All eyes on Elfaron

Breelands Weather

The dawn autumn air is cool but pleasant around you. The murky sky is overcast and dreary.

Stables

Stall after stall lines the walls of this small outbuilding on the south side of the Prancing Pony, confirming that this building indeed serves as a stable. Heavy solid wood, practical though not beautiful, makes up the construction of the beams and gates that keep the beasts securely locked inside. A low wooden trough runs through each of the stalls so as to provide fresh water at all times, and bales of hay rest in the corner of each stall. Two large windows on the south wall, one at the front and one at the back of the stables lie propped open with a chunk of wood, affording fresh air to the animals as well as their owners and the stable hobbit who cares for the place. The doors currently stand wide open, though a heavy iron bolt can be seen from the inside, making it fairly evident that the stable can be protected from things on the outside if necessary.

Contents:

Cordelia

Dwarven Camp

Elfaron

Dead Chicken(#30496VXhzMwB)

Obvious exits:

Out

[Elfaron(#19996)]

Dawn light pales the eastern sky but has yet to fall striking upon the town of Bree with any sign of warmth on this November morning. Cold it is, with a good frost upon the ground to make the gravel underfoot crunch as one walks. Crisp and clean the air.

In the barn a boy is hard at work filling the water troughs for the beasts and a cart full of hay has been brought in but not yet distributed. The one horse in the barn at this time, and the few ponies, are all bright eyed and eager for their feeding. They pace about and throw their heads over the stall doors, many nickers, pacing, and pawing indicating their impatience.

[Cordelia(#1394)] The crunching of footsteps can be heard briefly outside the stables, then Cordelia slips in the door, a few apple in both hands. \"Morning,\" she calls to the stableboy cheerfully.

[Elfaron(#19996)]

The stable boy pauses and smiles at the handsome woman shyly, \"Morning, miss! Ye need anything, ye just let me know. Otherwise I be muck\'n \'nd feed\'n.\"

Hair hanging down in the teen\'s face, the lad watches Cordelia with interested eyes for a moment, then goes back about his chores. The young man stops to scratch at a favorite chubby grey pony who\'s thick white mane is somewhat impressive, it\'s nose small and very cute with large, dark eyes, \"Barim, ye look like ye be starv\'n away, lad!\" The boy laughs, then carries his now empty water bucket back to the feed room.

Down the asile, a larger near white head is put over a stall door, cascade of dark mane falling down Elfaron\'s long neck as he pricks his black tipped ears forward and wuffles the air expectantly.

[Cordelia(#1394)] \"You do that,\" Cordelia answers pleasantly. \"I\'ve got some apples for that beautiful stallion there.\" SHe jerks her head toward Elfaron--flattery will get you everywhere, even with horses, it seems. \"Didn\'t think anyone would mind. His owner around anywhere?\"

[Elfaron(#19996)]

The stable boy comes back out of the feedroom with a manure rake. He looks down the barn aisle towards Elfaron and nods, \"\'ware that he bites. Don\'t mean no meanness, just nippy if\'n ye no be pay\'n propper care, miss.\"

Moving around to toss the rake into a second, empty cart, the lad begins to push it up the aisle towards Barim\'s stall, \"He wa\' owned by some man who let out o\' town back\'n th\' spring \'nd didna pay his bill, I hears. Now th\' stallion he be owned by the stablemaster Acelen, in leu o\' fees.\" The lad nods his head towards the stallion as he unlatches Barim\'s stall door, \"He\'s called Elfron or somesuch. Dunno what it means.\"

[Cordelia(#1394)] The young woman eyes the stallion, then walks slowly toward him, talking in a gentle voice. \"I bet you\'d be one to bite, yes. Feisty thing.\" She offers out an apple to the horse. \"Elfron. Odd name that. Is it foreign? Was his owner a foreigner? Does Master Acelen ride him much?\"

[Elfaron(#19996)]

