Hatred Begins At Home - The Homes and Houses of Umbar

[Ercassie]

Sleeping with the Enemy – Part 1


Gael Estennin and Uhta halsad
in The House of Halsad
3017 TA

She had never had one of her lily-white limbs snagged within an animal trap, but she felt increasingly that this must be something like that horrific experience. No sharp iron teeth had closed about her flesh, but an immense, dull weight of a Man who would not be prised over to his side of the bed. She had woken near two hours ago, and had naught to show for all that she had trialled since. Her leg was numbed to the point where she fell careless awhile, into a lost memory of swimming off the cape. The water that winter had been so cold that she had not loitered overlong. But after even a short time, it had seemed that her brain had shut down all feeling to her body, that the cold ought not concern her. Might be it was now employing a similar strategy.

Cold was no antagonist in Umbar though. Heat here was the smug villain which dominated all. From the most vile and sloth politicians, swooning in their litters, to the basest slaves, staggering in their toil. None escaped the sun here and she wished more than usual to be home, even for the wintry waters of Belfalas. The closed harbour of Umbar was as though a fortress, conceived of hard, high-reaching rock. The passage which led out from the sheltered, stifling harbour into the open sea was a funnel. All that she had ever known of breeze here, even stood upon the dock, was the screaming echo which ran through that natural gateway, and pummelled itself against the suffocating embrace of the city. There were times she imagined it might be her own scream, yearning for freedom, tiring of this horrific nightmare. But she did not dare to scream aloud. Best leave that to the wind.


Such time had been spent in seeking to lift Uhta’s massive, muscled haunch, that she hadn’t realised quite how far off the bed she had leant. Gravity as much as a sudden release took her by surprise, and the cold hard stone floor bruised her behind. But cool ! How refreshingly cool it was, after scrambling about the sweat-stained sheets and sodden pillows all the night ! A small squeak fled from her throat at first, and one clammy hand soon clapped over the ironically dry lips of her mouth, even as she dared to keep her eyes from scrunching up in fear. But the sleeping giant did not stir. And so she indulged in a brief and simple luxury, as was luxury here. Space to stretch as far as ever her fingers and toes could manage ! Cool, stone bathing her bare back with a plummeting temperature ! For less than a minute, she experienced utter and unblemished relief.

Then the recognition of where she yet was. The beasts outside punched the cruel reality of frightful howlings through even heavy wooden shutters. Ever hungry they were, and their eyes, straining as ever were they pulling at their leashes; to reach her. To bite her. They would devour her if they could ever manage to get close enough. They were all that kept her from flinging back the shutters and, in a state of final despair, pitching herself from the chamber, to the yard below. The concept of dying not at once, but finding herself broken, battered, no doubt badly bleeding .. and then to be consumed alive by the wild dogs ? That was enough to deter even the bravest soul, and she had never considered herself be such a thing.


So she crawled, on hands and knees, quite beside being too proud to do so. That ship had long sailed, months ago. But gnawing at her lip all the same, to distract from the ache of where her bony form had struck the floor. She got all the way to the door before recalling that it was locked. And as though he had been awake the entire time, Uhta chose that moment to sit up and yawn.

“Pet,” he patted the bed beside him, to summon her return to him. “Come, pet" Such was his ‘pet’ name for her, and it mattered little whether it appealed to her. She had tried once to pierce his thick skull with the fact that she had been a person, upstanding with a good name and social expectation .. back in Dol Amroth. But ‘This is Umbar. Not Dull Amroth’ he had concluded, and that was the end of that conversation. It might be his accent or his deliberate intent to sound the ‘Dol’ as ‘dull’. She was to this day not quite sure that he wasn’t smarter than most people gave him credit for. Still, it did little to endear him to her. In the end she had foregone with complaining about the ‘new’ name. After all, it aided her survival in the mindset of two worlds. That the ‘pet’ who had endured things here, was a person utterly apart from the girl, the astronomer’s daughter of her far-off native city. Maybe if she ‘played’ the part here, she might one day remove the mask and costume of this whole horrible experience, and simply go back to being her other self. Her old self.

There were days when she properly believed that this was possible. Those were the days that she did not catch sight of herself in one of the many gargantuan, gilded mirrors that bedecked the house.


“I need to feed the dogs,” she tried to decide whether this was actually favourable to returning to his side, and spoke though in such a small voice to almost justify him naming her for a Pet. Thin fingers rattled the door handle as she heaved her shaking stature upright.

“Not dogs,” he guffawed, and slumped back unto his back. But one hand grasped for the key about his bed post and saw it across the room. Freedom clattered to her feet with a sharp jangle of mocking temptation. Freedom meant another day in this house, another day as ‘Pet’. Now that it came to it, she almost wished to crawl back in against his great shield of self, and hide from everyone, from everything. But .. “Do not forget to feed Uhta also,” he added, through a slovenly drawl which was already luring him back to sleep. “You can eat what I do not.”

With a deep sigh, she planted the keys, and dared the door open. The descent down stairs was a descent her heart took as much as her feet.

[Ercassie]

Sleeping with the Enemy – Part 2

Gaelanna Estennin and the Family Halsad
In the House of Halsad
3017 TA

The sight and sound of it were abhorrent in equal measure. Still the smell defeated all else that threatened to overwhelm her. It was inescapable. As the gluttonous carnivores fought and snapped over the fresh meat, the sound of broken bone punctured the ripping tear of ruined flesh. The carcasses were a veritable feast; they writhed and contorted with each new challenge, as though some parts of what they had once been were still alive and struggling.

One slab of … something … slapped against the stone near to the slave girl’s bare, immediately flinching, foot. As much as she might have sought to shrink back against the wall, there was that horrendously present temptation to snatch up the morsel within reach. She was that starved that she might have thrown herself unto all fours and bared teeth at any creature that dared make a try to have it from her.


Still there remained enough humanity about her still that she held resolutely onto her will, and counted. How long were the beasts occupied by their massacre ? Slowly she backed up until her back pressed up against the iron bars of the tall fence. A fence tall enough to keep the beasts within. A fence that if she could manage to ascend, while they feasted … she might slip beyond the reach before ever a body observed her. Any that might chance to note the way she here recoiled, would sure think she was seeking to withdraw only from the mauling and the mutilation. They would not have been entirely incorrect.

Still, she had begun to consider the second issue. How many steps backward would take her to meet the barrier ? She threw her head up as though to save her sight from such a scene. She threw up her head in truth … to try and gauge quite how high the iron bars extended. She counted right up until Mistress called out of the opened door, to summon her within.


Dropping her head in apparent subjugation, she smothered the tiny joy of satisfaction. An expensive education had allowed her the tools to make estimates and average. She knew that when her chance came, she must be prepared. She must know as much as she could, and so did. She must somehow find a way to have some clothes about her if she was to take the risk and run. It would be hard to not gather attention unless she might fit in …

Jenahda Halsad did not trust a crew of subordinates, taking the word of her husband as good sense; that too many slaves would find the family outnumbered. Gael had took notice of perhaps two other bodies who shared her shelf of the hierarchy within the house. And they, having been there longer, paraded their own entitlement of seniority over her, whenever the opportunity allowed. Not a one of them was allowed in the kitchen; that was the domain of Mistress. Whether she feared others might poison her little litter of offspring, or whether she kept them close by controlling what they consumed, either way, she prepared the meals. All three of the triplets were seated already about the table when the slave girl scampered into place, Jenahda striding so fast behind her to ensure compliance, like a dog herding dumb sheep. The Umbarians took little heed of her, save for Uhta, who jerked his head in a gesture of command. To come hither.

They were discussing Lond Daer. Again. And Jenahda turned suddenly to tilt her dark head in reflection of the paler woman, as though she could actually feel the Gondorian listening. As if she could ever get word to their enemies. From here ...

But it was not Jenahda’s chair which she inched around, as though she were avoiding a dangerous reptile. This terror was ever stoked by the sight of the second son; Keket. He straightened up without even speaking a word, and she knew beyond all comprehension that his eyes were watching her take from his one side to the other. She scarcely dared breathe in case he sensed her fear in the air, and enjoyed it.

A grab or a squeeze from Matsu she can endure. It marks him a man devoid of honourable intentions, but still it is not unheard of behaviour. For a human being. Keket is another species utterly. A cold fish, some unblinking, unfeeling thing.


As though he might sense that her mind was upon his brother, Uhta’s immense fist hammered a wave of vast echoes the length of the ancient altar. Bowls laden with exotic fruits discarded their wares, like small mountains wracked by avalanches. Hastening to harvest those which tumbled close to hand, she added to the mound which buried her bedfellow’s plate. Bedfellow. He was not her ‘lover’, as much as she understood the word. Surely he felt elseways, but she was as much a toy or an amusement to the great giant who saw her not as an equal, or even a thing he ought to consider, save as how she might best please him. The notion of feeding the great titan baby, hand to mouth, might have been degrading. Except that so long as she stayed close to Uhta, she was safe. From the rest of them.


“You don’t really believe, do you, that the more food you fetch up from the table for him, the more chance he’ll leave more scraps for you upon his plate ?” Matsu managed to find mirth in what she had hoped was a subtle hope, and duly destroyed her dreams. “Should know by now, slave,” the eldest Halsad son emptied his many-times dented chalice, and waved it about until his mother threw a new bottle of blood red elixir for him to catch. He did, with his spare hand, and a smug ruffle of one eyebrow. “There ain’t a pile of food as can defeat Uhta !” he finished, knowingly. To which claim, Uhta himself raised his spent platter over his head, triumphantly.


The riot of a family breakfast was quashed by the arrival of Pharak. Patriach and Blood Priest. He bore the sort of face which made all onlookers fall silent in great awe, for all of the wrong reasons. And he held himself with the same dignity and presence which made all onlookers grow discomfort in no time at all.

“Matsu you shall not be going to Lond Daer” The Burned Man descended unto the soiled cushion of his seat as though it were a mighty throne and he a king. “You shall mind Captain Sarabeth Gameela in the taking of the Wethrin Isles. Since she has solicited an alliance with the Mole King, our craft shall be able to navigate the West Coast without interference.”

Matsu ran a finger around the rim of his plate, before planting it firmly into his mouth, smacking his lips happily. Until his father mentioned the Mole King. The Elf. Eurgh. Up until that point, he had been making clear with his expression quite how glad he was to be paired with the alluring but ferocious Sarabeth. Still he knew better to dictate to his father any disapproval of the plan. At least not to Pharak’s ruined face.


“What of the star brats in Lindon ? I hear there is yet a pocket of power about their harbours ..” Jenahda had never been shy of making her voice heard. It was a fact which her husband rarely disapproved of, since it allowed him to demonstrate his cunning. That he had already composed answers to the questions he knew she would ask.

“They are few and ill prepared to match our force," The Umbarian declared, as though assured of the fact by some means none here knew. "Kfir is already about the region of Bree, to hit hard their logging industry and remind the Dwarves of the Blue Mountains close by why they ought stand hostile against their sharp-eared neighbours. By the time our landings on the archipelago are noted, we shall be too deeply settled to uproot. Uhta, you will draw the eyes and ears of Rangers and Elves in the East of Eriador .. keep their minds fixed on matters southward. Take the Tharbad Crossing, hold that harbour. If you are able, draw what strength they may have cloistered away into your nest, and crush it when it reveals itself. There may be a clutch of folk who lock themselves away in Rivendell, but this time a siege shall swarm them. When Angmar ignites in the North, and the Orcs march out under the great Shadow from their Mountain holes in the Eastern wall, the fool rebels shall find themselves surrounded.

This time, no help shall come to them by sea. The sea is ours.”



Uhta brought his glinting metal plate to rest back on the table and tipped up his drinking glass, that the girl took his hint. She held her eyes on the table, steady, as she poured the rum … and wondered yet again at the Man’s strong stomach.

“You have three sons, Father,”

So intent was the girl about her task (that task being, at this moment, eavesdropping), and all else there so fixed in thought of their instructions, they without exception startled to recall Keket. None had remarked of his injuries, nor where or how he had obtained them, though the city was abuzz with the retribution of the Shadow. The Night of the Jackals had left seventeen citizens dead. The jackals in the Halsad front yard had devoured their remains that very morning. No mess. No evidence. Keket was the only of their number harmed but yet allowed to keep his life. Now as he spoke up, declaring himself, all awaited for the Blood Priest's judgement.

