Galharth Gets a Headache

[Cordelia(#1394)] Dusk has fallen, darkness rapidly taking over this large field. It\'s empty--there are no festivals or markets this evening, and noone here. The evening is dry and warm, but clouds are obscuring the stars and there is no moon risen yet. Far in the corner Cordelia sits wrapped in a grey cloak, waiting under the huge oak there. A casual glance at the field would likely miss her.

[Galharth(#28711)]

The ever present haze that hangs over the city of bree continues to block the evening sky, much to the distaste of the firstborn Tailor Galharth. Stepping from the marketplace into the alleyway, he pauses to scan the area. His lower lip twitches slightly and he frowns. \"Miss Wood?\" He calls out as he catches sight of something under a large oak tree. Stepping forward towards the shaded figure, he tilts his head slightly as if to gain a better view. \"Miss Wood, is that you?\"

[Cordelia(#1394)] \"Yes.\" Cordelia\'s answer is quiet, but likely loud enough for the elf to hear. \"Is this place all right?\" She stands up, taking a few steps toward Galharth, then hesitating.

[Galharth(#28711)]

Pausing his step a few feet away, the Craftsmaster folds his arms over his chest. \"This is fine.\" He says flatly. Looking away from the woman, Galharth carefully scans the area before he returns his focus to Cordelia. \"The discussion with your sister revealed a number of things. Your origins, your home, and that you have spoken this to others.\" He says coldly as he peers directly at the woman as if seeking to peer directly through her. \"Tell me of this woman who brought your sister to an Uncle, who in turn brought her here.\" Tilting his head, his gaze narrows. \"And, tell me why she put forth this effort.\"

There\'s another at this little meeting.. this gathering.. this convergence of two people. Keldean Pinewick is enjoying a comfortable perch up in the large oak, nestled into the pocket where three thick treelimbs spread apart. He almost blends in, save for the small bits of paint speckled here and there, but unless someone thinks to look up in the tree, and past the thick leaves and branches for sprinkles of color unnatural to an oak.. Keldean should be safely hidden.

[Cordelia(#1394)] Though Cordelia returns Galharth\'s stare, it\'s not coldly, and she can\'t hold his gaze for long. \"It\'s a long story,\" she says quietly. \"Can we sit?\" She looks about the ground and makes to sit right where she stands--not directly under the oak and Keldean, mind.

[Galharth(#28711)]

\"Very well,\" Galharth says as he gracefully folds his legs under him to settle on the ground with crossed legs. \"I\'m listening.\"

[Cordelia(#1394)] \"I don\'t know where to start,\" Cordelia says. \"My family is from Buhr Mahrling, as you know. My father is a wine merchant, but well, he has other business and ...clients. And over the years he has gotten himself involved in things over his head. This is one of them. The woman who brought Liuni to our Uncle...her name is Mara. My father is scared of her.\"

The sun sinks in the sky and falls below the horizon. Nighttime takes over.

[Galharth(#28711)]

Bowing his head to consider his clasped fingers, the Craftsmaster listens silently to the womans words. On her final words, the silence continues for several suspenseful moments. \"Your father has ever reason to fear her.\" He says simply.

Slowly his head rises and the anger in his gaze as he peers at the woman. \"I had suspicions, as the land of your home is one of question.\" His eye twitches gently, and it is clear the firstborn struggles with something as yet unspoken. \"Now there is no question, and clearly I have much to say to Strider, and any who might have had cause to question your alliance.\"

Raising his index fingers together he taps them gently upon his chin. \"But first..... how is Mara? She was well when last she struggled with her Uruk to gain control over me as a captive.\" Again his eye twitches. \"Alas, she was not happy to have lost me as a prize.\"

Keldean leans over trying to see better past the leaves. This is news he hasn\'t heard. He has no idea what an Uruk is, but it\'s not the first time he\'s heard Cordelia\'s claim of home questioned.

[Cordelia(#1394)] Cordelia swallows hard and her breath quickens, her eyes widening in horror at the elf\'s words. Her face goes paler, but darkness has fallen, so that the loss of coloring in her cheeks might go unnoticed.

