A Festival in Dale?

It\'s a warm, muggy afternoon in Beorning and a lot of people aren\'t motivated to do much of anything that isn\'t neccessary to daily life. Cecilia is sitting on the porch of the Great Bear Inn, keeping out of the gentle rain that falls while she continues work on a quilt she\'s been sewing for the last few weeks.

The healer hasn\'t had much to do lately outside of her work at the infirmary. The wedding plans are all set and the date is looming in the near future. Strangely, the girl isn\'t nearly so excited as she thought she would be about it all.

[Gimli(#30149)] From the Inn comes a stunted figure, not so tall as the Men of Beorn, yet in girth he\'s almost the same. Stocky, some might call him... but not to his face. Gimli, son of Gloin, a Dwarf from the Lonely Mountain, strides forth, a hood over his head and a cloak over his body, protecting him from the rain. His usual garments, for those who might have seen him in Erebor, are not there, replaced by fabrics that would be more amenable for the Beornings, who are known for their dislike of leather. The dwarf notices the young woman sitting at the door, and motions to catch her attention. \"Good eve, lady\", he says, and takes his hood in one hand as he bows, his long brown beard brushing the floor. \"I am Gimli, son of Gloin, and I seek the one you call The laird, or someone from his kin. I\'d appreciate if you could direct me thus\".

[Hakr(#3217)]  The heat wouldn\'t normally be such an irritation for the fisherman Hakr - working on the river allows plenty of time to cool off. Because his torn shoulder is still slow to heal, however, he hasn\'t been doing much fishing - or anything else, for that matter. The healer insisted that not use the injured arm any more than necessary, all but cutting him off from his beloved trade. It\'s no surprise then that he\'s more than a little grumpy about it. Trudging up from the riverbank, he\'ll catch sight of Cecilia and head towards her, pulling up a bit short when the short man with the great beard emerges and stepping off to one side, a slightly bemused look on his face.

Cecilia looks over and her grey eyes widen considerably. There\'s a -dwarf- in Beorning. The young woman quickly glances around, hoping that perhaps there\'s someone else close enough that she can pretend this Gimli fellow is talking to them. Alas, she is alone in her immediate vicinity.

The healer swallows and lowers the needle work she\'s holding, pushing it into a wicker basket with all of her quilting supplies and slowly stands. \"Umm.. uhh..\" Suddenly a familiar fisher emerges. \"Hakr!\" Ceci calls in near panic.

[Mobeorn(#22365)] \"The Laird? And what would the dwarves want with the Laird?\" comes a voice now booms across the crossroads as the broad and tall figure of Mobeorn strides quickly up to the little gathering.

[Gimli(#30149)] \"Ah, good day Sir\", Gimli replies, bowing to the huge man that now comes towards the inn. \"I seek the laird for i bear a message from Dain, son of Nain, which should be delivered to the laird Grimbeorn or any of his kin whom I might find, if I\'m unable to see grimbeorn himself\", the Dwarf replies.

Hakr\'s head snaps around at the sound of Mobeorn\'s voice, and suddenly the concerned note to Cecilia\'s voice seems warranted. Nain, Dain - names that a fisherman doesn\'t know, but dwarves? Dwarves could bring trouble. As the emissary turns to Mobeorn, Hakr will slip over to Cecilia\'s side, a low murmur in her ear. \"Cecilia? What\'s going on here - who is this dwarf?\" Someone... Son of Gloin? That\'s about all he caught.

Oh! And there\'s Mobeorn. Cecilia snatches up the basket of supplies and eases back closer to where Hakr and the beijibar are standing. As she hugs her work close to keep it from the rain, her eyes dart between the men and the dwarf. She whispers in a harsh, worried fashion, \"Remember what that other dwarf said when he came, Mobeorn? About the war in their mountain!\"

She looks at Hakr with a slight shake of her head. \"I don\'t know.\"

[Mobeorn(#22365)] \"Erm...good day...\" Mobeorn\'s eyes flit from the dwarf to the two Beornings now. \"I am kin to the Laird, so ye could give yer message to me,\" the shapeshifter mutters, glowering down on the dwarf. No need to guess how the man feels about dwarves, it might seem.

