A merry sticky Yule

Parlour(#25039Rn)

A cheery fire crackles in a stone hearth at the eastern end of this small parlour. A few low and comfortable chairs sit around the fire, covered with a light brown and green checked material. Standing in the centre of the room is a small table with a few chairs set around it, a crisp white cloth laid over the top of it. In the middle of the table rests a large silver handbell, set on a platter in between two tall candlesticks. Someone has lit the candles and they, along with the fire, provide the only light in the parlour at this time. Curtains are drawn over the window to hold back the night.

Obvious exits:

Out

================================== Bree Time ==================================

Real time: Sat Jan 23 16:05:33 2010

Bree time: Late Night <03> on Mersday of Winter - January 5,1449

Moon Phase: Waxing Gibbous Moon

Breelands Weather

The late night winter air is cold and dry around you. Heavy snows fall down from the nighttime sky.

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[Boldibad(#22742)] A hand-full of hobbits, some obviously from the Shire, and others natives of Bree, stand and sit around the parlor this evening, chatting cheerfully. A few children lean up against the windowsill, watching large flakes of snow drift from the sky, and an elderly couple sit close to each other in front of the blazing fireplace. Voices fill the air of the room, and one hobbit plays random tune on a lute by the hearth.

Boldibad and Thilo come in through the doorway, each holding one end of a large piece of wood. \"Make way,\" calls Boldibad with a large grin on his face. \"Make way for the Yule log!\"

[Nob(#16122)] Nob and several of his regular helpers, with more pressed into service just for this night, have been working nonstop cooking, cleaning, decorating. Now they all pause, crowding out of the kitchen, to watch as Boldibad and Thilo bring in the great log.

The sound of pitter-pattering footsteps along the corridor is accompanied by short huffs and puffs of breath. Then Brandebras Bywater, still fully clad in his outdoor gear and carrying a huge covered basket, barrels into the rearmost of the kitchen staff. \"Am I too late?\" he pants.

[Aphria(#17221)]

Among the helpers, Aphria. She looks a bit tired but is grinning widely as she typically does while she looks to the log being drug out, probably lucky only in that some of the help actually -is- Hobbits, because there aren\'t many humans the short teenaged girl would be able to see over, so she can actually even see it! Yet even as she does she is holding a bowl to stir some sort of sauce. Sadly... getting slammed in the back? Not a good thing when you\'re holding a delicate sauce or candy like dish that needs stirring, and the poor girl gets shoved forward and squeaks in despair as a mess... is created! The clang of the pot, and the hot sticky substance starting to splatter, if not for the whole fact it\'s at least not entirely liquid, but still enough so to make a mess!

Thilo lets out a great, \'Oof!\' as the bowl lightly contacts his back on its way to the floor, and he lets go of the log. Boldibad\'s eyes widen as Thilo turns to see what happened, just as the latter\'s half of the wood falls and stubs him on the toe. \"Oh!\" he groans, \"Thilo Bracegirdle, you are clumsier than a Took in the kitchen on seedcake day!\"

Thilo sniffs, after jumping out of the way of everyone entering the room, \"Well, \'twasn\'t my fault, Mr. Bolger, somebody pushed me.\"

The children are rather excited now, departing from the windowsill, and the elderly couple crane their necks to see the ruckus.

[Nob(#16122)] Nob has no idea of what is happening behind him not until he is suddenly showered from behind by something warm, moist and sticky. He whirls around, to see what has happened, and the others are all wiping at themselves, babbling and complaining.

[Malorie(#28410)] ...and in upon the ruckus steps Malorie Blackroot--though perhaps unwittingly so. For as soon as she turns the corner to enter into the Parlour, she draws up short and the pipe in her mouth almost falls to the ground.

