[Thenamir]

Micanar was about to crack indeed. This was going according to plan.

Acting was Micanar's forté, one of many skills he plied with ease in his "business" of mercenary spy/soldier. An early-discovered gift for observation and mimicry taught him well. Subtle eye movements, unconscious changes in posture, almost-unnoticeable changes in expression, barely audible voice inflections that betrayed fear, doubt, confidence (and overconfidence), deception, and a hundred other emotions. Emotions which, if convincingly portrayed, could spell the difference between success and failure in being someone he was not.

Combined with a talent for using common and mostly harmless items as weapons, and a nimble mental flexibility, he excelled in his malfeasance beyond the scope of common thugs, orcs, and criminals. And he rented that excellence to the highest bidder, no questions asked.

Deceiving Thranduil had been a real coup, although Micanar himself almost cracked under his steel-grey gaze. He had succeeded, just barely, in convincing the elf king that he was a common hired thug, a mere pawn in bigger plans. Even the men with him thought him slow, weak, and whining. That was as it should be. He knew the old saying well, "if you want something done right, do it yourself." Or at least supervise it closely.

Micanar knew that the only way to get to Thranduil, into his realm, and thru his magic gates, and past his guards, was to be invited in. Tramping through the elf king's realm with this troupe of grumbling noisemakers gained him just the invitation he needed.

He also figured that the other men were tough enough to hold out for awhile, to obey the "boss's orders," the instructions given by the big gruff man he had hired to gruff-swagger instructions to Micanar's men. He did a good job too. Too bad he had to be killed before they left. (Leaving witnesses lying around was not good for "business.")

After a suitable interlude it was time for him to be the first one to "crack," and be ushered back into Thranduil's commanding presence. There, his acting skills would be put to the ultimate test. For which his true employer had promised a suitable reward.