Th company made their way off the wind swept beach, leaving the healer, Yula, with Lina and the remains of her daughter. The Mayor and the City Council remained there as well, looking grave, deliberating what to do next with little apparent success but much wringing of hands.
As the group entered The Rusty Barge, the main Inn of Linhir, Kraddock nodded to the barkeep. He had already claimed a private backroom at the inn when it first became clear that he and Caine were not leaving any time soon. What was a local barkeep going to say when Knights of Minas Tirith wanted something? As the group entered, it was clear from the state of the room that they were using it as both camp and headquarters for their own investigation.
Carneryn stuck close to Neth and spoke quietly to her "I-I felt nothing this time... Not even a whisper of a spirit on that beach….that just isn’t natural..."
Nethrida glanced at Ryn and raised an eyebrow. She leaned in and murmurs a quiet "What..? Nothing at all...?"
Septimal Caine closed the door behind everyone, and a serving wench started bring in ale and wine. It seemed she had learned to do so as soon as the Knights returned.
Finchley doffed her hat and sighed, running a hand through her short locks of hair. Surprisingly, she didn’t ask for food right away, still thinking on what she had seen and the sad state of things.
Caine smirked and dropped into a chair. “Give it an hour, the Mayor will make a speech in the square about foreigners hiding in their midst again....and tell everyone to look to the sea for black sails.”
Kraddock nodded and took a tankard. "Aye...and then that pimple will go on about "inhuman folks" and their strange ways.....figger he means Durin's Lads, Banshee?'
Eduwiges took an ale mug and drained it, trying to wash the look in that girl’s face from her mind…then took another mug. Addiela leans back against the wall and just observed, but watched Eduwiges with sympathy.
Eduwiges looked at Kraddock, 'So who exactly are the towns folk going to blame? You said dwarves but I have seen none since we arrived.'
Xandilif shrugged.."He was joking about the Dwarrow...when Ane's boyfriend says "inhuman" he means me...and this scrap of damask ain’t gonna help that.”
'I may be a little slow with this Lif, But what does that cloth have to do with anything? It could have come from anywhere.' Eduwiges tilted her head and drained her second mug.
The Champion nodded. “Yeah, it could have….but this Roric and his bunch are gonna claim it is an awful odd sort of thing to be floatin around a Gondor port town…and he’d be right. Any of you noted any other elves, dressed in pricey brocades skulking about?
Carneryn looked up from her hands "Not at all... Though I doubt elves would be dense enough to leave anything behind if they were to murder someone."
Addiela looked at Ryn. "Unless they planted it on purpose to support their claims and suspicion..
Nodding, Ryn agreed. "That's what I'm saying... It's more likely been left there as a distraction. To throw anyone looking into it on the wrong path.'
Addiela thought for a moment, 'It's cloth from a very specific piece.. I don't think it a mere distraction'
Finchley shook her head. "So, will they blame you then, Lif? Even though we didn't even arrive till later?" It was clear Finchley was not happy about that idea at all.
Sighing, Eduwiges put her hand on Finchley’s shoulder. 'After the recent events we have been through, it could have been an elf, but I do not think so. This was someone that girl on the beach knew. And the dog…an elf would not kill the fecking dog. This was personal, ritualistic and done out of anger. Someone local.' she finished her second ale.
Addie had been thinking along the same lines as Edu and nodded in agreement. "And most likely someone wanting to stir anger against elves.. which is odd in itself." She looked back to Neth. "Xandilif has identified the cloth as an elven funeral tabard."
Kraddock banged one fist lightly on the edge of the table."Elf or no elf, I agree with your thinkin’...whoever did this ain’t no foreign anything. They put that body out there just before dawn, so no one seen em do it so they worked fast and knew where they were going. That beach is treacherous in the dark from the look of it....someone KNEW what they were about when they put her out there.'
Eduwiges rubbed her eyes, 'I agree with the captain. My other question is, why were people throwing rocks at Xandilif when we arrived here? There was no evidence of elves at the other spots. Usually people here have deep respect for elves, feck, half of them want to be elves.' She took another tankard of ale, still not showing any ill effects.
Nethrida nodded to Edu. "Indeed. I do not understand." She then lowers her tone "And the Mayor's constant reminders of the Corsairs are just as troubling..."
'"Why does the Mayor want folks 'round here to think it were Corsairs. Why wouldn't he wanna get to the bottom of it and keep everyone from pointin' fingers?" Finchley was getting sadder and sadder the more she reflected on all of this.
Carneryn furrowed her brows "It is Roric who started those rumours yes? Of elves being the culprits I mean.'
