A New Merchant in Bree

[Nob(#16122)] It\'s a crisp clear autumn morning, of the sort that make a person want to be out, wading through dew-wet, knee-deep meadow grass, or casting a line into a still pool of water, or sitting halfway up an apple tree crunching blissfully.

But Nob is here, inside, though he has all the windows open, and their shutters folded back, and the curtains waving in a slight breeze. He is humming to himself as he polishes tables. It\'s after breakfast, but before mid-morning, and not many folks are in the Common Room just now.

A young woman makes her way into the Prancing Pony, her slim figure wrapped in a warm burgandy hooded cloak, and she has cream colored gloves on as well to combat the cool air. Her brown curls are pinned back out of her face and young Mrs. Isabel Whitethorne glances around the room nervously before her brown eyes settle on Nob. \"Oh, Master Nob! Could I speak with you for just a moment, if you please?\" She asks with a quick smile as she moves towards the hobbit.

[Nob(#16122)] \"Hm?\" Nob looks up at his name, and then straightens, setting his rag down and stretching his back. \"Ahhhh, that\'s better. Now what can I do for you?\"

Isabel forces a brighter smile onto her face, \"Oh, I\'ve decided to do it, Master Nob. I\'m going to take up Tomas\'s work. It\'s something I should do! I\'ve been sitting around for almost a year and it\'s silly, really. There\'s no reason I -can\'t- do it. He told me everything about it and I have an obligation to all the people he knew.\" The woman moves to sit down on one of the long benches, \"So, of course I\'ll need to talk to you about what goods you want me to be getting for you from the Shire.\"

[Nob(#16122)] Nob\'s round pleasant face acquires a bit of a frown. \"But,\" he says slowly. \"I wasn\'t thinking you wanted to do that particularly...\" There is a bit of question in his voice.

\"Well, that\'s ridiculous. I was foolish before, but now I have my senses about me. So tell me, Master Nob. What\'s your brand of pipeweed? Longbottom? I\'ll make sure to get a little bit of what you\'re looking for, because you\'re such a good hobbit.\" Isobel gives him another wide, encouraging smile, then reaches under her cloak to fish out a small book and piece of graphite to take notes.

[Nob(#16122)] \"Well, yes,\" Nob says, still frowning. \"We do like to have a fair bit of Longbottom Leaf on hand, and we are getting near the end of our supply. The last caravan, you know,\" he says apologetically. \"When everyone got, ah, distracted by the, uh, trees.\" He coughs delicately. \"Let me just think a minute...\"

[Lominhur(#19466)] The pair have been watched by another figure in the corner, who sits with a mug of water and a knob of cheese upon a small round dish by his side. Tall and lean, his clothes sporting the dust of the road, one of \'them Rangers\' cocks an ear to this latest from Nob. Eyes twinkling he leans forward ever so slightly so that he might hear a good deal more.

\"Well, I\'ll be traveling as Tomas always did, with just the two horses. So, I won\'t be able to bring a great deal back, but I can get you a personal supply, Master Nob.. set some aside, you know?\" The woman nods along, \"That would be good with you, right? And I was thinking that I might buy some of those good oats for the horses that your Master Acelen gets from up near Combe. He\'s like to give me a decent deal, right?\" Isobel flashes another charming smile, then writes some notes down on the paper.

[Nob(#16122)] \"Yes,\" Nob says again, a little doubtfully. Then he seems to give a little internal shrug. \"I\'m sure he would it would save him the trip...\" A note of something troublesome tightens his voice as he speaks of the stablemaster. And it remains there for a little while, even as the hobbit goes on to mention a few more things he would like. \"And there is that particular cheese, the one that old Doffo Wheybarton makes. I\'d especially be pleased to have a bit more of that, if you\'d have room.\"

[Nob(#16122)] He glances towards the ranger, but the man doesn\'t seem in need of anything, and so Nob returns his attention to Isabel.

\"Oh, no, I meant that I might get some -from- Acelen, for the horses. It\'ll take a few days to get to the Shire, so I\'ll need feed for the animals.\" Isabel pauses, her brown eyes lifting to the hobbit. \"That\'s okay, isn\'t it? If I buy a bit from Acelen? I know he\'s the best in town with horses and Tomas always went to him for advice before.\"

[Lominhur(#19466)] The Ranger lifts his mug to take a draught of water, and still his eyes linger upon the two. Taking another swig to drain the flagon entirely he sets it down with a -clunk- a sure sign of further service required.

