The Green Dragon Inn #11 - The Last Chapter - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Larien Telemnar · 06-04-2005, 04:15 PM

Larien followed Ginger and Buttercup into the larger room with her load. She nodded her thanks as Ginger held the door open for her.

She smiled as Ginger chattered happily about the Fair Folk, and noticed one such person in the room sitting at a table. She wondered what he was doing so far away from... Wherever it was he came from.

Perhaps he is going across the sea soon. She thought. 'Or he may be here for a reason similar to my own.' She jumped at her own voice and realized she had muttered that last thought aloud. She looked around sheepishly and hoped Ginger hadn't hear her. If anyone finds me talking to myself they're liable to think I've cracked.

Kath · 06-04-2005, 04:42 PM

Astilwen had been sitting quietly in a corner of the inn since the school had ended and the children had left. She had been reading over the new version of the song that had come about and had heard a voice singing the words. She had turned to find that it was Master Hearpwine. She considered going to join him as he was sitting alone, but he looked deep in thought so she stayed put.

Instead she reached into her pocket and pulled out the little bag her mother had given her when she left home. Being with the children in the schoolroom had reminded her of her own siblings, and it had made her a little homesick. She took a quill, ink and paper from the bag and set about writing home, in the hope it would help her feel better. She did not notice that she was crying as she wrote until teardrops hit the paper. She quickly wiped them away and continued.

As she finished she saw that a hobbit girl had stopped next to her table carrying a tray of food. The smell of the stew made her stomach rumble and she blushed in embarrassment.

littlemanpoet · 06-05-2005, 06:50 AM

In the time between Uien's confrontation with the burned elf (whose name according to Falowik was Lithmirë) and supper, Eswen had with Falowik's assistance sat with Uien and "gone into her darkness". So Eswen had called it. Falowik had many questions about what had happened, but they could wait. He had become very hungry and suggested food to the two Elven women. Neither had eaten in many hours, so the three went into the common room.

Uien sipped at tea, her favorite, nibbling on jam covered biscuits. Falowik helped himself to a full serving of stewed cony, and meant to offer his compliments to the cook at first opportunity. He had skipped lunch, and everything tasted that much the better. Eswen helped herself to the peas, taters, and carrots, supplemented with strong tea.

"Are you sure you won't have some coney?" Falowik asked Eswen.

"Maybe later."

"There may not be any left, later. It is quite good!" Eswen smiled.

Uien looked at Falowik. "You say I tripped over a root of a tree?" He nodded. She shook her head. "That cannot be. What can have been wrong with me?"

"You were overwhelmed by the painful memories of another," Eswen reminded her.

Uien smiled. "You have my thanks, dear Eswen, for coming to my aid, but even so, I cannot imagine that I merely tripped over a root! I must see this tree."

"At least finish your tiny supper," Falowik said. "How do you stay alive on mere biscuits and tea?"

They finished their suppers with much talk about the day. Then Uien rose from her table which Falowik went to pay for their meals, intending to go have a look at this tree root.

Azaelia of Willowbottom · 06-05-2005, 06:55 AM

"Don't mind 'im. 'E's just one of them rambunctious lads, too full of 'imself to be polite. And a student at that school, at that."

Peony smiled. Hobbit lads would be hobbit lads. Rambunctions, annoying, but funny and endearing despite that. "Well, I'm sure that he'll learn better manners someday..." she looked over at the lad who hadn't moved from his position on top of the hearth. " Maybe... " she she muttered quietly.

Suddenly peony's stomach rumbled, and she laughed, slightly embarrassed. She looked over her shoulder and made a small signal to the waitress. "I think I'll order some supper. Care to join me for the evening meal?" she asked Thistle.

Fairleaf · 06-05-2005, 03:16 PM

Fairleaf had watched as the man and the other of the Elves took the pursuing Elf away. Uien, she’d heard them call her. A small shudder ran through her, as if some breeze had trembled her leaves. The dark shadow that had crept over her own beloved lands had also scarred Lithmire and Uien. Though, Lithmire bore his scars in body and spirit; while Uien, as fair as a new leaf catching the Spring sun, bore hers within. The scars run deep, regardless of where they are, she thought to herself. As deep as those memories of death and cuttings and burnings in those gardens of long ago. A single drop of evening dew slipped from her leafy fingers, falling on the ground below. Through the tangle of her branches a long, sad sigh soughed.

She shook off her sorrow, focusing on where Lithmire had gone. He was out of sight now, too far away for her to follow after. She could not follow him in this light without causing undue attention to herself. She would see to him later . . . that is, if he came back at all . . .