Luckily, her reflexes are faster than her ability to make sense of what\'s going on in the Parlour this evening, and as she avoids the scattering of ashes as she catches her pipe with her right hand, she exclaims, \"Fool to a hobbit! What\'s all this?\"

Brandebras, shielded from the pot\'s contents by Aphria\'s thin form, is still aware that he\'s done /something/. \"Oh! I\'m sorry,\" he offers to her, blushing scarlet, then utters his usual plaintive refrain of, \"I really didn\'t mean it. Can I help tidy up?\" He starts to try to squeeze past her, then stops, hampered by the basket.

Malorie\'s remark is, of course, heard - and who else could she be addressing with \'fool\' and \'hobbit\' in the same breath, except him? \"It\'s a Yule celebration,\" he tells her helpfully.

[Aphria(#17221)]

And poor Aphria has fallen to her knees and is pale with horror now. Her teeth already starting to chatter and her eyes welling up with the promise of tears to come. She\'s just looking down at her hands, and then to the bowl, and obviously still just shocked. And she isn\'t exactly seeming reassured by Brandebras\' assurrances and apologies.

[Nob(#16122)] Hazel, her round irritated face dripping sauce, opens her mouth to snap at the hapless girl and then stops and sighs instead. \"Aphria,\" she says patiently, \"Go and get a bucket of hot water and some rags. And take that bowl with you.\" Her eyes go past to Brandebras, as if somehow aware that this is all his fault, but unable to find a reason to blame him and she says, shortly, \"Take the basket into the kitchen. Or somewhere out of the way while we clean up!\"

Thilo looks on from the side, brushing a splattering of sauce from his shoulder. Then, noticing a glare from Boldibad, rushes back to his position at the opposite end of the log, bends over, and lifts it up. \"Must\'ve been those big-peoples\' fault,\" he mutters under the chaos taking place in the parlor.

Boldibad shakes his head, \"Nevermind, Mr. Bracegirdle. Let\'s get this log to the fire before something else goes wrong, eh?\"

They begin moving again toward the fire, but the crowd seems to be blocking their way now. \"Excuse us,\" says Boldibad, \"This log is heavy...\"

[Malorie(#28410)] \"Well...there goes my quiet evening by the hearthside,\" Malorie mutters, regretful. As Brandebras answers, she sends him an acknowledging nod, though at the same time she seems to be shaking her head as her brows knit confusion over the green-eyed gaze.

\"I see,\" she says, though It seems to be clear that she doesn\'t understand at all. Though she remains at the doorway yet, she sends a dart of a glare Thilo\'s way as he blames the \'big-people.\'

The antics of moving the log, however, does bring a brief smile to the young woman\'s face....

Brandebras nods obediently to Hazel. \"It\'s some of Ma\'s dried-fruit pies,\" he tells the cook. \"They\'re very good, I had a couple on the way over here. It\'s a long walk, you know.\" He eases past Malorie with exaggerated care, then trots into the kitchen, reappearing sans basket but with a couple of clean snowy-white linen towels. \"We could use these to clean up?\"

[Aphria(#17221)]

Aphria nods rapidly and gets up, \"I\'m so sorry!\" She says, not even offering an excuse. Never mind she really would have one! She does move up to get the bowl though, and start to carry it back after scooping up as much of the wasted sauce almost glacially moving out now as she can. If only to make the hard part a bit easier. And then, back to the back to get what she was instructed.

[Nob(#16122)] \"Yes, yes,\" Hazel says, not giving Brandebras more than a glance. Nob himself has already vanished into the back, returning with his head suspiciously wet and his curly hair slicked down as flat as it will go. He brings a mop with him, stopping to look at the beautiful towels Brandebras has brought out with horror. \"Not those! They\'re for the tables!\"

Boldibad and Thilo get closer to the fire, and, even though everyone\'s attention is elsewhere at the moment, they gently toss the Yule Log into the flames, sending up a lot of sparks and smoke at first. Boldibad pulls a handkerchief from his waistcoat and begins to dust off his hands as Thilo slumps his heavy body into a chair, heaving a relaxed sigh.

\"Well,\" says Boldibad, putting the cloth back in his pocket, he watches the cleaning-up from in front of the fireplace.

