Croaker Comes to Town

[Muirgheal(#32535)] It\'s mid afternoon on a cloudy day, and finally, the sky is spitting snow. Earlier, Muirgheal had arrived with snowflakes turning her black hat white. Now, she\'s sitting with her hat off, at a table near the fire with Cordelia. She\'s chatting about sword work. Soon, a serving girl arrives to place hot cups of cider in front of both women. Muirgheal offers to pay for Cordelia\'s, coins already in hand.

\"No, no need,\" Cordelia smiles, pushing Muirgheal\'s hand away. \"I\'ll pay. I\'m working at the healers\' and earning a little coin. You\'re not...and well...\" Her voice trails off.

[Muirgheal(#32535)] Muirgheal raises a brow at that unfinished sentence, but she smiles. \"Thanks,\" she murmurs, putting away her coins for another time. She\'s quietly steeling herself to mention something she feels must be addressed. After a sip of piping hot cider, Muir says, \"About the other day. Um. What you saw.\"

\"What I saw?\" Cordelia presses her lips together, then nods slowly. \"I didn\'t mean to...but...go ahead.\" She waits, watching Muirgheal.

[Arthamon(#24624)] Like a great bird of prey, a figure in dull green enters the Common Room. The robes that hang from him flutter and swoosh about him like wings. The usual attempts to straighten his hair have been abandoned, for it sits windswept atop and around his face. His eyes, keen like an eagle\'s and hard like a stone\'s, peer out from above his nose. Hanging his cloak over a chair in the corner of the room, he remains standing.

Cordelia\'s face is the first he recognizes, but he also nods as he recognizes the woman he met outside the bakery. He frowns nonetheless though, and sits rigidly in his chair, trying desperately to avoid Cordelia\'s gaze.

[Muirgheal(#32535)] \"Well, it\'s just that..I don\'t want you to remember him that way. He\'s usually so much better. Quiet, sure, but better. He does smile, sometimes, and usually he\'s so good about knowing where he is..he\'s fine at home.\" Muirgheal struggles to explain. \"If he doesn\'t know you, perhaps you could come to dinner sometime. But I think it stressed him out too much...Oh, I don\'t know.\" She finishes glumly. She\'s looking into her cider, then up at Cordelia, not yet noticing the other.

Cordelia _does_ notice Arthamon\'s entrance--her eyes constantly glance about the room, stopping for a moment when \"Wanderer\" walks in. She turns back to Muirgheal, giving the woman her attention, though. \"I\'m sorry, Muirgheal, I really am. Seeing him that way...I know he didn\'t used to be like that,\" she speaks in hushed tones. \"It makes me feel...\" Well, she stops, not saying exactly what, but there\'s pain in her eyes when she looks to Muirgheal again.

Then she sighs, shakes her head, voice lower again. \"There\'s the Wanderer...\"

[Arthamon(#24624)] \"A cider if you please,\" Wanderer whispers to the bartender, who returns shortly after. Taking a sip of the warm liquid, the Ranger sighs. His gift of lip reading allows him to hear most of the words, but he still pretends as if he is not listening. His eyes are no softer, though.

[Muirgheal(#32535)] \"As it should.\" Muirgheal replies to Cordelia about how the woman felt. It\'s not mean spirited, at all, just a simple statement. But then she smiles, and reaches out to touch her friend\'s shoulder. \"Let\'s just not think of it again.\" And she smiles. Then she looks around for the one Cordelia calls \'Wanderer.\' \"Is he bothering you?\" Muirgheal says, expression darkening.

A small smile crosses Cordelia\'s face, fleeting, but she nods to Muirgheal. \"All right. I will try to help ..if I can. Though I imagine that means staying away...\"

A glance is given over to Wanderer as she sips her cider, then she shakes her head. \"Bothering..? No...I just wish he\'d stop sitting and looking at me whenever he\'s around. It gives me the creeps.\"

[Arthamon(#24624)] This is perhaps the right time for Wanderer to enter. Standing formally, he strides across the room and approaches Cordelia, somewhat cautiously. Briefly smiling at Muirgheal, he turns to Cordelia and tries to retain that smile. \"Excuse me,\" he whispers, \"I, ah...couldn\'t help hearing what you were saying about me. I, just...wanted to apologize if it seems we\'ve gotten off on the wrong foot.\"

[Muirgheal(#32535)] Muirgheal seems rather interested to hear this apology. She sits, quietly sipping her cider, pretending as though she isn\'t listening at all as she absorbs the conversation.

