Logs-A Broken Top

Bree Market - South

This section of Bree is known locally as Market South. There are shops lining
both sides of the road, selling a variety of wares and services. Here, at the
southern end of Bree's Market two roads meet, one from the east and one from
the north. The market is rather noisy and filled with activity, as people
buy, sell, trade or simply browse the goods available here. Along with the
items for sale, different aromas from the foods being sold blend together to
add another dimension to the market.

Contents:
Pipeweed Stall
Food Cart

Obvious exits:
Alleyway leads to Large Field.
Sewing Shoppe leads to Sewing Shoppe.
Bakery leads to The Bakery.
East leads to Bree Market - East.
North leads to Bree Market - North.

================================== Bree Time ==================================
Real time: Mon Feb 02 03:29:33 2004
Bree time: Mid Afternoon <4:28 PM> on Sterday of Spring - May 6,1431
Moon Phase: New Moon

Breelands Weather
The mid afternoon spring air is cool but pleasant around you. The day sky is
cloud-filled and gloomy.
===============================================================================

Clouds are gathering overhead - ominous fat-bellied ones that promise rain
later. That hasn't halted the bustle of the market any, however. Men and
women, Big and Little, jostle to and fro between the stalls, and the would-be
shopper has to run the gauntlet of skipping children, barking dogs and all
the rest at his or her own risk.

Old Hugh Bramblefleece doesn't seem to relish the prospect, for he stands just
outside the bakery with a number of brown paper bags clutched in one hand,
and a scowl on his face as he prods at the ground with the shiny, new-looking
staff clutched in the other. Then he's off, veering away as a spinning top
heads into his path.

Into the market come two figures- and they are hand in hand. The shorter of the
two (who's height, curly hair and general appearance) gives her away to be
Megan, and she drags her companion- Andrick, obviously, along behind her...
Why she appears to be in such a rush isn't made apparent- though they were
making a beeline toward the bakery until- there in the crowd she must spot
Hugh, for excitedly she turns to Andrick and points away into the Market
square- "Look there! It's Mr Bramblefleece!" now she turns and waves an arm
above her head. "Hullo, Mr. Bramblefleece!!" she calls. Apparently she's in a
rather good mood today...

Standing inside the crowded bakery, Rook licks his lips at the prospect of
being able to eat fresh bread. He is already holding a bag with some bread
inside, but is stuck at the front of the counter with the door being blocked
off by other people, who are eagerly pushing and shoving to get to the front
of the queue in hope to get the best bread. Not being small enough to really
dart through the crowds, he starts pushing through. "Excuse me... erm...
excuse me..." He repeats this eager plee several times and after a struggle,
he is outside the bakery. He notices a spinning top on the floor. He stops
for a moment, almost mesmerized by the repetivive spinning motion. He snaps
out of it as he heres a familiar voice... was that... Megan?

Andrick suffers himself to be led, and though smiling and evidently enjoying
his company, is clearly not so enthralled as Megan to see Hugh. He raises his
eyebrows, glancing at the old man before the throng of children, with a
mildly amused smirk on his face. "'Ow long 'afore one o' them kids 'its 'im
with a ball or somethin'?" He says to Megan, quietly. "Or that feller," he
continues, nodding at Rook.

Andrick's words might almost be prophetic. Almost.

At Megan's enthusiastic shout, Hugh turns his head to peer into the sea of
bodies, calling back a quizzical, "Why hello there. Is that-"
*crunch*

A painted wooden top now lies shattered under the old man's foot. "Eh, what's
this?" he mutters, looking down.

"You broke it!" an indignant voice from somewhere below the level of Hugh's
knees protests indignantly. "You /broke/ it - didn't he?" This last is
addressed to the nearby Rook, as the tiny hobbit-lad who had made the protest
emerges from the crowd and skitters to a halt at the obstacle of the man's
brown-clad legs, tilting his curly head back and up to view the giant.