[+LIGHT:#22742] Boldibad\'s Yule Log burns brightly.

[Malorie(#28410)] As Brandebras moves to slip outside the Parlour, Malorie gives him some room to scutter by, though she keeps her keen gaze upon the doings in the Parlour. Is she amused or merely curious? The flurrying of cleaning up along with the addition of the Yule log to the fire draws the Breeguard a pace closer--though she still stands at the doorway. \"And so....\" she muses aloud so that most might hear, \"Yule is, basically....another excuse for hobbits to gather together, make all sorts of messes,\" and here she wrinkles her nose, \"and eat?\"

She might be heard to snicker softly.

\"Oh.\" Brandebras, already bending down toward the floor, jerks up swiftly at Nob\'s reprimand, looking down at the cloths in his hand. That suspiciously sticky stain on one of them is only at one corner - maybe noone will notice. \"I\'ll - um, just put them on the tables then, shall I?\" he asks Nob breathlessly. Between the heat generated by the fact he\'s still wearing all his outer garments and his previous embarrassment it would be hard for him to get any redder - still, he shuffles uncomfortably from foot to foot - then stops, mumbling to himself, \"Sticky.\"

He looks at the Breeguard blocking the doorway and asks her innocently, \"Aren\'t you going in?\"

[Aphria(#17221)]

Returning with a mop, some rags, and a bucket of water is Aphria. She still looks more than a bit shaken! The poor girl has rather obviously been crying too, though has wiped her cheeks at least a bit just before emerging around the corner from the kitchens. She starts to get to work cleaning right away, head downcast. Which probably just makes her face even easier to see for some of the shorter hobbits!

[Nob(#16122)] Nob takes a deep breath, nods, then shakes his head, then sighs. \"Yes, please,\" he says to Brandebras, and then says louder, to the other hobbits and servers and cooks who are standing around sticking to things, \"Well, don\'t just stand there! Help her clean it up!\" They start, looking at him guiltily, and then one takes the mop Nob is thrusting out at him another kneels down beside Aphria and takes one of the rags, dipping it into the water and starting to wash. It won\'t take that long to clean the room, though it may take longer to get the people tidied up!

Boldibad, standing near Malorie now, pulls out his pipe as it seems the food will take a little time to be served. \"Why,\" he says in response, \"Not only that, but it\'s a time to think about all the things that have happened over the past year, and to bring in the next. Not to mention, it\'s another excuse to get rid of some old--er, to exchange mathoms! Here!\" He leans over and pulls up an old object from a small pile hidden beyond Thilo\'s chair. He hands it to Malorie, \"This is from me, Ms. Malorie.\" It appears to be an old paperweight.

[Malorie(#28410)] As Brandebras inquires if Malorie is going to join in the fracas....er, the celebration, she takes a step back--so as not to block the archway. \"Ahh,\" she starts, but her head is already shaking her answer.

She sidesteps once more as Aphria returns from the kitchens, and it really is a wonder why Malorie has stayed at all.

\"No,\" she finally tells Brandebras. \"I\'m actually...ah....waiting for Manfred to join me...\"

Nob\'s announcement and directions to get the group to cleaning things up gives Malorie a moment to look back down the hallway. \"He won\'t like this at all...\" she mutters under her breath.

She seems about to leave when Boldibad approaches. His explanation garners a nod--though Malorie\'s eyes narrow as the paperweight is offered. \"Mathoms?\" she half-stutters, slipping her extinguished pipe into a pocket before taking the offered \'gift.\'

\"Hm.\" It\'s more a grunt of uncertainty than a thank you. \"Fredegar Bolger, is it?\" she says next to the hobbit, regarding the paperweight doubtfully.

Brandebras lets out just the beginnings of a squeak as Malorie steps back - surprise, likely. I mean, it\'s not as if she were trying to step on him. \"Couldn\'t you wait for him inside?\" he suggests to her. As that brings his gaze toward Aphria he sighs, and for a moment looks downcast himself.

