"I have never been this far north." Patsy said as he looked out over the early morning water. The sun just beginning to show its first light in the east. The smaller barge was coming to its first stop of its trip up stream.
"Never?" Moravar looked a bit surprised.
"Not that I can remember." Patsy yawned and took a drink of his tea. Purchased from the older gentleman camping down a ways from them. He made it over a metal bowl filled with charcoal. It took a bit of time for them to come along side the dock and tie off. Patsy and Moravar leave the barge to get supplies. No sooner than they were off the dock and moving towards the market a large group of men hurried past them.
Moravar looked down where the men were headed. There seemed to be some kind of disturbance. Moravar was about to right it off when a couple of teenage boys walked past. "They said he hadn't been in the water too long. Did you see the eels squirm out of his mouth? Yeah lets go get the girls and show them." Now this had his attention. He nudged Patsy with his elbow. "Did you hear that?" He nodded "You want to check it out?"
They shrugged at each other and walked casually down towards where the crowd was creating a semi circle. Moravar being very tall had no problem seeing over the heads of the crowd. Patsy on the other hand was a bit lost within it. Carefully they managed to get to the front. Patsy went still as stone and swallowed hard.
There lay Buster. It was obvious how he died. His throat was sliced from ear to ear. Moravar noticed Patsy's reaction he also noticed that the corpse was missing it's left hand. Moravar pulled Patsy away from the crowd, he walked slowly and just stared at the ground.
"I take it you knew him?"
"That is Buster."
Moravar just nodded a bit. "I know he did you dirty I also know you grew up with him."
"Nah, I am not all that sad to see him dead. Did you see that he was missing a hand?" Patsy asked
"It was noted. I guess that means Julian was serious about touching her in a unseemly way."
Patsy felt his jaw tremble and he grinds his teeth together. "I hope she is well. I have heard rumors about how he could get sometimes. I never seen him hit a girl but I .." He choked up then. "I got myself mixed up in some really bad shit. Fucking Buster." He kicked a rock and turned to walk off a different direction. "I will meet you at the barge." He said lowly and shoved his hands in his pockets as he walked away.
Moravar felt the pang of sadness for Patsy as he turned to go to the market. Loosing himself in the smells of street food. His belly growled at him and he sighed. "Sad and hungry are a terrible combination." He purchased himself the first kabob he saw and wandered along the streets of the market casually chewing on what he believed to be rabbit and peppers.
Soon he was smelling leather. That unmistakable musky smell of it. He found the source. It was a leather works, next to it they sold the goods made from their leather. A pair of brown boots caught his eye. They were about Patsy's size and while he had new clothing his boots had seen better days. He was feeling a bit generous as well. Patsy could use a little cheering up.
After a bit of haggling the purchase was made and Moravar tucked the boots away in his sack. The strap slung back over his shoulder. He made purchases of cheese and smoked meat. Fresh fruit was available. Mostly apples and a few pears for something different. The hour for their departure was nearing and Moravar meandered his way back to the dock. He found Patsy waiting on him near the barge.
"Did you get cheese?" He asked.
"Yes and I even got some bread and meat."
Patsy nodded and boarded the barge, "I am sorry for just walking off and all, you were more right than I wanted to admit. He was my friend for a long time. Not a good one," He laughed a little "but my friend regardless."
The Hunter walked past him towards their camp. "Are you going to stand their being emotional all day?" Patsy just looked at the back of his head for several long seconds. "You really know how to ruin a moment." He grumbled. "You keep that up and I wont give you the new boots I got for you." Moravar warned.
"New boots?" Patsy stopped and looked down at his feet . He lifted one and watched the sole flap up and down. "I could use new boots thank you." He double stepped to catch up.
"Don't go thinking this means anything. I am simply tired of listening to the flop flop sound every time you take a step."
"right right." Patsy said as he fell into step beside the Hunter.
It had taken them all day to do it. Callon stood there looking down on the large slate board they had made. Now they needed many more hands to get it on the wall. His hands rested on his hips and he turned his head side to side. "I recall the lewd words you would write on the board back home." Callon said with a grin.
"Oh yes the ones you taught me." Borgil responded quickly.
"Well I had an older brother to teach me." Callon smirked then crouched down to run his fingers over the cool slate. "I wonder why the commander gave us this job." Borgil shrugged. "I would rather do this than drill or patrol the ruins any day."
"Did you do this?" Hilda asked in a bright tone, surprising the two young elves. She walked closer and looked down at it and clapped her hands together.
"Y-yes my lady I am sorry it took us all day.." Callon answered her softly and Hilda just smiled at him. "Hilda, just call me Hilda both of you. You do not need to apologize for a thing." She looked proudly at the board once again. "You must be Callon." She looked up to him. " Yes My, uh Hilda and this is Borgil." She turned to Borgil who just stared at her blankly for several moments before blushing and looking away. "It's nice to meet you." He finally stammered out making Callon hide a grin.
"Well come on lads," She hooked her arms with theirs. "Work this good deserves a reward." She began to tug them towards the door. "Bertha just made some cookies and I know cookies are good at any age. So I imagine there are at least 2 maybe 3 a piece for you both."
"That sounds like a fair trade." Borgil finally found his tongue and his humor again.
"You have never had Bertha's cookies have ya. You can go a head and thank me now."
A few minutes later Borgil and Callon sat at a table with a large oatmeal cookie in their hands. A bite taken from each of them. The ellons chewed with smiles on their faces. "So how old are you both?" Bertha asked as she poured a glass of fresh milk for them.
"I just reached 40 this spring." Callon said as he swallowed.
"40!" Bertha said in surprise.
"I am only 38." Borgil said a bit softer than Callon.
"38? Neither of you look older than your late teens." Bertha placed the glasses down in front of them. "Now I know elves live a long time but I had no idea you age more slowly." She was sitting down at the table with them.
"Well I guess it would be like we are teenagers right now. We will reach our majority at 50 but we will not be seen as adults until we are 100." Borgil explained. "Even then they will look at us as children for a long time still."
"if you are still so young why are you here?" She had now taken her own cookie to eat.
"Normally we would be in training at home. Our jobs would be patrols around the city." Callon said then Borgil chimed in. "Because of the war and the lack in numbers they brought us in training along to do support work. While we didn't fight we," He sighed and looked down. "learned a lot about war. Felt that fear and saw the pain in the eye's of those we were helping."
Bertha heard the pain in his voice. This was a child speaking, one like many human children was affected by the violence. She reached out with her free hand and lay it over Callon's. "Ya know lad, I am proud of you both. Thank you for all you did. The best thing I can give you in return is a kind ear and love. Oh and cookies. You can stop by my kitchen anytime, I'll have an ear or a cookie for you." She looked to Borgil as well and saw his emotions bubbling forth.
Haldir had just heard the whole thing from the hall. He smiled to himself as the 2 ellons found what they were needing at that moment. He turned quietly and went to find free hands so he could hang the slate wall up in the classroom.
Brand sat across from Kal in the meeting room. Cup's of tea and a plate of Bertha's cookies before them. He was listening to her story about her night in Strong-Nor's pleasure den. "Everything is on the up and up. None of the workers on the floor or in the alcoves is less than marrying age. The ones that work the kitchens are lorded over by a house mother that is rather strict. There is just something not right about him. It's like he has polished the surface so bright you can't see the imperfections."
Brand sighed, "What if there aren't any?" Kal glared at him. "Look I seems like he is making a go at it without all the nastiness that often comes with it. I'm sure his moral character in the past has been questionable but that doesn't mean what he is doing now is unlawful." He was playing Sauron's advocate he knew it but someone had to be level headed in the conversation.
"He sees himself having just as much if not more power than you in the future." She said as her gaze leveled on him.
Brand began to laugh. "That may very well be so. Money will make you pretty powerful. As of right now though. He is contributing to financial stability of Dale. He isn't breaking laws or harming people. If he becomes an issue in the future I will handle it."
She nodded and sighed. "Then he brought up the issue of our relationship."
"There is an issue with our relationship?" Brand asked.
"Apparently so."
"What relationship?" he asked then laughed . Kal throws her napkin at him.
"Kal stop."
She was getting up to leave. "Stop Kal and listen to me." He reached out and grabbed her wrist. "Please sit back down." She lowered back into her seat.
"Yes there is a relationship growing between us. I will admit it. What about our relationship?"
"He said if it continues and it begins to look like we are serious the other council members will vote me out. Which he has a point. I would be married or seen as taken then and beholding to my mate. I would not longer be eligible to be a leader."
"I see, I wish I could say it was different on my side of it. Women are often beholding to the men in their lives here. I don't feel that way but then again I am not the average man on the street." He sighed and leaned in closer as she held her hand. His fingers lightly caressing her palm. "Does this mean you don't want a relationship with me?"
"No, yes, I, I don't know what to do Brand. Give me a blade and put in in front of my enemy and I know what to do. Tell me that finding love will throw me out of the fight altogether? I don't know what to do."
"You can still fight for your people from this side Kal. Your people are now my people too."
She looked him in the eye and saw the hope and the uncertainty that all this had brought up. "I never thought I would catch the eye of a king you know."
"I never thought I would court a mysterious beauty with a strong spirit but here I am."
"Courting? Is that what we are doing?" She asked.
"Well," He exhaled a big breath. "If you would allow me to yes."
"I apparently have a lot of think about don't I."
"Can I tempt you with Cookies and meals made by Bertha?"
He grinned and so did she. "Aww now see you're playing unfairly." Kal laughed.
He escorted Kal out and walked with her to the gate. There he bid her farewell and was joined by Haldir. "I need you to do something for me. I need to know everything about Strong-Nor."
The wine flowed into the glass and rolled around the inside as it filled. He offered the glass out to her and she took it. "I feel like a drink will be needed for the story I am about to tell you darling." It hurt for her to move much. She grimaced as she lifted the goblet and took a drink of the sweet wine inside it.
Julian poured himself a glass and sat back. "Her name was Gracia, Her flesh was a deep golden brown and her eyes as green as emeralds. She had been a young wife and young mother. Her husband had been a good man but like many young brave men he met his fate in battle. Gracia struggled hard but she managed to take care of herself and her daughters." He paused then and took a drink.
"Gracia had a pure kind heart. She found me half starved and nearly frozen by the stream near her humble home. She took me in and fed me. She nursed my body back to health and then she eased my mind with her kindness. If I was to ever love a firieth, that means mortal woman, it would have been Gracia." His voice cracked a bit and he stopped to still his own emotions.
"I would travel around and make my coins and then I would return to Gracia and spend most of it on her and the girls. I found a reason to smile again when I was with them and I told her that should anything happen to her I would take care of the girls. I returned one day to find the home in a burned out ruin. Everyone was gone. I went to the village to find out what had happened. Then I was shown Gracia's grave and told about the raid. They killed her and took her daughters. I went into a rage and vowed to track them down and get my girls back."
He wiped at the tears that had begun to wall down his cheeks. Selwyn held her empty glass out to him and he refilled it. "I did, I tracked them all down. I slaughtered them all one by one. I freed all the captives they had taken and I found my girls." He gasped and that's when he could no longer hold back the flood of tears. "They were no longer capable of caring for themselves. Their minds had been broken by the torture. I have seen Orc's be more kind to their captives."
Selwyn finished the wine and placed the glass down. She winced and forced herself up and she moved to slide an arm around his shoulders. Soon he embraced her fully and sobbed against stomach and she held him. Her hand caressing down the back of his head.
"What did you do?" She asked softly. He pulled her gently down into his lap and she put her arm around him. His head lay on her shoulder as he tried to gather himself up enough to continue.
"I took them to Minas Tirith. I took them to the Queen and she saw to their care after I told her what had happened. Then I went looking for the one who they worked for. I found him Selwyn. The problem is I have to take him something he can not refuse to get close enough to kill him."
"Me?" She asked.
"You and the blue stone."
"Why me?"
"Because you my dear are the descendant of 2 great houses. The House of Elros and the House of Cirdan. You have more right to the throne of Gondor than the current king and you are related to both the king and the queen."
She almost fell off his lap then but his arms wrapped around her tightly and still her. "I am royalty?" She asked in a soft whisper.
"Indeed darling you are."
"I'm an elf?"
"Not exactly. You are half elven. Peredhel as we say."
"I don't have pointed ears."
"neither did your father. See long ago he was looking for you. Your mother was lost the first time he tried to take you. Your father escaped with you and took you to the only safe place he knew."
"To my grandfathers."
"yes darling. Then he left to throw them off track and vanished. I imagine they killed him eventually."
"I have no throne to give him why does he want me?"
"You are a rare animal darling. Some people just like collecting things."
She shivered then. "I have no intentions of you staying with him I just need you to act the part, to allow me to get close enough. If I present him the 2 things he desires the most I am sure we will let me in."
She was feeling overwhelmed and sore. He stood up and lifted her in his arms. Then with care he placed her back in the bed and sat beside her. "The easiest thing was for me to use Buster to scare you into compliance. I really do apologize for how that worked out. Now my only option is to just tell you the truth and ask you to help me. I do not have the heart to hurt you or force you."
Selwyn was quiet for a long time and he made no move to break the silence. He held her hand and let his thumb gently glide over the soft flesh. "I will help you." She whispered to him. He looked into her eyes and then embraced her. She hissed in pain and he quickly eased his hug. "Thank you." He said softly and leaned back to look at her.
"Don't make me regret my choice." Selwyn warned.
"I can't make that promise darling but I can promise to keep you as safe as possible. I can also keep you fed and clothed." He smiled widely. "I can teach you how to be a lady, how to read and write. There are perks to helping me you know." He lifted his head a bit and looked down at her. "Do we have a deal?"
She nodded and spat on her palm and held out her hand. Julian stared at her wide eyed. "It's how we seal a deal where I come from." She said and pushed her hand towards him. Julian looked horrified. "Do I spit in my hand too?" He asked. She nodded and he began to pale a bit.
She laughed at him. Truly lit up with it. Her smile the most beautiful smile he thought he had ever seen. "It's just spit Julian, we do have soap and water to wash it off." She chided him. "I do believe this is worse than the oath of Feanor." He hissed and spat into his palm and slowly eld his hand down towards hers. She grabbed his hand quickly and shook it. He felt the spit squishing against his palm. "There we now have an unbreakable deal." She released his hand and her jumped up and went for the water basin.
"Who is Feanor?"
He looked over his shoulder at her. "I guess we just added history to the list of things I will teach you."
Patsy had gotten himself into a card game. He was actually winning. Moravar lingered nearby just to keep an eye on him. He still seemed a bit down after that morning. He really could not blame the man however, the fact he was winning seemed to be helping. One by one the others began to drop out until eventually Patsy won the last hand. No one screamed cheater or made a fuss. They weren't happy but they had lost fairly. It wasn't a high stakes game but they were out of a few coins each.
Patsy dropped the coins into a coin purse as he meandered towards Moravar. "The next supply run is on me." He said with a proud smile.
"Where did you get that coin purse?" Moravar reached out to turn it so he could look at the studwork on the lip.
"This? Back at the last port."
"Did you buy it?"
Patsy looked at him and sighed. "No. Where do you think I got the coins to play in this game tonight."
Moravar lifted his hand and smacked the back of Patsy's head. "OW! Hey what was that for?" Patsy reached up to rub the back of his head.
"While you are with me you do not steal peoples coin purses. These are common people Patsy. That family made starve or become homeless because of what you have done." Moravar held Patsy's gaze and watched as the reality set in.
"I never thought of that." Patsy looked down.
"Thievery is something that is one only in dire need Patsy. A choice you only make after careful consideration. You are a better man." Moravar said in a softer tone. "Next port you will give the amount to stole to the first beggar you see."
Patsy nodded in agreement. "Lets go eat. We will be in another port on the morrow and then we should catch up to the big barge sometime the next day."
"Great, then you can kill Julian and take the girl home and I will be free."
Moravar scowled. "I hope to not need to kill anyone."
The next day was a bit grey and a misty fog clung to the morning. The barge was coming into dock. "I hope it does not rain today." Patsy said as he peered from under the canvas tent. As soon as he had said it a gentle rain began to fall. Undómë snorted and shook his head and looked at Patsy as if he had brought the rain. "I didn't do it." He quickly said and pulled back under the canvas.
"Moravar dug into the pack and pulled out a parka made of soft leather." You need this more than I." He said as she tossed it to Patsy. "I will not become sick if I am wet and cold." Patsy pulled the parka over his head and tugged it down. He then reached back and pulled the hood over his head. "Thank you."
Moravar pulled on his cloak and cowl. They left the tent and started across the deck. Patsy marveled at how the water just ran off the parka. It absorbed no moisture. "The first beggar you see Patsy." Moravar reminded him. He nodded gently as they stepped onto the dock then in the streets of the small port.
This was to be a fast stop. they would be leaving within half an hour. Moravar went right to a small food stand with a awning over the front. Patsy approached an old man huddled in door way trying to stay dry. His clothing was in tatters and he looked thin and frail. Moravar turned with a hot meat pie in both hands and watched as Patsy crouched down and spoke to him. Then much to Moravar's surprise he handed him the whole coin purse.
The old man began to show gratitude to Patsy. Shaking his hand then hugging him. It was then an old woman in a tattered dress and wrapped in a tattered shawl came from inside the building whose door way they were in. In her hand a basket that held a stale loaf of bread. Hard for them to chew but all they could afford. She looked to her husband who held up the coin purse then to Patsy. She began to cry and stumble. Patsy helped her by reach out to steady her.
She hugged him too. Then the elderly couple went back into the shop and Patsy was making his way towards him. A meat pie was offered to Patsy and he took it. Moravar said nothing at first. They just stood there eating quietly. "I guess I am paying for the supplies." Moravar broke the silence.
"yeah it only seemed right. They needed it more than us."
Moravar nodded then pat Patsy's shoulder. "That was good. Now I think we need to grab what we need and go back. I think the rain may be with us for a while."