Post by Tallaith on Jun 3, 2010 15:08:54 GMT -5
((This is a way to introduce Fellrod and Leasung so the initial posting is to be between the two of us. We'll open it up if needed. My first installment is not really the standard play-by-post format but sets the motivation and setting behind Leasung's actions. Fellrod... Feel free to take this where you wish and you'll be getting an IC letter in the game.))
Leasung looked between the letter in her hand and the purse of coins on the table, then back again. To make sure, she looked first to the letter... then to the money. And again. Neither seemed to pose any answers to the girl, no matter how many times she tried to figure out the meaning behind them.
Sighing, she pushed her chair back from the long table and slipped the money and the sheet of fine parchment in her pocket. It was close to midnight and the house, for once, was quiet. The teeth-gnashing Hobbit was long since asleep, sharing a bed with her baby nephew, and Leasung had finally found a moment of privacy to read the strange letter from her cousin.
Ceallian was not known for her cunning or wit. At least not to most folks. She appeared only to be what people wished to see her as: sometimes a simple farm-girl, sometimes a beacon of hope with the face of a beloved wife or sister or mother, sometimes a beautiful maiden that every male wished to bring to his bed. But Leasung was starting to figure out her cousin's duplicitous nature and see through the interwoven layers of intrigue and complicated alliances and friendships she'd made.
This letter, and the hefty purse of money, was just another riddle of Ceallian's true intentions for her younger cousin, Leasung.
Maybe it runs in the family, Leasung laughed to herself as she went to the bedchamber she and Ceallian shared. To be more than what you seem to be, and nothing that folks hope you are.
She immediately began gathering her things to depart. She could easily buy what she would need for her journey out of the coins in the purse, but above all else Leasung had a passionate desire for wealth. After growing up with so much privilege that she had no understanding of her lucky life, she had only recently learned what it was to not have something simply for the asking. She understood hunger, coldness with no welcoming place to sleep, and the brutal disinterest of strangers met on the road.
No one but Ceallian would know she had so much gold; to preserve it, Leasung could easily use her own skills in evasion and misguiding perceptions to have others provide for her needs along the way. She had always been a clever liar. Her name, which meant "lies" or "fables" in her native tongue, was even a jest made by her grandmother, which had lasted so long in the family that she had eventually just adopted it as her true name.
Leasung had her pack readied in only a few moments. She paused long enough to scrawl a short note to the Hobbit, explaining that she would be gone for some time. This was a freedom Leasung particularly enjoyed in her new life. It did not come close to replacing everything she had left behind in her previous life; sometimes, she almost felt that when she was old, and had forgotten even the smell of the grass in her homeland, it still would not be enough.
Regardless, almost everyone she knew thought she was mad and half-stupid after her little misadventures in Esteldin. They allowed her indulgences like they would permit for a child, even including long disappearances when she abandoned all of her responsibilities and returned with no explanation. She was more than happy to let people continue thinking she was a fragile, addle-minded girl who was the victim of the world's cruelty. It made her own comfort much easier to attain.
The night sky was brilliant, almost illuminated so clearly she could discern every silvered blade of grass in the little yard of the Hobbit house. She efficiently readied her mare and stowed her things in the saddlebags. This was another thing most folks did not know about her, and she would not share as long as it prevented more work on her behalf. She could, as easily as some folks can sweep the floor or mindlessly prepare a cup of tea, care for her horse and tack. She also had a great gift for falconry, which was more readily known and her cousin's husband had even purchased her a rare eagle to begin her new mews. But, she thought to herself as she mounted the horse left the dreaming house behind her, no one could ever estimate the depth of that talent.
When she was far enough away from the house that no one would hear her, Leasung whistled for her companion, a great coppery eagle, to take heed that she was leaving. The huge bird was disinclined to travel much at night, instinctively finding a roost as the sun set, but would fly at her mistress's bidding and find rest in high places where she could keep the sharpest gaze on the girl. Leasung heard no call and saw no flash of shadow over the milky plate of a moon, but she knew the eagle was ready and dutiful.