Only for a moment. Then he\'s trotting through the cleared doorway into the parlour, leaving a trail of sticky footprints behind him. Poor, poor Aphria.

Inside, he glances round, puzzled. \"I don\'t see Fredegar Bolger here.\"

[Nob(#16122)] Nob has gone into the Common Room himself, glancing around - and seeing the room is getting full, he turns and hurries back towards the kitchen, side-stepping the few who are left mopping up the last of the spill. The others have gone off to change and to wash themselves, and so it is Nob who starts arranging the food in the order it will be carried out into the main room.

[Aphria(#17221)]

Scrub scrub scrub, desperate scrub scrub. Aphria keeps it up even as the help is given. Still not yet talking to anyone other than to mutter soft, and at least genuine, expressions of gratitude. And what\'t this? A trail of sticky footprints? More mopping.

[Boldibad(#22742)] \"And, I\'ve something here for Mr. Nob--\" but he stops midstride, and turns back to Malorie, cocking an eyebrow, \"Fredegar? Why, old Fatty\'s surely in Bolger Smial, feasting with the fam--\" he cuts himself off. \"Oh. Er, excuse me.\" He turns and heads over toward Aphria, \"Do you have another towel, young lady? It seems like you could use some assistance.\" He glances briefly over his shoulder, and appears to give his full attention to the saucy mess.

[Malorie(#28410)] The paperweight still in her hand, Malorie lets her gaze drop to the pattern of sticky footprints that lead from the Parlour. She seems mildly concerned, but not enough to do anything about it. \"I don\'t think there\'s quite enough room in there to wait for anyone,\" she says in reply to Brandebras, though immediately her gaze is tugged back to Boldibar...or Fredegar....or whoever he is, as he mentions something about a Smial. \"Hold on,\" she says, and reaches up with her free hand to scratch at her head.

The hand holding the paperweight points at the hobbit. \"Didn\'t you tell me last evening that your name was Fredegar Bolger?\" She sends an almost interrogating look to Thilo--as if he might know something about it, too.

Brandebras makes his way toward the tables by the shortest route possible - that is to say, given the number of hobbits in the room, quite a circuitous one. Once there he busies himself in draping the cloths on them, fiddling with the second one as he tries to work out how best to hide the stain.

Malorie\'s question sets his head turning round, and once again he does a quick scan of the room. \"Are you sure you saw him?\" he asks her. Then he spots Malorie\'s pointing hand. \"That\'s Mister Boldibad Bolger,\" he announces loudly and clearly, appointing himself official Shirefolk-Breefolk introduction-maker. \"He\'s a Private Investigator.\"

Inside the parlour the Yule log is burning merrily on the fire, making the room rather hot and smoky (not that any of the hobbits, both Bree and Shire, clustered inside seem to mind). Outside the corridor is newly mopped, suggesting someone has spilt something. The Pony staff doing the clearing do seem rather ... sticky.

A trail of sticky footprints leads into the Parlour, although Aphria is doing her best to erase these.

[Aphria(#17221)]

\"Thank you.\" Aphria says to the man offering help. She looks down to the bucket and points out another rag. \"Such a mess. I should have been more careful.\" As if she could have predicted a Brandebras rocket to the back. And she continues to mop!

[Nob(#16122)] The other helpers are trickling back, cleaned up and in different clothes. They hurry into the kitchen and re-emerge soon enough, hobbits and humans alike laden with platters that look like they might break under the weight of the food piled on them.

Egg pies, spinach and cheese and nut pastries, stuffed mushrooms, squash muffins, tiny apple tarts, baked onions, small bowls of bread filled with turnip stew... At the end of them all, carried by two men impressed into duty from the stables, is a huge tureen filled with spiced apple cider. Bright red berries float on its surface, along with more apple slices.

They thread their way carefully past Aphria and Boldibad to set all of this out carefully on the table reserved for it - the longest one the Pony has, covered with a cloth and pushed over to the farthest wall. Luckily, no one slips on the wet floor.

