Haradwaith - The Lands of Harad

[Pele Alarion]

@Rillewen, @Lantaelen


~ Struck Down But Not Destroyed ~
T.A. 3018

Pele was in no position to argue with the stranger; besides, it was true that if this was a chance to escape, even if ever so slight, there might not be another. So she quietly accepted the pouch and took in all of the information provided. She had to smile ruefully when she heard 'if you're agile enough'. After being cramped up for the whole day Pele thought she would be more like clumsy and awkward rather than agile, but since her life and freedom depended on it, she would have to make do, even if her body objected to the command of putting up a good performance after such a mistreatment.

"Understood," was her only response to the mysterious stranger, along with a slight nod of agreement.

Pele held steady while the cage was raised back up, and seeing that the guards were not yet in sight, she quickly retrieved a couple of raisins from the pouch to savour slowly, as she did her best to secure it and the water skin on the piece of rope that served as her belt. While waiting for guards to come and move away again, she had time to put together a quick plan according to the information given by the stranger and the details of the surroundings she had memorised as she passed the time during the day to keep herself sane.

At an opportune moment and after significant effort, the Gondorian managed to get onto the wall by the gatehouse. Doing her best not to get stabbed by the spikes or get caught on them, she observed that the guards outside were not in sight; it would have been best to make her way along the top of the wall and drop down further away, but she knew that it would be very difficult for her and it would take too much of the precious time. Cautiously she lowered herself from the wall as far as she could and then dropped down the rest of the way, landing in a crouch. She moved in the shadow of the wall to the place where she could make a shortest run to the wall of the nearby set of buildings which she knew was not heavily guarded by men or ferocious dogs.

She was sure the guards would be after her any moment now, so she made a mad dash for the neighbouring yard, scrambling over the wall. On her way across the yard, she snatched a shawl from the collection of clothes hung up to dry. Even so, it would be safest to avoid being seen - after all she could not easily get rid of the collar or the mark on her shoulder which would tell anyone with eyes that she was a slave on a run. Pele did not stop to listen if pursuit was after her, instead aiming to get out of this yard onto the street beyond, and then into the narrow alleyway behind it. She had noted where the river ran through the city and where the harbour was; she preferred hiding somewhere in the water if she could make it that far rather than take the thief's advice to blend in with the crowd to avoid the dogs sniffing her out.

[Rillewen]

@Lantaelen @Pele Alarion

A mysterious, dark-clad figure

Fortunately, the woman in the cage didn't seem to be the type prone to panicking or acting too impulsively. There had been a moment where the thief worried that she might start to panic or try to make a rush out of the cage the moment it was opened.. or that, once it was lifted up, she might try to make her escape right away. That would not only have gone badly for her, but also for the thief. She needed the timing to be right, after all.

She did not have to remain crouching in the shadows for too long. Mentally, she was keeping up with the timing. Right about now, the guards ought to be reaching the end of their patrol route. And now, they ought to be turning around. That meant, if the woman was able, she would begin climbing out of her cage now. Rather than worrying about what the escaping slave would be doing, she kept her mental timing on the guards, for they were her concern. They would march along the yard at their steady pace. They should be in sight in three, two...

She heard their footsteps before she saw the movement of the patrolling pair. Keeping very still, she waited while they passed within a few yards of her position. From that point, she watched them until they reached the end of the yard. They turned to begin their march back the other way. The thief wished she could see, from here, whether the cage was empty. But it would involve having to move around the corner and she couldn't do that without risking being seen. So, she waited. Listening. Holding her breath.

The guards passed. It would take about thirty seconds or so, she estimated, before they were within range to notice the cage. She hoped it would be empty. She also hoped, if it was empty, that they would be able to tell it. It was a dark night, after all, and it might be difficult for them to notice right away. In fact, the thief smiled wryly. If it had been her primary goal to see that prisoner escape to safety, she would have probably put some sort of dummy into the cage in her stead, so that it would give her much more time to get away. But, alas for her, the thief needed them to notice a bit sooner than that.

She counted the seconds in her head. Twenty-eight. Twenty-nine. Thirty. Thirty-one. Thirty-two.. she frowned slightly. Thirty-three.. where they going to notice? Thirty-four. Was the woman still in the cage? Thirty-five... and then, finally! She breathed out softly in relief as she heard a surprised shout. Her lips curled into a smile. That's what she'd been waiting for. She kept her gaze trained on the guards stationed at the door. They heard the shout, too, and glanced at one another. But they did not move just yet.

A moment later, One of the patrol guards came running to them, asking if they'd seen the prisoner anywhere. No, they didn't see anyone. How could she have escaped? Where could she have gone? The other patrol guard was checking with the guards at the front gate. She couldn't have gone far. They'd better spread out and look. The door guards were hesitant; they weren't really supposed to leave their posts. But if they let the prisoner escape, then they'd all be in big trouble, so they should work together to locate her before Lord Gimlan learned about this. They couldn't argue with that logic; none of them wanted to earn his wrath, so they nodded. The door was locked, after all. No one was getting in and out, right?

The thief smiled to herself as she eavesdropped on their conversation, just a stone's throw away. She watched the four of them spread out to search the grounds. Such diligent, stupid guards, she thought with amusement. Though, her smile swiftly faded as she noticed one of them start heading in her direction. No.. not this way, stupid! She thought frantically. Hastily, she glanced around, and found a pebble near her feet. Tossing it as far to the left as she could manage, without raising her arm above the bushes she was hiding behind, she watched intently, holding her breath until she saw him turn aside. He had heard the noise, and hastily set off to the left to investigate.

With a quick glance around, the thief swiftly darted across the brief expanse that separated her from her goal. The door was locked, but it only took her skilled fingers a few seconds to get it open. Tucking her lockpicks back into her sleeve, she slipped in and closed the door behind her before the guards had determined that the noise had been nothing. Now... to find her way into the treasury room.

[Pele Alarion]

@Rillewen, @Lantaelen


~ Struck Down But Not Destroyed ~
T.A. 3018

The rush of adrenaline seemed to give Pele wings, as she weaved her way in and out through streets, visiting a couple more courtyards to acquire a couple more garments. She did not hear the pursuit just yet, but she knew it would be coming soon, but she hoped that her climbing over walls would throw them off for a bit. Or not. Eventually she came to the riverside, looking up and down the street that ran alongside it. There was no one to be seen, so in a few hasty steps Pele crossed to where she saw a couple of boats moored.

