‘Good evening, everyone!’ I said as I walked into The Prancing Pony alongside Guri. It had barely been a few weeks since that fateful encounter in Dol Amroth, but it was like we had known each other our entire lives.
‘Hah! You don’t see that every day!’ Claimed a mighty-bearded dwarf, dressed all in red. He was sitting at a table cluttered with all kinds of strange tools, and pieces of beautiful jewellery. ‘A man greeting an entire establishment filled with strangers? I envy your enthusiasm!’
‘I am glad you think so, Master Dwarf!’ I answered, with a smile on my face. ‘I am in a good mood today, so why not share it?’
‘Well spoken, friend!’ laughed the dwarf. ‘And I see you have great taste in clothing!’
He was referring to my new robe, which Guri had helped me choose a few days prior. It was a red and gold tunic which bore the Star of Eärendil in its sleeves and skirt. ‘The Robe of Vicious Proclamation’ the salesman had called it. It was a good find. The dwarf also wore red, a coincidence which he found amusing.
‘Bah!’ Scoffed a moody hobbit, who sat across the dwarf’s table. ‘Red is a colour for Yule!’
‘I disagree, my good sir!’ Replied the dwarf. ‘It is a colour of elegance, and a sign of dignity!’
As the evening went on, those two proved to disagree in just about every subject that you could possibly think to bring up. The dwarf was a famous craftsman, went by the name of Thorgonsi. The halfling’s name was Hanngard, and he seemed to be in quite a mood that day.
As Guri and I could piece together from their conversation, their disagreement had started when Thorgonsi bragged about a certain piece of jewellery, crafted out of a perfectly cut ruby, which Hanngard refused to believe was real. He asked to hold the gem, to which the dwarf refused. The inquisitive gentlehobbit took it as proof that it was, indeed, a fake.
‘My good sir!’ I intervened. ‘Surely you would never let this dwarf hold your dinner?’
‘Of course I would not!’ Answered Hanngard, offended.
‘And why would you not?’ I asked.
‘Well, I don’t trust him, of course!’
‘There you have it!’ I concluded. ‘How can you expect him to extend the same courtesy, if you would not? That is hardly proof of anything!’
‘Hmm’ Hanngard did not seem at all convinced. ‘I’m not sure I understand your logic, but I will drop it for now.’
However, it was only a brief calm before yet another storm. They quickly spiralled into another argument, and this time I was caught in it. ‘What did I get myself into…’ I whispered to Guri, who laughed with the warmest of laughs.
‘Could I interest you in some pies?’ interrupted a halfling waitress. ‘Only a silver coin each!’
Enamoured by the prospect of pies, I rushed towards her to buy one for me and Guri to share. We then sat at another table and tucked in, not a worry in the world.
Guri and I recounted our last few days. That was one of the few times we could really sit down to rest, so we had much to talk about! It had been very long since either of us had had that much fun. We also spoke of love, of how none of us had had much luck in that regard for quite some time as well. However, our attention was caught by the ongoing conversation, which had turned more emotional.
Hanngard was explaining how he had recently lost his wife. He expressed his utter devastation, and how much he missed her. He spoke highly of her, and of their time together. Thorgonsi was moved, and proclaimed a halfling so proud and loving of his mother was certainly no enemy of his, and offered reconciliation.
‘My mother?’ exclaimed Hanngard. ‘It was my wife, you nincompoop!’
‘Ah… Yes, of course’ excused Thorgonsi. ‘It was merely a slip of the tongue. To your wife!’
Guri and I could not help but snicker. This hobbit was certainly well versed in the art of verbal sparring, and his insults were each more unusual than the last.
The poor waitress, named Asphoddellia, shared a bit of her own story as well. She was troubled. She needed to sell as many pies as she could, as she was in deep debt with one of her cousins. I did not get the full story, but it sounded like this cousin of hers had tricked her into a debt she could not ever hope to escape.
‘Perhaps I should pay this hobbit a visit!’ claimed Hanngard.
‘And I will join you as well!’ I shouted towards them.
‘Hah!’ laughed Hanngard. ‘I don’t think I’ll have any trouble making him see reason, but with a tallfolk by my side, the visit will be doubly effective! Thank you, friend!’
‘Thank you, good sirs’ Asphoddellia whispered softly. ‘I don’t know how to repay you…’
‘There is no need’ Hanngard and I told her. We then shook our hands, decided to go pay this hobbit a visit come dawn, and parted our own ways. I waved good-bye to Thorgonsi and the waitress, and left with Guri.
‘Well, that was interesting’ she pointed out. I could not agree more.
‘Come, come!’ She playfully commanded, taking hold of my arm. I know just the best place to end the night!
She took me to an isolated pond a short way from Bree’s eastern gate. The water was crystal clear and perfectly reflected the moon and stars. The only sounds that could be heard were the occasional croaking of frogs.
‘Come on, last one’s a cave-crawler!’ She challenged me, already jumping into the water. I followed, leaving my cloak behind.
‘You were right, Guri!’ I said, pushing my drenched hair back so I could see her again. ‘How did you find this place?’
‘Oh, just been a long time here, is all’ she splashed some water at me. ‘Take this!’
‘Now it’s on!’
A short battle ensued, with no clear victor in sight. Among laughter and more splashes, I noticed she was shivering.
‘Are you cold, Guri?’ she nodded. ‘Come, let’s get out for a bit.’
We went back towards our belongings, and I wrapped myself in my cloak. She looked at me with those puppy eyes of hers, and so I shared my cloak with her.
‘This is nice…’ she muttered, letting her head rest on my shoulder. I agreed.
‘I couldn’t be happier I met you, Guri…’ I told her, caressing her cheek.
‘Nor could I’ she responded. Then she blushed. ‘You… You deserve someone to adore you, you know?’
I lay silent for a moment. I know it was only seconds, but in reality it felt like an eternity.
‘Guri?’ I sheepishly asked.
‘Hmm?’ she eloquently asked back. I blushed redder than I have ever blushed, and looked deep into her eyes.
‘Will you let me be the one to adore you?’
‘Yes’ she answered. ‘But only because I adore you already.’