Looking up, Cordelia clears her throat, reddening a bit that her words were overheard. \"Well...it\'s just...I can\'t help notice that you stare at me every time you see me. It\'s rather disconcerting...as if you want something of me. Won\'t you sit down and tell me what? And this is Muirgheal, my friend. Muirgheal...this is...\" She pauses, trying not to smirk at the nickname, \"Wanderer.\"

[Arthamon(#24624)] It is somewhat surprising that a man of such height and girth could be intimidated, but such is the case now. Wanderer sits a bit sheepishly between the two women, choosing to stare at the area above Cordelia\'s head. \"I really want nothing of you,\" he says firmly, \"I believe though, that I may have been misinformed about you. For if you indeed sit with Muirgheal, then perhaps you are not the Cordelia that I expected.\"

[Muirgheal(#32535)] Muirgheal looks up from her cup of cider as she\'s being introduced. Recognition finally settles in. \"Ah!\" She exclaims. \"We met once, at the market. The bakery.\" Muir raises a brow at Wanderer\'s words. \"You must have been misinformed,\" she agrees, \"if you heard that Cordelia is anything other than an upstanding citizen of Bree, and an excellent friend.\" She smiles.

\"Excuse me?\" Cordelia blinks, her words coming out before Muirgheal vouches for her character. \"The wrong Cordelia?\" She flashes Muirgheal a smile and, quietly, \"thank you.\" Then back to Arthamon again, she asks, \"who is it that you seek and why?\"

[Arthamon(#24624)] \"I sought an evil Cordelia, a shady member of the population of Bree,\" the man whispers slowly, \"What I have clearly found though is a woman who is quite certainly the opposite of that.\" Smiling kindly, the tall man turns to Muirgheal. \"Indeed I believe we have met before. It is a great pleasure to see you once more.\"

[Muirgheal(#32535)] \"Evil?\" It\'s the only word Muirgheal offers for now, with a slow shake of her head as if to say, \'not at all.\' \"That\'s quite a word.\" Then, when Wanderer turns toward her, she says, \"Likewise.\" Muir looks at Cordelia, wondering if her dark haired companion wishes to invite the ranger to stay with them at their table.

Again Cordelia blinks. \"I see...\" Then she looks to Muirgheal and there is something in her eyes--laughter, perhaps? Though the subject is serious, it seems the girl is holding back a sudden fit of giggles. \"Well...\" she manages to Arthamon, \"I\'m glad of that. Wouldn\'t want you meeting shady folk...\" With that she falls silent to let the man and Muirgheal talk while she sips her hot cider.

[Arthamon(#24624)] \"I have met many other shady characters,\" The Ranger says, still a bit on edge, \"All much darker and sinister than you.\" Taking a sip of cider, he furrows his brow and suddenly seems to be thinking, thinking hard about something. He falls silent, the clattering of his cider glass the only sound he makes.

[Lithiugelir(#27282)]

From outside, someone enters into the foyer of the establishment and stomps their boots to rid them of excess snow. Then, a moment later a tall youngish man of perhaps 30 years of age enters. He is dark haired and grey eyed, and garbed as is familar among those drifter folk like Wanderer himself. This man however is perhaps a touch tidier about his person and in addition to such things as bow and blade, there is also a leather case slung over the man\'s back.

Having come into the Common Room, the new arrival looks over those who are already here and smiles to see the hearth blazing with a welcoming fire. His own pale eyes light then upon Arthamon and the man at once begins to come across the room with long, easy strides, \"Ah, so good of you to find such an establishment to buy me that ale you owe me, Wanderer!\"

[Arthamon(#24624)] For a brief moment the man is dazed. Blinking, he turns and then lets out a long hearty laugh. \"Harper!\" he says joyfully, standing up and striding forward. Clasping his fellow\'s shoulders, he smiles and winks. \"Just tell me what you want and I will give it to you. Your company is always welcome.\" He has briefly forgotten Cordelia and Muirgheal.

[Muirgheal(#32535)] Muirgheal manages to keep her laughter only in her eyes, and she shares her merry gaze with Cordelia for a moment. \"Indeed, no,\" Muir echoes Cordelia\'s sentiments. \"But rest assured, you are in the company of two of the most upstanding, ladylike ladies of Bree.\" She grimaces at her own lack of adjectives about her and Cordelia\'s goodness. Then another enters, a man Muirgheal doesn\'t know. She seems rather content to be only with the company she arrived here with, however. She sips her cider and watches the men.

