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Stories - PbP => Darkening of Mirkwood [Previous Chapters] => DOM-Chapter 12 => Topic started by: Eclecticon on Jan 30, 2022, 07:15 PM

Title: The Leavings of the City
Post by: Eclecticon on Jan 30, 2022, 07:15 PM
Awakening sore and tired after the flight from the broken watchtower, the Fellowship gathers itself for the last march to the City of the Éthéod.  Essylt, it seems, has recovered her wits after spending the hours of darkness insensate, lost in the shadows of her own mind and memory.  Now, she tends a cook-fire on which a thin soup simmers, much of the companions' carefully-stored food having been sacrificed to scatter and flummox the wolves. 

Her word is true, however, and early in the afternoon, as the sun makes a worthy effort to shine through the thick clouds, she points out the hill on which once stood the Horse-lords' halls.  "There," she whispers, as if the hill itself might overhear her and spring forth like a wakened beast, "lies as ill-starred a place as can be found save Gundabad itself.  Of old it has been a haunt of goblin-kind, for they gather together there before they go abroad to pillage and burn.  Sometimes my folk have gone along with them, and those who came back bore tales of the place along with goods from the south.  They told of holes leading to old tombs and cellars which were now the homes of trolls and orcs that could not abide the light of day." 

She casts a sidelong look at Grimbeorn and sucks at her remaining teeth before continuing.  "I know not what you hope to find there, but I wish the Raven's luck for you, for not even the goblins have ventured there in some years, though not even the seers and shamans could say why." 
Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: GandalfOfBorg on Jan 31, 2022, 05:04 AM
"I don't rightly know what it be either but I have come to aid it its recovery all the same," says the Son of the Bear.  "You have been true to your word and I well appreciate it, Essylt."
Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: Telcontar on Jan 31, 2022, 06:56 AM
"Well Firewatcher....what now?"
Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: tomcat on Jan 31, 2022, 07:21 AM
The Ranger lay under her trail bedding, having only just awakened to the soft voices of Grimbeorn and Essylt. The smell of the weak broth barely noticeable to her senses, but still her stomach grumbled. She sat up and winced from the sharp pain of a stitch in her back and then grumbled at the fact that she had laid down, the night before, upon a root.

Essylt and Grimbeorn greeted her with quiet nods and she smiled to them both in reply. Esgalwen reached for her waterskin and the soft maple twig that she kept at hand, and rinsed her mouth and cleaned her teeth. It was the best she could do on the trail to feel civilized. She then disappeared for a few minutes, taking care of other needs, only to return to start the new day.

The remaining two companions slowly woke and all ate their breakfast in quiet talk. Once done, they started the day's march with the understanding from Essylt that today they would see the old city, and so it was.

"There lies as ill-starred a place as can be found save Gundabad itself."

"Oh, we have seen darker," whispered Esgalwen in reply, but only to herself. The dark paths of Dol Guldur were still prominent in her memories. They still haunted her dreams with Orophin beckoning her return, no matter how brightly the sun tried to shine.

The Ranger eyed the promontory upon which sat the ruined city and wondered at its dangers.
Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: Eclecticon on Jan 31, 2022, 03:14 PM
"We get closer," comes the Fire-watcher's reply, and closer he begins to creep, his gaze fixed on the nearby hill, already watching and waiting, listening to the sounds of the wind and the beasts of the air and land. 


:ooc: Arbogast is going to try scouting out the place using his Natural Watchfulness, but he needs to be fairly nearby to do it.  He'll try a Stealth roll to advance without giving himself away, and anyone who wants to is welcome to join him. 

:00: 1d12 : 10, total 10
Rolled 2d6 : 6, 1, total 7
Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: Eclecticon on Jan 31, 2022, 03:16 PM
:ooc: I'm happy with that roll!  As an example of how you can do this, I'm going to tag his Patient trait for that third AP - he's going slowly and carefully, stopping frequently to listen and check that nothing seems to be disturbed. 

This is purely an example for educational purposes and no selfish motive can be ascribed to me.

