Ranger Commons

[Burnt Toast]

RANGER COMMONS
The Ranger Commons consists of: Headquarters, Barracks, Armoury, Training Grounds, & Stables

Commons
A large stone building surrounded by a cluster of others is situated in the north of the first circle, encompassing a large square courtyard.
This is home to the Rangers, who serve and protect both the city of Minas Tirith and the lands around it.

HEADQUARTERS

The first building to meet the eye is one housing the Headquarters. The unique architectural design of the building gives it the look of a six-pointed star. A heavy oak door protects the way into a spacious hall with a couple of windows opening up towards the street and allowing the light to enter. Next to the door of the Commander’s office is a large notice board with pieces of parchment pinned upon it, telling of roster updates and other important things soldiers should know.

Here, you may:
· Ask to be enlisted in the army
· Have a mentor appointed for you to proceed with training
· Let your Commanders know if you will be away for a lengthy time

How do I train?
1. Sign up to the Rangers with your name, weapons and armor. Your name is your Plaza Identity, your weapons and armor are invented, typically one weapon and one piece of armor to begin with if you wish to bring your own. New recruits and any Rangers who wish may draw a uniform, armor, and basic weaponry from the supply room.
2. Once acknowledged, you may join in the storylines in the Ranger Commons or new campaigns. A mentor may be assigned or requested, with whom you can work on training individually or in the context of a campaign.

Conference Room
This is where the officers can meet and discuss the best course of action for the upcoming missions, brief the soldiers or hold the teaching sessions for them.

Uniform and equipment of the Rangers
The formal uniform is black with the white tree emblazoned on the chest.
Armour is left up to the individual ranger.

Structure of the Rangers
Commander
Lieutenant
Captain

Sergeant
Corporal
Ranger, Specialization (ex. Cúner, Hyandaner, etc.)
Ranger
Recruit

Training:
Once a recruit has asked to be enlisted, they may join in the current army RP and train under more experienced soldiers, and utilize the Training Grounds for practice.

ARMOURY

Not far from the building containing the living quarters of the Rangers, the Armoury is located. It is a low but very spacious building, and the torches on the walls between racks of weapons give it steady light. The many wooden tables and racks displaying armor and weapons all but create a maze that might bewilder a newcomer, or an overly sleepy soldier.

There is a section with spears and javelins lining up neatly according to their lengths, and next to them is a collection of battle axes. After these is a vast display of swords - lines upon lines of long swords, several lines of short swords, some broadswords and some rapiers. Then there is a section almost as large, but dedicated to bows. The greater part of it consists of longbows, followed by recurves. The tables in the midst of the large room contain pieces of armour, various daggers, helms, belts, scabbards, and various other accessories.

Along one wall, shelves rise almost to the ceiling; the bottom rows are filled with boots, and the garments such as extra cloaks, pants, and tunics are stacked high on the other shelves.

The back door leads from the armoury into a small forge. The bulk of the weapons and armour are made by the city's blacksmiths; however the smith in this forge works mainly on maintenance. Her hands are full trying to repair all the weapons and chainmail, and whatever else wrought of steel the soldiers bring to her.

BARRACKS

Living Quarters, Common Room, Mess Hall & Kitchen
Across the courtyard from the headquarters of the Rangers are the barracks - a sturdy four-storey building. The front door opens into an entrance hall. To the left is the Mess, to the right – the Common Room. Two long stairways lead upstairs. Right in front is the Barracks Master's office.

Mess Hall
The mess may be entered both from the entrance hall of the Barracks, and directly from the courtyard. Long tables with the benches run down the middle of the room. The mess can seat 600 soldiers. The officers' long table is at the head of the hall, but not all officers keep to strict discipline at mealtimes, preferring sometimes to sit with their soldiers. Along the outside wall are large windows providing more natural light for the large hall. On the inside wall there are big fireplaces. All along the outer wall, under the windows, is a long buffet carved of hardwood. The soldiers can find the available drinks and food set there by the cooks. At both its ends are pumps providing fresh water from a natural spring.

Meal times are as follows:
Breakfast 6:00-7:00
Lunch (first serving) 11:45-12:45
Lunch (Second serving) 13:15-14:15
Dinner 18:00-19:00
Supper 21:00-22:00

There are also special meals for forces returning from or setting out on a mission. There is a smaller room outside the mess, sometimes referred to as the “little mess”. Here too there is a buffet, and a water pump. This buffet only serves fresh fruit, nuts, bread, honey and similar snacks. However, it remains open all day long.

Kitchens
Every soldier in the barracks knows the kitchens: all soldiers are required to do shifts there, helping with the washing and the cleaning, the unloading of merchandise brought early in the morning, and the bringing of items from the cellar, though never with the cooking. The kitchens take half the ground floor of the South Wing.

Pies are baked in many ovens, stew boils in huge cauldrons, pots and pans stand on the stoves. The bakery provides fresh bread and pastries, in the salad area fresh fruit and vegetables are cut, providing the soldiers with much-needed vitamins. Four big fireplaces are equipped for spit-roasting, but those are only used on special occasions. In the cooler cellars below, there are stores of cheeses, sausages, smoked meats and fish, apples, potatoes, as well as barrels of ale, mead, cider and wine. There's also a cellar filled with pre-packed field rations, ready in case a big force of the Dagarim Aran needs to march with no time for preparation. It's said that even the rats avoid this cellar.

Chief of the kitchen staff is Sergeant Pete. He is a burly man with a mop of grey hair and merry grey eyes, who has been in the service to the army for many years. He runs a tight kitchen and is very proud of the standard of the food he serves. Despite clear orders to the contrary, Sergeant Pete may sometimes allow soldiers into his kingdom to prepare their own food, if they stay out of his way and clean up any mess they make. However, he likes to remind them that this time is an exception and he would kick them out the next time.

Living Quarters
Two stairways lead off from the entrance hall of the barracks: one to the South Wing, and one to the North. The construction of both wings is similar: four floors. On each floor, a long hallway dotted with numerous doors lead away from the stairway. This is where the soldiers have their rooms and may find some necessary rest in between their duties. Each room has four beds, each with a heavy oaken chest at the foot for the storage of personal belongings. Two wardrobes stand on each side of the door, supplying ample room to store garments and even armour. A desk sits near the window, as well as a couple of simple chairs. But surely each occupant of the room adds his or her own personal touch to the room by how they arrange the things they bring along.

The officers live in the central wing, in private rooms a bit more spacious than those of the soldiers.

Common Room
The ground floor of the North Wing is taken by the common room, meant for the soldiers to rest in and enjoy each other's company or solitude - at times. It is spacious and has many large windows letting in the light. Several fireplaces have been built along the inner wall, and some armchairs have been placed before each. There are more armchairs, sofas and low tables around the room. Along one of the walls runs a bookcase filled with books for those who enjoy reading. It has a wide variety of literature beginning with some historical records and books on weaponry and ending with some volumes of poetry and fascinating stories. After 23:00, the common room must be kept quiet, so as not to disturb the soldiers sleeping on the upper floors.

Housing

Officer Quarters
Room #

North Wing
Room # 2: Ranger Pele Alarion
Room # 4: Ranger Ilisys

South Wing
Room # 1: Ranger Unalmis

**Request for a room / changing rooms may be made in the Ranger HQ OOC, and I will update, or ask an admin if I am off patrolling.

TRAINING GROUNDS
In addition to the Training Grounds outside of the white city walls, enclosed by the stone wall perimeter of the Rammas Echor, there is a more compact training ground within the Rangers’ complex. It is located in the vast central courtyard, large enough to maintain separate areas for various fighting disciplines, as well as an archery range and expansive obstacle courses, including for riding.

Shallow pits dotted with practice dummies and revolving poles with horizontal arms are available for sword-, axe-, and agility work. A mock-up of a small fortress stands beside a building facade - these are used in infiltration and siege exercises. On one side stands a long row of storage sheds where replacement dummies and equipment are kept.

The faint ring of hammers is heard around the complex where new additions are being made. The Training Grounds are constantly developing, giving the soldiers a chance to work on more and more skills.

The Purpose of the Training Grounds:
Recruits can train with mentors.
Soldiers of all ranks can sharpen their skills or learn new ones, or spar with one another.
Whole companies of soldiers can train together and perfect their teamwork.

STABLES

A smell of hay, oats and dark cedar meets anyone entering the stables of the Rangers. Even though there is a long line of stalls meant for the four-legged companions of the humans, not too many of those are occupied. There was enough room also for the horses any other soldier had brought along, though few had any, since the horses were not of much use in the cobbled streets of the city.

Adjacent to the stables was a barn with the stacks of hay and stubble, and the sacks of grain for the horses. There were also tools for any necessary stable work to be performed: wheelbarrows, shovels and rakes, and an assortment of smaller tools for the purposes of grooming the animals. There was a neat stack of the blankets - for the horses, not for lazy stable-hands - and a great many saddles and other equipment needed to prepare the mounts for riding.


Locations (please post in the color indicated for each location)
HQ (red: #BF0000)
Barracks (blue: #0040BF)
Armoury (grey: #808080)
Training Grounds (green: #008000)
Stables (brown: #804000)

Guidelines for overall thread use:
Always indicate your name, rank, and location at the top of your post.
In character posts only, please.
If you must have an OOC comment, white it out.

[Galastel]

Galastel and Anardil, veteran's kids, Training Grounds

"Mum, can we go shoot some arrows at the training grounds?"
"Don't get in the way if there are soldiers exercising there. And make sure to drink plenty of water." Her mother sounded tired, Galastel noted. Not for the first time. Least she could do was get out of her hair for a few hours, and take Nari with her.

She liked archery. To shoot well, you had to focus on the target, and nothing else. The world fell away. You pulled back the string as you breathed in, aimed while breathing out, and in that moment between breathing out and breathing in, you released, let the arrow fly.
"But what do you do in battle, when an orc can come at you while you're focusing on a target?" Galastel had asked her father, some years ago, when he was still fighting.
"Focus faster," Elphir had laughed. "And trust your friends to keep you safe."
Anardil, he liked hitting the target. It gave this satisfying thwump, and he got his arrows into the inner rings quite often.

There were targets free for them to practice with. The training grounds were built for a larger contingent of soldiers than what remained now, King Elessar having sent most of them home.
"Do you suppose there really won't ever be another war?" Anardil asked, watching as a blackbird pooped on a target. A few years before it would have been so noisy at this time of day, no bird would come near.
"Auntie Arin thinks there will still be attacks. But dad says with the Dark Lord gone, they won't be organised, so we won't need so many soldiers. Orcs don't get along with each other, and the Easterlings and Haradrim don't like orcs either, so they won't all be coming to attack us together without the Dark Lord telling them to. And mum says it's good some men can go home and become farmers, because if everybody's a soldier, who will grow food?"
"I suppose someone should grow food, but I don't like having no soldiers. What if the Dark Lord comes back? He's been 'gone forever' before."
"If it looks like he's coming back, King Elessar will bring the soldiers back. And it's not like we don't have any soldiers now. Auntie Arin went off on a mission somewhere, and the Lord Faramir got many men settling in Ithilien - he'll know if something isn't right. Remember dad talking about how beautiful Ithilien is, and how he wishes it weren't too dangerous for us to go see it? Well, now we can."
"Except dad won't travel anymore."
"You going to get dressed, or you going to talk all day?" Galastel, while talking with her brother, had already put on her arm protector, chest guard and archery glove, and was now stringing her bow. He, on the other hand, had not even started getting ready.


(OOC:Gali and Nari are a veteran's (Elphir's) two kids. Galastel is 13, Anardil is 10.)