As the horse turned on the road that would bring them to Bree-Land, Leasung slipped her hand into her pocket and cupped the little leather purse of gold coins. She was not sure why she was being sent to seek this Elf; Ceallian clearly thought it was important enough to persuade her younger cousin in the only way she knew Leasung could not refuse. But... Ceallian had never met him in person, nor did she know anything about him aside from his reputation. This was a matter Leasung could not wrap her formidable wit around; she was an expert liar, schemer, and self-preservationist but this was beyond her comprehension.
Even though she had not slept since rising at dawn the morning before, Leasung rode well into the night. Her blood thrilled with the anticipation of an adventure that she meant to actually seek. Half of her payment was in her pocket now. The other half was promised when she found the Elf and spent one week of her time with him. That kind of money would certainly purchase her passage back home; while she could never return to the courtly life of her grandmother or face her many disgraces, this much gold could buy her a tract of land to begin her own minor estate.
She stopped to rest a few hours before the sun crept over the horizon. Leasung had spent weeks perfecting the training of her mare to suit her needs. Now she goaded the horse into a limping plod and used this as a means to win herself a clean little cot in a farmhouse just inside the gates to Buckland. No self-respecting Hobbit farmwife could refuse to offer hospitality to such a demure, lovely young woman in these dark and dangerous times. And she was even traveling to Bree-Town to visit her ailing sister! This last tale earned Leasung a heavy and rich basket of food to strap to her saddle.
So the days passed, and even as the sun rose and set and offered many smaller confusions and clarities, Leasung was no closer to the meaning behind Ceallian's bidding. As she put more and more miles behind her, the girl's frustration grew into a tighter and tighter knot of heat in her chest. Eventually she had to put all debates and musings from her mind and focus instead on how best to garner the help of strangers on her travels. She made it a game to refuse to spend a single copper of her own money, and in fact began to make coin in the form of donations from sympathetic travelers who shared her road.
Ceallian had firmly insisted on the roads Leasung must take and the places where she must find rest and shelter. It amused Leasung, and made her heart hurt just the tiniest bit to imagine the fond consideration her cousin had used, that Ceallian had taken into account the younger girl's experience in traveling alone, her needs and what was required to make her comfortable, and even the amount of time it would likely take Leasung to reach Rivendell. The worst shelter and meal she found along her way was in a high, lonely pile of crumbling stones that was once a great fortress overlooking the Bruinen. The Elves there were wary, but welcoming, and she spent two days in a meager tent waiting out an early summer bout of rain.
She had been to Rivendell before but had never traveled there without companions. Ceallian's letter had even dictated the names of those she should ask after to ensure her safe passage and rest; while Leasung made no new friends, she usually found a pleasant bit of chatter near the campfire at dusk. The only time, Ceallian warned, that Leasung would be very much alone was during her passage through the High Moors. No person of any race made their home there and a misstep could lead her off the barely-marked path leading to Imladris and down into a valley that was rumored to be the nesting place of drakes.
Leasung was surprised and quite proud of herself when she reached the guardians overlooking the path that wound down into Rivendell valley. She had made it here by herself and without mishap, even padding her own purse a bit along the way. That was worth the sore back and smelly blankets from camping for three nights here in the spare and windscorched High Moors.
As her mare deftly descended to Lord Elrond's stables, Leasung tossed her pale hair over one shoulder and unclasped the glittering cloak pin from her robes. Ceallian had answered her greetings through the odd bit of jewelry, but offered no clarification regarding, or even acknowledged, her letter and Leasung's journey. She thought of putting it away in her pocket just to spite Ceallian, who was no doubt using it to spy on her progress. Then she thought better of it; Ceallian's good reputation would serve her well even in this welcoming place. Her sigh was nearly silent as she replaced it on her bodice.
Leasung was quickly settled in. Her audience with Lord Elrond was short and very satisfactory. She sweetly smiled, spoke softly, and accepted the gorgeous suite of rooms he offered her.
Now it was time to wait, and to listen. The Elf would arrive soon and a week in service was not such a long time to spend earning her own freedom.
It was not so bad a thing to spend her mornings in casual talk with other ladies, playing cards and having a lavish breakfast. It was also not a punishment to browse the libraries Elrond kept and borrow any book she liked. Nor was it unpleasant to spend her evenings, before the great, rowdy banquet that was supper here, basking before one of the great hearths in the Hall of Fire.
