Elendor
Bears and wolves and cookies, oh my!
In the Prancing Pony, young Brandebras innocently sparks a fierce debate on the matter of wolves.
Sort Date: no date set
Location: Common Room, Prancing Pony
Game Date: March 9,1446
IC Time: Evening
Description:
Common Room(#32029RM)
This large and rectangular room serves the purpose of Common Room for the Prancing Pony. Large windows along the western end of the room peek out over the Great East Road which runs outside the Inn. There are long tables with bench seats for the patrons in the centre of the room. Nestled into the wall is a large fireplace with several bundles of wood piled next to it. Overhead, lamps hang down from roof beams, but their light is dim and half-veiled in smoke. The corners of the room are wrapped in shadow.
Obvious exits:
Out
================================== Bree Time ==================================
Real time: Fri Feb 13 13:48:50 2009
Bree time: Late Night <03:26:30> on Highday of Spring - March 9,1446
Moon Phase: Full Moon
Breelands Weather
The late night spring air is cool but pleasant around you. A misty rain comes down from the night sky.
===============================================================================
(Scene already in progress.)
[Jasper(#28985)] Jasper smiles back, gives a brief nod. "That'd be great," she says, smiling at her companion. "I reckon Bando could use some more too," she suggests, and Bando nods.
"Sure," he says."
[Nob(#16122)] Nob nods tiwce, once to each, and turns, hurrying off to fetch their drinks.
[Jasper(#28985)] Jasper gets up and moves to an empty table, while Bando waits at the bar for their drinks.
[Nob(#16122)] Nob comes bustling back, carrying the drinks on a tray. He slaps them down on the table in front of Jasper, not even noticing that Bando isn't there yet. But only a little slops over the edges of the mugs. "There you are," he says pleased.
Given it's night-time, and still mighty cold outside, some of the sensible folk are starting to think about heading to their beds. Young Brandebras Bywater, however, could by no stretch of the imagination be called sensible. He bursts into the room bedecked in snow, red-cheeked and twinkle-eyed. "I think ... I think I just saw a bear!" he announces breathlessly to the room at large.
[Jasper(#28985)] Bando notices Nob take the drinks to the table and goes to join Jasper. "Thanks," Jasper says, smiling at Nob. Neither of them seem to notice when Brandebras comes in.
[Henleg(#20696)] The mention of a bear seems to attract Grey's attention, yet he does not inquire further over the matter. Seemingly, the Ranger is fine by just hearing any other news on this subject.
[Nob(#16122)] "Good, goo... a bear?!" Nob whirls around staring at Brandebras. "In town?"
Brandebras stares round the room, eagerly anticipating questions, and when Nob stares he looks suitably gratified. "No, no, not in town," he responds with a shakes of the head for the gullible. "It was up on Bree hill. It was such a fine night, and so I thought I'd go sledging - before the snow all melts, you know." He pauses in his recitation to brush some of said snow off his muffler.
[Henleg(#20696)] "A bear, in the middle of winter?", comes a voice. At first, it'd be tough to identify whence it comes from, yet soon some eyes turn to the Ranger's corner. "Are you sure. Bears usually sleep all winter in their caves, and come out only in Spring, when all the snow is gone", grey adds, and he then takes another sip of his drink.
[Jasper(#28985)] Hearing the word 'bear', Jasper looks up, startled. She glances at Brandebras, then at the ranger in the corner. Satisfied that there's no immediate threat, she turns back to her conversation, though she occasionally glances up, listening to the others.
[Nob(#16122)] "Oh." Nob considers this. The top of Bree hill is after all, a good distance.... closer than he's ever realized. "Oh!" he says again, a bit more squeakily. "Ah... was it coming this way?" A harried glance at the Ranger.
Brandebras turns to regard the new voice. "Oh! Mister Grey!" he exclaims. "I'd been meaning to talk to you. Anyway ... I think it was a bear?" A trace of doubt is starting to creep into his voice as somehow, here in the cosy warmth of the Prancing Pony, the world outside starts to seem a little less real. "It was big, and dark- Like Farmer Thistleburr's black dog, only much larger. And it was sniffing around, and ... I don't know, Mister Nob. I ran straight here."
Some of the evening common room crowd, like Nob and Grey, have looked up from their drinks to hear Brandebras Bywater's latest claims of Grand Adventure, but others, like Jasper, are more interested in food, drink and conversation.
[Cordelia(#24827)] Hooded in a grey cloak, Cordelia enters, slipping her way through the crowd and seeking an open seat. She touches the elbow of one of the serving girls as she passes through the crowd, whispering an order for an ale. And then her attention is captured by the crowd looking toward Brandebras--though not before she notes the lurking Ranger.
"Evening, Grey!" she calls none too softly.
[Henleg(#20696)] "A wolf would be more likely to be seen at this time of the year than a bear", Grey says, to anyone who'd listen. "With this long and snowy winter, they're sure to be looking for prey... if you get my meaning", he adds darkly. To the newly arrived Cordelia the Rangers nods and waves in salute. (RE)
[Jasper(#28985)] "Wolf!" Jasper exclaims, glancing up. "Wolves, here?" Food and drink forgotten, she stands, glaring at the ranger. "Don't kid like that, you'll frighten the life out of me."
