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(Private)


It felt like ages passed, and her arms were getting tired. Her hands were cold and it was hard to keep hanging on. Suddenly, a yell drew her attention. Someone was calling her name! Someone was there to rescue her!

“Here!” She screamed. “Help me!”

In moments, Maerdor’s face was peering over the edge as he lay flat on his stomach. The stable master, who was always kind to her. She often thought that if she could choose someone to be her grandfather, she would choose him. Of course, he must have discovered that she and Rhovan were missing, and come looking for her.

His eyes widened in horror at the predicament he found the girl in. “Just hang on a moment longer sweetie,” He told her. “Can you do that?”

“Y-yes, but I’m cold.” She informed him, tears spilling down her face, though they blended with the water that continued to wash over her.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to let anything happen to you sweetheart." Soon, Maerdor’s strong arms were lifting her from the freezing, rushing water. He wrapped her in a hug, not caring how soaked she was. Then, he wrapped his cloak around them both as Dulinneth shivered against him.

“See, you’re alright.” he murmured. “You’re just fine, sweetie, you’ll be warm and cozy in no time.” With that, he lifted her in his arms and carried her toward his horse.

"D-don't forget Rh-Rhovan." She nearly panicked at the thought of leaving her horse behind, as if the man whose entire life had been spent tending to horses, would forget him out in the storm.

"I won't," He smiled, as he went and got Rhovan, leading him over to his own horse. "Let's get you warmed up, there's a forester's cabin not far from here."


Dulinneth was shivering so hard, she hardly noticed the trip there. Minutes seemed to take ages. She closed her eyes and snuggled up to Maerdor, clutching the mysterious tube without thinking about it. She'd had the strap looped around her arm, so when he pulled her from the water, it had automatically come with her. But she hardly gave it a second thought at the moment. She was shivering, soaked, and exhausted. But soon, she had a nice hot bowl of soup, towels and blankets wrapped around her, and a cup of hot tea near at hand. She stayed by the fire, warming up, while Maerdor and the forester who occupied the cabin went out to tend to the horses. The foresters employed by her family had different bases around the large, wooded property, keeping watch over each section of the woods to guard against poachers and other trespassers, as well as ensuring that the forest is cared for and so on.

Dulinneth's shivering had gone away by the time the two men returned, although she still felt chilled. Still, she couldn't help but listen to them talk, for she quickly realized they were talking about her, or rather, how Maerdor had managed to find her.

“Just as I was at a complete loss at where to search next, I thought I heard hoofbeats. I can’t explain it, but I hurried on in that direction, hoping maybe that was Rhovan." Maerdor was saying, as the two men came in, hanging up their cloaks. "I kept going, trying to find the little lady, but it seemed she was too far ahead. I was starting to doubt whether I'd really heard the horse, but then.. maybe it was just the wind, but I coulda sworn I heard a horse neighing up ahead, but it was just out of sight. So, I hurried onward along the road, but I never could seem to catch sight of that horse in front of me. Just when I’d start to think maybe I’d missed it turning off into the woods, I’d hear another sign that led me to believe I was on the right track.” He shrugged. “Then, when I came to that fork, I was a bit lost. The road was barricaded, so I didn’t think she would've gone that way. I was about to turn off down the left road, but then, wouldn’t you know.. there was a flash of lightning, and I thought I saw a dark horse just ahead of me, down the righthand path. But it was that quick; just a flash, and then it was gone. If I’da blinked, I woulda missed it. But I hurried as fast as I could. Strange though.. I suppose it’s from the rain and all, but I couldn’t see no tracks.” He shook his head in bafflement.

“Well, the road was running with water, so it’s not to be wondered at too much, I suppose." The forester, Nethon, commented, taking a glance over at the little girl huddled by the fire. He turned back to Maerdor to hear the rest of his tale.

"I dunno," Maerdor frowned. "Maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me, just showing me what I wanted to see... cause thinking back, I can't see how any critter coulda got that well out of sight, that quick. But, anyway, it gave me a glimmer of hope and at the time, I thought she and the horse were both there just ahead of me. So, I kept on going, hollering after her in hopes she’d get the horse to stop. Then it wasn’t long after that, that I came upon the horse near the old, washed-out bridge.. just standing there ahead of me, waiting. It was Rhovan, thank the Valar. Just standing there, as if he’d been there all along! Well, I started hollering again, and then I heard her screaming for help… and there she was, in the water, half drowned...”

Dulinneth sniffled softly, and sipped her broth, curiously listening to the tale. “But that couldn’t have been...” She muttered softly to herself, puzzled.

"You're very lucky Maerdor was looking for you, young lady." Forester Nethon commented to her, as the two joined her by the fire. "Why did you go around the barricade?" He frowned. "Didn't you figure that the road might be blocked off for a reason? The bridge is out.. it's not safe."

"I didn't come at the bridge from the road, though." Dulinneth explained, holding her bowl between her hands, rested on her knees. "Rhovan and I found the river first, then we were following it downstream hoping to find someplace we recognized." She looked down. "We were lost. But then, we found the road, and.." She paused, then looked up again. "Did the bridge get washed out during the storm?" she wondered.

"No. It's been like that for.. a while." The forester replied quietly. "Couple of years, anyway."

"But how'd you come to fall in?" Maerdor frowned. "Your horse was a safe enough distance away."

Dulinneth hesitated, looking into her bowl of soup. If she told them about the tube, they might feel like they should tell her parents about it, and then someone might take it away, and she'd never get to find out what was inside. It might be best if she claimed it was hers, for now at least. Until she knew what was in it, anyway. Then she could decide whether it was something to tell anyone else about. "I.. dropped my painting supplies," She mumbled, feeling a little bad about the lie. "I was trying to get it, but then I slipped."

"Don't you realize how dangerous that was?" Forester Nethon frowned. "You could have drowned, and you'd have been washed downstream where you might have never been found."

Dulinneth frowned, fidgeting uncomfortably. That was not something she had been thinking about when she tried to grab the tube thing. But now, she realized that was very true. And she felt bad, thinking of how her mother would have felt if she'd returned home to find out that her daughter had died... she had been sick with grief over Aearonor's death, then she'd become depressed again when Anurion left. Instead of thinking about what such a tragedy would do to her mother, Linn decided to change the subject.

“Maerdor,” She addressed the master stableman. “That other horse you saw, what did it look like?”

He blinked, looking at the child in confusion. “Why, it just looked like Rhovan I suppose, though, as I said, I barely saw it but for the briefest glimpse. But what other horse would it have been?”

Dulinneth shook her head slightly. “It couldn’t have been Rhovan.” She informed him quietly. “We didn’t go near the fork in the road. I didn’t even know there was a fork. We cut through the forest, and when I found the river, I followed it downstream until I saw the bridge.” She reminded him.

Maerdor considered that, then glanced at the forester, and back to Dulinneth. "Well, there aren't any other horses I know of around here that looks that much like Rhovan." He mentioned, then hesitated. "Not.. anymore." He added quietly, as the forester handed Maerdor a bowl of soup as well.

Dulinneth took a small sip of her tea, thinking about that. Was he referring to Sûlosbion? She blinked at that thought, then looked over at the two men as they began to talk about the plan for taking her home, apparently deciding whether it would be better to take her home tonight, so those back at the manor didn't worry, or to wait until the storm passed and take her home in the morning. That was of little concern to her right now. Her mind was suddenly occupied by other things. Sûlosbion had been Rhovan's brother. The two horses had looked almost identical. And suddenly, she got a fresh chill as she thought about the bridge, remembering that both Aearonor and his horse had drowned when a bridge collapsed while they were crossing it. And that was a couple of years ago! Was this the same bridge, then?

