Arda: A World of Dreams - Free RP

The fair valley of Rivendell, upon whose house the stars of heaven most brightly shone.
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Fuin
September 1, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - First Circle



The elf rolled her eyes and stood up, a smirk on her face. “What in the name of the Valar are you doing with your hands that you’re going to snag the silk?” Fuin stepped up to her and showed the younger girl her hands. “I have been forging for longer than Minas Tirith has been the name of this city.” Indeed there were calluses on her hands and they looked tough her hands were not perfectly manicured by any means having spent the last several weeks out in the wilds and travelling through dangerous territory... with that Fuin ran her hand over the silk, “If I don’t snag it, you won’t.” With that she picked up the whole lot of dresses and walked to a curtained off area, stuffed them in, and held the curtain open.

“As for not being able to tell what they will feel like...” Fuin smiled and swept her hand towards the small space. “Try them on and see, and then prance out here so that Rada and I can see. Right Rada?”

This of course got an enthusiastic yes from Rada. He wanted to see his sister in pretty dresses they'd never had clothing this fine before so this was all an exciting adventure for him even if it was hard to sit still for so long. “And if you can't figure it out, I can get the seamstress to go in with you and help tie you into some of the fancier dresses.” Fuin said with a chuckle. Indeed Fuin had stuck in at least one silk gown in there for the sake of seeing what Cala did with that. Most of them were easy enough to try on and could simply be slipped on over one's head.

“Ohhh, and the name changed over 600 years ago.” Fuin said just in case Cala didn’t know. She didn't overly expect Cala to know that after all things like where to find warmth and food in the city seemed like they would be more important to the girl who had to look after her brother than some ancient history.
Last edited by Fuin Elda on Thu Sep 02, 2021 8:09 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Calaerdis and Radaron



September 1, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - First Circle


Cala glanced at her hands when Fuin questioned what she'd been doing. She'd been working at her forge, of course. She had various small burned spots, some healed, others still healing, but also, her fingernails were chipped and some were a bit jagged, all had a line of dirt underneath because she'd never taken much time to focus on being 'pretty' or girlish. She was a little amazed to watch as Fuin, with hands more calloused than hers, ran a hand across the silk and it didn't ruin it. That helped her relax slightly.

After a brief hesitation, Cala nodded and went behind the curtain to try on the dresses, still a little unsure about this but trying not to protest too much. She kept reminding herself what Fuin had said before; 'You need to look like you are the apprentice of an elf', and so she tried on each of the dresses before stepping out to show them, at first a little self-conscious and awkward, and slowly starting to feel slightly more comfortable, smiling a bit as she modeled each dress.

In the meanwhile her mind was racing over so many things. One being the fact that, by what Fuin just said, she had been smithing for over 600 years. 600 YEARS. That was almost dizzying to think about to the girl who'd only been alive for 15 years. If anyone could teach her about smithing, Fuin certainly could. And it delighted her to know that Fuin was actually willing to, and had already called her an apprentice, even! Cala couldn't wait to actually begin learning some of it, but it seemed a new wardrobe was in order, first. Though, where Cala was going to keep all of these expensive clothes, she didn't know, yet.
Last edited by Rillewen on Tue Mar 19, 2024 4:27 am, edited 2 times in total.
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

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Fuin
September 1, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - First Circle


Fuin couldn’t help but smile as Cala began to get more comfortable in the new dresses, and soon she’d tried all of them on. “Right, so which ones are we getting?” She asked, calmly pulling her coin purse out again, since once these dresses were picked, it would be time to pay.

Once she knew, she motioned to the tailor to go and write up a bill of sale so that they could come back for the leathers once they were done. The sum was plenty high enough, 15 gold pieces, almost half of which was for the leather items. Fuin nodded, paid happily, and got the clothing bundled up neatly for Rada while the seamstress quickly made the adjustments needed to Cala’s dresses.

“Right, now shoes.” Fortunately there was a cobbler not far, and soon the children were both being fitted for new comfortable leather shoes that, for Cala at least, would last a while. Rada, well he might outgrow them, but they would be good enough they’d be able to be sold to someone else with children that needed shoes. So they could be replaced easily enough with little extra expense for a while.

Once everything was done, Fuin looked at Rada the important business finished for Cala, and now for the beginning of some of the fun business. “Now, how many times did your sister comment on things being expensive? What was the final count?”

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Calaerdis and Radaron



September 1, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - First Circle


Cala considered the dresses, then, still a bit hesitant about all of this, she selected those she had felt most comfortable in. As Fuin went to pay, her eyes widened to see how much money the elf had turned over, and glanced down at her brother. Having spent her whole life poor, struggling to get enough to eat, and doing all she could just to earn enough to get the two of them by, it was a shock to the girl to see how much Fuin paid without batting an eye, simply for clothing. She'd never seen so much money all at once in her whole life, and Fuin didn't even seem phased to turn over that much.

And then the elf mentioned shoes! Cala was a bit startled. "Shoes? But we have shoes..." She pointed out, confused why they needed more, but her protests did little good as they went to get some new shoes as well. She'd figured their shoes ought to have quite a lot left in them. Obviously, being pre-owned, they weren't the best shoes, but Radaron's were still in alright shape, and still a bit loose on him, and Cala's were only just beginning to wear thin on the soles. She hadn't even developed a hole in either of them, yet... signs she always looked for in determining whether new shoes were in order. That, or if they were too tight.

Radaron thought for a moment, using his fingers to count. "I think it was five." He frowned, trying to recount just in case, but got a bit confused by only having five fingers to count on. "And two more, maybe?"

Cala glanced from one to the other, confused about what this was about, as well as feeling a bit bad that she hadn't been able to give Radaron much of an education, and he wasn't that great at counting yet.
Last edited by Rillewen on Tue Mar 19, 2024 4:30 am, edited 1 time in total.
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

High Lord of Imladris
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Fuin
September 1, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - First Circle


Fuin gave a chuckle. “And two more!” Fuin couldn’t help but pat him on the shoulder and guided the both of them to the bakery. “We’ll have you some lessons while Cala has hers!” Indeed Fuin realized both would likely need more schooling and lessons on reading and numbers. They didn’t need to be historians, but reading and writing and basic maths they would both need to carry them through. “I think that you just want more tarts.”

Radaron gave her the biggest grin. This was perhaps, as far as he was concerned, quite the adventure they were on. And he liked his new clothing and his new shoes that fit him properly with less room so his feet didn’t slide about. Perhaps they hadn’t been needed, but with new outfits it was good to have new shoes that were entirely their own, and not near wearing out, even though Cala’s didn’t have holes in them yet.

“Right then, it looks like there are field berry, and cherry and blueberry tarts,” Fuin said, looking over the tarts that were available. “So if we’ve got 7 that won’t do…” She said tapping her chin looking at the two children, she wasn’t about to fight with them over who got the extra tart. “We’ll need to get nine. Cala, tell me how expensive this is again a few times.” She said with a laugh, and gave the young woman a pat on the back before turning to the baker and ordering three of each tart that way they could have one of each. These were also parcelled up carefully, each wrapped in waxed paper and tied off so they could be put in a small bag and carried by Radaron, who was told not to swing them, before they headed off to find an Inn to stay in.

It wasn’t long before Fuin had brought them to the Wayfarer Inn and had gotten the largest room that the Inn had, and paid for it in full for two days for the time being, as well as use of the bathing room with the copper tubs and hot water and soaps and oils and towels, though the children didn’t know that yet. The three followed the Innkeep up the stairs and into the room in question.

It was large and warm, with a window looking down on the street below, there were two large beds, a chair and a desk as well as a basin for washing up. Radaron ran in, excited, and Fuin wondered if he’d ever slept on a proper bed, same for Cala, she likely had, but she may not even remember what that felt like. The innkeep handed her the key and told her the bathing room would be available for them in an hour or so, which Fuin approved of. They would have plenty of time to eat dinner in the pub downstairs and tuck away a few tarts in the room afterwards.

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Calaerdis and Radaron



September 1, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - First Circle


Cala was very confused about what sort of secret was going on between Fuin and Radaron, but felt a bit awkward now about how they were keeping track of how many times she mentioned how much Fuin was spending.. on things which were entirely unnecessary! She could see that her brother was enjoying this, it was all a fun adventure to him. Getting nicer clothes than he'd ever had before, brand new things instead of old, used things... but it all seemed entirely unpractical to her. He'd only go off playing the next day, probably, and come back covered in dirt, or with rips in his new clothes... "You aren't to wear these new clothes to go play in, Little Brother," She told him quietly. "These are too nice for the sort of games you like to play."

Radaron seemed too excited at the thought of all the tarts to be concerned by this, and Cala frowned slightly, further amazed as they went to the bakery. "Tarts? But.." She paused, hesitating, and glanced from Fuin to Radaron, uncertain exactly what to say now.

"She said another few on the way here!" Radaron informed Fuin, grinning. "Sort of anyway. And she was about to say another just now, does that count?" He asked hopefully. "How many's that make?" He was thrilled to watch them wrap up the tarts, and careful not to swing the parcel as they made their way to somewhere else, probably equally exciting.

Cala kept quiet, still quite overwhelmed by all the money Fuin was spending on them... two orphans who no one had ever cared about, suddenly being fitted into rich clothing, spoiled with delicious tarts, and now housed in a very nice inn... a living space far nicer than any Cala had ever had. It felt like far too much, and she began to fear that perhaps she would let Fuin down. Perhaps her skill wasn't as much as she had tried to pretend, and she wouldn't be able to do this well enough, or what if the things Fuin tried to teach her were too hard...

"Can we have the tarts now?" Radaron asked hopefully the moment they stepped into the room, interrupting Cala's thoughts and worries. Then, wide-eyed, he ran over to one of the beds and hopped up on it, bouncing happily before climbing onto it so he could jump on it, enjoying that tremendously.

"Radaron! Get down, you aren't supposed to jump on it!" Cala scolded him, a bit embarrassed, and wishing she would have anticipated such a thing. He looked a bit disappointed but climbed down, looking a bit confused. "But it's bouncy." He pointed out, unsure why he couldn't jump on it.

“I don’t think the innkeeper would be very pleased, and you could get hurt if you fell off, and... Just don’t do it, alright?”
Last edited by Rillewen on Tue Mar 19, 2024 4:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

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Fuin
September 1, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - First Circle


The elf snickered. “Your sister is right, no jumping on the beds. You can break them, they aren’t meant for that, they’re meant for sleeping on.” She said as she took off her pack and weapons her quiver and sword belt laid out on her bed and her outer tunic and cloak exposing a silken long sleeve shirt that far surpassed anything that they’d seen in the tailors. She gave her hands and her face a quick wash in the basin and told them to do the same. She picked her bow and quiver up from where she'd left them on the bed she had claimed as her own, and set them on the table. Her sword belt found it's home at her waist again, her coin purse attached to it right near the hilt of her sword.

