The Pelennor Fields, Osgiliath, The Northern Fiefdoms (Free RP)

[Ercassie]

@Rillewen @Pele Alarion

Carpe Diem - Part 67


Unalmis Raxëlilta and Iole Ishen
Aboard the ‘Wingolost’ with Cali, Trev, and two unconscious pirates
Anchored beyond Harlond harbour. Eve of the last day of the Autumn Festival, last year.

Iole felt almost as though she was a dressmaker, fixing and fussing about the makeshift sling as though her sister was a model for the latest fashion accessory. But it was not Cali’s measurements or skirt mending that she was tending to. And as her friend swayed, unsteadily, the former student nurse kept an eye and both hands ready to catch the patient if she should properly swoon.

“You need something for strength now,” she decided, aiding Cali in a slow controlled sink back down to grasp at the floor. Then Iole moved to explore the far corner where Trev had shown her. Foodstuffs, stowed there. For an emergency. This certainly counted as such. “Here,” she unwrapped the first package that she found, and gently handed it over. “See if you can eat some of this without throwing up.”


But her friend had retrieved the scant and scary memories of quite how they had come to this. The words were whispered, as though the softer volume would have them hurt a little less. Still the two young women caught in an unease as the shock began to sink in. He hadn’t let them go, Iole acknowledged silently, and lost any thought of appetite for her own sake. The man, ‘Lowendir’ .. whoever he was, had given them over to someone else who might now have use of them, since they had already served his escape past the South Gate. What that next ‘use’ might be, she did not frighten her sister with speaking guesses. For that was really all they were. Worst fears. Not facts. But she was still internally debating whether to tell Cali about her previous encounter, with these same pirates, when the boys returned. “You were very brave,” she concluded, with a kiss laid upon the Smith’s dirty brow. “And gave him more trouble than I am sure he ever expected.”

The two young men bore the crate in between them, as though the weight of it equalled the hurt each was attributing to the other. No sooner had they satisfied Cali’s instructions of where exactly to place it, their sister asked for the leverage, without which their prize was little use as yet. Unalmis had been summoning the will to head back out on the fresh search, in Trev’s wake; when Cali handed him fair reason to hold back. His brother knew the ship, he'd know where to find what was needed. And if it was too heavy for him this time .. well .. Cali's mention of her broach, which he had found, drove off what might have festered into a bad thought. When she mentioned ‘Rip' though, Iole shook her head, sad to note that Cali was still caught in her delusion. Maybe she was not entirely lucid yet. But it turned out that her sister was not the only one to have seen their long time enemy.


“He stopped us at the gate,” Nal rolled his eyes at the recall. Ignoring Iole’s widening stare. That ‘Rip’ had been there, after all ! It had not all been delirium from her sister then ! “His usual jerk self,” their brother continued. “Throwing out all sorts of ridiculous accusations. We saw your wagon roll up, from inside the gatehouse. Saw the Umbarian at the reins, plain as day. And ‘Rip’ just ..” each hand spread wide in a gesture of annoyance as he told how ‘Rip’ had “let it pass. Great to see the city gates are so well managed ! He probably let the fiend in, in the first place !”

“That .. but, that wasn’t the Burned Man,” Iole tried out. Wondering if her brother had also been subject to a blow to the head. For he had just spoke of an Umbarian. But the one she knew he’d met, years prior, had been a severely Burned man. And Lowendir … or whoever he really was .. well, he was .. not burned.


“This was the other one. The one who .. broke my shoulder. Back there,” Nal sighed with a sympathetic glance toward Cali and her more recent break. He wanted to ask how she had been so injured about as much as he did not want to hear it. So said nothing more on that score. “When I found the broach right there .. we umm, followed,” he concluded with a shrug, leaving out large parts of the account, to share only what was relevant right now. A small smile met his sister’s ‘thankyou’ with little enthusiasm. It was far too premature to be glad of much yet.

“’Rip’ .. locked you in the gatehouse ?” Iole continued to try and put the pieces of her friends’ memory into place. And received no answer, which let her know that he wished not to speak any more on it. And then Trev returned with his news of a waiting boat, even as Unalmis was about to mention Cadil could surely prove a great help, in the helping them to shore matter. A lever had been discovered, which met Cali’s approval. And so the explanation began, of just how they would be able to engineer a break out. Even without any key.


Trev seemed to throw all of his doubts at the plan, to the point that it did not sound like he wanted them to even try. And Cali’s explanations did nothing to convince Unalmis that the Smith’s daughter was not worse for wear than she looked, which was not good. The Ranger crossed his arms and turned his confused gaze upon where Cali was indicating. As though he would somehow see it, if he only looked more closely. But Iole alone of the Smith’s friends knew just how Cali was likely to be so well informed. And accepted the notion with more speed than either of the boys.

“That sounds like it is worth a try,” she ventured, as her sister spoke of how they’d soon all be able to get out of there. And as that prospect more than spurred all of their hearts, Unalmis uncrossed his arms and considered their best hope. Working together .. oh brother .. Count all of the ways that could go wrong ..

“Keep an eye to the door,” he advised the girls though. “If this makes anything like the racket it might do, then shout out if it stirs the pirates to come rushing in at us. We will need to be ready.” He prepared for the possibility, and then prepared to work with Trev, so that he could be rid of all need to trust his brother. Because right now, he was short of reasons why he ought to trust Trev. And the want to, the fact that he had always been able to, in the past, only made the present doubt more difficult to deal with.

[Rillewen]

@Ercassie

Carpe Diem
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Trev & Cali
On the pirate ship, Wingolost (anchored out of sight and downriver from Harlond)
Last day of Autumn Fayre (last year)

Cali wasn't sure where Iole managed to produce some food from, but she was glad for it. After the tin had been opened, a package of dried fruit was discovered within. Cali nibbled on a few pieces, then held out a few to her sister as well. "You need to eat, too." She informed her. She had no idea why there was a tin full of dried fruit in here, hidden beneath a pile of straw, but it was convenient for their sakes.

She nibbled a few more pieces of fruit, then she glanced up at Iole when she spoke of her being brave. She wasn't really sure she'd call it 'brave', what she had done. Desperate, perhaps. But there hadn't really been much other choice, was there? With Iole and herself in danger, she couldn't not try to fight him. She'd have done the same if anyone had tried to grab her niece or nephew. But she said nothing, and instead gave a slow shake of her head. There was not really much time to discuss that topic any further.

Instead, the topic had moved to a most unpleasant one; Rip. Cali would have made a face upon hearing that their longtime enemy had also detained Nal at the gatehouse, but her face felt too bruised, so she refrained. A nod confirmed Nal's words about the bully letting the wagon pass. "Yeah, he knew we were in those barrels, too." She agreed, her voice portraying the scorn that her face couldn't. "He looked into the barrels, and he saw us." She informed her friends with a little scoff. "I heard him.. I heard what he said when he saw us crammed in there." She glanced up at the others. "I'll bet if we look at whatever logs he has to keep about whatever was on the wagon, he's got it written down that the barrels had nothing but trash in them. 'Old bones' and 'wet coal', he said, and he sounded.. amused." She muttered with a huff. She didn't need to explain the significance of those terms to her bloodsiblings. None of them could have forgotten what the bully had taken to calling the girls during their school years together.

She had nothing to add however, when the talk turned to an Umbarian. Cali looked at Nal, curious to hear him describe their attacker as such, for she had not guessed it, herself. Not the burned one, obviously, but the other one? Eyes widened ever so slightly at the realization, when Nal revealed that it was the one who had broken his shoulder. "Must be his favorite hobby," She remarked dryly. "Breaking people's arms." She added for clarification, as her eyes dropped down to her own, resting in its sling.

It seemed that they had all three, by unspoken agreement, decided not to speak anymore about that topic. And Trev, who might have been able to throw a little light on their marvels about Rip's actions at the gate, had missed that entire conversation. He returned after it had concluded, and now all that lacked was for them to somehow.. break the door open.

Trev had serious doubts about Cali's plan, since he had spent plenty of time locked up in there himself. He'd also tried, plenty of times, to help other people who had been locked in there, but that door was secure. He couldn't help but feel skeptical as his sister explained her plan. He rather felt as if it would be a waste of time, but since Iole pointed out that it was worth a try, he shrugged. If it would make them all feel as if they'd done something, he supposed that was true. But he couldn't help but think that their time would be better spent trying to find some more feasible plan than breaking the metal bars, which apparently, Cali thought were made out of some sort of metal he'd never heard of.

"Alright," He agreed, nonetheless. "Here, right?" He made sure that their lever was placed in the right spot, according to his injured sister. He did half wonder if whatever blow she'd taken to the head, may have affected her a bit, but he didn't dare speak his thought aloud. "But I don't see any rust," He added with a little shrug.

"No, it won't look like rust," Cali explained. "On aluminum, it'll just look like darker spots on the metal, and if you look really closely, it'll look.. dimpled, I guess." She took another piece of dried fruit and looked toward the door with a bit of alarm when there were talk of pirates stirring. Pirates..? Yes... that made sense. She dimly recalled some of their trip, but not much. There were bits and pieces when she half remembered sitting by a shore, next to some big guy. She'd heard some snatches of talk between some men, in a place that echoed, but she didn't really remember much of what they'd said. And, of course, they were on a ship now. But where had all the pirates gone, she wondered?

Trev refrained from reminding Nal that the pirates in the next room were bound, so they were not likely to come rushing in. He would prefer if they didn't wake up at all, because.. well, his sense of self-preservation told him it would be better for his health if no one knew that he had any part of this. Taking hold of his part of the capstan bar, Trev put his weight into it, while hoping Nal was doing the same. He'd spent the last few years having to work with people that he didn't want to work with, and who made it no secret they disliked him. So, this wasn't a new experience for him, at least. It was a new experience for that person to be his one-time brother, and best friend.

Trev wasn't expecting the metal to budge at all, and was really only humoring his sister. So, when the metal gave way, suddenly, he honestly thought that his bar had simply slipped from where they had it wedged into the door. But when he went replace it so they could try again, he saw that the piece of metal they were aiming to break, had already begun to bend a little. He stared in surprise, glanced over at Nal to check if he saw it too, then he turned back to the lock. It just needed to give a little more before the door was free to open. "It's actually working," He declared in amazement.

"I told you it would," Cali rolled her eyes. "Keep at it," She directed, supervising them as they worked, so she could keep an eye on what was happening to the metal and make sure they were using the proper angle and so forth. Iole did not need help watching the door, after all, and she felt that she could be more useful doing this.

"But how do you even know about.. what'd you call it?" Trev wondered, while he began to heave on the bar again. "I've never even heard of this.. whatever you call it metal, and I've been to tropical places." He mentioned, puzzled.

Cali hesitated as she debated what to tell them. "I met someone while I was living with Ivornith," She began. "An elf, in fact. She is a grandmaster smith," She added, with emphasis on 'she' so that they might realize they significance of that. "She.." Cali paused with a sidelong glance toward Iole, then back to the boys, "um, 'caught' me teaching Iuldir how to make something, at the forge Dawion had there." She revealed. "And then she began to teach me more about smithwork than even my father could have done... she'd traveled to distant lands and everything."

Trev paused from trying to find a spot to put the bar, and glanced at Cali in surprise. "Caught you..? Wait.. you were trying to teach your nephew how to.. but you didn't know.." He frowned, puzzled as he tried to put it together. "How could you teach him, if-"

"Keep pushing, you've almost got it," She encouraged the boys, then waited while her two remaining brothers accomplished the task. "I have some things to tell you guys, but now's probably not the time." She added. When the weakened aluminum piece finally broke, Cali breathed a sigh of relief as the door swung open on creaky hinges. "Alright! Let's get out of here." She would have cheered, but she figured they ought to keep quiet.

Trev couldn't believe it. They had just broken the lock! He stared in amazement, dropping the capstan bar to the ground as he stared at the door, which had been a prison to him for years. It was the first time he had ever seen it like this. Broken. Useless. It couldn't hold anyone prisoner, now. "Yeah, let's go." he agreed with Cali, holding the door open while the girls made their exodus from the cell.

Cali breathed a sigh of relief as she and Iole stepped out of the cage. They just had to get off the ship, now. According to Trev, it would be easy from here. She hoped he was right.

Trev stepped out of the brig first, glancing over to the sleeping pirates. The sedative he'd given them was still working, thankfully. He motioned for his friends to come along, figuring that he and Nal ought to keep the girls in the middle, while the two of them led and brought up the rear. "Come on, this way," He guided the way carefully down the rows of hammocks. As he passed his own pile of belongings, Trev paused just long enough to grab a hat and one or two other things he didn't want to leave behind. Then he motioned for them to continue on, past Scar and Grisly, and to the door. Trev didn't breathe until they had all filed out of the room, climbing the stairs up to the open deck of the ship. "Over here," he hastened toward the boat which had hardly had a chance to dry yet, from his earlier attempted rescue of the decoy Nal had sent out.

