Rangers: Headquarters & Armoury

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Lieutenant Arnyn Dealedwen
Headquarters, Command Office - January 24th
~ the day the Rangers return from sea training ~

Once Cali took a seat, Arnyn did the same. She blinked when the Smith put forth she thought someone may be trying to kill her. What?

And then... Cali began explaining why. And Arnyn... was not sure how to respond. Cali... was right on the money about the poison, of course. But so very wrong about the intent.

"Cali," she began, and then soon got stuck. She could not tell the woman that she had been poisoning herself. "Continued to seem just a little... what?" the Lieutenant asked. "I am fine, now," she countered. For she was definitely doing much better than she had been, weeks ago. For she had lowered her dose, as Gladhron had asked her, and her body had learned to metabolize it. Meanwhile, she was once more inching close to what she had begun taking at the start - with very few side effects. The expanded black of her pupils, which was less noticeable with her already dark eyes than it would be for people with light coloured irises, was now the only outward tell she displayed. And within.. other than a clearly increased thirst, she only felt some additional effects if she awoke in the night, now.

"I had a few rough days, at the time. That does not necessarily mean someone was trying to kill me. I am aware I do not fall sick often, but... I don't believe anyone was trying to kill me," she said, all of it the truth, in and by itself. Arnyn smiled a little. "I appreciate you for looking out for me, however."

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Armory smith, Cali Dringolben
Jan 24, Command office

"I know, I realize that," Cali admitted, when Arnyn assured her that having a few rough days didn't mean someone was poisoning her. "And that's why I didn't think too much about it at the time. And you do seem significantly better.. now. Now that you've been away from here for a few weeks." She emphasized.

"In fact, it wasn't even until a few days ago that I started to question it," She went on. "And if that was the only thing to make me wonder about it, I'd probably dismiss the entire idea as crazy." She went on, before venturing onward to supply a bit more physical evidence to support her concerns.

"This," Cali unwrapped the broken pieces of leather and laid them on the desk, "came from your saddle. I was asked to replace it a few days ago." The Smith explained. "I'm not sure how much you know about leather and all that, but.. I know a good deal about it, myself. My mother's brother runs a leather shop here in town, right across from my family's forge, and I used to spend some time there with him, growing up. So, I learned a good deal about leather as well as metal, and I work with both all day." She took a breath before pointing to the broken spot. "I can assure you, Lieutenant... this has been tampered with. Deliberately."

[Ercassie]

Ehtyar Ilisys Azrubêl, finding Ranger Unalmis Raxëlilta.
Outside Ranger Headquarters >> Heading for the Armoury. Late January.

After exiting the Headquarters, the Ehtyar stalled. Glanced somewhat off the beaten track and found what she had not been looking for. A blend of surprise, resolve and concern formed a rather inscrutable expression. Which she took over to meet the young man’s clearly troubled countenance.

Without a word she stood at hand, glanced at the folded piece of parchment which the other Ranger was turning over in both hands, and then laid her steady gaze upon him. No question, no comment. Under the relentless silence though Unalmis sighed and idly kicked at nothing, with one boot. “I thought a written report would be just as ..” he began and did not finish. The offering he had not rightly offered up was accepted and bourne out of his grasp by long fingers.


“They are expecting you,” the woman reminded him, albeit gently, as she pocketed the other, unviable option. The choice to fail to report in .. would be an entirely other decision. But the young man’s head was not in the right state of mind to make any decision right now. There were so many voices screaming with a hundred reasons to do, or not do, any given thing he might conceive of .. that he had no answer what was the right thing to even consider. From their vantage point, the pair observed Ranger Mourgan arrive and enter the Headquarters, without interruption. Unalmis did not look at all sorry that he had missed his chance to take his turn.

“You said your friend is the best smith in Minas Tirith,” the Belfalasian recalled, and caught the young man’s attention by baiting a surprise. Nal could not disagree but was not quite ready to concede to wherever this might all take them. The sight of Cadil making his way into the Headquarters caused Unalmis to drop his gaze down to his feet again. Isys watched after the other young Ranger, thoughtfully, before she brought her grey eyes back upon her charge. And then made off with easy strides toward the armoury, and no further hint of what she might do or say once she had arrived there. Nal noted her destination and made haste to catch her up, so that the two made it almost a race into Cali’s place of work, before Mourgan ever exited the Headquarters.

There was time, the Ehtyar deemed.