What brings you here?

Belly up to the Bar and tell us about yourself.

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Greg
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What brings you here?

Post by Greg »

In-character responses only, please

Folk call me Tauran around the Breelands. I'm known to inhabit the Pony on occasion, and it suits me well enough. Travel wears as the years grow older, and so a warm bed on rare occasion is a welcome thing. I travel Eriador widely, and can be hired as a guide or guard when needed. I'm known to Barliman as a trustworthy hire when those needs arise, though he avoids much conversation with me if there isn't a need. That's probably why he took so long to bring me a letter some months back. I aided a Dwarf Merchant, by name of Hepti, along the East Road with some Ruffians that had a mind to relieve him of some of his wares, and the bearded fellow had dictated a letter to Barliman in thanks. Classic Butterbur...thing-wanted-always-buried. Ah! What's the harm? I think he doesn't like the look of me, and I do tend to track dirt into the common room on occasion. He feeds well enough, though, and his ale has been surprisingly good recently. He blames a wizard...I think he may have some brewing secrets he's not willing to share. Well! Don't we all have our secrets? Still, he's a trustworthy man, if you can get past his suspicions. All the Bree-folk have them, after all.

Oh! Pardon my manners. That was a bit more than an introduction. Why...why do you ask? Are you going somewhere?
Now the sword shall come from under the cloak.
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Eofor
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Re: What brings you here?

Post by Eofor »

Ahhhh so you’re the one Heimir and I have heard of. Every ranger we encounter speaks your name with reverence but I must admit I had begun to think you were some sort of legend.

My own name is Eofor of Rohan (at this Eofor bowed low)

Please forgive my curiosity friend, in my land it is customary to greet travelers we encounter though they are a rare sight. It’s been many years since I was home but I guess some habits have never deserted me.

Truth told I stopped you to ask you the latest news, you're the first decent looking fellow I have seen since I crossed the Greyflood and i have not been in these parts in over a year. I went south on the request of one of your folk, the Iorengollon and it is with news now that I seek him out.

Is all well about? How fare the villages of Breeland and beyond? Any rumour of trouble? Any strange happenings?
But the white fury of the Northmen burned the hotter, and more skilled was their knighthood with long spears and bitter. Fewer were they but they clove through the Southrons like a fire-bolt in a forest.
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Re: What brings you here?

Post by Greg »

Lorengollon? I've not encountered him for some time...stays off the roads. More interesting things to his mind up where fewer folks travel. If I were to look for him, I'd be heading towards the Dike.

Around here, though...things have been a bit odd. I'm sure you've heard the rumors of war in the East...things seem to be happening rapidly, but what news we hear comes infrequently enough that I'm sure we're long out-of-date. There have been a number of...outsiders...coming through and heading west. Southern Men, not of Rohan, traveling the East road towards the shire and beyond. They claim there's 'work' out that way, but I don't know of any employers looking for their ilk west of Bree. The Shire-foilk have no need and prefer their peace, and the Dwarves certainly wouldn't want big folk settling down in the Blue Mountains. Curious you should ask, for they've been on my mind of late.
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Re: What brings you here?

Post by Eofor »

Eofor groaned, he should have known that would be where Cimrandir was, poking his nose around in old ruins like the badgers he was so fond of but another hundred miles journey was a sore blow to one who had already travelled so far.
It sounded like the tidings he bore had already been heard locally and he cursed at the fate which had kept him so long abroad but resolved to push on in the morning.

The lean Ranger had stood silently watching him as he mulled over what he had just been told. The silence wasn’t awkward which was a sign of good company and Eofor was desperate to hear more of the goings on of the area, he was also eager to find Heimir and find out if his own errand had been a success.

Tell me Tauran, does Butterbur still keep the finest house in the area? We are but a few miles out from Bree and the nights come early this time of the year.
I'll admit I'm no Ranger and naught but camp fare for a week has me as hungry as ten hobbits.
My purse is lighter than when I left but I still have enough to go around. Wont you join me for a meal and some beer? I’ve a mind to enjoy some of Barleys famous bacon and mushrooms and if you'll join me I'd like to hear more of these southerners and see if their comings and goings shed any light on my own errand.

