A hairy tale

Bree Market - East(#29123Rto)

This part of Bree is known simply as Market East. The street here runs east and west, with east leading to the Great East Road, and west leading to Market South. There are shops all along the north side of the street, while to the south is a collection of pens, corrals and watering troughs. Night has fallen and little can be gleaned from the pale light of distant lanterns. A few men scurry about on their business, gone as quickly as they came.

Obvious exits:

West leads to Bree Market - South.

East leads to GER: Centre of Bree.

Barber Shoppe leads to Barber Shoppe.

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

Real time: Thu Jul 02 14:51:10 2009

Bree time: Day on Monday of Spring - May 1,1447

Moon Phase: Waning Gibbous Moon

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[Phin(#31692)]

It seems the fine weather of spring has brought EVERYONE to the market for the place is positively bustling. Bells on shop doors ring near constantly and provide a rhythmic, tinkling backdrop for the activity.

One, hardly of note, to come down the street is Phin the woodsman. He is in his shirtsleeves, but otherwise presentable, and seems to be making a line for the barbershop.

Young Brandebras Bywater bounces along bright-eyed and rosy-cheeked, weaving his way in and out of the animal pens. He clearly has /some/ destination in mind, but he\'s easily distracted - a pause to exchange talk of the weather with Farmer Trotthorpe(a fine May means a wet June, for sure, and wouldn\'t that be a pity!), a detour to admire the new lambs bleating in their pen (mutton will be good this year) ...

And then he\'s through and squeezing through a gap in the crowd, dashing happily along the street - straight into the path of Phin. Trust one particularly flighty hobbit not to look where he\'s going ...

[Phin(#31692)]

\"Whoa!\" Phin stops short, and catches the hobbit by a shoulder, narrowly avoiding disaster. The man is not perturbed, however. In fact, hints of a smile show about his lips. \"Easy does it, young master. Someone on yer heels, or are you off to see a ladyfriend?\" A little smirk.

Brandebras skids to a halt as he is grabbed, windmilling his arms to keep in place with an ease that speaks of much practise. This will be neither the first nor the last near-collision. \"Sorry,\" he offers brightly. \"Isn\'t it a lovely day? I don\'t see how anyone can want to /not/ run on a day like this.\" He cranes his neck back to glance up at the man addressing him. \"And I don\'t have a lady-friend,\" he adds as an afterthought, his apple-cheeks getting a tiny bit redder. \"Do you think I should?\"

[Phin(#31692)]

Having let go of the young hobbit, Phin runs a hand through his shaggy hair. \"Phhhh.\" He exhales in a manner that suggests \'that\'s a hard one\' then laughs. \"Can\'t say as I\'ve ever had any luck with it m\'self. But you\'re a handsome sort. I\'m guessing one might find you whether you like it or not.\"

Brandebras considers that thoughtfully. \"She hasn\'t yet,\" he points out, reasonably. Then the matter is dismissed in favour of far more interesting things. \"Where are you going, if you\'re not off to vsit a lady-friend yourself? Eagerly he awaits to see whether the answer has any gossip potential.

Phin nods towards the barber. \"Gotta get rid of this mop,\" he says, his expression almost apologetic for this non-juicy bit of news. \"Then I\'m off to the tailor to see about a new suit.\" He puts his hands in his pockets thoughtfully and the distinctive sound of coins (more than a couple) can be heard. \"Got a meeting t\'morrow.\"

Brandebras sucks in his breath at those first words. \"What sort of a meeting?\" he asks curiously, eyeing the jingling pockets. \"Is it important?\" Then he stands on tiptoe, leans forward and lowers his voice to confide, \"I wouldn\'t go to the barber\'s shop if I were you. You heard what happened to Mr Nettleweaver?\"

Phin pauses a beat while he considers answering the boy\'s question but at last he seems to decide there can be no harm in it. \"I got a mind to buy some real estate,\" he replies even as Brandebras finishes speaking, \"No...I haven\'t heard about Nettleweaver. Please tell me there were no accidents with the straight razor.\" The man\'s brow is furrowed.

\"Real estate.\" Brandebras\' homely features are blank for a moment, but then his face clears. \"You mean you want a new house?\" He makes no effort to keep his voice down, and a few passers-by glance up curiously. \"I\'ve heard old Mrs Hatter who lives on Broad Way was thinking of leaving hers and moving in with the children, if you\'re interested.\" He rattles off this titbit of gossip at top speed before launching into the next, more interesting piece.

\"Um, right, about Mr Nettleweaver. It was when Effie was trimming his beard. Well, a bird flew in, and she doesn\'t like them very much, and her hand slipped, and ...\" He clutches at his own throat for dramatic effect. Someone took him to the Healers House and they patched him up, but-\" a quaver creeps into his voice, and there is a long silence. Then, at last, out it comes: \"he\'s lost his beard!\"

Phin\'s eyes widen as the hobbit\'s story escalates. A little gasp as the boy clutches his throat, his breath held during the silence and finally! He exhales and eases his expression at the last, smiling wryly. \"His beard! The poor fellow.\" He rubs his own stubbly chin in consideration, \"Well it\'s something to consider, but it\'s been nigh on a week since my life was in peril, so I may give it a go anyway. I need to look respectable you know.\"

Phin makes a gesture as if to doff his cap at the hobbit (except he isn\'t wearing a cap) and takes his leave, \"But the warning, and the tip on Mrs Hatter, are both appreciated. Good day to you, friend...and watch your step!\"

Brandebras does a polite little bob. \"And to you - I hope you have a nice day.\" He watches Phin depart, eyes wide, then shakes his head. \"I wonder if he\'ll have any hair left when he comes out?\" he murmurs pensively to no-one in particular. Then, with a sudden start, he is off again at a run. \"Oh no, I forgot to tell Mrs Featherstone that Nob wanted extra eggs!\"