EDIT:  I'll hold off on further narration until I know who else is trying to sneak forward and how well they do at it. 
Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: tomcat on Jan 31, 2022, 11:17 PM
Never to let her friend be alone, Esgalwen drew her Ranger's cloak around her and advanced with the Fire-watcher.

:ooc: Stealth roll
TN -- stealth 3d
:00: 1d12 : 6, total 6
Rolled 3d6 : 4, 4, 3, total 11

Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: Telcontar on Feb 01, 2022, 11:10 AM
The Longspear took the ace from his belt and gave it to Esslyt.

"Should you need something."

The Beorning then covered his head in his twill woolen hood and had his spear in the reverse with the tip down. He was wary and cautious od the structure itself and thought he would watch and listen as the two crept nearer. He observed the land and the ruin looking for signs.

Awareness? Insight?
Rolled 1d12 : 8, total 8

Rolled 3d6 : 5, 2, 5, total 12

Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: GandalfOfBorg on Feb 01, 2022, 12:16 PM
While the others worry more so about keeping themselves hidden, Grimbeorn stoops to the group searching for any fresh signs of any enemy that would be near to do them harm.

 :ooc:
 :00:
Hunting -  1d12 : 3, total 3
Rolled 3d6 : 5, 1, 6, total 12

Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: Eclecticon on Feb 01, 2022, 08:18 PM
:ooc: Nice.  I'll have some more story up... probably early tomorrow. 

Quote from: Telcontar on Feb 01, 2022, 11:10 AMAwareness? Insight?
This is definitely an Awareness thing - Insight is for reading people.  A nice little success, though. 

EDIT:  Hathcyn can tag his Wary trait for an AP, and Grimbeorn gets one for a Hunting success.  :csu:
Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: Eclecticon on Feb 03, 2022, 08:51 PM
The silence as Esgalwen and Arbogast set out across the open expanse begins eerie, and by they time they are half way across has become oppressive.  The pair spy regularly-placed stones such as even now mark the boundaries of fields and rows by settlements of Northmen, for here once flourished the crops of the Éthéod.  No other sign of them remains, the well-tended rows having long been given over to thistle and gorse. 

Wary and watching, neither Grimbeorn nor Hathcyn mark a sign of any other living thing.  No birdsong disturbs the tuneless sigh of the wind, nor do the leaves twitch with the passage of mice and voles.  The hill of the city sits at the centre of a desolation which for all its summer green is near as complete as that which once surrounded the Lonely Mountain in the time of the dragon.   

As the Ranger and the Fire-watcher draw nearer, they find a suggestion of why this might be.  Here and there, placed according to no visible order or purpose, rude stakes have been driven into the ground, each bearing atop a skull as a grizzly trophy.  Thinking at once of the baleful light that shone from dead eyes at the battle of the Black Tarn, Esgalwen halts, and Arbogast, alert to her sudden wariness, crouches low nearby.  But no eerie voice issues forth from the jawless skulls, and a longer glance shows that many of them have long changed from the white of new-exposed bone to the dull brown of age.  A great admixture of heads they are, too: the oldest clearly of Men, and some of horses, but among them the misshapen skulls of orcs, these all seeming new. 

A long pause follows wherin not a thing moves but leaf and needle, fitfully shaken by the wind.  Then at last, satisfied that no immediate threat exists, Esgalwen stands and waves her companions forward.  Arbogast, meanwhile, shuts his eyes and begins to listen. 


:ooc: Explore roll for Arbogast to do his thing:

:00: 1d12 : 12, total 12
Rolled 4d6 : 4, 3, 6, 3, total 16
   
Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: Eclecticon on Feb 03, 2022, 08:55 PM
As Grimbeorn and Hathcyn accompany Essylt, the Fire-watcher mutters almost to himself.  "The city is long a ruin, but the remains of stone walls yet stand.  There are... holes both shallow and deep, and the deepest are near the top of the hill.  I make out one in particular that has been filled with rubble but recently, for the wind blows clear across it, not slowed by thistle or bush."   
Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: GandalfOfBorg on Feb 04, 2022, 01:22 PM
"That's as good an idea as any," replied Grimbeorn.  He takes up his usual position, at the rear of the group to follow the more competent scouters.
Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: tomcat on Feb 04, 2022, 03:44 PM
Squinting her eyes from the sun, Esgalwen stared toward the blocked hole in hopes of seeing any signs of movement of threat. She watches and waits, her idleness plaguing her with each decision.