Rook looks towards the old man and then looks to the ground where the shattered
spinning top is, and in his mind he tries to peice it back together so that
he can see it spin again, for the fact that such a mesmerizing object had
been broken possibly meant something more than just a little kids toy that
was stepped on. Rook once again looks to the old man and gives a slight
frown. "You saw what he did!" - the voice chirps up again. Rook looks to the
child and gives a little grin. "Look. Don't make a fuss over it... There are
other toys you can play with, and I'm sure we can find you another spinning
top around here somewhere!" Rook looks back to the old man. "You should be
more careful you know..." He smiles. "I'm Rook Farrell..."

Toward Hugh bounds Megan, though she has time enough to glance back at Andrick-
a mischevious shine in her eyes. "My brothers almost hit him, but they hit a
ranger instead- with a ball, out on the field," she replies and continues
forward-- ducking and weaving through the people, reaching Hugh just in time
to see him breath the top- eyes widening then moving between the hobbit-lad,
Rook and Hugh... and then, as Rook speaks up (and he's /asking/ for an
argument...) Megan frowns. "It aint his fault. There's kids all about and
puttin' their tops under people's feet.. Maybe /they/ should be more careful."

The top is undeniably broken. Hugh stares down mournfully for a moment, then
offers an apologetic, "Eh, sorry about that. When the market's busy like
this, see, it's all a body can do ta keep goin', without tryin' ta look out
for obstacles." He gives Rook, a potential obstacle, a hard stare at that
statement. "Hugh Bramblefleece here, nice to meet ye I'm sure." He dips his
head in a doubtful nod - but this point Megan's emerged to back him up. How
fortunate! He leaves the rest of the arguments to her, simply offering to the
hobbit-child, "Look, I'll give ye a few pennies ta buy a new one." He starts
trying to rummage in his belt pouch - which of course isn't too easy with a
fistful of paper bags.

By this stage the hobbit-lad is sniffling, despite Rook's attempts at
consolation. "Never get another one as good," he proclaims shrilly, "and yer
still standing on it, Mister!"

It is all Andrick can do to keep up with Megan without losing his arm, but, he
manages it, arriving behind her breathless and red-faced. He does not see the
event, but hear's the aftermath, and makes a guess. "Aye," he says, "Yer
broke that lad's toy, as fine a top as yer could 'ope to see, that were, an'
'ere's you goin' round standin' on it an' then givin' 'im a few pennies to
make up fer it? Poor lad." He shakes his head and tuts at Hugh, and nods at
Rook, "Aye, yer ought to 'ave bin more careful, if it weren't deliberate.
Thought it were a rat, I'll warrant."

Rook looks to Megan. "Ah, I thought I heard that voice." Rook looks at the sad
eyes of the hobbit-lad one last time and then tilts his head to the side
slightly, as if telling the youngster to leave for now. Rook winks at him and
sure enough, he runs off, probably to find another toy to play with. Rook
looks back to the old man. "Nice to meet you too. Forget the pennies though,
he'll find something new in no time." Rook stands straight and nods to
Andrick, before turning his gaze to Megan. "The children don't exactly know
any better. All they know is, toys are fun, toy gets crushed, no more toy.
He'll get over it, but the right thing to do for the childs sake is to agree
with him as to not make him even more upset." He does a teasing grin to Megan
and then looks to Andrick, as if not wanting to make eye contact with the
apparently annoyed Megan... "So what are you guys doing here during such a
busy hour?"

"No need to cry! You can't exactly expect everyone to see exactly where they're
going when you spin your tops in their way! And don't be silly. I saw that
one," A blatant lie, "And it were hardly good at all! Now you can go buy a
nice proper one and..." Megan pauses, as Andrick argues against her point,
and she tenses and takes a deep breath- falling into a wary silence. "Well I
don't see how my brohers can get in trouble for playing with a ball out on
the field, and then everyone spares the children sympathy when they're
runnin' around and gettin' in the way of everythin'..." brown eyes glance
between the three, and then she shrugs dismissivly- perhaps not wanting to
start any more unnessicary fights just yet.