She tossed the water skin and the pouch with fruit and seeds into a boat with a fishing net in it, then quickly changed out of her old clothes and put on what she had grabbed in haste: a pair of trousers, a tunic, and a shawl. Everything was rather quite big for her, but it would do: at least the fabric was light and unrestrictive. Tossing the old garments near and on another boat, she untied the boat with the fishing net and pushed it into the river.

Settling down in it she took to rowing - if only she could make it a reasonable distance away before the pursuers came to the river side... She was not sure she could slip out of the city altogether under the cover of night this way, but at least this might be easier without doing it in broad daylight when the traffic on the river would be bustling, and she'd be likely to rouse suspicion. Perhaps she could pull off the appearance of someone going out on an early fishing expedition if anyone happened on her at night without being able to clearly see her for who she was.

[Lantaelen]

@Pele Alarion@Rillewen

Lord Haarith Gimlân

No one had ever dared to break into the Gimlân compound in years.

The bones of the last one were still sitting, rotten and decaying, on one of the fence spikes near the front wall, for all to see as a message of what happens to those who dare to enter here uninvited. In truth, Haarith might have welcomed such an intrusion and test. Laxity and inactivity bred softness and weakness. Mistakes could be made. Precious possessions might be lost. Never mind the cost in lives…

Escape, escape! The prisoner has escaped! The cry went up into the night, startling the household into action, as slaves and guards broke from their slumber to grab at their weapons and torches and spring into action. The memory of the whiplash, tasted so many times, did wonders to motivate them into action. All except the one who never felt it’s sting. Haarith awoke in his bed, peering up at the ceiling, listening to the noise and ruckus without alarm, without urgency or concern. The prisoner had escaped. He already knew who would be responsible. What mattered is what his people were going to do about it.

The guards on active duty could not leave their post, not until the guards of the other watch had awoken, adorned their gear, and streamed out to begin their search. This created a dead zone of inactivity in their reaction, where they ought to have taken to the streets and nearby surroundings, cut off any possible escape path, and narrow down the places to hide until they recaptured the prisoner. But those who were most prepared and should have been out the gates were caught to their posts, securing their positions and approaches into the interior of the home. The others came out, shouting for directions, for information, sometimes given contradictory information in turn.

She went that way! No, she went this way! She’s too weak to get anywhere far! No, she’s still here, hiding…

Pele was hardly gone a moment when Haarith came out into the courtyard, where several guards and his larger bodyguard, Marush, were debating their plan of action. The idiots were indeed too caught up with protocol. How many men do we take? Can we leave certain posts unmanned? What if…

”Marush, the prisoner’s escape is unacceptable.” Haarith’s voice cut through the commotion, stilling every tongue and voice.

Marush bowed low, down on one knee even. ”I shall find the prisoner, master. At once, at once!”

”Failure bears a heavy price, dog.” Haarith snapped, reinforcing his punishment by dehumanizing the incompetent lackey even further. ”Go and find her, or you will become useless to me. And useless things have a way of disappearing.” Go and find her, and don’t come back if you do, because your punishment will be legendary…

Nor will you be fit enough even for a Temple sacrifice.

There were no more words to say. Marush gathered half the men of the compound garrison, and along with hunting dogs given a whiff of the prisoner’s scent from the cage, at once set off, in the correct direction, in which the prisoner had fled. Only wiles and wit would keep her ahead of these skill blood hounds, accustomed to the hunt and chase of human flesh. It was a favourite past-time amongst the captains of Mordor, now readily picked up and eagerly partook in by the lords of men under His sway. They would find her, and they would bring her back, in pieces. Her, and anyone else who helped her.

But one of the dogs, despite corralling by two men towards the outer gates, kept on barking towards the house. For some reason, the hound seemed to think the scent had gone into, or originated, from within the home. Haarith frowned at that. Why was there danger…from the house? Was this suspected outside aid inside his home? Haarith turned, leaving the external pursuit to others, to investigate this strange circumstance within the house. While the Lord may take with one hand, He may also give with another, for it was said He could take darkness from the infinite Void and make something new of it. Perhaps this prophecy would be true in some strange way, in this case.

[Rillewen]

@Lantaelen

A mysterious, dark-clad figure

Luck seemed to be in her favor.. perhaps the other woman's as well. For the guards had put all their efforts into searching the yard carefully before deciding that the escaped prisoner was not still here. Then, unwilling to let their master know that the two posted at the door had, in fact, left their posts.. however briefly.. they'd hurried back and made sure that everyone was where they were supposed to be.. before raising the alarm. The four of them would adamantly maintain that none had left their posts, because they would all get in very big trouble if it was discovered that they had, in fact, done so. And that they'd all covered for each other. Which meant that the prisoner had more of a head start than they let their master know. If not for this, the woman from the cage may not have had time to get over a couple of walls before the dogs started after her. And dogs, of course, could not climb over walls, so that would hinder her pursuers quite a bit.

As for the thief.. she had come prepared for the dogs. In fact, she had been here before, and knew the layout of the mansion well enough to know her way to where the treasures were kept. Of course, she did not know that someone else had been accused and punished for her previous theft.

Once she was inside the door, and the door had been closed behind her, the woman pulled out a small sachet and sprinkled the contents carefully across the doorway. It was a blend of cinnamon and cayenne, ground very finely, and mingled with a careful amount of sand so as to make it appear like just something that had been tracked in by careless servants. But the strong spices would stop the dogs from following her scent as soon as they got to the doorway. She did not intend to rely fully on the decoy leading them away, after all. And dogs hated the smell of cinnamon, and the pepper made it difficult for them to smell much else.

Once she had accomplished this, the thief ventured further down the hallway. As she heard a commotion arising, she knew that the alarm had been raised. The yard would soon be swarming with people, and that meant she'd need to get out of sight until they had abandoned the hallways. Consulting the mental map in her memory, she hastily slipped into a broom closet and waited, listening. When all of the footsteps had faded down the hallway, and she could dimly hear the voices and commotion outside as they searched for the escaped prisoner, she cautiously peeked out and found the hallway empty again.

She hurried on down the hallway, taking a few turns after carefully looking around the corner. She had mentally gone over the route before coming here, so that she would remember exactly which way to turn at each crossing, and thus avoid any wrong turns and potentially getting herself caught simply because she wandered into the wrong room. And so, while everyone else was focusing on the chaos outside, trying to locate the escaped prisoner, the thief found her way to the entrance to Haarith's treasury.

