[Airerûthiel]

Bragolhirwen shrugged. "It does not matter," she said. "To be honest with you, I have been thinking of giving up the adventurer's life. Perhaps I am being a little foolish in quitting so early on in my life because I could not find any adventure that caught my eye. But I shall be content if all that happens in my life after this is that I finally settle down into a life of relative normalcy.

"Now if you will be so kind as to excuse me, I am afraid that I must go and speak with my cousin." She cast a wary eye in the direction of the other end of the bar. "He seems to be quaffing an awful lot of that fruit punch. I hope it is not too alcoholic, or heaven knows where he will end up after the party. I wish you the best of luck with your quest to slay the dragon."

The half-Elf bowed low and then hurried off to attend to her cousin. Elentari stared after her friend, a sad smile on her face. It had been good to see an old companion once more, even for only a few short minutes. Suddenly she felt a tap on her shoulder, and turned round quickly to see a young woman with shoulder-length wavy dark blonde hair and turquoise standing behind her.

"Forgive me for interrupting," said the maiden, "but I could not help noticing that you spoke with Bragolhirwen. Do you know her?"

Elentari nodded. "We fought alongside each other to slay the great spider Shelob. She was a good friend to me. Why do you ask this?"

"We are acquaintances," said the young woman as she sat down. "I met her on the road a few times, and we talked on occasion. She thought very highly of you, even though she did not know you for very long." She offered out a hand. "My name is Neisa, and I come from Edoras in the Riddermark. And you are Elentari, the Spider Slayer of Mirkwood, are you not?"