A rat? At Andrick's suggestion Hugh jerks his foot back as though he'd been
bitten. "An' what else would ye suggest?" he demands of the man, scowling -
no 'nice to meet you' for him. And he ignores Rook's suggestion, continuing
to fumble for money even when one of the paper bags he was clutching falls to
the ground with a soft 'splat'. "Now, here we are - why, bless me! Where's
the wee feller got ta?" A moment's blank silence as Hugh finally realizes
that the hobbit-lad has long since given up, broken only by a
confused-sounding, "Eh? What's all this about balls?" to Megan.

Rook squats down quickly to pick up the paper bag and whilst bending, cracks
his ankles. The sound was only soft and I don't think anybody actually heard
it, but Rook bit his lip. He felt it. He rubs them slightly and looks up to
the three people now towering over him and smiles. He grabs the paper bag and
stands up, offering it to Hugh. He slightly stretches his ankles on the spot
by going on his tip-toes for a moment, and then returns to normal level. He
smiles to Megan nervously and looks to Hugh. "Do you want this back now or
should I hold it until you need to leave?" Rook smiles.

"What?" Hugh blinks at Rook for a moment, then his brown eyes focus on the
proffered paper bag. "Oh - me cream buns! One of 'em days it is," he
announces with a sigh, adding philosophically, "Eh well, the childer'll eat
'em anyway." Only then does he recollect that he's yet to answer Rook's
question. "Sure, I'll take it. Thank ye fer bein' so helpful. Save me bendin'
this stiff old back." He even returns the younger man's smile as he extends
the hand clutching the rest of the paper bags.

"It aint nothin' Mr. Bramblefleece." Megan mumbles- lowering her eyes to the
ground in a rather pathetic manner- searching for sympathy.. sympathy? Or
attention? More likely the latter... In any case, she looks quite the image
of innocence and what-not- scuffing her boot lightly against the road beneath
her. If Rook's ankle-cracking act can give him attention, then this act of
hers will certainly do the same. "It were just somethin' I were thinkin' on..
Remember when Adrian hit that ranger fellow off in the field, and he were
gettin' in trouble? And there were another time too, I think, with the same
thing.." a pause now, as she seems to be out of steam- the good mood that she
was carrying turned to something more dreary like the colour of the clouds
that hang over head... "I'm.. I think I'll just get my deliveries... then
we'll be off again.." she mumbles, leaving Andrick's side now to slip into
the bakery.

Rook watches Megan as she pushes past him into the bakery... Feeling slightly
bad about possibly triggering Megans bad mood, Rook thinks it might be the
best thing to do to just simply leave before he can make things worse. Rook
was always the one who felt overly guilty about these situations. "Well, it
was good to see you again Mr. Thatcher. Tell Mrs. Thatcher I'm sorry I had to
rush off." Rook turns to Hugh. "It was a pleasure to meet you Mr.
Bramblefleece. We shall talk again soon, I'm sure of it." Rook does a slight
bow to both men and brushes past them, heading into the crowds. He looks back
and through the bakery window to see Megan one last time, just to check her
expression... He can't really make anything out, so he just nods and hopes it
was a smile on her face and not a frown. He searches the crowded market for a
path he can take which doesn't lead into bumping into too many people, and
finds one. He makes an attempt to dart through the crowd and eventually
disappears from sight.

Megan words to Hugh bring on an instant scowl "Ranger feller? I remember when
one o' yer brothers hit /me/!" The glare he sends in her direction is hastily
softened as the dazed-looking woman starts to move off, and he calls out a
swift, "Goodbye, hope ye have a nice day!" Moments later he has to repeat
that, as Rook too dashes away. "Such a helpful young man," he murmurs, before
recollecting that he too has errands to run. "Eh, afternoon," he offers
Andrick, with a grudging nod, before raising his staff to clear a path
through the crowd. Hopefully he and his groceries will make it in one piece
...

