Elendor
Burdol and Kelis reunited
Burdol (Frarin) and Kelis (Thari) are reunited after Burdol's long absence from the Mountain. But what unexpected news does Kelis have for him?
Sort Date: no date set
Location: Sacred Forge, Erebor
Game Date: Day 28 of January 3043
field_date_rl: Jan 20
IC Time: Mid morning
Description:
Sacred Forge
This is an immense rough-hewn circular chamber, large enough perhaps to contain every dwarf in Erebor it seems like the entire summit of the mountain was hollowed out. And the summit is of ice, from tip to floor! Anything living in this chamber will breath steam although, curiously, the air is not frigid. There are benches of dark carved wood anchored into the ice floor near the center, to perhaps rest on while meditating. In the very center of the chamber a small anvil is set, and a forge and forging tools lie to either side of it. From the shadowy ceiling far overhead a stalagtite drips water into a metal basin sitting upon the forges anvil, setting up an ululating metallic resonance. A dwarf standing in this gulf of flickering light hearing such a sound long enough would perhaps see visions of the First Forge itself...
Contents:
Thari
Obvious exits:
Iron Door
[Thari(#31038)] The air feels quiet, though it isn't. A drip of water falls again into the metal basin, which rings. The ring stretches, quiets-- and then another drip comes. Because the song of water and metal never truly ceases, it becomes a part of the quiet, the mist, the ice that feels no chill.
Kelis is sitting in a bench in the center of the room, her back to the door. Mist puffs out with every breath, her boots on ice, but her cheeks are not red. She leans forward, blue skirts smooth, gold hair gleamingly brushed, and studies the anvil unblinking.
[Burdol] There is hardly a sound as the great iron door to the chamber is opened. Its hinges are well oiled and its opener moves quietly so as not to break the still, solemn silence of the place. Still, the brief, deep click of the heavy door shutting and the soft pad of boots upon ice betray the arrival of a second visitor to the Sacred Forge. The footsteps pause near the door for a moment, as if the visitor is taking in the immensity of the chamber. Silence again fills the great room, until at last the footsteps are heard again, now quietly making for the centre where anvil and basin both stand.
"Tis a splendid place, is it not?" rumbles a deep voice, echoing across the ice not far behind where Kelis sits. And although the blue-clad dwarf looks up and about the chamber with reverence, there is a small grin hiding beneath his beard as his eyes fall upon the she-dwarf's back.
[Thari(#31038)] Kelis does not look away as the door clicks, or as the footsteps are heard, but at the voice--
Her chin ducks down first before she stands and turns. Her grin is not small, but wide and delighted, her gentle brown eyes made happy. "Burdol!" Her voice is both quiet in reverence for the setting and glad. She walks to him and puts her arms about her husband, her brow set upon his shoulder.
[Burdol] The Locksmith's own happiness is masked no longer either, for his grin widens and he gladly opens his arms to Kelis as she comes to him. "Ah, dear Kelis, it has been too long!" he says quietly, but with vigour, holding her tightly. "Three months, three! How I have dwelt upon it." Stepping back, Burdol smiles gently at his wife, happiness bubbling in his eyes. Reaching for her hand, he makes for the bench upon which she had recently been seated. "I am surprised, indeed, that you had not heard of our arrival. We returned nigh on half an hour ago, but I was busy stabling the ponies and dealing with the wagon. Have you been here all along? Formin said I might find you here."
[Thari(#31038)] Kelis allows herself a small laugh, venting a bit of her joy. She follows him, hand in his. "I thought it took longer than it needed to. I was worried," she confessed. "I know it's early, but yes, I came up here early today. Formin was right. Three months!" Again she laughs as she smooths her skirt across the bench. "Are you well? Did you come to any trouble on the trip?"
[Burdol] "Yes, I am well, and encountered no troubles," Burdol assures Kelis, seating himself at her side and wrapping an arm lightly about her shoulders. "Beyond a broken wagon tongue, perhaps. We stayed only two weeks in Dale, then a month in Esgaroth. The remainder of the time I travelled with a smaller party to the Bardings' outlying settlements. There is good business for dwarven locks in many of the smaller villages, men are ever breaking their own." A slow chuckle accompanies this last comment. "But my delay was because of the wagon tongue, I fear. It broke not far from one of the villages, but it took some time to bring another from Esgaroth. I am sorry for not sending word, there were few willing to travel to Esgaroth with the winter storms beginning." He pauses, staring for a moment at the basin of water and the slow drip from the stalagtite above. "And you, Kelis?" he asks after a time. "I hope the last three months have been good?"
