Questioning Rhifaroth - Day Six

[Rhifaroth(#27282)]�

For most, it was a quiet, uneventful evening and night. A little late thunder shower, a flicker of lightning. This morning, it is lovely outside. Weather is perfect, sunny, not too warm, wonderful. Inside the warehouse though ... it is dim as usual with the windows covered over. And one end of the chamber is really starting to smell a bit dank and foul.

The occupent of that end of the room had a very miserable night. Rhifaroth is still tied to the wall and someone has resecured his left hand with rope. Maybe rather tightly but the swelling of his hands could be from injury, too. No way he\'s going to get his hands free now. Not while they are swollen.

The man\'s head lulls down. He sits with his back to the wall, arms over his head, legs bent and curved around�to his right. An acidic smell of bile and an increasingly amonia smell from both old and recent urine greets those who draw too near.

Keldean had retreated to the opposite side of the warehouse last night with the crying baby. It wasn\'t long after the child finally succumbed to exhaustion that the teen did as well. The only reason he wakes up at all is because the baby begins crying and squirming next to him, which sends a sense of panic through him. Keldean sits up swiftly, immediately trying to shush the baby while looking around nervously for Asht or the other woman. Neither is picked out in the dim light, but that doesn\'t mean they aren\'t here.

His efforts to quiet the infant fail completely because the baby is hungry, which is something he can\'t handle. He stands and creeps over to where Cordelia is curled up on the floor, reaching a hand to shake her shoulder. \"Cordelia, wake up.. He won\'t stop crying.\"

[Cordelia(#1394)] Asht\'s punch had left Cordelia\'s nose broken and bloody, the girl crumpling to the floor from the pain. Likely not enough to make her pass out, but the strain of this venture has been wearing on Cordelia, likely, because though there was noise and brutality that continued during the night, the girl never woke up, staying curled in a ball on the floor.

She stirs now, hands with blood dried on them pulling back from her face slightly at the sound of the baby crying. Then Keldean shakes her shoudler, and she blinks her eyes open.

\"Kel..?\" It takes a moment for her to focus, then she slowly sits up with a little groan. \"Give him to me. Likely he\'s hungry, poor thing.\" Her eyes travel across the room next to where Rhifaroth is. \"What happened to him?\"

[Rhifaroth(#27282)]

The crying of the child gets a faint response from the man. The ranger lifts his head a little but it\'s too dim in here to make out much. And he feels awful. A moment later, Rhifaroth\'s head is still, lulling against his arm once more. His face can\'t be seen at that angle, sitting on the floor as he is.

Keldean\'s brown eyes widen when he sees how bad her face looks, but he only swallows any words he might have and hands the baby over. The teen glances towards the ranger, \"He\'s sick. She gave him some other poison. I\'ll get some water.\" Keldean rises and moves off to collect a cup of water from a jug sitting on the floor.

[Cordelia(#1394)] \"Shhh....\" Cordelia holds the baby against her, rubbing its back, trying to soothe it, but the infant is fiercly hungry and it does little to end its crying. \"We need food...something soft. He\'s old enough to take a little food. Or some of the broth I gave Rhifaroth yesterday,\" she says, looking at Keldean. There\'s dried blood on her face, a bruise near her hairline on her left side, and she has two black eyes from the broken nose--never mind that her small nose is somewhat swollen, too.

Very carefully--moving hurts--she gets to her feet, holding the baby and crossing the room to Rhifaroth to look down at him.

[Rhifaroth(#27282)]

There is, for a long moment, no movement from the bound man. He leans against the wall, his clothes damp from fluids, his hands secured. But the child is still crying and now it\'s close.

Rhifaroth\'s head stirs, trying to lift it. He focuses upon Cordelia standing there, holding the baby. Is it Elfaroth? He does not ask, not yet. The swelling on his face has faded from the kick the night before. Dried blood also mars his face from his nose, dark bruises and a black eye matching Cordelia\'s. What a pair.

Keldean brings the cup of water over to her, then looks around for any sort of food, but he shakes his head. \"I don\'t think there\'s anything to eat.\" Except for where Asht had cut his neck, Keldean looks surprisingly unharmed. He\'s dirty, but sports no visible bruises or injuries. His eyes stray to the ranger, but his face is blank of expression.

