Tears of Mirrormere RPG

[Kitanna]

Kénan had been gone for sometime. The orcs had come up quickly and unexpectedly upon Balin and slain him. What was to stop them from doing so in a dwarf house? Kéni rose from his seat and went to Iari's room. He opened the door a crack to see that his sister was asleep and safe. Satisfied he returned to his seat.

He hated sitting around waiting for news. Especially when he knew his grandfather probably wouldn't share much with him. Kéni felt like pulling his hair out from this stress. If the dwarf colony was in serious danger he needed to know. He needed to protect little Iari from harm.

"If Grandfather won't tell me what's happening, I may as well learn it on my own." Kéni spoke aloud. Even as the words left his mouth and drifted to his ears he knew he was being irrational. He had no proof Kénan wouldn't share the information fro, his council. Yet, Kéni didn't want to wait around to find out what Kénan planned to do.

He checked once more on Iari before leaving. He had every intention of spying on the council his grandfather was part of. As an able bodied dwarf he deserved to know the truth.

~*~*~

Somewhere in dreams Iari heard a door close. She twitched a little, fighting off her sleepy haze. The house was quiet. She couldn't hear the angered mutterings of Kéni or Kénan. Afraid that they had been attacked in the night, Iari got out of bed and wrapped herself in her blanket. She had to make sure her relations weren't hurt in the next room.

Empty. Kéni was gone and he had left his half finished tea out. "Kéni?" No answer. There was no sign of a struggle, so her brother had left by his own will, but where under earth could he have gone?

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

As he and Nîsa were walking towards the gates, Onli fell back into his thoughts and could not pay enough attention to the young Dwarven lass. He was thinking how to best initiate a dialogue with Trór as soon as they reach their destination. Trór was a warrior, like Dáin, but Dáin was still far more kingly figure. Trór was a completely different sort of person to talk to. Unlike Dáin, and unlike Balin, who was even further from being a soldier. But Onli hardly ever had to talk to the likes of Trór. He tried to remember any situation where he had to interact with any of these numerous generals, officers, military advisors, but he could not recall anything that might be of help to him right now. It was not the soldiers with whom Onli had his business. For him, all these fighters were good just for one thing: to clear the way for the merchants so that the trade may run smoothly and undisturbed. To clear the way for the explorers, so that they may find new deposits of iron, gold or silver and found new colonies. But it was completely unnecessary to deal with them - mainly because they also usually knew nothing of any importance. This had to change, though.

At one point, Onli's thoughts were interrupted by a familiar sound from behind. Vriti! Onli smiled, pleased to hear that his pet had returned. Surely she had had enough of sneaking through the empty halls and came back again in search for Onli. But now, unfortunately, he had no time for her. There were pressing matters at hand. Nevertheless, it pleased him to know that she is around. Soon, he thought. Wait for me there. As if the ferret could hear him, the sound of her scuttling stopped. Getting away from his thoughts for a short while, Onli registered Nîsa standing still in the middle of the bridge, as if listening. He smiled once again. "Go!" he said, but before he himself started to walk, he tried to listen once again, too, if he could not hear Vriti scurrying behind them. But there was only silence.

They went on until they reached the gates. There, all of a sudden, the girl grasped his arm. Onli was about to shake her off, but at the same moment an orange flash flew out of the darkness and Vriti started to run in circles close around her master's legs. Onli almost started to laugh, but prevented himself from doing that, bearing in mind that there may be the guards and the new Lord of Moria nearby. He certainly would not like to bring himself in like that. Seeing however that Nîsa was still a bit frightened - he could almost feel her heart beating, as she still clutched his arm - he turned to her and smiled gently. For the first time, Nîsa could actually say that this was a genuine friendly smile.

"Do not be afraid," he said, smiling wide. "This is just my friend Vriti. Seems like she has been following us. Say hi, Vriti!"

The ferret was now sitting still by Onli's feet, looking up at the two Dwarves. She was turning her head left and right, inspecting them. Onli reached down and picked her up.

"Come on, you can palm her," he said, turning to Nîsa. "She is nice, are you, Vriti?" The ferret looked up at him, and turning her head to Nîsa, she sniffed. Onli smiled.

[Thinlómien]

"Na, ma'am, it's only me here now. I haven't seen Vyra since, well, since the festivities began. Is there aught I can do for you?"

"No," Vigdis replied bluntly and turned to go.

At that exact moment, she heard a lone high note in the air. It was followed by another, and yet another and many others. Together they wove a tapestry of sorrow, loss and remembrance, a force so strong Vigdis felt her legs go weak with it.

"Wait," she said, turning. Her voice came out as a whisper. "You can help me, if you will. Vyra - she's my friend - she keeps a bottle of rum in one of the knife lockers. If you could fetch it?" The girl nodded and disappeared.

Vigdis found a chair to sit on and wiped the corners of her eyes. Her sleeve was now moist. The music was still there, distant but still powerful enough that Vigdis had to keep her guard to stay calm. There was a soft thud of a cupboard being closed. Vigdis turned to the girl. She did not fake a smile, but her voice was uncharacteristically kind. "Oh, and hey, you may take some of the rum too. I'm sure Vyra wouldn't mind, on a day like this."

She paused and forced her tone to sound lighter. "And I have to add, you have a nice troubadour here to entertain you."