Linn's mind raced with possibilities. She knew that Sûlosbion had not survived, because those who had found them had brought both of their bodies back to the manor for burial. She remembered that, and she remembered begging her mother to let Sûlosbion have a grave next to Aearon's, but her mother had told her that he would be buried in a special graveyard just for horses and other special animals. So, was there such a thing as ghost horses? Could a spirit horse have somehow guided Maerdor toward where Linn was, just in time to save her? Her imagination began to run away with her, pondering the possibility that her brother and his horse had somehow saved her. That Aearon was looking out for her, having sent his horse down to lead Maerdor to her. Adults might claim there was some other, more logical explanation, or that she was only being silly, or that it was all just a trick of the eyes and ears; that Maerdor had not really been led to Linn by divine powers, but Linn preferred to believe her own theory. And so that no one would tell her it was silly or childish, she said nothing more about it. It was said that the Valar looked after them, so why couldn't they do that by allowing people's loved ones to watch over them?


It was eventually decided that they should set out as soon as possible. The storm had calmed a little while they were warming up, though it was still raining. But Forester Nethon had a spare cloak that Dulinneth could use. Both men agreed that the folks back at the manor would be anxiously worrying about Dulinneth, and to keep her here overnight would only increase that worry. They might even begin to send other search parties out after her.

Linn privately thought it was unlikely that her brother had even noticed, nor cared, that she was gone. But her governess probably was worried, she realized. Glirdis would have noticed she was gone long ago, and may already be worried sick about her.

With Dulinneth wrapped up in Nethon's cloak, which was waxed to keep out the rain, the two set out. After having heard about Rhovan spooking at the thunder and lightning, he decided he did not quite feel comfortable with her riding him back home, so they rode double on his own horse, leading Rhovan.

This trip seemed to take much longer, and by the time they finally reached the stable outside her home, she was shivering again from cold. Though Nethon's cloak had kept most of the rain off of her, she still felt damp and cold, and her sniffling was getting worse. She insisted on staying in the stable while Rhovan was being tended and put into his stall, then she petted him and told him what a good horse he was, and assured him she was not upset at him for getting scared and running away. Then Maerdor walked her inside to face her governess.

---

“Do we have to tell my brother about any of this?” Dulinneth asked quietly, looking from one adult to the other. "Or... my parents?" She dared add. Behind Glirdis, she saw Maerdor make a motion as if buttoning his lips, and she held back a little smile. Of course, he would agree not to tell. She looked at her governess, next.

Glirdis, the more dutiful of the two, hesitated as she considered. “Well, I suppose we shan’t have to speak of it, if they don’t ask.” She decided at last. "But if they ask," She added, "then I will certainly not be lying." Of course, part of her reasoning here was that if the lord and lady knew that she had failed in keeping their daughter from going off doing some dangerous thing, she could be the one in trouble, more than Dulinneth. "But don't ever pull anything like this again, do you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am." Linn answered, relieved that she hopefully wouldn't get in trouble.

"Now, I believe it’s well past time you were in bed, young lady.” Glirdis declared. “Come. I've told the servants to draw a hot bath for you, while we were talking. You need to warm up properly and get out of those wet clothes.”

Linn nodded and turned to the stableman, who was very dear to her. Even more so, now that he had become her rescuer! "Thank you for saving me, Maerdor." She said to him with a little curtsy. "I'm sorry that I put you to so much trouble." She added contritely.

"No trouble, sweetie." He assured her with a kind smile. "Though, next time you want a riding lesson, don't try it on your own?" He added with a teasing smile.

She smiled. "I won't." She assured him, then went upstairs to her chambers, with Glirdis. The bath had been drawn for her there, so she needn’t go from room to room to get to and from the bath. There was a large changing screen behind which the tub had been placed and filled.

As she stepped behind the screen, the girl paused, then peered back around it. Glirdis was busy laying out towels and her nightgown for later. Dulinneth still held onto the tube she had rescued, and she was very curious what it contained, now that she’d remembered it. To have nearly given her life in trying to reclaim it, she was very interested in knowing what was in it. Thankfully, no one had taken too much notice of it. It was wet, but so was she, so that hadn’t been too much of a problem. The leather tube had been waxed on the outside, however, so the contents shouldn't be too wet, right? Now was a good chance to see what it contained. Kneeling on the floor behind the screen, she was about to try and open it when Glirdis’ voice stopped her.

“Hurry, Dulinneth, before the water cools,” The woman urged her.

Remembering she was supposed to be going into the tub, Linn sighed. She peeked around the edge of the screen in time to see Glirdis step out of the room to speak to a passing servant. Linn used the opportunity to quickly go and tuck the tube into the trunk at the foot of her bed, then hurried back behind the screen before Glirdis returned. After undressing, she slipped into the nice, warm water. By the time she finished her bath and put on her soft, dry nightgown, she had realized how exhausted she was. In fact, for now, she completely forgot about the tube. She went to bed without complaint, snuggled down into her nice, warm blankets.

The tube would wait until the morning.

(Private)

Bright sunlight streamed in through the window, the curtains drawn back to prove that the morning had turned out bright and warm, despite the storm of the previous day. Linn sat cross-legged on her bed, gazing in wonder at the papers in her hands. Tears brimmed in her eyes. She brushed them away and read the pages again, most slowly.

The date. That was what gave her chills. It was yesterday’s date… only it was the year 3019. That was the year Aearonor had died. That was the very day he had died. She had realized this fact after the first time she’d read it. And that was what had prompted the tears.

It was a journal page, which was surprising. She hadn’t known that her eldest brother had kept a journal, but it seemed he did. This was not his journal, however, but a loose paper torn from a notebook of some sort. It felt as if he were speaking to the reader, venting his frustration and anger. Anger…at Toggornir.


‘I'm so furious I want to shout. I can’t help wondering if that idiot meant to kill Anurion! The way he just stood there, staring. Not making a move. If I hadn’t come in when I did, I would have lost my only real brother. How I wish Mother had never married Torthon. I always feel that he is up to no good. And I have always felt that he is just trying to worm his way into control of this estate. MY estate. My birthright. Sometimes I believe I’m the only one who sees through him. I know Anurion dislikes him, but he is not quite aware of everything I know about that man. However, I feel it would only stir up dissention within our family if I told him any of it, and he has enough distaste for him already. The only good thing he’s ever brought to this family, I’m sure, is my dear little sister.’

At this, Dulinneth smiled sadly, but kept reading.

‘I think when I’ve completed this patrol of the land, I may have to confront Togg about what he did back there. Mother may believe his ‘accident’ story, but I don’t. I think he did it on purpose, and it irks me to no end, thinking that he will probably get out of this with no more than a little scolding from her. She's far too easy on him, and I cannot understand it. I pray that Anurion will be alright when I return, though it tore my heart to have to leave his side while it is still uncertain whether he will live. He needs me right now! I should be there, but instead, I’m out here, fulfilling my duties. As always. It's not fair. He was supposed to be with me. I know he was very excited for this trip, and now he’s lying there with his throat cut open just so he can breathe. That despicable Togg! He's fortunate that I have a great deal of self-control, or he would find a great many new bruises on him by the time I was finished with him. Maybe I should explore ways to expose him for the sort of person he truly is, to make Mother realize what he's really like. Or perhaps I’ll look into how I might cause him to break out into a rash; the more severe, the better. I might put poison ivy in his underpants, or something of the sort. If only that would teach him not to torment my brother. Anurion would get a laugh out of it, anyway.

My duties lie ahead. I stopped only to take a quick lunch before crossing the river, and to give Sûlosbion a rest for a while, for I rode swiftly in my anger. I hope to arrive at my first stop in another couple of hours, the lumber camp on the far side of the river. Then I shall see how much damage it took during the recent onslaught of enemies. I only wish to return home as quickly as possible, and see for myself that Anurion is alright. I suppose I should cease my writing and be on my way, but writing my thoughts down helps to clear my head a bit, and calm my anger. I wish I had not forgotten to pack my journal, but I shall glue these pages into it when I return home. By that time, perhaps I will have calmed my anger enough not to do anything too harsh to that irritating little toad. If Anurion is alright when I return, that is. I do hope he’s well. I'll make sure and take him on a camping trip with me, next chance I get. That should cheer him up, even if it isn't the same as getting to go with me this week. There's always next time, though.


