Wilderness, Weathertop, and Wild Things Discussion Thread

[Envinyatar]

Nuranar

Is this the order of posts to open the game?

---------------------

Alaksoron

Nuranar – arrival at The Trade Inn, Tharbad

rutslegolas

Esgallhugwen

Envinyatar – arrival at The Prancing Pony of the 4 Elves, Man from Rohan, and Veryadan (see following post)

Meneltarmacil – first post

Dragon Elf

Meneltarmacil – post getting the Rangers to the Prancing Pony

Envinyatar – Fen Shepherdspurse

Saurreg

[Envinyatar]

Here is my post that will bring Veryadan, the man from Rohan, Nuranar's, Egallhugwen's, and rustlegolas' characters to The Prancing Pony, where the action for the game will begin:

------------------------

Envinyatar’s post

Arrival at the Trade Inn . . .

‘How the old place has changed,’ thought Veryadan as his eyes swept the little Inn which stood on the western bank of the Greyflood. In its prime it had been a welcome gateway for those wishing to travel quickly through the Shire, to pick up the Great East Road in the West Farthing, and from there west to the Emyn Beraid and the River Lune’s Grey Havens. Now the Shire had been closed to all outlanders by edict of the High King these many years, its Bounds fiercely guarded by the Shiriffs and their men. Only the traffic of men and the scarce Elven party bound for the north stopped now to refresh themselves.

The Inn had suffered, it seemed, from the shrinking commerce. The wood gone a little greyer; the railed front porch sunk under the weight of the many feet that had crossed into the welcome comfort of the common room; the wooden shingles gone quite mossy and some just gone. The image of an old man nearing his dotage crossed the Ranger’s mind as his horse trod down the ill-kept path. ‘We’ve both put on the years, old friend,’ he remarked to himself, his gloved hand coming up to tuck a bit of stray silver-streaked hair behind his ear. ‘Though of the two of us, I think I’ve fared the best.’

A familiar figure had come out onto the porch and was even now hailing them with a wave of his dish towel. There, hair gone greyer and girth wider, stood Haldon Rushy, mouth drawn up in a great grin, eyes sparkling even at this distance. ‘Tis a grand day, indeed! Four more patrons for the Missus to cook for and four more tongues to share the news of the road!’ He hurried as fast as his stout legs would carry him toward the approaching horses. ‘Here you!’ he called to his sons. ‘See to these good folks’ mounts!’ ‘And you!’ he exclaimed, taking the Ranger’s hand in his own ham-fisted grasp. ‘I’ve a small cask of the nut brown ale just finished off and ready for tapping.’

He peeked around Veryadan and nodded his head at the man and the two Elves who were just dismounting. ‘Now isn’t this a day for the Fair Folk,’ he whispered to the Ranger. ‘There’s two more what’s just come to my little establishment.’ he nodded toward the door with his chin. ‘There, in the common room . . . and isn’t my old gal happy to be feeding them!’ He tapped the side of his nose with his great stub of a finger. They’ve come all the way from Rivendell . . . I’ve yet to find out why, though . . .’

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

The company of six rides north . . .

The late night of talking with the two Elves from Rivendell had paled into the next day’s dawn. Silrûth and Aidwain were bringing news westward from Rivendell. The old fastness of the Rangers in the Angle had brought troublesome news to Imladris – something was stirring up the trolls in that area. Patrols had been increased there, and several of the brutish giants had been driven off by the Rangers, with one Troll killed who had chosen to try his strength against them. The two Elves spoke of traveling southwest down the River Mitheithel, the Hoarwell as it was known to men, arriving finally at the Greyflood’s ford where stood the Inn. What small patrols of Rangers they happened upon, they brought news of the Troll activity, urging them to be on the lookout for similar problems in the areas they patrolled. And from many they picked up news of assaults and ill happenings to the north. They would go north from the inn to speak with others of the Rangers and gather what information the could before returning to Imladris.

Veryadan’s face was grim as he heard the news they brought. ‘Travel with us, if you will,’ he had offered Silrûth and Aidwain. ‘We are also bound north, at the behest of the King. He has had some reports of the disquiet in that area, though I do not think he knows the extent to which this ripple of shadow has spread.’ Tarondo nodded at the invitation as Envinyatar continued. ‘Two extra sets of eyes and blades would be welcome. And you need not fear that we might slow you down. We will head up the Greenway to Bree at first light.’