[Nob(#16122)] Bears AND wolves. Nob looks even more alarmed, and dashes off anything else forgotten. Apparently, he is going for his cudgel.
Brandebras, busy unwinding his muffler, stops in mid-action at Henleg's words. "A wolf?" he exclaims, worriedly. "I never thought of that. I think I'd have been a bit scared." Nervously he twists the muffler between his hands.
When Jasper's words come hard on the heels of that confession he blushes scarlet. "Uh, Mister Nob, could I have something to dri-" The words falter as he stares after Nob's retreating back.
[Cordelia(#24827)] "Wolves? Bears?" Cordelia stares first at Brandebras. "What exactly happened?" And then to Henleg, cheerful greeting gone, "have _you_ seen wolves invading?"
[Henleg(#20696)] "Not being scared of a bear during winter is foolish.... if there's a bear about, he's certainly looking for food", the Ranger says, and then he laughs, although there is no warmth in it. "And if it's a wolf, surely it's not alone. Wolves hunt in packs", he adds, "as any hunter knows. Perhaps it's time for the mayor and the breeguard to start a-looking after this, ain't it?" To Cordelia, he adds, "I have seen wolves before", he says, his tone grim and cold as the winter that assails Bree. "I'd advise you to hunt them down and kill every one of them". (RE)
[Nob(#16122)] Nob comes running breathlessly back into the Common Room, carrying a huge cudgel. It is nearly as big as he is, and his round hobbit face is grim. "No bears are getting by ME," he declares, staring around the room with narrowed eyes - as if either bears or wolves might be lurking under chairs or behind table.
[Jasper(#28985)] Jasper looks from Henleg to Cordelia and back again. "The wolves, they can't get past the walls, can they?" she asks nervously.
Brandebras stares from person to person, his brows scrunching up in what might be worry, confusion or both. "But.. But .. I didn't say I'd seen any wolves." The words are directed to Cordelia, but the hobbit doesn't look at her directly - instead he's staring at his own furry feet. He shuffles a little, then asks Jasper in a small voice, "Can - can I sit down? I think I feel a little ... faint." This last word comes as Nob reappears, and Brandebras' round face drains of colour at the sight of the weapon.
[Cordelia(#24827)] "Me?!" Cordelia protests in surprise to the Ranger. "I can't stand up against a bear or a wolf!! I have a knife for cutting food on me and that is all! Unless you plan to teach me how to use a sword," she smirks at Henleg.
Then, of course, Nob runs in with his weapon, and Cordelia gasps loudly. "By the ..!" her word cut off. "You are not going out in the woods with that now are you?! You'll...you'll kill someone!"
[Henleg(#20696)] "If it's a pack of hunting wolves, or a hungry bear, it's kill or be killed, Cordelia", the ranger says, his tone still grim. "With them, there is no reasoning or talking".
[Cerim(#19031)] Cerim takes a seat in a smoky corner
[Jasper(#28985)] Jasper looks worriedly at Brandebras. "Are you okay?" she asks, pulling out a chair for him. "Can you get him an drink?" she calls to Nob, her own fear forgotten, for the moment.
[Nob(#16122)] "I would not," Nob says indignantly to Cordelia. "And I'm most certainly not going out in the woods. It's cold and there's lots of snow, and bears!" He sniffs. "Catch ME out there. I'm staying in here where it's warm." He pats the club, and sets it carefully against the wall, ready to repel any marauding wildlife. Then his tone takes on a concerned note. "Oh dear. Yes, yes of course, a drink for Mister Brandebras. How about you?" he asks Cerim. "Can I get you a drink also?"
"Thank you," Brandebras murmurs to Jasper in a small voice. He huddles into his chair, his features pale. It's one thing to come in boasting of a Grand Adventure, and quite another to sit listening to all this talk of Killing. When Cerim passes on her way to the corner, he lets out a squeak as though expecting to be accosted.
[Cordelia(#24827)] "Then send the mayor out to kill them," Cordelia huffs at Henleg. "Isn't that what the mayor is supposed to do, after all? And..." she looks Brandebras up and down, "he is certainly _big_ enough. Not a quivering mass of frightened hobbit. Or do you townsfolk propose to let this entire place be overrun by rabid, frothing at the mouth, hungry wolves?" She glares at Brandebras and then Nob.
[Cerim(#19031)] Cerim nods at Nob, shifting her chair ever so slightly further into the corner, and muttering a small "Thanks."
[Jasper(#28985)] Satisfied that Brandebras is all right and that wolves aren't about to overrun the tavern, Jasper returns to her table and her now-cold food.
[Nob(#16122)] Rabid. Frothing at the mouth. Nob simultaneously turns paler and more determined-looking. He marches out of the Common Room towards the Kitchen, collecting his club on the way and returns after a little while, balancing a tray with two mugs of hot, brandy-shot, cider on one hand, and clutching the cudgel in the other.
At Cordelia's words, Brandebras sits up a little straighter, though he's still trembling. "Aren't you frightened of wolves?" he asks the woman, wide-eyed. He brightens a bit at the sight of Nob's tray.
