SCENE 4: The village of Tulis

[tomcat]

Kori grunted in reply to his nephew, "Aye, lad... Dwarves will soon come home. But this time, it seems we come as thieves in the night." The elder Dwarf shook off his gloomy thoughts, "Tell me nephew, with last night's interaction with the Orcs of Mirkwood... do you think we are properly equipped for this venture? It seems we three Dwarves held our own, along with the Hobbit, but not so much the Men. I wish nothing greater than our success, but not at the risk of leading us all to a massacre."

[GandalfOfBorg]

Nori mulled the question a moment as he tied down some of the supplies.  "They did catch us a bit at the unawares and had the advantage of pinning us against the river.  Our previous encounters didn't give us much of a bruising but we were also on equal footing.  Bah, I give it to the filth for dumb luck and us a bit o' the bad."  In lower tone, he continued.  "Regardless, going into the halls will require a vigilence we haven't displayed or required."

[Cut]

Caranmîr could not find sleep nor meditiation that night in the village. He lay awake for a long time, contamplating his decisions that had led him to this place and this situation. He had learned a great deal in the past weeks. Not only about other people but about himself as well. He longed for home. His heart called for the Woodland Realm. But there he was, readying to go deep below the Mountains into Moria.

The company would come close to Lothlorien. Maybe he could depart the trek for a few hours or a day and  set foot in that wood realm, to prepare himself for the journey under the earth...

Caranmîr   

[Roborob]

As Bornoge wandered about the village, he chastised himself for his failings in the fight (out loud), " Ah, curse those orcs, I am a man of the woods and am not a fighter. I must learn to use this sword if I am ever to be of any use, my javelins will be useless in the dark halls of the deep and this club his no weapon." Bornoge took out the shining short sword as he wandered to a clearing and practiced a few short chops with it. Swinging the blade around in circles he slashes at imaginary orcs and wargs dodging non-existent attacks with a shout.

After a while he realized some of the villagers were watching him and snickering at his exaggerated movements and obvious lack of training. Bornoge put away his sword and stared pacing, red-faced and embarrassed. The villagers were still watching expectantly, and he pulled out a javelin and threw it at a tree in the distance, hoping to save some of his ego. But he had forgotten his injuries, and they threw of his aim. The javelin flew to high without enough force, and shattered on a rock.

....Bornoge sighed

[donimator]

Turumarth rose after a fitful sleep. The medicated coverings on his wounds caused them to burn, but it was the burn of healing. He felt better, but still weak and slow. The thought of staying in bed for days sounded comforting, but he heard the dwarves stirring to load the cart, no doubt anxious to be on the road. With a groan he rose with the aid of his staff and threw on a cloak to join them at the fire.

He brooches the question of a day or two of rest, if the riverfolk would allow it, before moving on. With several injured it might make all the difference if this is the last vestige of civilization before they arrive at their destination.

{OOC}Doug, could you confirm how much Turumarth healed from the initial leechcraft? Is it 1 point into the next lower wound level or do the House Rules change this? What rate can he heal beyond this or if they are traveling? thankss

[Telcontar]

Gumbo sat leaning against the wagon cleaning his equipment and oiling the chain mail shirt that he wore beneath his cloak in dwarven fashion. He heard snatches of the conversation between the dwarves but was not intentionally eavesdropping. He stood, cleared his throat, and approached the dwarves.

"Captain, I heard some of your words to your kinsman, forgive me for interrupting. We are close now to the halls of your fathers, halls I have fought before. Your assessment of the fight at the river is correct. Perhaps we should take a few days or more here to prepare ourselves for the underground combat that is inevitable. Form a fighting strategy that relies upon the strengths of our party and downplays the weaknesses."

Gumbo looked around at the village, "Our time could also be spent in improving the defenses of this village. The Yrchs may look for revenge from the dark wood for the battle of yesterday. There is much we could do with some strong backs and a keen eye to help them. I am no master of siege or construction, but a wall or dyke would help these people, especially if we stir up a hornets nest in the deep dark."

[tomcat]

{OOC}Doug, could you confirm how much Turumarth healed from the initial leechcraft? Is it 1 point into the next lower wound level or do the House Rules change this? What rate can he heal beyond this or if they are traveling? thankss

[OOC:] Hey Don, I gave Turumarth back 13 points I think, which took him to Injured -3. That was his health rating 9 +4 for the DOS and the medicines that the women used. After which, you will heal your Vitalility Mod (plus mods) per day as long as you get normal rest and make the needed Stamina test. If you are an Elf, it is double that for Swift Recovery.



Kori nodded at Gumbo's and Nori's suggestion. "We shall wait here a few days. Nori, offer the river-folk a stipend for their hospitality." He then turned to Gumbo, in regards to his other request, "I have no problem helping these people set up a simple defense, but there is little that they can do here on this field up against the river. Flight in the face of greater numbers would most likely be their best defense."

The old craftsman drew on his pipe and blew a ring of smoke from his mouth, his gaze falling back on the mountains beyond.

The river-folk were quite accomodating, allowing the company to stay for the next two weeks and so the month of March ended quietly for them and April bloomed with even more spring colors. There was no sign of orc or warg since the attack on the east bank, but everyone felt the far off shadow of Mirkwood - as if it watched them.

