Erebor news archive 2014-01

IC News for January 2014

Date posted: Wed Jan 08 2014

By: Brev

Title: Questions, questions!

Funny how you don't see a foreigner for months and then they all pop up at once!

Take the Flagon the other night, for example. That Elven ambassador from the Woodland Realm - HARUVEN is it, you say? That young Louse told me it was something else - had ensconced himself at a table by the fire with a bottle of wine and a stack of parchments; noone bothered him for a while but then an elderly Dwarf came in and made a beeline that way. GLOIN, I've heard him introduced as. Son of .. yes well, we won't go there. Next thing the old fellow was sitting down beside Haruven and attempting to strike up a conversation. Didn't look happy to be doing it either (and I'd have said his words weren't over-civil!) but there you go. I reckon he was after something. But what? There's a whole bunch of Dwarves showed up in town, they must be up to /some/ funny business.

Whatever it was Gloin wanted, he didn't get it, for Lady ISOBEL Taurdain appeared at that point and was quick to join her friend the Elf (though I noticed her giving the Dwarf funny looks too). The ensuing conversation was clearly too frivolous for Dwarven tastes, for Gloin excused himself soon after, leaving Isobel to lament 'wasted opportunity'. What opportunity, I ask you?

Noone got what they came for - neither Haruven his peace and quiet nor Gloin and Isobel their sought-for information - save Lady ORIANA Karath, who got more than she bargained for: not only a letter from Celebannon delivered by Haruven, but some sort of foreign body in her drink! She left the company to remedy the latter situation and I trust she complained good and loud to Brue! What is the world coming to these days? I know we've had a bad harvest, but that's no reason to adulterate the brews ...

---

Date posted: Tue Jan 21 2014

By: Gloin

Title: A stitch in time

Do Dwarves know how to mend their clothes? Some of them don't, apparently, for I saw one of them approach Mistress MORGAINE the seamstress the other day. It was that old one with the white beard and the silver chain - GLOIN, he's called - but got up in a dowdy grey cloak instead of his usual finery. Seems he was after a bit of mending. That must've put him on the wrong foot, you know how proud she is - and his assumption that the tailor who worked from the premises was a man can't have helped. However she took him inside and I'm guessing she did the job, for the next day he was stomping round in his fancy white cloak again, muttering something about supplies and delays and inefficient Menfolk. Sometimes I don't know why Laketown puts up with Dwarves! If it wasn't that we needed their coin ...

---

Date posted: Sat Jan 25 2014

By: Gloin

Title: Early birds

I was up the other day before dawn for a spot of night fishing - you know, that spot by the Lake Road that always seems to bring the luck. The sun was just coming up and I was ready to call it a day when I heard the tromp, tromp, tromp of Dwarf boots and the plodding of ponies. A whole caravan of them - they were making so much of a racket I didn't even hear the Elf riding up from the other direction, even though those fancy bells on his harness must have been jingle-jangling. Anyway, they stopped to have a conversation and with sound carrying so well across the water, I couldn't help hearing.

What did they say? Well, aside from the usual how-d'you-do, I learned that HARUVEN has a special affection for Laketown, and that GLOIN and his company are headed through Mirkwood to visit Beorning lands. Why anyone would do that at any time of year, let alone in winter, beats me; Haruven didn't think it a good idea either. Maybe the Dwarves hope the Beorning folk will have foodstuffs to trade - Gloin did say something along those lines (the Elf looked rightly sceptical) but then added that he and his kin were looking for something precious to them. Wonder what it is - a magic sword? A jewelled crown? Doesn't their King have riches enough already?

Gloin's efforts to gain news of the road west met with no success, but Haruven did promise that should the Elves garner information they considered of relevance, it would be shared. Then he excused himself and hurried on - eager for the Flagon and those flasks of wine Brue sets aside for him, I'll wager - and the Dwarves started up all their tramping and clomping again. No fish would stay within a league of that so me, I gave up and went home.

---

Date posted: Wed Jan 29 2014

By: Gloin

Title: Of Dwarves and Ditties

We had a Dwarven caravan pass through town a few days back. Some might term it disruptive - there was the usual argy-bargy with our traders, not to mention the noise they made (especially when availing themselves of our Inn!). And the mess! Still, they pay well and that's no mistake.

The other night in the Ox and Fiddle, one of them - some unremarkable-looking dark-haired fellow - was trying to entertain us with music and song. Do all those Dwarven ditties sound the same to you? This one was about jewels and blood, and I lost the thread pretty quick. So I listened in instead to an older Dwarf - GLOIN they call him and from the looks of things he was in charge of things - chatting to our barmaid (played by Isobel). Seemed to be fishing for information, he was asking about the roads and our food supplies (and the less said about /that/ the better, I can tell you). Turned out he and his were heading west into Mirkwood, more fool them. Wonder if they'll come rushing back with their tails between their legs? The talk didn't go on long; no sooner had the black-beard finished a song than up jumped this Gloin to stop him from singing another. Funny, I thought all Dwarves loved their music? Apparently there are exceptions.

Oh, did you hear the watchman? He says there's another group of travellers on the Road - Men, he says, coming down from Londaroth. Me, I'm off to see what they're after .... and to make a few coins, if I can.

---