All they had to do was pile into the rowboat, but.. Trev paused and took a glance at the group. Both the girls would likely need help getting into the boat, especially Cali. And Nal.. well, Trev wasn't sure if the ranger would have the 'sea legs' to climb aboard a swinging boat suspended from above. Therefore, Trev stepped in first, then held out his hand to Iole. "You get in first, and then we both help Cali," He suggested. Their injured sister would need more hands to steady her, with her balance off. And Nal, he figured, could assist her from the deck until she was safely aboard, and then he could join them in the boat.

Once they were all in the boat, Trev would lower it and help row them to shore, and.. and maybe he wouldn't have to go back. This might be the last, and only, chance he'd ever get to get away from this place... and he intended to take that chance.

[Ercassie]

@Rillewen @Pele Alarion

Unalmis Raxëlilta, with Xyler and Hadassa
Out in the Pelennor Fields, Dec 30th

A conciliatory nod was offered, in response to Xyler’s assumption. The stew merely required heating up. Although Unalmis had of course been taught to forage and prepare foods in the wilds, that had never been the goal of this excursion. The donated ‘picnic’, if you like, was mostly a further attempt to stay warm. For those who met out In unsheltered fields in the middle of winter. After a recent outing into Ithilien with his family, the young Ranger did not count their choice of venue to be so unusual as his friends might. But the uncomfortable isolation was necessary, when speaking secrets was involved.

“I’m not sure,” he admitted though, when the Rohir asked how strong of an accent his mysterious ‘mission’ had spoken with. “Milder than yours,” he gestured slightly with his chin toward the apprentice healer. “I think .. although in places .. stronger. Almost as though ..” Almost as though the speaker had placed more emphasis on certain words, or maybe even remembered only occasionally that she was meant to be laying on a fake accent ? The young man frowned, as he considered. Already the certainty was fading. And though there had been instances when he had lain awake at night and tried to conjure up the memory proper .. he was not sure whether he had filled in the gaps of that actual memory with wild imagination. The entire matter of how unlikely it all seemed .. a woman who looked like a Gondorian but sounded like a Rohir .. if it had not been for the necklace he might have written off the whole encounter as some sort of dream.


The question of the necklace though, saw him dig the aforementioned object out of his pocket, as Hadassa asked to see it. Assigning his burn bowl to one hand for a brief moment to allow for this. “I think it might be of some sentimental value,” he supposed, holding up the labradorite leaf jewel on it’s chain, for both to see. “It didn’t match. The rest of her outfit, was bright, and dressed with silver filigree. From her mask to her belt. For someone who had gone all out in showing up as an immaculate spectacle .. like she said ..” Unalmis gestured towards Hadassa and her idle confession about the fun found in just dressing up, fancy. Brown eyes wandered in a further scrutiny of the necklace, twirling where it hung in his grasp, before he remembered himself And tried to remember what he had been saying .. “I mean, we’re trained to notice things,” he put in suddenly. As though expecting teasing for the amount of attention he had paid to this mysterious woman’s appearance. “I don’t know. But it seemed to me that if someone went to all that trouble, yet did not choose a piece of jewellery that matched ? She must have chosen to wear it regardless of the fact it did not match. Which means it matters to her. Which means she very likely would be sorry to have misplaced it.” He shrugged.

“I asked around in all of the inns where I supposed that an out of towner would have stayed, for the masquerade. Noone there reported missing any jewellery. And then I remembered that she’d said a friend had helped her to get ready. But if that friend was somebody who lives in town ? An artist, presumably. They had helped to make up her face like a bouquet of flowers. It was very fanciful. The only artist I’ve ever heard of has been dead for nearly twenty years.”


“I gave a description to a friend of the family, a gate guard. He said he would ask any young women who he saw leaving town, with luggage .. you know ? Visitors. Especially Rohirrim. .. whether they had lost a necklace. Didn’t see much point in putting posters around the city. She’s probably left already.” He passed the jewellery over to Hadassa first. “Do you recognise the jewel or the design, from Rohan ?” he wondered.

Of course it seemed incredibly selfish to focus on his own search, when his friend was also looking for somebody. But the ‘mother’ issue did complicate things more than Unalmis wanted to admit. It seemed just as likely that either of the women did not wish to be found. For when Xyler supposed that his missing parent must be dead, Nal knew instinctively why he had come to that conclusion. Because if she was not dead, if she was able to come home .. then she would have done. Right ? Nobody wanted to face the prospect that their parent had wilfully abandoned them. So “That makes sense,” he offered, quietly, without any judgement as to Xyler’s reasoning.


“I don’t know anybody real called Elspeth,” he confessed. “But there is a story about a woman with that name. My mother’s friend used to tell it to us. Something about a quest from the Valar to follow a star across the mountains, over the seas. It rhymed.” That did not seem much likely to be helpful of course. “Maybe your mother was named after the character in the story. It’s not much to go on,” he agreed, as the Rohir elaborated about what chaos had been abroad in his country, at the time that his mother had disappeared. The fact that she had been ‘frightened’ though, was an interesting element. Perhaps whatever had frightened her, had been why she left Xy and his grandmother. Maybe she had left him behind for his own safety, or something. But there was no way he felt comfortable in taking that avenue of enquiry. Not with Hadassa sat there, quietly, taking in all that the boys were puzzling out.

“If dogs can herd sheep, I am sure you can train horses to dance,” he leapt onto the change of subject when talk came back around to the Masquerade. “My sister works in a place where we could advertise for interest, if you like. Any job that needs doing, any skill that is available, people let her know. And then she matches them up so that they help each other out. Noone has to pay for anything with coin. Instead they do what they can do for somebody else. Like a favour paying for a favour. It’s a great way to get practice in things and get to know people. And .. I sound like a walking advertisement now. Sorry.” he laughed. But the reference to a place which might help Hadassa find work, or friends, was not quite so accidental as he might imply.


“Perhaps it is about time to get to the food now,” he sent the small ember from his makeshift crockery, safely back into the small blaze they were all seated around. And then stood up, abruptly, before recognising that he ought perhaps to have put down his bowl before he went over to retrieve the stew from by the horses. “Then you can try out teaching these fine three to prance about a bit ..” A grin glanced back over one shoulder, as his free hand gestured toward their gathered mounts. “It will definitely be an exercise in horse management. A way to keep warm. Dinner and a show !”

[Rillewen]

(Private/Solo)

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Amethyst & Sofia Nerennia
May of 3018, TA
Nerennia farmhouse, in the Pelennor

Sudden noises in the house woke Sofia. She groaned and pulled the blanket over her head, as if that would shut out the noises infiltrating her sleep. “Go awaaay.” She grumbled, as if she already knew who it was, and did not want to have to deal with her visitor.

The unexpected complaint from the vicinity of the couch surprised Amy as she was about to pick up the bag she'd dropped upon entering the house, which she expected to be empty. Startled, she jumped slightly, turning toward the furniture with amazement. She knew that voice, though. Letting out a little breath, she rested her stick against the wall behind the door before walking over. She yanked back the blanket and stared at the younger girl who cringed against the daylight as if she were a vampire. “Sofia?” Amy's voice held notes of incredulity as well as relief.

The light was splitting her head open. Sofia groaned and tried to snatch the blanket back from her sister. “Ughhh, no, wrong house." She muttered, then peeked through squinting blue eyes at Amy. "Welcome home, sis. Now go away, I’ve got a headache.” She grumbled.

Amy huffed out a breath, sitting in the chair across from her. “I have been looking all over for you. You said you ran away!” She exclaimed, frowning.

“Oh, right. Well, I came back.” Sofia scowled as she sat up. “What’s it to you? I bet you were too busy looking for him to even think about me.” She rolled her eyes before grabbing the blanket back.

Amy’s frown deepened. “I was looking for you both.” She clarified, a little hurt that Sofia would accuse her of not bothering to look for her own sister.

“Sure. So, when are you going away again?” Sofia wondered.

“I don’t know.” Amy sighed, then paused and tilted her head. She frowned as she leaned closer. “Sofia… have you been drinking?” She asked, a bit surprised.

The younger girl rolled her eyes and decided to lie down again, this time with her back to her sister.

“Sofia, you’re only fourteen.” Amy chided her. “You shouldn’t be drinking, and besides, where would you even get something like that?” She picked up a bottle that had partially rolled under the couch, and stared at it with a little frown. Her first guess would have been that her sister had raided the cabinet where their mother used to keep a small supply of wine, but this... she'd never seen a bottle like this before. And it looked like something harder than what their mother had kept on hand. So, where did this come from?

“What do you care?” The muffled reply came through the blanket that Sofia had pulled over herself, again. “Let me sleep, Amy. I told you my head hurts.”

“It’s called a hangover,” Amy sighed, getting up. She shook her head slightly, going back over to the door where she'd left her bags. She glanced back to the couch with sadness, then took her stuff to the adjacent kitchen and began gathering whatever supplies she could find to mix up a hangover cure for her little sister. Soon, she came back and set a glass down on the table before her. “Here, this will help your head.” She told her gently.

Sofia turned over slowly, eyeing the glass before she slowly sat up and took it. “Thanks.” She sipped it slowly, finding that she was definitely very thirsty.

“I came by here, back in November, to get my things before I left." Amy mentioned. "You weren't here then. So, where did you go?” She wondered.

Sofia scoffed. “Neighbor’s.” She mumbled. Their nearest neighbor lived at least five miles away, and they'd never really had much contact with them, so that would explain why Amy hadn't thought to check there. As far as she knew, it was an older couple. “Didn’t like it there, so I came back.” She glanced at her sister. “I went to the houses of healing, too, looking for you. Heard you’d gone off to Pelargir or whatever.”

“Linhir, but.. yeah,” Amy said softly. “Well, I’m sorry. You sent me a letter saying Mother had died, and you were running away, and going back to Lebinnen, so...”

“Whatever.” Sofia shrugged and sipped more of her drink, then lowered her glass and looked a little more closely at her sister. “So, did you find him?”

Amy sighed, shaking her head. “No. Nothing. No clues, no one's seen him.. no one could tell me anything.” She rubbed her temples, as if she now had Sofia’s headache. “It’s like he just vanished into thin air, Sof.” She bit her lip, fighting tears.

Pausing as she saw this change in her sister, Sofia set her glass down and reached over to put a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, it’ll be alright. I'm sure you'll find him.” Of course.. that really didn't sound promising, that no one would tell her anything, but there had to be a clue somewhere, right?

Amy sniffled and glanced up with a weak smile, tears gathered in her olive-green eyes. “Thanks, but.. no, it won’t be alright. Not until I know he’s safe.” She disagreed, her hand absently toying with the ring she wore on the thin chain around her neck.

There was a moment of silence that followed. Sofia withdrew her hand and picked up her glass again, thinking. She was starting to feel a little better, at least. “Are you going back to work?” She asked. half guessing the answer.

Amy sighed, staring at the coffee table between them, thoughtful. “I don’t know what to do.” She answered quietly. “I.. I want to go back to Linhir, and try again. Maybe I didn’t talk to the right people, maybe.. I could talk to his family, see if they've heard from him? Or, maybe-”

“Let me come.” Sofia asked, interrupting. “I can help.”

Amy frowned, skeptical at that idea. "I don't think that's-"

“Really!” Sofia insisted. “I can help you search. We could split up, I could talk to people that you might not think to talk to. I could.. I don’t know, just let me come, please?” She asked, desperate not to be left here, alone. Not again.

Amy hesitated, absently toying with the little ring on the fine chain around her neck. “I don’t know, Sofia…”

“What am I supposed to do, here?” Sofia spread her arms out to indicate the farmhouse that was in need of repair. “Till the garden? Plant non-existent seeds and hope for a crop to magically sprout?" She scoffed. "Do you want me to starve out here by myself?” She frowned. “Please, Amy, don’t leave me here.” She begged, blue eyes wide and pleading. "I don't want to stay here alone."

Amy looked at her little sister for a moment, surprised by her desperate tone, then she sighed as she gave in. “Well, alright. I guess there’s not much else I can do, is there?”

“Yay!” Sofia brightened upon hearing that she could come. She was relieved not to have to stay behind, all by herself. Alone, out in 'the middle of nowhere', as she had referred to it ever since her mother decided to uproot them from Lebennin, to move out here. She was so happy that she was going to get to come, that she was about to rush off to her room to start packing, but her sister stopped her.

“It’s going to be a few days, Sofia.” Amy explained with a little laugh. “I didn’t even know you were here. I just stopped to check on the house, then I was going to go to the city and see if Ric might have heard from Reilly or anything.”

Sofia paused, tilting her head. “Ric?” She asked with a small frown, assuming that Amy was referring to the guy that Sofia had met, claiming to be a friend of Amy’s and Reilly’s. Asking for Amy, wanting to know when she'd be back.

Amy nodded, pushing some of her hair back behin dher ear. “Yeah, he's Reilly’s friend,” she explained. “He and Reilly were roommates, before..” She trailed off. “Anyway. He's a guard too, and he’s been helping with the search as much as he can.” She got up and returned to the kitchen. “Are you hungry?”