[Cordelia(#1394)] \"Better than nothing...\" Cordelia frowns, taking the water. \"At least it will fill his stomach until I can get Aleswyn to get us some food for him.\" Carefully she cradles the infant in one arm, tipping some water into its mouth from the cup. A dark head of hair can be seen, the color of Elfaroth\'s hair. \"He needs...\" she frowns, words directed toward the ranger now..\"water. Preferably a bucket of water on him. What happened? What made him sick? I...didn\'t see.\"

[Rhifaroth(#27282)]

Focusing on the child, the Ranger tries to see it but it is swaddled and he can only see the top of it\'s head, \"Elfaroth?\" his voice cracks, asking. Rhifaroth\'s pale gaze flicks up to Cordelia\'s face, \"Muirgheal?\" He swallows, trying to clear his sore, soured throat, \"Where ... is she?\"

\"That woman that was here yesterday, she gave him some poison.\" Keldean explains again as he watches Rhifaroth. After a moment of consideration, he goes to fill a second cup and carries it back to the ranger. He slowly offers it to the man, his face still guarded with a wary expression. Half of the liquid spills, but the teen holds the cup steady. \"Muirgheal isn\'t here.\" He answers in a flat tone.

[Rhifaroth(#27282)]

The man has propped his head against his own arm and the wall so that he does not have to hold it up himself. Grey eyes have closed and the Dunadan for a moment doesn\'t even try to sip the water, it just spills. But he rouses a little, tries to sip it. His skin is hot to the touch with fever.

[Cordelia(#1394)] The infant\'s crying eases as Cordelia feeds it some water, though likely that won\'t do the trick for long. She rocks it back and forth in her arms, slowly soothing the baby to sleep with the motion, though her attention now is for Rhifaroth. \"He looks like hell. And smells worse,\" she makes a face. A glance over her shoulder--it\'s in the direction of where the capturers have made an area for sleeping and likely where Asht now lies asleep...or listening...and that hardens the girl\'s face. \"Your wife and child are dead,\" she tells Rhifaroth. \"Only your son remains.\" She shifts the baby in her arms, peeling the blanket back a touch to reveal the dark hair.

[Rhifaroth(#27282)]

�Breath catches in his throat. The man\'s head jerks a little, eyes snapping to Cordelia with the child. His whole body tenses, even his swollen hands. Rhifaroth looks at the young woman, trying to guage ... does she lie to him?

The Dunadan\'s breathing resumes, faster and more roughly. His already pale face had blanched further. Now he looks at Cordelia with growing, cold, hatred. His hands twist against the ropes that bind him. They are already caked with dried blood, much skin scraped off. But just now, the ranger looks like he very, very much wants to kill Cordelia.

Keldean backs away from the ranger quickly as he adopts that vicious expression on his face, holding the cup tightly against his chest. \"Don\'t do that. You need to rest.\" There\'s a flicker of worry as he looks towards where Asht might be sleeping, too nervous of the man to go and see if he\'s really among the piled bedding.

[<#1394>] The woman\'s already pale face goes whiter at the hatred in the Dunadan\'s eyes. She speaks in a hushed voice in the elven tone, quickly to him. \" * **** ** *** **! ** *** **** ** ****** ***** ******!\" She exhales shakily, though, looking to the baby again. \'Why did you leave the service of the Lord Steward? Tell me and perhaps we\'ll let your son live.\'

[Rhifaroth(#27282)]

Just for a moment, the bound man looks like he would rather rip his own hands off than to sit here and not try to kill these people. But Cordelia\'s quick hiss in Sindarin makes Rhifaroth\'s anger pause. Doubt perhaps clouds his eyes, his gaze slipping from one of them to the other, then into the dimness of the room where others might be that he can\'t see.

A moment of silence except for harsh breathing. His stomach is rebelling against the small sip of water. Then, looking at the child Cordelia holds a brief expression of desolation crosses the man\'s face, uncertain. Rhifaroth hangs his head ... feeling ill and not wishing to have to look at these faces any more. His voice is thin, rough, \"I ... was no longer ... useful. Quiet in Harad.\" the man swallows, \"Narakshi had withdrawn ... deep ... into the Khand.\" It is a complicated matter, this being part of it.