:ooc: Awareness check to see if anything is blatantly (or not) watching their approach.
TN -- awareness 3d
:00: 1d12 : 6, total 6
Rolled 3d6 : 6, 1, 5, total 12

Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: tomcat on Feb 04, 2022, 03:46 PM
:ooc: Esgalwen seems to only move when Arbogast moves, or others in the party. It is her constant struggle to take any initiative in these dangerous actions - all thanks to her Idle trait.

Still that should count for a 18 :%: success, if there is anything to see.
Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: Eclecticon on Feb 08, 2022, 08:15 PM
As the men bend their backs and begin the heavy and tedious work of moving stones, Esgalwen finds a seat on a mostly-crumbled wall that nonetheless stands clear of the surrounding thistles.  Her eye wanders over hill and dell and the fleet flowing waters of the Langwell, but though she sees birds circling in the cloud-swept sky and goats grazing on nearby hills, naught but her companions disturb the perfect desolation of the hill of the city. 

Essylt, her newly-bare skin pricking in the cold wind that blows unceasing from the mountain slopes, comes to sit uncomfortably by her.  "What is it," she asks, "that you hope to gain from venturing below?  Surely all precious things that might have been left here will have long been carried off, and now abide in filth in some orc-hole?" 

Esgalwen, herself not entirely convinced otherwise, gives a single shrug.  "A wise friend of ours seems to think that something may have been overlooked.  A chest or urn of treasure, buried perhaps in a collapsed cellar before the orcs even arrived.  Enough of value to warrant the journey here." 

The Hill-woman spits.  "Bah.  They will have descended on this place like carrion-crows as soon as the builders left.  Your wise friend has sent you on a fool's errand."  She stays where she is, though, and watches the men at work. 

After more than an hour, enough stones have been shifted to permit Grimbeorn's broad shoulders to pass through the hole and into a broad and irregular tunnel beyond.  Though the day is hardly bright, and the tunnel bends leftwards enough that only a few yards can be seen, it seems readily traversable.  Arbogast threads his arms through his shield-straps, for the tunnel slopes steeply downward, and few protrusions appear that would serve as hand- or footholds. 
Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: tomcat on Feb 09, 2022, 07:45 AM
:ooc: Can I also say that while the men moved stones, Esgalwen and Essylt attempted to make torches? I can't find anything in the book for rules on aiding with a task (except prolonged tasks), but can I take an additional d6 to the roll for Essylt's assist? If so, here is the roll. If not, just remove the second d6 result. I put in a TN 12, as this isn't hard work, but it might be difficult to gather materials. If I am wrong, feel free to correct for that, too.

TN 12 craft 2d
:00: 1d12 : 3, total 3
Rolled 2d6 : 2, 5, total 7

Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: tomcat on Feb 09, 2022, 07:46 AM
:ooc: Well that won't make the muster. I am not spending a :vv: for success on this trivial action, so I will leave the failure to your interpretation. Maybe the torches fall apart; sputter with weak light; or we only craft a small amount that might not see us through the task.

Women...  :\
Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: Eclecticon on Feb 09, 2022, 03:13 PM
Quote from: tomcat on Feb 09, 2022, 07:46 AMWomen...  :\
:ooc: I am in no way touching that. 
Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: Eclecticon on Feb 09, 2022, 08:34 PM
Gathering a bundle of torches beneath her arm, Esgalwen stands with a sigh.  They are crude things, for the most part merely bundles of dry thistles bound together with a little twine and given a splash of what oil there is left to the company, much of it having been lost during the night-time flight from the wolf pack.  When she and Essylt share them among the others, they are met with doubtful expressions, especially as the first to be lit gutters and smokes for some time before any appreciable flame can be coaxed from it. 

