|
Gorin stroked his beard thoughtfully as he watched the dwarf in front of him begin to relax. The other dwarf even sounded pleasant when he responded.
“From the North did ya say,” the unknown dwarf responded, “Which clan do ye hail from lad? I've passed the north recently enough, I don't seem to recall seein yer clan or even hearin of them fer that matter. Of course, I didn't meet many kinsmen up in those parts, to be sure, but..."
The other dwarf seemed to choke on his own words and quickly changed his attitude towards Gorin.
"Now, lad, you listen here, what business do ya have here in these parts?” The other dwarf continued, "We've had livestock go a missin lately without much of a trace, and then you show up looking fer supplies. Tell me are you killin these townsmen livestock?"
Gorin responded in his usually gruff manner.
“Strangers,” Gorin said, “I have not done any harm to your livestock. I have been busy traveling all day, and have had very little time to do anything else, since I was in such a rush to get to Bree. And even if I was doing what you say, would I tell you?”
Gorin regretted those words the instant they left his mouth. Even though he knew himself to be innocent he was suddenly the solution to all their problems; all they had to do was arrest him and lock him up.
‘That’s great Gorin!’ he thought to himself, ‘Always letting your mouth get you into trouble.’
Gorin thought quickly of what to say next, he had make these people believe that he was innocent.
“This certainly sounds like a very perplexing problem that you’re dealing with.” He glanced at the hobbit, who hadn’t relaxed a bit since he came.
“Perhaps I could lend you a hand in this matter.” Gorin smiled broadly, thinking of the excitement that would soon await him. “I am a good tracker, not as good as those rangers mind you, but I am still capable of tracking any four legged beast whether it be at night or day. And I’m not as talkative as you might think, so you’ll hear no unnecessary talk from me. What say you to my proposal?”
He picked up his shield and pack and placed them both on his back, as if assuming they had already accepted him.
“I just remembered Ya’ll know my name. Tell me, what might be yours?”
|