Epilogue: the Carrock

[GandalfOfBorg]

"Thank you, Hathcyn.  My mind is clear in what should be done now.  I will not condemn a man who isn't present.  Oderic will remain a wanted man in our lands.  If he is discovered, he is to be captured and held so as to provide his account of both incidents.  Only he can provide detail to the ends of my father's men.  Only by being present can he take defense of himself and take on the consequences of his actions against Rathfic."

[Eclecticon]

There is, for a short time, no sound but the whistle of the wind in the high places, and the soft roar of the fire that it fans.  But then comes a sound, half cheer, half wheeze, from the eldest among them, old Wulfdas Ram's-blood.  "Hear hear!  Wise are the young one's words.  For it is to the benefit of all our folk if the law condemn no man, an that he may speak to his own vice or virtue." 

As the ancient thegn draws a breath, leaning on the shoulder of his son, Walcaud Shield-gnawed claps his hands as if mimicking the shutting of a door.  "Then it is settled," he says.  "It may yet be that the bonds of kinship, or the terror of lonesomeness, bring Oderic home once again, and then we shall know the truth of the matter.  Until then, let no man presume to rush to heedless judgement." 

Thus is the law spoken, and the customs of the folk satisfied.  The thegns speak their own business for a short time, trading livestock and unwed children alike, but the wind grows no warmer and soon the greatest among Beorn's folk are descending the stairs of the Carrock.  Above and behind them, some men linger, building high the bonfire with the remaining fuel, that it may be a beacon for the war-chief and giver of laws and light his journey home. 

High above, in the realms known only to the great eagles and the stars eternally beyond, the sky breathes a long sigh of winter. 

[Paladin003]

OOC: I'll wait until we decide if I'm using Anar going forward or not before posting for FP

[tomcat]

Hey Mike, there is no challenge with me that you take Anar forward. We are heading to Dale next and Erebor, so it seems a good place for a Dwarf to be.