“And no, you may not eat the tarts yet. Those are for after supper, no need to ruin your meal with sweets first. They’ll still be here when we are done.” The parcel of clothing for the two of them was set on the one bed and the tarts were set by her bow before they returned to the main floor. Fuin carefully locked the room behind them and down to the pub. There were people singing and eating and drinking. Fuin ushered them to a small table and sat them down and joined them. Indeed an elf and two well dressed children were a sight in the tavern, and more than a few eyes turned towards them looking them over before returning to their own meals.

When the innkeep came along and asked what they would like, Fuin ordered a whole roast chicken stuffed with bread and vegetables to share, and some honey mead for herself. For Rada she got apple juice, and Cala, she waved to let her know she could order what she wanted to drink. “The mead here is pretty sweet if you want a half pint.” She said calmly. “Or you can have juice as well.”

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Calaerdis and Radaron



September 1, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - First Circle


Radaron pouted for all of two seconds before forgetting the scolding and watching in awe as the elf began laying down her pack, weapons, and other things, which he had yet to notice until now. While Fuin was washing and Cala was busy on the other side of the room, the curious little boy went to admire the weapons, particularly the bow and arrows. He remembered that Cala had once told him that their father used to take a bow and arrows, and would go into the woods and hunt for food, but he'd never seen any up close, much less any as pretty as these. While Fuin wasn’t looking, he ran his hand over the bow and then stepped back, pretending he hadn't touched it before she had turned.

"Come, wash up, Little Brother," Cala told him when it was his turn, and helped him only as much as she needed to, having always tried to push him to do things himself, without help.

As they set out to follow Fuin, Radaron tugged on Cala’s arm lightly and commented, "I wish I could learn how to use a bow, but I guess I can't. You have to have both hands for that." He frowned.

Cala stopped short, turning to him with a small frown, then knelt down. "Don't ever say you can't." She told him firmly. "You can do anything you set your mind to do, understand? No matter what it is, if you want to do something bad enough, you'll find a way to do it. That's why your name is Radaron." She smiled a little and stood up again, taking his hand as he began to smile again. "Don't ever let anyone tell you you aren't capable of doing something, for any reason, Little Brother." She told him, then hurried to catch up to Fuin, as they had fallen behind.

Once at the table with Fuin, Cala felt a bit self-conscious to notice a lot of people looking at them, and felt a bit defensive, in case they were staring at her brother's arm, or where it should be. But it seemed, instead, they were looking at both of them, or perhaps at Fuin. She wasn't sure, and tried her best not to think about it too much as she was suddenly faced with a choice of what to drink. Put on the spot, she stared at the server for a few seconds, then at Fuin, unsure what to ask for. "Um.." She fidgeted, having never really had much to drink besides water, before... but somehow she had a feeling Fuin might disapprove if she made another complaint about the costs... "J-juice is fine..?" She suspected that might be cheaper, and she was also curious about this, as she'd only had apple juice while eating apples, usually while it tried to run down her chin. The smell of food cooking made her remember how long ago it was since she’d had breakfast. Breakfast, for that matter, had been very small, especially for her. She’d given the majority of what food they had to Radaron, and had planned on getting something else for them to eat that night.
Last edited by Rillewen on Tue Mar 19, 2024 4:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

High Lord of Imladris
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Fuin
September 1, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - First Circle


Fuin nodded and smiled as Cala managed to refrain from commenting on the expense of drinking juice or mead. Perhaps juice was the better choice for her, after all, Fuin had no idea when the girl had last eaten, and mead on an empty stomach could make for an interesting night... and she was not an elf. Fuin needed to remind herself of that.

“So you want to learn to use a bow, Rada?” Fuin said, calmly having picked up on their hushed whispers back and forth behind her. She hated to say it, but a bow… that would be impossible for the boy, though she had seen a weapon in the east. Though it wasn’t as swift to use as a bow, it would do the same job.
The little boy nodded eagerly.
“I don’t think I could teach you to use a bow like mine, but - I did find a weapon in the east that might work for you.” She said calmly. “Your sister and I would have to work to fashion a small, lightweight version for you to use, but I think we could do that eventually, if you would like.” She said. If he’d had two arms, she’d have worried about him trying to draw her bow and hurting himself, it had taken her many years to master that bow with it’s massive draw weight, she had a feeling that the draw weight was more than what Cala weighed in total. “That said, I would ask that you not play with my weapons. If you want to look at them or learn about them, I am fine with that. I can even teach you to use them, but they are instruments of war and death, and do need to be respected as such, especially the blades. Understood?” Fuin said, looking at the two of them as her mead and their juice arrived. Honestly, she was not used to having children near any of her items without their parents, so this… This was going to be an interesting struggle for her though, she would like to think that she was doing well so far.

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Calaerdis and Radaron



September 1, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - First Circle


Cala looked at Fuin, again a bit amazed by the fact she had heard that. She would have to remember that Fuin could hear everything, apparently. Not that she planned to say anything she wouldn't want her to hear, but it was good to keep that in mind, anyway. The thought of little Radaron using a weapon though... she worried a bit about that, but perhaps if he learned to use it properly, it would be safe... she certainly couldn't teach him anything like that.

Radaron looked very intrigued to hear mention of a weapon like a bow that he could use. "Cala said our father used a bow and got food," He told her, never knowing anything else about his father than that. At the mild 'scolding' he looked a bit guilty. "Sorry." He noticed Cala looking at him in surprise.. she hadn't seen him touching the bow. Looking back at Fuin, he tilted his head curiously. "How'd you know I did it though?" He wondered, remembering that Fuin had been turned away, washing...did she have eyes in the back of her head?! He stared with wide eyes at her, wondering...

"What sort of weapon is like a bow, that he could use?" Cala wondered, curious, as she wasn't very familiar with weapons at all. "And, do you think it's safe to teach him to use such things? He's..so young." She glanced uncertainly at her brother, then back at Fuin.
“I’m not that young!” He protested. “I’m almost..” He paused, trying to remember the age she had told him he was going to be next.
“Seven.” Cala reminded him softly. “But not for quite a while yet.” She added, rolling her eyes in amusement. "You only became six back in the spring. We still have to go through all of fall and winter before it's spring again."
Last edited by Rillewen on Tue Mar 19, 2024 4:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

High Lord of Imladris
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Fuin
September 1, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - First Circle


Fuin blinked at Radaron as he apologized, “Did what?” Fuin asked genuinely curious, and realized what had brought on the bow discussion. “You were looking at my bow... did you touch it?” She asked with a smile and gave the boy's hand a pat. “I am glad it was the bow and not the blades, I see I am slow in the warning. That’s what I get for never having children or thinking of such things before now.” She said with a gentle smile. She couldn't overly be mad at the child, after all it was something new to look at. Likely he'd never seen anything of the sort before.

“It was a miniature ballista that could be held and loaded by one man. Really, I think the closest translation to what they called it would be a crossbow.” Fuin said calmly, “And goodness, he’s not going to learn to use a crossbow anytime soon! He will need to be older to learn to use real weapons. No, the most I would teach him now, if he wanted to learn anything, is how to fight with a wooden sword. I’m old and of the mind to buy expensive things, not terrorize myself and you with a weaponized six-year-old.” Fuin said with a laugh. “Remember Cala, frivolous, not stupid.” She said with a wink as their food came out, as well as a wooden plate, a fork and knife each set before them. She reached forward and quickly began slicing up the chicken, putting a decent-size serving on each child's plate as well as some of the vegetables and bread that the bird was stuffed with. Indeed, compared to even what she had been eating on the road here, thus far, this was a veritable feast.

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Calaerdis and Radaron



September 1, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - First Circle


Radaron fidgeted a bit, realizing he just tattled on himself. "Um, no?" He said, trying to claim innocence, but Cala gave him a stern look and he sank down a bit lower in the seat. "Yes.." He admitted, fidgeting more.

"Haven't I told you not to mess with things that aren't yours?" Cala frowned, sighing. She was about to apologize for him, but thankfully, Fuin didn't seem too upset. She actually seemed a bit amused, even, and Cala relaxed a bit.

She breathed a sigh of relief when Fuin assured her she wasn't about to teach him to use actual weapons, then felt a bit bad for having implied that she would do something so unwise. "Oh, of course I didn't think you were stupid!" She protested quickly, hoping she wasn't offended. "I don't know how old is old enough to learn a thing like that, is all." She tried to assure the elf, fearing she may have offended her by what she said. Cala knew nothing about weapons or when a person ought to begin learning to use them, and so felt a bit dumb now.

"I wanna wooden sword," Radaron grinned. "I could take it to show all my friends! Cala, can I?" He asked, bouncing in his seat a bit.
"Not for a while, you just heard her say you aren't old enough, didn't you?" She reminded him. "You have to wait until she decides you're old enough."
Radaron pouted slightly but dismissed it quickly enough.

Both of them were very glad when the food came. As much as Cala felt that it was too expensive, she was very hungry… while she tried to show some restraint and not wolf it down like her brother did, she definitely ate much more eagerly than was probably wise.
Last edited by Rillewen on Tue Mar 19, 2024 4:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

High Lord of Imladris
Points: 5 208 
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Fuin
September 1, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - First Circle


The children tucked into the food with gusto, and it showed on their faces that they’d not had a good meal like this in some time.

“Breathe, children.” She said with a laugh as they seemed to eat without pause for breath. Rada actually gasped for air when she said that, indeed having forgotten to breathe for at least five mouthfuls of food. “I promise there will be food tomorrow, too.” She said and slipped another serving of vegetables onto Rada’s plate for him, and another bit of chicken. Cala seemed to be doing her best to be a little better than her brother, but Fuin could tell she was hungry; she hadn’t said a word or even hesitated upon being served the chicken when it came to how much it cost.

Fuin sat and ate her own plate slowly, deciding that this was all she was going to be eating of the meal tonight. She could have the tarts if she was still hungry, but she had at least given herself a decent serving to start. She finished eating around the same time as they did, though they had eaten every morsel that was left of the bird and vegetables. Rada for his part let out a little groan. “Ohhh that was delicious. I’m stuffed!”

Fuin shook her head with a snort. “ I don’t doubt it, we may have to wait until after our baths for you to have room for the tarts upstairs.” She said calmly and paying the innkeep for the meal and ushering them upstairs, indeed they did not have long and the baths would be theirs to use, Fuin thought as she looked out the window at where Arien was in the sky. She went to her pack and pulled out some clean clothing and told the children they should bring along their sleeping gowns that she had bought them each, so that they could change into them after they had their baths.

With that the three of them headed down the hall to the bathing room which had had three copper tubs separated by dressing screens so that each person could have their privacy, the tubs already filled with clean, hot water. Fuin for her part relished the warm bath having been on the road for long enough that she enjoyed the hot water that soothed aching muscles from walking long distances and bruises where she'd been injured in the fight with orcs that had lead her to Minas Tirith. She relaxed a short while before beginning the task of scrubbing herself clean.

