-General-
The night storm had completely ceased a couple of hours ago. Now in dry clothes, Aldril lit a small campfire and prepared to enjoy a well-deserved moment alone. The scent of wet earth contrasted deliciously with the gentle brush of hot air emanating from the embers, while the rhythmic chirping of crickets kept him company like a lullaby.
Looking up, he allowed himself to observe the vast, clear sky. The dazzling brilliance of the stars accompanied him in his solitude. He no longer felt fear for his family; at that riding pace, it was an absolute certainty that they had already crossed some Ranger watchpoint, and, if fortune smiled upon them, perhaps they had even run into Aragorn.
"It's not as if I have a bad feeling either..." he murmured to himself.
He closed his eyes heavily and interlaced his hands behind his neck, leaning back. It had been years since he had enjoyed a silence like that. His beloved wife and boisterous children were always by his side; not that he was complaining at all, he loved them madly, but from time to time his soul demanded moments like this, where only the wind and nature kept him company.
A faint, melancholic smile drew on his lips as he reflected on his strange and incredible life journey. His mind traveled to a distant past: a past where he was constantly verbally abused by his own family, exploited to misery at his job, and consumed by chronic fatigue.
Now, in this world, it was the exact opposite.
He felt loved, free of chains, and deeply alive. His adventurous spirit had blossomed, opening like a rose in mid-spring. He would never squander this second chance he had been given. Deep down, he had no idea why he had been chosen specifically out of all the souls, but he preferred to leave it at that. He was an adventurer, not a philosopher, and he had no intention of wasting time delving into mysteries beyond his comprehension. He just wanted to live.
"I wonder... How is everyone doing?"
Despite the dark memories of his family, he still felt a pang of longing for those true friendships he had left behind.
Would they have mourned his departure? Did they find his body, or did he simply disappear from that world without a trace?
Shaking his head with a sigh, he cleared his mind.
Opening his eyes again, he glanced at the horse out of the corner of his eye. The animal had already lain down on the grass with its tongue hanging out; only the rhythmic rise and fall of its back indicated it was still alive and breathing.
This was something highly curious in Middle-earth: the animals seemed to possess much more sentience than they should.
The most practical and ridiculous example of this was his own crow. An absurdly obese bird that would caw and cry real tears if Aldril dared to ration its food.
In the end, it was that strange and comical cuteness that ended up winning the Half-elf's heart, forcing him to let it eat in peace. As a result, the bird's fatness had grown to such a point that it looked more like a small ball of dark feathers with legs.
To this day, Aldril still couldn't understand how the hell that flying sphere could cover such long distances in the sky without sweating bullets.
He sighed deeply. In that instant, his gaze stopped a few meters away, fixing on an old log worn down by the passage of time.
The wood was riddled with holes, as if at some point it had served as a burrow for some small forest animal. It was upon observing that detail that something suddenly clicked in his brain.
Suddenly, his system, which had remained in absolute silence for so long, blinked before his eyes with a new notification:
[Achievement Unlocked: Back to the Beginning][Relive once more the training with those souls who once guided you]
[World Exploration: 80%]
"Back to the beginning..." he muttered as he read the panels, immediately letting out a small, nostalgic laugh. "I was just thinking that log looked too familiar."
Because, after all, the exact clearing where he had decided to set up his camp to rest was the very same place where he had crossed paths with Gandalf for the first time.
It was ground zero of his journey. The beginning of his entire adventure.
If he half-closed his eyes, he could almost see the faint ghosts of that encounter: the image of his past self, inexperienced and somewhat confused, agreeing to share his dinner with a mysterious old wanderer who, over the years, would end up becoming one of his greatest and dearest friends.
"Yes..." he sighed, a warm smile adorning his face. "It has been a long time. It wouldn't hurt to see the old masters again, though I wouldn't want to relive the beating from Malenia."
...
While Aldril enjoyed his peaceful moment under the stars, his family continued riding much more calmly across the cold meadows with the Weather Hills in the background.
Their route had brought them right near that old clearing where Aldril and the Dwarves had fought the Orcs some time ago. Now, the place had been reclaimed and transformed into a solid makeshift camp by the Rangers of the North.
Needless to say, the group was received with open arms.
The initial alarms were immediately called off as soon as Tauriel, Kíli, and Fíli were recognized by the guards. Many of those Rangers had crossed through Moria on their journey to the Forest of Rebirth to meet with their captain, so the Dwarf princes were familiar and respected faces.
And speaking of their captain, destiny finally seemed to smile upon Aldril's exhausted family.
Aragorn had arrived at that very camp a couple of nights prior. His original plan was to rest there for a few days before undertaking the long journey to the village of Bree, and then continuing to the banks of the river Mitheithel, where another large settlement of his people operated.
However, upon receiving the sudden news of who had just arrived, his plans for rest vanished.
Aragorn shot out of his tent, crossing the camp with long, rapid strides. He reached the stable area in a matter of seconds, right as Aldril's family, the Dwarves, and a very pale Hobbit were beginning to dismount.
"Lady Tauriel," Aragorn called out to her, approaching hurriedly to offer her a hand and help her down from the saddle, noticing the exhaustion in her eyes. "What are you all doing here at this hour? Where is Lord Aldril?"
Tauriel, visibly exhausted after the intense ride on Shadowstar's back, leaned heavily on the shoulders of "little Aragorn," as she affectionately liked to call him.
"Aldril stayed behind... covering our retreat," the Elf-woman said with a sigh, causing the Dúnadan's eyes to widen.
"Covering you from what?" asked the Ranger.
"From Sauron's Nazgûl."
Aragorn frowned deeply.
Without wasting another second, he helped Tauriel walk to one of the warmest tents, where he helped her lie down and carefully tucked in little Elenion and Elentárië, who were already dropping from sleep. Naturally, he also took care of providing shelter and blankets for Kíli, Fíli, Helga, and the Hobbit, who was walking like a monkey due to the pain in his rear end.
Once everyone was under a roof, the Ranger went back out into the cold night.
His mind was a racing whirlwind, a back-and-forth of thousands of tactical thoughts. Why the hell had he stayed behind to cover the retreat alone?
Aragorn understood perfectly well that Tauriel was pregnant; risking her to lead an escape on horseback alone in the dark was not something a protector like Aldril would do. Unless, of course, the family found themselves forced to escape carrying something of importance.
The brush of a delicate hand on his arm snapped him abruptly out of his musings. Turning around, he was surprised to see Tauriel standing next to him.
"Lady Tauriel, you should be resting," he gently scolded her.
However, the Elven warrior slowly shook her head, a serious expression on her face.
"There is something of the utmost importance that we need to discuss right now," she indicated. "Bring the Dwarves and the Hobbit."
"Something important?" repeated Aragorn, with a pang of unease.
"Yes..." whispered Tauriel.
The Elven warrior lowered her voice, looked around, and seeing that they were alone, continued.
"It is about the One Ring."
***
I want to apologize to everyone. My life hasn't been easy lately. I had to work two jobs just to get by, my grandfather passed away, and I had to take on the funeral expenses and everything else... yeah, it's been really heavy. Right now, I'm at a job managing a vehicle fleet where I work from 9 to 6, and it takes me about two hours to commute home. It's incredibly difficult to find time to write. The worst part is that, according to their system, I'm on call 24/7. They can call me at any moment and make me work outside my regular hours... I'm just holding on until things get better. Anyway, all I can say is, hello again. I missed you guys a lot
"[email protected]/Mrnevercry"