No sooner has Esgalwen pronounced the grandchildren of Maracar safe than the womenfolk of the hall rush through the nearest door, calling out for their sons and daughters. Some minutes later, as the fury and terror of battle fades and footsoreness and hunger once again make themselves heard, they reemerge. Though their faces are tear-streaked and at least as weary as those of the Fellowship, they are at the same time full of the world-encompassing relief known only to the parents of children both lost and found.
Shortly thereafter, the wizards brown and white follow them into the hall. Saruman, his voice resonant and heavy with the wisdom of an age, offers words of blessing and thanks for their hospitality before seating himself, by unspoken but universal agreement, at the central place at the rough table. Radaghast fusses around him, putting Grimbeorn in mind of a sparrow attending a mighty eagle.
"My thanks to you," the White Wizard says to the companions, "who are defenders of the Free Peoples of Middle-Earth no matter where you may be, nor what dark things may beset them. Much have my brothers in the order told me of you."
More, perhaps, than you know of yourselves, the companions somehow understand though he speaks not the words aloud.
As Radaghast settles, perhaps uncertainly, by his side, Saruman lays his black staff across the table. "Great is your prowess at arms, and greater still your courage and your wisdom. And so must I implore you: set aside what you have come to do and go no further, for down the path on which you have set yourselves lies peril and anguish, for those that follow you if not for you yourselves."
:ooc: Right - this just became another Encounter. Insight rolls (vs TN 18 because you're dealing with millenia-old wizards):
Esgalwen:00: 1d12 : 10, total 10
Rolled 2d6 : 2, 1, total 3
Grimbeorn:00: 1d12 : 7, total 7
Rolled 3d6 : 3, 6, 2, total 11
Hathcyn:00: 1d12 : 5, total 5
Rolled 3d6 : 3, 1, 4, total 8
:ooc: That's two bonus dice for Grimbeorn, none for anyone else.
No introduction rolls are necessary. Both Radaghast and Saruman are well aware of who you are and why you're here.
Roll well, gentlemen...
Setting his eyes on Radagast, Grimbeorn growls, "Isn't this exactly why you brought us together? Bring hope to where there is none? To band together in fellowship across this land to set the Light against the Darkness that is spreading? The dragon may be dead but Ringwraiths are abroad, evil men slink into our midst, and we are beset by the orcs and goblins on all sides. And now, when there are people who need us, some who have stood with us, with you, through it all, you say stand down??"
:ooc:
:00:
Courtesy + 1 Bonus - 1d12 : 7, total 7
Rolled 3d6 : 6, 1, 6, total 13
:ooc: nice roll! I look forward to this response. ;)
Esgalwen was dumbfounded.
Set aside what we have come to do?It was said that people sought Saruman for his wisdom, but she saw none here. The Dúnadan made to speak, but Grimbeorn spat out his barb first at the old, Brown Wizard.
"There are people within that palisade that starve! Family! People that aided you at need, Radagast... and you say to leave them? What counsel is this? Where is the wisdom of denying our friends? Who will believe or trust in the other tomorrow, when danger comes?"
She looked to the bloody body of Maracar that Hathcyn had just lowered to the floor, still wondering if he lived. Esgalwen felt her tongue thick in her mouth, still trying to decipher the White Wizard's words.
:ooc: A courtesy roll
TN 18 courtesy 2d:00: 1d12 : 3, total 3
Rolled 2d6 : 5, 2, total 7
:ooc: Not even close, and nothing more to offer.
Esgalwen paces back and forth, incredulous to what she has heard.
"Well Father's no one asked you to take up spear and shield. Have no fear of us to ask you to come with us. We shall do the work of axe and spear even if it were not for the call of friends none could dissuade me from hunting orcs. The scars of my body speak of my hatred. But in this case a friend needs help, and I shall not fail without even making the attempt. Warm yourself by the fire, after huddling in the cold woods I am sure the world looks cold and gloomy. You are named the Wise, but I see no wisdom in this, speak more plainly for the ears of warriors."