[Pele Alarion]

Pele Alarion
Training Grounds - a couple days before setting out with the Rangers

The early morning came with incessant drizzle of rain and seemed rather unfriendly, seemingly not suitable for any outdoor activities; besides, it was still early enough that most people were still sound asleep, and even the merchants of the marketplace had not begun to stir. The grey mist of rain and the dusk made the streets and the walls of the city appear rather unfriendly. Unfortunately - or fortunately - this was a day Pele had chosen to test her skills, and the rain might and early hour meant that perhaps she would not be surrounded by too many people.

She had put on full armour and gathered with her enough other things to last a week, though she meant to linger on the training grounds just a couple of hours. A brisk walk led her to the gates of the training grounds, and a guard let her in when she identified herself. As the gates closed behind her, she set off at a steady run, a couple laps around the muddy track, and then into the wooded area. The run took her much longer than usual, and when she attempted the obstacle course, she found herself struggling and eventually quit it with still some obstacles remaining.

Letting her pack drop to the ground, Pele went down on one knee, breathing heavily and wiping the beads of sweat from her face with the sleeve. Even though she had gotten rid of the remaining wounds, she was apparently in a poor shape and could not accomplish what she had been able to a couple of years ago. She could not help but wonder if she would even be of any use for the Rangers, as it would probably take a rather long time for her to regain the lost strength and agility. Perhaps it would be best not to respond at all? As soon as the thought entered Pele’s mind, she knew it was not an option. At any rate she would have to explain her condition to the command at least, so that they would not place her in a position where she would endanger her comrades by being unable to keep up with them.

Having caught her breath some, and after a hearty drink of water, the returning Ranger decided to go on to practicing with the sword. She rolled her shoulders, continuing with some arm circles to test out the range of her right shoulder. It felt just a little bit tender to touch, but otherwise seemed to cause no more pain.

Reaching for her longsword, Pele drew it from the scabbard and raised it towards the rainy sky, as if threatening it. At first slowly and carefully, and then faster and with more force, she repeated the pattern of swinging the blade down and left, down and right, and then in various combinations. It seemed that her arms were reluctant to remember once so habitual movements, and she had to think what she was doing to combine swordplay with the footwork. She continued the work until she felt that her muscles ached and her form began to suffer to the point she would be open to attack if she had been fencing the enemy.

Having trained to the point of exhaustion, Pele decided that enough was enough, and that she should not tire herself out so much to be useless should any assignments follow soon after the pending meeting of Rangers. While she was highly dissatisfied with her own performance, she hoped that proper nutrition and relentless training would at least bring her back to some usefulness. Though it would require some time and patience. She proceeded to gather her belongings with a thought to leave before she began freezing because of the rain-soaked clothes, as it would be highly counter-productive to fall ill now.

[Pele Alarion]

Shamara
Barracks - Mess Hall

The woman had stopped parading as a farmer as soon as it was feasible; she did not like feeling dirty and smelly and did not want to carry that disguise longer than absolutely necessary. After exploring various options around the city, she had opted for a more risky one, deciding to find a legitimate reason to enter Ranger facilities and find some form of a foothold there.

Putting forth all of her charming qualities, self-humiliation, lots of tears and even puppy dog eyes she had come knocking at the back door to the kitchens with a basket of apples, begging the kitchen staff to buy those from her to save her ill child. She had even succeeded in portraying her sad story to the point where she was offered a possibility of cleaning the mess hall in return for a couple more coins.

With great zeal she had set to scrubbing floors, as long as she felt a watchful eye on her. Shamara had no doubts whatsoever that she would just be left alone for too long; however, the kitchen folk had other duties as well, and as soon as a moment came when no one was watching her, she instantly quit crawling around with a wet rag and stop up to take a better look of the room. It seemed that there was nothing of interest in this particular room, so she at least snatched a handful of raisins from the buffet to munch on.

With a cautious look towards the kitchen, the Umbarian walked towards the door that would give her access to the rest of the building, the rag in her other hand always a ready proof for her reasons of being here.

[Arnyn]

Kaylin
Barracks

She'd come looking for a meal, but had arrived much too early. So, Kaylin had decided to kick back in the common room to kill some time. She was almost whistling as she walked through the barracks, but slowed in her tracks when she saw one of the absolute last people she'd have ever expected in these halls.

Was that... Shamara?

While Shamara might not immediately recognize her, since Kaylin's regular free red locks had been consistently dyed brown and pinned up for their meetings, Kaylin had no issues remembering her.

Kaylin had had a few meetings with the woman, a number of years back. Back when it had become clear Shamara was involved in some kind of human trafficking from Gondor to Umbar, and Kaylin had been wanting to find out more about Shamara's method of operations. However, the woman had simply disappeared at some point, and Kaylin's lead had grown cold. Yet...

Recently, she'd heard Pele's story. It was bad - no, it was terrible. Sickening. It had made Kaylin regret deeply that she hadn't simply taken Shamara out when she'd had the chance. And now... the woman... was... right... here.

Kaylin almost growled, but managed to stifle it in the back of her throat, in favor of her quick strides speeding into a sprint and charging Shamara head-on, not even thinking about possibly hidden weapons or even what Kaylin's own next move would be. This woman was responsible for a great deal of trauma to a dear friend. Kaylin was seeing red right now.

[Pele Alarion]

Shamara
Barracks

She had not managed to walk too far when a Ranger appeared and was coming for the mess hall. Shamara tried to come up with some ideas of how to explain her being here and was about to extend a greeting to strike up an innocent conversation, but when she looked back up and already opened her mouth she found that the Ranger was all but running at her in full force.

A thought flashed across her mind that the woman's face seemed familiar, but she had no time to investigate the idea any further. She took a step back and braced herself for the impact - she had been too startled and slow to react. The only explanation the Umbarian could find for her slow reaction was that she had not imagined that she'd be attacked just like this, for no good reason at all. At least she did not remember having harmed this woman in any way.

And then Kaylin was already on her, and no matter how much Shamara tried to stand against the onslaught, her feet gave way, and she hit the floor on her back. Trying to recover her breath, she used the only means of distracting the attacker she still had a firm grip on. She aimed the wet floor rag at Kaylin's face, and with her other hand sought out the small knife she always had with her.

"Are you crazy, Ranger?" she called, once able to do so. "Attacking people just like this!" She hoped her words would cause Kaylin to pause, though it seemed that the red-haired woman was very much bent on destroying her.

[Arnyn]

Kaylin
Barracks

As they went down, Kaylin's left arm circled around Shamara's head (the back of her neck). The wet floor rag smelled like a mix of soap and mustiness. The wetness against her face was unpleasant, but Kaylin ignored it. She pushed her right hand down on Shamara's left bicep, pinning it to the barracks floor as they landed.

"If caring about your friends is crazy, then yeah - I'm certifiably INSANE," Kaylin growled against the rag. Shamara was right there, so there was no need for yelling - furthermore, Kaylin was not that much of a yeller when she was taken over by this particular shade of anger: a protective fury, fuelled by the friendship shared with Pele.

Kaylin let go of Shamara's bicep with her right hand andmoved it up. Her left arm was between Shamara's neck and the floor, and her left hand almost at Shamara's left shoulder, where it could grab into the sleeve of Kaylin's own right hand. Kaylin's left hand grabbed a fistful of fabric deep inside of her own sleeve, and she made a fist with her right hand and try to move it in front of Shamara's throat even as she sagged a bit to the right and extended both of her arms.

If Kaylin was successful - if Shamara couldn't stop her... and if no one intervened... Kaylin could and would choke the woman out right then and there.

[Ercassie]

Ilisys Azrubêl, Ranger
Barracks

She had her purpose and it took both hands to bear it. Not that the laundry was especially burdensome; but it did have something of a tendency to rear up like a liberated kite in the breeze, whenever she might round a corner. The flushed colour sat like a spotlight on each high-boned cheek of her otherwise alabaster complexion, suggesting that the lady had rounded more than one corner thus far through the city. The neat folds of the garb had proved deviant on their journey regardless, and she might as well have to clean it all over again by the time she had arrived. But whomever should have imagined it would take such pains to keep a uniform in a pristine condition ? The same person who might wonder why it had took the woman so long to return it, most probably.

Pele had been very kind to lend out the replacement clothing, after their initial introduction. Although there might have been a healthy dose of guilt behind such a gesture, and there might have been an undertow of trepidation from that also for the woman of Dol Amroth to venture back here again. At least unprepared. This was the sort of place, she had learnt swiftly, one must not relax their guard.

At last inside and safe from the wind. Alas for the abandoned bucket of water upon a great expanse of floor. With her laundry piled high, even the most guarded eyes could not have stopped an abrupt collision, between the steel tub and the toes of one high-reaching boot. But she did not fall over the forsaken object. She did glance around in search of likely suspects. After all, her balance had been compromised just long enough to loose grip on her load, and see the borrowed clothes spill all over the floor. The water did not spill. It retained it's smug reflection as Ilisys bent to recover a sodden sock from the depths of it’s murky chill.

“Are you crazy, Ranger ?” The exclamation made her rise, slowly, sodden sock dripping still in one hand as she resumed full height. She had been called worse of course, and on this occasion not called out at all. A strange two-headed monster seemed to be wrestling with itself on the floor, so engaged it had not noted her arrival. Ilisys surrendered the sock into the pile of scattered clothes, rolled up her sleeves, and took up the pail of water in both hands. For the sight of an already wet rag in one of the struggle’s hands stood suspicious of blame.

Following her feet calmly across the floor to meet the writhing two .. oh, there were two women upon the floor ! If they were not interrupted soon however, there might not be two for too much longer. The one was clearly keen to extinguish the other’s whole existence. And the one was particularly familiar. Kaylin.

Since she felt they both might be too distracted to hear any word she might say, the newcomer held high her wet ammunition, and unleashed the dirtied waters of the bucket over the both of their heads. Then brandished the bucket itself, menacingly.

“There is an explanation ?” she supposed.

[Pellaadarion]

He entered the commons slowly, his eyes darting from pillar to post. The afternoon light followed at his back as he found himself in the halls of the rangers of Minas Tirith. His weary figure cast a long shadow on the familiar floors and the newcomer stood six feet tall, clad in dusty travelling clothes shrouded in a well worn cloak of grey wool. Armed with sword and bow he looked more like an aging scout, or hunter than a professional soldier.

A pair of hazel eyes sparkled within a heavily lined face, and greasy locks of greying auburn hair flowed carelessly upon his brow, his cheeks and jaw covered in a thick growth of beard which spoke to many months spent on the road.

He might have looked familiar to any who had survived the War of the Ring, for he had stood upon the white walls in his younger days, armed with spear and shield and clad in shining helm. After tramping the southern lands in the years that followed, he had spent some time within these hallowed walls refining his craft as a ranger, before leaving to pursue work as a mercenary in foreign lands, his wanderlust indulged by miles and miles of coast and country, finding work as far south as Harad and as far north as the ruins of Angmar. But ever did the sweet song of Minas Tirith call his name on the wind, and like an old fish swimming back to familiar spawning grounds, the lure of his home was too strong to forever ignore.

Holding up one calloused in hand in greeting he spoke simply and firmly, but with a gentle air of reverence to any who would listen,

"My name is Pellaadarion the archer, and I hear this kingdom faces a growing threat. Although I have been gone for some time, I would again offer my life to this kingdom and it's brave rangers should I be deemed worthy."

He stood quietly, awaiting a reply from an officer who might direct him to a clerk or quartermaster who might allow him the honour of enlisting within the rangers, should be judged worthy of their time.

[Arnyn]

Clerk - unnamed
HQ

She frowned upon hearing a new arrival introducing himself.

"Wait," the clerk said, rising from the table she was sitting behind near the headquarters entrance. "Did you say your name was Pellaadarion?" Her eyes widened and she raised a finger at him, conveying for him to wait. Quick as the summer breeze, she disappeared into one of the small offices. It took her a bit to come back outside, but when she did she had a hesitant smile for him. A smile, because she figured she had good news for him. Hesitant, because she wasn't all too sure of how he'd react to the fact the missive never reached him.

