Hard Winters Planning/Discussion Thread

[Folwren]

The woodlanders being able to join us is one reason I think it would be good to leap ahead some.

I didn't know the plan for the wagon train. Are they moving on, then? Wilheard is staying, right? I am sure we could find a reason for Elfthain to stick around. He could be kicked instead of his horse - it'd be more likely for him to be hurt by another horse's kick than Saff. Not that I'm trying to break other characters' legs here...

From reading the above posts it looks like we need to:

• Let Scyld give his letter to Eodwine, or decide to wait for a more opportune time
• Figure out how Elfthain sticks around

Anything else?

[Mithalwen]

Wilheard is staying but there is no reason for the empty carts and their drivers to, as far as I know.
Not sure about Elfthain being more likely to be kicked. Unless a horse is loose it is fairly easy to avoid being kicked by them by the simple method of standing really close. He has been around horses all his life. He would know this. Only time I got kicked was by a brilliant but vicious 12.2 mare that was loose in the yard. Got of lightly with a half horseshoe bruise on my thigh but could have been a lot worse. I had been thinking of a cob at the place 'I used to work who also got kicked by a nasty little mare of 12.2, the aptly name Dotty. He had to spend six weeks in his box cross tied, poor old chap. I used to go and talk to him at lunchtimes since he was so bored .

Also a man is relatively easily transported compared to a horse unless we are giving him life threatening injuries or ones that will potentially maim him for life. That would definitely bring Elfride on the scene longer term since nothing would stop her getting to her injured boy though all the hosts of Mordor lay between them. Also if the boy is too hurt to be moved, he isn't going to be very active, laid up and possibly zonked out. Yes I can write for his lovely mother instead but that isn't really the way I had anticipated going so will need to have a think.

Elfthain will mind a lot more if Saff is hurt than him and his mamma will pay a relatively fleeting visit. If Elfthain is hurt, it solves some issues but to my mind makes more. I am not dismissing it and would welcome suggestions to resolve.

[Galadriel55]

If you need something to drive a horse berserk enough to kick a person, Ledwyn is at your service. Let's suppose she's sent to the stables for some reason, does something clumsy / trips / smashes into someone taking a horse out - the horse is angry, runs free, goes a-kicking. Or, for instance, if someone had their horse out and had to dash to someplace else, and just gave her the reins for a couple minutes, but once again being clumsy Ledwyn somehow scares the horse and lets go and etc. She's certainly clumsy enough with that sort of work, since I don't imagine she has lots of experience with horses. Sure, she can probably ride one when needed and knows their basic habits, but she's not that fond of them, and it's never been her job to take care of them, so if she's agitated herself, she could certainly make a fool of herself. So, rant aside, if you need someone to set a horse on another horse, I'm offering to do that.

[Firefoot]

There are other ways Safran could come up sick or lame as well. Bonus to this - built-in reason for interaction with Leof as well as our new herbs-woman.

Honestly, though, if I was you I would probably be trying to think of a reason to keep Elfthain at the Hall longer term, since (in the past, anyway) the timeline does not usually go day by day but jumps (a week, a month, several months sometimes) according to what's going on in the Hall and what suits the characters.

[littlemanpoet]

Picking up on Folwren's post, if we're eager to end this day and jump ahead a few, it looks like there are a few more things that need to happen.

- Folwren needs to write for Ruari, or maybe there needs to be a PM'd family post? to get Eodwine out of bed and moving toward Scyld.
- Scyld could beg off seeing Jian until later, say that he's looking for Eodwine?
- Elfthain could be invited to stay.

[Firefoot]

Scyld's letter does not necessarily need to be delivered today, though it could be if we want to keep writing the same day. No need to hold up on my account.

Also I guess since the away characters don't have to be on the same timeline a shorter jump is fine too. Whatever everyone else wants.

[Firefoot]

lmp, I wasn't really sure how to wrap up that last post. If you have anything more for Rowenna, feel free to pick it up there; otherwise if you want me to edit the end so they naturally drift away from each other while serving up dinner I could write that in as well.

[Folwren]

Elempi, there's a short post for Ruari at the end of my last post on the thread. I'd be fine doing a PM post, if you like.

I agree - Elfthain could be invited to stay. I didn't know how to put it in my last post, but it's pretty simple.

