MorningOutsideMarshendMerivelJoinsDerronIndex | HomePage | GameLogs | MarshendGameLogs | Morning Outside Marshend Merivel Joins Derron (Continued from Morning Outside Marshend) The hedge knight hesitated - and then nodded. "A couple of years back," he said, "a fellow knight and a friend of mine was travelling in these parts. He was killed - murdered. There were rumours that he died at the hands of one called the Riverwolf. "His name was Ser Fuchon." Derron nodded and said, "I have heard of this Riverwolf, though I can't say I have ever met him. Do you simply wish information of him that your 'squire' does not hear? I have none. Do either this man or the Riverwolf know you seek...whatever you seek?" The hedge knight shook his head. "He carried a map," he said. "I don't know what became of it, but I promised myself if ever I came this way again, I'd do all I could to find it. If you'd heard of him, it might have given me a place to start. But he had nothing to do with my ... squire." At this moment, the door opened, and Merivel was seen. Derron waved Merivel inside and said, "The Riverwolf usually can be found at White Harbor. Though he is known to ferquently trade in these lands, especially with House Hardy." Merivel closed the door and held up a hand. He looked at Derron and the hedge knight. "Your Squire, Ser, is outside, asking pointed questions about where you are, what you are doing and whom you are doing them with." Merivel said to the knight. "I told him that I would be fetching you from the cottage, and implied you were perhaps lying down in here." He looked at Derron. "I suggest you remain here or leave by another method and come back to the front of the cottage by a different direction. "The Ser should come out with me." Merivel looked at the knight. "Looking a bit peaked, Ser, might help with the deception." "My thanks," said the hedge knight. He hesitated, and then looked towards Derron. Merivel nodded. "You're welcome." "A girl," the hedge knight said, "travelling north, with a single guard ... that's what we seek." He prepared to leave the cottage. Derron's brows furrowed. "A girl traveling in these lands with but a single guard? Foolishness if you ask me. If they haven't been set upon by bandits and sellswords by now, they're most likely lost." Merivel raised his eyebrows at Derron's summation. Derron handed the man a piece of parchment. It read: 'As Steward of House Draupaud, I give permission to travel across Draupaud lands to Ser' "I need your name, and the name your squire uses." He was ready to fill in their names and sign and seal it. Merivel continued to watch the scene silently, his eyes flickering from the hedge knight to Derron and back again. The hedgekniight nodded. "My name is Ser Granger of the Lees," he said. "My Squire - the name he goes by is Dortmund. Merivel leaned over curiously to see what the Steward was writing. Derron printed the names, then used a nearby candle for the wax and placed a small seal in it. The seal was then returned to his belt pouch, which never left his side. Derron handed the paper to Ser Granger and said, "There you are. Now if there is anything we can do for you, please ask. I make no promises other than to listen." "But quickly." Merivel said, cautiously. "The Squire may come upon us any moment, despite my soothing words." "Thank you," said Ser Granger. "I very much appreciate the aid you have given me." He bowed to Derron slightly - and then to Merivel. Derron printed the names, then used a nearby candle for the wax and placed a small seal in it. The seal was then returned to his belt pouch, which never left his side. Derron handed the paper to Ser Granger and said, "There you are. Now if there is anything we can do for you, please ask. I make no promises other than to listen." "Thank you," said Ser Granger. "I very much appreciate the aid you have given me." He bowed to Derron slightly - and then to Merivel. Derron returned the nod and waited for the man to leave, but with his eyebrows he motioned for Merivel to remain behind. Merivel nodded and made ready to depart with Ser Granger, but halted at Derron's look. "Ser" Merivel said hurriedly before he could reach the door. "If the Squire should enquire, tell him I spoke of looking over my supplies of curatives and will be out in due course." The hedgeknight nodded and then, his bows made, left. Merivel then turned to Derron expectantly. Derron moved to the window and peeked out to make sure the knight was not listening at the door. Once he saw the man walking away he asked Merivel in a whisper, "Where are the minstrel and his boy?" "I've only seen Ranulf, and the Dornish." Merivel said quietly. "Why, Derron?" he asked in an urgent tone that laid on top of his whisper. Derron scowled. He mulled it over, then decided that having at least one other person know was better. "According to Ser Granger, the squire is actually in service to someone close to King Robert Baratheon, the so-called Spider, and is looking for a child born of Baratheon's seed in some noblewoman or other. A single child traveling with a single guard. You may or nay not have noticed, but they let slip last night that the boy is a girl in disguise. I'd like to give them the word that those they flee are here." Merivel raised his eyebrows in surprise. Derron paused, then said, "Don't we still have a prisoner in the barn? Maybe I'll go check on him. Maybe I'll also find the minstrel still there." He opened the door and strode out towards the barn. He forced himself to focus on his goal, and not to look in the direction of the knight and 'squire.' Merivel didn't respond, in words, to Derron's revelation. He stood in place for a moment, and only when Derron reached the door did he realize that Derron had violated his request not to leave by the door, so as to throw off the suspicions of the Squire. He remained standing in the cottage for another minute before heading back out. The wheels of his mind raced with the implications of what Derron had told him. In the barn, the man they had captured lay trussed and groaning in one of the simple stalls. There was no sign of the minstrel. Derron turned right around and came back out. "Binnder!" he called. Binnder, who had just seated himself wearily lumbered to his feet. "Make sure our guest in here is fed, and given water, too. Once all our own people are fed, of course." With that Derron went looking for Septa Mariam. Mariam was by the stream, collecting fresh water with the aid of the youngest of the Clearwater guards. Although she was laughing at something he had said, there seemed no impropriety in her demeanour, nor any real reason for the slight blush that came to her cheeks on seeing the Steward. But her greeting was warm enough. Derron's eyes narrowed and he looked the guard up and down. "You'd best not be causing any trouble, lad," was all he said. "Give me those buckets, and get back to the others." The young man sprang to obey after setting the buckets on the ground. Derron picked them up, one in each hand and shrugged in the direction of the cottage. "Allow me, milady." As they walked, Derron spoke softly. "I learned about the hedge knight and his supposed squire. I'll explain later, but the squire hunts for the minstrel's girl. Do you know where they've gone?" Mariam shook her head and answered equally softly. "They slipped away yesterday. But I know ... it was their intention to head for Clearwater." Derron shrugged, an action that was not encumbered by the heavy buckets. "Nothing for it, then. I've already said none of us need to go into town just now. Perhaps later. They're probably so jumpy they'll be in hiding in any case. Later today we can send some into town, and if we see them, give them a message." She looked at him searchingly. "And what if they're headed for Clearwater? Is what you learned bad enough that they'll need protection? Their experiences already seem to have been ... harsh." Derron sighed. "They made it this far without too much help, save for one set of bounty hunters. I'm sure if they left yesterday they should either be in town, or lost in the swamps. Either way, beyond our immediate help. Rushing about to find them would simply draw the so-called squire right to them. And even if they're found, the young one should be in no...damn." It just hit him. The Spider might be hunting King Robert's offspring in order to eliminate them. Part of him wanted to simply ignore the issue. It did not concern him, or Lord Draupaud. He had his own concerns. But the child would not deserve that sort of fate, simply due to her circumstances of birth. Derron had some idea what being an outcast was like. (Continued in The Return: Catriona, Derron) |