---

@Pele Alarion

An unexpected passenger in the boat

The rocking of the boat awakened her with a start, but she kept very still. Despite not making a move, she was tense and holding her breath. Had she overslept? She had thought her hiding spot would be safe until just before dawn, when she'd planned on moving on to find another. But now... it was moving. Someone was rowing. The girl's heart was pounding, but she didn't dare move. The tarp hid her from view, for now. She had made sure of that before letting herself doze off. But for how long? Was this some fisherman, taking his boat to out to gather fish?

It crossed her mind to wonder if she could swim. If necessary, she might have to find out. But for now.. she tried to think. How far did this person intend to travel in this boat? Would the sun be up soon? Perhaps, she'd better make her escape soon, before they were too far from land. Very, very slowly, she eased a fold of the tarp down, just enough to peek out from under. She could make out a dark figure of someone rowing, but there was not enough moon for her to make out any other details. She could not even tell whether it was a man or woman, in this non-light.

She frowned to herself, debating what to do, fighting off the wave of fear that threatened to engulf her. She wondered how dangerous this person might be. Would he or she raise an alarm and send guards after her if they discovered the girl hiding here? But, if she remained where she was, she would be discovered soon enough, anyway. What to do?

[Pele Alarion]

@Rillewen, @Lantaelen


~ Struck Down But Not Destroyed ~
T.A. 3018

For a good while Pele put in all her effort to assist the current in moving the boat - and her - away from the danger of being recaptured. Her body was screaming at her to stop, but she willed herself to go through the motion of rowing again and again. She could hear barking of dogs and hoped that her weaving the way in and out of courtyards and over the walls would hinder their advance enough for her to be able to make the next step of evasion.

As she focused her gaze along the way she had come expecting another boat to come after her sooner or later, it seemed to Pele that the tarp in the further end of the boat moved slightly, and it was certainly not the wind. She looked closely for a while, and she thought she saw a glint of an eye under it. Or did she only imagine it? The Gondorian stopped rowing and tensed prepared to jump overboard if need be. If there indeed was someone and she was not hallucinating, it could not be the owner of the boat. A thief? A street urchin? An assassin?

"Hey," she finally broke the silence in half-whisper. "I see you. Who are you? What are you doing there?"

Pele was not sure if it would be worse if there was indeed someone hiding under the tarp, or if her eyes were deceiving her and she ended up being silly and talking to an empty space.

[Lantaelen]

@Pele Alarion @Rillewen

Lord Haarith Gimlân

The hounds caught the scent of the escaped prisoner quite rapidly. Indeed, Haarith spent more money on competent hounds as he had guards and personnel, as life was cheap in Umbar. But hounds could be truer to their nature, fulfilling their purpose as hunters, and the strong cordon of guards and their pack of braying dogs soon arrived upon the banks – forty-five heartbeats after Pele had gotten in the boats. But the shroud of darkness lay thick upon the water and while they could hear the motions of the boat, the lighting of the stars and moon played tricks on their eyes.

And the hounds continued to bark, scenting Pele, but unable to reach her because of the dark waters. They then split into two parties, one going up shore and the other down shore, to see if they might locate any renegade vessels floating along, out of place or uncommon at this late hour. Surely two or three men might be able to out-row a weakened prisoner, all on her own, from getting too far. All they had to do was fine a boat to commandeer themselves.

But it wasn’t long before they did spot a lone rowing boat. Just floating there. It would take another thirty heartbeats to fetch themselves a boat, to begin rowing out to it. That is, unless the renegade boat could pick up enough speed to pull ahead and be lost in the darkness…

---

Back at the villa, the sole hound along with two retainers armed with curved swords and long knives, explored the interior of the home. Why did this particular hound seem so concerned? They came to a crossroad, where several of the servants had been made to huddle and be locked down, so as to prove their lack of complicity in any such events. Whoever was not accounted for would immediately be branded a traitor and severely punished. And those who were in compliance…would receive pre-emptive punishments anyways, as per the nature of collective discipline.

But regardless of the outcome, examples were going to be made for this relapse in vigilance. Whatever the escapee and potential suitor might have intended, it better be worth it for the innocent lives about to pay for their skillful intrusion.

The hound did not veer towards the congregated servants, eliminating that notion of it simply being confused by the presence of another. No, it led the duo of guards inside, feeling the weight of Haarith’s will upon them even though he was out by the front gates still, out of sight and hearing. Was someone here? It could at least show diligence in securing the rear or flank, if the escapee did have a compatriot. Because how else could they have gotten out?

They were nearby, until the hound encountered the distractive ingredients, cinnamon and cayenne, which the hound eagerly sniffed up, tail in a most curious position. But the guards weren’t fooled. How did this happen? Whence came this? One of the guards angrily kicked the debris away with a foot. No, no servant could have been clumsy to waste this amount of spice ad herb. It was clearly a deliberately laid trap. Someone was here.

But it would take a second to pull the scent-hound away, which they did with a fierce, unhappy drag and tug of the leash.

The treasury of Lord Gimlân was bountiful…yet cumbersome. The room was bare, behind both a door and a cage gate, with a padlock on the handle. But any thief can get through that. Inside, there were heavy chests of coin and ingots, gold and silver, currencies of many realms and nations, from Erebor and Dale in the far north to the various minted coinage of Haradrim and Rhunnic kings and despots. Several heavy, two-handed jars of honey, incense, myrrh, and several other exotic goods from faraway lands, goods denied in Gondor because of the War. They would fetch a fortune on the black market.

But how much could one thief, alone and singular, possibly carry away?

But in the center of it all, on a small raised platform, seated upon a pedestal of jade and a bowl of onyx, was a bundled object, in black cloth. It was angular, the shape of a small sword, or dagger. And from it came an aura of ruin and decay. The air seemed so much colder about it, darkness seemed to curl in shadows. It was not of this world. And it’s value was more than anything in this room, more than the treasures and the exotic goods.

[Rillewen]

@Lantaelen

A mysterious, dark-clad figure

The dog's persistence was unexpected. The thief had never known of any dogs not to end up sneezing uncontrollably, and suffering from irritated nose, eyes, and paws, after encountering cayenne pepper, nor had she known of any to not turn away after getting a nose-full of cinnamon. Both were usually quite troublesome to canines, yet this one refused to give up. Impressive, she thought idly, yet also annoying. As a result, hearing the canine still in pursuit and not far behind her.. she resorted to another tactic.

