The Barrow-Downs' Third Birthday Party and Downie Awards

[Beruthiel]

Tin saw another elf at the bar getting a whole bottle to herself. Tin nodded to her and raised her (third) glass to her before she drank it all down and slammed it back onto the table. 'Another thanks mister...' She said to the barman who poured out another glass.

An elf had just gotten up from a table and seemed to be alone so Tin got up, with her drink in hand, and walked over to him.
'Hi there, I'm Tinuialwen...' She said smiling but the drinks had definitely taken an effect on her and she wobbled as she tried to stand up straight.

[Trippo The Hippo]

Trippo returned from his whereabouts, that will remain unknown. He sat down next to Menelien's lifeless body. He hoped that she, and him would both have life in there bodies at the same time. For he still owed her a dance, and was gonna get it one way or the other.

He saw The Sauce Pan Man walking around, and offered him a seat. "No, I dont want your feet." He replied, as he walked off.

[Stryker Stormeye]

"Hi, Stryker Stormeye, glad to meet you," Stryker replied, "You can call me Stryker if you want. Where are you from?"

Stryker was glad to have someone to talk to.

[Nerindel]

Nerindel notices the elf at the other end of the bar raising her glass to her, she smiles and raises her own glass slightly, the elf then leaves, Nerindel watched her cross to a nearby table where another elf was seated.

She looked from her bottle of Lorien slammer to the table and decides she can't drink it alone, So she heads over to join them.

[ May 04, 2003: Message edited by: Nerindel ]

[Eruanna]

Eruanna struggled slightly to work the cork from the bottle of champagne. Finally, there was a loud *POP* and it flew up into the air with such force that it missed the sparkling mirror ball by a mere whisker!

Glancing over to the bar she noticed another elf maiden, who smiled and raised her glass in greeting before draining it then slamming it back down onto the bar and demanding a re-fill. Eruanna raised the bottle in salute and watched as the elf maid went over to a table; walking in the careful, deliberate fashion adopted by people who are trying to disguise their slightly inebriated state.

Pulling up the collar of her coat she shivered slightly as a cool breeze blew across the room, she could have sworn she felt dampness in the air....darn it, her hair would frizz!

[ May 03, 2003: Message edited by: Eruanna ]

[Child of the 7th Age]

Cami was having a difficult time following the party. She'd mislaid several of her posts, along with the friends she'd been speaking to, and had no idea what had happened to any of them.

The party thread itself seemed to be expanding at a truly prodigious rate. Cami had never seen anything quite like this on the Downs. She vaguely remembered something that Mithadan had once told her. When threads on the Downs reach twenty pages, they are apt to lay down and die. Cami wondered if there was an admin to close off this thread and open another. At the rate things were going, they would hit the magic "twenty" sometime tomorrow.

But the hobbit's quiet reverie came to an end with the onset of the impromptu fireworks' display. Helka, what have you done? Cami moaned. For there was now a large hole in the middle of the ceiling. And since it was starting to thunder and storm outside, the rain had begun seeping into the Hall, at first sprinkles but then picking up until there were buckets pouring in. Beads of water ran down her neck and head, as she stood in the Hall drenched and miserable.

Cami managed to send a passenger pigeon over to the absent Mithadan (no cell phone for her!), apprising him of their desperate situation. She then set out to find the party responsible: Anuion, son of Helkhahothion, a fellow she liked from the Green Dragon who'd always shown a considerable amount of spunk.

Standing in the middle of the hall with an umbrella perched daintily over her dripping head, Cami fixed a stern eye on the culprit.
"Helkha,.....er, Anuion, you're in trouble. Not only did you steal fireworks, but also words from Bethberry's mouth.... Plus, there's all this mess you made in the Hall." She pointed upward at the prominent hole through which rain was coming in pelting sheets.

"If I had my way, I'd call over the Orc guards and have you dragged off to the Lockholes in the Shire to spend time thinking about your miserable misdeeds. But to tell the truth, I don't trust those security guards. Ending up as lunch in an Orc's stomach does seem like a harsh punishment."