After reading the second time through, Dulinneth rubbed her eyes again, and carefully rolled up the papers. Aearonor’s last words, penned onto paper. The paper had been only slightly damp on the bottom edge, when she pulled it out of the tube. This was only because the bottom of the tube had been submerged in the water, and the leather had ended up getting wet despite the wax. She guessed that each time the river swelled up and overflowed the banks, the tube had been submerged for however long it took for the water to return to its normal level. She'd spread the paper out to dry in the sunlight streaming onto her bed, while she read it. Thankfully, the bottom lines had only gotten slightly blurred, but not ruined to the point of being unreadable.

Dulinneth had been only eight, nearly nine, when he died. She had memories of him, but not as many as she would like. Her memories of Anurion were much fresher, although she feared that those would also fade, if he was gone for a long while. He’d already been gone for about a year, and she missed him tremendously. Sniffling, she lay back on her pillow, her thoughts racing. What did he mean about her father? She frowned and tried to make sense of it. What things did Aearon know about him, that he didn't want to tell Anurion? She turned away to one side before sneezing, then pulled the blankets around her more. She was shivering and kept sniffling a lot and feeling chilled.

After reading the page one more time, she rolled the paper up carefully and put it back into the tube. There were other things in there, but she didn't feel like taking a look at them just yet. Instead, she got up and took a look around her room. It felt really cold outside the covers, and she wanted to crawl back under them, but she needed to find somewhere to store this paper, and the tube, where no one would find it. After a little bit of thought, she went to her closet and climbed onto a stool to reach a high shelf. Then, she slid the tube in among the boxes of winter things that were now in storage. There. It should be safe there.

But now she was freezing, and she quickly climbed back under the covers, shivering. Still, her curiosity was awakened, and she couldn’t stop thinking about what was written in that page. What had Togg done to Anurion? Her imagination was running wild, thinking of all the things Aearon had said in his journal entry. His throat cut open? Unable to breathe? She vaguely remembered that Anurion had been ‘sick’ and she had not been permitted to see him for a several days, and that he had been kept at the healer's cabin. But all of that had sort of dimmed in comparison when the news came about the tragic death of Aearonor.

Linn frowned and looked over at the painting of Anurion which rested on her desk. She sighed, looking at the depiction of her favorite brother, standing triumphantly atop a cliff, smiling, looking over his shoulder toward the viewer. She missed him very much. “I wish you were here to help me.” She whispered, before halfway dozing off.


Glirdis came in a little while later, and frowned to see that Dulinneth was still snuggled up in bed, long after the time she would normally be up and dressed. She frowned and went to place a hand on her forehead, which made the girl stir and mutter a complaint about her cold hand. “You’ve got a fever.” She commented with a small frown. “I knew you’d end up sick, after that fall in the river.” The governess sighed. “I’ll send for Solchion.”

Dulinneth watched her hurry from the room, and closed her eyes, thinking. Maybe she could ask Solchion a few questions then. She tugged the blankets tighter around herself, thinking about what she’d like to ask. But then she ended up dozing off.

---

It was a little while later when the healer entered, waking her from a light sleep. After checking her symptoms, he ordered some tea to be made with certain herbs, and had her drink a small cupful of something that tasted awful.

“Solchion,” Dulinneth said once she'd drank some water to wash the taste of the medicine out of her mouth. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course, my lady.” He pulled up a chair and sat near the bed. “But after that, you ought to rest.”

After a little hesitation, she nodded. "Well, what I want to ask is, did something ever happen to Anurion, where he had his neck cut?” She frowned.

Solchon looked a little startled by this question. “I beg your pardon, my lady?”

Dulinneth frowned, trying to sit up slightly. “Did someone ever cut his neck open?”

The man stared at her in surprise for a moment before clearing his throat. “I’m.. not sure that is something that ought to be discussed...”

“Please answer?"

The healer frowned. “This is not a topic to discuss with one so tender in years. And if you wish to know something concerning your brother, I suggest you ask your parents, Miss Talven."

Dulinneth pouted a little as she lay back on her pillow. She knew her parents wouldn't tell her anything. Her mother could hardly bear to hear either of the brother's names mentioned, without getting tearful. While her father might be more willing to tell her something of that sort, she wasn't sure what was going on with him, since there was apparently something that Aearon had known about him that wasn't good. But then she realized, the healer's evasiveness sort of did answer her question, partially. "It did happen, didn't it?" She said quietly, thoughtful. "Who did it? Was it Togg?"

Solchion sighed. "I think it is time for you to get some rest now, my lady." He decided, making it clear that he did not intend to let the matter be discussed any further. "I will send a nurse to check on you in a few hours."

Still, she couldn’t help remembering the words from Aearonor’s page. Maybe someone had purposely tried to harm Anurion. But she was sleepy now, and she could hardly keep her eyes open. The medicine he'd given her was making her drowsy, so she didn't argue. She mumbled something and snuggled further down under her covers, letting her eyes close. Before she had fully dozed off, she heard Solchion speaking to Glirdis, who had just come in.

"How is she?"

"She will be alright." He assured the governess, speaking in hushed tones. "But she has been asking unusual questions."

"Unusual?"

He hesitated. "She asked about the time Anurion had to have that.. emergency operation," He muttered, so low that Linn nearly couldn't hear him.

"How did she learn about that?" Glirdis asked, whispering, sounding surprised. "Lady Talven made it clear she did not want anyone speaking about that incident, nor the cause for it. She didn't want any gossip, and she didn't want anyone knowing about.. the alcohol thing." She lowered her own voice. Linn could barely hear her.

"I'm not sure," Solchion answered, frowning. "As far as I know, the only ones who should know anything about that incident are you, myself, Anurion, the Lady, sir Toggornir, and my nurse... I don't even know if Lord Talven has ever heard of it, though I suppose that is possible."

Glirdis let out a soft sigh. "She must have heard about it from somewhere." She paused. "Should we mention it to the Lady when she returns? The topic does tend to upset her, and.. given the time of year it is..."

Solchion took a moment to think. "Perhaps not, for now. I'm going to speak to that nurse and ask if she's been talking about it to anyone. If not, then the only one miss Dulinneth could have heard it from.. would be sir Toggornir." He sounded confused.

"But that does not make sense." Glirdis mentioned, frowning. "They don't get along well. And.. he has not been around her in several days, that I know of." She paused, considering this before speaking again. "Well, if she keeps asking, I'll try to deal with it in some tactful way." Glirdis sighed. "Thank you, Solchion."

If they said anything else, Linn didn't hear it, for she fell asleep at last. But she had a few answers to her questions, at least, even if it didn't wholly make sense. She had several mysteries to occupy her mind once she would awaken, anyway. But before she could begin any detective work, she had to get over this sickness.

(Private)

It was several days before Linn got over her sickness. By that time, her parents had returned home. To her relief, neither Maerdor or Glirdis felt the need to mention anything to them about her near drowning, and she didn't try to ask anymore questions, so the grown-ups wouldn't start asking her about why she was asking, and so on. But Glirdis kept her very busy for the next few days, having her make up for all the lessons she had missed while sick, and trying to keep her from falling behind in her studies. For at least another week, she hardly had a chance to even think about the tube, nor the journal page.

Meanwhile, her eleventh birthday came along at the end of April, and the girl managed to convince her mother to allow her to have riding lessons, at last. That occupied a lot of her time after her school lessons had ended for the day, and the tube with the journal page gradually slipped to the back of her mind as the weeks passed. Then, one of the barn cats had kittens, and she spent every spare moment with the tiny furballs, hoping that if she could tame them, she might get to claim one as a pet. Then, there were other distractions kept her busy throughout the summer, and then the autumn. She kept finding animals that she tried to befriend. Having no other children around to play with, she ended up with quite a collection in her care, which took up a lot of her spare time as well. Then there were paintings to make, and sewing to practice... and before she knew it, the mystery of what she'd found in the river had faded off into a back corner of her mind.

