(An adaptation of the events of the Woodmen of Eriador Moot, dated 29th December 2019)
I was reunited with my Clan a few days ago at a 'moot' that, from what I gather, has been a regular event in my absence and shall continue to be one. Not that I particularly minded making my return then - it was pleasant seeing most of them there since such a long time apart. Heriwulf swiftly informed me that he had been designated the role as Chieftain. Out of all of us, I do believe that he is probably the most qualified for the role, so I was not dismayed by the decision my fellow companions had made.
My contribution during the moot was minimal - I had nothing to report other than my lack of success in the Trollshaws. In hindsight, I should have made the trip when the weather was much more fitting to transport wood from one location to another. But.. Hindsight shall always be a beautiful thing. In my absence, plenty seemed to have happened. Faron stated the proceedings with her revelation that a place named Nen Harn was crawling with orcs. I kept my opinion to myself, since the idea of hunting, scouting or anything else of that nature was far from my expertise, but I was somewhat shocked at the others and their responses. Although Faron did highlight that they were a few hours away, I would have thought it would have been a more pressing matter instead of goats and sheep. Perhaps I should have spoken out and voiced my opinion, but I did nothing but eat my soup, yet my only defence is that I'm not fully aware of the area we inhabit nor its terrain.
I was saddened to hear that I missed a party, for which I never would have back home, but from what Aelfrida tells me.. These local folk find an excuse to celebrate everything and anything, and if what she says is true, I will not have to wait long until they find something else to throw a party for. One thing that did concern me were these local folk and so I made it paramount that I asked for the other's opinions. They firstly named the settlements closest to us - Combe, Staddle and the largest, Bree. Everyone seemed rather positive when discussing them and Heriwulf described them to be 'mostly friendly.' I was not surprised to find Faron's dislike of them - apparently, they've declared her a Witch. It's a name I truly believe suits her, so from what I recalled, I too called her a Witch for the rest of the evening. However, to summarise, Heriwulf insists that they're friendly, or at least friendly enough to trade with them, but I won't be sure myself until I visit the settlements myself.
I cannot be sure if it was the fact my taste-buds had been deprived from the concept of flavour in foods in my travels, or the food actually was good, but the onion soup that was served at the moot was delicious. Pork and cheese accompanied it, yet naturally, I gave Aelfrida majority of my portion of the cheese and Alaric got lucky with having most of the pork.
The moot ended and I, oddly, decided to be of some help rather than making my way to doing anything remotely interesting – I washed mine and Ljota’s dishes. Faron was in the kitchen having her bandages changed by her sister, and before I could greet her, she rushed away out of sight. From what Faron told me, her sister did not take kindly to people calling her a Witch, and yet I still felt inclined to do so.
Admittedly, I spent most of my night tormenting Faron, even long after the moot had concluded. During the moot, I do believe Heriwulf got frustrated with us at one point, but I wasn’t fazed by this – I’d missed my sparring partner. She helped me wash the dishes – not that I really needed it, but her company was welcomed, nonetheless. She seemed to have sustained an injury since I had been away and so I then assisted her with moving her beehives to a more suitable position for this time of year. Not much happened afterwards – we spoke, we teased, and I reluctantly left..
