Chapter 33. All Work and No Play 

The small party that rode through the Gates of the New City that day elicited little comment, for though one of them rode masked and hooded, his family with him were known to the guards, the Queen rode at his side, her escort trailing the group, and he, himself, was known by reputation if not personal acquaintance. Save one... an officer, who blinked and belatedly raised a hand in greeting as they passed, receiving a silent nod in return.

They rode to the Houses of Healing, where the hooded one dismounted, speaking a few quiet words to his wife. She nodded, taking the reins of his horse, and she and Arwen rode on with their children to the Citadel. Possibly they'd be walking the market that afternoon, or busy about other affairs.

The hooded one received bows of respect as he entered the Houses of Healing, and one of the healers who had been waiting for his arrival walked beside him, talking quietly, until they reached Haldoron's room, where he gave a nod of dismissal and a word of thanks.

Elessar rose from the bed at his entrance. 'Halbadhor,' he said.

'I set out as soon as your message arrived,' the hooded one said, and a wryness came into his voice as he added, 'Your lady wife was already on her way back to the city and my wife had decided to accept her invitation and "go shopping"...'

Elessar snorted softly. 'If you did not live in such isolation, she would not spend so much coin on an occasional visit...'

'Be that as it may,' the hooded one said, cutting off the King mid-sentence with the ease of old familiarity. 'What has my addle-headed brother done now?'

'He has restored his honour,' Elessar said quietly, looking down at the sleeping figure.

'And so he will continue as Steward of the North-kingdom, and all will be again well?' Halbadhor said. 'Or are you still wanting me to carry my share of the load?'

'That is what I summoned you to discuss,' Elessar said, but he was precluded from saying more by the arrival of a hobbit, who walked confidently enough into the room but hesitated on seeing the hooded man, a right ruffian to all appearance.

'Ferdibrand,' Elessar said, putting out a staying hand. 'This is Haldoron's brother, Halbadhor.'

The hobbit stood tense, neither offering his service nor bowing; he acknowledged the introduction with only a terse nod.

'I am no ruffian,' said Halbadhor mildly, for Elessar had told him of this particular hobbit as they fished by the stream. 'I wear the mask simply to spare the sensibilities of others.'

Ferdi looked to the King, in question, and Elessar nodded.

'Orcs?' the hobbit said. 'Like Haldoron?'

Halbadhor chuckled, though no humour was in the sound, and he met the hobbit's gaze squarely. 'Not quite,' he said. 'Mine were the easier scars to acquire, through fire and desperate battle, whereas my brother had the more difficult task of enduring.'

'Orcs discovered and attacked a hidden village of the Dunedain,' the King said, 'not long after Halbarad rode to the Southlands. Haldoron led the children to hiding, prepared to sell himself dearly if the Orcs found them, while Halbadhor and the wives and mothers of the village held off the attackers so long as possible, even as the houses burned around them.'

'And then Haldoron led the children and those who survived the fire to refuge in Imladris, but that is a tale for a long and rainy day, to be told before the hearth with a limitless supply of ale,' Halbadhor said.

'So Haldoron has a fair amount of skill in leading children, it sounds like,' Ferdi said, though he had not relaxed but stood as if poised for flight.

'I am no ruffian,' Halbadhor repeated, and pulling the bottom of the mask from the collar of his tunic he lifted the fabric away, slightly, to show a little of the ruin the flames had left.

Ferdi blinked and took a shaky breath, then nodded.

Satisfied, Halbadhor tucked the fabric in once more.

'I was almost forgetting what I meant to say,' Ferdi said, turning to the King. 'You told me the Steward would be wakening soon, and that I should send for Pippin, and so I did; but he looks as deeply asleep as ever he was...'

'He will waken soon,' Elessar said, and as if in answer there was a groan from the bed, and the masked man moved to the bedside.

'Ah, Haldoron,' he said. 'What foolishness have you done now?'

'A great foolishness,' Haldoron muttered, forcing one eye open and peering up over his shoulder at his brother. 'As you so kindly informed the King in your letters to him while he was still in the Southlands.'