Leasung felt that she could wait here for ages, if needed. Though she ruefully reminded herself that her stay in the Homely House would be all too short in the end.
Leasung looked between the letter in her hand and the purse of coins on the table, then back again. To make sure, she looked first to the letter... then to the money. And again. Neither seemed to pose any answers to the girl, no matter how many times she tried to figure out the meaning behind them.
Sighing, she pushed her chair back from the long table and slipped the money and the sheet of fine parchment in her pocket. It was close to midnight and the house, for once, was quiet. The teeth-gnashing Hobbit was long since asleep, sharing a bed with her baby nephew, and Leasung had finally found a moment of privacy to read the strange letter from her cousin.
Ceallian was not known for her cunning or wit. At least not to most folks. She appeared only to be what people wished to see her as: sometimes a simple farm-girl, sometimes a beacon of hope with the face of a beloved wife or sister or mother, sometimes a beautiful maiden that every male wished to bring to his bed. But Leasung was starting to figure out her cousin's duplicitous nature and see through the interwoven layers of intrigue and complicated alliances and friendships she'd made.
This letter, and the hefty purse of money, was just another riddle of Ceallian's true intentions for her younger cousin, Leasung.
Maybe it runs in the family, Leasung laughed to herself as she went to the bedchamber she and Ceallian shared. To be more than what you seem to be, and nothing that folks hope you are.
She immediately began gathering her things to depart. She could easily buy what she would need for her journey out of the coins in the purse, but above all else Leasung had a passionate desire for wealth. After growing up with so much privilege that she had no understanding of her lucky life, she had only recently learned what it was to not have something simply for the asking. She understood hunger, coldness with no welcoming place to sleep, and the brutal disinterest of strangers met on the road.
No one but Ceallian would know she had so much gold; to preserve it, Leasung could easily use her own skills in evasion and misguiding perceptions to have others provide for her needs along the way. She had always been a clever liar. Her name, which meant "lies" or "fables" in her native tongue, was even a jest made by her grandmother, which had lasted so long in the family that she had eventually just adopted it as her true name.
Leasung had her pack readied in only a few moments. She paused long enough to scrawl a short note to the Hobbit, explaining that she would be gone for some time. This was a freedom Leasung particularly enjoyed in her new life. It did not come close to replacing everything she had left behind in her previous life; sometimes, she almost felt that when she was old, and had forgotten even the smell of the grass in her homeland, it still would not be enough.
Regardless, almost everyone she knew thought she was mad and half-stupid after her little misadventures in Esteldin. They allowed her indulgences like they would permit for a child, even including long disappearances when she abandoned all of her responsibilities and returned with no explanation. She was more than happy to let people continue thinking she was a fragile, addle-minded girl who was the victim of the world's cruelty. It made her own comfort much easier to attain.
The night sky was brilliant, almost illuminated so clearly she could discern every silvered blade of grass in the little yard of the Hobbit house. She efficiently readied her mare and stowed her things in the saddlebags. This was another thing most folks did not know about her, and she would not share as long as it prevented more work on her behalf. She could, as easily as some folks can sweep the floor or mindlessly prepare a cup of tea, care for her horse and tack. She also had a great gift for falconry, which was more readily known and her cousin's husband had even purchased her a rare eagle to begin her new mews. But, she thought to herself as she mounted the horse left the dreaming house behind her, no one could ever estimate the depth of that talent.
When she was far enough away from the house that no one would hear her, Leasung whistled for her companion, a great coppery eagle, to take heed that she was leaving. The huge bird was disinclined to travel much at night, instinctively finding a roost as the sun set, but would fly at her mistress's bidding and find rest in high places where she could keep the sharpest gaze on the girl. Leasung heard no call and saw no flash of shadow over the milky plate of a moon, but she knew the eagle was ready and dutiful.
As the horse turned on the road that would bring them to Bree-Land, Leasung slipped her hand into her pocket and cupped the little leather purse of gold coins. She was not sure why she was being sent to seek this Elf; Ceallian clearly thought it was important enough to persuade her younger cousin in the only way she knew Leasung could not refuse. But... Ceallian had never met him in person, nor did she know anything about him aside from his reputation. This was a matter Leasung could not wrap her formidable wit around; she was an expert liar, schemer, and self-preservationist but this was beyond her comprehension.
