The Fellowship of the Fourth Age (Part 1): A New Beginning Discussion Thread

[Durelin]

No problems at all, Nogrod. And don't worry about asking all the time...I'm sure someone will let you know if you've done anything they don't like...

[Regin Hardhammer]

I deleted my save and put up a new post because it had to go afterwards.

Child, would it be possible for you to edit your post so that I've never seen your Uruk character so that my post makes sense. If not, tell me so that I can edit my post.

If it needs any other edits, please let me know.

- Regin

[Tevildo]

My save is filled. If anyone wants to comment on the brand, or has any suggestions as to what the fellowship group should do next, be my guest.....

[Child of the 7th Age]

Regin -

I've edited my initial post so that Makdush does not go up to Ishkur but waits in the bushes for the rest of the group to arrive.

Hope this helps.

Child

[Folwren]

Does everyone except for the dwarf (it was the dwarf wasn't it?) have horses in the group?

-- Folwren

[Durelin]

Most likely. They probably would have been well-outfitted on their departure. But Vrór is a rather traditional fellow.

I'd say go ahead and say that everyone has a horse (and Carl his pony), unless someone objects.

[Nogrod]

Child / Pio

After Makdush has challenged Ishkur, here's Gwerr's post to be placed in the thread somewhere where it sits nicely (I will be back only on Sunday evening our local time +3GMT).

Child: If you think you would like to add something or remove something from this, help yourself. I tried not to use Makdush more than was necessary - and intentionally left the post in a place wherefrom you could continue by making the last comment and then go on describing the orcs getting to sleep as we talked.


PS. I have added two new names to our orc-gallery. They are Zuhut and Griwzan, both male orcs. I update my list of orc characters up there.

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EDIT


Nogrod's Orc list - HERE

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Nogrod's post - Gwerr


After Ishkur had called for the group to halt, Gwerr turned to Colagar, intending to haul him over the coals for his plan once more. But then they both saw Makdush rushing to Ishkur and challenging the call for rest. They didn’t hear the heated exchange of words exactly, but the main idea was clear. The Uruk accused Ishkur and the other orcs of being lazy and incompetent. “That did it!” Gwerr yelled and grasped Colagar by the arm. “C’mon! We have some things to settle with that bully of a toddler!”

With that he ran to the quarrelling pair, calling for Zuhut and Griwzan whom he passed to join them as he went.

“Have you lost your marbles, Makdush?” Gwerr shouted to the Uruk from a couple of yards away. Colagar, Zuhut and Griwzan were tailing him. The Uruk turned to gaze at the smallish but sturdy orc. They knew each other well enough to mutually dislike each other. Gwerr took instinctively a grip from the handle of his axe and continued.

“When we were fighting at Angband you were not even conceived of! What do you think you are, you lousy maggot of a mere wizard? This is our party and I don’t have the faintest what are you doing here. But if you are to stay with us with your ruffian friends, you just shut your newborn mouth that only coos and babbles nonsense.” Gwerr had gotten really angry, inflamed by his own words. The veins in his temple swelled when he tried to cool himself down.

“Take shelter everyone! We rest now!” He called loudly to the other orcs not involved in the quarrel. But all the females were already out of the sight, taking shelter wherever the sun couldn’t extend its rays.

“You see. We rest now. You sun-lovers may run as long as you wish to.” Gwerr added in a lower tone, looking at Makdush challengingly but being somewhat calmed down already. Still he held a firm grip of his axe, and Ishkur, Colagar, Zuhut and Griwzan had all taken a hold of their weapons too. The last two male orcs had also finally realised the situation and were walking firmly towards the center of the dispute.

Makdush glanced at his fellow Uruks and nodded lightly to them, and then took a few steps back.


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[Hilde Bracegirdle]

I have put a post up for Carl, rather a hurried one I'm afraid. If I need to make changes, please just holler at me via PM. I will be away this weekend, so any changes won't appear until Monday, at the earliest.

Have a good weekend everybody, and enjoy your stay in Mordor!

[piosenniel]

Nogrod's Orc list - HERE

[Child of the 7th Age]

Save # 40 has been filled in with the post for Makdush and Gwerr. Thanks, Nogrod. Your post looks fine.

Hilde - I need to check with you on one thing. I've written you a pm. (No rush, however.)

