Delioron and Elwil had spent the whole morning and afternoon in his room before he finally decided it was time for action. They had not eaten, and when the hobbit had come to knock on the door Delioron had sent him away.
It had been an enjoyable way to spend the day, but they couldn’t hide out in his room forever. There were problems that were not going to go away on their own, problems for Delioron to solve. Like the stranger outside who wanted to kill Elwil and most likely Delioron too. Demrîng. The group in the woods – Rangers of Ithilien like Demrîng said, or something else? Navelwort. Sharkey. The hobbits. And whoever it was who wanted Delioron and Elwil dead. That problem was not going away on it’s own.
He had been thinking about it for a long time this afternoon, lying naked on the bed beside Elwil, who had been sleeping most of the day. He had thought about all the random bits of information he had learned since his arrival in Bree and he thought he was beginning to see a pattern emerging in the shadows. There were still a lot of parts missing from the puzzle, but he was starting to see some things more clearly now.
No matter how hard he tried he could not find any logic in Parthadan sending Delioron, Elwil, Bragol and the others into Bree to kill Hodhion and then… what? To frame Delioron as the culprit of the deed? It certainly looked that way. That’s why Bragol had been pretending to be him for several days, making a showy appearance as ’Delioron, a trader from Gondor.’ His name meant absolutely nothing to anyone in Bree. And in Minas Tirith? Who knew his name in Minas Tirith, about the things he did? Parthadan. Denethor. Perhaps a handful of high officials, lords and commanders in service of Gondor’s armies and navies. Who would suffer if Delioron’s name was linked with a brutal murder of a Ranger of the North?
Only Parthadan. And therefore the person who had sent Elwil and the others was not him. That was the only logical solution. A public humiliation of Parthadan, one that would force him to step down as the Warden of the Green.
But what about the hobbits? The criminal underworld of Bree and their shadowy leader known only as ’Sharkey’? The Ranger Hodhion must have known something somebody didn’t want Delioron or Parthadan to learn, and that’s why he had been chosen to die. And Elwil? She had probably been sent just for a precaution, to find out what he knew or help setting him up if it was necessary. A pawn to be sacrificed once it had outlived it’s usefulness.
Elwil turned her side on the bed and reached for Delioron. Her eyes were closed, but he knew she was awake now.
”Elwil”, he said. ”You are not safe here. But there is a house in Bree where I want you to go while I… solve our problems.”
Elwil opened her eyes. ”There are no safe places for us anywhere. Not in this town, not in Gondor. Parthadan wants us both dead, so we must run…”
”No”, said Delioron. ”It’s not Parthadan. It cannot be him. There is no logic in it. You didn’t work for Parthadan, Elwil, only someone who looked like him. A double. Set up by someone who wants to destroy the real Parthadan. That’s the only logical conclusion. Which means there’s still a way for us to get away from this. A way to go back home, Elwil.”
”I don’t understand. Who would want to do such a thing? Sauron?”
Delioron thought of Demrîng and hesitated. Could it be him? ”Yes”, he said after a while. ”Maybe. I don’t know. That part I haven’t figured out yet. But first I need to get you out of here, safe. Then I will find answers to the remaining questions.”
”And the man in the Pony? If he’s still out there?”
”Yes. He must be dealt with first. If he’s out there, we will deal with him first, then get you safe.”
”Are you sure?” Elwil asked. ”About… Parthadan? And this house? That I will be safe there?”
”I’m sure”, Delioron said, wondering if he lied well. ”I will come with you there. I will make sure it’s safe before I leave you there alone.”
They dressed quietly, apart from each other. When they were ready, Delioron pulled out a map of Bree.
”Before we go, go get everything you need from your room. We will probably not be coming back here again. I will go first to make sure he’s not hiding anywhere in the corridor or in your room. If he’s not in the common room either, we will go straight to the house. It’s not far. If he is there, you will go out alone. Don’t look at anyone, move as if you’re in a hurry. Don’t look back, just keep going. How well do you know the streets of Bree?”
Elwil looked pale. ”Pretty well”, she said quietly.
”Good.” Delioron moved his finger on the map to mark a route. ”I want you to walk around town. Go here, through here, turn there, and here’s a steep climb there to a dark alley. Don’t look back, don’t slow down. Walk briskly. And finally walk back to the yard of the Pony and wait for me there.”
Elwil looked even more pale now. ”He will follow me.”
”Yes.”
”And you will follow him.”
”Yes.”
”And only one of you will come back.”
”Only I will come back. And you will wait for me here.”
