[Amanaduial the archer]

Aman, coming down the stairs, winced as the man lying on the floor jarred his head on the bar, one of his legs seeming to be twisted at an impossible angle. Ah, no, his was a wooden one, she remembered seeing it last night. But how had she managed to miss him when clearing up last night? Guiltily, the Innkeeper remembered walking along the path and through the grass nearby with Beren, talking and laughing, kicking up the dew - she hadn't exactly been vigilant about the Inn...

She was about to go and help, whether with kind words, a helping hand, or a thrown bucket of water she hadn't decided, when the door opened - a mystery, as it should have been locked. Yes, Aman distinctly remembered locking the door...ah, Uien must have gone out in the early morning or something.

The elf, who she recognised as Lira, the elven girl who had complimented her on her horse-handling skills the night before, nodded to her politely, and Aman returned it. Esgalhugwen, beside her (looking much better than the last time Aman had seen her, lying pale and gasping in a bed upstairs, tended to by Vanwe), did the same. The Innkeeper grinned despite herself - they were like a couple of hens, bobbing the farmyard.

"Mistress Innkeeper," Lira paused, apparently psyching herself up, and due to her nervous expression, Aman decided not to interject that she didn't have to call her that every time, as it might further put her off. Lira seemed to take a deep mental breath before continuing quickly, "do you have anything that Esgallhugwen and I could do to help you in any way?"

Aman clicked her fingers, irritated - not with Lira, but with herself. She had, once again, forgotten, what with all that had happened last night. The girl seemed instantly to deflate, and seemed about to bid her a good morning and leave, so Aman spoke hastily.

"No, no, nothing like that. In fact, I think I was about to reply last night, before all the kerfuffle - no offence meant, of course," she addressed the last mark to Esgalhugwen, who smiled obligingly. Lira looked slightly less nervous, but not much. "I talked to Cook - sorry, that's Ms Vinca Bunce, works here also - about this, and it turns out I could actually do with a hand, although I'm not sure it would be enough for two extra sets of hands. I very recently came back from the Prancing Pony, in Bree, and have procurred several wines - there is a celebration coming up, the naming ceremony of the previous Innkeeper's two newborns...but there are also years of old wines still down in the cellar. Now, it would take me several solid weeks - and Eru knows how many flattening hangovers," shd added with a grin. "- to get all of them tasted, classified, and labled. It would be good to have some help in that quarter. Oh, and one of the waitresses is going away for a few days, so help there would be appreciated as well. Also...actually, yes, also, there is the matter of a set of rooms which need to be refurbished upstairs for Pio - that's the previous Innkeeper - when she comes. What do you say?"

She paused, watching Lira's features, then clicked her fingers again, remembering what else she had meant to say. "Oh yes - and the name is Aman." She added with a grin.