Eirdis Chats with Braldor

[Eirdis(#23386)] A dwarf woman quiet mopes alone in a corner, looking rather pale, for a dwarf. Eirdis\' dress is bunched at her knees as she sits and thinks, having just heard of the feud she may have started. \"Foolish wench, now you\'ve done it. Nobody\'ll ever look at you with respect, \'specially Ranol or Thari,\" she mutters darkly to herself. She coughs, clearing her throat, seemingly on the verge of tears. She doesn\'t notice anything or anyone, at present, too consumed in fear, grief and anger at her actions.

Ranol has been searching for Eirdis, but it\'s been difficult since he has no idea where she spends her days and he\'s been trying to be discreet about it all. It\'s only blind luck that he\'s going through the tunnel and catches sight of the dwarven woman. When the huskarl spots her he quickly changes direction to meet her. \"Eirdis.. Do you have a moment?\" He says in a low, but urgent voice.

Eirdis nearly jumps out of her skin when Ranol states her name. Quickly scrubbing at her eyes, she clears her throat and rises quickly, nodding. \"Of course.. I have a few, actually..\" She bites her lip, looking rather ill. \"I.. I heard about the meeting of the Thanes. I\'m not in trouble, am I?\" Her voice quakes a bit, the Khazad obviously nervous.

Ranol looks around, gauging how crowded the tunnel is. \"Can you come with me to meet with Braldor? Please? He wants to speak with you, it\'s very important.\" The huskarl hesitates, then asks in a soft voice, \"What did you hear? Things are bad, and we need to know what you heard from Siv..\" He whispers, not wanting his words to be overheard.

Eirdis nods and moves forward, trying to compose herself. Taking a few deep breaths, she swallows hard and murmurs, \"Lead the way, then, Huskarl.\" She looks as if she going to her own execution rather than just to be interviewed by a Thane.

\"Everything will be fine..\" Ranol says, reaching to rest an arm on her shoulder in comfort. \"Just be truthful and don\'t worry about the rest. Some of this.. it\'s .. beyond the issue, I think.\" The huskarl heads for the Great Hall, letting his hand slip away as he guides her back to the Bundazanul Thingstead.

Eirdis seems to relax a bit as Ranol\'s arm touches her shoulder. A little of that ruddy colour comes back to her face, and she holds her head up proudly, following the Huskarl a couple paces behind.

Eirdis follows Ranol quietly, not saying anything unless she is spoken to first. She plucks at her beard nervously, wishing she had a mirror. \"Oh, I must look horrible I didn\'t even comb out my beard properly this morning, I thought I was only going to go to the Trader\'s Way and pick up a few supplies, then study and write..\" She sighs. \"Is there time for me to fix myself up a bit?\"

Ranol guides Eirdis to the door, and when one of the clan-karls informs him that Braldor is out, he lets himself in, gesturing Eirdis to follow. \"You can sit on the couch, by the fire there.. \" He points in that direction, then at her request he frowns, \"Oh, um.. I think you look fine. Don\'t worry about it. Braldor just has some questions, it won\'t take long.\"

Eirdis chews her lip as she straightens and smooths her skirts, glancing from her feet to Ranol, to the door and back to her feet again. \"I heard Thari slapped Siv.. Did that actually happen, or was I misinformed?\"

\"Yes.. twice.\" Ranol answers, a smile tugging at his face despite the severity of the entire situation. \"Siv is fine, though. No lasting harm.\" He adds, to reassure Eirdis. \"You\'re difficult to find, Eirdis. I\'ve been looking since this all began.\" He adds, commenting idly to fill the void.

[Braldor(#30149)] The door of Thane Bundazanul opens, and in come the Thane himself, followed by a young dwarf with several scrolls under his arm. \"Ah, a good day to ye both!\", Braldor says heartily, as he comes inside the office and espies Eirdis and Ranol. \"Eirdis of Mazarbul... I had a need to talk with ye, if ye can spare a moment?\", he adds, as he goes around his desk to sit on his comfortable chair.

Eirdis looks at the floor. \"I suppose if nobody was really injured.. You were looking for me? I thought..\" She blushes slightly, shrugging. \"I thought you, of all people, wouldn\'t want to see hide nor hair of me, what with all the trouble I\'ve caused.\" She looks up imploringly at the Huskarl\'s face. \"I didn\'t mean to, honestly! It\'s just that I had heard Siv had said you were suspected of having a drinking problem, and that Thari and Frarin weren\'t upholding their honors.. Why, she made me so furious I could have spit on her!\"

[Braldor(#30149)] \"I hold no grudge against those that tell the truth\", Braldor replies, as he nods to Eirdis. \"And I\'ve no doubt ye\'re a honorable dwarf... unlike this Siv\", he adds, his voice turning a bit sour. \"Now Eirdis, would ye mind much if I have in writing what ye just said? My scribe here\", he adds, pointing at the young dwarf who entered with him, and who now holds a parchment in front of him, and is readying a quill, \"can certainly get that in writing momentarily. Ye see, we want to stop this Siv, stop her lies that are like poison to all of us. And no one will doubt the word of a Mazarbul, a much honorable clan\", he adds.

