[Child of the 7th Age]

As the morning hours slipped by and gave way to afternoon, Khandr waited impatiently for some word of what was happening at court. Surely, he would be summoned to hear the news the Elves had brought and to learn the Ulfings' response to the matters being discussed. But despite his impatient pacing from one end of the house to the other, no information had been forthcoming. Just before the noonday meal, he had gone out for a ride and heard snatches of conversation between those standing guard outside the great hall. There was talk of renewed force from the north and the need to muster troops to stand against the threat, though none of the guards seemed to know what Ulfang and his sons had decided in response to the Elves' unexpected arrival.

Talk of Morgoth and his continuing menace made Khandr wish that he was closer to home. If a war was truly coming, he needed to return to King Bor and offer his services for the muster. He hated war and fighting with a passion; it was one of the reasons that he had served as an envoy for the Borrim these many years, attempting to secure what his landsmen needed by peaceful discussions. But with Morgoth there could be no negotiating, no effort to reach an accomodation. With the evil machinations of the Dark Lord, there could only be swift and certain retaliation on their part. Whatever differences existed between the Ulfings and Borrim, the two tribes of Easterlings surely must agree on that.

With these grim thoughts in mind, Khandr had resigned himself to weeding through a large stack of messages from court concerning the marriage negotiations and then sat down to try and draft a reply. The hours of the afternoon slowly ticked by and, by the time Khandr finished, it was almost time for his guests to arrive. He went down and queried Briga as to who had accepted the invitation and the state of the preparations for the feast. She had slipped out of the kitchen into the hall and pulled him into a small waiting room where they could talk privately. "It's been a hard day, my dear," his wife confided. "Embla has been nothing but trouble. She's done very little work. But the servants pulled together, and I think our preparations are almost complete. I had been hoping for a fine cheese and egg pie, but Hunta is not back yet. I'll just save the cheese to serve with desert as we've made an apple pastry that would do well with a bit of pungent cheese."


Hunta? Cheese and egg pie? Khandr stared quizzically back at his wife, wondering how the two were connected.

They had been together so many years that the woman could read her husband's unasked questions with ease and hastily replied, "Oh, yes. You'll be pleased at what I did. We bought a cheese from one of the villagers, and I had Hunta walk back with her to try and pick up any gossip or news. You never know what you'll hear if you keep your ears open on the streets. Anyways, he was supposed to gather information and drop by after picking up the cheese. Only he must have been delayed as there's been no Hunta and no cheese."

"Whose idea was this?"

"The cheese?"

"Not the cheese," he laughed. "The part about gathering information.."

"Why mine, of course. I am always trying to help. You are worried, Khandr, even beyond the little you tell me. I can read it on your face." She looked over towards her husband. He seemed to have aged ten years in the past three months. She went on in a gentler tone, "We've been locked out by the court. We know little of what is going on. I know you are going to ask the other Borrim to keep their ears open. So I thought I would help by asking Hunta to accompany the villager to her home and to speak with her kinsfolk and friends. Perhaps they've heard something."

Khandr didn't know whether to laugh or cry. What kind of a world did they live in when an envoy's wife had to ask a young retainer to spy on a passel of poor villagers? Briga had never been interested in such things. Her life centered on her children and the gossip of her friends. He looked down at his wife and smiled indulgently, "My dear, I know you meant well but let's not be hasty. Better we should wait and discuss these things tonight."

Briga bit her lower lip and stared down at the ground. "I only meant to help. It's just that I feel....oh, so useless. I know no one here except for you and Embla and our servants. And Embla makes it difficult. She is so unhappy...." and so young, Briga wistfully reflected. "I thought if we could just figure out what is going on at court , then we could all pack up and go home. That's really what I want to do. I don't like this place. I have a bad feeling." She looked over at Khandr with an imploring glance.

Khandr sighed and took Briga's hand, "I too wish we were at home. And sometimes I too feel useless." He leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Let us enjoy this evening then, even with this talk of intrigue and plans. It seems we have little time to spend with each other for I have been away in the great hall for hours every day. But for now, Briga, promise me....you'll not ask anyone else to go spying. We must be careful what we do. I want to assign each of our men, and you and Embla as well, to a particular household or courtier to get information. We need to coordinate our efforts. The information doesn't necessarily have to come through the lord, but be garnered from the servants or whoever else we can make contact with. But enough of this for now. We will discuss this more with our guests."

Giving her his arm, he smiled, "My dear, I must say you look quite ravishing. That blue dress suits you. Let's go down to the hall and wait. I believe our guests will soon be arriving." As an afterthought he added, "Ah, yes, and is Embla coming as well?"

Briga nodded.

"Good then. For I believe she may have a knack for this kind of thing. And perhaps she might even enjoy an assignment like this. I will make a point of speaking with her tonight....."

With that, the couple turned and headed for the hall where the feast was now being laid out.