"So this is what I've decided. I expect you to present yourself at the Green Dragon or the White Horse next week after the party, and spend some time washing dishes. Someone is going to have to fix this mess, and you'll need to earn the money to pay for that!"

With that she turned, and scurried for the edge of the room, which was a bit more sheltered from the raucous winds and rain. She was desperately hoping that some more adventurous partygoer would get up to the ceiling and cover it with a tarp.

[ May 03, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]

[GaladrieloftheOlden]

Menelien awoke to find Trippo and Gimli on one side of her, and Firondoiel and Arafangwen across the table. "Good *hic* morning!" she said."I mean *hic* !@#$%! Good afternoon. Evening. Same difference." she added sheepishly. "So, what do you all want to do?" Only after the question had ben uttered did she notice tht most of her companions were asleep...

[Guo Si]

After musing for a long time over a plate of balrog wings, Guo finally responded to Beleth's inquire.

"Uh.... its not fake!"

She looked at him with skeptical eyes. "Fine, whatever" she remarked, as she reached for one of his balrog wings. Just then, an idea struck Guo. He turned to Beleth and said:

"So, uh.. want to dance?"

[The Saucepan Man]

The Saucepan Man, Diamond and LinGalad had been surprised enough when the table at which they were sitting had started crackling and spluttering. But surprise turned to utter amazement as the table let off a worrying *bang*, shot into the air and exploded in a shower of yellow red and purple, not to mention green blue and orange, stars. The sound of the fireworks drowned out the kitchen-related cacophony as Saucepan, together with Diamond and LinGalad were propelled backwards by the force of the rocket-powered table.

As they lay on the floor, covered in soot and watching the rainbow coloured display slowly fading above them, Saucepan turned to his companions and quipped "I knew that I shouldn't have had the rocket salad".

Neither Diamond nor LinGalad were in any particular mood to groan. That was a mistake since, taking their silence as a sign of encouragement, Saucepan ventured "Well, I suppose that's what you might call a power lunch."

Warming to his theme, he continued "I hadn't realised that we were sitting at the High Table ... Perhaps, it was ..."

"One more of those bad jokes buster, and I'll ram that kettle where the mirrorball don't shine" hissed Diamond, her composure finally returning.

There was no trouble with Saucepan's hearing this time as his mouth quickly snapped shut. Standing up and dusting themselves down, they surveyed the smoking area where their table, plates and drinks had been.

"I'm beginning to wonder whether lurking in the shadows might have been the safer option" the Greenwood Elf murmured.

As they moved away from the carnage, Trippo the Hippo, who had reappeared, offered them a seat.

“No, I don’t want your feet” replied Saucepan, winking at him mischievously.

Finding an empty table, they sat down again, having carefully checked underneath to make sure that there were no explosive surprises or pranksome party guests hidden there. To calm their nerves, Saucepan took out the paper and comb that he had borrowed from Eruanna earlier and began to hum the theme from Monty Python. LinGalad looked on in amusement as Diamond (for reasons of plot continuity) picked up a wooden spoon and began to beat time on Saucepan's shoulder-pot.

[ May 03, 2003: Message edited by: The Saucepan Man ]

[Belethfacwen]

Beleth again surveyed the room, and turned back to Guo. She shrugged, and laughed.

"Sure, why not..," she replied.

Perhaps, she thought, being out on this dancefloor would give her curious eyes the look at all the party-goers they wanted to see.

[Diamond18]

After finishing the theme to Monty Python, Diamond and The Saucepan Man launched into a surprisingly recognizable rendition of Walk—Don't Run, which included an immensely enjoyable drum solo (or at least, Diamond enjoyed it).

[elven maiden Earwen]

Eärwen got board after Lyra left. All of the sudden fireworks went off. They left a gapping hole in the celing! Rain started pouring in. Eärwen quickly ran away from the hole...right into .......(who did she run into???)

[ May 03, 2003: Message edited by: elven maiden Earwen ]

[GaladrieloftheOlden]

Ah... nice rain... hought Menelien, dancing by herself under the hole in the ceiling (and secretly hoping that a nice-looking guy would join her there in the morning.) Good night....

