The King's Players RPG

[Nerwen]

It was truly remarkable, Asta thought, how someone as insignificant as Harrenon could at the same time show such talent for getting in the way. She contented herself with merely glaring at the young actor, as she was very curious to know what his task had been.

So Coldan had already been taking some kind of action about Sador! It was not like him to show so much initiative– but then he had certainly managed to surprise her over the last few days.

Then the aggravating little maid had to burst in, babbling about carriages and swans. Asta felt like slapping her.

"By King Bard's arrow, does this waggon look like a public thoroughfare to you? Of course they have a carriage with swans, they're rich folk (ill-gotten gains, I'm sure); anyway I saw it myself. As if anyone could miss a great thing like that!"

"A swan device, you say?" Harrenon spoke quietly, yet with a note in his voice that made Asta, for once, give him her full attention.

"Yes. Why, is it important?"

[Dimturiel]

"Yes. Why, is it important?"

Secretly, Harrenon was glad he could distract Asta from whatever murderous plans she had regarding him. The tone of her question showed that she had guessed that he thought something was not quite right.

“Well, it’s the Swan device,” he said quickly. “Don’t you know what that means?”

He looked from Coldan to Asta, waiting for the two to realise what he was talking about.

"Have you forgotten last year when we performed in Dol Amroth?" he asked. " We saw many such devices there. Well, the swan is the device of those of Dol Amroth. Don't you remember?”

Harrenon paused, and looked at the other three. He frowned.

“I don’t understand,” he said. “What link can there be between Sador and those of Dol Amroth?”

[Pitchwife]

Coldan slapped his forehead when Harrenon reminded them of the Swans of Dol Amroth. Of course! Dol Amroth - the Swan Players - Aldarion and his mysterious connection to a no less mysterious lady which Sador had hinted at - it all fit together, even if he wasn't yet sure precisely how; but it corroborated his suspicion that Aldarion's kidnapping wasn't entirely without this connivance.

“I don’t understand,” Harrenon said with a puzzled look. “What link can there be between Sador and those of Dol Amroth?”

"I don't know", Coldan admitted. "But I know of a link betveen Dol Amroth and Aldarion. Zat's vere he joined us, after all, leaving zat other group he vas viz at ze time - ze Svan Players; I'm sure you remember ze arrogant sods."

Last evening, though, Aldarion had spoken of his past career with the Dol Amroth company with positive nostalgia. The greatest company in the history of Gondor! I had it all, and by the Valar, I will rise again!

"Maybe zey vant him back, and Sador is vorking for zem; and zey probably von't vant us to succeed viz zis play and gain ze King's favour in zeir place. Or maybe - " He hesitated to broach this in Asta's presence, willing to spare whatever lingering feelings she might still have for the playwright after what had just happened; but they would find out the truth soon enough - better to spare her a nasty surprise.

"Or maybe Aldarion even consented to being kidnapped. Remember vat Sador told us last night? - No matter", he hastened to continue, "ve're going to find him and rescue him if he vants rescuing." And drag him back by the ears if he doesn't, he added silently.

"Vat say you, Harry? Are you viz us?"

[Nerwen]

"Wait," said Asta, "Harry, you mean only someone from Dol Amroth would use a swan emblem?"

Harrenon nodded. "What you describe would be the device of one of their noble houses."

"Why, that's it, then! That's how they did it! They made Aldarion think he was among friends! The poor fool probably hopped in, never suspecting a thing– until it was too late.

'Coldan, we're to have to be very careful– this so-called Lord Sador plans well ahead."

[Pitchwife]

"So it seems", said Coldan. "Anyvay, I zink finding him will lead us to Aldarion. It can't be too difficult to find out vich vay zis carriage vent - if it was such a pompous vehicle as you describe it, people vill hev noticed it." He looked at Harrenon again. "So vat about it, Harry? I'd be glad to hev a native Gondorian in zis rescue party; if ve run into trouble, you vould be better zan I am at talking us out of it, seeing how vell you handled zat situation in ze smithy yesterday; and if ve need to break Aldarion out of some kind of lockup, another pair of strong arms can't hurt."