[Boldibad(#22742)] Thilo, sunken into a soft seat in front of the blazing fire, promptly closes his eyes when addressed by Malorie, and begins to breath deeply.

Boldibad glares at Brandebras for a moment, and turns away from Aphria and the mess. Throwing his arms up, he calls, \"Happy Yuletide everybody! Another year gone by!\" He scurries through the room (or, away from Malorie), with a huge smile on his face, \"Where\'s the ale, Mr. Nob? I believe it\'s on its way, isn\'t it? And, not the mention the -feast-!\" he speaks loudly. \"I\'m sure we could help with this mess, eh? Get into the Yuletide mood, and all, right? Ahhh, the food is here, everyone!\"

[Nob(#16122)] Nob has finally relaxed a little, though he still watches the room sharply. \"Of course, of course,\" he says to Boldibad genially. He waves to the two biggest men, the cider carries, and they nod in understanding, heading back out - this time to the cellars. And up comes an entire barrel of Barliman\'s Best.

[Malorie(#28410)] As Brandebras cheerfully answers Malorie\'s query, the young woman\'s eyes narrow to mere slits. \"Oh, he is, is he? Well, I\'m quite certain the name Boldibad Bolger was not mentioned to me last evening when we crossed paths near the stone houses. \"

Malorie seems to \'chew\' upon this latest bit of mental gristle as she trails her gaze from the unresponsive Thilo to Brandebras back to Fredegar-Boldibad. She stays where she\'s been standing--just inside the doorway of the Parlour. But, just as it seems that she is going to ask the hobbit-in-question a question of her own, the food arrives.

Stepping further into the Parlour now--and, thus, out of the way--Malorie frowns as she becomes fully engulfed into the confusion--if a feast of a confusion it is--that is the Hobbits\' Yule celebration.

Brandebras, already facing the doorway at this point, watches the entrance of the food with mouth agape. He stops any pretence of straightening the tablecloths - that second one will just have to hang squint to hide the stain. Hopefully no careless hobbit will pull it down during the evening.

He does, however, take time to remove his hat, coat and scarf from his sweating body before heading toward the lavish spread. With all that food sitting there requiring the assistance of some able eaters, he\'ll need plenty of room for expansion. It is while he is doing this (and not taking much notice of anything around him) that he offers his own, slightly muffled suggestion to Malorie. \"You know, Missus Blackroot, you should ask Mister Bolger to investigate that arrow of yours.\"

[Lemuel(#30356)]  \"Here, I thought I heard...\" a deep voice comes from the corridor outside, along with a slightly tacky set of footsteps, but it stops as Lemuel reaches the doorway, with a confused expression on his face. He looks as if struck dumb into the room, and its hobbity contents for a significantly long moment.

The man is looking significantly the worse for wear. His head is unbandaged now, but a large bruise in the greenish-yellow stage, with a big bump beneath it adorns his forehead, and his right arm is heavily bandaged and in a sling. To top it all off, Lemuel has a dark black eye.

Boldibad, seemingly rather nervous or anxious at the moment, stands at the table now, scooping food onto a plate--apparently not even looking to see what he\'s serving himself. He wipes his forehead, and grumbles, \"I remember Yule being much more pleasant, in the Shire...\" He pours himself a mug of ale, and sits down in a chair provided by one of Nob\'s helpers. Then, he notices the new arrival, \"Oh, Mr. Miller,\" he calls, forgetting his troubles for the moment. \"How is the wagon coming along? I\'m sure it must be finished by now...\" He cocks an eyebrow then, perhaps just now wondering why the fellow looks so beat-up.

[Nob(#16122)] One of the Bree hobbits who has come, overhears Boldibad\'s comment about Yule, and glares at the Shire hobbit. But just then, a trio of younger lads hop up to put their arms over each others\' shoulders and break out into singing. They\'re not precisely on-key, perhaps, but they are very enthusiastic.

[Boldibad(#22742)] The hobbit with the lute, having just poured himself a glass of ale, shrugs, and goes back to playing as the children begin to sing, and the mess becomes less of an issue.

