[Fordim Hedgethistle]

Shirriff Hornblower is my cousin and I’m sure he can find the time to oversee the conclusion of this weary endeavor. Toby’s words hung over Snaveling’s head like an axe. He had been too preoccupied by the strange fading of his vision to pay much heed to what the rat-faced, dim-witted, tallow-sided halfling was going on about until it was too late. A shirriff! What could the hobbit possibly be thinking! Wrenching himself free from his brooding thoughts, Snaveling turned his most ferocious glare on the hobbit, hoping that this would be enough to stop that interminable mouth of his. But before he could say a word, the halfling jabbed Roa in the arm – Snaveling had no idea why – causing her to roar in pain.

Snaveling slumped back against a tree in defeat – what could he possibly do when surrounded with people like this? Galadel immediately took charge of the situation, of course, and began ordering everyone around. Snaveling’s eyes fell on Roa as she was receiving the Elf’s care and he could see that she was resolving something slowly in her mind’s eye. He also knew, the instant he looked at her, that she was somehow responsible for the loss of his vision. It’s a hunting lodge, he cried out to himself, with…five?…rooms…and a porch, and there will be a woman to cook for you…; but even as he tried to fix it in his memory once more, he could only see the words, not the things they stood for. The birdsong in the valley below the porch had faded, the sun had gone dark and the halls of his home were growing stale and dusty with disuse.

He sighed heavily and looked toward the Inn. All the colour drained from his face. For the first time he noticed that the Inn yard was veritably swarming with Shirrifs! The one in charge, whom he took to be Toby's cousin, was apparently trying to arrest a child over the objections of a beligerent dwarf. Snaveling's back crawled at the thought of what this fellow would do with someone such as himself, should the theft of the gold be discovered. But that was his one ray of hope at the moment -- had the theft been reported, the hue and cry would no doubt have been raised. So perhaps his luck would hold. For the time being, however, he had to find someway to settle this issue amongst themselves -- anything to avoid getting the shirriffs involved!

Snaveling turned to Galadel, and idea formulating itself in his mind. "My Lady," he began, mustering as much sincerity as he could. "You are clearly one of high birth, and this matter is new to you, perhaps we could rely on your judgement to settle it for us until such time as the Inn is repaired and we can think on it again." Galadel looked uncertain but exchaning a quick glance with Roa, she then assented. Assuming the superior air that belongs solely to Elven kind, she asked what, precisely, was the problem.

Snaveling opened his mouth to reply, but Roa cut him off with a look. “As you can undoubtedly tell,” she said softly, “there is some dispute over the ownership of that gold. It is a complicated matter that I daresay will take some time to resolve. This Man,” she indicated Snaveling, “claims that the gold is his, but Valthalion has his suspicions about that. I must admit, that I do too. I have, however, been thinking about a way to resolve this matter. For the time being, Valthalion will keep the gold in trust for the rightful owner. He is young and rash, but honest. I will act as his surety. As to Snaveling, he may be the rightful owner, or he may not. Whatever the case may be, I would suggest that for the time being he be kept in my custody.” Snaveling’s heart sank. He knew that Roa was proposing this for more reason that the gold – such a trivial matter was below the consideration of a Dunedain such as herself. She clearly was beginning to have her suspicions about how she came to be trapped in the cellar, and she wanted to keep him close by until she could work them out.

Galadel thought for a moment about this before speaking with each of them in turn. When it came to Snaveling to speak, he was as guarded as he could be, but he could tell that she was seeing more in his words than he wanted. Snaveling and Toby grudgingly agreed to Roa's solution as it kept the shirriffs out of the way -- for the time being. For Valthalion it was enough that Roa had suggested it to make him agree. It was soon resolved that until the matter of the gold were settled once and for all, it would remain in the keeping of Valthalion, while Snaveling remained in the keeping of Roa.

For the first time in a very long time, Snaveling could not think of anything to say.