Scarburg Meadhall

[littlemanpoet]

"Is that why you left Edoras, then," Ginna asked, "even if you knew for some time you would be working in crude conditions here?"

"For the quiet?" said Harreld. "No. In truth, I did not know that it would be this quiet out here in the country. I came because I wanted to." Because I hoped I could change your mind. "I needed the change. There, now I'm ready. The fire needs some air again, bellowsmaiden." Harreld smirked at the name. She was far more than that to him, even if he could not have her to wife. He liked her, and liked her talk because she asked interesting questions instead of never ending talk about nothing.

Ginna pumped the bellows while he worked, and this time the ladle went together nicely, as if it had never been broken. And that was what Harreld liked best about smithing. Wounds in metal could be healed as if they were never there; unlike those of heart and flesh.

[Lhunardawen]

Harreld held up the fixed ladle and examined it closely; Ginna, too, looked at it, and smiled proudly. He really was good at his work. The smith turned his eyes toward her just in time to catch her expression, and she quickly turned back to the fire. From the corner of her eye she saw Harreld put aside the ladle and take another misshapen one, but she could not see his face.

Bellowsmaiden. That was what he called her. Ginna turned the word over and over in her head, trying to see how it fit. What did he mean? Was that all she was to him? Did he really think that the daughter of Randvér would be contented with such a job - with such a role? Ginna was surprised to realise that it did not matter much to her. For the here and now, if that was how she could help Harreld, why not?

Ginna saw that Harreld was preparing to fix the ladle in his hand and took her chance; she did not want him to break it again. "If you will have me, I can be your bellowsmaiden so long as you need one."

Harreld looked at her, surprised. Ginna held his gaze.

[Groin Redbeard]

The hunting party slowed their horses to a trot, making it seem unbearably long to make any progress across the never ending stretches of land. Lither was whistling a jovial tune as he swayed in the saddle; the high pitched ringing of the notes began to get on Erbrand's nerves, but it seemed that neither Balvir, nor Matrim, paid any attention to him or Lithor. Lithor, looked to Erbrand, as if he was fifteen years his senior, yet it seemed that he had the enthusiasm of a young boy. Not once when they were riding had Erbrand seen a stern look on the guard’s face, it was always lit up with grin or a smirk.

"Lithor!" came the quick words of Balvir, "Either you sing a song or you ride in peace, that whistleling is getting on my nerves." Lithor responded by shutting his lips. Erbrand couldn't help but smile.

Balvir struck Erbrand as a serious person, the Gondorian's dark bearded face was always stern and his deep blue eyes were always watching something. His hair hung down to just below his shoulders, which were extremely broad. Erbrand remembered him mentioning something about him being a captain in the house of a man called Aeol, or something like that; he never was good with remembering names.

“He’s not as bad as he is,” Erbrand suddenly noticed that Matrim had been riding beside him, “He’ll calm down in a little bit,” Said the Gondorian in a low voice.

Matrim was a calmer sort than Balvir and had a lesser likeness to Balvir. He never seemed to be angry or happy, Erbrand had not seen him smile or frown at all. However, the way that Matrim spoke seemed to sooth Erbrand’s tense feelings, and he could see that Matrim was a calm and gentle sort when it came to handling people.

They rode on in silence for around twenty more minutes until they came to a sloping area of the plain. Balvir motioned for silence and to dismount, they did so as quietly as they could. They left their horses to feed on the grass as they all followed Balvir up a wide hill. When they reached the top Erbrand could see that they were looking over a small basin of land. All around the place the ground rose and then gradually sloped down to where it was once again flat. There were no trees on the hills, but the grass got deeper and greener as the ground sloped down, to a small group of trees near the center of the basin.

“Well, this is certainly an ideal spot for hunting!” Erbrand said smiling. He would never suspect to find something like this in the vast open spaces of the Westemnet.

“Yes,” Matrim replied, “We’ve had luck here before in the past, and we usually find a good quarry here, mostly deer.”

“Let’s hope we have that same kind of luck again,” Balvir said grimly, “Come, let us prepare for the hunt. If there is anything in those trees we’ll flush them out soon enough.”

Erbrand followed Balvir down the hill back to the horses. There they strung their bows and examined their arrows. Erbrand could feel the amount of excitement in Traveler; he loved the hunt as much as his master did. Erbrand patted the horse on the neck and stroked his mane while making adjustments to his stirrups. A familiar procedure that Traveler knew well: “It won’t be long now, old boy,” said Erbrand, “It won’t be long now.”

[littlemanpoet]

"If you will have me, I can be your bellowsmaiden so long as you need one."

Harreld looked at her, surprised. She held his gaze. She looked so serious, as if more hung on her words than the need for someone to handle the bellows while he worked.