Yeah, I know it's easy to avoid getting kicked by a horse...I just thought it wasn't likely for Saff to get a broken leg from another horse. Firefoot is right - there are multiple ways to lame a horse....she could get some sort of hoof infection, or something. But, obviously, if Elfthain is invited to stay, it'd be so much easier (and nicer) than laming poor Saff.

[Mithalwen]

The mechanics of Safran being lamed isnt' the problem. She is turned out with a new group. Horses are hierarchical animals, it happens it doesn't even need a horse as obviously inpleasant as Bolt. Though seeing as she is there.. there are different types of fracture, and bones heal better than ligaments

I hadn't realised that the Meadhall did time jumps frequently or I would have chosen perhaps to make Elfthain start as having been there a while already. That ship has sailed. But I am still happy with the horse being injured as a reason not to go immediately since it seems that this type of injury is not uncommon and she will be absolutely fine after the box rest and convalsescence or at least fine enough to be a brood mare. It did occur that the injury would give scope for interaction with Javan, Leof and the witch. It isn't the herblore he would have a problem with, his granny was skilled in it but in a more scientific way. just the hocus pocus....anything like that may disturb him.

Having thought about it, I don't want Elfthain to be injured at this point. I could write it but if I had thought of going there I wouldn't have started from here... I would have had new characters with less prior angst. It would be too painful and I wouldn't have given them both a taste of happiness, Elfride with a lovely new daughter to play with without the inconvenience of a new husband... and Elfthain a chance to be himself. Too mean. And I often seem to write unhappy characters and wanted a bit of a change.

So if the hall is prepared to take him, my feeling is that his uncle will let him stay on
the condition that he commits to a decent amount of time there not the few weeks necessary to see Safran through the worst of it....six months .. a year? He will probably approve that he wants to make his own way a bit. Then Eodwine/Thornden can make use of him as they see fit. Or I suppose Wilheard ...

None of this has to be played, Elfthain can muse as he tends his horse...

BTW I thought the woodlanders were only 5 miles away?

[Undómë]

Please don't hurry the timeline along - your characters and interactions are coming along nicely.

And we 'woodlander' writers for the time being have busy schedules.

[Inziladun]

I've been pretty busy lately, but I haven't forgotten Ladavan.
I've been considering whether he ought to have any more encounters with PCs the day of arrival, or just wake up the next morning with a funny notion in his head...

[littlemanpoet]

Firefoot, please describe Rowenna as excusing herself to help out in the kitchen.

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

I've been pretty busy lately, but I haven't forgotten Ladavan.
I've been considering whether he ought to have any more encounters with PCs the day of arrival, or just wake up the next morning with a funny notion in his head...

I have just been thinking it would be fun to have Ladavan interact with Áforglaed (preferably in the company of somebody else, like I could dump them together with Hilderinc). That could be just a talk over the meal, or when going to sleep, or whatever. If you are around, we could still work on that, even just put it to fill in. (Or in the worst case, if everyone wants to do a longer jump really fast, we could make a save and fill it in with a co-post later, if it won't include anything besides establishing the first connections.)

That said, maybe before we do any hyper-long time jump, it might be nice to just work on whether any of the newly arrived characters want to separately establish their initial interaction or meeting with others. (As in, making first impressions.) That could still be done rather over the course of next few days game-time rather than in several weeks. But it comes down to how many people want to do it and how.

If more people were interested in that, maybe we could also do some "First Contact Series" to cover the gap we are going to jump over, i.e. just a series of different posts where everyone could coordinate with each other the circumstances under which they would like to meet the other characters. You know, something like "Ledwyn and Scyld", "Ruari and Ladavan", "Saeryn and Brith" (was still supposed to happen, by the way?), "Elfthain and Hilderinc". If some people want this (and the forest-dwellers are not in a hurry to join us, although they basically could start arriving during that time too), we could make it into a kind of dragged-out start with these small episodes, so that everyone can write at the same time, and those who have something ongoing they might want to sort out, can do it during that time as well and not feel pressed by others.

Just an idea. I might anyway post something short today still for some of my characters, to finish sketching out their first day's doings.

[Galadriel55]

Speaking of what Legate said - I just remembered that Ledwyn owes an apology to a certain Gondorian lady. If we proceed to dinnertime, Ledwyn would like to come up to Brith and attempt to communicate. If we jump a couple days, she will still attempt to communicate with Brith but will also apologize for not being able to do so sooner due to reasons etc.

What do you think, Lommy?

