Eduwiges of Faldham was content. The night before was the best night’s sleep she’d had in years. The day after her excursion at the Kheledul docks, her friend Addiela introduced her to Orduin of Aldburg. Orduin had somehow left the Mark where he and his father bred and trained the Mearas for the king and became a master blacksmith in Bree-town. Eduwiges had met Orduin when she was a teen and he and his father were delivering horses to the Thane of Faldham. It was shortly after her mother died and Orduin saw the sadness on her face. He whittled her a small likeness of one of the Mearas he had trained. Eduwiges had never lost it and the carving was packed away in her bag.
Orduin had offered Eduwiges the use of a room in his home. Fantastically, it was decorated with items from the Mark: cups, plates, banners, chests and even a keg of mead made to Rohirric standards! Eduwiges had slept on a mattress stuffed with feathers from the Mark. The only thing missing were the half-naked children running around unattended with muddy faces. Orduin had good news about her father. The smith made annual trips to the Mark bringing trade goods and weapons back to Bree-land to sell. Her father was alive and well, if a bit harried from the constant orc incursions across the border. That same night Addiela and Xanderian admonished Eduwiges for taking such a chance scouting the docks. They doctored her bruised face and even though they did not raise their voices to her, Eduwiges could tell they were disappointed, and that was worse than a scolding.
Today, Eduwiges was practicing. She had spent the morning launching arrow after arrow into the practice dummies in the yard of Orduin’s home, mounted and unmounted. Her aim was steady, and her arrows often hit the target. Eduwiges was no hunter but she had been using a bow since she was a child. The same went for her sword play as she ran through the Noldorian forms she learned with the Galadhrim. She was impatient and ready to get the assault on Kheledul over with. She feared not for her safety but was concerned for the others of her group: Xanderian, Addiela, Nethrida, Masin, Vandallan, Orduin, and Enthan. Others had been coming and going so much she could hardly keep up. Silently, she sat down crossed her legs with her sword in her lap and meditated on the upcoming fight.