"We.. weren't sure how to contact you," she explained as she handed over the scroll. But you were meant to receive it." The clerk patiently waited for Pellaadarion to open and read the missive.

Soldiers of Arnor and Gondor,

King Aragon II Ellesar has heard the cries of the people of the Reunited Kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor. He sees both the need for a defensive military force and for the citizens that make up the armies of the Reunited Kingdom to return home. It is uneconomical for the people of the realm to maintain a fighting force as large and multitudinous as has been supported these last few years.

On this day, the 7th of Lonthron, King Aragorn II Ellesar, Twenty-Sixth King of Arnor, Thirty-Fifth King of Gondor, First King of the Reunited Kingdom has declared an edict of dispersal, effective immediately, of the standing Army. The men and women of the fighting forces of Arnor and Gondor will return to their towns and cities, forming militias as dictated by local law. Funds have been distributed to all the Lords of the fiefdoms of Arnor and Gondor to form these militias to protect the people of the Reunited Kingdoms. However, with the Standing Army dispersed, there is a vital gap in the defense of the country.

First the Rangers of Ithilien will take control of the defense of the northern border and temporarily the defense of the southern border. But the Rangers of Ithilien will be spread thin. In an effort to support and augment their defense, a new Ranger corps will be formed. This corps, titled the Rangers of Gondor, have been tasked with the defense of the Kingdom from asymmetric enemies: small mobile forces that will strike at the very heart of Gondor using tactics of hit and run, and spreading terror.

The Edict of Dispersal is effective immediately, as put into place, and certain members of the Army of the Reunited Kingdom will be given the opportunity to remain in their homes or join the Rangers.

Special Instructions: To the Receiver of this Missive, you have been selected to join the Rangers of Gondor. Your service records denote that your training and capabilities are of the quality necessary to join the Rangers of Gondor. Furthermore the High Command has noted your service, determining that you will be an asset to the Rangers. This option is entirely voluntary, but should you be interested in joining the Rangers, that option is available to you, one of the select few chosen to serve the Kingdom. Should you decide to join, you will find the necessary information inclosed.”

A second note within reads:

“Location: Army Headquarters of Minas Tirith
Time: The 21st of Lonthron at 0900
Uniform: None required, weapons and armor can be provided.

Note: Those who wish to use their own weapons may do so, these can include but not exceed one each melee weapon, one each ranged weapon, and the armor deemed necessary for light and quick travel. “

The clerk cleared her throat after she figured the archer had had sufficient time to read it. "They have already left, of course," she said quietly. "Meaning the Command is not within the White City's walls. But we have received word of their arrival at the Crossing of the Poros Fortress. Their mission is likely not to be over quickly. It seems that you have two options. You may either stay here until their return, and then seek out the Commander or Lieutenant. Or, you may seek to join the Rangers at the fort. The choice is yours."

OOC: Hi, Pell! XD The Rangers are in a fight right now, a couple hours away from the fort. You could travel to the fort and they could arrive back from the fight for ex. If you want to join the RPG, that is. Feel free to ask any questions in the Ranger Headquarters (OOC) or to find me on Discord or wherever.

[Pellaadarion]

The scroll was offered, and accepted.

The greying soldier read it carefully, twice to be sure, before rolling it up and tucking it into the folds of his cloak.

"I was not..." he said thoughtfully, "easy to reach." His brow furrowed as he recalled the locations mentioned by the clerk, "The Crossing of Poros, where the Harad Road fords the river, I know of it, though I haven't stood within the fortress' walls in many years. If the situation is as dire as the scroll suggests, perhaps I should try to join them at the fort and see how I might aid them."

With a hearty salute, a fist thumped against his chest, the sound of flesh on leather echoing throughout the halls he turned to leave.

He would make for the stables to recover his horse, so that he might make swiftly for the south road, and the province of South Ithilien. He knew the way well, and would pay his respects at the Haudh in Gwanûr before approaching the fortress.

As he walked the white streets he chuckled quietly to himself, remembering when he was last stationed within the distant walls of the Poros Fort. He recalled great losses on both sides as raiders from distant Harad faced the swords of Gondor, a battle which culminated in a showdown between a wizard and a king. But those were distant days, and this was a new chapter in a new story.

The road was clear and well kept, and he made excellent time.

[Pele Alarion]

Shamara
Barracks

Her arm had been pinned wisely by Kaylin, so Shamara's attempt at getting to the hidden knife were stopped for the time being. Her attacker was apparently highly skilled, made good use of the surprise effect, and was fuelled by immense anger.

The Ranger's face reminded her of the woman she had met a couple of times years ago. But could it be? Had she been tricked at the time? But even so it had been some time. The words though made her wonder. Caring for friends... Somehow she had hoped that her one 'misdeed' had not been directly connected to her, but then again apparently some knew. And also, did it mean that Pele had dared to return to Minas Tirith? Had she known, Shamara would not have attempted any approach near the Barracks.

But now it was too late, and the way things were going she might never make the way out of here again. Kaylin had managed to get a deadly grip on her, and Shamara felt it tightening. Now that she could move her arm again she resumed the effort of getting to the knife - that was the only hope, as she felt that she might pass out any moment being unable to breathe.

Her fingers had reached the hilt of the knife, when someone else arrived and without a warning unloaded the dirty floor water on them. The water splashed all over her face, including some of the sand and dirt that must have settled at the bottom of the bucket. Now, perhaps there was another option to survive for her too. She was reluctant to stab Kaylin, as it would immediately make her guilty, especially being a stranger in the barracks. Instead she hoped that the arrival of the newcomer would cause her attacker to relax the hold on her, so Shamara released the handle of the knife her fingers had managed to reach and went limp - and this was not that far from the truth either way.

[Arnyn]

Ranger Kaylin
Barracks

She gasped at the cold water being sloshed all over her, mainly over her head and back. Kaylin's first instinct was to cramp up, in so doing putting even more pressure on Shamara's throat. The sudden shower did distract her from her impetuous moment of utter rage, however, and when Shamara went limp, part of her mind realized it might not be the best thing for her to kill Shamara right then and there.

"Shire!" the redhead cursed as she eased the pressure on her target. Seeing the water pooling together on the floor beneath them and drippng from her hair onto her face, she noticed how dirty it was, causing her to sling about some additional profanities.

"There is an explanation?"

Kaylin scowled. Isys. Not that Kaylin had a problem with Ilisys, in fact she rather liked her strange nature, but of all people, of course it had to be her to empty that dirty water bucket over her head. Kaylin supposed it was fitting. The redheaded Ranger sat back on her knees to survey Shamara. Had the woman passed out, had Ilisys' intervention come a tad too late, or was it just... pretend? Kaylin wasn't sure which of the three she would prefer, if she was being honest.

"She's a trafficker," Kaylin growled, not taking her eyes off Shamara, still beneath her, and as sodden as Kaylin was. "She took--" She wanted to say more, but both her anger stopped her, as well as something else: she couldn't just go about telling Pele's story to people. That wasn't her place! Utterly frustrated, Kaylin hit her fist down on the floor next to Shamara.

[Ercassie]

Ilisys Azrubêl, Ranger
Barracks

There were far worse things than cold and dirtied water to be drenched in. So it was that Ilisys tilted her head some, and observed the swears washed from surprise with an almost appeased smile. From what she knew of Kaylin, she fully expected the situation to fall swiftly unto humour. And it most decidedly did not. So when the redhead sat up some, and the limp form of the woman underneath her became more apparent, so too did the absence of laughter.

Two things the woman of Dol Amroth noted with immediacy; that the stranger upon the floor was not dressed as a Ranger, and she did not look to be moving at all. The rag close by suggested some explanation at least of who'd left a bucket of water about at all. But why should Kaylin have wanted to assault a domestic ? Ilisys did not venture a guess. The Ranger did not strike her comrade as a one fastidious about the scrubbing of floors and had always seemed quite jovial except when tested, understandably, by foul ilk.

'She's a trafficker'. An answer, one that raised a lot more questions that it satisfied. Of course the term was not so very foreign, more was the pity. Neither Dol Amroth or Minas Tirith had been spared the pestilence of Umbarian infiltration for some countless years; and the only thing worse than the violent raids of pillaging Corsairs was the underhand and surreptitious matter of abduction. The more unobtainable the target, the more conspiracy seemed to be employed. But here ? In a military establishment ? That was bold indeed. Almost so bold that it might be considered nonsensical for anyone to try it ! The very alibi of common sense. Ilisys had never come upon an agent of the actual trade before though, not when her experience was more about the retrieval of those already taken to distant reaches they could not flee without aid. She offered the limp and not rather bedraggled woman an appraising glance over, and was underwhelmed as ever at the truth of how their foe was far too often simply human.

Slowly with one foot, she encouraged each of the (apparently) unconscious woman's arms outwards from her sides. Then Ilisys duely laid down her bucket, and squatted upon her toes to gauge a closer inspection. "She does not look to have anybody in her possession at this time," she decided, calmly. She did not know nearly enough about the scenario to not believe Kaylin, nor though did it seem very wise to antagonise her, however well-meaning. There was an edge to the other Ranger's voice, the aggression which slammed against the floor, which told far more than the words offered. "Traffickers so rarely work alone," the newcomer conjured lightly of some background understanding to what depths this situation might stir up.

"Maybe you check if she holds any thing quite too nefarious about her person, while I look for a pulse ?" she proposed, without judgement, kneeling down now behind the fallen woman's head. Tearing a look from Kaylin, now opposite to her, Ilisys traced a single finger fleetingly across the dirt and sand which had freckled the unmoving woman's damp cheek. Watching for any telltale flicker about the closed eyelids, the woman swept her long dark hair over one shoulder, and readied to press her fingers searchingly at the carotid artery.

[Arnyn]

Ranger Kaylin
Barracks

She continued to scowl as Ilisys made her own estimation of the situation. The woman was annoyingly calm, but Kaylin couldn't deny it was helping her to tamp down her own anger a bit, too.

"I don't know all the details." Kaylin did her best not to hiss or snarl, and succeeded for the most part. "Fine," she agreed abruptly to the other Ranger's suggestion to look for hidden weapons while Ilisys looked for signs of life. As she started patting the seemingly unconscious woman down, part of her was starting to hope Shamara wasn't actually dead. Even though the woman deserved it, Kaylin was started to think clearly enough to realize it would get her into the one kind of trouble she really did NOT want.

As Kaylin's fury settled into a simmering anger, her grey-blue eyes started flicking away from Shamara every so often, toward Ilysis. She'd have to tell her just a little bit more, without betraying Pele's confidence. "She took someone I care about, and sold them away. With... terrible consequences. I'm sure it was her. I just know."

[Pele Alarion]

Shamara
Barracks

Even though she had pretended at first, Shamara's senses had dimmed for a while just before she was released, and the beginning of the conversation had slipped past her unnoticed. However, the touch to her face and the patting down brought her back, and she opened her eyes to look straight at Ilysis leaning over her.

The Umbarian's mind quickly calculated her options. If she tried to fight them, it would only cause her trouble; and if she attempted to keep up the disguise she had presented at the kitchens, she wasn't sure whether she would succeed, but it might be a safer option. Even if Kaylin found the small knife... well, a woman could have a bit of a weapon for self-defense, right? But she hoped the Ranger would not come by the small vial of poison she always carried hidden away in an inconspicuous extra pocket of the skirt.

"I... was just cleaning the floor..." Shamara spoke in a soft voice, remaining still so as not to cause additional physical attacks on her. "Did not mean anything evil..." Well, not at the present moment anyway, so it was not wholly a lie. But proving that the heavy accusations Kaylin posed against her were wrong might be difficult, unless she managed to find a convincing way to persuade them that she was not who they thought she was.