When the ranger looks his way, the teen\'s guarded expression returns, but there\'s obviously fear in his eyes. Keldean has gotten himself into the worst sort of situation and now he knows it. The things Seeker speaks of make little sense to the youth, but he moves to lean against the wall, watching all the same.

[Cordelia(#1394)] The baby is restless again, but it\'s a thin cry, weakened by lack of food, no doubt. Cordelia shifts it to her other arm, rocking it back and forth, kind to the child, at least. \"Good,\" she quietly answers Rhifaroth. \"Now we\'re getting somewhere. Your stepfather was from the Narakshi? So you used that connection how? Spying on the Harads? Why?\" she presses him. The baby\'s thin cry turns into choking sobs.

[Rhifaroth(#27282)]

This direction the questioning has taken seems harmless enough, compared to ... other things. Rhifaroth licks his dry lips, his stomach settling. His head hurts... does he have a fever? His right hand hurts, aches from the thin slice Adelaide had given him with her foul blade.

\"His brother... had become Chieftain of ... the tribe.\" The ranger has closed his eyes, trying to think, word things carefully and not say something too recklessly, \"When I got free ... from Umbar, I went there. Heading ... back north. Lingered.\"

A movement, lifting his head to look at Cordelia, \"Useful... to my country. To forge ties. ... Narakshi... hated Mordain. Orcs. Hated Umbar.\" Drawing a breath, his eyes flickering to the child and then away, \"They marked me... my skin. After ... I had been there, two years.\"

Keldean grows restless as the baby\'s cries grow louder again. \"Keep him quiet..Don\'t let him cry.\" He says to Cordelia in a tight whisper, his gaze on the sleeping area again. It might be only his imagination, but some of the shadows seem to shift among the blankets and Kel\'s face loses some of it\'s color.

[Cordelia(#1394)] \"I can\'t!\" Cordelia answers the teen in a harsh whisper. \"He\'s hungry! We need food for him...but I\'m not about to leave here.\"

Still the baby cries again, the sounds more frustrated, but Cordelia shifts him to her shoulder, patting his back. \"You were helping them, this Narakshi...who whipped you? And why?\"

[Rhifaroth(#27282)]

\"No.\" Rhifaroth turns his head away, trying not to look at the upset child. They have been careful to keep it swaddled so that he can not see too much of it. Fevered, his mind is not as clear as he would like. \"No... Lord Khazamr, in Umbar... they whipped me.\" A breath, his voice a little weak, dry and rough, \"I had been ... captured. They ...�tortured me. Kept me.\" It\'s not something he wishes to think about. The Dunadan with the Narakshi tribal markings upon his dirty, bruised skin avoids looking at the woman, ashamed. \"I was ... a slave.�About two years ... before I went ... to live with the tribe.\"

Keldean grows more antsy, then shoves away from the wall abruptly and moves away. He begins searching through the warehouse, looking for anything that might be fed to the baby.

[Cordelia(#1394)] The baby is hiccuping now--crying bitterlly and swallowing so much air that its whole body shakes with sobs and hiccups. \"Shhh...\" Cordelia soothes again, twisting to watch as Keldean heads off into the warehouse. She kisses the top of the infant\'s head, seeming genuinely worried, and then raises her eyes to Rhifaroth again.

\"Whipped you for being a spy.\" It\'s a statement, but a brow arches in question to him. \"Gondor had you spy on the Harads, find those sympathetic to Gondor\'s hatred of orcs?\" she asks flatly. \"How was it you were able to escape?\"

[Rhifaroth(#27282)]

Concern for the child, be it really his son or not, makes the Dunadan turn his head back and look at the woman, \"Give him .. something to suckle.\" A sigh, \"Finger, bit ... of wet cloth.\" A father\'s advice, something he has learned when it has been his turn to watch the children while Muir was briefly away, doing other things.

The man hangs his head again, feeling weak, sickly. Rhifaroth swallows several times, trying to keep from vomitting up the tiny bit of water he had sipped earlier. It takes a few moments for the man to be able to speak again.