[Durelin]

I've (kind of accidentally) come up with a slave-escapee character that I'd love to be able to use sporadically. So...now I have a(nother?) minor character. Sorry everyone for adding yet another one to worry about, but I already have plans for him...

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

Minor Character - Slave escapee

Name: Adnan

Age: 15

Gender: Male

Race: Haradrim

Weapons: He was recently given a knife, with a thin blade of relative length – a stabbing weapon with a rather dull sides but a sharp point.

Appearance: A good height for his age, about 5’ 6”, long and lean. Dark hair, thick and curly, it sticks both up and out on his head, with always at least a few curls hanging down in front of his eyes that he has to try and push away. His eyes are a dark, muddy brown, and his skin is approximately the same colour. He wears rough pants, and only sometimes bothers with any kind of shirt. He always ties a cloth around his upper right arm, though, to hide the brand there.

Personality: His hopes and dreams have not been fully crushed by the few years he spent as a slave. He has a desire to make himself known, to be respected by many. He has a fierce hatred for Easterlings, as both the owner of the plantation he was enslaved on and the overseer he was most often punished by were from the East. Like most Southerners, he doesn’t think much of Gondor, either, and certainly has no love for Orcs. He likes to think of himself as a loner, but hates being alone, and regrets it when he shrugs off the offer of company. Overall, it can be said that his bark is much worse than his bite.

History: Adnan was a slave for three years on a plantation after being captured with his mother and four older siblings. His father’s death and his family’s descent into utter poverty made them prime targets for the remaining slavers who did business in Mordor. He has not seen any of his family since the day they were captured.

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EDIT: The slave group is now camped for the night.

[piosenniel]

Bringing this forward:

WRITER/CHARACTER LIST


Major Characters


A. Group Sent Out by Aragorn

• Child of the 7th Age
  • Lindir, b.1258 Age of Trees, Noldor Elf (metal crafter, scout)
  • Radagast (Aiwendil), istar (teacher)
• Durelin – Vrór Redfist, 91 y/o Dwarf (stone mason)
• piosenniel – Rog, 42 y/o male from the East & Harad
• Tevildo – Dorran, 39 y/o Rohan (soldier)
• Folwren – Athwen, 39, y/o, Rohan, Dorran’s wife (healer)
• Hilde Bracegirdle – Carl Cotton, 50 y/o, Hobbit/Bywater (farmer)

B. Inhabitants of Mordor

ORCS - MAJOR CHARACTERS

• Regin Hardhammer - Ishkur, age unknown, Orc rebel (male)
• Undómë - Zagra & Mazhg, about 36 y/o, Orc rebels (sisters)

Orcs – MINOR CHARACTERS

• Regin Hardhammer - Ungolt, 28 y/o, Orc, (female)
• Child of the 7th Age - Makdush, 35 y/o, Uruk-hai (male)
• Nogrod – Gwerr, age unknown, Orc (male)
• Firefoot - Grask, age 9, (male)

~*~

SLAVE ESCAPEES - MAJOR CHARACTERS

• Nogrod - Hadith (aka Apples), 18 y/o, slave escapee (male)
• Durelin - Adnan, 15 y/o, slave escapee (male)
• Firefoot - Johari, 31 y/o, slave escapee (female)
• Novnarwen – Aedhild, 42-52 y/o slave escapee (female)

Slave Escapees – MINOR CHARACTERS

• Undómë – Brenna, slave escapee, 51 y/o (female)
• Tevildo – Azhar, slave escapee, 12 y/o (female)
• Folwren - Kwell Dunfire, 13 y/o slave escapee, (male)
• Orofaniel - Liviol, almost 20 y/o slave escapee (male)

~*~

EX-SLAVES - MAJOR CHARACTERS

• Durelin – Khamir, 37 y/o ex-slave (male)
• Orofaniel - Reagonn, in 20’s, ex-slave (male)
• Brinniel – Shae, 25 y/o, ex-slave (female)

Ex-Slaves – MINOR CHARACTERS

• Novnarwen - Eirnar, 29 y/o, ex-slave (male)

~*~

Mordor inhabitant - ??

• Thinlómien (MINOR CHARACTER ONLY) - ??? - SHORT BIO ONLY NEEDED

[Durelin]

(Kinda bringing this forward, too.)