[Mithalwen]

Elfthain is up for more interaction. At the moment he is probably a bit unsure if he should go with Javan to eat or if that should be for the hungry Scarburgians only or go and clean his tack and stow his gear somewhere. He can hardly skulk in his room since I assume he will be sleeping anywhere he can find space for his bedroll. So ..

[Firefoot]

If we're going to continue on to dinner... is there anyone who might be prompted to tell Scyld the tale of the Easterlings?

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Legate of Amon Lanc

I have just been thinking it would be fun to have Ladavan interact with Áforglaed (preferably in the company of somebody else, like I could dump them together with Hilderinc). That could be just a talk over the meal, or when going to sleep, or whatever. If you are around, we could still work on that, even just put it to fill in. (Or in the worst case, if everyone wants to do a longer jump really fast, we could make a save and fill it in with a co-post later, if it won't include anything besides establishing the first connections.)

Ladavan's last contact was with Léof, who had directed him to the courtyard where he presumably could see about food and housing. That leaves the easy possibility of encountering someone else.

I have a question: is Áforglaed easily identifiable as a soldier?

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Originally Posted by Mithalwen

Elfthain is up for more interaction. At the moment he is probably a bit unsure if he should go with Javan to eat or if that should be for the hungry Scarburgian's only or go and clean his tack and stow his gear somewhere. He can hardly skulk in his room since I assume he will be sleeping anywhere he can find space for his bedroll. So ..

Yep... in regards to that, I think he would most likely be welcome to some room that used to belong to one of those who died during the winter. There were also the barracks, which must be horribly underpopulated nowadays. They had been rebuilt, renovated, expanded, then vacated already by large after all Athanar's soldiers had left, and thus probably again lot of the rebuilt and renovated stuff was torn down during the winter for fuel.

Originally Posted by Firefoot

If we're going to continue on to dinner... is there anyone who might be prompted to tell Scyld the tale of the Easterlings?

I assume that would be any of the "old" Scarburgians - Thornden, Javan, Modtryth, Stigend, even Cnebba (the first first-hand witness!) or also Ledwyn. Athanar's folk were fighting in the East when the Easterlings appeared around Scarburg (so none of my characters qualify, unless I wanted Stefnu to give an off-hand report which is not related to Scarburg itself, since she wasn't yet present).

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

Ladavan's last contact was with Léof, who had directed him to the courtyard where he presumably could see about food and housing. That leaves the easy possibility of encountering someone else.

I have a question: is Áforglaed easily identifiable as a soldier?

Ha, I didn't notice this one when I posted. I am not sure how much, but Áforglaed is a young, strong man, he probably does not have the bearing of a soldier (unlike Hilderinc, whose looks scream "soldier!" if you see him from afar), but he might have the habit of, say, keeping some small dagger (a warrior's dagger as opposed to a random knife) at his side even when off-duty.

For that matter, I just wrote both Hilderinc and Áforglaed messing around the well, so they are both open for interaction there with anyone who might want to come and wash their hands before meal and somesuch. They can even be "drafted" by separate people, Hilderinc is basically going to leave the well-area now (and he probably dumped Brith earlier to figure out her things), so he can be bumped into also by someone walking towards the well, or from the stables, to the kitchens and so on. Áforglaed might literally bump into anyone who comes to the well.

[Firefoot]

Edit made to my last Scyld post concerning Rowenna.

Originally Posted by Legate of Amon Lanc

I assume that would be any of the "old" Scarburgians - Thornden, Javan, Modtryth, Stigend, even Cnebba (the first first-hand witness!) or also Ledwyn. Athanar's folk were fighting in the East when the Easterlings appeared around Scarburg (so none of my characters qualify, unless I wanted Stefnu to give an off-hand report which is not related to Scarburg itself, since she wasn't yet present).

Yes - I was more looking for a volunteer who thought their character would be an eager tale-teller.

[Folwren]

Oh dear. I feel so bad for Eodwine.

Firefoot, unless someone else volunteers, I think Javan would be pretty excited to tell the tale of the Easterlings.

I hope to post sometime this evening.

[Folwren]

Legate, I wasn't originally intending to have Javan run into your characters, but then when I started writing my post and I was having him wash up, it occurred to me, he may as well be the one Áforglaed elbows out of the way!

I also wrote a post for Saeryn and Ruari. Players who have women in the kitchen - Ruari is there now, a little bit worried and scared. You all may play with her some.

[Mithalwen]

Elfthain is alone and palely loitering. If someone wants to take pity on him he will respond. Else leave him til supper. It won't kill him...

