The Green Dragon Inn #11 - The Last Chapter

[Elu Ancalime]

At the sound of lute, almost as if it were a bleak heralding, a fatigued elf entered the Inn. He was of Noldor ancestery; he was tanned from his labors that no other knew of. He wore a leather jerkin, and travelling boots, with mud dried on the sides. He had long brown hair, and grey eyes to match. At a height of six feet, he towered above hobbits and many men alike. His name was not known to anyone in the Dragon, and nobody seemed to want to know it or his business. He had a small pack consisting of a waterskin, two small pots, and other overnight travelling gear. Although he boasted no weapon openly, he carried an elvish sword similar to those of the Last Alliance.

He walked up to a local, and asked him who to ask to he rent a room. He was directed to one of the Inn keepers at a counter, and payed him around thirty gold coins for a fortnight, and the keeper took the coins thankfully, and then he was surprised, then suspicous. Why would this visitor be so content with overpaying him? How does he has this wealth to throw around? Did he notice the party out front? Don't idle on it, he told himself. Dwarves seem to have hoards of gold, silver, and jools, or so the tales say. He's probably a a travelling salesman of sorts.

After leaving his gear in his room, the mysterious elf returned to the front lawn for his small dinner. A small honey cake, another cake of cram, and a goblet of miruvor with an addition of what seemed like river-water satisfied his hunger and thirst. With no more notice of whence he entered the Dragon, he retired to his bed, for a long rest he had not had in a long time.

[rutslegolas]

Aidwain Longleaf had been travelling for over a year after the depature of the Shadow in the East , he travelled everywhere except in this strange Land of the Hobbits ,in which he had at last arrived , he had never seen hobbits before but he wanted a place to stay , so he entered this Inn called the Green Dragon.

He had given his horse to the stableboy who looked on the 6 foot elf wearing silver vambraces and a green cloack with awe. Aidwain then stepped into Inn and was surprised to see some many people in the hall. Aidwain had never seen so many people of different races together in one place chatting away happily.

Aidwain was very hungry and weary from his travels so he had a meal of cram and bread with some soup and after driking some wine decided to chat with someone. He saw that there was a big party going on in the outer grounds and went outside.

Beside him there were some dwarves chatting happily, but Aidwain mostly kept away from dwarves , 'Weird creatures they are' he thought. But about two tables away from him he saw two elfs chatting merrily he decided to join them ....

[Elu Ancalime]

The strange elf was violently aroused from his slumber. Only a nightmare, he reassured himself. But it seemed more like his fears were calling from.

Uuquettannoer......why did you flee?.......do you feel you can hide forever in the West?.......you will be naught more than an unwanted stranger........


"I'm safe in this land. No other elf from so far knows of this place; here i can lay secret, and safe. Perhaps some wine, and a little fun with the little folk will cure my sorrowness." He left his room, and went out to the front lawn.

Surprised because of his last comment, he noticed a few other elves, one of them named Aidwain Longleaf, yet Uuquettano did not know them by name or face. He gathered his courage, being a shy and quiet elf, and longed to converse with the elves. He had not spoken to another of his race since he left his homeland.

"Greetings, fellow quendi. What brings you to this forgotten land in the north? Where do you hail from? I myself am a traveller, and I am surprised to see not only one other, but a handful of elves in this place the small folk call The Shire. I hope you enjoying this marvelous little party they have put on. I find this Inn so gay and energetic! It's almost as if I have fallen into a dream."
"But come now, we are all dressed different, what is your business if I may ask? If you would tell your names and whence you came, I would be happy to tell you mine. For I have not spoken in any long tale to anyone for what seems like ages, and now I wish to settle down with others of my kin."

[Eowyn Skywalker]

At the incoherent quiry, Ariane couldn't help but smile as she waited for a more understandable reply. "Sorry - I asked what it was you were looking at?"

She grinned slightly, setting her fork down beside her plate, a slight clatter tingling the edge of the glass dish as it slipped to hit the table. "I as..." She swallowed hard to clear her mouth of potatoes, then reached to take a glass of water (for Ariane had picked one up along the way). Swallowing down a mouthful helped clear the thickness, and she managed to reply easily. "I was looking at the roof. It's sort of a... childish amusement of mine, one might say. Counting the tiles, if there are any, or beams if that replaces them."

The woman shrugged, forking some carrots. "I don't know why I do it, but I enjoy it. It's a distractor, something to shift my thought patterns from darkness to simple logic—" Something Ariane had never been able to accomplish, being more melodramatic than logical, more unpredictable than mathimatical, more of a writer and an artist than one for numbers and logical thought. But she didn't say that aloud, letting herself trail off naturally, as if she hadn't considered carrying on to say anymore. "But what do you think of the buns they have here? They're amazingly flavored." She sighed. "I cannot cook a thing without burning it."

[Kath]

Astilwen had been interested in Ariane's explanation of why she counted what was on the ceiling and wished that she had gone on. The woman had lapsed into silence after only a few words and was obviously deep in thought, though those thoughts were apparently going to stay in her head. After a moment she had shaken herself and changed the subject entirely.

"But what do you think of the buns they have here? They're amazingly flavored." She sighed. "I cannot cook a thing without burning it."

Deciding to leave the previous matter be Astilwen went along with this new tangent.

"They're wonderful. The cook here is quite famous among these parts for her food and you can see, or should I say taste why! I'm the same as you though. My mother tried to teach me to cook by getting me to make the meal for my family once a week. And so once a week my family went hungry!"

The two of them shared a laugh born of a common misfortune and tucked back into their meals. After a happy few moments spent eating in peace Astilwen pushed her plate away from her and leant back in her chair, Ariane following suit close behind.

"So," began the hobbit, "Where is it that you hail from?"

[Eowyn Skywalker]

"So, where is it that you hail from?"

A vaugely amused grin touched Ariane's face for a moment. She waited to reply this time until swallowing down her last bite of food, clear to speak without sputtering all over the table. "Ah, here, there, everywhere," she said with a hint of a melodramatic flurish, mindlessly poking at a couple of small squares of meat on her plate. "I was born near Bree, in this area, really. Not the Shire, but you know what I mean.

"I suppose I'm not essentially from Bree, considering I've lived in a few different places, Gondor for a while recently. But then, perhaps it doesn't really matter."

She grinned. "I don't need to ask you where you're from, though."

Setting aside her fork, she picked a bit at some of the remaining gravy left on the plate before finally finishing up the bits and remains left and pushing her plate aside to follow Astilwen's example. A good large meal, she thought, was one of the underspoken wonders of the world.

[Kath]

"I suppose I'm not essentially from Bree, considering I've lived in a few different places, Gondor for a while recently. But then, perhaps it doesn't really matter."

Gondor! Astilwen was now in awe of this woman. She herself had only ever heard of the place through tales that her parents friends told. She remembered hiding behind doors as a child to listen to the stories, and being chased off to bed when she was discovered. And she was discovered every time, for she could never contain her gasps of fright at the scary parts, or her laughter at the funny ones.

Now impressed she looked at Ariane more closely. Perhaps it was just the new information playing tricks on her eyes, but now that she thought about it she wondered if the faint lines she could see were the wear and tear that came from travelling. Whatever the case the woman was obviously full of surprises!

"Gondor!" She exclaimed. "Well I never. What's it like?"