Respite in the Vale

[Capher]

Capher followed by the others rode fast and hard but they did not meet up with Ken as soon as Capher thought they would. He slowed his horse down and the others followed until they were at a walk. Morcaan's horse came up to his left side, Terri's on his right.

"Well, old wolf, where is he?"

Capher shrugged his shoulders. "I really do not know. I was sure we would catch up to him by now," Capher answered a bit puzzled as he looked around and then straight ahead of him.

"Did we lose his trail?" Mocaanan asked, looking around himself. "Perhaps he did not come this way after all," he said.

Capher's brow wrinkled as he thought and looked around once more and then he spied it; more bread crumbs heading toward the mountains. "Look!" He shouted, pointing at the bread crumbs. "I knew I was right, he is heading for the mountains."

"But we are on horses. How is he moving so fast?" Morcaanan asked.

Capher shrugged his shoulders once again. "Perhaps he never stopped to rest, while we were sleeping. I am not sure. But I do know he is heading this way."

"Well then let's go get him, before it becomes dark and we have to camp and then we will never find him," Morcaanan said as he kicked his horse in its flanks and took off at a gallop. Teri gave Capher a quick look and then kicked her horse and went after Morcaanan; Capher then did the same.

Ahead of them the mountain's loomed large and cast a shadow upon them though the sun was slowly setting behind them. Capher tried to recall some of what he knew of these mountains and remembered that the dwarven Tenthrum clan lived somewhere deep in these mountains and that the entrance to their caves were somewhere close to where they were heading. Could Ken be going to them? Perhaps to ask them for help in finding out where Kurik's Anvil might be? Why that trickster! He said he was leaving our group and would find another adventure and all along he knew exactly what he was going to do, if that is what has happened? Capher thought as they continued their way.

The sun was low and Capher had realized that they had been going upward for last hour. The air was becoming much cooler and the vegetation more sparse as they rode higher up into the mountains. Finally Capher called for a halt. "We need to stop and make camp. If we go any farther, we will have a hard time finding enough wood to make a decent fire and to find and hunt down some food."

Morcaanan and Teri halted their horses. "Old wolf, there is no way that Ken could have outdistanced us. I believe we have lost him. I think tomorrow we should head back to the others."

Capher shook his head no. "Morcaanan I can understand your frustration and confusion. I share it with you. But we are close to the entrance of the caves of the dwarven Tenthrum clan. If I am correct. I think Ken went to go ask them for their help in finding Kurik's Anvil."

"And if you are not?" Morcaanan asked, a bit weary at this seemingly wild goose chase.

"Then we will ask them ourselves. Then if we do not find Ken at least this jaunt was not for nothing," Capher answered.

Morcaanan sat back in his saddle as he thought over what Capher said. He did not like it, but it did make sense. "Ok, old wolf. We go on."

They made camp quickly. Morcaanan and Teri both brought back a rabbit and soon Capher had them skinned and spitted over the fire.  The tethered horses munched on their oat bags while their owners set up their blankets to sleep in as they waited for the rabbit's to cook.

They ate as the stars came out on a clear night.

[Talas Anthavin]

From the shadows of an entrance, cleverly concealed by two columns of rock, the Dwarf watches the small group set up camp no more than thirty peds from her.  She looks back into cave and nods to her companion, an elderly dwarf of fairly tall stature, whose brown hair belies his age.  "Two humans, an elf and a brownie," she whispers quietly.

"You must send word to the Gornegron," she says as she looks back at her companion.  "I will see what they want."

The other dwarf, whose movements are slow and deliberate, puts a hand on her shoulder.  "Brennon, child.  You cannot do this alone.  You must let me -"

"No Torm.  I do not think they mean any danger.  Besides, there are two others.  Have them wait here at the entrance for me."  She waits for Torm to acquiesce, which he does reluctantly, but finally returns to his station where he will send word to the Dwarven clan of the group's arrival.  Brennon waits until the two others arrive - soldiers, battle-tested with years of experience dealing with orcs and other denizens of the mountains.  "Wait here and watch," she orders, and the pair quietly nod their agreement.  Their loaded crossbows speak of their readiness.