The slave group is now camped for the night.

Writers with characters in the slave group - Please do not move the time beyond that of the end of my post, though feel free to post about things going on before and during my post. Thanks!

Pio - Thank you for adding Adnan to the list.

[Folwren]

Are the slave's time the same as the fellowship's time? If it is, then my post is out of place, because it would now be night. If my post is out of place, let me know, and I'll move it. But I'm not sure what the fellowship is planning on doing now - whether to continue until it's too dark to go on any more, or to stay here in hopes of finding tracks in morning and better light.

I'll be around tomorrow to remove or remedy my post, but I'm leaving Monday, remember.

-- Folwren

[Child of the 7th Age]

Folwren,

Your post is fine. The two group don't have to be in exact time sync. But you are correct. For the fellowship, it is just turning towards evening.

_____________________

slave posters

Have fun with this....

Two slaves -- the young Azhar and Kwell--have just been kidnapped. The bounty hunters have ridden off with the two young people slung over their saddles (with the kind permission of Folwren and Tevildo). What the slaves don't know is that the bounty hunters plan to get reinforcements and come back in order to take out the entire camp.

There are a number of questions that need answering at this point.

• Anyone going to take any final whacks at the slavers as they race out of camp? Please feel free to do this. You can even take down one or two. The only rule is that the kidnapped slaves can not be rescued at this point (though you're welcome to try!)
• How do the slaves recover from the raid? When do they realize who is missing?
• Most imporantly, are they going to risk their necks to go after these two kids?
• Are some of them going to argue that they should just turn tail and get out of there?
• Plus, I am personally curious about what happens to that young guard who fell asleep.....

As the leader of the group, Khamir will make the final decision on whether the slaves will try and rescue the kidnapped victims or turn tail and run. But I'm sure Khamir will want to hear some opinions from the rest of the slave pack

[Undómë]

So . . . Brenna has taken a whack at one of the abductors and sliced his leg with her wickedly sharp hand scythe. Which rider it was is left vague. Your choice, Child.

Brenna's most likely knocked down and out at the moment. & obviously she would have seen who was taken, though I don't know that she knows their names.

[Hilde Bracegirdle]

Wow, the thread had grown faster that mushrooms after a rain! I will try to catch up reading it tomorrow.

Child, I got your PM and have done the needful.

[Nogrod]

Durelin!

Well, Hadith lost his pride, the long-knife - to a scum of a man. Hadith is not injured very badly - only bleeding heavily and feeling quite dazzled for a while, but that will cease with the the help of the ladies who know what to do...

Would you Durelin like to settle this right? It would be better than myself trying to figure it out (not believable or good gaming to set yourself a trap and then relerase yourself from it). Or surely Hadith might have lost his knife forever / for the time being... It depends a lot of the schedule we're going to meet the orcs & the fellowship etc. So act as you see fit. If something like a rescue party is set, Hadith would surely join, but without a weapon it might be tough to enlist.

And maybe [ (Fewerth) ] should be taught a lesson in way of reaching a real unity of the slaves? That could be a good narrative - making the slaves to come together?

[Nogrod]

Btw. As some of you might have seen already, I have added to the gallery of slaves after Beloan a couple of characers. That is: Khala, Cuáran and Fewerth.

Beloan seems to have come to a need: if we don't want to use Durelin's Khamir at every twist and turn we can employ Beloan. That's nice and usable. Please continue using him. He seems to be getting quite a character here, and I think it's only good. He might be killed off at a suitable moment, but at least I would be missing him...

As Undómë never answered to my queries about the older women (Granny Brenna in her case) to having taken care of the young orphan Hadith (mummy being called to work on another location for some years), I felt a need to come up with at least a couple of persons Hadith would know as his "tutors" or "caretakers" - which came handy at my last post... It would be nicer to have these relations with actual writers but if Undómë's not willing, then no can do. So you just get used to Khala and Cuáran. And use them as you see fit.

If our basic story stands, most of the slaves would still know each other! But now everyone is just playing for her/himself, not counting lots of possibilities / actively seeking relationships between the people from the same barracks - everyone just trying to find a way to not being involved with the major runaway and not knowing anyone else / not having any positive feelings to anyone (think of a it: a whole life hating everyone or feeling indifferent to everyone - that's not human, even in distress in like places as concentration camps etc.)

