On my way to scout the Uruk Hai entrance to Swanfleet, I passed by the settlement of Lhan Garan, some dunlendings that have chosen to move away from Dunland in order to seek better lives here. They just arrived a few months ago, and had to abandon most of their stuff in their exile, so I decided to help them gather food for the winter – hopefully they can put down roots and make a life for themselves here.

Most of the tasks I was tasked with assisting, actually taught me some as well. A friendly fisherman taught me how to fish – though I probably should have learned that by myself already. I also picked on the vocation of explorer – to help them gather resources, both wood and ore, and craft simple cloth and leather armor. I even crafted myself a new cloak and several new pieces of armor.

I also ventured out to help train their scouts – and assisting them in their tasks. We culled some wargs, and collected the amethyst nightshade (a poisonus plant growing on the bones of the wargs victims, but it can also be used in medicine), and tested the riverwater near the warg lair. Once we had completed all of the tasks, we realized that Elune, the scout-warrior training the younger scouts had not returned – and we set out to find her.

We found a band of rival dunlendings – from Draig-Lûth, the dragon clan – looking for Elune, and decided to distract them while we located and evacuated Elune. Once home in Lhan Garan, I decided to help debrief some of the younger scouts who were shaken after having fought their once-brethren. I also helped the fisher Madog distract himself from the bleak outlook of settling a new place haunted by your used-to-be fellows, by helping him salt the recently caught fish. Lastly, I helped the cook gather some eggs and meat from the nearby Avanc, a dragon-like lizard species. The meat turned out a bit chewy, but you could subsist on it no problem.

Elune made a last ditch effort to reconcile with what turned out to be her own previous tribe, the Draig-Lûth, by arranging a meeting with her friend. Unfortunately, the meeting was interrupted by Draig-Lûth warriors, intent on getting Elunes head with them back to Dunland to prove an example of why you should stay, and not try to move away. Her friend fought with us against these warriors, and in the end, the friend had to seek asylum in Lhan Garan again.

During the course of these trainings, I did not forget my obligation to scout out the Uruks, and found that the Uruks have fought among themselves at the entrance to the area – so maybe they are not all aligned on the goals. Time will tell. I will return to Meneldir to report.