Brennon looks over the group again.  The tall one looks dangerous - his movements fluid - and he is well-armed.  The elf, though she is slight, also carries a weapon and moves with the lithe grace of her kind.  The old man and the brownie cause Brennon to wonder - she is accustomed to trade meetings with the brownies, but never in the presence of humans.  And the old man - he just seems out-of-place.  She shakes her head: there is nothing to be learned by standing here.

The dwarf leaves her weapons sheathed and approaches the camp, though she stands about ten paces from the nearest of them - the younger human.  "Greetings travellers, and welcome to the homeland of the Tenthrum," she starts.  There is wariness in her eyes, though she is genuinely interested in this unusual mix of people.

[Aueniteri]

After a little food, 'Teri sits happily beside Morcaanan, content to remain there as long as stars will shine, or Injera send them fleeing before his flaming face ignites the sky and leaves it with a clean, deep blue. Slowly, however, something stirs her, and she slowly stands, gesturing her intent to return to Morcaanan discreetly, and walks a little distance down the hills, just out of sight of the fire. For a moment, she breathes deeply, puts a hand on a limb and is about to raise herself into a tree when something else catches her eye. Like all of Ken's other "tracks", insignificant, yet so meaningful. At the base of a tree, shoots sprang up wildly, smaller variations of the tree made from roots driving upward from the ground. There before her, a patch of them has been torn out, and stripped of their leaves. If Ken knew nothing else, it was what he could and could not eat. These leaves, then, had been eaten. There was evidence of a fire where the shoots had gone missing, and as she looked closer, little gatherings of ants where a drop or two of sugar had been left. Quickly, she stands erect, spins about and walks quickly back toward their camp.

As luck would have it, a dwarf - 'Teri can't define the gender at this distance - has confronted the camp. Hurrying, she walks closer, near Morcaanan, and turns to the dwarf.

"Excuse me; I- er, we're... has a hobbit passed by here, sometime today? You would recognize him by his talking, if nothing else. He's never quiet."

[Morcaanan]

Morcaanan watched 'Teri go, eyes tracing her movements until the shadows swallowed her up. It felt good not to be so lonely anymore; the world seemed a better place, now that she was here.

Someone approached the camp - they did not make a great effort at concealment, though by the same token, they didn't brazenly intrude on the camp, but stood a few paces off. Morcaanan stood and turned to face the newcomer, noting that he was keeping his weapons sheathed: as such, the Korweynite did not draw his own.

"Greetings travelers, and welcome to the homeland of the Tenthrum" he says. A dwarf, though Morcaanan did not know if it was male or female.

"Hail" said Morcaanan. "We-"

He was suddenly cut off as 'Teri, who was almost running, came up next to him and blurted out, "Excuse me; I- er, we're... has a hobbit passed by here, sometime today? You would recognize him by his talking, if nothing else. He's never quiet."

He laid a hand on her arm to quiet her. "As my..." He suddenly stumbled on what to call 'Teri: friend? Companion? Partner? He shook it off. "As my friends says, we are looking for another whom we know. We mean no harm here." He glanced at Capher, to see what the Old Wolf would add to the conversation.

[Talas Anthavin]

Brenna looks between the elf and the human, and though they seem honest, she can tell they are not disclosing everything.  She sighs audibly when the elf mentions the hobbit.  "Yes, we have met your hobbit friend.  And you are correct, he will not keep quiet, and he is too curious for his own safety."  She grimaces a little and moves closer to the group so they can see her features by the light of the campfire.  "I must warn you, he has been under watch since he snuck his way into our Head Priest's chambers - he seems harmless, but our Gornegron was a little put out."

"But it is best not to stand outside here and speak too much longer.  Orcs live in these hills, and they usually hunt at night.  We should enter the caves where it will be safer."  Brenna then nods to the entire group.  "I am Brenna Stonetracer - I will guide you back to our caves if you are willing."