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

At the sign of The Prancing Pony

And so it was the four companions found themselves now swelled to six with the addition of the party from Rivendell. Four days hard riding with only short, cold camp stops along the way brought them to Andrath, the narrow passageway between the Barrow-downs and the South Downs, through which the Greenway passed, heading north. A day and a half further and the six found themselves passing in through the West Gate, the welcoming archway and windows of the The Prancing Pony now well within their sights . . .

[Nuranar]

That's correct, Envinyatar. Thanks! (And great post.)

Originally Posted by Envinyatar

Nuranar

Is this the order of posts to open the game?

---------------------

Alaksoron

Nuranar – arrival at The Trade Inn, Tharbad

rutslegolas

Esgallhugwen

Envinyatar – arrival at The Prancing Pony of the 4 Elves, Man from Rohan, and Veryadan (see following post)

Meneltarmacil – first post

Dragon Elf

Meneltarmacil – post getting the Rangers to the Prancing Pony

Envinyatar – Fen Shepherdspurse

Saurreg

[Saurreg]

Just a quick reminder, my first post under the character bio would go anywhere before Envinyatar's Fen Shepherdspurse post. The second will be immediately after as stated in the list order.

[Nuranar]

Originally Posted by Saurreg

my first post under the character bio would go anywhere before Envinyatar's Fen Shepherdspurse post. The second will be immediately after as stated in the list order.

Saurreg, would you please put Loudewater's second post up on this thread? Pio needs to be able to move all the first posts to the story thread.

[piosenniel]

I'm a little confused - is this now the order for posts:

--------------

Alaksoron

Nuranar – arrival at The Trade Inn, Tharbad

rutslegolas

Esgallhugwen

Envinyatar – arrival at The Prancing Pony of the 4 Elves, Man from Rohan, and Veryadan (see following post)

Meneltarmacil – first post

Dragon Elf - HAS HE REVISED HIS POST?

Meneltarmacil – getting the Rangers to the Prancing Pony - NEEDED

Saurreg - original first post from character bio

Envinyatar – Fen Shepherdspurse

Saurreg - arrival at the Inn/post on board

[Nuranar]

Pio, as far as I know that's correct. Saurreg had indicated to me earlier that he would take two posts for Loudewater. I think the one that's up right now, on the first page under his bio, is the first; the second I haven't seen yet.

[Saurreg]

Sorry! Sorry! Here's my second post that will be immediately after Envinyatar's.
================================================== ======

Saurreg's post

Andas Loudewater had just reached the front porch of the most popular drinking hole in the whole of Bree when large raindrops started to fall, creating tiny little craters on the much used dirt road. Dark clouds rumbled precariously overhead, blocking out whatever light the setting sun could offer and enveloped the entire evening sky in black velvet from horizon to horizon and as far as the eye could see. Loudewater frowned to himself and sighed deeply as he pulled the hood of the cope off his head, this night would offer nothing but heavy down pour and his creaky joints would pay the dear price.

Damned rheumatism, damned age. What I wouldn’t give to be twenty years younger again.

The grease caked windows of the establishment were illuminated weakly by lit lamps and a sonorous burble could be felt through vibes that shook the loose floorboards of the porch - it was the sing-a-long, happy hour had begun.

The Breeland farmer took a deep breath and readied himself mentally as would an athlete before the race. After a momentary pause, he swung open the door of the Prancing Pony and confronted destiny head on. Rising to the occasion, destiny sprung forward like an uncoiled spring and smashed into Loudewater’s face. The farmer staggered but recovered himself quickly enough; years of patronizing the Prancing Pony had somewhat dwindled the potency its overwhelmingly pungent whiff on him but for the uninitiated, the whole affair of simply entering the tavern could be an insurmountable ordeal. Butterbur had never believed in the concept of proper workplace hygiene and many a newcomers had paid the price. More than often regulars like Loudewater and even old Butterbur himself had heckled at unfamiliar faces contorting in agony followed by the whizzing (they always whiz) and the occasional nausea.

It was all good “clean” harmless fun really. But incidents do happen, those that make simpletons like the good folks of Bree go “hmmm”

Once, an elven wayfarer (dainty and disturbingly pretty in a girly way) tried to enter the Prancing Pony (don’t ask why) and results were somewhat horrific… (For the faerie that is).