Her answer is choked out, though. \"I was born in Buhr Mahrling,\" she says. \"Mara...I\'ve only met her once when my father did business with her. I...didn\'t want to meet her. Not again. Not ever.\"

[Galharth(#28711)]

\"She... a servent of lies, a servant of evil,\" Galharth hisses, though with his soft elven voice, it sounds more to be a strangled claim. \"She claims herself queen, vile and evil as her master.\" Shifting so to rise to his feet, he stares at Cordelia, \"And you, a lie mingled in a garden of truth? Do you think me born yesterday as the children you fool here in Bree?\"

Slowly he rises, and as he does he slips his robe back to reveal the handle of his longsword. \"Let us go now Miss Wood, for I\'m sure the good people of this land will be eager to hear about who you serve.\"

Keldean sucks in a sharp breath as he sees the elf stand.. the glint of a weapon. Part of him screams to jump down there and defend her, and the other more cowardly part argues that there\'s nothing he can do and he\'ll die as well. He weighs with indecision, then drops down quickly to land on the ground behind Galharth, reaching down to grab up a heavy branch.

[Cordelia(#1394)] \"Go? Where?!\" Cordelia scrabbles back rapidly, struggling to finally gain her footing from a sitting position. \"She lies, yes, but...\"

Her words never finish, though, as Keldean drops down to the ground. In one swift movement, Cordelia rushes forward, drawing her dagger, though it is hidden in her hand. She closes in on the elf, hilt of the knife swinging suddenly toward his head to try to knock him out. (REPOSE to avoid suicide :P)

[Galharth(#28711)]

Surprised by the woman\'s actions, Galharth blinks several times as he reaches up to touch his temple. Drawing long slender fingers away he peers in surprise at the moist red blood that covers his fingertips. \"Foolish woman...\" he muttes as he takes a step back. \"Drop the knife, for I have little patience with those who aim to do me harm.\" Is he aware of anothers presence? Clearly not for the Tailor glares at Cordelia with anger.

Keldean hefts the branch up, and when Cordelia rushes at the elf with a knife he watches in surprise for a moment, then on impulse the teenager swings the branch with all the strength he has at fourteen at the back of Galharth\'s head. Sadly, the boy is in love with her and hormones are an uncertain thing.

[Galharth(#28711)]

Aware? Clearly not as a heavy thud lands squarely at the base of Galharth\'s head. The force of the blow drives the Tailor forward so that he falls flat on his face. Anything that might be said goes unspoken and for that instance a talkative creature now remains silent. Have human hormones won the day?

[Cordelia(#1394)] \"Keldean!\" Cordelia gasps the teen\'s name, then stares in horror at the downed elf. She drops to her knees, knife still in hand, feeling for the elf\'s pulse--the girl herself panting with the fear of it. \"He\'s alive.\" She looks up at the teen. \"Keldean...he knows about my family too much. We...we have to leave and now. Tonight...\" She stands up, looking at Galharth\'s prone figure again. \"What do we do with him?\"

Keldean realizes rather suddenly what they just did as the elf falls to the ground. He drops the branch to the dirt and backsteps away from Galharth rapidly, an expression of shocked horror on his face, obviously surprised by his own actions. \"Oh.. oh.. he\'s not dead is he?!\" The youth\'s visage is almost white beneath his summer tan. Tell me he\'s not dead!\" His emotions are high but the words are little more than a whisper.

Cordelia eases his chief concern, declaring the elf still in the land of the living, but Keldean isn\'t calming down any. \"Do with him? What? Don\'t do anything! If someone sees us we\'re dead! Maybe people will think he fell out of the tree? Do elves climb trees?\" The teen runs his hands through his still-paint spattered hair. \"Or.. or.. umm.. a robbery! Grab his money, and the sword. He\'s an elf, they\'re all rich.. he can afford it.\"

[Cordelia(#1394)] \"His money and any jewelry, yes,\" Cordelia answers in a voice that has gone strangely calm. \"Leave the sword--you can\'t exactly carry it through town. Though...well...take it and throw it into the bushes. But don\'t -walk- toward the bushes. Throw it from here.\" She turns the elf over and starts rifling through his clothing.

