Questlog: The troublemaker

Apparently they had to deal with a squad of thirty orcs. Maybe they had been sent to scout, maybe they had been sent specifically to this inn. The latter, however, would be a very disturbing thought for all involved.

Nevertheless, things had turned out well once again. None of the soldiers had fallen, there were only a few injured, but they were quickly treated. Also, none of the civilians living here had been injured. Only the landlord had lost some of his inventory, but was compensated for this by King Elessar. King Elessar also promised Earenis a reward, a new sword, as soon as they were in Fornost, even if she tried to refuse it. It was unpleasant for her that everyone was talking about her now, as she had trusted her instincts and saved the king at that very moment.

Now, the next morning, she walked leisurely through the settlement with Mistaroa at her side. Everywhere the soldiers of the King and Master Elrond were to be seen walking through the streets and taking away the corpses of the orcs. Most of them lay around the inn, where their destination had been. Earenis thought about what all this meant and if and how she was involved in all this. She only had this feeling, nothing definite but. Strange things were at work here, and they were all groping in the dark, even the high lords who had retreated to the camp outside the settlement for consultation.

What was going on here? This was a question everyone was asking and no one could answer it at that time. The question remained whether it was perhaps too late when they could. King Elessar, for his part, had now sent scouts into the surrounding area to scout the situation, for he was sure that these were not all the orcs that were currently threatening Fornost.

Completely absorbed in these thoughts, Earenis had not noticed how a woman from the settlement had approached her. She cleared her throat embarrassed and looked up at her shyly.

"May I... may I ask you a favor?", the woman asked softly.

Mistaroa put on his ears, but Earenis told him that everything was fine. "Go ahead," she encouraged the woman to speak. "What is it about?"

"I live with my family in that house over there." The heavily-built woman pointed to the house in question. "For some time now, we have been kept awake at night by eerie noises that seem to come directly from the ground. Also, since those noises have been coming, more and more of my jewellery is disappearing. Could you get to the bottom of this? I would reward you, if that is the way you do things, since I have heard that you are a mercenary."

Earenis shrugged. "If it's nothing else."

The woman smiled gratefully. "That's too kind! Come with me and I'll show you where the sounds come from."

She followed the woman to the house made of wood and clay. A small fenced-in herb garden joined the house they were now entering. The woman came to the outside wall under a curtained window. A bush grew here, which she pushed aside a little and then knocked against the wall.

"Behind it is our bedroom, and it's always about this height," she said. "Maybe you'll find something."

Mistaroa was already sniffing around in the garden, obviously excited by the intense smell of the herbs grown here. Earenis also looked around and searched the ground for clues to the troublemaker. She did not have to search for long.

"Ha!" she exclaimed. "Mistaroa, come here!" Immediately, the big wolfhound shot at her. Earenis pointed to the tracks on the ground and let her dog sniff them. "Search!" she commanded.
Mistaroa enthusiastically pressed his wet nose to the ground, ran around the bush and finally crawled into the woods.

"These are badger tracks," Earenis explained. As if on command, Mistaroa began infernally barking and scratched the ground so wildly that the clumps of earth behind him flew high into the air. The two women had to keep their distance so as not to be defiled. Obviously Mistaroa had found the badger's burrow hidden behind the bush and dug it up. Only a short time later a terrible screaming and bickering began. Mistaroa snarled and barked and with his roar he made the whole bush shake. The badger seemed to have been found and was now fighting for his life.

The eerie noises lasted only moments, then there was silence. Mistaroa snorted and came out shortly afterwards with a bloody mouth and the dead badger in tow. He trotted to Earenis, presented his prey to her and looked at her with a begging look. She patted his head in praise.

"That should clear all that up," she said. Nevertheless, she crawled into the bush herself and peered into the burrow her dog had dug up. It wasn't too deep, and thanks to Mistaroa's extension of the burrow, she could crawl into it just as easily, even though she could hardly see anything. Nearly blind and only groping she explored the burrow and came across several metal objects. She took them and crawled out of the building again. The daylight revealed several forks and some rings. The glow in the woman's eyes told her that she had found the right thing.

"These are my jewels," exclaimed the woman. "And the cutlery, which I thought I had misplaced. Thank you very much."

Earenis ended the day with a satisfied smile and a fuller purse.