Well.
The latest one is Fewerth. That's a nasty one. One who only kind of tries to catch the apples the others will drop down... The [one] riding on the backs of others. That kind of people should be either revered or gotten done with...

I don't know whether you are timid on this one, or I am too careless, but I think we need to name people in the big group - at least when it seems hard to contact other actual players becaue a being-away or anything. Writing just solitary monologues is not good gaming from my point of view (in which I surely can be wrong - but I wrote so many of them in my last game being the one to join the company so much afterwards... and getting badly wounded very soon -so that was not so much an interaction).

So I was just wondering, why I am (almost) the only one to come up with these characters that are being involved in the groups but are not played by anyone? Am I just so poor writer who can't make a monologue or hasn't the patience to wait for another poster to answer a challenge / co-operation plan for a week or two?

[Folwren]

Hilde, Athwen is with Carl and she did address him in my last post, but I'm leaving tomorrow and will not be able to post for her again, I don't think, until Friday, so just take her back to the others when Carl returns.

Tevildo and Child, you both know that you can do whatever with Kwell. Tevildo may use him and Athwen. Athwen I don't expect too much to be done with, but if you want to, you can do something with her, I guess. But with Kwell, I expect him to be doing lots of noticeable things while he's in the clutches of these bad guys. Don't write anything for him until after tomorrow morning. The latest I'll be writing for him is about 8:00 Eastern Time, so anytime after that, he's yours - until I return Friday. Have fun with him.

And I think that's all. Have fun everybody while I'm gone.

-- Folwren

[Durelin]

Okay, so anyone can respond to Khamir’s question, as pretty much anyone in the vicinity could have heard it. Feel free to bite his head off if you’d like. (Yes, I am asking you to.)

Oh, and Child and Pio - I now know the exact dates I will be gone: August 8th - 16th. I will supposedly be returning on the 16th, but with a long flight, and a timezone changes, I doubt I'll truly be 'back.'

I will know with a little more certainty if I'll have some internet access over that absence or not in the next few days, hopefully.

[Child of the 7th Age]

Nogrod,

I wanted to get back on several questions you raised. I'm hoping my answers will be helpful not just to you but others.

First, in regard to your concerns about the character of Granny Brenna. Since I don't know the context of the discussion you had with Undómë, it's impossible to address your specific point. I would strongly urge all posters to try and hammer out such individual matters by pm. Should you not hear anything back from a poster or encounter what you feel is a problem, just let one of the game founders know and we'll try to help iron things out. It's much better to handle specific concerns about individual characters or posters by pm rather than on the general discussion thread, especially if it involves character development.

As I understand it, this is the heart of your concern:

I don't know whether you are timid on this one, or I am too careless, but I think we need to name people in the big group - at least when it seems hard to contact other actual players becaue a being-away or anything. Writing just solitary monologues is not good gaming from my point of view (in which I surely can be wrong - but I wrote so many of them in my last game being the one to join the company so much afterwards... and getting badly wounded very soon -so that was not so much an interaction).

So I was just wondering, why I am (almost) the only one to come up with these characters that are being involved in the groups but are not played by anyone? Am I just so poor writer who can't make a monologue or hasn't the patience to wait for another poster to answer a challenge / co-operation plan for a week or two?

I don't think it's your carelessness or our timidity. Rather, the whole philosophy of Downs RPGs is to give posters as much freedom as they can handle. That's especially so in Rohan, which is our intermediate forum. Yes, there are certain rules and guidelines but beyond that we encourage people to make individual decisions within those rules. Thus, if some posters want to name people in the "big group" they can do that. If others don't feel the need, that's not a requirement for them.

The only exception would be if the game founders declared that all posters must do "X" thing, or if the posters themselves decided by general consensus that everyone needs to do a certain thing a certain way. My own preference--and this is personal--is not to fill in all the blank holes near the beginning of the game. So often, later on, we require flexiblity, and it's nice to have some of those blank spaces to fill in. You've done a great job naming and identifying people, but not everyone has to do that, unless we collectively decide that's important.