Darting into the nearest room, which was currently abandoned, she opened the window and took out a length of her extra rope. She always carried an extra length, just in case. After securing it swiftly to something to make it appear that someone had climbed out of the window, she hastened back on her course, hoping that the scent trail would lead the dog in here. Its handlers would see the rope and assume she had already made her escape.

With that done, she hurried on down the hallway to the treasury. The padlock gave her no trouble at all, and she soon stood in the room, taking a moment to look around. She smiled. The sight of all that gold and silver and other treasures was quite exciting. Yet, her gaze was inevitably drawn to the ominous weapon featured in the room. The dark sense radiating from it made her want to shiver, and she couldn't help wondering what sort of person would want to own a thing like that in their home. While it might be possibly the most valuable thing in the room, she also knew that she would never be able to sell such a thing without risking it being traced back to her. Besides that, she had no interest in carrying such an item in her pack.

The gold.. well, it was very pretty and all, but far too heavy. The thief knew exactly what she was doing. This was by far not her first robbery, and she knew that while gold was valuable, it was also among the heaviest metals, and therefore, most difficult to carry away. So, while she admired it, she didn't touch any of it. Her interest was in any smaller, lighter-weight items that she could fit into her pack and not be encumbered by it. If she located any jewels and jewelry, those were swift to find their way into her pack. Certain exotic goods which could fit into her pack, did just that, and so forth. But unfortunately, she had to work quickly, so she couldn't simply take her time and select everything she liked.

Once her pack was loaded with as much as she could comfortably carry, it was time for her exit. She knew she'd be able to make a fortune just out of what she had, and while it was tough to have to leave so much behind, she didn't dare linger any longer to try and figure out a way to take more. She could already hear the dog and its handlers getting uncomfortably close...

---

@Pele Alarion

An unexpected passenger in the boat

The voice that spoke was most certainly female, but upon hearing it, the stowaway froze. She debated inwardly whether to keep still or reveal herself. Maybe the woman only thought she had seen her? Maybe.. if she kept really still and didn't move a muscle, the woman would give up and decide she was only seeing things. But yet.. about that time, she thought she heard dogs baying in the distance. Not nearly as distant as she would like, however.

The woman in the boat.. she had whispered, the girl realized. Was she fleeing from someone, too? After a few seconds of inner debate, she decided that even if this woman was a threat to her, she would rather face that threat openly, than to be hindered by the tarp. But she also.. somehow got a feeling that she was not a threat. She had spoken in the same language she knew, not these darker skinned people of this desert-like place. That seemed hopeful.

"Shh," The soft warning to be quiet preceded her slow emergence from under the tarp. In the darkness, her features would be difficult to see, but her hair seemed rather unruly, if anything could be distinguished about her. That, and she appeared to be rather small-framed, and it seemed very unlikely that she was an adult. "I could ask what you're doing," She pointed out quietly. "taking off with this boat, since I'm pretty sure it isn't yours. But.. by the sound of things, we've got the same goal." She glanced toward the shore, where the sound of dog pursuit was coming from. "I was just trying to get some sleep." She added, in answer to 'what are you doing there'.

[Pele Alarion]

@Rillewen, @Lantaelen


~ Struck Down But Not Destroyed ~
T.A. 3018

Realising that there was indeed someone hiding, Pele was split between jumping overboard and using an oar as a weapon, but she had wits enough to wait and not react immediately to the "shh". She gave a quick look over who seemed to be nothing more than a young girl deeming her not to be a serious threat at present. However, there were the dogs, and the boat pursuit to worry of.

"Look... this boat is my means to live," Pele then said hastily. "Sorry that you've ended up sleeping on the wrong boat, but now you are on it with me. Better help me with rowing, else you'll end up as dog chow along with me. Or taken as a slave. Or tortured." She began to row again hastily since the pursuers were approaching dangerously fast. "It'd be best to reach a port and disappear in the cover of ships."

Even if they parted ways as soon as they got reasonably far away from pursuers... they had to get away first to come to that. And Pele was very much aware that well-fed and strong guards would eventually outrow them in a long run for at least her strength would soon run out. But perhaps with joined forces they could get the initial burst to get lost, and then they could think of the next stage. One step at a time. Pure survival.

"Give me all the strength you have now," she urged the unexpected companion. "We can make proper introductions after. Or part ways on friendly terms without any."

[Rillewen]

@Pele Alarion

The Stowaway

As the woman said she should help with the rowing, the girl initially made no reply, although she did frown slightly. It wasn't that she minded helping, if she felt like she was able to. But she was still recovering from a lot of injuries.. which the woman wouldn't be able to tell, of course, as dark as it was. Neither of them could see each other very well. But as the woman continued speaking, the words made her frown vanish and her eyes widened in alarm. Slave.. tortured? She glanced down at her hands. She wasn't about to let herself get into a situation like that again, if she could help it at all. So, more running. More pain for the moment.. to avoid a lot more pain.

Carefully, yet as swiftly as she could, the girl shifted into one of the seats in the boat. She made sure to fold her feet under her seat so that there was no weight on them. Grabbing one of the oars, she cringed as she tried to adjust her grip so it didn't hurt her hands too much. "I'll do my best." She promised quietly. The girl's voice and accent definitely sounded like she was Gondorian. She gritted her teeth and began trying to match the pace of the woman's rowing, but found it very difficult, as she could only use her right arm properly, and both hands were in much pain.

Still, she tried and pushed herself to try harder, somehow managing not to make any noise to give away how much discomfort it gave her. Before long, it seemed to her that they were beginning to pick up a little speed. Fortunately, they were moving downstream, and not upstream. She could still hear the dogs barking, but it seemed that they were getting a little further behind. That gave her hope that perhaps she and her unexpected companion might be able to get away.

[Lantaelen]

@Rillewen

The guards cursed at the distraction caused by the scattered herbs and scent, which seemed to have thrown the dogs right off the track. But how hard could it be to get it back? Not that they rightly understood scent hounds and how smell functioned. They figured a short direction away from the lure, the scent of the nearby thief would be found and resumed. And they would get right into their presence soon enough, perhaps right in the middle of the act. Then they would be the heroes. So they urged the hounds on to lead again.