Ranol hedges carefully at Eirdis\'s words, running a hand through his beard. \"No, Eirdis.. don\'t wor-.. Drinking problem?!\" Everytime he talks to someone he hears new words about himself that supposedly came from Siv\'s mouth. \"I don\'t have any kind of drinking problem!\" Braldor\'s entrance is almost completely missed, and belatedly the huskarl turns to bow to his thane, a scowl on his face. \"Lord Braldor..\" He murmurs, then moves to take a seat near Braldor\'s desk, frowning.

Eirdis practically jumps from her seat on the sofa as Braldor speaks to her, bowing rather low at the waist indeed, her beard almost brushing the floor. She murmurs quietly, but loud enough for those present to hear, \"Lord Braldor, Sir, it is my honour and my family\'s to be at your disposal.\" She rises from her bow and looks Ranol in the eyes, her own clear emerald green glinting almost murderously. \"I know you don\'t! Hells, the whole Mountain knows you don\'t, but obviously Siv needs to hold her blasted tongue, especially when it comes to you!\" She blinks and quickly adds, \"And Thari and Frarin, of course. In the Marblehead that night, she spoke ill of Thari\'s honour. I was with Thari almost every moment of our journey, aside from the battles and when that human woman was punished. I would have attended that, too, if I wasn\'t sleep-deprived. Siv hasn\'t even spent enough time with Thari to even know whether she\'s honorable or not!\" She adds, almost as an aside, as if the following is more than obvious, \"Which the two are, I assure you, Lord Braldor.\"

[Braldor(#30149)] \"Certainly\", Braldor resplies, as the young scribe writes furiously on the parchment. \"So, ye heard Siv say all these nasty lies, lass?\", he asks, his dark eyes looking kindly at Eirdis.

Ranol almost looks afraid when Eirdis locks that hard gaze on him. The huskarl tries to look away in a nonchalant fashion but it\'s all very obvious. He says nothing, not interupting this meeting. He\'s listening, trying to piece everything together.

Eirdis \'s expression becomes kind again when Braldor\'s voice removes her from her rant. \"Those regarding Thari and Frarin\'s honor, and about Ranol\'s supposed drinking problem, yes. Anyone who was in the Marblehead at the time, or even outside, as I was, could have heard Siv\'s accusations... Durin knows she was loud enough in spewing them.\"

[Braldor(#30149)] \"Ah, that is good, Eirdis\", Braldor says approvingly, nodding to her. \"So, ye saw and heard Siv spreading all these lies in the Marblehead Inn, right? And plenty of other dwarves were there that can also say Siv said all these nasty things?\", he adds. The scribe continues to write, the quill practically flying over the parchment.

Eirdis inclines her head at the slight praise. \"Saw, no, but I heard, and I would recognise that.. That..\" She seems to be having a hard time with the next word, \"Woman\'s.. Voice anywhere. And yes, Lord, if you could find who was there that night, you would probably find they\'d tell you the same as I am at the moment. It all led up to Siv\'s leaving in a huff, as everything usually does... I wonder how a woman, any woman, can act as -she- does and not be totally humiliated.\"

[Braldor(#30149)] Braldor\'s smile is radiant, white teeth showing, and eyes sparkling with mirth. \"Ye have done well, daughter of Jarl!\", he says, his voice pleasant. \"Ye have come forth with the truth, and that will never be forgotten by any Bundazanul. I shall provide any token of my appreciation for your courage, ye have but to name it!\", he adds, nodding at the Mazarbul approvingly.