“Oh.” Sofia sat thoughtfully on the couch, processing the fact that this guy Ric was, indeed, a friend of Amy’s fiance. And, apparently, of Amy too. And that he was, in fact, a guard, just like he'd said. She wondered then, if Amy had any idea about what this 'friend' of hers was really like. Not that she would dare to talk about it, after the threats he had made to her. At least, she wouldn't have to be the one to tell him that Amy had returned, since she was about to go talk to him herself. Maybe now he'd quit pestering Sofia about when Amy would be back. But as for whether she was hungry? “Um, yeah. Starving, actually. But there’s nothing here to eat.” She pouted as she recalled that she had nothing left here.

“I can see that,” Amy laughed as she examined the empty pantry, shaking her head slightly at the fact her sister had apparently not bothered to get any supplies. “Don’t worry, I still have some food in my saddlebags.” She sighed, and went to where she had left her bags on the counter. “Well, did anything interesting happen while I was gone?” She asked, glancing at her sister.

Sofia shrugged, leaning against the counter. She thought about the visits she’d had from Amy’s so-called ‘friend’, Ric, but she didn’t dare mention that. “Not really. You?”

Amy dug out some trail rations and passed half to Sofia, pausing as she tried to decide if anything was wrong, or if it was just that Sofia was still dealing with the aftereffects of the alcohol. “I spent a lot of time in Pelargir, Linhir, and all the surrounding areas.” Amy confessed, sighing as she picked up her own sandwich. “I guess you’d find it exciting, but I just found it… disappointing.” She shrugged and started eating.

“Great, sounds fun.” It was hard to tell if she was being sarcastic or serious, perhaps because she hadn’t decided on that, herself. “When do we leave?”

“Not for a couple of days, at least.” Amy answered. “I’ll have to get you a horse to ride, for starters. And we have to restock our supplies, and I want to talk to Ric, like I said.” She mentally tried to think of anything else she might need to accomplish before they could leave. She still wasn't entirely sure it was a good idea to bring Sofia along, but, well, she was responsible for her now. So, what else could she do with her, while Amy was off searching the country for her missing fiancé? And anyway, who knows. Maybe Sofia would prove helpful somehow.


(continued here)

[Ercassie]

@Rillewen @Pele Alarion

Carpe Diem - Part 68



Unalmis Raxëlilta and Iole Ishen
Departing from the ‘Wingolost’ with Cali, Trev.
Downriver from Harlond harbour. Eve of the last day of the Autumn Festival, last year.

Iole had not been able to face swallowing the food which Cali had offered her back in turn. For a short time she held it within the palm which had received it, and then closed fingers around it. As their talk turned from ‘Rip’s disregard for their peril, and Umbarians .. in the Pelennor .. The young woman had blinked several times over. She may have been the only one who believed without delay that Cali knew about smithworks. She may have needed to believe it, more than she could express right now.

Then Trev seemed as convinced that it would not work, as Nal seemed convinced that the pirates would come down on them at any given minute. Iole trusted Cali. More than that, she trusted their group working together. Even if they seemed the least cohesive they had ever been before. Quietly she gathered up the remaining vials and herbal resources that Trev had brought to her, handing the sharpened piece of bamboo to Cali. It would make her sister feel better, she knew, to have something in hand. And Iole could throw a vial if she needed to. As Trev and Cali strove over the details of why she felt so qualified .. Iole noted the way that Unalmis blew hair out of his eyes, annoyed, when their brother mentioned he’d been to ‘tropical places’.


“You tied your hair back,” she noticed, somehow only now for the first time. But the Ranger’s eyes flicked swiftly to one side, as a reminder for her to keep both eyes upon the door. He may have plainly seen the two pirates that Trev claimed were tied up. But it took more than two pirates to sail a ship. The Captain’s son himself had said so. Not to mention there was no sign yet to know for sure that the Umbarian was not still lurking about somewhere on the ship. How else could the girls have gotten aboard save that Arkadhur had brought them there … ?


As the lock began to give under the pressure of the capstan bar, Nal looked from Iole’s stare, and found instead her damaged hemline. Whereby brown eyes flicked back upward to her blue. In the next second, Cali was celebrating. And Trev held the afflicted cell door off, as the girls exited. Nal, unsure if he could actually speak right now, glanced behind him, expectant. And then railed around to go fetch the wet clothes he had abandoned in the corner of the room.

He was thus at the tail end of their little procession, which Trev led through the belly of the ship. Iole tightened her grip on her medical supplies, as though they were a shield of invisibility. “That was well done,” she admitted, to both her smart sister and the brothers who’d obeyed. As soon as they were stalled briefly in a cabin full of swinging hammocks. As soon as Trev had gathered up what he wished to take with him, Iole sank her top teeth into her lower lip, quietly. He was coming with them ! Yes !


Taking her brother’s hand, Iole carefully manouvred over the side of the ship, into the waiting rowboat. With her precious supplies in case Cali might yet need more tending, hugged against her chest, she braced her other hand in Trev’s and then caught at the seat which she sank onto, as the small craft swayed some from it’s suspension.

Unalmis put a whistle out into the air, resembling a black cap, which he hoped would attract Cadil’s attention. If his friend had not already run to go fetch help. Then, as Trev looked over to him for aid in assisting Cali, Nal dropped his wet clothes bundle a tad more close than was careful by his brother, and let it smack into the boat at Iole’s feet, so he had both hands to support Cali.


There was a moment, when Trevadir looked to him then, clearly expectant for Nal to climb into the rowboat too. And there they paused for that short, tense moment still upon the cusp of leaving. Brown eyes scanned the deck one last time, and then considered the ropes which were holding their escape up. In the instant he prepared to ask how Trev intended to lower the craft into the water by himself, he realised. That his brother had done so at least once already this evening.

“Was that to alert Cadil ?” Iole asked, of the whistle, unknowingly spoiling that surprise for Trevadir. Without answering, Unalmis reluctantly took his turn at climbing into the waiting escape route. Unhappy about leaving it to Trev to lower them, but all too aware that he had no idea how to do it himself otherwise. There was no way Cali could swim over to the bank. Not in her condition. It was best he was at hand, in case she somehow ended up in the water.

He nodded glumly to his sister's guess, as they readied for the inevitable descent. Holding back the question of whether Trev was waiting for anybody else .. A dozen possibilities of how this might else be some sort of trick, or lie, rose and were each discarded behind a quiet frown.

“Coming ?” he asked his brother, in the end. Though his voice had lost all of the cheer with which it had greeted Trev, less than a half hour before. Hands closed around an oar, in preparation. The night was darker now. Iole cast her closest arm, with a shiver, around Cali's unslung shoulder. She nodded meaningfully in her youngest brothers direction. Yes, Trev. That look said. Come on. Come with us ..

[Rillewen]

@Ercassie

Carpe Diem
|
Trev & Cali
Exiting the pirate ship!
Last day of Autumn Fayre (last year)

Cali’s free hand gripped the piece of bamboo, with a tiny nod of thanks to Iole for it. Not knowing that the other pirates were bound and drugged, she halfway envisioned that they might meet some resistence once they got on deck. Especially the way Nal spoke as if they might come rushing in any moment to investigate the noise. For a moment before they exited the room she had gathered was called ‘the brig’, Cali noticed Trev hesitate as he looked at the bar and crate they had used. If she had to guess, she would guess he was wondering if he should move them. But then he went on to lead them out of there, as if deciding it didn’t matter.

If she experienced any further pains from her arm, as she hastened to follow her estranged brother, Cali said nothing about it. They had to hurry. It wouldn’t help matters if she tried to move slowly in order to avoid jostling her arm while she walked. She could worry about that later, when they were safe. Observing Trev grabbing a hat from a pile off to one side, Cali glanced sidelong at her sister, wondering whether this meant he was coming along, or if he was only worried about shielding his face from the sun. Since they had been down in the lowest part of the ship, she had no idea that it was actually dark outside. But if he was planning on coming with them, she noticed that he did not bother to take any of the clothing or blankets that was in that pile of.. whatever all that way. Was that Trev’s stuff? She was curious, but her attention was split between what Trev was doing, and observing the two sleeping men on their other side. She didn’t like the looks of them, and she really hoped they wouldn’t wake up.

As he helped Iole into the waiting rowboat, Trev’s gaze scanned horizon, trying to guage when the tide would be low. He worred that the rest of Dev’s men, and even Dev himself, would be returning any moment. He knew that it was a little more than six hours between high and low tide, but he had no idea how long it had been since this very boat had brought its last load of ‘goods’ to the ship, which had included the barrels that his sisters were in. It did feel like it had been ages, and he was nervous that Dev would be arriving soon. They’d gotten really lucky, in fact, that he had somehow gotten delayed. While Trev did not know the details of why they could only transport the goods during the low tide, he did know that if, for whatever reason, they didn’t get everything before the tide was too high, that they’d have to wait for the next low tide.

When it came her turn to climb aboard the swinging boat, Cali wanted to insist that she didn’t need the help. But her arm was in pain, and she still felt sort of weak and woozy, so she decided to let her pride take a backseat in favor of being safe. She allowed both boys to help her ease onto the seat, Trev from inside the boat, and Nal from the deck. And then, after safely being guided into the boat, she leaned against Iole, already starting to feel a little uneasy about the swaying of the boat as it hung in the air, rocked by their movements.

The whistle surprised Trev, as he glanced back at Nal. That was some sort of bird call, though. Not the sort of whistles he’d typically hear on the ship. He supposed, recalling some of the things Ryn had come back telling them, that it was a ranger thing. He paused as the two stared briefly at each other. Nal seemed reluctant to come aboard. Why? Just as he was wondering that, Trev realized what it must be. He didn’t want to be in a boat with Trev. He felt his heart sink a little further, even as Nal seemed to realize that he had little other choice, and climbed in after all.

Trev merely glanced briefly at Iole, when she asked Nal about.. Cadil. Cadil? He hadn’t realized that Nal had brought his other friend along, since he had yet to see him. He remembered the guy, of course. Trev had been marginally jealous of his friend’s new friendship, all those years ago, when he learned that Trev was not the only one who had been invited along on that adventure to the beacons. He’d tried to tell himself then that it was silly. That Nal and Trev’s friendship was too strong for anything to break it. That he could never be replaced, and that he shouldn’t feel jealous of his friend for having other friends in his life. Now… it seemed that Trev had indeed been replaced. Completely. Nal didn’t care about him anymore. He had a new friend to hang out with, and he seemed to want nothing to do with Trev at all. That hurt more than he wanted to acknowledge, and so he tried very hard not to let himself think about it. But the thought had already entered his mind, and getting it out of there was not going to be that easy.

He jammed his hat down further on his head, as if he was worried about the moon giving him a burn. There were very few of his possessions which he had cared about enough to bring along with him, in case he actually managed to leave this ship for good. Clothes could be replaced, but this hat.. it was irreplacable, and he had promised to return it to its owner when next he saw her. His flute, he kept on him at all times, as well as the slim dagger that sheathed into it. And a small notebook as well.

But there were other notebooks, stowed among his meager belongings, that he had long since filled up. These, he had hastily grabbed from his pile, intending to give them to Iole, once he had a chance, and ask her to see that they got to where they needed to be. Notebooks filled with coded information that might help the authorities stop Dev’s ship. He’d used poetry as a cover for the writing of said messages, but hopefully, Iole, who shared his love of poetry, could crack the code and help ensure that the information would prove useful. To whomever it could be useful for. Trev didn’t know who, he just.. didn’t want all his information gathering to have been in vain. And since he couldn’t deliver it personally.. this was the only way he could see it actually being accomplished.

While Nal gave a nod in answer to Iole’s question, and found his way into an empty seat, Trev turned away and focused his attention on the ropes holding them suspended, preparing to loosen them from the cleat, once everyone was ready. But internally, he was struggling with difficult emotions. What had happened to make Nal change so much? He could think of nothing he had done to earn such resentment from his one-time best friend. He idly wondered if Cadil may have told him anything about when he and Warder had been a passenger on Dev’s ship. Trev hadn’t had a chance to talk to either of them at all. Dev had kept him busy all the way to Umbar, almost as if he had been deliberately keeping him from having any chance to talk to their passengers. And on the way back.. well, he had no idea if either Cadil or Warder had any idea that Trev was the reason they’d gotten out of there in time, but he wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t find that out. Regardless, he couldn’t think of any reason that Cadil would have come back telling anything bad about him, so it didn’t make any sense. Except.. he did remember some of the stuff Dev had told him the other young man had said. Things regarding Nal and Trev.

He was so caught up with puzzling over that matter, and inwardly lamenting the fact that Nal was clearly not pleased to see him, that when he asked, ‘Coming?’ Trev easily picked up on the lack of enthusiasm. And, perhaps his ears detected reluctance, or even a grudgingness, in Nal’s tone as well, whether it was there or not. Was that Nal’s way of saying he was not welcome to come along? Suddenly, it hit him. What Dev had been telling him for years now. He was wanted by the law. That must be it. Nal.. Trev. They were on opposite sides now, weren’t they? Even though it was a misunderstanding, Nal must have seen wanted posters or something, declaring Trev to be a fugitive or whatever, so now he didn’t want to be seen with him. And, maybe, he also didn’t want to feel obligated to arrest his former friend. He wanted ot believe that was part of it, at least.

