Many of the scholars of the Houses of Lore in Minas Tirith lived in their own apartments in the Sage’s Tier, near the great library. These apartments were small, modest, cramped and built tightly together, with only thin walls separating one apartment from the next. The two men sitting in one of those apartments one evening of late autumn were neither scholars nor sages. One was sitting behind a small desk by the window, while the other sat on a bed with a hearing horn pressed against the wall. The walls between the apartments were parchment-thin, so the men only dared to talk to each other in whispers.
”She has not left the apartment the whole day. Again”, whispered the man behind the desk, Gwathron. ”Does she even have a life?”
”Nobody ever visits her and she never goes anywhere but the library”, Nadhorion replied. ”And such a pretty lady. It’s a shame. And this whole job is useless.”
”What do you mean?”
”Watching this lady. If the guy never attempted to come see her during the many months he has been living in that farmhouse in Arnach, he’s not going to come here now either. I think he just developed a bad case of cabin fever and took to the hills to get out of there.”
”He should have considered himself lucky that Parthadan wanted to take measures to protect him. And so should she.”
”Yeah.” Nadhorion pulled his ear off the horn, dropped the horn on the bed and rubbed his neck.
Gwathron said: ”Do you think that whoever wants the guy dead has given up on the chase?”
”For sure. We haven’t heard or seen anything in months. And I don’t think they were interested in the woman to begin with. No, they are after our guy. He has made a lot of enemies. Do you remember that Romenstar affair a few years back? Our guy was wanted for murder in Imloth Melui for a while back then, but the whole thing was swept under the rug really fast when Lord Falaben’s trade schemes in Harondor came to light. Falaben managed to dodge all the accusations of treason, but he was stabbed to death in an alley soon after. Last winter Parthadan sent this guy somewhere in Rohan, I heard tell, and when he came back two thugs from Rohan followed him to his home and attempted to murder him. He killed them both.”
”Who is he?”
”Parthadan’s tool for the dirtiest business in our trade – the kind even Denethor does not need or want to know about.”
”An assassin?”
Nadhorion nodded. ”You bet. And that’s just the start of it. This guy is as dirty as they come, absolutely without any morals or scruples. He doesn’t play by the rules. I’ve heard tell that if Parthadan asks him to go eat a baby, he will do it without batting an eyelid. Won’t even bother to roast it first.”
”That’s what you’ve heard, huh?”
”That’s what I’ve heard. I've heard that Denethor has wanted to get rid of him for years, but Parthadan has always managed to protect him so far. They say that there are no limits to what this guy can do, and sometimes Parthadan needs guys like that to do his dirty work. And Denethor in turn needs guys like Parthadan, as much as he might resent it.”
”Do you reckon he ate them?”
”Who?”
”The thugs from Rohan.”
”The story doesn’t tell. Ha ha – probably not. Shush!”
Nadhorion lifted a finger to his lips, picked up the hearing horn and pressed it against the wall. He heard someone knocking on the door of the neighboring apartment.
”Who’s there?” asked a woman’s voice.
”It’s me, Tangaron”, said a man’s voice. ”Are you there, Radawen?”
Nadhorion heard the sound of a door opening.
”Oh, you brought me flowers!” Radawen’s voice did not sound excited. ”You shouldn’t have.”
”I just came by to ask if you would come with me to the Thirsty Seer tonight”, Tangaron said. ”There will be a new troupe of wandering minstrels from Edoras performing. I think it would be fun.”
”I’m sorry, but I have to go to bed early tonight. I have to give a very early lecture in the morning.”
”Awww, that’s too bad, Radawen! Some other night then?”
”Sure, but give me a few days’ heads up next time, okay?”
”You bet. I just thought to come by and ask you, as the rest of us are going. You should loosen up and live a little, Radawen! You will end up a lonely old spinster if all you do is work!”
”Are you angry with something?”
”Only you.”
”Oh, good. I thought it might have been something important!”
There was a sound of the door closing.
”She’s an uppity one”, Nadhorion whispered. ”And now she’s going to bed. Perhaps we could go to the Thirsty Seer ourselves and have a bite to eat or something.”
”How about an ale?”
”Sure, let’s have an ale too. Let’s go! Nothing will happen tonight.”
”What if the guy shows up?”
”He won’t.”
