Found:
I've never liked the idea of being followed. I hate the notion of someone watching me from afar. It always struck me as insulting; like their need or desire to keep an eye on me unseen is an expression of their lack of faith in me and my abilities.
That being said, I'm glad that someone did so this time.
My escape from Annuminas, book in hand, was... fraught to say the least. With enemies on all sides and few options to choose from, I was forced into the catacombs beneath the lake. The pitch black, kergrim infested catacombs. Not my best idea, but the only way open to me at the time, or so I thought. My hard-fought ascent back to the world above was challenging in the extreme. I could barely stand, barely move my exhausted body by the time I dragged myself out into the open... only to learn that I had emerged upon a small and useless island several miles from shore.
I think I passed out around then, for when I woke, Helegrandir was standing over me. It turns out that he knew where to look because he had been watching me from afar ever since I first stepped foot in Annuminas. He had been amongst those who had staged that attack on my hosts there. Heck, he had even been amongst the group that I had seen along the path; the very same group who had caused my diversion into the catacombs in the first place. Had I taken the gamble of running toward instead of away from them, I may have been safer sooner. Of course, I may also have been imprisoned by a bunch of Rangers.
I think I prefer the kergrim. Less preachy.
Still, I can't deny that he had searched for me. I can't deny that he may well have saved me. True, I could probably have swum that distance... if I had been nourished and hydrated and hadn't just spent several hours climbing up a rock face. But I wasn't well-rested, well-fed or well-hydrated, so chances are I'd have drowned if I tried.
I told him about the masks, about what I'd learned, what I'd taken from Annuminas. I left out the name of my "employer" and most of the details surrounding her, focusing our discussion upon the masks themselves and the plans the sorceress had for them. I stressed the importance of gathering them all even if, as I suspect, it's all naught more than superstition.
He agreed. He'll help, if he can. At least, he'll keep an ear to the ground for the missing masks and Emmett. Unfortunately, he believes that there is no way to cleanse them of their spirits, if such they truly hold. That's not what I wanted to hear. But perhaps he is wrong. Perhaps there is a way and he just doesn't know it. Will the book I liberated hold the answers? Will I find them elsewhere? Can't know unless I look.
Before all that, though, I need to rest. I need a day at least to eat, to sleep, to just... relax before I make my way back to Bree-land.
Maybe I'll check on Rowan as I pass through Trestlebridge again.