Insight (they really there is some arrogance in this)
Rolled 1d12 : 2, total 2
Rolled 3d6 : 3, 4, 3, total 10
Hot on each other's heels, the voices of the three companions almost tumble over each other in their outrage. Radaghast flinches back as if stung by Grimbeorn's wrathful words and Hathcyn's bitterness, and Saruman's brows draw together at Esgalwen's imprecations. Rather than respond in kind, though, he raises his hand, and as he does so a great stillness descends upon the hall, the whispered conversation of the womenfolk and children fading away and even the popping and crackling of the fire hushing to the faintest hiss. Then speaks the White Wizard, Wisest of the Wise, his voice deep and powerful yet soothing and melodic, flowing like the current of a great river into the hearts of the Fellowship.
"Well do I know who I ask you to abandon to his fate. Know that it grieves me to do so. Such a thing I do not ask lightly, and for the heartache that must follow your decision I can offer but little consolation. Nay, for I share it, and more! Long has been the struggle of the Free Peoples against the Shadow that lies across Middle-Earth, and many heroes of Men have I known and called 'friend' before they fell. Many more have surely fallen, their names unknown to me, their songs unsung, their deeds unremembered."
The silence about them deepens until there seems to be no light but the reflection of the fire from Saruman's white robes, and no sound but his words. "Dark have the years become, and long yet will this war continue. No year goes by without fighting, death and waxing tragedy. Strangers are enemies until proven otherwise. 'Sword age, spear age, axe age, death' was ever the life of a hero, and justly are the selfless defenders of the light to be praised and revered. They face deadly enemies to shield the weak, simply for a good meal, glory, and death by the sword."
He looks each companion in the eyes, his brow a knot of cares and years unnumbered. "Not for all the treasures of Middle-Earth would I let good-hearted folk suffer and perish, were it in my power to save them. Yet many are the halls of Men, and not all of them might my order defend. The war is long," he repeats, "and many still shall fall, before the great song is brought to its conclusion. But if a few fastnesses are assisted to withstand the Shadow, then might Men spread out and retake their lands, once the last battle is won."
:ooc: As you might expect, Saruman's voice is a potent thing. The companions each need to make a Wisdom roll if they want to argue against it. Provisional rolls, on the assumption that you
do want to keep arguing, are below.
Esgalwen:00: 1d12 : 10, total 10
Rolled 5d6 : 4, 4, 1, 2, 5, total 16
Grimbeorn:00: 1d12 : 6, total 6
Rolled 5d6 : 4, 4, 4, 3, 4, total 19
Hathcyn:00: 1d12 : 4, total 4
Rolled 4d6 : 2, 4, 6, 6, total 18
:ooc: As expected, you're fine. Three successes so far, and two failures. Care to keep going?
"In Gondor it is spoken by those that know that the voice of Saruman has always been one of wisdom, but yet I hear no words of reason here. I hear only do nothing and accept the fate, and so be the stronger for it... someday? As if this is to justify the siege and killing of friends and allies? That in the future this war will end and so their sacrifice was necessary?" Again, the incredulity filled her voice.
"I ask again - how can we allow the deaths of friends and family, when we can stop this thing? How does not pushing back the enemy here and now, not serve to better the Vale?" Her voice began to rise in her exasperation, though she tried to maintain some form of respect, "How do the clans of the Vale ever hold on to the unity that they strove to create, years ago, when we ignore the plight of the Black Tarn?! Do you believe they will ever answer the calls of the other, in the future? All that we will create here is resentment and spite."
Esgalwen looked past Saruman to Radagast, "We hear Saruman speak, Master Radagast, but what words do you offer? You know these people and have lived among them their entire lives. What do you say?"
:ooc: I am going to make an Inspire roll here and use my Noble Lineage trait. Me knowing the lore that Radagast was always the weaker of the lot of the Wise, and not necessarily meta-gaming, but I see Esgalwen pleading to Radagast, a "friend" here, to add to their argument against Saruman.