[Lithiugelir(#27282)]

Ah, a good, firm, breath-knocking slap for Wanderer\'s back from the harper, \"Aye, and I recall you owe me a bit of pipeweed to, now don\'t you?\" But, there is good humor in the new arrival\'s eyes, and then he turns his head to reguard the two women. A backhanded swat for Wanderer\'s chest then, \"But I\'ll forgive you both if you will but introduce me to these two -very- lovely ladies!\"

Oh yes, leave it to Lithiugelir to notice the pretty womenfolk.

[Muirgheal(#32535)] Muirgheal, overhearing, decides immediately that this young man is pleasantly charming. \"Yes!\" She calls to Arthamon, \"Why don\'t you introduce the pretty womenfolk?\" Her dark eyes are amused, her mouth smirking.

[Arthamon(#24624)] Knowing the awkward position he is in but realizing there is no way to claw out of it, Wanderer gulps and blushes. \"Well...\" he begins, honestly at a loss for words for the first time in many years, \"This...this is Muirgheal.\" He waves a hand weakly at Muirgheal and tries to smile. The smile disappears though, as he gets to bachelorette number two.

A gulp.

\"And this is Cordelia.\"

Quietly sipping her hot cider, Cordelia takes in the new arrival, looking him over from head to toe. She smiles a little at Arthamon\'s obvious discomfort as he introduces her.

\"Aye, I\'m Cordelia,\" she says to the harper. \"But apparently I\'m not the evil Cordelia that your Wanderer there seeks. And...what might your name be, sir? Surely not another of these vague nicknames that the rangers in these parts use?\" She smiles prettily--it lights up her face for a moment.

[Arthamon(#24624)] Without so much as a goodbye to anyone, Wanderer blushes further and slips Lith several copper coins. Passing through the doors, he puts some distance between himself and the Common Room.

A delighted expression with raised brows and Harper steps forward one step to smile to each of the women. Although he\'s actually seen Muirgheal before ... elsewhere, the woman doesn\'t seem to remember having seen him so Lith just grins, \"Truely, a pleasure - both of you!\" Placing his left hand over his waist, a slight bow to each of the ladies, \"I didn\'t recall Breefolk women to be so handsome or else I\'d have never left!\"

To Cordelia, the new arrival says, \"I am a harper by profession, dear lady, and so I am thusly called simply Harper. Some few others occationally label me Silvertongue,\" and here the man starts counting off on his fingers, \"Drinker, Dusty, Lith, Croaker, Wooer, and several other less polite names not entirely suitable for the hearing of young lasses.\"

And with a glance about the common room, the harper adds, \"Now, if you all do not mind my joining you, and if someone would be so kind as to take pity upon a poor travel worn harper with a parched throat, perhaps I can warm up my fingers a bit?\" Might that be a reference to play his harp?

[Muirgheal(#32535)] \"Croaker?\" Muirgheal laughs. She doesn\'t wave as Arthamon departs, too busy listening to his interesting companion. The golden haired lady looks hopeful at the offering of music. \"Please sit, and we\'ll get you something to drink. Ale?\" She asks. Then Muirgheal glances at Cordelia, an appreciative look for her humor.

Cordelia\'s eyes follow Wanderer as he leaves, her expression briefly turning dark as she does so. But then her face lights up again with a smile for Lithiugelir. \"Croaker...all right, that I can understand. Wooer...\" Perhaps a proper young lady of Bree should blush, but all she does is lift an eyebrow. \"Well, which should we call you, sir? Or would you rather we came up with an appellation on our own?\" She gestures to the chair that Arthamon vacated, nodding in agreement to Muirgheal\'s invitation.

[Lithiugelir(#27282)]

Yes, he did say Croaker, but the man\'s tenor is quite smooth and pleasant. Harper for an instant is distracted as Wanderer not only gives him a few small coins, but also makes his unexpected departure, \"Alas, I shall catch up with you later then, my friend.\"

Looking back to Muirgheal, the musician laughs softly and gestures negatively with his coinless hand, \"Nay, you need not! For we three might all have a drink on Wanderer\'s generousity.\" And thereupon Lith smacks down the silver penny and two coppers, \"Quite enough to get started.\" Long bow is leaned against a near wall, quiver and harpcases removed to hang on the back of a chair he draws out to take a seat upon with his back turned towards the thawing warmth of the fire. A bit of snow is shaken out of his cloak\'s hood.