It wasn't until Autumn was drawing to an end, and the weather turned cold, when the whole thing suddenly returned to mind. Dulinneth was getting her winter things out of her closet, when she pulled out the tube. Suddenly, the memory came flooding back as she realized that she’d completely forgotten all about that whole thing. She sat down on her bed and held the tube in her lap, staring in surprise at it. The winter clothes were forgotten for the moment while she debated whether to open the tube and look at it the page again. After a moment, she stood up and went over to sit on the bench by the window, and opened it. She took out the roll of paper. Once more, she read it. Then she sat back, frowning thoughtfully as she recalled what she'd overheard Solchion and Glirdis saying that day when she was sick, and they thought she was sleeping.

"I can't believe I forgot all about this," She said with a little frown, speaking to her kitten, who was napping next to her in the sunlight. This had been something she'd meant to follow up on, and now she felt bad for having forgotten it. She felt annoyed at herself for forgetting, and also a little guilty, as if she'd failed her brother, somehow. But she could still make up for it.

She had so many questions, though. But... where to begin? There were so many things that needed answering! After pondering for a long while over the various questions that were tumbling around in her head, she went to her desk and grabbed a pencil and a notepad before coming back to sit in the window. Now.. to list them all.

• What did Aearon know about Father?
• Why did the bridge collapse?
• Why hasn't the bridge been rebuilt?
• Did Togg have anything to do with it?
• What happened with Anurion and Togg?
• Did Togg try to kill Anurion? Why?
• Why was Anurion’s throat cut open?
• Why won't Solchion tell me who hurt Anurion?
• Where is the rest of Aearon's journal?
• Why doesn't Mother want anyone talking about what happened to Anurion?
• What did Glirdis mean about 'the alcohol thing'?
• Why did Anurion leave?
• Why doesn't anyone want me asking about stuff?

She left room for more questions, in case more occurred to her later. But when she could no longer think of any questions that pertained to this matter, she set her pencil down and read it over again. Was it all connected? She frowned, wondering. Too bad Anurion had left, maybe they could have worked on this together. But, she was on her own. So, how could she begin to find the answers to all these questions?

She scanned the list, deciding to pick one that might be the easiest to investigate. Her gaze landed on the question about Aearon's journal. Since he hadn’t brought it along on his journey, that meant he’d left it at home. He had been intending to glue this paper into it, when he got home, he said. So, that might be something she could check into right now.

"I'll be right back, Mittens." She told her kitten in a whisper, then set off down the hall. Aearon’s room had been closed up when he died, and everything had been left just as it was. Dulinneth stopped outside of her brother’s door, hesitating with her hand on the knob. No one had been permitted inside since his funeral. Not even servants went in and dusted, from what Linn had heard. She glanced this way and that down the hallway, then tried to turn the knob. It was locked.

Sighing, she returned to her room and frowned as she sat in the window again. Picking up her notepad again, she added another question.

• Why is Aearon's room locked up? Are there clues in there that someone doesn't want found?

"Well, Mittens, it looks like that's a dead en-" She stopped, realizing that her kitten was busy playing with something that she'd found. "Mittens, what are you doing?" Linn asked with a laugh. "What have you got there?" It took a bit of effort, but she finally managed to catch onto the ribbon her kitten was playing with, and extricate it from her small claws. Mittens did not want to give up her new toy, and meowed in protest, chasing after it when Linn pulled it away from her. "No, sorry, you can't have it!" Linn told her with suppressed excitement as she looked in wonder at the key that she held in her hands. There was a thin ribbon strung through the hole, and it looked like it was long enough to wear around a person's neck if they wanted to. But it had been inside the tube, along with the writing supplies and stuff.

"I wonder.." She said with excitement, hopping up again. As she did, Mittens began attacking the strap of the tube instead, and Linn paused before deciding to put the lid on it, just in case. Then, she went back to the door to Aearon's room, and again checked to see if the hallway was clear before trying the key. The key turned the lock!

She smiled in satisfaction before stepping inside and closing the door after her. Once inside, Linn looked around. It was very still and quiet in there, as well as dark. She leaned her back against the closed door and swallowed down a pang of sorrow. Aearonor had left it neat and orderly, but the drapes had apparently been closed the day that he left, and they were still closed. Linn remembered that Aearon had usually kept his room neat, unlike Anurion. She looked around and tried to think where he would keep a journal. He wasn’t likely to just leave it lying around where someone like Togg could sneak in and read it, but where would he hide it?

After taking a moment to think about that, Linn went over and opened the drapes slightly, just enough to let a little sunlight in, but not enough to make it too obvious, to anyone who might look at the window from the outside, that the drapes had been opened. Then she went to the desk, poking around a little bit. She found writing tools and paper, but no journal. Frowning, she looked around the room, then went to check under the mattress. Still nothing. She checked under the pillow, in the trunk, then various other places that she could think of. But she found nothing. While she searched, she found tears welling up in her eyes and it was difficult not to cry as she came across this or that item that had been his, which he would never use again.

Sitting on the top of the trunk after a while, Linn sighed and wiped her eyes. "Where did you hide it, brother?" She whispered into the air, frowning. The journal might be the best clue she could find, but she couldn't find it. She looked around the room again, and then her gaze landed on the top of the bureau, where a small, wooden chest sat, covered in a thin layer of dust. That looked big enough to hold a book of some sort! As well as a few other valuable trinkets, maybe. She tilted her head, then hopped up from the seat and went to look at it. It covered with dust but also with ornate carvings of leaves and trees. In the center front, where the lid met with the rest, there was a circular depression bearing a tiny image of a tree with two axes crossed over it. She recognized that symbol as part of the design of her half-brother’s heraldry. But she couldn’t find any way of opening it.

Turning the box over in her hands, she felt the contents shifting. It seemed like it might contain a book, and she sighed, setting it back down. That had to be it. She felt sure that she had found it, but now she had no way of opening it. Frustrated, she sighed and put it back on the bureau, trying to make sure it lined up properly in the dust-less square it had left there when she picked it up. Then she stepped back to look around to make sure nothing else looked out of place. Without any further clues to follow, Dulinneth went back to her own room in disappointment. She picked up her notepad and added to her list;

• How to open the box? Is there a special key? Where would it be?

As she was writing the question mark, a knock came at her door. Linn slid her notepad into the tube, then put that into her trunk before going to open the door. Glirdis had come to tell her that it was time for supper. Linn's investigation would have to wait for another day, then. But she was determined that she would not forget about it, this time. She would not fail her brothers again. Though she didn't know what it was all about, it seemed somehow important, and Dulinneth had made up her mind that she was going to keep at it until she found the answers to her questions. Detective Linn wouldn't give up until she had solved this mystery!

(Private)

The winter had passed, and Linn was not much closer to solving the mystery. She'd only managed to cross off two questions from her list, and that was about why no one would tell about the incident with Anurion, and why her mother didn't want anyone talking about it. She'd done a little snooping around as subtly as she could, and she had found out that no one talked about it because her mother had insisted that no one talk about the matter concerning her brother. And from what Linn could understand, this was because there was some secret thing about Anurion that her mother didn't want becoming public knowledge, and thus, only a few limited members of the staff knew about it. So, at least she knew why no one wanted her asking questions, and she knew that her mother was trying to protect Anurion from becoming the subject of unfavorable gossip... but she still didn't know what actually happened. And it was no use asking Togg, because he was her prime suspect.

As she got better at riding and felt confident enough to ride Rhovan on her own, Linn had begun making weekly trips into the woods with her art supplies, to do paintings. She'd go each Saturday, when she had no schoolwork to get done, and stay out all day working on her picture, and by the end of the day she'd have something to show her governess. Linn had made several lovely pictures. She had a few different scenes of the snow-clad forest. There was one she was particularly pleased with a portrait of two deer, a doe and its fawn, standing in the snow with some evergreen trees in the background. There was another of the river, with snow on each bank, trees lining the banks. There was another of the road covered in snow, with the sun beginning to set on one side, casting a beautiful orange glow onto the snow. She had done a picture last week of a stag standing in a clearing, with snow falling heavily down, trees on either side.

