The White Horse Inn, Act III - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Bêthberry · 10-19-2005, 07:41 PM

Apparently Bethberry was unaccountably overtaken by an extreme urge to sneeze. She put her head down slightly and was seen to rub her nose back and forth energetically, hoping all the while that no one saw the upturn of her mouth as she fought desperately the urge to grin. It wouldn't do for her to be seen laughing at the little halfling's story, certainly not with the unexpected news Falco had divulged.

"It's a good thing the old man set you to rights about where you were, otherwise perhaps you might not have found your way back," was all the comment she could reliably manage to say.

"Well, 'twasn't like I was lost," proclaimed Falco somewhat indignantly. How could that woman be so dense? he thought to himself. She's missed the main part of my story. He shook his head and took another long sip of his tankard.

Bethberry watched Eodwine's face and decided to hold any questions until he felt like making matters known to her. "Shall we have, in honour of Master Falco's adventure this afternoon, another round of ale?" Voices rose in agreement. "On me, of course," she said.

"A sycamore was it?" asked Ruthven, lighting her own pipe and taking a long draw on it. "You're sure it was a sycamore? You've seen many of them in this here Shire of yours?"

Falco nodded with a great slow nod of his head, as if to say, Of course woman!

Ruthven blew one, two, three rings of smoke in the air. "So tell us about it, this walking tree. Is its bark worse than its walk?"

littlemanpoet · 10-19-2005, 08:13 PM

"Well ain't you the funny one," Falco retorted to Ruthven. "I didn't actually see it walk, truth be told."

"Falco," Eodwine said, his chin in his hand, resting on an elbow, "there's a whole line of sycamores, or some kind of tree, along the road that way."

"Maybe so and maybe not. I saw what I saw."

"Did you just make that up?" Saeryn asked.

"Of course not!" Falco replied indignantly, and pulled out his pipe. "Have you a light, Ruthven?"

Bêthberry · 10-20-2005, 06:13 PM

At Falco's request, Bethberry casually looked at Ruthven and gave her a wink, although whether any of the other members at the table saw it was unclear. Ruthven pulled out her tinder tools.

A small tin box, first of all, with a tight lid in which she kept her touchwood. Then a small horn, not fancy with carvings nor engravings nor silver work nor gold, but large enough to hold flint and steel.

"You can avail yourself of the kindling in the great fire, Falco, if you wish," interjected Bethberry, pouring a tankard of ale for Eodwine from the large pitcher which the scullery maid had brought. She paused, setting the pitcher down on the table and hesitating for a moment to let the halfling contemplate his choices. Then she offerred Eodwine the tankard and turned to Saeryn. "Some also for you, lass?" she asked? A nod signified yes and Bethberry turned with solemn concentration to the pouring of another tankard.

Falco eyed the horn and tinder box. For all their simplicity, they suggested beauty and function, an economy of purpose married with art.

"Did you see the sycamore trees closely, Falco?" Ruthven queried him. "Where the trunks hollow, large?" She held her tinder box in her hand lightly, while toying with the horn.

littlemanpoet · 10-20-2005, 09:07 PM

"I didn't look close at the trees," Falco returned, "just close enough to see their type. I know a sycamore when I sees one." Falco eyed the flint and steel in Ruthven's hands and decided he'd like to see her work it. "I'd like to test Ruthven's skill with the tinder, if she don't mind."

"Ho, now!" Ruthven grinned. "Don't think I can manage it, is that it?"

"Proof's in the pudding," Falco yawned.

"The King has indeed set me out to pasture, as it were, Bethberry," Eodwine said. All heads turned to him. "Seems I must find something else to do." He pulled another swig from his ale, eyeing Bethberry.

Bêthberry · 10-26-2005, 07:10 AM

Ruthven grinned at Falco's challenge.

"Here's your proof," she puffed as she sent several smoke rings in Falco's direction. "You're needing me to show you how, is that it, halfling?"

For her part, Bethberry moved her chair slightly away from the duelling pipes, the smoke of which always made her eyes sore. She too took a long sip of her ale and looked pensive at Eodwine's news. The table was silent for a bit. Then she addressed the former messenger.

"The King can be mercurial sometimes, yet such news is not all to the ill, is it Eodwine? There might well be good reason for a family man to be settling down now in town, no?"