Regarding the question you raised about writing isolated "monologues".... No, we certainly don't want that. But the heart of an RPG is to write true to your own character and then address or involve other actual characters in the game (not carry-alongs). RPGs and fanfictions are different. RPGs are centered on a few characters, and each speaks with a different voice. RPGs present a tiny slice of the reality that occurred at a particular time from those character's point of view. Fanfiction paints with a wider brush with only one hand controlling all the moves, and there's potentially a much wider group of characters involved.

At least that's how I see it. If other posters want to add their own thoughts to this, they are welcome to do so. And Nogrod please don't let me discourage you from continuing to name a reasonable number of characters and encouraging others to do the same, since this is something important to you. But there's nothing wrong if one poster wants to do this, and another does not.

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

Since I'm already wearing my game founder's hat, let me mention something else. Thanks to many who've told us by pm or on the thread that they are using someone else's character with their permission. It's always good to indicate that on the discussion thread so everyone knows what you're doing.

Just a reminder. If anyone feels uncomfortable with how some other poster has used their character, you are free to send them a polite pm requesting an edit.

We're off to a good start, and Durelin and I appreciate everyone's hard work. This is not easy with three different groups doing three different things! It should pull together once we're all on the same page.

[Durelin]

Oh dear, I did forget to note this (shame on me):

Nogrod - Please let me know if how Khamir 'solved' Hadith's problem is alright with you. It can be edited at any time. Also, I'd like to have Hadith and Khamir perhaps have a little talk...maybe Hadith would like to pester him after he's gone off to sulk about the fact that they're not going to be moving for a few days?

[piosenniel]

Child

Rôg's made an offer of his assistance to Aiwendil.

~*~ Pio

[Novnarwen]

Hi everyone.

I'm am SO sorry for not having posted earlier. I came home from Italy on Saturday evening, and was only able to read through the posts before I fell asleep on the couch. Then.. on Sunday I was forced to go out of town again to watch my cousins. Apparently their nanny called in sick, and since I don't work, or supposedly don't have anything to do, it was 'natural' for me to take care of them instead. I don't have computer access here, and the only reason for why I'm posting now is because I forced my cousins to go to the library with me. It's about half an hours drive from where I'm currently at, and they will absolutely refuse to go again.. So.. I will not be able to post again until I get home, which will be in a couple of days time. Again, I'm really sorry!

I will probably make a few edits to my post when I get home (I have limited of time, and my time is up shortly). There are a few errors, I know. Aedhild is, as expected perhaps, as confused as ever... Also, I have written another post (by hand) which I will type up when I get home to be inserted somewhere. This post will explain why Aedhild believes she had a fit, rather than being knocked unconscious by Eirnar.

Again, I can't stress how sorry I am.

Thanks for your patience,
Nova

[Nogrod]

Originally Posted by Durelin

Oh dear, I did forget to note this (shame on me):

Nogrod - Please let me know if how Khamir 'solved' Hadith's problem is alright with you. It can be edited at any time. Also, I'd like to have Hadith and Khamir perhaps have a little talk...maybe Hadith would like to pester him after he's gone off to sulk about the fact that they're not going to be moving for a few days?

The solution is alright. I'll try to have time to write something today.

Originally Posted by Child

Thanks to many who've told us by pm or on the thread that they are using someone else's character with their permission. It's always good to indicate that on the discussion thread so everyone knows what you're doing.

Almost all of the dialogue between Johari and Hadith has been co-written by Firefoot and myself via PM's.

And thanks Child. You have answered my concerns well enough.

[Regin Hardhammer]

My save for the orcs is filled. This was a tough post for me to write. I am a vegetarian, and it wasn't too much fun writing about roasting ponies, let alone other possible dishes that were even less palatable! Please feel free to respond to the suggestion at the end of the post.

[Nogrod]

Originally Posted by Regin Hardhammer

My save for the orcs is filled. This was a tough post for me to write. I am a vegetarian, and it wasn't too much fun writing about roasting ponies, let alone other possible dishes that were even less palatable!

I could imagine it! Tough thing, this writing...

I have addressed Ishkur's worries. Hopefully I have interpreted his condition about rightly. If not, you'll surely inform me about it.

[Child of the 7th Age]

Regin, thanks for the use of your character as we agreed (even if he is a regular orc).