Kraddock shuffled through some papers and nodded...."From the first body, this Roric has been yelling about elves...seems typical of his sort. Political, looking to be the next mayor most likely, but content for now to gather a power base. Seems he is well known in some of the nearby villages as well. He comes across intelligent but self important, don’t look like he served at all or if he did it was on the home front.'
Xandilif looked at Finchley. 'As for the Mayor sayin it is corsairs, babygirl, the last thing he wants is a local witch hunt...so he is throwing the blame anywhere he can that won’t have neighbors suspectin neighbors'
Carneryn snorted softly "Even though it's almost certainly someone in town..."
Nethrida rubbed her temples a bit. "I suppose I can understand what the mayor is saying... But at the same time there should be at least a quiet investigation. As for this Roric, if he is indeed crooked or compromised in some way the last thing we must do is be threatening, too direct or jump into conclusions. As a member of the town council he can make our lives rather difficult...'
Lif smirked. “Not to mention the fact he may be your brother in law soon if your mother has any say in it.
Eduwiges grunted and sipped her ale. She had to admit Neth was right but disappointment clouded her features. It would be nice to have someone to thrash.
Kraddock drained his mug. "Fact is until someone actually confesses or gets caught, ain't no way you will convince most of this town the murderer ain't from outside...'
Finchley sighed and frowned. "And I'm guessin' that the likelihood of gettin' whoever it is to confess is a snowball's chance in summer."
Carneryn nodded softly "We need to actually catch them..."
Kraddock shrugged...."You'd be surprised....the first body was found in her parent's barn...tucked away so that her papa didn’t find her until the horses reacted to the smell. She had been dead at least a week and know one knew.....but this one, right out on the beach bold as brass...they wanted her to be found as soon as possible...'
Caine took a sip of ale..."So someone is now looking for more attention....
Nethrida pursed her lips and tilted her head from side to side. "But I dont understand... Why anyone from the town... Surely it's more than simply seeking attention...?"
Finchley frowned, '... I wonder what changed their mind then. Why hide the first body and then suddenly want attention for the second?'
Xandilif sighed...."The might be lookin to spread panic....I ain’t convinced this ain;t the work of shadow yet...as for what CHANGED, Sepital Caine, I hate ta say it, but WE arrived. Looks to me like he is showing off for company.”
Eduwiges stood up, 'Well lets give the bastard some...'
Xandilif looked at Edu...."Give em attention? How?
Eduwiges cracked her knuckles, 'I'll just prance around in my ball gown and when he tries to attack me, I'll gut him and leave what’s left for the villagers.'.
Finchley’s eyes went wide. 'But Edu, what if they're watchin' us? Won't you be recognized easily?' At Finch's words, Eduwiges sat down, dissapointed again as the possibility of action receded.
Nethrida took a deep sigh "Well if that is our play then the obvious bait would be myself... but we dont want a repeat of Dol Amroth. Our attempt to bait and capture the Viper didn’t go very well at all."
As she came in to set down the next round, the barmaid, a pleasant girl in her 20s, bit her lip. She looked down and raised her voice. "I…umm...begging your pardon, but is the talk true, that they found Arion dead today?'
Finchley nodded to the barmaid, expression turning sympathetic. "Aye... Did you know her?" Kraddock looked up, watching the barmaid talking to Finch.'
The barmaid nodded softly..."Course I knew her miss...everyone knows everybody around here...it's just...well...since she come back from service, Arion was...different...everybody said so.'
Finchley tilted her head a bit. "Different how?"
Nethrida took a deep breath and smiled at the barmaid. "War changes many. For the things we see when we fight for our home and our loved ones..."
The barmaid blinked. Neth just seeming to confuse her, so she would stay focused on Finchley. "Arion was…Snooty...standoffish, you know the type. She was having awful fights with Vario. Half the town would hear them shouting...'
Finchley nodded. "And she wasn't like that before... Who's Vario if it's alright to ask?"
The Barmaid looked away..."Vario's her young man....before she went off they were gonna be married...but when she came back....well...I guess it was different....I even heard Vario say he'd kill her. To be honest she was never all that friendly, always thought she was better than most folk...but when she came back, it was more so...like she had seen fancy places and couldn’t be bothered with simple folks anymore...if you understand me miss?'
Finchley shook her head. "Can't say I understand the feelin' but I can imagine..."
Xandilif watched, then murmured softly..."And who would you be, girl?
The barmaid blushed at the question. "Oh I ain’t nobody special miss...I'm Faye....' As Faye spoke she grew more relaxed but was still speaking mainly to Finch."It's awful and all, but I can’t say I am surprised either of those girls them ended up...y'know...dead like that.'
