Eduwiges slowly circled her opponent, a man only a bit taller than she but weighing several stones more. He also had a punch that felt more like the kick of a rabid Moria Goat. She breathed slowly, conserving her wind. This was her fifth, and one way or another last bout of the day and the grind was taking it’s toll on the woman.
Still, she liked her chances. She had landed several solid blows, had broken at least two of the bruiser’s ribs and had left one of his eyes swollen shut. His fists were not up quite as high as they had been at the start of the match and he was gasping for air between increasingly erratic blows.
She could take him. She knew it. She was already basking in how proud Xandilif would be of her. “The Albatross…” the elf had said, “…ain’t no place for bunnies. Get in there and show em what yer made of, if ya got the nerve. At the very least, it will boost yer ability ta take a punch.”
Fight after fight, she took and dished out quite a lot of punches, and she knew she was gaining the respect of the rough crowd, and knew a few people in the crowd were making a good deal of coin off her string of victories. All she was gaining, however, was whatever the purse was worth at the end of the day, and the maidenly pride that comes from beating a man’s face into scrapple. If that was after said man had called her “sweetheart” or “damsel” or “farmgirl” or a few less polite but more colorful things, then so much the better.
The man facing her, with the improbable name of “Gurk” took another round house swing, but it was slow and shaky. She ducked under it easily, smelling the sweaty air as it whooshed past, and saw her opening. His already wobbly jaw was just hanging there, wide open. She drew back her fist, picturing her opponent in a red hood of Angmar, already enjoying the admiration and praise she would no doubt gain from her mentor as she explained “It was really quite the bloodbath, Banshee, but I just needed to set my flag and show em who was boss…” when a voice seemed to shout in the back of her mind.
Xanderian’s voice rang out in her ears, clear as if the woman were right behind her. “My lynx, come home NOW. We must be away!”
Eduwiges dropped her fist, looking around in panicked concern. “Lethy? What is it, what’s wrong….”…and that was the last she remembered until she came to nearly an hour later. She didn’t remember the fist of her opponent smashing into her eye, or the feel of the mat as she dropped like a stone, or the feel of his foot kicking her once or twice to make sure she stayed down..but she did remember Xanderian’s voice and the urgency under it.
She cleaned up quickly, made sure her left eye was still in place, and rode pell mell from Dol Amroth to Tol Lochul in near record time. She threw open the front door of The House of Three Graces, lathered up in a sweat, her face covered in purple bruises around a horrible swollen black eye. She was also walking with a slight limp from where her second opponent had bitten her in the calf on his way down. 'Lethy!' she shouted before the door had even closed behind her, 'I am here! Where are you? What’s wrong??!!'
Addiela was sitting on her normal bench in the Hall of Journeys, reading. Next to her, she had a fully packed bag, a bedroll, and a large sack of what could be assumed to be the snacks for Finch, required for their long journey to Bree to meet with Bryge and the group that Xandilif referred to as “The Dwarrow Bois”.
Calidis looked up from her own reading, careful to mark her page with one finger before closing it. Her brows furrow a bit at the sight of the black eye. "Eduwiges."
Ellsabeth had just come in, having been down at the training dummy practicing with her new sword and smiled as she noticed Edu back home.
Aliandith was leaning against the table, scribbling into a notebook. She hummed a little tune to herself as she did so.
The room was, in short, really quite peaceful. Addiela's expression spoke to her concern at both seeing the black eye and at Edu's demeanor but beyond that, she was mostly just impatient to be on the road. Her concerns for her dwarven friend seemed to compound hourly. "Eduwiges? What is going on?"
The battered warrior moved straight to Calidis. “Cal? She called me…Xan did. Tell me…Lethy…Xanderian..is she…is she hurt, or dead again? Is she in trouble, is it Larol? Or Mans? Or Desad? Or Burt? What has happened? Why won’t anyone TELL ME!!!!.”
Then she noticed that Xanderian was sitting quietly beside Calidis, smiling at her. The elleth rose and hugged Eduwiges tightly. "I am sorry to have startled you, my sweet lynx and sadly we have no time today for me to help you with your armor...I have news.”