Suffice say, that incident was significant enough for Butterbur to go “hmmm” and the next day after the tragic affair, Loudewater saw for the first and only time Butterbur scrubbing the floorboards and opening up the windows to air the place. It was a momentous event that Loudewater rated up there with the likes of the return of the king.

******

Loudewater stepped through the doorway and entered the main serving hall of the tavern. The hospitable warmth radiating from the fireplace felt most comfortable and he permitted himself a wane smile of self-satisfaction. If there was any place he would want to be when a raging storm came along, it would be here.

The Prancing Pony was already packed to the walls when Loudewater entered. Breelanders of different walks of life and trades have already packed the benches and tables and were all bellowing in drunken unison with lusty voices, throats were well lubricated by free-flowing pints and cheap wine. It was “Roll out the Barrels!” a popular hit penned by the famous Susan Delgado and Loudewater found himself almost subconsciously humming along to the tunes of the ever popular folksong.

No one writes such great works anymore, he reflected sadly.

Loudewater’s head swerved upon his scrawny neck as he scrutinized the crowded room looking for some unoccupied spot for himself and perhaps a friend or two to interact with. Amidst the mass of swaying and rocking heads, and raised arms clenching tankards and goblets of spilling beverage, Loudewater’s dull eyes caught sight of an appendage belonging to a familiar face waving frantically in the air. Loudewater grinned at the familiar face, waved back and made his way through to the bar.

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[Envinyatar]

Dragon Elf odin Ragnorock

If you have revised your First Post – please put a note on the Discussion Thread that you have done so.

And please write your posts using a Word program with spell and grammar check. That will take care of the most of the misspelled words and missed capitals. Then cut and paste them to the Game or Discussion Thread.

- E -

[Alaksoron]

Just exactly what day is this game supposed to start? My apologies, I know people have asked you that before, but I'm just a little confused.

Question number two: who will serve as leader of the group, Veryadan (Evinyatar) or Tarondo (Nuranar)?

[Envinyatar]

The RPG can't start until a game that both Kransha and Fordim are in has closed (the Shire's rule about players in a game not being in more than 2 Shire games at a time). I believe it's scheduled to end tomorrow, so this game can start on Thursday.

As to who is leader of the group - I think that will be the three characters - Veryadan, Tarondo, and Luinien will share the leadership, as the King has sent all three of them on this errand.

Other thoughts, Nuranar?

- E -

[piosenniel]

NOTE:

We still need the 2 posts listed below in bold caps:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Order of posts:

Alaksoron

Nuranar – arrival at The Trade Inn, Tharbad

rutslegolas

Esgallhugwen

Envinyatar – arrival at The Prancing Pony of the 4 Elves, Man from Rohan, and Veryadan (see following post)

Meneltarmacil – first post

Dragon Elf - HAS HE REVISED HIS POST?

Meneltarmacil – getting the Rangers to the Prancing Pony - NEEDED

Saurreg - original first post from character bio

Envinyatar – Fen Shepherdspurse

Saurreg - arrival at the Inn/post on board

[Meneltarmacil]

"Did you hear the sound of leaves?" asked Menecar.

"Yes, indeed," Thoronmir responded.

"The sound," whispered Menecar, "is drawing closer."

Thoronmir drew his sword as Menecar pulled out his bow. They continued to ride forward through the gap in the hills. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, an orc leaped from the top of a nearby ledge, knocking him off his horse. The orc took a wickedly sharp knife and tried to stab Thoronmir, but fell dead before he could. Looking behind him, Thoronmir saw that Menecar had shot his would-be killer.

"Thank you," Thoronmir said as he got back on his horse.

"You're welcome," replied Menecar.

Several more orcs apppeared both in front of and behind them. Thoronmir rode over the ones in front while Menecar took out their pursuers with his bow. More orcs came, but by then the Rangers were already out of sight.

************************************************** ***************

Thoronmir and Menecar arrived at Bree in the late afternoon. They rode up to the Prancing Pony Inn and went inside.

"Good afternoon," said the inkeeper. "Thorgil, isn't it?"

"Thoronmir," said the ranger. He never gets my name right no matter how many times I try to tell him. "And this is Menecar. We'll need a room for the night and stabling for our horses." They paid the necessary amount of money and then walked into the common room to await the arrival of the messangers from Gondor. Thoronmir and Menecar both ordered some ale, then sat down at a nearby table.

"How many orcs do you think there were?" Thoronmir asked.