The lad has thrown an armfull of hay into Barim\'s stall to distract the pony and to get him away from the stall door. Then he\'s gone on in and blocked the door with the manure cart, picking out the stall. His voice waifs up through the barn as he works, \"Elfron... Elfaron, someth\'n like that. Dunno \'bout th\' man. I started work\'n here after\'n he was already let out o\' town. Toby Appledore, he used ta work here\'n master Acelen made him so mad, he quite. Don\'t t\'ink master Acelen\'s had anyone else ta help out this past year, \'cept me. Master Acelen, he rides th\' stallion a few times a week. Used\'m ta cover his mare, he did. She\'ll be dropp\'n a fine foal come spring!\"

The horse in question puts out his nose to reach for the apple, ears forward but his eyes wary for the unknown woman. His nose jerks back at some movement of Cordelia\'s but in a moment he is back for that apple, nabbing it and then withdrawing his head to crunch it between his powerful teeth.

Cordelia watches the stallion, nodding at her small victory as sweet apple wins out over animal skittishness. \"I could help him out, perhaps,\" she suggests hesitantly to the boy. \"And this horse seems like he could use more outtings than just a few times a week. Though I bet he\'s tough to handle....ELfron...Elfaron...\" She repeats the names to see which, if any, work.

[Elfaron(#19996)]

The horse circles in his stall and then comes back around, listening to the woman and dropping bits of apple as he chews away. Ears up, he watches her but doesn\'t seem to show any particular response to one name over another. The stallion shakes his head and then lowers it, wuffling around for the bits of apple he has dropped.

The stable boy comes out of Barim\'s stall, finished in there, and then comes up the aisle, \"I cans git \'m out for ye ta look at while I clean out his stall, if ye likes. Master Acelen, he\'s not due back from th\' Shire trading trip with master Nob for ... \" The young man screws up his face, \"Another week, maybe?\"

[Frarin] The sound of heavy footfalls joins the usual sounds of the stable, though the soft thunk of a walking stick - or perhaps two - accompanies the steps as well. And soon the source of the noise comes into view, entering through the open doors of the building with a steady hobble. Frarin the Dwarf uses still his two crutches, though he places considerably more weight upon his left leg now than before, and moves with greater speed.

\"Ahh,\" he breaths, coming fully into the stables now and pausing at the doors. He wears no cloak and brings with him a leather bag slung over one shoulder. \"Good morning, lad,\" the dwarf calls to the boy coming from Barim\'s stall, for indeed, he gaze goes first to that stout grey pony. But soon Frarin\'s eyes find Cordelia as well, farther along the stalls with the tall stallion, and he offers the woman a nod. \"Morning to you as well, lass,\" he adds. \"Cordi, was it not?\"

[Elfaron(#19996)]

Barim knows his master. The adorable, stout grey pony lifts his head from his hay at the sound of Frarin\'s voice and comes back over to his stall door, dragging dribbles of hay and dropping some of it on the aisle floor. The pony nickers a greeting to the dwarf.

[Cordelia(#1394)] \"I\'d like that, yes. Haven\'t had a real chance to look him over,\" Cordelia replies first to the stableboy. She turns as the dwarf enters, studying him briefly. \"Aye, Cordie, yes. And you are Master Frarin?\"

[Elfaron(#19996)]

The young Breelander nods and pushes the manure cart out of the way, then snags a halter and lead rope. With a nod to Frarin, the stable lad says, \"Morn\'n, master Frarin. Barim seems happy ta greet ye.\"

Opening Elfaron\'s stall door, the teen pushes the eager stallion back, unafraid of the horse and used to dealing with them, at least. He closes the stall door behind himself and then follows the grey stallion about in the stall several times before Elfaron finally allows the young man to halter him.

In a moment more, the moderately tall grey stallion is being led out into the barn\'s aisle. Steel shoed shoes sound dully on the aisle\'s packed earth. If Cordelia is any judge of horseflesh, Elfaron is a well balanced and well conditioned animal that moves fluidly and with collected carriage. The stallion is tied up in the aisle and then forked a small bit of hay before the lad goes to fetch the manure cart to clean out Elfaron\'s stall next.

