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Old 04-06-2004, 08:50 AM   #149
Mithadan
Spirit of Mist
 
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Tol Eressea
Posts: 3,310
Mithadan is a guest at the Prancing Pony.Mithadan is a guest at the Prancing Pony.
A tale? Mithadan thought quickly about the many voyages of the Lonely Star and decided to tell an amended version of its greatest voyage. But first... "I will gladly tell a tale," he said in Quenya. His words were greeted with blank stares or looks of confusion. He laughed and shook his head in mock apology. "I'm sorry," he said. "Sometimes I forget what land I am in when I speak." He turned to Airefalas and spoke quickly in the High Elven tongue again, with a laugh and a smile. "Watch your words with the young one. He entered the dinner yesterday with the Lord's entourage." Airefalas laughed in turn and nodded.

"Yes," continued Mithadan in the common tongue. "I will tell a tale of my ship. The Lonely Star is a fine vessel, quick and agile. I do not know if she can outrun a corsair for she has never been in such a race, and hopefully never will now that our peoples are friends. But she is a worthy vessel.

"Several years ago, the Star was hired for a journey. Not a trading voyage, but rather a mission of mercy. We were asked to search for the relatives of a young woman that had been lost at sea. We sailed far and long, and, at length, found a great island where we thought the lost ones might be. But we could not find them easily. Fortunately, we had one on board who could help. She was a good friend, a friend of my wife and I, and she had some special talents. Have you heard of the Beornings?"

Members of his audience shook their heads, though one or two seemed to recognize the name. "The Beornings are a race of men who dwell in the Vale of the Anduin," he continued. "They dwell far from Gondor, though we sometimes hear news of them. They are shapeshifters!" Korpulfr seemed startled by this, but Mithadan spoke on. "They can take the shape of bears. I tell the truth! Our friend Bird was a fosterling of the Beornings, raised from her infancy by them. But she was not of their race. She could not take the form of a bear, but she was nonetheless a shapechanger. She and my wife Piosenniel were goog friends and had journeyed together for many years. And on this voyage, she was part of our crew. When we encountered the island, she took the form of a jackdaw, a black bird, and she flew out over the island searching for the lost ones. After several days, she returned to the Star and told us that she had found them. But they had not been shipwrecked. Rather, they had been seized by evil men and were being held against their will. So we sailed to a nearby river and anchored there. Then we took up arms and went up the river in boats. Under the cover of night, we crept into the place where they were being held captive and freed them. There was great fight, but we rescued our friend's relatives and made our way back to the Star. We sailed quickly east and evaded any pursuit. The captives were saved thanks to the help of Bird, the shapechanger."

"What happened to Bird then?" asked one of the children. "Is she still part of your crew?"

"No," replied Mithadan sadly. "She went off in search of her kin. She journeyed here, to the southlands, looking for them. We have not heard of her in some time. She is one of the reasons that I traveled here. I hoped to find her, or some news of her. Have you by any chance heard of Bird or her kin?"
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