[Eruanna]

Now what's happening, Eruanna wondered, as the dance music was replaced by humming and banging noises. She turned round to see Saucepan Man, Diamond and Lingalad enthusiastically jamming away. That's Something Completely Different, she thought approvingly.

[ May 03, 2003: Message edited by: Eruanna ]

[Diamond18]

The song finished, and the musicians acknowledged the thunderous applause with gracious nods. The Saucepan Man was still vibrating with a sound like a thousand tuning forks dancing in the rain, but he managed to rise and bow to the rapturous audience (who were so rapturous they didn't even realize it).

Then suddenly, Diamond looked around and exclaimed, "Wasn't Iarwain at this table with us before? Good heavens! I hope he hasn't...exploded!"

[Stryker Stormeye]

I'm not going to be on for a while (8 hrs) cause I'm going to bed... Do what you want with my character, but don't kill him or anything. And don't get him drunk!

[Silmarien]

There was a most interesting time warp in here. Just as Silmarien entered a great many things happened. Now, suddenly, it was a day later with rain pouring though a hole in the roof, made by fireworks going off and an impromptu band jamming in the corner and she hadn’t even had a drink yet.

‘Ah, well’ she thought ‘nothing to do but join in the fun’. She skipped across the room in her blue and silver dress and joined another girl to dance under the rain pouring in through the roof.

She then launched into song. “I’m singing in the rain, just singing in the rain. What a glorious feeling I’m happy again. I’m dancing in the rain... (ect)

[The Saucepan Man]

Happily, they saw that Iarwain too had escaped the conflagration and was sitting nearby lost in thoughts of the River-Woman's daughter and the Forests of the Beginning of Time.

Remarking that he truly was an enigma, the comb-humming, pan-beating trio, having drawn much confidence from their rapturous reception, launched into an energetic version of the Monkee's Pleasant Valley Sunday, with LinGalad joining Diamond Dolenz in the staccato percussion, followed by everyone's favourite double-drumming classic, Adam and the Ants' Kings of the Wild Frontier. Never before (and quite possibly never again) had a paper, comb and saucepan combo sounded quite so compelling.

Looking up, they noticed that several of the party-goers had drifted away from the dance floor and were now dancing nearby instead. They also noted the DJ glaring angrily at them. Hastily, therefore, they drew matters to a close and smiled apologetically back.

[Hilde Bracegirdle]

Hilde reappeared after a long absence slightly winded from the climb up hill. She felt grubby, but had a greater sense of accomplishment. Her walk had been a productive one….

She found Mr. Bracegirdle in the kitchen loading plates for his newly found orc friends, Gashnack and Hobnail. Hilde drew him aside and whispered, “I’ve found the perfect gift! They are just finishing it up so hopefully it can be delivered tomorrow. I’ll need your help though.” Mr. Bracegirdle smiled in answer, bushing sawdust from her hair. "You've missed quite a bit of merriment my dear, and indoor fireworks!"

[Nuinatariel]

Lëowen blinked. A moment ago, the table in front of her had been occupied by a few elves and a chicken. Everything had been quiet and normal. Now, there was no table, and there was a gaping hole in the ceiling, which was wreathed in smoke.


"I must have been caught in an inter-dimensional worm hole," Lëowen told no one in particular. The she noticed that rain was pouring through the hole in the ceiling. Moving to avoid the unpleasent wetness, she walked back to the bar.


"Soda please," she told the bartender. "If I can't get drunk, I'll just be really, really hyper instead!" she said cheerfully, dumping half a bowl of sugar into her drink. Still smiling, she emptied her glass and headed back towards the dance floor.


(happy 100th post to me!)

[ May 03, 2003: Message edited by: Nuinatariel ]

[Diamond18]

Diamond stood and shook hands with her fellow musicians. "Beating upon you has been a pleasure," she said to The Saucepan Man. "And you are a most accomplished drummer, for an Elf," she complimented LinGalad. "I had a wonderful time playing 'Dueling Drums' with you. But now I must excuse myself, as I am feeling rather sooty, and my necklace needs a good polish. Don't worry, I'll be back!"

