Nori's campaign against the dwarrowdam from the Iron Hills, who is appropriately named Audhild, is remarkably simple all things considered. She does not use the resources of the Wolf to begin with, although she knows that Kíli and Trygve would help her happily. In fact she suspects that Kíli is doing everything he can, covertly, to put the 'dam off. Most of the things that Nori does are petty, but then again she can be incredibly petty when she puts her mind to it; even if it is mostly small things like tripping the 'dam as she passes by, sneakily sprinkling alcohol or foul smelling liquid over her hair, or lifting her purse or knife so that Audhild is forced to either accept a loan or admit to being poorly prepared. Nori's profession is not one given to letting things go.
When not tormenting the 'dam she simply watches, slipping into the Hall in the same way that she always does in heavy armour and helmet and keeping sharp eyes on her guard. It does not take long to spot Audhild on the first day. She is a Longbeard, with the same dark hair and beard common in that branch of dwarf lineage, pretty enough, but her eyes are a pale brown that Nori would be very tempted to compare to something that comes out the rear end of a pony. She does not. She simply watches and pokes at her from the shadows.
Dwalin is firm with the 'dam, Nori is not entirely certain she could call her a lass since Audhild is older than her, stepping back when Audhild steps too close and refusing to be left alone with her unless there is a guard present or an open door. He firmly crosses his arms over his chest when the 'dam reaches for his hand, which does not help Nori keep her mind on task since he prefers to wear leather armour over a sleeveless tunic when inside the Hall and the view is beautiful. Nori has a type and she is not afraid to admit that Dwalin ticks every single box on her list. Apparently he ticks many of Audhild's as well, which just frustrates the thief no end given she can acknowledge that the other is prettier than she is. For a few hours she thinks that Dwalin is being too subtle, until Audhild gets close when the two have found themselves alone for a brief period, and entirely inadvertently as well, aside from Nori's presence that is.
"Why not dismiss the guard?" Audhild asks. "We could have a bit of fun, you and I."
"I told you, last time you asked and the time before and all the rest," Dwalin steps closer to the door. "I'm spoken for and have been for some time."
"I don't see a bead," Audhild presses. "And I haven't seen you with them either. And my guard says you just go to your little house. Must be lonely with this person out of town all the time, if they exist at all."
"You've been having me followed?" Dwalin snarls and Nori has to tamp down on her urge to hit the 'dam right then and there.
"I keep someone on staff to check for any threats to me in whatever town I winter in," she explains, apparently oblivious to the way Dwalin's normally blank mask has given way to an ugly sneer.
Privately, Nori wonders if this person is registered and she makes a point to check on that.
"Whether your little spy has seen me with anyone or not isn't my concern," Dwalin growls. "I have given you my response repeatedly. Being friends with Lady Dís is not enough to stop me from reacting poorly if this continues. Move on and find someone else."
Audhild looks at him, her expression darkening.
"I'm sure Dís will have something to say about this," she scoffs and flounces from the room.
Dwalin huffs, then looks over to Nori, obviously recognising her.
"See what I mean?" He grumbles.
"I'm going to look into her spy," she tells him. "See if he checked in on the way through the gate."
"You never did," Dwalin frowns. "Not that I noticed that time in Labamgarel Zarrakh."
"We always have someone watching the gates," Nori says. "Any of us moving from place to place are expected to check in with the local guild that way."
"And if he hasn't?"
"Then I eliminate him," Nori shrugs, "or Mavik does. We have rules, Dwalin."
"You got no proof he's breaking them," the guard points out.
"I'm willing to bet that she's using him to get information on her rivals as well," Nori mutters, having heard a few rumours over the last couple of days that someone has been stealing information. "I'll look into it, and warn the lad to keep an eye on his uncle's office too." She glances at the door and lowers her voice further. "My place again tonight?" Which will make it the fourth time this week, but who would be counting anyway?
"Knowing my place is being watched?" Dwalin breathes. "Sounds ideal."
She slips out easily, changing from her guard's uniform and stowing it in an old trunk that she knows is entirely unused. Then she heads down to the Guild to see what information she can scare up about Audhild's apparent spy. The conversation between Dwalin and Audhild, and after between Dwalin and her, has put her in mind once more of the concerned letters that Trygve had been sending her during her summer in the Shire.
Turns out that no one from the Iron Hills has registered their presence for over a year and that puts Nori on immediate alert as Wolf and not just as someone who wants to protect someone she loves. Which is something that she might have to admit to Dwalin at some point. For the moment, however, her interest has fallen on whether there is a greater threat to Thorin and his family from this 'dam and her spy than she had first thought. Which means that she needs to find Trygve and see what he has noticed, and really she should have checked in with him first except that it is her first week back and she has let her heart get control of her head for some reason. Not to mention when she sent him a message they had agreed to an afternoon meeting once she had recovered from her trip anyway. She had not thought that she would fall into something that might be of threat to Thorin so rapidly.
Such is her luck.
Trygve, when he enters her office, is serious, his eyes fixed on some paper or another and brows pulled into a tight frown.
"Thank Mahal you're back," he says instead of simply greeting her.
"You're the second person to say that to me since I got back," Nori comments more glibly than she feels.
"Yes, boss," Trygve gives her a tight smile, "but I imagine Dwalin's reasons were more to do with not relieving his own pressures."
"Some of them," Nori nods. "Might have to take him with me next time, nearly exploded myself. What's got your beard in a knot?"
"Lady Audhild of the Iron Hills," Trygve's reply is succinct. "Since she turned up someone has been digging through the offices of some of the higher up members of the Merchant's Guild, including the Hound's brother. Thorin and Dís have come up with some missing trade documents and personal correspondence too. Herself tried to lay the blame on us, but I checked in with enough people under Mavik to know that if it was a Guild hit we would have heard about it."
"You think Audhild's involved?" Nori asks. He nods. "You might not be wrong, she let slip to Dwalin this morning that she's got a spy with her but no one's come in from anywhere else since before her caravan got here. And I've been hearing rumours about it since I got back. Whoever it is has the merchants in a right tizzy."
"So she's either got someone untrained or unregistered," Trygve concludes.
"All we need to do is catch the idiot in the act," Nori nods. "And I think I know how."
In fact, Nori knows exactly how. After speaking with Trygve she remembers Audhild's visit during her last life. She and Dwalin had been unattached then, they had noticed each other but Nori had been avoiding him and Dwalin had been happy enough to entertain Audhild's advances. In all honesty, she had ignored Audhild entirely in her first life. They had caught the spy, who had not been registered and refused to give up his employer, and that had been the end of it. There is no way that they could have connected the spy to Audhild if they had tried in her first life, but in this one… perhaps in this one they can.
It does not take much, the right word here, a rumour there. Kíli is roped in to wait silently in his uncle's office in dark clothes and hood. Dressed as he is in the empty room he truly looks like a shadow, which happens to be the name that Nori intends to refer to him as from this point on as a member of her pack. Kíli is the wastrel prince, Cadan is the genial thief and the Shadow is the spy and assassin behind the crown. Not that the lad realises this at the moment. She will tell him, they all have other names that they use in relation to the pack. Nori is the Wolf, obviously, Trygve is known as the Second, and Kíli will be the Shadow. Even Dwalin is referred to as the Hound even if he is not of the pack purely because they do not want to connect the guard to them in any obvious way.
While Nori would be tempted just to grab the spy while in Thorin's office, she is more interested in tying whoever it may be to Audhild. With that in mind, Nori quietly tails Audhild when she leaves Thorin's home after a late dinner with Dís. The 'dam has had a little more to drink than she ought to, but that works out for Nori in that it makes her easier to trace. Kíli will follow the spy from the office and they are hoping that the two will cross paths for long enough to prove that they are working together. Trygve certainly has enough evidence of it although he is yet to see the two of them together.
For a while Nori worries that the gamble has not paid off, perhaps Thorin's side of things was not convincing enough since he was never the best at hiding his intentions. She lingers near Audhild's residence, with a few of her other pack members nearby to cover the angles that she cannot, for most of the night. Watching and waiting while nothing happens is exhausting, especially only days after getting home, but eventually Kíli drops down next to her. It is dark inside the mountain, although lamps are lit intermittently to allow the occupants to see in colour rather than the scale of grey that make up dwarven dark vision, but Kíli's hood shadows his features further still and so it is impossible for Nori to know what expression is on his face. From the way that he tightly hisses a confirmation of the spy's arrival, however, Nori would assume it is somewhere on the scale of furious.
"You've sent Trygve to get your uncle?" She breathes.
"Aye," he whispers back. "Whoever this dwarf is, I'd wager a large amount of gold that he's not trained at all. Or if he is his tutor was useless. He didn't check back once, or vary his route to try and lose a potential tail. He just came straight here."
"Could just be cocky," Nori says as she lifts the hatch on the thief's lantern that she carries, flashing a quick message to the three others waiting with her. She sees the shift of shadow that indicates that Ingvar, Egil and Torvald have moved to cover any potential escape from the small dwelling. "We all fall into being overconfident at some point or another, lad. If he's been at this a while it's unlikely he thinks he's going to get called up on it now."
"I thought the whole point of getting and taking this stuff was not to be noticed," Kíli responds.
"It is," Nori agrees, "but that's a matter of personal pride for us, not a requirement for every employer, although I can imagine that Audhild will wish her tame thief had been more discreet." She glances down the street, they are not all that far from the small palace, also known as Thorin's Manor, which houses the royal family. Thorin and Dwalin had been alerted to the plan and had been ready and it will not take them that long to get here, especially with Trygve being the one to summon them. Nori does not want to leave it to chance that they will arrive quietly enough and quickly enough to catch Audhild in the act, however, and so she gestures for Kíli to follow her up the side of the building.
Time to catch a spy.
A.N: Audhild is a name I pulled from a list of Norse baby names, it apparently means 'fighting for wealth' which seemed appropriate.
My brain has also dribbled out of my ears, which will possibly be made worse by the vaccine tomorrow (yay?) because being on a break seems like the best time to do it. I may have to switch to once a week posting or even as and when if I can't kick my brain back in. I've got a few other arcs to write up before we get to the quest, and then we get to see if the changes that Nori has made here will affect how the quest ends for them all.