All of that flitted through his mind rapidly. Trev had taken a brief pause before giving an answer, during which he glanced briefly at Nal, his own expression somewhat guarded. “Do you know how to row a boat?” He asked, by way of answering. Meaning, that unless Nal figured he could get them to shore well enough on his own, Trev would almost have to take them, right? Maybe he was inwardly hoping that Nal did not know how, so he would be needed. He desperately wanted to be needed. For his friends to want him to come along. All of them.

*Instead, he heard Nal mutter under his breath, “Don’t ask me to show you what I can do with an oar,” While Iole kicked him under the seats of the boat.

Troubled by whatever the ranger might mean by that comment, and wondering if it was meant as some kind of threat, or.. what? Trev frowned and turned his attention toward lowering the boat, his throat feeling too tight for any response. It required all the strength he had gained during the years he’d spent at sea, having to haul on the ropes to slowly lower them into the water. It took a lot more arm strength to manage it with four people in the boat, than it had with only his own body weight to weigh it down.

Once the boat rested safely in the water, Trev freed the boat from the tethers on each end. With another glance in the general direction of the harbor, he assured himself that the literal coast was still clear. Since Nal had claimed one of the oars, Trev grabbed the other without a word, intent only on getting the boat to shore as quickly as possible. They would have to work together, once again. In unison.

Cali, meanwhile, cast a slightly puzzled glance at each of the boys, then a questioning one at Iole. What in the world was going on with those two? She wondered what all she might have missed while she was unconscious. The tension seemed thick enough to cut with a knife. As she observed the two begin to row together, she followed the gaze of where Trev had glanced, wondering what he might have been looking for. He’d looked that way twice now, and she wondered why. But she saw nothing. And, since she saw nothing to cause concern, she decided to try and distract them from whatever their problem was. “Looks like we have a minute or two, now,” She mentioned quietly, leaned against Iole. “So, now I can tell you guys…” She took a deep breath. “I started working at my father’s forge, sometime after.. the tragedy,” She almost whispered the last part. It was still too painful to bring up her brother’s name, but they would all know what she meant. “And I don’t mean just working in the shop,” She added. Everyone knew she’d done that.. that was no secret. “I.. didn’t tell anyone, because I was afraid they’d think I wasn’t good enough, because..” She trailed off.

Her father had always said that no woman could make a proper smith, and while he’d let her hang around the forge and watch while he or her brothers worked, he wouldn’t let her actually participate beyond simple aids like ‘pass me that hammer’ or ‘hold this for a second’. Everyone in this boat would know the way her father had felt about a woman trying to be a smith, and therefore she figured she didn’t need to explain why she would have kept it a secret. “I made a lot of things. He never even knew about it.” She admitted softly. Her gaze fixed upon the sling and her vision blurred slightly. “I don’t know if I’ll be ever be able to use a hammer again, but..” She sighed, tempted to bite her lip, but she was afraid it might hurt, given all the other bruises on her face. She glanced toward the elder of the two boys. “I.. I made that armor I gave you, Nal. Not my father. Me. I came up with the design for it, and then I made it, while he was.. passed out.” She didn’t have to elaborate on that with Nal. He knew better than anyone what it was like to have a father passed out drunk. “He didn’t even know it existed.” She then looked away. Hopefully, he wouldn’t be upset at her for letting him believe all this time that it was her father’s work.


*this line was provided by Ercassie, and its use approved by her

---

Devedir
Inside the Chandlery – a couple hours prior

The crew waited down in the underground warehouse, passing the time in whatever manner seemed most enjoyable to them. Within their abilities, that is. Most of them would have rather gone into the city, visited the taverns and wherever else they liked to frequent when in town. But not this time. Dev worried, with all those guards out and about. He recalled, of course, that Doluzor had reportedly taken off in a guard wagon to retrieve the rest of the cargo, but this commotion shouldn't have anything to do with that. Something else seemed to be astir, and whatever was going on, he did not want any of his crewmen to be arrested. He didn’t even want to risk their being on the street, where they might be recognized if any guards happened to have seen posters on them before. And what if this place had been compromised? He changed the guard at the window to another, more reliable man, and remained upstairs for a moment, watching out of the window along with him. He wanted to have plenty of warning, if anyone else approached this place. And yet, he also wanted to know what was going on out there. What was all that shouting about? Why were there extra patrols about?

Dev was debating whether it would be safe to send out one of his men to gather information. He was thinking about which of his men would be least likely to draw the guard’s attention, and went downstairs to the sales floor, intending to go down below to find someone to send out. It was at that time when a low whistle from upstairs alerted him to the approach of someone. Dev changed his direction, taking rapid strides across to the boarded up window, where he had just enough gap to look through. The whistle from upstairs had been a signal to indicate one of their own approaching. If it had been an enemy or unknown, the whistle would have been of a different sound, so Dev didn’t hesitate to open the door to allow the newcomer entry, casting a swift glance around before shutting the door behind him. Actually, it was one of Uhta’s own, but in this company, it was as good as the same thing. “What’s going on out there?” The captain demanded to know. “There’s been guards swarming around for a few minutes now, and I don’t like it.” He declared, frowning. Brown eyes narrowed, then, as he considered the fact that Dol was here alone. “Where’s the cargo you were supposed to be bringing?”

[Rillewen]

@Ercassie @Pele Alarion

Xyler
Pelennor Fields, Dec 30th

The accent was somehow.. milder than his, and yet also stronger? Xyler thought about that with puzzlement. And his friend did not finish whatever thought he had been going to say, with 'almost as though..' but Xyler figured that if he wanted them to know, he would have finished the statement.

The necklace that was produced was quite pretty, but Xyler was fairly sure he had never seen it before. "Looks pretty," He commented, leaning closer to examine it as it dangled from Nal's hand. Listening to Nal describe the girl to whom it belonged, Xyler glanced over at him with a little curiosity. Trained to notice things? Yeah, sure. He nodded as his friend concluded that the necklace must be important to her. "Sounds like it, yeah. So, she'll probably be missing it." He agreed.

The steps that Nal had taken already sounded reasonable. Xyler nodded as he listed each thing that he had done. "I've never seen anything like it, myself." He answered. "It's a pretty stone, but not one I'm familiar with." He shrugged apologetically. "I'm not exactly all that familiar with jewelry, though."

The information that Nal gave about the name Elspeth was quite interesting, however. Xyler gave that some thought, trying to summon up any sort of memories of his mother. But he had just been too young. He frowned slightly as he watched the ember in his log. "Maybe she was, I don't know." He wanted to sigh, but he didn't really want to draw attention to the fact that he felt frustrated by his lack of information. About his own mother, of all people. It really wasn't much to go on, but it did occur to him that it was interesting that his mother had crossed mountains, just like the Elspeth in the story. Oddly coincidental, right? And speaking of stars...

Xyler debated about whether to show Nal the bracelet he had brought from home. But now he was moving on to the comment about teaching horses to dance. With a little smile, Xyler followed his friend's example by depositing the ember into the fire, then used the bottom of his shirt to wipe the charred bowl as clean as he could before it would be filled with stew. "Sounds like an interesting shop," He remarked thoughtfully, when Nal spoke of this favor shop or something. "I wonder if they'd have any sort of.. jewelry experts?" He asked with a little laugh. "Maybe they could track down where your lady's necklace came from, and then they could tell me where my mother's bracelet is from." He suggested, half joking as Nal headed toward the horses. "Wouldn't that be a neat trick?"

[Ercassie]

@Rillewen @Pele Alarion

Carpe Diem - Part 69



Unalmis Raxëlilta and Iole Ishen
Departing from the ‘Wingolost’ with Cali, and Trev.
Downriver from Harlond harbour. Eve of the last day of the Autumn Festival, last year.

A small sway of their little vessel as it began to lower, saw Iole reach out in a momentary panic for the side of the boat, with her closest hand. Fingers gripped around the edge tightly. She closed her eyes more than once before the small boat was set down in the river.

But even when Trev took up the second oar, she did not quite relax. It was still dark, and isolated. And sound carried across water. The two boys .. and yes officially they were young men, but they were both behaving like little boys … looked about ready to fight each other with their oars. So rowing became a competitive sport instead of a collaborative measure. Cali seemed to recognise this too. And commenced giving her account to explain how she’d become so adept at metallurgy. It was not a new story for her best friend, although the boys might be shocked to hear it. If it helped to distract them both from their bad moods at the very least. Iole took turns watching one brother’s reaction, then the other.


“It’s a good piece. The armour,” Nal admitted, honestly impressed after the shock had shaken off so he could speak again. Cali’s career choice was not the only surprise of this evening, but it was preferable to others which he would rather try to ignore. “Did you make the sword as well ?” he asked though, thinking of the blade which his sister had told him once that Ryn had made for him. And brown eyes glanced toward Trev’s flute as well. It was not as though he would think less of the items if they had been made by a woman. But it had always felt nice to think that those gifts had literally come to them from Ryn himself. Their late friend had made a hair adornment for Iole to match Cali’s broach as well .. or so they had been led to believe .. Stars, seems nothing could be trusted any more.

---

Dolûzor Solis, returning to find Captain Devedir Thormaetha and company
at the Chandlery, in Harlond. Last day of the Harvest festival. Last year.

The Umbarian wasted no time in finding sanctuary inside the chandlery, even if he was assaulted with an immediate barrage of questions from Devedir. Holding one hand up to beg a chance to catch his breath, Dolûzor glanced about the room and did not see who he was looking for. “It’s lucky I haven’t got any cargo on me, or those guards would have fingered me already !” he shook his head in disbelief. “Right. Well,” Any thought of spinning one of his usual tall tales vanished after meeting the Gondorian’s expression. Best be plain simple and quick about it then. “Things didn’t go as any of us had expected, because turns out things weren’t as we were led to believe they were” he took a step back almost subconsciously and glanced at the recently closed door, as though he was not sure whether his odds would be better off out there or inside. Slowly he unslung the cross bow off his back and made sure that all eyes observed it. Just in case they decided to shoot the messenger.

“Naluthor was there, at the south gate, just like Netor said. But it wasn’t any more pretty girls he had for me to bring back for you. what he did have wasn’t even packed up, let alone ready to transport all easy like neither. Two young guys, trouble makers, kicking up an awful racket. Naluthor said they’re meant for the temple, and I wasn’t about to argue with that. Only if they was for temple, I couldn't easily subdue them, could I ? It was far from easy work to get them even loaded up in the wagon to bring back here. I had to put the frighteners on ‘em.” He stroked his precarious missile launcher, silently naming it his ally in that cause.


“So the local stayed to finish up his dealings at the gatehouse. And when I was getting back close here again, I put an ear out and noticed that all the bellowing from my troublesome cargo had stopped. When I went to investigate, turned out the door to their ride was broke. They were nowhere to be seen. Best thing I could do to keep the guard from looking for me while I was looking for them, was to set the contraption ablaze. Horses dragged it right careering through the streets in a panic. I’d guess that’s what got their patrols all running about trying to catch and calm them down. Could have caught anything else alight and all by now. I didn’t exactly stop around to see where it ended up. It was a diversion.”

“Didn't see no sign of them on my way here. And all I can think is either Netor stole us a wagon which was waiting to be fixed, or else he messed it up himself. And maybe Naluthor didn’t tell quite tell him right what was waiting to be collected, or what work it would entail,” he added this last, with a look that failed subtlety in seeking up the stairs. In case Netor was stood there, ready to contest his accounting.”Wouldn’t put it past either one of them to try their luck, for a laugh. Fact is though, it wasn’t my doing that the tribute got away,” the young watchman made certain that everybody understood that much.

[Rillewen]

@Ercassie

Carpe Diem
|
Trev & Cali
Exiting the pirate ship!
Last day of Autumn Fayre (last year)

Nal's response to her admission was a relief to Cali. She had half anticipated him to be upset that she had let him believe a lie all this time, or to be annoyed that she hadn't confided this great secret to the group. And his compliment, that it was a good piece, brought the tiniest of smiles to her bruised face. He was not the first to have complimented it, of course, for Fuin had also said that the design was very clever. The elven smith had been impressed by it, so it was little surprise that Nal would be, too. But it meant a lot to hear him say it.

When he inquired about the blade, Cali was a little caught off guard, which made her pause for a moment. Because it was only half-true, when she'd told him that Ryn made it. She looked down at the water flowing past the boat for a moment as she debated how to answer that. But then she looked back at her bloodbrother with a little sadness showing in her eyes. "He made the hilt." She explained softly. "It was.. still in progress. I found it, tucked away in a corner. The blade still needed to be finished." She swallowed and looked down at the water again. It was a moment before she could talk again. "I think he meant to make it a full length sword. But, given your recent injury, I thought.. maybe it would be more useful to you.. shorter. Lighter." She risked a glance toward him, quietly. "That.. was his.. last project." She informed him in a whisper, because she couldn't quite make her voice any louder. She knew it was his last, because her twin had been in the habit of finishing one project before starting another.

Trev listened in silence, while doing his part with the rowing. After a moment, as the shore approached, he spoke up tentatively, "So.. my flute..?" He was wondering, now, since Cali had made her confession.

"I didn't have anything to do with that. That was all him." Cali assured him softly. "Same with your hair decoration," She added to Iole, quietly. To Nal, she added apologetically, "I'm sorry... I thought you would prefer it if you thought it was made entirely by... by Ryn." She concluded, with a little difficulty speaking around the lump in her throat.