[Nob(#16122)] \"Oh!\" Nob says in a startled voice, and his attention, which has clearly been wandering, snaps to the woman. He laughs, embarrassed. \"Of course, you can. I\'m sure Acelen has plenty and he\'d be more than happy...\" The sound of the mug thumping behind him provides a welcome excuse, and he flees gratefully, asking, \"Yes, sir? Get you something?\" as he fetches up near the ranger\'s seat.

Isabel grins, \"Delightful! I\'ll talk to him when I\'m done jotting down your order. Cheese.. from Doffo Wheybaton. I\'m getting it all down here.\" The woman chatters on a bit while the hobbit moves away, completely focused on her own task.

[Lominhur(#19466)] A beckoning finger urges Nob closer, and the Ranger sniffs as he leans forward intimately. \"Is that young lady,\" he asks in hushed tones, \"proposing to take a trip all by herself to the Shire, master hobbit? If so, I would advise a chaperone -- especially if there are very distracting trees growing about all over the place. What did you mean by that, may I ask?\"

[Nob(#16122)] Nob glances over his shoulder and lowers his own voice, hopefully to the point where the lady mentioned will hear nothing more than a murmur. \"I\'m sure she\'ll be fine,\" he says, unconvincingly. Then his round face turns a bit pink. \"Well,\" he mumbles. \"Wasn\'t nothing important-like. Just, well, it seemed as if the paths went about changing, with trees where there wasn\'t any before, and knocking a body on the head, like. But as long as you stick to the road, you\'ll do just fine.\" He seems anxious to reassure the man of this, and would go on, except a thought strikes him and he raises his voice, calling to Isabel. \"And if you would, well, ask about a bit? If - though I don\'t know why he\'d have gone /there/ - they\'ve seen a lad?\"

Isabel looks up from her note-writing. \"That boy that ran off? I will Master Nob. What was his name? I\'ll put it down here in my notes. Tomas always took notes, you know. He was so smart.\" She says brightly, almost too brightly. Quickly the woman looks down at the parchment once more.

[Lominhur(#19466)] The Ranger\'s eyes watch Isabel a moment longer, ere he reaches out to tilt his flagon gently. \"Another water, if you please, master hobbit, and any roll of bread that is still fresh from the oven. That besides, you\'ll get an extra silver if you can tell me any more about these trees when you get back...\"

[Nob(#16122)] \"I don\'t think he did run off,\" Nob says stubbornly. \"I know he didn\'t get off on the best foot, but what can you expect of boys? And he was settling down right well, seemed to like his work...\" He sighs and shakes his head. \"Yes, ask. Keldean... um... Pinewhistle. I think. Something like that anyways.\"

A glance at the ranger, and Nob hastens to take up the flagon and vanish into the kitchen to fill it.

\"I got it, Master Nob. I will ask, I promise.\" Isabel says with a quick nod. \"Pipeweed, particular cheese, and Pinewhistle.\" The woman begins to stand, brushing out her skirts with her hands. \"I guess I\'ll go talk to Master Acelen now...\" She trails off as Nob hustles off to the kitchen, and her gaze wanders to the ranger finally. \"Hello, sir.\" There\'s a friendly smile for the stranger.

[Lominhur(#19466)] \"Good day,\" replies the man, and he bows his head gently in greeting. \"At least, that is what I wish for you and yours. May I ask... this fellow named Keldean. He\'s missing, is he?\"

[Nob(#16122)] It doesn\'t take long for Nob to return, the mug of water in one hand and a small tray with warm bread on it in the other. He has added a small round pat of butter as well, and sets both of these down on the table.

\"That\'s what I\'ve heard. I didn\'t know the lad, I just heard it in passing a few weeks ago. I guess the -mayor- was even out looking for him,\" There\'s a touch of heat in Isabel\'s words when she mentions the mayor, \"but no one has seen him.\" She moves over to the table, \"The name is Isabel Whitethorne, traveling merchant.\"

[Lominhur(#19466)] The Ranger smiles and bows his head once more to Isabel, ere looking up to thank Nob for the freshly obtained items, not least the butter pat. \"Quite above the call of duty,\" he comments, and turns a sea-grey gaze to the woman anew. \"I am known as the Hare, though I fancy even my unfortunate ears are not so large as all that. I am sorry to hear that he\'s disappeared. Did the mayor give any clues as to what they think has happened?\"

[Nob(#16122)] \"He thinks he ran off,\" Nob says, and his voice is entirely expressionless.