Pharak carried sentence without ever needing to shape the words. Ignoring his middle child, he arose with stately poise from his seat, and held forth a crooked arm which his wife linked and proudly supported him in leaving the room. Neither of them looked back. Immediately that the enchantment seemed lifted, Matsu embarked on a grim imagining of his time to be spent with Sarabeth Gameela. Uhta glanced toward his ‘Pet’ and frowned to see the sorrow about her full eyes.

“Not long gone,” he prophesised. “You will not be alone long enough to forget Uhta” he promised.

But it was the fixed and unblinking stare of Keket which had struck the girl unto some abject terror. That she would be staying in the house, and so would he. And he was not at all happy. And there would be none to protect her …. nor distract him ...

She could only hope against all hopes that he might find some project to keep him occupied ..

[Ercassie]

Sleeping with the Enemy – Part 3

Gaelanna Estennin and Keket Halsad
In the House of Halsad
3017 TA

The sun had crawled into it's grave and so night fell across all Umbar, brandishing a chill that made folk miss the stifled heat of day. The girl laboured up the ancient staircase, expectant for the relief of rest, a thing brought about by the long hours of hard toil. Lost years of indulging in fine silks back in Dol Amroth, and exchanging pleasantries with friends, contemplating on husbands, fortunes, futures …. such were no longer things which she missed but rather things that shamed her. For all of the preparation, the priming of manners and the lessons in the art of entertaining, years of fluency in music; what had been the point of any of it ? Faced with keeping a house clean and people fed, she truly was the drudge they assumed her, for she was about as useless as a soiled doily. Without Uhta to make her his plaything, she was beckoned by every mouth in the house which could demand something of her. There was no let up. There was no pride in managing to scrub a floor well, for she had not been schooled in such arts until lately, and her amateurish efforts showed, insisting for errands to be done and re-done, until they were done to satisfaction.

By now she harboured vague delusions that she missed the titan man who had made her his pet. To have seen his great round face at the head of the stairs, summon her to snuggle in warm beside him, where no one would dare disturb her … mayhaps it was only the rest and peace he awarded her, that she now yearned for. Finding the corridor at the height of the staircase, she grasped the door handle in her hand, so cold that she drew back startled from the touch. And then fretted that the large chamber within would prove no warmer. Without the bear who hibernated there. Still, at last she would have peace, privacy, and for once, no great lump to suffocate her with his attention.

If the door would only open. But it seemed that her last and meagre hope now was denied her. Collapsing like a bundle of fallen laundry, she unfolded into a seat by the surprise barrier. One hand turned the cold doorknob, again and again, as though she might make a plea to the lock. But when her despair bred a response, it was not the one she desired. Not at all.


"That is my brother's room. Not yours."

The bedroom across from Uhta's belonged to Keket. And his door, unlike Uhta's, stood ajar. Wearily the girl raised wary eyes to gauge her peril. The middle brother was sat crosslegged on his bed, elbows creased into his knees, chin roosting in the cradle of his hands. There was no light emanating from the man's lair, but what was cast by the moon that hovered in the window at his back. It was more than enough light to see the man's slow smile, some unspeakable crevice that split wide his cadaverous face, an abyss that who knew what might slither forth from. She swallowed, and her hand dropped to the floorboards as the man gave a suggestive pat of the bed beside him.

"I am your brother's …" there was not a word that she felt happy to conclude that sentence. There was naught else to make her point, save "not yours." she returned, in a voice that barely broached the distance between them. She was not sure if she hoped he heard her, or not.


Keket did not move, he did not speak. He simply stared. And as though things existed only when she observed them, she tucked her glance down to watch where one splitting nail rubbed the dark wood at her feet. She pulled herself closer, foetal, as though she could take up the least space possible, and be left alone. But he did not leave her be, and neither did he do or say a thing. He simply .. stayed.

Counting didn't help. The vast number that she spelt out in a silent dance across her lips became a game, as she left it longer and longer each time, between daring to look up. Every time, the same. He remained. He watched. And it was becoming apparent that she would find no solace this night. Not while his eyes bored through her like a sword. Ceaseless. A gentleman back home would never have dared so at a lady. But here … anywhere in fact that she might envisage they two, she would not know comfort for so long as he .. stared. At length, she was forced to move one leg, which had fallen to a numbness beneath her. Summoning all strength, she rose, a little wobbly at the first, from that numbed leg. But she managed a stride gingerly across the hallway, no more commandeering in her approach than a feather blustered about by a breeze. Reaching Keket's door, she put eyes finally upon him, as her hand forced the door to blind those same eyes of his unnerving sight. The wood stood between them now, a solid obstruction, and she sighed. A tiny emission, that in the silence and anticipation of her challenge seemed like an almighty fanfare of self worth. Still ungainly, she hobbled back across the hallway, and slid her back down the locked door, as far as she could be away from the staring strange man.


The door on the opposite side of the hall yawned wide, skeletal fingers tapping a tune around the edge of the wood. Keket loomed around the door, the same way that smoke curls around buildings, swallowing their height. She was back on her knees on the floor by Uhta's door, eyes wide and evolving wider still as the man quietly, calmly, backtracked to his bed. He settled, and she shuddered. Would he really make her walk all the way back across and … what this continue all night ?

Failure in the first attempt slowed her enthusiasm in the second. Still, she pushed up with both hands pressed flat against the floor, and resumed her full height, such as it was. Each step felt as though a thousand leagues, as though she waded through quicksand. Still, she reached the door again, and he raised one eyebrow amused. She put hands upon the handle and made to remove herself from his cold gaze. Yet with the speed of a serpent Keket met her there at the doorway, one hand clasping tight around her pale wrist. One hand holding the cold steel of a small curved blade against her throat.

"I could peel you like an apple," he chose to regale her with such a notion. "A long, single, unspoilt stream of skin, curled away from your bones by the close shave of my blade."

"He will return," was the first and only threat in her arsenal. "And he will not be happy that you lay a hand on me."

"He will return," Keket agreed, flicking his head so that tendrils of his dark hair did not hide his amusement. "And when he does, he shall bring back with him a new toy, a delicious souvenir, of his latest escapade," the bored voice of experience outlined it's prophecy, dispassionate. "My brother likes to have pretty things about him. But you are no longer within reach, or memory .. Or did you think you were the first ? The only ?"


What could barely be defined a laugh hacked out of the Umbarian's scrawny throat. The girl knew better than to try and pull away from him. She went limp, and he took it as a betrayal of her broken hope.

"Uhta takes whatever he wishes, and Matsu takes whatever he can, to pay for whatever he wishes," the girl surprised them both by prolonging the conversation. "I have never yet observed Keket obtain a single thing that he wishes .."

The blade nicked her chin as the man withdrew his advance. He released the girl's arm and caressed his sharp knife in his second hand, thoughtfully. Turned aside and with some small space between them now, he did not appear to note the release of that breath she had been holding. "You had best pray that you never do, Gaelanna" the Man chose to educate the woman, his own brand of elation emboldened by the terror in her face.

"How is it that you think you know me ?" she could not comprehend, nor keep herself from confirming the title; so simple a thing that it was. For none since she had been taken ever had put thought to ask her. She was 'Girl' or 'Pet'. None here knew about 'Gaelanna', the daughter, the lady, the girl who was of Dol Amroth. How much did they know of her, of who she'd been, of what .. of whom ..

"And all this time you have indulged such a selfish despair," he shook his head, brought the knife up to his lips and appeared to press it lovingly against the words which wounded, twice so well, as any injury the steel might incite. "Resolved to your fate, this life now yours with self pity your constant companion. For how could you now ever be accepted by your folk back home ? Even were you to against all odds make your way there. One day. Some day. Noone in Dol Amroth would believe that we, the dread ilk of their most horrific nightmares, had not done all the worst manner of things they could fear to such a lady of such fair .. breeding .. " He chuckled, in time to her panicked faint, and the girl clutched at her own throat now, to breathe.


"You know naught of ‘Gaelanna’," she whispered, daring to believe it might be so, and finding the truth as sure as her own muted voice.

"It is you," he corrected, drawing back upon his bed now that he had her intrigue. She was released of his hold, unencumbered by the threat of his knife. Still though trapped by the most deadly weapon at his disposal. "You who knows naught, of what Keket truly wishes."

Her eyes closed then, opened, and found all conditions were not changed at all. Tears leapt then to action, though they would find here no such kind audience as might have been moved by their craft, back home. Keket revelled in the horror etched across the Gondorian's face. She shook her head, slow and stunned, as though she might deny the knowledge, erase that she knew in fact not half of what a sorry state of things she faced. Had it not been foul enough, the circumstance which she believed her own ? True, yes, she had wept at the understanding of how she was clearly 'lost' to Umbar. And she had pushed thoughts aside of how her doting father must be lonesome, and fret who would tend to him as the years hastened their relentless pace of time … But at least all that she loved and treasured were removed, or so she had believed, from any ill effect of her own unhappy affliction !

"O, prized daughter of Lord Heledir Estennin" Keket advertised his ace, and witnessed the girl flounder to her knees before him. "Fret not, for soon your devoted father shall have outlived all use we might think of him to attempt in your name." The Umbarian basked in the delight of the girl, cramming her hand into her jaw, to stifle the pangs of grief and woe that he had imposed on her. "I shall find myself removed of all reasons to prolong his miserable existence a moment longer," the proclamation began to wound down to it's grand conclusion. "Just as you shall find your own worth usurped by some other in the delight of my brother. You have never yet observed Keket obtain a single thing that he wishes ? Well soon all the seeds of my pending triumph shall come unto fruition !"


Quite what could be inferred by Keket's grandiose ambitions, it was not a thing he was yet willing to disclose with the girl. Thus, catching her up by the long trail of her unwashed hair, he cast Gael out of even the doorframe of his personal 'realm'. Awarding the former lady the same care and consideration as a sack of unwanted kittens destined for the bottom of a lake. She skidded across the floor she had polished herself some hours hence, and collided with the still locked door of absent Uhta. Keket's door now closed upon her, and whereas she might have longed for such a thing not long ago, now her sore head was lit by questions and concerns. Sobs did little to console the long, long stretch of time which would resurrect the dawn. Sobs did not remotely bother the deep, tranquil sleep of Keket Halsad.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Gwestion
Hazadazra Estate - January, year 1 of the 4th age

"I already have," Gwestion answered Tercen. "I was asking if you had." He didn't want to press the issue, though. If he'd read about them, he'd know that one sting was deadly. And what they look like. And all the other information that mattered. Gwestion didn't know if the tone Tercen used was skeptical or what, but he had a feeling he might have guessed that Gwestion wasn't a hundred percent convinced. Well, he should think about that possibility, Gwestion thought.

When handed a piece of paper, the ranger used it to scoop up the scorpion he had stomped earlier, and studied it a little more closely. "I'm going to hold onto this, and show it to a few people in the morning. See if anyone can confirm whether it is what I think it is." He explained. Then he paused as Tercen brought up the question of herbs. He paused, thinking about that. "Hmm, I didn't see anything about it in those books I read," He frowned thoughtfully. "But, I didn't have time to read them in full. Perhaps there is something," He looked up from the dead scorpion on the paper, to meet Tercen's gaze.

He knew Tercen was making a joke, calling himself Ava's plaything, but Gwestion couldn't quite find much humor in this situation. He also couldn't help thinking about whether there was anything that Ava could gain by planting a deadly bug in the room she had assigned to Tercen... on the bed. And then choosing not to sleep with him tonight. It seemed awfully coincidental to him, but it also didn't make sense, because, if she planned to do something to him, wouldn't it be wiser for her to wait until the brothers had sent off their second letter to Arnyn? Maybe there were factors he had yet to consider, though. He also wondered about the servants, but then, how would they know if Ava was going to sleep there or not?

He gave a little shake of his head. "No, I'm sure she wouldn't want that," He agreed, instead of getting into all of his thoughts. "Just, be careful, please. I dare say your sister would also not appreciate anything happening to you. Besides... you dying on our watch might cost Gladhron his chances with her, you know?" A small joke of his own, if the other guy caught it. Although there was no smile to indicate he was making a joke, there was a hint of something like that in his eyes. Only briefly.

He hardly paused before speaking again, this time without any joking involved. "I think I've checked about as much as I can here, anyway. I suppose I'll return to my own room, now, and let you get some sleep." Though technically, Gwestion was probably far more interested in getting some sleep than Tercen was, since he had slept on the ship while they were trekking back and forth. He felt like he could almost doze off where he was standing, but he would fight off his tiredness for as long as he had to, until he was back in his own room.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
Ava's estate - January

Tercen's brows drew together a little when Gwestion said he already had read about the scorpion. Gwestion had been asking if Tercen had? That wasn't what it had sounded like it all. The ranger had been all 'I wish I could have taken the book with me' and then he had asked if his book had any info on the Deathstalker scorpion... Well. Anyway. It didn't matter. He supposed it could have been taking both ways. He shoved down his slight annoyance at the ranger's correction.