If you will have me, she had said. I can be your wife she had not said. But did she mean that? Harreld was not sure that he dared to allow himself to think that. He came back to his senses and closed his mouth, for his jaw had popped open a little bit. She was waiting for an answer.

"I would love you - er -" He flushed. "That is to say, I would like you to be my bellowswife-" His blush deepened. This was going badly. "I mean bellowsmaiden!" He pulled his eyes from hers and fumbled with his hammer and dropped it to the ground. He was glad for the distraction as he picked it up and wiped the grass off. His face began to feel not quite so hot.

"Except that when I have a real smithy it will be hot and close, and I would not have you mar your b-" His blush deepened again. Confound it! Why not say it? His flush deepened even more but he was determined. "I would not have you mar your beauty, dear one." He looked straight in her eyes, glad to have said his thought even while his face felt so hot it could catch fire and he'd have no need of a bellowsmaiden! Harreld, he said to himself, you are hopelessly smitten and you know it. No, worse. You love her. He watched her still to see how she would react, happy to have admitted it to himself, and feeling emboldened to maybe sue for her hand despite her higher place in Eorling society. A smith's wife was if not noble, certainly respectable.

[Groin Redbeard]

Traveler was out of sight down the hill from where he was crouching. Balvir had told him to take a position on this side of the basin where the deer would be driven along. His bow was at his side with an arrow already nocked and ready for shooting, he could see Balvir and Matrim side by side slowly moving towards the clump trees with absolute silence.

The plan was for the most skilled rider to flush the deer out on his horse and kill as many as he could while riding, the person just happened to be Lithor. Lithor would then try to steer the deer to the already waiting Balvir and Matrim, and then it was up to him, to pick up the pieces and shoot as many of the escaping deer as possible. He couldn’t help but feel that he was being excluded from the group, it seemed to him that he had the least out of all the roles that everyone played; he would be lucky if the deer even came in his direction, he might not get any.

Erbrand sat there on the hill watching Balvir and Matrim take their positions, Lithor was out of sight, and he thought about the excitement that they were feeling and how he would like to have his share of it all. He loved this part of his profession, catching the animals for hides that he would later craft into leather; the thought of being a mere spectator in it all was disappointing to him. He dismissed the idea from his head as being extremely selfish, and he cursed himself for pondering the thought for this long.

Just then Lithor appeared from across the basin galloping towards the trees with both of his hands clasping his bow. As he neared the trees, the tall grass within it stirred and nearly two dozen deer sprang from it and out into the open. Lithor drew his arrow back and let it fly, hitting one of the deer in the chest, but he did not stop when the deer fell, he quickly knocked another arrow and fired again, but this time his arrow was accompanied by Balvir’s and Matrim’s. Lithor drove the deer right in the direction of the two Gondorians, and their long bows sang in unison. The animals halted confused by the two figures that stood before them, but their confusion didn’t last long soon they were scrambling in whichever way to get out of the range of the flying death that surrounded them.

Three broke away and ran in the direction of Erbrand; now it was his turn. They were drawing closer to him as he raised his bow in readiness. He drew the string back so that the fletching of the arrow was at his chin, two slow breaths and on the third one he held in and let go of the string. The force of the pull drove the arrow hard into one of the deer’s chest and it fell rolling over in the grass until it lay still on its side. However, Erbrand’s part wasn’t over yet, there were still two deer on his side of the basin, it was his duty to catch them. He jumped to his feet as he saw the dead deer topple downward in the grass, and ran back to where Traveler stood. The horse had been stripped on any unnecessary gear, and he perked his head up as he saw Erbrand running back to him. Without hesitating, the man leapt onto Traveler, swinging himself on the horses back, and gave a loud whistle which the horse responded to by galloping hard in pursuit of the two deer. Erbrand pressed himself close to Traveler’s mane as the wind whistled past his ears, and they soon came close to one of the deer, while the other escaped. He drew himself tall in the saddle as he nocked an arrow for another kill, but when he fired Traveler’ josteling sent his arrow flying high. He drew another shot, and as he rose in the saddle he let go and the arrow went flying into the deer’s flank. The horse halted has Erbrand quickly fired another shot into the deer’s heart.

When he got back to the clump of trees the others were slinging the deer across their horse’s backs. Lithor gave a cry of triumph when he saw the two deer already slung across Traveler’s back.

“Good hunting,” Lithor said, his voice filled with enthusiasm “Well done Erbrand, I was afraid you wouldn’t get any.”

“I believed that myself for awhile,” he replied, smiling as Lithor shook his hand in congratulations.

“Yes,” Matrim said coming up and examining the deer, “Your lord Eodwine will be pleased when we return. His hall will not go hungry for a couple days more. I am anxious to get back and help with the real work around there.”

