The Green Dragon Inn - Part 10

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

Snaveling hurried through the yard of the Green Dragon to the stables. He felt as a child did before a celebration, so excited was he by the thought of the new clothes that he would be purchasing. His brief conversation with Aman remained clear in his mind, but it was quickly moving into the background as he thought ahead to what was to come. He had been too terrified to speak with Roa after carrying up the barrel, even after her manner had made it clear that she was ready to accept him into her company again, if not to forgive him entirely. He wondered if Aman had chosen a barrel of ale consciously, to remind him that his crimes were not forgotten. The weight of the barrel lingered in his lean arms, but he shook them lightly to drive away the strain.

He paused before the door of the stable and took a deep breath of the night air to clear the last of the cobwebs from his mind. He was still light-headed from the drink, but so much had happened this night that the fog which had enveloped him earlier was all but gone.

Inside, Pimpernel was waiting for him with an extremely fat hobbit whom he introduced as Otho Bracegirdle. The tailor bowed to Snaveling deeply and immediately began pulling his wares from a small valise that he had brought. “I don’t often get requests for clothing from the Big Folk, but I do have some that might suit you nicely. Yes,” he said, evaluating, as he held up a bright tunic of red velvet, “this might be what you need.” Snaveling shook his head and glared at the hobbit darkly. Immediately, another tunic, this one a rich blue appeared, but Snaveling did not like the look of the tassels that adorned the shoulders so it too was soon replaced.

It took a while, for the valise at the hobbit’s side was remarkably full, but eventually Snaveling was satisfied with his new clothing. He quickly removed his rags and placed them gently on the straw of his stall – he was tempted, as a gesture, to throw them away, but he knew that the fortunes of those who dwelt in Middle-Earth were never so certain that one could toss away their old cloaks heedlessly. Mr. Bracegirdle helped him get dressed and spent a few minutes adjusting the cloth. It was a surprisingly good fit, requiring only a few stitches under the arms to tighten it up. As the fat tailor worked on his suit, Snaveling put Pimpernel to work coming out his long black hair with an iron comb that the Man borrowed from a nearby saddlebag. When they were finished Snaveling stood and looked at himself in the small mirror that the tailor had brought. It had been so long since he had seen himself in a mirror, or – for that matter – anyone in fine clothing that he hardly knew what to make of himself.

“Thank you Mr Bracegirle,” he said. “These clothes will do nicely. Now, I have no idea what this might cost so I will ask you to take what you require from the coin Pimpernel brought you, and to return the change to Mr Tobias Hornblower. Oh! Make sure that Pimpernel here gets one or two silver pennies as well.” Both hobbits, the young and the fat, bowed to him deeply and started into their extended hobbit thank you’s, but Snaveling was already out the door and heading to the Inn.

The moment he stepped into the light he knew that the transformation was as profound as any he could have hoped for. Those who knew him stared with open surprise, while those who did not assumed that there was a new arrival at the Inn. Several weeks at the Inn, and the company he had formed and kept there, had done much to improve his manner and bearing. Where before there had been a cringing sallow fellow, there now stood straight and tall a Man of the South; his face, previously bearded and cragged, was clean shaven and the lines of his face were no longer vicious but patrician and severe. He was much taller than any there remembered, but in truth, he had merely found the strength to stand upright. His dark eyes flashed with glee, but there remained in their depths a hardness unassailable and inviolate. He was a dangerous Man still, but no longer in a petty and mean way. His new clothes were of dark material, richly woven. They were simply cut and made, as were all the clothes of the Shire, but they were worthy of a powerful lord, and indeed he did not seem out of place in them. On his chest, glittering in the light of the party and bright against the black of his tunic, was his amulet, freshly polished.

Snaveling recoiled somewhat from the stares of those who turned to look at him, but his eyes sought out the table where Toby and Roa sat. Both of them were looking at him in amazement. As he strode toward them he caught Aman’s eye from across the room and saw something in her expression that was at once unreadable and thrilling. He could hear Galadel’s golden voice somewhere in the Inn. He stepped up to where Roa and Toby sat and looked down at them. “Tobias, Roa – might I join you?”

[*Arwen*]

Tiruviel

After polishing off her food and gratefully accepting another ale, Tiruviel decided to go and introduce herself to a couple of people. She glanced aroung the room, soaking up all the different conversations and her eyes rested on a girl sitting on her own.

