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Posted on April 11, 2015 at 02:56:15 AM by Theoden || Yggdrasil
The village smithy stands:
The smith, a mighty man is he,
With large and sinewy hands;
And the muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands.
Longfellow—The Village Blacksmith.
A tall man, broad of shoulder, thick of neck with a long braid of hair down his back crouched beside an empty rabbit trap which had been carefully set in the middle of the Kingswood. He wore a warm red and white striped wool sweater that stood out bright and loud among the more uniform greens and mossy browns of the evergreen Kingswood that Theoden called home. A few yards away, happily munching on Spring greens was a reindeer, Theoden's familair Yggdrasil.
Theoden was puzzled as to why this particular trap was empty. He’d scouted the small clearing with an expert eye, noting the several fresh holes which suggested a rabbit warren had been made here. With rabbits certainly about, and his trap well-laid, Theoden had been confident his dinner that night would be fresh and warm. No more of the salted dry travelling meat, and stale bread. The reindeer glanced over at his soul-mate, and considered pointing out that perhaps this area was too good and the rabbits were wise to such contraptions. Then he recalled the strange disturbance in magic and his severed ability to talk with Theoden. Well if he couldn’t tell Theoden, and pantomiming was out the question, better to continue browsing the tender, juicy shoots until Theoden figured it out.
That took another twenty minutes. Theoden paced around, looking for any sign of him having caught a rabbit and it escaping, or it having been stolen. Now that was a possibility! But no, nothing, there were no tracks or trails.
”Bah!” Theoden tugged at his long, wild blonde beard in frustration and then turned to his familiar, Yggdrasil.
”Let’s get on out of here. There may still be chance for fish tonight.” He waved Yggdrasil over and climbed up on the reindeer’s back. The reindeer grunted in reply and took off with a powerful leap. Theoden had to shout to be heard over the sound of hooves pounding.
"Let’s get to The Baron, its only a few miles away and has the Spring run of trout. I would be happy with trout.”
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They came up to the slow, winding river known as “The Baron” after an hour’s ride, and Theoden was quick to dismount and rig himself up a passable fishing rod. He found a flat boulder to sit on, and then cast his line. Theoden let his mind drift, thinking of the journeys he’d made in the past year and of his acceptance at the academy. That final thought pleased him greatly and he smiled. Yggdrasil sprawled by the water’s edge, watching idly as minnows swam toward the rocky shore only to dash away again. It was a warm Spring afternoon, and with any luck the fish would be biting and dinner would be fresh after all.
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