SELGAR: (Stops brushing down a night-black pegasus foal for long enough to motion him in. Shouting:) Olore, Elros! Hop on over!
ELROS: (Stepping lightly over a wooden post and striding towards the training grounds where Woulvin and the foal stand)
SELGAR: (still brushing lightly) What brings you this way, Elros my friend? Stopping in for a mug of ale, or just taking a break from saving the world?
ELROS: (Smirking) You have no idea, Selgar.
SELGAR: (Gesturing towards the excited pegasus) Not just here to visit Onyx here, are you? If I recall correctly, you took quite a shining to her, last time you stopped by.
ELROS: (A genuine smile this time) Of course, why would I want to see an ugly lump of muscle like you? (Petting Onyx, who immediately calms under Elros' touch) Just so you can blow some of that awful stuff you call pipeweed in my face?
SELGAR: (Chuckling) How's Jhaer these days? You better be treating her right, or you'll have more in your face than just tobacco smoke.
ELROS: She's fine, Selgar. As well as anyone can be, these days. Already composing ballads about the Return of the Elves.
SELGAR: (Packing up his grooming kit and walking back to his farmstead) Come on, I'll pour you a drink. But you didn't come to talk about the touch of Sune. What can I do for you?
ELROS: (Leading Onyx to the stable) You know me too well, my friend. Information. I've been... out of touch recently, and I need to know what's going on these days.
SELGAR: Yeah? Any good stories to tell?
ELROS: (Glaring disapprovingly) No.
SELGAR: (Smiling) Fine, fine, be that way. I suspect that you'd be one hell of a storyteller, if anyone could ever get you to talk.
ELROS: Goes with the job description, I'm afraid.
SELGAR: (putting Onyx back in her spacious pen) Sure, sure--not that I even know what that job is. I may be broken-down old fighting man, but you can't just pull the wool over my eyes. And don't even try to feed me that tripe about "seeking fortune and glory"--you've got no interest in either. (Waving his hand as Elros starts to speak) Nevermind, nevermind. Someday Jhaer'll sing some songs about it while I lay down by the fire, that's good enough for me.Ale? Mead?
ELROS: Wine, thank you. (Sipping) So, what's the chant?
SELGAR: The what?
ELROS: The news, Selgar. What's going on in Archendale these days?
SELGAR: Well, that depends on your interest. I hear that Intrin's been sweet on this lass down at Old Stonebows--
ELROS: No, no, Selgar. You know what I mean.
SELGAR: (Leaning back in his chair with his arms behind his head) Do I?
ELROS: (Biting his lip) The Riders, Woulvin. Why is Archendale rattling its saber when all of Faerun is burning around them? Why this nonsense up at Arrowpoint?
SELGAR: Careful there, boy. Once a Rider, always a Rider. Those are my mates you're talking about.
ELROS: First, don't call me "boy." I was infiltrating armies before you were born. And second, I'm only trying to get you to answer my questions. Start answering them and I'll stop antagonizing you.
SELGAR: Fair enough. Arrowpoint stands up in the Thunder Gap so that no "Storm King"--or Zhent, or Cormyrean, or Sembian army--can ever take it again. The rest of the Dales should thank us, if you ask me, for being willing to put our boys in the breach to protect all of their hides.
ELROS: (Realizing that he's going to have to wade through bullshit in order to find the information he wants) And what about this talk of Sessrendale?
SELGAR: (Looking down) Finally making amends, that's what it is. Resettling a land that we destroyed long ago.
ELROS: And that has nothing to do with all the mines, hm?
SELGAR: Sure it does, Elros. There's no crime in making money, is there? Copper, iron, mithral, even a few veins of adamantine, if the old miner's tales can be believed--there's coin in that enough to rebuild an entire Dale.
ELROS: Fair enough. What about these hooded figures everyone's talking about?
SELGAR: Don't rightly know. The miners don't seem to worry too much. Now, don't hold me to this, but personally I think its just old ghost stories. Folk've been talking about Sessrendale being haunted ever since.... well, ever since the battle. At the same time, there are some that say its the Dusk Lord himself.
ELROS: (Waits for a moment) Am I going to have to ask who the Dusk Lord is, or can you just tell me?
SELGAR: Of course. Its all just part of my grand plan, you see. I'm trying to narrow down the possibilities of your secret occupation. I've just established that you are definitely not a diplomat. (Elros smiles wryly) The ruler of Sessrendale, before it was destroyed. Stories say he was a dark wizard that consorted with demons.
ELROS: Stories always say that kind of crap. And, no offense, but I'm not investing the tavern tales of Arkhenfolk about an enemy that they obliterated with too much validity.
SELGAR: (growls lowly, then straightens) Because I'm glad to see you again, I'm letting that one go. That's your freebie.
ELROS: (Grinning behind his tallglass) Come on, Selgar. We both know that you're nothing but a big teddy bear.
SELGAR: That may be, that may be. (sighs) I know you're not too keen on Archendale's stance these days, but you have to look at it from our side. War is coming to these Dales, Valrenar, open war. Maybe you don't see it, but I do. Featherdale, Deepingdale, Battledale--they can ignore it if they want to. But we plan to be ready, no matter the cost.
ELROS: Hm. "Whatever the cost."
SELGAR: Yeah, what?
ELROS: Nothing. Its just that I imagine the Ridemasters saying something like that as they rode into Sessrendale.
SELGAR: Say what you want, but Arkhenfolk don't just roll over and die. Whether its the dragons or human tyrants--if they want to take our homes from us, we'll make them buy it dearly.
ELROS: (Ignoring the jingoism with a carefully calculated oblivious smile) Anything else of interest these days?
SELGAR: (Taking a liberal gulp of stout) Hm, let me... Oh yeah, there is one thing. Patrol of Riders found Thaliach Mindogar, the High Harvestmaster of Chauntea, up in Arkhen Vale a few days ago. Supposed to have been up on a meditative retreat or some such foolishness, but they found him dead--killed with his own knife, or so they say.
ELROS: (Unstirred by the priest's death) And?
SELGAR: And... he was well loved by lots of people around here, Eros. Plus, the fountains ran with blood.
ELROS: (Sputters) Ran with what?
SELGAR: Local legend around here--or at least it was a legend until this tenday. A priest of Chauntea gets killed in the Arkhen Vale, and the waters of the temple fountain runs with blood from sunup to sundown for a full day. The smallest drop of that blood is supposed to cure any disease or affliction--even mummy rot, even the werewolf sickness. And it started running red on Highsun in the middle of the Higharevstide festival.
ELROS: Let me guess. The blood was stolen.
SELGAR: (Raising his eyebrows) Aye.
ELROS: Any chance it was connected to the hooded figures up in Sessrendale?
SELGAR: (Eyebrows raise higher) Indeed--that's exactly what lots of folk in Archenbridge are saying, although I haven't heard anyone give a good reason for it. Just gossip, if you ask me--but you're the investigator.
ELROS: (Getting up to leave) Have you decided on my mysterious profession, then?
SELGAR: Not by a longshot, lad. (Smiles) Just give me time.
ELROS: (Grasping Selgar's hand in a human-style embrace) I must get back to my companions at the Bridge. But it was good seeing you, Selgar.
SELGAR: (Claps Elros on the back, a bit more heartily than Elros would have preferred) You too, mystery-man. But before you go, you should really stop by to see Onyx for a bit. (Elros smiles a bit in surprise) She's missed you.
