"Down the road, through the white sand and then up through the hills - look for a bridge with a statue that looks like a king!" the old Hobbit in Dwaling - a Mister Hob Hillbrow- had told her. Bless him, thought Finchley, for, while he seemed to be bothered by troubles of his own, he had been kind enough to point her in the right direction... Even if it took her sharing some of Byrge's fare to make him get right to the point! Not that she minded sharing one or two of them with him. She had been only a little sorry to see them go into a mouth that wasn't her own. Oh, well! Sharing is caring! And it was one more thing to remember to thank Byrge for after her return journey.
Following down the road was simple enough though it got a little harder once it lead her out towards the Brandywine across the whitest sand she had ever seen in her entire life. And, being the curious sort, she decided to hop off of her brave and loyal steed to take a bit of a rest. It was a splendid opportunity to take off her boots and put her feet into the water while Destiny meandered about, inspecting this and that with an eye just as curious as Finchley's. After all, it wasn't everyday that a 'common' horse like Destiny got to see places like this.
Little did Finchley know that it is here where her troubles would begin.
"Alright, Destiny. Time to get a move on," said Finchley after a while, pulling her boots back on once her feet were dry again thanks to the afternoon sun. Destiny snorted in response and fell into step alongside her tireless companion; Finchley holding the reins and opting to walk up towards the hills rather than ride to give Destiny a bit of a break. Such a spoiled horse, honestly!
To the woman's credit, she was only breathing a little hard and had managed to not step on any of the big or little crawling things littering the ground once they stepped up to the a particularly impressive ruin.
"Hmm... Must've been a lighthouse, I think," remarked Finchley to her horse, as if the horse was giving her undivided attention. And, perhaps she was. Not like she had much else to do aside from finding a nice bit of grass to chomp on.
Suddenly, a shout came from one of the hollowed out 'entrances' to the ruin and a particularly large, scarred, and scruffy man appeared. He shot a menacing glare in Finchley's direction which soon turned into a dastardly smirk as she brandished a tarnished and cruel-looking knife.
"You're gonna regret comin' here, boy! This here's my spot to loot!"
And that was the moment Finchey knew she was in big trouble.
"Destiny, don't even think about it... Run! Now!"
In a flash, both horse and rider dashed off through the rocky hills, zig-zagging their way further up, with the man giving rapid chase behind them. Destiny made quick work of it, being a horse, though she never lost track of Finchley running behind her, who was leaping over chasms and rocks like some sort of deer with one of her daggers held tightly in her hand. Of course, this did nothing to deter the man giving chase. In fact, it seemed to anger him all the more that someone would dare run from him.
An idea formed in Finchley's mind as she saw the towering Collosus rise up in her line of sight from very far away. Since there was no outrunning this man, who seemed bound and determined to catch her, she made for the nearest tree. Her practiced hands found tiny handholds in the bark and she practically leaped off the ground to scramble up the high branches of the tall tree. Seeing as the man was a bit of a brute, he would have a hard time climbing up a tree like this, she thought.
Her stroke of momentary genius prevailed as her pursuer approached the tree, growling like some sort of wild beast. He attempted to climb up after her only to find that he couldn't bear his own weight and his hands were too big and clumsy to get a proper hold. Finchley saw Destiny give pause in the distance where the main road appeared again and promptly shoo'd her away, not wanting her to engage in a fight. Not that she doubted her trusty steed's capabilities - that horse could be a damnable, fighting nuisance to others if she wanted to be! - but would rather not see her hurt.
"Destiny! Go towards that big statue! Go on, you can find the way there!"
The horse gave a whinny and pawed at the dirt with one of her front hooves. The man took his attention off his quarry and gazed at the horse with murderous intent.
Finchle shook her head and made panicked shoo-ing motions again.
"Go! Go, you silly beast! I'll be fine!... Go get some help!"
A growl from the man and a sigh of relief from Finchley could be heard as Destiny whinnied again and galloped off with all the speed of a small whirlwind. At least her horse was safe; only now, the scruffy man's attention was on her again.
"You ain't gonna get any help from them ranger folk, boy! They only look out for their own... Come down and face me, coward!"
Finchley reached into her weathered tunic and pulled out one another of her knives as she looked down to him, green eyes wide with a little fear.
"Hah! What you gonna do with that, huh? Gonna knife me, are ya?" he cackled, brandishing his own knife again. "Come on and try it, boy! Come on, give me a little sting and I'll put your lights out for good!"
As the man continued to shout threats and insults from below, Finchley stayed high up in that tree, considering each option open to her in rapid fire pace. Should she climb down and try to run again? No, the time it would take for her to do that would give him enough time to gut her. Maybe jump? Definitely not! Not unless she wanted a broken ankle! Over and over she pondered as her pursuer grew more and more angry. But, soon enough, all her thinking proved to be for naught. She heard a howl of pain from below followed by a flash of orange.
"Let go! Let go of my leg you-- Agh!"
When she dared to look down again, there, chewing on the man's leg, was the biggest lizard she had ever seen in her entire life! In fact, she thought, they looked more like the miniature and more compact versions of the dragons featured in many a tale she had heard and told as a child. And, of course, where there's one there's two! Another clamored up the hill and joined in the fray, choosing to chew on the man's arm, dragging him down onto the ground. Despite his kicking and struggling, he could not get free and his howling and screaming filled the air along with the metallic sent of blood.
Finchley quickly covered her eyes with both of her hands, not willing to watch the carnage occurring right underneath her. After a few minutes of struggle, the man's screams seemed to grow quieter and even traveled further and further away until she could hear them no more. What was happening?
Green eyes peeked through and opening made between her fingers and saw that, where there was once two lizards and a man, there was now only a small puddle of blood staining the ground and one lizard, looking up at her and licking its chops.
My goodness, he must've been dragged off, thought Finchley as she continued to cling to the branches of the tree. The lizard took a few steps backwards and then opened its maw wide. A few sparks of flame appeared within and Finchley, now thoroughly panicked, scrambled up a branch higher.
You've got to be joking me! It breathes fire too?!
But, as luck would have it, today would not be the day of her demise by a dragon-lizard or anything else. The clouds overhead had turned dark and a boom of thunder could be heard before Finchley felt the first few droplets of rain upon her head. And those droplets soon turned into a torrential downpour.
"... Ha! No Finchley on a stick for you today, you undergrown dragon!" She called down to the lizard, that still attempted to light the tree on fire in vain. After a short moment of huffing and puffing, the lizard let out a small roar and took a few more steps back from the tree. Much to her dismay, it seemed to still have just as much persistence as her previous pursuer. Instead of going back to wherever it had come from, it plopped down on the ground underneath another nearby tree to wait for either the rain to stop or for her to give up.
"... You've got to be kidding me," Finchley sighed, flopping tiredly against the base of the tree, allowing one of her legs to extend upon the length of a branch while her other dangled down off to the side. There was nothing for it but to wait out the rain. No way was she going to attempt to climb down or pierce that thing's leathery hide with one of her blades.
She pulled her pack from her back and curled her upper body around it to keep its contents dry as she felt the rest of her become quickly soaked by countless rain droplets. In the distance, the sun began to set as night descended upon Evendim...
(to be continued)