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Calaerdis and Radaron



September 1, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - First Circle


Cala was a bit amazed at the copper tubs, having never had anything so nice to use for washing, and again wondered how much this must cost.. was it included in the price of the room, or separate? She also wondered if it cost by the minute or what, but didn't see anyone to ask and was reluctant to ask Fuin, figuring she'd just say not to worry about it.

After bathing thoroughly without lingering over-long, Cala dried off quickly and slipped on the sleeping gown, something she wasn't quite used to having, as she usually slept in whatever she would wear in the daytime, and rolled her eyes as she heard much splashing from the area where Radaron had gone. "Little Brother, you're supposed to keep the water inside the tub." She called to him. "Hurry and finish up." Then, thinking of a good way to hurry him, she added with a smile, "Unless you want us to eat the tarts without you."

"I'm hurrying!" He replied swiftly, and stopped splashing around, hastily finishing his bath and rejoined Cala in his new sleeping clothes, still a bit wet because he didn't bother with a towel. Rolling her eyes, Cala grabbed a towel and pushed it at him, laughing a little. "You're supposed to dry off first, silly." She reminded him.

"Sorry." He grinned and draped it around his shoulders and over his head.

“And someone could slip in that all that water you left on the floor. We’d better clean that up.” She took the towel she had finished with, and started to work on drying the floor with it.

“Want me to help?” He asked.

“No, you go on to the room.” She said, deciding it’d be easier to just clean it herself.

Radaron didn't need to be told twice; remembering that there were yummy tarts waiting, he hurried back to the room, leaving little puddles everywhere he stepped.

Cala sighed softly, following behind him with the towel and trying to clean up each little puddle he’d left.
Last edited by Rillewen on Tue Mar 19, 2024 4:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

High Lord of Imladris
Points: 5 208 
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Joined: Sat Sep 12, 2020 7:53 am
Fuin
September 1, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - First Circle


Fuin helped Cala clean up the worst of the puddle but told her she need not be perfect with it, the staff would take care of the rest of it that they didn't expect children to be perfect in bath tubs. Which was admittedly a relief a since Radaron was standing rather impatiently outside their room since Fuin had left it locked so nobody could steal any of their things. He was a bit whiny over the delay in eating tarts but upon the door opening Rada was on the parcel containing the tarts.

The tarts were demolished. Utterly. Fuin had watched in morbid fascination and a small amount of horror as Rada and Cala tucked into the sweets. More than once she had to shut her mouth watching them because well… it was a sight.

She had been worried about crumbs but that was needless, her own crumbs were demolished by them as well as she sat at the table. She even had to defend her tarts, giving Rada’s hand a gentle tap as he reached for her cherry tart.

“No, that one is mine.” Fuin said with a laugh. “If you eat much more you’ll have a stomach ache all night.” There was a bit of a pout but then Rada went off to look out the window. He’d never been this high in a building and it was interesting, Fuin supposed, to watch the street torches being lit as night began to fall.

“So Cala, tomorrow we have a lot of business to attend to, since we will be needing a forge, and a proper place to live for all three of us until you’re ready to be on your own. I’d say that needs to be our first priority tomorrow, after breakfast.” She said figuring they could use a decent meal to start the day as well, as they’d be walking a fair bit. “We’ll of course have Rada with us, as he’ll need to live there too.” Indeed this was going to be an interruption to Rada’s normal routine, which was to go and play all day. He was going to have to do things now that he hadn’t before; such was the privilege of having an elf care for you. “Once we find a place we’ll probably need to fix it up, but hopefully the living quarters of it will be acceptable.”

Night began to close in and Fuin took the damp, soft, fluffy towels and returned them to the innkeep before pulling back the bedding and crawling into her own bed to sit and write in a small book of hers from her pack for a few minutes before wiggling her way down. As the children prepared for sleep how they were used to, she did keep a bit of an eye on them with the odd glance but otherwise let them do their own thing.

“Good night you two, I hope you sleep well.”

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Calaerdis and Radaron



September 1, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - First Circle


The tarts were possibly the best thing either of them had ever enjoyed. If she'd ever had anything like it, Cala couldn't remember. As she slowed with the last one, she tried to recall the vague wisps of a memory she thought she had, of a time she went with her parents to a city. She couldn't have been more than Radaron's age, if that. They may have taken her to get some sweet treat like this, but she wasn't sure if that was her mind trying to twist the memory into something it wasn't, or if she really did remember that. Licking the last bits of sweetness from her fingers, she gave up trying to remember that, and looked at Fuin when she began speaking about tomorrow.

Tomorrow, she would begin to learn smith things, perhaps! Cala felt a flare of excitement once again at that idea. It still didn't seem real to her, to think she would be an elf's apprentice at the one thing she longed to learn to do. Even after she had laid down in her bed, with Radaron snuggled up close like always, she couldn't sleep for a while, thinking about all she might get to learn about tomorrow, and wondering what the day would hold, then wondering if she would be able to live up to Fuin's expectations.

Her own words returned to mind, which she had said to her brother, but which also could apply to her, 'You can do anything you set your mind to do...' and, 'Don't ever let anyone tell you you aren't capable of doing something, for any reason.' and then something Fuin had said to the smith earlier, 'If she did the test she'd be more than welcome in the forge of Imladris'. Cala tried to keep those things in mind as she eventually began to doze off.



In the morning Radaron was the first of the siblings to wake, and sat up, looking around in awe. "It wasn't a dream!" He announced to the room in general, thrilled to find that all the wonderful things from yesterday were still there. He ran to look out of the window, then looked to see if the elf lady was still asleep, thinking perhaps if neither she or Cala were awake to stop him, he could run and tell his friends all about the wonderful day he had yesterday and show off his new clothes and everything. With that thought in mind, the boy started for the door...
Last edited by Rillewen on Tue Mar 19, 2024 4:42 am, edited 2 times in total.
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

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Fuin
September 2, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - First Circle


“It wasn’t a dream!” Woke her up. She was not used to such a young voice being near her when she woke, so it was startling for her, though her eyes had been open as she’d wandered in elven dreams.

“No, it was not.” She said, not realizing he had dashed the little boy’s hopes of going and running to tell his friends everything that had happened. Probably for the best; it might have panicked her and possibly Cala, when she woke up. Fuin stretched and looked out at the window, the sky was stained a light pink with the coming of Arien, and she could hear the bustle of the kitchens down stairs as they began to prepare breakfast for their guests, though it was a quiet din that she had to listen for.

She stood up slowly and headed to the window, “So, which outfit are you going to wear today?” She asked casually, glancing at Cala, who looked like was still sound asleep. Likely since she’d not had a safe space to sleep for so long, she was making up for her lack of deep sleep even with Rada and Fuin moving about and getting ready for the day, though they were not terribly noisy at all/ Fuin wondered if it would be a good idea to leave a note that they were going to get something to eat and would bring her something back with them, or if they should wait a little longer, or rouse her from her slumber as she began to pull clothing to wear for the day out.

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Calaerdis and Radaron



September 2, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - First Circle


Radaron stopped short on his way to the door, and had to stop and think about Fuin’s question. The boy was unused to having more than one option on what to wear, and had to take a moment to consider. He’d liked the stuff he wore yesterday, and almost went with that, but then remembered he had a whole other outfit he hadn’t tried out yet! "Uhhhhhhh, that one." He decided, pointing to one he didn't wear yesterday. "Are we gonna get more tarts today?" He asked with a grin, eager for more of the same fun adventures they'd had yesterday. Without waiting for a reply, he soon solved Fuin's dilemma by hopping onto the bed where Cala still slept, and jumping on it. "Cala! Wake up! we're gonna get more tarts!"

Cala jolted awake, startled, and for a second didn't know where she was. "Huh?" She tried to make sense of what her brother was so excited about, then it all began to return to her. Tarts… and the fancy clothes and the inn… and Radaron jumping on the bed after he’d been told not to. "Radaron, get down.. I told you not to do that," she grumbled, trying to catch him but he leaped off the bed and onto the floor, grinning.

Almost immediately after, he tried to climb back on so he could leap off of it again, finding that to be great fun! Anyone in the room below them might have thought a troop of oliphaunts were stampeding through, from the noise he was making. "Come on, wake up, I wanna have more fun adventures!"
Last edited by Rillewen on Tue Mar 19, 2024 4:44 am, edited 1 time in total.
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

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Fuin
September 2, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - First Circle


“Excellent choice.” She was thinking about the tarts. She may not get tarts today, but there were other things that they could have that they’d likely never gotten to have, especially Rada. It would all depend really on how much time everything took. After all there was a lot to do today that would likely take a fair amount of time to do.

“I -” She blinked as Radaron jumped up onto the bed, startling Cala awake. Fuin caught him instead. “We said no jumping on the bed last night, Radaron.” She chided gently, “The next time you jump on the bed you’re going to get in trouble.” She said calmly and held him up off the ground where he couldn’t stomp anymore and disturb the guests below them. Once he’d calmed down a little, she set him down and shoed him to finish getting ready in his new outfit.

“Go get dressed, then we’ll have breakfast, you too Cala, I am sorry that was the wake up you got. I’m not used to a ball of energy on two legs in the morning.” She said . “I hope you slept well even if it was cut short."

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Calaerdis and Radaron



September 2, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - First Circle


Cala smiled faintly, almost smirked even, to see that Radaron had been caught before he could jump off the bed any more. She sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "I'm used to it, he often wakes me in a similar fashion," she answered, though she was still a bit sleepy and would have liked to sleep a bit longer.

Radaron looked a bit wide-eyed at the thought of getting in trouble. "Are you going to call the guards on me?" he asked, wondering if jumping on beds was a dungeon-confinement offense. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to," which was not quite true... he did mean to do it, but he didn't know it would get him in trouble. He grabbed the clothes he'd chosen to wear today.

Cala's first thought, once Radaron was dealt with, was to roll over and go back to sleep. Then, she remembered.. her first official day of apprenticeship! She hurriedly got out of bed, instead... then stared for a moment at the choices of clothing she now had, uncertain. She tried not to give it too much thought, grabbing one before going behind one of the dressing screens that was in the room, which was far fancier than the blanket she had strung up in a corner of the house she and Radaron had been living in.

He knew to stay away from there while she was changing, and instead, having already gotten his pants on, took a little while to transfer all of his pocket treasures from yesterday's pants into today's. Once that was finished, he worked on the stuff for his upper half. Although it was a bit different than he was used to, he didn't ask for any help even when running into a problem with a button that was a bit hard to fasten.
Last edited by Rillewen on Tue Mar 19, 2024 4:45 am, edited 1 time in total.
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

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Fuin
September 2, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - First Circle


Fuin laughed heartily as Rada thought she’d call the guards on him. “The Tart Guards perhaps,” She said, as he went wide eyed. “I think the citadel guard would be upset with me for bugging them about bed jumping. But the Tart guards… OH you might not get another tart for a week if they catch you jumping on beds. They like well-behaved little boys and girls.”

