Siege of Gundabad RPG

[Boromir88]

Beluf was ashamed for what he caused; what he did. He really liked Adranel, but he always wondered why she looked so depressed; now he wished he didn't know. He thought about going to find her, but he figured she didn't care for his company anymore. All he could hope for now was that she decided to come back, instead of running far away. He sat staring into the heart of the fire, with his thoughts on her.

Gelding heard the whistle of bows and arrows past his ears. He turned, to look behind him, and to his surprise he saw Adranel. Even a bigger shock, she was quite a markswoman. "That's some impressive marksmanship," Gelding said, "for a...." Adranel whips around, and stares at him, as if tempting him to finish what he was going to say. Gelding sees the bright red-rimmed eyes, and streams of water down Adranel's face, he catches onto the hint. "Sjorging is talking to Uther now. When he returns we'll discuss what we are going to do." He is taken off by this anger, and sadness within Adranel, and starts stumbling for words. "You may join.....I mean we would love to have your company. I'm not saying you.....have to come with us.....but....we would be pleased to have you around....yes." Adranel just turned back, and walked towards the trees to gather her arrows. Gelding didn't want to make a fool of himself anymore, and just walked away.

He returned back to their tent and fire, to see Beluf with his eyes red-rimmed and his head smothered with his hands. Oh boy what is happening around here he thought first Adranel, and now Beluf....ohhh it hit him....but decided it wasn't any of his business. He took a seat next to Beluf. "Sjorging's talking to Uther, when he gets back, we will decide what to do. Each person is free to do what they desire."

Beluf picks his face up, he had streams of water down his face too, "I'm joining the Gondorians, these orcs have rampaged through my country too long."

"You seem to be one that searches for the glories of battle, but be aware there are also many spoils." Gelding wisely replied.

"I figure if I can't prove my loyalty to Sjorging by travelling with him, I could do it in battle." Beluf said.

"So that's it," Gelding said, "and what if Sjorging doesn't want to go along with these men? He doesn't look to happy at the size of this army."

"You'll just have to make him." Beluf snapped.

[Witch_Queen]

Mordred had found sleep easily in the cave but only dreamed of being back at home with his wife. Mordred, my dear, why do you find it your duty to still follow Uther. For you know as good as I do, in the heart of powerful men can be found greed and self-doubt. The last words his wife had said to him haunted his sleep, but the matter that she said them in sent a chill down the back of a rock. For Mordred's wife was concerned only for herself and for her husband. I will follow my leader till death claims me or the city is safe again. I go for the protectoin of you and my parents. Rolling over he hit his head on a small rock and woke from the sudden feel of pain. "Ouch!", he whispered as he wiped the blood away from the frest cut. "Why did I have to do that? Now I'm gonna have a headache out of this world and nothing will get rid of it. The cold snow will only make the throbbing worse."I am such an idiot!

He stood up and walked outside, the others were already preparing to leave the area. Deep down inside his heart Mordred yearned to be at home beside the fire. But he knew at this moment it was impossible. He would continue on this expedition to whatever death he may find or the final sign of confidence he has needed. Courage is my friend and above all fear is the only true enemy besides the cold and orcs we chase. May the others find courage in whatever means they must. For Uther's lack of doubt is the driving force behind my eager mind.

[Firefoot]

After a while, Adranel’s sobs quieted and then ceased, and she began to feel much more in control and relieved of some of her grief, poignant though it still was. She was also feeling decidedly uncomfortable from sitting in the snow, which had soaked her skirts. They weren’t dripping, but it was the deep, slow-chilling damp that could cause pneumonia and other such winter illnesses. She slowly stood up, her breathing somewhat ragged and her knees shaky, but she felt better than she had in a while. She picked up her bow and quiver, and having already retrieved her arrows, began to trudge back to camp. She had not gone far, only a sprinter’s course, and despite the swirling snow which had began to fall she was not out of sight.

As she drew closer, she began to make out individual figures, the one that stood out clearest being Beluf’s. He was hunched over with his face buried in his hands. A wave of remorse washed over Adranel. What had she done? He had been nothing but kind to her and she had snapped at him. He probably did not want her company any more, and despite Gelding’s words that she would be welcome, she felt as if she would be imposing on them. Beluf had not seen her and she changed her course, heading for the army’s camp. She wished she had someone to talk to, though there was no one that she knew besides the men she had been travelling with. She had little hope of finding anyone in the soldier’s camp, but she still hoped.

