FELLOWSHIP PHASE - The Road East And West

[Eclecticon]

By and by, the kings, princes and chieftains who came to sit on the Council, or pay court to it, go their separate ways.  Dáin, King Under the Mountain and Bard of Dale, with queen Una by his side, are farewelled from the docks and are rowed northwards in great ships.  Before his  departure, though, Dáin takes Grimbeorn aside.  A comical sight they might make, the dire Beorning towering over the Dwarf king, were it not for the majesty with which the latter holds himself.

"I hear tell of the mortal peril you faced to bring my ancestor's bones home to rest.  The favour of Erebor is at your disposal, and your companions', and I'll grant a boon of like worth when you ask it of me."

With much less fanfare, Caewin also takes ship south along the River Running, no sign of care at the effect of the 'fallen heroes' retrieved by his men visible on his brow.  Mogdred, all a-glower, rides for the Toft and smiling Legolas for his father's hall. 

Many miles from the lake shore, in a forest fell not seen by mortal eyes in years uncounted, a tall figure in travel-stained grey watches the departures in a water-filled bowl of purest silver.  "Does this allay your concern, Mithrandir?" comes an ageless voice. 

"Yes, my lady," the wizard answers, relief heavy in his reply, "I believe it does.  Now, if you have time, and are so minded, I would greatly love to see what had passed in Tharbad..."

Not a moment too soon do the Council members leave, for within a day of their departure a storm blows in from the north and east, bringing driving snow and freezing the surface of the Long Lake, such that the royal boatmen are forced to cast hammers before their bows to smash the ice.  Thus does the winter arrive in force.  Across Wilderland, traffic and travellers seek shelter where they may wait out the bitter cold. 

[Eclecticon]

Does anyone want to take over Laeral as a PC?  If not, I'll do her advancement etc. 

[Telcontar]

  i do not.

[Telcontar]

Hathcyn:

Increase Persuade +1
Great Spear +1
Valor +1

Holding Roll for Herd (Current Value 8)

Rolled 1d12 : 6, total 6

Weal and Woe Roll

Rolled 1d12 : 9, total 9

How much Treasure is gained from the Chest? I need to know that before I pick my undertakings.

[Telcontar]

Weal and Woe a Worthy Year. Let's see what my final treasure count is before I decide.

[tomcat]

I do not have interest in Laeral.

Esgalwen has 12 AP and 12 EP to spend.

Working on it now - I will edit this post in a few with my choices.

[Eclecticon]

How much Treasure is gained from the Chest? I need to know that before I pick my undertakings.

That'll be ten points apiece. 

Don't forget Hope also.  Nobody was wounded, despite my best efforts, so anyone with a Fellowship Focus can regain a point from that, and everyone except Esgalwen can take a point from the pool.

[tomcat]

Esgalwen will increase her Awareness to 3d. As a Ranger, this is something I have felt she has lacked in for a while now.

She will bank her XP.

Her two undertakings:
Receive Title in Dale - for her service to King Bard, she receives title in Dale and is given permanent ownership of the home in which she lived for the last few years. What that title is is up to you, Paul.
Collect Marsh herbs - I roll on the table page 13 in the Laketown book:

Rolled 1d12 : 2, total 2

[tomcat]

Sweet! I find Reedmace.

• If you collected Reedmace during your last Fellowship phase, for the duration of the following Adventuring phase every time you make a Healing roll to treat a wound, the difficulty of the roll is lowered by two levels (TN -4).

Esgalwen takes none of the gold and so does not have not have to make a corruption test.

Here is her Weal and Woe roll...

Rolled 1d12 : 8, total 8

[tomcat]

Esgalwen rolls an 8 which is Blessings/Well Guided and Well Guarded...
If she is considered at home in Laketown, she gains some treasure and has a really good Year End. Otherwise, she still has the good, safe year but no treasure.

Paul, you will need to decide how this will affect her.

[tomcat]

The winter snow was bright from the sunlight above and Esgalwen had to shade her eyes.

She stood upon the small balcony of her apartment within the city of Dale. It was a comfortable and warm home and she was thankful to the lord of this land for his generosity. She pulled the wolf furred wrap tighter around herself as she wondered what the new year would bring. She had watched her friends leave once more for their lands far away, but knew in her heart that their fellowship was strong and she would see them again soon.

The life she now lived was a far cry from that of the wanderer she had known since Ithilien - the struggle to find food and a proper place to sleep. Now she awoke under woolen blankets and atop a feathered bed, this life more like that of her youth in Minas Tirith.

To the north the mountain loomed. To the east, the plains of Rhovanion stretched beyond her sight. And to the west, the forest could be seen like a dark bruise upon the land. Esgalwen knew it would not be long before she left her comfortable home and made her way once more into that gloom.

[Telcontar]

So divide the treasure by three? This matters for my undertakings.

[Eclecticon]

By four, unless Grimbeorn also foregoes his share (Arbogast has plans for his share, as mentioned above, and Laeral will claim a share as well).  So, 12 points each plus an additional one each for two lucky folk. 

[Eclecticon]

Her two undertakings:
Receive Title in Dale - for her service to King Bard, she receives title in Dale and is given permanent ownership of the home in which she lived for the last few years. What that title is is up to you, Paul.

I like the idea of her receiving a title from Bard, but I'm going to flip the choice back to you,with some options.  She is named a thegn of Dale, but how that queries out for her is either:

1. Bard sees the strategic importance of the Forest Road and wants to keep his own eyes on it.  Esgalwen is granted a plot of land in the Nether Marches which, by strange coincidence is right on the river and very close to the Road's eastern end.

2. The recent brush with treachery in the household of a trusted ally makes Bard somewhat paranoid for a while and he insists on forming a small cohort as his queen's personal bodyguard. It's members, for propriety's sake, will all be women, and Esgalwen is named as its head and given a home in Dale itself.

Also, no helping the Road?  It's been a group effort so far, and it isn't done until it's done.

[Telcontar]

We cant just be leaving all this coin around all the time because someone bad touched it.

Also, Paul are you cool with me reskinning Guard the Old ford? I want to use the same table but switch the setting to the Forest Road.