If the Pony is as lively as I remember we may even run into travellers from other parts.

What say you friend?
But the white fury of the Northmen burned the hotter, and more skilled was their knighthood with long spears and bitter. Fewer were they but they clove through the Southrons like a fire-bolt in a forest.
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Re: What brings you here?

Post by Greg »

The Pony is as healthy as ever, though it may likely be due to the presence of outsiders traveling west. The crowd may be more visitors than locals, but they seem to be paying, so it's flourishing as much as it should. We aren't more than a scant half-day's march, going easily. Not much foot-traffic heading east, so I doubt we'd run into any unsavory types on the way. I've a mind to head that way myself, if for no other reason than to gain more of your story. You're from Rohan, you say? We don't get many of you up here. And if you haven't been home for many years, where have you been? And what is this news you bear, if you're able to share it? Do you know more of the rumors we hear?

Checks the hills, and turns north between the South Downs and the Barrows, heading up the Greenway towards Bree.
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Re: What brings you here?

Post by Eofor »

With a glance at the hills the Ranger turned north and Eofor set off after him, taking the opportunity to assess the man a bit better now he knew who he was.
It wasn’t false praise he had paid the the Ranger, every time he heard other Rangers so much as mention the name Taurandir it was with a deference and respect as would befit a Marshal of the Mark in his own land.

Tauran’s clothes were well made and kept despite ample wear, a fat innkeeper may well mistake that for scruffiness but Eofor could tell the difference, likewise the man's arms were well kept and he wore them easily, his boots too had seen MANY miles but as with the rest of his clothes were of fine serviceable make.

All in all he was quite pleased to have found such a traveling companion and in a few quick steps managed to catch up to the Ranger who shared the same loping stride as all of his kind. For a while the two just walked and Eofor admired as he always did the beauty of the Greenway, Imagining himself riding at full gallop along it’s grassy sward feeling the wind in what was left of his hair. He sighed, which caught the attention of Tauran who gave him a quizzical glance.


‘It’s nothing my friend, I was simply thinking of grass and a swift horse beneath me… You asked before how a man of Rohan came to wander so far from his home? I honestly couldn’t answer that anymore, I could tell you of the events that led me here, of an oath spoken in the folly of youth but as the years pass that seems less like the answer’

‘I could have gone anywhere, in fact I think I probably have! Places I wouldn’t have believed existed myself when I commenced to roam. It is here in the North where I feel most useful, where my life still means something. I have long since abandoned hope of fulfilling my oath but spending time with the Rangers has taught me that there can be honour in silent service, in long nights standing thankless guard, in burning foul things out of their dens and holes…’


Eofor trailed off, he wasn’t sure why he had been so forthcoming with a stranger but he liked this fellow and the words had come unbidden. A comfortable silence ensued broken only by the song of wrens darting in and out the quickthorn thickets either side of the road while ahead a fox ran out into the Greenway and looked at the pair for a long time before shying away again.

As loath as he was to break the silence (such a rare thing is comfortable silence) curiosity got the better Eofor and he asked

'Will you tell me something of yourself Tauran? Where do you hang your cloak?'
But the white fury of the Northmen burned the hotter, and more skilled was their knighthood with long spears and bitter. Fewer were they but they clove through the Southrons like a fire-bolt in a forest.
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Re: What brings you here?

Post by Greg »

"Where? Hmm. 'When' might be a better question."

He sighed.

"Too rarely, I'm afraid, but there is a home. A hidden one. I have a family that waits for me, and a small farm. We help support a small few other families in a tight-knit community not Far East from here. It does not possess the secrecy of Gondolin, but alas, it lacks its defenses as well so I will say no more of its location. It is not overmuch to say that there is hearth and home, and there also dwells my heart."

They plodded along in silence for some time, then he continued.