"Ah. Yes," he just said, watching as Gwestion used the paper to lift the dead scorpion. "I think I did. There were a few in there, though. They still sort of blend together," he admitted. "I'll take another look before sleep, maybe. If you're not taking the book tonight."

He hadn't really expected the serious young man to comment on him trying to make light of the situation, so it was no surprise when he didn't. "Define careful," Tercen muttered, getting tired of the repeated warnings already. Arnyn, Ava, Gwestion - geez, he got it. But what was he supposed to do?? Levitate himself into the air magically, create a magic barrier around him and sleep that way? Because Tercen couldn't really see how he could avoid getting bit or stung - or stabbed, for that matter - by anything or anyone, just by taking 'precautions'. It was great and all, people wanting him to be safe. But checking the room before sleep, that was one thing. It wasn't like it was impossible for some poisonous critter to get into the room in like five minutes' time, though. What was he supposed to do about that? Would people blame him for something like that, if it happened? And if he died? Would they swear at his 'lack of caution'?

Tercen wasn't that physically tired, but those thoughts were definitely tiring him in a very different way. "Yeah. Not just my sister, for the record. I would also like to live, you know," he mumbled. But he had to huff out a short laugh at Gwestion's comment about Gladhron's chances with Arnyn. "I can see how that would further complicate things for him," he couldn't help but agree. "Strange, then, that it isn't your brother who showed up at my door, but you," he couldn't help but note. "I'll let Arnyn know he prioritized his own weariness over my safety," Tercen said with a little shrug. It was impossible to tell whether or not he was joking. "And that you did not." He had a whole notebook for such details of his time here, after all. By courtesy of, and at the insistance of, his sister.

He followed Gwestion to the door, bid him goodnight, and scowled at the lock a bit before locking the door again and turning toward the room. It still looked just as fancy. Now, it also felt more dangerous, though. Tercen groaned while he surveryed the bedn pulled off all the blankets and shook them violently over the floor, before checking the bed without the blankets and then throwing them back on haphazardly. Then he breathed a heavy sigh, before taking a seat at the desk and pulling out everything he needed to record all he could remember from the time they left the ship until this very moment.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Gwestion
Hazadazra Estate - January, year 1 of the 4th age

With a small nod, Gwestion indicated toward the books. He had offered three books to let Gwestion borrow, but he didn't really need that many. He wasn't Brooke, after all. The thought was mildly amusing, but he was too tired to really find much more than a passing amusement in the thought. He selected the book that he'd used to flick the creature off of the bed, and left the other two for Tercen.

At the comment about how it was strange that Gladhron hadn't been the one to come checking Tercen's room, and that he'd prioritized his weariness over Tercen's safety, Gwestion paused. He really wasn't sure if he was joking or not. Regardless, Gwestion felt the need to answer that. "Don't feel bad," He told him, sighing. "Gladhron also prioritized his weariness over his own safety. If I hadn't reminded him about checking his room, he wouldn't have. He also didn't really want to help me check mine." He shrugged slightly. "Good night. I apologize again, for troubling you."

With that, Gwestion left and returned to his own room, feeling very much unwelcome there. As tired as he was, he was not really sure whether he should sleep. It seemed to him as if it would be a bad idea for them both to be sleeping at the same time, right? Because who knows what could happen. They were in Umbar, for goodness' sake. But he also wasn't sure what, exactly, he could do. Pace around the halls? Patrol outside of Ava's room? He didn't even know where that was.

Upon arriving back in his room, he placed the book down on the bedside table. The paper with the scorpion on it, he laid on one side of the desk before sitting down to begin writing some notes of his own, concerning what they had seen and heard so far, about the scorpion, and whatever else seemed relevant.

---

Mid-morning...


Daylight streamed through the window, right into his face. He couldn't be sure how long it had been doing that, but his eyes were protesting the brightness of it, even through the eyelids. He tried to turn to his other side, but his neck hurt when he tried to move it. Groaning, he finally opened his eyes, cringing against the light as he slowly, stiffly, sat up. Hed dozed off at the desk, Gwestion realized. He looked around, momentarily disoriented as he blinked several times, trying to make his eyes wake properly. With a little wince as he discovered that the sore neck intended to persist throughout the day, Gwestion got up and went over to wash his face and try to wake up a little better. He didn't really feel very rested, unfortunately.

About the time he was drying his face, there was a knock at his door. Pausing, he checked that he still had his dagger on him, then he went to answer the door. A servant stood there, with an invitation to join Ava and the other guests for breakfast. He thanked the girl, then went back into his room so he could get changed before breakfast.


The servant girl moved on down the hall and knocked on the next door(Tercen's), wondering who these guests were that the lady had brought with her. Of course, the news had been whispered about among the staff, but few of them had actually seen the foreign guests, yet. She thought it was sort of exciting that she might actually be among the first to get a look at them.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
Ava's estate - January

He'd been up, and had used the bathing chamber he'd found adjacent to the bedroom to wash. He hadn't bothered trying to find anyone to ask how he could heat the water - he more often than not didn't bother with such luxuries in Ithilien anyway. Unless it was the dead of winter and the water was near freezing. And while it technically was winter, it wasn't nearly as cold here as it would have been in Minas Tirith or Ithilien.

When he heard the knock on his door, Tercen's hair was still wet and he was dressed in no more than a big, fluffy towel around his hips. The sound brought a grin to his face. Fully expecting to find Ava on the other side of the door, he didn't bother with clothes, and simply mosied on over to the door.

But it was not Ava on the other side. Tercen's head slanted in surprise to find a girl at the door, instead. "Oh, sorry," he said in the common tongue, then hesitated briefly before offering an apologetic smile. "Can I help you..?" He didn't really understand why Ava would send a teenage girl to his door, so maybe she'd come over to ask for help with something?

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn


The girl smiled pleasantly, trying not to giggle or anything at the fact he had come to the door in a towel. "The lady would like to invite her guests to share breakfast with her, sir. I am instructed to show you where she is waiting for you." She explained, then cast a brief glance at the towel before looking back up at him, biting her lip to keep from grinning in amusement. "I will.. wait over here, while you finish getting ready." She declared, moving back from the door a bit so that she could go to sit on a couch a little further down the hallway, to wait for all three of the guests.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
Ava's estate - January

His grin broadened a little at her words. They were unexpected - but not unwelcome! He was hungry. "The lady, huh," he repeated as he watched the girl's eyes flick down, then back up again. He blinked. Well, at least he wasn't... making her uncomfortable. If anything, she looked... entertained? Was that it?

"Alright, then," he half-said, half-mumbled, before quickly retreating back into the room. He fished out some clothes from the top drawer and pulled them on. When he emerged from 'his bedroom', he was now dressed more appropriately for company: black trousers, a warm long-sleeved green shirt, and the same boots from the day before, which were winter attire and might not serve him as well here as they had on the journey over here aboard the ship. He made a mental note to ask Ava how he could get his hands on something lighter. Or if she could, or the brothers could, for him. He had promised her not to leave the estate, after all.

He sauntered over to the girl, a ways down the hall. He did not sit down on the couch next to her, though. Instead, he stopped a few yards away. He casually slid his hands into his pockets. "So, what's your name?" he asked her. "I'm Tercen. You can call me that, instead of sir. 'Sir' does not suit me, after all, does it?" he asked with a little grin.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Hazadazra Estate - Early January

Having delivered the message to each of the guests, she sat on the couch and waited for the three men to get dressed. Surprisingly, it was the last fellow who came out first. And she was further surprised to be asked her name. Since Lady Ava had, to her knowledge, never had any guests before, she didn't know if this was common practice or not. But it seemed strange somehow. Also, strange that he would ask that the servant should call him by his name. But, whatever. She stood up and bowed in response. "As you wish, master Tercen. I am Sarhi," She answered, just as one of the other doors opened and the other guy emerged. She watched curiously as he went to the door of the first guy she had wakened, and she watched to see what happened.


Gwestion was feeling a bit better by the time he emerged from his room, an envelope in one hand. He'd taken a little time to shave, since he hadn't trusted the motions of the ship enough to try it during the voyage. He looked down the hall, saw that Tercen was coming out of his room, but here was still no sign of Gladhron. Sighing softly, he tucked the envelope away and went to knock on the door of the room that was Gladhron's.

It took a moment before Gladhron came to the door. "What?" He mumbled.

"You went back to bed, didn't you?" Gwestion accused.

Gladhron frowned at his brother, then ran a hand through his hair as if to get rid of any appearance of bedhead. "No. Course not." he shrugged. "I'm up. See, even changed my clothes." He pointed out that he was wearing something different from yesterday.

"Suuure." Gwestion's tone heavily implied that he did not really believe that he hadn't gone back to lie down after changing. "I'm surprised you weren't out here, waiting for us so we could go eat." he mentioned.

"Can't wait for breakfast." Gladhron declared. "I wonder what they eat for breakfast here, anyway?" He muttered thoughtfully as he started down the hall toward where he saw Tercen talking with the servant girl who had awakened him earlier.

"Maybe they eat spiders," Gwestion suggested, in a totally deadpan voice.

Gladhron stopped short, looking at him for a second in disgust. "Don't even joke about that. Ugh." He shuddered at the thought of it, and he was very glad they were not yet in earshot of the other two. He broke away from his brother, and hastened to catch up to them. "Good morning." He greeted Tercen, then offered a smile to the girl. "Sorry, I guess I was holding everyone up. Shall we?"

"Of course. If you are all ready, I will lead you to Lady Ava." Sarhi replied with a glance around at the three of them, not wishing to delay too much in fulfilling her task.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
Ava's estate - January

He put a hand over his chest and made a face, as if stricken. "Sarhi, you're killing me," he groaned. "None of this master business, please? If we're not careful, that will make me feel much too important," he explained, with a little wink at the girl, just before Gwestion came out and went to a different door. Tercen's gaze followed the younger brother, much like Sarhi's did.

After a minute, Gladhron was walking over to them, Gwestion alongside him. Tercen gave them a little wave, just as Gladhron halted all of a sudden and told his brother something... which neither Tercen nor Sarhi could overhear.
"They're okay," Tercen told Sarhi, as if he knew her. "One of them is rather monosyllabic, but I'm pretty sure he means well," he added with a half-grin, before the brothers were close enough to overhear.

"Morning," he said smoothly in reply to Gladhron, when the latter joined Sarhi and him. Tercen waited a moment longer before moving, but once Gwestion had reached them, he followed Sarhi to wherever she would lead them. "Sleep okay?" he asked both of the other two men. Gladhron seemed to look a bit better rested than Gwestion.
"What kind of things do you do here, for Lady Ava?" he also asked Sarhi, unable to keep himself from being curious about what Ava would employ a teenage girl for.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Hazadazra Estate - Early January

"But you are important." Sarhi protested, her eyes wide. "The lady says you are her guests, and that you are to have anything you ask for." She explained, meaning all three of them. "There have never been any guests before, that I know of. Everyone's very curious about you. That is why I volunteered to be the one to take the lady's message to you."

She nodded, as if taking mental notes, when Tercen commented on the brothers. This would definitely give her plenty to report back to her fellow servants, who were all quite curious. She wondered what he meant, but figured she'd find out.

"Morning!" Gladhron greeted Tercen back. "I slept well enough, yeah." He answered, then glanced at Gwestion, who did not appear to have slept much, but then turned back to Tercen. "And you?"

Gwestion dropped back a few steps behind the others as they followed Sahri, looking around while he walked. Quietly listening to all other conversation, and paying attention to the direction and the turns they took, so that hopefully he could find his own way next time.

Sahri was surprised when he continued to talk to her, to ask her questions, rather than talking with the other two. "Oh, I do lots of things. Run errands, clean rooms. Today, I was helping in the kitchen, and I heard they needed someone to take a message, so I offered to go." She led them down the hallways and ultimately to a well-lit room with some cushioned benches on either side of a long table. A large stained-glass window formed the wall at the back of one of the benches. There were plants along the windowsill, and the floor was tiled with colorful, smooth stones. "The Lady will be here soon." Sahri assured them.

