Chapter Five

For the next several hours, Aragorn visited each of the people on Cedric's list. He had some difficulty finding several of them, since very few villagers were actually in their homes right now. Cedric had given him several places to look, however, so he eventually tracked them down and talked the situation over with them. Cedric's cousin confirmed that he had seen Cedric in the fields when Berwen disappeared and Red's house burned down. Many of Cedric's relatives had much to say about Red's temper and swiftness to blame others for any misfortune. As before, Aragorn also heard much about the grievances stretching back many generations.

After Aragorn had spoken to all the men that Cedric had led him to, he decided to wander the village and get a better idea of the damage that the villagers had done to their homes. Seeing the number of burned out husks that once were homes, gardens and fields turned up and destroyed, Aragorn shook his head sadly. Even if he were able to convince them to cease all hostilities immediately, so much damage had already been done that the coming winter would be a very hard one for the villagers. There was so much re-building that would have to be done, but the damaged crops and livestock were worse than the lost homes. Houses could be rebuilt, though it would not be easy. The crops could not be replaced so easily, however. They were far too late in the growing season to be able to replant new crops and gardens. While the villagers might be able to buy new livestock and hunt for game, trade with neighboring villages would be a necessity for them to survive until the next crops could be harvested. While in his circuit of the town, Aragorn was approached by Handor, one of the Rangers tasked with finding Garman.

"Did you find them?" Aragorn asked as he approached.

"Yes, my lord," Handor replied. "We have requested a cessation to the hostilities between the families while we investigate the matter and attempt to locate the missing children."

"And what was their response?" Aragorn asked.

Handor sighed. "Not promising. Garman seems intent on seeking out retribution for the kidnapping of his cousin's son. Nothing we say has had much success in stemming his desire for revenge above all else."

Aragorn nodded, fearing that might be the case. In all honesty, he was not certain that Red would live up to his word not to attack the Wolfe family if the opportunity arose. Neither side of this conflict was willing to stop and take a deep breath and look at the situation objectively. If he could just get a peace to hold long enough to find the children, there was a chance he could bring an end to this without further damage and hopefully, without further bloodshed. But for that to happen, he had to talk with Garman and convince him to hold off on any further attacks. "Take me to him," Aragorn told Handor. Handor nodded and led him to a large home on the outskirts of the village.

When Aragorn entered, he had no trouble determining which man was Garman. The tall, dark-haired man was facing Túven and arguing angrily. Túven caught sight of Aragorn and broke off in mid-sentence, giving Aragorn a respectful nod and stepping back from Garman. Garman saw the gestures and turned to face Aragorn.

"Are you the leader of these interfering men?" Garman asked angrily, waving a hand at the Rangers he had been arguing with.

"I am their leader," Aragorn replied calmly, not responding to the inflammatory words or the anger apparent in Garman's voice.

"You should tell them to keep out of other people's affairs. This has nothing to do with any of you, and you would do best to leave town now and leave this to us." Garman folded his arms across his chest and glared at Aragorn.

"Cedric seemed grateful for our offer of help," Aragorn said softly, keeping his gaze fixed on the face of the man before him.

"Cedric?" Garman asked in surprise, almost dropping his defensive posture. "How did you happen to meet him?"

Aragorn decided it would be best not to tell Garman that they had stopped Red and the others from stoning Cedric. That would not help calm matters any. "It does not matter," Aragorn evaded the subject rather than tell Garman a lie that might come back to hurt him. "We did meet him and I have spoken with both Cedric and the man known as Red. Both of them have agreed to let me and the rest of the Rangers attempt to find the missing children and get to the truth of this matter."

"You spoke to Red?" Garman asked, his eyes narrowing in thought. "Where is he?"

Shaking his head, Aragorn refused to answer Garman's question. He was not about to tell this man where he could find Red. If he did that, Garman would be sure to attack, and in the ensuing battle, many of the men could die. "I will not tell you that. What I can tell you is that Red has agreed to a temporary cessation of hostilities to allow us time to find his son. He will not attack your men, or their homes and properties. I need to ask the same from you. I cannot guarantee that he will hold to that promise if you and your men cause harm to any more of his men or their properties."

"Why would I agree to that?" Garman asked Aragorn scornfully.

"To give us a chance to resolve this peacefully," Aragorn answered, surprised that Garman could not see that. "If we can find the missing children and find out what happened to start this battle, perhaps we can find a peaceful way of resolving it."

"I know what happened," Garman growled. "Red falsely accused Cedric of taking his son and kidnapped Keane. He cannot be allowed to get away with that. If we can find Red, we can force him to tell us where he has hidden Keane."

"And how does burning down half the village accomplish that goal?" Aragorn asked reasonably.

"It gives him fewer places to hide," Garman answered with a spiteful grin.

Aragorn shook his head slightly. "If the two of you keep to this path, none in this village will be able to survive the coming winter. From what I have seen, this winter will be very hard as it is for this village. Please, let us do what we can to help, to keep this from getting any worse for those families that live here."

"Cedric's family lives here," Garman pointed out. "I will not let my cousin's son be kidnapped without exacting retribution."

"Has Cedric asked for your help? Has he asked you to do any of this?" Aragorn questioned. "For he told me that he wants none of this. His only concern is getting his son back. Have you sent out search parties to locate either of the missing boys?"

Garman was silent for a long time, his face dark as a thundercloud. In his silence, Aragorn had his answer. Garman had done nothing to find the children, only gathered his men and attacked Red and his family.

A sigh escaped Aragorn as he faced Garman. "All I ask is that you stop trying to hurt Red and his family. Give us the time we need to find the boys and hopefully bring an end to this madness."

"Madness?" Garman asked with a dark glint in his eye as he moved a step closer to Aragorn in an attempt to intimidate the other man.

Holding his ground, Aragorn kept his gaze steady on Garman's face. "What else would you call it when men destroy their own homes and make it that much harder for them to survive?"

Garman didn't have an answer to that, and stepped back a pace, lowering his aggressive stance. "You have one day, Ranger. You'd better get going and find them quickly. If you fail, you would be wise to leave town immediately, for my vengeance will be fierce, and you will be a target as much as Red."