[Thari(#31038)] Kelis leans her head sideways on her husband's shoulder, her eyes drawn upward at the stalagtite above. "I was worried," she confesses, "But I also thought, with all the battle you have been through, there would be little that would best so mighty a dwarf as you, not to mention those with you." She flushes a bit at this statement, slyly grinning.
The grin fades, but the flush darkens. "I did have some news," she adds, "Silly news, though, and I'm not sure if it's worth saying."
[Burdol] "It is perhaps wise to never allow oneself to be lulled into not worrying," Burdol muses curiously, still watching the water basin. "Mighty, indeed? I would have you recall where we first met, dear Kelis. But that was some years ago, I suppose, and I have seen many more roads since then. Yes, I am more fortunate, or perhaps not, to have experience of these matters. But," he says, grinning now, "I am home now and we need not darken our thoughts with musings about what might have been."
Glancing to Kelis as her face reddens, he beholds her with a quizzical look for a moment, brows coming together with interest. "Well, you have spoken of it now and my curiosity gets the better of me. Come now, what is this silly news of yours, then?"
[Thari(#31038)] "Yes," answers Kelis, an uncharacteristic anxious lilt in her voice. Her hands twine together over her waist, below the beard, her body a little tense. "I don't know why, but I'm nervous to know if it is true or not. I mean, we've been wed long enough that I thought in the back of my mind that perhaps I was barren, so it's been a few years since I've even thought of it." She stops abruptly and gives a little laugh, watching his glad face the whole while. "I don't want to disappoint you if it isn't true."
[Burdol] "Disappoint me?" Burdol exclaims, quickly quieting his voice as it echoes around the chamber. He takes another great breath, pressing a fist to his mouth as thoughts seem to race through his mind. When he speaks next, his voice is steady anc controlled, though with an undercurrent of excitement, evident in his wide smile. "Kelis, my dear dear Kelis, you could not disappoint me. Not in a hundred years could you disappoint me. And certainly not about this. Thirteen years we have now been married and never have I pressed the issue of beardlings. With child or no, I could never feel you had somehow let me down. Did I not swear an oath that our marriage would be as equals? Pray, do not take an undue burden upon yourself."
And he smiles again, this time a warm smile, as a husband rather than a prospective father. "If we are blessed with a child, then so be it. Do you know when it is certain?"
[Thari(#31038)] "I don't know!" Kelis laughs, then passes a hand over her brow. "What am I talking about? I'm a healer, and many a time a midwife now. Soon, I think, I should-- I might-- feel the movements, if it is there? Sometimes," she confesses, the hand coming to rest on Burdol's fist, "I think I imagine it-- him-- quickening already. I don't know. But I'll no longer be going out with you, if it were true. I wish I had gone with you this time if it were to be my last chance, but you might not have taken it well had we been out in the dale-lands when such news came."
[Burdol] Burdol presses a hand to his forehead, mouth open. "Indeed! And I had come of a mind to ask you to accompany me on my next trip, so long as it remained in Rhovanion. To think, had you been with me and that wagon tongue broken when you first suspected. You are right, Kelis, I do not know what I should have done!" At last he seems to relax, his shoulders dropping as he presses against the back of the bench, apparently weary from the several minutes of excitement. He looks at Kelis' hand, resting on his own, and grasps it with his free hand. He is silent a moment, then a thought seems to strike him and a smile lights slowly beneath his beard. "What would we - that is, if the signs are true - what should we name him? Or, by Durin's beard, name HER?"
[Thari(#31038)] Kelis starts to laugh, and the sounds grow merrier until they start to echo from the ice-- and then she quiets the noises, as if reminded of the sacred setting once the echoes return to her ears. "Ahh, Burdol!" She sighs, and wipes comfortably at her eyes. She leans against his shoulder. "Let me think. Names... Burdol.. Bordol? Nurdol?" Another laugh loosens. "A girl! I haven't even thought of it. I must be daft! Bordi?"