Their theory seemed proved when the hounds got right on the run again with little urging, beyond the bait scents, hurrying to a nearby room. Up the stairs, where the left went right to the treasury. But the right went to an open room. And where the decoy scent path led to. The guards couldn’t tell the distance and felt like they could smell it too, which at once invalidated any concerns or pathfinding the hounds might do, because how smart could they be? They burst into the room and saw the open window and the rope tied thither.

They made the assumption. The thief just escaped! What came next was another loss of precious time and energy as the two men looked at one another and began to argue. There was only one Master who made the decisions and slaves who followed. Almost none under the Lord had any sort of power to make decisions, which showed now, as the two men got into a debate whether they both should go in pursuit, or stay here and try to signal someone else. It took almost a half minute to make the correct compromise decision. One of them went down in pursuit and warned the others. The other would remain here and patrol.

So one, with a hound, went down, shouting the news that the thief was just escaped and was on the grounds, not inside! The other guard went around checking and securing what actually might be taken. This room seemed…fine, so he went off to check the treasury. If a little was visibly taken, maybe the guard could sneak a piece for himself. Times were hard and he had a family to feed. Coming into the treasury though, he let the hound off the leash while the guard began to methodically check every corner and alcove, to see if anything might be disturbed or left behind, while the hound would no doubt race towards whoever tried to come after, alerting the guard to another’s presence if there be one left…

[Rillewen]

@Lantaelen

A mysterious, dark-clad figure

Jewels, strings of pearl, jewelry and spices and all sorts of miscellaneous things.. she could hardly wait to take better look at the treasures she'd managed to stuff into her pack. But first, she must get herself out of this place. Perhaps, next time, she would manage her theft without first stirring up the hornet's nest. In retrospect, she probably would have been better off to simply knock out the two guards at the door and slip in silently, while everyone was asleep and not on high alert. But where was the thrill in that? She didn't rob people like this because she wanted a nice, safe occupation. If she wanted that, she'd.. well, probably move to another country, because let's face it.. nothing in Harad is really 'safe'.

With the dog and its handler busy in the room across the way, the thief swiftly slipped out of the treasury.. as much as she'd like to linger and look through all the treasures, she couldn't stay any longer. This was her moment to escape. At the point where the hallway intersected, there was a room at the center of the T. She entered it silently, closing the door softly behind her. Then she took a swift glance around. It was a bedroom... and not just any bedroom. It was his bedroom. Curiosity, for the moment, outweighed her sense of danger. The room was currently abandoned, so she took a quick look around. Was there anything valuable in here, perhaps?

A smile curled her lips, beneath the veil that hid her lower face. Silk sheets. How very expensive. Well-made silk was, in many cases, more costly than gold, and tremendously lighter to carry. And she had a bit extra space in her pack. Silk was easy to pack up compactly, and soon his sheets filled up that empty space in her pack. She was grinning to herself as she hastened back to the door, leaving him with a bare mattress and bare pillows, since she couldn't exactly leave the matching silk pillowcases. A few other items found their way into her possession as well. However, not daring to take too much time in here, she returned to the door and put her ear to it. It had only taken her a few seconds to stuff the lightweight fabric and other things into her pack, and she was in time to hear the conclusion of the guard's argument.

Rolling her eyes at their stupidity as the one guard hurried downstairs, the thief waited until she had seen the shadow of the other guard move past the door. For a brief moment, she heard the snuffling of a dog sniffing at the doorway, but it seemed that the guard pulled the hound away from the master's bedroom door. She waited a few seconds longer before cautiously cracking the door open. She could see his back as he moved toward the treasury room.

Stepping softly, she moved in the opposite direction; to the door of the room where she had left her rope. Down the hall in the treasury, she saw the guard kneel down to the dog and she realized he was letting it off its leash. Time to hurry, because she didn't think the dog was fooled by her trickery. Hastily, yet still silently, the thief hurried to the window and looked out and down. No one was in sight down below, thankfully. Swiftly, but careful not to lose her grip, the thief swung herself out of the window just as the dog started down the hallway, toward this room. The dog would bark at the window, but the guard would probably only roll his eyes and think the dog was too dumb to know anything. That was her hope, anyway. Before the dog had reached the window, she was gone.

Instead of climbing down, as the rope would indicate she had done, the thief climbed up. She found it more difficult, climbing without a rope, but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. When she had reached the roof, she paused to rest, ducking down behind some part of the roof that stuck up. From here, she could hear the shouts of those below, and, to some degree, she could even spy on them a little bit. Meanwhile, she kept herself ducked down low so that if anyone looked up, they wouldn't be able to see her. Now.. she had to think.

She decided that she would wait here, and see if maybe in a little bit, all the noise and commotion might die down. But, if it hadn't faded within a couple of hours, then she'd find a place to climb down and get over the wall. But honestly, right now, she felt safest nestled up here where no one could see her. They already believed that she had escaped and fled somewhere, so they would be focusing their efforts on picking up her trail. Hopefully, they'd give up after a little while. They couldn't keep searching forever, after all... and there was also that escaped slave to worry about, right? That was another benefit to herself.. if they had all forces working together to find her, then she might have a bit more trouble.

So, waiting it was. After making herself comfortable, the thief took the opportunity to check out the treasures she had acquired, and decided to pack it up a bit more efficiently. When she had finished re-packing everything, she found that it all fit much better than before, and therefore, would make it easier to carry. She just had to wait for the right moment to get away from here...

[Pele Alarion]

@Rillewen, @Lantaelen


~ Struck Down But Not Destroyed ~
T.A. 3018

The girl had complied with the plea - though it had probably come across more as a command - and had taken up an oar to assist. For quite a while Pele toiled in silence though she observed the unexpected partner with keen interest, as much as she could see in the cover of the dark. Then she took a look around their immediate surroundings as she planned the next step of escape - they would have to get out of the river sooner or later for it was likely that neither of them would be able to row endlessly.

"Can you swim? Can you run?" Pele asked, interrupting the silence between them, as she began steering the boat toward the shapes of several ships moored at the harbour. From the way the girl handled her oar she had concluded that she was not in top shape, perhaps someone who had been brought here against her will, too? And since they were now in the same boat, Pele felt that it was her responsibility to make sure they both made it out of it in one piece; it went against her sense of honour to leave the girl fighting off the dogs and their handlers who would likely not mind if they could grab someone, even if not the exact target they were after.