[Cerim(#19031)] Cerim stands abruptly, walking out the door with only a small nod to Nob.
[Nob(#16122)] Nob sets the tray down, handing Brandebras his drink. He turns towards Cerim, but the girl has left shrugging, he lifts her glass and drinks it himself, sitting down by Brandebras with a little sigh.
[Henleg(#20696)] Grey merely shrugs, and now devotes his time to finishing his almost-cold food, with his now-warm beer.
[Cordelia(#24827)] "Of course I'm afraid of wolves!!" Cordelia snaps. "But I can't fight them, nor can you. Not even Nob with his weapon there can stand up to a wolf pack. I'd like to see him try."
[Nob(#16122)] "At least I'd try," Nob says grouchily, losing temper with Cordelia's unwarranted (as he sees it) anger. "And not shout at people."
"But wolves couldn't get into town - could they?" Brandebras asks worriedly, forgetting to thank Nob for the mug. Gingerly he takes a sip, then halts, coughing. "Uh - this is good cider, Mister Nob."
[Cordelia(#24827)] "Well of course I'd try!" Cordelia continues to Nob. "Find me a sword, in fact, and I'll go out there and track them down with you if you'd like. There. I'll be brave, if not stupid," the young woman retorts. "And yes, Brandebras. Wolves could get into town with this snow and are likely to, given how we are the only food around. Tasty hobbits in their holes are an easy and tempting dinner."
[Nob(#16122)] Nob drinks his own cider, not his really but... well, it is now, right? A subtle warmth steals down to his toes, and he says absently, "Thank you..." Then looks rather alarmed. "Oh no, I'm not going out in the woods," he declares. "That's a job for the Breeguards."
Brandebras takes another gulp of his cider, this time without coughing, then, prompted perhaps by Cordelia's words, drains the glass in one. "But I don't think you should go out with the Breeguard, Miss Wood," he says earnestly, the brandy having stolen some of his fear away. "It wouldn't be very ladylike."
[Cordelia(#24827)] "Indeed it would not be ladylike, but better to risk censure than wind up a meal in the belly of a hungry wolf. And the Bree guard?" Cordelia nearly spits. "When was the last time they did anything at all? I think that the answer is that the concerned citizens of Bree should petition the mayor. And -he- should lead the Bree Guard in a hunt."
The evening is passing, and by now most of the Pony's patrons have returned their conversation to more important topics like the price of chicken feed or the fact that snow seems to be melting at last. Only a few, Cordelia and Brandebras amongst them, still discuss the worry that for some unknown reason has become a topic of debate - wolves.
[Nob(#16122)] Nob listens, alarm and concern vying for place on his face but he relaxes marginally as Cordelia comes up with a Wolf-Fighting Plan that does not include him. "Yes," he says indistinctly, for somehow a cookie has found its way into his mouth, "Mayor'sh Job."
At Cordelia's latest words Brandebras looks quite put out. There's something flawed about the logic that he can't quite put his finger on. "Surely not!" he exclaims. "Torebras would never ..." The words trail off into silence, and he stares down into his empty cup.
Nob's munching distracts him, and he murmurs thoughtfully, "Maybe I need something to eat."
Blarimbar comes in through the door, taking off his hat and cloak to hang on a nail near the door. "Hoo wee..There has to be some of the biggest drifts I had to handle near Buckland and farmer Maggot's I ever seen in a little while." Walking towards the bar to see who is in here. "Hello.." offered in greeting.
[Henleg(#20696)] "Bree guard's job indeed', comes the Ranger's voice once again. "I bet also the mayor's job, for a pack of wolves or a hungry bear might imperil the lives and livestock of everyone", he adds.
Blarimbar sighs when he hears of a bear loose. Grabs his hat and cloak to head outside then comes back inside with a backpack that overloaded with groceries and beesweet honey to boot. "Guess I better bring in my inventory before it gets eaten out on the wagon."
[Cordelia(#24827)] "Well...you and Nob are upstanding citizens," Cordelia tells Brandebras. "Go speak to the mayor! He's your duly elected official." She glances to Blarimbar, but as he is leaving already, her attention instead turns to Henleg. "What of the Rangers? You folk spend most of your time in the forest, I warrant, and might know the truth of these things. Are wolves roaming the woods and threatening us?"
[Henleg(#20696)] The ranger shrugs then. "I have been in bree almost the whole winter... i don't know what goes on beyond the walls of this town more than you do", he says, taking a final sip of his beer. "I know it not, nor is it my business to know it. You have a Breeguard here to protect your homes, do you not? And a Mayor to take this kind of decisions, right? So, you should turn to them, i think, to get your answers".
[Nob(#16122)] "Supplies?" Nob asks curiously, standing up and setting down his mug. "What've you got there?" he asks Blarimbar. A sideways glance keeps tabs on the ongoing conversation, but really, what's more important anyways? Food or hypothetical wolves?
To the two big folk Brandebras offers doubtfully, "Maybe /you/ should speak to the Mayor about it. It's your idea, after all."
He looks up, blinking, at the latest arrival's comings and goings. "Good evening," he offers politely, and then the question bursts out of him: "Did you see any bears? Or wolves?" He's starting to look worried again, perhaps the edge of the brandy-courage is wearing off.