\"Yes. Thought... I was a spy.\" A sigh, \"I ... was just a kid. Barely 18.\" a pause, \"I was sent ... to be a guide. For another.\" the man swallows again, trying not to let his stomach turn inside out, \"Ravenwyr ... had ... a bastard daughter. In Umbar.\" Rhifaroth glances at Cordelia now, \"She got me out.\"

Keldean isn\'t gone long. He returns with a small, hard piece of bread that\'s only slightly molded, and a half-full bowl of broth, the surface congealed and sticky, but otherwise well-enough looking in the dim lighting. He sets them on the crate that he had been using as a seat previously. \"Here. Feed him!\" Keldean says softly, but demanding in tone. He does -not- want Asht waking up.

[Cordelia(#1394)] With a frustrated look at the food that Keldean managed to find, Cordelia mutters under her breath--something about her relatives being a bunch of idiots. Still, she moves to the crate where the teen has set the food and settles down on the floor next to it, baby in her lap. Picking off the mold as best she can, she dips the bread in the broth until it is soft, and offers that to the baby, who sucks on it greedily. With luck the infant won\'t choke. She\'s moved further away from the ranger--though he\'d still be able to see the infant\'s dark hair, but not the details of its face.

After a few moments, she looks up, the baby\'s crying having eased. In fact, she -stares- at Rhifaroth, a little bit in horror and shock, perhaps. \"A guide for whom?\" she asks only after a very long silence. \"For what purpose?\" Her voice has dropped very small and quiet.

[Rhifaroth(#27282)]

He is confused. What do they care about his activity in Harad more than 25 years ago? Rhifaroth\'s pale eyes scan the dimness of the warehouse around them for a breath. Are they alone? Do others listen in as Cordelia suggested?

The child has quieted... is being fed ... something. The man coughs, then chokes and gags, spitting up... well, not much. It takes him a moment to get his breath back. Don\'t think about food.

\"Old man.\" he breaths, \"Called ... Mithrandir.\" The tattooed, bruised, awful smelling man shakes his head feably from where Rhifaroth sits, his hands still secured to the wall above him, \"I knew not... his purpose.\"

Keldean relaxes considerably when the baby stops crying. He lets out a soft sigh and goes back to leaning against the wall. He wrinkles his nose as he gets a whiff of the acrid smelling man, frowning. \"Cordelia.. you should go get some more water.\" Keldean suggests.

[Cordelia(#1394)] \"In a minute,\" Cordelia says, answering Keldean first. \"Once the child has eaten enough to fall asleep, I\'ll get a bucket and wash him off as best I can.\" She\'s rationing out the bread and broth carefully, feeding the baby but not letting it drink too much too fast, either. And meanwhile she falls silent again, musing on the ranger\'s answer.

\"Grey pilgrim?\" she frowns, translating the name he has given her into the common tongue. \"And your own name is elvish, too...\" She pauses feeding the baby to look at Rhifaroth. \"And you speak Sindarin. And your children were born in the valley of the elves. And elves call on you and call you friend and Man of the West.\" Her eyes narrow, and she stops feeding the baby. \"Why? Who are you and why are you here...and why would the elves let you bear your children in their lands? And don\'t give me that crap about a quiet life, Rhifaroth. I\'m no fool.\" Her voice has taken on a new, hard edge.

[Rhifaroth(#27282)]

Cordelia\'s words make Rhifaroth\'s head snap up, staring at her, hardly breathing. How does this woman know so much?? Surely he didn\'t speak so freely even drugged earlier, did he? Or did she learn these things from others? Something nags at his mind. Who called him \"Man of the West\" ... it was that strange elf woman he didn\'t even know, and she was speaking Sindarin, but ... so does Cordy.

An awful, sinking feeling in his stomach. He had been so careful not to use the language around her. But the elves... a knot of fear forms itself in his belly.

The Dunadan lowers his head, thinking hard. What to say? \"It\'s ... our custom. In Gondor.\" He pauses to swallow, to buy moments to think, \"To name our children so... to use that language. From ... long ago.\"

Moments more, before he answers further, avoiding Cordelia\'s eyes, \"We had no food.\" a sigh, \"Muirgheal ... something was wrong. I found her .. at the Shepherding Village. ... I was ... friendly with one elf. Just one. He thought ... Muir needed help. That we ... might not make it, through the winter... in that place.\"  Rhifaroth adds quietly, \"I was lame.\"

Keldean watches quietly, struggling to understand the man\'s history despite his ignorance of so many of the mentioned names and places. The youth is still, motionless where he leans against the wall.