After waiting patiently for Cala to finish changing so she could change as well, soon all three of them were tumbling down the stairs once more and into the pub area for food. They returned to the table that they’d been at yesterday and sat down, this time they got bacon and eggs and ham and sausages and potatoes cut up into cubes and seasoned along with tomatoes and mushrooms, bread and cheese. Fuin ordered water for all of them, not sure she wanted to deal with Rada having sugar first thing in the morning.

“We won’t be stopping for lunch I’m afraid, as we will likely have a lot to do today, so make sure you eat up well so that you can make it to supper tonight.”

When the food came there was hardly room on the table for their plates and Fuin quickly grabbed herself a bit of food having learned her lesson from last night as the children tucked into yet another meal.

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Calaerdis and Radaron



September 2, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - First Circle


Cala nodded at Fuin's statement that they would not be having lunch. She was used to skipping meals, and therefore ate all she could manage of the breakfast. It was definitely far more than she thought she’d ever had for one meal, aside from the one they had last night. She tried to eat as much of it that she could, but soon had to stop. Her stomach wouldn’t allow anymore, and she thought it best not to push it too far.

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Radaron slipping extra food into his napkin, and guessed he meant to save it for later, not a bad idea, but Cala wondered if it would be a problem, and glanced to see if Fuin minded, or if the innkeeper had noticed. She decided not to comment, because that was certainly a lot of food and his tummy was small, and it wouldn't hurt to save some for later.

She declined to do the same, though, knowing she'd be fine until supper...especially if supper was to be as large and hearty as breakfast. She sat back, unable to eat anymore now. "What shall we be doing today?" she asked, eager to begin learning things. "Will I need to wear the leather things?" She wondered, unsure if they were even finished. But she was eager to get started making things with metal, and couldn’t wait to find out what things she would learn from this elven master-smith!
Last edited by Rillewen on Tue Mar 19, 2024 4:46 am, edited 1 time in total.
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

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Fuin
September 2, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - First Circle/Second Circle


Fuin happily ate her breakfast, though she caught Rada slipping food away into a napkin and was not bothered by it. He was a child that had never likely been sure how much food he was going to get and when. He would eventually learn to trust that they would always get at least two meals while she was about, and she had every intention of making it so that they always could afford to feed themselves, otherwise.

“No, the leathers will not be ready for another six days, so we will have to do other things. For now though, your dress will suffice. We need to find a location to teach you first, as well as a more permanent home for us, as I will not be paying for an inn indefinitely.” Fuin said as they finished up eating until there was nothing left save for what Rada had stuffed in his pocket. “Well, we should get going, we need to get up onto the second circle, no point in staying down here.” She said calmly and ushered them out of the inn and into the busy street.

She wondered if they’d ever been up to the second circle, after all one needed a password to go through the second gate of Gondor, and she wondered if they even knew it. Fuin knew most of them; she didn’t know the one to get to the seventh level where the Steward was, but she had never been the sort to be bothered by nobles or the leaders of Gondor. As they stepped up to the massive gate, Fuin spoke with a guard and they were let through with no issue.

“Now Rada, stay close, we are going to the Market on this level, it puts the market on the first level to shame and we need to find a place to teach Cala smithing.” She said calmly. Indeed, the first level was mostly for the military, and those that serviced their needs and those of their family, but was also home to many of the poor of Gondor. About them, the market was already bustling with vendors selling fresh fruit and bread and bolts of fabric and so many things that one could not find in the basic market that she’d taken them to the day before. Here, there truly was everything one could possibly ask for. Fuin kept an eye out for signs that marked building for sale, and quickly found a few that she thought looked promising including a two story shop with a covered area that was open to the air to sell wares outside without being in the building, and a small single story building that was already a blacksmiths.

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Calaerdis and Radaron



September 2, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - Second Circle


Having set out with full stomachs and Radaron with full pockets, the boy listened curiously to what their plan was. Upon hearing it, he bounced happily. "Cala already has a forge!" He told Fuin, forgetting for the moment that Cala had told him they didn't live there anymore. "She made a really neat one in the fireplace. Come on, I'll show you!" He was about to take off when Cala swiftly caught his arm.

"Little Brother, we can't go back there, remember?" She frowned. "That's someone else's house now, and...anyway, I'm..pretty sure that won't be quite..good enough for what Fuin has in mind." She said, blushing lightly at the thought of Fuin seeing her pathetic excuse for a forge. "It really wasn't much." She added awkwardly to Fuin, holding onto Radaron's hand as they walked.

She was quite surprised to see that they were going to the next level up; somewhere she had never been allowed, being only a child, and a rather poor one at that. She had no parents that might have business there, and so, had never had anyone who could tell her the password. The girl kept a firm grip on Radaron's hand as they went through, both of them looking around with great curiosity.

Finding a blacksmith shop already for sale made Radaron quite excited, and he felt sure that would be Cala's new place. "Look! It's already got the fireplace-thingy and everything!" He pointed out, not knowing what to call it. “And all the black rocks in it, see!”

Cala glanced around the place, quietly thinking, and glanced at Fuin, wondering what she thought of it. "It does," she answered Radaron with a small smile. "I wonder though..." she hesitated, then decided to keep quiet and let Fuin do the appraising of the place, since Cala had so little knowledge and experience about it.
Last edited by Rillewen on Tue Mar 19, 2024 4:48 am, edited 2 times in total.
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

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Fuin
September 2, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - Second Circle


Fuin raised an eyebrow at Radaron as he spoke about Cala already having a forge, and then Cala stopping him as he went to bolt off to wherever it had been that they were living before, that was no more. Apparently Fuin had arrived at the right time, they’d lost the home that they’d been hiding in, though how long ago that was she wasn’t entirely sure. She looked at Cala and gave a small nod, approving of the girl's tenacity to forge; she’d built a crude forge then, that was impressive indeed.

They walked into the Blacksmith’s shop first, and Fuin knew right away it wouldn’t do. It was a fantastic forge at first glance, it had the forge bed in place and a hood and the bellows, but there was only one little room off of it and it was musty and Fuin turned up her nose immediately. While Fuin was not one to turn her nose up at people, she absolutely was the sort to turn her nose up at places.

This location was not good enough. “The forge is good, the layout adequate, but there’s no place to live, and the one storage room has a water issue.” Fuin said calmly. She knew that Rada saw the forge and thought that was enough. Fuin, though, knew that they needed far more than that. They were going to do so much more than just survive on smithing... no Cala and Rada were going to thrive in Minas Tirith. She ushered them out and they went to the second location which was two stories.

It was alright as well. Fuin was far more impressed with it, though it did not have any forge set up in it yet, until she looked over the layout for the building over-all. The children both seemed confused why she didn’t like it, as it had room for the forge, the back storage room was not musty, it even had a covered area out front and it had two rooms and a kitchen above it.

“Where would we vent the forge itself? And I am not sleeping in the same room as either of you for however long it takes for Cala to finish her apprenticeship. And you’re not sleeping in the same room forever.” Fuin said as a matter of fact, even if it was something that currently they were used to doing for safety and warmth.

Onwards they pressed, deeper into the second level of Minas Tirith, a third building that Fuin quickly dismissed but she asked Cala why, hoping she’d been paying attention to what they were looking for in a shop.

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Calaerdis and Radaron



September 2, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - Second Circle


Cala looked around at the building, trying to spot all of the things which might make it not work for their needs. She knew a tiny bit about this sort of thing, already, but having never selected a place of her own before, she was a bit uncertain. It was a bit hard to be sure, since she'd not had a lot of information given to her yet on such things, but she did remember what she had been told about this stuff over the years, and there was a bit of information based on the places previously rejected by Fuin.

She studied the structure for a few moments, thinking on what critiques Fuin had given the last two places. "Well, it looks... small," She mentioned, feeling certain that this place was too small for what Fuin had in mind, although she would have been perfectly happy to have such a place. It was bigger than her fireplace one had been, obviously, but that was nothing to compare a forge to. Fuin had mentioned needing big storerooms. “I don’t really see anything that would work for storing things in, either.” She added thoughtfully.

That was by far not the only issues, but she was still thinking on it all, taking her time to assess the place. "And... And it doesn't have anywhere to live in, of course, but then..it's sort of closed up, too? Not enough air, I think… it would get too stuffy and the fire couldn’t breathe…” She wasn’t sure that was exactly the right way of putting it, but that was how she thought of it, as the fire ‘breathing’.

“Aside from all of that," she pointed to some cracks running along the stone floor, frowning. "I don't know if that's an issue or not, but it doesn't look too safe..." She had noticed that right off, even if it was the last thing she pointed out. “I mean, it’s probably old, if this city’s 600 years old like you said, and…maybe the heat would make that worse?”
Last edited by Rillewen on Tue Mar 19, 2024 4:50 am, edited 1 time in total.
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

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Fuin
September 2, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - Second Circle


“Excellent, every issue on the mark Cala, even the new one with the floor!” She said giving her a pat on the back and waving farewell to the owner, who was confused at what a female elf and two children could possibly need more space for.

“Indeed, the floor would be dangerous for a forge; heating and cooling could open up the stone floor in there more than it already is and cause some nasty issues thought Minas Tirith is older than 600 years, it was called Minas Anor back then.” Fuin said calmly. They walked on until they came upon a building that made Fuin stop. It was on the corner of a road with a little short street going back into the stone wall behind the building. The one neighbour had built into the wall rather than in line with them, which gave lots of access for ventilating the forge itself, and it was two stories high. Hopefully with lots of room.

She ushered them in, a little excited about it, it was easily twice the size of any of the places they’d seen thus far. Upon going in the front door, there was a wooden wall that cut off the front from the back. A good little storefront for basics or displays. As Fuin walked through to the back part, she was even more impressed. The one wall had windows on it which would be good, they could shutter them in the winter or leave them open in the summer to keep it cooler, there was plenty of room to put in a forge. It had been a bakery, from what Fuin could tell, so it was used to being hot, so she doubted the floor would have issues, as she looked at the massive fireplace. It would have its uses as well; if Cala ever wanted to learn how to make bows or bend wood, it could be transformed into a steam chamber for wood. The stairs led up from the back room which meant that they could come down and check on the forge if they heard someone below them without going outside and there had been another set of stone stairs outside…

“Upstairs then.” She said, and the three climbed the wooden stairs. One was a bit wobbly, but that was fixable, though she did warn the children to be careful on it as she stepped on it, feeling it flex more than it should. At the top the living spaces were a mess. Fuin pinched her lips together, annoyed that this was the shape they were in, but the mess was cleanable.

They carefully stepped around broken furniture and dusty remnants that had been abandoned, clearly no one had been living here in a while. There was a kitchen though, and off of it three rooms, one was smaller and two were larger. Likely the small one was for the parents and the larger were for children.

“Well, what do you two think of some hard cleaning labour?” Fuin asked as she looked about at the great piles of dust debris and spiderwebs.