I will also roll for Persuade and you can choose the skill you think best suits what I am trying to achieve...
TN 18 inspire 2d include Noble lineage trait (2 feat dice, best of two):00: 2d12 : 3, 6, total 9
Rolled 2d6 : 2, 6, total 8
TN 18 persuade 3d:00: 1d12 : 6, total 6
Rolled 3d6 : 2, 3, 2, total 7
:ooc: I will drop a :vv: point on either test. That will either get me a 18 :%: success with Inspire, or a 19 standard success with Persuade.
"Those halls that have fallen either help didn't come in time though it did come, which we are in danger of, they were given up through treachery, or overrun lest word ever left. Our bond was given, blood mingled, and oaths sworn. We Men take not lightly these matters, even if you Wizards look so upon them. I would rather die than let my honor be sullied if there wasn't a means for me to fulfill the oath of my father and people. So, pray tell, could be more important that we turn from our path?" spat Grimbeorn.
:ooc:
:00:
Awe + Bonus - 1d12 : 6, total 6
Rolled 4d6 : 2, 3, 2, 6, total 13
"Yes, quite!" Radaghast agrees, his voice a thin and reedy thing next to that of his superior. "Surely we should..."
Saruman's hand lowers gently, coming to rest on his staff without apparent thought. "Do not mistake my mind," he intones, directing a warning glance at the Brown Wizard. "The servants of the Shadow have brought this battle upon the folk of the Wood, and they must be defeated. But going forth headlong to a battlefield where they have the upper hand is folly. The strength of the southern kingdoms might achieve such a feat, but not the clans, brave though they are."
He continues, his voice winding about the hearts of the companions like vines about the trunks of young trees. "They should instead be encouraged by their small victory to pursue greater conquests. Let them come rashly on, and face the host of the Woodmen near Rhosgobel, far from the corrupt influence of the Black Tarn. There, we shall face them on our terms, with the sunlight itself as our ally."
Quote from: tomcat on Aug 30, 2021, 03:44 AM:ooc: I will drop a :vv: point on either test. That will either get me a 18 :%: success with Inspire, or a 19 standard success with Persuade.
:ooc: Keep your Hope, Doug. The TN for these tests is higher than usual (16 rather than 14) but you've still landed a great success. Ditto Grimbeorn (:csu:).
"I will not leave Arbogast nor his family to be stewed in a pot. If not a battle than a raid. A larger battle on our own terms would serve us well, but we still may have surprise and speed with us. Until a better course is self evident we must continue on this one. And failing that, though I go alone I will go to the
Firewatcher's aid.
:ooc: Was there a skill roll to accompany that, Tom?
The words speak for themselves.
Persuade? Wont work with my dice but awe doesnt make sense. Lets see what story the dice say.
Rolled 1d12 : 10, total 10
Rolled 2d6 : 1, 2, total 3
Esgalwen fervently nodded at Hathcyn's statement, "Aye, I will not leave Arbogast and his family to this cruel fate. Pick your battle as you please, Master Saruman, but the folk of the Black Tarn are more than just pawns to play a part."
"Yes!" cries Radaghast, pre-empting any answer that might have flowed wine-rich from the White Wizard. "It is as I have told you," he continues, his gnarled hand slapping the table hard enough to rattle the wooden bowls still set upon it, " for nigh five centuries I have watched over the Mirkwood clans! I know well the folk of the Black Tarn, as I knew their grandfathers and their grandfathers before them! It may be that a battle by the lakeshore cannot be easily won, but I know the strength of these Men better than any, and I cannot move myself to think it impossible, not when there are heroes like those who stand here before us!"
Only then does Saruman's equinamity fall away. Suddenly he stands, and he does so the light from the hearth doubles and redoubles until the hall of Maracar is beset by its brilliance. New screams come from the booths where Maracar's daughters try to shield their children. The wizard stands tall and straight and hard as a stone statue carved by some long-vanished race, his voice waxing in his wrath.
