(Solo post - continued
here)
Gladhron
(A few days prior to Bel's above post)
The inn was just ahead. Gladhron didn't know how he'd managed to keep any sense of direction, nor even keep moving, for his head felt like it was splitting open and he suspected that it was the horse, more than him, which had found its way here. Mael had been to the inn a few times, probably became friends with the other horses in the stable, and had perhaps followed her nose back to the place. He didn't give the matter a tremendous amount of thought. Any thought at all, actually, seemed to make his head hurt even worse, and so he just kept holding on and trying not to sway too much in the saddle. It was probably adrenaline which had enabled him to get this far.
The girl from the inn, Bel, had rushed out to meet them, worried to see only one horse. She was even more worried, he noted, upon seeing that it was not Gwestion on Mael, but Gladhron. He felt sympathetic toward her, seeing the horrified look when she caught sight of him, resting on the tied-together boughs he'd used as a makeshift stretcher, bloody and bruised. "He's alive..." He assured her, understanding that her first thought might be that he was dead... it had been his, too, when he first found him after Gwestion fell down the rocky ravine. "I don't know how bad he's hurt."
The next part was a bit of a blur. He wasn't sure how they managed to get Gwestion into a room. Perhaps the innkeeper had helped, or the stableman. He didn't know. He recalled Bel fretting over his brother the whole time, hastily gathering bandages and making new ones from old sheets. She fussed a bit over Gladhron's bleeding head, too, but he insisted he was alright, merely exhausted. "I don't know how long it's been since I slept.. or since they attacked us." He explained, struggling just to keep his eyes open. He wanted to know if Gwestion was alright, but the adrenaline was wearing off, now. She gave him a damp rag to hold to the wound until she could bandage it, and kept asking questions, which he tried to answer but was having trouble keeping his attention focused.
Until she spoke of going for a healer. He frowned, forcing his mind to become alert, to some degree anyway.
"We are far from any town," He reminded her. "Can you not tend to him yourself?"
"He is badly wounded, I can do nought but clean and wrap the wounds. He is in need of a healer if he is to recover properly." Bel had told him, clearly very concerned about the wounded young man lying unconscious before her.
"But where will you find a healer? There is nought but this inn for at least a days' journey. You know that as well as I." Gladhron frowned, pressing a damp cloth to his bleeding head wound as Bel worked on cleaning his brother's more serious wounds.
"The nearest healer of which I know dwells in the Chetwood forest, near Archet. I've been there once before, and I believe I can find the way again." She answered softly, thoughtful.
Gladhron frowned deeper. "Nay, I cannot allow you to go." He said, surprised at the very suggestion. "That is far too dangerous a journey for a lady to undertake."
Bel looked up and frowned at him. "I have made the trip before." She informed him, leaving out that she'd had company, then. "You certainly aren't fit for such a journey; you're like to pass out the moment you try to stand. And anyway, I know the way; do you?"
"No..."
"Have you ever been to the area I speak of?"
"No." He confessed, unsure whether to feel annoyed or stupid, at the moment. It was hard enough to even stay focused on the conversation.
Bel glanced over at him. "Put a little more pressure on that gash, you need to stop the bleeding. Yes, that's better." She turned back to cleaning Gwestion's leg.
"I still refuse to allow you to go." Gladhron protested. "The road is perilous -what parts of it are still maintained- and wrought with bandits and orcs, and possibly wolves. Even seasoned warriors are like to run into trouble; what hope do you think you would have?" He tried to make her understand the danger.
Bel proceeded to wrap Gwestion's wound to keep it as clean as possible, not giving him an answer.
After tending to Gwestion's most serious wounds first, she moved without a word to tend to the gash on Gladhron's head.
"Do you truly intend to go?" He asked, wincing slightly as she dabbed at his bleeding forehead.
"If I cannot find anyone else to go, then what other choice is there?" She asked. "You must rest, and I doubt if anyone else will be willing." She sighed. "I shall try to find another to go, but if I cannot, then I certainly will."
Gladhron sighed, disliking this plan, but he had to admit to himself that she might be right about Gwestion needing than just bandages. He looked over at his brother, frowning. "He would never forgive me if I allow you to venture off on your own. Give me the night to rest, and I shall at least join you." He told her, determined that he would not let her go on her own, though he wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep for days. But for all he knew, his brother could be in grave condition, dying even, so he consented to this plan, albeit reluctantly.
"You don't look so good, yourself, Gladhron." She told him, frowning. "Are you sure you're well?"
"That certainly boosts my self-confidence," He managed a wry smile to accompany his sarcasm. "I assure you I'm fine, I only need a few hour's sleep," He assured her, unwilling to admit that his head felt like it was split in half. "Give me time to rest, and I shall escort you to this healer," He wasn't sure this was the best idea but couldn't think of anything at the moment, let alone any sort of better plan. "Promise you shall not leave without telling me?"
Bel hesitated, then nodded. "Alright. I will delay until morning, and wake you before I set out... unless, of course, I find another to go in my stead." She promised. "I shall not leave without telling you, first."
Gladhron watched for a little while as she worked on cleaning Gwestion's wounds, wrapping them in bandages, and then, lying back on the cot, finally let himself slip off into sleep. He didn't stir when, the following morning, Bel tried to wake him. He was unaware of her growing concern as she continued to fail at awakening him, and was further oblivious to her eventually setting off for the healer, alone.