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Calaerdis and Radaron



September 2, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - Second Circle


Cala looked around as Fuin stopped, wondering what was wrong, then, curious, followed her into the other building. She looked around, carefully trying to spot any sort of faults that might make this unfit for their needs. She didn't notice anything, and began to feel a bit excited, though still a bit skeptical.

"Careful Little Brother," She warned Radaron as they started up the stairs, hearing Fuin's warning to be careful. She looked around at the mess upstairs, and didn't notice much of a problem with that. If she was looking for a place to claim for a home that no one was likely to come along and take, she would've chosen this upstairs place. "It wouldn't take much trouble to clean this up," She replied, having done far more in the past.

Then it dawned on her, and looked up at Fuin with excitement. "Is this the place then?" She asked, hopeful, then hesitated. "But..won't it be a good bit more costly than the others?" She added, having noticed how much bigger this place was from the others they had looked at.

Radaron grinned, hearing that. "Do we get a tart now?" He asked Fuin, hoping that was an all the time thing, to get a tart every time Cala said something like that.
Last edited by Rillewen on Tue Mar 19, 2024 4:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

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Fuin
September 2, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - Second Circle


Fuin laughed at Radaron, and gave him a pat on the head. “We’ll see about that later but not right now.” With that she went back downstairs to talk with the owner.

“So you’re wanting to rent it?” The man said, looking them over, and Fuin blinked.

“It said it’s for sale.”

“Indeed it is, but surely someone like-”

“I’m buying it.” Fuin said calmly and coolly. And the owner opened and closed his mouth a few times, not used to being cut off by a woman. “And you’ll take 100 goldpiece off the price for the amount of cleaning we’ll have to do and the repairs that you should have dealt with as the owner.” More opening and closing of the mouth

“But it’s-”

“1400 gold pieces with the discount you will be giving me.” Fuin said coolly.

“How is a lady like you going to pay that?” the man chuffed, looking her over. Fuin was less than impressed.

“In full, once I have the deed viewable at the market office.” She’d left her money in Minas Tirith for the most part, when she had headed east, so she would be able to have the amount drawn up with ease and handed over to the man.

“If you say so, love.” With that the man shook his head and locked the building up and they headed towards the market office. Fuin, upon getting there, spoke to a man behind the counter who nodded a few times and then ran off to do as asked, confusing the store owner who headed to where the market deeds were kept.

Soon they were sitting quietly waiting as the deed was brought in. The paperwork was ready to be signed when the first man returned, carrying an entire bar of gold stamped with the seal of Minas Tirith. Fuin signed a writ that the man had brought with the gold and nodded. The landlord's eyes went big, and Fuin watched him as she pulled out her coin purse and added another 34 pieces of gold to it to total the 1400 gold pieces that she had said she’d give him for the place.

She half expected Cala to die in her seat, seeing so much money being spent so swiftly, and she had no doubt Rada was waiting for the comment on how expensive the place was.

“Umm, right then, so we will need to have your signatures.” The clerk commented and the man still staring at the gold bar scribbled his name onto the paper and pushed it towards Fuin. Fuin picked up the quill and scrawled her name neatly on it and then looked at Cala, pushing the paper over towards her.

“Sign, or make your mark.” She said calmly. “This is going to be your home. I want your name on it so no one can question it.”

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Calaerdis and Radaron



September 2, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - Second Circle


Cala watched the man and thought he looked a bit like a fish, opening and closing his mouth like that. It was a bit of an effort not to snicker, but she remembered to act like a mature person, and not start giggling like a child. She was an apprentice to a mastersmith, after all. Noticing how he spoke down to Fuin, she frowned a bit, wanting to speak up in Fuin's defense, but it wasn't needed. The elf sure knew how to handle stuff, Cala noticed with admiration.

She hurried along after them as they headed for the market office, a place Cala wouldn't have thought much about otherwise. While they waited for the business stuff to be done, she kept trying to get Radaron to sit still, when suddenly he sat up and stared, eyes going huge. "Wow!" He gasped, staring at a huge gold bar.

Cala turned to see what had caught his attention and her eyes widened as well, staring at it in stunned silence. Seeing Fuin hand over several gold pieces at the tailor's had been astonishing enough... but a GOLD BAR?

It took her a couple of seconds to even notice that Fuin had said something to her, and blinked, turning to look at her. "Huh?" She looked back at the gold bar, then at the paper in front of her and hesitated. She could read well enough to get by, and knew her letters alright, but she had very little practice in actually writing... with a quill or anything. She hadn't realized this was going to involve her writing anything.

Awkward and very self-conscious about her lack of skill in this area, Cala slid down slightly in her seat as if to be less noticeable, but quietly picked up the quill and focused very hard on writing the letters in her name correctly, even if they didn't look very neat. She wanted to make sure there wasn't any mistake that could cause this thing to fall through.

Meanwhile, the whole time, she was uncomfortably aware of the seller making impatient little sighs and expressions, as if she were purposely taking far too long just to torment him and keep him from getting the gold bar. Finally she dotted the i and set the quill down before looking up at Fuin to as if to ask what to do next.
Last edited by Rillewen on Tue Mar 19, 2024 4:55 am, edited 1 time in total.
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

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Fuin
September 2, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - Second Circle


Fuin smiled gently at Cala and waved a hand at the gold bar and coins to the man. “You’ve been paid in full, the keys please.”

The man hesitated a moment, debating on if he could get more money from the elf, but decided no, this was enough, and handed her the keys. Taking his gold, he hurried off before anyone changed their minds. Fuin, for her part, asked for two copies of the deed to be made out so that each of them could keep one with them while the original stayed here in the Market, another gold piece for that, but Fuin knew it was well worth the insurance. That way, should anything happen at the office, they would have an official copy of the deed as proof. Complete with a wax seal at the bottom. Fuin folded them in half and slipped it into her pouch, then led Rada and Cala back outside.

“You may now yell and shout in excitement.” She told Rada who had done his absolute best to sit still throughout that very long and -aside from the gold bar being shocking- boring process.

“Congratulations Cala, you now own your own forge and home.” Fuin said with a smile, wondering if the full scope of what had just happened had actually sunk in yet for the girl who had lost her home the day before because they had been squatting in someone else's abandoned house.

She stood several moments more letting it all sink in. She had no doubt it hadn’t fully yet, before it was once again time to get to work. “We will need to get the place cleaned up today and furnished so we had best get started on that. I vote that we should start with purchasing beds and cleaning supplies.” Fuin said quite seriously “It takes a while to stuff mattresses with the goose down, after all.”

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Calaerdis and Radaron



September 2, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - Second Circle


When the man was taking the gold bar to leave, Radaron hopped out of his seat, intending to run over and ask if he could see the bar first, but Cala, seeing the motion, guessed something of the sort and acted swiftly, catching him before he made it more than a few steps. "Sit." She ordered in a whisper, still a bit in a daze but not so much she didn't know to keep her brother in check.

She sat still, watching the processes as they made copies and talked businessy things that she didn't quite understand, but made an effort to try and understand it anyway.

As they finally went outside, Cala was still rather stunned while Radaron began jumping and talking excitedly about wanting to see another gold bar and asking a million questions. Cala tuned him out, trying to make her brain understand that what just happened really did happen. "I own..my own forge.." She repeated dazedly. "But.. you bought it. Not me," She looked a bit confused on that point, glancing up at Fuin.

"Beds?" She repeated, puzzled. What did beds have to do with anything? "We don't need beds," She protested. "At least, not for a while yet," She added, not really considering that a top priority. "We've spent enough time sleeping on the ground, we'll be alright."

"If we get our own beds," Radaron asked, eager, "Can I jump on those?" He looked extremely excited and hopeful about this idea.

"No." Cala told him firmly, rolling her eyes.
Last edited by Rillewen on Tue Mar 19, 2024 4:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

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Fuin
September 2, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - Second Circle


Fuin hushed Radaron as he started asking about gold bars. “Now is not the place for such questions, little one.” She said very calmly looking at Cala, who seemed to be very much coming to terms with what had just happened.

“Indeed, I bought it.” Fuin said calmly. “If you think I’m going to risk that lumpy fool of a man trying to up rent, or charge you more or evict you, you've gone and lost your head.” Fuin said calmly as she started to lead them to where they could get beds, then blinked as Cala suggested they would be fine sleeping on the floor.

“You may be, but I am old and I like the comfort of a bed when I’m not wandering in the wilds, and I’m not about to bloody well have a bed to find you two deciding to come and snuggle up with me because you miss the feather beds of the inn.” Fuin said with a chuckle. “That would not do, you’re each getting your own bed. I might only get you basic linens though for now. Other than that, we’ll repair what furniture we can, burn the rest as we need to for fuel to cook food upstairs, and make whatever else we need. We’ll also need to go and get metal and clay to make the forge itself over the next few days. But at least tonight we still have the room at the Inn, so let’s get these beds ordered so hopefully they can be delivered tomorrow.” Fuin said and took them into a shop that was nearby the one that they had purchased.

They walked out with a promissory note of delivery of the beds and frames tomorrow mid day, Fuin had of course paid for the beds to be rushed because she quite frankly was not sleeping on the floor as much as Cala protested that beds were not necessary. And then they needed some buckets and rags and a broom to start cleaning up the living quarters. Which was going to be quite the task and Fuin debated on getting Radarons help for a while and then letting him go visit his friends, once he was bored, in case he became more of a nuisance than a help, while cleaning.

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Calaerdis and Radaron



September 2, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - Second Circle


Cala kept quiet while Fuin went about the business of ordering beds, though she still didn't see why that was such a thing to rush about. It was quite nice sleeping in the soft bed at the inn, but before that, she'd always slept on the ground or floor, and didn't see why that was a problem. Since Fuin seemed set on getting them, though, Cala had then suggested the possibility that, in the interest of getting the beds quicker, and also in lowering the cost, couldn't they just be stuffed with straw or something? It seemed far more sensible, after all, and it would save an awful lot of geese from being plucked.

At this suggestion, Radaron piped up and asked if he could keep track again of how many times she complained about costs, and if they’d be getting another batch of tarts.

Arriving back in the building.. the FORGE, Cala reminded herself to call it, her forge.. Cala took a look around at the mess, trying to assess the best way to go about this task. She wasn't unfamiliar with this sort of thing, and soon had directed Radaron to begin carrying various unrepairable/unusable things into a pile, while she got to work on the other side of the room, sorting through the stuff to figure out what should be kept.. although, Cala's ideas of things which should be kept and were still usable might not be the same as Fuin's ideas.

