[piosenniel]

DALE – Jarl/Bram

It was the night before the general audience with King Elessar. Jarl was celebrating the successful meeting his group of petitioners had had with the King. He was well into his third mug of ale when Bram motioned to him from the doorway of the tavern. They walked through the courtyard and out onto the path which led to it from the main road. As they passed the tree marking the entry way to the courtyard, a man stepped out from the shadows.

Jarl stepped back from the stranger as he approached, and facing him, put his hand to the hilt of his sword. Bram put his hand on Jarl’s arm to stay him from drawing his weapon. ‘This is Captain Rira.’ he said, drawing the shadowy figure more into the light. ‘He piloted the Neekerbreeker down the Anduin for us. He and I have been speaking of ports he has visited, and I thought you might like to hear of his discoveries in the lands far south and east of Harad. Jarl relaxed his stance and waited for Rira to begin speaking.

The Captain spoke of lands fantastical to the imagination. Of great and ancient cities set in seas of sand. There were gems, beautiful gems of all colors and an abundance of precious metals. The craftsmen there were highly skilled, their wares lovely and exotic to the eye of such a man as he. Of especial interest to him were great centers of learning in the cities. In one of the largest there was a great, multi-storied Library filled with scrolls beyond numbering collected from many sources throughout this unexplored region. He spoke of the way the peoples there had organized their politics and their economy, of the sorts of guild system they had established. Jarl’s eyes lit up at the mention of the merchants’ and tradesmens’ guilds, and he questioned Rira further on this.

Bram watched as Jarl’s face reacted to the information from Rira. He could see the man begin to calculate what this might mean in terms of opportunity for Dale. He laughed, breaking the intensity of the exchange between the two men. ‘We need not talk all this through tonight.’ he told them. ‘I only wanted you to meet. I thought after the Audience tomorrow we might meet again and see if we would like to explore these new possibilities.’

Rira agreed to meet with them, and suggested they do so on the ship he and Bram had sailed into Minas Anor. It would afford them some privacy as they laid out their plans. Jarl said that he would bring his assistant, Garlin, and would also bring Girion. If they decided they were to head south, then the Prince would bring back word to his Father, the King, of their plans. Jarl paused for a moment, a slight frown on his face. ‘I wonder if he could be persuaded to come.’ he murmured to himself, thinking of how invaluable Gramil might prove if he could be persuaded to travel with them.

The two Dalesmen said their good-byes to Rira, saying they would see him in the early evening of the next day. Bram walked with Jarl back to the tavern, where the celebrations were still in full swing. ‘I’ll meet you early tomorrow morning and go to the Audience with you and Garlin and Girion. I’m thinking you should probably collect the Prince from his cups soon and apprise him of what the day holds for us tomorrow.’ He thought for a moment. ‘In fact why don’t you gather those two up now, and we’ll spend a quieter and more restful night on the ship.’

Jarl agreed and drew the two young men away from the party. They protested, but fell silent when he told them there was Dale’s business to be done first, and celebration after. A somewhat sober group, at least in thought if not in bearing, made its way quickly back to the dock and boarded the ship.

[ November 11, 2002: Message edited by: piosenniel ]