“Indeed, but our job isn’t done yet,” Balvir led two horses up to them, “Sixteen deer is a fine day of hunting, but it is the horses that will have to carry them back to camp, and they will be tired long before we reach there. Let us get what distance we can before we stop to rest.” And with that Erbrand led Traveler, who had two more deer slung to his back, after the others on their walk back to Scarburg.

Erbrand was also anxious to get back, to Scarburg. The Sun had risen high in the sky and there was no relief from its rays out where he was in the open, but not only for that reason did he want to get back. He wanted to see Dan again, and there were other people in the camp that he wanted to meet before the day had passed.

[Gwathagor]

Crabannan waited with his arm around Horse's neck, waiting for a response from one of the boys. He did not look nearly as threatening as he had a few moments before, but his rough appearance was still enough to keep the two younger boys from answering. Javan, on the other hand, had no such fear of grim strangers, as he had already demonstrated. He stepped forward.

"We've all got work to do. But if you follow us over there, I'll show you where you can get some food."

"Aye, that'll do fine. Lead on, then."

Taking Horse by the reigns, Crabannan followed the three boys down the road into the camp. Javan halted momentarily to point out the kitchen to Crabannan while Cnebba and Garmund continued on.

"My thanks, lad. Though that's surely not your name," said Crabannan with a bit of a crooked, half-smile as Javan turned to go.

Javan faced Crabannan again. "It's Javan."

"Javan then." Crabannan proffered his hand and Javan took it. "I appreciate the help, and I'm sorry for picking you up earlier. I haven't done much to make myself welcome, I fear. Well, now, I've delayed you from your work long enough - you'd better get back. They probably think you ran off."

They parted and Crabannan wandered down to the kitchen, wondering all the while why Javan had flinched at his last words. First you pick a fight, then you insult people with your awful jokes. Well done, Crabannan. Well done.

The smells coming from the kitchen tent had Crabannan's mouth watering by the time he reached. At the time, it seemed to him that he had never smelled anything so good in his life...or at least since his last hot meal following a period without food. This had happened more often than he cared to remember during his soldiering days, but at present, he had no thought but the meal which awaited him. He stepped around to the open side of the tent and looked about.

"Excuse me," he said gently, trying not to scowl, which was hard for him. He tended to scowl without meaning to, and this put people off. "I'm looking for a meal. Who do I ask?"

[Kath]

Kara and Frodides had been largely left alone in the kitchen that day since Saeryn's arrival. Modtryth who often helped out had been volunteered to keep an eye on their old friend and Ginna had long since disappeared from care duties to help Harreld. Both events had kept the two cooks engaged in some serious gossip and they had both enjoyed the quiet that came from only having the two of them there. It had been some time since it had been just them, and Kara found herself happily reminiscing as she washed up. She liked Ginna a great deal and enjoyed passing on what she had learnt from Frodides, but every now and then it was nice to go back to the old days.

Smiling slightly at her nostalgia Kara found herself pulled back to the present by a voice carrying from the entrance to their makeshift kitchen.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for a meal. Who do I ask?"

Turning Kara found herself looking at a dark man who was clearly tall as he was stooping a little in order to see through the rough doorway. The shadows and his own dark clothing made it difficult to see his face but his voice sounded kind, if a litte gruff, and Kara welcomed him accordingly.

"Good morning. You've come to the right place if you are looking for food. If you'd like to sit down just outside I'll bring you something. I would offer you the table in here but as you can see it's a little overcrowded right now." She cast her eyes over the kitchen table, currently covered in anything that could not be considered safe lying on the floor. "Is there anything in particular you would like?"

"No thank you. Anything would be good. I will be outside as you say."

Drying her hands Kara made up a platter of bread fresh cooked earlier in the day along with some cheese and little of the cold meat they still had left before pouring a cup of wine and taking the lot out to the stranger, followed by Frodides' pointed comments about being careful who you break bread with.

She found the man sat outside on the grass in the sun, his pack and cloak slung out on the ground behind him, face turned up to the sky as he rested.

"It is a lovely day isn't it?" She said, not wishing to make him jump by simply putting the food down in front of him.

"It is indeed." He replied, a smile on his lips as he opened his eyes and sat straighter to look at her. "Ah! Is that breakfast?"

Kara nodded and passed him the plate and cup, receiving a grateful thanks in reply. Aware that Eodwine was willing to accept any guest she didn't feel a need to let him know about it straight away, but thought she should gather some information about their visitor first.

"Do you mind if I join you?" She asked.

"Not at all. Please, sit, uh ... I'm sorry I didn't catch your name?"

"Kara. I'm Kara, assistant cook here. And yourself?"