Blarimbar shakes his head when asked about the wolves. "I didn't see any then again I came via Buckland. Some of the drifts high as your chest." Holding up his hand to his chest. Then looking to Nos, "Well Im a greengrocier, names Blarimbar Took. "All I got are beesweet honey, carrots, melons that are on verge of overripe.." He pulls one out that is turning a bit orangish. "Ummm lets see what else I got....Ummm some day old cookies? and dried corn."
[Cordelia(#24827)] "Me?" Cordelia shakes her head. "My home is east of here, Grey, as you well no. Why should it be my place to ensure the protection of Bree? The citizens must stand up for themselevs. And if their mayor does not do his job...well, this will be proof. I mean..." She directs this to Nob and Brandebras now, "are you saying that the hobbits of Bree are afraid to stand up to a big person?"
[Nob(#16122)] "I'll take the honey," Nob says promptly. He ponders... "We've got plenty of cookies here, but I could use the carrots too. You could ask Acelen the Stablemaster if he needs any corn for his beasts." A scrap of Cordelia's conversation catches his ear and he turns his head sharply. "Proof of what?" he asks her.
"That far?" Brandebras looks quite shocked at Blarimbar's answer. Somehow Bree-hill doesn't seem so far away in comparison.
To Cordelia he shakes his head. "I don't see Mister Ferny very often. But next time I do, I'll tell him that Miss Wood and Mister Grey want him to go off and fight wolves." The offer is made cheerily, without any of Nob's sharpness.
Blarimbar nods and pulls out two jars of honey and three batches of carrots. "Pickings are slim until the spring when the planting resumes. Ill probably be here in Bree until the snow goes away. So tell ya what I'll trade ya those for a room here?" He asks Nob. Scooting the items across the table towards the innkeeper. Turning towards the ranger and company. "Wolves, will probably be gone come thaw time. Bears...that a different story."
[Nob(#16122)] "Done," Nob says promptly. "And first and second breakfast. Lunch and dinner.. you'll have to get yourself," he sounds a little apologetic. A fellow hobbit after all! But everyone has to make a living.
[Cordelia(#24827)] "Brandebras!" Cordelia says, exasperated. "Proof that the mayor is not responding to the citizens and doing his job, as he should. I mean, don't you pay taxes to keep the Bree guard in shape for just this very thing?" she directs to Nob and Brandebras, then sighs, and, apparently giving up, turns and sits, having found a vacant spot.
"Grey..." Cordelia starts. "One of the Rangers has been asking questions about me, I hear, and it troubles me."
[Henleg(#20696)] "I haven't said you have to go anywhere, Cordelia, I say the Breeguard should", the rangers says, shrugging again. "And if someone has been asking questions about you and it irks you, i suggest you go and tell that person. I am nobody's courier", he adds, "nor am I a gossip to go about saying things of which i have no knowledge".
Brandebras sits up a little straighter at Cordelia's reprimand, and as he listens his homely features crease in a puzzled frown. "Um ... I suppose we do," he murmurs. "Maybe I should make a note of that." And true to his word he pulls out a piece of parchment and a stick of charcoal, and scrawls something on it.
He eyes Blarimbar's offerings with interest, but none of them look that appetising in their current 'raw' state. "Did you say something about cookies?" he asks Nob hopefully.
Blarimbar taps his hand on the bar and offers his hand in a deal to Nob. "Done deal then. Don't worry I got plenty more when I can get to it. Just right now I got the rest stuck in Buckland for now." Leaning against the bar to listen in a little about then orders himself a mead.
[Cordelia(#24827)] "Well, then, I will speak to that person. But perhaps..." Cordelia smiles to Henleg, "you will see him first, most likely? It's the Ranger that has the dog name...I gave him a letter to deliver to my mother and now I hear he is back in town and he hasn't even bothered to contact me...Rover! That was his name! Will you pass the word I need to speak to him?"
[Henleg(#20696)] The Ranger stands up, and retireves his grey cloak from a nearby peg. "If I see him, I can do that", he says, as he puts on the cloak, fitting it tightly about him. "Now, I bid you all a fair day". And with that grey exits, closing the door firmly behind him.
[Nob(#16122)] Nob shakes with Blarimbar, then grins at Brandebras. "Fresh-baked," he promises, and heads for the kitchen.
Blarimbar takes a drink of his mead. Then decides to head upstairs to look at his room and get himself situated as its going to be one of those springs again.
Brandebras waits a few moments, shivering a little as Grey opens the door and lets in a blast of cold night air, then gets up and trots off after Nob. Wolves and bears indeed! All other hunts are forgotten in the hunt for cookies.
[Cordelia(#24827)] "Well.." Cordelia huffs at the departing figure of Grey. "And then they wonder and gripe that folks give them unflattering names. If they ever deemed to talk to folk, get their noses out of the air instead of sitting in dark corners, lurking and holding silent judgement over the rest of us...if they ever actually -did- anything at all in fact, then perhaps folks round here might like the Rangers. But...suspicious lot they are. Indeed," she mutters to herself as an ale is set in front of her by a server, "I bet they are the ones driving the wolves and bears to our very doors. Yes..yes...I will tell the mayor that."
