Ainhari' (Rh."One-army") was a former Vulvsagia who maintained Ynarri's rift at the Tirthon in central Rhudaur in T.A. ca.1409.He had been forced into other work because he was lame. This handicap was the result of an old war wound that had festered too long before treatment. Marendil en Hrótaiyar had granted him a local monopoly on full-strength mead and ale; without the soldiers' trade he could not make out a living from the few travellers who came to his inn. Garrulous and clever, Ainhari verified the identity and business of any travellers or tradesmen. Few were allowed into the keep without his approval. Consequentially, he seemed very nosy to those who had to visit with him, but none suspeced how effectively they're being interrogated. Ainhari had an adolescent mute Thewi, Hoelbandol, who served as his servant.Hoelbandol was loyal to his master; given Ainhari's growing distaste for physical endeavors, this was somewhat surprising.
During the "Trulladags", Marendil enforced a quarantine on any visitors to the Tirthon: they had to spend one night at Ainhari's "Drift". The commander was partially motivated by his desire to keep the old soldier in business, but this was a rational safety measure in these perilous times.Ainhari played the buffoon well. Few travellers detected that it was his approval of their story or credentials, rather than the passage of some statutory number of hours, that was necessary to gain admittance to the Beacon Tower.
Notes[]
Original form in MERP:Ynarri = Ainhari