"It is an unpleasant thing, this that we do. To wander is to be alone, and it is not right, but it is necessary. A friend and poet has said that out in the wild, a ragged man may be a King, but it comes not without cost. A king, maybe, of all he surveys, freed from the bonds of his birthright, but to rule is to be alone, and that is a hard path to trod, even were he in a court full of people. A king will always be alone."

Still! To be such is not, in the end, unbearable. The solitude is peaceful and the world is not without beauty...but much like the elves and their longing that eventually becomes too great and spurs them on to other shores, one must, at times, simply go home."

He sized up Eofor, noting the cultural differences in his clothing and harness, but nonetheless the clear indicators of his craft.

“I see the Rohirrim in you, and though you speak of riding, a wanderer on foot you are, alike if not akin to myself and my own. We clothe ourselves in the wilds and as the wilds, yet here you stand before me in scarlet. I name you Carancollo. Bear it well! Oaths have a way of fulfilling themselves, I have found, or presenting new opportunities. An oath taken in your youth may yet work itself out. 

Here! The track begins to turn down…we enter the Breelands. Do you see the lights ahead?”
Now the sword shall come from under the cloak.
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Re: What brings you here?

Post by Eofor »

Image


‘I do! replied Eofor, and the gate is still open’ ‘I understand too this loneliness of which you speak. The Ravens Wing is the closest thing I could call to a home but no sooner do I arrive than a rumour of trouble arrives and I am off chasing phantoms’

As they approached the village, walking now through darkening fields and hedgerows Eofor pondered exactly what motivated the Dunedain, why it was that they spent long sleepless nights in vigil away from home and hearth.
Had they taken an oath like his own? Tauran seemed to know a bit about oaths and their binding if his last words were any indication of the matter but it seemed like a subject best broached with his friend the Lorengollon whom he had known now for a few years.

His mind then moved to another puzzle, he knew a few different languages but the Elvish tongue did not come easily, he knew collo meant something like mantle and guessed from Tauran’s comment that Caran must be some sort of scarlet or red.

Eofor Redmantle… Or maybe even Eofor Bloodhame? That was a fearsome one! Eofor puffed up visibly, he was rather vain (though he did not perceive this to be a character flaw) and he LOVED titles already having several to his name. His joy however was short lived for as the south gate of Bree hove into view a short thin man darted inside and pulled it quickly shut.

‘Ahhhhh right’ said Eofor ‘We may be in for a spot of trouble here my friend’

Again from Tauran came the quizzical glance.

‘Oh nothing serious, it’s just that I believe that was Bert Nettles that just closed the gate and, well, he may not be too kindly disposed towards me’

Silence from the Ranger

‘No no no Tauran its like this, each time I am in Bree the two gatekeepers Harry and Bert come to the Pony and we have a little drinking contest. Normally I let one or the other beat me as I know they split the pot. Of course it is a ruse, but in the time that I have been doing it, no matter what time of the night or how bedraggled I appear at the gate they greet me with a warm welcome’

Tauran smiled at this

Eofor went on ‘Only last time they bought along that cur Bill Ferny and under his influence they mocked me all night. I’ll admit I am an overly proud man and by the morning all three were under the table and I left them with the bill to boot’

Tauran actually chuckled

By now they had reached the gate and Eofor knocked on it loudly, noticing it sway as he did so. The viewing window opened and the face of Bert Nettles popped into view.

‘What do yer want’ he asked rudely, his face already ruddy from drink.

‘Let us in Bert’ Eofor demanded ‘You know me and I have free passage of the town’

‘No one comes in after dark, new rules’

‘Bert my old friend, we’re headed to the Pony, why don’t you come over after your shift and bring Harry for a few drinks?’

Bert squinted at Eofor and grinned a malicious grin.

‘You pay up front this time?’

‘Of course’ Eofor said feigning a smile.

‘Alright but only you’ he eyed Tauran with suspicion and distaste.

‘No he comes with me, I will vouch for him’

Bert simply spat on the ground at Taurans feet and said ‘His kind aren’t welcome here’’

Eofor looked at Tauran and smiled, the Ranger was calm and emotionless though he had clearly heard every word. Eofor didn’t think he had ever seen one of the Dunedain angry and he was still pondering that fact as he kicked the gate HARD into Bert Nettles face.