And then Cordelia falls deeply and resolutely silent to finish her ale and sulk in peace.
Common Room(#32029RM)
This large and rectangular room serves the purpose of Common Room for the Prancing Pony. Large windows along the western end of the room peek out over the Great East Road which runs outside the Inn. There are long tables with bench seats for the patrons in the centre of the room. Nestled into the wall is a large fireplace with several bundles of wood piled next to it. Overhead, lamps hang down from roof beams, but their light is dim and half-veiled in smoke. The corners of the room are wrapped in shadow.
Obvious exits:
Out
================================== Bree Time ==================================
Real time: Fri Feb 13 13:48:50 2009
Bree time: Late Night <03:26:30> on Highday of Spring - March 9,1446
Moon Phase: Full Moon
Breelands Weather
The late night spring air is cool but pleasant around you. A misty rain comes down from the night sky.
===============================================================================
(Scene already in progress.)
[Jasper(#28985)] Jasper smiles back, gives a brief nod. "That'd be great," she says, smiling at her companion. "I reckon Bando could use some more too," she suggests, and Bando nods.
"Sure," he says."
[Nob(#16122)] Nob nods tiwce, once to each, and turns, hurrying off to fetch their drinks.
[Jasper(#28985)] Jasper gets up and moves to an empty table, while Bando waits at the bar for their drinks.
[Nob(#16122)] Nob comes bustling back, carrying the drinks on a tray. He slaps them down on the table in front of Jasper, not even noticing that Bando isn't there yet. But only a little slops over the edges of the mugs. "There you are," he says pleased.
Given it's night-time, and still mighty cold outside, some of the sensible folk are starting to think about heading to their beds. Young Brandebras Bywater, however, could by no stretch of the imagination be called sensible. He bursts into the room bedecked in snow, red-cheeked and twinkle-eyed. "I think ... I think I just saw a bear!" he announces breathlessly to the room at large.
[Jasper(#28985)] Bando notices Nob take the drinks to the table and goes to join Jasper. "Thanks," Jasper says, smiling at Nob. Neither of them seem to notice when Brandebras comes in.
[Henleg(#20696)] The mention of a bear seems to attract Grey's attention, yet he does not inquire further over the matter. Seemingly, the Ranger is fine by just hearing any other news on this subject.
[Nob(#16122)] "Good, goo... a bear?!" Nob whirls around staring at Brandebras. "In town?"
Brandebras stares round the room, eagerly anticipating questions, and when Nob stares he looks suitably gratified. "No, no, not in town," he responds with a shakes of the head for the gullible. "It was up on Bree hill. It was such a fine night, and so I thought I'd go sledging - before the snow all melts, you know." He pauses in his recitation to brush some of said snow off his muffler.
[Henleg(#20696)] "A bear, in the middle of winter?", comes a voice. At first, it'd be tough to identify whence it comes from, yet soon some eyes turn to the Ranger's corner. "Are you sure. Bears usually sleep all winter in their caves, and come out only in Spring, when all the snow is gone", grey adds, and he then takes another sip of his drink.
[Jasper(#28985)] Hearing the word 'bear', Jasper looks up, startled. She glances at Brandebras, then at the ranger in the corner. Satisfied that there's no immediate threat, she turns back to her conversation, though she occasionally glances up, listening to the others.
[Nob(#16122)] "Oh." Nob considers this. The top of Bree hill is after all, a good distance.... closer than he's ever realized. "Oh!" he says again, a bit more squeakily. "Ah... was it coming this way?" A harried glance at the Ranger.
Brandebras turns to regard the new voice. "Oh! Mister Grey!" he exclaims. "I'd been meaning to talk to you. Anyway ... I think it was a bear?" A trace of doubt is starting to creep into his voice as somehow, here in the cosy warmth of the Prancing Pony, the world outside starts to seem a little less real. "It was big, and dark- Like Farmer Thistleburr's black dog, only much larger. And it was sniffing around, and ... I don't know, Mister Nob. I ran straight here."
Some of the evening common room crowd, like Nob and Grey, have looked up from their drinks to hear Brandebras Bywater's latest claims of Grand Adventure, but others, like Jasper, are more interested in food, drink and conversation.
[Cordelia(#24827)] Hooded in a grey cloak, Cordelia enters, slipping her way through the crowd and seeking an open seat. She touches the elbow of one of the serving girls as she passes through the crowd, whispering an order for an ale. And then her attention is captured by the crowd looking toward Brandebras--though not before she notes the lurking Ranger.
"Evening, Grey!" she calls none too softly.
[Henleg(#20696)] "A wolf would be more likely to be seen at this time of the year than a bear", Grey says, to anyone who'd listen. "With this long and snowy winter, they're sure to be looking for prey... if you get my meaning", he adds darkly. To the newly arrived Cordelia the Rangers nods and waves in salute. (RE)
[Jasper(#28985)] "Wolf!" Jasper exclaims, glancing up. "Wolves, here?" Food and drink forgotten, she stands, glaring at the ranger. "Don't kid like that, you'll frighten the life out of me."
[Nob(#16122)] Bears AND wolves. Nob looks even more alarmed, and dashes off anything else forgotten. Apparently, he is going for his cudgel.