[Child of the 7th Age]

Durelin,

You're right. We do have a slight time coordination problem on the thread between posts: the Dwarf's and Aiwendil. Could you check your pm's and see if my suggested change would work. The problem is that I have to talk to Rog first before I can even attempt to try and address your concerns about a lack of a "plan". (Even then the old man will come across as sounding very fuzzy on details but sure that the fellowship will shortly be getting some hint on what direction to go!)

I won't fill in my save till I hear from you.

Child

EDIT: Just got an answer from Durelin. Sometime tomorrow, she will edit Vror's earlier post in a way that will "straighten out" the chronology by letting Aiwendil speak with Rôg before he responds to the Dwarf. With that resolved, I'll go ahead and fill in my save.

[Novnarwen]

I caught a night train.. In other words, I'm back!

Okay, here is my post for Eirnar. Durelin or Pio - could you please insert this either before or after Durelin's post, spot #47? I think it would fit best there, although, I'm open for the possibility that it might not be.

Thanks in advance,

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

POSTED BY CHILD TO GAME

Novnarwen's post - Eirnar

After days of marching, Eirnar was starting to recognise a feeling he was all too familiar with; exhaustion. Having escaped from the plantations more than three years ago, he had thought and hoped that the years of slavery had vanished from his mind and that he would never have to be reminded of those years he had spent in turmoil. For a great period of time, he had indeed forgotten, or rather ignored, the marks these years had imprinted on him, but as he struggled to keep up the pace, despite his relatively young age, it was all coming back; working long days on the fields and the punishment as soon as he’d shown weakness; this heavy, dark cloud that hung over him them, also seemed to overwhelm him now. Those years could never be fully ignored, Eirnar realised bitterly, having defined who he was today. Eventually, he would be forced to accept it however, no matter how long he had tried ignoring and postponing it.

Looking around, he spotted Aedhild. She had arrived a few weeks before their departure from the caves. She had been in a terrifying state; her eyes bleary and wild with exhaustion. He had also discovered something else, which he believed had become obvious to most of the ex-slaves in due time; a fragility and a sadness he couldn’t recognise in any of the others... and madness… Oh! he still wasn’t sure. Somtimes she was like thunder itself on a sour, dreary autumn day, and other times she was completely calm. No one had been able to learn where she came from, and he doubted Aedhild knew it herself. For the last couple of days, ever since she recovered from unconsciousness, she had been silent, hardly muttering a single word to anyone. Her only question to Eirnar when she awoke had been whether it had been a fit again, “…this time it felt so different,” she had added weakly. “Yes, it was a fit… Don’t worry. You will be all right,” he had lied, biting his lip. He didn’t regret having lied to her; he feared the consequences the truth would have; would she then have a fit? Would she attack him once more? Would he be forced to strike her unconscious again? Shortly after, a man named Reagonn had asked why he had lied, obviously having overheard his reply. At first, Eirnar had been unable to answer, ashamed... but yet, not ashamed, he’d been… terrified, yes, that was it. He had indeed been terrified about this... life, what this life had done to him. “Had I really any other choice?” he’d finally asked, in truth referring to both the fact that he had struck her and then lied about it. At this, Reagonn had shrugged, waited and tapped his shoulder soft with his hand, as if in approval. No one of the others had spoken a word of the incident, and of that Eirnar was glad. Aedhild would never know the truth, and though he would and could never be proud of his actions, as hot-headed as he had been, it would be best if it remained this way.

As they approached the camp and made ready to settle in for the night, Eirnar couldn't help noticing how some of the children and the elderly were struggling. They were beyond doubt the most vulnerable. Naturally, this was to be expected. In an unknown country, where there were no obvious places they could quickly hide or take shelter, they were all easy targets for the enemy; in truth, in this landscape, they were complely lain bare for the enemy to see. It surely was insanity, and whose idea it had been in the first place, he did not know. Personally, he hadn’t been delighted by the suggestion of leaving the caves behind, he had been horrified. They had been waiting for the promised aid from Gondor, and although it had not arrived in due time, Eirnar had no doubts in his mind that King Elessar wouldn’t fail them. He had heard stories of this man, few of course, but they were enough to stun the most sceptic of men; he was a real King, who lived and breathed for his people. Both a Gondorian in flesh and heart, he had no right and would in truth be ashamed to think otherwise.

“Reagonn!” he called, breathing heavily. The dark haired man turned to face Eirnar.

