Finding Klonodor

Klonodor was gone. Maimed by Orc and treading towards death, the haggard looking skeletal white figure took Alec's horse, Severin, and fled the battle field. Gone. Defeated and grief-stricken, the battered company made for their encampment just outside of Eregion. Duirmid took some flint from his satchel and sparked a fire. The lads had hoovered around it for warmth. Flasks of ale were passed our to heal the hurt. Hinandrith lost himself in the fire and said nothing.

“That was not the Klonodor we knew,” Alec said.

“What do you mean, Alec? We all saw the man fall then take off. Sure, he seemed a bit out of sorts, but it was still Klonodor!” Alasdair protested.

“No, Alasdair. I felt...I felt some kind of transformation. The man Klonodor...no longer. He...changed. He was fixated on my sword...the shard within it. He wanted it. It...frightened him off...I think.”

“That shard of yours. Always causing problems,” Alasdair said with a half smile.

“What do you suppose he saw in the shard?” Duirmid asked.

There was a long silence. Alec looked at to the sky – a starless night full of chill. Red were the clouds light from the moon's light.

“Elvellowen,” Alec said sadly. Hinandrith looked up, shook his head, and there was silence once again.

The company had set out from Lothlorien under orders from Lady Galadriel to retrieve missing artifacts she believed were in Eregion. Only five had survived the onslaught from the Orc ambush if Klonodor was to be counted. In the pangs of sorrow over his father's condition, Alec ordered Hinandrith to sojourn in Rivendell under Elrond's vigilant eye.

Alec had work to do, counsel to seek out and answers to find. Word of Klonodor's departure had found its way into the ears of every ranger and ally in Middle-earth. The Enemy would be looking for him too, Alec feared. He is a dangerous ally to be had. The Enemy will know of his vulnerable state and seek to ensnare him to their cause. He is no longer a man. Something in between. Klonodor in limbo. Alec had felt the change.

The task to retrieve Klonodor fell chiefly on Alasdair. Alasdair, the one-eyed ranger from Bree, had known Klonodor for many years and was carrying his sword, Naurearnor. Alec allowed his own squire Duirmid to accompany Alasdair. Alec recognized that Alasdair would value the company of his only son. The unripened twenty-one needed battle seasoning. His abilities in tracking left more to be desired but his skills with the sword had improved under Alec's tutelage. Alec heard rumor that a figure resembling Klonodor had been spotted on horseback riding across the Lone-lands. Alasdair would require more than Duirmid to track and perhaps subdue Klonodor if need it came to it.

In the taverns of Eriador, Alec sought help. There, he was able to enlist three sell swords named Conall, Kyran, and Sorley -- all of Dale respectively. But Klonodor was injured gravely and seemed resigned to his fate. He was not seeking healing. A healer was necessary. Would he task Rellan with this job? No, Alec could not imagine asking Rellan for this favor. Kyran, who seemed to be the leader of the company of the three sell swords from Dale vouched for a local woman named Ulna.

“Ulna is what you need,” Kyran said proudly.

“Who is this...Ulna?” Alec inquired.

“A healer with a high asking price if you ask me,” Conall interjected. Sorley shook his head in agreement.

Alec wasn't sure he was ready to pay up. He had the copper and it was true to him that there was no price he could put on the life of his friend Klonodor. Yet he agreed reluctantly and so the company to rescue Klonodor was formed: Alasdair, its captain. Duirmid, his so., the three sell swords from Dale -- Conall, Kyran, and Sorley, and finally, Ulna, the female healer who came with a price

<span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:medium;">Alec met with the company in the Trollshaws and saw them off. He turned to Alasdair.

<span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:medium;">“Bring Klonodor back at all costs. I'm entrusting you with this task, Alasdair. He's a danger to himself and everyone around him.”

<span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:medium;">Alasdair nodded.

<span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:medium;">And they were off.