Trev gave a small nod at the confirmation that his flute was all Ryn's work, while silently observing that the boat had glided nearly to the shore by now. He couldn't help but comment, however, "that's really impressive, though, considering he never even saw the original. I have.. and, near as I can recall from the brief look I got at yours," He nodded in Nal's direction, "it's.. a perfect match." He said, expressing how impressed he was with their lost brother's skill as he drew in his oar and glanced over at Nal, wondering if he'd know to do the same. He had gotten a much better look at the original than the copy Ryn made, but he thought he remembered it well enough to say so. Trev waited until the bottom of the boat scraped against sand before climbing overboard. He found himself knee-deep in very cold water, and cringed. Fortunately, his face was turned away from the occupants of the boat for that moment. Grabbing onto the end, he began attempting to drag the boat out of the water. But with three people still inside, it was more difficult than if it were empty. Still, he tried, and he did the best he could. Because two of those occupants were his sisters, and he didn't want them to have to step into that cold water. And he was, admittedly, feeling far too stubborn and proud to ask Nal to help. He obviously didn't want to help Trev at all. So why bother asking?

Once he felt that the boat was pulled up enough to not drift away, Trev reached out to the nearest of his sisters, with obvious intention to lift her from the boat to dry land, so that neither girl would have to get wet.

---

Devedir
Inside the Chandlery – a couple hours prior

The news that came to his ears was far from pleasant. Dev could not help but frown as more and more of the bad news came forth. The main thing that he picked out from all that Doluzor told him was that Netor had misled them about this whole thing. Standing with arms folded whilst the Umbar native told them all of his woes in this attempt at recovering what had promised to be a great treasure, Dev waited until the end, to be sure that there was nothing else. And he listened carefully to all that the man said, listening for anything that might be an attempt at decieving him, Dev. He had already proven to his crewman that was not a good idea. But he did not hear anything that raised his suspicions about Dol's tale, aside perhaps from some embellishment, which he could easily let slide.

"Wouldn’t put it past either one of them to try their luck, for a laugh,"

Dev inwardly agreed with that statement, but he didn't comment. "So. We've just wasted the entire day, sitting around here with nothing to show for it, while-" He paused in midsentence, realizing something alarming. If Netor was pulling some sort of deception, who's to say that he hadn't pulled some elaborate scheme just to trick Dev into keeping the majority of his crew here, trapped in the chandlery? What was the man up to? Could he be leading the authorities to them, right this moment? Or, perhaps he was back at the ship while they were stuck here? For that matter... Dev realized he didn't really know why he would have so generously donated those two young women. Dev stood very still for a moment as his gaze focused into the distance, his thoughts running through dozens of possibilities. He began thinking swiftly about what he should do. They were trapped here at the chandlery for several more hours. And now, thanks to Dol, there were guards running around everywhere outside. But then... perhaps that diversion could be a help to them?

Reaching a decision, he whistled for his guy to come down, then he turned to Dol. "You'd better stay here, guard the place. Same as usual." He instructed. "Take his place," He told Dol, as the other man hurried down the stairs to see what Dev wanted. Dev turned to his crewman. "Go down below, get Jay and a couple others to come up here, quick." He ordered. As Dev moved to cautiously watch from the boarded up window, he was thinking about a plan. He didn't like the idea of being trapped here, in case the guards showed up. So, he would take some men back to the ship to check on things and see what was going on there. The rest of the men would come along in their boats, when the tide allowed. And Dol had better not let them down as a lookout, either.

[Ercassie]

@Rillewen @Pele Alarion

Carpe Diem - Part 70



Unalmis Raxëlilta and Iole Ishen
Leaving the ‘Wingolost’ behind them; with Cali, and Trev.
Downriver from Harlond harbour. Eve of the last day of the Autumn Festival, last year.

In the steeping gloom of the hour, the world hurtled seamlessly past them, a tapestry of trees and shadow. Every stroke of the oar put the ship further behind them, the shore closer to reach. These were the things that mattered. Get the girls safe. Find Cadil … There had come no responding bird call yet. Had his friend heard the signal they had never even agreed upon, in all their initial rush ? Had Cadil been forced to make for the harbour town alone ? Had he found aid or worse trouble there ? What would they find now, at the shore ? Unalmis wasn’t properly sure he knew a single person in the boat with him. He was only half listening. Every word he’d heard come from the people that he loved today .. hurt. Hurt still. And the growing want to throw down his oar and throw himself over the side of the boat was overwhelming. To sink under the cold water where nothing else could come at him but the current. He would not fight if it carried him .. far far away from .. all of this. Somehow he had found all that he might ever have named as treasure on that pirate ship. And somehow it had turned out to be the worst thing that ever could have happened.

In the silence, the young Ranger’s mind privately argued out a thousand different scenarios to come. Each less satisfying than the last. The growing heap of concerns and doubts suffocating all notion of speaking. Breathe, he remembered, surrendering focus obstinately to the rhythm of their oars, their muted propulsion out of the fire and into the frying pan.


And all the while, Cali’s account pressed against his want to hear the facts. That Ryn had only made the hilt, the last thing he had worked on. That he had meant to make a larger blade, just like the one that Unalmis had drawn. Over and over and over again. In school books with ink, on walls with mud, in the dirt with a stick. He knew that sword as though he’d seen the real thing, which of course he couldn’t now remember. His uncle had taken it when Nal had been just three years old. And neither his uncle, nor the sword, had ever returned. Drawings were the only legacy, honed by practice, doing their very best to recreate the faded sketch that one of his father’s friends had made years ago. Of four Rangers, from way back when there had still been four of them. From the days his father could still stand, and smile, sword in hand. The sword had been an untouchable dream until Cali had handed him his own .. shorter but sure replica. And told him that Ryn had wanted for him to have it.

Of course, if Cali had adapted Ryn’s hilt to work with a smaller blade, so that he could manage it; well, that meant that Cali must have taken that hilt and shaped it smaller from her late twin’s intention, to balance the measure. A smaller copy than the original. Just like he. Lesser than the legends which had been before. An unfinished weapon. Ironic given that Ryn’s life had then been left .. unfinished ..


As Cali reassured her other brother and sister that their gifts had been wholly created by Ryndir, that she had thought Nal would have rather believed .. that his had been too .. brown eyes roved anywhere but the inside of that small boat. Focus on the form of rowing. Let the words roll over and away, like the water. He had deliberately sat on the side which would make it easiest on his right shoulder. But he had learnt how to use his legs, as much as his arms to row. He had learnt to roll his fingers rather than work the entire rotation at his wrist. Focusing on that …. He could do that. And say nothing. Because there was no point in upsetting everyone. He just wanted this all over, as soon as possible.

And then Trev dashed a cold bucket of recall over him, mentioning when he had actually seen the real sword, the large one. Confusion made way for the memory, of a claim made on the ship not long ago. Trevadir claiming he had seen Nal’s uncle. Now he was throwing in more bait to the line ? He had not only seen the missing man, but the heirloom blade as well ? Brown eyes closed, the hurt, the hate. Was that terror at it’s core or anger ? Maybe both. Because the box which had been closed. Firmly. Fastened. Flung into the deepest recesses of his mind where it could do no harm .. that box began to inch open it’s dread mouth of memory.


“I’ve seen your Uncle, with the sword,” The burned man’s face loomed like a burgeoning cloud to crush the sky with that haunting recollection. “In Harlond,” it hissed. “If you want .. I can take you there, maybe we can bring him back where he belongs ?”


In the moment where Nal might have leapt up, startled, he realised that Trev already had .. stood up. And instinct stiffened, ready for the moment he had feared, for the trick, the trap to be revealed .. But the idle nudge of their float on the fast encroaching bank spelled out the truth. They were at the shore. Still unwilling to allow their estranged sibling to drag them .. who knew where, Nal laid down his oar and took himself over the side of the boat too, to mirror Trev. He cared not if the motion jarred his brother’s efforts. He did not even look for a reaction. Rather, brown eyes scanned the darkness for the worst that his imagination might now conjure up. Adrenaline surged with no place to go until his every vein buzzed. The frigid river didn’t even register, save for a sluggish drag at his gait. And then Trev urged Cali into his arms, so Unalmis encouraged Iole into his, as though he could keep at least one of the girls from their ‘rescuer’.

She dropped one of the vials into the water, but did not flounder in an effort to retrieve it. Instead Iole clung with shivering arms around Nal, pacing her small gasps of breath to match his own. If she later recalled the incident, her mind no doubt filtered it far more romantic than it truly had been. Astoundingly aware of how close they were, how much of them was pressed against each other. How many times they’d been this way before and thought naught of it. And how awkward it was now, in the sense that she wished it would never end and also that she knew it must. For he no doubt did not feel anything at all except how cold the water was. When she was set firm on her feet upon the shore, the almost healer kept her blue eyes upon the young man she’d walked away from, only that morning. A brief glimpse of the grin and offered apple glimmered before the eve’s shadows stole her back to where she leaned down and brushed cold fingers over a star kissed stone. In the shadow of her silhouette though, it’s beauty was swallowed by the darkness. Iole closed fingers around it, and skimmed it across the river's surface as she rose back to full height with an anxious sigh.


“Do we have a plan ?” Nal voiced the ask for greater minds, rather than suggest something and have it knocked flat on its back. He wasn’t in the mood to be the source of their joking around this time. He wanted to be home, for them all to be safely back home. And then sleep … He would worry about everything else in the morning. Only, of course it would not be that easy. Would it ? “I mean, we’re liable to be arrested now at the gate if we try to just walk through,” he acknowledged, the reality of ‘Rip’ and all that had occurred to bring them here. “I should find Cadil.” He should really move, or call out, of course, in order to do so. First he checked that his broken knife was still where he had stowed it, not stolen by the river. “But maybe we should move away from the boat and standing such an obvious target first ?”

Iole shivered and considered their small group. “Can you help her ?” she asked Trev, indicating Cali with wide blue eyes. “If the pain healing wears off, she’s liable to faint.” she added, and bit back a small smile at the irony. That they all knew Iole was the one who was more liable to faint, in every other occasion than perhaps this one. But even so she caught what she could of her sister's attention, and made her silent plea to still the smith's independent streak. They needed to make sure Trev came with them. If he believed that they might not make it without his help .. well ... that might help matters along.

Behind her back meanwhile, Nal quietly took himself back over to the small boat and seized one of the oars to bring back with him. A nagging thought had planted itself in his every fibre of being. That this was not over yet. They might require any resource they could lay hands on. One broken knife and a small, sharpened sliver of bamboo might not be enough to defend them. And anything, frankly, that might inconvenience a bunch of pirates in the meantime was no bad idea, as far as he was concerned.

[Rillewen]

@Ercassie

Carpe Diem
|
Trev & Cali
Exiting the pirate ship!
Last day of Autumn Fayre (last year)
Late at night

They each carried one of their sisters to shore, as well-coordinated as if they had discussed it. To an outsider, it would seem as if they were of so similar a mind that they could simply communicate without words, to agree on such a plan without having to discuss it. But to Cali and Iole, it was clear that something was off. Their brothers were not synchronized in their thinking, as they had once been. Years ago. This time, it seemed more like... a competition? A mistrust? Cali could not put words to it, and her head ached a little too much to try.

As Trev set Cali safely on the dry ground, Nal's question broke whatever silence had settled over them. Followed by the reminder that they were all likely to be arrested now. Right.. now. Now that Trev was with them. That stung as much as it alarmed him. Because it confirmed everything Dev had been telling him for years. Although he'd been half-clinging to some faint hope that it was all just a lie, that hope was dashed in that moment. Because of course they would all that he's a wanted criminal. Especially Nal, the ranger. He probably knew all the wanted posters or something, because that was probably a thing rangers had to watch for. He supposed he should be grateful that his former friend hadn't arrested him already, but all he could about now, was that it meant he could not return with them. He'd thought his heart had sunk as low as it could, earlier, when he realized that Nal no longer wanted to be his friend. Now, it was as if it plummeted all over again.

Swallowing through a tight throat, Trev turned away from them just in case his misery showed in his expression, although he scowled to hide what was really going on inside. He'd gotten good at that, living with these horrible pirates who made his life a living misery. Showing them anger instead of fear, and defiance instead of despair, and so on. "Plan," he muttered under his breath, with a little huff of a breath. None of the rest of it had been planned. Since when did any of them ever bother with planning anything? It was almost absurd to hear Nal speak of making plans. Maybe that wasn't the same guy he'd grown up with, after all.

While he was turned away, Trev covered his actions by dragging the boat a little further up out of the water, so that the current couldn't drag it away, more out of habit than anything. Because one of the lessons he'd learned early on, is not to let yourself get stranded somewhere because you stupidly let your boat get away. But the next words out of Nal's mouth did make him stop and consider. A target, right. He glanced down the coast again, then looked at the shore. The tide was still sort of high, so that meant they still had time, right?

Iole's request made him turn back toward his sisters, anger and hurt giving way for concern for Cali. It wasn't all that long ago that she'd been a bit senseless, in shock Iole had said, and she still didn't look too good. To hear that she was liable to faint.. Cali? That was concerning.

