Leoffrith

I didn't get to see any of the Lonely Mountain other than the outer welcoming hall, what the Dwarves set aside just for meeting folk that they don't want to let into their homes and mines. Well, I mean, I saw the Lonely Mountain itself, but I didn't see any of Erebor. Or is Erebor the mountain? I never got clear which name means which part, but anyhow, I didn't see their halls. Just seeing the outer welcoming hall took quite a lot of doing.

The folk in Lake-town told me as Dale might be better for knowing things from the past, but after couple months of visiting it -- it took that long! -- I learned that they rebuilt the city even more recent than Lake-town, and it were destroyed even longer. They do got libraries, and they been building them back up as they can, and their scholars are more learned since the city's not only about trade -- but even so, it's a new city built on top of the old one, and no one alive remembers very far back, so it's no surprise they couldn't really help.

Lake-town's like nothing I ever seen, nowhere I ever been, or even imagined. A whole city, bigger even than Woodland Hall, built on piers and quays out over a lake. I don't know why; there's perfectly good land on the shore they scarcely use. What's even more baffling is, this is the second one they built this way. I saw the ruins of the old Lake-town, down under the lake, what they say got burned down by a dragon -- a dragon! -- not so long ago, such as a few of the oldest folk there now were children when it happened.

The last few nights I have been able to sleep again some. Maybe it's just how plum wore out I have gotten, with tending the stables, restocking all its supplies, my sword training, and my journeys up to Hengstacer for lessons. That's starting to settle down though, now I'm caught up, more or less, on resupply. Tomorrow morning I get the last thing the stable's running out of, a few sacks of dried peas, plus one extra sack to make up for that they missed the date they promised for to deliver it.

There's a little bit of good news, two things actually, but I feel almost too tired to celebrate them.

Staying up until after dawn for the bonfire wasn't easy for me. I'm usually awake before dawn. When I woke up the day after, it was near midday and my head was far from clear. I got the fire started back up and heated up some of the Attereeve's soup, then while I were sitting down to eat it, I saw the letter what had been left on my door the night afore, what I'd clean forgot about.

I got an early start on the day of the bonfire, as I knew it'd be a long day. First, I was going to do all the chores at the Hookworth Stables. I felt like I had work to make up after being away four days, and would be away four more days soon, once Bogo felt up to the return home. And it seemed like Miss Brynleigh were out of sorts, maybe not feeling well. She hadn't come out of her house that morning, or the day before, now I think about it. Hope she's all right.

After a few days Miss Cesistya said as Mister Brockhouse were well enough to talk with, but needed another day afore he could go for a short walk, and then only by pony or waggon. So we decided to go to Staddle to speak to this Forsythia Attereeve our own selves.

I had hoped, while I weren't able to sleep at Brandy Hall last night, that it'd be likely Miss Adri would be able to find out whether Bogo was being held, and even get him out, with her sneaking, without me and Beoda having to let an arrow fly; but it couldn't gone much more unlike that.

Beoda and I are passing the night, or part of it at least, at Brandy Hall, in Buckland. I am not getting much sleep, and I don't think she is either.