[Galharth(#28711)]

A soft moan escapes the Tailors lips. \"Nooooo....\" he mutters in common before he falls into soft words in sindarin. \"Squirrels..... let them depart. Never, I shall die.....\" It is as if he\'s singing in his sleep. Is this a call for help, or some dream.

Keldean grows less agitated when Cordelia calms down, her words helping him clear his head of panic. The teen moves up to unhook the sword, and when he hefts it up a horrendous longing fills him. What boy doesn\'t want a sword of his own? Seeker told him they cost a fortune..

The teen looks around, an idea striking him. He starts snatching up fallen branches and sticks, bundling them in around the long sword. It\'s a big oak and the field isn\'t used that often.

[Cordelia(#1394)] The elf moans and Cordelia kicks angrily at his head with her booted foot. \"Stupid stupid stupid elf!!!\" she hisses, kicking over and over, venting a sudden dark rage that has overtaken her. \"Stupid elf! Where are we going to go now?!\" she rages at him again. \"Back to Mara? I\'m as good as dead!\" Almost her hand strays to the hilt of her dagger again, but she stops it, then drops down to her knees again to search the elf, yanking the dagger off his belt and then looking for a coin purse. \"Robbery,\" she says coldly to Keldean. \"It\'s a good idea. And then....we need to get Addie\'s horse. Some food. And then get out of here tonight. But...I have an idea.\"

Keldean looks back from his little scavenger hunt for sticks and his jaw drops open at the sight of her rage. \"Stop!!\" He says insistantly. \"You\'ll kill him!\" Luckily, she\'s already calming down and the teen lets out a held breath. \"Okay.. tonight. I\'ll get the horse. No one will question me, it\'s mine. And I .. I\'ll have to take it over the hill. No one will let me out the gate, but that\'s okay. I remember the way.\" He hefts the heavy bundle he now has, satisfied with it\'s bulk and concealment of the weapon. He looks down at the elf with some regret, at least having the grace to look remorseful. Giliath will -not- approve of this.

[Galharth(#28711)]

A groan of pain, and then silence. Do Cordelia\'s actions trigger memories? Perhaps so, for Galharth attempts to curl his long form into a ball as if to ward off the kicks to his head.

[Cordelia(#1394)] Panting, and satisfied that the elf is not about to get up and walk away, Cordelia looks up. \"Go get the horse. I have to show up in the Pony. His folk knew I was supposed to meet him tonight. I\"ll meet you in a few hours--get the horse, go to Combe and get Liuni and all our things and supplies I\'ve been preparing. And then meet me on the Great East Road by Combe. South of Combe.\"

\"Where in Combe? Which house is Hector\'s? I\'ve never been there..\" All those trips to Combe are paying off. He knows the way very well now. He holds up the bundle of wood. \"Does it look okay? I carry wood all the time, no one should think it\'s strange if I\'m carrying sticks out of the inn-yard.. \"

[Cordelia(#1394)] The girl takes a deep breath, her eyes closing briefly as she tries to think. \"I can\'t show you the way. We can\'t be seen together. Let\'s hope noone saw us coming or going here.\" She frowns. \"The house is down the end of the main street, on the right. Two big oak trees outside it. Workshop in the back where Hector works. Get everything--my cloak, especially. And the food and waterskins. As much as you can. I...we should take Elfaron, but that\'s too risky.\" A glance given back to the elf, then she moves toward the alleyway to the market. \"Hurry!\"

[Galharth(#28711)]

Battered and bruised, the Craftsmaster lies still, but breathing. Left with only the buttons purchased and clothing on his back, how long might he wait in the alley before someone comes looking?

\"Yeah, okay. I\'m going.\" He doesn\'t rush though. If he rushes people will think he\'s up to something. He moves at a rather leisurely pace which is far more the norm for the teen, striking north across the field with what looks like only a bundle of heavy sticks in the fading evening light.

[Cordelia(#1394)] Cordelia waits a while before following--once Keldean leaves the field, she gives the elf a few more kicks in the head for good measure.