Olur to the Rescue

It\'s getting late, and Olur may very well be the only one awake in the household. He arrived home from the office late as usual, and is now finishing a supper that was kept warm for him. He is alone in the dining room, absently cutting the last bit of meat on his plate while reading some papers above it.

Panor drifts into the room, her black hair and beard a mass of curls. She looks around with wide blue eyes until her gaze settles on Olur, who gets a tentative smile. The young dwarf approaches the table slowly, twisting her hands in front of her nervously.

Olur continues eating as footsteps approach, giving at first a half-unmindful glance toward Panor. A moment later, however, he lifts his head and smiles at his young cousin.

Though he is only perhaps a decade and a half older than Panor, of Balur\'s children, Olur is the one who resembles Ranor the most. If her father were much younger, more hale, with darker blue eyes and an honesty and conviction of purpose about him, he might look like Olur.

\"Good evening, Panor,\" he says in a kind voice. \"How are you today?\"

\"Good.. wonderful! But.. well, nevermind.\" The girl smiles and moves to sit down in one of the empty chairs. \"How are you, Olur? You must be tired, getting home so late?\" Panor folds her hands delicately (for a dwarf) on the wooden table.

Olur\'s bushy brows lift for a moment. He leans back and pushes his plate away as if finished. \"I do not mind,\" he answers. \"I enjoy my work. It\'s a thrill to me to be around a strong, thriving business all day. And yourself? What did you do today?\"

\"Me? Oh.. well, I helped your mother with some things. She\'s been teaching me a lot about managing a large household. I was also collecting some more of my things. Ranol said it\'s okay for me to stay here, did you know that? He\'s such a good brother.. But.. Well..\" Panor hestitates, twiddling her thumbs on the table nervously again before glancing up, \"There\'s this one chest I want to bring and it\'s too large for me to move alone. I would have to drag it and it would be ruined...\"

Olur folds his arm over his chest, nodding once as she speaks and then frowning once realization seems to dawn on him. \"That is a problem,\" he agrees. He glances away, then back at her. \"Is your father likely to be at home at this hour? Have you spoken with him?\" he asks frankly.

\"I doubt it. He usually isn\'t in until much later, when the taverns close.\" Panor answers frankly, far less concerned for protecting her father\'s image than her brother. \"I would ask Ranol, but he\'s gone to Dale and said he wouldn\'t be back until late. So, I guess, what I\'m asking is.. would you mind? It wouldn\'t take long.\" Then she quickly ammends, \"But if you are tired, I understand.\"

There is only a brief hesitation before Olur stands. \"No, I don\'t mind, Panor, you needn\'t have been so worried about asking me. Come along,\" he says in a commanding but kind tone. \"Show me where it is. I\'ll fetch a trolley from the office so you needn\'t worry about lifting.\" He goes toward the front door as if expecting her to follow.

Panor grins widely. \"Thank you, Olur.\" She rises again quickly, nearly bouncing to her feet. \"It\'s at my house, in my father\'s office.. but it\'s mine. We just keep it in there for space. It has all my books in it.\" She follows after him, smiling cheerfully.

\"Oh, you have books, I didn\'t know that,\" Olur says as if impressed with her. He holds the front door open so that she may go past. \"Do you enjoy reading?\"

\"I.. \" Panor looks at him sidelong for a moment, as if nearly insulted by his reaction. She decides against making a fuss (at least until after her chest is moved) and simply says. \"Yes, I do. Very much. It was lonely with my brothers both gone and my mother busy with other things..\"

\"What sorts of things do you like to read?\" Olur asks, still with polite interest. He is walking rather quickly down the stairs and then across the hall toward the great offices of Bundazanul And Others.

\"Oh.. well.. All sorts of things.\" Panor quickly follows after him. \"I have books on all different topics. Business, travel, history. Lots of history, I like the stories. My favorite is one that my grandmother gave me before she died. It\'s about the first dwarves.\"

\"Those are all good things to know,\" Olur says approvingly, opening the high doors to the office. \"Do you have a trade you want to go into one day?\" A trolley is found near the door and soon he is walking toward Ranor\'s house.