She wound her way through the crowd and ended up next to the girl. "Hello," smiled Tiruviel, "is this seat taken?" The girl looked up, "No." Tiruviel sat herself down and smiled. "My name is Tiruviel, I have journied from Lothlorien." The girl looked up again and smiled. Tiruviel noted how friendly her smile was. "Mine is Adu," she said.

"I didn't mean to intrude," Tiruviel apologised, "It's just that you looked so bored and I am quite lonely myself." She smiled again. Hopefully this will be a nicer evening than i thought

[Maeggaladiel]

"Sorry if I seem kind of distracted, I'm really not used to being around this many people, I am used to being alone in my travels..." he added with a slight smile.

"That's quite all right," said Eleniel. "I feel quite overwhelmed myself." There was so much going on here, it was almost dizzying. "But I like it. It's better than tending a shop all day." Arrow gave a snort in agreement.

"Actually, this trip is one of the highlights of my year," Eleniel continued. "It's my chance to get out and see the world and everything in it. The rest of the time I spend selling what I collect on this trip." She nodded towards her bag.

Arrow yawned, growing bored. He whined once to Eleniel, casting longing glances to the door. Eleniel sighed.

"I told you to do that before you came in, dog." she said. Arrow gave her the infamous "Sad Puppy Look." Eleniel sighed. She was a sucker for the Sad Puppy Look.

"All right, go ahead. Just don't get into trouble." she said. Arrow wagged his tail and licked both Isaac and Eleniel before trotting to the door and pushing it open with his nose. Before he left, he cast a glance over his shoulder. The look seemed to say, "I'll be back. Your hand had better be ready to pet me when I return!"

The dog almost ran into a finely-dressed man. It took Eleniel a moment to recognise him as Snaveling, the man who had stolen the hobbit's coin. Apparently the coin had gone to good use.

"He looks different!" Eleniel murmured. Turning back to Isaac, she smiled. "You said something about searching for lost memories. What did you mean? I don't mean to pry," she added quickly, red showing on the apples of her cheeks.
***
Arrow sniffed the air, happy to be outside. The delicious smell of cooking food mixed with the interesting scents of livestock and evening. A bee flew around his head and a cricket hopped to and fro at his feet. This was the life.

He momentarily considered eating the cricket, just to see what it tasted like, but the notion was forgotten as something rustled a bush across the coblestone street.

A natural hunter, Arrow was instantly intrigued. His trusty nose told him that the creature in the bush was a rabbit. Rabbits were yummy, and much more fun to catch than a cricket was.

Bounding across the street and squishing the cricket in the process, Arrow was completely happy.

[Feared Half-Elf]

"Well met." she nodded to the elf named Kyria, and marvelled at how she was everything that herself was not. She was the classic 'perfect' elf, with blonde hair and classic eyes. Elkamia had brown hair, and silvery grey eyes. She'd never really cared, until she saw Kyria. "What am I thinking?" she chided herself, as the elf Tinuviel, who she had approached, wandered away and began talking ta a lone girl sat by herself. "You've always concentrated on what's going on around you, not what you look like." She shook the thoughts from her head and concentrated on the elf before her. "Where do you come from?"

She did think, however, that the wine coloured robe was a little too flamboyant for her tastes. But then, she hated dresses generally. She would have preferred to come to this party in her normal clothes, but oh well. A party met a dress, as she had thought to herself many times during the evening.

[Archsage Isaac]

Isaac produced a gently used rag from his pocket and wiped his hand. Not that he didn't like the dog, he hated feeling damp. He put the rag back in his pocket and leaned back in his chair. Eleniel had murmered something before turning back to Isaac and asking what he had meant by his lost memories. "Yes, my lost memories. I have no memories from before a few years ago. It's as if they've been erased by something. I just woke up one day with a sword in my hand and started my journey..." he said. His voice kind of trailed off the last few words.

He saw the man who'd just walked back into the inn. He looked vaguely familiar. It was Snaveling, the man who'd taken the hobbit's coin. Isaac turned back to Eleniel. "It's a hard story to believe, I know, but it's the total truth. I travel these lands in hope of remembering my past." he added with a slightly saddened tone to his voice.

[Eowyn Skywalker]

Willow smiled wryly at Daisy. "Our group just keeps getting bigger and bigger, doesn't it? We started with just us few hobbits, and now..." She gestured to the two elves. "Well, I guess we're not that unnoticable now."

She set her fiddle aside, setting it on the table, as they were not going to play yet. The cherry color of her fiddle contrasted greatly with the oaken wood of the counter. There was a cheery appearance in the oak-wood of the counter-- it fit in with the cheerful airs of the Green Dragon Inn. Willow wondered if it was always that cheery.

After a while of silence-- at least in Willow's head, for there was confersations going on all around them-- she spoke again. "When I first came in here, I never thought that I'd be noticed. Do you know what I mean, Daisy?"

The smaller hobbit's face indicated that she did; with her smaller size, and the slightly too large dress, she seemed to blend right into the wall. Is that intentional? Willow wondered in her mind.

She stroked her violin. "And then someone notices you," she said softly. "And you don't know how to react." She spoke soft, as to herself, but yet not. "And now, I'm here, with three other hobbit's, and two elves, planning to go and play in front of all the Green Dragon. And I don't know how I feel: excited, scared, I just don't know. Do you know what I mean?" she asked, looking beyond Daisy, at all those in the Green Dragon. "Do you know what I mean? And how do you feel here, at the outset of this. I've never played where one could hear me before." And she commented softly, almost to soft for anyone to make out: "I've never been allowed to. I've not been too afraid of people, just of the consequences,"

And her eyes reflected what she said.

[piosenniel]

GREEN DRAGON INN FACTS:

It is the 4th Age, year 12. By the Shire Calendar it is year 1433 S.R. (Shire Reckoning).

King Elessar is on the throne of the Reunited Kingdom of Arnor and Gondor.

Mirkwood has been reclaimed by the Elves and is now called Eryn Lasgalen.

Paladdin Took, Pippin’s father, is Thain of the Shire. (Thain is an honorary title for the military leader of the Shire. The title has been held in the Took Family since the position was first established in 3rd Age 1979 with Bucca of the Marish as First Thain.) Paladdin Took dies in year 13, and will be succeeded by his son, Peregrin, ‘Pippin’, Took.

Samwise Gamgee is Mayor of the Shire, having succeeded Will Whitfoot in 1427 S.R.

The Innkeeper, in the Green Dragon Inn of this forum, is:
Aman – a young woman from Rohan.

Before her, the Innkeeper was Piosenniel, and before her it was Dwarin, the Dwarf.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

Other ongoing characters in the Inn:

Ruby Brown, Hobbit – not married – server and maid

Buttercup Brownlock, Hobbit – not married – kitchen assistant and maid

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

Ongoing characters from outside the Inn:

Halfred Whitfoot – local Shiriff from Bywater and Postmaster for this area of the Shire; his pony’s name is Dumpling.

Fredgar Hornblower – local Shiriff from Hobbiton – played by Fool of a Took
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Please Note:

No 'SAVES' are allowed in the Inn.

With the exception of the Innkeeper and the Moderators, no OOC (Out Of Character) comments are allowed in the Inn.

Only the Innkeeper, Amanaduial, or the Moderators move the timeline for the Inn forward.

Visitors to the Inn will need to read the posts that come before theirs to get an idea of what time it is in the Shire, what the weather is like, and what is happening.

Please be familiar with the rules for the Inn and Games in The Red Book of Westmarch, the first topic in the Shire.
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IT IS NOW LATE EVENING. THE WEATHER IS PLEASANT.

THE PARTY CELEBRATING THE REBUILDING OF THE INN IS IN FULL SWING - PLENTY OF FOOD, DRINK, MUSIC, DANCING!

[Maeggaladiel]

Eleniel blinked in suprise.

"Really?" she asked. "You just... woke up with nothing but a sword?" She shook her head, trying to think how it must feel to just wake up with no memories of a home, a family, or a life. She couldn't.

"My sympathies, friend," she said seriously. "I truly hope that you find what you seek. If I can do anything to help, just ask." Isaac's story reminded her of a tale she had heard about an elf named Ysuran Auondril with a simialar predicament. However, the elf had the help of a seer named Omduil to help him find his past, wheras Isaac did not seem to have anyone.

"Do you always travel alone?" she asked. "You should find a dog! Sure, Arrow can be a handful sometimes, but he is my best friend. I don't think I would be able to make my yearly journey without him."
***

Meanwhile...

Arrow's ears flattened against his head. That darned rabbit got away, ducking into a hole before the dog could catch him. Oh well. His mistress probably had some bread left, and it was high time for his ears to be scratched again.

After kicking a clod of dirt down the rabbit's hole for good measure, Arrow turned and trotted back towads the Green Dragon Inn.

He did not pay attention to the sound of an approaching carraige as he neared the cobblestone street.