(Continued from The Case of the Three Torches- Finding Elsa: Part 3)
As Elsa stepped out of the tent to snoop around the camp at the Hillshire Ruins, back in Bree a haggard looking Nethrida pushed open the door to the Pony and hastily entered, nearly colliding with Nob as he tried to exit the building. The hobbit looked up at the Gondorian woman to make his apology, but was stunned into silence upon seeing the flame-colored, angry looking bird perched on her shoulder. Before Neth could even open her mouth to offer her own apology, Nob had scurried past her, leaving the tired knight standing in the doorway, blinking in surprise.
“Don’t mind him,” Barliman called out. “He’s been more skittish lately than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.”
Neth’s attention turned to the barkeep and she sighed. "Might I have a pint of ale, Master Butterbur?" she inquired with a slightly hoarse tone as she walked forward and placed a few tarnished copper pennies on the counter.
Barliman nodded and turned to fill the order. As he poured the frothy brew, he looked over his shoulder and eyed the bird. "That's not another mouth to feed that you're planning on leaving in my care, is it?"
Azar ruffled his feathers at the barkeep prompting Neth to give the bird a few gentle scratches. "Worry not, Master Butterbur,” she responded with a slight chuckle, “this one is coming with me."
"Good,” Barliman replied in a sigh of relief as he slid the ale across the countertop. “I've got dogs, cats, birds, plants... at least the horses stay outside, thank the stars."
“And do you have a Ryn or Addie?” Neth asked as she picked up the mug.
“I saw Ryn leave just a little while ago,” he answered, “but Addie should still be in the back with that overstuffed knight. They’ve been waiting for you to show.”
Neth raised her brows in question. “Knight?”
Barliman nodded as he reached for a rag to clean the counter. “A menace to my business is more like it; tallest dwarf I’ve ever seen. He’s the reason poor Nob has been jumping at his own shadow.” Curious to see this knight that he had spoken of, Neth lifted the drink toward him in thanks for the information and then made her way toward the stairs. The barkeep watched her go, his eyes locked on the bird on her shoulder. "Maybe I should consider renaming this place," he mused to himself. “The Watering Hole?... The Weary Shepherd?... Ye Olde Animal Babysitting Services and Bar…”
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Neth wandered down the hallway toward the first dining area, but there was no sign of Addie or this mysterious knight, only the unfamiliar faces of a few patrons enjoying a drink and a private conversation away from the noise of the common room. She gave them a polite nod and turned to continue her search. After looking in every open doorway that she came across, she finally spotted the blonde sitting alone at the table in the back dining area. The woman didn’t seem to notice Neth’s approach; she was as still as a statue. In one hand she held a cup of cinnamon milk that had long cooled off and in the other she was clinging tight to bottom corner of the cream and silver cloak that was wrapped around her shoulders; however, her focus was elsewhere and she seemed to be studying some item that she had in her lap.
Neth stopped a few feet in front of Addie and attempted to get her attention by softly greeting her. "How are you, Addie?"
Addie startled, not yet realizing who it was that had spoken, and her first instinct was to cover up the sketch of the map she had in her lap, which she did by quickly pulling the end of the cloak over it. Once her crystal blue eyes looked to the source of the voice, she gasped and quickly stood to greet the woman. “Neth you’re here!” Addie cried out in joy, not seeming to realize that the notebook had fallen from her lap when she stood. “Are the others here as well? How are you? How are they? How was Fornost? Did things go as planned? Is Finchley free? You're not hurt are you? Is anyone hurt?"
Neth chuckled at the flurry of questions, but then her face scrunched up as she went to answer them. "I am here, Lif and Finch left for Evendim, and the others have gone their own way once we made it to the West gate...” She tilted her head to the left as she continued. “As far as I understand, everything went mostly to plan. Finch is free, but unfortunately we lost Sable."
Addie's brows furrowed. "Sable? I do not remember that name being spoken of when being informed of the three that were joining you for the journey."
Neth brought her hand up to scratch the back of her head, her expression turning to one of sadness. "She... was the sister of Cat. We found her outside Fornost, captured by orcs and tied to a post. In the end, she sacrificed herself to protect Cat."
"Oh dear... I am sorry to hear that," Addie replied as her gaze turned toward the floor. With a sigh, she bent down to pick up the notebook. "I'm afraid that we have lost one of our own while you were away."
Concern immediately flared up on Neth’s features. "What? Who? What happened?"
Before Addie could answer, a booming voice came from the doorway. "Lost? Not yet we haven't.” Addie startled once again and the notebook flew from her hand. “I swear to the lidless eye, my girl,” the voice continued, “you’re more depressed than a shaved warg.”
