed to stories of battles and danger and the easy camaraderie of those in the Riders.

It was not until later in that long morning’s ride that Brand got up the courage to pursue the line of questioning that was burning at the back of his mind. He started out in a general way, asking how did Ræedwald know each of his present companions; getting round finally to the questions he really wanted the answers to. ‘And that Meghan,’ he began. ‘She’s a friendly one isn’t she? How old is she, do you think? And have you known her long?’ He asked it in a casual, general sort of way, hoping that Rædwald would feel as inclined to talk about her as he had the other subjects.