Looking about the patch of dirt where she stood, Fairleaf saw no one about. Behind her grew the small stand of hawthorn and beech that bordered on the groundskeeper’s cottage. She edged her way back among them, throwing her fair limbs upwards as did they. She would wait here until nightfall, then make her way to the Inn.

littlemanpoet · 06-05-2005, 08:38 PM

Uien and Falowik left Eswen at table, and left the common room, returning to the bower. Falowik pointed out where the tree root .....

"Well, I am quite sure that was where it was. I guess I was wrong."

Uien tipped her head to Falowik, eyeing him sidewise. "You are ever quick to claim yourself in the wrong, my love."

He shrugged. "It's not like tree roots move."

Uien knelt. "Show me the very place where the root was. Or, where you supposed it to be."

Falowik knelt beside her and tried to show her, but his faith in his memory was wavering, since the root was quite obviously not where he had thought he had seen it. He rose back to his feet, waiting while Uien bent over the earth.

Uien studied the ground in the the shadowy light of the bower, for the sun was fast approaching the horizon. She did not speak her thought to Falowik, but the earth was churned and scuffed, as if a root had been there and was no longer. The same mark could have been made by a garter snake or any number of crawling beasts, but she wondered. She rose.

"Show me the tree to which this root belonged, Lauréatan."

Falowik looked around. "Um, I think that's it there."

Uien followed his pointing finger and led him to the tree, whole limbs rose high into the air. "I am going to sit before this tree and watch it for a while," she said, and sat on the ground before it.

"Why?"

She shrugged. "It's an Elvish thing, I suppose.

He sighed and shook his head. "I am no Elf, and confess that I will grow easily bored with this game. If you don't mind, I will go back inside and have an ale or two."

"I will be here."

With that, Falowik left her. She gazed at the tree for a long while, keeping her thoughts to herself, but a small smile was on her face. At length, when the sun was almost set, she sang an Elvish twilight song. It seemed to her that the tree's leaves turned to her attentively, with help from no wind.

When she had finished, she said, "I wonder, tree, if you understood my song? Are you listening to me now? It is said that the Elves of long ago taught speech to the trees. Are you such a one, I wonder?" Uien lapsed into silence and gazed at the tree, admiring all its fair leaves.

Envinyatar · 06-06-2005, 02:16 PM

Derufin excused himself from the table and making his way back to the kitchen peeked in through the door. ‘Cook?’ he called, waiting to hear her familiar voice. She was in the pantry, emptying a sack of flour into the bin, a white cloud floating round her for her efforts.

‘I thought I’d just save the lasses some trouble,’ he said as she looked up at him. ‘Benat and Hob and Anyopa and Zimzi and I are here for a meal and a round of drinks. If you don’t mind I’ll just load up a tray with bowls of stew and biscuits and such and take it on out to our table.’

piosenniel · 06-06-2005, 02:31 PM

Cook stepped out from the pantry and wiped off her face with a clean towel. Once Derufin had gone, she would step outside and give her self a more thorough brushing off.

She helped him load up his tray, making sure there was plenty of food for the crew who had filled the Inn’s woodshed. She piled up a sizable plate of tarts, knowing the groundskeeper had a mighty sweet tooth. ‘Oh, and here’s a little pot of vegetable stew I’d set aside for Master Benat, seeing as how he would probably not be wanting to eat the conies. Delicious as they are,’ she said as an aside. ‘And take this bowl of stew out for the nice doggie.’ She glanced up at Derufin as he gave a laugh at this expression of her acceptance of Cullen as a suitable canine. ‘Well, he’s left my old tabby alone. And the little ones like him, I’ve noticed. Can’t be all that bad, can he?’ And that was about as much praise as she had ever heaped on the head of a canine.

Her last favor was to trundle downstairs to retrieve a bottle of Dwarven spirits. She came back with a dust, dark brown bottle with some unreadable runes on it, not to mention a few trailing wisps of cobweb. ‘Don’t get much call for this,’ she said putting it on the heavily laden tray. ‘Most people just don’t have a taste for it. Quite a kick to it, if I do say so myself.’ Derufin raised a brow at her. ‘Tried to use it in a cake I was making . . . had to give it a taste, see if it was alright, now didn’t I?’

Cook held the door open for him and ushered him out before he could make a suitable reply.