She took her leave of them, then, and went off to the powder room to wash the gunpowder off.

[Hilde Bracegirdle]

Hilde, strolled through the hall to reacclimate herself to the festivities. Strangely enough she was not the slightest bit hungry, but was rather fasinated at the sight of an unusual band where a man covered in pots seemed to be the lead instrument. Walking up to them she asked if they took requests.

“I would dearly like to hear “Should I stay or Should I Go” by the Clash. It seems appropriate somehow”

[Iarwain]

Suddenly a spine tingling scream of "Derry Doll you've left me!" left everyone fearing that old Iarwain had become possessed by a Barrow-Wight. This, however, was merely an unfortunate side effect of the old enigma being unwillingly awoken from his state of comatose thoughtfulness. Soon the turrets would kick in. For the sake of the reader, this narrator will skip over the violent spasm of Bombadillic profanity to the point when Iarwain was sitting cross legged on the floor surrounded by the remains of several tables and a few dozen ruined chairs, and a fifteen foot radius of terrified Elves, Men, Hobbits, Dwarves, Chickens, and Hippos. They feared that the rain pouring onto his head would cause another outburst, but their trepidation was slightly assuaged when Iarwain began to repeat wildly in an almost psychotic manner "Old Tom Bombadil is a merry fellow", until he became red in the face and passed out onto the floor. The crowd relaxed once more, and closed back in, careful not to disturb him again.

[ May 03, 2003: Message edited by: Iarwain ]

[Nuinatariel]

A sudden shout of "Derry Doll you've left me!" attracted Lëowen's attention. A psycotic, quite crazy-looking guest sat cross-legged on the floor, in the rain. "Hmm, another crazy person. That makes, uh, more than one today! Right... I need to find someone to talk to." Promptly forgetting about the crazy guest, who was now unconscious on the floor, Lëowen wandered over to an odd-looking man covered in sauce pans. "Hello there. I'm Lëowen," she said.

[Hilde Bracegirdle]

“Yes, I think I should be going.” Thought Mrs. Bracegirdle trying to find a comfortable corner far, far away from Master Iarwain. "We'll just let a sleeping enigma lie peaceful-like."

[the phantom]

"Looks like things have changed a bit since I left" thought The Phantom, staring up at the empty space where part of the ceiling had been before. He walked directly underneath the opening on the way to the table, and despite the heavy rain pouring in from the outside there was not a drop of water to be found on his clothing or skin upon his emergence from the downpour.

He took a seat next to Gimli and called for a few drinks. He sat there for some time, quite lost in his own thoughts. He was brought out of his daze upon hearing Elektra Made Me Blind, one of his favorite tunes. He couldn't help but give a small chuckle. He was drinking everclear to the sounds of Everclear. How appropriate.

His dinner companions were all passed out with their heads resting on the table. All of them were smiling. "Looks like they're enjoying themselves" he thought. "It's really too bad that I'm immune to drunkenness" he mumbled, downing an entire bottle of straight liquor and placing it beside thirty or so empty bottles of various alcoholic beverages. "I wouldn't mind a nice drugged sleep right now."

The Phantom, greatly desiring deep sleep, but unable to slow his thoughts down enough to obtain it, could see no other alternative. He drew out an extraordinarily heavy club and hit his forehead as hard as he could. "Ahhhhh" he sighed as he lost consciousness.

[Samwise]

Stacey led Mimi over to their table at long last. Unfortunately, most of the party seemed to be dozing, but Stacey made introductions as best she could.

"Mimi, Frodo Baggins, Elrond, Crom--oh, dear--Cromthal, and Grima Isildae. You know--"

Just then, Tennyson woke up fully. His eyes flew open wide at the sight of the newcomer, and he flew his hoverchair over the table and landed right next to her.

"Sweetheart!" Mimi cried. "Hello!"
She leaned down, kissed him on the cheek and gave him a gentle hug. Standing up, she looked back at those at the table.

