My dear Maerle,
I hope this letter finds you well, and all is well both at home and with the stables. I have every confidence that all is being handled – but Amaken needed me to check, so I can now say that I have.
The main reason I write is that I would like to fill you in with what has been happening here, in the hope that you can find Daphnee and let her know. She isn’t one for receiving letters, but I do miss being able to run things by her. It is not all good news I am afraid, but I shall get to that. It will also help me get my thoughts in order by writing it down, in the order that it happened, so please do excuse that.
The company, with the exception of Furley and Daphnee who needed to return, made it to Rohan in reasonable condition. We stopped briefly in Stangard to rest and restock. I obtained new armour, which again did not meet with Kildwin's approval, however it did seem to come with a free dog, whether I wanted it or not. I can see now why it’s previous owners were attempting to lose it. It seems to be a noisy brute, constantly barking and in need of attention. I have not named him yet, although his characteristics bring a few to mind.
We moved on to Harwick. Altheric, Tannos and Elthhelm made enquiries about properties in Edoras, and Deorla made arrangements for us to acquire one on behalf of the company.
As we moved towards Edoras, the Commander got noticeably more anxious. He explained briefly that he had left the area under somewhat of a shadow, and was something to do with his wife, who you will remember had passed away. We continued along the road, only parting company with Elthhelm as we passed his parents farmstead. His plan was to catch up with them, then join us in Edoras.
Up until now, other than the realisation that Furley and Daphnee would not be continuing on the journey with us, it had been an almost pleasurable time. I mean, Amaken was with me, and I was seeing parts of the world I have never seen before. It was all going a little too well.
We arrived in Edoras in good spirits, ready for a rest and some time to relax. Deorla & Tannos had gone to make final preparations to purchase the property, while the rest of us looked for a space to rest and catch our breath. As we approached the Meduseld the Commander was approached by two men of the royal guard. He slowly removed his helmet, whilst noticing that Amaken & I had our hands on our swords, ready for a fight. He quietly told us thought to 'Keep your blades. I know what they want.' Before turning to speak to the guards. “The steward wants to see me.” He told us “I know not for how long."
We saw Altheric place his hands behind his back, as one of the guard fastened manacles around his wrists. He was then led away.
And that was that.
Amaken picked up the Commanders helmet from the ground, and we headed to the tavern to look for rooms for the night, whilst we considered a plan. Kildwin suggested we first try talking, then if that failed, we use force. After a pretty restless night, I left Kildwin and Amaken in Edoras making enquiries, and travelled with Fargar to find Elthhelm to let him know what had happened.
While we were in the house, we were introduced to Elthhelm’s friend Ynna. I was trying to explain what had happened the previous night, when a man turned up at the house that seemed to know slightly more about why Altheric had been detained. It has a great deal to do with his wife’s death and his subsequent disappearance.
The man has offered to help us get Altheric released – or at least speak well on his behalf, in the hopes we can convince the authorities to release him. The only slight issue is that he needs us to help him with a task first. He told a tale of a Drake that had terrorised the town. He wanted us to find and kill the drake and retrieve an arrow that was stuck under his wing. To be honest I have my concerns here, but Elthhelm, Tannos, and Fargar seemed to think we were up to the task – and right now, it is our best option.
So this is where we are at. The trip to Rohan with the purpose of negotiating trading contacts, has for the moment been put on hold. I am going to visit the property shortly, with a view to finding a house keeper, then at least we have a base for communications. Marganil had given me the name of someone to find that may be on the lookout for such employment, so I am going to look her up initially. Elthhelm and Tannos are heading up the drake business. I am hopeful we can sort out this misunderstanding with the Commander, and his wife’s family so that we can continue together as planned.
I do hope things in Bree are going ok and that Furley and Daphnee arrived back safely.
I will write again, when we will have hopefully more positive news.
Ana
