@Lantaelen @Pele Alarion
"Traelion" with
Rhovan
Racetrack
Linn smiled politely at the other competitors as she made her way toward Gaer, and mumbled, "Good race," to a few of them in a low voice. She was trying not to let on how surprisingly rough some of the 'congratulations' from some of the fellows turned out to be, for her. She was glad she was holding onto her horse's halter, as it provided her an aid to keep from stumbling over. Still, she managed to keep a grin on her face as she stood beside her steed and received a very girlish-looking wreath to wear upon her head. Funny, that it had likely been meant for a man, since the lady with the black horse was the only female who had officially entered the race.
For a brief moment, Linn was concerned as she realized that it was meant to go on her head. Would that mean she had to take off her helmet? That would be disastrous, right? She hesitated when asked to knee, and looked at Gaer with a slightly questioning look in her eyes, but she did as instructed, trying to hide her worry. She was well aware of her brother, hanging out in the stands, after all. But, as it turned out, the wreath had been made a bit large, and it rested easily enough on her helmet, so she need not reveal her hair, braided and pinned up, beneath the helmet.
As she rose to her feet, smiling, Linn glanced around in gladness at the cheering. The coin purse was an unexpected bonus she had not been expecting, and she was already trying to think of how she could put it to use in her secret investigation. She'd save it back for when it might come in useful. Also, she decided, she'd give a portion of it to the real Traelion, for letting her use his name and impersonate him like this. But as happy as she was to enjoy the celebration a moment longer, she was anxious to get back to the stable so she could hastily transform back into Dulinneth, and let Traelion resume his role as himself...
before her brother started to check into anything.
But, as she waited for an opportunity to hasten off to the stable, Gaer signaled to her to wait. Wait? Why? Didn't she realize Linn needed to
hurry? This was her best chance to get to the stables before anyone else! She'd only have a few brief moments before the stables would be filled with the other racers, putting their horses back in the stable. Her anxiety grew a bit with each passing moment. Her gaze flicked to where Togg had been sitting in the stands, and she saw that he had started making his way toward her, which of course made sense, as he would want to speak with and congratulate the rider who had represented his family. But still! That could be catastrophic for her. He was coming over here! The crowd was dispersing, and he wouldn't have anything to hinder him now.
Finally, Gaer spoke quietly to give her the message... that he was here. That he was wondering about her and her horse. Linn already knew that, and had guessed the other, by the fact that he looked so interested. But now she had been delayed.. it was going to be a whole lot harder to get changed, now. She would have asked Gaer to see if she could stall Togg, but she did not get a chance before her friend had moved off to greet others, so not to be seen lingering too close to Linn.
Trying not to let on about her anxiety about her predicament, before she set off for the stable, as briskly as she and her horse could manage, pretending like she had not seen Togg moving toward her. Rhovan needed a good rub down, and she had to get changed, quick.
Exiting the racetrack, Linn was greeted by her family's head stableman, Maerdor, who guided her hastily back to the stable, warding off any folks who still wanted to stop her and congratulate the winner of the race. As she and Rhovan stepped through the doors of the stable, she was a little dismayed to see that, sure enough, it was filled with other racers who had come to put their horses into their respective stalls. Linn glanced at Maerdor, but he seemed untroubled by this problem.
"Traelion, lad, will you go to the tack room please, and get the grooming kit for me?" He requested, taking hold of Rhovan's halter. "I'll take him."
Nodding, Linn headed straight for the tack room. To her relief, the real Traelion was waiting for her there with a bundle in his arms; her own clothing. She was pleased to note that he was already dressed in clothing that was a duplicate of her racing outfit, which apparently, Maerdor had thought of. "My brother's on his way over here," Linn warned him as she hastily took her helmet off and handed it to him, then grabbed the bundle from him.
"Noted," he answered, putting the helmet on hastily. "I watched the race. You did great!" He told her. "I'll take care of your horse." He added, then and hastened out of the tack room to let her change into her usual clothing.