Recognizing the gruff tone, Neth’s eyes widened and she twirled around to salute the Captain, "C...Captain Kraddock?!"
Addiela went about collecting the notebook again while the other two got reacquainted. Kraddock nodded to his knight bachelor, his good eye gleaming a bit. "Nethrida… How was Fornost?”
Neth cleared her throat and slowly lowered her salute, but still stood at attention as she spoke. "Well, I doubt there would be many who would claim to enjoy such a trip, but I felt I had to... The ruins and I had... unfinished business." She nodded sharply.
The Captain shook his head. “I still can’t believe that insane elf dragged you to the back end of the world, all over her pet boy.”
"Boy?” Neth questioned. “Are you referring to Finchley, sir? Beg your pardon but Finchley is a woman.”
“Not that I have seen, he's not.” Kraddock replied.
Neth opted not to question or further challenge Kraddock's views on Finch and instead pursed her lips for a moment. Addie, however, didn’t seem to mind correcting him at all. “Neth is correct,” the blonde stated firmly, “Miss Finchley is a woman, not a boy.”
Kraddock waved his gauntleted hand at her, not appearing to care that much either way. “Anyways,” he said as he looked back to Neth, “you sure did take your sweet time getting back here.”
“Apologies, sir, we had been delayed in Trestlebridge; time was needed for recovery. I came as fast as I was able once I received Ryn’s message.” She reached up to give the messenger bird another gentle scratch under its chin and then looked over her shoulder to Addie. "What is this about losing someone?"
Kraddock sighed."Well, the Doves, as is their nature, have landed poor Addiela into a bit of a mess. In the process of that, we mislaid that other girl… Gerda's sister.”
"Miss Elsa.” Addie corrected. “Her name is Elsa… And it gets worse, Neth."
Neth furrowed her brow and took a moment to digest the information. "Mislaid… Elsa? And wait, the Doves are here too?" She slowly turned her head towards Addie and asked warily, "Worse how?"
Addie gestured for Neth to sit down. "I think we both might have a lot to tell each other."
“Maybe so,” Kraddock interjected, “but there’s something we need to take care of before you two settle in for your girl talk.”
Addie shook her head, "It's not 'girl talk' and I wish for you to stay as well."
The hint of a smile was visible on Kraddock’s lips after teasing Addie, but it quickly faded into a businesslike demeanor as he motioned for Neth to move closer. “On one knee,” he said and Neth swiftly obeyed. He held out a single white arrow to her and waited until her hand was on it before continuing. His voice held a great weight behind it as he began to recite the traditional words he had said to so many others under his service, “The Horn of Gondor has sounded, bright steel flashes in the vale. You have taken oaths, Nethrida of Linhir, are you ready now to answer them?”
Neth bowed her head and steeled her gaze. “I am. My life for Gondor, and to her peoples."
“Then rise, Knight; your sword serves the Vanguard until I snap that arrow and release you.”
Neth slowly stood up, and at attention "Yes, my Captain"
Kraddock patted Neth on the bird-free shoulder and then looked back at Addie. "Alright, now have your say, girl.
“What was all of that about?” Addie inquired. “Did you not already knight, Neth?"
Kraddock nodded to confirm. “Yes, I did, as Knight Bachelor; but I formally need to activate her, and deactivate her when done.”
Addie raised a brow in question. "Do you do that with all of your men?" Neth stepped off to the side so that she wasn’t blocking the line of sight between Addie and Kraddock.
“No.” The Captain answered, “Just with the Knight Bachelor.”
"I see.” Addie replied. “Would you like to fill her in on her mission, then?"
Kraddock shook his head as he pulled out a chair to sit down. “She knows her mission; it’s to do as I tell her. As for the rest, tell her what you need to.”
Addie nodded and then looked back to Neth with a frown on her lips. "Stand if you wish, but… you might want to sit down for this."
"What is it that has you so rattled?" Neth asked as she sat down, her own expression showing some concern.
Kraddock looked over to Addie as she moved to sit down beside him, and he nodded to offer her some encouragement. “While you were away, Miss Lyra approached me and Miss Elsa to ask for our aid in investigating the disappearances of several of her dove agents. In the midst of that, Captain Kraddock appeared with a locket…” As she explained, Addie looked down and took the edge of the cloak in her hands so that she could have it as a comfort.
Seeing that it was difficult for her to speak of, Kraddock cleared his throat to take over, “Lyra assumes that one of her agents snatched the locket off of her killer, right before she was fed alive to a group of pigs… It had a picture of you and some other girl inside."
