Conclusions

[tomcat]

Outside the keep, Edrahil saw the Dragon turn and knew that Camentir and Dirnhael had struck. The Elf made a soft prayer to the Valar that they watch over his friends this night. He had already lost one good companion; he did not wish to lose any more.

Steeling himself against the battle of wills between the Eldar and Dragon, Durgil held his own, drew a bead on the beast's great head, and released. Seeing his efforts were futile, he searched to find a softer part of the creature to aim for. All the while he kept an eye on his friends - Daelhun and Fengel were well within the dragon's reach retrieving Nain.

"Fengel! Daelhun! Get out of there!" Durgil yelled as he strung another arrow and fired, still in an attempt to distract the dragon.

Daelhun spurred on his horse. His position in this was to rescue the dwarf and take him a safe distance away and that was what he was going to do. Nain attempted to struggle against the hands that were holding him on the horse that was carrying him away from the fight. He had sworn an oath and nothing would stop him. And yet when the Dragon spoke Nain could only listen.

Hearing the Dragon had spotted Dirnhael, Fengel left the burning drawbridge and made his way toward the east side of the keep where the two Dúnedain had entered. He looked back at the bridge to see Lûnduf's remains and a hatred of the Dragon burned hotter within him. Fengel rode to the broken wall to aid Dirnhael and Camentir, hoping to exact some vengeance upon the dragon.


The great beast turned - it was faster than he expected, and he felt sheer terror as the dragon bellowed in rage. Desperately, he thrust with Andúring again, plunging the blade as deeply as possible into the fearsome creature. Its enormous body shifted, and Dirnhael realized that it meant to crush him against the castle wall. He ducked just in time as the dragon smashed into the stone; sending dust and small bits of rubble to the ground all around him, even as all was momentarily dark beneath the belly of the beast. It was just a matter of time before his life would be over, Dirnhael thought, but he took solace in the fact that he may have bought his friends enough time to escape.

Caught between the donjon and the castle wall, Scatha was not in a position to stop the relentless stabbing from the Man and the searing pain was unbearable. He needed to get out of here. He did not agree to this. His tail had missed the one behind him, he had moved more quickly than Scatha imagined and the one on his right had ducked under his girth and had been unharmed.

Again pain shot through his side and Scatha stretched out his wings and with a great sweep, he hoisted himself into the air. The sudden flight of the Dragon jolted Dirnhael up and lifted him as he held onto Andúring, the sword still stuck in the Dragon's great flank. Scatha twisted and the Dúnadan and his sword wrenched free. Dirnhael fell the 20' distance that he had risen and then struck hard into the broken shards of the donjon, bouncing a few more feet to tumble another length into darkness - both of night and the void of consciousness.

Fengel's horse reared up as the Dragon rose into the air and bathed the grounds of the castle in his awful flame. Scatha continued up into the darkness and disappeared in the night sky, all the while bellowing in a painful rage. The sight was one of the most frightening that the Éothraim had ever seen and hoped he ever would.

When it was gone, Fengel raced across the broken stones that now bridged the moat and entered into the ruined Barad Eldanar, as he did, the sun began to rise in the east making the sky a lighter shade of grey. Inside the courtyard, fires burned but nothing stirred that the Éothraim could see. But then, a figure rose out of the broken stones of the castle wall - it was Camentir. The Dúnadan looked singed and badly wounded, but he was alive! Fengel quickly glanced around to see if Dirnhael was visible but he saw nothing and in his heart he began to panic.

EPILOGUE

Dirnhael woke up to the touch of a cool cloth being dabbed across his brow. It was a bright morning and a clear sky stretched above him. His eyes focused on his Sindarin friend who tended an unseen cut.

With Dirnhael's questioning eyes, Edrahil spoke, "We found you in the hole in which the Orcs had undermined the castle's defense. It seems you took cover within when the Dragon retreated from Eldanar... and it was a wise decision for the courtyard was bathed in fire."

Edrahil re-soaked the cloth and continued, "I am not sure why the Dragon retreated but I can only assume it was that..."

Dirnhael looked to where the Elf gestured and he saw his sword, Andúring's blade was broken off roughly a hand above the hilt. "We were unable to find the shard", he said as he once again applied the poultice.



On March 1st, 1637 T.A., Dirnhael and his companions, along with Camentir, Captain of the Third Host of the King's Guard rode into the gates of the city of Fornost as heroes and much fanfare was extended them all. They had passed through the sad defeated lands of the North; they had passed through small villages that still felt the bite of the plague; and they had left behind friends both old and new.

As they had marched, Dirnhael thought about all he had been through and what he had seen, and who he had lost. He thought about far off Tharbad and the now dead house of Celephain - the entire family having fallen victim in one way or another to the dreaded sickness that had swept the land. He thought of Lûnduf, the doughty Dwarf that had marched from Khazad-dûm, so far away, only to fall in a cold and hard land for nothing more than... friendship. Finally the Dúnadan thought of Ioreth, and he was glad he was home.

