Long Lost Leaves - Part III

[Midge]

A few hours after Blossomshade had headed back to the camp to get the rest of the company going, three adventurers were setting up a small camp with what they'd brought.

"I'm not sure we were planning on camping out here, so we didn't bring a whole lot." Aerin mused out loud.

Magor chuckled, "Well, you want to go back through that canyon to get our things?"

"No. I do not."

"I didn't think so. Well, it won't rain tonight - the air is far too dry, and we can sleep under the stars for one night. It won't hurt us."

The three of them sat around a small fire, roasting three small game birds that Magor had managed to bring down inside the enclosed field, and watched the light fade as the sun slipped down behind the trees. Aelfwine, who sat facing the smooth wall, looked up and gasped. "Look, Look!" As she got over her shock, she mumbled, "How horrible!"

Magor and Aerin whipped around and saw on the side of the smooth cliff an eye staring down at them. "How is that possible?" Magor wondered.

"I don't know how it's done, but when I was trapped in Dol Guldur, I saw the same effect often enough," Aerin replied. "There were several dimly lit corridors and rooms, and when a shaft of light would come through a crack and hit the walls just right, it would look exactly like that. There were terrible pictures all over the walls. It must be an art of Sauron's or perhaps the Orcs'. Now I wish we'd done a bit more research before deciding to spend the night here."

"Oh, cheer up, Aerin!" Magor said. "Blossomshade's been gone a while. Perhaps in a couple more hours, you'll see all the misfits that make up our company come marching up to the edge of that cliff. At least we can tell them we've found two signs instead of just one."

A few more minutes passed and Aerin spoke again. "I do hope you won't be disappointed, Magor."

"In what?"

"I've just remembered that I forgot to mention to Blossomshade to make sure someone brings back pickles to us."