'Someone had to make you see reason,' Halbadhor said, 'and if you wouldn't heed my warning, whom would you heed?'

'I have been blinded by grief,' Haldoron said. 'Anger, and despair... Not fit...'

'...and that is why I'm here,' Halbadhor said. 'Come to bear my share of the burden. I've been hunting and fishing long enough, and it is time to take up the sword once more.'

'Battle?' Haldoron said, confused.

'In a manner of speaking,' Halbadhor said, and the King chuckled.

'It is a battle, of sorts,' he said. 'You're stale, old friend, and worn down, and...'

'In need of a holiday?' Pippin said helpfully from the doorway.

'Ah, the Thain has arrived,' Elessar said.

'A holiday...?' Haldoron said, forcing himself up with his hands and rolling to a seated position. He shook his head to clear it of the lingering effects of the draught, and winced at the pain of his back, though it was healing in a remarkable manner thanks to the application of athelas. 'What sort of nonsense...?'

'My cousin is famed for his nonsense,' Ferdi said lightly, 'though in this case I'd agree. When he's been too long indoors, listening to complaints, and I notice that he's stopped listening, I put a stop to things.'

'He does,' Pippin said ruefully. 'Sometimes I wonder just who is in charge of things...'

'It helps,' Ferdi said in a lofty tone, 'that he is the younger cousin.'

'Helps very much indeed,' Elessar agreed, and turned once more to Haldoron. 'Your brother has agreed to take your place while you are elsewhere occupied...'

'Elsewhere,' Haldoron interrupted. 'I'm not sure I like the sound...'

'The Prince of the Halflings,' Elessar began, and the other two men snorted, for having guarded the Shire and the Breeland for the better part of their lives, they knew how the Shire-folk themselves would have reacted to such an epithet, 'has made a request of the King, that...'

'Are you to set me to guarding the Bounds of the Shire?' Haldoron said. 'Is that to be the consequences of my failing to listen to the advice of hobbits?'

'I had considered the notion,' Elessar said with a thoughtful air. 'However, Pippin's request came as I was considering, and I am of a mind to grant his petition.'

'His petition,' Haldoron said, when the King stopped.

'He wishes to send his son to the Southlands, to Gondor, for a time of learning,' Elessar said. 'As you know, young Faramir Took would be seen as a prize by renegade Men seeking the Thain's gold. His escort must be carefully chosen.'

Ferdibrand barely suppressed himself from rolling his eyes. Carefully chosen, aye, and for more reasons than one. Headstrong, the lad was, for starters.

'I'll be sending Ferdibrand along, of course,' Pippin said with a nod for his cousin (and ignoring Ferdi's hastily concealed shock), 'but I was discussing the need for an experienced Captain to lead the escort, one somewhat familiar with hobbits, but also well-versed with travel in the Wilderlands.'

Ferdi definitely did not like the sounds of this. Nor did Haldoron. It seemed that the two were in complete agreement on this matter, at least, from the glance that they exchanged before Haldoron spoke.

'Wilderlands?' he said.

'My son would like to retrace the journey of the Nine,' Pippin said. 'Insofar as it is possible, of course.' He sighed. 'I would love to accompany him myself, but am much encumbered by matters of business at present.'

'Retrace...' Ferdi said.

'Yes, Ferdi,' Pippin said briskly. 'Isn't this a stroke of luck? Here you were just saying the other day that you wished you'd seen even half the wonders I'd told you of, and...'

'Wishing and wanting are two different matters entirely, cousin,' Ferdi began, but Pippin laughed and spoke over his protest.

'Well here is your chance!' he said gaily. 'The King has offered to provide a seasoned escort for the journey, and...'

The rest of his speech was lost on Ferdibrand, and Haldoron, who had locked glances once more. It seemed they were going on a journey together, whether they wanted to, or no.

'In the meantime, before we speak any further of far-travelling,' Elessar said, bringing the two future travellers back to the present conversation, 'we must make some plans for the morrow.'

'The morrow,' Haldoron said faintly. Surely tomorrow could not hold anything more difficult than the task that loomed before him sometime in the not-so-distant future.