A few of the men leered at her, but she ignored them, and most of them appeared curious. She wandered around the periphery, feeling things out. She was about to turn away with a sigh when one form caught her eye. He was a middle-aged man, and covered with a blanket. Adranel cocked her head curiously. She saw that there was an unoccupied soldier standing nearby and walked over to him boldly.

“Excuse me,” she said. He looked up at her in interest. She pointed to the man. “But can you tell me who that man is over there? He’s not a soldier, is he?” The Gondorian barked a short laugh.

“Him? No, no, we found ’im yesterday. ’E’s not quite right, like ’e’s a-had too much ale.” He laughed again. “I didn’t catch ’is name, but ’is speech was right slurred.”

“Huh,” mused Adranel. “Well, thanks.” The man nodded and went about his own business. Adranel was now more curious than ever, and she approached. A soldier was standing nearby - Guarding him? she wondered - and politely she asked, “Would it be all right if I talked to him?” A smirk spread across the guard’s face. He said, “I don’t see why not, but don’t expect to get much out of him. And the Captain’s going to want to talk to him soon, probably when he gets done with that man you came in with.”

Adranel supposed that was a yes, and walked up to the man slowly. She wondered what he meant by “don’t expect to get much out of him.” The first soldier had said he was likely drunk, but in her experience drunk men were always more free with their tongue, not less. Cautiously, she asked him, “Who are you?”

He seemed as wary of her as she was of him, and he clutched his blanket tighter, but he did answer, “Innemaa.” Adranel frowned, trying to understand him. “Innema?” she echoed. The man shook his head violently and tried again, slower, “Inn - e - maa.” Though more pronounced, it did not sound any different to Adranel. She wondered what was wrong with him. He couldn’t talk very well, that was for sure. She was almost sorry she had tried to talk to him.

“Well, all right,” she said. “I’m Adranel.”

“Adaneh,” he annunciated. In an attempt to communicate with him, she asked, “Why are you here? Where do you live?” A childish light leapt into his eyes. “Find... find. Nonna, gone.” Adranel wondered what she had gotten herself into. What was he trying to find? Nonna? Who was that? She wished he would speak clearer.

“You’re trying to find Nonna?” she asked. “Do you live with her?” He seemed uncertain, and frustrated that she couldn’t understand him. Finally he shook his head. “No. Find,” he repeated. Adranel was getting a headache. This man had definite problems. She was grateful for the diversion, though. It was like a strange puzzle.

“What are you trying to find?” she asked him. It was a simple, direct question, and hopefully she could get an answer. By the way his face lit up, he seemed pleased that this was a question he could answer.

“Cotta,” Innema said. Adranel worked to decipher the word, but the only thing that came close was “cottage.” Was he lost, then?

“You want to find your cottage?” she queried. He grinned and nodded, “Cotta hide.” Adranel’s brow knitted in concentration. She gave up trying to understand him for the moment and moved on, simply talking to him for the sake of someone to talk to.

“You don’t seem to have a family, either,” she said to him. “I guess we have that in common, at least. I wish I could understand you better. You seem to have a pretty interesting story to tell, if anyone could understand it.” She blushed as soon as she said it - it was quite rude, for he could understand her quite well. She hurried on, “Anyway, I bet you had some kind of run-in with the Orcs, too, or else what would you be doing all alone? They burned my village, too. There’s nothing left for me here...” she trailed off wistfully, forgetting for a moment that the strange man was there. He was watching her, listening. Oh! thought Adranel. Alas that I have no one normal that I can trust to talk to!

[Novnarwen]

Orcs? Only by the sound of the word made him wriggle. He started shaking helplessly, as if cold. He drew the blanket about him again, covering himself from top to toe, only letting his eyes be visible. He had heard of Orcs before, but where, he didn't know. They were monsters; he knew that much.

Ingemar looked directly at the woman, whose name he couldn't remember; was she an orc? If so, then he would hide, hide all day and make her go away. Looking grimly at her, his gaze studying her movements stiffly, he felt a burning hatred swell up inside of him. Her face became at once blurry, and he could no longer see her true features. A new figure took shape. It was a most horrible shape; its hair was back and greasy, its eyes shone with evil and its faint grin was making him shiver with fear. He felt a sudden need to take action. Whether it was due to him being frightened or that he reacted towards something which appeared to him to be evil, it was impossible to tell. This new hostile attitude towards the brown-haired woman seemed to have a great effect on the woman herself, who started looking quite nervous where she stood, struggling with her anxiety. "What's wrong?" she asked, troubled, clearly seeing the sudden change that had come over the middle-aged man. Coming closer, Ingemar felt the little strength that remained in his body gather. He jumped up, having one target in mind; this person, this orc.

