The Kinstrife
Part
48
In
which Giladan denies authorship; Aradan
makes a show of princeness; Aerin,
Brand and Pimm investigate the drugging of the High
Table’s food; Ragnor takes counsel regarding his
mission; Ilviren reveals her view of Neithan; Aradan shows himself to be surprisingly ignorant of last
night’s events but grudgingly accepts evidence of the true conspiracy; Aradan and Giladan are reconciled
– Estel is Princess of Morthond and Giladan will be her regent; our work here is done; Misternil elects to go to Morthond while the rest of us
return to Pelargir via Ilviren’s family.
Session 48:
As dawn
breaks in the east, I show Giladan the documents
dropped by Aradan the evening before. He, of course,
denies all knowledge of them and says he was told that Aradan
was the one conspiring with the king. I suggest a
reconciliation; he says it’s not his place but agrees to play ball if
someone else starts it rolling. So I go to roll a ball with Aradan.
I find Aradan in the Great Hall, being visibly princely. When it’s
my turn I address him formally as Prince with all due style and deference and
offer condolences on behalf of King Castamir for the deaths of his father and
brother.
I mention
the letters he dropped yesterday, that I wish to return them and discuss some
matters arising. He will be busy in the morning but will see me first thing
after lunch.
I ask Aerin, Brand, Ilviren, Misternil and Pimm to attend me
in my chambers to advise me on how to end my mission. Brand and Aerin have been investigating the poisoning. Pimm believes it was a concoction prepared from a flower called
‘shepherd’s fool’ but distilled to enhance the duration and intensity of the
effect. They determine it was used as a seasoning in the main dish.
Ilviren
confirms Iriel’s escape. I take the opportunity to
discuss Neithan with her, in particular his personality as evidenced in his
actions against that in his protestations. I ask outright what she would do if
Neithan moved to take the throne. She affirms that she would be against this
but she’s clearly unhappy at the thought, offering that the opinions of Rastorin and her father is that Neithan is to be trusted.
Obviously Ilviren respects their opinions but I can’t help wondering
what they base their opinions on. Neithan clearly believes himself to be
‘wronged’ but from where I stand the one wronged is Ornendil,
whom Neithan killed. Neithan chose to do this. I’m sure he felt pressured at
the time but an honourable man might have chosen to die himself rather than
kill his friend.
Now, to
quote Ilviren’s phrase, Neithan is ‘running with the cats’; who apparently have
a vested interest in putting him on the throne and are prepared to use very
unsavoury means to do it. They profess to be antagonistic toward the cults of Morgoth and Sauron but I find it
hard to tell the difference between the two and Ilviren
herself regards Benish Armon
as anathema.
Neithan is
a Gondorian nobleman and my experience of Gondorian nobles is that the defining trait for most of
them is unbridled ambition. Despite his protestations, I find Neithan’s past and present actions disquieting.
Regarding
the ending of my mission; I was given three objectives: secure the disposition
of Morthond for the crown; secure Belfalas for the
crown; counter the dark forces responsible for killing Maeglin and Adrazôr. I
suggest telling Castaher that the attacks are
attempts to remove barriers to Neithan claiming the throne but Brand reckons
that mentioning this would be to sign death warrants for Neithan and Estel.
Brand has a
point. I wonder if I could shift the focus to the dark forces themselves but
any mention would have to be handled very carefully indeed – on the other hand,
in view of the discussion with Ilviren, it might be a
good thing for Gondor to dispose of Estel and Neithan before they can provide the focus for a
new civil war?
So we move
to the disposition of Morthond. I intend to ask Aradan
to devolve Morthond on Estel. She is a dozen years
from her majority which gives plenty of time for the dust to settle and in Castarion Castamir has an unwed son who could thereby
become Prince of Morthond by marriage when Estel is
of age. No one can suggest a better alternative so this is now official policy.
I know Castarion to be diligent and conscientious in his office of
Warden of the Haven in Pelargir, where I have had to work with him professionally
in my capacity as my father’s Clerk of the Quays. Doubtless driven by gossip
that he only attained his position thanks to his father’s patronage (which of
course is true – just as I owe my position to my father’s patronage and his
position at Court) Castarion has thrown himself
wholeheartedly in to the job to prove his worth. Castaher
is probably the most effective member of the family but Castarion
is probably the most likeable and might make a good husband for Estel when the time is right.
I show Pimm the letters and he immediately pronounces them
forgeries. He accompanies Misternil and I to see first Halbarad then Aradan.
From the
names on Hwiniel’s list, Halbarad
has arrested Tinuthel (a dealer in euphoric herbs)
and Celeblas a nasty piece of work and a frequent
customer of Tinuthel. Healer Ioreth
and Aradan’s clerk, Salkhôr,
have both vanished and are undoubtedly either on Iriel’s
ship or more likely at the bottom of the harbour. Halbarad
would like to arrest Gilraen, the minor noble who
brought the forged letters to Aradan, but he has no
direct evidence aside from Hwiniel’s word and Aradan has forbidden Halbarad
from moving against him. So it’s time to talk to Aradan
and Misternil and Pimm
accompany me to the new Prince’s private chambers.
Aradan
turns out to be amazingly uninformed. I return the letters he dropped last
night and he comments that he expects me to deny their authenticity. Pimm offers his opinion that they are forgeries but on
being accused of being my man he denies the connection, rightly saying that I
can’t afford him.
Aradan
refuses to accept Pimm’s opinion. His short rant
reveals that he does not know that last night’s food at the high table was
drugged, neither has he been told of the attack on Giladan
whom he thinks is the only member of his family not to have been attacked. I
explain that I foiled the attack on Giladan and that
all the attacks, his father’s death and the drugging were all a plot to destroy
the Belfalas dynasty.
Aradan
demands independent confirmation of all this (evidently Misternil’s
word is also suspect) and I suggest the guards set by Halbarad
outside Giladan’s door should corroborate the attack
and that Brand and Aerin are investigating the
poisoning. Aradan summons the guards and bids us wait
in an ante-chamber while he questions them.
Twenty
minutes later he grudgingly admits the attack on his brother. I press for Gilraen’s arrest and Aradan
agrees to confine him to quarters. Aradan talks of
getting me or Halbarad to question Giladan; I’m frankly astonished and enraged at his attitude
and tell him so, “…Is this princely behaviour?”
I tell him
he’s now Prince of Belfalas and needs to act as such.
Giladan is his brother and his subject; he should
summon him before him and question Giladan himself but
he should do so non-confrontationally as Giladan
deserves the respect he would give any of his subjects. Aradan
nods, apparently abashed, but I have misgivings over Belfalas’
future.
So Brand, Aerin and Misternil question Halbarad’s prisoners. Celeblas
proves useless but Tinuthel says she rented a counter
in her shop to Iriel. She lists Iriel’s
customers who are the known suspects plus two new names, a guard and a
dissolute kitchen maid. The maid confesses to drugging the dinner and the case
seems solved.
So when
we’re summoned later that afternoon to attend upon Aradan,
Brand can give the full story. Remarkably, Giladan
and Aradan have had something of an enuo (rapprochement
– literally ‘together again’); neither now believes the other was conspiring against
him. It seems Salkhôr was Giladan’s
source for rumours of Aradan’s supposed perfidy.
The
funerals of Adrazôr and Tirazôr will be in a month
and Estel will be expected to attend, with Mordulin. After the funeral Aradan
will be formally enthroned as Prince. Then Estel will
return to Morthond as Princess and Giladan will go
with her to serve as regent until she’s of age. (I wonder if Giladan hopes to wed Estel himself?)
So that
sorts Morthond. It seems our tasks here are done.
Then Misternil surprises me by asking to leave my service saying
he would like to go to Morthond from where he would be happy to send frequent
reports. I’m a little taken aback; I have found Misternil’s
presence at my back very comforting, but if he wishes to leave then I will let
him go with my blessing. (Perhaps he feels his job will become too difficult
after I’ve reported to Castaher?)
It occurs
to me that should things work out in a certain way over the next decade or so, Estel might find a suitable match in a poor noble on
Pelargir, such as myself. This may or may not prove
feasible but it will do no harm to have my man in her household.
Ilviren mentions wanting to drop in on her family
(doubtless to discuss my comments about Neithan) but, whatever our immediate
destination, we leave on the next tide.
To do list:
Return to
Pelargir and report to Castaher or Castamir
Give letter
to Bauglir regarding Hwiniel
with my personal observations as to her character
Order a
suitable present for Estel to celebrate her official
status as Princess of Morthond
Bury
Adrazôr & attend Aradan’s formal enthronement as
Prince of Belfalas - Tirazôr
should probably be buried with honours too
Survey my
estates and produce a plan to improve them – consider Pimm’s
offer but be cautious
Ensure
Brand looks for the 5fth part of the Key of Fuinur’s Well
Who was Tevildo from the Benish Armon tomb in the Ethir Anduin?
Inquire after Perhaladin
– might be a cult for Ragnor – or not?