LOTRO: The Drunk and Mr. Uptight

Eibwen attended her first kinship meeting, which turned into more of a gathering. Apparently there was pressing business elsewhere that kept many of the council away. Eibwen had been calling it a party and so Khazrax had brought beer and wine. She knew it wasn't a party, but she doesn't know how to handle situations that make her nervous or scared so she'll change the subject to drinking or pie.

Once inside she noticed strange things around the kinship house, like a creepy stone chair, a barrel of oddly moving tentacles, or a strange glowing orb. She started to wonder again if she was in the right place, this time not just because she fears she's not good enough for the group, but also she worries there might be a darker side she's not seeing. She convinced herself these things were in the house to keep them out of the hands of evil people elsewhere. Perhaps the stories behind them would make her feel better, but she didn't ask.

Her friends Wolfcub and Khazrax had traveled with her from Bree-Town to the homesteads where the kinship house was located. Another was there when they arrived. A kind older man with only one eye. The boys took turn playing their instruments and Eibwen does enjoy music. She was at ease and starting to feel like she might belong after all. Maybe Gilgarad wasn't also drunk when he recruited her. She's sure he must have been, she can't see another reason he'd have picked someone like her.

People who entered started to gather around the table where Gilgarad was standing. Eibwen just assumed they were nosy about what maps he was going through or wanted to be near him. Eibwen found Yumshi the Sneak Thief interesting, but was weary of her anyway. She talked much of the number of guards around the house and about the price of the valuables. And later when someone said they'd been away on business Sneak Thief smiled. Eibwen knew it was because business means gold and gold means Sneak Thief has something to take or admire. 

Eibwen was at the refreshment tables serving her friends Khazrax and Wolfcub bread and cheese when she first took notice of Mr. Uptight, Bregalaith. She didn't think he was uptight at first of course, that came later. He as well as Dragomir and Gilgarad started to discuss the greatness of Gondor and how they were all from there. Eibwen only half paid attention to her friends so she could listen in. She started to worry that she was not too from Gondor and if she should have been. She's just a peasant girl from Bree-Town who was engaged once to a poor boy from Archet until bandits killed him.

She'd started to feel better again and had thought about how much Dragomir looked like her grandfather who was also from Gondor and then she told Gilgarad that he reminded her a bit of her father. That comment seemed to upset Sanaria, though Eibwen was unsure why. Sanaria was clinging to Gilgarad so Eibwen thought maybe the other lady was jealous, but then Eclathar entered. Eibwen by this time had started thinking of Bregalaith as Mr. Uptight and have moved to go stand between her boys. Well, first she stood by Yumshi, but was smiled at oddly, so went back to Mr. Uptight, and then moved to her boys. She was there when Eclathar entered and she greeted him and told him how much she loved his tabard. Gilgarad informed her it was the tabard of the order. Eibwen went and found herself one as well.

Sanaria further confused Eibwen over the strange way she reacted at Eibwen's compliment to Gilgarad when Sanaria went over and slapped Eclathar for having been away from her. Eibwen got the impression the two were lovers, but then Sanaria went back to cling to Gil's arm, making Eibwen wonder if Sanaria is Gilgarad's daughter and was thus jealous of another girl that might view him as a father as well. Eibwen has a father and he may be a poor woodcutter, but she doesn't wish to replace him. She let it go as to not make a scene. She'd been making a good one already with the guard that kept snubbing her affections until she finally slapped him herself.

Others arrived and soon the spaces around the table were all full. Eclathar asked for permission to address all and was given said permission. Eibwen gave him her attention, but some of her kin were restless and moved or spoke during his little addressing of the group. Eibwen found it highly distracted. She can't now recall what was said, only that he was nice and she liked his words, but that they'd been a bit scary to her. Something about fighting together and getting ready to fight along side each other.

Then Mr. Uptight wanted to speak. He started to tear into the new members, like Eibwen for their lack of discipline and noble Gondor upbringing. He said they were a disgrace to the order and brought it down. Or something like that. That's how Eibwen heard it anyway. Others all started talking and there was a lot of arguing and bickering over how bad people like Eibwen were and if they should be given a chance or not. Eibwen could only think of that night in Archet and how she was drunk and passed out while it burned. She failed to protect her loved ones and realized then she was not worthy to wear the tabard she'd gone and found. She felt silly standing there in it and simply waited for everyone to be done talking so she could flee. As soon as Gilgarad dismissed them and people started to filter out, Eibwen made her way for the door.

Deranian -who was one of those who'd played music for her before- tried to stop her. He could tell something was wrong, but she didn't want to have to explain how inadequate she was. She'd heard someone else say something about how they had to go take care of a package, so she used the same excuse.

She find water to be calming so she went and found some to sit by. Khazrax tracked her down and came to sit near her. He was wise in not saying much, but just being there for her. He felt better about leaving her when she started fishing a bit. She left him under the guise of needing to go sell some fish, which was true. She did stop by the local shop. But then she went and sat across the river from the kinship house and just stared at it for a bit. It's so grand and big and she's so small. She's not even that great at using her axe and has never really fought anything more than wolves or bandits.

She then decided that maybe she'd go fight a few more bandits and see if that made her feel any better. She's not thinking she'll prove Mr. Uptight wrong, maybe she'll never be that great at anything. But she doesn't have to be a drunk that lets her friends die either.