Andreth: end of school
Andreth set her pen down on the table, blew on the ink to dry it, and then hastily read over her letter.
Quote:
Master Tomson and Mistress Letitia,
My best greetings to you. I fear that I have a serious matter to bring to your attention.
This morning, your son Will led two of his companions to the school and intentionally disrupted lessons by shooting peas into the classroom. Three of the children were hit, though none seriously. I fear that next time we may not be so lucky.
If these were normal times, I might regard this incident as a childish prank and look the other way. But, with conditions being what they are, I can not take this lenient stance. The Mayor's stated plan for the defence of Bree is to build trust between the Big and Little Folk; this school is one part of that plan.
Let me be totally blunt. I am presently laden down with responsibility at the Inn and school, as well as helping the volunteers to gather in the crops for storage. I can not afford time disciplining young men who should know better!
As you know, I am a member of Bree's Council of Burghurs. If there is a repeat of this incident, or another similar one where the students or myself are selected as targets, I will not hesitate to bring my complaint before the mayor. As you in particular should know, there have been instances in the past when a directive was issued forbidding any and all Breelanders from buying produce or livestick from a specific farm.
I truly hope we do not come to such a drastic measure. I will rely on your good will and integrity to hold your son in check.
Andreth Woolthistle,
Innkeeper, The Prancing Pony
Member of the Council of Burghurs
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Andreth looked at the letter and sighed. She did not feel totally comfortable with this course of action but she felt she had little choice. She was enough of a realist to understand that, if she did nothing, Will's misconduct was likely to continue. It would do no good to make a polite request to him, or even to his father. The only thing the two men seemed to understand was a heavy hand above their heads. She folded the letter in half and ran over to hand it to one of the kitchen girls for immediate delivery to the Farroweed farmstead. Then she darted back and stuck her head out the door calling the children in from recess.
The remainder of the morning went reasonably well. She gathered the children round to listen to stories of elves and dragons while they ate something out of their meager lunch packets, and then offered several sugestions how they could practice their letters and numbers at home by using a stick to scratch them in the dirt. As she was finishing up the last story, there was a knock at the door and the familiar face of Berilac appeared once again.....
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Chathol-lin's post for Harald:
Harald's post
Harald was so pleased after his encounter with Minastan he practically ran down the street
Why, he agreed to do the spy mission at once! And that look he gave me as I turned away. I do believe Minastan has gone sweet on me, much good may it do him. Well, I hope he comes back in one piece - with some good information.
He headed for the inn, a few streets away. As he neared the inn, he heard the raised voices of children playing and remembered Andreth’s school. It reminded him of his mother, the former Mayor, and her ideas of bringing the Big and Little folk together at the market days.
Ma, I thought you had gone daft, he thought, but that was before the ruffians. Maybe Mistress Andreth knows what she is doing with this school business.
That was when a girl on the run came hurtling around the corner. She crashed straight into the mayor and he went down on his backside. From this vantage point he took a good look at the child and realized that for some reason she reminded him, like Andreth, of his mother. But he had no time to pursue this thought because the girl shouted in his ear:
“Did you see the Big boys? They threw something at Fippi – right through the window!”
“No, and I would like you to return to school. You can tell me what happened as we go.”
When they came to The Prancing Pony Harald said, “After you’ve finished helping with the hedges, come back to my house. I’m going to ask Miss Dantha if you can stay there a while. You will not sleep in the stables anymore.”
Willofain’s eyes grew wide and she smiled. Pulling bits of straw from her light hair, she ran toward Berilac and his group of Hobbit and Big children.
“And give Berilac my regards,” Harald called, surprising himself.
The folk in the common room looked up as Harald entered. “What next, Master Mayor?” said dour Elmirith.
“I’ll tell you, Elmirith” he said. “I want you to go about the streets, shouting that we need sturdy lads and lasses who will work hard on repairing the dikes. They will have to move earth and pile rocks. We can feed them, I think. That has to be pay enough. Will you do that, and get the Captain of Guards to help?”
“Aye,” growled Merilith, “I’m armed. I can walk the streets at will.” He stamped out.
“What was that about?” wondered Harald. He took a seat at a table, ordered hot cider, and waited to see who would show up with more ideas on the defense of the town. If anyone.
[ November 01, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]