"I only heard about five or six from a distance," Menecar replied, "but there were about twenty trying to kill us."

"That's what I thought as well. The ones we heard were probably just a scouting party," Thoronmir continued. "I didn't expect to find that many orcs in the area we were in. We'll have to mention this to the messenger when he arrives." He looked over at Menecar, who clearly wasn't listening, but was instead looking at a corner of the room. "Are you alright?" the older ranger asked.

"That man," said Menecar, pointing at a rather mean-looking fellow, "has been watching us ever since he got here."

[Nuranar]

Thank you, Saurreg, for the post. Please see your PM's - at least, see your PM's a few minutes after the time on this.

Envinyatar, Dragon Elf edited his first post, back on page 1, on Sunday. It's almost identical to what you suggested:

After a semi peaceful night Menecar woke up to the sound of birds chirping and a great day for traveling with his companion. It was a peaceful day has begun with the sun shining through the trees. They had a half a days travel by Horse to Bree left to go.

“Do you think that there will be people waiting for us to arrive at the Prancing Pony?” asked Menecar’s companion.

“I think there would be I don’t think that King Elessar would let two Rangers do this alone,” said Menecar.

Suddenly Menecar heard the sound of leaves moving in the woods. He stoped to listen, and to see if he heard the sound again. Sure enough there it was again, but it sounded louder as if the thing or things were getting closer. He looks over at his companion to see if he heared the same sound. But he dose not look like he has. Menecar rode over to him and says:

“Do you not hear the sound of leaves?”

“the sound is drawing closer.” said Menecar

Good work, Meneltarmacil!

Dragon Elf, thanks for the update. Would you please correct your present tense verbs to past tense verbs, as we have discussed? And please see your PM's as well.

Everyone, as Envinyatar said, please type out your posts in a word editing program that will catch most spelling and capitalization errors. Also, I'm posting again what I put up on the second page:

1. Everyone please check the discussion and game threads at least once a day.

2. Primary characters, please post on the story thread at least twice a week. That's only a minimum. You baddies may not need to post so often.

3. Everyone please give advance notice on this discussion thread when you won't be able to check in - if you're going on vacation or you're having computer problems.

4. Please write descriptive posts! I believe the minimum, per Shire rules, is two paragraphs of two sentences each. (Pio?) But that is the absolute minimum. This isn't TV: If you don't write what your character looks like, what the scene looks like, what things sound like, taste like, feel like, no one's going to know all that stuff. That's what good writing does: It creates a scene in the reader's mind.

I'm not going to keep putting this up on every page, but I didn't get any feedback at all and wanted to make sure everyone saw it.

Now, Envinyatar, about this leadership thing:

As a rule I'm all for an established chain of command, even when it's only two people working together. One hopes that there would be no disagreement, but it's a nightmare if they do and neither one has the authority. It can be disastrous if they're on a serious mission - as we most definitely are here.

Take Tarondo and Luinien for example. They're an excellent team, having lived, worked, traveled, planned, and fought together for years. They already have the close affinity of blood, and Elven blood at that. But Tarondo is the one "in charge." Both of them recognize that, albeit silently. (This isn't a male-female thing, let me add. He is the elder sibling, which gives him a natural primacy. More importantly, Tarondo is better qualified to lead, for he has the foresight and clear, planning head of a leader, in addition to greater experience. Not that Luinien could not lead, of course.)

The result of having this order is subtle. If they never disagree Tarondo will never have to "pull rank," and there will therefore be no need for someone in charge. But then again, it might come up. Both know that if it came down to the wire, Tarondo would be the one giving the orders. That silent understanding between them is part of what makes them such a team. Each can rely upon the other in their specific roles. Additionally, there's no strain of trying to make sure each has his "equal share" in the decision-making. They're equal in importance and contributions, but with different roles.

All this is a long-winded way of saying that I'd very much prefer to have one definite leader, and that means it's either Veryadan or Tarondo. From a story point of view, it might be more logical for Veryadan to lead; as a Ranger, these are his "stomping grounds" and the people of the Angle are his people. On the other hand, as you say the King did not specify who was in command, and I have good reasons for Tarondo taking the lead instead.

From a real life point of view, if Veryadan takes the lead that may require you to commit more time to the game than you ought. If I recall correctly, back in July I think you stipulated that you wouldn't be able to take the lead in the running the game. If that's still the case the game may be slowed down; or it may not, depending on how we manage it.