He stalked through the opening and stood above the prostrate gatekeeper sitting in the mud.

‘Listen to me you maggot’ he hissed and then his voice fell to a furious growl as he grabbed Berts tunic and hauled him upwards ‘That man has shown me more courtesy in a day than you have shown me in all the years I have known you’
‘Were it not for him and... his kind your village would have been ashes and dust before you were even born’

He hurled Bert face first off the road to the side.

‘Get out of my sight Bert, and be grateful this man is here for it would lessen me in his eyes were I to beat you’

Bert bolted into the evening gloom as Eofor turned and slid the gate bar into place.

‘I am sorry Dunedain, you lot may be carved from stone but I am not. That lout deserved worse than he got'

'I understand if you wish to seek lodgings elsewhere, but I hope you do not. On my word Eofor Bloodhame is more welcome in Bree than Bert Nettles! No harm shall come from this night's action’
Last edited by Eofor on Sun Feb 27, 2022 5:42 am, edited 2 times in total.
But the white fury of the Northmen burned the hotter, and more skilled was their knighthood with long spears and bitter. Fewer were they but they clove through the Southrons like a fire-bolt in a forest.
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Re: What brings you here?

Post by Greg »

Tauran returned his gaze with a small smirk, and then a sigh.

“I’m not overly concerned. If I have business at all, it would be at the Pony. My only other lodging would be a ditch behind a hole in Staddle, and my contact there is in trouble of late. Something about a black eye…who knows?”

He chuckled.

“To the pony it is, I think. I do not fear these men. I am known to Barliman, though not as I really am. These newcomers and associates of Ferny’s, dangerous though they may be, are dim-witted and sightless. Any trouble they stir up will come back to bite them someday. Maybe it already has. We don’t always get to see the fruits of our labours.”

 As they walked along the lane, heading east towards Bree-hill, they drew some attention. It remained quiet, but there were many eyes. The few men to be seen were leaning against hitching posts smoking or idly sitting, and watching. They did not look like Bree-folk.

As the road hooked south at the intersection where the Pony stood tall amidst the other shops and stalls in the center of town, a haughty figure with crossed arms stood openly on the side of the road. Tauran stopped about ten feet away, and crossed his own arms unconcernedly.

“Ferny.”

The man opposite him grunted, and then spat on the ground.

“What’s it to you?”

“To what do I owe the pleasure of you greeting us here?”

“Town’s closed. Talk from out east is all war. Not supposed to be letting anyone in. Especially houseless bums and troublemakers.”

“On whose authority? Yours?”

 The Breelander shrugged.

“A house does not make a man good or bad. And as for troublemakers…”—he trailed off as his eyes caught Eofor’s—“…we are the least of your worries. Will you bar us from the Pony? Or are you yourself a troublemaker? By the looks of things, you’ve had some…or that’s not a bruise on your forehead.”

Ferny scowled at this. The Ranger had hit a nerve.

“I said town’s closed. You’d best be moving on.”

Almost in unison and unplanned, Tauran and Eofor both shrugged their cloaks open, and hands settled onto the now just hilts of swords.

Bill Ferny looked unamused, but he began to walk past them and back west, out towards the gate. He spat at them: “You got no right. Town’s closed.”

They let him get some space away, and then looked at each other with wide eyes. “Something is definitely going on, and I don’t think it was brought on by your little drinking game. Barliman will know what is happening, though having me with you may make his lips tighter than they would be otherwise. We’ll have to see.”