Isabel rolls her eyes again. \"The mayor is .. well, just don\'t rely on him, is all I\'m saying.\" The woman says matter-of-factly, some annoyance in her tone. She\'s smiles again a moment later, \"So nice to meet you, Hare! Are you passing through?\"

[Lominhur(#19466)] \"Is a Hare ever doing anything else?\" asks the Ranger, sparing a glance to Nob though replying to Isabel. \"I must hop along soon enough, but I\'d be glad to know of this fellow\'s tale before I do. Those who walk the roads and paths often wish to know what has befallen others who walk before them, you may find.\"

Hare watches the hobbit a short while longer, before asking: \"Do you know the lad well?\"

[Nob(#16122)] \"He worked here,\" Nob says. \"Came in, couple of years back, I think it was, saying he\'d run off from his daddy\'s farm. I put him to work doing odd jobs, but I have to say, he wasn\'t anything you\'d call reliable then. Stole a few things, took off once or twice, got himself tangled up with some bad folk. But of late..\" The hobbit looks unhappy. \"The stablemaster took him in hand, and he was shaping up right well. I don\'t think he just ran off, and besides, if he didn\'t, he\'d have taken that horse with him and she came back without him.\"

Isabel gives the man an amused smirk at the comment about hares and what they do. Then her face grows serious as Nob goes into his story. \"I\'ll ask Master Nob, I promise. I\'ll mention it to everyone I see, you have my word on that.\"

[Lominhur(#19466)] A long moment or two of silence follows this, before the Ranger nods and sniffs thoughtfully. \"As will I, you can be sure. But tell me of these bad folks you mention. Have they been spotted nearby, at all, lately? And how soon did the horse return, after he vanished?\"

[Nob(#16122)] \"No, no,\" Nob shakes his head. \"None of them.\"

\"The horse was back before anybody knew the boy was gone,\" he goes on, drily. \"Looking like she\'d run her legs off, sweated up and wet, Acelen said. Was only then, it was morning, you see, anybody realized he hadn\'t come to work, and he didn\'t come, either.\"

Isabel eases down into a chair at the ranger\'s table as she listens to Nob. \"Oooh, I wonder if the boy got thrown from the horse?\"

[Lominhur(#19466)] \"It\'s quite possible,\" admits the Hare, though he eyes say he is less than convinced by the notion. \"And yet, such a fine animal of the stables, where Keldean worked for such a decent amount of time... it\'s hard to believe that the horse would gallop home and leave the poor lad all alone.\"

At this his brow furrows, as though cross with himself, but with a shrug he seems to get over it quickly enough. \"Never mind,\" he adds, waving his hand dismissively. \"I\'m sure the lad is fine. As you say, there\'s been no bad folk around in a good while. I\'d put it from your mind, my dear,\" he suggests to Isabel with a bright smile.

[Nob(#16122)] \"Could be,\" Nob says. \"We looked - but we didn\'t know quite where /to/ look, if you know what I mean. Where he might have been riding.\" He stops. \"Well, anyways. Nothing to be done just now. So if you\'d get that cheese and the pipeweed, Missus Whitethorn, I\'d appreciate it. I can\'t think of anything else I\'m lacking just now.\"

Isabel stands up again, giving the ranger a nod and an upturning of her lips for his reassuring words. \"I bet the boy will turn up. They always do. I better go speak with Master Acelen, I have a lot of work to do and not a lot of time to do it in, as they say.\" She gives both hobbit and man another cheerful smile. \"Off I go!\" Then the woman makes her way to the door, leaving quickly.

[Lominhur(#19466)] Watching her go, Lominhur the Hare sniffs once more before turning his gaze Nob-ward. \"I\'d better be off in a little while also, master hobbit. WOuld you be so kind as to tell me how much I owe?\"

[Nob(#16122)] Nob is watching after the lady, lost in thoughts of his own, and he starts a little at Lominhur\'s voice. \"Eh? Oh, oh, yes, of course. Five pence.\" He is yet a bit distracted.

[Lominhur(#19466)] There is a jingle of coins from within the folds of the Ranger\'s travel gear, before the man\'s hand produces the payment asked for. \"I shouldn\'t worry,\" he adds, reassuringly. \"I have a feeling that Luck will follow that girl about her business, and she\'ll not be troubled upon the road.\"

He does not explain the reasons for this assumption, but he does seem rather confident.

[Nob(#16122)] Nob nods and takes the money. \"Thank you,\" he says absently, and returns to his duties.