I could keep going for a long time, but please let me know what you think. If you'd like to keep a 2- or 3-member leadership, just say so. And I apologize for this becoming an issue so late in the day. Alaksoron, thanks for bringing it up!

One last thing, Envinyatar - have you PM'd the baddies with their plot? Would you keep me in the loop on those developments? Thanks!

Carry on!

Nuranar

[Envinyatar]

Thanks for defining the relationship between Tarondo and Luinien. I would prefer that Tarondo take the lead as I do have time constraints.

I am PM'ing the Orcs and Trolls shortly after this is posted with the short note we had already agreed upon.

- E -

[Nuranar]

Will do, Envinyatar. Do you want me to come up with some reasoning for Tarondo being the leader and try to imply it in my future posts, or would you rather have the king just put him in charge?

Oh, and thanks for sending the PM.

~ Nuranar

[Alaksoron]

I will be leaving Thursday (I'm going hiking in the mountains : )) but I will be back Monday. I hate to ask you to delay the game, since you already have done so for Fordim and Kransha, but if thats not possible perhaps Nuranar could sort of include my character till I get back, like he did such a beautiful job of already.

[piosenniel]

The game is now open for play!

Please remove your signature from EVERY post to the game thread - including "Saves".

Thanks - and have fun!

~*~ Pio, Game Moderator

[Primrose Bolger]

Arrald and Dym

I've left a lead in for you louts to come visiting . . .

[rutslegolas]

My second post is up

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

Arrald and Dim have met up with Grimm and Broga, so the ugliness is now near intolerable.

I have introduced a minor adventure for the baddies so that we have something to do until the arrival of the good-guys. A little dust-up with some farmers should be relatively quick to do -- perhaps in the aftermath of the attack, the goodies can come out to investigate and be attacked by the baddies? Just an idea.

A Note On Trolls (mine at least): I do know that the plan for the trolls is that they are having their treasure stolen by the orcs, but my read of trolls is that they don't really care for treasure at all (being too stupid for that). As my post reflects, they think that the real gain of the attacks is the meat not the gold. So they are being taken advantage of by the orcs, but they don't know or care -- I mean, what use does a troll have for gold? If this is out of step with the rest of the baddies let me know now so I can change direction.

[Saurreg]

Envinyatar - thank you for editing your post to suit my second one. Appreciate it.

[Nuranar]

Thanks to everyone who's posted! I had one of those days yesterday (of course, it would have been the day the game opened ) and am still not feeling just terrific, but I hope to have a post up later this afternoon. Note: We will not get down to business about our mission in the common room; after we eat we will move to a private room.

Alaksoron, we'll be carrying Osric just fine. Thanks for letting us know when you'll be gone.

A request: Please try to fill in "Saves" within 24 hours. If that'll be a problem, please PM me and let me know. (Kransha, this is not directed at you. Actually, thank you for reminding me to put the notice up!)

Fordim (and all baddies), please see your PMs.

Carry on!

Nuranar

[Meneltarmacil]

Dragon Elf and I have recently come up with some interesting ideas for the game.

First, a few proposed strategies for outsmarting the bad guys:

1. (This assumes they'll be waiting to ambush us at Weathertop when we get there) When we reach Weathertop, I figure the hill will look deserted, and will remain deserted as we climb the path to the top. As soon as we reach the top and have let our guard down, they'll attack from all sides and try to kill us all. Or they may think so. In reality, only about four people will be there when the bad guys attack. The rest will have climbed up in secret a few minutes after the first four started and will come up behind the bad guys and attack, having anticipated their strategy. If they don't use an ambush strategy, this will probably require less strategy and more brute force, but I figure they'll do something like this.

2. (I like this one better because the first idea seems too tailored to a specific strategy) Three people (probably those best at close-range fighting) will walk past the hill disguised as ordinary travelers. This will cause the bad guys to run out and try to maul them, taking them for easy prey. The good guys will wait until the bad guys are out in the open, then draw their weapons and attack. At the same time, other good guys hiding somewhere out of sight will shoot them from afar. They should set this up beforehand so that when the "travelers" ride past Weathertop, the others will have the bad guys surrounded. If the area around Weathertop is too wide-open to have any good hiding spots, the alternative would be to buy a large wagon with horses to pull it in Bree, then hide the ambushers in there.