Brandebras, busy unwinding his muffler, stops in mid-action at Henleg's words. "A wolf?" he exclaims, worriedly. "I never thought of that. I think I'd have been a bit scared." Nervously he twists the muffler between his hands.
When Jasper's words come hard on the heels of that confession he blushes scarlet. "Uh, Mister Nob, could I have something to dri-" The words falter as he stares after Nob's retreating back.
[Cordelia(#24827)] "Wolves? Bears?" Cordelia stares first at Brandebras. "What exactly happened?" And then to Henleg, cheerful greeting gone, "have _you_ seen wolves invading?"
[Henleg(#20696)] "Not being scared of a bear during winter is foolish.... if there's a bear about, he's certainly looking for food", the Ranger says, and then he laughs, although there is no warmth in it. "And if it's a wolf, surely it's not alone. Wolves hunt in packs", he adds, "as any hunter knows. Perhaps it's time for the mayor and the breeguard to start a-looking after this, ain't it?" To Cordelia, he adds, "I have seen wolves before", he says, his tone grim and cold as the winter that assails Bree. "I'd advise you to hunt them down and kill every one of them". (RE)
[Nob(#16122)] Nob comes running breathlessly back into the Common Room, carrying a huge cudgel. It is nearly as big as he is, and his round hobbit face is grim. "No bears are getting by ME," he declares, staring around the room with narrowed eyes - as if either bears or wolves might be lurking under chairs or behind table.
[Jasper(#28985)] Jasper looks from Henleg to Cordelia and back again. "The wolves, they can't get past the walls, can they?" she asks nervously.
Brandebras stares from person to person, his brows scrunching up in what might be worry, confusion or both. "But.. But .. I didn't say I'd seen any wolves." The words are directed to Cordelia, but the hobbit doesn't look at her directly - instead he's staring at his own furry feet. He shuffles a little, then asks Jasper in a small voice, "Can - can I sit down? I think I feel a little ... faint." This last word comes as Nob reappears, and Brandebras' round face drains of colour at the sight of the weapon.
[Cordelia(#24827)] "Me?!" Cordelia protests in surprise to the Ranger. "I can't stand up against a bear or a wolf!! I have a knife for cutting food on me and that is all! Unless you plan to teach me how to use a sword," she smirks at Henleg.
Then, of course, Nob runs in with his weapon, and Cordelia gasps loudly. "By the ..!" her word cut off. "You are not going out in the woods with that now are you?! You'll...you'll kill someone!"
[Henleg(#20696)] "If it's a pack of hunting wolves, or a hungry bear, it's kill or be killed, Cordelia", the ranger says, his tone still grim. "With them, there is no reasoning or talking".
[Cerim(#19031)] Cerim takes a seat in a smoky corner
[Jasper(#28985)] Jasper looks worriedly at Brandebras. "Are you okay?" she asks, pulling out a chair for him. "Can you get him an drink?" she calls to Nob, her own fear forgotten, for the moment.
[Nob(#16122)] "I would not," Nob says indignantly to Cordelia. "And I'm most certainly not going out in the woods. It's cold and there's lots of snow, and bears!" He sniffs. "Catch ME out there. I'm staying in here where it's warm." He pats the club, and sets it carefully against the wall, ready to repel any marauding wildlife. Then his tone takes on a concerned note. "Oh dear. Yes, yes of course, a drink for Mister Brandebras. How about you?" he asks Cerim. "Can I get you a drink also?"
"Thank you," Brandebras murmurs to Jasper in a small voice. He huddles into his chair, his features pale. It's one thing to come in boasting of a Grand Adventure, and quite another to sit listening to all this talk of Killing. When Cerim passes on her way to the corner, he lets out a squeak as though expecting to be accosted.
[Cordelia(#24827)] "Then send the mayor out to kill them," Cordelia huffs at Henleg. "Isn't that what the mayor is supposed to do, after all? And..." she looks Brandebras up and down, "he is certainly _big_ enough. Not a quivering mass of frightened hobbit. Or do you townsfolk propose to let this entire place be overrun by rabid, frothing at the mouth, hungry wolves?" She glares at Brandebras and then Nob.
[Cerim(#19031)] Cerim nods at Nob, shifting her chair ever so slightly further into the corner, and muttering a small "Thanks."
[Jasper(#28985)] Satisfied that Brandebras is all right and that wolves aren't about to overrun the tavern, Jasper returns to her table and her now-cold food.
[Nob(#16122)] Rabid. Frothing at the mouth. Nob simultaneously turns paler and more determined-looking. He marches out of the Common Room towards the Kitchen, collecting his club on the way and returns after a little while, balancing a tray with two mugs of hot, brandy-shot, cider on one hand, and clutching the cudgel in the other.
At Cordelia's words, Brandebras sits up a little straighter, though he's still trembling. "Aren't you frightened of wolves?" he asks the woman, wide-eyed. He brightens a bit at the sight of Nob's tray.
[Cerim(#19031)] Cerim stands abruptly, walking out the door with only a small nod to Nob.
[Nob(#16122)] Nob sets the tray down, handing Brandebras his drink. He turns towards Cerim, but the girl has left shrugging, he lifts her glass and drinks it himself, sitting down by Brandebras with a little sigh.
