Book 1: Chapter 1 - Troubles in Tharbad

[Blubbo_Baggins]

"Hopefully one of them can hear something," he replies, indicating the Ranger and Hobbit.

[Vardaen]

Hartley is watching and Halleth tries to move in a bit to hear more. He catches the end of their conversation.

"...something is wrong. You see those two?"

"Yeah."

"Let get the heck out of here."

One of the men motions slightly at Telurin and Aravule's position, then the three men turn and head off away from the Range and Elf's position at a good pace, but not a dead run.

[Muskrat]

Halleth sighs with frustration. Part of him was tempted to follow them from the shadows and try to find out their headquarters--but he could run into trouble if went alone and was caught by them and with any of the others but Hartley joining them, they would surely be noticed. Instead, he slipped through the shadows to Aravule and Telurin. "Seems like they know something is up, but it's hard to say how much. From what I caught of their words, it seems like they saw the two of you. I'm not sure they know anything else is wrong, besides the paltry amount of money we left them."

[Blubbo_Baggins]

"Did you get a good look at their faces? For if we at least know how they look, we can find them again in town and perhaps, eventually, find ways to earn their trust and get information from them."

[Wbweather]

Hartley watches as the men slip off. Knowing that the others would not approve, but relying on the fact that everyone on this town perceives him as an innocent child, he slips out of his hiding place and tries to follow the men. He begins singing a children's song and as nonchalantly as he can he walks and skips playfully, stopping and drawing in the dirt occasionally or examining a large beetle to avoid looking like he is paying attention to where they go.

Action

I might invoke the Merry trait, if it helps. I just want to see where they are headed, not get to close.

[TetNak]

"Hartley!"

Aravule tries to whisper loud enough for the hobbit to hear when he takes off. "Dammit." He nods to Halleth, "Make sure he's safe. I won't abide him getting into trouble unnecessarily." He would do it himself, but like before, he's not stealthy.

"I shouldn't have come," he says to himself idly. He considers that this wasn't a good idea at all.

[Vardaen]

The men are gone, the moment they move around the corner of the building they take off running. Hartley gives chase, not even hearing Aravule's whisper. Once they are running, he's running, but at a safe distance. They weave around down to the waterfront where they leap into a row boat and row out on the river heading for the isle in the middle. Harley watches, safely, from the shore as they row away.

[Wbweather]

Hartley, smiles at himself, knowing he likely will face the ire of the ranger Aravule when he returns to the group. "No harm done." he says to himself. As he makes his way back to the group he reasons to himself. So "A" it would seem is tied directly to the man on the island, and now HE would know that something is amiss. He worries about the merchants that they had helped, wondering if their lives would be worse after the companies assistance. Change can be painful, though. This would not be a smooth transition. This festering pus-pocket of a town had grown a huge ugly scab, and it was going to be painful to remove that scab and clean out the mess underneath.
Would Aravule agree to go help the dwarves? He hoped so. He liked Blain and thought him an honest and trustworthy soul. He might even be tempted to go with the dwarf. He had left Bree to seek adventure, not get mired down in a town like this. He missed the Pony, not that he was ready to go back just yet. There was still a lot of the world left to see.
If Aravule was just not so pig-headed. He refused to see the good in anyone or any situation. In the stories he had heard of the kings of old, they had been wise and generous men who earned the respect of their subjects. If Aravule were to become king, Hartley was afraid that he would be a harsh and vindictive ruler. Whatever shadow had tainted him up in the north, he hoped the ranger would be healed from it before he did find his throne.

Eventually he makes his way back to the others. Greeting them he waves. "Well, I followed them unseen to the bank of the river. They took a skiff across to the the island. At least we know who they work for."

[TetNak]

When Hartley returns, Aravule frowns, "Are you okay?" He looks the hobbit over for a moment, then changes his line of questioning. "I see. They do not know what they were seeing. Other thugs maybe?" Aravule shrugs slightly, "Let us make our way back, and cover our trail." He runs his hand over his face for a moment as he waits for the other to consent. "We do not want to be spotted out here."

[Muskrat]

Halleth says, "We left them a paltry amount of money. It won't be long before they call on Barkwell to demand their proper share and discover that he's ... missing. I suspect once they begin investigating, they'll find out what we've been up to quite rapidly." He pauses. "This might be a good time to go on our expedition--they may think we've cleared out and we can give them a nice surprise when we return. But I worry about how they will come down on the merchants we helped."