Eduwiges calmed, taking in her surroundings and hugged Xanderian back. 'So you are alright? Are we going somewhere? What news?'
Xanderian took her hand, and then Edu noticed that both she and Calidis, as well as Elsa, were dressed for the road. 'I have received word from a friend, an old comrade....he has told me of the location of Deadre, who Ordan told you of.'
Eduwiges stared, 'The one he would not snitch on? The woman who knew my mother in the Blood Eye?' Xan just nodded.
Addiela still looked to be concerned about Edu's injuries and quietly was digging through her bag for some medicinal herbs while listening.
Eduwiges nodded, her jaw setting in anger, 'The one he was protecting.'
'Indeed..word is that she is in the village of Arnach....however, there is a problem.' Xanderian smiled grimly.
Calidis pulled a ribbon from her bag and marked her place in the book before setting it aside. She stood and hugged Edu, dark eyes inspecting her obvious injuries. In the weeks since the grim affair at Linhir, the two had grown closer as they bonded over a shared love. "Are you certain you are well enough for travel?"
Ellsabeth stood back admiring Edu’s injuries, curious about Cal's question as well while Addiela handed Cal the herbs she had found.
Eduwiges snorted, 'Bah, I’m fine. An apothecary in Dol Amroth gave me some kind of tincture to drink for pain. Lif had me fighting in that stupid ring she blows off stress in. I beat everyone I fought except for one….and that wasn’t my fault."
Calidis took the herbs from Addie with a nod and began to apply them to what wounds she could see, taking care to be gentle and not poke too much or cause further pain. Calidis however was no healer like Addie and just settled for 'all of it' when measuring out the herbal salve, applying most of it to Edu's black eye. Once finished she set the empty container aside.
Eduwiges yelped a bit at the touch of the ointment then relaxed as the pain faded. 'I do not think I have ever been hit so hard in my life. But I got a good shot or two in before I ate the mat.'
Xanderian frowned. 'Why would you do such a thing? There is always enough food here, thanks to Small Finchley'
Eduwiges looked at Xan incredulously then laughed…before realizing her face had gone so numb she could hardly talk.
Addiela had blinked at seeing Cal apply all the salve to Edu and had even held out a finger for a moment, but decided the elf might have known some ancient secret Addie didn’t about healing. Now she took the empty jar and looked down into it, momentarily stunned, "Well, that should definitely numb the pain..and everything else." she murmured.
Calidis checked Edu over one more time just to make doubly sure she hadn't missed anything and then turned to Addie, feeling her disapproving gaze. "... If you'd like I can procure more." She was blushing slightly.
Addiela shook her head gently, "Nay, I... think that should be enough to calm the pain." She then looked over to Edu, curious to study the effects that much salve would have on a person.
Eduwiges smiled lopsidely with half her face paralyzed. 'Thank you. That pained the fix oh boy. Good medicine elvish are.'
Calidis tilted her head and then turned to look at Edu. "... I am a jeweller," is all she had to say for herself.
Xanderian looked at Addie and whispered. "Will she be sober enough to ride?”
Addiela blinked a few more times as she watcheed one side of Edu's face freeze up in a calm, smooth expressionless state. "Uh... She should be fine to ride... perhaps not eat or drink for a bit...either way, it will be fascinating to observe."
Calidis looked more guilty, '... Perhaps you should tie her to the saddle, just in case.'
Eduwiges grinned goofily and slurred. “Excellent I am getting tied. Where did I leave my horse? We going?'
Xan nodded softly. “Yes we depart as soon as we can. Hopefully we will arrive in time to avoid simply claiming the body.'
Ellsabeth smiled, 'Yes...I am packed and ready to leave when the word is given.'
Addiela looked up, 'Claiming the body? What?'
Eduwiges looked like she was suddenly about to cry, the salve still making her seem drunk. 'Ooohhhh nooooooooo…..Daedre is dead?'
Xan shook her head and poured water for Edu which she drank eagerly, only spilling a little. 'Not as of yet...however she soon will be...The law of Arnach has pronounced she must hang.'
Eduwiges’ head cleared a bit from the water and she cracked her knuckles and grinned, 'Jailbreak then?'
Calidis laced her fingers together in front of her. "Hopefully if so it goes as smoothly as that time in Rohan...just no explosions this time."