"Stacey, where's Mr. Gamgee? " [img]smilies/confused.gif[/img]

[Nuinatariel]

The man in the sauce pans seemed to suddenly not be in front of Lëowen anymore. "Maybe he was sucked into another inter-dimensional wormhole," she thought. "Oh, well, maybe he'll be back later." She looked around for a moment; "Now what? An why am I talking to myself?" she said to herself. Shrugging, she decided to come back in the morning. And then, she was gone.

[The Saucepan Man]

The Saucepan Man and LinGalad watched Diamond disappear towards the powder room.

“An appropriate destination for one covered in powder” commented Saucepan, eliciting a half-hearted smile from LinGalad.

Saucepan had enjoyed himself immensely, despite the battering that his best party pans had taken. Fortunately, they were still in fairly good shape although he noted ruefully how dirty they were, what with his earlier scrabbling around under the stage in search of the Feastpot and the gunpowder stains resulting from their recent table-raising experience. He removed from one of his pots some polish and a linen cloth and sat there polishing his outfit as he talked with LinGalad. Shortly after a quite vigorous outburst from Iarwain, which fortunately resolved itself as suddenly as it had started, a young Elven lady walked over and introduced herself as Lëowen.

They conversed happily for a while until Saucepan, his pans restored to their pristine state, decided that he needed to take a breath of fresh air. He took his leave of his companions and made for one of the side exits. Opening the door, he stepped out and into the gardens beyond. It was not long before a strange growling sound reached his ears. Absent-mindedly, he rubbed his stomach, but then recalled that he satisfied his hunger quite recently. With mounting concern, he strained to locate the source of the disconcerting noises.

Suddenly, and quite unexpectedly, an enormous beast sprang out from behind a nearby bush, landing only feet to the side of the metal-clad man. Another appeared at the top of the slope to which he had been heading and prowled menacingly towards him. Despite the fact that they resembled neither Hyenas nor Lemmings, Saucepan recognised them as Wargs. Their eyes glinted evilly in the dim lights scattered about the garden as they hungrily looked him up and down.

“Looks like we’ve found ourselves some tinned food here, son” remarked one to the other, his enormous canine jaws opening to reveal lines of unfeasibly large and jagged teeth.

Saucepan quickly decided that he did not really need to take the air after all and turned back to the door, only to see two burly Uruk guards barring the way and grinning in anticipation of the sport that was to follow. Summoning up all the resolve that he could, which was not much given the circumstances, Saucepan untied from his garb a hefty iron frying-pan and a solid steel saucepan and stood there with one implement in each hand awaiting the Wargs’ attack.

“At least I’ll go down panning, if not punning” he thought to himself.

[Iarwain]

In a few minutes, Iarwain was up again, and laughing as if nothing had ever happened. But then, he heard deep in the back of his head a cry for help, acompanied by the words that Saucepan was shouting:

Ho! Tom Bombadil, Tom Bombadillo!
By water, wood and hill, by the reed and willow,
By fire, sun and moon, hearken now and hear me!
Come, Tom Bombadil, for my need is near me!

And with a shout of "HO! TOM BOMBADIL!" he was off to the side door, commanding the cruel Uruks and hungry Wargs to keep away. "Get out cruel slime, vanish in the night time!" The wimpering wolves shrunk back, and the Uruks dissapeared. Saucepan, shaken but alright was brought back inside by good old Iarwain.

[ May 04, 2003: Message edited by: Iarwain ]

[Lush]

Lush rubbed her eyes, and slowly came to the realization that perhaps the vision of some shady types doing the Macarena earlier was not a hellish hallucination but a ridiculous reality. Perhaps an assassination was in order, but she couldn't be bothered, not until she found some aspirin, anyway.

Turning her head to locate the source of the latest mischief, Lush found herself staring at the...rather large canine creatures that seemed to have appeared straight out of a mad Englishman's imagination. She wondered what was worse: the possibility of being eaten alive, or the fact that she was on her third cigarette for the night. She decided on the latter, and thought the Saucepan Man a bit of a pansy for getting so worked up about some dogs in the first place.