A mischievious glance for Cordelia, \"You may call me anything you wish, m\'lady. And if it is not kindly, perhaps I can earn your favor through song?\" A bright smile, not the least bit caring what anyone calls him.

[Muirgheal(#32535)] Muirgheal laughs brightly, delighted. \"Yes, I could certainly do with a drink on Wanderer\'s coin. Let the festivities begin.\" She looks at the harp case that\'s put away with the rest of Lith\'s gear. \"If there is music, I might be inclined to dance.\" She finishes her cider, dark eyes still watching the man, as though she\'s trying to come up with a few creative nicknames of her own for him. It would seem their company tonight has taken a turn for the better.

Cordelia\'s eyes dance. \"Why would I ever call you a derogatory name, sir? But, yes, certainly, you can earn my favor through song. And through coin for ale, too,\" she grins. \"That\'s more than generous. How did you win it from Wanderer? I assume you two are....\" She pauses to think about that, \"kin?\" A glance,then, is given to Muirgheal, and then Cordelia shrugs.

[Lithiugelir(#27282)]

Harper bends over and unties the leather straps that bind his boots to his calves, then draws off first one boot, then the other to shake out a bit of snow that managed to get down into them. He tosses them both over close to the fire to start drying out as they are quite damp.

Muirgheal\'s comment turns Lith\'s head back around, \"You might be inclined to dance?\" Oh, he likes that idea. But if he might say anything more, Cordelia snags the harper\'s attention, \"Oh no, he\'s not my brother or something. I\'ve lent him a thing or two in times past and he just owes me a favor in return. Like pipeweed when he hadn\'t any.\" A warm smile even as a server comes from the bar to see if the new arrival wishes to place an order. Ale is requested, as well as anything the ladies wish - so far as the coin will stretch.

[Muirgheal(#32535)] \"Yes, dance. Do you dance?\" Muirgheal wonders. \"I didn\'t think most rangers were given over to such frivolousness. But you could certainly prove me wrong.\" The lady grins. She declines to order ale, just more cider- like her husband, she doesn\'t really drink. She has another question about Wanderer, though. \"Why does Wanderer go around calling total strangers evil?\"

\"I see,\" Cordelia says, with a slow nod to the explanation as to who Wanderer is. She smiles, but there\'s a look in her eyes that might suggest she doesn\'t completely believe Lith\'s answer. She grows quiet again, sipping her cider--and then she nearly chokes at Muirgheal\'s question, a sudden fit of coughing taking her. \"I\'ll have an ale,\" she says quickly to the server, trying to cover a bit. \"Since Croaker here is paying.\"

[Lithiugelir(#27282)]

Finsihed with sorting himself out and leaning back in the chair to absorb the warmth of the blazing hearth, Harper laughs, \"Oh aye, I can dance my lady.\" And a huff of breath for the woman\'s comment about presumably scruffy ranger types, \"I am a harper, lovely Muirgheal, not some homeless ranging whatever.\" And Lith lowers his voice with a glance around the room, \"I hear folk here use that term \'ranger\' as a derogatory term.\" And placing his left hand over his breast, he makes the most mournful, puppy-dog wounded expression that ever graced a man\'s features.

To the other question Harper merely shrugs, \"I know not, lady. I barely know the man - except that he has a fondness for pipeweed. We have traveled together but once, on our way here to Bree, in fact.\" Cordy\'s calling him Croaker gets a merry glance from the man.

[Muirgheal(#32535)] \"Then let\'s find out if you speak the truth. Will you show me how well you can dance?\" Muirgheal asks, grinning now. But at that absolutely saddened puppy-dog look, Muirgheal quickly adds, \"My husband is a ranger. Seeker. It\'s just some...like that Wanderer...that make me sometimes wonder if there\'s some truth to the rangers\' reputation in Bree.\" Muir shrugs, but her smile quickly returns.

Those puppy dog eyes--Cordelia can\'t help but laugh, and loudly, but it\'s more on the giggle side than the sneering type of laugh. \"Muirgheal, won\'t Rhifaroth be angry that you\'re dancing in the Pony with another man?\" she gets out between more laughter, then claps a hand to her mouth. \"Sorry,\" she says, suddenly sobering.