“I fear there is little option.” Xan poured Edu more water. “According to my source, the list of charges is long...and in the absence of Forlong, Lord of Arnach, the guard captain intends to make an example of her. The captain is called Baranor and he governs the city while Lord Forlong is with the Host of the West....and I have heard he has support to keep the job should his Lord fall or be detained much longer, supporters you are familiar with.'
Calidis blinked. "Supporters we are familiar with?"
Xan nodded, 'A political faction...the Lebennin Loyalists....Xandilif said they caused you all some difficulties in Linhir.'
Addiela said nothing of the time in Rohan and even looked to be rather annoyed at hearing of them wanting to make an example of this woman, even though she had been with the Blood Eye at one point in time. “Are you so sure that freeing this woman is the right course, Xanderian? She has committed the crimes she is accused of, has she not? And would she not just return to working for her masters in Angmar?'
Eduwiges grimaced as she hears Xandilif's name and rubbed her jaw again, not looking forward to getting dressed down over losing like that. 'Elsa, you sure you want to go in on something like this?'
Ellsabeth smirked, 'I love crashing parties.'
Calidis looked to Addie, 'Even if she returns to her masters... Eduwiges deserves her answers, does she not?'
Addiela nodded slowly, 'I agree that she does deserve such.. but I am also concerned that this woman might already know of us. What if she sees it as an opportunity?'
"An opportunity for what, sister Addie?' Xanderian tilted her head.
Addiela frowned seriously, 'To turn you over to those she she may still work for, Xanderian'
'Ahhh..well that is a risk we will face should it come to pass...' Xan straightened her shoulders. 'At any rate the hanging of this Daedre is intended to be a sort of event...a show of power and control. However I am intrigued by how she was apprehended....'
Eduwiges looked curious, 'How was she captured Lethy?'
'This Baranor set a trap for her, regarding a relic called the Shaft of Returns which it was well know she had been seeking.” Xanderian looked at Addie. "This Shaft of Returns, according to legend has the ability to draw a man back from the realm of Shadow
Addiela turned her gaze away.
Calidis blinked and tilted her head. "What could our quarry or her masters want with such a thing. Is it not contrary to their purposes?"
'I do not know...” Xan looked concerned. “and it is highly specific...it cannot raise the dead, but is said to restore life to those who walk after death...wraiths and Liches.'
Calidis nodded and spared a glance for Addie, remembering faintly the events Hastaina brought into motion within her past and thanks goodness that Addie did not fall into Shadow.
Ellsabeth nodded grimly, 'Not something we shall wish to see in the wrong hands in that case.'
Xan agreed, 'It was apparently common knowledge for some years that she was seeking it...in is said she broke into several well known libraries and storehouses of such matters seeking it, and when finding it not there, she withdrew without stealing anything. Most curious for a professional thief. At any rate, I suspect our time is short...we will have much to do when we reach Arnach.'
Calidis attempted to smile at Addie in a way she hoped was reassuring before turning back to Xan. "... Perhaps she seeks it not for her masters but for herself."
Ellsabeth chimed in, 'Or as a means of making money by selling such an item to the highest bidder.'
Addiela shook her head, 'Nay…For one such as her to be so dedicated to finding such an item.. it must be personal. Very personal.'
Xanderian shrugged. “In truth it does not matter until we can ask her ourselves...but we must bustle. The old friend who gave me this knowledge has also given me the name of a person who may be able to educate us concerning the fearsome Prison of Arnach, known as the Donjon. However...Eduwiges...a word before we go?'
Eduwiges looked up, her mind going a mile a minute and still a bit foggy, 'Aye Lethy?'
The huntress rested a hand on her shoulder. 'There are a goodly number of Gondorian regulars based in Arnach, and the forces that serve the City alone are vast. We will not gain much with a frontal assault.'
Eduwiges nodded, clearing her head. 'So we need to sneak in and sneak out.'
Xan nodded gravely. 'Exactly....her life may depend on it.'
Eduwiges smiled, 'Well, sneaky is what I am best at!”
The pale haired warrior didn’t seem to notice the amused silence that had descended as the others prepared their gear to depart.