Second: Dragon Elf suggested adding a sub-plot to this. His character would find an injured wolf somewhere early on and heal it. The wolf would then be grateful to Menecar and the rest of the party afterward and would show up to help out now and then.

Third: As for people getting injured, I volunteer Thoronmir for a severe injury (but not one that couldn't be completely healed upon reaching Rivendell). I'll have him get hurt somewhere in the Trollshaws after crossing the Last Bridge. (The Stone Trolls would be a good spot)

Just a few ideas that I think might work well. Feel free to accept/reject them as you see fit.

[Nuranar]

All right, I've just posted. First, a couple continuity things I noticed as I was skimming around the thread:

Saurreg: When the travelers enter the Prancing Pony, there are four Elves and two men: Veryadan and Osric Falkur, of Rohan. (That is Alaksoron's character.)

rutslegolas: Esgallhugwen's first post says that she and her companion arrived at Tharbad on horseback. If you could just modify yours to include that, you won't need to worry about finding good riding horses (as opposed to farm horses ) at a roadside inn.

In my post I moved the action forward a little bit, "getting down to business." In doing so I had to use just about everyone's character, particularly Thoronmir, Meneltarmacil. (It was either use characters or put on a two-man show starring only Tarondo and Luinien.) If any of you have a problem with how I've portrayed your character, please let me know, either here or by PM. This is a standing request that goes for any post I make. They are your characters, not mine, and although sometimes I'll need to use them, I want to keep them as you've created them.

As I wrote this I had to come up with "the plan" that our, um, for lack of a better word, allies have for now:

1. All that the King's messengers knew when they arrived at Tharbad was the rumors of violence that had filtered down to Gondor.

2. At Tharbad they learned a little more from Aidwain and Silrûth. Now they're getting the most recent information from Thoronmir and Menecar.

3. The next steps are essentially police work: They study the incidents, gather information from witnesses, and try to find patterns. Specifically, as the game develops over the next week they need to get clues that indicate trolls are the villains. Plus they need to discover what general area the malefactors are operating in.

4. The "allies" begin scouting around for themselves, hoping to track the trolls and find out the truth. Their goal is to discover for certain who is the problem, and then to handle it themselves if possible, and if not to alert the King and have him take care of it.

It's in these scouting expeditions that I anticipate the allies will run into their own problems. (Where's the evil smiley when you need it?!)

Meneltarmacil, I appreciate the thought you and Dragon Elf have put into this. Let me talk to Envinyatar about it, ok? Also, since you're obviously in communication with Dragon Elf, please tell him to check his PM's immediately. I sent him an important one on Tuesday, and he still hasn't seen it.

Good work, everyone! Carry on,

Nuranar

[Kransha]

Oho, Meneltarmacil, remember that you do not yet know the villains' strategy. Do not think that we shall fall into trite predictability. We orcs/trolls/etceteras are smarter than we look. *resumes maniacal laughter*

Alright, I've posted, and will make some points about said post.

I have introduced three named orcs, all of whom are completely expendable. When I say completely, I mean, don't kill them off right away, but if you feel like kicking orc posterior and you'd rather not be annihilating nameless pawns, feel free to pick off one of these three individuales importantes during combat. Mind you, the third is a more powerful warrior, and not quite as easy to get out of the picture. If anyone has to get it soon, it ought to be #1 or #2.

Búbkûr: Chief Lieutenant: Strong, thug-persona, bombastic, imbecilic.
Gráthgrob: Chief Negotiator and Vizier: Smart, logical, weak, pompous.
Kransha (dreadfully sorry for the self-insert, but I had to use this name for something): Chief Scout and Archer: Fast, silent, and an excellent marksman (Beware!).

And, for your convenience, here's an Index of Black Speech Words, since I used so many BS (convenient acronym, no?) words in my post. Mind y'all, Bazzog often slips into the Black Speech (also called Orkish, or the Black Tongue of Mordor) often, sometimes with just a word, and sometimes for oration. Since not much Black Speech is documented in Tolkien's works, I might take some liberties, but all BS used in this first speech is straight from the pages of the books.

Pushdug: Dung-filth
Bagronk: Cess-pool
Sha: Contemptuous interjection
Ash-bûbhosh: Great one
Glob: Fool

[Saurreg]

Nuranar - Post edited as pointed out. Have included the Rohirrim in Loudewater's observation.

Baddies - OUTSTANDING! Especially you Kransha!