During this time, Gumbo, with Vári's help, aided the river-folk in building a simple palisade along the west side of the village to help deter any attackers. Still, both knew that if these people decided to defend themselves against a force, they would be backed up to the water and would most assuredly be overwhelmed.

Also during the quiet days that passed, Bornoge took up the shortsword that they had found and managed to get time from both the halfling and his Dwarf companions to teach him at least rudimentary skills with the weapon. He was tall and strong, his health returning quickly, and all knew that in time, he would be lethal with the sword.

Turumarth's health also returned swiftly under the watchful eyes of the nursemaids. There was a moment of fear when infection had set in, but it was caught early and it soon was gone. The mage sat long amongst the river-folk, along with Caranmîr, learning of their ways and lore.

With the setting of the sun of the 13th day since their arrival, Kori spoke to his new friends, "We leave with the light of dawn and we shall be within the realm of Moria by weeks end. If you have any doubts and you wish to break from our company, now is the time to decide... otherwise we soon shall face the darkness and may Aulë see us through."



[OOC:] Feel free to give a bit more dialogue as you'd like and discuss party tactics (i.e. marching order, combat formations, etc.)

I am also awarding everyone their first Advancement (the Experience page has been updated again) so that we can strengthen the group before entry into Moria. Use the picks wisely and remember a lot of you don't have base skills like climb and jump. You may want to look into those.

With the onset of the next scene/post, I will be making travel and sleeping in the rough weariness tests again - I wanna try and make the challenge feel as real as I can for you all.  

[tomcat]

[OOC:] For those that haven't been playing in my games for long, I like to have the breakdown of your advancements picks. You can PM me with them, or you can post them in this thread.

[Roborob]

[OOC:] Advancement 1
2 picks to Armed Combat: Blades
1 pick to add short sword specialty
2 added edge Night-eyed

[GandalfOfBorg]

woo-hoo!

Climb +2
Run +2
Stonecraft +1

[GandalfOfBorg]

"Those whom wish to stay, we need a plan going forth.  The road ahead tis more dire than we've encountered so far as we will venture nigh the Golden Wood, whose borders none escape or so I've heard, and the mountains that crawl with maggot-folk.  We must carry on with a good marching strategy both above and below the ground."

[donimator]

With some time to reflect, Turumarth recalled the past few day's adventures and the new tests it placed on his body. Physically he could not remember being pushed as hard as of late nor being so near death. He almost longed for the boring studies and fears that perhaps he has put himself in a position beyond his capabilities. He has learned much, but little to do with his vocation.


Turumarth's advancements (based on recent experience)
2 - Charmed Life (edge, 2nd pick, drops TN to 5 to avoid dropping wound level)
1 - Ranged Combat +1 (2 ranks)
1 - Armed Combat +1 (2 ranks)
1 - Climb +1 (1 rank)

Oh, I didn't pass that roll a few posts back to gain a rank in healing or herblore...that pain was just too great 

[Telcontar]

Gumbo spent his time in the village thinking and pondering about the challenges that would face the party ahead and whittling pipes for the villagers. There was good briar along the river and the drift wood made several excellant pipes which he gifted to the viallge elders. he even found the time to come up with a blend of native plants and dried leaves that was passable to smoke. He chuckled to himself thinking that he was a lone Hobbit pilgrim spreading the simple enjoyments of the Hobbits to people who would probably never even see one again. Perhaps among the river folk sometime a legend would emerge of the fire breathing creature that taught the blowing of smoke rings to the river men.

     When the group held their council Gumbo waited for the Captain to speak and then made his comments. "I suggest that we leave all of the excess baggage here at the village. I dont think we will find another closer to our destination. Also it maybe wise when we leave the village to bury and mark the trolls treasure. There is no need to burden ourselves with that weight and the villagers here have little use for such treasures. Also we must begin to think about what we must do in the long dark. there will be little water and less food fit for us to consume and enemies will be all around us. "

[tomcat]

[OOC:] Gumbo's picks:

Climb +1 (1 pick)
Jump +1 (1 pick)
Run +1 (1 pick)
Siegecraft +1 (1 pick)
Unarmed Combat +1 (1 pick)

[tomcat]

Oh, I didn't pass that roll a few posts back to gain a rank in healing or herblore...that pain was just too great 

[OOC:] Don, did you miss this test due to the wound penalties that Turumarth was suffering? If so, go ahead and take the +1 rank, I did not mean for you to include all mods in the test. If you missed it due to a bad dice roll, than yes, the rank is not earned. Let me know.



The Company worked together and traded ideas as to best use the assets they had. Turumarth weaved the mana of Middle-earth and so would best not serve facing off directly with the Enemy. There were plenty of capable warriors in the group and so it was decided they'd have a staggered defense within the narrow passages of Moria. Gumbo and the Dwarves would hold the front and Turumarth and Bornoge would guard the rear.

To Gumbo's suggestion, Kori thought for a moment then spoke. "That is why we will need to bring the wain with us, Gumbo. There is still many days to travel before we get to the Gates of Moria and all the supplies are needed both to sustain us in the travel and within the halls of my forefathers. I agree, though, as we get closer to our destination, we can unburden ourselves of some of that which we carry. I care not whether the wagon and ponies still remain outside the gates, as long as I am exiting with my honour restored. Getting home... I will leave to the rest of you."

Kori turned away with that final statement, and some within the party could feel the fey attitude exuded from the Dwarf. Some wondered if this was actually a suicide mission.