"Could you let me sit up? I feel like I am lying in a puddle..." she asked, making a very pleading look.

[Arnyn]

Ranger Kaylin
Barracks

When Shamara opened her eyes, Kaylin's face darkened right back to an angrier expression. She just couldn't helpt it. The redhead gritted her teeth as she continued her search, shaking her head at Shamara's words. Just cleaning the floor... Right. She did wonder, however, what had brought Shamara here, to the Ranger Barracks of all places! Had the woman lost her wits?

"You're staying down until I'm done searching you," Kaylin growled at the Umbarian, although her words were also meant for Ilisys. The two Rangers had to approach this in more or less the same way. Kaylin' finally moved to sit next to Shamara instead of on top of her, and the Ranger's hands soon found the small knife Shamara had hidden in the waistband of her skirt. "That's one." She aimed the knife into the bucket Ilisys had left nearby. Part of her couldn't believe this was all someone like Shamara would have on her. As Kaylin continued her search and nothing else came up, she started fearing the Umbarian had been so smart as to only carry a weapon that was innocent enough, and actually believable still for someone who was cleaning the floors.

But right when Ilisys was probably thinking about going against Kaylin's wishes and letting Shamara get off the floor, Kaylin's hands found something else in the woman's skirt. A small vial. Relief washed over her. There had been something else, beside the knife. "And what might this be?" Kaylin asked Shamara, holding up the vial between her thumb and index finger.

[Ercassie]

Ilisys Azrubêl, Ranger
Barracks

The most important thing, regardless of whether the conflict was justifiable, was to affirm if the stranger was alive, or not. Thankfully there was a pulse. And a fleeting life behind the eyes that failed to ignore their investigative search, and fell open. Fingers came away from Shamara’s neck, and hovered for whatever move might present a requirement. Kaylin still did not appear to be wracked by remorse of her violence, but had at least remained devout to her cause. The woman on the floor was equally as dedicated to showcasing innocence however, playing meek no doubt to avoid further aggression.

“Let us hope so,” Ilisys troubled with a side glance, although it was not clear whether she was agreeing with Kaylin’s suspicions, or the woman’s alibi, or perhaps her own private opinion. As though she might better scrutinise the evidence, the dark-haired woman leant back where she sat to survey the both of them at once.

“That is because you are lying in a puddle,” Ilisys assured the strange woman, with a tone that suggested she was trying to be helpful, although one hand pressed down meaningfully on Shamara’s shoulder discouraged her from trying to sit up. After all, Kaylin had only just liberated the other from her straddle. And the woman might be injured. Both very good reasons for the stranger to avoid abrupt moves. It was a grand relief when the other Ranger recovered a knife. The clatter that it rang upon the metal pail called like an alarm, and grey eyes flicked toward the ‘cleaner’ to gauge her reaction.

Ilisys relied a good deal on instinct for her own part but, and perhaps because of this, she was ever being lectured about the importance of proof. Pele, the woman’s own gut screamed, as her fellow Ranger voiced her motive. This is about Pele. But she was not like to betray a friend’s confidence, any more than was another friend. And it was certainly no plan to let the possible villain realise quite how much they did know. And did not yet know. A knife would not cement the accusations. Something far less common though might.

“There are those within the city who can easily identify any anonymous elixir,” the woman of Dol Amroth put in, with confidence at Kaylin’s second discovery. Though the attention she afforded both women would not ascertain which of their desperate hopes she truly supported.

[Pele Alarion]

Shamara
Barracks

Shamara did not struggle to get up and submitted to the word of command from Kaylin and the slight pressure of hand from Ilysis. Even though she could fight well, she decided that it would not do any good; after all most of what she had achieved was done by playing to the tune of someone else. A soft tongue and a subservient attitude often worked better than stubbornness and opposition.

She sighed, when Kaylin found her hidden weapons and relieved her of those. "Those are drops for my personal use," the Umbarian explained somewhat reluctantly the content of the vial. "For extreme situations, you know... I would not recommend it for anyone else's use."

"However," she hesitated before asserting her innocence again: "I was not doing anything illegal here; just had wasted my money and had to earn a bit, even if it scrubbing floors." Shamara watched to see if any of her assertions would be accepted. While she was not interrogated properly, she could just as well attempt some... innocent lies.

"I have no other weapons," she said, this time truthfully, "It would be foolish to come here with a whole arsenal of weapons, especially when I did not really mean to harm anyone."

[Arnyn]

Ranger Kaylin
Barracks

Ilisys' suggestion was a good one. But what might they do with Shamara in the meantime? Kaylin frowned. She supposed that, perhaps, Pele would be able to identify the woman? If so, then they could hold her. But Kaylin wasn't clear on all the details. Pele hadn't been eager to provide them so far, and Kaylin hadn't wanted to push yet. What Pele wanted to share, would come in time, she'd thought. But time had caught up with her. It was entirely possible Shamara had remained masked or had even simply used others to capture Pele and whisk her away, after all. Kaylin bit down hard on her own teeth as she weighed her options.

"Drops for your personal use?" she almost barked out, before stopping herself and relaying the words in a quieter tone, although not a softer one. "If you use them regularly, perhaps you could indulge us and take some now?" Kaylin's gut was telling her the vial wasn't innocent. If it was poison and Shamara took some of it, and got ill - she wouldn't care. The woman had it coming. If a few drops would already kill her, then... well... same answer, really.

[Ercassie]

Ilisys Azrubêl, Ranger
Barracks

The vial may have been a small thing but it held the potential to belie it's humble size. Ilisys had heard tell after all, of potions that could invite certain, painful death, whilst others just as alarmingly could portray a most convincing although truly harmless rendition of that same state. Doubtless either or both of those rumours referred to a vial just as anonymous as the one at hand. It was well beyond the Ranger's skill to know quite what species of endless options was brandished here in Kaylin's triumphant grasp and despite, her optimism of others being more qualified within the city, the ferrying of the matter from here to there would be no easy feat. Personally she was surprised that the stranger had overlooked the obvious explanation, to perhaps have declared it was some personal concoction she'd conspired herself, in the vial, to aid most in the cleaning of floors. There would have been no cause to see her drink such a tincture after all, were that the case. And that was about the most likely of any cordials, that she would expect a cleaner to have on her person anyway. So, it wasn't expected. Whatever it was.

With a frown, Ilisys turned her thoughts from what the woman didn't say, to what she did. It certainly would have been foolish to have brought a whole arsenal of weapons to the Barracks, if she really were here to clean floors. Or for any other reason. "Do you come by much in the way of 'extreme situations' ?" she campaigned to divert the stranger from further antagonising Kaylin. The lady was genuinely surprised also, at the stranger's admission. "Extreme situations I'd say usually are irregular," she shrugged, seeming in the pursuit of that same conversation, though her eyes steeled, argently abrupt toward the Redhead. It was swift evolving to an extreme situation hereabouts, and she would struggle to have any bearing over both the women at odds if at once.

As much as she was leaning toward her fellow Ranger's suspicions, Ilisys was hesitant to encourage the disregard for repercussions which was being demonstrated. So that she hoped Kaylin might hold off on pressing her suggestions, long enough to recognise the emphasis, that the hothead might lose them two integral pieces of evidence, by having the one consume the other. Drawing out her legs to one side, in an expressive charade of painful cramping, Ilisys kicked, cringed at the noise, and then towed the metal bucket back noisily along the floor with one hand. Drawing the discarded knife out of the bucket, the woman of Belfalas returned the third element at their disposal to the stage. Her free hand stroked Shamara's sodden hair, as the Ranger mutely considered the character of the blade, the wear and usage that might betray it, and the quality of the tool which assuredly could speak of it's origins. "This is very pretty," she commented, wagering that it could find it's purpose with a whole lot less hurrah and parade than might an entire arsenal of weapons. It would also be far more difficult than her tone might suggest, to snatch the blade back from her grasp. "Do they sell them at the market ?"

And if so, would they remember you buying it ?, she wondered. Quite what the woman of Belfalas might accomplish with one small knife had yet to dawn upon her mind, save that the only undeniable weapon must be kept from both the other women at this point. And who knew but the telltale drag of the metal pail, brief though it had been, against the cold floor might rouse some other Ranger to come upon them at some point. Of course, that would be a happy convenience if reinforcements did appear. It certainly was not like she was making any sort of plan here.

[Pele Alarion]

Shamara
Barracks

It was clear to Shamara that she had gotten herself into quite a fix; though at least she was still alive... though it was not clear yet for how long. Kaylin seemed all but bent on destroying her.

"Look... I did not say that I use these regularly," the woman objected, nodding to the vial. At any rate Ilysis seemed to be more reasonable in her demands, so Shamara thought she might just as well provide more explanations. More likely than not she would not get out of here that easily, and it was apparent that Kaylin might already know a fair bit about her activities, due to Shamara's own earlier carelessness.

"Can't say that I face extreme situations too often, but it happens... I travel a lot, and all sorts of things might occur," she continued, still remaining rather motionless. "This is not a medicinal potion... though can be, if someone is in too much pain. I mostly keep it as means of self-defence, should someone attack me in my travels. As for this moment... I am not in pain, nor is there a need to neutralise anyone," she glanced at Kaylin meaningfully. "I'd recommend not using the thing if at all possible."

Shamara winced at the sharp sound the bucket made when Ilysis pulled it across the floor to fetch the knife. She listened to the questions and patiently tolerated the touch of the hand on her hair, at any rate it was better than strangling.

"I don't think you would find knives of this kind sold in the market of this city," she admitted. "I already said that I travel a lot, and I'm sure you can tell that I am not a local... The knife is of very good quality though, very handy since it is quite small, and I always keep the blade in good shape. It is very dear to me, almost as a heirloom, I could say."

The Umbarian let a sigh of exasperation escape, as she then said: "Listen, Rangers, while I am not one of you, I have not exactly trespassed... Should you not release me, unless you have clear evidence that I have done any crime or have been in the midst of attempting one?" She knew that she might be asking for trouble by this, but then again she saw no other way to get herself out of trouble, except by the way of negotiation. "I can provide more details on the contents of the vial and the origin of the knife if that is necessary."

[Arnyn]

Ranger Kaylin
Barracks

This was getting entirely out of hand. Shamara needed to be punished - locked up, if taking her from this world was not the answer. Not interviewed to see how many smart, evasive responses she could provide.

At Ilisys' question, where she heavily emphasized extreme situations, Kaylin let out a brief hiss and rose to her feet. She'd try and heed Ilisys' unspoken request. Her earlier explosive anger was now replaced by an itchy sort of frustration, and she needed to walk it off before she started strangling the Umbarian again. Pacing five paces one way, then five the other would have to do, all the while keeping her eyes on Shamara, and - every so often - Ilisys. Kaylin's red hair was still dripping with the murky floor water, but she clearly either didn't notice or didn't care. She left greyish drops around her as her boots hit the floor harder than was necessary.

When Shamara claimed she carried the vial for self defence, Kaylin stretched out both arms at the offending woman still lying on the floor, meanwhile glaring at Ilisys, even though her emotions weren't aimed at all at her fellow Ranger. It was entirely possible that Kaylin's anger hadn't dissipated entirely and that she needed an outlet. Her voice was much louder than it needed to be - she was yelling more than conversing at this point. "Do you see? Isys, she doesn't even deny it's poison, knowing it will be recognized as such by anyone with knowledge of such things! And who would carry poison for self defense? As if you could convince someone to take it when they're physically attacking you?!" She dropped her arms at her sides in exasperation, and threw her eyes up at the ceiling for a moment.

