I'm part way through running the Marsh Bell for my group and have a question. I was hoping that one of you clever folks here at the forums would be able to help me with it.

Having found the jewel-case with the message at Balin's abandoned camp the PCs are wondering why the two Dwarves left it hidden in the tree trunk. And, to be frank, I don't have a good answer. The box and the message for the Lord of the Eagles seem central to the Dwarves' mission, so I don't understand why the Dwarves would have left it there or, if they had abandoned it in haste, did not return to recover it.

Did you encounter the same question when you ran the Marsh Bell? Any suggestions on how to explain this?

Many thanks in advance for any assistance.

That stone is a kingly gift, probably worth 10 Treasure points or more (can't remember if it has a stated value). By RaW, that's 10 points of Encumbrance that Balin has to add to his Fatigue threshold*. If I was expecting trouble, I'd try to get it off my load too.

That's my metagame-y reason at any case.

* If you think that's exaggerated, I partially agree; and that's why I houseruled it that Treasure increase travel Fatigue instead of direct Encumbrance.

I think if I remember I made it seem like they ran off from the Troll, were going to double back via a circular route to retrieve the box but were attracted to the ringing of the bell. (Or something like that).

I must admit it left me scratching my head when I first read that bit.

Maybe extrapolate a bit with the Gore-Crows... The dwarves were previously attacked by them, the birds trying to steal the gift, so they stashed it away in a tree trunk so they good investigate the sunken city without the crows continuinly annoying them over the jewel?

Thanks for responding guys. It's very much appreciated. I knew I could count on you for some helpful suggestions.

In the hopes that we can discuss this a bit further, I'll explain some specific difficulties I'm having regarding the approaches you suggest. Perhaps I'm missing something (or generating difficulties that don't exist!)

@Poosticks7 - I was heading towards something along the lines you suggest (i.e. that the Troll had chased the Dwarves off and pursued them some distance before giving up, hence the Dwarves had been forced to abandon the box and the message but were intending to go back for it). The difficulty I have with this approach is that (if I'm reading the scenario correctly) when we eventually find the Dwarves trapped by the Marsh Dwellers we are some 20 miles downstream at the end of the Old Forest Road (1 full day by boat, 2 days on foot). That seems a long way to have gone if they were planning on returning for it. I hadn't imagined the sound of the bell carried a huge distance.

@Rich H - I really like your idea of using the Gorecrows but, as above, I feel the distance between Balin's camp and the Marsh Dweller pool (around 20 miles) throws up some difficulties with this. Perhaps if I'd introduced the Gorecrows earlier in the PCs journey I could have made this work but alas I followed the adventure sequencing as written, so the Gorecrows have only been encountered in the vicinity of the Old Forest Road. Hence it seems unlikely that the Dwarves would have stashed it so far away.

It's a pity I didn't think about this whole issue until the PCs started discussing it amongst themselves. I guess I should have been better prepared!

@Glorfindel - I'm not sure my PCs would buy that it was too encumbering, even if the RaW say it is. I'm certain someone would say "It's only a scroll and a necklace!" and I'd have to agree. I could potentially make this approach work if I made it that the taint of shadow on the jewel was making it particularly fatiguing to carry through the blighted region or something like that but then that only explains them leaving the necklace, not the message as well.

I greatly appreciate any further thoughts you have on this.

What if you make it so that the Dwarves realised that they were being followed but suspected that it might be bandits or orcs instead of actually being a Wood Elf patrol? What if their standard procedure every night was to conceal the casket and retrieve it in the morning? The attack of the Troll sent the Dwarves fleeing into the night where they got lost in Mirkwood and wandered around until they came across the Marsh Bell ruins. In their panicked flight they were unable to retrieve the casket and thus it remains where the player characters find it?

That's makes complete sense... To the OP, personally, that's the way I think you should go.

That's brilliant Halbarad! Problem solved. It seems so simple when you explain it like that. Many thanks.

And thanks to everyone who contributed. You guys are great!

thats the kind of line I had come up with, however they never asked. THey considered the thought that the Troll had taken the dwarves and spent 3 hours hunting waste deep in the marshes to find the troll's lair.

I didn't give it much thought, but I had assumed that the arrival of the Troll had made retrieval impossible. Didn't really consider how it got into the stump or why, but the Troll was the reason it was still there.