"The task given unto you,
Aiwendil, was to keep a watch upon the Hill of Sorcery, not to make pets of the people who dwelled about you! Do not mistake them to be like the other creatures you have bred here, for they are Men, and must abide in Middle-Earth with all its wonders and terrors! If it is their will to bring battle to that which assails their kin, then they shall go with my blessing, and with my pity for the many that shall not return, but you shall remain by my side!"
Radaghast, cowed almost to the point of cringing, opens his mouth to reply. "I..."
:ooc: Saruman is piling on the pyrotechnics here, so anyone who wants to speak up and bolster Radaghast needs to pass a Fear check (TN 16, because he's literally being awesome):
Esgalwen:00: 1d12 : 5, total 5
Rolled 4d6 : 3, 5, 1, 4, total 13
Grimbeorn:00: 1d12 : 2, total 2
Rolled 4d6 : 2, 1, 2, 6, total 11
Hathcyn:00: 1d12 : 3, total 3
Rolled 3d6 : 3, 5, 1, total 9
:ooc: Okay, Esgalwen can say something, and Grimbeorn or Hathcyn can pipe up if they want to drop some Hope on it.
At the risk of pulling back a little too much of the curtain, keep in mind that you're now at three failures, and that your Tolerance for the encounter (based on Esgalwen/Grimbeorn's wisdom) is only five. Two more failures, and anything else you say will fall on deaf ears.
Hathcyn by nature was a man of action and his words were chosen with cunning to persuade others to reach his goals. Now however, a verse came to him. From out of the depths of his mind, or perhaps the rising flames sent a message from Aulë to Saruman and Hatchyn was just the mouth piece.
"Lord Saruman, you are wise and deep seeing. The light and fire are about you and speaking of the fate of men now these words fly from the flame to my mouth...
'Before setting forth on that inevitable journey, none is wiser than the man who considers—before his soul departs hence—what good or evil he has done, and what judgement his soul will receive after its passing.'
Do you have meaning or explanation?"
Ooc: insight roll to understand saruman or maybe to get him off balance and to reflect himself, or maybe a warming from the Vala. Little deus machina here maybe but it seems cool. Drop a Hope point to say it.
Rolled 1d12 : 7, total 7
Rolled 3d6 : 2, 2, 6, total 10
Cowed by the presence of his power but taking umbrage from his condescension, Esgalwen speaks again. "No, we are not beasts of the land, Master Saruman, and neither are we his pets, but he can love, can he not? To live around the clans has certainly allowed Master Radagast to become a member of our community, yes? To see our births and our deaths - something that I do not understand as to why, though you are aged but still ageless - certainly we have come to love and respect each other."
To Radagast, the noblewoman smiled and her face was fair and comforting, "I do not understand this order in which you are part, but certainly Master Radagast, you cannot stand idly by and watch the people of the Vale die. If not to offer a sword arm, then surely you could offer your presence and guidance, and so bolster the hearts of many?"
:ooc: Okay - she is going to pull out all the stops on her traits: Noble lineage and Fair along with her Persuade roll... and let Manwë hear her plea (or maybe Ulmo)!
I am not sure you will offer me my second feat die (and take better of two) for Noble Lineage, but I will include it. Also - you say we have 3 fails, how many successes?
TN 18 (?) persuade 3d:00: 2d12 : 2, 5, total 7
Rolled 3d6 : 6, 6, 2, total 14
:ooc: WOOT!
That is a 19 :%: :%: success, I believe. So hopefully she just put a little backbone in that brown-clothed old man.
I am going to mark my third box on my sheet for Personality. :csu:
Let me know if anything is wrong with that plan.
Grimbeorn, lord of a great hearth and heir of the Bear, is cowed by only a few but not by this wizard.