Any light, though, is better than none in the dark corners of Middle-Earth, and Arbogast takes the first in his hand as he half climbs, half slides down the slope into whatever hollows lie beneath the hill.  Moments later, he calls up that all is clear and the Fellowship proceeds down with him into a roughly hewn space that might once have been the cellar of a thegn of the Éothéod of old, before the house above fell into ruin and the entrance was choked by growth of thorn-bushes.  Here and there, the same foul markings on the packed earth walls and floor speak to occupation by goblin-kind, but no hand of orc was it that carved the tunnel that delves yet deeper into the gloom, its entrance yawning across from the companions in the ruddy light.  Its sides are too regular and too well-rounded for the brutal stone-cunning of orcs (if the long musings of Rorin and Anar in days gone by are to be believed) for those that creep and scuttle beneath the Misty Mountains simply hack away at earth and stone until a wide enough passage is made, and care nothing for the shape that it takes so long as it will not collapse and bury them. 

The thistle-torches, their light already darkening as they burn down, shed their unwholesome smoke into the still air before it slowly seeps away, into the sunlit world above. 


:ooc: I'm taking this bit by bit to give you all time to react and make any plans for your approach.  I'll keep updating the thread regularly on the basis of your actions. 
Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: GandalfOfBorg on Feb 10, 2022, 10:17 AM
"Do you think the builders, nay last defenders, of this burg lay traps deeper in?  If any were of goblin-make, we'd have encountered them by now.  Even if not, we should be all the more wary lest further in we disturb a thing to cause stone and earth to fall and engulf us," remarked Grimbeorn.
Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: Eclecticon on Feb 10, 2022, 08:38 PM
Essylt, huddling close to the wall of the tunnel as the companions spread out in the relative space of the cellar, hisses suddenly and points toward the darkness ahead.  "What's that?" she asks. 

As the Fellowship share blank looks at each other, she creeps gingerly forward, a thistle-torch in her hand, until that which she sees is clear: a thin tendril, so pale as to be almost translucent, rises several inches from the dirt floor of the downward tunnel.  Still it stands, like a seedling growing somehow in the near-total darkness.  Arbogast crouches by it, examining it closely this way and that.  Finally, he whispers "I know many things that grow from the soil, both in the darkness and in the light, but I know not what this might be.  Let us not touch it." 
Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: Telcontar on Feb 11, 2022, 09:30 AM
"Are we here for root and herb for the Brown Wizard's collection? Let us not tarry over root and branch. This tunnel was made by men for a mannish purpose. Let us see where it goes and what we find."

Hathcyn waved his torch at the growth watching it curl by the heat of the fire. "Now, may we proceed?"

 
:ooc: Sometimes....the characters write themselves....
Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: Eclecticon on Feb 12, 2022, 03:22 AM
Buoyed by Hathcyn's brash words, the companions advance down the tunnel.  The thistle-torches gutter in the close air, and the smoke stings their eyes and seems almost eager to gather in their noses and mouths, but their light is enough, and though progress is slow, it is steady.  The path of the tunnel spirals ever downward, digressing only marginally to break forth into another mannish cellar and several holes that bear the marks of inhabitation by orcs and trolls: a lingering scent of blood and wretchedness.  Here and there, drag marks show where heavy and solid things have been moved lower, and the thoughts of the company turn naturally to long-forsaken coffers of the Northmen, holding riches unknown. 

Behind them, unheeded, the shriveled growth recedes silently into the soil. 

Further and further they plunge, following the tunnel that now twists and writhes like a wounded serpent around croppings of hard stone.  More and more of the pale growths do they pass, but pay them little heed beyond scorning to brush against them.  Some considerable time later, the tunnel breaches once more a larger space, some cavernous hollow deep beneath the surface.   The air is still, and all is silent but for the sizzling of the torches.  Before the Fellowship lies a field of bones, cracked and gnawed so far that it is difficult to tell what size or shape they may once have been, let alone what manner of creature may once have borne them.  Here and there, the feeble torchlight causes some bright thing to shine.  Here are, perhaps, the leavings of the Northmen who built the city above, plundered and picked over by orcs until they were at last left to languish here. 