[Gimli(#30149)] The dwarf stands to his full height (a feat that wouldn\'t impress any of the Beornings, to be sure), and bows once more. \"Ah well then, i shall give the message to you, Sir. The men of Beorn are known to be trustworhty and true, and if you claim kinship to grimbeorn, then I believe you\", he says, and then he adds, \"On behalf of Dain, son of Nain, King under the Mountain, I hereby extend an invitation to the laird grimbeorn, his kin, and all of those under his protection, to come to the city of Dale, so that we can celebrate together the anniversary of the Battle of Five Armies!\", he says, raising his voice so that Mobeorn, Cecilia, Hakr, and any other Beorning that may come by can listen easily. \"Dain acknowledges the great role that beorn had in such battle, and wishes to host his people and kin, and have them partake with us to celebrate such a momentous victory over the orcs of the mountains\", he adds.

[Hakr(#3217)]  \"War?!\" Oh dear. In his shock and haste upon catching the word slip forth from Cecilia, it would seem Hakr forgot to control the volume of his voice, blurting out the word loud enough for anyone nearby to hear. When this dawns on him, he\'ll slowly turn to look at the dwarf, grey eyes narrowed and focused on the man from under the broad brim of his hat. For a moment, he looks as though he\'s about to say something, but Hakr appears to remember that it\'s Mobeorn, and not he that is being addressed, and says nothing.

\"Shhh.\" Cecilia says quickly, her gaze darting over to Hakr. She waves her hand at the fisherman to indicate that she\'ll explain later. The healer looks back towards Gimli and at the thought of a trip and a celebration her eyes light up. \"That sounds fun!\"

[Mobeorn(#22365)] \"I see...\" Mobeorn\'s expression changes to one of confusion but pleased confusion, not anger. \"Well...this is certainly ....erm... a change...No, not war,\" he adds quickly to the fisherman, though his puzzled gaze is soon back to the dwarf. \"I will convey the news to the Laird. Now..in fact......hrm...\" With that, the shapeshifter backs up, a bit dazed, his head tilted to one side as he looks at the dwarf again. And then he strides away and across the village center, going east toward the Laird\'s house in the woods.

[Gimli(#30149)] Gimli sems a bit confused for a moment, but he then turns his gaze to Hakr. \"Nay, not a war, friend... a celebration of a battle that happened years ago, in which beorn himself helped rid the land of many of those yellow-bellied orcs\", he says.

Hakr turns to Cecilia to grumble about her shushing him, but at the look on her face, he just sighs and turns back to the dwarf. Perhaps the man just thinks him daft - in the interest of not having Cecilia rebuking him later, he\'ll drop the subject. \"Ah... Yes, my apologies master dwarf. I fear the heat and my injuries have exhausted me - I must not have understood.\" For emphasis, he\'ll pat his injured shoulder, a conciliatory smile on his face. \"I must agree with the lady - it does appear quite an honour.\"

Cecilia seems torn. She graces Gimli with a polite smile, but asks in a questioning tone. \"A dwarf came through here over a month ago and said that there is a war going on in your mountain.. that your clans are fighting. Is that true?\" The healer makes no move to step closer to the dwarf, especially now that Mobeorn is gone. Instead she\'s subtly easing around behind Hakr. Injured he may still be, but a body shield need not be in perfect shape.

[Gimli(#30149)] \"Nay, lady, the clans are at peace, and have been for many a year\", Gimli replies, frowning. \"There are problems every now and then, as one clan would wish something another clan has or also covets, but the King has dealt with all these issues most wisely\", he adds. To the man a smile is given then, as the dwarf adds, \"Well, friend, I hope you get well soon then, and that you come to Dale for the festivities! But... well, I was on my way to the baker\'s, as I wanted to eat something. If you\'ll excuse me...\", he says, as he starts to move away.

[Hakr(#3217)]  The dwarf\'s hastiness in leaving only serves to make Hakr more nervous about the whole situation, but he knows better than to try and prolong the affair. A courteous nod is given to the dwarf as he leaves, and Hakr will turn to the healer, an amused smile at her attempt to hide behind him. \"Well... Perhaps dwarves are not as inhospitable as is said. Perhaps. I suppose it would be best if I returned to the riverside to supervise my brothers as they bring in my boat and unload it. You are more than welcome to come along - that is, if you have no pressing matters at the Infirmary...? Perhaps as well you could explain a few things to me...\" Without waiting for a reply - perhaps assuming she\'ll follow - the fisherman will remove his hat and drop it on the girl\'s head before starting slowly towards the river.