"Home?" he thought. He was now a Knight of the King, with land holdings to do with as he pleased. Would this be where he settled?

"Welcome home, M'lord!" cried a young woman as she handed him a spring flower. Dirnhael nodded... it was good to be home.



The Shard of Andúring was deeply embedded within the Dragon's right hind quarter forever causing him a burning pain. He flew long into the night and through that next day, bringing terror to those who saw the fell-beast cross the sky, until at last he settled in the cold Grey Mountain range. There he rested and tried to heal, but Scatha the Mighty would forever be lame from the wicked blows dealt him by Dirnhael and the mighty sword of Nargothrond, forged for the very purpose of slaying the wyrms of Morgoth, by the master craftsman of the Noldor - greatest of all.

In distant future days, Scatha would fall to Fram of the Éothéod, the children of the Éothraim. The Dragon, lame from a long unhealed wound, would find his doom as foreseen by Edrahil in the years of Angmar, during the triumph of the Witch-king.

OOC: Well everyone that is it... we reach the end of one tale. Did you all expect it to end right here?!? Well, it seemed very fitting that this be the place that we conclude. I thought about the travel home and RP'ing that out, but it seemed very anti-climactic to our chapter.

This is not to say that the story of these characters is over, not in the least. The land of Angmar will exist for another 300 years and as we all know, the Witch-king wil be very triumphant here - no matter how much your characters do to try and stem the tides.

In fact, a new story arc is beginning to grow in my brain about our favorite Eothraim and his trip back home. The question I have for all of you is, will your characters follow? That is for you all to decide - or -  you can create new ones (the same # of Advancements as your current characters will be awarded). So start giving it some thought. Like we always do at the end of a chapter, we must take a short hiatus for me to prep the new chronicle - I am thinking about 3 to 4 weeks (but as you all know, this could be a lot shorter).

If any of you have any last bits of narrative or dialogue you would like to add to the story feel free, I will work your stuff into the Chapter PDF.

In the meanwhile, I am going to take a break from Narrating and play (Hooray!!) a bit in ST, as well as bringing my own ST game back to some semblance of life (if possible).

Think about the new upcoming Chapter: The Trail Home and who you want to bring to that story. If by chance you wish to leave our group, I thank you for adding to our game. This has been truly memorable for me and it has been a long time since I really 'cared' about the characters that I ran.

If you are here to stay, your characters have been awarded the XP which should give each an Advancement. Also, each character is awarded 1d6 Renown, but no less than 2.

To Dirnhael: Shawn, Anduring can be re-forged but if it is, the magic that was contained within is forever lost. It is now a tormenting splinter to Scatha. If it is re-forged (by Elves... very important, but something Edrahil would gladly do), the sword will have the following attributes:

+2 to all Armed Combat Tests
+2 to Damage (Bane magic that will be repaired by the elves)
+2 to Inspire tests due to the weapons Renown which is now 8

[Wiseman]

The return to his home was bittersweet.  Daelhun had accomplished the task they had set out to do, rescued the brave Caementir.  But he had also lost a companion, one of the host that he had ridden with for many weeks.  Lunduf had died a brave death, his actions were nothing terribly suprising, sacraficing himself for his kin had seemed something that was very much in his person.

Daelhun made a silent promise to himself that he too would do everything in his power to continue the brave memory of Lunduf, putting his comrades before himself, serving the more important thing that self-glory.

OOC: Unless asked to accompany the party by Camentir or Dirnhael, Daelhun would not speed the return of Fengel back to his homeland.  He did not come to know the man as a friend closely enough during their short time together.  It is likely that Daelhun would remain at Fornost (SP) and defend it from the terrible evil to the North.  So I leave it up to Doug and Shawn to decide if Camentir or Dirnhael would have any real reason to ask Daelhun along to return Fengel to his homeland.

[Palandil]

OOC: Sorry all, I am trying to read chapters 1 & 2 of the chronicle so that I can see how Fengel would feel about the departure.  I've also been very busy lately.  Bear with me!

[GandalfOfBorg]

Sad for his friend that he lost, he buoyed by the fact that their mission was successful, but at a cost that he had hoped could have been avoided.  Many men died or were injured, precious few besides the captains returned.  This wouldn't bode well for his plans for the elite scout group, but maybe Camentir could help speak to this, so during the road back they discussed the idea of the Ranger.

With so much time spent with Dirnhael and the others, he couldn't bear to see the group break up.  Though he was really an outsider, they did what they could to include him.  His liking of Dirnhael especially grew over the last mission and his sister chose well.  When Fengel decided to return to his land, Durgil felt he needed to accompany him.  Travelling the lands, learning about different realms, and gaining intelligence of the Enemy abroad were just a few of the good reasons for him to go, but, of course, his father would not see the logic in any of it.

----------

"You're leaving again?!  Why is it that you cannot see that your place is here with me and your sister tending to the affairs of the realm?" Durgil's father barked.