Breaking her pacing, she once again took a step closer to Shamara, pointing at her with revenge dancing in her eyes. "Traffickers like her often have some kind of mark on them that points to who they work for. Maybe she has one, too. I say we look for it." Not that such a mark woud prove anything, but Kaylin's mind was racing. What did she need to at least lock this criminal up??

[Ercassie]

Ilisys Azrubêl, Ranger
Barracks

It wasn't clear who of her companions here was more begrudging to attend the questioning. The stranger was giving out a lot, all but sabotaging any future queries that might be aimed in her direction, and her sigh might not be completely untoward. An innocent woman who had been assaulted, drenched and threatened might well be growing similarly defensive. There again, an innocent woman would not tend to use terms such as 'neutralise' in every day conversation. Ilisys wanted to believe Kaylin as much as she also wanted it not to be true. The other Ranger seemed understandably tense, prowling might even be the image she evoked in mind; but for all that, the 'cleaner' did not present as afraid. Not even a little bit. She had merely admitted to travelling a lot, to carrying a potion which was not medicinal, and knowing enough of weaponry to keep her treasured knife in good shape …

"I can not imagine why you might require an incapacitating cordial, or indeed a knife, here in the Ranger Barracks, where indeed you are surrounded by those people most committed to keeping all free people safe," the tall woman nodded an acknowledgement toward her fellow Ranger. "There are drier clothes on the floor. Fresh uniform," she added as a sidenote and entirely out of context, but in active response all the same, to the redhead's possible discomfort. "My colleague is trained to observe matters that are not usual, and you must admit you fall under that category, whatever else. If you are not local, I might ask what brought you here at all, although I am sure the Gate guard could clarify should we check."

And then Kaylin appeared to recall her head over the heart which clearly seemed to have been propelling her until now. "That," Ilisys granted, with a keen glance and immense relief, "is a very good idea. At the least, we must check you for damages you might have sustained," she shrugged as a means of placating the stranger, but returned to a poised crouch on the balls of both feet, behind the accused. "This really is ... a very nice knife," she remarked, to remind the woman on the floor quite who was outnumbered, and unarmed. And quite undeniably unusual.

[Pele Alarion]

Shamara
Barracks

"As if there was a need to feed the poison to the attacker, necessarily," Shamara muttered under her breath, barely audibly, as if disappointed at the lack of knowledge Kaylin presented in relation to this subject. Yet, if she had spoken this loud enough for Kaylin to hear, there was no doubt she'd be all but torn to pieces, and if not - showed that she knew exactly what she was doing with these items here.

Hearing the suggestion about looking for marks on her, Shamara rolled her eyes demonstratively and said: "Well, I do have several tattoos, if that is what you mean. One representing the family of my birth, and another of the little band of street urchins I belonged to as a kid - must say I'm not too proud of this, though it is a part of my past." With this she made an attempt of sitting up, and added: "I can show you... No need to go and undress me by force in here. Very unbecoming... Also, I am not otherwise harmed, except for a bruised back perhaps and a near death by strangling."

Ranger Pele Alarion
Entering the mess hall to find... a mess

She had spent a few hours out in the small training grounds in the courtyard, working on her strength and practicing the swordplay skills, so the only thought Pele had was to have a refreshing bath and exchange her sweaty clothes for fresh ones. With that intention she entered the barracks and had walked some distance along the hallway, when she heard all the noise and yelling come from the mess hall. It sounded much like Kaylin's voice, but she could not make out the words to find what had upset her friend so much. At any rate it sounded like something worth investigating to see if there was some matter of urgency.

Turning around on her heels, Pele headed back and rounded a corner to step into the mess hall. What she found caused her to freeze momentarily. She would interpret the whole scene as some bucket related incident, what with water splashed all over the place, clothes scattered, and Isys and Kaylin looking at each other... But the only piece not fitting the puzzle was - Shamara?

She would recognise the woman anywhere and no matter what disguise she took on; the initial reaction was to escape as soon as possible, but then again... Pele was here on her home ground, with her friends present, and the learned fear was swiftly exchanged for a burning desire to exact revenge on the Umbarian. In one swift movement she drew the sword from its sheath and pointed it at Shamara, though she did not make a move to actually attack her or even approach her.

"What's going on?" she demanded. "And what is SHE doing here?"

[Arnyn]

Ranger Kaylin
Barracks

She hardly registered Ilysis' words about the drier clothes on the floor. "It's not about noticing things that are unusual, it's that I know for a fact what she does for a living!" Kaylin had met with Shamara in disguise, after all, years ago, before Pele's disappearance, trying to find out the different links of the chain in her trafficking. The woman had basically told Kaylin about her activities - or had at least confirmed it. However, Shamara had vanished before Kaylin had been able to catch her in the act, and then... well, life had happened. Life, and death, and Kaylin had been less preoccupied with wondering where the Umbarian had gone than she had been dealing with her own issues. And somewhere in there, Shamara had managed to whisk Pele away.

If Kaylin's grey-blue eyes had been able to spit fire at the Umbarian, they would have. For what her profession was, for what she had done to Pele - and also because Kaylin had allowed her to slip through her fingers years ago, and now the redhead was having trouble forgiving herself for it.

"She'll try and talk her way out of everything, it's one of her skills," Kaylin growled, just as another Ranger happened upon them. Reluctantly, Kaylin looked away from Shamara and Ilisys to see who it was. Her breath hitched for a moment as her eyes recognized Pele. Of all the people...

Even as Kaylin was processing Pele's unexpected arrival, her friend seemingly easily recognized Shamara. Part of Kaylin was pleased - this meant she could condemn Shamara with an eye witness! - but concern for Pele surfaced in equal (perhaps even greater) measure.

"I attacked her." Kaylin's response was simple. "On sight. Ilisys interrupted."

[Ercassie]

Ilisys Azrubêl, Ranger
Barracks

They had returned to a point where Kaylin asserted that she required no proof. Just as she declared that the 'cleaner' would talk her way out of any difficulty, just as was occurring in that very moment. Tattoos from her childhood, the accused downplayed, before anything more nefarious was presumed, of marks that she must know they'd find. Ilisys took her turn to frown. Between the initial struggle and all that had been thrown about since, it was a wonder that the entire Barracks did not descend upon the unusual circumstance. But of all people, it was Pele who found them. The best and worst of people to have had to come across such a scene. Falling to the prospective need for precautions, the woman of Belfalas coiled her arm around Shamara's throat, resting the cold steel of the blade there. Pointedly. Before the foreigner decided to take advantage of the distraction herself. She had already found confidence enough to sit up after all, without ever being authorised.

There was no need to delay now with, or subject Pele to, further question. Their mutual friend wore a clear, astonished, recognition of the stranger in every inch of how she stood, and what she spoke. There was no way that the 'cleaner' was talking her way out of it now ! One allegation might have been assumption. Or even coincidence. But two was harder to deny. And as for proof ? Well Pele was living breathing (no thanks to all those responsible for her malady) evidence.

"She is not wrong at that," Ilisys conceded of Kaylin's account of things. "If you grasp your quarry by the finger, you ought not then sever that lone digit in your grasp and relinquish the rest of what you might have reeled in." A tilt of the head accompanied a jolt enough to warn Shamara not to try a move. "We might take her to the dungeons," she proposed. "See how she likes it .."

One Ranger had been denied her freedom, and another had just risked incarceration in revenge. But dungeons were meant for the enemies of Gondor.

[Arnyn]

Ranger Kaylin
Barracks

She almost leaned forward with anticipation when Ilysis curled an arm around Shamara's throat, knife poised. It would have been gratifying to see the knife draw blood, but Kaylin would settle for incarceration. It took her a moment to piece together what Ilisys' reaction meant. Did the Dol Amrothian also know, then? Kaylin's eyes flicked from the black-haired noble to Pele's blue eyes and back. Well... in any case...

"I second that motion." Difficult as it might be to keep her last vestige of calm, it was made easier by Pele's presence. As if Kaylin now needed to stay somewhat composed for her friend's sake. "If she is sequestering our people, the dungeons are where she belongs."

She was still holding the vial. "I'd say we have all the proof we need to put her away." An eye witness, Pele. A verbal account witness, Kaylin herself. A vial of something which was surely poison. What Kaylin did not understand, however, was what Shamara had thought to gain from coming here - to the Ranger Barracks. "Unless... that's what she wants." She stepped closer to the Umbarian, crouching in front of her and Ilisys. "What brought you to the lion's den?"

[Pele Alarion]

Pele Alarion
Barracks

For a couple of moments Pele stood there, trying to put together everything she had now learned and sorting out the stormy sea of emotions to find the correct reactions and words.

"A good thing you didn't finish her off, Kaylin," Pele eventually said, her tone icy. "Instead of dungeons... Let me tell you what I'll do." She drew the sword in and raised it point up nearly vertically. The palm of her left hand touched the flat of the blade, as she continued: "I could cut her in pieces and send her back to Relic, piece by piece. That would surely get the message across..." Pele narrowed her eyes and smirked, seeing a tiny bit of fleeting fear in Shamara's eyes. Then she slid the sword back into scabbard. "And yet, this is no Umbar where such things might be done."

She came closer then, and stood only a couple of steps away from the other women. "So... you found her here? In the barracks?" The only reason Pele could think of was that the Umbarian might have been sent to persecute her further. She then said as much, adding her own question: "What do you want from me, Shamara? It must be a pressing matter indeed for you to come all the way into the barracks."

Shamara

It seemed that things were going from bad to worse; Shamara realised full well that now she was in a very disadvantaged position indeed, and it would be very difficult to find a way out of the fix, what with Pele joining the two that had already come upon her. She tried to come up with some options, but failed to do so right away.

Now that Ilysis had knife at her throat, she sat as still as possible; she was unwilling to harm herself, instinct of survival kicking in, even considering the adverse circumstances and the possibility of getting locked up forever in some stinky Gondorian prison. Even so, she figured that she would find a guard that would be corrupt and accept some bribes or... The questions came, and Shamara swallowed a bit nervously, as her eyes darted from Kaylin to Pele and back again.

"I didn't even know you had returned, Pele..." she admitted, speaking slowly and carefully to make sure the knife would not nick her as she spoke, and then looked at Kaylin. "Why would I want to sit in the dungeons? You know my business... I was exploring, too boldly perhaps."

[Arnyn]

Ranger Kaylin - Barracks

She watched and listened to Pele with some surprise. Pele was usually so... calm-natured. Now... there was ice in her blue eyes and her tone of voice. A cold kind of anger, but anger nonetheless. Sending Shamara back piece by piece... It was slightly alarming, but for Kaylin it was interesting. She'd never seen this side of her friend before. Kaylin didn't answer in response to Pele's question. It was more rhetorical anyway, she imagined.

It was extremely satisfying to see Shamara's reaction. The Umbarian knew she was in trouble, now. There was no more talking her way out of it. A cynical smile played around Kaylin's lips as she surveyed the scene.

"Pele," the redhead tried to draw her friend's attention, "now that we have her, perhaps we would be wise to put her in shackles as soon as we can." Kaylin would gladly take the lead, if it weren't for the fact she had no idea what protocols to follow to put someone in the dungeons. She'd only been confronted with it happening just once; and back then Ziran had made the arrangements for the dungeon, as Army Captain.
Right now, Kaylin wouldn't even know who to approach. The Captain of the City Guard, perhaps, since they were the one who generally sent people in there? Or the Warden? She frowned, annoyed. Kaylin had never been one for bureaucracy. Couldn't they just throw Shamara into a cell because they were Rangers and had sufficient proof? She raised a questioning eyebrow at Ilysis. She was a noblewoman, right? Perhaps she'd be more aware of the right procedures to follow. Weren't nobles all about etiquette and rules? "So how do we put her there, exactly?"