[Cordelia(#1394)] Dark eyes stare unblinking at the ranger as he answers. There\'s regret in the look, but also determination. Cordelia tears her gaze away as the baby in her arms stops suckling on the bread, the child having fallen asleep. Carefully wrapping the child in its blanket, she sets it on the ground to let it sleep.

Another look to Rhifaroth, steady, then Cordelia stands up. \"I\'m going to fetch that water now. Wash the blood and dirt off of me, then do what I can to clean up Rhifaroth. Keldean...can you find Adelaide? Tell her to come get this child. And then when you can, find Asht and tell him we need horses and supplies. And make haste.\"

[Rhifaroth(#27282)]

There is alarm in the prisoner as Cordelia stands and orders things... horses and supplies. They are pulling out? Rhifaroth\'s heart rate leaps up, his fevered mind dwelling on the last line of questions, \"I can\'t ... and won\'t, lead you to the Valley!\"

He adds quickly, \"We were blindfolded. For days of travel, each way.\"

The teen\'s expression grows with alarm again at Cordelia\'s instructions. Keldean quickly shakes his head. \"We.. we should talk.\" He responds to her, with a careful glance towards Rhifaroth as he reacts so vocally. Valley? The boy has no idea what that is about but it must be important.

[Cordelia(#1394)] The girl\'s first answer is to turn her head and give the Dunadan an appraising look, thinkign and licking her lips. \"You can get us close enough, perhaps. But not smelling that way and being so ill. Some broth for him, too,\" she replies to Keldean, though she turns and gives the teen a sharp look. \"We can talk later, but now I\'m pretty sure that my...fiance is awake. And I don\'t want him getting angry. Go tell him what I asked you and then fetch broth and some fresher bread.\" Another pause. \"I\'ll feed him myself.\"

[Rhifaroth(#27282)]

Just the suggestion of feeding him makes the ranger retch, dry heaving. There is nothing to vomit up. The man\'s head hangs down low and his breathing is harsh. He may be too sick now for much, but the poison will fade. The fever might or might not. He must try to think.

There is no answer from Rhifaroth. He doesn\'t even look at them.

\"No. I want to talk -now-.\" Keldean demands, and is about to speak further when Rhifaroth starts heaving. He looks over in alarm, watching frozen in silence for a moment, then slowly eases his muscles again. \"Now.\" When Keldean looks back at Cordelia he has a dark scowl on his face.

[Cordelia(#1394)] \"All right,\" Cordelia hisses at the teen. A dark look to Rhifaroth, then she crosses the room rapidly, trying to grab Keldean\'s arm to pull him into a separate area of the warehouse--though one where she can peer out to keep an eye on Rhifaroth.

Keldean follows without another look at the ranger. Once they\'re away from the others he speaks in a soft whisper. \"If I leave Asht is going to come after me. Who works for who? You work for him or he works for you?\" The teen already has his suspicions, but asks anyway.

[Cordelia(#1394)] Unable to stop herself, Cordelia shivers. \"I must obey Asth, Keldean. He...well, you don\'t want to know what the man is capable of, and if I disobey him, he will ...do horrible things to Liuni.\"

\"You think that I don\'t know what he can do??\" Keldean asks in a high-pitched whisper, lifting his hand to gesture to the knife cuts on his neck. There\'s a frantic edge to his tone, the stress beginning to stack up too high. \"He\'s going to kill Seeker and then he\'s going to kill the baby. Or worse, he\'s going to make -me- do it.. and I can\'t do something like that.. I can\'t.\"

Keldean is trembling and he looks horrified at even the possibility of such a task. \"This isn\'t what you told me when you asked for my help!\" How long did she expect him to last before his nerves began to break down?

[Cordelia(#1394)] \"Keldean...\" Cordelia says, and her voice returns to that old soft and quiet tone. She reaches a hand for his shoulder. \"I know for a fact that he is not going to kill Seeker. Or the baby. I promise you--he won\'t. And he won\'t force you to do it, either. I promise you that. Will you trust me? on this?\" She looks into his eyes steadily.

Keldean hesitates when she places her hand on his shoulder, almost accepting what she says, but there\'s doubt on his face. \"How do you know that?\" He asks, his voice still soft but her reassurance seems to have eased his fear a small bit, even if it seems he doesn\'t completely believe her.