Cali, in the meanwhile, had been focusing a lot on not letting her arm get jostled, and struggled to keep from crying out in pain if it did. When her sister, and best friend, spoke of the possibility of her fainting, she was on the verge of assuring them all that she was alright now, and that they needn't worry about her, but the look Iole gave her made her realize. Right. "I wouldn't really call it 'fainting'," She couldn't help but protest the use of that word, just the same. "But it does hurt a lot, and I do still feel a little.. off." She admitted.

Trev hesitated, even as Nal moved to grab something from the boat. The oar? Why? He frowned, looking from him to Cali, to Iole, and back to Cali. He could only go so far with them. Only as far as the gate. He didn't dare trying to come past that point. Nal himself had said it, just a moment ago. He'd get arrested. And they'd probably be arrested just for being with him. No, he couldn't do that. For a moment, he was torn between wanting to help his friends, his siblings, and fear for himself. The half-moon came out from under a cloud, giving enough light to remind him of the bruises on Cali's face, the traces of blood from before Iole had cleaned her face, and the splint on her arm. Those vials and things had helped her to recover her senses enough to get them all to safety. Then, thinking of those vials and the supplies that had been used to patch her up, it suddenly hit him. There was someone else that he should have been thinking about. Norui. The healer who had supplied those vials of medicine, despite being too beat up and hurt to tend to the patient himself. Startled to realize that, in his haste to get his friends to safety, Trev had completely forgotten to bring him along, too.

"I can't." He answered regretfully, wishing his reply could have been the opposite. "I.. I'll help you get to wherever Cadil is, then he can help you from there," He added hastily with a nod toward Cali. "But.. I can't go with you." Even though he desperately wanted to.

"What?" Cali couldn't believe what she was hearing. Why would he say that? Why would he not want to come with them? "Don't listen to Nal, we won't get arrested," She rolled her eyes. "I'll bet it's a different guard on post by now. But we can check it, first. And if it's not, then we'll go the long way around to the other gate." She suggested.

Trev shook his head, wishing things were that simple. "I have to go back." He nodded his head toward the ship, feeling dread just at the thought of it. Because that was the last thing he wanted to do. The moment they had made it to shore, he had wanted to cheer and run away as far as he could, before Dev and the others got back. But now... he couldn't do that. Because he had to make sure that Norui got away, too. And that would mean that Trev would have to help the man far more than Cali needed help. He was trying to summon the words to explain that he had left someone on board.

[Rillewen]

@Pele Alarion

Dinalogassel
Dec 22 - Noon

Earlier, in an inn on the fifth level...

This morning, they'd spent a while visiting with Uncle Brenior's friend, Lord Himhathol. And while that visit had been nice, the later the morning got, the more Dina began to worry that she wouldn't be able to sneak off, after all. But at least, their visit drew to an end, and they returned to their inn for lunch in the common room. Afterward, her uncle was going to take her and Meressel shopping. Dina, however, found shopping to be exceptionally boring, and she was actually quite glad to have made plans for something more interesting to do. She was a bit nervous when she came to lunch, and she hardly spoke a word while Meressel was babbling excitedly about all the things she'd like to buy, chattering about some things she'd seen in the window, and how many new dresses she hoped to get, and so on.

As the travelers concluded their midday meal in the inn's common room, Meressel eagerly hastened to return to the girl's room to grab her cloak and ready herself to leave while her father went to pay the check.

Dina was still working on her food, and when her uncle returned to the table, he frowned as he noticed this. "Everything alright, Dina?"

She glanced up and smiled faintly. "Oh, I just.. well, I didn't get much rest last night." She explained, which was true enough. She’d had difficulty falling asleep.

"Are you feeling unwell?" He asked in concern.

"No, I'm alright. I think I'm only tired.. I'll feel alright if I try to get a bit more rest." She answered, carefully making sure not to lie.

"Shall we cancel the shopping trip?" He asked tentatively.

"Oh no, I wouldn't want Meressel to be disappointed. I know how excited she is about it," she answered. "Don't worry about me, I don't mind missing it, anyway. I was really only going to look for a book to bring back home for Caeleb."

"Are you sure?" He asked, frowning a bit in worry. "If you're feeling sick, perhaps we should take you to the houses of healing?" He gently placed a hand on her forehead. Children getting sick was always a strong concern for their family, due to Caeleb.

Dina shook her head. "Just tired, Uncle. I promise." She insisted. "I'll be alright. I'd just like to have a little nap, that's all. If I wake up before you get back, maybe I'll come and join you " She wouldn't be joining them, but they didn't have to know that.

"Alright, if you're sure you won't feel left out, staying here all by yourself." He frowned slightly at the thought, but then decided that she would surely be safe enough to remain in the room here at the inn.

Dina nodded and pushed her plate away, finished with eating. She was a bit nervous, but also excited. "I'll see you later, uncle Brenior." She promised, then went upstairs to the room. She passed Meressel in the hallway and decided not to tell her cousin that she wouldn't be joining them. Let him tell his daughter that news, so Dina could be spared the pouting that would follow.

---

A few hours had passed since breakfast. Dina had, as promised, laid down for a few minutes, but not for long. Just long enough to watch, from the window she could see from her bed, until Brenior and Meressel were out of view. Once she felt sure that it was safe to do so, she got up and hastily changed into her traveling clothes, then paused to contemplate the wisdom of meeting a young man that she barely knew, so they could go riding out in the Pelennor, without her family knowing where she was going and with whom. It passed through her mind, the joke he'd made about kidnapping her and asking her uncle for ransom. She'd laughed at it, at the masquerade, and he had said he was joking. And that he was friendly with some guards. So, he must be alright. She took a deep breath and told herself that everything would be fine. She reminded herself of how very nice and pleasant Sir Rooster had been during the dance yesterday evening.

Dina was smiling again as she left the inn, her cloak wrapped around herself for warmth as well as a bit of disguise, in case she might have to pass by her uncle and cousin on her way down the levels. She hurried as much as she could, trying her best to get there as soon as possible. But she'd underestimated how long it would take her to travel from the fifth, down to the first! And she hadn't been able to leave as soon as she would have wanted to, anyway. So it was a bit later than noon by the time she finally reached the Great Gate, breathless from jogging the last couple of levels. Her breath puffed in little white clouds in the cold air as she slowed her pace down to a walk and looked about to see if he was there.

Had she kept him waiting too long? Had he given up? She really hoped not, for she had tried her best to get here by the time they'd agreed upon. Remembering that he was planning to have a couple of horses along, she figured she'd go out of the gate, and see if he was waiting for her beyond the gate, where the grass was. He had mentioned letting the horses munch on the grass while he waited, right?

[Arnyn]

| |
Lieutenant Arnyn Dealedwen | Pelecconner Picker | Hyandaner Calan
Harlond - January 24nd

Harlond wore its usual face of ordered chaos. Sailors arriving and leaving, gulls arguing over scraps of food dropped by passersby (or stolen from the hands of the unexperienced). The harbour breathed in its ships and exhaled them again.

In a low-beamed tavern, with windows leaning toward the water, two men were waiting. They'd been there for hours. Picker sat with his chair tipped back against the wall, one boot hooked over the rung, watching the empty stretch of dock below. It had been kept remarkably clear. Calan stood at the window, arms folded, gaze drifting now and then to the same patch of harbor.

“Still empty,” Picker muttered.

Calan’s mouth twitched faintly. “It won’t be, forever.”

Picker pointed his chin toward the open space below. “Must be nice.”

Calan didn’t turn toward him. “What is?”

“Having your spot waiting for you.”

“Yeah,” Calan said. “Must be.”

Neither of them voiced the name of the House that had been tied to that empty stretch of dock, in anticipation of the warship's arrival. They didn’t need to.

***

When the Bregolalph sailed into the harbour, Picker’s chair thudded back onto all four legs. “About time,” he said, pushing to his feet.
By the time the ship had drawn in and the lines were being cast, they were waiting at the edge of the dock. They left space for the hustle and bustle, and had taken up a position where they would not stand in the way. But where they were, nevertheless, noticable.

Arnyn came down the gangplank with the others, the wind not yet done with her hair despite the hood she'd pulled up and somehow seemed to stay up. She had a pack slung over one shoulder.

Picker and Calan closed the distance without ceremony. “Lieutenant.” No salute. It was not needed here, not for this, not among a trio which had known one another as long as they had.

Arnyn's eyes gave them a quick scan. Even though she was glad they had come to meet her here, and bloody nervous about the news they might bring, her expression did not change much. It rarely did. “You’ve been waiting,” she merely remarked.

“Since early morning,” Picker answered.

“Then I assume you have information worth the wait," she stated calmly, despite the urge she felt to shake them and order them to describe everything to her in full, immediately.

Calan reached into his cloak. “Yes.” He held out a letter.

Arnyn’s gaze dropped down from the Hyandaner's handsome face to the letter. The wax seal was unbroken. Some creature's head pressed into it… a bird that looked as though it had decided to be a dragon after hatching. For a heartbeat, the world narrowed. Her hand came up. Steady. Always steady.
She took the letter between the fingers of one hand. Her thumb brushed the edge of the wax, if confirming it was real. Her other hand reached up, brushing almost absently against the sapphire pendant at her throat.

They had made it. Across the sea, past whoever's eyes might have watched them go. Her relief broke inside of her, but the cut-off was sharp and and immediate. They were alive when this was written. It would have been about two weeks now, since they'd sent this. And every day in that place was a roll of the dice. The letter was the beginning to the danger they'd stepped into. Not an ending. She knew that.

She had always known that.

Her fingers tightened slightly around the letter before she eased them again.

“Anything else?” she asked, her voice lower than the two men had expected.

Picker glanced at Calan, then back ot Arnyn. “Crates.”

“Two expected,” Calan added. “Four delivered.”

A pause, as the Lieutenant considered. “Contents?”

“Two as ordered.” Calan halted briefly. “Two... not.”

Picker added: “Coffee. And cocoa. Beans.”

Something in Arnyn stilled. Calan reached again into his cloak and drew out the folded scrap of parchment. "This came with them."

She took it. Opened it. 'For the golden-haired.'
Arnyn's eyes remained locked upon the written words for several heartbeats too long. Something colder slipped into her gaze. Calculation.

A gift. No, worse. A gesture.

One that could be kindness. Or leverage. Or a test. Or all three at once.

She folded the note again with precise care. “They were not part of the deal,” she said. Her tone remained level. Controlled.

Picker shifted slightly. “Trying to get in your good graces?”

Her eyes lifted to him with a dark gaze that looked like it could cut steel if she wanted it to.

Calan tilted his head. “You want them returned?” he inquired. They could always take the crates back to the island...

Arnyn’s gaze drifted briefly back toward the ship behind her, as the folded note tapped rhythmically against the still sealed letter as she thought it over. Returning the crates to the sender was impossible. Returning them to the island was unwise. Accepting them was dangerous.
Her hands stilled. “No,” she said at last, her tone void of any hesitancy. “We keep them.”

Picker’s brow lifted a fraction.

Arnyn met his gaze. “In storage,” she added. “Sealed. No distribution.” She frowned. She had learned from some of her mistakes, at least. And she was not about to assume that the coffee and cocoa were untampered with. "Not yet."

Calan's gaze sharpened. "Reason for concern?"

"Yes." The word came without any hesitation. There was too much riding on this. And there was no time to properly test them, to make sure that none of this was some kind of trap. If the beans were clean, then they would keep long enough until they had a much better idea of Ava's intentions - and long enough for them to be tested, then. If they were in fact clean, she would donate them to those who could use it more than the rangers themselves could. All of their needs were met, after all. And there was no way she was keeping anything for herself. For the cocoa, she was already thinking of the school near the second circle. And the orphanage. The coffee, she could figure out later. "If they're clean, they will keep."

Calan inclined his head. “As you say. And the gemstones?”

Arnyn folded the letter and the note away inside her cloak. “Lock them away, too. Nothing moves until I - or the Captain - say otherwise. Anything else to report?”

“Nothing else that looked out of place,” Picker said.

Arnyn gave a single nod. “Good.” She turned slightly, turning in the direction of the white-stoned city, miles beyond Harlond's harbour. The duties waiting there were stacking themselves neatly in her mind. Even as she felt an uncomfortably rushed, jittery feeling inside of her head. There was so much to do. She had now heard one report, on one assignment she'd given out to be performed during their absence. But she had several more to receive. And she wanted them all today.

And the letter. She had to read the letter. But she rather wouldn't in front of the others... despite the need she felt to rip that ridiculous seal open.

She looked at the Pelecconner and the Hyandaner in front of her. "You brought him?"

Calan nodded with a little smile. "Waiting for you in that tavern's stables," he said, waving behind him to the building. "Along with our own horses."

The Lieutenant nodded. "Let's go." It had been cleared with the Captain. She was free to ride separately from the group of rangers returning from the sea voyage. "Tell me everything on the way to the city."

Picker grunted, but Calan smiled. "Of course."

