The Kinstrife
Part
28
In
which Aerin and Pimm
indulge their morbid curiosity; Ilvirin seeks employment
on Tol-Cirya; Brand uncovers the probable location of
the fifth part of the Key; Ragnor and Brand meet Daeron, the King’s representative, who proves surprisingly
likeable and is almost certainly a very shrewd politician; Aerin
contacts her Umbar relatives during a pleasant
evening meal; Ilvirin finds no old buildings on Tol-Cirya; Ragnor and Brand meet Marmedon, who is an apolitical soldier but advises that Zimrakhil has a hidden agenda; Aerin
learns that that the fourth (Umbar) part of the Key
was recently purchased…by Zimrakhil; Ragnor and Brand meet Mardil, who
dislikes the Navy being above the Law; Ilvirin reveals
that it will be difficult to land on Tol-Cirya, by
day or night, so we decide to volunteer for Kolfen’s
raid!
Session 28:
This
morning, Aerin and Pimm go
to the City Garrison to view the dead bodies and Ilvirin
asks her cousins (she seems to have a large extended family) whether she could
find work on Tol-Cirya, as a pretext for snooping, of
course.
Brand is
about to leave for the House of the Loremasters when
I ask his professional opinion as to whether there’s a dweomer
on the Serni jewel, which we now know to be part of
the Key to the Well of Fuinur. Brand confirms that he
can detect some sort of mystic emenation from it but
cannot guess at its nature. However he takes a sketch and offers to research it
when he can find the time. I expected it to be a magical device of some sort,
what I wonder is if it is purely a key to a magical lock or whether it has
other functions.
Finding I
have time to myself, I indulge in callisthenics and sword practise until my
companions (‘retinue’ sounds pompous and frankly inaccurate) get back.
Ilvirin
is the first to return. She has arranged to accompany her cousins tomorrow on a
work detail. It will be low-grade navvy-work as more complicated jobs are done
by specialists picked by Ulbar from Benish-Armon cultists. She generously bestows this
information while sparring with me and I appreciate the practise.
Brand gets
back just before lunch. He was looking for information on that part of the Key
to Fuinur’s Well suspected
to be in Pelargir. He looks very pleased with
himself; apparently he traced an obscure series of clues to find a badly
written biography of a loremaster from around the
time of Earnil I.
Brand read
of alterations made by Earnil to the House of the Loremasters in Pelargir in order to
store certain documents he thought important. A later postscript in a different
hand observed that a certain artefact purchased by the loremasters
from the Al-Tayyib family was placed with
those documents. The writer seemed to think the artefact was somehow pertinent
to the documents. This artefact can only be the fifth part of the Key.
Finally Aerin and Pimm get back from the
Garrison and report their findings over lunch. They were asked why they wanted
to view the bodies: Pimm replied that he was acting
for Ranmes on behalf of Pelargir,
which is politically neutral as regards Umbar
politics, and Aerin was his medical examiner.
They were
shown four bodies while a watchman ensured they didn’t interfere. Aerin says they were all Southrons,
from Near Harad to her eye, which to me seems to
weigh against them being lackies of the Storm King as
surely his cronies would come from further south? Their wounds all agreed with
their having met their ends in a fight. Overall, not much new there and the
only card to play would be that of their probable origin in Near Harad.
After
lunch, Brand and I are off to see Daeron, the King’s
representative. I have never heard of him, neither has Brand, and it seems a
little odd that Castamir should have chosen someone
apparently of low profile, but then Pimm is able to
enlighten our ignorance: Daeron is the squire of Linhir in Dor-en-Ernil. It was Daeron, opposing Eldacar’s tax
collectors, who engineered Linhir’s breaking of Dor-en-Ernil’s professed neutrality. Therefore he is Castamir’s man through and through. It will be his decision
alone as to the disposition of the Royal finances at this Great Council and Linhir has a large naval base!
Daeron
has taken an entire floor of the Green Man, Umbar’s
most prestigious inn. Brand and I have dressed in our best for the occasion and
I bear the Serni jewel. We find Daeron
is dressed very well but tastefully. He proves pleasant, reasonable and amenable.
I offer my
credentials and my opinion, as a rank layman, as to the value of the political
factions, obviously casting my lot for the Land Faction, which should surprise
him not a jot. He offers me a chance to speak in Council but I decline,
claiming naivety and he calls me wise – I get the feeling he is being
deliberately pleasant to a comparative political lightweight.
He remarks
on my ‘eclectic’ retine. I reply that a Southron is a useful advisor in Umbar
in the current political situation and Brand, despite his youth, is very
learned; I seek his sage advice on most matters.
Daeron
asks that if I or any of my retinue come across any
information too sensitive to be raised in Council then I should feel free to
advise him behind closed doors. I thank him and in return place myself at his
disposal should he have need of my resources.
Daeron
is Castamir’s man from head to foot and his past
record implies he’s a very shrewd politician indeed but as we leave, I can’t
help myself liking him, which might be his most dangerous trait of all.
We return
to find we have appointments with Marmedon and Mardil on the morrow but this evening Aerin
suggests we visit the Southron Quarter in search of
her relatives. Since I have developed a taste for Southron
cuisine after sampling Zimrakhil’s hospitality, I
suggest we find a suitable tavern for our evening meal. Aerin
has a recommendation from Zimrakhil so we all (Aerin, Brand, Ilvirin, Pimm and myself) all troop off for some genuine Raj cookery.