Feanor of the Peredhil · 10-26-2005, 07:44 AM

T'was a good thing that Saeryn had eaten well, or the pint that she consumed all-together too rapidly for prudence would have hit her hard. She'd not imbibed alcohol in quite a long time, preferring juice or tea, and had entirely forgotten the affect that it had on her, and had forgotten that if she did perchance to drink, she ought to do it slowly, and certainly not to quench thirst as she would with water or juice. She smiled benignly, listening to the friendly bickering of Ruthven and Falco. Eodwine looked at her with a bit of worry, noting the lower level of drink in her mug. Intentional, he thought, or naive of the effects on a lass of her size? Mild though the ale was, Saeryn's face took on a slightly dreamy quality as she listened to the soft and sophisticated voice of the innkeeper. She wondered what Eodwine would reply.

littlemanpoet · 10-26-2005, 08:53 AM

"You're needing me to show you how, is that it, halfling?" Ruthven asked Falco.

"The King can be mercurial sometimes," Bethberry was saying to the apparently former King's messenger, "yet such news is not all to the ill, is it Eodwine? There might well be good reason for a family man to be settling down now in town, no?"

"Pah!" retorted the halfling, grinning. "I wanted to see for myself if those dexterous digits were as good at something useful like pipe lighting as they seem to be for rag darning."

"Well," Eodwine said, glancing at Saeryn's dreamy face, "that depends on if there's a family to go home to."

"What're you saying, Eodwine?" asked Falco.

"I made my intentions known to the lady Giedd before I came here. I wait upon her pondering."

"What be the stakes?" Falco asked with one raised brow as he warred with Ruthven in a smoke ring battle.

Eodwine allowed a half a smile. "Whether the lady is interested in remaining as she is, or will allow the possibility of - how do you call it, Falco?"

"Handfasting, I think you're wanting. Just the possibility?"

"Ah yes. Yes, and no more just yet. So when when Gudryn is brought back to me, we shall see if she comes through the door alone or not." Eodwine shrugged.

"You don't seem to be holding out much hope, man," Falco observed.

Eodwine shrugged again. "Little was said by the lady, and little could be told of her mood from watching her face. She asked to spend more time with Gudryn, and that is how we left it." He sighed, picked up his ale cup, and took a few deep swigs.

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10-19-2005, 07:41 PM	#1
Bêthberry Cryptic Aura Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 6,003	Apparently Bethberry was unaccountably overtaken by an extreme urge to sneeze. She put her head down slightly and was seen to rub her nose back and forth energetically, hoping all the while that no one saw the upturn of her mouth as she fought desperately the urge to grin. It wouldn't do for her to be seen laughing at the little halfling's story, certainly not with the unexpected news Falco had divulged. "It's a good thing the old man set you to rights about where you were, otherwise perhaps you might not have found your way back," was all the comment she could reliably manage to say. "Well, 'twasn't like I was lost," proclaimed Falco somewhat indignantly. How could that woman be so dense? he thought to himself. She's missed the main part of my story. He shook his head and took another long sip of his tankard. Bethberry watched Eodwine's face and decided to hold any questions until he felt like making matters known to her. "Shall we have, in honour of Master Falco's adventure this afternoon, another round of ale?" Voices rose in agreement. "On me, of course," she said. "A sycamore was it?" asked Ruthven, lighting her own pipe and taking a long draw on it. "You're sure it was a sycamore? You've seen many of them in this here Shire of yours?" Falco nodded with a great slow nod of his head, as if to say, Of course woman! Ruthven blew one, two, three rings of smoke in the air. "So tell us about it, this walking tree. Is its bark worse than its walk?"

10-19-2005, 08:13 PM	#2
littlemanpoet Itinerant Songster Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: The Edge of Faerie Posts: 7,066	"Well ain't you the funny one," Falco retorted to Ruthven. "I didn't actually see it walk, truth be told." "Falco," Eodwine said, his chin in his hand, resting on an elbow, "there's a whole line of sycamores, or some kind of tree, along the road that way." "Maybe so and maybe not. I saw what I saw." "Did you just make that up?" Saeryn asked. "Of course not!" Falco replied indignantly, and pulled out his pipe. "Have you a light, Ruthven?"

