Thread: ATM II RPG
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Old 07-08-2006, 07:36 PM   #164
Feanor of the Peredhil
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Feanor of the Peredhil is a guest of Elrond in Rivendell.Feanor of the Peredhil is a guest of Elrond in Rivendell.Feanor of the Peredhil is a guest of Elrond in Rivendell.
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Alli grimaced, telling herself calmly that she had seen the contents of a stomach multiple times, that she would again, and that she would, under no circumstances, be queasy just now. It didn't work. She turned white, though nobody noticed due to the lack of contrast between that and her usual pale cheeks.

"We'll be staying here until he's better."

Angawen and Hyarmenwë expressed concern over this. Though they had left the palace, they had not planned to be gone for as long as it would take for Bearugard to convalesce.

"Listen," Alli said briskly, "We shall be travelling back to the palace in highly unconventional ways. Do either of you wish, while moving at a high rate of speed, to be anywhere near Bearugard just now? Nor do I."

They blanched and Alli knew that they would not argue the matter further.

Alli spoke quietly to the deaf innkeeper and then repeated her words quite a lot louder when he made no signs of having heard.

"Old man," she finally yelled, waving her arms about. He looked at her, confused.

"Who are you? Nancy? Is that you?"

"No. My name is Alli Umfuil and I need two rooms."

"Two?" Angawen hissed from behind. Alli turned around and glared.

"When I was forced to leave the palace to find escaped political prisoners, I was also forced, due to time constraints, to leave my money purse behind. I have little money on me just now, and I know well that none you carry will work here. I would go into detail, but surely it would be slightly less than worth the effort given the unlikelihood of your subsequent understanding. As it is, I have only the money for two rooms and cannot charge it to a palace that has disappeared. You will share a room with me, and Hyarmenwë will, much though I regret it, quarter with your ill companion. Is that clear?"

Her voice was icy and Angawen, very much against character, did not respond. Her lips moved and Alli heard only a soft baa in one ear. She smiled and turned back to the innkeeper.

"Two rooms. Your payment, sir."

The next two days passed in a flurry of Gondorian cuisine followed by the occasional regurgitation of the same from their ill companion. Each member of the heavy hearted group politely pretended not to notice, though all patience was wearing thin by the time that Bearugard seemed well enough to travel.

It was with much relief that the four finally pulled up beside the mislocated palace, still miraculously parked in Lost Angles, after having stopped at every gas station (Hyarmenwë and Bearugard seemed dubious about this) along the way to ask for news and directions. Alli had hired a U-Haul and had driven carefully enough that Bearugard would not be sick again and just speedily enough that Angawen, without a seatbelt, was jostled unnecessarily. Hyarmenwë had expressed concern over this anakronism only to be assured by Alli that all would be as well as could be expected.

Still, as I already wrote, they were all relieved to get back. Alli sent the ambassadors to their rooms without consideration for the fact that they were all older than her by a rather large number of years. She slipped through hidden passageways that ran parallel to the main ones, coming into her office from a door built into the stonework of her fireplace.

"Ms. Martinet!!!" There was no answer. Alli sighed and went to her desk, finding six or seven towering stacks of paper. She wondered what her secretary had been doing since she left and glanced at each stack before conveniently losing her grip on every single pile just as she equally conveniently carried them past her roaring fire. Paperwork completed, she looked at the hand-written note that had been duct taped to her desk beneath each pile. She'd never been happier that she'd encouraged Ms. Martinet to let Lola do the occasional bit of information compilation. It was so much simpler this way...

Pile One:
Nothing of immediate importance.
Shelob and family on the move.
Igor spying. Permission granted?

Pile Two:
Vaguely interesting.
Ambassador Skittles nearly died. Igor fixed her.
Roggie seems in a better mood.
Malfoidacil disappears at night. Set higher watch?

Pile Three:
Critical.
You are out of tea.
And Sheridan's.
There appears to be a rat in your office. Did you put it there, dahling?

Alli jumped at reading that and pulled her feet up off of the floor before staring wistfully at her liquor cabinet. How could she be out of Sheridan's? That was depressing. She'd have to remedy that and then perhaps go speak with Roggie.

She glanced at the other messages, noting nothing but that she'd received no messages from Aime. Was he still interested? Had he forgotten the passion of the moment when he had saved her from the clutches of Mariowolf? Did he not like her kisses? She blushed. Why did he not write? Why did he not call?

She pushed the thoughts from her mind. Of course he was still interested in her. She refused to allow the word 'love' to flit through her mind and forced her attention onto more pressing matters. Tea. Where could she get good tea in Mordor? She'd had to smuggle the last in from Gondor, but that would be a bit tough right now...

She sighed, finally getting up with a grimace. She'd have loved a nap, but such was life.

"Roggie, let me in." She pounded on his door and heard him growl to enter. "The Gondorian ambassadors escaped, as I'm sure you know. I brought them back. Where is everybody else and what do you have planned?"

He sighed and turned around; he'd been staring into his barren fireplace.

"Warlady Skittles is healed by Igor. His only request for repayment is that negotiations should reopen."

"And?"

"And they will recommence tomorrow."

Alli jumped for joy inside of her perfectly still body and tried to remember just what the ambassadors had been discussing before everything turned confusing.

Had they even discussed anything? Icebreakers... that's what it was. She would fix matters.

And so, when the next day dawned, she met six of the eight delagates in the same room in which they had originally been. Bearugard was feeling a bit better, but not yet well enough to appear formally. Smilog was nowhere to be seen.

"You've all been introduced. You've gotten to know each other a bit better. If you feel the need, you may spend a bit more time on such matters. Your task for today is to discuss trade. Roggie would like to export. Mardil refuses to accept anakronistic trade items. I don't care how, but fix it so that both sides are vaguely content, or at least not war-happy. I'll be back later."

Last edited by Feanor of the Peredhil; 07-10-2006 at 09:19 AM.
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