[Burdol] "Well, I suppose it is possible, is it not?" Burdol asks, in reference to a possible daughter. "Son or daughter, I should be very glad. Bordol, Nurdol, I like them both. Ordol also, perhaps. But for a daughter? Yes, Bordi is good. I think I should like also Burdis, that she might be named for us both." He gives a short chuckle, rumbling deep in his throat. "Imagine, that we should be speaking of such things, when only moments ago I was rambling on about the need for locks in Dale!"
[Thari(#31038)] "Well, there's no need to be stop talking about locks," Kelis says in a practical tone, smiling up at him, "When you might be training up a new apprentice in a few years. And then, when he's older and can go with you, I might come too!" She shifts in her seat in excitement. "Oh, and I do like Burdis," she adds.
[Burdol] "Apprentice!" says Burdol, grinning at Kelis. "That is true, I had not thought. And then I can pass on old Master Findon's tools when he is old enough and I white in the beard. Or, if a daughter, she might learn the skills of a healer and become as brave a one as you, dear Kelis. To think! To think there was once a time when I thought I might not even marry - do you remember old Thrak always said so, and he was wiser than most - and now we are talking of beardlings and growing white in the beard!" The Locksmith pauses, smiling. "My dear, the world grows dark and will grow darker still, but I have no mind for it at the moment. By the Maker's blessing, we shall have a child, whether now with these signs that you now see, or at some later time. Perhaps it is this sacred place, but I feel it is what will come."
[Thari(#31038)] "Do you really think so?" Kelis puts her arm around Burdol's waist. "I have only come here with my desire. The world needs more dwarves against the darkness and we might as well be the ones to raise them." A contented sigh. "I wonder what your friend Thrak would say to this? He never did care for me."
[Burdol] "Ah, do not you worry yourself over Thrak," Burdol comforts Kelis, running a hand through her golden hair. "He was sorry only to lose an obliging student, for he was as much mentor as friend. I am still obliging and still have much I could learn from him, but I have other cares now as well. That is not so easy for a bachelor to understand, hm?" He laughs. "But they are cares that I happily accept. Pray, do not think ill of Thrak or yourself. The world moves all around us and we now move with it."
And so he falls quiet, leaning over and placing his head on Kelis'. The gentle drip of falling water is again the only sound that fills the chamber, ringing clear and pure in the silence of the ice-filled room. And there, at the very centre, sit two dwarves, husband and wife, Burdol and Kelis. No happier a pair could be found in the whole of Erebor.
Sacred Forge
This is an immense rough-hewn circular chamber, large enough perhaps to contain every dwarf in Erebor it seems like the entire summit of the mountain was hollowed out. And the summit is of ice, from tip to floor! Anything living in this chamber will breath steam although, curiously, the air is not frigid. There are benches of dark carved wood anchored into the ice floor near the center, to perhaps rest on while meditating. In the very center of the chamber a small anvil is set, and a forge and forging tools lie to either side of it. From the shadowy ceiling far overhead a stalagtite drips water into a metal basin sitting upon the forges anvil, setting up an ululating metallic resonance. A dwarf standing in this gulf of flickering light hearing such a sound long enough would perhaps see visions of the First Forge itself...
Contents:
Thari
Obvious exits:
Iron Door
[Thari(#31038)] The air feels quiet, though it isn't. A drip of water falls again into the metal basin, which rings. The ring stretches, quiets-- and then another drip comes. Because the song of water and metal never truly ceases, it becomes a part of the quiet, the mist, the ice that feels no chill.
Kelis is sitting in a bench in the center of the room, her back to the door. Mist puffs out with every breath, her boots on ice, but her cheeks are not red. She leans forward, blue skirts smooth, gold hair gleamingly brushed, and studies the anvil unblinking.
[Burdol] There is hardly a sound as the great iron door to the chamber is opened. Its hinges are well oiled and its opener moves quietly so as not to break the still, solemn silence of the place. Still, the brief, deep click of the heavy door shutting and the soft pad of boots upon ice betray the arrival of a second visitor to the Sacred Forge. The footsteps pause near the door for a moment, as if the visitor is taking in the immensity of the chamber. Silence again fills the great room, until at last the footsteps are heard again, now quietly making for the centre where anvil and basin both stand.
"Tis a splendid place, is it not?" rumbles a deep voice, echoing across the ice not far behind where Kelis sits. And although the blue-clad dwarf looks up and about the chamber with reverence, there is a small grin hiding beneath his beard as his eyes fall upon the she-dwarf's back.