All throughout the floor of the hollow, the pale growths protrude, here greater, here slighter, but all seeming to quest blindly for the ceiling above, and the sunlit lands unreckonably far beyond it. 
Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: Telcontar on Feb 13, 2022, 01:04 PM
"This is troublesome. Why is there a field of bones concentrated here? A rubbish pit of goblins or the leavings of some beast. Firewatcher, what is it we are looking for?"
Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: Eclecticon on Feb 13, 2022, 01:55 PM
"A gem (https://rpg.avioc.org/boards/index.php?msg=33367)," Arbogast answers, his gaze not leaving the sight before them, "or several, if there are such to be found here.  Large and bright, for such the spiders of Mirkwood love to devour." 
Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: Telcontar on Feb 13, 2022, 09:41 PM
"Then surely if it remains there is a guardian. We must push deeper to find this for doubtful indeed it have been left behind idly."
Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: tomcat on Feb 16, 2022, 09:56 AM
The spacing within the chambers was small, and Esgalwen moved Nimronyn so that it hung across her back. Her quiver and bow were there, too, but they seemed useless in such confines. The torch sputtered in her hand and she wondered at the simplicity of the underground passages. Simple holes cut deep and reinforced with wooden supports, but for the most part dirt walls, floors, and ceilings. The stairs had simple paver stones, but that was the extent of the engineering done here.

It was nothing like the cities of her homeland - large and strong; built into the very bedrock of the land, as if by giants. Ornate, too, were the crenels and spires of Minas Tirith and ancient Osgiliath worked by the skilled artisans of the Dunédain. Even Minas Morgul, which she had seen once from afar, still reflected the beauty of its creators, even though it lay draped in shadow and evil.

None of these thoughts made the Ranger think any less of the people whom she now lived amongst, only that their ways were simpler... maybe better. For even in its grand scale and beauty, the towers Osgiliath had plunged into the Anduin and only the rubble marked its place in time. These tunnels were still here, too, and she was certain that ghosts walked here, as they did in the south.

"I will light your way, Hathcyn, but you go first so as to use that spear in need."
Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: Telcontar on Feb 16, 2022, 10:54 AM
"The Spear is long and though I'm no dwarf will serve us well in this tight space."

Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: Eclecticon on Feb 16, 2022, 08:28 PM
:ooc: GM-break here.  I'm not sure how I've given this impression, but the tunnel the Fellowship just came down is not something built for human passage - no stairs, no support beams, nothing but a round-ish hole bored out of the earth (the cellars have those things, but not the tunnel).  Coming down from the top of the hill into that first cellar was difficult because the steep slope was hard to get down while carrying torches, war gear etc. 

Apologies if I've inadvertently misled you - work has been picking up its pace, so I've only been able to dash out posts in between other things, with inevitable consequences for the quality. 

Also, while my mind is on areas where I may have given the wrong impression, you're not hunting for a particular gem, just a nice, big, pretty one. 

Anyway, I'll press on with the scene, but bear in mind that (a) the first significant-sized gem you find will probably do, and (b) getting out of this hole will require a bit of effort. 
Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: Eclecticon on Feb 16, 2022, 08:38 PM
Following the lead of the Longspear, the companions move gingerly forward, the cracked bones grinding and crumbling beneath their feet.  All their eyes scan the detritus and pallid growths that carpet the hollow's floor, seeking the treasures of which rumour drew them here. 


:ooc: Let's do some Search rolls.  The TN is 18, mostly due to the poor light.  I'll also chuck in a roll for Essylt, since she has as much reason as any of you to want to find your treasure and be on her way south. 