[Malorie(#28410)] Obviously uncomfortable in the close-packed room of celebrating Breefolk, Malorie is distracted by Brandebras\' every-cheery suggestion. \"Aye\'n maybe I will,\" the Breeguard muses, backing out of the way as a food-frenzied hobbit almost bowls her over and into the doorway in his haste to get to a particularly delectable mince pie.

\"I say, Mister Bolger!\" Malorie then calls to Boldibad-posing-as-Fredegar, \"Why--\" But she stops, seeing that the hobbit has approached Lemuel to speak to him.

If Malorie looked confused before, she looks positively baffled now. \"Aye, what on earth\'s happened to you?\" she wonders aloud, if under her breath, in regards to Lemuel\'s appearance--certainly drowned out by the spontaneous chorus of hobbits.

Brandebras, having made his suggestion, wastes no time in heading straight for the food. He emerges from the table with an egg pie in one hand and a spinach pastry in the other. He\'s just taken a big bite when Boldibad\'s words reach his ears ... a moment later he is assailed by a sudden fit of coughing. Crumb gone down the wrong way, it seems. Nasty things, questions.

[Lemuel(#30356)]  Lemuel\'s bemused look survives a while longer, but Boldibad\'s greeting and grilling is sufficient to bring it to an end. He responds, so far as he can when drowned out by some of Bree\'s most excitable denizens, \"Well, erm, I\'ve got to be honest, and if I\'m honest, it hasn\'t come along too well. See,\" At this point Lemuel\'s words are completely drowned out by the singing, but he lifts his bandaged arm by way of demonstration.

To Malorie\'s greeting, Lemuel smiles wearily, and shouts, \"Evening! I went and..\" He gives up his fight against the noise and points to his ear and shakes his head.

[Nob(#16122)] There isn\'t much point in having a party and hiding in the kitchen - and all the cooking is done anyways. Hazel and the other cooks come out, having left off their aprons, and head towards the drinks. One is carrying a large pot of tea, and she sets this down, after pouring herself a glass. The others get cider save for a tall thin old man with a scar on his face, who gets himself a mug of ale. They find chairs amid the mob of mostly-hobbits and sit down to rest their feet.

Boldibad swallows a bit of pie and washes it down with the ale. His species\' keen sense of hearing allows him to understand what\'s being said, but his attention is distracted by Brandebras. He turns and looks over at him, \"Are you alright, young fellow? Perhaps you should step outside and get some room for a bit,\" he suggests eagerly, glancing unconsciously toward Malorie. \"I think you\'ve been \'talking\' too much, Mr. Bywater!\"

Boldibad adds, \"Thus drying out your throat, which makes it harder to swallow all that pie!\"

[Aphria(#17221)]

Aphria has finished with her cleaning. Finally! And it\'s now time for her to help with the serving. Sadly, the sauce she was making means one less dessert for the time being. A veritable tragedy! She seems to have mostly recovered her composure now, even if she still has the air of being embarassed.

[Nob(#16122)] Nob hurries past Aphria in one of his rounds of the room, then stops and comes back to her. \"Come now, girl,\" he says kindly, \"Go and get yourself a bit to eat. There\'ll be plenty for the doing later, now is for eating.\"

[Malorie(#28410)] Thwarted, perhaps, but not to be outdone, Malorie merely observes the goings on for a moment until the bustling--and the singing--subsides a bit. As the partygoers begin to settle down to eating, the Breeguard is able to pick a careful path which takes her closer to Boldibad (or is it Fredegar?).

\"I say,\" she then tries again, eyeing the hobbit shrewdly. \"Why would someone offer a false name in a mere exchange of pleasantries, hmm?\"

She darts a glance next to Lemuel, but only as a matter of curiosity, for the gaze soon is settled once more upon Mister Bolger.