[Cordelia(#1394)] \"Because,\" Cordelia continues, whispering and also looking off to where she knows Asht was last sleeping, \"I just found a way to make Rhifaroth more valuable to him alive than dead. If Asht believes that Seeker can lead us to the valley of the elves...he wont\' need him dead and he won\'t need the baby tortured.\"

\"Who -is- Asht? Why is he here?.. \" Keldean always has questions. Her logical answer has at least calmed his nerves to a degree. \"How long has he been here in Bree?\" The last is asked more softly, but with more weight than the other questions.

[Cordelia(#1394)] That -is- the burning question, isn\'t it..Cordelia stares long and hard at the teen. \"He is a friend of my father\'s, or at least he works with my family. nasty man. Merchant, deals in the unsavory, as you see. But...that\'s how he makes his money. Sells secrets, too, and the way to the elven valley is the greatest secret of them all.\" She shakes her head. \"He is not long in Bree. I think he came with Liuni and Ankh, but he has been ill.\"

Asht has connected.

Keldean digests this information, weighing it against what he\'s learned. The boy still looks suspicious of what she\'s saying, but there\'s no way for him to verify it. \"Is the rest of his family really dead?\" He asks, his tone wary, as if he doesn\'t really want to know for sure.

Cordelia gives Keldean a confused look at this. The two are in one of the rooms created by a partition in the warehouse, and are whispering. The baby is in the area where Rhifaroth is tied up the baby is sleeping.

Cordelia adds to Keldean, \"Whose family? Asht\'s?\"

\"Seeker\'s.. you said his wife is dead, and the other baby..\" Keldean\'s thoughts must be jumping around a lot.

[Asht(#29272)] The shadowed interior of the warehouse is silent. Asht leans against the wall, his dark cloak wrapped around him, arms folded. The thin man wears an expression of frustration, brows furrowed, but his face also betrays his deep exhaustion. His gaze is directed at the floor, he seems lost in thought.

[Cordelia(#1394)] Leaning forward with a slight smile, Cordelia whispers in Keldean\'s ear. \"I lied. I said that in case Asht was listening. Muir and the babies are fine. This baby belongs to that woman from last night. And I am going to kick her for not feeding him.\"

Keldean lets out a small sigh of relief. His tense muscles relax a bit more, but there\'s still doubt on his face. \"Is he really your fiance?\" It\'s sad that the teen is still thinking about -that- amidst all this trouble and chaos. His priorities seem to be rather muddled. \"He threatened to kill you..\"

[Cordelia(#1394)] Cordelia\'s sudden laugh rings through the warehouse--she hasn\'t yet noticed Asht. \"Don\'t be ridiculous,\" she smiles at Keldean through her bruised face, one hand caressing his cheek. \"I\'d never marry him.\"

[Asht(#29272)] From his position against the wall, Asht, suddenly jerks upright. He looks sharply around the room, dark eyes dancing from the left to right and back again. It\'s impossible for him to hear the whispered conversation, but he is suddenly on his guard. The apprehensive expression on his face intensifies as he walks slowly towards the door, his pace measured and silent.

At the sound of Cordelia\'s laugh, he swings around and freezes, his attention directed towards the sound of the laughter. No longer worried, he simply looks angry.

Keldean actually cracks a smile, the first since Rhifaroth\'s lesson with the bow. The touch to his cheek brings a faint flush to his face, but the smile fades. \"I\'ll go talk to Asht.. \" There\'s still that fearful tone to his voice, but the youth is cooperating again. He begins moving away from her.

[Cordelia(#1394)] For a few seconds more, Cordelia\'s hand lingers on the teen\'s face. \"All right,\" she says softly, turning and intending to fetch them all some food and some water for herself and to clean off the ranger. She freezes as she spots Asht and the anger on his face--her own is bruised and swollen from the punch that Asht broke her nose with last night, dried blood still on her face. \"Sir...\" She\'s already hurring to the man.

[Asht(#29272)] A measured expression forms on Asht\'s face and he looks directly at Cordelia. His attention goes from her bruised face down to his own hands which are encrused with dried blood, hours old and going brown. With a quick shake of his head he throws her a wan smile. \"You look dreadful,\" he says slowly and smiles now, showing all his teeth.