[Lithiugelir(#27282)]

A black brow is quirked as though curious at the name the blonde offers as the name of her husband, but if there is any recognition for it, there is no telling. Instead Lithiugelir says, \"Dance without music? And with a self professed married woman? Might your husband \'Seek\' out my life\'s blood should I trifle so with you?\" There is perhaps though mischief yet in his gaze, that he might triffle all the same.

Cordelia\'s slip though gains no reaction from the Harper as he has already turned in his chair to draw forth his harpcase. Luckily for him, the server comes back just then with the two ales and a pitcher of the warm cider for topping up Muir\'s cup.

[Muirgheal(#32535)] \"It\'s only a dance!\" Muirgheal protests, amused by both Cordelia and the man. \"A rather innocent thing, isn\'t it?\" She\'s laughing at the image of her husband chasing this other ranger around. \"But perhaps you\'re right. Besides, I don\'t know how much dancing is good for the baby.\" She thanks the server for her fresh, warm cup.

With neither of the others noticing her use of Rhifaroth\'s name, Cordelia covers her slip by pushing one ale toward Lith and retrieving one ale for herself. \"All that sword work can\'t be good, either, then,\" she notes, smriking. To Croaker, she adds, \"Muirgheal is teaching me how to fight with a sword. Not that it\'s really needed in Bree--well, though, did you know there were bandits here?!\" She sounds convincingly shocked, the little hypocrite. \"That\'s how Muirgheal got her hat!\"

[Lithiugelir(#27282)]

From the leather case a smallish harp that would reach from lap to shoulder on the seated man is brought forth. It is of classic open harp shape with 22 strings. Grey wood, the color of ashes, is old and weathered with age. Strings and pins are silvery and are bright with much use. The wood is decorated with a shallow relief carving of crashing waves on rocks, and sea gulls in flight. Where hands most often rest or brush the wood, the grain is polished and slightly darker with skin oils.

Straightening back up with the beloved instrument in his lap, Harper looks with surprise at Muirgheal, then a quick glance at Cordelia before returning his gaze to the blonde, \"Oh, I don\'t think activity is harmful in the least - so long as you don\'t fall.\" A pause though, looking back to Cordilia, \"Bandits? I\'m afraid I\'ve not heard, no.\" But the man is interested in hearing more.

[Muirgheal(#32535)] \"Oh, yes, rather incompetent bandits, though. At least...the one I met wasn\'t very clever. He couldn\'t even use the sword he was carrying.\" Muirgheal says. \"I ran across him at dark. Speared the hat right off his head.\" She grins oh, yes, she hasn\'t yet stopped being pleased about it. It is always a challenge to hit a moving target. To Cordelia, she adds, \"The sword work is important. Speaking of which- I trust you\'re still practicing in back of your aunt\'s place?\" She\'s excited to see how much of her skill with a blade she can share with the dark haired woman.

\"I don\'t know, Muirgheal,\" Cordelia frowns. \"If you hadn\'t come along at the same time as me, I don\'t know how distracted they would have been by my...uh..\" Her eyes flit to the Lith, \"by my efforts. Though I will say that they are looking for easy targets, it would seem. It\'s why I\'m learning to use a sword,\" she brightens to Croaker. \"If I walk around with a sword, noone will bother me to and from my uncle\'s.\" A nod to Muirgheal. \"Yes, I am, but it\'s not much good fighting thin air.\"

[Lithiugelir(#27282)]

\'Croaker\' nods wisely as he listens to each of the young women, but has no particular comment to add to this story of bandits, sword play, and ... well, he politely keeps his mouth shut and just smiles. Lithiugelir seems quite content to watch Muirgheal and Cordelia and listen to them, as though he hadn\'t had such fine company in some while. Idly, his long fingers begin to softly ease over the silver strings of his harp, just barely bringing forth a sweet whisper of music beneath their voices.

The two women fall silent for a moment, listening to the newcomer strum the harp, Cordelia watching him as she sips her ale. \"You\'ve been here in Bree before? But you\'re not one of those rangers?\" she puzzles.

[Gregory(#30849)]

The door to the Common Room opens as Gregory comes walking in, bundled tightly against the outside. He pauses by the door, looking around for a place where he can sit and get warm. He moves off to a table, trying to shake out the shiver.