”But what if you don’t? What if it’s… him… who comes back to find me?”
”Then I suggest you start running.” Delioron took his dagger and held it in his hand. ”It’s time. Open the door for me.”
Elwil pulled the door open and Delioron stepped to the doorway, looking right and left. He saw the shadows of the other doors in the corridor and nothing else. The hall was empty. Delioron took Elwil’s hand and walked her towards the stairs. He swept his eyes on the dark shadows of the corridor, but saw nothing, heard nothing. Elwil turned the key on the lock of her room, and Delioron pushed it open.
It was empty.
He stood on guard on the door as Elwil packed. Delioron had destroyed most of her things, so there was not much left to salvage.
Downstairs again, Delioron peeked from the doorway to the common room. He spotted the stranger almost immediately and retreated back to talk to Elwil behind him.
”He’s there. Remember everything I told you? Remember the route?”
Elwil nodded in the dimly lit corridor.
”Good girl. Now go.”
Delioron watched as Elwil walked straight to the door with quick steps, looking straight ahead. The man at the corner table stood up immediately and hurried after her. Delioron thought he had maybe been waiting too long in the common room, for he was being sloppy. He didn’t even consider the trap Delioron had set for him, so anxious he was to see where Elwil was going and to conclude his mission.
As soon as the door slammed shut behind the stranger, Delioron emerged from the dark hallway and went after him. He wasn’t worried that he would try to kill Elwil before Delioron got to him. Elwil’s hurried pace and strange route across the shadier parts of town indicated that she was going to meet someone, and Delioron knew the stranger would be too curious to kill her before he knew where she was going.
It was nearly dusk and the streets of Bree looked mean. Delioron was careful to maintain his distance before it was time to hit, but he needn’t have bothered. The man never glanced over his shoulder, not once. Very sloppy, Delirioron thought, shaking his head inwardly. He had his right hand inside his cloak and Delioron knew he was clutching his dagger, just as Delioron was clutching his.
They walked through the Beggar’s Alley and then Elwil began to lead her pursuer to the eastern part of town. Near the Combe Gate the street climbed steeply upwards and curved north into a narrow alley. This was the location Delioron had chosen as the point of contact. On the uphill he quickened his pace and reached his prey right after he had turned to the alley. There was nobody else in the alley.
Delioron’s left arm wrapped around the stranger’s throat. The man cried out in astonishment and pulled out his knife, but it was too late. Delioron’s right hand emerged with the dagger and he stabbed his surprised victim in the chest, three, four, five times, in rapid succession. The stranger’s knife clattered on the pavement. Delioron’s darkened blade cut his arteries and blood spurted out, but very soon it stopped flowing and Delioron set his corpse down behind some crates.
First Delioron inspected his weapon. It was not quite a dagger, but a large hunting knife made for butchering game, cutting wood, digging roots and so on. Delioron reached into the dead man’s cloak pockets, searching through his body as quickly as possible. Whetstone. Some oil in a small bottle. Flint and steel. A pouch with some copper coins. Needle and thread. Hook and line. A ball of twine. A small container of salt. And a letter. Delioron opened the letter and read:
YHJSH RWA AYHSFBFW VICK QY CSHYWDYA EYBVRWYWKHT RC CFFW RC EFCCSQHY SWZFBV XBYYWXRXY JPYW KPY AYYA SC AFWY
An encrypted message. Something for him to decipher later when he had the time for it. Delioron folded the letter and put it in his pocket. He took the coins too. He didn’t need money, but leaving it with the corpse would have raised questions. People got robbed and killed for their money all the time in alleys like this.
Delioron cleaned his hands on the dead man’s clothes. There were blood stains on his sleeves too, but soon it would dry and turn to the same color as his earthen brown cloak; the color of dried blood.
Delioron rushed back towards the Prancing Pony, where he knew Elwil would be waiting for him. Bree was dark and it’s streets were hidden by nightfall and rain. She was waiting for him at the stables. She heard him coming and turned and saw the bloodstains on his sleeves.
”You killed him.” She had not meant to say it as an accusation, but somehow it came out like she did.
”Yes.”
”He would have killed me otherwise”, she said after a while, stating the obvious just to break the awkward silence that had suddenly landed between them.
”Yes. Let’s go now. The house is not far.”
He needed to get Elwil to safety; needed to check out if Greengage could be trusted. He wanted to be rid of her, because there were things that needed to be done, things he needed to do alone. He didn’t want to introduce Elwil into that side of himself. He didn’t want her to see what was coming.
There were things that needed to be done. Very bad things.