Brushing a single speck of dust off her luminous white jacket, Lush gave X a wink and an exhausted (yet innocent) smile. Oh for a bucket of the warm South! Or any bucket, really, just to soak her feet in.

[The Saucepan Man]

Having been panhandled away from danger and back into the Hall by Iarwain, the Saucepan Man stammered his thanks. Then, pulling himself together and mustering all the bravado that he could find, he said defiantly "Of course, I had the situation covered, you know."

Saucepan shot a wounded glance at Lush, but then nodded in approval as he saw that her assumed air of innocence was slowly melting away to reveal a far more familar figure.

Then, the excitement of recent events having been quite enough for him for the time being, he wandered off for a well earned rest. As he settled down on the sofa that he had spent the previous night, he noticed that Heren-Istanion was still slumbering peacefully on the sofa nearby.

"Boy does that fellow know how to sleep" he thought to himself as he drifted off into a pleasant dream that happily involved no Wargs whatsoever.

[ May 04, 2003: Message edited by: The Saucepan Man ]

[Silmarien]

Silmarien stopped; suddenly aware she was making a spectacle of herself. Then she looked around, no one was taking any notice of her or so it seemed.

She decided to introduce herself to someone. But who? “Anyone up for a dance?!!!” She hollered. If that didn’t get someone’s attention she would go into a corner and get quietly drunk, like every one else seemed to be doing.

[Carrûn]

The bartender's second "surprise" had changed the tune in Awrygan's head from a rather soothing Mozart meledy to a throbbing Paul Oakenfold beat. Still, it had tasted great. He blinked. Eyelids...heavy. Not content to pass out at the moment he prepared to bite his tounge, placing it firmly between his teeth.

The next moment he felt an incredibly sharp pain as an unexpected small fist slamed into his back causing him to bite down much quicker and harder than originally planned. In fact, the very tip of it was now floating around in his mouth. "...the 'lell?" He turned to face a flushed and wide-eyed Narello. "'lam it boi I 'ill oo!" His swipe at the boy missed and the grinning child proceeded to hand him a rather unpleasent looking needle and thread.

Awrygan looked aprehensively at the needle in his hand for a moment, and then deciding that it would not be advantagous to speak in his current manner for the rest of his days began the painful process of sewing the tip of his tounge back on. When he was finished he turned back to Narello. "Couldn't you just have kicked my shins like you normally do?"

The boy laughed. "It's a special occasion. Besides, I've already drunk more than you. In fact, I'll bet..." he pulled out a bizzare dagger that he had pinched off one of the guards. "...I can out drink you," he finished. Awyrgan pondered the challenge for a moment. Narello was somewhat of a legend amongst the Shire, having outdrank most of the hobbits at the Green Dragon during one of his visits. Still, he had never beaten Awrygan and even though he had already been drinking on and off for about a day in advance the man was still confident. "Fine. But only I pick the drinks."

He spun around to face the bartender. "Two of something competitive." The man behind the counter glanced at the small boy next to the man. "You know, you're going to make me loose my license. Keep it quiet." Awrygan snickered. "Whatever you say m'lord." With a disapproving smirk, the man passed the two competitors each a glass of a foaming green concoction.

[The Evenstar]

The sound of clattering hoof beats echoed in the night. The Evenstar, known as the mysterious elf and kindred of Arwen and Elrond, rode towards the Hall on her grand white steed, Imirie. Nobody knew her real name, for she went only by the name of the Evenstar. Some had heard that her name truly was Ithilmir, meaning ‘moon-jewel’ but none were sure of it, for this fair and beautiful Elven maiden would not tell.