But she was not just practicing her artistic skills while she was making trips into the forest. She was establishing a routine, so no one would find it strange for her to go riding into the woods at least once a week. There was not enough daylight during the winter for her to stay out for long, and it got cold quickly. Glirdis fretted a lot when she was outside for very long, but she did admire the paintings that Dulinneth brought back, at the end of the day.

It was Spring now. Linn had waited until the days began to grow longer again to try and make this trip. It was now a year from the day when she first found the tube, and nearly drowned in the river. She rode at a brisk trot down the road, trying to make sure that she had plenty of time. It was a couple hour's ride from the house to the bridge, so that didn't leave her a lot of time. But she'd sort of planned in advance. She had, over the course of the winter, painted a few 'extra' paintings, which she hadn't shown anyone. When she returned home today, she would show one of them to Glirdis, and pretend like she had just done it. That way, the painting she was actually going to do today would remain a secret.

When she reached the crossroad, she slowed Rhovan to a walk. When she drew nearer to the barricade, she stopped and looked around for a moment, then veered off into the woods, carefully moving around it. She returned to the road once she was past it, and kept going, but she looked around often to make sure no one was around that might stop her.

Soon, she could hear the rushing of the river. It was always swollen around this time of the year, when there was a lot of rain and the snows from the mountains began to melt. Dulinneth stopped near the same log she had stopped by before, and secured her horse to the tree there. She patted him, gave him an apple, and grabbed her supplies. After a bit, she selected a spot and set up her easle, canvas, and paints. Then, she began to paint the scene as accurately as she could.

The girl didn't know whether this would be any help to her with solving this case, but it seemed like it couldn't hurt, right? She felt like having a visual of the scene would be helpful, somehow. She was nearly done with the scene when a voice startled her. Thankfully, she was getting a fresh dab of paint, and not applying it to the canvas, when the man called out.


"Hey, you! Stay back from there!"

Linn looked up and turned, frowning as she saw the forester approaching. She recognized him, and smiled. "Forester Nethor!" She greeted him cheerily.

He paused. "Ah. Lady Talven." He approached and stopped a respectful distance. "What brings you here.. again? I thought you would have learned to stay away from this place, last year."

Linn smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. I'm staying a safe distance. I only thought it would make an interesting picture."

He looked at the canvas behind her, then at the bridge, looking skeptical. "It doesn't seem to me like a pleasant subject for a painting, if I may say so, my lady."

Linn shrugged. "I suppose everyone has their own opinion. But I wanted to paint it. It's not a problem is it?" She asked, looking worried.

Nethon hesitated. "Well, I.. I have orders not to let anyone near this place. It's dangerous, my lady."

"Yes, that's why I'm not going near it." Linn explained. "I'm nearly done." She pointed to her picture. "See? Just give me a few more minutes, and I'll be finished."

He sighed and hesitated, then nodded. "Alright." He agreed. "But then, you shouldn't come back here."

Linn smiled sweetly. "Thank you!" She refreshed the paint on her brush and got back to work, though she briefly glanced at Nethor as she began to paint. "You know, it wouldn't be dangerous anymore if the bridge was rebuilt." She pointed out.

Nethon sighed quietly. "Yes, perhaps. But perhaps not."

"What do you mean?" Linn looked up at the forester, puzzled.

"Suppose the bridge was built back. How many flash floods will it survive?" He asked.

"How many whats?" Linn frowned, a little confused by this unfamiliar term.

"A flash flood.." He paused, then began to explain about how the water would come rushing down the river faster than it the banks could hold it, sweeping through in a devastating flood that often tore down anything in its path. "Even if we build another bridge, it may not survive the next flash flood. We usually have at least one each spring," He explained.

Linn frowned thoughtfully as she considered that. "So... how long was the bridge here before it got destroyed?" She asked, finding that a bit confusing. She turned back to finishing up her painting.

Nethon looked out at the bridge, frowning slightly. "I don't know. The bridge was old, I know that much. But.." He hesitated. "Building a new bridge would only be a waste of time, effort, and resources." He declared. "So, the bridge remains blocked off on both sides of the river. Those who need to cross will use the ferry."

"So.. the bridge will just remain broken forever? Never rebuilt?" Linn asked, confused by this.

"That is the Lady's orders." Nethon replied quietly.

"The Lady? My mother?" Linn turned, intrigued by this bit of information.

He looked at the girl, hesitating as he realized he had said more than he meant to. But now there was no retracting it. "Yes, your mother." He confirmed.

Linn frowned at that, lowering her brush. "Why?"

Nethon frowned, but finally sighed. "Must you keep asking about this?"

Linn frowned. "I'm only curious. It's just strange that the bridge is still broken after all this time, and no one plans to rebuild it. So I want to know why. Please tell me? I'll only keep asking."

Nethon sighed, taking a moment to hesitate before giving in. "Alright, what are your questions? I will answer to the best of my ability."

Linn turned to the forester with some surprise. Obviously, there were plenty of things that he couldn't answer, but he could probably tell her about the bridge, right? "Well," She thought for a moment. "Why did my parents give orders not to rebuild it?"

"Ah, but it was not your parents. It was your mother, my lady."

"My father disagrees?" Linn asked, tilting her head curiously.

"Indeed. Your father was most anxious to have the remains of this bridge torn down, and a new one rebuilt. He had given the orders, and the men were all set to begin tearing it down. But Lady Talven, your mother, said no. She insisted that the bridge mustn't be taken down. It is her orders that the bridge remain as it is, and no new one will be built in its place. She is not convinced it would be safe, and she says it would only be wasteful."

"And mother has the final word about everything." Linn said softly, thoughtful. She had a few questions to add to her list, but that would have to wait. "So, it just stays like this." She took a look at her painting, then past it at the bridge. "Forester Nethon, were you here when..?" She motioned to the bridge.

The forester shook his head. "No, my lady. It was not until the.. bridge was destroyed, that we began to keep a closer eye on this area."

"Oh. So, there was a flash flood that day, when.. my brother..?"

"Apparently so, yes. The bridge was old and weakened, so it hardly stood a chance when the water swept through."

"But that doesn't make sense." She muttered under her breath, then frowned as she looked at him. "How hard is it to hear a flash flood coming?"

Nethon frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well.. how quick do they come? Wouldn't a person know it was coming? You said it was like a big rush of water.."

Nethon looked at her thoughtfully. "What are you getting at, miss Talven?"

Linn looked at her paint palette, biting her lip. "I'm not sure. I'm just wondering about how these flash floods work. How quickly they come up, and how loud they are, and how much warning a person has when they're coming?"

Nethon folded his arms, leaning against a tree. "It can happen with very little warning. The water can rise very swiftly, within seconds even." He motioned to the river. "But there are a few warning signs to watch for."

"Like what?" Linn asked, eager to learn more.

"Well, sometimes the first things you will notice will be a sudden stiff breeze coming down the course of the river, quickly followed by a roar of water. It's very loud.. much like a very noisy waterfall, I suppose." He explained. "If that happens, the best chance to stay safe is to get to high ground immediately. You may only have a few moments. Other times, you may see a sudden change in water clarity, from clear to muddy, that is accompanied by floating debris. These are both signs of an impending flash flood."

"I see." She nodded seriously. "What else?"

"Well, in front of the rising waters, there will be a debris flow. Large trees, bushes, and branches, even boulders the as large as a horse, can be pushed downstream by the fast-moving water. The debris flow can be several feet wide and several feet thick. And, that is also what is commonly what is left behind after a flash flood is over." He concluded.

"So.. it sorta forms a dam?" She asked. "Does it stop up the water flow?"

He shook his head. "It would, if we let it build up, I'm sure. But we clear the river frequently of any such obstructions."

Linn nodded, thinking about that. "And, how much did you have to clear the river, that day? When.. Aearon.."

Nethon shrugged. "I was not at this location then, miss Talven." He reminded her. "I would not know the answer to that."

"Right. Sorry," she smiled apologetically, then turned back to her painting. "So, someone who knows a lot about the forest and camping and stuff, would you say they'd know how to watch out for things like that?"

