The night passes uneventfully and morning soon arrives. Redknop wakes up when his body tells him it’s morning, but being in a cabin below decks, it’s hard to tell.
Redknop gets up and dresses. He takes his multi-pocketed vest on and his brown leather tool belt. He offers a few prayers to Gond and receives his blessings. After that he stuffed his belongings in his backpack and made sure that he wasn't forgetting anything.
Then he walked out and up on the deck, hoping to find Bromley and eat breakfast with him.
Up on deck Redknop finds a flurry of activity. The crew is preparing for arrival and some of the overenthusiastic passengers are already on deck with their luggage. It takes a minute, but he spots Bromley at the same place he found him yesterday morning. He turns and sees Redknop approaching.
Ah, good morning to you, good morning. How did you sleep? Are you hungry, shall we head upstairs for some sustenance?
Oh, yes, let's do. By all means, let's do so. My belly is so empty that it almost kept me awake all night.
Redknop winkes at Bromley. As the pair is walking into the dining hall, Redknop signals the waiter and makes sure that they get the usual breakfast.
When they finish, Redknop fumbles about his pockets and produces a small leather gadget. So small and neat that it could be easily fitted under ones belt. It had a small, almost undetectable hook. He handed it over to Bromley.
Here, I wanted you to have this. This is a new set of picks. I saw the one you used when trying to open my door, and I wondered it took so long for you to stash it away. So, I’ve made some minor adjustments and here you are, picks that are carried in this leather and you hook it in your belt. It is so small that it blends easily with the belt and one can't see it, at least if one isn't looking for it. And as a token of my gratitude for your help and friendship I’ve blessed them so, that when you're using it, Gonds light will shine on you.
Redknop smiles heartily and is quite excited to see if Bromley likes the modifications he made.
Bromley takes the device and cups it in his hands, shielding it from any on-lookers. He examines it closely, opening and closing it, taking and returning various picks. Then, with a quick and fluid motion that baffled the eyes, the picks were gone and he was taking a sip from his mug. Bromley looks at Redknop and smiles.
A truly wonderful and ingenious device you have created. I thank you for it. May it save me from many embarrassing moments in the future.
He raises his mug in a toast.
And may our little investigation be effective.
Redknop answers and raises his mug.
To your health.
Bromley raises his mug in salute.
To your health
At that point the waiter arrives with their food. As they ‘dig in’ and enjoy the meal, Bromley speaks again.
We should be arriving in Selgaunt within an hour or so.
How nice. It fits wonderfully, we should be finishing our breakfast at that time.
Redknop smiles and winkes at Bromley.
I guess we'll start by going to the inn and then finishing your business, to get that over with. After that we can start our investigation. What do you say about that? Is this a plan?
Bromley smiles.
It has the familiar sound of a plan to it. We should endeavour to finish our breakfast within the hour then retire to our respective quarters to gather our belongings.
Redknop looks up at Bromley and asks.
And meet back on deck just before we arrive?
As soon as they finish Redknop walks down to his cabin and gathers his belongings, making sure that he isn't forgetting anything. He whispers a prayer to Gond, thanking him for inventing such marvellous things as this ship and getting him safely to Selgaunt. When he hears the ship-whistle blow he grabs his backpack and goes again to the upper decks to witness the ship gets closer to Selgaunt.