[Capher]

Capher was sitting near the fire, munching on the last of the rabbit when he noticed Teri get up and walk away a distance from the camp. Capher assumed she needed some privacy after eating. The urge was building in him as well and he was glancing around to see if he could find a suitable place to go when he saw Morcaanan stand and stare off into the dark. Capher turned and saw a stout figure near the campsite, closer to Morcaanan and Teri than to himself.  The figure spoke and Capher knew immediately it was a dwarf and a female one at that.

Most people cannot tell the difference when they hear a dwarf or even see one for the first time. But Capher had been around dwarves and his kind and their kind were kindred spirits in a way, as they both lived deep inside the mountains.  When Dwarves first broke into Draconian lairs eons ago, there were many a battle and both sides lost many as the dragons protected their treasure and the dwarves tried to steal it; eventually both sides came to an agreement, the dragons would move farther north, leave half their treasure and the dwarves promised not to make any advances into the Northern mountain ranges.

Then came the Dragonstorm and then after that devestation Capher could not help but admire the human courage and was amazed when even one of them finally went after and killed his great-grandfather, Ole Dem' brey; he decided to change into the human form to try and understand them. Then came the Year of Darkness almost all of Capher's kind died, including his own family. He survived because he had changed into a human and found shelter among them.

Capher heard Morcaanan speak and then was interrupted by Teri who asked the dwarf about Ken. Capher was about to speak when the dwarf moved closer to the fire so that she was seen clearly and then spoke.

"Yes, we have met your hobbit friend.  And you are correct, he will not keep quiet, and he is too curious for his own safety."  She grimaces a little and moves closer to the group so they can see her features by the light of the campfire.  "I must warn you, he has been under watch since he snuck his way into our Head Priest's chambers - he seems harmless, but our Gornegron was a little put out."

"But it is best not to stand outside here and speak too much longer.  Orcs live in these hills, and they usually hunt at night.  We should enter the caves where it will be safer."  Brenna then nods to the entire group.  "I am Brenna Stonetracer - I will guide you back to our caves if you are willing."

To the humans Capher was known as himself, to the Elves he was known as the White Wolf, to the Dwarves he was known as the Storyteler and there might be some older dwarves who may even know his true identity, but he did not know if any of them lived anymore.

He stood up and looked at Brenna. He spoke in her language, "Greetings, to you who watch over Urtengor's domain. May his hammer always be in your hand. I am known as the Storyteller; to my friends I am known as Capher. We appreciate your kindness and safety to our little group. Brenna Stonetracer. Lead on and we will follow. I did not know that your hated enemy, had moved again so close to your home."

Capher turned to his friends who stared at him uncomprehending, except Tulpje, who knew the Dwarven language, but was surprised that Capher did. "I greeted her and then told her to lead us to the caves and safety. I had no idea Orc's were this close," he said to his friends for explantation.

[Talas Anthavin]

Brenna blinks when Capher introduces himself - something about his manner of speech is...different, and his grasp of the dwarven language is extremely proficient for a human.  "You honour us, Capher- you speak our language well.  Please, we should go now.  It will take a few hours to reach the caves of the Tenthrum, for the way is not straight, and many of the passages are but roughly hewn rock."

She puts her fingers to her mouth and whistles to the heavily-armed dwarves waiting at the entrance, who appear in a few short moments, and asks them to break down the camp.  "My companions will put out the fire and erase any traces of your passage."

As she walks back to the cave entrance with the small group in tow, she nods to the others and then looks at Tulpje.  Having had dealings with Brownies for much of her life, Brenna switches to their language.  "Greetings Brownin - though we often receive your kin, I have never in my time met a brownie travelling with humans and elves.  Are things well in the Vale?" she asks, genuinely concerned.

[Kenriil]

Somewhere inside, Ken sits idly, talking, not minding the shackle on his wrist that binds him to a wall. After all, he reasons aloud, it is better that they should shackle him here than that he should inadvertantly ruin something.

[Kenriil]

"... They came like you've never seen them swarm. More than I could count. All so mad about something or another..."

[Morcaanan]

(OOC: Pssst! Sim, you posted in the wrong thread!)