[Pele Alarion]

Ranger Pele Alarion and Shamara
Barracks

"Well," Pele began, considering the option of getting Shamara into the dungeons. "I suppose we should take her there and... I would guess such an action would require making a full report, written perhaps. The Warden should surely know what needs done." She had accompanied to the dungeons the thugs that had attacked her under Shamara's orders, and now she wondered what had happened to them, perhaps they had served their time in jail already.

She took a deeper breath a bit wearily. "I dare say Shamara deserves dungeons all right, as she would not cease from her activities and would drag off other people sooner or later," she commented, "Though I have to mention that she is only a servant working for Relic back in Umbar, I'd even dare say that she might be pretty knowledgeable in the other's secrets. If you need proof, she has a mark cut in the palm of her right hand, two crescent moons, the mark of Relic."

Shamara saw that her chances of escaping at the moment were slim, yet perhaps later, if the knife was not constantly held at her throat.

"You would not gain much by locking me up... others will come in my stead," she announced, as if she did not care much for what happened to her, though in fact she did. Greatly. "And how do you mean to get at Relic, eh, Pele? I doubt that the King will care to send a force to Umbar just because of this..."

She glanced at Kaylin sideways, and then looked back at Pele, as she added meaningfully: "Also, don't forget that you carry the same mark, Pele. And it may be that someone will come after you - sooner or later - when she learns that you are not all that broken, have rebuilt your life, and... technically you are worse off then me, a slave of Umbar, and should I even start on what all you might have disclosed..." Shamara let her voice trail off, implying all the possible consequences.

[Ercassie]

Ilisys Azrubêl, Ranger
Barracks

An accord had been reached, at least by the three Gondorians; that the stranger in their custody was guilty and that she ought pay for her misdeeds. But against all odds, then Kaylin turned interrogator and Pele … Pele ??!! broached the subject of revenge. A far less ordered, albeit justified revenge. Ilisys began to realise she did not know either of these two women especially well. Certainly not the third of them. Although the accused had managed to keep her head until now, a slight swallow nudged the knife toward suggestion of fear, finally. The words which followed however, were as blasé about the entire situation as ever. Their prisoner seemed still almost too accepting of her fate. So Kaylin’s question raised a very crucial point. Had a woman capable of executing an abduction, of a recognised military officer in the middle of a busy city .. somehow now been reckless ? Or had she been entirely lucky in her initial venture ? Or had she come here, as was now being implied, with some more subtle goal than that she was not denying ?

“Your name is Shamara,” the noble realised, during the accusations which were being flung around. Strangely enough everyone else who had already been aware of this fact did not seem interested. The issue at hand seemed to be the logistics of transporting the prisoner to the prison.

“We send word,” Ilisys realised that she knew the answer, at least to how things were done at home. “So that they can ready lodgings, and guards, and someone impartial comes to collect,” Things were adding up in the Ranger’s mind, and she was not sure they were authentic, but they surely were not impossible. The more detail that Pele relinquished, the more detail indeed. The name Relic was being used frequently, but the woman of Belfalas would not interrupt Pele’s outpouring in the name of clarification. These were words that had been holed up inside her friend for who knew how long. It was a very literal case of the Ranger facing what had happened to her. Regrettably Shamara seemed also to observe that fragile door was edging open, and prised it yet further so, with the bitter wedge of threats.

“Others will come in your stead,” Ilisys interrupted; randomly repeated Shamara’s own tirade, in a calm and contemplative fashion. “You are replaceable. You think your former employer is untouchable, even by the King of Gondor. You know that even a small mark singles you out, identifying what you are, who you have worked for, and suppose she will send others after an … escaped slave of Umbar,” Ilisys smiled, and began to stagger her ascent back up to standing, with Shamara hopefully not challenging the motion.

“I think Kaylin is correct. I think you want us to take you to the dungeons.” Dark hair covered the slaver’s ear as Ilisys whispered her appraisal, loudly. “You think the strong bars of a Gondorian dungeon can protect you from what Relic shall do to you, since Pele has escaped …” It was integral to distract the conversation from where the Umbarian was leading it. From a place where Pele might begin to fear anew … to a place where Shamara was owed it in her stead. If the stranger had not thought upon this possibility yet, it was time she did.

“There are dry clothes on the floor. Fresh uniform,” the Ranger mentioned then, again seemingly at random. And for that matter not entirely true any more. For how fresh the laundry could be, by now, having been heaped on damp floor was anybody’s guess.

[Arnyn]

Ranger Kaylin - Barracks

"Why would this Relic come back for Pele? I assume she had done all the damage she could to her, and I am certain Pele didn't so much as squeak." Kaylin tilted her chin up as she regarded Shamara with undeniable conviction. "She tried to turn a warrior of Gondor. She failed to turn a warrior of Gondor. Best to cut her losses on this plan and move on. It's what a smart woman would do." Kaylin narrowed her eyes. "A smarter woman than I, anyway. One who would not be consumed by revenge."

After Ilisys' comments, Kaylin realized she wasn't really bringing all that much to the table at the moment, other than hurling threats and spitting anger at Shamara. With some reluctance but knowing it was probably the smart thing to do, Kaylin grabbed the clothes from the floor. "I'll go change into these and bring word to the dungeons," she decided. "Pele, can I use your room for a moment?" She had no quarters at the barracks, since she was still living with Thûllir up on the Sixth Circle.

[Pele Alarion]

Shamara
Barracks

When Ilysis all but repeated what Shamara had just said, the Umbarian considered the meaning of whatever she had said and what meaning those words had passed on. Was she really replaceable? She had worked hard on building her career and had been quite successful in her own opinion, and she had managed to earn a place with Relic, though she also knew that someone else could take the same place should she mess up. Had she though?

When Ilysis moved to get up along with her, Shamara tried to remain seated, but the knife bit slightly into her skin drawing some blood, and she quickly gave up such tactics, submitting to the guidance and finding her feet carefully not to be harmed any more in the process. She wanted to live, yet.

She could not help but wonder whether dungeons of Minas Tirith would be a good place to stay, and whether her relationship with Relic was that bad. Surely, Pele had escaped, and Shamara felt that Relic suspected her in assisting though she had not had a hand in it. Their relationships could certainly be better, but was it that bad that she would have to hide? She had not waited to find out and had left in search of fresh souls, but perhaps it was worth clarification? How would she find out it now? Perhaps Relic would think her guilty now for sure if she was locked up?