Toggornir Talven
Horse Racetrack stands
As the herald announced that the winner had been riding for house Talven, Togg blinked in surprise. Well, that certainly confirmed that it was Linn's horse, but who was that riding it? A bit belated, he joined in applauding the win, since he now realized that it had brought honor to his own family name. Even though he'd had no idea they had anyone riding in it. He wore a slightly puzzled expression as he watched this Traelion boy receive the prize. His gaze scanned the stands once again, and saw no sign of Dulinneth anywhere. That was really odd, wasn't it? He was beginning to grow more and more puzzled as well as suspicious.
As soon as the prizes had been given out, Togg began to make his way down the stands. But there were some annoyingly slow people loitering in the way, and it took them a few moments before they finally cleared out of the way. He shot an annoyed look at their backs, but then proceeded on toward where the winner stood with Azrain. He intended to have a word with this Traelion lad, and see what all this was about, and on whose authority he had entered the race, and so forth. But, by the time he was nearly there, the lad was already hurrying off toward the stable with the horse. Togg frowned, and trailed along after. He had longer legs, and might have been able to catch up if not for someone stopping him to congratulate his family on the race.
By the time he managed to get away from that guy, Traelion had disappeared into the stable. Togg was a few minutes delayed as he, too, entered the stable. He found Maerdor and Traelion working together to groom Rhovan. Several other racers were in the stable, tending to their own horses. Togg ignored them and went straight to his own people. The young man working with Maerdor was definitely a boy, and not his sister. But was it his imagination, or was he just a bit taller than he'd thought? "Traelion?"
The young man turned and looked up at him with a little smile. "Yes, sir?" He still wore the garland on his helmet, and as he tilted his head up, it nearly sipped off. He hastily caught it and then held it in his hands.
"That was a good race," Togg commented. "You left them all in the dust, didn't you? Good job." He watched curiously to see if he had any knowledge of how the race had actually gone.
Traelion smiled at the compliment, but shook his head. "Thank you, sir, but it was actually pretty close." He disagreed. "That lady on the black horse, I thought she was going to win it, for a moment there."
Togg shrugged, and nodded. "Right, I suppose that is true." He folded his arms, frowning slightly. "You work for my family?"
"Yes, sir." Traelion nodded.
Maerdor added in, "He's worked for me in the stables for a few months now, sir."
"I see." Togg studied the young man. He looked sweaty, as if he'd been in the sun for a while. And a bit dusty, as one might expect from having just raced. "That horse you rode in the race, isn't that my sister's horse?"
"That's right, sir." Traelion answered with a smile. "He's a good horse. Very fast."
"So, I saw. And you handled the turn rather well, too. How'd you manage that so cleanly?"
Traelion offered a little grin as he went into explaining how a turn like that was managed, which he did happen to know a bit about.
Togg quickly grew bored of listening, once it became clear that the lad did actually know how to do it. "Well, you raced well. And you won... which is commendable. But what I really want to know is... on whose authority did you enter the race in the first place, using my family's name?"
"Mine." Dulinneth spoke up, entering the scene from behind her brother. She wore the same dress she'd had on during the joust tournament, and had undone her braids and wore her long, wavy hair loose down her back, having hastily run her fingers through it to get the braided look out. She smiled as she approached Traelion. "You did wonderfully!" She declared. "Rhovan looked happy out there, too." She added, affectionately stroking her horse's muzzle.
"Thank you, miss Talven." Traelion smiled and offered her the wreath. "It was fun to ride in the race. But you ought to have this, my lady. It was your horse who secured the win."
Linn held back a giggle, smiling as she accepted the wreath and then placed it carefully atop Rhovan's head, so that it nestled over his ears. "There. Now it is with the one who truly deserves it." She declared, before turning to her brother. "Did you watch the race?" She asked with an innocent smile.
"I did." Toff confirmed, raising an eyebrow at her. "And I did not see you in the stands anywhere."
"That's because I wasn't
in the stands." She rolled her eyes.
