She sat by the fire, in silence, the hall behind her quiet. Alkawen often sat on the bench by the fire in Elrond's House East of the Sea. It had become a ritual of sorts for her, a return to the familiar one might say. Gazing into the flames was warmth and a comfort. This evening, however, there were more in the fire than dances of flames.
Like many of her kind, perhaps as a result of an innate quality or experience after having lived so long and in close proximity to the Valar, the Lady could and did have visions of things that were or could become. This night, she saw in the flames a young Man heading toward an ancient Dwarven citadel, long ago abandoned but reclaimed by a much less noble, in fact most would call evil, presence. What she saw, chilled her to deep in her delicate bones.
Rising from her stool near the fire after penning a small note, Hiril Alkawen quickly made way to the East Porch. There she called forth one of her companions, that of a red winged blackbird. If one would be watching there would be no indication of how the elf called the bird other than the raising of one arm, on which the bird would come to perch. Whispering something to blackbird which now held a rolled note in his beak, she again lifted her arm and off it flew toward Alkawen's Master Scout.
It had been two days since the bird returned to Alkawen, acknowledging the message had been delivered. The Iaurmenel had arrived at the Forsaken Inn just before dawn to find it empty at that hour, except for a few sleeping off their ale. As was her custom, she sat at one of the tables in the deeper shadows.
From that table she could clearly see the stars through the opening in the roof, another comfort to her. Comfort was not something she allowed herself very often, misunderstood but evident by the example of her desire to establish an arm of the Order in the Breelands.
It was not long before the first rays of morning light began to fade the stars seen through that hole in the roof. Alkawen stood from her table and walked down the stairs to the sub level of the Inn toward what the Order called the hospital room.
