Part 112 – Cleansing the Village
The day was bright and the clouds were drifting along the sky. The sun had risen like it had many times before, bright and beautiful, clear and warm. The morning was a crisp cool morning in Bree-land. The green grasses and trees were just as bright as ever and the flowers bloomed with radiant colors. Yellows, greens, blues and oranges were amongst the brightest of white in the fields of Bree-land.
In the vale, just north of the village of Bree, the small cemetery was the ultimate resting place for many. But Theomin was there for one whom he loved. He dug a grave for his friend Herion. The one who was his hunting partner back in the days when he was providing food for Annuminus. He looked at it, brushed off the grave stone of any dust that had collected on it and knelt beside it.
“I am sorry friend,” he said as he shook his head in sadness. “I am sorry I was not there to protect you.” He closed his eyes, “I am sorry I went on this errand and left you to the wolves. I thought Annuminus was safe. I thought she was going to be okay. I suppose I was wrong and it was wrong for us to leave.”
“Do not fill your heart with doubt,” a voice came from behind him. Theomin turned to see Saeredan standing behind him. “Such cold council can make a man doubt his own wisdom.”
“Saeredan,” Theomin said with surprise as he embraced his friend with a sad heart. “Have you knowledge of what happened in Annuminus?”
“You need not burden yourself with such news as yet,” Saeredan said. “Only know that if you had stayed, you would have certainly perished in the onslaught that came from the north. Armies came from Angmar, too many to count. Men, evil men came from the north. Orcs came out of the east. Those who stayed, died. Those who ran were hunted. I and only a few remained in the hills to see what horrors took place.”
“But at least I could have helped them instead of that slaughter.”
“Do not think for a second that you could have helped them. You would have been dead along with all the others. Not even the whole force of the rangers stopped the slaughter that took place.” Saeredan looked at the other graves that populated the graveyard. “My kin too died on the many roads we took on our way south. I wished I could have continued with my brothers but I made a choice. I chose to return and bury our dead and remember them. I thought my usefulness had seen its end and I no more need would I be to anyone. You and your people changed that. I have a need. A need in this world and I will stay here and help in whatever way I can. My heart is tied to this land and its people. I am happy to say I can help best the land and the people that I love.”
It was not long after that Eleswith came to the graveyard to pay her respects to Herion. Theomin and Saeredan stayed silent before she started talking, “It is a terrible fate, Herion endured.” She knelt and placed her hand in the soft dirt. She picked up some and let it filter through her fingers. “I only wish there was a resting place for Helesdir. But no final resting place for him. Only the cold dark cavern under Weathertop.” She rose up and looked down in sadness. “Magla and the guard of Bree placed the lady in red into the Bree prison. I could not go with them. The memory of that place was too horrible for me. I can’t believe Gerald. After all that horrible man did, he just left.”
“The Bree guard told me I did him a favor, chasing him out like I did,” Theomin said. “I can only assume he is heading to Annuminus along with the rest of those orcs. I hoping that Teryndir is okay, wherever he is.”
“Sergee says he has found no trace of him in the lands surrounding Bree. He and some of the guards of Bree have been searching since early morning,” Eleswith said.
“Then was he eaten whole by that drake?” Theomin asked.
“Not likely,” Eleswith said. “Strewn through the fields and on roof tops were the limbs of those guards who were taken. A horrible fate they endured.”
“Then he is likely alive,” Theomin said. A small glimmer of hope came over him.
“No love for Teryndir have I had since Annuminus,” Eleswith said, “but I also am saddened for him. No man should endure such a fate.”
“And Eotheron,” Theomin said. “How is he? Is he well?”
“Yes,” Eleswith said. “Estonethiel is mending both wounds.”
“Both?” Theomin asked. “What was the other?”
“This is a new one on me,” Eleswith said, “With a wound of electricity, there is an entrance wound where it hit him, which was his shoulder, and an exit wound. His was in his foot.”
“His foot?” Theomin asked. “That does not make sense.”
“That is what Estonethiel reported to me,” she told Theomin. Eleswith then bent over and breathed hard.
“Are you okay?” Theomin asked.
“I’m fine,” Eleswith tried to reassure Theomin. “I have been feeling a little tired as of late. That’s all.”
“Perhaps you need some rest,” Saeredan suggested. “Much you have been through.”
“Thank you, but I’ll be fine,” Eleswith said. “Once I rest a bit, I’ll be fine.”
They stayed silent for a while before Saeredan asked, “What are you doing about the lady in red?”
“She is in prison for the moment,” Eleswith said.
“I know not what to do with her,” Theomin said. “She was deep in Gerald’s council and knew of the plans they had. A plan to regain Annuminus was undoubtedly one of them. I am sure he had a hope to find me there in the city. Gerald knew not that I was gone from there. So you are right, Saeredan, I would have been killed and if not, he would have tortured me until I died.”
