The Leviathan Arrives (Two Blades..cont)

[Faron]

"Killing isn't noble, but then again I have no honor left in me anyway," Ash said and decided to keep himself as far away from the rest of this conversation as he could.

[Envin]

"I have been in several pitched battles, true enough," Thorongil answered Vilik, "And ye speak the truth concerning Gondor. Would that it were not so. But times are changing, and less difficult is like there now that what it was aforetimes. But we do like Oliphaunts," he grinned, keeping the gold going between he and the serving wench, until Vilik had drunk several hefty tankardsful. "A noble in Minas Tirith hath commissioned us to retreive several of Gurherdir's private herd for his collection. In our ill-spent time with Marcus, it seems we heard him mention that he is interested in them as well, investing or some such. I'd be surprised if the scallywag wasn't looking at the herd right now." He handed Vilik a rum, took one for himself (though considerably less full), and clinked them together.

[Saemon Havarian]

Voices raised in anger on the other side of the pub. A table were knocked down and a crowd of men started to wheel their fists. One men yelled: "I didn't cheat, no, no" and dived away and ran into another mens shoulder before a bottle came down on him. He managed it to duck and the other men fell hit by the bottle like a stone. The shouting and yelling grow louder and suddenly somebody of huge shape took the yelling man over his head and tossed him right on the table between Aragorn and Vilik. The table broke in the middle and the drinks droped down to the ground with the slammed man and poured all over him. He whinced and tried to crawled away. He was naked to the skin, not even the socks left and the attacking guy had a hard time to get his body in a grip again. He reached out and pulled him at the hair, which made the unhappy soul whine and kick with his bare foot at him. "Help me!" he yelled to the group in which supper he lay, not noticing in which ambarraced position he was in front of a lady. His attacker, was red in face for anger and rum and pulled him up to his feet, but he managed it somehow to reach the rest of a table leg and ramm it into his chest. The other man grunted and pulled his knife and layed it onto his throat. "Saemon Havarian, you've done the last misschiev of your unworthy little life." he growled. "I didn't do anything!" Saemon cried and his eyes reached for help at Vilik, Aragorn and Ashuron. Somebody in the angry crowd of the barfight took his call for help as if they were his compangions and throw a bottle aiming for Aragorns head, while some other charged with a cry forward to slam their fists and boots against Viliks face and back.

[Envin]

Thorongil snorted with laughter when the table upended, comical mainly since most of the foodstuffs flew in Idrial's direction. But the scene turned slightly more serious when his company was attacked. Swift as a snake, Thorongil caught the bottle that was throws at him and hurled it back, shattering the man's nose. From a sitting position he sprang to the common room floor, and reared back with his fist, and it was soon apparent that his skill was not with the blade only. With a loud CRACK his fist met a rascal's face, and sent him reeling into a wall seven feet behind; he sank to the floor out cold. Thorongil kicked another out of his way as he leapt back to his table, where he wrenched the man with the knife away and threw him bodily out the door. Then he stood up on the table, and drew his sword, beckoning any to challenge him. Not surprisingly, the crowd soon melted away. But Thorongil was not so easily deterred. He stepped onto the floor and hoisted Saemon to his feet. He stuck his swordpoint in the floor and held the man by the collar.

"And what be ye a'doin', interruptin' our supper like 'at? 'Ho are ye, and why now must we order our food again - which I have a mind ter make ye pay fer!"

[Vilik]

Vilik caught the punch that was thrown his way and twisting the man's arm he sent him flying head first into the wall. With that taken care of he sat and watched as Thorongil fought off the others and snatched the naked man to his feet. He lifted his foot and kicked the man forward a few feet, "Keep his bare ass out of my face if you don't mind..."

[Saemon Havarian]

Taken by his neck, lacking any kind of fabric at all, unhappy Saemon struggled and made some breathless noises, staring at the lady and trying to hide some part of himself. Fortunately the angry customer released the grip surround his neck a little bit and he said: "I am sorry for the lost of your meal, I would buy you some, but unfortunately this gentlemen overthere decided to take all my belongings away from me. And I bet they would take more, if they had their knifes ready. Please, I feel... a little bit cold surround my buttom, if you know what I mean..."

