Dearest Sister,
It is with great interest that I share with you the peculiar and daring events which unfolded in my presence this past Spring and the mystery which now occupies my consciousness in my down time. Although these happenings were perilous in the extreme, I do not wish to cause any grievance unto you and I am safely in the confines of a sturdy inn within the walls of Bree.
This series of proceedings all started along the Brandywine, near where the river forks and runs towards Annuminas. I had stopped for a respite and a meal, the fish were plentiful and my bounty came with relative ease. It was during this time when I spied a series of papers floating downstream. My curiosity amused, I fished some of the papers from the river and noticed that they were written in an ancient form of Dwarvish! Oh, how I wish I could read them!
I hastily packed camp and started up river, searching anxiously for their origin. That is when I came across an old water mill structure, it’s water wheel immobile and it’s door ajar. I knocked on the door, to no reply, then cautiously entered the mill. To my surprise I discovered it wasn’t a mill at all, but rather a forge, the water wheel powering immense bellows. The inside of this forge was scattered with more papers and smithing artifacts, many of these in that same ancient tongue of our ancestors. Alas, I eventually found whom I believe to be the resident. He was an elderly man in the peaceful everlasting repose of his cot.
Startled by this discovery, I had nearly forgotten my excitement when I heard the low call of a cat above me. Up in the rafters above there sat a fat, round cat as orange as the sun and nearly as old. It stared at me as it mewed, and as I looked back I saw a small silver key strung around its neck. In searching for what it might belong to, I found a small iron safe, the size of a cabbage, immaculately crafted, and immensely heavy. I beckoned the feline down with some of my earlier bounty and snatched the key as it feast.
The treasure found inside the safe was breathtaking to a scholar like myself. There were seven silver bars, each weighing 3 ounces and each stamped with more of that ancient Dwarvish! What value of both treasure and history to our people! I took them along with as many of those ancient papers that I could carry, returning them to their proper inheritor. Giddy with excitement, I planned to set off to Bree to see if I could find someone knowledgeable to provide guidance in these artifacts.
But this, dear sister, is where fortunes ended for me. For the journey to Bree was rife with peril.
As I traveled south along the Brandywine, towards the road that runs East to Bree, I was besieged by a pair of highwaymen. I was determined not to forfeit my freshly acquired treasures and a barbarous fight proceeded. I swung my axe hard, the strength of our forebearers behind me, and fell one of the brigands. However, the other riposte and dislodged my weapon into the nearby river. Left with only my walking stick, I fought with all my courage and used all my strength. I was weary, but I held the upper hand! That was, until I heard the cries of more wretches heading towards the melee, undoubtedly to assist the one before me.
I fled! With what natural speed born to us, I fled south ahead of my adversaries. But those fools drew closer! I searched for a place to disappear and found a small hollow near the bank and withdrew inside it. Oh! How I wish I never found that hollow! You see, it was a ghastly tomb! I laid there as still and silent as the tomb’s awful denizens until those of the living dispersed into the wilds. I quickly scuttled out of the grave, and washed my face in the clean waters.
I continued to move south quickly, not wishing to run into my pursuers. When I finally made that road, everything felt safe and I reassured myself that the travel by road wouldn’t provide as pitiful an experience.
However, the first day on the road had produced a terrible series of storms! I swiftly found a small hovel in a series of trees, thinking it a safe shelter until I noticed it situated in a small wetland and the water rising around it. I had started to curse my luck, when a strange and mesmerizing occurrence took place. From out of those flooding reeds, a hundred or so frogs appeared hopping and croaking. They appeared to be dancing and singing in this rain, courting and celebrating! Can you imagine that? I still cannot, and I witnessed this! The festivities continued, but the singing lulled me to sleep. In the morning, the water had receded, and there was no signs of those astonishing amphibians.
Spirits renewed, I pushed on towards Bree. When I finally arrived, I was weary and my spirits were low, but the warmth of a hearth and a bowl of chowder has restored me. Now, I look for someone who can assist me in my pursuits while I pour over and ponder these discovered papers. The silver has been remitted to a treasurer for safe keeping, at the request that it does not leave Bree for other debts.
I am anxious to hear from you, sister. I will remain in Bree until mid summer, by when I expect to embark on an adventure to unearth more of our ancestral heritage. I will write to you when I have discovered more. May the rest of your spring be generous.
Affectionately,
Rori