"Of course." He answered. "It would be one of the first things an experienced person would look for, if they were selecting a camp site. A person with experience at camping in the forest, near the river, would know to choose high ground for a camp site. A hiker would know to avoid potential flooding areas if possible, or to exhibit caution and awareness, if they must cross through an area prone to flooding."

Linn nodded at this information. "Thank you, Forester Nethon. I'm glad to know these things, it's very useful information." She told him. "I'll be sure and remember all of that."

---

Back at home, she'd showed her governess a different picture that she had painted weeks ago, a scene with the road lined in pretty blue flowers, with pear trees wearing their tiny white blossoms framing it. But she pinned the painting of the collapsed bridge up in Aearon's room to let it dry, where no one would see it.

After supper, Linn slipped into Aearon's room and sat down at his desk. She had begun keeping all of her clues and things in there, where no one was likely to come upon them. She took some time to write down a summary of what she had learned about flash flooding, the bridge, and everything else. Then she took out her list of questions. At the one concerning the bridge, she marked it off and drew an arrow from it, then wrote some notes in a bracket, summarizing what she'd learned about how her father wanted the bridge torn down and rebuilt, but her mother refused to allow it. What did it mean?

Once she had written down everything she'd learned on that matter, Linn sat back and went over it all, trying to make some sort of sense of it. She felt like this was all important somehow, but she couldn't quite say how, yet. She had gotten many questions answer, but she still didn't know exactly what to do with that knowledge. But she'd figure it out sooner or later. She still had several more questions to mark off of her list, but at least she was making some progress. She just wasn't sure how to get the answers to some of them, but she'd keep at it until she got the answers she sought. With a sigh, she slipped out of Aearon's room, locked the door behind her, and went back to her own room to get ready for bed. Detective Linn felt like she'd had a very productive day.



(information about FF borrowed from here
A side note; the images linked here are only to give an idea of what the referenced painting would look like, I'm not trying to imply that it's so good as to look like a photograph. Just to make it clear.)

(Private)

The river flowed by in a lazier manner than it had over a month ago, as the Spring rains had slacked off and the days had grown hot. Dulinneth had been waiting for it to get warm enough for swimming and today was definitely warm enough. She stood looking at the river for a few minutes, thoughtfully. She had been writing back and forth with Gaer for the past couple of months, and now she needed to get a really good, close look at the bridge. From the water, rather than from the shore.

There was something she half-remembered seeing, or thought she had seen, while she was nearly drowning that first time she'd been here. But that had been over a year ago now, and she didn’t fully trust her memory. She’d borrowed a good long piece of rope from Aearon’s room, and now she was finishing securing it around a tree, just in case. Next, she tied the other end around her waist, just in case. The river was lower than it had been in the spring, and they’d had no rain in the past couple of weeks, but she still remembered the terrifying moments when the current had tried to drag her under. She wasn’t taking too many chances today.

With her safety line attached securely around herself, Linn waded into the water carefully. The flowing water was still rather chilly, but the day was warm enough that she figured she'd dry quickly enough after she got out. She’d worn something suitable for swimming under her dress, so all she had to do was take off the outer layers, and then after she'd dried a bit, she could put it back on to go home. For now, she held onto the rope, keeping just enough slack to allow herself to move forward, without having too much rope. She figured, if she was to slip on the river bottom or something, she could use the rope to pull herself out.

Soon, she was near the end of what was left of the bridge, where it had collapsed. The water came up high enough that she had to tread water here, but at least she didn’t have to fight an overpowering, rushing current, like that one day. Unfortunately, with the water level being lower, she couldn’t get as high as she needed. And the poles were slippery, so she couldn’t climb up them.

Frowning, she tried to get a look at the tops of the poles, but she just couldn't get high enough. Still, she examined what she could see of the underside of the bridge, taking a good, close look at everything within her line of vision. There was not much to see here, unfortunately.

Once she felt that she could see no more, Linn went back to the bank, wrung out what she could of her clothes while she was thinking. Then she took a folded towel from the saddlebag and dried herself as well as she could before taking out a sketchpad. Sitting on the bank, Linn did her best to sketch the scene as well as she could, including as much detail as she was capable of adding into the drawing.

When she was finished, Linn sat back and thought for a moment. Did she dare try anything else? She bit her lip, thinking for a good, long moment. It would be nice if she had someone to help her, but there was no one here that she could really trust with any of this, was there? Maerdor was like a grandfather to her, and she trusted him with most things, but he wouldn’t be willing to help her with something potentially dangerous. She was sure of that. And she trusted Glirdis too, but she also knew that the governess would probably feel obliged to tell Linn’s parents what she was doing, if she thought Linn was endangering herself. Which, she knew that adults probably would think that. But this was important. She could feel it inside, somehow.

Taking a deep breath, Linn set her sketch pad aside and checked that the rope was still tied around her. It seemed secure. Linn held onto it again as she ventured out, but this time, instead of wading into the river, she walked out onto the bridge. This time, it was dry. And this time, she was more careful. She held the rope taut, feeding out a little slack at a time, just like her brothers would have done if they were climbing. When the bridge began to slope downward and seemed unsteady, she paused and took a very careful look around. Then she inched out a little further.

The day that she’d found the tube, the water had been up so high that it covered this part of the bridge. Now, she was able to look at it better. She peered over the railing very carefully, making sure not to lean her weight onto it. The entire structure seemed unsteady, here. Linn knew she was being a little risky, right now, but she was trying to get a look at the structure underneath. It was too hard to get a proper look, though. The sloping part felt like it could break out from under her if she wasn't careful, so she decided she had probably better not linger here too long, it she might end up falling in again.

Before she returned to safety, however, Linn carefully laid down on her belly and looked at a few things, including the boards making up the deck of the bridge, then peered under the railing to try and see more of that part, to see whatever it was that she thought she'd glimpsed that day she was fighting to stay above water. There was just something she couldn’t quite put her finger on, that she felt she needed to know. Something she felt that she’d seen before, on that stormy night, which she couldn’t quite remember.

When Linn finally came back to the bank, she drew another couple of sketches of the bridge from different angles, including the view looking over the railing, and from looking over the top of the railing, as well as the view of the support posts from under the bridge, standing on the bridge,and so on. Everything she could think of, she sketched as skillfully as she could. Fortunately, she was a pretty good artist, and she was fairly satisfied with how the drawings came out.

When the girl could find no other ways to get a closer look at the area that she wanted to see, Linn figured it was about time she went home. By now, she had dried well enough to pull her outer clothes on over her swimming stuff. After putting her sketchpad and towel back in her saddlebags, she climbed back onto Rhovan. She paused to look at the bridge thoughtfully, from the saddle. “I need a boat.” She decided, realizing that might just solve the problem. A boat would sit on top of the water, and she could stand up and that should bring her high enough, right? Hopefully. It might still be too high, but she would try it, at least. She nodded to herself. "We'll come back with a boat, Rhovan." She declared, then they set off toward home.

---

Back in Aearonor’s room, Linn pulled out a large wooden frame, which she’d asked Maerdor to construct for her. She had a sheet stretched across it and fastened on, then the sheet folded over at its middle and stretched across the other side of the frame, so that there was a layer of cloth on each side. She’d stuffed sawdust into the empty space between the layers of cloth so that it was filled, and now it was hidden under Aearon’s bed when she wasn’t using it. After pulling this out, she laid it on the bed and looked at the carefully arranged board* she had been compiling.

Her list of questions was pinned in the center. At the question about why her mother didn’t want anyone asking about Anurion, she had stuck in a needle, with thread stretching from there to a smaller piece of paper that she had pinned there, which listed all of the explanations she had been able to find about that. She'd been trying to pose questions as subtly as she knew how, trying to ask in ways that weren't too obvious. The most likely answer she had come to was simply that her mother was trying to protect Anurion, as well as the whole family, from unwanted gossip. That question was crossed out, as she felt satisfied that it had been answered.

She another thread stretched from a needle stuck into the question, ‘why doesn’t anyone want me asking about stuff’ to the answer; 'Mother gave orders not to talk about it.' Another thread went from ‘Why won’t Solchion tell me who hurt Anurion?’ to the same answer. She didn’t have that one crossed out, however, because she still felt that there was more than one answer to that question.