“It pains me to know such an evil exists,” Saeredan said. “I know in my heart, though, that not all can be deceived to do evil’s will. Such evil only grows when good people do nothing. I have seen good deeds from you and your people. Bree needed a hero to stand up for them. I saw that when Gerald was here. They grew tired of his relentless search for you, terrorizing them, not freeing them of the fear he gripped them in. I knew he killed his own brother. I knew he killed his father. The Bree guard was aware of that as well. Word quickly spread that Gerald’s anger killed his father. As word spread, his reputation fell with the men of Bree. So chasing him out of this town freed them of him, but it would have served the people better to see him in prison.”
“Such a task is impossible now,” Theomin said. He looked at Eleswith, “I must see our guest in the prison. Though I fear to enter that prison, I fear I have not a choice.”
Theomin left as Eleswith followed and Saeredan remained in the cemetary. It took not long for him to end up at the threshold of the northern gate of Bree. A fear pushed him to remain outside the town, but he knew he had to enter. He walked through the gate and as he encountered the men and women of Bree, they gave a nod or a wave to him, as if to thank him for the service of freeing them from a tyrant that held them under his sway for a long while. They greeted him like a liberator and they seemed surprisingly grateful for him.
“This is the way of it,” Eleswith said to Theomin. “A strange feeling to have these people greet us like so. I almost expected anger from them but instead they seem glad to have Gerald out.”
“Where has Magla gone?” Theomin asked as they made their way up the thoroughfare of Bree toward the Prancing Pony.
“He has taken to busying himself with calming worries of the farmers outside. He has returned to Combe and headed to Staddle. If he is finished with the eastern side, he has probably already gone to the west toward Adso’s and some of the farms that have stopped being built.”
The two continued past the inn and down toward the boar fountain and then down the slope that lead toward the Town Hall. Then he saw it. The Bree prison looked ominous as a dark cloud of fear hovered over Theomin just at the sight of the place. He grabbed Eleswith’s hand and exclaimed in a whisper as his voice was taken from him, “I cannot do this alone.”
“I am here with you,” she promised Theomin. “We will do this together. Whatever evils befell us in that dark place, is not here any longer.”
So with that, they entered into the Bree prison. A few people had been imprisoned there. To the right as they walked in, a dwarf there was and in the further cell was a hobbit. The hobbit had been sleeping on the cot far from the cell door. A few of Gerald’s watchmen were in the prison too, stripped of their status and revealed as just normal brigands, not associated with Bree at all. To the left, in her own cell and on her own side was the lady in red. A strange cloud was about her as anger was clearly on her face.
“We must free that hobbit,” Theomin said. “He was the one who aided me in my time of need.”
They headed to the hobbit’s cell but the dwarf came up to the cell bars, “Good morning, friend,” he said with anxious cheer. “What are you doin here?”
“I am freeing this hobbit here,” Theomin said. “What are you in prison for?”
The dwarf just gave a laugh and said, “I refused to leave this town. All manner of races, hobbits, dwarves and elves, all left this town after they were forced out. Not I. I stayed here and wanted to start a riot. Of course, that strange man caught wind of that and threw me in here. And here I’ve been, wasting away.”
“So you are free of any ill doings?” Eleswith asked.
“Well,” the dwarf said, “aside from the filthy smell, I have done no wrong.”
“He’s right,” Eleswith said, “there is quite the stench on him.”
“Then is to be freed too,” Theomin said. “He needs his freedom as much as this hobbit does. See if you can find the keys to these cells up in the room at the center of the hall.”
“Thank you, friend,” the dwarf said. “You have a name?”
“Theomin and my friend’s name is Eleswith,” he said. “And what is yours?”
“I am Krovrin, or Krov as some of my kin call me,” the dwarf said as he pounded his chest. “I am most grateful for your aid in springing me out of here. ‘Tis been a bleak few days in here. Not a morsel of food did they give us. That hobbit over there has been the only friend I’ve had.”
“Where are you from?” asked Theomin as Eleswith opened his prison bars as well as the hobbit’s. “I hale from the Blue Mountains but heard of this place where dwarves are welcome and the beer flows like water. This place, of course, is called Bree. All manner of races lived here. ‘Tis a shame that mayor guy has made life terrible for us.”
“Well he’s gone,” Eleswith said.
“What happened? Was he chased out?” the dwarf said as he chuckled.
“Well yes,” Theomin said, “Quite literally.” Theomin went into the cell of the hobbit’s. He knelt down beside the hobbit and shook him. “Toby Took,” Theomin said in a low voice. “Toby Took, I am here to take you out of here.”
The hobbit turned and quietly gave a look of gladness almost as a child would give when seeing a parent for the first time. He wrapped his arms around Theomin to embrace him tightly. Theomin, in turn, hugged the hobbit tightly. “Thank you for aiding me so long ago. I appreciate everything you did for me.”
“I don’t know if the hobbit remembers you,” the dwarf said. “After a few days of being in here, I’m not sure if he has much of a memory at all. He was in here before me and up until a day ago, he was able to talk. Not now. He seems muted for some reason. Why that is I know not but his voice was stolen from him.”
“What about the woman over there?” Eleswith asked.