10-20-2005, 06:13 PM	#3
Bêthberry Cryptic Aura Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 6,003	At Falco's request, Bethberry casually looked at Ruthven and gave her a wink, although whether any of the other members at the table saw it was unclear. Ruthven pulled out her tinder tools. A small tin box, first of all, with a tight lid in which she kept her touchwood. Then a small horn, not fancy with carvings nor engravings nor silver work nor gold, but large enough to hold flint and steel. "You can avail yourself of the kindling in the great fire, Falco, if you wish," interjected Bethberry, pouring a tankard of ale for Eodwine from the large pitcher which the scullery maid had brought. She paused, setting the pitcher down on the table and hesitating for a moment to let the halfling contemplate his choices. Then she offerred Eodwine the tankard and turned to Saeryn. "Some also for you, lass?" she asked? A nod signified yes and Bethberry turned with solemn concentration to the pouring of another tankard. Falco eyed the horn and tinder box. For all their simplicity, they suggested beauty and function, an economy of purpose married with art. "Did you see the sycamore trees closely, Falco?" Ruthven queried him. "Where the trunks hollow, large?" She held her tinder box in her hand lightly, while toying with the horn.

10-20-2005, 09:07 PM	#4
littlemanpoet Itinerant Songster Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: The Edge of Faerie Posts: 7,066	"I didn't look close at the trees," Falco returned, "just close enough to see their type. I know a sycamore when I sees one." Falco eyed the flint and steel in Ruthven's hands and decided he'd like to see her work it. "I'd like to test Ruthven's skill with the tinder, if she don't mind." "Ho, now!" Ruthven grinned. "Don't think I can manage it, is that it?" "Proof's in the pudding," Falco yawned. "The King has indeed set me out to pasture, as it were, Bethberry," Eodwine said. All heads turned to him. "Seems I must find something else to do." He pulled another swig from his ale, eyeing Bethberry.

10-26-2005, 07:10 AM	#5
Bêthberry Cryptic Aura Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 6,003	Ruthven grinned at Falco's challenge. "Here's your proof," she puffed as she sent several smoke rings in Falco's direction. "You're needing me to show you how, is that it, halfling?" For her part, Bethberry moved her chair slightly away from the duelling pipes, the smoke of which always made her eyes sore. She too took a long sip of her ale and looked pensive at Eodwine's news. The table was silent for a bit. Then she addressed the former messenger. "The King can be mercurial sometimes, yet such news is not all to the ill, is it Eodwine? There might well be good reason for a family man to be settling down now in town, no?"

10-26-2005, 07:44 AM	#6
Feanor of the Peredhil La Belle Dame sans Merci Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: perpetual uncertainty Posts: 5,517	T'was a good thing that Saeryn had eaten well, or the pint that she consumed all-together too rapidly for prudence would have hit her hard. She'd not imbibed alcohol in quite a long time, preferring juice or tea, and had entirely forgotten the affect that it had on her, and had forgotten that if she did perchance to drink, she ought to do it slowly, and certainly not to quench thirst as she would with water or juice. She smiled benignly, listening to the friendly bickering of Ruthven and Falco. Eodwine looked at her with a bit of worry, noting the lower level of drink in her mug. Intentional, he thought, or naive of the effects on a lass of her size? Mild though the ale was, Saeryn's face took on a slightly dreamy quality as she listened to the soft and sophisticated voice of the innkeeper. She wondered what Eodwine would reply.

10-26-2005, 08:53 AM	#7
littlemanpoet Itinerant Songster Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: The Edge of Faerie Posts: 7,066	"You're needing me to show you how, is that it, halfling?" Ruthven asked Falco. "The King can be mercurial sometimes," Bethberry was saying to the apparently former King's messenger, "yet such news is not all to the ill, is it Eodwine? There might well be good reason for a family man to be settling down now in town, no?" "Pah!" retorted the halfling, grinning. "I wanted to see for myself if those dexterous digits were as good at something useful like pipe lighting as they seem to be for rag darning." "Well," Eodwine said, glancing at Saeryn's dreamy face, "that depends on if there's a family to go home to." "What're you saying, Eodwine?" asked Falco. "I made my intentions known to the lady Giedd before I came here. I wait upon her pondering." "What be the stakes?" Falco asked with one raised brow as he warred with Ruthven in a smoke ring battle. Eodwine allowed a half a smile. "Whether the lady is interested in remaining as she is, or will allow the possibility of - how do you call it, Falco?" "Handfasting, I think you're wanting. Just the possibility?" "Ah yes. Yes, and no more just yet. So when when Gudryn is brought back to me, we shall see if she comes through the door alone or not." Eodwine shrugged. "You don't seem to be holding out much hope, man," Falco observed. Eodwine shrugged again. "Little was said by the lady, and little could be told of her mood from watching her face. She asked to spend more time with Gudryn, and that is how we left it." He sighed, picked up his ale cup, and took a few deep swigs.