Arbogast
:00: 1d12 : 10, total 10
Rolled 1d6 : 4, total 4


Esgalwen
:00: 1d12 : 9, total 9
Rolled 2d6 : 4, 3, total 7


Essylt
:00: 1d12 : 8, total 8
Rolled 2d6 : 1, 2, total 3


Grimbeorn
:00: 1d12 : 8, total 8
Rolled 2d6 : 1, 1, total 2


Hathcyn
:00: 1d12 : 4, total 4
Rolled 1d6 : 4, total 4
Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: Eclecticon on Feb 16, 2022, 08:40 PM
:ooc: No straight-up successes, but both Esgalwen and Arbogast are within striking distance if they want to burn a Hope point.  Doug, my mind's not made up yet so I'll throw the option to you first. 
Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: Eclecticon on Feb 18, 2022, 01:50 PM
:ooc: Doug has gone dark, but Arbogast will drop a Hope point on it. Post to follow.
Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: tomcat on Feb 18, 2022, 03:24 PM
:ooc: Not dark, just busy today with my basement flooding due to the rain and previous snow melt.

I can burn a :vv: but I prefer Arbogast doing it since he can get his back. I can't even use a Fellowship point, so I will leave it for Arbogast.

Sorry for the delay.
Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: Eclecticon on Feb 21, 2022, 07:39 PM
With a hiss of indrawn breath, Arbogast steps abruptly forward, seizing a sizeable gem from among a knot of osseous debris and sending several pallid tendrils withdrawing into the earth.  For a brief moment, he holds it forth in his hand.  Though its colour is difficult to determine in the flickering gloom, the light of the thistle-torches makes it sparkle and gleam. 

Then, Esgalwen cries out, her eyes huge in the dimness.  "Look, and ware!"  As she points, tendrils all across the floor of the hollow are withdrawing, and a rattling, soft at first but growing steadily louder, accompanies a new trembling among the shattered bones.  Arbogast, his fist clenching around the company's newfound prize, stumbles as his footing is upset.  As the company make ready their weapons and unsling their shields, Essylt backs away, blindly seeking the upward passage but unwilling to turn from what takes place before her.  She lets out a moan of despair as, from beneath the mass of churning bone, large segmented legs rise to grip and lift out a pallid, almost translucent, bulk that is neither crustacean nor worm nor fungus, but some baleful admixture of the three. 

Then, before the nightmare thing before the fellowship can be beheld in its fullness, a powerful gust of stale air runs through the hollow from some place unknowably below.  The thistle-torches, already guttering, give out completely and Essylt's moan rises into a terrified keening as the fellowship is plunged into darkness. 
Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: Eclecticon on Feb 21, 2022, 07:39 PM
:ooc: Sorry, everyone.  It took a while, but I hope the forthcoming events will be worth it. 

Battle rolls for the forthcoming fight.  Anyone who fails will be surprised and lose the first round. 

Arbogast
:00: 1d12 : 11, total 11
Rolled 5d6 : 2, 3, 5, 3, 4, total 17


Esgalwen
:00: 1d12 : 1, total 1
Rolled 2d6 : 2, 3, total 5


Essylt
:00: 1d12 : 11, total 11
Rolled 2d6 : 3, 1, total 4


Grimbeorn
:00: 1d12 : 4, total 4
Rolled 3d6 : 1, 2, 6, total 9


Hathcyn
:00: 1d12 : 2, total 2
Rolled 3d6 : 4, 5, 6, total 15
Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: Eclecticon on Feb 21, 2022, 08:19 PM
:ooc: Keep those  :~~: -s coming - we've just triggered another Eye revelation, making the fight worse than it was already going to be. 

Matt, if you're back, let me know if you want to spend Hope on Grimbeorn's roll to get him into the action this round.  Otherwise, he and Esgalwen are too shocked to do much.  Hathcyn, on the other hand, is good to go (:csu:).
Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: Telcontar on Feb 22, 2022, 01:26 AM
"Without hope, without light, to Battle!"
Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: GandalfOfBorg on Feb 22, 2022, 12:13 PM
 :ooc: Yup, spend it  :vv:
Title: Re: The Leavings of the City
Post by: Eclecticon on Feb 22, 2022, 02:08 PM
:ooc: Duly spent.  :csu: