Laketown was twice as big as it was before Smaug destroyed it.

"I can honestly say, I wasn't expecting the city t' look so different," Ori commented as he, Fili, and Baylee crested a hill overlooking Laketown. He then glanced along the shore only for his brows to furrow slightly. "Wait—wasn't the city further t' the south than this?" As he spoke, he pulled out his sketchbook and pencil, opening the former to a pair of empty pages so he could begin sketching. He had to be quick, as the sight of the city would soon be lost to them as they traveled downhill.

Baylee nodded. "Aye, it was, but understandably, folk didn't want t' rebuild in the same spot due t' that being where Smaug's corpse lay." She smiled as she looked at the city; when she had last visited, much of it was still under construction and it hadn't been nearly as large as it was now. "This time, they've built the foundations out o' a mixture o' stone an' wood so that they could use more stone in their buildings, lessening the chances of fire."

"Apparently, Erebor gifted the pilings t' the people o' Laketown," Ori said, glancing up from his sketching to check the proportions of the city compared to the page he was drawing on.

"It was my idea," Fili admitted, his cheeks turning a touch red. "I thought it would be a good gesture of apology. Sort of a 'we're sorry, let us help you rebuild stronger and better than before' thing."

As they rode, he looked around the area; it, too, had changed quite a bit in just eight years: All morning, they had ridden past fields of wheat and vegetables as well as fenced-in paddocks filled with cows, sheep, and goats. Soon, they would be riding through what was essentially a small forest but was, in fact, fully-grown fruit orchards. Baylee had told them the trees grew so fast thanks to the combined efforts of Radagast the Brown, Gandalf the Grey, and the elves of Mirkwood.

He did well to hide it, but he was ecstatic to see how well the people were thriving.

"That was both a smart an' thoughtful idea you had," Baylee told him, giving him an approving nod. "The stone is definitely an improvement over the wood pilings we used t' have. Especially because they'll require far less maintenance."

"That's what I was thinking," Fili chuckled. He raised his hand, shielding his eyes against the midmorning sun. "It sure looks a lot bigger than it had been before…"

Baylee nodded in agreement. "Aye, it does, doesn't it? Part o' me keeps saying it's just because people are usin' stone t' build bigger buildings now, but I know well enough that plenty o' folk from Dorwinion an' Rohan have moved up here t' help rebuild. That's why there are so many farms now; some farmers from Rohan thought they'd try their luck up here an' found the land to be quite fertile once you get it cleared o' rocks."

"The people who have the orchards, I take it, come from Dorwinion, though?" Ori asked, glancing up once more to check something in regards to the city.

"Aye. They've brought all sorts o' fruits, like apples, pears, plums, persimmons, an' cherries." She smiled as she looked at the trees they were approaching; many of them still bore flowers that would turn into fruit come late summer and early autumn. "Some o' them tried t' grow citrus trees up here, but our winters were too harsh for them. They would need t' build very large greenhouses if they ever wanted t' see a profit from them."

Fili chuckled. "And I take it they didn't want to spend a fortune on building a few of those, since it would take so long to see any sort of return on that investment?"

She chuckled. "Aye, that's one o' the reasons. The other reason is transportin' that many panes o' glass is very tedious, given how well you have t' pack it into the carts with lots an' lots o' straw." Lightly shaking her head, she closed her eyes for a few moments to better listen to the approaching sounds of birdsongs.

"That's understandable." Fili brushed some of his hair over his shoulder before letting out a small sigh. "Even our most skilled glassmakers in Erebor have trouble when it comes to glass panes." As he looked at the trees, he could see little birds flitting about, moving from branch to branch or hopping around on the ground in their search for food.

The closer they came to the trees, the more distinct the birdsongs started to become—that is, until they finally reached the trees and started to travel under the leafy canopy. At that point, the songs started to blend together once more thanks to the sounds of other wildlife joining in: Chirping squirrels and the knocking of woodpeckers mingled with the snorts and nickers of their horses. Baylee smiled; many of these songs she hadn't heard in years, as the birds didn't go as far north as Dale.

Opening her eyes again, the smile faded from her lips as she could see the riders ahead of them begin to slow down. As such, she slowed Buttercup down as well until the mare was at a complete stop.

"What's going on?" Ori asked. He stood up in the saddle, hoping to see what the holdup was, but he couldn't see very far ahead of them thanks to his short stature. "Why are we stopping?"

"I'm not sure," Fili replied. He, too, was standing up, but even though he was a few inches taller than Ori, he could see little more than the backside of the horse in front of him. "Baylee, do you see anything?"

"I can't quite tell myself," Baylee said, craning her neck to try and see past the crowd. Standing up allowed her to see a bit further. "I can see that Rán is off o' his horse," she relayed down to them, "but I don't know where he's at—I can't really see him."

"I hope nothing's wrong," Fili murmured. He glanced up at Baylee in time to see her plop back down on the saddle.

Ori shrugged. "I don't think anything's wrong—there'd be a lot more commotion if that were the case, wouldn't it?" Though he no longer had sight of the city as reference, he was adding in whatever details he could remember to the buildings on the page.

Baylee nodded in agreement. "Aye, that's true. An' there's none o' that goin' on. Maybe there were some animals lazin' about in the road or some farmer had a busted cart…?"

"That could be," Fili agreed with a slight nod. His voice, however, betrayed his uncertainty.

The three didn't have to wait too much longer to find out what was going on. From further up the line, one of the merchants turned around in the saddle and called back to them, "Baylee! You're needed up front, lass!"

Her brows furrowed in confusion. "Me? Why me?"

The merchant shrugged. "No idea. I'm just the messenger."

She looked over at the dwarves, seeing looks of concern on their faces as they stared up at her. "If they're needin' me up there, then it can't be too bad, can it?" she chuckled, guiding Buttercup to the side of the road as she spoke. Despite her words, her stomach was beginning to twist about with nerves; why did they need her up front? There was nothing she could be very helpful with. 'Unless a bar sprang up from nowhere and it needed someone to be its server…' she thought.

Any worries she may have had, however, were quickly quelled as she came within sight of the front of the line. She could see that there was, indeed, a cart that had a busted wheel dragged off to the side of the road. Two soldiers were attempting to fix the wheel well enough that it could, at the very least, get its driver back to town, for the cart was laden with a mixture of vegetables and some fine-looking animal pelts.

While the pelts had given her an idea of who might be the owner of the cart, the dark brown, snowflake-patterned coat of the horse drawing it told her exactly who it belonged to.

A wide grin came to her face and she looked over at Rán to find him speaking with a woman who was just a few inches taller than him. Her skin was the same tanned shade as his, but her hair—and her facial hair—was as white as snow.

"Lovisa!" Baylee practically squealed. Hurrying off of Buttercup's back, she raced over and threw her arms around the woman. "Valar bless me, I've missed you so much!"

Though she was unable to speak, Lovisa was able to laugh, and she did so as she heartily returned Baylee's hug. After a few moments, she finally let go of the young woman and leaned back. Giving her a look over, she smiled warmly. 'Have you gotten more freckles since I last saw you?' she signed, making Baylee laugh.

"Quite possibly—I've been outside a lot these past few months," she replied. "What happened t' your cart?"

"That is what I was hoping you could translate for us." Looking over, she found Rán standing off to the side, a fond smile on his lips as he watched the reunion. "I knew who this woman was the moment I saw her thanks to your descriptions, but sadly, my knowledge of Iglishmêk is all but nonexistent."

'You know this handsome lad, love?' Lovisa signed, her brow rising. 'Have you finally—'

'No. It is a long story that I will explain later,' Baylee signed back. At the same time as her signing, she asked aloud, "So what did happen t' your cart? It doesn't look like it's overburdened."

At that, Lovisa frustratedly blew a stray lock of hair from her face. 'No, not overburdened. Just old and needing replacement. It is all my fault, really. I thought I could get another season out of the wheels, but I was wrong.'

"Lovisa says that the wheel was old," Baylee explained to Rán, chuckling. "She tried t' get one more season out o' them, but that backfired on her."

He nodded in understanding. "If you wish, my lady, we can send someone to the wheelwright when we reach the city and have them bring a new wheel out to you," he offered.

'That's a kind offer,' Lovisa signed, letting out a quiet sigh, 'But there's a spare wheel in the carriage house of the High Tide, so you wouldn't need to go to the wheelwright's shop. It should fit this old thing fairly well. They might even send Svena or Torleik to help me with it.'

"If you go t' the High Tide an' tell either Eira or Elle what happened, they'll hand over the spare wheel they've got in the carriage house and—" She then paused, looking at Lovisa in shock. "They've got a carriage house for the inn now?!" she gaped, making Rán quietly laugh.

'Business has been extremely good the past few years,' Lovisa grinned. 'It's not a very large one—just big enough for my cart and theirs. We don't have much use for actual carriages in town, after all.'

Baylee nodded in understanding. "That makes sense. An' it means your cart won't get stolen, either," she said. Then, realizing she had cut off in the middle of her translation to Rán, she felt her cheeks turn a bit pink. "I'm sorry, Rán—I forgot t' finish translatin' for you. You can tell my cousins what happened an' they'll hand over the spare wheel or they might send the stablehands, Svena or Torleik, t' help Lovisa with it."

Rán nodded in understanding. "I will be certain to do such," he told her. "I assume you would like to stay here with Lady Lovisa and catch up with her?" he then asked, chuckling.

"Aye, I would—if it's not too much trouble, that is."

"I assure you, it's no trouble whatsoever, Lady Baylee," he said, giving her a handsome smile. "I will go tell the soldiers that we have figured out a solution and then the rest of us shall be on our way." He gave them a half-bow before going over to deliver the news to the soldiers working on the cart.

'Come. Let's go relax in the shade. I've some lovely big strawberries and apricots we can snack on while we wait," Lovisa signed as she started to guide Baylee off to the side of the road.

"Ooh, apricots sound good," Baylee grinned, following after her. "I didn't know they were in season already."

Lovisa nodded. 'They come into season about mid-to-late spring. Around the time when the weather starts to heat up.' While Baylee moved to rest her back against one of the trees, she glanced over her shoulder as the group of merchants and soldiers began to ride towards the city once more. 'I wasn't aware Dale had a faction of rangers now.'

"They were a gift to us from the queen of Dorwinion," Baylee explained. "I'm not quite positive on the specifics o' it, but most folk tend t' agree she gifted them t' us because o' the raids that have been happenin'."

'A good idea, really. Dale's military force isn't quite up to par yet from what I've heard.'

"Bard's been working on it. He wanted to focus attention on getting the city back t' bein' in livable conditions. What few soldiers we do have train outside the west gate for now, but once the barracks are in workin' order again, they're goin' t' start recruitin'."

Lovisa nodded in understanding as she once more looked the young woman over. Though it had been nearly six years since she had last seen her, Baylee hadn't changed a bit—save for maybe having a few extra freckles. 'Sending soldiers with the merchants is understandable, but Dorwinion rangers are known for how disciplined and deadly they can be…I'm a bit surprised Bard was willing to let three of them come with the lot of you.'

Baylee cleared her throat. "That's…a bit o' a long story. One I'll tell you an' the others later."

Lovisa frowned and got ready to ask her why that was, but she watched Baylee perk up. Looking over at the road, she saw a pair of dwarven riders coming over to the side of the road as well.

"Ah, so this is why you were needed up front," Ori grinned, bringing his pony to a halt. "Rán needed someone t' translate Iglishmêk for him!" He glanced over at Fili, finding the prince looking at the half-dwarven woman in awe.

"Yes, it was," Baylee chuckled. "The wheel for her cart broke an', as such, Rán will be lettin' my cousins know so a replacement can be brought. I told him I'd wait here with her. You're free t' join us, if you'd like. It might be a while, though."

"That's fine with us," Fili said, hoping down from his pony. Beside him, Ori did the same.

'Friends of yours, love?' Lovisa asked, her brow raised in amusement. She hadn't expected Baylee to bring some friends along, let alone dwarven friends.

Nodding, Baylee smiled. "Aye, they are! Lovisa, I'd like you t' meet Fili an' Ori."

"At your service!" the pair chorused before giving Lovisa a polite bow.

'And Lovisa at yours,' she replied while returning their bow with a small curtsy. 'Any friend of Baylee's is a friend of mine. Would either of you like some strawberries or apricots?'

"Those sound delicious about right now," Fili smiled. "Thank you very much, my lady."

'Have yourselves a seat and get comfortable while I fetch them.' She turned away from the three and headed for her cart.

Baylee quietly laughed, her brow rising as she took a seat on the ground. "She just met the two o' you an' she's already tryin' t' feed you."

Ori quietly snorted. "I take it that's a good sign, then?" He sat down near her, with Fili sitting on the other side of him.

"Aye, a very good sign. Means she already likes you," she chuckled.

"Well, that's good to hear," Fili smiled. He glanced over his shoulder at the half-dwarrow dame. "I know you gave us a bit of a description of what she looks like, but I must admit, she looks nothing like I pictured."

"She takes a lot o' folks by surprise when they see her for the first time," Baylee assured him. "It's mostly the hair. People expect it t' be that greyish-silvery sort o' white an' they don't expect there t' be nearly as much o' it as there is."

Ori nodded in agreement. "Balin has hair that's as white as hers, but he has nowhere near the same amount o' it—an' that's includin' his beard!"

Taking the three of them by surprise, Lovisa seemingly came from nowhere and sat down beside Baylee. 'Talking about my hair are you?' she asked with one hand, the other placing two baskets in the middle of their little square. 'Help yourselves, by the way. I got these for snacking on, so don't worry if they all get eaten.'

"I was just tellin' them most people don't expect your hair t' be so white or long," Baylee chuckled. "I gave them a brief description o' what you looked like a few weeks ago, but even that didn't prepare them."

'Believe it or not, but I was once a strawberry-blonde,' she chuckled, pulling her hair over her shoulder to look at it. It was in a simple, but thick, three-strand braid. 'But when I was a child, the same sickness that took my voice took the color from my hair. No one really knows why; my father always suspected it had something to do with the herbs used to help heal me, since they were foreign to us.'

"Where did they come from, then?" Fili asked, his head tilting. Leaning forward, he plucked an apricot out of the basket, giving it a small toss over to Ori before taking one for himself.

'From a city far to the west of here, by a place called the Shire.'

At that, Fili and Ori both perked. "The Shire? That's where Bilbo lives!" Ori chirped.

Lovisa's head tilted slightly and her brow rose. 'Bilbo?' She then looked at Baylee. 'Isn't that the name of the wee fellow who came with Thorin's company?'

"Aye, that'd be him," Baylee said, amusement on her lips. "Fili an' Ori were part o' Thorin's company—in fact, Fili is Thorin's nephew."

Her eyes widened slightly as she looked back at the two dwarves. They both wore sheepish smiles that were quickly hidden as they took bites of their apricots. 'Well, I must say I wasn't expecting to be in the presence of royalty, my lord,' she signed with a chuckle. 'My apologies for not realizing sooner.'

Fili waved a dismissive hand. "There's no need for apologies or for formalities," he assured her with a smile.

"He doesn't like the formal titles an' such," Ori explained. "He tries t' save it only for diplomatic events."

'Understandable. I can only imagine how tedious it must get, hearing 'my lord' and 'your royal highness' all the time.' She leaned forward and plucked up a strawberry and an apricot.

'It's extremely annoying,' Fili signed as he took a bite of his apricot. 'Thank Mahal I don't have to hear it too much—yet. I have the feeling, though, that I'll be hearing it quite a bit during my meetings with the Mistress of Laketown.'

Baylee nodded. "No doubt you will—Venera takes her job very seriously an' that includes usin' people's correct titles," she said. "I don't blame her, though, given the mess she was left with."

'But under her rule, the city has flourished,' Lovisa told her, a small smile on her lips. 'As you could tell, I'm sure.'

"It's only been eight years an' Laketown already looks more than twice as big as it was," Ori chuckled. "I'd daresay that it's doin' better than Dale."

'You would be correct, especially with these recent raider attacks.' Lovisa tossed the stem of her strawberry over her shoulder. 'Laketown was always a trading hub—even in the days before Smaug. People from as far south as Gondor and as far east as the eastern shores of the Sea of Rhûn would come to Laketown to trade their wares for gold or other goods. Dale was more of a specialty town, known for its textiles, jewelry, and toys. Of course, Erebor had always been the real draw of the north, given all the precious stones and metals that the mountain produced.'

"I didn't know Dale used t' be known for jewelry," Ori commented, his head tilted slightly. "Toys an' textiles, aye, but not jewelry."

"While not nearly as good as the dwarven jewelers, the human ones were able to produce some beautiful jewelry thanks t' the high-quality metal an' jewels they could get from Erebor for fairly cheap," Baylee explained. "But, it was definitely the toys that Dale was most famous for. An' with Bofur an' Bifur's store openin' soon, I'm sure the city will quickly become known for its toys once more."

Lovisa looked at her, her brow raised and an amused smile on her lips. 'Bofur and Bifur…? I see Ori and Fili aren't your only dwarvish friends.'

A sheepish smile came to Baylee's lips. "Aye, I've got a few o' them now—an' I'm taller than all o' them!" She grinned cheekily as Ori and Fili snorted.

It was strange, being a guest at an inn for once. What was even stranger was not being allowed to help with serving—even if it was just bringing Fili and Ori some ale. The younger of her cousins, Elle, had caught her halfway to the bar and, taking the mugs from her, promptly turned her around and told her to march right back to her table so she could relax. They didn't even let her carry her things to her room on her own—they had had Domeka, Eira's husband, carry them up for her.

And now, just an hour and a half after properly arriving at the inn, she was relaxing in a porcelain tub, surrounded by hot water that was scented of almonds. She smiled as she sank down a bit further into the water, her eyes closed. Even before leaving Dale for Laketown, it had been quite some time since she had last had a hot bath—the past few months had been busy enough that she would either forget that there was a bath ready for her or would have to make due with a quick sponge bath.

'This feels amazing,' she thought, sighing in content. 'I may have to take advantage of my cousins' kindness and sneak in a few more hot baths before we head back to Dale…'

Though she badly wanted to stay in the tub for as long as possible, she also didn't want to worry anyone with how long she was taking. As such, after relaxing for a little bit, she started to scrub away the dirt and sweat that had accumulated on her over the last few days. When she was done with that, she began to unbraid her hair; that in and of itself was a chore. Bofur had done so many intricate braids that she was certain her hair would be as curly as sheep's wool once they were all undone.

'It's a good thing no one's going to see my hair like this.' She chuckled, able to see just how curly a few of the locks had become from the corner of her eye. It wasn't quite as curly as wool, though she thought it was close enough.

The curls, however, didn't last long: As soon as she wet her hair, most of them all but disappeared and the few that remained were quickly banished when she rubbed the hair soap into her scalp. By the time she was out of the bath and had towel-dried her hair, there was no sign of the curls remained—just her normal waves were left.

Now, up in her room on the third floor, she let out a small sigh and started to comb her hair. 'I wonder how Will's handling the inn…? I hope things aren't too busy for him and the lasses—or that auntie is trying to talk him into changing some things around.' She lightly shook her head at the thought. 'And I hope papa is doing better, too. I know he's a fast healer and he's got uncle there with him, but I can only imagine having to lose most of a limb takes some time to heal from…'

A knock on her door drew her from her thoughts. "Who is it?" she called. A smile came to her lips when, instead of words, she was answered by a bird whistle. "Come in."

The door opened and Lovisa poked her head in. Spotting Baylee on the bed, she smiled and stepped fully into the room, closing the door behind her. 'That was a quick bath.'

"I wanted t' relax for longer, but I also didn't want anyone t' think I fell asleep an' drowned."

'A good point.' She chuckled, sitting down on the edge of the bed beside her. Reaching over, she picked up a bit of hair that Baylee had already combed out. 'Your hair has gotten so long since I last saw you! When it was in all those braids, I didn't think it would be this long.'

Baylee smiled. "Aye, I've been tryin' t' grow it out. I've been tempted t' cut it a few times—especially during the summer—but now that it's gettin' braided so often, I don't think I will."

Lovisa's brow rose in amusement. 'And who is doing all this braiding? I know it can't be you or Will—those were definitely dwarven braids you had. Perhaps that handsome ranger lad…?'

"Ah, w-well, he's one o' the lads who braids my hair," she admitted, her cheeks darkening. "But he wasn't the one who did the braids you saw."

At that, Lovisa perked, her eyes widening and a teasing grin coming to her lips. 'Do you mean to tell me my dear little mouse-lass has caught the attention of more than one lad?' she inquired teasingly. 'And more than one lad who happens to have dwarf blood in him, to boot?'

Biting her lower lip, she bashfully looked away. "Aye, I have—an' I don't know how, t' be honest."

'Because you're a sweet little thing, that's how. Now, why don't you tell me about these lads? Who are they, do you fancy any of them in return, and how did they manage to catch your attention?' After signing, she reached over and, taking the comb from Baylee, started to work on the rest of her hair.

A soft sigh left Baylee's mouth. "There are just two o' them: Rán an' Bofur. Rán caught my attention because…well, he's handsome. But as I've gotten t' know him, I've learned that he's also got interesting stories from his life in Dorwinion an' he enjoys learning about Dale's culture an' such. He also bakes due t' having been apprenticed t' a baker before he was a ranger. A fair few people back home want me t' be with him because o' his looks an' his position as the captain o' the rangers.

"Bofur, though—I don't think there's been a day since he came t' the Tankard that he hasn't made me laugh." A smile came to her lips and she closed her eyes as she thought about her beloved. "He comes down t' the kitchen early in the morning just t' sit an' talk with me about any an' everything; sometimes he'll even end up makin' me breakfast if I got too caught up in baking. He does a lot o' sweet little things like that: Checkin' in on me if I haven't had a break in a while, makin' sure I'm alright after stressful situations…he even bought me a necklace because he knew I wouldn't get it for myself."

Lovisa's brow rose slightly and she smiled; just by the way she spoke about him, she knew Bofur had won Baylee's heart. 'He sounds like he's a good match for her,' she thought. 'That's good—very good. After getting her heart broke by Bard, she deserves someone who can make her laugh and treats her so wonderfully…'

"I've been tryin' t' spend equal amounts o' time with them t' find out who I liked more," Baylee continued with a small sigh. "It's been a bit difficult, given Bofur's with Bifur an' Will down at the toyshop, Rán's a ranger an' has been quite busy lately, an' I've been helpin' t' run the Tankard."

'It sounds like one of them has already won you over,' Lovisa signed with one hand, the other holding onto the braid she had been working on. 'And, from how you described him, I can see why.'

Her cheeks turned a bit pink, but Baylee smiled. "I did kind o' gush about him, didn't I?"

'I may have to travel with you back to Dale just so I can meet this lad of yours. Have you told anyone yet?'

"I haven't told anyone, no. But a few folks have figured it out—namely Will, Ori, an' Fili. I plan t' tell Rán while we're here in Laketown; I wanted there t' be some distance between him an' Bofur, since I know dwarves can get a wee bit…territorial when it comes to the people they're fancying."

'A smart idea. The last thing you would want is for either of them to hurt each other—and given that Rán is larger and surely more agile than Bofur, there would have been a strong potential for bloodshed.' She lightly tapped the top of Baylee's head to let her know that she was done braiding.

"Exactly. I've already got enough t' worry about," she sighed, turning back to face Lovisa. "I don't want t' worry about those two hurtin' each other."

Lovisa's brows furrowed. 'You've got enough to worry about? And just what is that supposed to mean?'

Rubbing the side of her neck, Baylee glanced away. "Er…well, the last month or so has been quite…eventful. An' not necessarily a good kind o' eventful, either." From the corner of her eye, she could see the look of concerned curiosity that Lovisa now wore.

