-------,
I would write that chance has seen me reunited with a friend long-forgotten, but it appears that it is he who has sought me out. Recall, do you, our time in the east of Lindon upon the banks of the Lhûn? And recall, do you, a certain elf who made himself known to us upon the occasion of your near-drowning in the east of Lindon not far from the banks of the Lhûn? And further recall, do you, the name he granted you that day in the east of Lindon upon the banks of the Lhûn?
I had rather thought you might, you royal pedant.
And so it is with that same great, witty irreverence that Ursave sends his regards, for he is unchanged despite having, at last, departed the Grey Havens--though for the east and not the west. For what reason he returns across these coarse, Mannish lands, Bema knows not, for the seasons turn swiftly here, and there is no kindness to the bite of dawn. He claims he has been standing guard with the town watch, and while I am certain he speaks truly, I am just as certain that he been doing so with neither their knowledge nor consent.
I admit that his unlooked-for presence has been a boon, for his spirit is bright where mine has grown cold and dark. He will accompany me so far as the Last Bridge, he says, but he will not cross the Mitheithel, for his anger still runs hot. I shall be glad for his company while I have it, and I think my sentiments are not unshared.
The Bree-folk are a smaller people than I recall, though it is perhaps the darkness of my humour that deprives me of my charity. They are quicker now to suspicion, it seems, and whether that is for good or ill, I cannot say. Although--now that I set pen to paper, I find that perhaps such an estimation has been rather skewed by the pettiness of outlanders who have unwittingly brought with them an unwelcome worldliness. Like great ships in a small harbour, we churn the waters about us, and from beneath clear waters is dredged the detritus that lies along any seabed.
Those few Bree-landers with whom I have conversed have shown me great kindness. Old and young, crofter and scholar, we have shared hearths, pipes, and tales with an ease I have long doubted still to find in the back parlours of the Pony. In recent days, I have made the acquaintance of a young hunter here who called Lornion very much to mind, for they held much of the same wonder for implements of the hunt, though their differences in temperament could not be more striking. The thought of our company, however short it was, is one I am sure shall warm me upon the road ahead.
The moon will be full tonight when we depart. Such are times of wonder, to have the night lit so brightly, nearly, as day, and I recall well how such a sight would lighten your heart, however grim had been the task at hand. I think now of the same moon hung doubly-bright over Nenuial, but you know just as well as I that even in full darkness, I would not falter in my return to your side.
In closing, I ask that you convey my thanks to Gelluion for sending ahead the gloves I had thought misplaced upon the journey north, though if that kindness was your doing, then you may collect my thanks for your own keeping and lay it by with all the others I have not spoken. I pray your command has not come to weigh too heavily upon you, and I beg, evermore, your forgiveness for my departure.
Yours,
Aeralhil