Even though she had not slept since rising at dawn the morning before, Leasung rode well into the night. Her blood thrilled with the anticipation of an adventure that she meant to actually seek. Half of her payment was in her pocket now. The other half was promised when she found the Elf and spent one week of her time with him. That kind of money would certainly purchase her passage back home; while she could never return to the courtly life of her grandmother or face her many disgraces, this much gold could buy her a tract of land to begin her own minor estate.
She stopped to rest a few hours before the sun crept over the horizon. Leasung had spent weeks perfecting the training of her mare to suit her needs. Now she goaded the horse into a limping plod and used this as a means to win herself a clean little cot in a farmhouse just inside the gates to Buckland. No self-respecting Hobbit farmwife could refuse to offer hospitality to such a demure, lovely young woman in these dark and dangerous times. And she was even traveling to Bree-Town to visit her ailing sister! This last tale earned Leasung a heavy and rich basket of food to strap to her saddle.
So the days passed, and even as the sun rose and set and offered many smaller confusions and clarities, Leasung was no closer to the meaning behind Ceallian's bidding. As she put more and more miles behind her, the girl's frustration grew into a tighter and tighter knot of heat in her chest. Eventually she had to put all debates and musings from her mind and focus instead on how best to garner the help of strangers on her travels. She made it a game to refuse to spend a single copper of her own money, and in fact began to make coin in the form of donations from sympathetic travelers who shared her road.
Ceallian had firmly insisted on the roads Leasung must take and the places where she must find rest and shelter. It amused Leasung, and made her heart hurt just the tiniest bit to imagine the fond consideration her cousin had used, that Ceallian had taken into account the younger girl's experience in traveling alone, her needs and what was required to make her comfortable, and even the amount of time it would likely take Leasung to reach Rivendell. The worst shelter and meal she found along her way was in a high, lonely pile of crumbling stones that was once a great fortress overlooking the Bruinen. The Elves there were wary, but welcoming, and she spent two days in a meager tent waiting out an early summer bout of rain.
She had been to Rivendell before but had never traveled there without companions. Ceallian's letter had even dictated the names of those she should ask after to ensure her safe passage and rest; while Leasung made no new friends, she usually found a pleasant bit of chatter near the campfire at dusk. The only time, Ceallian warned, that Leasung would be very much alone was during her passage through the High Moors. No person of any race made their home there and a misstep could lead her off the barely-marked path leading to Imladris and down into a valley that was rumored to be the nesting place of drakes.
Leasung was surprised and quite proud of herself when she reached the guardians overlooking the path that wound down into Rivendell valley. She had made it here by herself and without mishap, even padding her own purse a bit along the way. That was worth the sore back and smelly blankets from camping for three nights here in the spare and windscorched High Moors.
As her mare deftly descended to Lord Elrond's stables, Leasung tossed her pale hair over one shoulder and unclasped the glittering cloak pin from her robes. Ceallian had answered her greetings through the odd bit of jewelry, but offered no clarification regarding, or even acknowledged, her letter and Leasung's journey. She thought of putting it away in her pocket just to spite Ceallian, who was no doubt using it to spy on her progress. Then she thought better of it; Ceallian's good reputation would serve her well even in this welcoming place. Her sigh was nearly silent as she replaced it on her bodice.
Leasung was quickly settled in. Her audience with Lord Elrond was short and very satisfactory. She sweetly smiled, spoke softly, and accepted the gorgeous suite of rooms he offered her.
Now it was time to wait, and to listen. The Elf would arrive soon and a week in service was not such a long time to spend earning her own freedom.
It was not so bad a thing to spend her mornings in casual talk with other ladies, playing cards and having a lavish breakfast. It was also not a punishment to browse the libraries Elrond kept and borrow any book she liked. Nor was it unpleasant to spend her evenings, before the great, rowdy banquet that was supper here, basking before one of the great hearths in the Hall of Fire.
Leasung felt that she could wait here for ages, if needed. Though she ruefully reminded herself that her stay in the Homely House would be all too short in the end.