"Bah! Bandying words about with Wizards while others suffer and die when we could do something about it sits sour in my gut. You have offered us nothing more than delay and ill temper. Unless either of you," looking at his companions, "care to waste your time further, I wash my hands of this and will prepare for the journey ahead."
:ooc:
Spend Hope.
Quote from: tomcat on Sep 02, 2021, 07:33 AMAlso - you say we have 3 fails, how many successes?
:ooc: Well, eight now, which pretty much gets you everything you could take away from the encounter. Tom, you came
so close on that Insight roll! If it'd been a Riddle, I would've given it to you,but these old guys are inscrutable the best of times.
"I... I..." Radaghast stutters as Esgalwen and Grimbeorn give voice to their frustrations. When Hathcyn's words sound, though, even the White Wizard looks momentarily taken aback, and in the momentary silence, Radaghast finds his voice once more. "I will go! You, who look out from your grand tower over many lands forget, I fear, that the lives and doings of those closer to the soil are just as real, and of as much import, as the deeds of great lords. I will go with those whom I have taken as my friends, in defence of a folk I have come to love not as lesser beings but as family, and not all your wrathful petulance shall bid me do otherwise!"
The Brown Wizard's staff fairly leaps into his hand. For half a heartbeat, Saruman's hand twitches toward his own. Upon his face is his wrath plainly writ before an even quicker flash of heartache, seen only by Hathcyn, who has himself known the pain of being scorned by the closest of kin. But the moment passes, and the great and ancient dignity of the Wisest of the Wise reasserts itself. "Very well," he says, his tone that of a lord pronouncing a heavy sentence upon a wrongdoer. "Await the warriors of Rhosgobel here, and may such powers of the world that watch over the adventures of the foolhardy spare you not their gaze."
:ooc: Before I move things on, is there any business you guys want to take care of here and now?
:ooc: i want to use my Orc Lore to clean whatever I can about this goblins. Are they scouts from the main army? Attracted by the fight doing their own mischief?
Any badges or tokens worth noting?
:ooc: Good questions, Tom. The dead goblins are of a type Hathcyn hadn't seen for a while - these sorts of creatures usually dwell deep in Mirkwood and had set up lairs in several of the Dwarven watchtowers along the Forest Road. These particular examples might have been scouts seeing how far they could push north and west from the Tarn, but just as likely had skulked away from the main force and were living it up at Maracar's Hall in the short-sighted way that goblins often have when there's food around and people to bully.
The bodies bear some scars that seem a little too consistent to be combat-related, but no markings that he recognises.
Maracar, for his part, has passed on to whatever awaits the souls of Men. His body shows signs of torture (not least being hung from his own roof) but not, as far as any of the Fellowship can tell, over a long period. It looks like they arrived no more than a day or so before you did.
"I am sorry for your loss and the state of things here in your house. Have you any kin or family among the woodmen you may fly to? The path behind us is relatively safe and groups of men are coming to pay back these fouls creatures.
If you have no where to go and are willing to travel to the forest road you may come to the Wolf's Tale. I will see that you and your children are taken care of and provided shelter. My inn is small but growing. I could find work and space for you there should you wish to stay and live farther north than here."
I'll attempt to inspire the women of the hall. If they do not accept
My offer maybe I can help them to make a decision or have a goal and feel less helpless.
Rolled 1d12 : 10, total 10
Rolled 2d6 : 6, 2, total 8
:ooc: Nice roll, Tom. :csu:
I'll have a proper post up as soon as I can.
While I'm thinking about character sheets, Doug, can you make sure you check your local copy of Esgalwen's sheet against the one on Dropbox? I have a feeling you've marked off at least one AP that isn't on the 'master' one, and I don't want to screw you out of any.
:ooc: Hey Paul, my local sheet looks like the Dropbox sheet except I have my 3rd Personality box checked. I assumed it an AP when I scored the last :%: :%: Persuade success while applying my traits to coax Radagast into finding his balls. ;D