"Where is she?" Gwestion asked, frowning a little as he wondered about why she wasn't here to greet them, and what she was doing.

"Right here." Ava declared, walking in just in time to hear that. She was carrying a tray with mugs and a few other things on it. She smiled a little brighter the moment her gaze landed upon Tercen. "I hope you all slept well?" She asked, although her gaze remained fixed upon him as she moved to set the tray down, and turned to him again. "How is my Sunshine, this morning?" She asked him with a smile.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
Ava's estate - January

He didn't quite know what to do with Sarhi's objections that the three of them were important. They were to have anything they asked for? Tercen honestly looked uncomfortable at that. While he had never been poor, and his more basic lifestyle had more to do with choice than lack of opportunity, all this was almost jarring. As if he had sailed into a different world altogether.

He supposed that, yes, he had.

That 'everyone' was curious about them, did bring a crooked smile to his face. If Ava never had any guests, that was to be expected. "So we're a novelty," he mused. "Almost like entertainment?" Tercen scratched the back of his neck. "Sorry, about earlier. I guess that didn't make the best first impression." Maybe it was best he did NOT mention he thought she'd be Ava. By what Sarhi had just said, he figured that would take a good spin around the rumor mill, and he was still a little confused on what story she was planning to spin for her servants, despite having talked about it several times already. Hadn't he paid enough attention? Or had Ava been too vague? He truly couldn't say either way. He grimaced while glancing at Gladhron. "I wasn't wearing much," he admitted, and to his credit he sounded at least somewhat self-conscious.

He shrugged when Gladhron asked him how he'd slept. "It wasn't stellar."

When they arrived where they were supposed to go, Tercen's eyebrows lifted. "This place," he mumbled, under his breath. His room, every hallway here, this room... all decorated in that strange, unfamiliar style - which was, nonetheless, rather beautiful. So different from the whites and greys and beiges of the White City. So different from the typical shades of the forest, as well. There did not seem to be any limits here. Not in display of wealth, nor in the array of colours.

Frowning, he looked at Gwestion when he spoke up. Weren't the brothers sort of supposed to know that? Tercen slanted his head, but refrained from asking anything, given the way Sarhi was paying such close attention. Besides, the topic just walked in. Tercen straightened his shoulders a little more at the sound of Ava's voice. When his eyes found her, he couldn't help the way the curve of his lips softened. She fit. She fit, here. In this strange, beautiful room.

He held back the reply he wanted to give to her first question, glancing briefly at Sarhi, but when she called him her Sunshine, he took that to assume that she wasn't exactly planning on hiding much from her servants. Still, he was still unsure enough of the situation not to step close to her and put his arms around her, to bid her a proper good morning. Really, I should get credit for this, he noted mentally. "I slept better on previous nights," he shrugged, not actually saying it was because she'd been sleeping next to him. But fully intending for her to get that. At her second question, Tercen tilted his head. "A little unsure of how to play this, Starlight," he admitted, gesturing at Sarhi.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

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Hazadazra Estate - Early January

"I know, right?" Gladhron agreed when Tercen commented on 'this place'. He looked around, marveling at the artwork on the stained glass. "I don't think I've ever seen anything like that," He mentioned, rather impressed.

Sahri paused at Tercen's question, unsure if she should have mentioned about how they were all curious about the lady's guests. Of course they were curious. The servants had been whispering about their arrival all morning, although of course, they all knew that such whispering mustn't go beyond these walls. But entertainment? She bit her lip as she tried to think about how to respond to that. It was even harder not to look amused when the blond guy apologized for earlier, and she tried again not to giggle when he turned to Gladhron, who raised his eyebrows inquisitively. Fortunately, the lady's entrance kept her from having to.

Gwestion relaxed slightly, but he was still very uneasy. They weren't supposed to have let her out of their site, and yet, she'd managed to have several hours alone while they slept. It occurred to him that she may have deliberately prevented them from getting any rest, so they'd be too tired to keep her under watch. He did not like that. And Dom's words from the other night continued to bounce around in his head. He'd only been here for a day, and already he'd failed to keep the woman under observation. He did not like this. And was the scorpion a coincidence, or deliberate? He didn't like not being sure about these things, and yet, there seemed to be no way of being sure at all.

Ava grinned slightly at Tercen's comment. She knew exactly what he meant about 'previous nights'. When he gestured to Sarhi, however, she paused and gave a small nod of realization. Yes. She should be more mindful of certain things, Ava reminded herself. It was hard, being so... caught up with Tercen. She couldn't help but light up a little upon seeing him, especially after being apart from him during the night. But the servants were intrigued, and they were going to whisper and spread gossip among themselves. And although they knew it was important not to go spreading things around to others, outside of the estate, there was always the chance that information could leak. Someone could hear about Ava being particularly fond of one of the male visitors.. and that could put him in danger.

"Sarhi," She turned to the girl. "You will not speak to anyone about anything you may have seen or heard, just now." She informed her.

This was... disappointing. But at the same time, it could also be kind of interesting, having secrets that no one else got to know. Sarhi nodded. "Yes, Lady Ava." She answered seriously.

"Good. There are more trays to be brought in here. Go and help with that." Ava told her, her voice commanding, but not unkind.

Sahri curtsied and then hurried off to the kitchen.

Ava drew a slow breath before turning to Tercen. "You are right." She told him softly. "I am not accustomed to having you here," She offered a small smile, but then motioned to the seats. "Please, have a seat." She requested of them all.

Gwestion drew a slow breath, trying to be patient. He wanted to delve into the scorpion matter, for one thing. And he wanted to ask her a few things, but he wasn't sure if he should. Instead, he slid into one of the benches, along with Gladhron. And he reminded himself that, upon their arrival yesterday, she had shown them around the estate, allowed them to question several of her staff members, to talk with her security chief, and had even shown them where she kept the escapees she was hiding. They had talked with some of them, and many of their doubts about her had been eased, at that point. Still, he wanted to be entirely sure about her, before telling Arnyn it was 'safe' to come. He held back a sigh and looked curiously at the tray that Ava was now picking up a strange-looking coffee pot from.

She waited for the three of them to be seated before picking up the coffee pot with one hand, while taking one of the small cups in the other, slowly pouring some of the dark liquid into it. She was a little worried whether they were going to like it, since the coffee here might taste a bit different than they were used to, as it was brewed with certain spices, but she tried not to stress about it too much. "I apologize that we were all so tired, upon arriving, that I did not properly welcome you to my home." Ava said, offering the first cup to Tercen. "But I would like to do that now." She explained, waiting until he had taken his cup, before she poured the next one. This, she offered to Gladhron, and the third, to Gwestion, before pouring the last one for herself. "It is best drunk slowly," She added, glancing from one to the other, trying to gauge their reactions. The tray also held a small bowl of dates, although she wasn't even sure if they would be familiar with the fruit.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
Ava's estate - January

The way Ava grinned at his reply to herr question, made Tercen think she knew what he'd been trying to say. But before he could get smug about any part of her response, she gav a serious nod and told the Sarhi not to speak of anything she'd heard. Or seen. And while he might have chuckled at the 'seen' bit, at any other time, he did not, now. Instead, Tercen had to be careful about not visibly pouting when Ava started 'he was right'. He didn't want to be right, about having to be cautious. But... he had spent too many hours meeting with Arnyn, Gwestion, Gladhron and Ava, not to realize this whole thing was serious business.

Even if he had not really been paying attention to all of it.

He had ben paying attention to enough of it, however. And apparently he was better at holding himself back than Ava- at least for a moment there. He had a feeling Ava would be much, much better at the long game, than he would be. With a sigh, he took a seat on the bench on the other side of the table than Gladhron and Gwestion.

Tercen's interest was piqued when she started pouring the coffee. He'd read about it in the book on Umbarian customs. When she offered him the first cup, he wondered whther she meant to honor him as her most valued guest... or as the oldest. For he was the oldest amongst them, in any case - but... His lips curved into a half smile as he accepted the cup with two hands. Because he thought he remembered that was the best way to do it, here. Or the expected way, he supposed.

"Thanks, Temptress," he said, not thinking twice about the appellation now no servants were in sight. He smiled broadly while he brought the cup to his lips and sipped. After lowering the cup again, he reached for a piece of whatever was in the bowl. If he were to guess, based on what he had read... "Dates?" he asked quietly, while keeping his eyes on Ava's, to see whether he was correct, and if so, what she would think about his guess.

After a second sip, his light brown eyes flicked to the ranger brothers, to see what they were making of the coffee. In the meanwhile, his mind wandered in about five different directions. What would they be doing today? How was he supposed to act around Ava? What story was he supposed to tell the servants, if any at all - for would any of them even ask? Would he be meeting Ava's pet tiger today, and would Izre bite off his hand or something? Would he be allowed to spend the night with Ava, once the day was over?

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

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Hazadazra Estate - Early January

Ava's smile warmed slightly as Tercen accepted the cup like that. And at his use of the name he had bestowed upon her. At his question about the fruit, she smiled again in pleased surprise when he asked if that was dates. "Indeed, it is." She agreed. "Have you ever had them before?" She wondered, glancing also toward the brothers to extend the question to them.

Gladhron was somewhat confused by the small cups, but he somehow suspected that Tercen's way of taking it from her was.. expected? He wasn't sure how to describe it exactly, but it seemed, somehow, as if he was supposed to do that, too. So, he did. "Thank you." At the question of whether they'd had dates before, he blinked, then grinned a little in amusement. "Well, I've had a few dates before, but Gwestion is opposed to dating. Right?" He said, nudging his brother lightly with an elbow as he teased him. "To the dismay of someone..."

Gwestion had just accepted his cup of coffee, following the example of Tercen, whom he recalled said he had read some on the culture of the area. He figured the guy maybe knew more about that sort of thing, since Gwestion had only tried to read about things he might need to watch out for. Not social expectations and such. Fortunately, he was not yet taking a sip when Gladhron nudged him with his elbow. He looked over at him with a very unamused expression. "Dates are a kind of fruit, Gladhron." He informed him, barely refraining from rolling his eyes.

"I know that," The other did roll his eyes, sighing as he shook his head. "Seriously, you should try having a sense of humor someday." He muttered, then shrugged apologetically to the other two as he selected a couple of dates from the bowl, curious to try them.

"No, I've heard of them, but never had the chance to try them." Gwestion answered her question quietly. "I-" He was about to say something more, when Sahri and another servant entered with trays of food, which they placed on the table. Instead, he tried a sip of the coffee, noting the unfamiliar flavor of some spices mixed in with the coffee beans.

Ava glanced from one to the other, aware that Gladhron was attempting to poke fun at his brother. And that the brother did not quite appreciate it. "Well," She answered, deciding not to comment on that. "There are a few date palms which grow here, so these came from my own trees. I hope you enjoy them. The pit has already been removed, so you shouldn't need to worry about biting into that." She was pleased when the servants came with the the breakfast. After they had set the trays down, she dismissed them so that she could talk more openly with the three of them.

"I realize that you three have likely never had some of these dishes, so I do hope you will find something which you enjoy." She told them, once the servants had gone. She then took a moment to go into some explanation about what each dish was, so they would be informed.

"It all looks delicious, Ava..." Gwestion began, hesitant. "but, there is an issue I would like to address before we eat, if it is alright?"

Ava tilted her head curiously. "An issue? What would that be?" She wondered if he was upset that she had been 'unsupervised' for most of the night and morning. "Of course, speak whatever is troubling you."

He glanced briefly toward Gladhron, almost with an apologetic sort of look, before turning back to her. "I'm a little.. concerned by something I found in one of our rooms, last night." He explained, taking out the paper, which he'd folded into an envelope. "I also hoped you might be able to identify it for me." He added, sliding it across to her.

Curious, Ava opened the folds of the paper to see what it was. Then, she tensed as she uncovered it. That was.. not at all what she had expected when she opened the folded paper. Her breath caught in her throat as she stared at the thing for a few seconds, then she looked back up at Gwestion. "Where did you find this?" She demanded to know.

"On the bed in one of our rooms." He answered, deliberately not revealing which one.

Her eyes widened marginally at that, realizing how very bad that was. And how bad it could look for her, or for her staff. It troubled her to think of something like that happening, too. Especially their first night here. She folded the paper over it again. "I apologize for this." She frowned and slid it back toward him. "Would you feel more comfortable in a different room?" She offered, worried that he might now think there were scorpions lurking around everywhere.

Gwestion gave a small shake of his head. "Is it what I think it is?" He asked, reminding her that he had asked for an identification.

"A scorpion," She answered with a frown. "A very deadly one. And I am truly sorry that it chose to trouble you. It is clear that you were the victor in that confrontation, however, and for that, I am glad."

"It wasn't in my room." Gwestion informed her.

Ava paused, glancing over at Gladhron, prepared to ask if he would prefer a different room, but she decided to say something else, instead. "Regardless," She said with a frown, "I am glad no one was struck by it... as far as I know, it is always fatal." She frowned, somewhat troubled by the thought of this thing getting into the house to begin with. Thinking of all the various people who could have been stung, at any given moment. Not just her guests, but the servants who had readied the rooms, too.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
Ava's estate - January

"No," he grinned, pleased in turn that she was smiling at boh how he'd accepted the cup and that he'd known what those things were. "Never. I read, remember?" he teased lightly. "I am - thus - a man of the world. Even if I never did set foot beyond the border before this," he continued with a wink at Ava.

Tercen raised his eyebrows at Gladhron's pun. Arnyn would love that humor. Although she might not have loved the blatant fun Gladhron was poking at his brother. Tercen decided to poke some fun at Gladhron, himself. "Really, have you?" he asked Gladhron casually. "With whom did you go on dates, then? And when was this, mhmm?" He popped a date into his mouth. The taste surprised him. Once he'd swallowed, he judged: "That doesn't taste like fruit at all. It's so sweet. And kind of... sticky." Chewy, really. He listened to her explaining what all the breakfast dishes were that had just been brought in. And even though Tercen had read about this being a hospitality thing... there was simply no way they would eat all of this. So what would be done with it, once they had finished. Would the servants be given the rest? Or would that be rude? He was so unused to the dynamics...

When Gwestion called Ava's attention to him, it took Tercen a moment to figure out what the ranger was doing. Asking Ava about the scorpion. Without mentioning in whos room it had been found. But then, Gwestion mentioned it had not been his room. That only left Gladhron's, and Tercen's, then. Ava was clearly thinking it was Gladhron's, judging by the look she shot at the other ranger.

He sat up a little straighter when she announced that, to her knowledge, being stung by one of those monsters was always fatal. "It was my room," he mused, so casually he could have been talking about how mild the weather was. "On my bed." He waved a bit of bread around, his elbow propped up on the table. "Are there any natural scents, of like herbs or anything, that could keep them away from my blankets?" he inquired.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

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Hazadazra Estate - Early January

Gwestion glanced up at Tercen began to tease Gladhron in return about the date thing. Interesting. And, he couldn't help but join in, either. "Indeed... when was this?" He inquired innocently, with feigned intrigue.

"Well.. a long time ago." Gladhron cleared his throat as he worked on filling his plate. "I mean, you know-"

"No, I don't." Gwestion shook his head. "I seem to recall a few girls you were interested in, but I don't remember you ever.. oh, unless you mean that time in Dale when you were fifteen? When you and what's her name were off in the woods together? And Father had to go and find you? Do you call that a date? Because the way I heard it-"

"Gwestion..." Gladhron's tone made it clear he was not amused by this particular topic anymore.

Gwestion shrugged slightly and tried one of the dates to try, as well. Inwardly, he was amused by the tint of red that had come into Gladhron's face as he thought Gwestion was going to embarrass him by telling the spider story. Not that he would. But if he was going to tease Gwestion in a way that might embarrass him, he should be prepared for the same treatment.

While he chewed on the date, Gwestion observed Ava's reaction about the scorpion news he had dropped on her. She appeared genuinely surprised and apologetic, but he also tried to keep open to the possibility that she might be acting.

When Tercen declared that it was his room, and his bed, Ava caught her breath in alarm as she turned to him, looking at him for a moment in silence. Not because she doubted that he was telling the truth, but because she had to take a moment to let the various implications wash over her before she could respond. "You are alright, though?" She asked him softly, one hand reaching to rest on his arm.

Tercen had a very sensible question about how to repel them, which made Ava think swiftly of all that she knew about that. "Lavender," She answered. "And lemongrass, and a few other things are useful for that." She turned to pick up a little bell from the windowsill, and rang it.

In a moment, Sahri came in. "Yes, my lady?"

"The guests' rooms need some attention. Tell Rose to fill the rooms with lavender, lemongrass, eucalyptus, and mint. Have her use the flowers, oils, and whatever else she can find, so that the smell is enough to repel any unwanted pests." She instructed. "And have her report to me, afterward." Sahri nodded and hastened off to do as she was told. Ava then turned to them. "It may smell a little strong, and perhaps a bit 'flowery'," She added apologetically to the three guys, "but the scorpions do not like those smells and will avoid them."

"Huh.." Gladhron sat back, thoughtful. "Does that work for other.. things? Like, I dunno, other bugs? Spiders? Things like that?" He wondered, keeping his tone casually curious as he resumed eating.

Ava nodded slightly. "Yes, as far as I have ever heard. Spiders and scorpions are both arachnids. They avoid areas with those sorts of smells." She answered. She looked over at Tercen, a little worried about him despite knowing that he was alright. Because he might not have been alright. Because she had brought him here, and now, he had already been exposed to some danger. Danger which could have taken him from her before she even knew it. "I hope you do not mind sleeping in a room smelling of flowers, Sunshine." She said with an amused smile.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
Ava's estate - January

He might have leaned into to the teasing some more. He would have, in most different situations. But his thoughts had moved on to the scorpion, and... and he couldn't help the annoying feeling that was sort of... creeping up on him. When Ava asked if he was alright, he did not answer. He was sitting there, after all. And she had said those things were always fatal, to her knowledge. Obviously he was fine.

Ava also did not take long at all to answer his question. Her answer was right there. She hardly even had to think about it. And while she called for someone and spoke to Sarhi, some of Arnyn's words weasled their way to the top of his mind. "I know you have chosen to trust her in full. I know that is why you want to go. But what if something happens when you are out there, that makes you second guess that decision?"

Tercen frowned as he looked at his small cup of coffee. Would Arnyn be suspicious, if she'd found a deadly creature in the room Ava had assigned to her? On the first night, no less? Would she think it was Ava testing her wits, her caution? Would she think it was Ava trying to get rid of her on the first day? Would she suspect the servants of being double agents for one of Ava's enemies? Would she wonder... would she wonder why Ava had not already had ordered those flowers and oils to be placed in their rooms from the start? After all - Ava seemed all too aware of what would repel them.

He hardly heard Gladhron's question. Day two. Day two, if last night even counted as day one. And what was he doing? Already?

He shook his head, banishing the thoughts. Or trying. When Ava expressed her hopes that he wouldn't mind sleeping in a room that smelled like flowers, he lifted his gaze to her, and watched the amused smile playing about her lips. "Depends," he said, before taking another sip of his coffee. His tone was much less teasing and way more deadpan when he continued, and he didn't care two figs that the brothers were sitting right there. "Will you be sleeping in it, with me?"

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

| |
Hazadazra Estate - Early January

Ava smiled at Tercen's words, although she still felt inwardly a little uneasy at the knowledge that he could have easily been taken from her, just like that. Before she even knew anything was wrong. She wanted to keep him close today. As close as possible. "Perhaps," She replied mysteriously. "Unless you prefer my room." She shrugged casually before glancing at the brothers.

"Will it be necessary for you two to follow along with us every step of the day?" She asked in a polite tone, but she was clearly asking whether they would have any chances to be alone.

Gwestion was prepared to say yes, but Gladhron beat him to the answer.

"No, I don't think that'll be necessary." He answered, shaking his head. "We'll just explore around the estate a bit, if that's alright?" He suggested, with a sidelong glance at Gwestion. Almost as if to say, just go along with it.

"Certainly, that's fine." Ava agreed, a little relieved as well as a bit surprised. "You may go anywhere you like." She turned to Tercen. "After breakfast, I want to show you everything. And I'll introduce you to Izre." She was rather eager to do that. She wanted to know if her beloved pet tiger would get along with her Sunshine.

Meanwhile, Gwestion cast a slightly questioning glance at his brother, but he didn't contradict him, figuring that it would be best to discuss that without the other two present. But he was wondering what Gladhron was thinking. For the moment, he focused on finishing breakfast. Most of everything was unfamiliar, but good.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
Ava's estate - January

Ava's question to the two brothers made Tercen look at them, curious about their response. They'd have to, right? Surely, after kind of dropping the ball last night--

The small coffee cup slowly made its way to the table after Gladhron replied that they'd just 'explore a little'. Was he.. serious? It wasn't that Tercen was opposed to having time alone with Ava - to the contrary - but it just seemed... He tilted his head a little, watching Gwestion glance at his brother. What was Gladhron planning? Was he planning anything at all? Honestly, Tercen could see it going either way, with his friend. He'd have to ask him about it later, then.

He turned his head toward Ava when she spoke to him, and settled an arm loosely around her while picking and choosing some of the food with his other hand. "Sounds great," he agreed with her plans. "Though I'm not gonna lie. I'm a little nervous about your kitty cat."

Once they had all finished their breakfast, Tercen leaned back. He'd had several of the coffee servings, with the cup being so much smaller than he was used to, and he was rather full. "Well, Temptress. I think you've fulfilled your hostess role to satisfaction. If you serve anything else, I might burst." He grinned. "I won't be eating this much every meal. Just a heads up." He had tried everything, in an attempt to get a feel for the different flavours of this place. "Is this where you show me 'everything'?" he questioned.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

| |
Hazadazra Estate - Early January

Ava smiled at Tercen's reference to her 'kitty cat'. "You do not need to be nervous," She assured him, reaching to take his hand. "It's best if you are not afraid or nervous at all." She reminded him quietly, before they all resumed eating their breakfast.

She was pleased to hear him saying that she had fulfilled her hostess role to satisfaction. "Thank you." She grinned as he claimed he might burst if she served anything else. "I will keep that in mind for future meals, then." She promised with a soft laugh. "No, I wanted to serve this, today, to make up for offering nothing, yesterday." She explained. "I really do apologize. I was very tired, and I had a lot to catch up on," She sighed quietly. But she nodded in answer to his question, about to say more.

About that time, Sahri came in with a middleaged woman, softly clearing throat. "You asked Rose to report to you, m'lady." She mentioned, indicating the woman with her.

"Ah. Excuse me, please." Ava asked of Tercen and the rangers, rising from the table. She stepped off through the doorway with Rose to have a word with her. Although if the others listened, they would be able to overhear the conversation.

Once in the other room, Ava turned to Rose. "You have done as I instructed, now?" She asked, with a slight edge to her tone.

"Yes, m'lady. Lavender, lemongrass, mint, and eucalyptus." Rose answered.

"Good. Now, explain why this was not done to begin with." Ava demanded, folding her arms.

Rose hesitated, shifting slightly. "Well, m'lady, the guests are.. men. I.. I just assumed the usual flower arrangements and such would not be suitable," She frowned in some confusion. "Was I..incorrect in this assumption?"

Ava closed her eyes and drew a breath, reminding herself that this woman was from somewhere up north, that she was not local, and maybe she was unaway. She opened her eyes again and studied her for a moment thoughtfully. "Are you aware of why it is done?" She asked, wondering if anyone had ever explained that to the housekeeper.

She blinked at Ava, a little unsure how to reply there. "Um. I.. always thought it was because you like those flowers, the scents..."

Ava sighed and shook her head, making a mental note to have a talk with the head housekeeper about that. To make sure that everyone knew the reasons behind things. "One of my guests found a deadly scorpion in his bed." She revealed. "There are reasons why I try to surround the premises with flowers and herbs which those dislike. Next time, check about these things. If he had died.." She trailed off, drawing a slow breath as she decided not to finish that statement. Because she would have been far from calm, that was for certain.

"Yes, lady Ava. I apologize for the mistake, I won't let it happen again." Rose promised.

"Be sure of that." Ava instructed sternly. "They are my guests, and therefore by the traditions of my ancestors, I am responsible for their safety, even at the cost of my life. You will apologize to my guests for your mistake." She informed her, preparing to lead the way back into the breakfast room.


Meanwhile, Sahri had come over and began clearing the table after checking that they were done. Gwestion remained quiet, listening to what they could overhear of Ava's talk with the housekeeper. Once Sahri had left, however, he turned to Gladhron. "What is wrong with you?" He muttered, in Rohirric.