Addiela raised a brow in curiosity over that last statement.
Xandilif stayed quiet..but poked Finchley in the back, making clear she was to keep her talking.
Finchley tilted her head a bit and wiggled at the poke to her back. "Why would that be? It seemed like a big shock when we went to go see... uhhh, where she was found…and murder is shocking enough."
Caine slowly poured a half pint of ale...and slid it towards the girl, who took it without thinking and sipped it..."Thank you kindly Sir...don’t mind if I do....'
Faye smiled at Finch..."Oh of course it must have been horrible...Haro said he was with the folk who went down to see when that good for nothing Jeru came in yelling that way..and he said it was right gruesome..like a tuna gutted for market...'
“Why would you not have been surprised?” Ryn was getting a bad feeling about this.
Faye took another few sips, warming to the attention and the conversation..."Well..I wouldn’t name no names, but I could think of a half dozen local wives who would be happy to see Carin get hers.. a couple who'd use the knife themselves...' She giggled at the thought then stopped herself..looking properly saddened again. “And Arion...well like I said, she didn’t have many friends to begin with, and after she come back...you know how it is. Vario...Vario has a wicked mean temper when he wants to'
Finchley raised her other brow at Lif before turning back about to face Faye. She was beginning to think that the mayor's attempt to draw attention away from the matter had done absolutely nothing for the town's rumor mill. "... I dunno how it is here, but innit bad to say things like this about someone who's already gone? Or even about folks livin' still."
Faye took another sip of ale and pulled a face at Finch. "I ain’t saying nothing people don’t all know...Carin was a whore, no way around it. There I said it....and Arion came back home and expected everyone to bow down to the fancy soldier...even though she only ever stood guard at some dock in Pelargir...and expected Vario to run back to her like a dog on a leash.”
Finchley winced a little. "But does bein' like that mean that they deserved to die? I don't think so, miss."
Addiela nodded, noting to herself that Vario didn't seem to have been in the service himself, something she had half expected already
As Faye spoke, a small commotion clould be heard in the main barroom. A voice raised with passion.
Faye took another sip..."I ain’t say they deserved nuthin..it is awful, I said that didn’t I. AWFUL. Just not a surprise I guess....if ya understand.
Finchley nodded to the barmaid. "Well... thank you for sayin' somethin', miss. Maybe that'll help in figurin' out what's goin' on." She peered towards the door. "Somethin' wrong?"
Xandilif reached out one foot and opened the door enough for voices to carry in....a man was speaking to the barkeep. "If we got enough signatures, he can be recalled and a change can be made. He is too old for this sort of business, and he has done his service admirably...but it is time for new blood...I...ummm..ok, poor choice of words, but still.”
Faye almost laughed..."Oh, that is just Therendil....he is harmless. '
Eduwiges looked at Faye, 'Who is Therendil?'
Faye finished her half pint and burped discretely...Septimal Caine already had a second poured for her. "OH...so gallant....don’t mind if I have just one more...'
Finchley looked between Caine and Faye and frowns a little. "But how many did she have afore now?" she questioned quietly.
Caine smirked and whispered to Finch...."If it keeps this little morsal talking, she can drink the whole damn keg for all I care.'
Eduwiges rose, 'Again, Who is Therendil?'
Faye shrugged...Therendil works for Roric's bunch....call themselves Lebennin Loyalists....say we get ignored around here and should have more power over what becomes of us .In the war and politics in Minas Amroth and Dol Tirith and Palargiririrrr..” Faye burped again.
Eduwiges scowled, 'So they are the local boys who stayed home while the real men are out in the ranks?'
Faye looked at Edu and bristled..."Nothing wrong with staying home...someone gotta keep the fancy soldiers fed...and take care of the home fires..if ya understand me'
“I understand you just fine.” Eduwiges smirks, 'You are talking about a different kind of politics. Tell us Faye, where were you when these murders happened?'
Faye was confused by the question...."Where would I be? Here I suppose...or with Ma...don’t go nowhere else no more...when exactly were they killed, anyway?'
Carneryn sighed quietly "That's something we'd like to know ourselves..."
The voice from the bar rose again..."We just need a dozen more signatures to take it to the full council...and Master Roric has all the votes he needs, lined up, if ya follow me...just a matter of time, so it makes good business sense to be on the right side of the future, no?'
Eduwiges moved for the door, 'You sure seem to know a lot, and then you don’t...' She looked at Lif meaningfully and walked out into the main room to listen to Therendil.
Edu strode out into the main bar room just in time to see the barkeep shrug...and sign a paper.