[Lithiugelir(#27282)]

Lightly strumming the strings of his harp, low enough to be a pleasant undertone to their conversation and not interfer with it, Lithiugelir shrugs once more, this time to Cordelia, \"Oh, I don\'t know. That depends on what you mean by \'ranger\'. I\'ve heard that term applied to all sorts of wandering folk who pass through this area. In that sense, perhaps I suit the title.\" Still good humored, the harper adds, \"Aye, Bree has been my home, from time to time.\"

Pale grey eyes in the tall harper\'s face glance up at the arrival of a young Breelander. A polite nod of welcome to Gregory from Lith.

\"I don\'t know. What\'s a ranger, anyhow, as you say,\" Cordelia replies. \"Seem to be a lot of folk who wander through Bree, as you say. Tall men, like yourself. Elves. Dwarves. And then there are the locals that live here,\" she nods to Gregory. \"How would you define a ranger?\" she asks him.

[Muirgheal(#32535)] Muirgheal stands up at last, cider cup empty again. \"If you\'ll all excuse me,\" the blond lady says, \"though I hate to be gone from such fine company, I\'ve got to be getting back to Archet.\" And as she does on most afternoons that she\'s come to Bree, she heads out of the common room to go fetch her horse, eager to hurry home to Rhifaroth.

[Lithiugelir(#27282)]

Archet is it? Lithiugelir stands up from his chair at once as Muirgheal rises to depart. His beloved harp nestled into the crook of his left arm, the tall man standing in his damp sock-feet inclines himself slightly in a polite bow, \"My pleasure to meet you, dear lady. Keep you and yours well.\"

Gregory lifts up his eyebrows at Cordelia as she speaks to him. \"Hmmm? Oh, Uhm....\" He looks around at the others as they get to their feet. \"I really don\'t know..\" He answers. \"They spend time in the woods alot?\" He answers before look again as Archet is mentioned.

\"Goodbye, Muirgheal. I\'ll see you in a few days, then, at the usual place?\" Cordelia calls as the other woman leaves. She looks to Gregory as he answers, but notes to Lith, \"her husband, I believe, was called a ranger by the locals. Don\'t think they liked him much.\"

[Lithiugelir(#27282)]

For his own part, the Harper has no intention of departing the warm, dry Common Room of the Prancing Pony any time soon. No, he intends to stay here at least long enough for his soggy boots laying by the fire to dry out a bit. And perhaps his socks, too. And then there is this tall mug of ale he\'s barely tasted yet - can\'t be wasting that!

\"Ah.\" the musician says to Cordelia\'s explanation. Then, reseating himself, Lith shifts his harp upon his lap and leans back comfortably in his chair. Taking a long pull from his underappreciated ale, the man savors it before his fingers return to the strings of his instrument. Finally, he begins to play in earnest, a cheerful, upbeat tune without words to accompany them. Something suitable to warm up his hands and get a few toes tapping, perhaps.

Gregory looks to the Musician curiously before getting comfortable in his chair, turning to place an order with a passing Barmaid. He looks over to Cordelia as she explains about the woman and the reason for the question.

\"Well...\" Cordelia says, smiling quickly at the tune that Lith strums, but finishing her ale. \"Sir, I do thank you for the ale tonight, though I can\'t say yet that it is fair and right to call you Croaker yet, as I haven\'t heard you sing. Might I anticipate that you will be singing here for your supper at the Pony soon? I hope so--but I have a job to tend to now, and can\'t wait.\" She stands up, nodding a short farewell to Gregory as well.

[Lithiugelir(#27282)]

If he wasn\'t already playing, \'Croaker\' as she is calling him would jump right up to his feet as Cordelia rises. But he smiles and inclines his head formally to her all the same, the breaks out in his melodic tenor, \"I once knew a pretty little lass, who gave me lots of sass... but oh she had the finest ...! -Eyes- any man ever passed!\" and a wink after Cordelia as she moves to take her leave.

As yet the second handsome young woman takes her leave, Lithiugelir plays on and hums a bit, interjecting a few lines mischieviously for indeed he\'ll have no supper this eve if he doesn\'t please the patrons here enough to earn his keep. And a nice, warm, dry bed wouldn\'t hurt too.

Cordelia\'s laugh at the harper\'s lyrics rings back through the common room as she leaves.