With a secret mission to marry an elf, Wynne must join Legolas' and Elvenking Thranduil's new quest as a horsekeeper. She begins an adventurous journey, encountering orcs and monsters, friendly uruk-hai, a lady dwarf and many Fellowship heroes - but...
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~ In Osgiliath Wynne sees lots of tall(?) dwarves and at Faramir's residence Nugu draws attention. ~
45. Osgiliath Rebuilt
Traveling along a well-kept, large road proved a lot faster than riding in the Brown Lands or the rough terrain of the Emyn Muil. Normally they could cover ten leagues at the most, but here they would make closer to fifteen a day, which Wynne measured by counting the big, square leaguestones along the way.
The scenery was varied and interesting. To the east she mainly saw farmlands at first, but soon they encountered expansive animal pastures with cows, sheep and even horses grazing in large herds. No mearas, of course, those would hardly have consented to stay behind fences.
To the west, the Anduin became so wide they couldn't see the other shore. According to the map, however, the land of Anórien was situated there, a northern region of Gondor nowadays.
They stayed in roadside inns during the three nights spent on the Osgiliath Road. Since no innkeeper was likely to accommodate an uruk-hai under his roof, Nugu wore his hood up to cover his face and carried the kids tucked in under his cloak every time they checked in at these establishments. But he almost didn't need the disguise – with the elves around, all eyes were continuously drawn to them. Still, just in case, Thranduil made sure nobody was allowed to enter Nugu's and Sidra's room, even servants.
With time, hopefully the peace treaty would be signed, and maybe then it would become possible for orcs and uruk-hai to move freely in the world of men, but it would probably take a long time before the prejudices against that race were entirely gone – if ever.
Wynne slept luxuriously well in the hostels, in her own room, no less! It was a blessing to finally have a real bed, eat nice meals, even take a hot bath for a few extra coins that Thranduil generously provided. Meanwhile, the horses were fed strong, nourishing fodder and groomed by able stablehands.
The last inn they visited was located near Cair Andros, a wood-clad island in the middle of the river, which Legolas told them had played a part in the War of the Ring. Here an army of orcs had hindered the Rohan riders who came to aid Gondor. But the clever Rohirrim, led by the mighty King Théoden, had taken an old, secret path through the mountains and thus made it in time to the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
When they came closer to Osgiliath the traffic in the road increased further and the bypassers' stares really began to grate on everybody's nerves. They increased their pace even more, eager to finally be among people who knew who they were and why they had come.
There were more buildings here and Wynne watched them with curiosity, used as she was to the open plains of northeastern Rohan. The closest to a city she had been in before was the local marketplace. Here she saw farmsteads, two-storey houses, finer villas with pretty gardens, busy workshops, and simple stalls where peddlers tried to sell their goods.