“I know nothing about her,” the dwarf said. “She has been silent all this morning. I have never seen her before. But when I first looked over there, there was a strange cloud of evil that emanated from her. She seems cold, evil, horrible. Not with a pike that was a hundred feet would I want to touch her.”
“Well I must speak with her,” Theomin said. “She may have an ill feel to her, but I must know what Gerald’s plans were and what happened with Annuminus. We have seen her before, up in those ruins in the Lone Lands. I am hoping that without her runes with her she is harmless.”
“Runes?” the dwarf said, “she carried runes?”
“Yes,” Theomin said. “They are in a safe place now.”
“Only a powerful elf could possess such weapons. Or a particularly skillful dwarf.”
“Are you one of those particularly skillful dwarves?” Eleswith asked.
“I’m afraid not,” said the dwarf. “Particular? Yes. Skillful, yes. In runes? No.” The dwarf took one look over at the lady in the cell on the other side. “You know, I have come across some pretty interesting people that I would really like to meet.” The dwarf then looked at Theomin, “She’s not one of them. I’m going out to bask in the sun once again.” He walked to the hobbit, “Come, my little friend. I’ll show you what a true ale drinker dwarves can be.” With no objection at all, the hobbit gladly walked away with his new dwarf companion. As he left, they heard him scream a grateful scream and then broke into a tune as he walked away from the prison with his hobbit friend.
“And you did not want to trust in dwarves?” Theomin jested. “Such a cheery bunch they seem.”
“Oh, I know they’re cheery,” she said. “A little too cheery when they have liquor in them.”
The two walked over to the other side where the lone prisoner sat in a mist of anger literally steaming forth from her. Anger was all about on her face as she looked up at Theomin and Eleswith. She stayed quiet as she steamed with anger at them.
“Who are you?” Theomin asked. The girl just stayed quiet as she looked deep into Theomin’s eyes, which made him uncomfortable. “Who are you?” he insisted, but again she said nothing. A bitter chill was in the air, a feel of unease was about them, almost like dread was set upon them. “Why are you here?” Theomin, again, waited for a response, which never came. “How do you know Gerald?” Again, nothing. Theomin looked at Eleswith.
“What do we do?” Eleswith asked.
“What can we do?” Theomin asked. “If she says nothing, we cannot do anything but leave her here.” He looked at the girl and then back at Eleswith. “Have something for her to eat.” At that the girl looked at Theomin with surprise but he ignored it. “Perhaps we can try again later.”
Eleswith again, bent over and began breathing hard. She then stood up and looked at Theomin, “I need some air. Perhaps I will go to the healer and see how Eotheron is doing. Maybe she can aid me in my hurts.”
Eleswith left and then before Theomin could leave, the girl in red finally spoke up, “She has something to tell you.”
That stopped Theomin. “What is it? What does she need to say?” But instead of continuing, the girl reverted to her silence.
The two walked out of the Bree jail. As Theomin reached the outside and looked around at the village of Bree, he was suddenly caught with a sense of joy he had not felt in a long time. As if a dark spot had been lifted from his heart and joy was put in its place. He knew he should not feel that because so many died in Annuminus. Bree had been such a place of evil and torture that being able to walk in her streets and feel the welcome from the grateful people sent Theomin into tears of an unexpected joy. He left the prison and walked the street of Bree. Again, the people of Bree waved to him, women looked out of windows and greeted him with “Thanks.”
Soon, walking down the street was Magla. He seemed engaged in discussions with some of the people of Bree, as if he was taking charge of something. “What are you doing?” Theomin asked.
Magla left the group of people, “This town needs so much to repair the damage Gerald left it in. Apparently, he devoted so much on the guards and searching for you that he neglected the town’s people. All the food and resources went to the watchmen. Some went to other sources. It’s only a guess that it went to some enemies of men. So the expansion of Bree and other villages stopped. The resources for Staddle and Combe stopped. The guards that took charge of watching after the villages stopped. Trade ceased and I am only guessing that hurt that village of Trestlebridge in the north. Gerald left this town in ruins and its people starving and afraid. I have taken it upon myself to repair some of that damage that Gerald put it through.”
“Are you sure?” Theomin asked, “Do you not need time after Helesdir’s death to mourn.”
“Mourning is over,” Magla said. “I need to do this. Someone needs to take charge in the absence of leadership. The guards are a shamble. The watchmen are all but taken from this place. The mayor is dead. I saw all of this and know that this town needs leadership and I am here to help.”
“But…” Theomin started.
“You have your own pressing matters,” Magla said. “Annuminus needs you. Teryndir needs you. Be the leader of the Warriors. I found my calling.”
“Okay,” Theomin said as he patted Magla on the shoulder.
Magla then turned and continued walking and talking with the group he had been talking with. Theomin knew not why Magla took it upon himself to take over but his heart was glad that he was not mourning any longer.
Theomin soon felt the pains of hunger take him. He knew that the Inn of the Prancing Pony was not far and headed up that way. It was not long after that that Eleswith came to him. Her face was white as if she had seen a ghost. Theomin had to ask, “What is wrong?”
Eleswith looked at Theomin with fear but a small amount of hope, “I’m pregnant.”
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