"Relax," Gladhron rolled his eyes. "I have reasons." He nodded to Tercen. "For one, I figured you'd like to have a chance to spend some time with her without us tagging along," He kept his voice lower than Ava was, in the next room. "And anyway, if she is going to try anything, she's not likely to be real obvious about it, is she? And she isn't stupid. I think we all agree on that. So, she'd have to be pretty dumb to do anything to harm any of us before we've sent the second letter to Celume.. Arnyn." He shrugged. "I figure if she's not sincere.. then she's going to bide her time and wait for that, so Arnyn will come here believing it's safe. So, we need to try and be sure about that, before we send that letter."

"So, that's your plan? Stay back and wait to see if she tries anything when she thinks we aren't there?" Gwestion folded his arms, frowning. "We're supposed to be keeping an eye on her, to prevent anything like that happening." he reminded him softly, not sure about the idea of leaving Tercen to 'fend for himself'.

"No, not entirely. I thought we'd be better off watching her from a little further away." Gladhron glanced at Tercen. "Because, I figure, if she is up to anything sneaky, she isn't going to let on, with us hanging around every step of the way. But we'll stick close. Without her knowing," He explained to Tercen. "Not so close as to.. intrude on your privacy, but close enough that if you feel you're in danger, you can call out or something, and we'll be right there." He sat back and looked at Gwestion. He looked thoughtful. Gladhron looked back at Tercen. "Unless you think you might be in danger without us hanging around?" He raised an eyebrow, rather doubting that his friend would think so. "I mean, if you think you'd be safer if we stuck close and obvious, then we can do that instead. I just figured we'd have better success at seeing anything there is to see, if she thinks we aren't watching." He looked at Tercen, waiting to hear what he thought about it.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
Ava's estate - January

"Riiight," he drawled, clearly apprehensive. "I'm sure they can tell tell when you are," he muttered. He was also sure that if they could smell it, it wouldn't help things when they did. Ugh. It had seemed so exotic and exciting - from a distance. But now he was inching closer and closer to meeting Izre, a tiger for crying out loud... The size. The weight. The claws. The teeth. Tercen managed a wry smile. He'd been the one to fault Arnyn for throwing herself at a big wolf in Minas Tirith. But she hadn't had a choice. And now he was willingly going to, what, shake paws with a freaking tiger? Willingly? Because, 'why not'?

He found it was best not to spend too much thought on it. Because when he did, it was looking dumber by the second.

When Sarhi returned, and Ava went to speak with another servant, Tercen eyed the brothers. And listened as they spoke in Rohirric. While he wasn't as fluent as Arnyn was, he could still understand it well. Listening to Gladhron's reasoning, set Tercen a little at ease that they weren't just simply ignoring what Arnyn must have told them to do. Most of what Gladhron said, seemed to make some sense.... right? Mentally, Tercen groaned. All of this really was not his forte. It went against his nature to try and be suspicious and cautious. And it seemed extremely wrong to get the feeling that the two ranger brothers sitting across from him might not be much better at it than he was?! Wasn't it supposed to be one of their 'things' or whatever?

"Sure," Tercen remarked, his tone dry, in heavily accented Rohirric. "I'm sure Ava won't harm me. But I will just have to hope that tiger of hers doesn't eat half my face then, before you can get to me." He rose from the bench, slipping out. "Anyway," he said in common, "that's all your department. I have no experience with what you came here to do. I have no experience with any of that ranger stuff. Aside from lopping off orc limbs." He lingered, though, near the head of the table, still looking at Gladhron and Gwestion. Until Ava would return, that's where he'd stay, he figured.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

| |
Hazadazra Estate - Early January

Gladhron sat back, glancing at Tercen with a raised eyebrow, trying not to smile. "If the tiger decides to eat your face, I don't think we're going to be able to do much to stop him." He informed his friend regretfully. "Cause we'd probably be next on the menu." He grinned in amusement.

Gwestion rolled his eyes, not finding it very amusing. "I doubt you have anything to worry about, there." He mentioned. "I mean, the tiger roams around loose, and apparently, the servants don't get attacked." He shrugged, figuring it seemed fairly reasonable to assume that.

The housekeeper entered the room about that time, just ahead of Ava. The latter hung back near the doorway and clasped her hands in front of her while Rose approached the table. She quietly cleared her throat. "Sirs, I would like to beg your pardon for my error," She began, somewhat uncomfortable. "There haven't ever been any guests here before, and I simply didn't realize that the lavender and things that are supposed to go in all the rooms, were for any reason besides that the lady likes those." She explained. "It has been amended, and I sincerely apologize for the.. trouble."

Gwestion tilted his head thoughtfully as he listened to the lady speak. While he couldn't say that she sounded like a Breelander, he did think she sounded like she'd come from somewhere northern. He wanted to ask more about her origins, but he thought perhaps now was not the time.

Gladhron offered a friendly smile to the lady, also noticing her accent, not too unlike Seri's, but not quite 'Bree'. He shrugged at the apology. "So long as there are no other.. surprises, I don't think any of us will harbor any hard feelings." He assured her, before glancing at his brother, then at Tercen. "Right?" He checked.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
Ava's estate - January

At Gladhron's amusement, Tercen gave him a sarcastic thumbs up. He shrugged at Gwestion's assessment. "He's used to the servants," Tercen pointed out soberly. "We're brand new."

When a lady approached them and cleared her throat, Tercen shifted, half turning so he could easily switch between the brothers and the woman. She wanted to beg their pardon? For her error? Tercen's eyes flicked past her, toward Ava, who was now standing by the doorway. "No hard feelings," he agreed with Gladhron after a few seconds of studying the drop-dead gorgeous owner of the estate.

Tercen shifted his attention to the lady. "I hope you have the same things in your room," he told her. "Everyone here should, I reckon. I'm sure your Lady will supply whatever you need, if it isn't already the case." He smiled at the woman, trying to be encouraging.

"Well," he continued, a little more lightly, and he looked back at the brothers. "I'm ready for the next part of the day." Never mind waiting for Ava to come to him. He slowly walked over to her instead. He halted a polite step away from Ava. "Let's go," he murmured. This was a lovely room, but he was ready to stop thinking about things, as well as for some more space.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

| |
Hazadazra Estate - Early January

Rose smiled slightly. "Yes, sir. The flowers are standard for each room," She fidgeted. "I.. I only thought.. they were because they're pretty. So, I thought, because you're all men, that you probably wouldn't like all those flowers in your rooms," She explained. "Now, I know the real reason for them, and I will not omit anything like that again." She assured them. Once it seemed that all questions were satisfied, and her apologies were delivered, Rose excused herself and left the room.

As Tercen came over to Ava, she smiled and reached out to take his arm. "Happily." She murmured back. She took a glance over at the brothers. "If you need anything, just speak to any of the servants and they will see that you are taken care of." She assured them, then tugged lightly on Tercen's arm to lead him out of the room.

"Thanks." Gladhron called after, waiting until they were gone before turning to Gwestion. "Give it a minute, then we follow." He murmured softly.

"We should also have a talk," Gwestion suggested, frowning slightly. They gave it a moment before they left, following at a distance. While they walked, they began to talk quietly in a blend between Rohirric, Common, and Sindarin.


Holding Tercen's arm, Ava led the way down the hallway, out through a doorway and into one of the gardens. She was quiet, unsure of what to say. She had a lot of things to think about and worry about, and she wished she could just be as carefree and happy as she had felt in Gondor. It seemed weird how brief that time had been. And now, she was at her home, with Tercen here. And she wanted to spend as much time with him as possible. Yet, there were certain duties going to be expected of her very soon, and she needed to make sure that she could do what she needed to do, when the time came. And she was afraid that Tercen being here was going to make that difficult. Taking a deep breath which came out in a slow, quiet sigh, she rested her head against him slightly as they walked along a pathway in the garden outside.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
Ava's estate - January

He felt ridiculously pleased when Ava took his arm. It seemed like that would be 'allowed', at least, beyond their rooms? He followed her little tug easily, his lips curving up slightly. Tercen shot a quick look back at Gladhron and Gwestion on the way out, raising his eyebrows while he gave them a brief 'see ya' signal with two fingers.

Soon enough, his attention was fully claimed by Ava, and then, the garden she led him into. He released a deep breath which he hadn't realized he'd been holding. And even though his shoulders hadn't looked or felt tense, they relaxed. The garden was so very unlike and different from the woods he called home, of course. But there was space. There was air. There was greenery. It settled him.

Almost at the same time the air left his lungs, Ava sighed as well. As if they were both mirroring the other. Her head came to rest against him, and Tercen smiled down at the top of it as they walked. "What's going on in that mind of yours, Starlight?" he murmured. He would have assumed sh'd be talking his ear off about her home.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Hazadazra Estate - Early January

"Too much," She answered with a tiny laugh. She was happy and content to walk with him along the pathways. "I am worried." She admitted, speaking softly. "I do not know what to think about the.. scorpion. And I am questioning whether I should have agreed to let you come along." She looked up at him. "I want to show you around, including more hiding places, as I promised last night. But first, I would like to show you some of the more relaxing places." She smiled, guiding their steps toward a fairly large pool in the back area of the garden.

There were several natural, large rocks along one edge, with some plants growing among them, making it look like a natural pool at least on that side. At the other edge, there were some steps leading into the pool. The water was crystal clear, kept clean by the salt water used to fill it, as well as being periodically cleaned by servants. At the moment, the only one occupying the pool was orange and black-striped.

Ava smiled to see him lying there, stretched out on the stone patio, absorbing what sunlight he could get. Lifting his head as he saw them approaching, Izre shifted into a stretch, arching his back with his front paws stretched out in front of him, then he sniffed the air before padding toward her, his ears angling curiously toward Tercen.

Ava let go of Tercen and stepped forward, smiling as she scratched around his ears, letting him rub on her briefly. Then he went over to sniff the new guy, his nose and lips pulling back as he investigated this new person.

"Just relax," Ava mentioned softly. "He is only learning your scent. No need to be afraid." She assured him, moving to Tercen's side and slipped her arm through his.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
Ava's estate - January

The little smile on his lips remained when she admitted there was a lot occupying her thoughts. "Well, if you already don't know what to think about the scorpion, then what should I think about it?" he prodded, his tone more light-hearted than hers. "But let me make one suggestion? What is done, is done. Regrets are for those who live in the past. And, in a very un-Gondorian fashion, I'm much more a fan of the present. The both of us are here, now. Let us make the best of it," he concluded.

Tercen did not know what to imagine when Ava said she wanted to show him som of the 'more relaxing places'. But, once again, the reality easily surpassed his imagination. His light brown eyes widened a little at the sight of... well. He could not simply call it a pool. It was... more like an 'area'. It felt like something people would pay money to visit, rather than a part of someone's private garden. The tiger caught his attention when it moved, and Tercen had to force himself not to step backward at the sight of the huge feline approaching without hesitation, especially when Ava left his side. The small moment where the tiger paused to let Ava scratch his head, was put to good use. As in - Tercen used it to try and calm himself down, on the inside. All his instincts were telling him to turn around and run. But he was a woodlander. He knew, and he knew this very well, that turning your back and running away were both usually VERY bad ideas when it came to predators. Besides, Ava had... reassured him... that Izre was her pet. She was convinced the tiger would not harm him. He had to trust that.

Seriously. It was too late to do anything else but to trust that, anyway.

His heart was racing as the tiger approached to smell him. Tercen made sure to stay where he was, and not to jerk away. Instad, he focused on his breathing. One deep breath in. Hold it. Let it out, slowly. It would help with his scattered pulse.

'Just relax,' Ava told him.

Tercen let out a very quiet, slightly unnerved laugh, while still making sure not to move otherwise. "Right," he whispered with an uncertain smile as he got a look at the tiger's teeth. Mentally, he swore. "Sorry," he mumbled, his eyes firmly fixed upon the feline, even when Ava returned to his side and took his arm. "Kinda hard not to be."

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Hazadazra Estate - Early January

Like an overgrown kitty cat, Izre sniffed the stranger's legs for a moment before rubbing his cheek against him, although his size and the sharp teeth might be a bit more frightening than with a regular sized housecat.

"I think he likes you," Ava decided with a little grin.

Izre circled around Tercen, sniffing at the stranger's scent. He eventually came to Ava's side, chuffing at her. She smiled and began scratching around his ears, which he clearly enjoyed. "I told you, he's just a gentle giant, see?" She told Tercen as Izre flopped onto his side at their feet and stretched out, clearly more interested in soaking in the sunlight than anything.

