The Kinstrife
Part
19
In
which we discuss what to do with the stolen maps; we are spied upon from on
high by Celebrindor’s ghastly, grim and ancient
raven; Celebrindor threatens to take matters to Heruvorn; the maps are hidden; Pimm
shoots Celebrindor’s raven out of the sky - hurrah; Dringol loans Bergil’s alta parma to Brand for copying; Celebrindor, with four cronies, attempts a burglary of the Moonswan; Pimm shoots Celebrindor in the strongroom –
nasty; preparations are made for departure, including returning Bergil’s original manuscript to Dringol.
Mid-afternoon
May 1st 1441
In a tavern not far from the Tower of the
Moon we discuss what to do with our ill-gotten gains; in particular, the map of
the Minas Ithil sewers (or to be more accurate, the
Minas Ithil underground water system as it is
composed of both waste and fresh water elements).
Various ideas are bandied about: sew it in
a coat as the lining; put it in the Anwar-Serni
vault; take it to Pelargir (which itself begs the question of ‘how’). Finally, Ilvren volunteers to sew it in to her pilot’s log, where it
will look like another chart and Brand’s concealment spell will make it all but
unfindable. Ilvren and
Aerin will then take all the maps to the Houses of Healing in
With this strategy in mind we leave the
tavern but Celebrindor’s crow (or another just like
it) quickly picks up our trail and observes our return to the Moonswan from the air. This should have been expected and
we must find some way to counter this Valar-bedamned
bird or Celebrindor will find the maps all too
easily. I feel its eyes upon us all the way back.
On our arrival, the landlord of the Moonswan hands me a letter from Celebrindor
requesting that I hand over the ‘item’ he believes in our hands or he ‘will
take the matter to Heruvorn’. I advise Brand of the
letter and tell him that we shall ignore it. Heruvorn
is incompetent and he may be as deeply steeped in perfidy as Celebrindor but I think he will think twice before making
any overt moves against me, with my father’s connections.
It takes Ilvren
an hour to sew the map in to her logbook. By now it is near dusk. Brand, Pimm and I have an appointment with Dringol
in the Eagle & Elf. We decide to leave all together (bar Al-Han left in the
Moonswan) and take a roundabout route through the
narrowest of alleys in the hope that Celebrindor’s
crow will follow us without noticing when the ladies depart. However, Brand and
Pimm also take their favourite missile weapons with
the clear intention of shooting the bird out of the sky. I do not approve; with
the likelihood of a hit being very low, I’d say the chance of hitting an
innocent citizen a more likely outcome.
As it happens, despite our best attempts to
loose it, I can feel the crow following above. Worse still, when the girls
depart for
So it is with a lighter heart that we reach
the Eagle & Elf. Dringol is suitably gushing over
Bergil’s alta-parma and it fully lives up to all our expectations,
proving to be an inept attempt at pro-Eldacar propaganda (all the nice Valar back Eldacar and Castamir is supported by the likes
of Morgoth – if only life were that simple) dressed up as mystical Numenorean
epic poetry written by an amateur obsessed with ancient architecture. Like me,
Brand is unimpressed by it as a work of art (though we all struggle to conceal
our feelings from Dringol) but Brand thinks Bergil’s descriptions of various ruins could be very
accurate and precise. If he can identify some of the locations, the missal
could be of value to us.
But Dringol is
reluctant to part with the only copy of his hero’s epic. He hopes to live to
see it published but that will not happen in the current political climate and
would be suicidal while Heruvorn governs Minas Ithil. However, at a nudge from Pimm,
Brand offers to spend tomorrow copying the scroll and I give my word to return
it tomorrow evening. As we leave, it occurs to me that Dringol
can have no idea who I am, which is probably just as well. I do hope Bergil met his end of natural causes.
I keep a wary watch about us as we make our
way back to the Moonswan but surprisingly the walk is
uneventful. We keep just the one room now that the ladies have gone. I think
everyone feels a little tense but we all fall asleep quickly enough.
The sound of a bang on the door in the
middle of the night wakes Brand and I. My first thought is ‘why can’t Heruvorn’s men wait until dawn’ but strangely we don’t hear
any ‘open in the name of Castamir’ or similar demands. We quickly rouse Pimm and Al-Han and start pulling on clothes, expecting to
have to answer impertinent questions from some mercenary lacking in humour. In
my mind I go over my lines: claiming we borrowed some maps of the local
countryside and of locations further abroad with the intent of touring the Raj.
I shall deny knowledge of any map of the sewers, claiming with some
justification that sewage has never been one of my personal interests. If
necessary, I could recall Aerin to reveal her cache of the more innocent maps.