It was several hours later before he did, finally, come around to consciousness, groggy and blurry-eyed. Groaning, he put a hand to his throbbing head, momentarily wondering how it got bandaged, before recalling some of the events of...was it last night? Yesterday? He couldn't remember what time of day, nor had he any clue how long he'd been asleep, but he was dimly aware that someone had just left the room. He wasn't sure how he knew, but thought that might have been what woke him. Bel? She'd wanted something.. Oh, she was waiting, he was going to go with her to find a healer! He sat up, and the whole room seemed to spin around him. He struggled to get his feet over the side of the bed, and promptly decided maybe he'd better rest for a little while longer. But there was something under his hand, something crinkly. He squinted at the paper, but the words were blurry and wouldn't stay still for him.
Some part of him told him to just ignore it and lay back down, but another part of him nagged that it might be important. He tried to force his eyes to focus, but only could make out a couple of blurry words. It was enough to concern him, to the point he dragged himself out of bed, despite swaying on his feet, and staggered out of the room, leaning on this, holding onto that, til he got out in the hall and used the wall for support as he tried to follow someone who was walking away down that same hall. "Bel?"
The woman, startled, turned and frowned. "No... what are you doing out of bed? You look like you're about to collapse where you stand."
He recognized the innkeeper's wife, though he couldn't recall her name. Bel had probably spoken it at some point but he just couldn't think of it. It didn't matter though. He thrust the paper at her, frowning. "Does this say what I think it says?" He asked, confused why he couldn't make sense of it.
She frowned deeper, taking the note to read it. "Hm, it says; 'I couldn't wake you, I've gone for the healer. I'm sorry I didn't wait, but I fear now for both of you. I'll be back as soon as possible. -Bel.' " She passed it back to him, sighing. "I told her she ought not go, but would she listen to me? Of course not."
Gladhron listened with a sinking feeling, and felt like groaning at the words the lady read aloud. "How long has she been gone?"
"A few hours, now, I suppose. She seemed awfully upset and worried, said she couldn't wake you and thought the other one might be dying, so she had to leave..."
The woman trailed off as Gladhron staggered onward down the hall, leaving her to stare after him in puzzlement. "Where do you think you're going?"
"I'm going after her." He replied, confused why she felt the need to ask. Wasn't it obvious? He found his way to the door and started outside, only to slump against the doorframe with a groan as the sunlight blinded him, making the world spin and sway around him. He closed his eyes, cringing, and felt a wave of nausea hit him. Taking deep breaths, he struggled to refocus his eyes, reminding himself of how much danger Bel might be in. Someone must find her and rescue her. He wasn't sure how he managed to get to the barn. The stableman stopped him, asking what he wanted.
"I need my horse," Gladhron told him, hanging onto a hitching post for support. "Bring my horse, please. The big chestnut mare.."
"Alright, fine," The young man started into the barn, then stopped, giving him a puzzled look. "Chestnut? There's no chestnut horse here."
That left Gladhron confused for a moment. For a second, he thought someone must have stolen Gaeroch, until he remembered...she'd fled during all the fighting, and he hadn't been able to find her afterward. He'd ridden here on Mael, not Gaeroch. "The other one then. The dappled gray, I'll use my brothers horse." He told the man, wishing he felt well enough to saddle the horse himself.
It felt like ages passed as he waited, then the man brought out the smaller, grey mare. Trying to get into the saddle, he realized this might not be the best idea, but still, Bel could be in danger this very moment.
"Are you sure you want to get on that horse? You look more like you ought to get in bed." The stableman told him.
"Yeah, I'm..fine." Gladhron fought another wave of nausea and dizziness, and with much effort, pulled himself up into the saddle. The world spun beneath him, and he wondered why it seemed so terribly high up, when he normally rode a taller horse than this one. It was all he could do to stay upright.
The stableman rolled his eyes and started to walk away, mumbling something under his breath.
"Hey, uh, wait," Gladhron reached out to try and grab for him, despite being too far away to do so, and nearly tumbled out of the saddle. He hastily grabbed onto the horse as a nearly overwhelming wave of dizziness swept over him.
"What?" The man scowled.
"Bel... did you see which way she went?" Gladhron asked, eyes closed as he waited, hoping the dizziness would go away.
"Why?" The man asked, wary.
Gladhron suppressed a sigh. "She might be in danger," He explained, wondering why this wasn't obvious to others, "and I need to find her, before anything happens to her." He looked down at the man, frowning at the sight of three of the man swirling around below him.
"She went that way," He pointed, though it wasn't quite clear to Gladhron which exact direction he was pointing. "Toward Bree, she said. I tried to tell her it was a bad idea," He added with a frown.
"Thanks." Gladhron decided to just head that general direction and hope for the best. Had he not been feeling so confused and unwell, he might have asked 'And why did you let her go off like that? Why didn't you go along, to protect her?'
Nudging the horse's sides with his heels, Gladhron braced himself for movement. Instead, the horse snorted and stamped the ground, her eyes angling back toward him. One could almost imagine the horse saying, 'Are you kidding?'
Holding back a sigh yet again, Gladhron murmured a few words in Rohirric, which he knew Gwestion sometimes used to calm Mael, and tried again. This time she did as he wished, though perhaps a bit reluctantly. He felt his stomach do a few flips and tried to keep from swaying, or falling off as they set off on the road which he had warned Bel about being so perilous.