[Rillewen]

(Solo, but tagging @Arnyn in reference to this)

| |
Trastion | Eryn | Berion
January 18th, Late afternoon
Somewhere out in the Pelennor
Continued from here

The sun was still shining brightly as they set out into the Pelennor. Trastion led the way, riding Narsule, with Eryn next to him on Mael, and Berion sticking close to Eryn, on Gaeroch. Since practically everyone Trastion could think of to invite to join him was off at sea training at the moment, he’d been at a loss for who to bring along to ride the third horse. Therefore, Eryn suggested that her young cousin, who was learning to ride, might enjoy coming along. His feet didn’t reach the stirrups, but it was alright as long as they didn’t move too fast for the boy to manage. He was enjoying getting to join them for some riding, and it was also fun for him to ride on a different horse than Smoke, who he had declared is ‘boring and slow’. Eryn had offered to let Della ride with her, but the shy little girl didn’t want to go along. So, she figured maybe it was for the best anyway. Maybe it would be good for Berion to get some time away from his sister, since she tended to be a little clingy to him, at times.

The horses were eager to be out in the fresh air, after being cooped up in their stalls all morning. Trastion was also a bit anxious to get out for some fresh air, which helped to refresh him a little after a tiring day of training and duties. It was cold, but that only helped to wake him up a bit. He wanted to set off into a brisk trot, but he kept to a slower pace, keeping the little boy in mind. They rode for a while in silence before Trastion spoke up to make conversation.

“How’d your dog obstacle course thing go, by the way?” He asked Eryn, curious.

“Fine, I guess.” She grinned. “I mean, the dogs had a lot of fun. And Brooke and I enjoyed trying to build the things. I think she had fun, anyway. I did.”

“What all did you build?” he wondered.

“Oh, a tunnel that the dogs can crawl through,” She thought for a moment. “And like, a line of posts that they’re supposed to weave through, and we put some hoops up, to try and get them to jump through. And we built a ramp that goes up one way, then down the other. It’s like an upside-down V, I guess. And a balance beam, which can also be like a bar to jump over.” She thought for a moment. “Oh, and we used some stones to make like.. stepping stones. We tried making a.. see-saw sort of thing, but it didn’t work out right, and we didn’t really know how to make it properly. Actually, most of it could probably be made better,” She admitted.

(reference)

“Hattie wouldn’t cooperate with most of the stuff,” Berion giggled. “She just kept running around all excited, and barking.”

“I’m sure it’ll take some work to train her,” Trastion nodded, grinning slightly. “Maybe you should focus on teaching her one thing only, before Nal returns. If she can learn that one thing really well, that’ll be impressive, right?”

“Good idea.” Eryn smiled. “I just have to decide which one to do.”

“Where’d you put it, anyway?” He wondered.

“Kind of partly in the woods near the creek. We were thinking about maybe trying to include the creek somehow in the thing, but we weren’t really sure what to do, besides a bridge.” She frowned thoughtfully.

“Right. Well, I’m sure you’ll think of something.” He reined in the horse and looked out thoughtfully across the field, then back toward his companions. “What do you think about teaching him to trot?” he asked with a nod toward Berion.

Eryn looked over at the boy questioningly. “Think you can?” She asked him.

Berion’s eyes widened slightly. “I dunno..” He answered nervously. “What do I do?”

“It’s not.. hard, exactly, just, well, it takes some practice.” Eryn frowned thoughtfully, and took a moment to explain to him how to do it without using the stirrups. Since she didn’t even have stirrups, she was better suited to explain to him how to stay on his horse when he couldn’t reach them.

“If all else fails,” Trastion put in, with a half grin, “You can just grip the saddlehorn for dear life.”

“That’s not what you’re supposed to do!” Eryn protested with a little laugh.

“I know,” He laughed. “But I mean, it is an option, right?”

Berion grinned. “I’ll hold on, for sure. But I better hold onto the reins too, right?”

“You can do that, yes.” Eryn nodded. “And if you feel like Gaeroch is going too fast and you’re going to fall or something, you make her slow down and holler out to let me know, in case you need help.”

“Alright.” He looked nervous, but excited, too. “What are we doing?”

“I’m thinking we could trot over to that barn and back?” Trastion suggested, nodding toward an old dilapidated barn some distance away. It had been abandoned for years as far as they knew, so no one was likely to be upset about them tresspassing.

“Alright, think you can do that, Berion?” Eryn asked, checking.

“I’ll try.” He nodded. “But.. how do I get her to do it?” He frowned.

“First, we ask for a walk. You know how to do that,” Trastion answered. “Then, when she’s walking, you repeat the same command to ask her to go up a speed.”

Soon, the trio of riders launched into a trot. Eryn kept a close eye on her cousin, watching him bounce around at first before he pulled on the reins to stop. She immediately stopped alongside him. “You alright?”

“It’s really bouncy,” He frowned.

“Yeah, it is.” She agreed with a little nod. “You were just sitting, though. Next time, use your muscles to sort of.. follow along with the motions,” She tried to explain.

Trastion, having pulled up as well, tried to offer a bit better explanation for him. Remembering when he was little, and had first begun riding lessons, he drew on that recollection to offer some tips to the young boy.

Next time they started out again, Berion was doing a little better, and he didn’t seem as nervous. They reached the barn and stopped. Berion was grinning. “I did it!” He cheered.

“Good job!” Eryn grinned happily.

“Can we go faster now?” He asked with a grin.

“Ha… no.” Eryn declared. “Not until you’ve gotten really good at the trot.”

“Actually, cantering isn’t as bouncy,” Trastion mentioned, turning to set off back the other way. "It's more like.. riding a toy rocking horse."

“Yeah, but he’s barely got his balance with a trot,” Eryn pointed out. “If he could use the foot things, it might be alright, but… well, Aunt Aggie would kill me if I let anything happen to him.”

“And me, I guess.” Trastion acknowledged. “We’ll trot back, then.” He agreed. "And the word is stirrups," He added with an eyeroll.

They set off again. Berion was doing well with his trotting, until a rabbit darted out from the field. Unfortunately, of all the three horses, Gaeroch was the most likely to spook. And she did exactly that; taking off at a panicked run. Berion yelled in fright, clinging to the saddlehorn with both hands in a desperate attempt to stay on. He couldn’t even make himself let go in order to tug on the reins, but it wouldn’t have helped if he had, since Gaerock was too panicked to pay attention to such signals.

Trastion and Eryn both immediately pushed their horses to run after him. Eryn quickly passed up the trainee on the slower warhorse, but Mael was still not quite as fast as Gaeroch. She was persistent, however, better at maintaining a pace than bursting into speed. It took a bit of time, but she eventually caught up to the other horse. Rather than trying to do anything to stop Gaeroch, she reached out and grabbed Berion, while her other hand held onto Mael’s mane. “Let go,” She ordered, then pulled her little cousin safely onto the back of her horse as soon as he did. Once he was safely off the horse and clinging to her back, she reached out again and caught the reins that he had abandoned. Before long, she had both horses slowed to a stop. Gaeroch was still rather antsy, but she seemed comforted by Mael.

Eryn then looked back, wondering what had happened to Trastion, for he had sort of just… disappeared from her awareness a few moments after they set out at a run. Had Narsule been that slow, or had he given up on the chase once he saw that Eryn had it under control?

---

Meanwhile...

As soon as Trastion had pushed Narsule into a run, things began to go wrong. He was focused on trying to get more speed out of Arnyn’s steed, when suddenly he felt something shift in a way that it shouldn’t have. Then the saddle started to slip to one side. Eyes widening in alarm, Trastion hastily tried to lean the opposite way to counter-balance, even as he glanced down swiftly to see what was going on. When he saw the girth strap swinging loose beneath the horse, he immediately pulled both feet out of the stirrup and gripped onto his mane with one hand. “Whoa,” he gasped, hoping the verbal cue would be enough to stop, or at least slow, the running horse.

“Whoa!” The hand not gripping the mane pulled the reins to the right, forcing Narsule to turn into a circle, wide at first, with the intention of tightening it inward as his pace inevitably slowed. He could tell that Narsule was a bit freaked out by what was happening, but fortunately, he was well-trained. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a little thanks went out to Arnyn for that, but he had no time to consciously think about such things right now. About the time he had to think about was how to not fall beneath Narsule’s hooves.

“Whoaaaa!” As soon as he swung into the circle, the motion also made the saddle slip the rest of the way toward the left, although Trastion tried to keep his weight tilted in the opposite direction. He couldn’t help but slide along with it, still clinging to his mane. He tried to use one leg to hook over his back in a deseperate attempt to stay on, but the momentum carried Trastion down, making him lose his grip. He hit the ground on Narsule’s left, even as Narsule continued to travel toward the right, away from him, continuing for a little bit before he brought himself to a stop, with no rider on him to tell him what to do.

As for Trastion, he’d mostly landed on his back, but also a little more heavily on one shoulder and hip than the other. He’d had enough presence of mind to tuck his chin when he landed, so that his head didn’t slam against the ground, but he lay there for a moment, winded and a bit stunned from the impact. When he slowly sat up with a groan, Trastion glanced around slightly, trying to get his bearings. Narsule was standing nearby, pawing at the fallen saddle curiously, as if he was wondering how it got off of his back. Thankfully, he wasn’t doing that to Trastion, he thought idly.

The next thing he saw, was Eryn running toward him. Trastion cringed, realizing that she must have seen him fall. Well, that was a little embarrassing.

“What happened? Are you alright?” She called, breathless as she reached him and kneeled beside him, her eyes wide with alarm.

“I.. don’t think anything’s broken?” He offered with a weak smile. “I have no idea what happened,” he added, wincing as he checked to see how sore his shoulder felt.

“Let me,” Eryn insisted. She wasn’t a full healer or anything, but she knew a little bit, by now.

“How’s your cousin?” he asked, while Eryn was checking him for injury.

“He’s alright, just a bit scared.” She answered. “He’s holding the horses,” She added. As soon as she had turned and saw Trastion falling off of Narsule’s back, she and Berion had dismounted, and she’d ordered him to stay with the horses while she went to check if Trastion was alright. Honestly… from a distance, she’d been afraid that she might find that he’d broken his neck or something horrible, so she’d wanted Berion to keep back.

“Should get Narsule,” Trastion mumbled as Eryn asked him to move his legs to make sure he hadn’t injured them.

“He’s fine,” She answered, with a glance at him. “How in Arda did your saddle come off, anyway?”

“That’s what I’d like to know.” Trastion frowned, then allowed Eryn to help him up, once she had deemed him fit enough to do so.

“You didn’t hit your head, did you?” She asked, worried about concussions or something.

“No,” He shook it slowly. “I was actually kind of impressed with myself about that,” He admitted with a faint laugh, despite the fact that he felt slightly shaken. “I kept my chin tucked and I didn’t hit my head on the ground.”

Eryn nodded and kept an eye on him as they started slowly toward Narsule. He was limping ever so slightly, but she figured it was probably from a sore leg or hip, from landing on it. “Your muscles might be pretty sore in the morning, and maybe for a couple of days,” She mentioned.

“Ugh. Yeah.” He was not looking forward to that, but he figured she might be right about it, now that she mentioned it. All his muscles had probably tensed to brace for impact, so yes, he’d probably feel that tomorrow.

“Hey there, aren't you good boy?” Trastion greeted Narsule as he cautiously approached, just in case he was a little spooked. Fortunately, the horse allowed them to approach and begin petting him. “Thanks for not trampling me.” He joked faintly, with a tiny smile.

Eryn picked up the saddle and turned it over to inspect it, curious. It was easy to find the damaged place, by following where the girth strap hung freely, when it shouldn't. “Ahh, this leather piece here looks like it got rubbed down until it broke.” She frowned slightly.

Trastion glanced at it from where he stood rubbing on Narsule. “The billet strap? Huh.” He sighed. At least that was easily replaceable. He, however, was not. “Guess that’ll teach me to skip the inspections, next time,” He muttered, scratching the side of Narsule’s face lightly. “I can’t believe how quickly that got worn through.” he shook his head slightly. "I know I checked it a few days ago."

“Well…” Eryn looked around. “Now what do we do?” She asked. “I mean… can we rig something to secure the saddle well enough for him to carry it back for us? Berion can ride double with me, and you can ride Gaeroch back. But the saddle…”

“Sure, I think I can make something work,” Trastion nodded slightly. “Go get your cousin.” He suggested.

“Are you sure you’ll be alright to ride, after that fall?” She checked, frowning a little.

“I’m fine.” He assured her. “I’ve fallen off horses before. And rocks, and trees, and all sorts of other stuff. Don’t worry, I’ll be alright.” He smiled.

She shrugged slightly and nodded, then went over to where Berion was waiting with the other two horses.

While she was retrieving them, Trastion carefully placed the saddle pad back on Narsule’s back, then the saddle. He took his belt and ran it through the places where the billet strap connected the saddle to the girth strap, and then did what he could to make it just snug enough to hold the saddle on. He was finishing up by the time Eryn and Berion returned.

They kept the horses to a leisurely walk for the rest of the way back to Eryn’s family farm, which gave Eryn plenty of time to assess Trastion as he was riding on Gaeroch. “I’d suggest you get yourself checked out by the healers, when you get back to the sixth.” She told him as she helped Berion down from Mael, before following suit. “I can only gauge so much about your condition.” She shrugged.