\"Oh.. I don\'t know. I\'ve tried some things, but I haven\'t really found anything.\" If Panor hasn\'t found anything in how many decades, who can say if she ever will. \"I like helping your mother. She\'s fun!\" The girl grins, easily following him, skirts swishing around her.

\"Mother is a dear soul,\" Olur says in a fond, indulgent tone. \"Would never harm anyone. It\'s good that you enjoy your time with her. I\'m glad that you\'re happy in our home.\" They turn a corner and approach Ranor\'s door.

\"Oh yes, I love it! I\'m so glad I can stay.\" Panor smiles, then grows quieter as they reach the door of her home. She dances forward and opens it, letting herself in. She looks down the main hallway for a moment, then looks back, \"No one is home. Come on in.\" She says easily, walking deeper down the hall towards her father\'s combined workroom and office.

Olur frowns at Panor as she goes ahead and quickly follows her, looking around. He leaves the trolley in the hall and heads straight for the office after her.

Panor glances back to be sure he\'s following and her smile fades. \"What\'s the matter?\" She asks, reaching to turn the knob on the office door. It catches, locked. \"Oh.. bugger. Just a moment.\" The young dwarf disappears deeper into the home, and after a few minutes returns holding a key. She unlocks the door with a small grin of triumph and pushes it open, then moves into the dark room. After a moment light blooms from a lantern, filling the workroom that Olur is already somewhat familiar with.

\"Just looking after you, Panor,\" Olur answers in a short voice, having followed her as much as he is able through the house. \"Nothing to worry about.\" He gives a polite smile in response to her grin and enters the office.

\"Oh.. Thank you, but really.. I\'m not afraid of anything in my own -home-.\" Panor says, smirking as she looks at him. \"No one is here, don\'t worry.\" She moves over to a corner of the office where some wood is stacked and begins pulling the piles away. Sure enough, behind is something about the size of a chest covered in a heavy blanket. \"Just a minute, I have to dig it out.\"

Olur puts his fists on his hips and watches her for a moment. \"Why are your books buried, Panor?\" he asks curiously.

\"Because.. \" Panor grunts as she pushes more wood out of the way, \"I have so many and I ran out of space in my room. See.. my grandmother had a big collection and she gave them all to me. So, I put all the oldest ones in here to keep them safe but my father needs his work space too, so he covered the chest with a blanket so it wouldn\'t get scratched.\" She pulls a box that rattles of tools out of the way, \"It weighs -so- much but I\'d hate to have to take them all out to move them. Some are very fragile.\"

Olur\'s frown deepens as he moves closer to help her move things away from the chest. \"What will your father say to see it gone?\"

\"Nothing. It\'s mine. I\'ll leave him a note though.. Yes. Then he\'ll know that I took it.\" Panor stands up straight and brushes sawdust from her skirts, then pulls the blanket away. The chest is quite lovely with a beautiful relief carved in the top depicting several birds flying. The whole thing is stained a deep mahogany and polished to a shine. She smiles as she looks upon it, then glances over to see Olur\'s reaction, quite proud of the treasure.

\"That\'s a good idea. Do leave a note for him, please.\" Olur catches her glance and smiles, nodding encouragingly at the chest. \"Good Bundazanul woodwork, that is!\" He walks over to it and tries to casually lift it. It rocks and he grunts, letting it go at once.

Olur returns to the hall and fetches the trolley, wheeling it into the room. He then lifts the chest by the handles, grunting mightily, and takes three heavy steps to the trolley, looking red in the face and rather as if he\'s about to hurt himself. Just as it looks as if he will fall over, he sets it in and leans against it, panting as his work is done. \"Lotta,\" he gasps, \"books.\"

Panor grins wider at his approval, then says with a laugh, \"My father made it for me, when I turned fifty. He worked on it for a year then wanted to leave it in the Iron Hills!\" She moves towards the desk and starts moving papers around, trying to find something to write her note on. She looks up when he begins grunting and hefting. \"Oh! Olur! Let me help! It\'s too-.. \" She holds her breath in horror, but the dwarf gets the chest moved and she lets out a sigh, \"Well.. that was silly. You should have let me help.\" She picks up a bundle of papers and begins to flip through them, searching for a blank parchment or scrap, but her brows draw together and she begins to frown.