"Wraaaaah!!" he screamed. He stretched his hands out, threw the blanket over her and grabbed her about the waist. The burning fire in his eyes witnessed of a mad man, who was not used at having company. Not being able to distinguish between an orc and a woman emphasized particularly his lack of knowledge. Feeling the body of the young woman breaking under him, he too fell to the ground, rolling wildly, but getting to his feet as quickly as possible, aiming. He ran towards her, bending slightly to let his head get the first impact. He was just about to cast himself over her again, having only one thought in mind; she or whoever she was would not get away, when he felt a hand grab him briskly. “What do you think you’re doing?!” the man screamed, holding him firmly, forcing him to lie down on the ground.

Around him, Ingemar could see that the men were gathering. What were they going to do with him, he wondered? They were not orcs, or so it seemed; but that nevertheless, didn’t mean they weren’t monsters. He waited for something to happen, for them to get closer, but nothing did happen. Instead, they were all gathering around Ingemar’s victim, who lay silently on the ground a few feet from where himself. Ingemar looked oddly around him; what had happened? The woman who he had been talking to, a woman who had such kind eyes, lay motionless, it seemed, on the ground...

[Firefoot]

Adranel came to herself a few seconds after hitting the ground. What had happened? There was shouting, and soldiers were crowding around her. She seemed to remember being attacked... but it had happened so fast that her mind was fuzzy. One minute she was sitting on a stump, talking with the strange man who couldn’t speak well, and the next she was on the ground with a blanket over her head. The suffocating blanket had fallen away, and she could see her surroundings, or at least she would have been able to if the men would get out of her face.

“Get away from me. I’m fine,” mumbled Adranel, struggling to rise. She immediately fell back again at the sharp pain in her left side and the sudden feeling of dizziness to her head. She figured she must have hit it on the log when she fell, which would be why she had blacked out momentarily. Through a gap she made out the man - Innema? - being held back bodily by a couple of the soldiers. Suddenly it clicked: he had attacked her! But why? He wasn’t very smart, but he hadn’t seemed aggressive. He seemed very bewildered now, as if she was the one who had randomly attacked him. She scowled at him. She had been nothing but polite to him, giving him company when he was all alone, and he attacked her for no good reason! Then, to top it off, he stood there looking confused.

Adranel realized she was having trouble breathing, and the air around her was stuffy from the crowd of bodies. Again she tried to speak, “Go away,” but either her words were incomprehensible or they simply chose not to listen. One voice rose above the others: “Back off, everyone! Give the lady some room!” The soldiers obliged, and a single form came into focus. She struggled to put a name to the face - she thought it was the captain, come to see what the fuss was about. She struggled to remain conscious, but her head and side were giving her a great deal of pain. As she felt herself fading, she seemed to hear another familiar voice calling her name - was it Beluf?

She was no longer in the army camp. Up ahead, she saw her family and Hergon. She called out to her older brothers, Balder? Allagon? She began to run to them. Father! Hergon! She was nearly there when a wall of flame leapt up between them and they vanished. The dream began to repeat itself, though with variations. In some, she reached her family. In others, they disappeared even as she greeted them with hugs and happy words. It always ended in fire, however, and she began to dread the nightmare. The days spent in cold weather and damp clothes began to take its toll on her. She felt hot, feverish, murmuring the names of her family in her sleep. She sought solace and found none in her restless dreaming. She tried to awake, but each time she came close to consciousness the pain in her head or side knocked her out. Finally, she became fuzzily aware of her surroundings. They were unfamiliar, and she felt dizzy.

“What happened?” she muttered. “Where am I?” She found herself to be alone, and the entire sequence of earlier events flitted through her mind. Experimentally, she reached over with her hand and gingerly touched her side. It pained her, but further examination showed that it was merely brusied, and all her ribs were in place. This relieved her greatly. Her head hurt, but the fever had run its course and she was otherwise healthy. She sat up slowly, eager to be out of this tent and once more independent of others' care. With painstaking care she made her way to the entrance of the tent and pushed through the flap. By the position of the sun, she could tell that several hours had passed. She was near the edge of the army camp, and wondered what to do.

