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piosenniel · 01-16-2004, 03:20 PM

Berilac

The air was still heavy with the promise of more rain that afternoon as Berilac made his way to the Inn. Mausi and Rosco had begged him to stay at Mausi’s house. ‘Rest, Berilac,’ they had told him in a dozen different ways when they had returned home. ‘The fire is out; the town safe. Relax for a while.’

And he did rest . . . for a while. But something niggled at the back of his mind. What if the fire had not started accidentally? What if the outlander Big Folk had set it deliberately? It would be the type of diversion they might use if they wished to draw attention away from there point of attack. Draw all the townsfolk to one end of Bree and slip in armed at the other. Thoughts tumbled, one over the other, as he left the little family sleeping in their bedrooms and crept past his brother who snored on the couch.

The Inn’s business was just starting to pickup when he entered and slid into a booth. The door banged open just after he’d sat down, letting in a gust of wind and wet leaves trail in behind the entrant. It was Mungo! Lily’s stand-in grampa. The old fellow took off his cloak and twitched the raindrops off it carefully in the small entryway, then hung it on a hook along with his felt hat. Berilac hailed him, motioning at the serving girl to bring another half pint of stout for his friend.

They fell to talking of Will and the fortunate end of the fire – a conversation which lasted well into a second mug of the Pony’s fine ale. One of Mungo’s old cronies spotted them and toddled over, already well into Pony’s prizewinning brew. Introductions were made; then, Elfrid motioned the other two to lean close over the table.

‘Guy was here today,’ he whispered in a conspiratorial tone. Berilac looked at Mungo and shrugged his shoulders. ‘Traveling man, peddler,’ the Hobbit said quickly then urged Elfrid to go on. Guy was a frequent source of fresh news from the outside.

Berilac’s level of alarm climbed as Elfrid related what he had overheard. ‘I knew it!’ he thought, as the man continued on. ‘The Bandits are massing their troops. The fire was just a test to see how we would respond. The Mayor and the captain must hear of this. We need to be ready and soon.’ He waited until Elfrid had finished speaking and then excused himself. ‘You two lads have another on me,’ he said, putting a few coins on the table. ‘I’ve got a little business to take care of.’

Mungo nodded and smiled as the Ranger left the table. Elfrid, on the other hand, had already called over the server and exchanged his empty mug for a full and foaming one.

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 5:12 PM January 16, 2004: Message edited by: piosenniel ]

01-16-2004, 03:20 PM	#232
piosenniel Desultory Dwimmerlaik Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Pickin' flowers with Bill the Cat..... Posts: 7,779	Berilac The air was still heavy with the promise of more rain that afternoon as Berilac made his way to the Inn. Mausi and Rosco had begged him to stay at Mausi’s house. ‘Rest, Berilac,’ they had told him in a dozen different ways when they had returned home. ‘The fire is out; the town safe. Relax for a while.’ And he did rest . . . for a while. But something niggled at the back of his mind. What if the fire had not started accidentally? What if the outlander Big Folk had set it deliberately? It would be the type of diversion they might use if they wished to draw attention away from there point of attack. Draw all the townsfolk to one end of Bree and slip in armed at the other. Thoughts tumbled, one over the other, as he left the little family sleeping in their bedrooms and crept past his brother who snored on the couch. The Inn’s business was just starting to pickup when he entered and slid into a booth. The door banged open just after he’d sat down, letting in a gust of wind and wet leaves trail in behind the entrant. It was Mungo! Lily’s stand-in grampa. The old fellow took off his cloak and twitched the raindrops off it carefully in the small entryway, then hung it on a hook along with his felt hat. Berilac hailed him, motioning at the serving girl to bring another half pint of stout for his friend. They fell to talking of Will and the fortunate end of the fire – a conversation which lasted well into a second mug of the Pony’s fine ale. One of Mungo’s old cronies spotted them and toddled over, already well into Pony’s prizewinning brew. Introductions were made; then, Elfrid motioned the other two to lean close over the table. ‘Guy was here today,’ he whispered in a conspiratorial tone. Berilac looked at Mungo and shrugged his shoulders. ‘Traveling man, peddler,’ the Hobbit said quickly then urged Elfrid to go on. Guy was a frequent source of fresh news from the outside. Berilac’s level of alarm climbed as Elfrid related what he had overheard. ‘I knew it!’ he thought, as the man continued on. ‘The Bandits are massing their troops. The fire was just a test to see how we would respond. The Mayor and the captain must hear of this. We need to be ready and soon.’ He waited until Elfrid had finished speaking and then excused himself. ‘You two lads have another on me,’ he said, putting a few coins on the table. ‘I’ve got a little business to take care of.’ Mungo nodded and smiled as the Ranger left the table. Elfrid, on the other hand, had already called over the server and exchanged his empty mug for a full and foaming one. <font size=1 color=339966>[ 5:12 PM January 16, 2004: Message edited by: piosenniel ] __________________ Eldest, that’s what I am . . . I knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless - before the Dark Lord came from Outside.