\"I-- didn\'t want you-- to trouble yourself,\" Olur says, gasping. He moves to the pile of objects she had to move and begins to set them aright again. \"Hoo! Write your note and let\'s be off.\" He isn\'t looking at her.

\"Olur.. \" Panor says in a suddenly very small, frightened voice. \"This.. what to do you think this is about?\" She asks, her words hushed. She moves over to hand him the papers, her face drawn with worry. \"I mean, it can\'t be what it looks like. I must be mistaken.\"

\"Hmm?\" Olur turns around and accepts the documents from her. He reads through them, his expression turning from one of idle curiosity to absolute blank stillness. He then opens Panor\'s chest and sets the papers within.

\"Don\'t leave him a note, Panor,\" he orders briskly. He turns and finishes straightening the room. \"Close the desk drawer. Come along.\" He starts pushing the trolley toward the door.

\"What? No! Wait.. \" Panor flounders for a moment, pushing the drawer closed as asked, but doesn\'t immediately follow. \"Olur! Just wait. No one has to know. I\'ll just.. put it back, or.. I could burn it and no one will know and everything will be okay.\" She speaks in a hurried tone, wringing her hands nervously.

Olur stops in the doorway and looks back to her. \"Panor,\" he says, his voice firm and quiet. \"If you have read history then you know that it has been many thousands years since Mahal gave Khuzdul to our fathers, and for all of that time we have protected it and not allowed it to degrade as do the languages of men and elves. We cannot burn this. We cannot put this back. Come along now, and when we are at our home, I will have a soothing winter\'s drink made for you and your books sent down to your room. I would not have you think on this anymore.\" He gestures for her to follow, watching her.

A single tear runs down her face as Panor looks back at the desk, the cold hearth, and over towards Olur. \"It will ruin everything.. Please, Olur. Just burn it.\" She trails after him and stops at the office door. \"I have to lock it again and put the key back.\"

\"Come here, Panor,\" Olur says gruffly. He moves to intercept her and will pull her into a firm embrace if she will allow it, though brief.

Panor does stop his cousin, and when he wraps her into the embrace she chokes back a sob, horribly distraught. \"Don\'t Olur.. Just get rid of it and I\'ll warn him and he won\'t do it! He\'s not a bad man he just makes bad choices.. We all know that!\" This is all a muffled plea into Olur\'s shoulder.

\"Hush, now, lass,\" Olur says in a very gruff big-brother sort of way, patting the back of her shoulder firmly. \"You\'ve had a very rough time of it up until now, but it\'s not your job to worry about anymore. We\'ll take care of you.\"

Panor holds the embrace for a few moments, regaining control of her emotions. Then she moves to turn the key in the door and disappears off to put it away. By the time the girl is returned she\'s gotten some composure back.

Olur pats her shoulder approvingly when she moves away. He slowly moves toward the door until she catches up with him. Busily he moves out of the home, waiting for her to close the front door now.

Panor has rinsed her face. There are a few drops of water in her black beard. She pulls the door closed after him and is much quieter now, a barely suppressed distress about her. After they\'ve begun moving she says in a less enthusiastic tone, \"Thank you for helping me get my books, Olur..\"

\"You\'re welcome, lass,\" Olur says in an unconcerned, friendly tone, walking briskly back toward Balur\'s home. \"You\'ll feel better after a good night\'s sleep, and perhaps revisiting some of your favorite books.\"

Panor nods quietly, saying nothing further. That distress is still on her face but she listens to what he says. If nothing else the girl does what she\'s told. When they are back at Olur\'s home she disappears to go read, taking the suggestion to heart.

And Olur removes the paper from her chest before she goes.