[Henleg(#20696)] Grey merely shrugs, and now devotes his time to finishing his almost-cold food, with his now-warm beer.
[Cordelia(#24827)] "Of course I'm afraid of wolves!!" Cordelia snaps. "But I can't fight them, nor can you. Not even Nob with his weapon there can stand up to a wolf pack. I'd like to see him try."
[Nob(#16122)] "At least I'd try," Nob says grouchily, losing temper with Cordelia's unwarranted (as he sees it) anger. "And not shout at people."
"But wolves couldn't get into town - could they?" Brandebras asks worriedly, forgetting to thank Nob for the mug. Gingerly he takes a sip, then halts, coughing. "Uh - this is good cider, Mister Nob."
[Cordelia(#24827)] "Well of course I'd try!" Cordelia continues to Nob. "Find me a sword, in fact, and I'll go out there and track them down with you if you'd like. There. I'll be brave, if not stupid," the young woman retorts. "And yes, Brandebras. Wolves could get into town with this snow and are likely to, given how we are the only food around. Tasty hobbits in their holes are an easy and tempting dinner."
[Nob(#16122)] Nob drinks his own cider, not his really but... well, it is now, right? A subtle warmth steals down to his toes, and he says absently, "Thank you..." Then looks rather alarmed. "Oh no, I'm not going out in the woods," he declares. "That's a job for the Breeguards."
Brandebras takes another gulp of his cider, this time without coughing, then, prompted perhaps by Cordelia's words, drains the glass in one. "But I don't think you should go out with the Breeguard, Miss Wood," he says earnestly, the brandy having stolen some of his fear away. "It wouldn't be very ladylike."
[Cordelia(#24827)] "Indeed it would not be ladylike, but better to risk censure than wind up a meal in the belly of a hungry wolf. And the Bree guard?" Cordelia nearly spits. "When was the last time they did anything at all? I think that the answer is that the concerned citizens of Bree should petition the mayor. And -he- should lead the Bree Guard in a hunt."
The evening is passing, and by now most of the Pony's patrons have returned their conversation to more important topics like the price of chicken feed or the fact that snow seems to be melting at last. Only a few, Cordelia and Brandebras amongst them, still discuss the worry that for some unknown reason has become a topic of debate - wolves.
[Nob(#16122)] Nob listens, alarm and concern vying for place on his face but he relaxes marginally as Cordelia comes up with a Wolf-Fighting Plan that does not include him. "Yes," he says indistinctly, for somehow a cookie has found its way into his mouth, "Mayor'sh Job."
At Cordelia's latest words Brandebras looks quite put out. There's something flawed about the logic that he can't quite put his finger on. "Surely not!" he exclaims. "Torebras would never ..." The words trail off into silence, and he stares down into his empty cup.
Nob's munching distracts him, and he murmurs thoughtfully, "Maybe I need something to eat."
Blarimbar comes in through the door, taking off his hat and cloak to hang on a nail near the door. "Hoo wee..There has to be some of the biggest drifts I had to handle near Buckland and farmer Maggot's I ever seen in a little while." Walking towards the bar to see who is in here. "Hello.." offered in greeting.
[Henleg(#20696)] "Bree guard's job indeed', comes the Ranger's voice once again. "I bet also the mayor's job, for a pack of wolves or a hungry bear might imperil the lives and livestock of everyone", he adds.
Blarimbar sighs when he hears of a bear loose. Grabs his hat and cloak to head outside then comes back inside with a backpack that overloaded with groceries and beesweet honey to boot. "Guess I better bring in my inventory before it gets eaten out on the wagon."
[Cordelia(#24827)] "Well...you and Nob are upstanding citizens," Cordelia tells Brandebras. "Go speak to the mayor! He's your duly elected official." She glances to Blarimbar, but as he is leaving already, her attention instead turns to Henleg. "What of the Rangers? You folk spend most of your time in the forest, I warrant, and might know the truth of these things. Are wolves roaming the woods and threatening us?"
[Henleg(#20696)] The ranger shrugs then. "I have been in bree almost the whole winter... i don't know what goes on beyond the walls of this town more than you do", he says, taking a final sip of his beer. "I know it not, nor is it my business to know it. You have a Breeguard here to protect your homes, do you not? And a Mayor to take this kind of decisions, right? So, you should turn to them, i think, to get your answers".
[Nob(#16122)] "Supplies?" Nob asks curiously, standing up and setting down his mug. "What've you got there?" he asks Blarimbar. A sideways glance keeps tabs on the ongoing conversation, but really, what's more important anyways? Food or hypothetical wolves?
To the two big folk Brandebras offers doubtfully, "Maybe /you/ should speak to the Mayor about it. It's your idea, after all."
He looks up, blinking, at the latest arrival's comings and goings. "Good evening," he offers politely, and then the question bursts out of him: "Did you see any bears? Or wolves?" He's starting to look worried again, perhaps the edge of the brandy-courage is wearing off.