"Well", Harrenon said after some pondering, "I guess somebody has to take care that you two don't go astray." That earned him a shriveling stare from Asta. "But do I understand right that you mean to keep this expedition hidden from Brinn?"

Coldan nodded. "She's got enough to vorry about already; better not burden her viz zis."

"What about the girl then?" Harrenon pointed at the serving maid. "Can we trust her?"

"We could bind and gag her and lock her in the wagon", Asta suggested. The girl paled, and her eyes widened.

Coldan shot an exasperated glance at Asta. He had noticed that she wasn't particularly fond of Ingold's niece, but that was no reason to scare the maid like that. "Don't be silly! Ingold vould kick us out of ze inn."

He turned to the girl. "Don't mind her, Thilwen - zat's your name, isn't it?"

"Thiliel, sir", she corrected him, still somewhat timidly.

"Right. Thiliel." Now how exactly did you talk to a fourteen year old girl? He tried his best to imitate Brinn's reassuring tone, but still the words came out a bit more brusquely than he meant them. "You vant us to get ze play ready in time for Cormare, don't you?"

Thiliel nodded.

"Zen ve must find Master Aldarion and bring him back. But Mistress Celebrindal still needs rest to recover from her injury, so she shouldn't hev to vorry about zis. If she - or anybody else - asks for us, tell her - tell her Asta and I hev gone looking for spare parts to change Smaug into a spider; and after zat ve vant to be alone viz each other for a vile. Or vatever you zink works best." That didn't cover Harrenon, but it probably wouldn't occur to Brinn to suspect him anyway. "But if we're not back by ze morning bells, it means ve're in trouble, and zen you should tell her ze truth, but not earlier. Can you do zat?"

[Galadriel55]

It was the weight and importance of Coldan's words that made Thiliel put herself together, although she was still under the impression of Asta's suggestion. She recovered from the fright just enough to understand the graveness of the matter.

"Can you do zat?" asked Coldan, making sure that she knew what she was putting herself up to.

"Yes, of course, sir," the girl replied. She became calmer, now that she knew for sure that no one really wants to tie her up and hide her in some corner of the mysterious wagons, which just a few minutes ago enchanted her and now made her shiver. "I really want to see the play. I am sure you worked very hard to put it together, and I don't want it to fall apart."

"Zat is very vell," Coldan told her, while Asta glared mistrustfully, "it vill help us a great deal if you do zis."

"You should return to the inn, or Ingold might think that we locked you up for real," the other man winked at Thiliel with a slight chuckle. The comment made the girl's heart leap and her breath catch again. She must have jumped, because that man - was his name Harry? - laughed. Still not very impressed, but appreciating the joke, Thiliel gave all three a nervous smile and dropped a curtsey before turning away and walking quickly towards the entrance of the inn, carefully avoiding the long shadows of the carts.

Thiliel wondered if Asta was always that scary, and why she was so cold towards her. Perhaps she didn't mean what she said, and didn't intend for it to sound so harsh and threatening. But it was still said. How does Sereth stand her? And how does Asta not kill everyone around her, if she has such a temper that she'd want to bind me in one of the wagons overnight. Overnight, because I doubt that anyone would find me in there before next morning... These thoughts made Thiliel recall Asta's interferance with the quarreling men the night before. What would she do with the metal tool if the room wasn't filled with people?...

She was quite sure by now that her uncle will be upset with her for the prolonged absense. She wanted to quietly slip inside, and pretend that she had a headache and was in her room the entire time. Thiliel was not sure that the excuse wold work. Maybe he checked her room already. But there was still a chance of escaping it...

