Sign of the Times
"Closing down your shop are you?" Gandalf asked as he pulled up in front of the Bree shop while atop his cart. The man he addressed was in the process of pulling down a very nice ornate sign bearing 'Reuben Showgood - Sign Maker'.
"Hello Gandalf," said Reuben "I haven't seen you in an age. Yes, I think it's time for me to move on. Bree is a nice village and my coin bag is a lot fatter for having been here, but I think I'll try somewhere else for a bit. You know, share my talents with others."
"I see some of the examples of your work on the other shops; but I see it most over Barliman Butterbur's front door. I take it you took my advice?"
"You might say that. As you recall, when I first met you I was setting up shop here. Being an artist can be rewarding, but the reward fills your heart and not your stomach. I had already decided that to earn my living I could try painting signs for people where I could. I started with some of the local shops and managed to get the tailor, baker and apothecary as customers. But after you paint a sign it really doesn't wear out, and only needs a touch up every few years after that."
"True, true. I take it you tried something different with Butterbur over at the Pony?"
"I did. You had wisely said that artists can get by if they can find a patron to support them. I couldn't find one, so I created one with Mr. Butterbur. His Prancing Pony inn seemed to be the busiest going concern in Bree, so I applied all of my sales talents on him. When I first met him I pointed out that his inn had no sign currently and that he could catch customers' eyes better by drawing them in with a nice sign. So I painted him a new one to replace his old sign that had been damaged in a storm."
"I remember that old sign; yours was a nice improvement."
"Kind thanks. But then we had that stormy night that brought the black riders. Scared many a customer and they even tore up one of the rooms at the inn. Afterward I suggested if he wanted to bring in the customers that were curious about the strange riders, he needed a sign to advertise. So I created a new sign that was 'The Frightened Pony'. We got our fair share of tourists out of that one; had tours of the room and everything. Some weird types even wanted to stay in the room." Reuben shuddered.
"But that didn't last?"
"Oh no, it was over pretty quickly. By then news was coming through that Sauron's dark forces were going to take over the land. At that point I convinced him that he needed to show subservience to the new bad bosses coming in, so I created a new sign for 'The Cowering Pony'. Charged him extra to get it done ahead of my current customers' signs even though I didn't have any at the time."
"I was a bit busy during that time and didn't get to see the signs. I take it you changed the horse design of course."
"Of course. Fine detail and good work; I may have sold him hard but I make a good product. His family HAS owned it for a long time; the quality of the sign should reflect that. Each had a pony in the appropriate pose. Well of course after that Sauron's forces were defeated."
"Yes, I seem to recall hearing about that" laughed Gandalf.
"Of course! Made possible in no small part thanks to your great work. Well anyway, with the victory I suggested that he needed to capitalize on the people's pride in winning the war, so he ended up with 'The Bloodied Warhorse'. He never got anywhere near the battles of course, but you'd think he had been in the front lines the way he plays up to everyone."
"But the sign is back to the original now. What happened?"
"Oh, he seems to have made a tactical blunder. As the story spread about the original hobbit meeting with Aragorn before he went on to be king, Butterbur decided to try a different tact with 'The Striding Pony'. The day after the sign went up a lawyer came to his door with an order to change the name. It would seem that 'Strider' and its variations are copyrighted. So I convinced him to change it back and I made a duplicate of the original 'The Prancing Pony' so history buffs would know what name to look for when visiting Bree."
"The way I see it, he basically ended up where he left off and paid you all along the way to get there; simply amazing. Well, I'm off to Rivendell; where are you headed?"
"I've heard some real estate is opening up in Rivendell and I might go take a look. But I'll be here a few days longer to tie up a few loose ends and restock for my next go. A safe journey to you, Gandalf."
"You are one enterprising man, Reuben Showgood; I predict you will go far in this coming age."
The End