[Faron]

"We do attract the wierdest denizens of this forsaken land don't we? Thorongil, we shouldn't stay here too long, although I can see I'm already over-ruled on that, nor should we get involved in anything that doesn't already involve us. And personally, I'd drop this... creature back in the streets he came from," Ashuron said, pointing at Saemon.

[Vilik]

Vilik stood and yawned. "Well, I think I'll be calling it a night, naked man is just too much excitment for me." He tossed a coin at the naked man's feet, "See if you can't get yourself a pair of pants." He smiled and nodded to Idrial, Thorongil and Alagos before heading up the stairs to his room. "Goodnight my friends, I assume we leave early."

[Saemon Havarian]

"Thank you sir," he said and bowed to get the coin up. He used this chance to spy over his shoulder and saw the angry faces of the men who stripped him on the other side of the inn. He carefully raised, trying to cover himself as much as he could and grinned. "Please, I could need a hand here. I can't walk through this door without causing trouble and loosing the money again. I am sorry for that spoiled meal and the drinks, really I am, but you wouldn't let them kill me in the darknes of the street outside, do you?" He looked sad and as if he knew the answer and already despaired before it was spoken.

[Envin]

Thorongil chuckled at Saemon and his nakedness, which by all appearances did not seem to bother Idrial in the slightest. Perhaps it had been a while... At any rate, he slammed him down onto the seat nearby and made an obvious show of being annoyed at the loss of his food. He listened to Ash with a half-smile, and thoughtfully responded:

"Well, Mr. Naked-and-Cold, it appears that I am out several gold pieces - we have drunk much and ordered much food, though it seems we shall eat little enough of it. Thou hast the weather-beaten look of a fellow who has seen much of life, but also hath the sour look of an empty purse. Now, the way I see it at least, thou owest me ten pieces for the food that I had ordered, plus ten more for having to order it again. Now, unless thou wouldst prefer that I throw thee back to those unpleasant fellows yonder - and leave to go to bed, thou canst tell me if thou knowest aught of the lands hereabout, especially [he lowered his voice to a whisper] the ins and the outs of Gurherdir's fortress. If thou do, then to come with us seems a fair repayment of thy debt, unless thou fancy another brawl with thy comrades, who seem to be fingering their knives unheathily."

[Saemon Havarian]

Saemon looked quite unhappy to the other side of the inn. "Oh yes, I know every ins and outs between Gondor and the Hither Lands, including very well Harad." He lowered his voice. "And I don't ask what business you have in the fortress, but I know it very well. I have a girl there, she lets me sneak in for some reason, if you know what I mean." He sniffed a drop blood from his nose. "Saemon Havarian is my name."

[Envin]

Aragorn looked at him as a smug cat might look at a mouse.

"Very well, then. Thou shalt direct us deep into Gurherdir's fortress, and ask no questions, and we shall tell no tales. And I do not wish to hear more of thy forays into the stronghold, unless they'll aid us. No lurid details, see? Now get thee upstairs. I shall pay the landlord for clothing for thee, but don't be buying silks. We depart at dawn - be outside and ready, or you'll wish you had. Now be off."

[Saemon Havarian]

Saemon raised his arms, noticed he got exposed and turned them quickly back again. "So be it, Sire." He said and stood up from his chair, throw an axious glance in the other corner of the inn and hasted to the stairs.

[Envin]

Aragorn snorted after him, watching him retreat up the stairs. Then he turned to Ash and Idrial.

"Well, now that our supper is ruined, shall we to bed as well? I shall, I think. Until the morrow, then."

And he turned about and walked up the stairs. He cast himself onto his small bed still in his mail with his sword handy, and was soon fast asleep.

[Vilik]

Vilik had retired to his room earlier to bathe and clean his stinking clothes. He sat at the small table in his room with a wash basin before him, using his knife as both razor and mirror to shave. As he finished up he caught the reflection of Thorongil passing through the hall heading to his own room. He chuckled, half suprised that the party hadn't taken off as soon as he had gone up stairs. He wiped his face with a towel and walked to the door, closed it then walked back to the bed and fell back onto his pillow to get some rest.