"There are many reasons, some you just wouldn't understand... this is one of them!"  Taking a calming breath, he continues.  "My fate may be tending the duties that you have but the road for me getting there doesn't end here right now.  I can serve the kingdom and our people just as well as by going, better even I believe, than by staying here.  There is so much to see and learn about.  We have lost touch with many allies, even the elves of Rivendell and Mithlond don't travel here like they did in the old days.  There is a great storm coming if what we've encountered of late is any indication."

Turning away from his father, "I do not ask your leave father, as you will not give it, but I ask you to just understand."  Walking away, then pausing a moment, Durgil knows that it will be a long time ere he returns and see his father, if ever again.  He continues out the door of his house, his home, in silence without turning his head back.

Durgil's father stands alone in the great room of his house agape and aghast at his son's attitude and actions. It doesn't seem so long ago that he had given a similar lecture to his father and now his son has done as well, though he didn't stand up to him as Durgil did.  "Full circle I have come," he thinks.  Aloud to no one, he says, "My son, I do understand, but I do not want to lose you and in a foreign land no less where I could not give you a proper farewell."  With a rattling cough and single tear down his cheek, he knows that he will not live to see his son return.

[tomcat]

OOC: Very nice Matt! I am liking the doors this post has opened. Keep it up!

To each of you that are bringing your characters along, if you can give me a bit of story of your time in Fornost (doesn't need to be elaborate, just a nice little snapshot like GoB's). Include in it your wishes to stay or go and any goodbyes that might be necessary.

You guys can dialogue any conversations from NPC's as you will.

Kory, Nain is from the Blue Mountains but he would probably love to go to Khazad-dum... after that, it is going to be something else (i.e. new friendships) that take him further east. Then again, you might have already decided Nain doesn't want to go.

[Stefan]

OOC: Nain would love to see the Mines of Moria.  Visit relatives and such.

[Palandil]

Fengel's heart is filled with pride from completing the task that was set before he and his comrades, but more so with this motley company of men, elf, and dwarf that he now considers closer than friends, family if you will.  He will always carry a scar for the loss of Lunduf, though in the begining they did not care for each other, they had become true friends.

But now after much needed rest Fengel longs to return home to the lands of his youth, but more than that, to his sister Gleowyn.  As he remembers her beauty, his heart falls, "What if she has died of this cursed disease!", he thinks.  "No, she is to strong, she must have survived."

Fengel looks to his friends, "I was but a stranger to you all when we met, but now you are my brothers!  It pains me to leave you but I must, for I have a sister who has survived the plaque and I long to see her once again."  His head lowers, "But first I am going to Lunduf's people to tell them of his heroic end and honor him in his home land.  Nain I do not know your kind, so I would be greatful if you would accompany me.  The invitation stands as well to all of you, my brothers."  Fengel puts a hand on Durgil's shoulder and gives him a smile.  He says to Durgil, "I am sorry that I was short with you in our travels, you are a strong man and will make a good leader one day."

"What say you, shall we ride once again to honor our fallen brother!"

OOC: If there was anything of Lunduf's that did not get consumed by the fire Fengel picked it up before they left.

[Stefan]

Nain was glad to be home after the harrowing adventure.  He'd lived a long life already and had never managed to be so scared, so sad, so happy or so exhilirated as he had been in the past couple of weeks.  When he arrived at the human town he spent a couple of days relaxing his old bones before visiting the local smithy.  He offered to work there for a while for room and board and for a small stipend until he made enough to travel back to tell his family what had befallen them.  He also had a debt to pay to one of the humans who'd saved his life more than once.  A gift that would repay him slightly for his help.

OOC: Nain is going to try to make a Masterwork Spear for Daelhun (parting gift I guess) for him saving the dwarfs life twice.  He will also make any repairs to armor and weapons of his companions for free while working at the smithy.

[Palandil]

OOC: Here are Fengel's advancement picks.
Ride +1
Edge:Experienced (from HoF if allowed) Ride(Horse)
Edge:Final improvement of Warwise +1

Renown:Roll(1d6)+0: 3,+0 Total:3

I am really looking forward to starting again!!  Thanks Tomcat for your great narration!  And I hope that all of you don't get lost in SPACE!

[Palandil]

Fengel found he now enjoyed the company of dwarves and spent much of his time helping Nain at the smithy and drinking beer by a roaring fire telling and listening to tales.  But as the days continued Fengel began to get impatient and the desire to set out grew with each passing day.  He hoped that Dirnhael would ride with him, he was glad to swear an oath to Dirnhael as Lord, but he also loved him as the brother he never had.

[tomcat]

OOC: Shawn, I need Dirnhael's advancement-5 picks.

I am posting the first thread to our new story tonight - it will be in the Chapter 7 thread.

Doug

[sdrotar]

OOC: Shawn, I need Dirnhael's advancement-5 picks.

I am posting the first thread to our new story tonight - it will be in the Chapter 7 thread.

Doug

I'm thinking of things that Dirnhael would have learned on his journey...

+1 to Inspire, Intimidate, Ride, Stealth and Survival - how's that?

[tomcat]

Works for me!