Sitting at a bare wooden table, I struggle to set down the days events, but every time I move the parchment against the wood a cloud of dust rises up to greet me, smelling of neglect and autumn. I arrange my emotions as best I can, seeking to make sense of my hopes and fears and consider what to do next.
After leaving my Cyndwin safely in the House of Three Graces upon our return from The Forsaken Inn, I set forth to the new hiding place of friend Addie and my sweet Nethrida, being an abandoned building set upon the lands of Masin the Paramour in Breeland.
My hopes for such a humble dwelling were quite low, and yet it disappointed even those expectations. At least it had been swept, either by the Paramour or one of the field rats I discovered having taken up residence in an outer wall. To his credit, he had a cheery fire lit in the bedroom, and had fresh and comfortable linens laid out lovingly for the two injured women, but beyond that the amenities were scant. Not on the level of a back cell in Felegoth...but too close for comfort.
Upon my arrival, I discovered the Lady Ahmo had just departed, exhausted from her recent travels on the behalf of our cause. According to friend Addie, she had left behind that which it had been her mission to gain, a small leatherbound book.
Soon after my arrival however and before I could claim this treasure, I was also informed by the sentry Hadhranel that a man loitered outside. When I went outside and challenged him, he explained his name was James, and that he had seen the women being moved to this residence and wished to know if he could be of aid. Again, it seems as if someone is selling tickets to the comings and goings of Addie and Nethrida, as there are curious bystanders ever surrounding their secret routes. I was confident this bystander however was as he seemed to be, a somewhat scruffy, black clad ranger of the sort often seen around the Prancing Pony, seeking useful adventure (or simply women to impress with his heroics), and set him forth with a simple task...slay anyone who appeared to be seeking to menace the house. He explained that such things are not free, so I promised him coin by the head and sent him on his way.
That was when I was stunned to find the Freebooter, a good friend of both Addie and Nethrida, bearing a swooning Nethrida back to the house after they had spent some time drinking together. I was of a mind to scold the Freebooter for such actions when tensions are still running high, but let the matter go as my words would have been lost on deaf ears. Instead I collected poor Nethrida from him, who curled into my arms tenderly, somewhat incoherent yet affectionate due to the large amount of wine she must have consumed.
Carrying her inside and to her bed, I discovered the book that the Lady Ahmo had brought was in the hands of the odd elder I had met the other day. I had never heard his name, yet he had expounded ad nauseam on his fallen kinmates while seeking to blame their ends on Nethrida being absent from their ranks, despite having joined their rolls in her youth. He also seems to have spent the better part of two days seeking a lost cloak, unable to remember where he had left it. In short, he was a fool. He had the feel of great age about him however, which means, as Xandilif would say "his Brain has sailed before him". We knew many of such Elders in our youths, sadly, and have little patience for them. I admit, my distrust and aversion to this Elder may be due to my past, but he still does not sit well with me and I find his sudden appearance in Nethrida's past troublesome.
I asked the foolish Elder, somewhat peeved, for the small book as he was misguidedly attempting to read it, having been assuring Addie that he was sure with a little more study he could break the code as there was a very weak spell upon it hiding the key. After he finally relinquished it, expecting me to open it and break the cantrip to then inform him of the meaning of the strange numbers and ciphers held within, he stared dumbfounded as I slipped it away under my armor for safe keeping.
He of course demanded the meaning of this (his sort always demand) and Addie asked me what the book was, as the Lady Ahmo had simply told her I had bid her to acquire it if possible. Thusly I set forth to explain my method and purpose. The small book was the ledger of a high ranking Sorcerer of Angmar called Garon, who was responsible for making collections of fees and dues from certain of the Dourhand slavers and rendering them unto Donark, the Paymaster of Carn Dum. The book contained, in coded script, the amounts owed to Angmar by different Slavers as well as the amounts they had paid.
If these details were a simple code then it is true that in time, it could be broken by the wise or the clever...however, there was a subtle glamour upon the volume that protected its secrets. First of all, this powerful spell masked itself, so that any unversed adept who examined it would believe it bore nothing but a minor enchantment, little more then a cantrip. If said adept then tried to break the cantrip, they would believe that they succeeded quite elegantly in removing the magic (while of course they had not at all) and then if they attempting to decode the cipher, they would be confidant that they had (when they had not at all) and the supposedly decoded information would be all wrong and incorrect. Therefore, the true meaning of these codes were well protected, turning the confidence of any who sought to unlock their secrets against them. That same spell keeps any from tracking it with magic, meaning that no one can know of its location unless they actually physically find it. Of course the Fool then asked why the Angmarim could not simply track the thief back to this humble cottage. I informed him that clearly he did not know the Lady Ahmo if he thought she could be tracked, and left the matter at that.