She soon had a small army of broken chairs, some of which were really beyond the point of fixing, but she still held hope for them, and there was a pile of other things, like lanterns without globes and various things which she would have quickly ‘rescued’ from someone’s trash pile as something which she and Radaron could find a use for. She was certain that all of these things could be salvaged, and then they wouldn’t have to buy as many things.
Last edited by Rillewen on Tue Mar 19, 2024 4:58 am, edited 1 time in total.
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

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Fuin
September 2, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - Second Circle


Fuin looked at Cala with her mention of straw, and narrowed her eyes, then gave Radaron a little nod in response to his question. They focused on the living quarters, needing to get them ready to live in by tomorrow night, at least to Fuin’s standards, which were higher clearly than Cala and Radaron’s standards... but she was an elf, and they were formerly homeless orphans. She could forgive them such things. Fuin, for her part, started hauling broken lumber to the same pile Radaron had started making in the main living area. From one of the rooms there was a rickety table in there that she looked at and decided that it could be fixed, as well as a chair, though it had no back anymore at all and one of the braces for its legs was gone so it wobbled a bit when one sat on it. The chair she picked up to put into the burn pile, and then she began the process of sweeping and dusting and washing the room that she had claimed as hers.

When she came out she gave a glance to what Cala was keeping, and laughed. “Cala, that chair has three legs.” She said as Cala seemed to be him-hawing over if the chair could be repaired or not. Likely thinking that one could replace the missing leg. “No Cala, if you want a rickety chair you can repair this one and that one can go out.” Fuin said calmly. After all, there were multiple broken chairs so getting a piece to repair the one that she had found in her room was probably far easier to do than trying to replace an entirely missing leg. Fuin wasn’t about to spend a fortune furnishing the entire place but she didn’t see the need for as many chairs as Cala was keeping. “There are three of us, dear. If you want two or three chairs for down stairs as well as two or three for upstairs so we can sit and rest fine, but you currently have…”

She counted the chairs, or bits of chairs, as it were. “Ten chairs. We don’t need ten chairs.” The person that had once run the bakery likely had a large family, that was the only thing Fuin could think of with the number of chairs that were there.

The main room was starting to be cleared out nicely aside from a rather large stack of broken bits of wood that were going to be used to cook and build fires and what not. Pretty soon, if Cala would let some of the extra chairs go, they could break the bigger pieces apart and stack it neatly near the fireplace so they could clean the rest. “Is there a functioning table in this mess?” She asked as she looked about. There was a tabletop for certain, but it’s legs seemed to be missing for the moment. Perhaps that would get Cala off of the chairs. Fuin slipped back into the other room and swept all the dust and grime to the doorway and into a pile before slipping back to wash down the window in her room as well as the grimey table and floor and walls.

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Calaerdis and Radaron



September 2, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - Second Circle


Cala stopped to take a look at the multitude of chairs she had planned on saving, a little unsure what was wrong with keeping them.. some weren't that badly messed up, and the others could probably be fixed, she reasoned, and besides, Fuin had said to salvage what they could of the furniture... but she nodded without argument when she told her to get rid of some of them. The worst ones she carried to the pile of wood, pausing to compliment Radaron on how well he was doing with making the pile.

Returning to her work, Cala lined up what chairs were in the best condition against the wall and focused on helping Radaron clear away the majority of the clutter and things that were not to be kept. Then she took another pail and went to the other rooms, taking some time to wash the windows, though she wasn't sure how to get the outsides of them clean.

After sweeping all the cobwebs from the corners, Cala evicted several spiders from various spots around the place, taking some of them outside while others escaped. She then took a moment to brush some of the sticky webs off of her hands and dress. Once she'd dealt with them, she tried to free the broom head of their webs, then went back upstairs to sweep all the dust into a pile. Having completed all of that, she looked around to see what else needed to be done.

After finding nothing else that needed to be carried into a pile, Radaron went looking for one of the other two. "I'm done!" He announced. "What now?" He asked Fuin. "Do we need to go get rocks for the forge?" He asked, excited for that idea. "When I was a kid, I helped Cala get rocks for her first forge, it was lots of fun!" He told Fuin eagerly.
Last edited by Rillewen on Tue Mar 19, 2024 4:58 am, edited 1 time in total.
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

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Fuin
September 2, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - Second Circle


The living area was mostly clean now, as were the three rooms. She glanced out the window and shook her head. “No, we will deal with getting the forge building started tomorrow. It is already late for gathering that. Though" Fuin paused and looked at Radaron. "You still ARE a kid." She mussed his hair and motioned to the door that lead down to the forge area itself "Let’s go downstairs and clean up the forge area and see if we can find anything else useful down there.” With that the three of them head down stairs, Fuin checking to make sure that the door that leads down to the street directly was locked before following the children down.

The lower level was in much better shape than upstairs had been but they still managed to sweep a good number of cobwebs up and dust as well as some leftover lumber from a shelf that had been partially torn down. Fuin looked it over and eyeballed the stair that she was not too keen on, deciding it would make a perfect replacement piece for the stair.

By the time they were done, the sun was beginning to dip low on the horizon, signaling it was time for them to return to the inn. Fuin was fairly certain at this point Rada’s pocket of food was now empty entirely and she heard his stomach growl.

“I do believe that is our signal to stop work for the day and go back to the Inn and get ourselves supper. And,” She looked at them, and knew she would be in the same shape, “Another bath to get all this dust and grime off before bed.” She had been thinking of getting a pie but it was too late for that now all the bakeries would be long closed for the day.

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Calaerdis and Radaron



September 2, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - Second Circle


As they worked, Cala looked around and tried to get a picture in her mind of what it might all look like when they'd finished. She had a general idea, having been in a few different smith places, and having made a couple of her own, but she had never tried to build one as official as this one would be. Her ideas might be off from the finished results, but she was very excited about it. She could hardly believe this was all really happening, and couldn't help smiling a lot as she worked on cleaning the place up. No one would tell them they had to leave this place. Aside from the run-down little shack the siblings were born in, they'd never had any place of their own before, and she wondered if she'd ever get used to the idea. She was still smiling as they finished up for the day and headed back to the inn, even though she was quite tired from all the work.

"I know where we can get lots of rocks for the forge," Radaron told Fuin as they headed back to the inn. He looked super pleased at the fact he knew such a thing, and bounced happily alongside Cala. Until the baths were mentioned. Then he stopped, looking almost as if he'd been told he was going to be punished. "Baths? Again? But we did that yesterday!" He protested, fairly certain there must be some law against making a child bathe twice in the same week. Or possibly even month. "And we didn't even get any tarts." He added sadly.

Cala rolled her eyes at her brother's dramatics. "Another bath isn't going to kill you, Little Brother. And you don't need anymore sweets, you've already had enough yesterday to last you the rest of the year." She laughed. "Don't complain, you ought to be thanking Fuin for all she's done for us.” She smiled at Fuin. "I'm all covered in spiderwebs, I don't mind a bath at all." She said with a laugh.
Last edited by Rillewen on Tue Mar 19, 2024 5:00 am, edited 1 time in total.
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

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There had been darkness for so long. The light of the stars was pale, cold, and distant. He did not see what his fellow quendi had seen in them. They saw beauty and majesty worthy of endless song. He saw the machinations of cruel, unknowable deities looking to cast their chains upon the land. He rejected them all. He spurned the stars and his kindred. The love of stars was naught but false worship, the glory of the Western Powers was naught but blind adoration. Adam had his eyes wide open. He saw each of them for what they were. He preferred the measureless caverns and darkened byways of the earth to the clouds and trees. He loved the echoing blindness. There was terror within that darkness, but he could harness that terror and allow himself to feed off it. He grew strong, alone in the Dark. The creatures of Belekōrōz fled from him as readily as they might one of his mighty servants. His own people did not stand against him either. He was darkness personified, he would swallow them up in nightmares of the nethermost hells. Yet it was never enough for him. He hungered for more, so much more.

He had sought out the Mother of Abominations in the early years of his life, before his kindred left their sacred gardens and groves. He heard rumors on the winds of a creature born of the Void, a Lady of Perfect Darkness. He knew that it was his destiny to find her and beg of her knowledge. He searched in the darkest pits and shadows for her, yet his search had been fruitless. Whatever darkness she had shrouded herself in, it was a stronger thing that his. That changed though, the light of the West had been snuffed out. He had felt the light go out. He had been in the depths of the earth, searching for the most perfect darkness; that loss of light in the world had filled him with such vitality that his screams of ecstatic jubilation could be heard for miles. He knew it had been her, the Great Spider, the Child of the Void. He renewed his search for her, ready to devote his existence to her. He had found her and had been so awed by her iniquitous aura that he wept tears of unlight. His endless search had come to an end. He had been blessed and given purpose. He escaped her webs then. So desperate for light that she tried to devour him for the light of the stars in his eyes. Yet, even as she tried to destroy him, she blessed him again, this time with sacred knowledge. Men. The Second-born. They were coming soon. They would be here at the rising of a great and terrible light. The image was so burned in his mind that he went blind.

Yet he did escape her, and he began to search for the Second-born, the low creatures. Along the way, he found his perfect darkness. It was at the bottom of any cavern, or behind the darkest of stars, it was within him. He could no longer see light, but unlight had given him a sight that did not need such frivolities as shimmering light. It took him years to find the place of the Second-born. Yet it was not so fruitless a search as the search for the Child ofthe Void. He did not need eyes to see where he was going. He was driven by an urgency, a hunger, an all-consuming urge to bring about the darkness. The thing that was coming, the last light of Tulukhedelgorūs, it filled him with dread. Of all the enemies he had faced down and sent into the night, this was the most terrifying. A single glimpse of her in the mouth of madness had blinded him. What would happen when it arrived in truth? The knowledge he bore gnawed at his soul, eating away at his fëa like a canker. Adam was more powerful now, more in tuned with the power that gave him purpose. He did not know what that purpose was, but he trusted that his purpose would be made clear to him. The Darkness had never failed him, and he would not fail it.

The valley stretched before him, leagues of lush greens and blues and yellows. Trees of every kind, flowers, fruits, and vines. It was a far superior paradise than he had been born into. Adam felt a tinge of jealousy. If he had been given such a lush garden upon his Awakening, he might have sought the darkness. He might have sought the Green Lady and begged her to teach him the ways of cultivation, agriculture, and fertility. Now, though, the idea reviled him. He spat. This place would not be a paradise for long. He would stretch the fingers of Darkness and unlight into the valley, into the hearts of Men as they awoke. He would sow seeds of fear and desperation. These children of the light would fear the darkness and from that fear he could bring about his domination. He would not cultivate flowers or corn or wheat, he would cultivate dread, panic, and dismay. There would be other fears that fed on Men in the days to come, but he would make sure that his fear was the greatest in the minds of these poor unfortunate souls. There would be those that loved the Darkness, those that would worship him and give themselves to the Forever Blind. He could manipulate them, pretend to be one of them, guide them so that they would find the perfect darkness of the sacred unlight.

There was a light in the west. He could not see it, but he could feel it. It felt like ants crawling all over his skin. His flesh felt as though it would burst at any moment. It was the most horrid agony he had ever felt. The jaws of Ungoliant were nothing in comparison to the rays of the Sun. He screamed. The sound of his anguish filled the valley, but it was swallowed by the Sun, by the light. He truly had not been prepared for the horrors it would bring.

