Whispers on the Barrow Downs

[tomcat]

The companions slept soundly in the house of Hanley Butterbur and awoke to the smells of bacon filling the common room. Breakfast was demanded and received - a helping of scrambled eggs, the cooked bacon, and bread that had been browned over the fire. Crocks of fresh churned butter adorned the table along with fresh cut greens from the King's Rest's gardens. Men, Dwarf and Elf ate their fill and then, after another bout of conversation, rose to attend their things. Durgil made good the balance on the room and board as well as the tending to the horses and provisions purchased for the road. That done, he gathered his personal gear and made his way out into the small courtyard that sat in front of the inn. A small cobbled stone wall encircled the yard and the nobleman saw his friend, Celdrahil, drawing water from the well and filling his skin.

Brynhildr, Durgil's palfrey, was tethered near Celdrahil's own Agrawaen and the man of Dorthad made his way to his mount to tie off the few loose items in his hands. He hung his sword belt over the saddle horn and then turned to see his Dúnadan brother coming from the well. A boisterous voice filled the yard when Nain exited the main house with Edrahil walking behind him - it appeared a discussion, or debate, was going on between the two and the Dwarf was apparently winning.

At last came Fengel and Dirnhael into the yard. Both were dressed in travel clothes, but still the shimmer of mail could be seen over top. Dirnhael's waist was girded with a wide leather belt on which hung Vorandúr, his lady's gift blessed by the Elves of Rivendell. Fengel's Cerduil hung on his back from a baldric, next to a quiver of arrows. They, too, strode over to where the others waited.

The Sindar looked about, "Where is the other... Madoc?"

For the first time, the friends all realized the rogue had not been with them at breakfast. Each tried to remember if they saw him this morning, but none had - not since the evening dinner.

[GandalfOfBorg]

"My guess is that the night's festivities got the better of our new acquaintance.  I'll go see if I can rouse him.  Celdrahil, might I borrow a skin of yours?  The fuller and colder the better."

[Stefan]

"The man's not going to make it far in this group if he can't handle his ale."

Nain laughed heartily at his own jest as he watched his friend head inside with a full water skin.  He was looking forward to the seeing how their new companion would respond to the bath.

 

[Telcontar]

Celdrahil was stoic. Perhaps it was the mountains that he grew up, or perhaps it was the weight of responsability he carried. Maybe it was none of those things, but something else.

Frivolity is not the manner in which we should begin. In the south we would announce our coming with the peel of horns, here in the north seeking drunk messengers, or those whose courage has failed.

The speech of the Eldar was still quick to come to his mouth even after his time in the north.

"We are wasting day light."

[tomcat]

Sorry for the delay guys - busy at work the last couple days and tonight the wife is down with the flu, but the show must go on!!

As for Madoc, I am getting him out of our story - he was a means to an end - so we won't spend a lot of time on this. RP as you will, but we are moving on.

[tabular type=5 caption="Travel: Bree to Tharbad"]
[row][head]leagues[/head][head]miles[/head][head]pace[/head][head]ttl hours[/head][head]ttl days[/head][/row]
[row][data]90[/data][data]270[/data][data]2.75[/data][data]98[/data][data]14[/data][/row]
[/tabular]



It took only a few moments before Durgil returned to the courtyard. The shake of his head told the companions that they man was not in his room. A few more minutes of investigation uncovered that his horse was gone from the stable and no one had seen him leave. In the end, Madoc's desire for self-preservation drove him away. If it were cowardice, the remaining companions all knew that only he would have to live with that.

They gave it no more thought as more pressing matters were at hand. Mounting their horses, the Company trotted out onto the main North-South Road - the Iaur Men Formen - and turned south. It took only a few minutes of riding before the found themselves at Bree's southern gate, which stood open to travelers during the day. The Company exited the town and made their way towards Cardolan, but first they would have to travel the length of the Barrow Downs. Dirnhael remembered both times that he had had to travel these lands, and both times were plagued by fell-spirits.

It was a fortnight to Tharbad from Bree as long as they could maintain a good pace and were unhindered - perhaps they could even make the journey in less time, but none knew what the road held in store.

Through the first day of travel, the lands south of Bree seemed to become quiet. There seemed to be a watching peace over all, and at times it was foreboding. The land itself rolled from northeast to southwest in a series of natural 'ripples' that formed the Downs. The grasses grew thick and green, spotted occasionally by blankets of white or yellow flowers. At times, too, the companions could see the broken rings of stone from ancient houses, or fortifications, built in ages past. Only the rings were left to show of the once powerful kings that ruled here before the breaking of the world - that and the tombs that lay under the downs.

The wind blew, which rippled the grass in long swaths as far as the eye could see, but nothing else stirred and whispers seemed to hang in the air after the breezes passed. Above, the sun shone and the sky was blue. If not for the discomforting quiet, the travel would have been cheerful. The companions pushed their horses on for eight hours - taking a few breaks to rest and stretch their legs as needed. The sun crossed the sky and began to set, the first day of travel was coming to a close.

As they looked for a place to make camp, Edrahil spotted a break in the road, a smaller path heading east into the downs. At the junction, a wain sat - no horses or oxen to pull it, and no drivers. Celdrahil could see that the yoke was still on the wagon, but had been wrenched forward and was broken.

[tomcat]

Day 1 of travel is over. I need Weariness tests to see how you guys feel.