=== Hugh's DESC ==============================================================
A first glance at this man reveals that he's broad of shoulder and girth, and
perhaps an inch or two shorter than average for a Bree man - though that
could simply be the burden of age, for his shoulders are slightly stooped,
and his gnarled hands are most often curled about a stout crooked wooden
staff. Despite that, his movements are sprightly, and the twinkle in his
brown eyes bespeaks a lively mind. His face, what little of it can be seen,
is seamed and weathered like an old oak from time spent outdoors ... the
remainder being hidden by a bushy beard. This, like his hair, is snowy white,
and tangled as a bird's nest.

He's clad in simple homespun garments - dirty linen shirt tucked into a pair of
oily brown trews, in turn tucked into strong leather boots. A fleece rests
across his shoulders for added warmth in all but the warmest weather.
==============================================================================
=== Megan's DESC =============================================================
This young woman is not unlike many others in Bree, but to most meeting her,
her face would be memorable. A tangle of tick brown hair falls just below her
shoulders and is tied there with a bright green ribbon, though the rest
frames her face; wild and apparently untameable. Wide, almond-shaped brown
eyes peer out, often cheeky and mischievous though at other times thoughtful
and reflective, sometimes even cold and uncaring. Her face is lightly dotted
with freckles along her cheeks, and this gives her a somewhat childish look
though she would be about 17, this and the fact that she's somewhat shorter
than the average Breefolk.

Green is her colour of choice for this season, though the material is quite
simple, it suits her well- tunic coming halfway down her calf, light and
perfect for warmer weather. On her ring-finger sits a small gold band, with a
small, well polished, and smartly cut, green gem set in it.. On her feet she
wears simple leather sandals or small boots and occasionally she has a
rust-red coloured wool cloak over her shoulders, depending on the state of
the weather.
==============================================================================
=== Rook's DESC ==============================================================
This man is of average height, around six feet tall but is by no means lanky.
He is slightly muscly with thick-looking limbs and has pure white skin. His
head is covered in very messy brown hair, which covers nearly his entire
forehead and his ears are mostly hidden. He has deep muddy-blue eyes and
thick eyelashes - above them some average-sized eyebrows that are a bright
orange. He is slightly unshaven around the face and neck and has a small
beard in the centre of his chin that is also a bright orange. He has a
strange black marking on the side of his neck that is no bigger than the size
of a penny, and looks like a star that is missing a couple of the points.
The man is wearing a dark green shirt with the top two buttons open, and the
edges of the short sleeves are rough as if they have been ripped before. Over
the shirt he has an open vest that is dark brown and also looks as if it has
been worn many times before. Long brown pants cover his legs and the bottom
of them slightly drags along the floor as he walks. The knees look worn and
are a lighter shade of brown than the rest of the pants and some of the
stitching is coming loose. His shoes are almost camouflaged, as they are a
mixture of brown and green. They are missing the laces and the soul of the
right foot is coming loose.
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=== Andrick's DESC ===========================================================
his man is tall and gangly, a little over six feet, with thin, bony limbs. He
has well tanned skin, with a rough complexion. His head is completely bald,
and his ears stick out sharply, highlit by the lack of hair to cover or
surround them. His eyes are dark brown, and sit below big, bushy black
eyebrows, that hide the eyes themselves to an extent. His cheekbones are
sharply pronounced, with a ruddy hint to them, framing his thin and bony
nose. His upper lip has a small scar on its right-hand side, and he is
missing a tooth right under the scar. His chin is square, and has a very
short beard on it, that peters out as it goes up his cheeks and down his neck.

The man is wearing a long-sleeved white shirt, open necked at the front, with
a filthy collar. Over the top, he wears a long, brown waistcoat, unbuttoned,
and resting on his body as it would on a coat-hanger. On his legs he wears
long, dark brown trousers, with patches over both knees, and several small
holes in them. He wears scuffed and worn brown shoes.
==============================================================================