\"We must move forward,\" he says quickly, his tone now professional and clipped. \"Have we really achieved anything here?\" Dark eyes peer at Cordelia in the dim light.

Keldean sinks back into the shadows, doing his best to remain out of the way and unnoticed. The boy has some skill with remaining hidden, it seems. He can certainly move quietly when he desires.

[Cordelia(#1394)] Hatred burnsin Cordelia\'s eyes at Asht\'s smile to her, but there is no hatred in her voice at all, which is low and urgent. And in a language that she has only spoken once, to Liuni, behind the bar when Barlok entered the Pony.

(Logathig)\"The man is a Numenorean--a Dunadan. Allied with the elves and an enemy of our kind and our master. I\'m certain of it now. But I would beg you--keep him alive. There is more to be learned from him, and he must be questioned further by those more skilled. The Priestess or the Emissaries of our Master. This is a great prize, Asth!\" Cordelia glances to Rhifaroth and then where Keldean had stood. (Logathig) \"But both boy and man know nothing about it--they think that I am pleading with you to keep the man alive so that he may show us the way to the hidden valley of the elves, where his children were born. I beg you--keep the truth from them. Let them think that is our intention, but let us fly! Only yesterday I overheard this Dunadan\'s elven friend asking about him...and checking wagon tracks in the road!\" She stops to take a breath and let Asht take that all in.

[Asht(#29272)] Asht all but ignores Keldean, although it\'s not clear whether he\'s genuinely unaware of the young man\'s presence or is simply distracted. His attention is focused entirely on Cordelia as she speaks, his eyes widening, the smile on his face broadening. For a long moment he is silent, digesting the information.

(Logathic)\"Yes, finally we are getting results.\" he says glancing across the room. The thin man lowers his head for a moment then looks up sharply. (Logathic)\"We must leave this place, yes\" he says emphatically to Cordelia, \"It is as you say... \" Dark eyes study Cordelia, perhaps re-evaluating the woman.

Switching back to common Westron Asht says softly \"You can procure mounts, can you not? Or must I lower myself to horse thieving?\" There\'s a flash of irritation, it seems the man\'s anger is never far below the surface.

Keldean speaks up, his palms sweaty as he speaks. \"If anyone sees her like that, they\'ll want to know what happened to her and ask a lot of questions.\" He keeps to the shadows, not drawing any nearer to the dangerous man. \"I can get some horses.\"

[Cordelia(#1394)] A smile slowly spreads across Cordelia\'s face at Asht\'s reaction--the woman seems proud, suddenly, and some of that pride gets transferred to a smile that she beams at Keldean. \"You\'ll have to keep yourself hidden,\" she notes to the teen. \"People are looking for you. We need a cart to get him out of town, though. He\'ll draw too much attention riding.\" Another thought occurs to her as she sniffs the air. \"I\'ll have Aleswyn\'s men wash him and change his clothing. Otherwise folks will smell us leaving. As for Aleswyn, perhaps if we tell her that elves have been sniffing around her warehouse, shewon\'t mind if we borrow her cart and move Rhifaroth. And we need for for the road...\"

[Asht(#29272)] At the sound of Keldean\'s voice, Asht freezes then gives the younger man a curt nod. \"Ah, Keldean, you are still with us?\" he asks curtly eyeing the man curiously. \"Yes, we will need a cart. But how can we get out of this accursed town without rousing suspicion?\" The question is general, but Asht thinks for a moment, trying to answer it himself.

A sideways glance to Cordelia and Asht says quietly (Logathic)\"We must kill the boy. We have no reason to bring him and I do not like loose ends.\" He pauses a moment, thinking again. (Logathic)\"Unless we can make use of him here? I think I already know your opinion, but humour me...\" A grimace forms on Asht\'s face as he speaks.