There was a rustling beside him. What had once been a cold, soulless stone, now stretched to life. He snarled, grabbing the newly awakened Man by the back of the head. He vented his rage and pain into the animal. His fingers found the eyes of the Man, newly awakened, gazing at the Sun in all it’s profane glory. He squeezed, jamming his thumbs into the Man’s eyes. Soon, the Darkness claimed him.
Strange Fruit got holes in the flesh but it ain't gonn' spoil cause it never was fresh

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“What do you see?” Adam’s voice was both resonate and discordant, a hollow sound from a deep well but with the roar of a lion. His voice was wrong. His voice issued darkness that had nothing to do with light and shade. His parishioners were gathered in a lightless cavern under miles and miles of tunnels, as far from the light as they could get. They were all huddled together, pressed in tightly against one another. There was ample room, though, in this prodigious space. They all cowered from him, shrieking with fear if any of them came too close. Though they worshipped him without hesitation or reservation, they feared him and his darkness. In the beginning, he had forcibly converted those he found, gauging out their eyes so that they would not behold the light of the poisonous sun.

The night became his ally. The silvery moon and the twinkling stars were poor substitutes for the golden light of the dying sun. The darkness of night caused more fear and apprehension than he ever could have alone. Each time to sunset, whispered a mocking prayer of thanks to the Valar in the west. The fools had brought about their end. Adam did not offer respite from the dark, nor did he offer a cessation of the fear. Even his most fervent followers, acolytes of lightless flames, feared the darkness and what lurked in the unforgiving void. He offered them an exchange. He would teach them to extract the fear of the dark from others if they would serve him. Humans were so eager to capitulate to whatever came to them and offered them protection. They thought he would protect them from the things of their nightmares. Yet he did not; he would not because he was the very thing in their nightmares. He was the one that brought about their fears. And still, they loved him. What choice did they have?

The man before him was naked and shriveled, eyes milky white and sightless. He was a new follower, or at least he wished to be. “What do you see?” Adam repeated. He was seated in the center of the chamber upon a seat carved from a single piece of onyx. His voice filled the chambers, from the ceiling to the floor. As his voice echoed, the world grew darker still. There is blindness, and there is that which lies behind blindness. Adam was the avatar of something that was not merely the absence of light, but the very lack of the thought of light. He was the sound at the door when the fires died. Adam was the beast that stalked them through forests and valleys. He was the thing that flew in the sky and blotted out the stars. His blood was unlight; his eyes were the void; his voice was silence.

“I... cannot...” the man whimpered, tried to wrap himself up in his spindly arms. Even in the bitterness of the cavern, Adam could see him. The man was a wretched thing, more animal than human. He shivered there in the darkness, unseeing eyes gazing upon him. An inimical murmur passed through the congregation. Adam smiled. This thing was not a child of darkness, no matter how hard he tried.

“No?” Adam asked mockingly, malicious mirth in his tone. Another murmured began to ripple through the stygian chambers. The people were hungry; as soon as they realized this creature before them, displayed like a rotting carcass, they began to see him for what he was. He was food. Those not devoted to the darkness and the void could only be victims of it.

If Adam could pity, he would have pitied this poor fool. So desperate was he that he looked into the maw of night and prayed for friendship. "You cannot see. There is naught for you to see for you are naught but a mimic. You bandy words that have no meaning to you. You do not know the fear of the dark, but you will."

"Please, please..." the man quailed, his voice reverberating off the empty stone and roaring back into his face. There was a new sound in the chamber, sourceless and moving. It was not the eager thrumming of a hungry crowd. It scraped against the stone, dragging some behemoth bulk with it. The darkness grew, melting stone and flesh alike; the room grew cold, so cold that streaks of hoarfrost formed on the smooth stone of his throne. Adam could feel the void as it took shape. He could sense the maw of nightmares ripping through the air. For a moment, even Adam was afraid. There were places and things even he did not know; that even he feared.

A shape loomed. No one could see it, but they could feel it. One of the parishioners shrieked and tried to run. He did not get far; something amorphous and incorporeal snatched him out of the air. Adam felt the cavern walls expanded into endless, brooding darkness. The space was different in this cavern. It was both a part of the physical world and it was not; something in this cavern touched the void beyond creation. He closed his sightless eyes and welcomed that which was to come. The naked man tried to run, his feet padded hollowly against the stone; his breathing was ragged and loud, as were his supplications for mercy. But the darkness has no mercy. There was a terrible sound like that of a hurricane, a roar that brought them all to their knees. Then, just as it had appeared, sourceless and illimitable, it vanished. The man's sobs could no longer be heard.

"Let that be a lesson," Adam's voice once again rang clear and cacophonous, "if you are not a creature of the Dark, you are just a victim of it."
Strange Fruit got holes in the flesh but it ain't gonn' spoil cause it never was fresh

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Fuin
September 2, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - Second Circle

@Rillewen

“I’m not normally one for a daily bath either.” Fuin said with a shake of her head. “BUT the lot of us are covered with dust and cobwebs from head to toe. We can bathe to get rid of them without a lot of work and this will be the last time for a bit where we aren’t having to boil water on our own and fuss and find a tub to begin with.” She said “Besides we took long enough that the bakery won’t have any left we got the last of the tarts the other day and the sun was still much higher in the sky.” Fuin said calmly as they headed back to the gate and down to the first Circle once more for their last night in the Inn.

Fuin would have to teach Cala and Rada the password so they could come and go as they pleased, she had no plans on keeping them locked up on the second circle. Again they washed their hands and faces this time far dirtier than they had been last night before slipping down to eat a proper meal.

Today was roast rabbit with potatoes and vegetables, knowing that they’d eaten enough at breakfast Fuin was not quite as worried that the rabbit would be gone as quickly as the chicken had disappeared.

As they ate they were able to talk a bit more on what would be happening tomorrow - They’d need to get some food to stock their larder at the forge flour honey, salt, perhaps some dried meat and fruit, eggs and a few loaves of bread so they didn’t have to make any for a few days, that way they could eat when they wanted to at home, as well as perhaps a pot to cook in everything else they’d be able to make as they needed it once the forge was up. So once the beds were delivered by mid day, they’d see if they could find a cart to borrow - perhaps even the one Radaron had stolen temporarily to go and get river clay and rocks so that they could create a large forge bed to work with.

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Calaerdis and Radaron



September 2, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - Wayfarer Inn, Dining Room


Cala was a little surprised to learn that they would be going all the way out to the river, having figured Fuin wouldn’t want to go that far. She had half-suspected that she might even buy the stones and things they would need. It was a relief that they would not be having to spend anything just to get such things as could be gathered from nature. Still, she had no idea what other supplies might be needed for this; she’d only built simple, primitive type forges before, and this was an all-new experience for her.

Radaron piped up again, excitedly, “I know where to get the rocks!” He bounced, bursting to tell his important information. “That one place we saw, the one with all the water? I saw heaps and heaps of them just lying around, and no one was using them!” He grinned, pleased to have offered what he considered helpful information.

“I’m fairly sure that would be stealing,” Cala pointed out, rolling her eyes with a laugh. “We can’t just take stuff from someone else. It would belong to..whoever currently owns it, I think, right?” She asked Fuin.

Radaron frowned, a little disappointed. “Oh.” Then brightened again a few seconds later as he thought of another idea. “What about the cave!?” He asked, remembering that from when he was “a little kid”, and excited to go explore it further. “Remember the cave? With all the black rocks in it?” He asked Cala.

“It’s called coal…” Cala reminded him with an eye-roll, then looked thoughtful as she glanced up at Fuin. “There is a cave we found, a long time ago, with some natural coal in it...” She said softly. “I’m...not sure I remember where it is, though.” She added a bit sadly. “So I’m not sure how much help that is, really.” She shrugged, finishing off the last bite off of her plate. “I guess you probably know where to get all the supplies we’ll need though.” She added, hopeful.
Last edited by Rillewen on Tue Mar 19, 2024 5:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

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Fuin
September 2, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - The Wayfarers Inn

@Rillewen

Fuin smiled and nodded. "Good we'll need a good number of them hopefully they are near where ever we find clay on the Anduin." Fuin said as she ate the meat off of the leg of the rabbit. As Rada bounced with excitement over the fact he knew where there were rocks. The type of rocks they'd need would be specific but if there were lots of them then there would be lots of chances for them to find what they needed. "I'll suggest wearing your old clothing tomorrow as we'll be in the muck of the river bed a fair bit and we'll be cleaning river clay so that there are no impurities in it that might make it explode under the heat." Fuin said calmly "If they aren't perhaps while Cala and I gather clay we can send you looking for stone near by if your stash isn't near where we are going to be."

News about the cave with coal in it was fascinating, the black substance was hard to find and twice was good as wood coke to burn for forging, the elves used coal almost exclusively. "Perhaps we will go looking for that cave later in the week when we start needing coal if we can get it for free aside from our labour then we will be in good form and save you a bit when you're on your own at least until it runs out." Fuin leaning forwards looking at the two of them. "If not, indeed I am well aware of where we can purchase coal for the forge as well as metal, which we will be having to get some of to get started, we'll refine what you already know and then move on to fancier and larger items, and I'll also teach you how to build double bellows which will be a new bit of struggle for you to work, but they are a bit safer than standard ones in terms of stopping blow back." Fuin stabbed a potato with her fork and nibbled on it catching the odd glance from a patron that was looking at the three of them covered in dust and grime and glared daggers back at them until they turned away clearly having not expected to have her not flinch away from the look. A quick look around making sure nobody else was being rude she went back to finishing her supper . "There are a few things we will need to buy in order to make the air flow work but over all most of the forge itself will be made from clay and rock. The bellows... Well we'll buy the parts for them and make those ourselves that way you learn how to make them and will know how to repair them as well."

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Calaerdis and Radaron



September 2, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - Wayfarer Inn, Dining Room


Radaron looked quite pleased to have offered some help. Though he was unsure what exactly all the other stuff was she was talking about, he couldn’t wait to go find the cave again and explore and dig around for the special rocks that Cala needed for her forge. It would also be fun being able to play in the mud and splash in the river, if Cala let him, and he was excited about that even more.

Cala listened with interest, having sort of expected that Fuin wouldn’t have much interest in Radaron’s cave, but it seemed that it might actually be quite helpful. She nodded, already beginning to try and remember how they had found it. She wondered if she could still find her way back to the place she had accidentally burned down with her first attempt at a forge. If she went to that one city, with the very mean blacksmith who wouldn’t even let them sleep in the forge, then she thought she might remember the way. But that was a lot of ifs. Could she even remember how to get to that city?