The tavern
has a garden to the rear, which is very welcome on a warm summer’s night. We
are served a banquet of a wide range of dishes, many of which I recall from Zimrakhil’s table. Others, such as the eyeballs, I find
very dubious indeed (I try one; it’s very chewy and without much flavour). There’s also a few dishes from Near Harad.
Between
courses, Aerin moves off to carouse with the taverner and asks after any Al-Tayyib
relatives. As is the way with Raj-folk, they
immediately seem to view her as close family. Apparently there are half-a-dozen
families with that name in Umbar, all presumably
descended from Edhelud. She’s advised to seek ‘Old Hamsa’ at his herb stall in the market, where he can be
found most days of the week.
Overall
a most excellent evening, and successful to boot.
Ilvirin
departs for Tol-Cirya and her day breaking rocks with
her cousins as navvies for the navy. Aerin goes off
to find Old Hamsa Al-Tayyib
while Brand and I call on Marmedon.
Commander Marmedon is an excellent soldier, commanding the Umbar Garrison since 1433, and an expert on desert warfare.
In the flesh, he’s quiet and a typical Gondorian in
appearance.
He asks
what brings me to see him and I mention my intention to tour Near Harad after the Council in the company of Zimrakhil. Marmedon says that if Zimrakhil has offered to be my guide I should accept but he
almost certainly wants to talk to me away from the listening ears of Umbar.
Marmedon
claims to be no politician and offers no political views. His experience of war
has included action against ‘Dark’ cults or similar.
I mention Celebrindor’s building project and that a large workforce
were involved. He’s surprised (and, I think, a little disturbed) to hear of it.
He knows nothing of it but feels that it’s something he should be concerned
with. He offers to let me know if he turns up anything with his enquiries and,
of course, I reciprocate.
Back
at the Drunken Southron, over lunch, Aerin reports that she spoke to Old Hamsa
and learned that, incredibly, the Umbar part of the
Key to Fuinur’s Well was
recently sold to none other than Zimrakhil, of all
people!
I
confess that I had been wondering exactly how we would gain the fourth part of
the Key to Fuinur’s Well but I now find myself even
more apprehensive regarding Zimrakhil. I find some of
his interests highly suspicious and Marmedon clearly
feels Zimrakhil has his own agenda in acting as our
guide to Near Harad. Now we find he is also
interested in the Key to Fuinur’s Well,
to the point of paying 100 crowns for it!
Everything
about this Key is one huge coincidence: Grandma Serni
giving me the Serni jewel ten years ago; finding Aerin, a chance companion, was similarly given her family’s
part of the Key just before setting off to Pelargir
(and staying with Zimrakhil on the way); digging up
another part in the Red House and now Zimrakhil,
again, has the fourth part and may want to speak privately to me about some
matter too sensitive to be mentioned in Umbar.
I get the
strangest feeling that somehow the Key wants to come together and is manipulating us all to achieve its ends.
So Brand
and I call upon Mardil, the recently elected Captain
of the Watch. Another typical Gondorian by looks and
very handsome, no doubt he has the local girls in a perpetual swoon. Unlile Marmedon, he’s passionate
and outspoken regarding his beliefs and seems obsessed with the Navy’s immunity
to legal process. He uses the issue of Menelmir’s
near assassination as a case in point, claiming that it is a symptom of the
division of judicial authority, which weakens the law. Mardil
is passionate about the law.
He makes no
attempt to hide his politics: he wants no more money going to the Navy and
therefore supports the Land Faction by default, rather than through any
personal adherence to their politics. The Land Faction is merely the only
viable opposition to the Sea Faction.
I vaguely
mention that I know a plan was mooted some months ago to gain plans of Menelmir’s estate with a likely view to just such an
attack; the plan was vetoed but the Navy is trying to link this attempt with
that original plan despite, in my opinion, a distinct lack of connection (as
suggested by Telemnar, but I don’t mention his name,
of course).
Mardil
asks if I’m suggesting the attack is a ‘ruse’ and I reply
that it might be evidence of ‘misdirection’. He then offers to direct some men
to ask in the docklands area for more news. He says his men are not well liked
in the docks but he will see what they can turn up.
On leaving,
Brand suggests Aerin might be able to ask her Al-Tayyib relations in Umbar whether
they know of these Southrons – an excellent notion!
Ilvirin
returns in the evening to report on Tol-Cirya: all
buildings look like new construction to her, to be expected with the current
building program, but she saw absolutely no sign of older buildings. Earnil’s Tower is a lighthouse but she found no sewers or watermains and no way in other than the single guarded
entrance. Ulbar selects from the Benish-Armon
cult picked crews for ‘special duties’ but she has no idea what these might be
and by day the place is too well frequented for her to scout around without
risking apprehension. She feels something bad is going on.
She saw a
small beach suitable for landing a boat but landing ourselves would not be
wise. By day that area is thick with Ulbar’s Benish-Armon cronies so we would have to do so by night,
which Kolfen specifically warned us against. Instead,
it occurs to me that the best way to survey the sites of interest with safety
might be to volunteer to be part of Kolfen’s raid.
Leads to be followed:
Aerin
to ask her Umbar relatives if they know anything of
the Southrons who tried to kill Menelmir
Volunteer
for Kolfen’s raid on Tol-Cirya
Give Daeron, the King’s representative, more info – specifically
doubts over attempt on Menelmir’s life
Await Rastorin’s report on the 25th regarding the
whereabouts of the Fifth Man involved in the attempt on Menelmir’s
life.
Approach Zimrakhil over the Umbar portion
of Key of Fuinur’s Well
Inquire
after Perhaladin – might be a cult for Ragnor