Blarimbar shakes his head when asked about the wolves. "I didn't see any then again I came via Buckland. Some of the drifts high as your chest." Holding up his hand to his chest. Then looking to Nos, "Well Im a greengrocier, names Blarimbar Took. "All I got are beesweet honey, carrots, melons that are on verge of overripe.." He pulls one out that is turning a bit orangish. "Ummm lets see what else I got....Ummm some day old cookies? and dried corn."
[Cordelia(#24827)] "Me?" Cordelia shakes her head. "My home is east of here, Grey, as you well no. Why should it be my place to ensure the protection of Bree? The citizens must stand up for themselevs. And if their mayor does not do his job...well, this will be proof. I mean..." She directs this to Nob and Brandebras now, "are you saying that the hobbits of Bree are afraid to stand up to a big person?"
[Nob(#16122)] "I'll take the honey," Nob says promptly. He ponders... "We've got plenty of cookies here, but I could use the carrots too. You could ask Acelen the Stablemaster if he needs any corn for his beasts." A scrap of Cordelia's conversation catches his ear and he turns his head sharply. "Proof of what?" he asks her.
"That far?" Brandebras looks quite shocked at Blarimbar's answer. Somehow Bree-hill doesn't seem so far away in comparison.
To Cordelia he shakes his head. "I don't see Mister Ferny very often. But next time I do, I'll tell him that Miss Wood and Mister Grey want him to go off and fight wolves." The offer is made cheerily, without any of Nob's sharpness.
Blarimbar nods and pulls out two jars of honey and three batches of carrots. "Pickings are slim until the spring when the planting resumes. Ill probably be here in Bree until the snow goes away. So tell ya what I'll trade ya those for a room here?" He asks Nob. Scooting the items across the table towards the innkeeper. Turning towards the ranger and company. "Wolves, will probably be gone come thaw time. Bears...that a different story."
[Nob(#16122)] "Done," Nob says promptly. "And first and second breakfast. Lunch and dinner.. you'll have to get yourself," he sounds a little apologetic. A fellow hobbit after all! But everyone has to make a living.
[Cordelia(#24827)] "Brandebras!" Cordelia says, exasperated. "Proof that the mayor is not responding to the citizens and doing his job, as he should. I mean, don't you pay taxes to keep the Bree guard in shape for just this very thing?" she directs to Nob and Brandebras, then sighs, and, apparently giving up, turns and sits, having found a vacant spot.
"Grey..." Cordelia starts. "One of the Rangers has been asking questions about me, I hear, and it troubles me."
[Henleg(#20696)] "I haven't said you have to go anywhere, Cordelia, I say the Breeguard should", the rangers says, shrugging again. "And if someone has been asking questions about you and it irks you, i suggest you go and tell that person. I am nobody's courier", he adds, "nor am I a gossip to go about saying things of which i have no knowledge".
Brandebras sits up a little straighter at Cordelia's reprimand, and as he listens his homely features crease in a puzzled frown. "Um ... I suppose we do," he murmurs. "Maybe I should make a note of that." And true to his word he pulls out a piece of parchment and a stick of charcoal, and scrawls something on it.
He eyes Blarimbar's offerings with interest, but none of them look that appetising in their current 'raw' state. "Did you say something about cookies?" he asks Nob hopefully.
Blarimbar taps his hand on the bar and offers his hand in a deal to Nob. "Done deal then. Don't worry I got plenty more when I can get to it. Just right now I got the rest stuck in Buckland for now." Leaning against the bar to listen in a little about then orders himself a mead.
[Cordelia(#24827)] "Well, then, I will speak to that person. But perhaps..." Cordelia smiles to Henleg, "you will see him first, most likely? It's the Ranger that has the dog name...I gave him a letter to deliver to my mother and now I hear he is back in town and he hasn't even bothered to contact me...Rover! That was his name! Will you pass the word I need to speak to him?"
[Henleg(#20696)] The Ranger stands up, and retireves his grey cloak from a nearby peg. "If I see him, I can do that", he says, as he puts on the cloak, fitting it tightly about him. "Now, I bid you all a fair day". And with that grey exits, closing the door firmly behind him.
[Nob(#16122)] Nob shakes with Blarimbar, then grins at Brandebras. "Fresh-baked," he promises, and heads for the kitchen.
Blarimbar takes a drink of his mead. Then decides to head upstairs to look at his room and get himself situated as its going to be one of those springs again.
Brandebras waits a few moments, shivering a little as Grey opens the door and lets in a blast of cold night air, then gets up and trots off after Nob. Wolves and bears indeed! All other hunts are forgotten in the hunt for cookies.
[Cordelia(#24827)] "Well.." Cordelia huffs at the departing figure of Grey. "And then they wonder and gripe that folks give them unflattering names. If they ever deemed to talk to folk, get their noses out of the air instead of sitting in dark corners, lurking and holding silent judgement over the rest of us...if they ever actually -did- anything at all in fact, then perhaps folks round here might like the Rangers. But...suspicious lot they are. Indeed," she mutters to herself as an ale is set in front of her by a server, "I bet they are the ones driving the wolves and bears to our very doors. Yes..yes...I will tell the mayor that."
And then Cordelia falls deeply and resolutely silent to finish her ale and sulk in peace.
Players: Nob, Jasper, Henleg, Brandebras, Cerim, Cordelia, Blarimbar, wolves
