A scout amidst the ruins

Upon returning to Thorenhad, Lord Elrohir asked me to look in on a scout he had sent to watch over the ruins of an old settlement. There had been signs of an ancient evil that might yet still linger there, it seemed. I headed north and through the beauty of the Trollshaws to Nan Toraeth. After lingering in places of splendor for a bit, and taking a wrong turn or two, I eventually came to spy a campsite near a large hill, where I found the scout, Calenthon. He was quite concerned, as it seemed to him the very beasts of the land were being corrupted by some malevolent force. I was to hunt some of the possessed creatures and bring him back their hides so that he might better determine what might lie at the root of the problem.

We came to learn that the evil men of the region had coated their weapons with a disease-bearing filth that drove whatever it came into contact with into madness! While I was hunting, Calenthon had send his falcon, Malloval, out to spy on the men, but he was quite worried, as Malloval was not yet returned.

As I well know, the life of a Scout is oftentimes a lonely one, and whatever friends and allies one can have at their side are always cherished. I could tell from Calenthon's anguish that he cared deeply for his friend. I offered to go in search of Malloval, so that he might continue to study the hides and determine a course of action for us. I laid my hand on his shoulder and vowed to bring him peace, promising to recover his lost friend.

I searched for a long while, and night had turned to day, before I came into a ruin lying atop a large hill. There I spied what appeared to be an injured bird attempting to take flight far in the back of the ruin. To my dismay, there were also many evil men skulking about. And there were darker things still. Beings trapped in a place between life and death wandered the hillside, cursed to find no rest.


I skulked over to the falcon and, by Calenthon's description, recognized it as Malloval, his feathered friend! I used the words and gestures Calenthon had taught me, and Malloval half-scurried, half-fluttered to me. He had an injured wing, so I knelt down and put my arm out to him. He told hold of my wrist and, as I stood, he fluttered up to my shoulder. Thankfully, my thin armor was able to keep his talons from piercing my skin!

I returned Malloval to Calenthon, who lovingly began to soothe and treat his injured friend. While he tended to Malloval, I went out to strike at the hillmen to see if they worked with the men of undeath in some way. Together, Calenthon and I determined that there must be a great power at work uniting these forces of evil, creating an even greater threat. We realized that eliminating this power would not be something we could accomplish ourselves, so I rode to all the friendly camps that I could find nearby to search for others who might aid us in this.

I could find only one person willing, that being Qirk Zuhan of Rivendell. Together, we bravely fought our way through the ruined hillside, until we came to spy a rather gruesome figure surrounded by men and undead henchmen in the center of the ruin! We tried desperately to cut a swath to the creature, but we were greatly outnumbered and forced to retreat. We reported our failure to Calenthon, and I promised to ask for more men to be sent to him to deal with the threat properly.

With Light,
Kaleigh