"Are you all right, milady?" she turned at the sound of the kind voice and found it to be the captain's. She just looked at him - what did it look like? She had attracted the attention of the nearby soldiers by now, but she ignored them. Holding herself stiffly erect - for that was the only comfortable way to walk - she decided to head for Sjorging's camp, having no where else to go. Beluf was missing, and Adranel had to admit she would still rather not see him. Sjorging and Gelding were talking quietly, and Adranel did not interrupt. She eased down onto a stump a little ways away.

Her thoughts turned to Innema, the strange man. Sore as she now was, she was not inclined in any way to visit him again. Still, he intrigued her, and she would like to know his story. She was quite torn between her desire to meet with him again and her dread of him. She supposed it would be best to wait and see, and if the opportunity presented itself she would decide then. She glanced at Sjorging and Gelding, wondering what they were going to do, for she would go with them, whichever way they decided.

[CaptainofDespair]

The day slowly dragged on, with little excitement save for the finding of those of Dale. The snow had become the main attraction for a great many of those in the host. This was not because it was some new and wonderful sight, but rather due to it being the only sight, save for the trees, which hung heavy with the very same element as that which laced the ground. There were not even any game animals to be seen, and there were no birds in the sky. It was quiet, and eerily so. It put many on the edge, but the silence itself fell on deaf ears.

The column had come to a short rest, and Uther perched himself on a newly fallen tree, which was seemingly overburdened with the snow. There he sat, surrounded by many, yet alone within. After some discussion within himself, Uther felt a desire to speak with another. The closest man to him was Sjorging, one of those who had been ‘rescued’ from the marauding orcs. Slowly, Uther gained momentum, and struck up a conversation with the man.

As Uther approached, he started to speak. “You do not seem pleased with the sending of the King’s troops.” Sjorging seemed a bit startled by this, and after a few awkward moments, replied with a bit of irritation lingering on his lips. “No, I am only displeased with such a meager showing of force by King Elessar. I had expected more troops, or at least better troops.” Sjorging paused, trying to relax himself, and kept from inhaling too much of the cold air. “Had Elessar sent better, I would gladly show proper respect to those who bear his banner.” The remark sent a twinge of anger through Uther. He replied, with the utmost self-control he could muster, yet bearing an almost angered tone. “You will show the proper respect to these soldiers, whether you think highly of them or not. They are here not because they wish to be, but because they must, as it is their duty. Am I understood?” Sjorging could only nod. After another bout of awkward silence, the two decided to speak again, only on more friendly terms, with Uther uttering the first words. “So, do you wish to remain with the host, as we travel to Gundabad, or would you rather flee to Esgaroth? Sjorging shrugged, and scanned his surroundings. After a few more minutes of the silence, which both had seemingly become accustomed to, Sjorging spoke a single phrase. “You will have my answer tomorrow.”

Uther and Sjorging parted ways after their meeting, staying a good distance from each other the rest of the night. But the day was not yet over, and there were still some unresolved matters to attend to. The man the scouts had found, Ingemar, still needed to be questioned, and that was the lieutenant’s next mission. He wandered around the makeshift camp for a time, searching for the man, but to no avail. Finally, Uther decided it was time to inquire upon the whereabouts of the man. The first few guards he questioned had only vague ideas, and that wasn’t much help. After a few moments of the tiresome inquisition, he posed the question once more, to one of his more experienced soldiers, Mordred. “Have you seen that odd man, Ingemar?” The soldier was taken off guard a moment, but managed to conjure up a response. “Yessir, he’ssss overrr there, with the lady we founddd...” Though the response was slurred a bit, due in part to the cold, and maybe the trooper’s small ration of ale, Uther picked up the gist, and departed.