“Are you all right?” he asked, slowly. “You look rather dreadful if I may be so bold to say so..” Reagonn hesitated, as if wanted to say something more.

“Heh. I’m good. No worries, though the marching does seem to bring back a lot I hoped I had forgotten…” Eirnar fell silent, not knowing how to proceed; how he hated these embarrassing moments, where he couldn’t quite find the right words or the right tone to say them in. Reagonn seemed to think the same, and being a polite, young man, he nodded in understanding.

“Makes you wonder,” Eirnar suddenly said, “who suggested this in the first place,” he continued with something that was supposed to be a laugh. Noticing himself the lack of sincerity and seeing Reagonn narrowing his eyes (whether intentionally or not, Eirnar didn’t know), he added quickly, “Oh, don’t worry. I won’t… ehm.. strike anyone...” This seemed to break the ice somehow, and Reagonn smiled faintly.

“Mhm. I first heard it from Khamir. A good man, with great dreams. A born leader.” Reagonn's pale cheeks seemed to glow for a moment, although Eirnar could might as well have imagined it.

“True. Surely, we all have dreams… I was just curious about where we were heading, where our dreams and hopes are to be fulfilled…” Eirnar said grinning.

Reagonn chuckled and turned away to prepare for the night.

***

Though the night had enclosed on them, Eirnar lay half awake. The pain of his aching limbs didn’t seem to bother him as much anymore; something quite else was on his mind.

Eirnar was not a particularly bright man, nor was he stupid either. He had observed Khamir and the others from the very beginning, but he had to admit that Khamir, especially, had caught his attention. Although he had failed to see the extraordinary leadership skills he supposedly possessed, Eirnar had observed him with interest; it seemed that the young Southron in some way had managed not only to gain trust, but the others also seemed to respect him for reasons yet unknown to Eirnar. In which situation had Khamir so clearly stood forth and thus earned this respect? How had he come to be the one deciding to leave the caves? How had he managed to convince them all to leave? The caves had been their shelter, the only safe place they had known for months and months, and now, this man, had taken them away from it. Eirnar couldn’t quite understand any of it; why the men, women and children’s eyes, when gazing upon him, were filled with such warmth; it reminded him of an admiration close to idolization. Undeserved, Eirnar concluded, he must surely have manipulated his way to their trust and respect. Painfully was also the fact that he was a Southron. Was there any of the other escapees who recognised him from the life at the plantations… as a slave…

Although, Eirnar didn’t know at this point, there was something, something which he couldn’t quite define with words yet, and so all of it would remain thoughts. For now.

***

It's been a wonderful read so far everyone. I've really enjoyed it.

Cheers,
Nova

[Firefoot]

Save filled. That was rather fun...

[Durelin]

Here is the edited post to replace my post for Vror in Pio's post #59.

Sorry again to Pio...I tried this already, PMing her about replacing the post, and forgot to send the post with it!

Now we'll just place it on the discussion thread, so either Pio or Child can place it where it belongs.

Sorry if I held things up...

Here it is:

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

POST PLACED ~*~ PIO

A man who can converse with the birds?

Vrór, growing up under what was once the Lonely Mountain, had heard the tale of Bard on many occasions, and how the man could actually speak to and understand the thrush, though it was said that those birds could understand most speech. Now there was something the Dwarf had always wondered when told those stories – was it only the Common Tongue it could understand? But Vrór could only stare at the old man, and did not really hear a question asked. Were not men such as Bard long deceased?

“We have to reach the slaves before that gang of thugs and miscreants do, or I fear there’ll be no one left.” Vrór’s conscious return to the conversation was not a pleasant one.

He opened his mouth, but found it impossible to form words, or any sound at all. No one left? All…captured or dead? He truly felt that he would prefer death to being recaptured and forced back into chains, and that thought disturbed him to the bone. It was not natural for one to wish death on oneself. It was a horrible thing indeed that anyone would be left with two options, one worse even than being forced to leave this world in brutality and pain. Vrór certainly didn’t want to have to make that kind of choice, and right now, he did not even want to be faced with the decision of what to do next. It seemed Aiwendil had decided for them, though, and that didn’t sit too well with the Dwarf. He was sure that the old man was quite wise, but Vrór couldn’t help but thinking he was a little far off his rocker. Age could do that to you, among other things.