Neth shook her head. "Poor thing... What a horri--" She was cut off by Addie who furthered the description of the locket.
"The pictures in the locket were of you and Anendyl, Neth..."
The color drained from Neth’s face only to come roaring back as she flustered with anger. "That Wraith bastard!" She gritted her teeth together and begun to pace back and forth. “I had that locket made when I received my commission... ‘Protected on land and at sea’ I called it.”
Kraddock looked back to Addie. "Give her that poor whore's diary.”
With a mournful sigh, Addie pulled Brunhilde’s diary from her satchel; after flipping it to the last few entries, she held it out for Neth to read. "This was written by the one that was found in the pig’s belly… He's here, Neth,” Addie stated plainly, referring to Mans, “and he's very involved with matters. Finding that locket and this diary confirms that he's already killed one of the Dove's spies and Captain Kraddock thinks he has reclaimed Kheledûl."
Neth looked rather concerned. "If he has,” she replied, “These lands have become far more perilous than we expected." She looked back down to read the pages and her face twisted in anger "Beth, huh?" she managed to stammer out before looking over to Addie.
Addie bit her lip and nodded to confirm as she continued to fidget with the cloak in her hands. “Our investigation also led us to a drop site for Mans' slave trade.” She took in a deep breath and looked up at Neth. “Do you happen to recall the voice we both heard while we were in captivity? We did not know who it was, but you immediately identified the accent to be that of a Gondorian?"
Neth tensed up and fell silent for a moment. "I try not to... But yes," she finally said after taking a deep breath and exhaling.
“His name is Garon. He was once the Executor of the Hounds before Gareth's time, but betrayed them. He is the one that has Miss Elsa…. He works for Mans now, overseeing the slave trade.”
Neth sprang up to her feet, fists clenched, and her face was void of all color "What?!" she blurted out, looking from Addie to Kraddock and back, her breathing considerably heavier from the shock.
Kraddock leaned forward and pounded his fist against the table. “Garon Coinspinner, he was stricken from the rolls by edict of the Steward. He is anathema and a foe of Gondor.”
“Then we have to find her, and fast!” Neth cried in a panic. “Elendil's mercy! I do not even wish to imagine what she must be enduring!”
“That's where it gets difficult...” Addie replied calmly, though her own expression carried the same worry that Neth’s did. She gestured to the notebook and opened it to the sketch of the map. "We believe that we know where she is being kept, however, Captain Kraddock is assured that Garon would think Miss Elsa to be Gerda.”
Neth’s face scrunched up a little "Who is Gerda?"
“Elsa’s sister and one of the best ranked assassins in Angmar; she works as a part collector for a Priestess of the Unsealed named Drasia. Captain Kraddock believes that she will be safe as long as Garon thinks she is Gerda."
Kraddock nods. “He wouldn’t want to face the wrath of the Butcher of Balchorth for harming her little pet. If we are lucky, we will break in on her being wined and dined and maybe even romanced by that sneaky bastard... She may not want to leave.” He leaned back in the chair and continued, “our main mission is getting your friend back, hopefully before Garon knows she ain’t Gerda, then, we kill Garon Coinspinner if we can. Lastly we put a kink in the slaving going on and if we can manage a shot at this Mans we take it...but don’t count on it.”
Neth nodded sharply and her posture straightened, anger was etched onto her features. "I can’t wait to drive my sword into those monsters and if we get Mans in the process, all the better. One way or another I will have my vengeance."
“If we do get lucky and find Mans there, Addie or I will go for him. You, Nethrida, will NOT.” Addie's brows raised and she looked to Kraddock.
Neth blinked a few times and twirled to face Kraddock "Why not?! He took -my- mother!" she snapped.
“He currently IS your mother...” the Captain replied. Addie cringed and looked back to Neth. “And truth be told,” he continued, “we don’t know if she is dead in there or not; and he WILL use that. You will not engage with him, that is an order.”
Neth looked like she was going to argue; several times she sort of lurched forward as if about to launch into a tirade, only to growl and grumble. "Hrmph... Fine... See that justice is meted out if you engage him.”
Kraddock nodded. “I doubt we will find him there... Our main goal right now has to be getting that girl loose.”
“And can we -really- expect this deception to last?" Neth inquired.
Kraddock shrugged, “I suppose that is up to Elsa.”
Neth shook her head and sighed, "I do not doubt Elsa's abilities, but I do not trust her to maintain her facade... Not when Mans and this "Garon" are involved..."
(Continued in Finding Elsa- Part 5)