"He doesn't mind you, anyway." She shrugged and grinned teasingly at Tercen. Then she motioned around to the whole back garden area. "This is his primary area," She informed him. "The pool here is mostly for him, although I sometimes swim with him. He also roams the house freely. Well, if the door is closed, he cannot get in, obviously. But he usually has little interest in venturing into other people's rooms." She explained. The servants had accepted his presence and most of them didn't seem to be too nervous of him, but they also had the option of closing doors to keep him out of their personal quarters, if they wished.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
Ava's estate - January

Izre rubbed his head against Tercen's leg. Tercen applied the 'frozen' technique mostly, not moving an inch below the waist. Whene Ava said she thought Izre liked him, Tercen breathed out a quiet laugh. "Is that right?" hee mumbled, chancing a half smile.

But his jaw dropped when the tiger lay down at Ava's feet (and his), stretching out lazily. Clearly, Ava was right about her second comment; the predator clearly did not mind Tercen. And that was... well, really all he had dared hope for, really.

Ava's wealth smacked him in the face yet again, when she said the giant, lavish pool was 'mostly for him'. A private pool for the tiger. Not that it didn't make sense to offer a large animal a large 'playground', so to speak. But the fact that she could.... the fact she thought so little of it. The fact that it was only normal?
It seemed that he had better get used to Izre for several reasons, though. Not only was he Ava's pet, he also roamed through the house, so Tercen might run into him anywhere. He forced himself to relax, and partially succeeded. "You're right, he does seem very gentle," Tercen admitted, still keeping a watchful eye on the oversized cat. "I'm sure I'll get used to him soon enough. I just need to wrap my mind around it," he said, flicking his gaze to Ava and risking not watching Izre. "I know you told me about him beforehand, and I've had time to mentally get used to the idea, but it's vastly different in person. I'd never seen an actual tiger before," he tried to explain. "And Izre, while his behaviour so far is very calm, looks like he could rip me to shreds in moments." He put his other hand on her arm, which she'd linked through his. "I'll get used to him. He'll get used to me." That had always been the idea. The plan. He was still set on following it. "And this introduction seems promising."

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Hazadazra Estate - Early January

"Did you doubt me?" Ava asked with a little laugh. "I told you, he is a sweetheart." She shrugged, then knelt down near Izre and stroked the fur along his back for a moment. He closed his eyes and seemed to enjoy the stroking. If he were capable, he might have started purring. Ava scratched around his ears for a moment before straightening up again. Izre happily leaned into her hand slightly, but she soon decided it was time to move on with the tour.

Stepping away from her pet, Ava then took Tercen's hand and smiled at him before leading him onward through the garden. "He really is like a big kitty cat." She smiled and led him down another pathway, pointing out different little spots that she liked to sit, or how she liked to walk down this path, or how lovely those flowers were in the spring. As the grounds were fairly extensive, she soon turned her steps back toward the to begin showing him around the interior a bit more.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
Ava's estate - January

When Ava crouched to stroke Izre, Tercen dared to partially relax for the first time since setting eyes upon the tiger. He smiled slightly when she called Izre a sweetheart. He did really seem like one. Tercen reminded himself yet again that the tiger roamed the estate freely. There had been no attacks. Why would Izre start now? "As long as he doesn't get jealous," Tercen managed to summon some swagger and a teasing tone.

He let himself be guided away by Ava without complaint, and slowly relaxed further as she showed him around the garden. It was... incredible. He couldn't really believe all he was seeing. And when she took him back inside of the main mansion, he just kept falling from one level of disbelief into the next. How could anyone live like this? The word 'decadent' had slipped through his mind before, but even that one did not seem to suffice for the extreme wealth that was on display before him. The scale - the intricate stonework - the endless halls and rooms - the exercise rooms - the indoor pools... plural! It was all so lavish! Even after what he'd already glimpsed yesterday, he had expected nothing like this. It boggled his mind, and Tercen was soon walking around in half a haze.

One of the indoor pools she showed him had an artificial waterfall. Waterfalls! Indoors! Tercen couldn't help his gaze sliding toward Ava then, a little smile playing about his lips she might know all too well. She was holding his arm again, and Tercen spoke quiet and low to her, tilting his head. "Any chance you can shut out your servants from this place for a few hours, soon, while we're in here?" His tone was nothing short of suggestive. "So they won't know what we're up to? And so we won't need... swimwear?"

She took him to the library, next. This was.... the arm Ava was holding, lowered, as Tercen gaped. The shelve-lined walls... several floors... the dome... the railing... the lounging areas... The architecture... the NUMBER of books... all owned by... Ava. "This...." he began, but he was unable to finish the sentence. He was, in every sense of the word, dumbstruck.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Hazadazra Estate - Early January

Ava laughed softly at his request. "Certainly, but not right now." She assured him with a lingering smile at him. She was definitely looking forward to having the chance to spend time with him at her leisure. But, for today, she felt that it might be wisest if she kept her head clear and focused on what she needed to do, very soon.

For the moment, however, she simply wanted to give him a tour of her estate. A part of her couldn't help being pleased to see how impressed he was. Yet, another part was hoping he didn't find it too... extravagant? Perhaps she worried that he would be unwilling to show her around his own home, someday. If they ever got that chance.

It was intriguing to her to learn which rooms he was most interested in. As they walked along a pathway paved with intricate, decorative little stones, she explained that all of the turquoise had come from her own mines, and the work had been done over generations of her family living here. Sadly, she had to admit that it had been the work of slaves, but they were all free now.

Upon entering the library, Ava smiled to see how her Sunshine lit up. "This is where I will probably find you when you are not with me, yes?" She teased lightly, amused as she led him forward. Toward a particular bookcase with a glass panel. She reached out and seemed as if she was going to open the panel to access the books inside. But, instead, the entire section of the bookcase opened as it's own door, and she led him into the small space inside. A tight, spiral staircase led them up to the upper level, where they came out from another panel that appeared to be simply another bookcase. They now stood on a little balcony overlooking where they had just been standing. "Another place to hide, in case of trouble." She told him softly.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
Ava's estate - January

"Yes," he agreed, still looking around. There was little doubt about it. "At least, if the books are in a language I can understand," he added, since he hadn't actually approached any of the shelves to take a closer look. "But you speak common in Umbar, mostly, right?" That's what he'd read in the book on Umbarian culture. Common, with some Haradrese influence here and there, but still common. As far as the joint language was concerned. But the book had also sketched a rather intricate picture of mixeed heritages, so it did leave some room for questions. "So, I hope...?"

He watched Ava opening a glass bookcase, to... reveal a winding staircase. Tercen was silent as he followed her in, although he had to swallow before closing the glass panel behind him. He expected darkness, and his chest tightened with the idea of ending up trapped in such a tight space - but light travelled from up the steps before he had fully closed the door on his end, which told him the exit was close. So he pushed through whatever anxiety this was giving him, closed the door and went up the steps.

Now up one level in the library, Tercen shook his head as he came to stand with Ava. "Stars, woman," he mumbled. "Who made all of these little secret spaces?" He didn't mention that if he ever needed to hide in them, he might lose it. Because maybe he wouldn't. He'd never needed to be ein such a space longer than a short moment. He'd never really tried. Yet he feared that if he were to say something, Ava might insist he did try. So she could be sure he would stay in there, and that he would be safe, if something were to occur. "You mentioned before you had them installed for security reasons, right?" he asked, trying to take his mind elsewhere.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Hazadazra Estate - Early January

She smiled at his words. "Most of the books are written in Common," She assured him. She rested her hands on the handrail of the balcony. "That section, back there," She indicated toward the furthest part of the library, "that is where the books are kept which are not in Common." She explained. "There is a collection of them in Adunaic, Haradese, and.." She paused with a swift glance around, as if to check they were truly alone, "Old Quenya." She whispered that part.

"I keep those hidden away, although no one really comes here except for me, and the cleaning people." She told him. "Elven languages are not well received in this city, as you might imagine." She explained. She paused. "I may have a few in the other," She added, trying to recall. "But I do not know that language. So, if there are any, it would be for my servants to read, if they wish."

As he asked who had made all of the secret passages, Ava turned to him and gazed into his eyes, wondering if there was more to that question than he said, but she couldn't quite tell. "Many of them, I had installed, yes. A few of them were made by previous generations of my family, and I discovered them after I began seeking to install such places, myself." She explained. "I do not know who created those, or why. But those which I had done, were done by servants. Well," She dropped her head and looked down, "At the time, they were still slaves," She admitted. "I sought out those of my staff who were skilled at building, masonry, carpentry, all of that. And I had them make hiding places such as this. Many of these places were made during the first two years after my father's death," She added.

"Do you have any other questions, Sunshine?" She would try to answer all he asked, if he did. In the meanwhile, she indicated for him to come as she led the way back down the staircase, and held the door at the bottom open so that there was enough light for him to see the stairs on his way down. She was familiar enough with that little spot that she could find her way up and down the short staircase without any light, but she realized that he was not, so the light might be helpful.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
Ava's estate - January

A slow smile spread across his face when Ava confirmed most books were written in Common. Tercen's gaze swept over the many shelves, and he started thinking of the endless hours he might spend here even as he listened to her speaking about the bad reception of Elven languages in Umbar. "Well," he teased lightly, "I try not to entertain prejudice." Clearly. Given the night they had met. "In Sindarin?" he asked her, taking her cue and lowering his voice as he made his inquiry.

When Ava turned to him and held his eyes, Tercen did not look away. He wanted to touch her face, pull her close, when she spoke of the first years after her father's death. But he didn't. Not because he wondered whether the brothers were watching - honestly, they could look elsewhere if it bothered them. But because her tone changed a little immediatly thereafter, and because she started heading back down the hidden stairway. Tercen lingered a moment at the top, considering, and making sure the light came in from the bottom of the steps before he stepped in and closed the upper panel.

When he came back out below, he stepped beside her as she closed the hidden door, and briefly slipped his arms around her. "Just two. Where is your room? Any clever hidden passageways between yours and mine?"

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Hazadazra Estate - Early January

She couldn't help but smile at him when he assured her that he did not entertain prejudice. Yes, he had told her that before, she remembered fondly. And she greatly appreciated it. She was beyond glad of it, because otherwise they never would have been... any of what had grown between them.

Sindarin. Tercen offered up the name of the other language, when Ava could not think of it. "Yes, that one." She confirmed with a little nod. "I have never learned that one," She added apologetically. "But I am glad you knew which I meant."

As he declared that he had only two questions, Ava tilted her head and waited, then gave a little laugh when she heard what his questions were. She grinned and took his arm. "I'll show you." She answered to both questions, leading the way toward the wing where the bedrooms were. She pointed out a few other rooms as they went, but those were less important. Eventually, they arrived back at the place where Tercen's room was. She paused and looked back down the hall for a moment to make sure they were alone. She'd had a sense, many times, that they were being followed, but she could never quite catch anyone nearby. Perhaps she was only being paranoid.

She went to the first hiding place she had shown him, taking a lamp from one of the walls as she went. Before, she had showed him just where it was. They had stepped inside for a moment, then came back out without exploring down the hallway. But this time, she took him down a narrow hallway. "I chose your room as the closest to this tunnel for two reasons," She explained quietly. "In case you have any need to hide," She listed the first, then paused as she came to the end of the short tunnel, and put her ear to the panel for a moment before cautiously pushing open the doorway, and now they were in another hallway, just a few yards from the door at the end of the hall.

She turned to look back at him with a little smile. "A little short cut." She explained with a coy smile before nodding her head toward the door nearby. "There's my room."

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
Ava's estate - January

He was content to just walk with her once she promised she'd show him. Good. Finally.

Tercen almost laughed when she took him into the secret passageway and closed it behind them. Would Gwestion and Gladhron have seen them, or would they be panicking about where they'd gone?

The humour of it escaped him for a moment when he realized that perhaps Ava did not want the brothers knowing about this passage at all. He might have just put himself in the very middle of something. Between Ava, trying to keep her secret passages as secret as possible... and between the brothers, who'd come here because of his sister's need, and who were supposed to find out all they could about Ava and this place. Tercen swallowed down the uncomfortable feeling. Or tried to. As it was... it was already too late to change anything about the situation, anyway.

Making sure to follow Ava promptly, and stay very close to her, he was glad to exit the tunnel. Still, he would gladly suffer passing through it if it meant it lead him to her door. "I see," he said, raising his eyebrows. "And does the door to your room open at all, Temptress?" He looked around, not recognizing this hallway at all. The brothers would have no clue of where they were. He couldn't deny it was - at the least a little - amusing to imagine Gwestion hitting Gladhron on the back of the head for his 'clever idea'.

