n a few minutes, the woman woke up. She was silent for a long while, as if she feared me. Perhaps she did. After a long while, she broke the silence.
"What is your name, brave elf?" she asked.
"Gilraen," I replied.
"Well, Gilraen, I am forever in your debt. My name is Janelle. You have saved my life," she said.
"Are you lost, or do you know the way back to your village?" I asked her. I hoped that she would not need me to help her find her village, which could take up precious hours of daylight.
"No, Athendel is not too far from here. If you need to rest at an inn, you are welcome to come with me," she offered. I breathed silent sigh of relief, for she was not lost.
"Nay, I prefer to be in the wilderness. Perhaps when my errand is done, I will come to visit you in your village," I said, although I had no real desire to visit a human village. I wasn't that I didn't like humans, but their way of living was just not appealing to me. They surrounded themselves with fences, the enclosed themselves in cold, uninviting homes. It was simply not the way people were meant to live.
"Very well," she responded after a few seconds pause, "Farewell, Gilraen," and with that, she departed.
I looked into the sky above the clearing. A little after midday, I thought to myself. Before I wasted any more hours of daylight, I packed up my herbs and potions, shouldered my pack, and set off, map still in hand. I turned to where the creature had come out of the bushes. I examined the ground for tracks of some sort. This creature will not be hard to track, I thought, for he leaves so many broken branches and trampled leaves in his path. I put my map back in my pack and began to track where the creature had come from.
I followed his trail for some time. I passed by several rotting animal corpses where he had obviously stopped to feast. I also passed by areas here he laid down to sleep. Before I knew it, the sun was setting in the western sky. I trekked for a short while longer to find a suitable place to sleep, while not losing his trail entirely. I found a small clearing that it had passed through, and went to sleep there.
The next morning, I awoke to the morning sun shining through the branches above me onto my face. When I realized how long it had been since I had last eaten. I sat up and enjoyed a wafer of still-fresh lembas, and a drink of water from my canteen. I then set off, following the trail.