[Folwren]

Hey! I made a mistake and deleted Javan's post. Don't panic - it'll be back (I think...) so Mith's post will still be relevant. What I NEED to do is just edit it so that he is not the one who runs into Áforglaed, as Inzil went ahead to do it with his character. It is really better if Inzil does it, anyway, because Javan (along with Leof) will be probably the last ones to come in, seeing as they're tending to the horses. It takes a long time to do the chores, and I have many, many times come in last to meals while working at stables.

Sorry about the confusion.

[Mithalwen]

I could change my post no problem... it is a bit of a non event. And full marks for putting the horses first. I remember my first day at the Riding Therapy Centre I arrived having negotiated a couple of miles of snowy and icy track to hear one of the students being told off for leaving the horse in his care without water (You never leave him without water, you DO NOT wait for the ice to melt - you pick it out with your hands).......

[Folwren]

No, don't change your post. Better to put part of mine at the beginning of yours. If you don't mind, could you just copy and paste this in the beginning of your post?

Javan wanted to eat. He was as hungry as the next person. But he would not leave Leof out here working while he went in and broke his fast.

“I’ll finish the job with you,” he said. He turned to Elfthain. “You’ve come a long way and must be weary,” he said. “You ought to go in and rest. We will be in soon enough and I will come find you.” He offered Elfthain a quick, flashing smile, and then turned and hurried off to tend to the chores that could not wait until after dinner.

Piosenniel, if Mith is ok doing this, then you can disregard the PM I sent you and not worry about replacing my old post.

[Mithalwen]

Done.

[piosenniel]

Don't be alarmed if you've deleted a post - it's still available for retrieval by me...

~*~ Pio

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Áforglaed just apologized to Ladavan and then he already started acting in his typical manner "my mouth, my limbs and my brain act absolutely independantly of each other". The ball is on your side, Inzil

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

I had also Stefnu momentarily take care of Ruari, once again, if there's anything you would like me to edit, Folwren or LMP, just let me know.

[Folwren]

It looks good! I like Stefnu, though it appears we might be in danger of her spoiling the children.

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Originally Posted by Folwren

It looks good! I like Stefnu, though it appears we might be in danger of her spoiling the children.

Yes, we'll see if things like that continue in the future. It's possible, and I'm wondering if it happens, part of the reason might be that it's been some time since she raised both of her kids (or, the first one was her stepson), both of whom were boys, and whether she might be more prone to spoiling Ruari because she never had a girl child. But I really have the feeling Stefnu will be one of those characters whose behavior I can't be certain of in advance, nor I am absolutely certain of her motivations already. It will be an adventure.

[Mithalwen]

But maybe let her off this once because Ruairi needs a bit of comfort and reassurance..? My main concern is that there are no nut allergy sufferers at Scarburg....

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Originally Posted by Mithalwen

But maybe le her off this once because Ruairi needs a bit of comfort and reassurance..? My main concern is that there are no nut allergy sufferers at Scarburg....

Well if there are, it will surely manifest itself soon

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Inzil, I made Áforglaed respond to Ladavan. Plus I realised I didn't ask you whether Ladavan gives the vibe of a soldier. So in the post, I wrote Áforglaed's last reaction with the idea that there is something that might prompt him to think Ladavan might also be a soldier (since the topic came up). But if you think there shouldn't be anything, I can edit it back to just asking about Ladavan's occupation (but he would still make the remark about not fighting the Dunlendings anymore).

[Inziladun]

Thanks, Legate. I'm sorry for the delays on my part, but there's been a lot to deal with the past few weeks. I'm hopeful things will slow down now that I've gotten at least a few matters addressed.

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

Thanks, Legate. I'm sorry for the delays on my part, but there's been a lot to deal with the past few weeks. I'm hopeful things will slow down now that I've gotten at least a few matters addressed.

Delays? Where? Even if that was actually true, don't worry about that, it's not a race

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by Legate of Amon Lanc

Delays? Where? Even if that was actually true, don't worry about that, it's not a race

Indeed. If you call that a delay, I don't even want to know what my posting is like.

[Inziladun]

Thanks, guys. I just feel somewhat guilty at times when I have the temerity to allow RL to interfere with activity here.

[littlemanpoet]

Perhaps I have been hasty in closing out the day?

If someone still has something that must be narrated for this day, please let me know and if I need to, I can change my post.

Otherwise, if all are ready to move on, how many days or weeks do we want to jump?