Chapter eight: Thief of Bree
Thendryt hadn't been to Bree for years. The town didn't seem to have changed much though. The old streets were as busy as ever and the entire southern gate reeked of horse-dung.
The stables had seen better days. Bovad had taken one look at his spot in the stable, he had looked at Thendryt and the damn horse had decided that he was too good for the spot and, with all his might, he had tried to get out by pushing Thendryt backwards. Long story short, Thendryt had to pay extra for an cleaner stable.
He decided to go down to the market near the Ironmonger's Gate. If his memory served him well, that was a place where you could get solid information for little coin. As he walked the streets he got an uneasy feeling that he was being watched. He didn't see anything suspicious, people were going about their business, even if the streets started to clear with the coming of sunset.
He talked to a few merchants, mostly dwarves, about the two Warband members, but the merchants had no idea who they were or where they could be. Thendryt began to feel frustrated. Someone must know where they would be, they were supposed to be regulars in Bree.
That's when he saw it. The merchant he had just been talking to had a small mirror in the back of the stand and as he glanced down to it he saw the hand going for his purse. He quickly grabbed the hand, twisted it and brought the thief around and started talking towards Beggar's Alley.
"Let's take a walk. Make a scene and I'll break your wrist." He whispered, coldly. He twisted the hand a little tighter and continued on.
Once they arrived he walked towards an empty street, there he stopped. He removed the hood of the thief, a young woman, maybe a few years younger than himself.
"What's your name?" Thendryt asked as he threw her against the wall, then resting a hand on his hilt.
"Why should I tell you?" The girl replied as she held her wrist.
"I could go to The Watch, I'm sure they will be more understanding."
"Neyaa..." The girl said, looking away.
"Well, Neyaa, perhaps you can give me some information and I might forget what you just tried to do." Thendryt said, giving her a hard look.
"What makes you think I can help you?" Neyaa said, not meeting Thendryt's gaze.
"I'm searching for two Members of the Warband of Imladris, Killandra and Aeradin. They're supposed to be regulars but they're not easy to find."
"There's an Inn in the north-eastern part of town." Neyaa said, shrugging. "If you're looking for someone, they're either there or someone there knows where they are."
Thendryt looked Neyaa in the eye with a hard look. After a few moments Neyaa broke eye contact. She seemed to have told the truth, he thought. He threw a gold coin at her and walked away, leaving the girl in the alley.
Thendryt found the two Warband-members in the Inn. They introduced themselves and the three briefly discussed the reason of their summons.
After some time Thendryt got the feeling that he was being watched again. He looked around in the Inn and he saw a hooded figure staring at him from a corner. He could that it was a woman, but it didn't look like the girl from before. This woman had a different build, it almost seemed familiar. He looked over at a Man sitting on a table in front of him. Thendryt could tell that the Man had seen him look at the hooded woman. Thendryt took out another gold coin and discreetly shifted his head towards the woman. The Man nodded, stood up and walked a very convincing drunken walk towards the woman. When he was within range he grabbed the hood and pulled it backwards.
The woman reacted instantly, kneeing the Man in the groin. She quickly pulled the hood back over her face but it was too late. As she met Thendryt's gaze, it was obvious that he had seen her face. Thendryt was already walking towards her. She ran.
Thendryt chased after her, what was she doing here? He chased her to the closest gate, where she had mounted. She looked him in the eye a moment before urging the steed forward.
"Heoran!" Thendryt's voice echoed out in the night.
