[Everdawn]

“I know of him and I too want his blood.” Maén replied quietly observing the types who had now surrounded her table. Still she held her head high. “I will not ask you how you know of my name, or of my quest. I can see you have some degree of knowledge because you seem to know who I am and It was infact you who came to me.” She breathed deeply and surveyed the people around her, one woman, to this Maén inwardly smiled.

If it was a woman who could help her, Maén would be glad, but on the other hand, she had never had any real friendships with women before. All the Minas Tirith ladies in her circles all thought of Maén as an idiosyncrasy and seldom conversed with her, though the times they did it was usually sinde remarks which ended in Maén thretening them loudly to a fight to the death. It was their belief that she was too sharp witted for her own good. This woman however looked cunning, and she was short, slightly shorter than Maén, and she had a look about her which made Maén want to keep her moneybag down the front of her bodice where it would be safe. The other two men were both older than her , the older was tall, almost as tall as Atharan. The younger of the two was pale, but none the less strange, she could have sworn they were familiar.

“It is true, I am leading a recovery party.” She spoke, “And there will be a price of twenty thousand in gold paid out to each of you by the Widow Il Galoth upon my safe return to her estate. If you will allow me a few minutes of consultation with my associate here, I would like to speak to the some of you further.” She sighed as the men and women walked away and Maén was silent, so deep in thought that it seemed that she was in some other place. She did not see what Atharan was doing, a cloud of reasoning had lay itself over her eyes.

Yes, revenge is a powerful thing, the two men, if they speak the truth (and I think they do) they will want his blood as much as I. But I want to take his blood myself. The woman, she may be a surprise. Maybe we may even get along, after all, the female intuition is a powerful thing

It was then that she snapped out of her dream-state and spied a man at the bar, about that intuition
she thought, and then something which she couldn’t explain, she knew in that instant that he could help her. Instantly she leapt up and beckoned the man over to her. “So tell me lass” he said ,“you must be Maén?”

“This is beginning to feel to me like im a celebrity for all the people who know my name.” she mentioned quickly to Atharan before turning to the newest stranger. “Aye, I am sir, and I will guess that you have come for my prize expedition of The Il Galoth Traitor, then you have found the right person. Then you can help me as can the others, it is that im waiting on my Aunt’s squire with the final details. I will ask you patiently to wait for then, he shouldn’t be too long Carathir is dependable.”

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 3:21 AM February 01, 2004: Message edited by: Everdawn ]