My Sword Weeps
by Agape4Rivendell
Chapter 24: An Alliance is Formed
‘It is not wise to trust completely,’ he
remembered Elrohir telling him Erkenbrand’s words. ‘Well, the Horse
Lord will have learned that he was right,’ Aragorn thought regretfully.
He saw the knife slip into Elrohir’s hand, saw the surprise on
Erkenbrand’s face as the blade touched his throat, saw the whispered
words, and felt a great sadness. The leech clucked over him repeatedly
asking, ‘Does this hurt? Does that hurt?’ And all the while, Aragorn
played his part.
Erkenbrand watched silently as Elladan pulled his own knife and walked
towards the leech. The Rohir’s eyes grew wide; he immediately stopped
the struggle that he had begun. Elrohir put his finger to his mouth to
order silence, then walked backwards out of the hut pulling the captain
with him. Elladan watched in silence.
At last, the leech offered a warm cup of mead to Aragorn. “Drink this
slowly, son. Your insides need to be as warm as your outside. That is
why your stomach is roiling. You will feel better in the morning. Sleep
now,” he said kindly. Surprised, he wiped away the tear from Aragorn’s
cheek. “Is the pain so bad?” he asked in concern.
Aragorn shook his head. “Nay,” he whispered. “Thank you. I feel much
better.”
The man patted Aragorn’s shoulder gently. “I promise, you will feel
better on the morrow.” Then he packed his little bag of medicaments and
walked out of the hut.
Elladan sat heavily in a chair in the corner; he could not meet
Aragorn’s eyes.
Aragorn lay quietly trying to justify what had just happened. The men
of the Mark were brave and he cherished their friendship and their
courage. It felt so wrong to be deceiving them like this.
Elladan sat on the chair twirling the knife in his hand. The sun was
close to setting and he was growing concerned. Elrohir had not yet
returned.
Finally, the back flap moved as if someone were hitting it lightly.
Elladan stood and ran to it. Lifting the flap, Elrohir stepped inside,
the captain behind him. “It took longer than I thought,” the Elf said
exasperatedly. “There was no fodder for the horses in their stalls and
there was no food for us. After a little gentle persuasion, the captain
showed me their supply tent. The horses are ready and packed. Where is
the leech?”
“He left as soon as he was done,” Aragorn said. He stood and walked to
Erkenbrand’s side. “He is a good man. Forgive us.”
Erkenbrand snarled. “I will not.”
Elrohir turned from the captain and took Aragorn by the arm. “Are you
well enough to travel?”
“I am. Let us be off now. I would have us away so that we may send
this man back to his own people as quickly as possible.” He turned
towards Erkenbrand again. “It is your own king who places us in this
impossible situation. We must help our friend. He is a young boy.”
Aragorn’s eyes lit with understanding. “You were never told who we go
to save?”
Erkenbrand just sneered. “No matter who it is, you defy my king’s
decree!”
“Come here!” He pulled the captain down onto the cot and sat next to
him.
“Estel, we do not have time for this,” Elladan hissed. “If someone
sees the horses tethered at the back of this tent, they will raise the
alarm.”
“I cannot leave without this man understanding. Captain Erkenbrand
– we go to help the Steward of Gondor, Faramir of the House of
Húrin.”
Erkenbrand stood in amaze. “What say you? You know of Faramir’s
illness?”
“We do. Mithrandir brought me the news weeks ago. We have come all the
way from Imladris to help the boy. Will you not help us?”
“It is still against my king’s law, but I will do it. Though I be
sentenced to death, I will help you. Still, I will not allow my men to
be part of this. They cannot be punished for my actions. We will play
false and say that you are indeed taking me against my will; they will
be protected by that.”
“Then,” Aragorn stood and grabbed parchment and wrote, ‘We are
taking your captain as a hostage. Do not follow us, else he die.’ He
used a knife to stab the note onto the table. “That should protect them
and might keep them from following us. At least for a time. Come, now,
we must be away. Night is here and time is not our ally.”
~*~
The inn was clean and had room for both parties. They did not speak
to each other, but Ragnhild left a message with Targon to give to their
guard telling them of their room location and to meet them once the sun
set.
After they had cleaned the road’s dirt from them, Ragnhild and
Aerin walked to the town’s square. Tarnost was small and Ragnhild was
surprised that anyone from here had become a member of Gondor’s
Council. There was a building near the center of the square that flew
the flag of Gondor on its roof. Ragnhild decided this must be where the
ruling body for the town had their meetings.
She walked in with her head bowed. There was not much activity in
the one-room building, just an old man sitting on a chair, leaning
haphazardly against the wall.
”Who ya lookin’ for?” he asked.
”I wondered if you might have need of a healer, here in Tarnost? I’m
from the city, but there isn’t much need there, what with the Houses of
Healing and all.”
”Not good enough for them, huh?” The man laughed sourly. “They
think they’re better than the rest of us, up there in their White
City.”
”I noticed that. Hard to get work if you don’t accept the Steward’s
ways,” she said circumspectly. "I’m sure lots of folk think that here?”
”Not all. The common folk think that the Steward can do no wrong, but
there are a few lords here who know the real score.”
”I would prefer to work, of course, for the lords of your town.
Might you have a name or two of those who are more prone to our
position that might hire a healer?”
”I do. Of course, there’s Lord Dagnir and then his son too has his
own house, that’s Lord Minastir. I only know them two who are outright
for Tarnost and not Minas Tirith, but you’ll find them agreeable to
help with other names. The Steward don’t give us much notice here in
the wilds.” He laughed an unpleasant laugh.
She joined him. “I can’t thank you enough. We have had hardly any
work since leaving the city and our purses are thin. Where is Lord
Dagnir’s house located?”
He walked her towards the door and pointed to a large, ornate home
not but a few paces away. A huge fountain graced its outer courtyard
and pillars lined its entrance. Ragnhild threw a stern glance towards
Aerin, who, she noted, was stifling laughter.
”I thank you again, sir. We’re staying at the Tarnost Hills Inn. If
we may be of service, just ask for Ragnhild.” She bowed and walked
away, pulling Aerin with her.
”You will get us both killed,” she whispered furiously, but the
anger that should have been in her response was overcome by the
laughter that fell from her own lips. “Never have I seen such an ornate
house, except on the Sixth Level. I cannot believe the people accept
this Lord and his high and mighty ways without a little scorn.”