For the questions about the bridge not being rebuilt, she used another thread to go from the question to the paper that mentioned her mother and father’s differing desires concerning the bridge, and so forth. A paper containing Nethon's extensive information about flash floods was also pinned to her board, with a thread going from it to the questions about the why the bridge collapsed and why it had not been rebuilt, but she had a small piece of paper containing a question mark there as well, because and still had some questions about the bridge.

There was still plenty of room to add more papers and things to the board as she learned more information. These latest sketches were lined up along the outer bottom edge, near the paper about the floods, but she didn’t connect them to anything yet, since she still didn’t have any answers yet. But she pinned them on, then stepped back to look at it. “Now, if I could just get a boat.” She muttered to herself. Then, she could get a closer look at those support posts, and maybe she’d have the answer she was looking for. Still, there was still a lot of things to figure out, and she didn't know quite how to get the answers... yet.


*she has something sorta like this going on

---

Linn felt ridiculous when the solution finally hit her. For two months she had tried to find a boat, and figure out how she was going to get it to the right part of the river without anyone noticing. She had pondered over it for weeks. Even when she found a little rowboat, it had proved impossible to actually transport it through the forest without anyone seeing. The moment she tried to lift the little boat all by herself, she discovered how impractical her plan was. And that didn’t even begin to answer the question of how she planned to row it, and stand up in the boat without flipping it, and so on.

No, a boat wasn’t the solution after all. The solution had been there with her the whole time, and Linn had been too busy overthinking it to realize.

It had hit her in the middle of the night, late into July. She’d woken suddenly as it hit her, and she'd actually laughed when she realized how silly she was not to have thought of it before. She hadn’t dared to try sneaking out to the bridge since May, because she didn’t want to risk anyone noticing her going there too often and take measures to prevent her. But now… yes. Now, it was time to make another trip out there.

---

“Ready, Rhovan?” Linn asked, patting his neck lightly with a smile. She had her swimming things on again today, and had waited for a nice, hot, dry day. She was going to do this. She just hoped it was going to work. Carefully, she guided her horse into the water. She wasn’t sure how deep it would be, but the area she needed surely shouldn’t be too deep for Rhovan, right?

Right. The water only came up to his shoulders when she stopped him. If the bridge hadn't been broken, with the end sloping down toward the water, she never would have been able to see this part of it, but since it did.. it was just the right height.

“That’s good... good boy.” She smiled at her horse, feeling quite successful at having figured out a solution. Very, very carefully, Linn pulled her feet from the stirrups and gathered them beneath her. Very carefully, she eased herself to stand up on his back. “Steady,” She said softly, letting the reins rest on the saddle horn. “Stay.” The horse gave a soft snort in reply, but remained very still.

Turning slowly, she held onto the post next to her shoulder to help keep her balance, and began to examine the wood of the broken part of the bridge, where it slanted downward. And that was when she saw what it was that had been nagging at the back of her mind. Now that she had a chance to look at it in bright sunlight, with the wood dry, she was certain of what she’d seen. And it didn’t make any sense. “Steady, Rhovan.” Linn said calmly, having to adjust her balance slightly when he shifted.

Now was the trickier part. Could she do this? She looked around, checking that no one was spying on them, then she pulled a small sketchpad from her pocket, and a charcoal pencil. Quickly, she did her best to copy what she was seeing. Then, lowering herself into the saddle again, she did another couple of sketches of the bridge's framework, and finally put the sketching supplies away. “Alright. Let’s go home.” She said quietly. “I finally have all I need, here, I think.” She and Rhovan left the river and set off downstream. She’d come to the river by a that route both this time, and the last time she'd come, to avoid leaving prints in the dirt road that would alert Nethon to the fact that anyone had gone past the barricade.

As she traveled downstream, Linn suddenly spotted something sticking up from the water, a little way downstream. She stopped Rhovan once they were a bit closer. “What’s that?” She dismounted, frowning as she moved to get a closer look. There was a piece of something wooden, stuck on something under the surface of the water. It wasn’t like a branch or something, but pieces of lumber that had been shaped and smoothed and used in some sort of construction at one point.

The closer she came, the more she realized that it was a section of bridge that had broken off from the rest, years ago, and gotten lodged against something in the river bottom. It had been very hot this month so far, and there had been little rain for the past few weeks, so the water level was even lower than it had been in May, when she was last here. This piece of the bridge had not been showing before, when the water had covered it, but now… Linn hesitated, thinking. Then she sat down on the bank and drew another sketch of this. It might be important, after all. And if it wasn't, it wouldn't hurt anything to draw a sketch of it, right?

After mounting again, she carefully had Rhovan wade in again, so she could get closer to it. Once they were as close as they could get, she drew another, closer sketch, intrigued to find the same sort of marks on this piece as she had seen on the end of the bridge. Very interesting. Frowning, Linn noticed that one of the broken pieces of wood was barely attached to the rest of it, and it happened to have some of those markings she was curious about. She reached out and tugged, finding it surprisingly easy to get it free. Then she took a good, hard look at the rest that was too big to pull out of the river before leaving. At least she had the small piece of wood to bring along with her.

There might be other pieces of the bridge scattered all down the river, she realized. It had been a long bridge, and the whole center portion had been washed out. She remembered what Nethon had said about how the flash floods would push trees and boulders and things ahead of it, sometimes. But it was getting late, and she needed to hurry back home for supper.

---

Curled up in her own room again, Linn stroked Mittens thoughtfully as she stared at the piece of lumber. It had been a bit bulky to carry around, so she had hidden it among her art supplies and smuggled it into her room along with those. Now, she sat at her window bench, studying her first tangible piece of evidence. There was definitely something odd about this, and she felt troubled by it.

Could it be that Togg had actually caused something terrible to happen to her other brothers? She knew he was a killer.. of animals at least. But people? She hoped not, but she didn't actually know. She would have to be more watchful to see what she might find out about him. He was her brother, but she didn’t really know that much about the guy, aside from the fact that he was too heavily into drinking. She frowned. It wouldn’t do any good to make accusations without proof, of course. But perhaps… she could find something. If she kept digging. So that’s what she’d do.

After propping the wooden piece up so that she could look at the marks without having to keep holding it, Linn began to sketch it carefully, trying to make sure she got it as close to the real image as she possibly could. Once she was done with her sketch, she took the wood, and all of her drawings from today, into Aearon's room and added them to her evidence board. Except the wood, since it was too big. Instead, she put it under the bed with the board. Before putting the board away, Linn added another couple of questions onto the list;

• What are these markings on the wood from?
• Who put them there? Togg?

She took a look again at the little wooden chest that she was sure contained his journal, and let out a little sigh. If only she could figure out how to get that open, it might hold a lot of clues... but until she did, she'd keep trying to figure this stuff out some other way. For now, she left the room, locking it behind her as always, and went back to her own room to finish up a sewing project before bedtime.

@Rillewen


He had determined to not sleep, as had by now become the custom. For it had long now been unsafe to so dare. And it had long since been his duty to keep watch for his lord's welfare. But even in the rain soaked cages of the island, where sleep was seen off by the wet and filth and stink regardless, weariness had come. And it had then been only the throbbing hurt of his injured knee which kept the young man from his rest.

Here, now, in a makeshift but actual bed for the first time in months, Ribedir had long since passed the point of horror at sharing a berth with his revered employer. The modest bare stone house was cold and there were blankets only enough for some of their number.

And somehow he had slept. Utter exhaustion playing its hand at last. So that it was as dark when he woke as it near had been when he had took to bed. And Edhelmir was nowhere to be seen where he now found himself. But the absence of his lord was not what had awakened him. It was the eager hands of an Elf which had urged him back to consciousness.

"Are you going to attack me ?" She asked. In a clearly practiced accent of the Common tongue. And the young man puzzled even as he tried to sit up. It was difficult between the pain from his knee and the fetters shackling his wrists. Observing this, and clearly a lack of aggression from the young man, Ospiel produced a key, which she waved in front of the Belfalasian before unlocking his restraints. They were near hid after that then, in hand but almost out of sight, as quickly as he could register the kindness.