Then we hear the landlord’s querulous voice
enquiring of the visitors. There’s no reply, just a swishing sound followed by
the thud of a body hitting the floor and suddenly things seem a little more
serious. Telling Al-Han to stay put, I lead the others down the stairs with
swords drawn and Pimm with his crossbow. I don’t like
the idea of having to fight our way out of the inn but if we can escape the
building I think I could find my way to one secret passage out the city from
behind the Gatehouse.
At the bottom of the stairs we find the
landlord. Thankfully he seems unharmed but he just sits in a daze, muttering
and mumbling to himself. With a touch, Brand quietly confirms that he’s
bewitched.
I hear clinking noises from the strong-room
and then the low murmur of a voice. At the door of the strong-room, I see four
figures. Three, including one kneeling before the safe, I don’t recognise but
the other, standing a little apart, is Celebrindor!
Hearing Pimm cock his crossbow, I step smartly aside
to allow him a clear shot. There’s a click, thunk and
a gasp followed by a splashing noise and I follow the bolt in to the room
raising my rapier en-guard.
I find the satisfying spectacle of Celebrindor nailed to the wall with Pimm’s
bolt through his heart: once again I congratulate Pimm
on his shooting. Stepping toward the other intruders, I command them to
surrender as thieves. Two drop their weapons at once and the third takes but
another moment. Pimm ties them up while I cover him
and Brand sends for the watch.
Other guests of the inn emerge at the sound
of the commotion, among them Ranmes. I take care that
she sees Celebrindor’s body and hears the testimony
of our prisoners. They are hired thieves, of course, hired by Celebrindor to steal the contents of the safe, within which
he thought we would keep the maps.
Of course, with the safe opened to show
only the treasure we took from the Anwar Serni vault, it looks very much as if Celebrindor
was simply an illicit treasure hunter. I play up the apparent image of a scion
of a noble family fallen from grace after being coarsened by too much travel in
foreign climes. Ranmes purses her lips and comments
on how law and order have so completely broken down in Minas Ithil that even the nobility, a person trusted by Heruvorn with the defence of the city, resorts to robbing
public hostelries by night.
I have a feeling that if Ranmes’ report is given any weight by Castamir, Heruvorn will not remain long in his post.
By the time the watch arrive, Brand has
searched Celebrindor’s body, removing a bloody cloak
and a dagger, both of which he says are imbued with some sort of negative
magical aura.
The watch accepts the situation at face
value and carry Celebrindor’s body away. The
prisoner’s are marched off to start their progress through the judicial system
and the landlord is led away to the Healers, still burbling confusedly. I hope
whatever spell Celebrindor cast on the poor chap can
be countered easily. The rest of us go back to bed to enjoy what’s left of the
night.
In the morning, we all feel invigorated,
despite the broken night. Somehow Middle Earth seems a fairer place now that Celebrindor isn’t in it.
Ranmes seems keen to depart Minas Ithil on schedule and sends Pimm
on various errands to ensure all is ready for tomorrow’s departure. Brand, of
course, spends the day copying Bergil’s alta-parma. I
think it would be remiss to leave the ladies in fear of Celebrindor
so I ride to the Houses of Healing in
On my return I receive the first of a
series of visits from successively higher ranked officers of the watch. All ask
variations of the same questions regarding what happened in the night. They
look unhappy but it’s all too clear that Celebrindor
died whilst engaged in larceny. I think I manage to control my delight.
Ranmes and I discuss Celebrindor:
I don’t reveal his true objective but mention his outré behaviour over dinner a
few nights ago. She reveals that the three prisoners, under interrogation,
confirmed that Celebrindor was involved in ‘dark
cults’. She advises me to tell my father at the earliest opportunity as this
news will strengthen his influence and the Queen’s as it’s clear that Heruvorn’s administration has failed critically.
In the afternoon, Pimm
gets word that his uncle, Bergil’s, house has been
sold at auction for 450 crowns. Pimm duly collects,
returning late in the afternoon, expressing his intent to convey their shares
to his siblings (of which he has eight) and his father in person.
Pimm, Brand and I return Bergil’s
original manuscript to Dringol raise a glass to his
memory. Then we return to the Moonswan for one last
night (save for the ladies, who seem to be more comfortable at the Houses of
Healing in
We
all turn in with clearer minds, ready to ride for Pelargir in the morning. I
have decided not to cash another of my father’s letters of credit. If further
expenses exhaust my last few crowns, I shall draw on my share of the treasure
from the Anwar Serni vault.