The Harrowing of Rohan

[Shale]

The scarlet-cloaked figure slipped silently from his horse, being careful to stay in the shadows of trees. With a warning jab, he bids the horse to stay still, safe where it is, and moves closer to the where daylight shone through, taking a closer look at the slow-moving procession.

[~Dernhelm~]

Éowyn continues moving the group along, making sure that everyone stays together. She holds the reins of Waterwhisp and makes sure that the three children on the stallion are seated properly.

They are all very scared, frightened too. She thinks. So young and have to go through all of this, they don't deserve it.

Éowyn continues walking along in silence...

[Shale]

Frail. Weak. Frightened.
So these are the great Rohirrim. Women, children, and men who have never wielded a real blade.

Through the midst of chattering, he picks up the words "Helm's". Then realisation struck.

Helm's Deep. The fortress.

Grinning, he sidles back into the deep of the woods, where the horse stood. Waiting.

[Elessar]

*Hurries the people around him forward, encouraging them onwards with positive sentiments. Urges Brego to quicken his pace as they still have a good days walk ahead of them if they hope to reach the shelter of the Snowbourn Forest by nightfall.
Their progress so far has been painfully slow, hindered by the old and frail.
Watches the trees to the right of him, a sense of unease eating away at him. Looks around, checking out the number of armed soldiers present. Their numbers are sparse.
Elessar's brow furrows. They would be easy targets if attacked by any of Sauron's minions.*

[Aamaal]

*Appers out of the trees sat apon her horse Aduial. She moves to the group calmly as not to alarm any one but fast enough to get to Elessar's side. Looking at him she sees his worry and has a idea what it might be.. she leans in and speaks softly..*

Elessar, I have just came through the woods it seems to be very disturbed..

[Shale]

"Come, my sweet, melt into the darkness once again," he whispers, leading the horse away gently, deeper into the woods. "Shadow."

He treads cautiously on the forest ground, unheard amongst the slight rustlings of leaves. Leaving the horse, he moves closer to the edge of the wood, thinking deep, while keeping an eye on the miserable parade.

[Elessar]

*Looks from Aamaal to the woods from which she emerged. Concern on his face.*

You should be careful riding alone my lady.
And what exactly do you mean by disturbed?

[Rhiannon]

Imrel said:

Rhi, have you seen a man... Fairly tall, short gold brown hair, a thin beard? And a cloak... emerald, did you say?
color]

I'm sorry, can't say for sure. I've been right here at the very end of the treck all day.

[Aamaal]

*Looks to the woods and then back to him the worried look still on her face.*

The woods seem uneased.. As if they expect the worst for us ..

*Looks back glancing at the long line of people moving at a rather slow pace.*

[Elessar]

*Considers her words, his expression grave. Experience had taught him to always trust the intuition of an Elf as they were usually correct in their prophecies. They seemed able to pick up on things hidden to mortal men.*

Let us ride on..

*Turning to the men around him he added*

Keep your wits about you at all times.

[Aamaal]

*Slowly nods her head and begins to turn her horse so she can rejoin the people.*

Elessar, Keep a good watch..

*She looks at each of the men around him and she nods to each of them before slwoly starting back to the people.*

[Shale]

A man and a lady Elf seem to stand out from the crowd. Maybe because of their actions, maybe their garb, maybe their looks. They were whispering, looking towards the woods. He grinned at their uneasiness.

An Elf amongst dirty, pathetic humans. Strange. Very strange indeed.

"The White Hand or the Red Eye?" he asks himself silently. Sauron remained his true master, and he remained part of Mordor's host, but Saruman had already gathered- no, created- his army, a force of ten-thousand Orcs and Uruk-Hai. Fearsome, savage creatures. That was the only aprt he liked about them. Their weapons were good too, though he much preferred his own. Their smell, though, wasn't all that pleasing.

But Sauron liked them, and that made all the difference in his opinions.

[~Dernhelm~]

Éowyn brought her group over to a stop by the outskirts of Snowbourn Forest. She wonders how long it shall take to reach the refuge of Helm's Deep. If they kept up this pace, it would definitely be over a fortnight!

Letting the children dismount Waterwhisp, Éowyn decides to look around. In the distance, she spots a figure clad in red as well as another of her companions.

"Imrel! Rhiannon!" she says, coming up to them...

[Rhiannon]

*Hasn't seen Eowyn all day* Hi, how's it going? Are the children allright? It must be very hard for them.

[Elessar]

The light had long faded by the time they reached the Snowbourn forest. Their travelling speed had slowed considerably partly through travelling an unknown road in darkness and partly through weariness. Many of the children were exhausted, clinging onto their mothers skirts, stumbling and sobbing with fatigue, scared of the dark. The old were tired too but they struggled on too proud to complain.
The inky outline of the trees was visible against the starry night sky and upon reaching them Elessar pulled up his horse and declared that they make camp for the night.
Flagging spirits were revived slightly at the thought of rest and food and everyone set about busying themselves by collecting firewood, collecting water, watering the horses and making beds for the night.*