"You attacked the Elf who led you onto our ship," she reminded him. "No more of that. Yes ?"

Part of him wanted to explain. To point out that he and his Lord had known only poor treatment since they ever set foot on the island. And found it usurped by Corsairs. Part of him was eager to explain .. that he had been injured, simply for trying to keep his lord from the same. That he was wary, tired, and afraid. But in the same moment he realised, that he was no longer wary, tired, or afraid. Only amazed. On all counts that registered.

The Elf blinked. "You understand me ?" she ascertained. And it sounded more like a concern than a threat.

He almost laughed aloud, mostly out of shock. And then he nodded. "Where is my ... friend ?" he wanted to know. Although electing the word 'friend' instead of 'lord' was a newly learnt means to keep the peace. The corsairs had not wanted to accept any sort of leader amidst their captives. They wanted only obedient slaves. That's why they had moved to strike Edhelmir, just in case, and had been duly blocked by the nobleman's valet. It had been his fault after all, for mentioning his lord's title aloud. So he had taken the blow, as he would take the blame.


"I think you meant to say 'thankyou'," the Elf schooled him, and certainly the grown man was feeling as though a child before such a soul. Her tone was calm though, almost bored. And he wanted to comply, he really did. Still it had been such a time.

"Why did you bring us here ? How did you know we were there ? And where is my ..?" he started, rounding off all of his confusion before the Elf straightened to her full height and turned away from him with a roll of smokey grey eyes. As though his bewilderment bored her.

"You would have preferred to stay where we found you ?" the question teetered on the cusp of being a rebuke. "We brought you here because my king would not see you die in chains. We knew you were there because you are not the first that the pirates have done this to. We have brought others of your kind here instead, before now. And your friend .." a tilt of the head saw the Elf's dark hair follow her indication to an open door and the adjoining room, "is trying to light a fire in the hearth." A strange look conquered the immortal"s eyes as she took a better look at the nobleman efforts. That look and the tone of her explanation convinced that young man that his lord was likely doing a poor job of it. But then, Edhelmir Azrubel had never needed to light his own fire before, not in all his life. Ribedir readied to rise, if he could, and go assist the only person he knew here.

"You still haven't said thankyou," the Elf pointed out. With an air of despondent disappointment. That stalled the young man's efforts to untangle himself from the blanket and find feet. "Perhaps our healer here can help you remember how." A mere glance aside brought a second female to the young man's attention. And he pulled back at his blankets now to cover himself. For this 'healer' was undeniably a woman. "She has come to examine your damage," the Elf further clarified. "My kind do not fall to disease or infestations as yours do. There are small things, crawling, in your hair. I can see them clearly." She reported, leaving the Belfalasian to clutch at his dirtied hair in horror.

"Don't worry. We've all been there," the healer woman interjected, with a smile that looked almost like it was trying not to laugh. "I am Lissebeth" she told him. Waiting for the man to lower his defences and calm down.

"You shall not treat her as unkindly as you treated our sailor," the Elf mentioned. This time very much a warning.

But hurting this pretty, smiling and evidently kind young woman was the last thing on Ribedir's mind. Lissebeth could not be much older than he. Still she patiently bade the new arrival to lower the blanket he had seized up.


"Be not afraid," she urged him. "Those were meant to protect us. Not to harm you," she indicated the chains that the Elf was still holding onto.

"We were not the ones to place them on you," the Elf added then, for her own sake. "I removed them. And yet still not a word of thank you."

For the first time in he did not know how long, Ribedir laughed. The healer smiled to see it and glanced back to the Elf as though to have her join in their moment of gladness. But grey eyes rolled and the tall immortal made for the door.

"See him clean and comfortable, the knee will require help." Delivered in Sindarin, from the Elf to the healer, the words veiled their benevolence behind a swirl of the Elvish speech. But those raised up in any sort of proper house in Belfalas, are educated in Sindarin from an early age.

"Thankyou," the injured man told the Elf then, in a flawless rendition of her own tongue. Though he did not bring his eyes to find her reaction, Lissebeth saw it. And she smiled again. Even despite the very unusual situation he found himself in, Ribedir could not help but notice how pretty his healer looked when she smiled. Observing this, the Elf left without further comment.


"Ospiel" the woman introduced her friend to her patient belatedly. As though the Elf's name somehow explained her behaviour. "She means well. But you, .. you speak Elvish ?" she had switched back to the common tongue to not now show up her more rudimentary grasp on the ancient language. "Will I be able to pronounce your name I wonder ?" Lissebeth invited the patient to let her try.

"I am named Ribedir" he confessed. Giving neither family name, nor origin as he might have been trained to offer proper introductions, back home. He gave up only as much as he knew of this latest stranger. "I really ought check on my .."

"Your friend is well." The hand which stalled the patient from getting up off the bed was convincing and deceptively gentle. "Let me see you so as well ?"

With a reluctant sigh, he assented. Although the notion of being alone with a young woman in a bed was ..

"I am a healer," the woman reminded him. "We'll have you sorted in no time at all. So you and your friend can come down to the lake and wash up. Stop that." Even her rebuke was kind, the want to scratch his head had never been more compelling, since the Elf had said ..

"You don't have lice," he was relieved by the healer's assurance. "At least not that I can tell. It was probably her idea of a joke. Payback. After all, you did attack one of her people."


The words to explain, that he had been so done with being pushed, pulled, herded and misused, that even a sailor taking his arm to bring the Belfalasian aboard their ship .. had met an instinctive protest .. those words were too ashamed to show their faces now. "You are sure ? He asked instead. And as though he could only have been asking about the lice, Lissebeth dutifully eased his head from the thin pillow and inspected it thoroughly, turning over the dark hair before releasing him back to repose.

"We will see you cleaned, as she said." was the conclusion. And as though that renewed his concerns that the joke was in fact ...fact ..., Ribedir frowned. And the woman laughed, amused though not unkindly.



"You are awake," a familiar voice from the open doorway summoned the valet to seek his master in that direction. Edhelmir looked all kinds of relieved. And the bruising which had coloured his cheekbone on Tol Sangwa was noticeably fading, so much that his valet began to wonder how long he had personally been at sleep !

"I am going to make him right as rain," Lissebeth vowed. And if Edhelmir's eyes betrayed an amusement of his own now, his young associate only followed the women's motions, in seeking to see his leg, with attentive eyes. "First I am going to have to set aside your blanket here," The healer's warning occurred even as the act was achieved. And the valet panicked slightly. Even as Edhelmir fought back all visible mirth. Which was easier once he saw properly the state of the young man's knee.

"This was my fault," the lord grieved.

"No, my .. friend," his valet responded, very almost, instinctively.


"Pass me my bag," Lissebeth urged the older man, without looking up. Her hand and arm extended as she waited for him to oblige and it took both the men a moment to expect the Lord to do as told. Dutifully he approached, gathering up the healer's bag and saw it into her reach. "Thankyou," she allowed the lord, whilst bringing her eyes to instead meet Ribedir's for a moment. A moment that they shared, in the understanding that they already had a 'moment'.

"I lit a fire," Edhelmir celebrated, proud of himself. Which he had every right to be, after accomplishing the mean feat, after some time and the patience of amused passersby who had seen and consented to teach him. He had followed their instruction and done it, all by himself. He could not recall the last time he had managed something so by himself. For those who knew how to make fire simply had ever done so, for him. Noone had ever thought to teach him to do it for himself. Until now.

But if he thought to win any awards for this small personal achievement, he found that Lissebeth and Ribedir were both quite preoccupied at this moment in time. And since the knee did look painful and the healer looked proficient, the nobleman left them to it. And went back to inspect his fire. For that was as much use as he could be for the circumstances. Slowly the small, very basic house began to grow comfortably warm. And the two men, recently arrived to Tol Noldare began to slowly warm too, to their new predicament. It may be a far cry from what either one was used to, but still it was a vast improvement upon their most recent experience.

This was clearly a whole other island.