[Thari(#31038)] Kelis does not look away as the door clicks, or as the footsteps are heard, but at the voice--
Her chin ducks down first before she stands and turns. Her grin is not small, but wide and delighted, her gentle brown eyes made happy. "Burdol!" Her voice is both quiet in reverence for the setting and glad. She walks to him and puts her arms about her husband, her brow set upon his shoulder.
[Burdol] The Locksmith's own happiness is masked no longer either, for his grin widens and he gladly opens his arms to Kelis as she comes to him. "Ah, dear Kelis, it has been too long!" he says quietly, but with vigour, holding her tightly. "Three months, three! How I have dwelt upon it." Stepping back, Burdol smiles gently at his wife, happiness bubbling in his eyes. Reaching for her hand, he makes for the bench upon which she had recently been seated. "I am surprised, indeed, that you had not heard of our arrival. We returned nigh on half an hour ago, but I was busy stabling the ponies and dealing with the wagon. Have you been here all along? Formin said I might find you here."
[Thari(#31038)] Kelis allows herself a small laugh, venting a bit of her joy. She follows him, hand in his. "I thought it took longer than it needed to. I was worried," she confessed. "I know it's early, but yes, I came up here early today. Formin was right. Three months!" Again she laughs as she smooths her skirt across the bench. "Are you well? Did you come to any trouble on the trip?"
[Burdol] "Yes, I am well, and encountered no troubles," Burdol assures Kelis, seating himself at her side and wrapping an arm lightly about her shoulders. "Beyond a broken wagon tongue, perhaps. We stayed only two weeks in Dale, then a month in Esgaroth. The remainder of the time I travelled with a smaller party to the Bardings' outlying settlements. There is good business for dwarven locks in many of the smaller villages, men are ever breaking their own." A slow chuckle accompanies this last comment. "But my delay was because of the wagon tongue, I fear. It broke not far from one of the villages, but it took some time to bring another from Esgaroth. I am sorry for not sending word, there were few willing to travel to Esgaroth with the winter storms beginning." He pauses, staring for a moment at the basin of water and the slow drip from the stalagtite above. "And you, Kelis?" he asks after a time. "I hope the last three months have been good?"
[Thari(#31038)] Kelis leans her head sideways on her husband's shoulder, her eyes drawn upward at the stalagtite above. "I was worried," she confesses, "But I also thought, with all the battle you have been through, there would be little that would best so mighty a dwarf as you, not to mention those with you." She flushes a bit at this statement, slyly grinning.
The grin fades, but the flush darkens. "I did have some news," she adds, "Silly news, though, and I'm not sure if it's worth saying."
[Burdol] "It is perhaps wise to never allow oneself to be lulled into not worrying," Burdol muses curiously, still watching the water basin. "Mighty, indeed? I would have you recall where we first met, dear Kelis. But that was some years ago, I suppose, and I have seen many more roads since then. Yes, I am more fortunate, or perhaps not, to have experience of these matters. But," he says, grinning now, "I am home now and we need not darken our thoughts with musings about what might have been."
Glancing to Kelis as her face reddens, he beholds her with a quizzical look for a moment, brows coming together with interest. "Well, you have spoken of it now and my curiosity gets the better of me. Come now, what is this silly news of yours, then?"
[Thari(#31038)] "Yes," answers Kelis, an uncharacteristic anxious lilt in her voice. Her hands twine together over her waist, below the beard, her body a little tense. "I don't know why, but I'm nervous to know if it is true or not. I mean, we've been wed long enough that I thought in the back of my mind that perhaps I was barren, so it's been a few years since I've even thought of it." She stops abruptly and gives a little laugh, watching his glad face the whole while. "I don't want to disappoint you if it isn't true."
[Burdol] "Disappoint me?" Burdol exclaims, quickly quieting his voice as it echoes around the chamber. He takes another great breath, pressing a fist to his mouth as thoughts seem to race through his mind. When he speaks next, his voice is steady anc controlled, though with an undercurrent of excitement, evident in his wide smile. "Kelis, my dear dear Kelis, you could not disappoint me. Not in a hundred years could you disappoint me. And certainly not about this. Thirteen years we have now been married and never have I pressed the issue of beardlings. With child or no, I could never feel you had somehow let me down. Did I not swear an oath that our marriage would be as equals? Pray, do not take an undue burden upon yourself."