TN = 20 miles -2 walking pace -2 easy ground (road) -5 on horse +4 barrow downs effect (stressful, discomforting) = 15
Degree of success determines the number of Weariness levels suffered: 3 on a disastrous failure, 2 on a complete failure, 1 on a failure, 0 on any success. Also, if a Disastrous failure is rolled, the character must stop there and then, too exhausted to keep going for that day. Roll 2d6 and subtract it from the TN to determine how many miles were actually covered before the character needed to stop.

Sleeping in the Rough - getting rest on the road, under the sky, can be difficult. I will also need a Survival test TN 10. The result will determine: ANY PC success on this test will allow for a good night's rest (a good camp was set) and thus remove any weariness sustained by ANY PC from the travel above; EXCEPTION: a disastrous failure rolled by ANY PC will add one level of weariness to themselves due to insufficient rest.

Let me know if you guys want to roll these kind of tests, or if you want me to expedite them. I am fine with either. This is a game and some of the fun is rolling for your PC's, but you guys let me know.

Also, just because we roll these tests does not mean the 'day' is over - you guys can still RP and investigate the broken wagon, or whatever you want to do.

Edrahil Weariness test (travel) TN 15 2d6+6 : 3, 3 + 6, total 12

Edrahil Survival test TN 10 2d6+0 : 1, 3, total 4

Fengel Weariness test (travel) TN 15 2d6+7 : 3, 4 + 7, total 14

Fengrl Survival test TN 10 2d6+3 : 1, 6 + 3, total 10

[Stefan]

 I'm not concerned either way.  It's nice to be the master of my own fate, but I'm not opposed to letting you take care of some of the more mundane rolls either.

Nain Weariness test (travel) TN 15 Stamina +4; v weariness +6

2d6+6 : 6, 1 + 6, total 13

Edrahil Survival test TN 10 survival (mountains) +4

2d6+4 : 1, 6 + 4, total 11

[Stefan]

Nain dismounts from his pony at the intersection weary from the day's travels.

"It's been too long since I've spent a day in the saddle.  E'ry bone in me backside is aching.  I don't relish making camp in these foul barrows but the ache in these old bones tells me we're gonna have te camp soon."

[GandalfOfBorg]

 

TN 15 Weariness -  2d6+3 : 5, 5 + 3, total 13

TN 10 Survival -  2d6+1 : 3, 4 + 1, total 8

If my Forest specialty will help the Survival test, the score is increased by 2.

[GandalfOfBorg]

Durgil chuckles in agreement, rubbing his legs and backside from the long day on the road.  "What great heroes we are with stiff backs and sore backsides after only a day, and an easy one at that.  Guess that ride from Fornost has caught up with me."

[Telcontar]

  doug, I'd rather have you make the rolls. 1 the die roller hates me, 2 you can workmthe results into the narrative if someone has an epic fail, 3 we dont have to wait for everyone to make the rolls and can move into the narrative.

[sdrotar]

doug, I'd rather have you make the rolls. 1 the die roller hates me, 2 you can workmthe results into the narrative if someone has an epic fail, 3 we dont have to wait for everyone to make the rolls and can move into the narrative.

This is fine with me, too - whatever works. Here's mine anyway:

Dirnhael's Weariness test (TN 15):
Stamina +3, Tireless +4 = +7

Rolled 2d6+7 : 1, 6 + 7, total 14

Dirnhael's Survival test (TN 10):
Survival (Field) +7

Rolled 2d6+7 : 3, 6 + 7, total 16

[tomcat]

doug, I'd rather have you make the rolls. 1 the die roller hates me, 2 you can work the results into the narrative if someone has an epic fail, 3 we dont have to wait for everyone to make the rolls and can move into the narrative.

I like this, too. I just wanted to ask to make sure you guys didn't wanna have total control of your PC's. That's funny about your dice roller woes! 

I like how your PC's are questioning the strain of the trip - I know they are doughty men and dwarves, bur remember that there is also a subtle effect of evil (and good) in the world.

For these tests, the camp will be sufficiently set to get good rest, but any who suffer weariness will have it until morning.



The companions all stretched and rubbed at aching muscles, all the while a couple set about creating a fire - in the wilds, fire was their primary ally. While Fengel struck flint to steel, the Dwarf craftsman eyed the wagon. It looked well-used, but still sound. He wondered why anyone would have left it here. Edrahil espied the Dwarf and followed his gaze to the broken wain, "Let us see if it contains any wares."

The Sindar mage walked to the back of the wagon and looked within. There was a coarse weaved tarp that covered all and Edrahil grabbed a corner and pulled it off of the contents. The smell was heavy and foul and the Elf immediately regretted his decision. Inside the wagon were crates of dead chickens - probably starved of food and water - along with other rotten things that had been grown. A box of mushy, spoiled tomatoes, peppers, and apples; there were also dried onions, carrots, and mushrooms.

"It has been here a while, it would seem," said Edrahil. He looked about to see if there were any sign of the original owner. "I can see the yoke is broken, but why abandon it completely - even the merchandise? Surely he was on his way to Bree. He could have had someone come south to aid him in the wagon's repair."

Even with his question, it never left the Sindar's mind of just where they were and the reputation that these hills had amongst men.

[sdrotar]

"There are foul things here," Dirnhael said softly. "Things that could frighten away the bravest of men. I have seen them myself."
For a moment, he felt a chill and the air around him felt colder, though the temperature stayed the same.

He looked about, trying to peer into the darkness that had not yet enveloped them.
"The sooner we depart this accursed lands, the better."

[tomcat]

As a note, I have been reading my ME history and the barrow-wights have just populated the tyrn gorthad as of 1636 - two years prior  when you guys originally set out so they would be more of wives tales right now than fact for some characters. Others like Dirnhael, Fengel and Edrahil who have actually seen them will say differently.