The scene the commander came upon, was not one he expected. The lady, Adranel, was lying on the ground, with the man over her, and it appeared he was preparing to strike her. Without hesitance, Uther lurched forward, his chainmail swishing and clacking with his movements. He grabbed Ingemar’s hand, and held him firmly, refusing to allow him to strike the young woman. “What do you think you’re doing?” Uther was obviously a tad irate with the situation. The man just sat there, his arm hanging in the air. Uther demanded a response to his question again, “What do you think you’re doing?”. Still, the man sat. After a bit of the wrangling continued, Uther ordered his soldiers to put him under a guard, and keep him from wandering about, and refuse all visitations for him. After Ingemar had been dealt with, Uther realized he had in fact attempted to assault the lady. He turned round, and reached his hand down to her, uttering a few words. “Are you all right, milady? Are you injured at all?” She looked up at him, returning his kind gaze with a grim, seemingly uncaring look. She rose from the ground, without his help, and walked off, away from the staring eyes of the other soldiers. Uther shrugged, and ordered his men to return to their posts, and leave the woman be.

**************************

The cold, wet darkness of the night dragged on for forever, or seemingly so. Uther tossed and turned through the night, unable to sleep on the hard ground the host had camped on. He didn’t dream much, even when he did manage to scrape together a meager portion of sleep. In the middle of the night, sweating and cold, he arose from his tent, and went out to stare into the vast shadows that were formed from the gloom of night. His breath rose from his chapped lips, swirling into the air, and finally dissipating into the nothingness that loomed above. The sentries ignored their commander for the most part, and left him to the serene black that the night offered.
Staring out into the cold shadows, he thought only of his prey, the orcs whom he was to hunt. Soon, his thoughts echoed from his lips, lightly forming on his tongue, only to disappear into the void, that hung like a woolen blanket before him. “Where are you? Where are you hiding?” He continued muttering the same phrase to himself, repetitively. After some time, he had expended enough energy to return to his tent, and fall back into sleep. He hoped the morning would bring more comfort.

~*~

Unfortunately for Uther, his morning was the same, but now he had his soldiers to order around, forcing his mind to be less at ease, and putting him into a faint sense of dulled watch. He wandered around the camp, slowly at first, inspecting his troops, and seeing to it that the supplies were properly loaded onto the pack animals. After this mentally taxing job was fulfilled, he saw to it that the men were readied for the march, and put into formations. Ingemar was placed under a careful watch towards the front of the column, and Sjorging and his companions were brought into the fold, having been issued some spare military equipment. Yet, before he could give the order to set out, he quickly checked the scout reports. He turned to one of his underlings, and motioned for him to speak with the unit commanders. “Ah, so the Orcs are out there. Maybe we shall see battle on this day.” When his commanders had been informed, he gave the final order, and the column began to rumble forward, out into the snowy plains of Dale.

As the Column continued to advance, scouts came in at regular intervals, some reporting of the Orcs, others not. But Uther, by now, was only interested in where the Orcs were, and when he received news that they were heading towards one of his way points on the march route, he smirked a wry, slightly malicious smile. His sergeants then began passing the word down, to be prepared for an Orc ambush...

[Boromir88]

Gelding arrived back at the tent, and wondered why Beluf wasn't there. He usually isn't one to wonder off and he didn't seem to want to associate with any of these Gondorians. Gelding simply shrugged, and spotted Sjorging rushing back, he looked rather disturbed. "What is it?"

"Nothing," Sjorging replies snapping back, "these men, they don't know what they are getting themselves in to. Where's that boy...Beluf?"

"I don't know, when I got back, he was gone." Gelding spots Adranel approachingm, and he sinks to a whisper, "I suspect it has something to do with her."

Sjorging turned and looked at Adranel. She had a bump on her head and appeared as if she was limping, or struggling to walk a bit. "You are just in time, we are about to talk about what we're going to do. Where's Beluf?"

"How should I know!" Adranel shoots back. She definately wasn't in the best of moods, but never the less she had a seat by the two of them.

"What did you and Uther discuss?" Gelding asked.

"Nothing much, actually," Sjorging said, "we were mostly trying not to rip eachother's heads off. He asked what we planned to do."

"And...." Gelding urged on.

"We leave tomorrow." Even though everyone was free to do what they wished none of them were able to leave eachother's company. That's all they had, and all tehy will have, eachother.

"What!" Gelding shouts, "I've never seen you walk away from a fight before."

"This isn't a fight!" Sjorging quickly spouts, "Sixty some weather beaten, tired, hungry men, against a mountain fortress isn't a fight, It's a massacre!"

Gelding objected, "You've seen what these orcs have done. They've been ransacking, burning as they go, through Dale. This is our chance, our chance to end this threat, and rid Dale of orcs for good."

"You are wrong." Sjorging said, they were both practically at a scream. "There was a chance, that chance no longer exists anymore."