"We should get lost from here; and I need to know what you are able to right now. I'd prefer us to leave the boat near those ships and let it continue floating, but do tell me if you can't swim at all, else we'll both drown - I doubt I'll be able to save you at the moment even if I know how to," she said. She had thought of a couple options, but then again - it seemed that the girl was quite good at hiding too, having remained hidden in the boat for long enough without being spotted.

[Rillewen]

@Pele Alarion

The Stowaway

"Can you swim? Can you run?"


The question troubled her, and she remained quiet for a moment as she struggled with the oar. "I'll do what I have to." She answered at last, looking up at the woman. "But I don't know how fast or well I could do either of them." It was difficult to make herself admit, but when the woman had gone on to say how she needed to know what she was able to do, the girl realized that it would work against her to keep up a false bravado and claim she could do things she could not, currently, do very well.

"I.. I can't use my arm much," She admitted, with a nod toward the right one. Therefore, swimming would be very difficult for her, but not impossible if she really had to. "Just barely. And.. my feet are hurt. But I can manage, if we have to run." She added, looking down at her boots. Hopefully, they would keep her feet protected well enough. However, she had a feeling that if they did any running, that she'd end up needing to change bandages whenever they finally stopped. If they didn't get caught, first.

"If they've got dogs," She mentioned, speaking slowly and thoughtfully as she tried to think of something she felt she ought to know. "wouldn't they be able to follow our scent no matter where we go?" She frowned, trying to think of a way around that problem.

---

@Lantaelen

A mysterious, dark-clad figure

She didn't have to wait for too long, thankfully. From her perch up on the roof, the cat burglar observed the search parties returning, and gradually, the buzz died down. The lights in the house went out. She waited another half hour or so, just to be sure. Then, nodding to herself, the woman deemed it to be time to leave the premises. Technically, now might be a good time to sneak back into the treasury and steal a few more treasures, but then again.. knowing Haarith, he would've likely doubled his guard in there, and may even be expecting such a move. She decided it was best to simply make her escape, for real this time. She secured her backpack on so that it wouldn't jostle around, or worse.. fall off. Then she began to put into action the route she had plotted while she waited.

In a series of nimble moves, she dropped, summersaulted, and leaped her way from the roof all the way to the ground, making use of window ledges, awnings, flagpoles, or whatever else happened to be useable to make her descent easier. Once on the ground, she remained crouched for several seconds, blending with the shadows as she watched for the guards' patrol to pass by. After it did, she darted across toward the wall, and crouched near the thorny hedge. That might pose a problem. They had taken her rope, but she wasn't terribly surprised by that.

After waiting for the patrol to pass again, she made her way over to where she had freed the slave in the cage. There was still the cable that held the cage up high, and she smiled to herself as she waited for the right timing. Then she climbed, swiftly and nimbly, up that cable. Once at the top of the wall, the cat burglar stepped carefully along the top of the wall, avoiding the spikes and broken glass and things, until she reached the place where she knew the ground rose up just a bit. Just enough to make her fall not quite so far. From there, she could toss down her goods, jump down herself, and be on her way.

She rolled with the impact, and as she came back up to her feet, she rubbed one shoulder lightly. A glance around proved that no guards were in pursuit, nor had any alarm been raised. So, it seemed hopeful that none had spotted her as she made her way so carefully along the wall top. With a satisfied smile with her successful escape, the thief picked up her stolen treasure and set off toward the busy market, where she wandered in a seemingly aimless manner down many different streets... with the intention of leading any hounds trying to follow her scent around in circles.. before finally disappearing into a laundry place, where a trusted servant awaited her, to aid her in whatever way she needed. She emptied the contents of the backpack into a basket which would appear to contain nothing of interest. After hiding the empty backpack and dark clothing under the boards of the laundry, she washed up, changed her clothing, and altered her scent as well as could be.

An entirely different-dressed woman exited the laundry a while later, stopping at a tavern for a little while. Her treasures grew somewhat during that period, while a *certain sea captain's treasures diminished to nearly nothing. Likewise, her smile of satisfaction had grown by the time she exited the tavern and continued her way home, feeling quite pleased with her night's work.


*making reference to a side plot previously discussed with @Ercassie, involving Uhta Halsad

[Pele Alarion]

@Rillewen, @Lantaelen


~ Struck Down But Not Destroyed ~
T.A. 3018

Pele took note of the information the girl provided on her condition, and for a moment considered if she should say that she was on the verge of collapse as well and was only going spurred on by pure will to live and adrenaline.

"We will have to do somehow then," she concluded instead and added: "I am not in top shape either. But I want to live, and I assume so do you."

For a while she rowed in silence and guided the boat towards the deeper darkness between two moored ships as she thought on dog pursuit.

"Yes, dogs might be difficult to trick. But perhaps their handlers are not as smart and might eventually give up if we persevere and make pursuit difficult for them," she said. "I think we should get out here, push the boat back out - perhaps they will then think that we are still hiding in it and chase it for a while. Then... fences, change of clothes, if we can mix in with some sort of other scents... anything goes. But we should get out of the city before full daylight," she offered the plans. It seemed that they would not be able to rest until such time when the barking of dogs was not following them any more.

She moved the boat alongside a free spot on the pier, looked around to see if there were no people there, night guards for the ships, even homeless folks. "Right, get out," she motioned towards the pier. "Let's get out of here..."

[Rillewen]

@Pele Alarion

The Stowaway

The plan the woman suggested sounded good, except for one thing. Fences? The girl looked across the boat at her in silence for a moment, wondering how she would possibly manage to climb anything like a fence, in her current condition. She figured the woman must be in better shape, or she wouldn't be talking about climbing things.

She frowned slightly as she continued to do her best at rowing. Doing her best to ignore how much it hurt her hands to try and operate the oar. "There's guards in the city." She informed the woman, in case she didn't realize this. "We'll need to avoid them."

Soon, they were pulling up to a pier. The order to get out was met with a glance from the girl, who frowned slightly. That was easier said than done. Gritting her teeth as she prepared to shift weight onto her feet, the girl tried her best not to wobble the boat, and somehow managed to step onto the pier without making any embarrassing whimpering sounds or the like. She took a few slow breaths while she waited for the woman to join her.

"Careful," She whispered to her, once they were both on the pier. "All these ships around us are full of.. not-so-nice men." She really wouldn't want for any of them to be alerted to their presence, as the two females would surely be outnumbered very quickly, and neither of them were in the best condition to try and fight. After a little hesitation, the girl added, "You lead the way wherever you think we should go. I'll do my best to follow." She had no idea how hard it would be to keep up with the woman, but she didn't really want to be left behind.

