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.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

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

She looked curious now, wondering what exactly had caused Cali to go down this path 'a few days ago'. The broken pieces of leather that found their way to the desk, made her eyebrows lift. "Those came from my saddle?" The Lieutenant frowned, trying to make sense of that while Cali went on to argue why she thought it was suspicious. And it definitely was. Because... "Everything about that saddle was in good condition before we set off," she told Cali. It would hardly surprise people that she was specific about her mounts gear, so she did not expand further on how regularly she checked it. "This is how it was brought to you?" Her frown deepened. "By whom?" Trastion, she imagined, immediately after the question left her lips. And that gave her pause. For there had been no wear and tear to a degree that this could have just naturally happened in just a few weeks. Not with the way Trastion handled gear. Arnyn knew how he did. He had already cleared that part of his training. And if whatever had happened to that strap, had happened while she was away, then who was to say that anyone was targeting her?

Arnyn knew Cali's concerns about the poison were not linked to any outside interference, of course. So another singular event would not necessarily be about her. Sure, perhaps a ranger Lieutenant was a target. But Trastion's situation was... precarious in a very different way. Had Trastion begun his axe training? Had Macardil figured it out, perhaps mentioned it to someone? Or was she jumping to worst case scenarios, out of the fear they might be true?

Recognizing she was forgetting one part of her, she deliberately pushed herself back into Lieutenant mode. "Were all other saddles in the stables inspected, after this was brought to you? It is possible not only my gear was affected."

[Karis Ziranphel]

Karis Ziranphel, Cúner Ranger
January Files - January 3rd
Headquarters

Walking into the archives filing room adjacent to the library and offices, Ziran carefully carried the small shielded lantern over to the stand by a desk and locked it into the bracket that sat ready for it, before adjusting the wick to lend enough light to read clearly. Taking an assessing look at the cabinets and shelves lit by the steady flicker of the flame for a brief moment, she stepped over to one of the shelves and lifted down a fully loaded crate of paperwork and brought it over to the desk she had claimed, the fingerless gloves she wore finding purchase on the wood of the crate.

Lieutenant Brian had been delighted when she offered to tackle the backlog of files that had been created during the last two years with the transition of the whole military into the Rangers or other organizations and sort any strays into the correct files. It had been one of the things that had only been partly kept up with and not really part of his job with running the barracks housing and supply, but which he had contributed plenty with reclamation of equipment that had not been gifted to those departing. It hadn’t been entirely neglected, but the sheer volume of paperwork wasn’t the highest priority next to every day tasks that he and the few remaining clerks had to deal with regarding supplies and rosters. Releasing the army had meant that the army of clerks working on personnel had also been let go.

The latest personnel files, those on current Rangers and recruits, were in the main office, but there were still many familiar names that she came across as she started sorting through and arranging them alphabetically while adding a connected note on their service years and areas of experience rather than the original system that had only been organized by dismissal date. It was tedious but not particularly difficult, and the hours passed slowly before the lantern fuel burned low and began to flicker, reminding her of the time spent.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Armory smith, Cali Dringolben
Jan 24, Command office

"Yes, your saddle." Cali confirmed, nodding with a small frown. She let the lieutenant take a moment to consider that, and nodded when she said that everything had been in good condition when she left it. She didn't find that surprising, since Arnyn seemed like the sort of person who took good care of her things. And she didn't recall ever having to make any repairs on Arnyn's gear, either.

"It was Trastion who brought it to me," She answered. "He said that he'd neglected to inspect the saddles before setting out that day, because he'd checked everything the week before and all was fine, and he didn't think it was all that necessary." She paused. "Trastion thought that the D ring on the saddle must have rubbed the leather and worn through it, but.." She shook her head. "My eyes see something very different." She pointed to the place where the leather strap would have been folded over the D ring. "First, you can see that there's barely any metallic coloring rubbed off on there, right? But look at how the underside of the leather is sort of... rough. That's not from the metal. It'd be smoother if that was the case. This looks.. like someone's taken a rasp or something, and deliberately filed the leather down so it would be worn thin enough to break when there was too much strain on it." She explained.

The next question made Cali nod. "I went and looked at them all, myself." She answered. "Not a single one of them had that sort of damage done to them. Only yours." She paused. "Hence, what made me begin questioning that day you got sick.. and what's made me begin to worry that someone might be ought to get you." She concluded. "Whoever it is probably didn't expect someone else to use your saddle, and to ride your horse." She mentioned, which made sense to her. "I mean," She hesitated. "It wasn't all that long ago that someone was out to get the rangers in general. Someone who was known to use poison," She reminded her. "So, who knows, maybe someone else is out to get the lieutenant of the rangers? They probably figured that you would be the next person to ride your horse, and then..." She shrugged. "Anyway. I wanted to bring it to your attention. Just in case."

[Pele Alarion]

@Arnyn , @Lantaelen

Captain Pele Alarion and also Recruit Cadil
Headquarters - Rangers reporting to the Command after sea training - late January

"I try my best to impress but always end up messing things up," Cadil muttered in response to Arnyn's statement. He did his best again - to collect his scattered thoughts and provide reasonable answers to the Lieutenant's questions. Pele looked towards the recruit with a slight frown, arms folded on her chest, but a merry spark lit her blue eyes as she eventually could not help but laugh softly before urging the Recruit: "Come now, Cadil, relax. No one is going to chastise you." After a moment's consideration she pulled her snack box out of the drawer, took the cover off and slid it towards Cadil across the desk. "Here, want some nuts to help you think?"

