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Grrralph's discomfiture ran at several levels. In no particular order, first, his horse, Puff, had apparently taken offense at the reappearence of Grrralph's Nazgrrl and felt slighted, notwithstanding the winged-one's subsequent departure. Puff had taken to engaging in various acts to annoy his master. On several occaisions on the way to the Gap, he had gone from a full gallop to a sudden stop. The first time this happened, Grralph went tumbling head over heels from the back of his steed. The wraith was better prepared the second and third times Puff pulled his little trick, but the horse rethought his strategy and repeated his game while simultaneously cutting off Earnur's steed causing the man to fly from his saddle into Grrralph. Puff whinnied merrily as the two attempted to rise from the ground and disentangle their arms and legs.
Second, the Gap was no place for a wraith. Black just wasn't in this year, even if Grrralph could have removed his old clothes to purchase a new outfit. In addition, while colorful scarfs were available, neckwear just wasn't Grrralph's thing. As a result, he wandered forlornly about as the others engaged in a shopping spree. One unfortunate salesperson exercised poor judgement by spraying perfume on Grrralph as he walked by. Hanging her upside down from a tree cheered him (and other customers) a bit, but not much.
Finally, Merisu's announcement that the Itship would soon proceed into the West was a source of deep discomfort to him. His faulty memory could not dredge up any particular reason, but he felt somehow that he would not be welcome in the land of the Velour. Probing his discomfort as if it were a sore tooth, he attempted to jog his memory, but all he could come up with was a vague recollection of injustice, betrayal and something about lacking standing to assert anti-trust claims for monopolization of corrupted Elves. He shook his hood in frustration. He had given his loyalty to Merisu and would not abandon her now, but he was very uneasy about visiting Valleyum.
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Meanwhile, in another end of the plot, Gravlox and his Third Shock Corps (Advertising and Combat Division) were on their way to the Gap, mounted upon Wargs and such steeds as would put up with the Orcs' body odor. Gravlox did not have this problem; he had secured a cache of scented soaps for his personal use. But he was concerned about the presence of no less than three (3, more than two but less than four) Loyers who were accompanying his troops on this mission. He could hear them now, arguing about foreclosures and the best way to place Grundor in default of its obligations under several financing agreements.
When he received his orders from Greedhog, he began to plot a way to abandon his troops so that he could be reunited with Merisu. The presence of the Loyers complicated things immensely. They were certainly better trained and armed than the Uruks and were also, arguably, smarter as well. Escaping their attention would be difficult, particularly since they had decided to stay within ten feet of Gravlox at all times. It would take a significant diversion to evade them. Otherwise, he would be forced to seize a member of the Gallowship (who came up with that name, he wondered) and bring that unfortunate back to Môgul...
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