Her brown eyes were contemplative, as she took in Kaylin's stance and words. "Ah, but you don't understand..." she sighed. "You are able to set aside your revenge and perhaps see it useless, but not so for Relic. The revenge is personal and runs so deep that it will be satisfied by nothing else than complete destruction of its target. And it is not seen as something futile..." Shamara couldn't help but wonder if she was now that target too.

~~~~~
Ranger Pele Alarion

Being back in her usual environment, surrounded by friends who trusted in her helped Pele to find herself again and wade through all the pain towards some sort of conclusion, though she still had a long way to go. Though Shamara's previous words had meant to cut her, Pele did not respond to her right away, and took encouragement from Kaylin's support.

"I no longer bear the mark," she then responded calmly to the Umbarian. "Nor am I anyone's slave; I am a free Gondorian. And you know just as well as I do that I have passed the test. Unbroken."

Even so, Pele was still ashamed of all the physical scars she bore from her time in captivity: it reminded her that she had not been careful enough to avoid being caught and had not procured the means of escape before being tortured. She did not know if she would ever come to terms with this and be able to accept it and move on past it.

"Sure, Kaylin," she now turned to her friend, fishing out the key to her room. "Go ahead..."

[Udan]

Ranger HQ

Saying that the path to this building within the White City felt familiar, was very much an understatement. Udan had travelled through the Great Gates in search of this place, the only place in middle Earth he could call home. Worn and slightly stooped from the miles that had passed under his feet, since his last visit, Udan stepped up to the door and pushed, stepping through the portal and into a remarkably familiar setting.
The sounds of quiet chatter from a small group, sitting around a table, the distant clink of weapons drifting through an open window followed by the grunting and strained sounds of soldiers training. All this was pushed to the back of his senses as the aroma of oiled weapons and leather permeated through the room. All this brough forward a slight smile to this face that had not smiled in a long time.

Throwing his travel cloak hood back revealed a gaunt face, scarred by battle, worn by care, and aged beyond his years, by the trials he had put himself through over the past years. The one thing however, that did not seem to fit this gaunt aged traveler, where the eyes. Piercing blue, keen, and slowly gauging those he saw before him. These eyes betrayed his look, they were young; younger than he appeared, and if an observer was to pay notice, they seem to relax in this familiar setting.

He pulled his well-worn cloak off and hung it on a nearby hook. Once again, to any that cared to look his way, they would see that this man wore a set of well-maintained armour. The breast Plate although dinted by what appeared to be many strikes still had a gleam to it betraying its age. The man removed a large twin bladed axe, that hung from his back and placed it, leaning on the floor beneath his cloak.
Walking towards an individual seated behind a desk, who appeared to have some official purpose he coughed into his cloved hand and said.

“My name is Udan, I was once a soldier here, I look to try and serve this city once more, can you help me please?”

[Arnyn]

Clerk - unnamed
HQ

The cough, if it served to call attention to him, was quite unnecessary. She'd been eyeing him from the moment he'd entered her field of vision. A weathered travel cloak, a scarred face, armor that was well kept - and while the Rangers currently in service were all out on mission, and the rest of Minas Tirith's military force had been reduced to the City Watch and the Citadel Guards? Would this be another who had arrived late - not knowing it themselves, since they hadn't been able to receive the King's missive? Like the man Pellaadarion who had appeared before?

At the name Udan, she had to take a moment, distracted by the piercing blue eyes that didn't quite seem to match the rest of his face. "I do believe I can," the clerk answered Udan's question. "You were another we had too little word of to reach." With those words, she disappeared into the office behind her table for a moment. Upon her return, she handed Udan the letter the others had received.

She clasped her hands behind her back as she waited for Udan to open and read the missive.

Soldiers of Arnor and Gondor,

King Aragon II Ellesar has heard the cries of the people of the Reunited Kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor. He sees both the need for a defensive military force and for the citizens that make up the armies of the Reunited Kingdom to return home. It is uneconomical for the people of the realm to maintain a fighting force as large and multitudinous as has been supported these last few years.

On this day, the 7th of Lonthron, King Aragorn II Ellesar, Twenty-Sixth King of Arnor, Thirty-Fifth King of Gondor, First King of the Reunited Kingdom has declared an edict of dispersal, effective immediately, of the standing Army. The men and women of the fighting forces of Arnor and Gondor will return to their towns and cities, forming militias as dictated by local law. Funds have been distributed to all the Lords of the fiefdoms of Arnor and Gondor to form these militias to protect the people of the Reunited Kingdoms. However, with the Standing Army dispersed, there is a vital gap in the defense of the country.

First the Rangers of Ithilien will take control of the defense of the northern border and temporarily the defense of the southern border. But the Rangers of Ithilien will be spread thin. In an effort to support and augment their defense, a new Ranger corps will be formed. This corps, titled the Rangers of Gondor, have been tasked with the defense of the Kingdom from asymmetric enemies: small mobile forces that will strike at the very heart of Gondor using tactics of hit and run, and spreading terror.

The Edict of Dispersal is effective immediately, as put into place, and certain members of the Army of the Reunited Kingdom will be given the opportunity to remain in their homes or join the Rangers.

Special Instructions: To the Receiver of this Missive, you have been selected to join the Rangers of Gondor. Your service records denote that your training and capabilities are of the quality necessary to join the Rangers of Gondor. Furthermore the High Command has noted your service, determining that you will be an asset to the Rangers. This option is entirely voluntary, but should you be interested in joining the Rangers, that option is available to you, one of the select few chosen to serve the Kingdom. Should you decide to join, you will find the necessary information inclosed.”

A second note within reads:

“Location: Army Headquarters of Minas Tirith
Time: The 21st of Lonthron at 0900
Uniform: None required, weapons and armor can be provided.

Note: Those who wish to use their own weapons may do so, these can include but not exceed one each melee weapon, one each ranged weapon, and the armor deemed necessary for light and quick travel. “

The clerk cleared her throat after she figured the axeman had had sufficient time to read it. "They have left days ago and the Command is not within the City walls. If you want to join their ranks, travel to the Fort at the Crossing of the Poros and report to the Commander or his Lieutenant."

OOC: By reading the opening post of Chapter 2 of the RPG, you'll be caught right up. You could travel to the fort and they could arrive back from the fight. Feel free to ask any questions in the Ranger Headquarters (OOC) or to find me on Discord etc.

[Udan]

Ranger HQ

Udan listened to the woman speak. "…...You were another we had too little word of to reach." What did she mean? Had they tried to contact him? Why? Had he let the City down? All these questions flooded through his mind. The most notable was the possibility that he had somehow let the city and King down.

With a deep sigh, he fell in a nearby chair considering all that happened in the recent past. He and only he knew the real reason for his departure, leaving his home and those that depended on him, was the hardest decision he had to make in his life; his journey in search of answers had taken him far afield, even back to his home land in the north. Still questions remained unanswered!

He unrolled and then read the massif, a slow understanding dawning. It was a new era. Things had changed since he had departed. The city and King did not need the thousands that had served during his tenure in the ERC. A smaller more elite force was all that was needed now. Udan read on. What was this? Udan could not believe what he read! He was been offered an opportunity to serve once again as a Ranger of Gondor.

As he stood the clerk cleared her throat. "They have left days ago and the Command is not within the City walls. If you want to join their ranks, travel to the Fort at the Crossing of the Poros and report to the Commander or his Lieutenant."

He smiled, something that he had not done in many a year. If the Fort at Poros is where my Axe is needed, then there is where I will travel. Udan seemed to grow as he stood his full six foot six, he pulled his shoulders back and stood to attention. I Udan, Axeman of Gondor, do once again, pledge my service to this great city and her King. He turned on the spot, took hold of his Walking Axe, through his cloak over his shoulder, and headed towards the door.

His thoughts announcing one thing and one thing only…...The new beginning starts now….

[Ercassie]

Ilisys Azrubêl, Ranger
Barracks

Her rag doll was reluctant to oblige her in their rising, at first. The sharp nip though, of Shamara’s own blade at that woman’s throat seemed to serve encouragement in the end. So, there was some care there, after all, to stay alive .. At the least though, the Umbarian seemed fixed upon responding now to Kaylin, rather than to baiting Pele further.

The degree of vengeance being implied nonetheless, was concerning. Kaylin had effectively inspired Shamara toward defensive arguments, and the notion that Pele had not proved informant to her captors did not seem to have dispelled their interest in her. This ‘revenge’ sounded far too personal to have been anything random. There was definitely more to learn of the horrific incident, though honestly, Ilisys would be glad to let the Dungeon staff attend to that.

She was equally glad that Kaylin had demonstrated the initiative to go speak to them. Any of their small company here might be suited to campaign, vehemently, for Shamara’s incarceration. But Ilisys was not quite prepared to go herself, and leave the accused here in the hands of the other two Rangers. The mood was yet taut and could all too easily veer off course. Though her concern was for the consequences to her friends, were they to forget the fact of consequences, foregoing the stranger.

“I would not believe the want for justice in this room to be yet sated, were I you,” she remarked to Shamara,. “Pele, is there rope at hand ?” Natural entitlement had crept out while Isys was not even aware, of her inclination toward having her will be done. Part of her felt ashamed to expect anything of her friend, but at the same time, well, it would be good to offer up some useful distraction.

[Pele Alarion]

Ranger Pele Alarion and Shamara
Barracks

"Did I even say that I don't expect justice," Shamara grumbled back at Ilysis, submissive in all other aspects again - she had made sure that the blade of her knife was perfectly sharp and now it was playing against her. "At any rate I hope to be heard out before being judged..."

"Ah, you mean that you want a chance to captivate everything by your soft tongue and crafty words, right," Pele interrupted, her hands clenching into fists. She could very well imagine that the Umbarian could easily come up with tearful stories and what not to soften any punishment that would be dished out to her, and then there was a chance that she could easily play on the heart strings of any man that would be open to it; the fact that she was beautiful and very well aware of it was obvious. It made Pele wish that she could face Shamara in combat, but it was very unlikely that the Umbarian would participate in any such armed conflict.

Without saying another word, Pele briskly walked to the kitchens, and soon returned with a good length of thick rope. Approaching the two women, the Ranger exercised all her willpower not to swing the rope at Shamara's face as if it were a whip. Her blue eyes glinted coldly, revealing the depth of held back anger.

"Hands in front of you!" the command was curt and harsh, and the Umbarian dared not disobey, mindful of the knife still resting against her throat. Silently Pele proceeded to tie up Shamara's wrists, securing the rope none too gently - tight enough to leave red marks when removed, and yet not that tight that the circulation would be cut off.

"Isys, perhaps I should tie up her feet too, while she doesn't have to walk?" Pele wondered; though she also wondered who would question the Umbarian and with what success. Also, now that some of the information was out into the open, Pele half expected that perhaps she herself would be questioned concerning what she might have revealed in Umbar.

[Ercassie]

Ilisys Azrubêl, Ranger
Barracks

Shamara's defensive comment about 'justice' did not sit at all well with Ilisys. For quite what the Umbarian had 'expected' to find in Minas Tirith, returning to the scene of her crime, remained very much obscure. If their prisoner had in fact expected justice, if she wished to be heard out before being judged .. Pele interjected her own fears as to the slaver's talents, only heightening the other Ranger's fret. The brunette seriously frowned. For there had come no few emissaries from former enemies of Gondor, seeking for cessation of hostilities. Negotiations of surrender and the consequences of threats posed, crimes managed, were surely still ongoing and new terms being written, for the sake of overall peace. Who knew how many of these were really genuine ? For many, the means to but gain an audience and opportunity to try and assassinate the King ! Regardless,the woman of Belfalas could only imagine which and how many of the prisoners obtained in war might now play on the opportunity of a change in government to plead for second chance.

"You may find you have to give more than you even think that you possess, to gain a glimpse of what you hope for," she put in, while Pele was retrieving bonds. "After all, it seems that this employer of yours would be the greater prize, and her downfall the only true means to terminate her irksome business. You are just the worm by which we bait," she proposed, wondering how Shamara should like to find herself placed in some hard vice of choice between her own life and that of Relic.

No intervention was raised as the Slaver was bound tightly, although Ilisys did lower the blade from about the prisoner's throat now. She kept it to hand, to keep it also in Shamara's mind. "If you think that wise, Pele," The Ranger supported the restraining of their captive's feet, at least temporarily. It might be as much to make her friend feel safe, more than any other reason, and other reasons did present, such as rendering a person capable of cruelties unto the same helplessness she had helped orchestrate. Still, if Kaylin were to take dress, and then there and back to the dungeons.. the activity would at least pass time. And if this woman was as wily as she was being led to believe, .. there might else arise some desperate attempt to flee. Who knew what unfortunate accident could occur during any such chaos ?

"On the bench," the tall woman directed their 'guest', "Sit".

[Pele Alarion]

Shamara
Barracks

It surely seemed that Ilysis was not lost for words, and her suggestions made Shamara feel rather uncomfortable the more she thought about those. She definitely had a lot of knowledge of how Umbar worked, how its slavery system worked, and should the Gondorians find it necessary to learn these things... Well, she would surely be wise enough to know when to hold her tongue, and she could outtalk most anyone. She could not help but wonder whether it was customary for the Gondorians to use cruel methods in extracting information during interrogation...

"I doubt my employer would care much even if you killed me," the Umbarian put in, "Not sure that kind of bait would work on her much, since she'd just find herself another hunter." This might just as well be true; Shamara found it more concerning that perhaps - should Relic find out that she has been caught - the woman would rather prefer to come and make sure Shamara was killed before she could disclose anything that could be considered a business secret.

As Pele tied up her hands, the woman glanced around, yet again thinking of possibilities to escape. Now, the knife was no longer at her throat; however, if she were to run now, both Ilysis and Pele were right there next to her and could catch her. No doubt, more Rangers could also arrive to aid them, after all they were in the barracks. Perhaps once she was taken out of the building?

Reluctantly Shamara obeyed the command and sat down. For a few moments she was silent, and then spoke again, glancing at Ilysis: "While I am a stranger from a place hostile to Gondor and all such things... You would do good to mind your own people," she paused and then nodded towards Pele who was cutting off the remaining length of the rope after binding her wrists. "Pele's not all that innocent, no matter what she claims. She might do enough damage to Minas Tirith without any outside aid..."

[Arnyn]

Ranger Kaylin - Barracks