Friend Addie asked if I knew how to break this spell, and I stated simply that I did not, and I had no desire to try. I had no need to know which slavers owed what to Angmar. That was not why I asked the Lady Ahmo to acquire it from Garon, (whose condition was now a mystery to me after the Lady's mission as I had not noticed his head laying about anywhere, brought forth by Lady Ahmo). I wished the ledger as insurance, and a trading chip should we need it, as both the Angmarim and the Dourhand would dearly wish the ledger back...the Angmarim so as to keep their books straight, and the Dourhand to be able to destroy the records of their debts.
Addie kept careful track of this explanation, while Nethrida dozed after her adventure with the Freebooter, and the Fool looked confused. Addie asked me the only pertinent question, which of course was how I knew all of this. I had hoped not to have to explain, but in the interest of confiding in my allies I confessed that I was told of it by Xandilif, who had been in the vicinity to overhear Garon as he sought to impress another with his possession of the Ledger and the clever enchantment that Donark had placed upon it for him.
I am sure any reader has already surmised the next question that Addie would ask, which was who exactly Garon had desired to impress...which of course was why I had been reluctant to bring up the topic. I explained that he was seeking the support of a powerful figure in Angmar, namely Ergoth, Queen of the Merrivale of Angmar. This caused some confusion to both Addie and the Fool. Addie had heard of the Merrivale, calling them "Bat-women", but had assumed they were myths. I explained that they were most certainly real, and at the time Garon sought their support, Xandilif was involved in a tumultuous relationship with the previously mentioned Queen Ergoth. However, I cautioned her that it did not end well and the Banshee was still somewhat sensitive to the subject and prone to melancholy about the parting, so it was best not to mention it.
Once the resulting stunned silence had passed, the Fool had the nerve to insist, in Sindarin, that I allow him to take the book to Rivendell for the Lord Elrond to study and keep safe.
Of course I refused outright, the ledger would remain with me and certainly not be presented to Elrond... and informed him he should speak in Westron in front of Addie and Nethrida. He took offense to this (of course), saying there were some things that should not be said in front of mortals, and if I felt there should be no secrets, then perhaps Addie should inform Nethrida of certain matters.
His weighty, foreboding tone carried the meaning he hoped it would and caused another awkward silence, with a long look exchanged between Nethrida and the chagrined Addie. The Fool then explained that due to a deal with Addie, Nethrida would no longer need to answer his call, as he was releasing her from his order which since she was soon to set out on a perilous road, was all for the best.
This caused the fire to rise in Nethrida true to her warrior demeanor, not just because it seemed as if friend Addie was taking actions on her behalf without informing her, but also because she had clearly informed the Fool that Nethrida was planning to return to Gondor to face the charges against her...and this was very private business. We both also assumed that, from the way the Fool phrased it, she had offered a sizable price for Nethrida's freedom and that caused my dear Nethrida to speak harshly, knowing that Addie could easily harm herself out of concern for her friends.
Afterwards, we discovered that the price Addie had actually paid was to allow the Fool to examine the Ledger, but the misunderstanding had already done its damage and Addie left the room, deeply vexed and hurt to be "distrusted". In the awkwardness that followed, the Fool beat a hasty retreat, leaving Nethrida and myself to hash the matter out with Addie.
It did not go well. Addie would not listen to either of us through her haze of injured anger, especially as we took advantage of the moment to seek the answer to what might have caused her captors to be so cruel, if perhaps they had some further, untold history with her. As dear Nethrida said, "You have enough foes wanting harm upon you. For such a kind and caring person it is -shocking- to hear how many enemies you have gathered."
In light of this situation, I felt the need to finally ask the question that had been lingering in my mind since soon after I met the dear woman...namely, what had driven Addie out of the Riddermark.
Needless to say, the question was not received well and in her eyes, I saw Addie's affection for me die as if crushed by all the hordes of Barad Dur. This was a secret that she was not ready to even consider for herself, let alone share with a first born interloper such as myself.
Defeated by her anger, I withdrew and let Nethrida and Addie attempt to bridge the gap in privacy as sisters. I wept by the bedroom fire, feeling so intensely Addie's pain and confusion and wishing I could make her understand she need not wall her fears away any longer.
At last Nethrida rejoined me, having been no more successful with Addie then I had been, and we agreed that it would take time and love to ease the woman's hurt. I then took sweet Nethrida to bathe in the stream near their hideaway so we might confer and console one another in private, and then brought her back to sleep in safety and sat down to pen these words.
I feel helpless to affect Addie's raging sadness which presses upon my mind at the moment but I can feel the soft rhythms of Nethrida sleeping peacefully, reassuring me as I consider what my next move should be.
Should I confront the Dourhand more directly?
Should I seek to assault this Strongboar to regain Addie's safety?
Should I go forward with the mission to Rivendell to explore Cyndwin's gem and disappearance?
Should I prepare to go with Xandilif and Nethrida to Gondor?
Should I seek the truth of Fille's strange visions or Hawke's dreams?
In the face of too many options, I opt for yet another..and will set to cleaning this little house properly. That at least I am assured of succeeding at.