He waited respectfully, if a bit anxiously, for the old man to return from speaking with Rôg, who had pulled him aside. Vrór also couldn’t help but strain his ears, though he felt as guilty as a little boy peeking at his present. As soon as the two were finished, and the Haradrim ventured off on his own – something which Vrór spared a second to wonder about – immediately piped up. “But surely we can’t leave…now? We have naught but a general direction, and I…I’d be a warbler if any of you think you can track this group across Mordor, particularly when we’ve presumably got at least two different tracks on our hands. We’re no help to those slaves if we get ourselves into as deep a trouble as they, according to you, seem to be. With no offense meant to you, Master Aiwendil.”

Vrór couldn’t help but be gruff with his words. He was disturbed by this suggestion. Simply running off across Mordor was not what he had signed up for, nor did it seem rational enough to him. A headlong charge of a rescue mission wasn’t going to get them, or the slaves, anywhere, as far as he was concerned. Still, he regretted the harshness that might have been behind his words, and was glad that he had not added in any mention of a threat to give up on this Fellowship. It would have been an outright lie, anyway.

The Elf’s rather candid explanation of what the device they had found was had opened Vrór’s eyes, and though the understanding he came to of how much pain that single chunk of iron represented was a great one, he wished he had never laid his eyes on it, and for a good long moment, that he had never stepped foot in Mordor. But how could he, or anyone, abandon a being to such a fate as…that. Being branded like an animal, and treated like a disease. There was already so much sickness in this land that Vrór doubted could be healed. If they let just one more thing end as it would without intervention, they would perhaps be worse than the slavers themselves.

He felt strongly about doing good in this world, and though he rarely thought about other worlds, he was an idealist at heart. But he also felt strongly attached to the earth, particularly to rock and stone, and never let idealism whisk away his sensibilities. He desired direction, a plan, a map, a blueprint…something other than an ideal. But with an Elf and a man who could talk to birds, he doubted he would get so much as a push onto the determined path.

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

Thanks!

-Durelin

[Child of the 7th Age]

Save # 66 has been filled in. Although Lindir and Aiwendil have pulled off to the side, please feel free to continue discussing the object that Carl and Athwen found.

[Durelin]

Just as a note - I'm going to be slower with posting for a few days due to back problems (I have no clue what happened, but my back's killing me, and the computer chair is not good for it....I'd love to sit in the recliner with a laptop, but I don't have one with internet service).

I apologize, and will do my best to keep up.

[Brinniel]

Sorry about the back. I know how it feels- lately I've had back pains too (I have a lot of problems with muscle tension- I have to see a physical therapist for it). You ought to get an appointment for a massage- it really does help.

Anyways, I'm busy working and packing for the rest of the week, but I'm definitely going to try to get a post in before I leave on Sunday.

[Nogrod]

We have been having fun again (Firefoot and I) and the relationship between Johari and Hadith seems to be deepening dangerously...

My last post is now a quite direct consequence to the last posts actually written in the thread (Firefoot & Novnarwen) so those who have saves should probably check the places of their posts if they are to take the story of the slaves forwards...

Hang on with you back Durelin! Khamir surely is getting some pressure on him...

[Undómë]

Save filled.

Let me know if it's alright, Pio.

~ U

[Nogrod]

Sorry if I've been flooding the thread with my own characters posts, but that has to do with my RL. I have been on vacation just on my own, but from tomorrow on that will change and so I will be having considerably less time to write in here. Because of that, I have hoped for some developent of my characters to take place in here before it (with Hadith there may be some developement but its goal surely is in the dark yet, and with Gwerr, well, at least I'm getting to know him better...).

I truly have enjoyed this so far and the story seems very good indeed!

I'll try to take part with this as I can, but I'll have lots of RL things to settle and do on the coming days - and will be away for some periods in near future.

Feel free to use my characters as you wish. I'll complain if there is something that goes totally against my preconceptions of them... but basically I'm most liberal with those things.

PS. And do not shy away to take contact with any collaboration! I'll be able to check the thread about daily and act when needed. (notwithstanding July 18th - 22nd and July 28th - August 4th)

[Child of the 7th Age]

Durelin,

I'm sorry to hear about your back. One of my own family members has a similar problem, and it's no fun!

If you need any temporary help carrying any of your characters forward (especially the Dwarf), just let me know.