“Thanks. I’ll see how I feel in the morning.” He told her.

“Does this mean we won’t go riding tomorrow?” Berion wondered, trying to decide if he wanted to anyway, after the scary runaway horse thing.

Trastion hesitated, glancing at the horses, then at Eryn. “I’ll.. see how I feel in the morning. I’ll let you know.” He decided. “See you both.” He said, taking their horses’ reins from Eryn as she offered them back. “And Berion,” he added with a little grin. “Focus on the fun part, alright? Remember.. you trotted for the first time today! And, you didn’t fall off when your horse spooked!”

“Yeah!” He grinned happily as this silver lining was pointed out to him.

“Right, and if that ever happens again, what do you do?” Eryn asked him.

Berion paused. “Hang on?”

Eryn laughed. “No.. what did Trastion do when he was trying to stop Narsule?”

“Ummmm. He fell off.” He answered, puzzled.

Trastion laughed. “Well, he’s got a point there..” He admitted. “But I think what Eryn is looking for, is the way that I started pulling him around into a circle. Did you see that? He had to slow down to manage that. So if a horse ever spooks or bucks or rears or anything crazy like that, just make them circle around and around, as tight a circle as you can get them in.” He explained.

“Ohh. Alright! Got it.” Berion grinned, then ran off inside to tell all about their adventure.

Eryn shook her head slightly in amusement, then looked at Trastion with a more solemn expression. “Seriously, though. Go see a healer. I don’t count, I’m only an apprentice.” She said, then waved before heading into the house after Berion.

Trastion nodded, then looked at the three horses. “We’ll see.” He muttered. "Good night," He said, then mounted Gaeroch again. His hip and leg was a little sore, so he rode the rest of the way back up to the sixth level, leading the other two horses behind him.


(continued here)

[Ercassie]

@Rillewen

Unalmis Raxëlilta. Walking Eryn home, without actually walking her home.
Late on Dec 27th. After the Date night at the Guest House.

A shiver ran through the long silvered grass, casting each flat feathered blade low in an oddly reverent bow down to it’s roots. Their idol, the frozen orb of moon aloft, sheared down a new tide of winter’s breath to chastise the intrusion. Of a pair of worn boots. And the one who wore them.

Unalmis observed the strange celestial ceremony he had inadvertently come upon, with a flick of one hand to dismiss the tickle of a chill. A whisper of some handless touch at the back of his neck, like a whisper’s kiss, told him that he ought not be there. But brown eyes were set, even through the darkness, where he could not put a foot in their wake. Not upon the beaten track, the easier path. Not unless he wanted to alarm the lone figure who made that trek her tour. Skipping down the way like a bird, her long russet hair competed with an elaborate garb that the most sensible cloak could not utterly overcome. Oblivious she seemed, with a small spray of flowers clasped in hand, meandering as though she might be an errant handmaid of the sun, lost to revelry in golden hours and finding only lately that the day had escaped her. The notion shaped his jaw into a smile. But it was a secret he could not share. For one thing, he had loitered now so long in admiring her passage, that she had almost escaped his pursuit entirely.


Every instinct in him wanted to call out, to break out from his shrubbery and take them in a mirthful race to reach the farm. Any other day he would have done so. But lately, .. and for another thing it was late. He did not wish to scare her. After what had happened in September.

An abrupt bark shattered the silence, recalling the cold chill of dread, and concern. She was close to home now. Unalmis sank down to a practiced squat, and readied to watch that she got safe inside. He could almost see the scene which he had witnessed up close, countless times, when approaching the farm aside her. Hattie dashing excitedly between the window she could see her friends through, and the door which was her means to greet them. Sooner rather than later, somebody inside would tire of her agitation and release the hound … Just like that ..


An opened door threw light out of the farmhouse, and the unleashed dog capered a small orbit around Eryn, as though the girl was a maypole like they’d seen in Edoras. A second smile succeeded Nal’s first to observe their easy gladness in the reunion, and then it died on his face. For too late he realised his error. The labours spent in training Hattie to seek out anyone whom she could not see, in Eryn’s vicinity. Particularly out in the fields. Ever since September … He would hide and let the dog sniff him out. Hide clothes and items for her to locate. He would set up traps devised solely to raise noise and stir some motion to help the terrier recognise things that might be about. Things that, this particular evening, included .. him.


It did not take Hattie long to sense him, a fact he wasn’t sure whether to celebrate or begrudge at the given time. Hurtling away from Eryn, the dog tore through the darkness between them, startling a lone bird into flight as she did so, that took up from some unnoticed perch, chattering an angry rebuke at the dog which had already gone past caring.

The Ranger was not quite prepared to catch the speeding canine, particularly set as he was, low on the balls of both feet. They both hit the ground with an ‘oomph’ which rather fractured any dreamlike notion he had been entertaining. Dogs did not do subtle, but loudly celebrated locating her human, beyond a short hedge hide. That same human was forced to pluck a lost (and now broken) arrow out from the undergrowth, under where he’d crushed it further into the undergrowth. So a 'stick' now really. Hoping that his usual accomplice might meantime think that the bird had summoned their hound’s attention, he urged her to return back; “To Eryn !” ... in as quiet a command as he could risk. Thankfully dogs have far better hearing than people, even better than autumnal-maned fairies who stroll through the sleeping hours. And even more thankfully, it took little time at all for Hattie to speed back in search of Eryn, who she presented her prize to as though it had been asked for.


With a slow shake of his head, the young Ranger found his feet, and wiped dog slobber on his sleeve. He held his breath in a suspended stoop pose, until dog and damsel had sought out home and hearth proper. Only once the door was closed behind them, did Unalmis turn reluctantly to depart. It was not unknown, after all, for Duinion to patrol the borders of his homestead, whether or not his daughter may have noted anybody out there. And no doubt the younger man would find some knowing look about the elder’s face when he next met him. There would come a day soon, he was sure, when it would be impossible to evade Eryn’s notice, in such ‘games’. But the day that Unalmis could fool the likes of Duinion ? That day seemed far more distant in the future.

Time for home. She was safe in hers now. And no sign of any strange men loitering about her long trek home to alarm her. Except for Unalmis himself. And that being the very opposite of his intention. Time for home indeed.

[Rillewen]

Private / Solo

Sofia Nerennia
Encountering an unexpected and unwanted house guest
Early morning hours of December 22nd
(continued from here)

It was already growing light by the time Sofia finally got home. She was tired, more than a bit drunk, and she wanted a bath. The Pelennor was transformed during the night, dusted with snow. Sofia sighed as she walked down the road, wrapped in her cloak. She tilted her head back with her tongue out, giggling as she tried to catch a few of the drifting flakes. It was harder than one would think! She darted over to try and catch one, then ended up staggering around trying in vain to catch a flake until she fell down. She sat there giggling at her own silliness for a few minutes, then lay back and tried to make a snow angel. But there wasn’t enough snow on the ground, and she gave up with a sigh.

Brushing off her dress, she continued on her way, twirling around a couple of times as she went. All that dancing had made her feet a little tired, but she had enjoyed it, nonetheless. Maybe not as much as she might have, if she'd gotten to go to the masquerade. Or maybe she wouldn't have enjoyed it. Who knows. She would have to ask Diona, tomorrow, what it was like. What did she miss out on? How was the food? Was there really an open bar? How was the music, and so on. And of course, she had tons to tell her in return, tomorrow, about what happened after she left.

At the place where the main road turned off into a smaller lane, Sofia turned down the lane that led to her house. As tired as she felt, she always felt a bit of reluctance to go home, and tonight seemed that much worse. The drafty old place would be cold and dark, and at this point, it would be a waste of time and wood to light a fire. Most of the windows were covered in blankets or towels, to keep out the draft. Unused doorways were kept closed off with whatever blankets or sheets could be spared, so she really only used the sitting room that was connected to the kitchen, this time of year. Trying to heat the rest of the house took too much firewood. She'd even started sleeping on the couch, to avoid having to go into a cold bedroom to sleep. Perhaps, one day, she'd just sell the stupid farmhouse and move into town. Except, she'd tried that once, she recalled, and no one would buy it because it was too run-down and they said it had no value. Besides, when she decided to go ahead and sell at whatever low price she could get for it, she was informed that she didn't have the legal rights to sell, that only her sister did. Darn that.

She was too tired and drunk to notice the smoke rising from the chimney as she approached the old farmhouse. So, it was with great surprise when she found the door unlocked. Confused, she stepped into the house to find the fireplace merrily crackling. Lamps had been lit, which she hadn't been able to see from outside because of the thick blankets covering the windows. Sofia blinked in confusion, trying to make sense of this with her head swimming with wine and other drinks she'd consumed.

"Close the door, you're letting cold air in."

The haughty voice drew her blurry gaze toward the figure sitting in the chair by the fire. She didn't have to look to know who it was, but she looked anyway. She frowned as she pulled the door shut behind her, focusing on his face. It was him. Amy’s fiance’s so-called friend, Ric Androllius. The lieutenant, who apparently, was in some sort of trouble these days, she'd heard. Finding the room to be comfortably warm, Sofia shed her cloak, tossing it more or less in the direction of the pegs on the wall. “What, have you been waiting for me?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. “In my house?” She found that irritating. It was bad enough when he showed up and pushed his way in, uninvited. But now, he was breaking in while she wasn't even here?

“I started a fire for you,” He pointed out. "Figured you'd be cold, walking home in the snow and all."

“Right.” She blinked as she frowned at him. “Look, I haven’t seen Amy in months. If I do, I’ll let her know you’re looking for her. I’ve told you that every single time you ask.” She folded her arms defiantly. "I haven't heard from her, so-"

"Oh, I know." he smiled. "But that isn't why I'm here, this time. Actually, I need somewhere to stay for a little while, and I figured you wouldn't mind."

"I do mind. I don't want you here." Sofia told him bluntly. "Get out." She demanded, missing the flicker of anger that crossed his face as she was heading for the kitchen, where she had a few groceries tucked away in the cabinets. She quickly fixed a sandwich with the bread and cheese and things that she found there. She was quite hungry, after that tiresome shift. More than ever, she wished she could've gone to the masquerade. The thought of an endless free buffet of gourmet food was far more appealing than a lousy sandwich.

He frowned and followed her, grabbed her arm, and spun her to face him. “You realize, of course, we are alone here. Far from anyone.” He pointed out. He leaned closer, lowering his voice to a nearly threatening tone. "I could kill you right now. No one would hear a thing, and how long do you think it'd be, before anyone even came looking for you?"

Sofia stared back at him, frowning as she tried to think through a somewhat muddled head. After a moment, she forced a smile. “Ohhh, but I don’t think you will. You know, they’re looking for you, back in town. The guards are all upset about you leaving, back in the summer. Apparently, they think you might be guilty of something...” She tried to appear relaxed and unconcerned by his intimidating presence. “They might be very interested in knowing where you are...”

He smiled back at her. "For your sake, and for Amy's, you had better hope that they don't find that out." He informed her.

"Amy..?" Sofia frowned. "I told you.. I haven't-"

"I know exactly where Amy is." He cut her off. "And if you ever want to see her again, you'll do exactly as I say."

Sofia went quiet at that, blinking at him. Wait. What? Was that a threat against her sister, now? Was he saying.. that Amy was in danger from him?

"If you don't," He went on, "you'll have another grave to visit, very soon." He warned her.

That left no doubt, then. Sofia swallowed and stared at him, her mind feeling a bit slow from the alcohol. "You.. you have Amy?"

"That's right." He let go of her arm. "You keep quiet about me, or I promise she will suffer for it. And believe me, I know how to make a person suffer."

"Where is she?" Sofia demanded, eyes widening.

"She's in a place that only I know about, and if anything happens to me, she starves. So no matter what happens, you tell anyone that I'm here.. no more sister. Is that clear?"

Sofia nodded slowly, her heart racing. She had no idea what to do. It seemed like every time he came here, her situation got worse. "What do you want?" She asked in a small voice.

"Right now," He stepped back. "I'd like some breakfast," He declared, indicating that Sofia should cook him something. He smirked at her before moving back into the other room. "We'll talk about what else I require, later."

Sofia stared after him for a moment, then turned back to the counter, resting her elbows on it as she buried her face in her arms. Why. Why did he have to constantly plague her? Why did Amy have to get mixed up with a creep like that? She wanted to scream and throw stuff at him, but she knew it would only make him angry. So, she'd just try to get through the day, and tomorrow.. yeah, she was going to find somewhere else to sleep tomorrow. Maybe the inn. Or, maybe a friend's house. Di might be willing to let her stay the night, right? Her dad wasn't likely to be home anyway, since he usually worked nights, and the two girls often had the same shifts, so it'd work out alright. And maybe.. maybe if Sofia wasn't around, the creep would give up and go away after a day or two, and everything would be fine.

Then, she just.. had to figure out how to rescue Amy, then. That was really the biggest concern, of course. But she definitely didn't have a clear enough head to try thinking about solutions, now. So that was a problem to think about tomorrow. For now.. she really needed to get some sleep. Maybe some sort of answer would present itself to her when she woke.. but she sort of doubted it.