[Amanaduial the archer]

A sound again behind her, and for a moment Aman's heart beat sped up even further and she was on the verge of running, before she stopped. She felt foolish all of a sudden- imagine running away like this, running from something that might not even be very much at all. Had she not dealt with horse-thieves before in Rohan? Yes, her brain replied in a small voice, but you had a weapon then.

She hovered for a moment in the doorway of the barn, loath to run back to the Inn to fetch people from their beds at such a late hour when there might not be any need, but not altogether keen to go back in unarmed, when a thought hit her and she smiled to herself. Of course, she didn't need to go all the way into the Inn to get the sword or wooden club behind the bar- she had the choice of several prime weapons from the Inn's very customers. The keys still hung at her waist, and in them was the key to the weapons box, now locked- there were only two keys to that, one held by herself, the other by the unshakeable Vinca Bunce, from the time when Dwarin had been Innkeeper- not even Derufin held a key to this. Aman knew it was probably wrong to use the weapons of the Inn's customers when they had been entrusted like this, but, she reasoned, it was really for their protection. Or the protection of their horses and ponies at least- Aman would not allow a horse theft.

Running to the Inn door where the weapons compartment was, Aman fumbled with the keys, identifying them by touch, until she came to the small, inconspicuous silver one that opened the weapons box- it wasn't as large as some of the others so it wouldn't draw attention and if someone was to steal the keys, they certainly wouldn't guess that this one was the key to all of the weapons (bar Aman's own) in the Inn. She twisted the key twice in the complex lock, and heard the small, satisfying click as it opened. Opening the door to the compartment, Aman surveyed the wide array of weapons within, and couldn't help being surprised- the many denizens of the Inn certainly did come well armed! She didn't take alot of time to think about it though, quickly selecting a long, silver sword, elven looking in design, quite light and about the right length and weight for her; easily manoevurable, but able to inflict the damage which might be necessary.

Aman just hoped it wouldn't be necessary as she scurried back to the barn, lantern in her left hand, sword in her right, held in an expert grip. Despite her skill with a sword, she had heard of sword thefts in such large Inns before; her stomach turned over for a moment as she thought of one in Rohan, at the White Horse. That had proved disastrous, for the horse theives and the denizens of the Inn. Why the guard on duty had been murdered...

Shaking back these thoughts, Aman pressed into the Inn, lantern still held in front of her, tensed to move quickly. Taking a deep breath, she called again.

"Who is in here? Show yourself!"