Adranel who was quiet up to this point whispers, "Keep your voices down. You don't want people hearing you." Beluf who had wondered off on his lonesome now returned, and he immediately caught eyes with Adranel. Sjorging and Gelding could feel some tension between the two, and Gelding broke the silence, "She's right, we better keep our voices down. Come Sjorging, I want to discuss this further in the tent."

Beluf just stood there, refusing to make eye contact with Adranel. Adranel made sure she did the same. It was a while, and Gelding held out long, but they noticed when he stormed furiously out the tent. Sjorging poked out from the tent, "You two better get ready. We leave tomorrow." With that Sjorging retreated back into the tent.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

It was morning again, no one got much sleep. Gelding was still furious, Beluf was looking up at the light orangish red colored sky, and Sjorging was sitting deep in thought. Adranel wasn't around, none of them knew where she was.

It was quiet, but an unsteady quiet, so quiet you couldn't even hear any sign of animals around. Then some shouts were heard, but it was too far off for Sjorging to make out, but as the shouts drew closer they became clearer. Suddenly a man walked up to the three of them, "We are heading out, Lieutenant Uther wants to form out, orcs could be about." Sjorging and the rest gathered their things, ready to set out with the company, they weren't going to just leave yet, if orcs were around, Sjorging wanted to make sure he had the pleasure of killing them.

Gelding spotted Adranel walking up to the tent, "Come with us my lady, we could use a skilled archer, like yourself." Adranel graciously accepted and joined the three of them.

Sjorging stated, "Come we better join them, before they leave us behind." They sprinted off and met up with the host of soldiers. The orders were given to march on, but for some reason Sjorging got a funny feeling in his stomach....

[Boromir88]

As Sjorging was walking back he noticed Beluf and Gelding staring up at a tree, and thought he heard them talking, as he got closer he realized they actually were talking. "What is going on?" he asked. Then it finally hit him, something, or someone was in the tree. The tree branch was shaking, and a head popped out from the cover of the leaves, but quickly hid itself back down. Faint whispers of "No see. No see." could be heard.

"Who goes there?" shouted Sjorging. Sjorging's shouts made the branch even shake more rapidly, and the voice grow louder, "No uhh eear, no uhhn eear." A Gondorian soldier approached the three companions and asked what was going on. Sjorging quickly explained to the soldier there was something up in the tree, he didn't have time to go into deatils.

"I don't have time for games," Sjorging scowled and stomped off. Gelding followed after him.

Only Beluf, and the soldier, remained beneath the foot of the tree. He didn't no what was up there, but it definately wasn't an animal, or an orc. He thought sounded like a little kid, but what kid would wonder off in the middle of nowhere, in the cold snow? Unless he was lost. Whoever he was, Beluf figured he was up there because of the Orcs. "It's ok. The Orcs are gone. You can come down." No reply was given. Beluf tried again, "They're gone. It's safe now." Again, there was no reply. Beluf decided to try one more time, and he thought, maybe he's hungry and will come down if I tempt him with food. "I happen to have some nice bread with me, it's not quite stale yet. Here, would you like to have some?"

[Witch_Queen]

Mordred looked around. He noticed off in the distance what looked like men under a tree. His curiousity was beginning to get the best of him. Quickly wiping the already dried blood off of his sword Mordred began to walk over to the tree. Whats going on? Is there something in there that has their attention? As Mordred got closer he realized that the two men were talking amongst themselves. "Sjorging? I have heard great things about your fighting in the earlier fight. What's going on?" The man pointed towards the tree. Mordred thought he heard something but quickly dismissed the thought.

Mordred had stood there thinking about whether or not to try to climb the tree. It was a fact that there was something or someone in the tree, but was "it" dangerous. "Want me to go up?" He pulled his dagger out of his boots. He liked to keep the smaller sword hidden in case he needed it. He pointed towards the lowest limb. The only thing Mordred feared now was the thought of dieing because of the snowy branches.

As Modred came closer to the trunk of the tree he began to think about earlier in the day. He had done his best to serve Uther. But he didn't like loosing count of those who fell under his sword. It didn't matter now. Now the only thing important was the mystery in the tree? "So who's going up? And who's staying down here to keep a look out?" Mordred hadn't had a chance to talk to Sjorging and welcome him into the company. But now was not a time for welcoming and introduction.