Unlike most of the other guests, The Evenstar did not come by an escort or by carriage. She came in the eventide and came by herself, mysterious and beautiful as ever.
Her long and thick chestnut hair was slightly curled and kinky. Some of it was pinned up with glistening pins. She had sparkling flowers in her waves of chestnut hair.
Her pointy elf-ears peeked through her locks. She had little make-up upon her fair face, because she was naturally beautiful. Her lips were red as blood, her face as fair as a snowdrop, her lashes as black as evening. Her eyes were as turquoise-blue as the Anduin in summertime.
The Evenstar pulled Imirie into a graceful trot and rode up to the Hall. She dismounted with elegance only an Elf could possess.
Her dress was natural, plain, but immensely beautiful. It was a color hard to define; a sort of bluish-green with a touch of midnight sapphire hinting it. It was long and flowing, like waves upon the sea and it was not tight. The greens swirling into the fabric were that of a forest and the blues of the sky and Sea.
This Elf wore no jewelry, save for the family mark of her kindred, a pearly-sliver lace around her fair neck.
Her nails were plain for they had a natural sheen to them. She wore no shoes upon her feet; for she loved to feel the leaves beneath them as she walked.
The Evenstar climbed the stairs of the hall, her dress flowing behind her.
The party was in full bloom. There was chattering and laughing echoing from inside the Hall. The Evenstar’s heart swelled with excitement and happiness as she reached the doors. A guard was standing there; ready to search her for weapons.
He was overcome by her beauty when he saw her that he could not find words at first.
“Uh…A-any weapons, my lady?” he stammered. The Elf looked him straight in the eyes.
“I do not carry any weapons with me,” she said. Her voice was like the soft chiming of bells.
“Very well,” said the guard. “Go on in.” He had seen her Elven necklace and immediately knew that she was kindred of Elrond and Arwen.
The Elf walked down the red carpet. Most of the chatter and laughter stopped when the other guests saw her enter. They stared at her in awe.
Hushed whispers started among the guests. The Evenstar was the last to arrive at the party. All knew of this mysterious elf.
The Evenstar walked to where Elrond and Arwen were sitting in elegant thrones. She knelt down and bowed her head.
“My lord, my lady. I have come at last. Please pardon me for being late,” she said.
Elrond touched her head.
“It’s alright. I understand that you may come and go when you please. Now go and enjoy the party,” said Elrond.
The Evenstar found her friends, Niluial and her date, GaladrieloftheOlden, MLD-Grounds-Keeper-Willie and others.
She danced with a few guys and taught them some of her own Elvish dance steps. There was an elvish orchestra on a platform in the corner played harps, lyres, flutes and sitars.

There were tables filled with delicious Elvish delicacies: All different kinds of lembas, honey cakes, poppy-seed doughnuts, caramel dumplings, almonds, sugar-candies, syrup from a Mallorn Tree, melons, apples, pears, berries coated in sugar, cinnamon and sugar, berry wine, Elvish wine and a variety of other things.

There were also Dwarvish appetizers like malt beer, bread made of yeast, barley and malt, bones laden with ripe meat and mustard cakes – all separate from the Elvish food table of course!
There was also a table of food known to Humans. Upon were cakes topped with strawberries and poppy-seeds, breads covered in fresh flour, tender meat arranged artistically upon silver platters, blueberry pie sprinkled with orange-rinds, seed muffins and an assortment of wines.

The Evenstar elegantly picked out a glass of Elvish wine with her long, graceful fingers and took a dainty sip from the rim of the glass.
Yes, she thought. This is going to be a memorable night!

[Manardariel]

"And isn´t Ironic? Don´t you think? It´s like raaaaaaiiiiiiinnn!!" Manardariel sang, pointing up to the hole in the ceiling. She giggeled madly, taking another sip of her drink. "Manardariel, you´re drunk" Pearl said, shaking her head. "So are you! And I´m just a bit drunk. Just a tiny bit." The girl pointed out.

Then she had one of her extra-brilliant ideas. She walked over to the band and talked to them a bit. They laughed and nodded. "Sure, we can do that!" "Ohhhh goody!" Manardariel grinned mischeviously. Then she climbed on a chair.

"Ok people." She shouted. "It´s time for KAREOKE!!!!!!!! Any volunteers?"