However, that chance was taken away very soon by Ingold's figure standing in the entrance to the hall. Thiliel ran to him and flung her arms around him. For the first time during her stay in Minas Anor, he didn't hug back. He didn't say anything, but Thiliel could feel his anger, and, concealled under it, pain and worry. The silence was uncomfortable, unnatural. She felt it pressing on her from every side. She wanted to break it, to ease it somehow. Ingold always told her plainly what he did not like, and she always tried her hardest to fix it. It was never like this. This time, Thiliel felt, she has made a worse blunder than spilling milk all over the place or serving someone chicken instead of beef.

"Uncle, I'm sorry," she whispered when she couldn't hold it any longer, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. I did not mean to... to disappear like that..." Ingold looked into her eyes. There was question and accusation in his gaze. "I didn't go anywhere far, I was here in the yard," Thiliel's voice begun to crack, "I didn't do any trouble. I just forgot that... forgot about the time..."

"Forgot about the time? I haven't seen you around for almost an hour! The sun is almost setting!" Thiliel looked out the window, to see Anor low in the sky, still an hour or so from setting, but still lower than she thought. "You are almost grown up, and you have to act as such," Ingold continued, "You cannot go off for so long without telling me. You have to be more responsible. And what could be so interesting that it captured your attention for all this while?" This question made Thiliel squirm. She knew that he didn't approve of her spending so much time talking to the actors.

"I... Sereth showed me one of the carts. You know, Sereth, the actress." A semitruth though it was, it made the anger in Ingold's eyes melt. All that was left was a tired old man who had too much to worry about without his niece's games.

"Go clean yourself up, and then come back to the commn room," Ingold said, "the men are going to be coming in again soon. I will need your help delivering the food. Go, lass."

From the last words Thiliel could tell that she was forgiven, and the incident was past. Yet she couldn't stop thinking about it, and about her other misadventures this day. Her step lost its spring, and she went about her chores without her usual energy and eagerness.

[Mnemosyne]

“What were you thinking?” hissed Brinn.

“Sweetheart,” said Rollan, slowly, “what are you talking about?”

“You know perfectly well what I’m talking about! Your slow and stupid act might work fine on stage, but don’t even think about pulling it on your own wife!”

Rollan took a step forward and folded his arms. “I know what you’re trying to do, Brinn. You’re trying to save the show at all costs—even if it means misleading your own sister. That’s not the woman I married.”

“I wasn’t misleading her!”

“You were going to. And she has a right to know.”

“You don’t know that, Rollan. I was obviously going to have to tell her eventually, but… not here, not with so many people poking their heads in and Asta like to see an assassin in every shadow. And just because there wasn’t a dragon doesn’t mean there can’t be one in the play, no matter what Lady Elanor says. But since you stepped in and ruined everything—”

“I ruined nothing. Just as you said when we got here, the worst that happens to us is we get run out of the White City, and all that means…”

“Is Seri cries for weeks, and Aldarion and anyone else who has a dream of grandeur leaves us, and—”

“And we move on, and we make other people smile. This is hurting you, Brinn, and you can’t see it.”

“Really?” said Brinn, sticking her foot out.

“When, exactly, did this show become about you? It wasn’t last night. You weren’t cagey, trying to manipulate people; you were listening to them!”

“About me? I run this group. I keep all of us—crazy, drunk, flighty, headstrong—together. I got us out of the Swan Players mess. And in case you couldn’t tell, we’re dealing with politicians, and you can’t just listen to them; you have to—”

“You don’t have to become them. I know you won’t ask for my advice, but I’ll give it anyway. Leave. Cancel the show. We’re in over our heads; let someone else try to take on this mess. You’re not Bard the Bowman, so don’t get yourself fried fighting the dragon.”

“Get. Out.”

Rollan reached out towards her, but Brinn slapped his hand away. “Out,” she said. “And don’t come back until I tell you.”

Rollan opened his mouth, as if to say more, but shut it and left.

As soon as the door closed behind him, Brinn burst into tears.