"Oh, thank you, Captain!" the young man seemed to perk up slightly as he took two hazelnuts, munched on them, and turned back towards Arnyn once his mouth was empty - he was not about to make an even bigger fool of himself by spitting bits of chewed nuts on his Lieutenant.

"I think... one of my worst mistakes, or something, is that I somehow make such mistakes whenever I am too focused on trying to impress," he admitted thoughtfully with a glance towards Pele, and continued after a slight nod from her. "It's not like I really mean to do those things, I just..." his voice trailed off and he shrugged.

"Your brain seems to switch off for some reason," Pele put in.

"Yeah, and I suppose it is not exactly a good thing, not on the sea, not on an important mission," he continued. "I was trying hard to... behave... even on the ship. But somehow... facing you three together set all my progress back. But I'll try to do better, I promise! I promise to adhere strictly to all orders."

Pele rolled her eyes slightly and reminded him gently: "You just said that trying to make impressions causes you to make mistakes, and now you sound like you are heading into the same trap. But don't despair, we'll see if we can work on this, hmm. Now, answer about the fear."

"Ohhhhh," Cadil drew out his breath and then set off into a story with more ease. "The storm must have been the worst. I am not all that excited about ships in general, and experiencing that - I thought I would not make it back and that sea would swallow me up. The waves almost carried me off the deck - had I not had a rope secured around me..."

Pele hummed softly. While she thought that Cadil had generally performed quite well, there was still much room for growth. It appeared that there was still a plenty of work to do if the Recruit should be kept as part of the mission.

"Are you willing to continue putting in a lot of effort, intense work to improve yourself? And how do you imagine the way out of your trail of mistakes, Cadil?" she therefore asked.

Cadil blinked and sighed. "Honestly, I dunno... eh... I do not know how to do it, but I will not give up and will do all it takes," he promised again, hoping that the leaders would not think him totally unfit.

Pele turned slightly towards Arnyn and Abrazimir to see whether they had more questions for the Recruit before them.

[Rillewen]

@Ercassie

Smith Cali
Jan 25th - Armory

Cali found herself in a rare moment, when she had no active projects to work on. With so many of the rangers gone for most of the past month, there had been far less things for her to repair or otherwise do. So, she'd gotten through pretty much everything that she had on her 'to-do' list, and now... she was left feeling a tiny bit bored.

Of course, she knew that the rangers were back, and that her work would surely pick up again soon. But still, she was a little glad when someone came walking in. She was even more happy to see that Nal was one of them. A smile greeted him as Cali left the seat where she'd been doodling out some ideas. "I was starting to wonder.." She began, though she left off from any teasing comments as she realized that she didn't really know Isys. She had met her, somewhat, on a few occasions, but that was about all. And that was hardly enough to get to know the woman. From all that she'd heard from Nal, even those who had known Isys her entire life still could hardly claim to really know her well.

"How did the sailing go?" Cali asked, her gaze shifting from Isys to Nal. The latter would surely understand that there was more to the question than simply how it sounded, of course. Considering... the circumstances of the last time he was on a ship. And the sailing 'adventures' of their other brother. And, well... everything there was to consider, when it came to the topic of sailing.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

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

Intrigued, Arnyn paid close attention to Cali's words as she explained the situation further and detailed her own assessment of what had happened to the strap. It was good to hear that the smith had also inspected every saddle that was kept at the ranger stables. At least that was one thing Arnyn would not have to follow up on, then.

The next question Arnyn asked, though, might not be the most expected one. But the Lieutenant's concern for her protegé took central billing, currently. "Did Trastion notice before setting out? Is he alright?"

Once that had been answered, Arnyn fought the urge to narrow her eyes when Cali mentioned that it wasn't all that long ago that someone was out to get the ranger captain. Instead, the Lieutenant slanted her head. Which of the rangers present at the debrief after the fire had told Cali about that? Arnyn knew she had not, herself. Pele had shared it with those present at headquarters at the debrief, but...

"Regardless of any of that," Arnyn simply responded, "the taller the tree, the stronger the wind. It's just the natural order of things." It was a risk that came with the territory - basically. It made sense to pick out officers in skirmishes and battle. Arnyn herself had given such orders.
By extention, it made sense to try and eliminate officers off the field as well, especially if they were giving the adversary too much trouble. It was not unthinkable that someone might be targeting her. And if this was a relatively recent thing... then perhaps this was a sign that any hope for trusting Ava was indeed misplaced. Or - a sign that Ava had been watched, and that Arnyn was now on Umbar's radar. For Arnyn had not been, so far. Not to her knowledge, at least.
Or perhaps the story of Relic's demise had somehow found its way back to Umbar, and it was entirely unrelated to Ava.
Or... as she had already been worrying moments before, Trastion had been the target. Not her.

But if Trastion was targeted, it would not do to drop any hint of that to Cali. For that would raise further questions of why he would be - and that was much too dangerous territory.

"Thank you for bringing this to me," Arnyn finally nodded. "I will be keeping those," she added, with another nod of her head toward the leather straps. They were technically a part of her saddle, after all.

It almost seemed like the timing was intentional when another knock came at the door. Arnyn's gaze flicked toward it, then back to Cali. "If there is nothing else we need to discuss, I'm afraid we'll have to wrap it up here, Cali."