Chapter Text
Something falls onto his shoulder and he glances at it, expecting to find a fallen leaf or a flower petal sitting there innocently instead there is a rolled up piece of paper tied to a taut piece of string. Finrod's eyes follow the whole line of the string upwards until he notices the fishing rod poking out of the upper floor window of the house he's sheltering by.
The suspicious part of his brain is very worried that this is a weird attempt to trap him but today is a weird enough day already and he decides to risk getting kidnapped. Hopefully he never has to tell his father about this particular act of recklessness.
He doesn't cope well when Finrod's injured.
So, better not get injured then.
He reached to unroll the piece of paper , slipping it free from the string which bound it. Inside is a small letter written in a shaky child's hand.
Mr Prince Finrod,
Please help my Atar.
Itamo
Wrapped within the paper was a flat sided carpenter's pencil. Finrod couldnt help but smile as he wrote his reply on the unused side of it.
Hello Itamo,
I'm here to help Princess Nerandel. Is your Atar in the Guildhall now? If he is don't worry I'm sure the Princess is keeping him safe till the King comes and stops everyone from fighting.
Finrod
He re-rolled the paper around the pencil before tying it back up and tugging on the string it was suspended from.
A little face appeared over the window ledge before the line was rapidly reeled back in.
Whilst Finrod waited to see if there was a further reply he kept his eyes firmly on the gathered guards. They seemed infinitely more interested in what his grandmother was saying up at the front of the crowd that in keeping an eye out for any resistance.
No doubt they thought that their show of excessive force has scared away any of the dissenting people. Finrod known the Feanorians better though. He knows that they're just marshalling their forces, just making plans and biding their time. Feanorians either act entirely on impulse or they spend two hundred years planning to annihilate you and everyone that's ever helped you.
His reply comes swiftly and the letters are just a little hard to read, kind of mushed together in an endearing sort of way. He can't help but smile.
Prince Finrod,
Nana said not to let anyone in the house because it's dangerous. Atar is Giuldmesster he's inside with the Princess and the baby I can show you how to get inside.
Itamo
It turns out that the guild master has his own private entrance to the Smith's Guildhall via a tunnel that starts in his back garden and ends somewhere near his office inside his place of work.
Finrod is glad to know that everyone inside has access to an escape route that is an alternative to having to push their way out through the front door.
The Owls gather in the street with the force they've managed to gather. Something that Finrod is extremely grateful for. He hadn't been looking forward to the potential of sneaking down a tunnel alone and surprising an unknown number of stressed out Feanorians who might take his presence as an aggressive act. With them he had someone they would trust to vouch for him.
The kid waves from one of the downstairs windows pulling faces at the two soldiers that have volunteered to guard the house and tunnel. The last thing they need is the elfling getting hurt for helping them or the Palace Guards discovering the tunnel and charging down after them in the dark.
Finrod takes a deep breath and plunges into the dark.