06-04-2005, 04:42 PM	#2
Kath Everlasting Whiteness Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Perusing the laminated book of dreams Posts: 4,533	Astilwen had been sitting quietly in a corner of the inn since the school had ended and the children had left. She had been reading over the new version of the song that had come about and had heard a voice singing the words. She had turned to find that it was Master Hearpwine. She considered going to join him as he was sitting alone, but he looked deep in thought so she stayed put. Instead she reached into her pocket and pulled out the little bag her mother had given her when she left home. Being with the children in the schoolroom had reminded her of her own siblings, and it had made her a little homesick. She took a quill, ink and paper from the bag and set about writing home, in the hope it would help her feel better. She did not notice that she was crying as she wrote until teardrops hit the paper. She quickly wiped them away and continued. As she finished she saw that a hobbit girl had stopped next to her table carrying a tray of food. The smell of the stew made her stomach rumble and she blushed in embarrassment. __________________ “If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”

06-05-2005, 06:50 AM	#3
littlemanpoet Itinerant Songster Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: The Edge of Faerie Posts: 7,066	Uien and Falowik In the time between Uien's confrontation with the burned elf (whose name according to Falowik was Lithmirë) and supper, Eswen had with Falowik's assistance sat with Uien and "gone into her darkness". So Eswen had called it. Falowik had many questions about what had happened, but they could wait. He had become very hungry and suggested food to the two Elven women. Neither had eaten in many hours, so the three went into the common room. Uien sipped at tea, her favorite, nibbling on jam covered biscuits. Falowik helped himself to a full serving of stewed cony, and meant to offer his compliments to the cook at first opportunity. He had skipped lunch, and everything tasted that much the better. Eswen helped herself to the peas, taters, and carrots, supplemented with strong tea. "Are you sure you won't have some coney?" Falowik asked Eswen. "Maybe later." "There may not be any left, later. It is quite good!" Eswen smiled. Uien looked at Falowik. "You say I tripped over a root of a tree?" He nodded. She shook her head. "That cannot be. What can have been wrong with me?" "You were overwhelmed by the painful memories of another," Eswen reminded her. Uien smiled. "You have my thanks, dear Eswen, for coming to my aid, but even so, I cannot imagine that I merely tripped over a root! I must see this tree." "At least finish your tiny supper," Falowik said. "How do you stay alive on mere biscuits and tea?" They finished their suppers with much talk about the day. Then Uien rose from her table which Falowik went to pay for their meals, intending to go have a look at this tree root.

06-05-2005, 06:55 AM	#4
Azaelia of Willowbottom Shade of Carn Dûm Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: By the Sea Posts: 446	Peony "Don't mind 'im. 'E's just one of them rambunctious lads, too full of 'imself to be polite. And a student at that school, at that." Peony smiled. Hobbit lads would be hobbit lads. Rambunctions, annoying, but funny and endearing despite that. "Well, I'm sure that he'll learn better manners someday..." she looked over at the lad who hadn't moved from his position on top of the hearth. " Maybe... " she she muttered quietly. Suddenly peony's stomach rumbled, and she laughed, slightly embarrassed. She looked over her shoulder and made a small signal to the waitress. "I think I'll order some supper. Care to join me for the evening meal?" she asked Thistle. __________________ "Wherever I have been, I am back."

06-05-2005, 03:16 PM	#5
Fairleaf Animated Skeleton Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Piping in Brethil . . . Posts: 36	Fairleaf had watched as the man and the other of the Elves took the pursuing Elf away. Uien, she’d heard them call her. A small shudder ran through her, as if some breeze had trembled her leaves. The dark shadow that had crept over her own beloved lands had also scarred Lithmire and Uien. Though, Lithmire bore his scars in body and spirit; while Uien, as fair as a new leaf catching the Spring sun, bore hers within. The scars run deep, regardless of where they are, she thought to herself. As deep as those memories of death and cuttings and burnings in those gardens of long ago. A single drop of evening dew slipped from her leafy fingers, falling on the ground below. Through the tangle of her branches a long, sad sigh soughed. She shook off her sorrow, focusing on where Lithmire had gone. He was out of sight now, too far away for her to follow after. She could not follow him in this light without causing undue attention to herself. She would see to him later . . . that is, if he came back at all . . . Looking about the patch of dirt where she stood, Fairleaf saw no one about. Behind her grew the small stand of hawthorn and beech that bordered on the groundskeeper’s cottage. She edged her way back among them, throwing her fair limbs upwards as did they. She would wait here until nightfall, then make her way to the Inn. __________________ When Summer warms the hanging fruit and burns the berry brown/When straw is gold, and ear is white, and harvest comes to town/When honey spills, and apple swells, though wind be in the West/I'll linger here beneath the Sun, because my land is best!