"The view from the stable's loft is excellent, sir." Traelion offered. "I thought she might prefer it than sitting in the stands, crowded by all those people." He explained.
Togg folded his arms and looked from one to the other, a little suspicious, but nodded slowly. "Right." He looked at his sister, recalling that there were others still there in the barn. "Come on, little sister. You'd best get out of this smelly barn, and come get cleaned up before dinner." He paused. "Besides, I want to talk to you." He added.
Linn frowned but allowed him to usher her out of the stable, casting one last glance back to see that Traelion and Maerdor went back to grooming Rhovan. She had faith that they would take good care of her beloved horse, and she held back a sigh as she walked along with her brother.
Togg stopped under a tree a little way from the stable and from the paths, so not to be overheard by anyone. He turned to her with a frown. "We need to talk."
"What about?" She asked, frowning slightly.
"You put a servant in the race, without telling anyone in our family? I'm not sure if you even have any authority to be adding people into competitions, little sister. But you should have at least told mother or father." He informed her, a bit annoyed, as he felt like it had made him look a bit ridiculous, not even knowing that his family had someone in the race.
Linn folded her arms as well, frowning. "Well, it doesn't really matter now. It's done and over. And, he
won. That's more than you can say about your jousting..." She pointed out.
Togg gritted his teeth in annoyance at that jibe. "I'm going to win at the archery contest, just wait and see."
"Oh, really?" Linn raised an eyebrow at him. "I wouldn't be too sure of that,
big brother. You aren't the best archer in the world, despite what you might think. And there's people here who actually do it for a living. King's rangers," She told him. "I heard they're really, really good. All you do is shoot poor helpless animals," She retorted.
"As if
you know anything about archery," He threw back, annoyed. "You're just a stupid girl, and you don't know anything. I'm going to win, and Azrain will see, and be incredibly impressed by my skill."
"Suuuuuuuure." Linn rolled her eyes at her brother's imagination, and tried to hide how annoyed it made her that he had called her stupid. "Keep on dreaming."
"You'll see, it'll happen." he told her confidently. "But I don't have time to keep arguing. I have to go get my bow and get down to the range, or I'll miss the tournament altogether." He turned and started briskly toward the castle.
Confused, Linn hurried to catch up. "But, wait... the archery tournament isn't until
tomorrow, Togg." She told him.
He rolled his eyes. "Well, that shows what an idiot you are,
sister dear. It's
today."
"No... it's
tomorrow." She insisted.
"I happen to know that it is happening
today, Dulinneth," He retorted. "I'm not falling for your tricks, trying to make me miss it."
"Togg, I'm telling you, the archery tournament is tomorrow. Today is only for the late signups, if you haven't already done that." She paused. "You
did sign up already, didn't you?"
"Of course I did." He snapped. "And it is
today, so stop delaying me. If you spent less time with that stupid horse, then you'd know what's going on at this thing."
Linn glared at him, annoyed that he would insult her horse. "The only stupid one around here, is
you. At least Rhovan knew when the race was, and he's only a horse. He doesn't even know how to read a schedule. You
do have a schedule, right?"
"Yes, of course I have a schedule, that's how I know when the tournament is. Obviously." He sighed impatiently, stopping in his brisk pace to yank it out of his pocket. "Look, I'll show you, if that's what it'll take to convince you." He flipped to the page which mentioned the archery tournament. "Look, see? Archery tournament, this afternoon." He then pointed out the exact time listed, and the location for the tournament, along with all of the other related information listed. "See?" He held the paper down to let his sister see, wearing a smug smile as he proved he was right.
Linn glanced at the page, then without a word, she pointed to the top of the page, where it listed... tomorrow's date. "You were saying?"
Togg blinked and looked closer. The smugness faded rapidly from his face as he realized his error, then he hastily shoved the schedule back in his pocket.
"Who's the idiot now?" Linn asked, allowing a hint of smugness to creep into her own tone.