Keldean steps forward now, a frustrated expression crossing his face as Asht speaks that foreign tongue he doesn\'t understand. \"I think I can find a cart. There\'s one that they use to bring the wood to the Pony each week. I\'ve helped Acelen hook up a horse to it before.\"

[Cordelia(#1394)] Letting out a slow smile, Cordelia puts one hand to her bruised face. (Logathig) \"No,\" she shakes her head to Asht. \"He is useful yet and fits in here more than we do. And has a great love of money. He may be useful along the way and hasn\'t betrayed me yet--why be hasty?\"

She smiles and shrugs an apology to Keldean, speaking the common tongue. \"Asht likes to talk business in his own language. But yes, that cart will do.With a tarp over us, and some of that horse medicine to still the ranger\'s tongue....we can likely make it out of town. Adelaide can drive the cart.\"

[Asht(#29272)] A slow nod of the head and Asht says to Cordelia \"For the moment.\" He turns to Keldean and takes a step towards him, black cloak falling back as he moves. \"A cart, yes. But how will we leave? We cannot depart at night and we must not draw attention to ourselves. Can you think of something, boy?\" The question comes out in a clipped manner and Asht begins to pace slowly back and forth. He\'s lost in thought again.

\"This is a warehouse.. No one will think it strange if there\'s a cart here loading up.\" Keldean ventures, thinking. \"I skip work all the time, so if anyone sees me I\'ll just come up with an excuse that I was lost in the woods... they\'ll believe that. If I tell Nob that I really want to make up for the missed time, I could offer to go -get- the wood. I\'m pretty sure I could trick him. It would save him money and then it wouldn\'t be a problem at all.\"

[Cordelia(#1394)] Cordelia watches Asht in his pacing, a frown on her face, too. \"It\'s not known that Adelaide is with us. Have her drive Rhifaroth out in the cart in the morning--she won\'t arouse suspicion. She can go through the south gate. If we walk over Bree hill the night before, we can meet her on the road.\"

She gives a long look to Keldean, pausing to think again. \"I heard Conall talking about you--he thinks I\'ve run off with you to corrupt you.\" She grins and it must look strange on her bruised face. \"But I\'m certain that one of teh elves here--he calls himself Giliath--suspects me, if not you as well. You\'ll have to avoid any of the elves. And Rhifaroth\'s wife, for certain. And any of their friends..\" She shakes her head again. \"We should just go steal Elfaron, though we\'ll have to gag Rhifaroth in that case--I\'ve seen how he can command that horse by whistling.\"

[Asht(#29272)] \"Yes.\" The word comes out with a soft hiss and Asht looks from Cordelia to Keldean and back again. \"This will work,\" he says generally and emphatically, then turns his attention to Keldean. \"Be very careful, boy. I want no further complications. Be quick and speak to no-one.\"

A laugh escapes Asht\'s and he turns to Cordelia. \"Be assured, that ranger will be well... restrained,\" he says with a smile.

Keldean nods quickly. \"I\'ll be back soon, with the cart. Is there anything else I should get?\" He asks, eager to be on his way. Or maybe jsut to get out of the warehouse.

[Cordelia(#1394)] \"Food, perhaps,\" Cordelia answers, \"but perhaps Asht can see to that.\" She gives the man a cold smile. \"I\'m going to find some of Aleswyn men to wash the stink off our guest and bind his wounds. And find clothes for him that aren\'t rotting in filth.\" She looks again at the two, then heads to the warehouse door, slipping out.

Asht watches Cordelia depart then breathes out heavily. He shrugs then folds his arms across his chest and turns back to Keldean. \"Food, yes. Enough for some days, this may prove to be a slow journey...\" Asht says quickly. \"And I warn you again. Speak to no-one, we are all in enough danger already.\" His gaze moves around the room, sweeping searchingly around, almost as if he\'s expecting something to happen now. A fierce shiver runs down his spine, shaking his whole frame.

\"I\'ll need to talk to Nob to get the cart. Otherwise he\'ll find it stolen.\" Keldean furrows his brow, rubbing the back of his neck nervously as he\'s forced to contradict the man. \"He\'ll believe me though, if I say I got lost.\" The teen seems quite certain on that fact.

[Asht(#29272)] A vague sigh and Asht almost rolls his eyes but stops himself. \"Speak to him then, but no-one else.\" he hisses. \"And hurry, in the name of...\" The words trail off and Asht glares at Keldean for a moment then looks over at Rhifaroth and his expression becomes cold.

\"Yes.. I\'ll hurry.\" The teen repeats, worry in his eyes. Keldean turns and slips away, wasting no time in getting some distance between himself and Asht. Once outside, the boy sticks to the shadows of the building, then sneaks off to the Pony.