She smiled as she sipped her drink, excited beyond words to get started on all of this. Of course, Radaron was excited about the whole thing, as he saw it all as a wonderful adventure, but Cala saw it as a dream coming true, and she could hardly believe it was really happening. “Finish up your supper, Little Brother, we need to get our baths and then get plenty of sleep tonight.” She told him, eager for tomorrow to come.
Last edited by Rillewen on Tue Mar 19, 2024 5:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

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Fuin
September 3, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith


They had slept well, there was less splashing this time from Rada simply because this was not as fun as yesterdays this was having to have a bath, and less of an adventure. In the morning they woke and were at the forge their room at the Inn emptied out entirely of their belongings. As the moved themselves up to the forge. They quickly put their clothing and gear away. Fuin looked over the basic tools that Cala had, they would work to make better tools and then would get reworked themselves Fuin decided, it would be a good task for Cala to fix the tongs she had so that they worked better. They had plenty of time as the did not have a lot to move from the Inn and they'd stuffed themselves silly again with breakfast, though they would take some cheese and bread to nibble on when they were out working so they didn't have to cook a large meal when they got home. Stocking the larder took far longer than anything else, but Fuin was convinced that if she managed to catch a rabbit or two with her bow today or some water fowl on the river while they were working they'd have plenty of food for a few days at least.

The mattresses showed up as did the frames to set them on so they didn't rot and soon the three were on their way out of the second tier and going to find a cart, Fuin suggested they see if they could borrow the cart that Radaron had taken before and she told Cala she could negotiate with the wamn, see if the two of them could borrow it for what they needed it for and see if there was anything that she needed done in exchange for the use of the cart for the day and of course the promise that Rada would not be riding it down the hill towards the main gates though Fuin didn't really need to say that, Cala was already on top of that as soon as Radas eyes had lit up that he might be able to ride the cart again.

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Calaerdis and Radaron



September 3, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - First Circle


The mundane errands of getting groceries to stock their larder with was more of an adventure for Rada, and he asked a few times whether they could get a bunch of tarts and sweets to store in the larder. To Cala, however, getting food was not very new; she’d been doing that for years, whether it was buying it, working for it, or finding it in the wild. The only thing she found surprising was how MUCH of it they got. She wasn’t sure she’d ever had so much food all at once in any place they’d lived. “Won’t it spoil, if we have too much at once?” She wondered, unaware of Radaron updating a private count he was keeping.

As the beds were delivered, Radaron could hardly stay still, watching excitedly as the delivery people brought in the frames and set them up. He kept asking if he could jump on them after they got the mattresses in, despite Cala repeatedly telling him no. Still, he was excited that he had a bed of his very own for the first time in his life, and hoped it would be as soft and comfy as the one at the inn.

At the suggestion of getting the cart to use, Cala couldn’t help feeling a bit skeptical about the woman agreeing to let them use it. Rada had cheered and bounced up and down, asking if he could get his friends to help, but Cala quickly told him no, and further informed him that he would not be playing with it.

“You, Little Brother, will stay back, with Fuin, while I talk to the lady,” She told him, after it was suggested that Cala try negotiating. "I doubt she'd even consider agreeing if she knew you were involved, I bet she's still very upset with you for taking it without asking." Cala wasn’t sure what she’d say, but she hoped to be able to find some terms the woman would agree to. She thought it might be best if the woman didn’t actually see him, as she might associate them all as having ‘stolen’ her cart before.

Feeling a bit nervous, Cala ventured forward to where they had returned the cart that first day. Entering a workshop, she looked around and saw that it was full of pottery and stuff. Initially she didn’t see anyone in the dark place, but as her eyes adjusted she saw the old woman sitting and working at a wheel, making a bowl or something. Working with clay, which was probably the very thing that she and Fuin were going to be gathering from the river. She smiled a bit, getting an idea...

Meanwhile, Radaron was a little disappointed he didn’t get to go and ‘help’ Cala convince the woman to let them play with her cart (as he considered it). At first he was a bit whiny, then he spotted a few of his friends playing a game a short ways away. “Traston! Renior!” He yelled excitedly, and started to bolt off to greet his buddies, eager to tell them all about his amazing new adventures, and how he got all the wonderful new clothes and everything, though they probably wouldn’t believe him since he was actually back to wearing his old stuff today.
Last edited by Rillewen on Tue Mar 19, 2024 5:02 am, edited 1 time in total.
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

High Lord of Imladris
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Fuin
September 3, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - First Circle


"No what we've gotten in here has weeks if not months before it will go bad in some cases, the hone will never go bad, it's like an elf it doesn't spoil or get old." She said "The flour can last for months even a year if we keep pests out of it, the lard for several weeks, the eggs will last a few weeks that is why we only have as many as we do, that way we can get more as we run out without them going old. The dried meat and fruit will last for months as well and is good for the winter when it is harder to get fruit and vegetables so you will want to save the dried fruit as long as you can which is why we have it in glass jars where animals and bugs can't get to it." Everything was methodical with Fuin of course the cheese and bread would be spoiled by the end of the week but she did not expect it to make it to the end of the week, the two loaves of bread, and the small bit of cheese that was currently dipped in wax would likely be gone in two or three days.

Fuin was sure that Cala would figure out a way to get the cart, she was a resourceful girl and Fuin had no intention of having her lose that resourcefulness when it came to important things that she could fix and mend and get for free. The beds, yes they probably could have worked and gotten those for free but where THEY were going to get goose down from in that quantity? Fuin had no idea. That was not her speciality. Fuin looked at Rada who was left in her care while Cala went to negotiate with the older woman.


It took only half a second for Radaron to bolt off calling to his friends and Fuin was slow to react, mostly because she had a feeling that he would not be getting to see these friends much more with him moving up to the second circle, aside from when he was in the first circle or beyond with his sister he doubted he'd see them very often, however she did call out that he needed to stay close, and started to follow after them, her bow and quiver strapped to her back he was already well on his way to his friends when he'd seen them. Fuin fortunately could see them as well and as long as they didn't slip into an alley and round too many bends she was fairly certain she'd be able to keep up with him. However she did not know how long Cala would take.

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Radaron



September 3, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - First Circle


Radaron had caught his friend’s attention and was excitedly telling them about his fun adventures over the past few days. However, it was hard to convince them without proof, and he frowned as the two boys called him a liar for saying he had gotten a lot of new fancy things, and had nice expensive clothes and a feather bed; things they didn’t even have. Upset that he couldn’t actually prove his claims at the moment, Radaron insisted he was telling the truth, and that his sister was getting a great new forge of her own and everything.

“You’re making all that up,” They said, laughing. “Everyone knows girls can’t do stuff like that, and if you’ve got all these new clothes, why aren’t you wearing them, huh?”

“We’re going to play in the river, that’s why! And you wait and see, my sister will be the best smith anyone around here has ever seen.” He told them, defending his big sister. “We’re friends with elves now, and I’m gonna learn how to shoot a bow and everything!”

The two slightly older boys looked at him, then at each other, and laughed. “You’re crazy Rad, there’s no way any of that could happen. No one goes around buying poor kids expensive clothes and stuff, and elves don’t live around here. And, I mean, your sister makes some neat toys, but everyone knows girls can’t do real forge work, it’s too hard for them. And besides all that, you gotta have two hands to shoot a bow.”

“Well, I’m going to, someday!” Rada insisted. “You’ll see.”

“Oh, yeah? How are you going to do that?”

Radaron thought for a moment, frowning. “I don’t know yet. But I will, you just wait, I’ll figure something out. And so’ll Cala, she’s going to be a better forger than anyone in Gondor!”

“Sure, and when that happens, we’ll go swimming in the sewer.” The one boy smirked, feeling sure that would never happen. The other boy laughed, agreeing. “Yeah and take a big gulp!” He laughed harder.

Radaron glared at them. “Deal.” He said angrily, then turned and stomped his way back toward where he’d left Fuin, deciding he didn’t like them so much anymore.
Last edited by Rillewen on Tue Mar 19, 2024 5:04 am, edited 1 time in total.
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

High Lord of Imladris
Points: 5 208 
Posts: 2755
Joined: Sat Sep 12, 2020 7:53 am
Fuin
September 3, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - First Circle


Fuin heard the boys teasing Rada about what was happening and was about to step in, the young boy though was fantastically adept at defending himself and his sisters... name. She smiled and stepped towards Rada looking the boys up and down, figuring they were children and she shouldn't overly punish them for what their parents were teaching them. However the sight of an elf was certainly enough to give the younger pause. She held out her right hand "Come on Rada we need to get going, we've a river to visit and a forge to build." She raised her eyebrows and then glanced at the grate that lead to the sewers having heard their boasts about how things would never happen.

She could see that Radaron was angry and stomping though, she was sure her stepping in in the small way she had would make him a good bit happier. Once they were far enough away from the boys she squeezed his hand gently. "Are you alright, they said some pretty mean things... You know that they aren't speaking the truth?" She was soft spoken knowing that up until she had come along he and his sister had very much been on their own. Rada for his part nodded and pulled his hand away and wiped his face angry tears on his cheeks.

"Yeah we'll show them" He said in a small determined whisper, before looking up at Fuin and giving her leg a hug. "Thanks for backing me up!"

"I think the little one is scared of having to go into the sewers. Next time you see them ask if they are going to be brave and wear alligator repellent." Fuin said with a wink.

"THERE's no alligators in the sewers here... ARE there?" His eyes went wide and Fuin laughed merrily.

"No there are not, but they don't know that, and the next time you see them I hope that we will have the forge up and running for the most part even if we are only making basic tools and supplies that lots of people need. It'll take a bit before we get to the fancy items but I will bet before the year is up that your sister will be well on her way through her apprenticeship and since it's with an elf..." Fuin bent down and whispered to Rada "She'll probably be better than half of the full smiths here in the First Circle."

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Calaerdis and Radaron



September 3, 2615 - TA
Minas Tirith - First Circle

After a few minutes, Cala had emerged from the pottery workshop and rejoined Fuin, pulling the cart along with her. “We-" She paused, looking around as she saw that they were not where she had left them. The girl frowned, a bit confused, then had several fleeting worries race through her mind, the last being that Fuin had taken Radaron off to get him more sweets. That was definitely the least worrisome of the worries, but still was not something she wanted to deal with; Radaron was plenty hyper enough without sweets.

Cala looked around only a moment before they returned, and saw right off that Radaron looked upset. She frowned a bit and was preparing to rush over and ask him what was wrong, but he lit up as soon as he saw her(or, more likely, the cart) and ran to her. "Come on, hurry! We gotta go get bunches of rocks so we can make your forge quicker!" He said excitedly. "Come on, come ON!" He bounced up and down as if he had no limit to his energy.

Cala laughed a little, deciding it was probably just some minor dispute; possibly, Fuin had told him he couldn't have any sweets or wouldn't let him run off on his own, or something like that. "Well, we have the lady's permission to use her cart, on the condition that we bring her plenty of clay as well. She's old, so she has a hard time getting enough clay for her work, so I told her that would be fine... I hope that's alright?" She asked, glancing at Fuin for confirmation, hoping she hadn't overstepped her bounds in agreeing to such a deal.
Last edited by Rillewen on Tue Mar 19, 2024 5:05 am, edited 1 time in total.
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

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