Leídan Aznawar of Khand

Kupsha was more a fort than a city or a village. Strong high walls protected at least for five centuries the houses build inside it, and to the south was a large square where nearly every day a local market was, and where you could get anything. Most people living here were just townsfolk, not warriors. The fort counted about five hundred living souls, including the guard on the walls and the family of the prince. Children ran free through the streets, teenagers were sent out to the river to fill up the water supply for the day. Women covered in robes went to the market for their daily shopping, and the men cared for the goats grazing in the grass fields outside the walls. Also the fort had yards full of orange trees. In other words, a little human paradise that prospered under the dark thread of the Ered Caradhram. Travellers with friendly purposes were welcome, but anyone was checked at the gates. Name and business was asked. Leídan answered for Neida, who played his brother again, that could not speak. She could easy pass for a younger brother still.

Their Azumehda were normal animals of transport in these lands, so no strange looks were thrown to them, as had happened in Tir Ethraid. Leídan found a friendly inn with a stall, where their animals could be brought under for the duration of the stay. Neida and he shared a chamber again, as they had done in Tir Ethraid. In the chamber, she was safe and she could be just herself. It had two separate beds, and a window. Neida liked a window, because with daylight she could do easier repairs to clothes than with candle light. It was simple yet luxurious, as the inn had also a possibility to take a hot bath and a visit in the sweat cabin (ancient version of a sauna). To cover Neida’s real identity Leídan booked the bath and sweat cabin for an hour for themselves. The innkeeper respected that, taking immediately that both brothers travelled incognito, but were of important and high birth. The name of Aznawar was not very unfamiliar in these parts.

After the bath and sweat cabin both had like soft baby skins again. Sweating and bathing cleaned all dirt out of your body and kept the hide young and healthy. The Azumenúkhad knew a few things to help the myth of fair people living in the east. Good health of mind and body was a reason why members of the Azumenúkhad tribe lived to a blessed age, and so often saw grandchildren be married before closing their eyes forever. Becoming nearly ninety or hundred years was not uncommon. Kupsha offered even a theatre performance a love story about merchant and a fisher’s daughter. The fisher’s daughter fell in love with the merchant and wanted to marry him, but her father didn’t want to hear about it. The end ended not happily, the daughter poisoned herself and died, leaving her lover and her father in grief behind. All was in mimic acted. Leídan and Neida visited as well. The next morning both bought on the local market more than two kilograms of oranges, and consumed quite much of them during the day. The next one they took another three kilos with them for the road to the south. They had to follow the river to the south, because a high wall protected them being Muzimi raids from the mountains. The land was festered with evil. The river delta was not. Oud Ilaz lay at the end of the wall. Leídan was not yet sure whether to travel further south toward the city of Tirith Amrûn or take the road east Korb Chelkar and Gizar. First, they had to travel safely southwards.

In these parts didn’t live many humans. Leídan rode up front as leading brother, which were the customs here. The younger ones followed right after. They passed by more oranges yard, which seemed to do well in this river valley. Most were small families in simple huts, but sometimes they crossed by a real stone house, surrounded by a wall. They discovered that it was possible even to take a night logging with these families. With consent, Neida and Leídan accepted it. There was always a certain risk with Neida playing the deaf brother, but so far, it all played out well. She conversed with the sign language to Leídan. They brought stories with them of places they had never heard off. Travellers and troubadours were always welcome to break their monotone existence. Leídan said only that he came from the Far East. Especially the tales about the steppe nomads of Nûrad and Dalpygis were popular. They had no idea about the Ered Harmal and the wild untamed lands beyond.