Though he had been at the front of the group when the dwarf approached, Morcaanan now hung back as they walked to the caves - the conversation, now being carried on in the throaty language of the dwarves, was over his head.

He eyed the dwarven soldiers as they began breaking down the camp, noting their efficiency; it added a grain of truth to their claim of orc trouble.

As they walked to the cave, he took 'Teri's arm and spoke quietly into her ear. "Do you really think this is wise? They haven't proven to us that Ken is really alive, or that they are friendly towards outsiders - I thought dwarves were more reclusive."

[Aueniteri]

'Teri looks at him as they walk, silent for a moment as she orders her own thoughts. "It should be alright. If Ken is with them..." spontaneously, she smiles, ducking her head slightly. "Then again, I could see him walking free from a den of orcs, for the sheer comedy of it all."

[Aueniteri]

"I'm not worried for Ken," she concludes thoughtfully, and proceeds, "As for the dwarves being reclusive, that's as much their location as their nature. They're as likely to hail you in a market as anyone, and louder than some. I'm not afraid for this reason, mostly: they're industrious. Anything they need, they'll make themselves, and have twice the pride in it any one stealing, plundering, or even buying could have."  For a time she is silent, thinking, before summarizing, "We've only to dear them he we mean to disturb them, and I doubt any of us have that in mind."

[Kenriil]

"... as if it made all the difference in the world. My grandfather, mother's side used to talk about dwarves. Won't repeat all of it, though, he wasn't a really friendly or polite fellow. Really, neither of my grandfathers were. He never say the likes of what happened to those orcs, though, or I'll bet he'd have had more respect. It was all so fast..." The dwarves kept watch over the captive halfling not because they wanted to, for any of them had any number of better things to do. No, they did it because they were told, because duty commanded it, and just a little because they had no way of knowing what would happen he they didn't. When asked if he'd seen locks like the one which now held him, he'd promptly answered yes. When asked if he could pick them, the discomfortimg reply was that he'd never tried, and with only that for assurance, it was thought best that at least one armed dwarf keep the tortuous watch for two hour shifts. Finished, the eight watches had gladly left him, for their own sakes, but small gestures of pity were given those taking the new shift. Now, with these latest of the two parties the dwarves had been given strange reason to expect, Ken is becoming more tolerable, the thought that soon, if only not soon enough, Ken will be silent. Whether dead or simply gone, not one me those who have spent their two hours with him really cares, hoping only to be rid me the incessant noise.

[Capher]

Capher glanced over his shoulder as he heard the dwarven soldiers break down their camp. Morcaanan and Teri were talking amongst themselves quietly as they followed.

He turned back and followed Brenna into the cave entrance. He wondered why Ken would try and steal something. He did not seem to the kind to steal. More than likely there was probably some sort of communication error.

"Brenna, What will happen to our horses? and if I may ask, where is Ken now? And what did he try and steal? Though I have not known Ken long, he did not seem to be the sort of character who was a thief. Could there perhaps be another explanation?" Capher asked.

Capher hoped their was or else if their little group identified themselves with Ken, they may not get the answer they were seeking, nor the cooperation.

[Tulpje Sweetshade]

Tulpje smiled a big, genuine smile at the dwarf. She wouldn't have to stumble and search for her words now. It was a relief. She did like these humans, but nothing beats talking in ones native tongue. "Not to worry, Brenna, all is well. I was given the task to help these Big Folk any way I can, as... atonement for past deeds. However, the reason we are looking for the friend of these people, the hobbit, is that there was created a rumour against him. That's why he left the vale. But I think it is best to let Capher tell this story, as I have only joined them yesterday." Ah, the joys of being able to speak in coherent sentences, if only for a short while!

As the group entered the cave, she made herself comfortable on Capher's shoulder again. This was quite easy, really. When she was on Nash, though she had more freedom to go where she wanted, she still needed to give him commands. Now she could just sit back and she would get wherever they needed to be. She idly listened to Capher's questions, looking at Brenna to know what her answer would be.

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