[Pele Alarion]

@Rillewen

T.A. 3018, Umbar

"Yes, the guards, but perhaps more options than becoming sitting ducks in the middle of river when our strength runs out," Pele commented, and after a while added as she shook head and smirked at the impossibility of the situation. "From frying pan into the fire."

She said nothing and only observed her companion when the girl did her best to get safely onto the pier. Putting up a brave act, judging from the bits of information Pele had been given on her condition. Soon she had done her own part of leaving the boat and letting it float away, and then looked around at the ships to see if she could spot any visible watchmen.

"Let's see what can be done," Pele said and then sighed, near inaudibly: "We might need a miracle to get out of this snake pit alive though."

They would have to either find a hiding spot within the city itself or leave it behind and hide outside it before the morning hours when all the activity would start.

"Do you know the streets here?" she asked the girl over the shoulder as she began moving forward, seeking out the cover of any shadows she could find, slowly, and always keeping a watchful eye on the surroundings. She preferred to see the danger and avoid it if possible rather than it taking her by surprise.

[Rillewen]

@Pele Alarion

The Stowaway

The girl didn't know why the woman was talking about frying pans and fire, but she didn't ask so not to make any undue sounds. She was well aware of all the corsair ships docked all around them. They were lucky it was around the time that such men often went to taverns to enjoy their evening, and that they probably wouldn't be back for some time yet. And yet.. there were still sentries left on the ships. That much she knew, from having previously attempted to snatch a bit of food off some ship that had been near where the boat had been. She had nearly been caught and had had a very difficult time getting off without being spotted. Thus, why she had crept under the tarp to hide and recover from the ordeal. Falling asleep had been a bit unintentional.. but her body probably needed the rest very badly. Healing from wounds was rather tiring stuff.. or so she felt as if someone had told her that, at one time.

Casting a green gaze all about the vicinity where the two of them stood, the girl was trying her best to focus on all that she could see, hear, and sense around them.. as a means to distract herself from her pain. Her companion's question made her turn her head to look at her, now. "No," She whispered with a little headshake as she set off after her. "I.. I don't think I do." She added, with a little confusion. She quickly found that creasing her forehead in a contemplative expression caused pain to the wound on her forehead, which was hiding under a bandage. Actually, the wound wasn't 'hiding' very well, since a bit of blood had through the bandage and dried up, thus announcing that it was there. The girl didn't know this, but suspected that it might have done so. There wasn't much for her to do about it, though.

On the dock, there were lanterns hung at regular intervals to help people see where they were going, presumably this was either for the people assigned to load and unload cargo in the dusk hours of evening and early morning.. or perhaps for the crewmen returning to their ships late in the night, after spending the evening in a tavern or something. Whatever the case, the girl thought it best to avoid getting too near these sources of light. Yet, she was able to get a little better look at the woman she was following while they passed within range of one of these, before finding themselves in the shadowed areas again.

It seemed that her companion had thought the same thing about the light, as she seemed to be seeking shadows to hide in whenever possible. The girl trailed along as well as she could, walking with a sort of stiffness that made it obvious her feet were in a lot of pain with every step, despite how hard she tried to hide it. If it was possible to limp with both feet, the girl had found a way to do it. Clenching her jaw tight, she managed not to gasp or cringe as she felt as if her oversized boots must be filling with blood from the cuts opening up. No, she told herself. The bandages and salves on her feet would keep that from happening... hopefully. It just felt worse than it really was, she told herself.

"Wait," She whispered swiftly to the woman as they prepared to move forward after pausing in a shadowy spot, barely catching the sound of movement from somewhere ahead of them. After a moment, an armed man leaned against the wall at the corner of a building, a few yards beyond their current location. Close enough to see them if it had been daylight, but thankfully, the shadows hid both parties from each other. Was he waiting for someone, she wondered? If they could only just see him, did that mean he could see them? Ducking down a bit lower into the shadows cast from a nearby ship, the girl watched intently for a moment, straining her eyes to see into the shadows where he was lurking, while hoping the woman would do the same. Was he a guard? Was he a pirate? Something else? She couldn't tell anything about him. Keeping her arms wrapped close to her middle, she waited, tense and expecting him to become aware of them at any moment, wondering what they'd do if he did.

[Pele Alarion]

@Rillewen

T.A. 3018, Umbar

Pele wanted to move forward faster, yet she looked back over her shoulder now and then, adjusting her step to the companion's ability to move. It might be safer for each of them alone, and yet... there might be strength in their joint effort - they could tend to each other, come up with better solutions for finding necessary resources. She looked back yet again in some doubt. She had all but made a promise to herself to look after the girl as much as it depended on her, so she would.

She was about to move off from the relative shade they had found in search of the next one, when 'wait' made her stop in her tracks and peer ahead. There was a figure leaning against the wall further ahead. Pele moved as imperceptibly as she could to blend better with the shadows. Now, if she had something to throw and turn his attention away... She was not eager to part from her water skin - it still contained some of the precious water. Nor did she wish to part with the few edibles she had saved in the pouch. If she searched the ground for something to throw she was sure to draw the man's attention.

The other option was to go all out and act a part of a slave sent on a mission by a master. Though she was not sure how credible that would be at this hour, and considering all... Still in doubt, she waited for the man to make a move one way or another, though it would certainly be a disadvantage if they had to remain here for much longer. It would not do to meet a horde of drunk sailors returning to their ships.

[Rillewen]

@Pele Alarion

She was quite relieved when the woman heeded her warning and remained safely in the shadows. Whoever was ahead, the girl did not think he seemed like the sort of person who would help them. Quite the contrary, she guessed. She bit her lip as she struggled to endure the pain building in her feet. She wanted to shift her weight, but she didn't dare, lest her boots make some noise that might give away their location. Her heart raced in her chest, watching, mentally willing the man to go away.

Instead, someone else approached, wearing a dark cloak with the hood casting his face in shadows, and spoke to the other man in a low voice. "Well?"

"Nothing, sir. No sign of her. There's been no one but the sailors going by, all night."

The hooded young man was quiet for a moment. "Keep watching. I suspect she may be nearby, and if she slips past you.. you will sorely regret it." He warned, and started to turn away. Then he stopped and turned back. "On the other hand, the one who brings her to me will be rewarded.. handsomely. Remember that." With that, he turned and set off up the street eventually being swallowed by the night once he had gone far enough.

