[Aylwen Dreamsong]

Jair and Jorgen had no trouble finding the docks of Cair Andros, and walked casually and nonchalantly down the line of sea vessels. Jorgen and Jair had both brought along three torch stakes along when they were first hired by Whisper, and Jorgen had brought a bit of flint. They had decided earlier, as they navigated through the trees, that using fire to torch the ships in port would be the easiest way to keep the hunted stuck on Cair Andros. Not only that, but the chaos caused by a burning dock would give less chance for Jorgen and Jair to be discovered before escaping. The sun's rays were just beginning to dim as the two stopped along the boardwalk.

“Jorgen!” wailed Jair when he stopped to count on his fingers the number of major ships in the port. Jorgen turned around, and lifted a brow impatiently. “There are more ships than there are torches!”

“Yes, I am perfectly aware of that,” replied Jorgen, who cursed Whisper for pairing him with Jair. “We don’t need to burn all the ships, for many are likely to catch fire anyways."

Jair's mouth formed a small 'O' at Jair's answer, and then the slightly dense man looked out to sea. One last ship began to leave Cair Andros before Jair spoke up again.

"Which ones do we burn?" he asked, eyeing the remaining ships and peering over to see the names of them. There were a fair amount left, and Jair wondered if their plan would work. Whisper wasn't strong looking, but Jair certainly didn't want to make her angry should their plan fail.

"You go ahead and burn the Twisted Rose, the Traveling Sage, and the Black Branch. I'll take care of the Melancholy Merchant, the Winding Snake, and...the Swift Sallow. Got it?" Jorgen ordered, and Jair nodded, taking careful note of which ones he was to burn.

"Wait! Jorgen...one last thing!" Jair exclaimed. "Won't it be a bit suspicious? Two men carrying a bunch of torches?"

"It's almost dusk," answered Jorgen, with no due amount of patience in his tone. "I'm sure people who walk around at night use some sort of light. Besides, it will be quick. A fast toss and we're out of here."

With that, the two split up, Jorgen going down the right side of the dock and Jair going down the left. In quick succession Jair easily tossed all his torches onto the bow of his 'assigned' ship. Jorgen worked with speed and agility as well, and the last ship he had chosen to light, the Swift Sallow, lit rather quickly.

The two regrouped, and in no time people were rushing about, screaming and running away from the port. The fire had become a good deal higher than Jorgen had expected in only the first few minutes of flame. A look of panic was spread across his and Jair's faces.

"I think we should make our quick get-away," murmured Jorgen, black eyes reflecting the bright flames. Jair simply nodded his agreement, and the two tried a tad unsuccessfully to meander through the thick, bustling crowds.

~*~

It took Whisper and Seshan a while longer to find some trace of the port, and still when they had, they found that they had come on the opposite side of the one they were intending. The trade post was thusly on the side farthest away from the two mercenaries, and they finally decided to stalk the inn instead of the trading post.

They strolled simply down the street, and Whisper was careful not to attract too much attention. The inn was easy to find especially when Whisper, tired of Seshan's refusal to ask for directions, asked a young man where the inn might be.

Once the two found the inn, Whisper was held back for a moment. She wanted more than anything to have sweet revenge on Joal's killer, and she wanted that revenge more than she did the reward that would come out of killing the man Halasan.

Seshan jostled Whisper out of her thoughts, and the two entered the cozy inn without too many stares. The inn was warmed by a fire that had been lit with the onset of evening, and was filled with the slight, comforting clatter of mugs on bartables.

"Could I get you something miss..." a young woman, presumably one of the workers, had walked up to Whisper and Seshan. Whisper had the distinct urge to send the woman away, to ignore her question entirely, but then she reminded herself that doing such a thing would result in attention that need not be directed on the assassin.

"Tavari. And this is...Joal," Whisper supplied. Whisper decided on her original name, for she wasn't entirely sure how well-known she actually was to the 'innocent' folk. Whisper was also unsure of who knew Seshan, and what they knew of him, so she gave him Joal's name for purposes in the inn. "And no, thank you, but we will just be taking a short rest."

The woman nodded and scurried away. Seshan gazed around the room, and Whisper eyed one group of men conversing cheerily.

"Now is your chance! You have daggers!" exlcaimed Seshan in a hushed voice. Whisper shook her head. "Go find them! They could be here, in this inn!"

"My business is with the axe-man first, and Halasan second. Perhaps in one of the rooms," Whisper replied in agreement.

Before Whisper could act on her words, screams and shouts became greatly audible in the streets outside the inn. Whisper and Seshan whirled around, and the door was pulled open by some passerby. Outside, red and orange filled the sky, and with the open door came the sound of licking flames. The docks had been set on fire.

"Oh, dear Eru," mumbled Whisper. "Jorgen. That fool! It had to be him! No one else would be so stupid! But...I did tell them to think of a way to keep our prey on Cair Andros!"

The people in the inn were immediately stirred from their cheerful dispositions in their desire to see what was going on. Flying by the door in herds were chaotic, panicked people from all around the docks. Seconds later, two men could be seen fighting against the current of the crowd. Eventually, they were slammed against the doorway of the inn. It was Jair and Jorgen.

"Why did you set the port on fire?" wailed Whisper, finally feeling the real, long-term effects of Joal's death. Joal may have been a bit high strung, but he never would have set a whole dock on fire!

"You said do anything to, 'foil any chance our prey has of leaving'!" retorted Jorgen, though his surprised, panicked face contradicted his humoured tone.

"I didn't mean set the port on fire!" growled Whisper.

"Oh well! We have to get out of here now and go back to our ship!" interrupted Seshan.

Everyone nodded agreement. Whisper, however, had a hard time wanting to leave when her hunted could still be on Cair Andros.

"Whisper! Come on! We have to go! You'll get your chance with him before the end!" Jorgen called, gabbing Whisper by the shoulders and dragging her out of the inn.

The group, once out of the inn, followed the main flow of people until they were out of the major crowds of scared merchants and denizens of Cair Andros. They were soon out of the open and back into the original sparse forests away from the main port and trading station.

"If they do make it out," Whisper breathed, tired from running. "They will head for Minas Tirith. We have to be there waiting, I suppose."