[Saurreg]

I apologise for my extra long posts. But as I have discussed with Nuranar, it's going to take quite a work to get our simple farmer to leave the safety of Bree for the adventure. I'll try my best ot limit the write up without compromising storyline.

Fellow RPGers, please forgive me!

[Envinyatar]

Nuranar or Pio

I've moved post #22 ahead - can one of you delete the original post by Nuranar?

- E -

-------------------------------------

EDIT: Post #22 has been deleted ~*~ Pio

[Dragon Elf odin Ragnorock]

sorry that I have not been posting buut my sedule has been very bad i thought that I could work it out but it looks like i can oly post on satuday and sunday but i also might need to be carried by Meneltarmacil. I will ask him about that tomwrrow.

[rutslegolas]

Nuranar: post edited as you requested.

My third post is up but I have used a lot of matter from the previous posts .
where is Esgallhugwen,have you contacted her Nuranar??

[Saurreg]

It's too soon for another Loudewater rant, so I won't make a SAVE just after rutslegolas' last post. But I'll do so a post or two down. Hopefully you'll all still be in the tavern.

[Meneltarmacil]

I shall be happy to carry Dragon Elf's character along, and I'll call him every now and then if I need his input.

By the way, it seemed like either Loudewater or Shepherdspurse recognized me from somewhere. Where exactly would that be?

[Envinyatar]

It wasn't Fen - he only knows your character is a nasty, nosy Ranger!

Loudewater commented he thought he'd seen someone who looked like your character - long ago in his childhood . . . but didn't say he knew that for sure, did he?

[Saurreg]

Yup. I was simply putting a little musing in mind to play - how did ordinary folks like Breelanders take to the extremely long-lived Dunadäin.

And the first thing that came to my mind was, "Haven't I seen you before?"

[Nuranar]

In case you haven't figured it out, this is not a quest-and-battle RPG. There are two phases to it: (1) Fact-finding mission gone wrong and (2) Escape to Rivendell. Envinyatar and I have been working on an outline for the action. So far, here is what we've got:

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1. Ranger and 2 Elves commissioned by the King – DONE

2. Joined by a man in Rohan – DONE

3. Information gathered from 2 Elves at Tharbad – DONE

4. Information gathered from 2 Rangers who have been patrolling the Breeland area – DONE

5. Information from the Breelanders. We will make a general announcement in the Inn the next day saying we’re interested in any stories people might have to tell of the ‘happenings’ around Bree and its outlying communities. These “happenings” could include anything from the unexplained to murder: lost livestock, travelers who say they’ve ‘been followed,’ etc.

6. The company breaks into smaller scouting groups to check out the stories. Veryadan has added these stories to his map, and the companions start to see that the attacks are beginning to happen in the outlying communities to the NORTHEAST of Bree now – the unknown perpetrators have moved their focus.

7. One group will be led by Fen to the Whittleworth farm. All the groups will rendezvous on Weathertop in 2 days to compare notes. The first group to arrive will be set upon by orcs.

8. The attack; a battle is fought; three companions are wounded – one severely.

9. The company is saved by the arrival of the other scouting groups.

10. The Orcs and trolls cut off the escape back to Bree and the company must flee toward Rivendell.

* The escape to Rivendell is still in the planning stages.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please use this as a guide as you write your posts. Please do NOT add any extra "plot twists" without consulting with me and/or Envinyatar. And remember, the baddies are doing their own plotting behind the scenes.

Carry on!

Nuranar

[Esgallhugwen]

I'm finally back! Must...check....R...P...G...
I am sorry for my disappearance, work is killing me. Anyway not to wory I'm here now *laughs evilly*

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

All right, I've posted the attack of the trolls on the farmhouse. Primrose, I think I left you a big fuzzy area to post about the attack yourself, but if I've done too much in the post, let me know so I can edit. Also, it will be up to you to settle the whole issue of the plunder and taking it to the orcs, etc.

[Saurreg]

I will be updating Loudewater's bio very soon.

Nuranar and I agreed on midlife crisis. But from the looks of it, it appears our not-so-gentle farmer is on the brink of a total mental breakdown.

I did not know that the investigators would be staying in town for a few days. I'll see what I can come up with.

[Primrose Bolger]

Fordim

My save is filled.

Lucky Arrald and Dim are now in posession of 2 leather bags of gold - a generous gift from their friends . . .