06-05-2005, 08:38 PM	#6
littlemanpoet Itinerant Songster Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: The Edge of Faerie Posts: 7,066	Uien Uien and Falowik left Eswen at table, and left the common room, returning to the bower. Falowik pointed out where the tree root ..... "Well, I am quite sure that was where it was. I guess I was wrong." Uien tipped her head to Falowik, eyeing him sidewise. "You are ever quick to claim yourself in the wrong, my love." He shrugged. "It's not like tree roots move." Uien knelt. "Show me the very place where the root was. Or, where you supposed it to be." Falowik knelt beside her and tried to show her, but his faith in his memory was wavering, since the root was quite obviously not where he had thought he had seen it. He rose back to his feet, waiting while Uien bent over the earth. Uien studied the ground in the the shadowy light of the bower, for the sun was fast approaching the horizon. She did not speak her thought to Falowik, but the earth was churned and scuffed, as if a root had been there and was no longer. The same mark could have been made by a garter snake or any number of crawling beasts, but she wondered. She rose. "Show me the tree to which this root belonged, Lauréatan." Falowik looked around. "Um, I think that's it there." Uien followed his pointing finger and led him to the tree, whole limbs rose high into the air. "I am going to sit before this tree and watch it for a while," she said, and sat on the ground before it. "Why?" She shrugged. "It's an Elvish thing, I suppose. He sighed and shook his head. "I am no Elf, and confess that I will grow easily bored with this game. If you don't mind, I will go back inside and have an ale or two." "I will be here." With that, Falowik left her. She gazed at the tree for a long while, keeping her thoughts to herself, but a small smile was on her face. At length, when the sun was almost set, she sang an Elvish twilight song. It seemed to her that the tree's leaves turned to her attentively, with help from no wind. When she had finished, she said, "I wonder, tree, if you understood my song? Are you listening to me now? It is said that the Elves of long ago taught speech to the trees. Are you such a one, I wonder?" Uien lapsed into silence and gazed at the tree, admiring all its fair leaves.

06-04-2005, 04:15 PM	#1
Larien Telemnar Wight Join Date: May 2005 Location: Frogmorton, The Shire, Middle-Earth Posts: 110	Larien followed Ginger and Buttercup into the larger room with her load. She nodded her thanks as Ginger held the door open for her. She smiled as Ginger chattered happily about the Fair Folk, and noticed one such person in the room sitting at a table. She wondered what he was doing so far away from... Wherever it was he came from. Perhaps he is going across the sea soon. She thought. 'Or he may be here for a reason similar to my own.' She jumped at her own voice and realized she had muttered that last thought aloud. She looked around sheepishly and hoped Ginger hadn't hear her. If anyone finds me talking to myself they're liable to think I've cracked. __________________ Oh look! It's a Blog!! What's it do? Pushes button Hammer zings out SPLAT! Flat Hobbit Oh! So that's what it does! Moan

06-06-2005, 02:16 PM	#7
Envinyatar Quill Revenant Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Wandering through the Downs..... Posts: 849	Derufin excused himself from the table and making his way back to the kitchen peeked in through the door. ‘Cook?’ he called, waiting to hear her familiar voice. She was in the pantry, emptying a sack of flour into the bin, a white cloud floating round her for her efforts. ‘I thought I’d just save the lasses some trouble,’ he said as she looked up at him. ‘Benat and Hob and Anyopa and Zimzi and I are here for a meal and a round of drinks. If you don’t mind I’ll just load up a tray with bowls of stew and biscuits and such and take it on out to our table.’ __________________ ‘Many are the strange chances of the world,’ said Mithrandir, ‘and help oft shall come from the hands of the weak when the Wise falter.’ – Gandalf in: The Silmarillion, 'Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age'

06-06-2005, 02:31 PM	#8
piosenniel Desultory Dwimmerlaik Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Pickin' flowers with Bill the Cat..... Posts: 7,779	Cook stepped out from the pantry and wiped off her face with a clean towel. Once Derufin had gone, she would step outside and give her self a more thorough brushing off. She helped him load up his tray, making sure there was plenty of food for the crew who had filled the Inn’s woodshed. She piled up a sizable plate of tarts, knowing the groundskeeper had a mighty sweet tooth. ‘Oh, and here’s a little pot of vegetable stew I’d set aside for Master Benat, seeing as how he would probably not be wanting to eat the conies. Delicious as they are,’ she said as an aside. ‘And take this bowl of stew out for the nice doggie.’ She glanced up at Derufin as he gave a laugh at this expression of her acceptance of Cullen as a suitable canine. ‘Well, he’s left my old tabby alone. And the little ones like him, I’ve noticed. Can’t be all that bad, can he?’ And that was about as much praise as she had ever heaped on the head of a canine. Her last favor was to trundle downstairs to retrieve a bottle of Dwarven spirits. She came back with a dust, dark brown bottle with some unreadable runes on it, not to mention a few trailing wisps of cobweb. ‘Don’t get much call for this,’ she said putting it on the heavily laden tray. ‘Most people just don’t have a taste for it. Quite a kick to it, if I do say so myself.’ Derufin raised a brow at her. ‘Tried to use it in a cake I was making . . . had to give it a taste, see if it was alright, now didn’t I?’ Cook held the door open for him and ushered him out before he could make a suitable reply.