He strode forward with purpose now, forgetting Eofor in his thoughts for a moment, and then slowed slightly as the other scrambled to catch up. They came up the walk to the Prancing Pony under the swinging sign, stepped into the archway and up the steps on the left, and opened the door into the hallway. Seeing no one to stop them, they turned the corner through the first door on the left and stepped into the common room. Their eyes adjusted to the warmth and light, and then they picked out Nob scurrying about a roof half-full of customers. They began to scan the room for familiar faces, when the door nearly hit them from behind. Butterbur came sweeping into the common room from the Kitchen across the hall and nearly crashed into them. With practiced ease, he avoided spilling any of the mugs he carried, and composed himself before realizing who stood in his way. He would not meet eyes with the Ranger, but when he saw his companion, he rolled his eyes and gruffly gestured to an empty table in the nearest corner. They walked to it and sat down, but before they could say anything, he took away the third and fourth chairs, mumbling something about “no more hustling my guests.” He was about to storm off without a greeting when Tauran spoke up, quietly but sharply. “Barliman!”

The innkeeper sighed and turned towards them. The room went dead quiet.

Tauran hissed. “What is going on?”
Now the sword shall come from under the cloak.
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Ursus
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Re: What brings you here?

Post by Ursus »

“Why don’t you ask your friend, come sweeping in here all urgent like I stirring up my customers in his haste. ” Barliman muttered as he thumped down two foaming mugs and tottered off back to the kitchens.

“Friend?” Eofor asked with a raised eyebrow.

With a creak from the stairs leading to the upper floor both men turned as a tall man ducked into the common room and stopped as he noticed the odd pair in the corned.

“Tauran?” He he said with a quiet shock of surprise.

Eofor answered first. “Ursus?”

“The Bree folk do love their ugly nicknames” he replied striding over to their quiet corner, clasping arms with the weatherbeaten wanderer and the traveler from far Rohan.

“Eofor, last time I saw you at the Pony you led me on a quest to find the bottom of one of Barliman’s tankards. I was…unsuccessful and my head still throbs at the memory.” Said Ursus with a lopsided grin.

“Speaking of sore heads, I couldn’t help but notice the bruise on Ferny’s head on our way in.” Tauran said. “Your work?”

“Much though I wish I could claim it, I’m afraid Master Fernys head had an apple raised on it before my arrival in Bree.” He said crossing to a nearby table for a chair.

“So, what news?”
Last edited by Ursus on Thu Mar 03, 2022 2:23 am, edited 4 times in total.
"Lonely men are we, Rangers of the wild, hunters – but hunters ever of the servants of the Enemy."

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Re: What brings you here?

Post by Greg »

"Lots. And yet...not much at all. Much seems to be happening, but we seem to know very little. Rumors of war are trickling along the East Road, but no one seems to know who the enemy is...or who is even fighting. Typical of this part of the world. The idea of news is more interesting than the actual news. Still, I have my guesses. Most of the southern men that have been coming up this way and heading further west bear no device, but one, who I watched traveling alone, carried a small chest on his mule bearing a white hand...and if he meant well I'm a Hobbit. Isengard has no exports last I knew...but things change, so I can't be certain."

He sipped from the foaming ale in front of him, careful to keep the froth off his face as he scanned the room.

"Why is the Pony so empty? I mean, there are customers, but this time of evening I fully expected a full crowd." He winked at Eofor. "Or did they hear you were coming?"
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Re: What brings you here?

Post by Eofor »

Eofor laughed loud and deep ‘The house is dull because I have been absent so long my friend’ He spotted Nob hustling back to the kitchens and he waylaid him with a shout.

‘Ho Nob me lad, fetch us some food will you?’ The hobbit approached the table with a mischievous smile that suggested that if not a frequent conspirator in Eofor’s shenanigans he at the very least didn’t take the same dim view of them that his master did.

‘Sorry Sir but you’ll have to wait, Masters got me running double time now that Bob goes home of a night’

‘Bah forget that’ said Eofor though he noted that Bob had rarely left the inn in previous times. ‘I’ve been too many days on the road and am wasting away’. From his purse he pulled an ample handful of silver which he laid carelessly on the table, it was an ostentatious but calculated display of wealth which he noticed stopped conversation at a few tables.
Tauran raised an eyebrow but Ursus, who had seen Eofor in his element before simply smiled.

‘Bacon and mushrooms for three, two roast capons, a leek and cheese pie, some ham, cheese, bread with fresh butter and cream and honey, Oh and two of those blackberry tarts and an apple one as well… with plenty more beer to wash it down there’s a good fellow’’

‘Right you are sir! Nob’s smile beamed as he swept the silver off the table and scurried off.
‘From the good barrel!’ Eofor shouted after him as the door swung shut.

