#rivervale_lodge

dirk gets himself a drink while he waits for Frank to answer

Frank blinks and his brow furrows. "Can you rephrase the question?"

"There's a redcap brat having trouble and her friend isn't a redcap but wants me to help HER friend. But they aint in Bergen"

"So should i help em?" Grumble

"I believe we should help others, Dirk, yes."

"But I'm a redcap"

"And?"

"We're not exactly dreams of helpfullness, thats MOM's disease"

"You might want to rephrase that, Dirk. I get where you're coming from but there are limits."

A glare, then he sighs "I love mom, but thanks to her need to help everyone I had to move out of my room. So I think there's good reason about consdiering the danger of this. But i hear you "

Frank nods, an understanding between men is made.

"For existential questions, Dirk, you need to speak with the Mountain."

"No," he says 'why would I?" confused

"It's his job." not without amusement.

"Wait... I came here asking if I should help a stranger. You said 'totally', but then you seem to resent me asking YOU for help and try to dodge by making me go to the Mountain?" He blinks 'That's kinda sus, don't you think?"

"I don't resent you asking me, Dirk. I'm honored. And I'm not making you do anything." he points out.

"Huh..well, of course I'm gonna aks you for advice. It's what grumps are for...don't have to be a Mountain either. and you and the Chief are square with me." He says 'okay. I may head out of the town for a bit then to help this twerp out'

A sigh "I worry 'm soft but I guess if I'm afraid of being soft, then the fear means I ain't exactly hard anyway. " He tilts his hat down "Takes a real man to be a wuss" And he heads out

*********

Brekke wonders what THAT is doing in her Lodge. She has a tv, but there's a new boxy thing

A frown. She looks at it...from a distance. Is it one of those game things?

Maybe but more like a dish or get 100 channels plus things?

if there's a dish on the top of the lodge she may lose it

That gets a scowl. For a long time the Lodge had no television at all. Then she made allowances for videos, and then for a limited number of channels. This seems very excessive.

The notion of a dish sends her outside to check.

She moves outside... and while it is small, there is a tiny dish not much bigger than a garbage can lid

Oh, that gets a very narrow-eyed glare. And with the Hearth not here, and the Mountain likely at home with his family, she calls for the one most likely to know what's going on: "Rover Olgar!" Her raised voice does not sound happy.

Olgar comes out "Yeah boss?"

then he looks up at the dish "oh. you saw it"

A silent glare. She clearly expects an explanation.

"Ah..." He looks sheepish "That's kind of... ah, a gift"

"A gift." She sounds as though it were a gift that an untrained puppy had left on the carpet.

"Sally Mae felt bad about being out so long, and...wanted a treat for the childlings who visit. so we got disney plus and nickoloden and ..lots of things."

He says "This is about to go over as well as when she brought in fancy coffee, isn't it?"

She closes her eyes. "Cannot the childlings...play? Make art? Tell stories?"

"THey can, and they'd have restrictions put on it." He says "I confess, I did like a lot of the sports channels, but ... if you want it down, she'll probably understand"

A sigh. "Perhaps it is time to have an addition off of the main hall. A place for that type of recreation."

"We could put it in the lake house we had made for guests instead'

"No, no...then the childlings will not be in easy sight of those in the Lodge."

"Other option is give it to the other Kings. Tove and Jaymes are close"

He's clearly giving her some outs

"That would not serve the purpose which Sally Mae intended. No...the more I think on it, the more I like the idea of an addition." She is considering one wall of the Lodge, envisioning the construction.

Olgar looks at her , with honest surprise "You're serious? i gotta say, Chief, I did not see that coming."

"No?" She considers him. "I forget, were you here before Frank built the sauna? Or did you arrive after?"

"A good point, I had arrived, but was away for longer times" He ponders "with a bit of an expansion we could make it so the dish wasn't visible at all."

"That would be good as well. It is a visual intrusion I would prefer to hide."

"I'll help " He says "maybe hire that wudlig kid gerd likes"

"Ah! Yes...and Bertand."

"Oh, fancy glass..." He looks approving "You actually got a vision for this don't you?"