Brandebras, even when doubled over, maintains his grip on both pies. At Boldibad\'s suggestion he looks up, scarlet-faced. \"But-\" Another coughing fit overtakes him. When he looks up again, he happens to glance in Lemuel\'s direction. \"Perhaps you\'re right,\" he aquiesces, swallowing hard.

He moves past Aphria, which takes him out of range of Malorie and her question, past Lemuel himself (the big man is given a wide-eyed, almost horrified stare) and then out, where his furry feet can be heard pitter-pattering toward the kitchen. There, of course, is much of interest, including the \'spare\' food. He does not emerge for quite some time.

[Nob(#16122)] Nob\'s next stop is by Lemuel, whom he seems to have only just noticed. He stops in horror, staring up at the man\'s bruises and bandages, finally recollecting himself enough to stop gaping and ask, \"Do - do you need a healer for all that?\"

[Aphria(#17221)]

\"OK, thanks.\" Aphria chimes as she gets this chance. Moving to collect some particularly hearty looking food. And a drink. Presuming no one will look twice at the girl going for some ale or something! And now starts to try and finally get a handle on what is happening aside her cleaning up a mess or bringing out food.

[Boldibad(#22742)] As all the fuss goes on around Lemuel, and Aphria sneaks some alcohol, Boldibad looks up at Malorie from his chair, and one might perceive that he doesn\'t have a way to ignore her this time. So, he simply shrugs his shoulders, \"I don\'t know, Ms. Malorie. Who gave you a false name, anyhow?\" He quickly sips his ale and works up a bit more of a performance, \"Why, that\'s plain rude, it is!\"

[Lemuel(#30356)]  Lemuel, catching Malorie\'s glance, and looking puzzled at it for a moment, begins to approach her and Boldibad. As he moves, he looks down constantly, so as to avoid tripping over any little folk. He says to the woman, \"Looking a bit serious for a party, aren\'t you Malorie?\"

To Boldibad he turns, and says, \"Anyway, as I was saying, I had a bit of an accident, as it were. I\'ve been trying to find you for days now, but just never came at the right time I suppose. I\'m afraid I\'ll not be in any condition to finish the wagon for at least four weeks, though I doubt as that\'s any good to you.\"

Finally, to Nob, Lemuel smiles a greeting, and says, \"Yes, yes. Don\'t worry Nob, I\'ve had \'em looked at. I\'m sure I\'ll be right as rain soon enough, so long as the healers know what they\'re doing, of course.\"

[Nob(#16122)] Back in a corner, someone has been eyeing Boldibad\'s mathom pile. A small, extra-curly-headed girl hobbit, whose eyes are bright with excitement and daring. Now, unable to stand it any longer, she creeps off her chair and sneaks through the thicket of legs - human, hobbit, chair and table - and reaches out to snatch one...

[Malorie(#28410)] \"Aye it is, Fredegar Bolger,\" Malorie replies to the hobbit. \"For that *is* the name you gave me out near the stone houses last evening.

Else that might be said is quelled as Lemuel queries after her mood. The Breeguard merely rolls her eyes.

\"Osh!\" is next softly uttered, and she seems to take leave of her questioning for the moment. \"I have a brother like you,\" she then says to Lemuel, her brows knit in an expression of concern. \"He was always running into things...usually head first.\" She shrugs, and her gaze travels idly about the room. Noting Aphria\'s fondness for the ale, Malorie chuckles softly, though in the next moment, she seems to be muddling over something...again.

[Nob(#16122)] \"Ah, well, all right then,\" Nob says uncertainly, but he doesn\'t argue with Lemuel\'s assertion that he is well, only darts another dubious glance at the man\'s face. Then he is off again, until one of the men says, laughing, \"You\'d best eat a bit yourself, Master Nob!\"

[Aphria(#17221)]

Success! Not that she risked much, Aphria starts to eat and sip her drink. This too seems to be helping her regain the rest of her composure, a more cheerful look returning to her face as she relaxes. Now that she has it snuck though, she seems to be shy about actually joining in the conversation.