And he smiles again, this time a warm smile, as a husband rather than a prospective father. "If we are blessed with a child, then so be it. Do you know when it is certain?"
[Thari(#31038)] "I don't know!" Kelis laughs, then passes a hand over her brow. "What am I talking about? I'm a healer, and many a time a midwife now. Soon, I think, I should-- I might-- feel the movements, if it is there? Sometimes," she confesses, the hand coming to rest on Burdol's fist, "I think I imagine it-- him-- quickening already. I don't know. But I'll no longer be going out with you, if it were true. I wish I had gone with you this time if it were to be my last chance, but you might not have taken it well had we been out in the dale-lands when such news came."
[Burdol] Burdol presses a hand to his forehead, mouth open. "Indeed! And I had come of a mind to ask you to accompany me on my next trip, so long as it remained in Rhovanion. To think, had you been with me and that wagon tongue broken when you first suspected. You are right, Kelis, I do not know what I should have done!" At last he seems to relax, his shoulders dropping as he presses against the back of the bench, apparently weary from the several minutes of excitement. He looks at Kelis' hand, resting on his own, and grasps it with his free hand. He is silent a moment, then a thought seems to strike him and a smile lights slowly beneath his beard. "What would we - that is, if the signs are true - what should we name him? Or, by Durin's beard, name HER?"
[Thari(#31038)] Kelis starts to laugh, and the sounds grow merrier until they start to echo from the ice-- and then she quiets the noises, as if reminded of the sacred setting once the echoes return to her ears. "Ahh, Burdol!" She sighs, and wipes comfortably at her eyes. She leans against his shoulder. "Let me think. Names... Burdol.. Bordol? Nurdol?" Another laugh loosens. "A girl! I haven't even thought of it. I must be daft! Bordi?"
[Burdol] "Well, I suppose it is possible, is it not?" Burdol asks, in reference to a possible daughter. "Son or daughter, I should be very glad. Bordol, Nurdol, I like them both. Ordol also, perhaps. But for a daughter? Yes, Bordi is good. I think I should like also Burdis, that she might be named for us both." He gives a short chuckle, rumbling deep in his throat. "Imagine, that we should be speaking of such things, when only moments ago I was rambling on about the need for locks in Dale!"
[Thari(#31038)] "Well, there's no need to be stop talking about locks," Kelis says in a practical tone, smiling up at him, "When you might be training up a new apprentice in a few years. And then, when he's older and can go with you, I might come too!" She shifts in her seat in excitement. "Oh, and I do like Burdis," she adds.
[Burdol] "Apprentice!" says Burdol, grinning at Kelis. "That is true, I had not thought. And then I can pass on old Master Findon's tools when he is old enough and I white in the beard. Or, if a daughter, she might learn the skills of a healer and become as brave a one as you, dear Kelis. To think! To think there was once a time when I thought I might not even marry - do you remember old Thrak always said so, and he was wiser than most - and now we are talking of beardlings and growing white in the beard!" The Locksmith pauses, smiling. "My dear, the world grows dark and will grow darker still, but I have no mind for it at the moment. By the Maker's blessing, we shall have a child, whether now with these signs that you now see, or at some later time. Perhaps it is this sacred place, but I feel it is what will come."
[Thari(#31038)] "Do you really think so?" Kelis puts her arm around Burdol's waist. "I have only come here with my desire. The world needs more dwarves against the darkness and we might as well be the ones to raise them." A contented sigh. "I wonder what your friend Thrak would say to this? He never did care for me."
[Burdol] "Ah, do not you worry yourself over Thrak," Burdol comforts Kelis, running a hand through her golden hair. "He was sorry only to lose an obliging student, for he was as much mentor as friend. I am still obliging and still have much I could learn from him, but I have other cares now as well. That is not so easy for a bachelor to understand, hm?" He laughs. "But they are cares that I happily accept. Pray, do not think ill of Thrak or yourself. The world moves all around us and we now move with it."
And so he falls quiet, leaning over and placing his head on Kelis'. The gentle drip of falling water is again the only sound that fills the chamber, ringing clear and pure in the silence of the ice-filled room. And there, at the very centre, sit two dwarves, husband and wife, Burdol and Kelis. No happier a pair could be found in the whole of Erebor.
Players: Burdol, Kelis
Located in: Erebor