‘Now my friends we drink!’ He bellowed and drained his mug as the mumbled conversations in the room resumed.
Lowering his voice Eofor addressed his two companions ‘That should convince anyone within earshot for at least a few minutes and that much silver should put Barely in a better mood’

‘I doubt now that my letter ever made it this far north or more likely, that no one could find Cimrandir to deliver it. I sense that the town is not as friendly as it once was and it may be best that my news is known to more than one lest misfortune find me but there are other tales here that must be told first,

‘Langsceanca the only times I’ve known you to sleep at the Pony are when you had no legs left at the end of the night to leave it. Why have you left your village? Where is the rest of your band?’
But the white fury of the Northmen burned the hotter, and more skilled was their knighthood with long spears and bitter. Fewer were they but they clove through the Southrons like a fire-bolt in a forest.
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Ursus
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Re: What brings you here?

Post by Ursus »

“Ah my friend it is a somewhat fretful tale that finds me here when I desperately need to be away home. I and two of my kinsman took service escorting a merchant headed south down the Greenway to Tharbad. He claimed to have a vessel waiting to ship his goods down the Greyflood and we were hoping to barter for additional supplies while there, the winter has been hard this year.”

He lowered his voice and spoke to Taur while appearing to speak in Eofor’s direction. “Taur you should know we encountered this man you speak of bearing the chest with the white hand. We chanced to cross the bridge at Tharbad on the same day. Something about him put me on my guard so I sent one of my kinsman to tail him and report back whilst we finished purchasing our supplies. The trouble is he didn’t report back. Aglamir is a capable man, for him to go missing is forbidding indeed. I gave him a day and then bid my remaining companion to return home with our supplies instructing him to use paths known only to our folk lest there be trouble on the road and then set off to follow their trail. Unfortunately for me a heavy rain swept over and all signs of passage were washed away. All indications pointed to both men heading for Bree but I have heard no rumor of either passing through and I fear I have erred terribly. The town has been queer since I slipped in and the air is so thick I fancy I could slice it with a knife and eat it. Speaking of which here comes Nob with the food and just in time too for I have not eaten a true meal in many days.”
Last edited by Ursus on Thu Mar 03, 2022 2:25 am, edited 1 time in total.
"Lonely men are we, Rangers of the wild, hunters – but hunters ever of the servants of the Enemy."

“My cuts, short or long, don’t go wrong.”
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Re: What brings you here?

Post by Greg »

Tauran pretended to be engrossed in the food, but stuck to his job as the one with the best view of the room: the corner seat, and noticed Butterbur seemed more nervous than usual. He wasn't handling the changes they were noticing well. No doubt he wasn't enjoying the change in clientele.

"Much appreciated, Nob. Excellent Fare as always!"

He palmed a penny and slipped it across the table, but held it with his fingertips for a moment and met Nob's eyes as the Hobbit lit up at the prospect of a tip and reached for it. He stopped as he saw the Ranger's fingers still on the coin and looked up with questions in his eyes. Tauran nodded silently and let go, then spoke under his breath.

"Has anything happened here? Or is Barliman all in a fluff because of all the travelers coming through?"

Nob glanced over his shoulder hastily before he began. "It all started a few months ago. There were southerners already coming up this way taking lodging at the Pony. Looking for information, and asking about other travelers that might be coming out of the Shire. It was strange...we rarely see Hobbits coming through, but then a group of them showed up. Spent a night, made quite a fuss...one of them scared the whole Common room mad. Old Man Rushlight over there by the hearth still swears the fellow disappeared. They've been saying the Inn's Haunted ever since. That same night, others said they saw ghosts in Bree, and the Master had a whole room full of Bedding destroyed. We still don't know who did it. Anyhow, the Shire-folk left the next day with that Strider fellow and we never heard another word of it..."