[Nob(#16122)] Behind Aphria, but far enough away that she likely won\'t hear it, an old woman hobbit sniffs disapprovingly as she catches sight of a drink that is much too dark for such a girl!

Boldibad, who has been drinking his ale much too quickly, raises the mug to his lips. At the question directed at him by Malorie, he lowers the container and tilts his head in confusion. \"Last evening?\" he asks. \"Well, I was taking a tour of Staddle yesterday--spent the whole evening with a distant cousin of mine. It must have been Fredegar you were speaking to--he may very well have come along in a separate wagon, you know.\" He nods his head, \"You know, I have an idea of what\'s going on! I\'ve been in contact with big-folk--like yourself, several times before. And, several of them have told me that we hobbits all look alike to them. Could it be that you had a couple of drinks last night? In celebration of Yule, that is!\" His attention turns up to Lemuel at his approach and he smiles warmly. But, when he hears the news, the smile fades, \"Four weeks? Four--well, that won\'t do at all, Mr. Miller. I\'ve got to get back for the judging of the baking contest--er, a contest in the Shire. Why, whatever happened to your arm, anyhow?\" He tucks in his upper lip and heaves a heavy sigh through his nostrils.

[Lemuel(#30356)]  \"Fredegar?\" says Lemuel incredulously, \"That isn\'t what he told me his name is.\" He looks suspiciously at the hobbit for a moment, then says, \"What was it, I remember thinking it was something distinctive...\" His memory doesn\'t bring the name immediately, but Lemuel thinks on it. He seems to take Malorie\'s comment as an affront, and says, \"Like your brothers, eh? Well, it was only the corner of the cabinet in my kitchen. I went to lean on the top, but forgot my arm\'s dicky, so I slipped and knocked myself on the corner.\"

Boldibad adds, \"Of course not, Mr. Miller--I\'m BOLDIBAD Bolger! Fredegar is my cousin.\"

[Boldibad(#22742)] Thilo\'s eyes creep open and he peers at the young hobbit who roots through the pile of mathoms, but he only cracks a smile and settles further into his seat quietly, enjoying the warmth of the Yule Log.

[Malorie(#28410)] Malorie\'s gaze is pulled back to Lemuel as he explains the misfortune that has graced him with yet another injury. She winces as he describes the event, but follows that with a shrug. \"At least you don\'t act like my brothers,\" she adds with a wink. \"If you did, I\'d not speak to you.\"

Only now, as heavenly aroma of all the food in the room reaches a fair saturation point, does Malorie look upon the spread of such a feast with some longing.

But Boldibad\'s attempt at an explanation of his own leaves the girl with a decidedly sour expression.

\"I know whose face I saw last evening,\" she states flatly. \"As close as I\'m speakin\' to you now.\" She considers for a moment, her gaze lowering then lifted again. \"What do you have to hide, Mister Bolger?\" She smiles.

[Nob(#16122)] \"Eh?\" Nob says, looking around, surprised. Then he laughs as well, and turns towards the tables. \"Plenty left\" he says loudly, waving an arm towards the food. And there is - despite the room full of hungry hobbits (and some humans), there is yet at least half the food originally brought out still there. And the assistant innkeeper fills a plate to overflowing, balancing a small turnover on top of it all, and finds a place to sit down and eat.

[Aphria(#17221)]

\"This is really good.\" Aphria says to no one in particular, but loud enough those near her should hear it. \"And I\'ve had lots of the food here, and it\'s always good.\" Yep, some more cheer back in the girl. She continues to look around now too, smiling at the fun being had by all despite the disastrous begining.

[Lemuel(#30356)]  Lemuel\'s eyebrows raise at the hobbit\'s antics, but he shakes his head, and looks at Malorie. \"Well that\'s something then!\" He looks round at the room now, as if taking in his surroundings for the first time. Realising that he and Malorie are something of an island of tall people, standing amongst the hobbits, he nods a friendly greeting at Aphria, the only other human he sees, then suggests, \"Oughtn\'t we go somewhere a bit less...er...conspicuous?\"