Hearing both the warning and the promise of reward, the guard straightened up and seemed much more eager to be attentive to his post, now, casting his gaze around, apparently intending to be far more alert.

Observing and overhearing all of this, the girl felt chills all over, reminding her of a danger which made it easier to forget her pain. They were much too close to that conversation for her comfort. Her green eyes remained glued on the hooded man for the entire time he was in view. Only once he was no longer visible did she switch her gaze to the guard. They had to sneak past him somehow.. lure him away, maybe. Without getting caught. She glanced briefly at the woman, swiftly trying to think of some plan. She was starting to wish that they hadn't fled from the boat, but then, looking down the channel, she thought she imagined more guards lurking there, all along it. Perhaps they would have been in a worse situation, had they remained in the boat.

A few ideas passed through her head, but most were impossible for her to accomplish at the moment, given her current condition. She leaned closer to the woman. "I got an idea.. I'll be right back." She whispered as quietly as possible, then moved off back the way they had come, with all the stealth she could manage. Which was not as much as she would have liked, but somehow, she managed to succeed in not drawing the man's attention after her.

She desperately hoped this plan would work. And that the woman wouldn't end up leaving her behind or something.. or get caught, or that the girl might get caught.. or any other possible ways this could turn out. Cautiously, she approached the last lantern that they had passed on the dock, and looked around to make sure that no one was around to spot her. Fortunately, the spot where the guard was posted was blocked from her view, which meant his view of her would also be blocked. No one else appeared to be around to see her, fortunately. Now, came the difficult part. She couldn't really use her fingers, but she eased her whole hand under the loop by which the lantern was hung, and then used her other hand, palm upward, and gently slid it underneath the lantern to support it as she lifted it off of its hook. That wasn't so hard, but the next part might be. Still, she was willing to try it if it meant they could slip past him. She definitely felt like it would be a bad idea to reveal either of themselves to the guard.

Lantern held awkwardly between both hands, one on top and one underneath, the girl moved closer to one of the ships, making sure that it wasn't one that she recognized, shifting her hold on the lantern so that the bottom of it balanced on one shaky palm as she gently removed her other hand from supporting the top. Then, bracing herself for whatever pain it might bring her, she flung the device upward, toward the ship before her. As it crashed onto the deck, she moved for the safety of the shadows as swiftly as she could manage. By the time she had returned to where she had left her companion, small flames had begun licking the deck of the ship.

As soon as he heard the shattering glass, the guard had turned and stared in shock toward the ship, frowning as it soon became evident that it had caught on fire. "Hey! Hey, someone!" He tried to call for some aid. "Fire! There's a ship on fire!" Apparently, he was the only one around within calling distance, however. He hesitated for just a moment before realizing that the fire could spread and destroy the entire harbor if no one dealt with it. He ran toward a nearby tavern to warn the sailors inside that someone's ship was on fire, and to enlist help in putting it out.

"Now.. go!" The girl whispered urgently the moment she saw him start for the tavern. This was their chance.. there wouldn't likely be any other after this. If they could hasten past that section of the street, maybe they could find shelter somewhere before the docks became swarmed with men trying to save their ship... of course, in afterthought, maybe it hadn't been the best plan, but with any luck, it would work.

[Pele Alarion]

@Rillewen

T.A. 3018, Umbar

Pele felt desperation rising as the man did not appear keen to move away, and if that was not enough another joined him. She made herself breathe in and out slowly and calmly, counting to five between each inhale and exhale as means to keep her wits around her and keep focused. She listened to the conversation between the two men and wondered whether they were after her or the girl whose sleeping quarters she had taken off with. At any rate, the voices did not seem familiar.

"Wait..." Pele whispered back, a moment too late, when the girl was already on the move back. She waited and tried to think of a couple solutions in the case the man would notice any movements and come towards them. But nothing seemed to happen until there was a noise as if something was thrown. Not daring any sudden movements of her body, the Gondorian merely shifted her head just enough to see the reflection of flames on one of the ships, small though it was at first.

"Neat!" she expressed her admiration to the girl when she returned, and then set off without delay as soon as the guard had gone to recruit some help. She moved fast, yet only enough so that the girl would be able to keep up with her. "Let's hope the shadows of the buildings will aid us," she said, once again checking over her shoulder to see if her companion was still with her. There was a hope now that the whole fire affair might also put off the dogs if they eventually figured out that Pele had come ashore somewhere hereabouts.

[Rillewen]

@Pele Alarion

Gritting her teeth together, she hastened along as well as she could, doing her best to keep up with the woman. She did not know the city, and had only really had a brief glimpse of the harbor, before, when she was sneaking off the ship with the boy. And now, when she was traveling through it with this woman whose name she didn't know. The city was even more unknown to her.

As they moved through the streets, they tried keeping to the shadows as much as possible. The city seemed to move uphill, and she felt some strong reservations about going too far uphill. Yet, it was also important to get far enough away from the docks that they wouldn't be discovered. Occasionally, they had to take a turn down an alley to avoid people, and the girl was feeling rather anxious about how many people might be out looking for her. She remembered the man saying something that seemed to indicate that the man they had avoided by the docks might not be the only one posted somewhere to look for her. She was certain the young man who'd given those orders was the same guy that her sailor friend had been helping her evade, back on the ship. And she definitely didn't want him finding her.

Pausing at last as they reached a dark alley, she paused. "Shouldn't we find a place to hide?" She asked, hoping for somewhere to rest. "Lay low, until they stop searching?" She motioned to a door in the wall near her. "Maybe, if we could find one of these buildings that's empty, and if we could get inside it, we could hide until tomorrow night or something, and maybe they'll give up by then?" She could only hope, right? Besides.. she was really hoping the woman might be able to help her with her shoulder and hands, but they couldn't do anything until they stopped moving. And she couldn't be as much help until she could use her hands properly, again.

"We could take turns keeping watch," She added softly, hoping to convince her companion that stopping somewhere was a good idea. She was fairly sure she had seen a few empty places here and there, although it could have just been businesses that were closed for the day. She didn't really know if such places would be safe to hide in or not. But maybe, if a place had an attic or a basement, they could hide out there until they had deemed it a bit safer to venture out? Maybe they could even gather some sort of disguises to wear.