[ May 04, 2003: Message edited by: Manardariel ]

[Airerûthiel]

Bragolhirwen shrugged. "It does not matter," she said. "To be honest with you, I have been thinking of giving up the adventurer's life. Perhaps I am being a little foolish in quitting so early on in my life because I could not find any adventure that caught my eye. But I shall be content if all that happens in my life after this is that I finally settle down into a life of relative normalcy.

"Now if you will be so kind as to excuse me, I am afraid that I must go and speak with my cousin." She cast a wary eye in the direction of the other end of the bar. "He seems to be quaffing an awful lot of that fruit punch. I hope it is not too alcoholic, or heaven knows where he will end up after the party. I wish you the best of luck with your quest to slay the dragon."

The half-Elf bowed low and then hurried off to attend to her cousin. Elentari stared after her friend, a sad smile on her face. It had been good to see an old companion once more, even for only a few short minutes. Suddenly she felt a tap on her shoulder, and turned round quickly to see a young woman with shoulder-length wavy dark blonde hair and turquoise standing behind her.

"Forgive me for interrupting," said the maiden, "but I could not help noticing that you spoke with Bragolhirwen. Do you know her?"

Elentari nodded. "We fought alongside each other to slay the great spider Shelob. She was a good friend to me. Why do you ask this?"

"We are acquaintances," said the young woman as she sat down. "I met her on the road a few times, and we talked on occasion. She thought very highly of you, even though she did not know you for very long." She offered out a hand. "My name is Neisa, and I come from Edoras in the Riddermark. And you are Elentari, the Spider Slayer of Mirkwood, are you not?"

[Schmendrick]

Well, Isilmë's beauty-sleep had remained very short indeed. Just a few minutes after her falling asleep, there had been a tremendous BANG only a few feet away and she had woken up just in time to see the unintended - but beautiful - fireworks. As if this hadn't been enough, now there was en enormous hole in the ceiling and rain was pouring in!


Isilmë couldn't help but hum to herself quietly "Why does it always rain on me, is it because I lied when I was seventeen?", one of her favorite-tunes by Travis. She also thought she had heard (over all the noice) somebody mentioning "Should I stay or should I go?" by the Clash, but she didn't know who it had been. Well, I hope h/she hasn't decided the latter, she thought to herself, for she would have very much liked to talk to that somebody. Isilmë continued her (off-tune) singing, perhaps secretly hoping that somebody would notice her..er...talent and ask her to join the Saucepan Man- trio. " Even when the sun is shining, I can't avoid the lightning..."

[ May 04, 2003: Message edited by: Schmendrick ]

[The Evenstar]

The Evenstar gazed at the beautiful fireworks that were lighting up the sky.
Sprinkles of pink, red, blue and yellow were splattered across the night sky.
"Wow," she said to Isilmë who was standing next to her. "It's weird to see fireworks in the rain."
Isilmë nodded.
"Some one's got to control them, though. They're unattended," she said.
The Evenstar laughed merrily.
"That's what makes it interesting!" she said.

[Lyra Greenleaf]

From somewhere off to the side of the room, Lyra heard Manardariel shout "Kareoke!"
Great she thought, rubbing her hands together. An EXCUSE to sing badly!
Running as fast as her little Hobbit legs would carry her she got up to the front.
"I'll sing, but you're singing with me" she said, grabbing Manardariel by the arm. "After all, it was your idea"

The two had a huddle over what song to sing, Lyra was still happy from yesterday (1-0!) and wanted I'm forever blowing bubbles" but Manardariel wasn't too sure. They argued their way through various tunes before finally agreeing on: Happy Birthday!

Lyra looked forward. During the aham, discussions the crowd had all wandered away. "Turn the volume RIGHT up!" she said to the band, and with voices as bad (sorry!) as one another began to sing.

Happy Birthday to you
Squashed tomatoes and- began Lyra, before being quelled by a look from Manardariel.
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday dear Barrowdowns
Happy Birthday to you!
"It might not have been original, but at least it was short!" Lyra called to thunderous applause, gratitude they had finished, most likely!
"Who's next?"