Ranol continues to listen in silence, still brooding over the mentions of the rumors of a drinking problem. He almost never drinks to excess, and obviously that small bit bothers him. He looks between Braldor and Eirdis, pulling his attention back to the conversation, \"Was that the evening that I was drinking with Odor?\"

Eirdis bows low again to Braldor, smiling slightly. \"Nothing would please me more, Lord Braldor, than simple justice for Thari, Frarin and Ranol. Siv must be stopped. If Bundazanul needs any help in curbing her \'habits\', please do not be long in letting me know directly.. Although only an apprentice healer, I have other skills that you may find useful.. All I ask is that nobody is hurt if you do indeed decide to call upon me.. That would be unseemly for a woman.\" She looks to Ranol and frowns sadly. \"Yes, it was. I would want to know if Siv has ever had a hard day at work. Sometimes ale is the only company a Khazad wishes for after a long day.. Perhaps if she wasn\'t burying her snout into others\' business and kept to herself and her craft, she\'d understand.\"

Ranol nods when she answers his question. \"I am beginning to wish I hadn\'t taken that one evening to enjoy some fine ale. My memory is hazy. I do not even remember you being there, Eirdis.. But, Formin was. Frarin\'s kin.\"

[Braldor(#30149)] \"Truly ye speak, lass\", Braldor replies, nodding again. \"We shall put a stop to all this nonsense of Siv... and perhaps this will make her Elders see that this young dwarf perhaps need to see more to her craft, and less to other people\'s affairs\", he adds. \"Now, if ye shall sign the doucment drafted by my scribe\", he adds, indicating the parchment, now almost full with Eirdis\'s recollection of Siv\'s words.

Eirdis nods and says gently to Ranol before turning to go and sign her name on the parchment, \"I wasn\'t in the room, but in the main common room of the Inn, as I just said to Lord Braldor.\" She steps over and takes the pen from the scribe with a quiet word of thanks, signing her name in her very distinct, flowing script, \'Eirdis, Daughter of Jarl, Apprentice to Thari\'. Then, in tiny, almost inscrutable letters, she writes, \'Protector of the Heart of the Huskarl, Son of Ranor.\' She hands the pen back to the scribe and bows low again, then murmurs to Ranol, \"Well, the lot of you were rather.. Loud.. That night, it\'s a wonder you didn\'t wake the dearly beloved dead.\"

[Braldor(#30149)] Braldor grins, and then folds the parchment after Eirdis signs it. \"Well, I need to do some things now... if ye two could excuse me?\", he says, as he gets up from his chair and collects the parchment, putting it safely under his arm, rolled. \"Once more, my thanks and that of all Bundazanul, daughter of Jarl. Until we meet again, i wish ye fare well\". And with that Braldor leaves, the scribe hurrying after him.

If Ranol saw that last bit that Eirdis wrote on the parchment, it\'s quite likely that he would have lost his composure considerably. He didn\'t. He stands and bows as Braldor leaves, then slowly lets out a held breath. \"Thank you, Eirdis. I can walk you back now, if you like.\" The huskarl doesn\'t make a habit of hanging out in Braldor\'s office when he\'s not working.

Eirdis blinks and swallows hard, watching Braldor leave. She shifts from foot to foot a bit, then smiles warmly as Ranol offers to take her back to the Trader\'s Way. \"I would very much appreciate that, thank you, Ranol.\" She exhales, not having known she was holding her breath beforehand as well. \"That wasn\'t as painful as I thought it would have been.. Thane Braldor is rather fair, and kind, I believe. A good leader.\"

\"Aye. I have have sworn my life in service to his.\" Ranol says, as if that alone states his faith in his Thane. Given the nature of his duty and position, it may. He heads to the door and opens it for her, gesturing her through casually.

Eirdis grins a bit, \"I wouldn\'t expect anything less, Ranol.\" She moves through the doorway with a rustle of her skirts and looks over her shoulder. \"You know, if you ever had a mind to do so, you, too, would make an excellent Thane. You have the head for it, but more importantly, you have a heart that can empathise with others\' causes.\" She shrugs a bit and chuckles. \"But I\'m rambling, and what you want is none of my business. Forgive my familiarity.\"

Ranol stands frozen, staring after her for a moment. Then he pulls the door closed as he rushes to follow her, shooting a glare at one of the snickering clan-karls that are standing outside. \"Eirdis! No! Don\'t say things like that. I don\'t have any interest in something like that. I could never do the job.\" There\'s genuine concern as he moves alongside her. \"I mean.. I appreciate that you think so.. but .. No. I didn\'t ask to be Huskarl and that is more than enough to keep me busy.\"

Eirdis gives a cold, angry look to the clan-karl who just tittered at Ranol and her, and murmurs, \"You misunderstood me.. I only meant to say that you have very admirable traits within you, that\'s all.\" She smiles sheepishly. \"I apologise if I offended you.\"

\"You didn\'t offend, but I don\'t want people to overhear something like that. Besides, I could never be Thane even if I wanted to.\" Ranol relaxes again, falling into an easy pace as he walks with her back towards the Greathall.