The two at the table sat up with a start, their eyes wide. Then, almost in unison, their backs slackened and their posture slumped over their plates...but the surprise and the knowing look did not leave their eyes. Eofor watched them with keen interest, chewing on a corner of cheese. Nob had stopped in the middle of his sentence, fearing he had said too much. He paused, and then decided there was no harm in going on.

"They've been gone so long, they surely must be dead by now. No one just goes off into the wilds east of Bree and survives for long if they aren't staying on the roads. They didn't want to be found, it seemed, so I can only guess..."

Tauran cut him off. "You'd better keep telling that ending. I'm quite sure they're all dead now, as you say. So, did more of the outsiders keep arriving afterward? When did they all get here?"

"Not long after they started arriving in larger groups. They wanted food, they wanted lodging. Then the exports started happening. Some of them are moving westwards, claiming there's work. The bulk of them are shuttling large amounts of our crops south, with no good explanation. One claimed famine."

Tauran nodded. "Thank you. That'll do. You be careful."

He let Nob pocket the coin and scurry back to his duties, then he whispered under his breath.

"Strider. A group of Shire-folk left here with Strider. Obviously they needed him...but why would he take up with a group like that? Of course I assume they're still alive..."
Now the sword shall come from under the cloak.
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Joined: Sun Mar 22, 2020 11:40 am

Re: What brings you here?

Post by Eofor »

Eofor had been watching all of this with keen interest, noting the reactions of the two Rangers to each bit of Nobs news. It was obvious something was not only afoot in Bree but also with the Dunedain themselves.

He had no idea who this Strider may be but given the Breefolk and their penchant for nicknames he assumed it was another Ranger and one of great interest to the other two if their reaction was any gauge of the matter.

Pushing the matter aside he spoke, breaking the pondering silence that had fallen with Nob’s departure.

'I see this news is of import to you both but I must break in here for what I know may help you unlock this riddle. Nearly a year has passed since I headed south in search of my old friend with the one tooth’
Ursus nodded understanding and Eofor continued.

‘I was not two days into my journey when a traveller came upon me in great haste, you can imagine my surprise when I realised it was Cimrandir the Ranger east of the Misty Mountains. Seolforbrocc! I shouted and after we had exchanged greetings I invited him to share my camp on the banks of the Gladden. Into the night we spoke and I asked him why he was so far from home. He replied that he was looking for me, that he had caught wind of my errand and needed a favour’

The two Rangers were listening closely now, Cimrandir rarely ventured far from his beloved ruins and Eofor could see they were as intrigued as he had been.

‘Evil is stirring Eofor, wraithlights have been seen on the Downs and the wind whispers of nameless things abroad. Tidings come up the Greenway and a strange folk are creeping north. They move off the roads and try not to be seen but they cannot hide from us.
I need you to do me a favour in the southlands, in Far Harad if you get that far. I want you to observe and to report, anything that seems unusual, anything that misgives your heart’

Eofor took a draught of his beer, gesturing with the now empty mug at Nob before continuing.

‘I have a man there’ Cimrandir had said ‘He buys me certain relics if they become available, anything you sell to him will come back to me, I have sent messages to him to find things related to… Trolls…. You should be able to manage that?’

‘Of course I agreed, it seemed a simple matter and I guessed one of great importance for him to have come so far in such haste. In the morning I headed south and he returned west’

Tauran lent forward slightly in his seat and asked the question on both Rangers lips
‘And what did you see in Harad?’

‘War’ Eofor replied bluntly ‘The Southrons gather for war’

‘The Southrons are always at war…’ began Ursus but Eofor cut him off and his voice was quiet with none of it’s usually bravado ‘Not like this my friend, not like this. There is some dark power there in the land, a nameless fear and everything is in it’s sway. The great markets are full of eyes and there is a knife in every hand, there are daily public executions, even the water and food taste bitter to the tongue’

'And the armies’ Eofor grimaced ‘The armies are very great….’
But the white fury of the Northmen burned the hotter, and more skilled was their knighthood with long spears and bitter. Fewer were they but they clove through the Southrons like a fire-bolt in a forest.
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