\"There ye go, miss. He don\' kick.\"

[Frarin] The dwarf offers the woman a shallow bow, only slightly inihibited by his bad leg. \"Indeed, at your service,\" says Frarin, straightening. \"Forgive me for not introducing myself at the Pony when last we met, but I see you have learned my name anyhow.\" He nods to the lad and stands aside as the stallion is led past. Then Frarin is hobbling towards the the eagerly waiting Barim.

The pony gives another nicker as Frarin nears and thrusts out his velvet nose as the dwarf reaches out a hand. \"There we are, lad,\" says the merchant quietly to Barim, shifting his weight to his right leg so that he might caress the pony\'s nose and ears with both hands. As he does so, he looks back to Elfaron as the animal is tied up. Frarin\'s brows lift slightly, but he says nothing for the moment, instead quietly murmuring to the happy Barim.

Cordelia shrugs to the dwarf. \"It was an oversight, but you\'re well enough known in this town. That your pony?\" she asks him. \"This...\" she indicates the stallion, \"is a fine horse. Not at all like the others here. I hear he\'s payment for a debt though. Bet his owner isn\'t too happy with that.\" She reaches a hand out, running it down Elfaron\'s side.

[Elfaron(#19996)]

The handsome grey stallion turns his head as the woman runs her hand down his side and his skin trembles and twitches beneath her touch. But he stands calmly enough, only briefly interested in her and far more concerned with the bit of hay the young Breeman put out for him. Ears flickering to follow the woman\'s movements and listen to her voice, Elfaron munches away happily.

Daffyd himself works industriously in the stall, mucking away with the rake and glad enough to have the pleasant company. Though he is a bit younger than Cordelia, he sneaks a glance at her through the stall occationally.

[Frarin] \"Indeed,\" nods Frarin, fondly patting the pony\'s neck, ragged now with the approach of winter. \"And Olin and Wem, as well,\" he adds, gesturing towards two other sturdy ponies, one black, the other grey. He looks back to the stable lad and calls down the row of stalls, \"Which reminds me, lad. Tell your master that I mean to purchase another pony if there is one available. I lost two this last season. If he cannot find one before my company departs, then perhaps in the spring when we return.\"

The dwarf glances back at Cordelia and frowns in thought, though he gives only a shrug. \"Yes, perhaps so. Winter makes lean all things, including the purse.\" Saying no more, Frarin opens the leather bag at his side and begins to rustle around within it.

Cordelia continues to look over the stallion as long as it\'s happily munching, running a hand down the horse\'s leg. \"You know his owner at all?\" she asks the dwarf as she straightens up. She\'s still holding one apple in her hand, but hasn\'t yet offered it to Elfaron. As for Daffyd\'s sly looks at her, her eyes do roam to where the young man is once or twice, but her look doesn\'t show any particular interest in him.

[Elfaron(#19996)]

The dappled grey stallion is also growing in a winter coat... but not a very thick one. Either the stablemaster has been blanketing the stallion or else he comes of a more southern, or milder climate. Unlike the ponies here which are suited to mountains and the more northern climate, which will get very wooly, Elfaron\'s coat is merely coming in slightly longer and thicker.

As Cordelia runs her hand down one of Elfaron\'s legs, the horse obediently lifts that leg as though she had wanted to pick out his foot. He\'s obviously used to being handled and is being fairly quiet and well mannered, for the moment.

Cordelia smiles and offers the stallion her second apple. \"Guess the owner isn\'t from around here?\" she says toward Daffyd. \"He\'ll be all right through one of your winters here? Doesn\'t seem quite as hardy as your ponies.\"

[Frarin] Bringing forth a small apple, Frarin rubs at it before holding it out flat in his hand. Barim happily obliges, snatching the tasty fruit with a snort and crunching away loudly. Frarin meanwhile beholds the tall stallion thoughtfully for a time before answering Cordelia. \"Aye, I know his owner,\" the dwarf rumbles absently, digging through his bag again as he moves along the stalls to the other two beasts he owns.