"Shut up, alright?" He scowled. "Or I'll tell mother you were up in the stable's loft... with that servant boy." He added with narrowed eyes. "I don't think you'd want that."
Frowning at him, Linn watched him stride swiftly toward the castle and didn't follow any further. Instead, she looked around, finding herself strangely alone. She let out a little sigh, then laughed as she recalled the look on his face when he realized she was right. Shaking her head slightly, she was smiling faintly as she went to find Gaer again.
"Lord Ansellidus"
In his quarters, in the local inn
While the horse race is going on
A timid knock, made in a pre-designated pattern, alerted the man inside that the maid had returned. The door opened as soon as he could cross the room from where he had been standing by the window, and found him wincing slightly as he turned the knob a bit carelessly, forgetting his injuries. He took a glance up and down the hallway to ensure that the servant girl had not been seen knocking on his door, then beckoned her inside.
“Well?” he turned to her as he closed the door, and moved away from it. “Did you deliver it?”
“Yes, m’lord.” She answered shyly, fidgeting uncomfortably with her gloves.
“And?” He demanded, growing impatient of the girl’s shy and timid mannerisms. She never had been that shy around his wife, he recalled. Had he struck that much fear into her? In a way, that pleased him, but at the same time, it annoyed him.
“Lady Dimaethor said that her answer is ‘yes’,” She answered, a little unsure what it meant.
“Good,” He nodded, satisfied with that answer. “Now, this next message is even more important.” He informed her. “I need you to find
Tobedir Thormaetha. You’ll likely find him hanging around the falcon tent or something. Off in the hunting grounds.” He explained.
Merilda nodded and looked at him, waiting for the letter, or further instructions.
“He’s the younger one,” Mar added. “He’s..” He paused, thinking. “I don’t know, around thirteen or fourteen, I think. The older brother is the one who saved the little girl in the joust arena this morning, remember?”
“Oh! Yes, m’lord, he was quite heroic, wasn-.” She brightened up momentarily before catching herself as she recalled to whom she was speaking, and then ducked her head a little as if she might be rebuked. “Yes, m’lord, I remember him.” She settled for saying, instead.
Mar rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath, then motioned for her to pour him a glass of wine from the bottle that was on the table.
Merilda hastily moved to obey. “Where is the message, sir?” She asked quietly.
“This one is verbal. And make sure that his two friends aren’t anywhere around, when you deliver it.” He explained, before telling her exactly what to say. Once she had repeated it a few times, he nodded in satisfaction. “Just remember, he mustn’t be anywhere around either of those other two, when you tell him the message. Understand?”
“Yes, m’lord.”
“Alright then,
go.”
Merilda started for the door, then paused and turned back, tentative, but dared to ask. “My lord.. when I’ve completed this task..”
“What?” He frowned at her, annoyed that she had the nerve to ask him what he thought she was about to ask.
“You.. you told me you’d take me to Lady Alyssa, once I’d finished helping you. And I just wondered.. when?” She fidgeted, nervous that she might have invoked his wrath.
Mar stared at her, surprised that she'd gathered the courage to ask about that, then let out a sigh before taking a slow sip of his wine. “So, I did.” He recalled. “Yes. I think, after this, I will have no further need of you.” He nodded. “I’ll arrange ship passage for you. I know how much you miss her.” He hid a little smile behind the rim of his glass as he took another sip. He did not say that this voyage would take her to Alyssa, but she did not seem to pick up that fact.
Merilda smiled faintly in relief. She had been exceedingly worried about her lady over the past several weeks. “Thank you, sir. And.. what of my family?” She added, even more tentatively. “They… I mean, no harm will come to them.. right? I’ve done everything you said…” She added anxiously, nervously rubbed at the gloves on her hands.
Mar waved a hand dismissively. “So long as you complete this last task, your family is safe.” He hardly cared, in fact. “Just
go, and don’t mess it up.” He snapped. “Go on,
now. Stop wasting time.” His voice took on a slightly angered tone, and he watched her scurry hastily from the room, like a frightened mouse.
