The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum - View Single Post - The Green Dragon Inn #11

Fallinel · 07-04-2004, 09:33 PM

Njeri's year-long journey had taken her far from her home in the Sutherland, and now she had entered a strange land called "the Shire". Indeed, it was the strangest land she had seen so far, inhabited by people who were only half her height, and who seemed to fear water and boats. The Halflings were superficially friendly, but stared furtively and a bit rudely at Njeri's loose, dyed cotton clothing and head scarf as she rode by on her desert-bred mare, Ismitta. Her skin was no darker than that of many of the rough farmers here, and her eyes were dark blue like those of some Hobbits; yet, underneath the head scarf, Njeri's tightly curled hair was tamed by numerous small, neat braids-a hairstyle that no Hobbit had ever seen.

Njeri had lived all her life in a large fishing village, with a busy harbor, south of Umbar on the coast of Far Harad. Her father had been an important and highly educated man, who had made sure that Njeri was well-versed in the poetry, literature, art, and history of her culture. She had been named for the ancestral roles of the men in her family: Njeri, Warrior's Daughter. The war, however, had changed the lives of all in the Sutherland, and Njeri was no exception. After her husband had been killed, she had fashioned a living for herself by establishing and running an inn in the village, with a popular restaurant, and several comfortable rooms for travelers. But after a few years, the increasing numbers of roving bandits and cruel gangs made it impossible for Njeri, as a widowed woman, to maintain her inn, and she had decided to travel north out of Harad.

Njeri had fashioned saddle packs to hold her few treasured belongings, and started her journey north about a year earlier; she had stubbornly clung to the coastline of Umbar, Harondor, and Gondor as she rode, because she could not bear to be far from the Sea. There had been trouble in Edhellond, and thereafter she had avoided large cities. Njeri and her dun mare had scrambled over the southern tip of the White Mountains, and thereafter it became difficult to stay near the coast. Njeri had been forced to head inland, and eventually encountered a Great Road, running north-south.

It was early evening as Njeri and Ismitta approached the inn; the tall woman of Harad dismounted, and led her mare to the nearby stableyard. She was apprehensive about talking to any of the Halflings, and she feared that the innkeepers might turn her away.

07-04-2004, 09:33 PM	#458
Fallinel Pile O'Bones Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: A forgotten strand in a strange land... Posts: 14	Njeri Njeri's year-long journey had taken her far from her home in the Sutherland, and now she had entered a strange land called "the Shire". Indeed, it was the strangest land she had seen so far, inhabited by people who were only half her height, and who seemed to fear water and boats. The Halflings were superficially friendly, but stared furtively and a bit rudely at Njeri's loose, dyed cotton clothing and head scarf as she rode by on her desert-bred mare, Ismitta. Her skin was no darker than that of many of the rough farmers here, and her eyes were dark blue like those of some Hobbits; yet, underneath the head scarf, Njeri's tightly curled hair was tamed by numerous small, neat braids-a hairstyle that no Hobbit had ever seen. Njeri had lived all her life in a large fishing village, with a busy harbor, south of Umbar on the coast of Far Harad. Her father had been an important and highly educated man, who had made sure that Njeri was well-versed in the poetry, literature, art, and history of her culture. She had been named for the ancestral roles of the men in her family: Njeri, Warrior's Daughter. The war, however, had changed the lives of all in the Sutherland, and Njeri was no exception. After her husband had been killed, she had fashioned a living for herself by establishing and running an inn in the village, with a popular restaurant, and several comfortable rooms for travelers. But after a few years, the increasing numbers of roving bandits and cruel gangs made it impossible for Njeri, as a widowed woman, to maintain her inn, and she had decided to travel north out of Harad. Njeri had fashioned saddle packs to hold her few treasured belongings, and started her journey north about a year earlier; she had stubbornly clung to the coastline of Umbar, Harondor, and Gondor as she rode, because she could not bear to be far from the Sea. There had been trouble in Edhellond, and thereafter she had avoided large cities. Njeri and her dun mare had scrambled over the southern tip of the White Mountains, and thereafter it became difficult to stay near the coast. Njeri had been forced to head inland, and eventually encountered a Great Road, running north-south. It was early evening as Njeri and Ismitta approached the inn; the tall woman of Harad dismounted, and led her mare to the nearby stableyard. She was apprehensive about talking to any of the Halflings, and she feared that the innkeepers might turn her away.