"Maybe you should also show me the... uh.. regular way, to get here?" He flashed her a grin. "I like having options."

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Hazadazra Estate - Early January

She grinned at his questions. "It does, yes." She assured him with amusement. She was going to lead him to the door, when he asked about finding the regular way there. She took his arm and motioned down the hallway which the door faced. "Right this way." She walked him down the hallway, making a few turns, and soon had them back in the library. "Does that help?" She asked him. It wasn't too difficult to find the way from the library to the main entrance, and now he knew the way from her room to the library.

That being accomplished, she smiled. "We'd better reverse our steps now," She decided. "Wouldn't want you getting lost on the way," She grinned and led him back down the way toward her room. "There are still a few hours before supper," She mentioned as she turned the knob to her room and gave a coy smile. "Got any ideas on how to fill the time?"

---

|
Hazadazra Estate - Early January

Trailing the couple had proven just a bit harder than Gladhron had anticipated. It didn't take long before the brothers had decided to split up so that they'd have better success at keeping eyes on Ava. So, at least one of them had managed to keep her in sight throughout the day, but it wasn't easy. There was so much ground to cover, and there were apparently a few secret passages, which they discovered as they observed her showing them to Tercen. Fortunately, it helped a little that they'd had a very brief tour the first time they came here, before going back for Tercen. So, they had a vague knowledge of the layout of the place, at least.

Gwestion trailed them to the library, hanging back behind a bookcase as Ava and Tercen disappeared inside one of them. He was surprised, of course, but he made sure to remember the spot; where it could be accessed, and where it came out. As they took off again, Gwestion trailed them for a hallway or two, but then he caught a glimpse of his brother and signaled to him. Once he knew that Gladhron had taken over, he hung back and tried to anticipate where they might appear next, so he could take over trailing them again if needed.

Gladhron followed at a distance until, suddenly, he turned the corner of the hallway going to their rooms, and found them gone. He paused, figuring they must have gone into Tercen's room. So, he had to think about what to do. He thought for a moment, then went over to sit on the bench where the servant girl had been, earlier. There wasn't much else he could do but wait, after all. After a few minutes, he thought maybe it'd be better if he had something to be doing, rather than sitting there staring at the wall or door. So he stepped into his room and grabbed his one of his packs that had a bit of wear on it, and took it back out to the bench. He had some stuff he could do while he was waiting, so it wouldn't look too much like he was just sitting around waiting.

As he started looking through his pack for the supplies he needed to fix it, he frowned as he couldn't find the leather needle. After taking everything out of the pack, strewing all of his stuff out on the bench, he decided to check in his coat pocket. So, he hurried back to his room to grab it, then came back out. He didn't want to leave the hallway too long, in case he missed the couple re-emerging. Sitting down in the one spot left on the bench, he started searching his coat pockets.

To his surprise, he found a paper in the right one, which he didn't remember putting in there. What was this? He frowned in confusion, pulling the paper out to examine it. Sitting back, he unfolded the paper. Then, he stared in astonishment. The drawing pictured Gaeroch and Mael together. It was absolutely beautiful. There was no doubt in his mind who had drawn it, and he smiled at the words written at the bottom; 'To remember your girls - C'

Carefully, he smoothed the paper out and gazed at it for a long while, smiling slightly as he admired it. Then, he got up and took it into his room, placing it carefully in the nightstand drawer. Then he returned to the bench with a faint smile, and resumed his project. He still hadn't found the leather needle, though, so he got back to searching for it.


Meanwhile, Gwestion was a bit surprised when Ava and Tercen reappeared, coming from another hallway. He scanned the area and frowned, seeing no sign of his brother around. He wasn't sure what had happened to him, but for now, he just kept an eye on the couple, watching as they went back to the library. Then turned and went back the way they'd come. He hadn't gotten close enough to hear what they were saying, so he wasn't sure what was going on, but he moved along just enough to see what room they went to. It was too bad, he thought, that he didn't know the place well enough to be sure if there was another exit there, but he hoped not. And where was Gladhron?

He loitered in the hallway for a while, then stopped one of the servants who was passing by, and told her he was lost, and could she maybe tell him where he might find his brother, or perhaps give him directions back to their quarters. After giving him directions, she mentioned having seen his brother sitting on the bench outside their rooms. Gwestion found that odd... why would he be sitting around instead of following Ava and Tercen like he should? He thought about that for a moment.

"Where does that door go, miss?" He asked.

"Oh, that's Lady Ava's personal chambers, sir." She answered. "If you go down this way, you'll find yourself back in the main part of the house." She added helpfully.

"Ah.. thank you." He moved down the hall a little, toward the way she had said. "I wonder, if it doesn't take away from your duties, would you mind getting my brother to come meet me at the library? I don't want to get lost," He offered a tiny smile at that.

"Of course, sir." She curtsied and then hurried off.

Gwestion sighed, looking toward the door again, then moved as far down the hall as he could get while still keeping that door in view. He folded his arms and leaned against the corner, frowning as he tried to think of what to do.

It was a few minutes before Gladhron hurried up, looking a little confused.

"Thank you, miss." Gwestion nodded and dismissed the servant lady, who went on her way.

"Care to tell me what's more important than keeping guard on the door?" Gladhron asked.

Gwestion raised an eyebrow. "They're in there," He informed his brother. "Or at least, they went in there." He sighed. "I don't know if they're still in there. Maybe there's another way out. I wouldn't put it past her."

"But... they went into Tercen's room," Gladhron protested, puzzled. "I mean.. I thought they were in there. I was waiting outside for them to come out..."

"Well, they must have given you the slip." Gwestion pointed out. "Because I saw them come down this hallway, to the library. Then they turned and went back. That door, the servant said, leads to Ava's room."

"Alright," Gladhron nodded slightly, thinking. "So, now what?"

Gwestion sighed. "I don't know. How about you stay here, and I'm going to go around and try to find the window that goes to this room."

"Right, sounds good." Gladhron nodded, stationing himself at the corner of the hallway while his brother went outside. He was starting to question his plan, and realized it was a bit more work than he'd realized. Perhaps it would be better if, in the following days, they just stick close to her. He'd thought they might 'catch her' doing or trying to do something she shouldn't, this way. But instead, it was just making things harder for he and Gwestion to keep an eye on her. And, in the event that someone might try to harm her, it would make it more difficult for them to defend her, he realized. So, tomorrow, he figured they'd give Gwestion's plan a try.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
Ava's estate - January

He was trying to commit as much to memory as he could, but the hallways of the estate where so different from finding his way through the woods, or the structured streets of Minas Tirith. The closest he had gotten to a building this extensive was probably the Hall of Song back home? Tercen didn't really have a frame of reference for any of this.

"I think sooo," he therefore drawled when she asked if showing him where the library was, helped. He blinked when Ava said they'd better 'reverse their steps'. Back to her room, she meant, then? He looked at her, a crooked little smile on his face as he allowed her to lead him right back to her room. As if he would offer any kind of protest to that... Not a chance.
The mention of hours before supper, made his half smile turn positively rogue-ish. "Several," he assured her emphatically as she opened the door to her room, and before Ava well and good knew it, he'd picked her up and nudged the door closed with the heel of his boot.

---

At supper, Tercen was much more relaxed than he'd been at breakfast. What did it all matter, really, what he was supposed to show and not show outside of Ava's private chambers? He could just wing it. Surely, she would correct him if he took it too far, or if she found him too aloof. She'd give him detailed instructions if she thought it was necessary at some point. And she hadn't, yet. So, he would simply play it by ear. When the brothers showed up, he grinned at them lazily. His light brown eyes were lit with amusement, and the question of whether they'd managed to trail them would be all too evident, he imagined.

Whether or not they'd managed to keep eyes on Ava and him, Tercen knew it didn't matter. Not to him. Ava was on the up and up - he'd always believed that. And so far he had seen her do nothing that proved the contrary. All she had done today was show him around, walking around her estate, introducing him to Izre and spent time in her room. He'd been with her the whole time, and she'd done nothing ontoward or suspicious.
What the brothers might feel about it, and what his sister might feel about it, were different matters, of course. But that was the brothers' problem. Tercen had tried to warn them, in his own way. They'd shrugged it off. They could deal with the consequences on their own, then.

As it was, they revealed little to nothing about how they felt. Gwestion didn't so much as mention anything at all - the younger brother barely spoke during supper, unless asked a direct question. And Gladhron, while more conversational, kept things light. The only notable question was how their day had been, to which Tercen leaned back with a pleased smile and shrugged. "Saw the place. Met the tiger. Warmed the bed. All good in my book," he said casually.

When Gwestion did decide to speak, it was about business. Of course it was. Tercen rolled his eyes when Gwestion noted the brothers would need to stick close to Ava, the next day. Temple day. Both Ava and Tercen had avoided the topic like the plague all day long. What good would it do, he'd figured, to bring it up beforehand? It would only bring down the mood. So he wasn't exactly happy with Gwestion bringing it up now, when Tercen was finally having a moment where he was genuinely at ease in this place. Instead, now he was thinking about the love of his life going off to a crazy blood cult's temple, which had an icy fist clenching his heart. "Well aware," he half growled at Gwestion, unable to check his tone, when the younger brother pointed out Tercen would need to find somewhere to be while Ava, Gladhron and Gwestion left the estate, along with whoever else was going. Tercen did check himself immediately after, however, and soon enough he casually lifted his glass of wine. "I'll probably be at the library for most of the time. And the gardens. If that won't be a problem," he added, glancing at Ava. "I'll make sure to be in the library around the time you are expected back," he added, directing that at Gladhron. He wasn't expecting much from Ava upon her return, not after what she'd already told him in Gondor about how those days affected her, but he was expecting one of the brothers to come find him, so he could go to her and be there for her, in whatever way she needed him. "So you can come get me." He held Gladhron's eyes meaningfully.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

| |
Hazadazra Estate - Early January

It was quite evident that Tercen didn't enjoy the reminder about tomorrow. But, while Gwestion could appreciate that, he also felt that it was important that they all knew what to expect. And he, personally, was already feeling rather anxious. Tercen wasn't the one who'd have to go along to the temple, and witness this sacrifice thing.

Gladhron gave a small nod in reply to Tercen's words. He was pretty nervous about tomorrow, but he also could understand why Tercen would be nervous about it, too. "That library is pretty big," he commented. "But I'll see if I can find you." He casually let it drop that he had been to the library. Maybe Tercen would realize that he had been followed, after all. It didn't matter much though if he did or didn't.

Ava remained quiet while the topic had shifted to the temple. She didn't want to discuss that, even though she knew it was necessary. The rangers had to do what they had come here to do, and she didn't intend to try and hinder them. She didn't comment while the men talked, for her mind was racing with everything that she had to do between now and tomorrow. And it was strange. She was used to having to do all of this on her own, and it was odd to not be dealing with it alone. And to think of Tercen being here when she returned... she wasn't sure whether she wanted him to. But she was looking too far ahead, she supposed. She drew a slow breath in and smiled softly at Tercen. "Tomorrow will be over before we know it. Everything will be better, after that." She promised, hoping that was the truth. For all she knew, things could go terribly wrong at the temple. She hoped not, but one could never really be sure about that... and that was what made her so nervous.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
Ava's estate - January

"I'll be in sight," Tercen told Gladhron, thinking about some of those lounge chairs. And since Tercen wasn't about to press Ava about what had happened at that blasted temple, he figured he could press Gladhron instead. He had way fewer qualms about that. Vaguely, it dawned on him that Gladhron had to have seen the library to know how big it was. But perhaps Ava had shown it to the northern brothers while Tercen was still on the ship. Or maybe, Gladhron and Gwestion had managed to follow them more closely than he'd figured. Even though it didn't really matter to Tercen which it was, his eyes did linger on Gladhron a little. He should probably take note of it, later this evening. Because it might matter to Arnyn. Not that his information would be worth much. 'Gladhron at least had seen the library. But whether he saw it by following us in, or by venturing in alone, or by having seen it the previous evening...' Yeah. She wouldn't like such vaguery. He was sure of that much. So maybe... Tercen wouldn't mention it in his notebook at all.

He sensed Ava breathing in very slowly at his side, and her words distracted him and made him look at her. "Yes, it will," he easily agreed, pulling her into a brief side hug and pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. He gladly took the option not to dwell on the dark subject matter. "Maybe then you could show me where you want your new gazebo," he suggested. Given his travels to Minas Tirith for the midwinter masquerade, it had been a while since he had done any real carpentry work, and he was starting to miss it.