She hadn't wasted any more time, and had picked up the clothes and retreated - temporarily - to Pele's room to change. Kaylin had needed to exercise too much willpower to her liking to step away - was she that keen for Shamara's blood? She couldn't help but wonder if that was a normal thing for someone who claimed to be good. Ugh. Even though she didn't like to admit it, the Black Hand's letters hadn't helped with how she viewed what people might call her 'darker' side.

The uniform didn't fit exactly right, but it would do. The redhead rushed out of the barracks, off to the dungeons. After making her report and request, doubt wedged its way into her mind. Should she stay and wait for the dungeon party to return to the barracks? Or should she hurry back, out ahead of them? Her fingernails bit into the skin of the palms of her hands as she forced herself to wait. What good would she do back with Isys, Pele and Shamara? The Umbarian might only try and antagonize her further. The wisest choice was to remove the temptation altogether. To stay away from the trafficker.

And so it was alongside two of the dungeon guards that Kaylin once again entered the barracks. She directed them to the spot where she'd left the three other women, hoping they would still be there.

[Udan]

Udan
OOC: (( I'll be away for the next week and a bit. I'll catch up in the RPG when I get back. Apologies in advance.))

[Ercassie]

Ilisys Azrubêl, Ranger
Barracks

"Live bait breeds more urgency," the woman of Belfalas confided, as might a friend, and put a finger to her lips even as she met the Slaver's dark eyes with her own argent resolve. Who knew, after all, what Relic may suppose her employee had said, when desperate and pressed and in Gondorian custody ? The longer that Shamara stayed alive and behind bars, the more of her secrets Relic may imagine had been shared. And well may be shared, for that matter. Ilisys returned the slaver's own knife into play, pressing the tip of the sharpened point against a finger tip of her free hand. Thus far their prisoner had sat where and when instructed. Any thought of underestimating the bound woman though would not be entertained. Not openly. If Shamara moved a muscle of intent to kick, or fuss, when they restrained her chance for liberty, she would soon regret it. She might well live to regret a lot. "I was the one who kept you from being murdered as you rightfully deserve," the brunette Ranger tilted her head to one side, and blinked with wide, apparently surprised eyes at the other woman. "Did you assume it was out of kindness ?"

Pele looked to be distracted, expertly readying rope to spare some for tying the prisoner's ankles, when Shamara shot insinuation about her former thrall. Isys followed the Umbarian's meaning, and then threw back her head and laughed. Until it was past an awkward length of time to have done so. And then some longer still before she stopped, catching her free hand to her mouth as though she had spoke a foul word. "You know, the greatest damage I expect Pele might do in Minas Tirith .. is to you," she warned the Slaver with a smile. Then ..

"Pele, look see ! Company !" she celebrated, moments later, as Kaylin returned, with the Dungeon Guards.

[Pele Alarion]

Ranger Pele Alarion
Barracks

Pele did her best to focus on the rope and not pay too much attention to the Umbarian's words, yet it was clear that the foreign woman knew exactly which buttons had to be pressed at the right time to get the desired response. When Shamara suggested that Pele might do something to endanger the same land, the same city she had devoted her life to, the Ranger had great difficulty in restraining herself from using the rope to finish what Kaylin had not. She took a few deep breaths, and stood glaring at the woman - she did not trust herself to handle the rope correctly at the moment, and even if she just used it on the prisoner's ankles, it might end up there so tight that her toes would turn blue from the lack of circulation.

She could not help but glance at Ilisys when the woman kept laughing for a long while. Taking into consideration everything that had happened this far, it seemed to Pele that here Shamara had met someone who was just as masterful with words and could take everything the Umbarian said in stride, and in addition supply an excellent sophisticated attack in return.

At her friend's last exclamation, Pele turned to face Kaylin and the guards, and sighed in relief. "Thank goodness," she said. "It's about time to remove this trespasser from the premises... while she can still do it on her own two feet."


Shamara

Had this been a different situation, different circumstances and topic, Shamara would have thoroughly enjoyed the verbal sparring with Ilisys. Currently it only frustrated her and made her think of rather uncomfortable options regarding her own future, and maybe even chances of survival. Could it be possible that the punishment for what she had done would be death? Eventually? Or, well, if not by the hands of the Gondorians, perhaps Relic would administer the 'justice' herself?

"And what exactly do you imagine you would gain for yourself by keeping me alive? Think I'd reward you with gold? Or do you suppose I have some useful information?" she asked tentatively, trying to guess the woman's motivations from her vague words.

The arrival of the dungeon guards made Shamara's need to come to some sort of decision of what to do more pressing, and yet she found herself unable to come to one, as she did not have all the knowledge that might help with it.

"And how exactly will you prove my fault to establish accusations?" she eventually asked, making use of the first idea that came to mind. "I was not really caught in the act of smuggling anyone out of Gondor. Technically, all you have to go on is the fact that some time ago I said that I was inspecting the grounds..."

[Pele Alarion]

Ranger Pele Alarion
Barracks, Common Room, reading the letter (at some later point in time than the post above)

She did not receive letters too often, and having received this one, she went into the common room to see what it was all about. It mentioned only her family name, and for a moment she wondered whether it was really for her, as she was not the only Alarion in the Rangers. But then again, if she found that it was meant for Mourgan, she could always give it to him with apologies for having looked into it. Without much further inspection of the exterior, Pele proceeded to open the small slip that the letter really was to read the contents.

"Do they know all your secrets? The thing that keeps you up at night?
I do. I am.
R."

The words struck her as a bolt from the blue, and she stood as if rooted with the letter in hand. Pele had just started to settle back in slowly and started to let down her guard just a bit due to all the support she was receiving from friends, hoping that perhaps she could start a whole new chapter in life. And now this. Apparently she could not relax for even a moment, perhaps never again - unless Relic was removed from the picture. The woman was like a dark shadow that followed her everywhere and could not be gotten rid of.

But what was she to do? Shamara had already dared to come into the barracks, and it was clear that Relic might easily follow suit. How could Pele even rebuild her life in Minas Tirith when she carried the danger of Umbarians following her wherever she went? She hated the idea of endangering anyone else, since she knew quite well that her enemies would not spare anyone who got in the way. Should she leave and go into hiding? But was there anywhere she could go where she would not be found and putting anyone else in the path of peril? Or else should she seek out Relic and attempt to kill her to put an end to this once and for all?

Pele's hand clenched into a fist around the letter, crumpling it in the middle; her whole being was so tense, and yet she could not bring herself to take even a step. The only thing she could manage to do was to make herself take slower breaths as the means to lessen the hold of the incapacitating anxiety and chilling fear that had taken her over and all but drained colour from her face.

[Ercassie]

Ilisys Azrubêl, Ranger
Seeing off their unwelcome guest, Barracks
(before Pele receives the threatening letter)


The woman of Belfalas stood straight to her full height, and some feet back from Shamara now that their trespasser was faced with a further pair of armed guards. One of them arrived from the city dungeon was a tall, stalwart tree of a man, the other a wiry lean woman, each draped in the colours of the city and both looked to have been briefed what they ought expect here. Ilisys met Kaylin’s eyes, and offered the other Ranger a wordless award. She could only imagine how much resolve it was taking Pele’s long-time friend to compose herself in the presence of Shamara. It was better, for all their sakes, that this matter be took care off by those less personally involved. But there again it did not hurt to provide a little assurance.

Gold and information, the trafficker supposed that the dark-haired Ranger looked to secure such commodities from her. If she had known even a little about the daughter of Azrubêl, the Umbarian would never have even imagined either. For the noblewoman had both at her fingertips, regardless of whether she remembered to put thought and employ either. The turn of the slaver’s conversation though was now reaching points best reserved for the trial.

Thus, ignoring the demands that chased her there, Isys broached the male guard, the one of the two most like to be swayed by the prisoner’s sultry allure. Turning back a glance toward the bound accused, Isys then whispered something in the tall guard’s ear, her eye resting upon Shamara the entire time. The pupil of her grey eyes widened and then narrowed as the Ranger pulled away from her intention. And a none-too-small sized pouch of coin was awarded him to close the deal. “For your trouble,” she sighed, as though the cost meant naught to her. As indeed it did.

As the female dungeon guard looked for some moment concerned, her counterpart approached the prisoner briskly, and moved to whisk Shamara off her feet and bear her over one shoulder toward their destination. The unpaid guard smirked then, and shook her head relieved. If that was the only request the noble Ranger had made of them, it was not untoward. Furthermore, the prisoner had rope to warm her ankles and might struggle to walk far.

The knife which Ilisys had took from the Umbarian, she offered up with a grave solemnity to Pele, now that it seemed safe to, as tribute. To Kaylin, she glanced at the woman’s hair, as she had done once before, during their first mission together. A half-conceived smile watched her own hand unfurl in friendship, and in surprise, as though the limb worked of it’s own accord and not her will. “Your turn,” she smiled.

[Pele Alarion]

Shamara and Ranger Pele Alarion
Barracks

It seemed to Shamara that her claims would fall on deaf ears here, so she would have to figure out something else. When Ilysis approached the guard and set about whispering secretively, the Umbarian could not help but feel highly suspicious. While she knew that Gondor was no Umbar, yet there could be possibilities of some sort of trickery, could there not?

"Heeeeey, you cannot escort a prisoner in such an undignified way, surely?" she protested, trying to move away from the guard who approached her and all but snatched her up quite unceremoniously.

"Ah, you would rather jump along or be dragged?" Pele found herself replying after evaluating the situation. A small smirk settled on her lips, as she found satisfaction in imagining how it would look. "You should still consider this a favour, as you are fully conscious and can keep wagging your tongue. You are not yet getting what you deserve..."

Pele accepted the knife from Isys, and inspected it. The small weapon was of very fine craftsmanship, and very handy due to its size, and the Ranger fully intended to keep it for any possible further uses; for peeling apples, if more serious reasons for its use would not appear. "This really is a nice little thing," she appreciated aloud, and looked at Shamara who could only look on in dismay as her favourite knife gained a new master, and she herself was all but handled as if she was nothing more but a straw dummy or a bolt of fabric.

[Ercassie]

Anardil ‘Warder’ Thavron, of Lond Côl
Making a delivery
Barracks, Common Room. With Pele Alarion, and Relic’s letter.


The procession had snaked it’s way through the Barracks grounds, a riotous and resplendent affair of people who did not reside within these walls. They had been assiduously probed at the gate and several times since, so that the greater portion of festivity had been somewhat subdued with every new bark of ‘”Stop !” and “Wait !” He did not recall there being such stringent procedures when last he had set foot within these grounds. But there again, it had been a long time. And there again besides, the very first ‘reception’ had been less than gratifying also. It had been the beginning of something though. It had been the first time he had met Pele Alarion.

An unfathomable blend of emotions surged up within the man of Belfalas when he observed his old friend, here, now. They were neither of them as they had been back then, but they were themselves. At least, he was. The woman, Warder could not help but notice, appeared a pale reflection of her former self. He had hoped, he had heard even, that she had returned and that she seemed much recovered from the ‘events’ that had last thrown them together. So much that he had found a rare smile at his face, to recognise her.

Not merely because it might be thought unseemly to progress unto the North Wing, the female quarters, without due permission. There was not a single woman stood amongst the jocular crowd from Dol Amroth. Their bulk had been selected with thought of bearing the Lady Ilisys’s possessions. And between all that the Ranger had forgotten to bring with her, and all that her stately mother insisted she have at her disposal .. it was not a small train of delightful burdens which now wore the many legs and strong arms in transit. They were under command, to bestow the Lady’s needful things to where she now laid her well-groomed head. And as much as even a groomsman and a kitchenhand from the barracks had infiltrated the campaign, still they might incite some anarchy if Sergeant Pete caught them in the female wing. Naturally Isys herself was not in their throng. She had doubtless found some butterfly or else distraction to compel her.

Calling an abrupt halt to their passage through the premises, Warder left the chatter and snatches of song to cheer his company, waving them into the hall to wait there, as he found much to concern about Pele’s colourless countenance. The smile fled from his face as he now properly beheld hers.

“The last time I saw you so ..” he remembered aloud, and then reined in such free expression. He wished to the stars and the tree that he did not remember. “Forgive me, Pele” she was one of few whom he no longer titled ‘lady’, and this not out of any disrespect, but some mutual experience which had melded them in a place beyond all ceremony. Such cold courtesy had been left by the wayside many years ago. And she would have him know her here as friend, as much as willing assistance. It was none of his business what may have been in the letter, and he would not ask to be brought into her confidence. Long rehearsal prevailed that far. Still forbade his abandoning her to such apparent despair. She had faced too much in this world alone.

“It is good to see you again. I am come with ..” a hand observed the waving, smiling company of couriers who stood just out of earshot, awaiting direction, “She’s moving in,” he clarified, rolling grey eyes still providing his alibi, for it seemed the hundredth time that day. But the Barrack’s enhanced security measures, combined with the Ranger’s eyes demanded yet more. Had something happened ? It appeared acutely as though something had happened. Something to make her look so … it might be impolite to attribute a description. She seemed not so well, was as far as his trained mind could compute.

“If I can be of any service during my sojourn in your fine city, you need only ask,” he bowed his chin, out of sincerity, rather than his whole self out of propriety. Some times just a little could go all the way enough.

[Pele Alarion]

Ranger Pele Alarion
Barracks, Common Room

She seemed to be frozen in place for ages, her thoughts rushing to and fro, and yet failing to settle on anything specific. Somehow she also failed to pry herself away from this strange state and do something useful about the whole situation. Thus, Warder's appearance came as a wake-up call and shattered the ice that had enveloped Pele's whole being and arrested her thought and movement.

As if she were a statue come to life, the Ranger blinked and ran her empty hand over her face in an attempt to brush away the remains of her helpless state. She turned to look at Anardil, and then glanced at the merry crowd in the hallway.

"Ah, she is moving in then... with half of Dol Amroth participating," Pele said, though her words only contained a shadow of the humour she would usually put into them, and her face remained tired and serious. "Good to see you too." While the admission was simple and short, she was indeed happy that it was him who had happened upon her, though there were a few other people that knew of her past as well.

She looked at the letter in her hand, and then handed it to Warder with a sigh. "The last time might turn out not to be the last time," she added by the way of explanation, leaving the man to find the meaning of it by himself after reading the note. Suddenly feeling utterly exhausted, Pele lowered herself into the nearest seat and closed her eyes for a moment. And what was she to do? Hide continually to avoid Relic? She would rather not. And yet, if she were to face her enemy, how could she do it when the woman preferred roundabout ways to attack her instead of coming for her head on? She surely could not request a bodyguard or two to be with her everywhere she went.