'Baylee…' she signed, her lips pursing into a small pout.

"It's Mannus Stover," she admitted with a sigh. "He's been causin' a lot o' problems o' late."

'What has he done now? Started a fistfight with your dad in the market? Bribing his customers to spread rumors? Trying to win you over?'

"Worse. First, he kicked Adela out o' the Hen an' humiliated her in front o' a common room full o' people—she's at the Tankard now, though, an' is quite happy. Turns out, she an' Will have been secretly courtin' each other for years now."

'I always had a feeling those two held some sort of flame for each other,' Lovisa admitted with a small sigh. 'What else has Mannus done that's so frustrating?'

"He faked his own death by blowin' up part o' the Hen."

Lovisa's eyes widened and her face paled slightly. 'He did WHAT?!' she signed, making her hand movements for 'what' sharp and quick for emphasis.

Baylee nodded. "Aye, he blew up part o' the Hen. Killed four people in total, with a few others bein' badly injured…papa was one o' those who had gotten injured." She sighed, rubbing the side of her neck again. "A burnin' beam fell on him when he an' Will were helpin' t' get people out o' the inn."

'How bad was he hurt, love?' She had known Warren since she was a child and, as such, she knew how much it took to leave him badly injured.

"Broken an' cracked ribs, lots o' cuts an' scratches, an' uncle had t' remove his arm from the elbow down."

Once more her eyes widened and her jaw fell a bit slack.

"It had taken the brunt o' the force when the beam fell an' it just wasn't healin' right," Baylee continued. "Uncle tried his best t' save it, but after three days, it was clear that he wouldn't be able t' salvage it."

Lovisa slowly nodded in understanding, though she still wore a frown on her lips. 'Did the amputation go well…?'

"Aye, it did. With it gone, papa's already startin' t' feel better, but he's still going t' be confined t' a bed for some time."

'How did Mannus fake his death? And does anyone know why he would do such a thing?'

"I'm not quite sure o' the details about how he blew up the building—I've actually got a letter from Bard t' give you that probably has more information in it—but it turns out the cellar o' the Hen has the entrance t' a tunnel that leads out o' the city. Adela never knew about it because Mannus hid it behind a shelf." She paused for a moment, leaning back on her palms. "From what Will said, Bard believes it's because Mannus has a lot o' debts he needs t' repay. Debts he should have been able t' pay; Adela says he had been stealin' money from the register box for ages an' cuttin' the pay o' his staff."

Her brow rose and an unimpressed look came to her face. 'He more than likely owed money to some shady folk that he didn't want to repay, too.' Lightly shaking her head, she breathed a small sigh. 'I take it that's why there are rangers and soldiers accompanying the group you traveled with?'

"Well, that an' the raiders," she answered. "T' be honest, we were more worried about the raiders than Mannus when we were traveling."

'Understandable. Mannus is just one person while the raiders are people riding wargs.' She shook her head, a frown still on her lips. 'Is there a chance that Mannus came down here?'

"That's the most likely scenario an', because o' that, I've been given strict orders t' not leave the Tide without someone accompanying me."

'Good. I suppose that's one of the things Bard has gone over in that letter you mentioned.' A teasing smile then came to her lips as she looked over at Baylee. 'Lucky for him, since I haven't seen you in so long, you won't be able to get rid of me for a while.' Before she had the chance to speak, she hooked an arm around Baylee's shoulders and pulled the young woman into a big bear hug, making her laugh.

"I'm a few weeks shy o' bein' thirty an' I'm still gettin' babysat," Baylee laughed, her brow rising as she returned the hug. "You better babysit Will when you come t' visit us in Dale sometime—he gets into far more mischief than I ever could!"

'Said the lass who used to tie boats together and set hogs loose in the market square!'

A/N: 1:40am is a good time to upload a chapter, right? 😂 Anyway, because I probably won't get an update out for the PotC fic in time due to the copious amounts of baking I have to do, I hope all of you have/have had a wonderful winter holiday!