(Continued from The Occupation of Bree- Part 1)
Gareth’s cobalt blue cloak snapped behind him as he rose from the chair and then brushed along the wooden floor while he walked around the desk and toward the group; his steps were heavy, ominous sounding even, and caused the boards to creak loudly underneath his weight. “It seems that you are all here... mostly… Where are the Last Lion and her pet?”
“The girl Finchley is hardly a pet, Steelheart,” Cal responded bitterly.
Xan placed her hand on Cal’s shoulder and calmly replied, “My sister and small Finchley are seeing to other business elsewhere.”
Gareth nodded and then motioned to Rana with his gauntleted hand. “And who’s the new elf?”
Rana remained silent for a moment as he studied the man’s ornate shoulder guards, which was fashioned in the shape of a hound’s face on the left shoulder; then, upon seeing that he was being gestured at, he politely bowed. “I am Ranamellon, Ambassador to Lord Elrond of Rivendell. I was selected from among my people to travel with them and assist them in the name of my Lord.”
Gareth smirked. “So the Lord of Rivendell has finally put a watchdog on the Stranded Sisters?"
“Forget all that!” Anna interjected. “Who in the blazes are you and why are you in this office and that chair? What have you done with the mayor?”
Gareth dipped his head toward Anna, somewhat civilly, and made his formal introduction. “I am Gareth, House Palaniel.” His hardened gaze swept over her. “And you are… Fenton, isn’t it? Annabette Fenton? One of the so called ‘academics’ of these parts?”
Rana crossed his arms across his chest and quietly listened to the exchange.
“Sure, call it that.” Anna huffed out. “But that still doesn’t answer all of my questions.”
Neth tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. "Anna makes a good point. How came you by this position?"
“Easy Neth,” Edu scoffed, “he walked in with his guards and took it.”
Gareth’s lips curled up into somewhat of a smile. “You need not fear, Nethrida of the Vanguard or Fenton of the Bree ‘academics’; I am only holding it for a brief time. The local authorities did not think it right for a detachment of the Hounds to linger in Bree while we waited for you so, we became the local authorities… blending in for now, if you will.”
Anna remained expressionless and just stared at the large man, but in her mind she was estimating how much time it would take for her people in Bree to form the ranks to oust the Hounds from within their walls.
“And speaking of blending in…” Gareth continued, “Have you misplaced the Shadowslip already? Lianna said that you freed her from the Donjon in Arnach and that she was traveling with you.”
Edu tensed up when he spoke of her mother and then looked around for her, as did the rest of the group.
“Where -is- Daedre?” Cal asked out loud, even though it was clear that everyone was baffled by the disappearance.
Neth blinked a few times "Wasn't... she here with us?"
Cal shook her head in disappointment. “That was rather quick show of true colors...”
Gareth shrugged and waved it off. "Not surprising... in fact, it would be better for you to lose track of that one, she’s nothing but trouble... no doubt she is somewhere listening to us right now...” As he spoke those words, the silhouette of a shapely woman appeared in the window behind him for a brief moment, long enough for the group to catch sight of her, and then disappeared into the shadows again. “But I haven’t come to arrest her…" he continued, "at least not in this moment. I’m here on other business.”
Cal glanced toward the window for a split second before snapping her black gaze back to Gareth and crossing her arms in front of her chest. "And have you come to arrest us so that you can also throw us into a gaol that is supposedly 'safe', only for it not to be? And will you also drag us along in disguise only to have us meet a gruesome end?" Her tone was more bitter than she meant it to be, but her intent was clear in reminding Gareth of his past sins in dealing with Hawk.
Addie's jaw clenched at Cal's words and she started to tear up, but Steelheart didn’t seem to be fazed at all. "I mean you no harm,” he casually replied, “any of you...more or less…”
Neth's gaze lingered on the window for a moment before returning her attention back to Gareth with a subtle sigh. "Then might I ask what is it that the Hounds are doing this far north?"
“I am on orders from the Steward himself, ” Gareth replied as he dropped his ‘playful’ demeanor and spoke in a more serious tone- which wasn’t that much of a difference from how he always looked and spoke. “He has heard whispers, daughter of the Vanguard, whispers that Thranduil betrays us.”