\"Or rather, his former owner, if Master Acelen owns him now. A sorry loss, I\'m sure.\"

Cordelia is doing likewise with her apple, which is offered to the stallion. \"Who was his owner, anyhow?\" she asks. \"He just up and disappeared and didn\'t pay his bill? The Mayor told me it was someone named Mister Rhifferth. You\'d think he\'d try to work out some other arrangement to keep a fine horse like this.\"

[Frarin] Giving the black pony Wem a rub between the ears, Frarin deposits a second apple into another willing mouth. He glances back to Cordelia, lifting his brows briefly before giving a shrug. \"It is as Mayor Torebras says then,\" Frarin says, perhaps just a touch too casually. \"Folk come and go in Bree all the time, though certainly it does not make the towns people any warmer towards foreigners. Who can say? Perhaps he had no more need of a mount.\"

[Cordelia(#1394)] The second apple that the young woman offers is consumed as greedily as the first, and Cordelia grins, then wipes her hands on her cloak. \"Aye, so I gather that folks come and go. Though I, for one, am here to stay. My family was from around here, and I plan to put down roots again and settle. But this Mister Rhifferth...the horse\'s first owner...he\'s a traveling peddler, perhaps? Thoughthis horse is too magnificient for that.\"

[Frarin] Again the dwarf shrugs nonchalantly, moving onto the last of the sturdy ponies belonging to him. \"I do not know what his business was,\" says Frarin, offering another small apple to the second grey pony. Taking up his crutches once more, he closes his bag and begins hobbling back towards Barim, in the direction of the horse and Cordelia.

\"But you think you mean to stay then?\" Frarin continues, changing the subject. \"Is that permanent? When last we spoke, I believe you were interested in perhaps becoming a peddler in your own right.\"

[Cordelia(#1394)] \"I will take up any /honest/ living that I can,\" Cordelia answers earnestly. \"But I can\'t be a peddler on my own. It\'s dangerous and not fit for a young woman. So I\'ll try my hand at jobs here in town and see how I fare.\"

[Elfaron(#19996)]

Having gotten distracted with someone else who came in and wanted their pony, the stable lad Daffyd finally comes back to Frarin, \"Sorry \'bout that, master Frarin. I\'ll tells master Acelen that ye be want\'n \'nother pony. Master Acelen owns \'nd lends or leases out some already so I \'spect he\'d be happy ta sell ye one o\' them.\"

Having finished cleaning out Elfaron\'s stall, the young man moves over to fetch the stallion but hesitates as he sees the horse finishing up a second apple with gusto. Daffyd nods to Cordelia, \"I be putt\'n him back in his stall now iff\'n ye be done look\'n at him. Dunno though if master Acelen be lease\'n out this one. He right fond of \'im.\"

If Cordelia doesn\'t object, the young man smiles what he thinks is a charming smile, then unties the grey stallion and leads the horse quietly back into his stall. Efaron looks as though he might object to going back in .. except that there is a large pile of hay awaiting his hungry belly.

[Frarin] Frarin nods to the woman as he fondly rubs behind Barim\'s ears, having returned to that favourite pony\'s stall. \"That is well,\" he says, taking up his two crutches again. To the returning stable lad, the dwarf nods appreciatively. \"There\'s a good lad. I\'m staying at Pony now, tell him I\'ll be by a bit later to see about that pony then.\"

That done, Frarin offers a second shallow bow to Cordelia. \"I hope you\'ll excuse me for now, lass. My company prepares to depart soon and I have many things to attend to. Good luck again, for finding working here in the town.\"

[Cordelia(#1394)] \"Well, it can\'t hurt to ask now, can it?\" Cordelia turns a kind smile on Daffyd. With her faint accent and slightly angled eyes, she might have a kind of exotic slightly older woman appeal to her. Perhaps. \"In any case, yes, by all means, put him back in his stall. I have to go see about finding work,\" she says with a nod to Frarin\'s words. \"Thank you for that. I\'ll be back later, perhaps,\" she notes to Daffyd. \"Might talk to Acelen if I can.\" She makes her way out of the stables.