“Do you not think that the steward should have greater worries on his mind?” Edu inquired. “I have seen what threatens Gondor. You would be better used on the borders.”
"It is not my place to think for my betters," the Captain answered back in a matter-of-fact way. "You would suffer less if you felt the same, Elfward.”
Edu controlled her impulse to bristle at him, but Anna scoffed back, “So you ride into a sovereign country and usurp its seat of government to ‘chat’ with us over his worries?”
Gareth looked at Anna as though that answer was already obvious. "If it be his will, we will overturn any dungpile like this... but fear not, we will soon be gone and this town can return to its customary lechery.”
Anna’ eyes narrowed. "I'll remember your words and see that you have cause to remember them as well."
“Get in line, Anna…” Edu grumbled with an exaggerated eye-roll in Gareth's direction.
Clearly agitated now, Cal turned her gaze to the floor. “I imagine that what Thranduil does in his realm is none of your business, Steelheart... Why should he owe his allegiance to you? He has owed his allegiance to no one save his own people for over and Age.”
Gareth appeared to be amused by the response. "As you say, Lady Calidis, the woodland realm is no friend of Minas Tirith; at best we have no business at all, and at worst... well… Thranduil suffers from the arrogance of the first born.”
Cal’s hand balled into a fist as she looked back up and just glared at Gareth.
"Betray?” Neth muttered out, still looking aghast. “But why? What could the King gain by betraying us?”
The Captain locked eyes with Neth. “The better question, daughter of the Vanguard, might be why all of you went to visit the Halls of the Elven King. Why did he summon you there?”
Neth's brows rose in surprise, she certainly had not expected for Gareth to be aware of the trip. "There was something that Calidis… uh… we had to attend to. Something we could not ignore."
Cal glanced over at Neth, but remained tight-lipped and clearly uncomfortable with the topic.
Gareth sighed at the response, then, reached back to retrieve a piece of paper from the desk; and after handing it over to Neth, he told her to read it out to the group.
“Hound,
Seek out the Company of the Three Graces. I have seen them in the halls of Felegoth where the king of the trees breeds treachery, disguised as malady. Seek the truth of his machinations.”
It was evident by their expressions that his orders had struck a nerve. Gareth shook his head and spoke to Neth once more, this time in a tone that was biting and stern. “As a Captain of Minas Tirith, I command you to tell me what you were doing in Felegoth, Sir Knight. What did you see there that has you all so defensive?”
Neth tensed up and looked to the others in the group. Knowing that her position, as well as her honor, gave the woman no choice but to answer him, Edu sighed and rolled her eyes. However, as Neth opened her mouth to reply, one of the guards entered the room dragging a man behind him by the back of the collar, much like a mother cat would carry her young. "Found this one skulking about, Sir... This is the smarmy minstrel in the description, yes?”
Addie's eyes widened as she recognized the person that the guard had brought into the room, and she had to turn her head to the side to keep from laughing. The man was a bit rough in appearance- dressed in orange with a scruffy beard and the scent of drink upon his person. Like Addie, Neth also struggled to hide her amusement as did Cal, who had even opened her mouth and then shut it again to keep from distracting from the seriousness of the other situation. Edu, however, cackled at the sight.
The skald worked himself loose from the guard’s grip and stood to his feet. “By all things in the means of a day…” he mumbled as he dusted himself off.
Gareth looked the man up and down. "Disguised as a local drunk, I see… clever.”
Rathvald responded with an amused, albeit refined, grin. “Ah, here I thought I was one that in the light is nowhere to be found, but in the dusk my form is held to corner and hearth, reflecting that which is kept within the hearts of any serf." As he spoke, he looked around the room and finally noticed that his friends were also present. “Oh! What've I stumbled myself in to?”
Addie turned her head to Rath and replied, "It appears that you 'stumbled' into a knight of Minas Tirith, dear Rathvald… They have disguised themselves as the Bree watch, taken over town hall, and have summoned us here to interrogate us on a few matters."
Rath’s mind fluttered about the situation for a moment. "Oh? Intrigue? Political?... Mayhaps coin as well?"
Neth took in a deep breath and answered, "A disease of some kind... a plague."
(To be continued…)