Post
by Wyrmling » Sun May 13, 2018 6:12 pm
Update from (5/12)
Having decided to follow the trail of the kidnapped Hobbit, the Fellowship secured some torches and a lantern from Iwgar Longleg, the Beorning leader of the caravan, and plunged into the depths. The Fellowship hoarded their light as best they could, which was made somewhat easier due to the presence of Nur the Elder and Vidar. Vidar was a miner by profession and Nur the Elder was a veteran of countless battles under the earth (i.e. both had the Tunnelling trait), so they were able to keep the group from getting lost. The trek takes several hours and through it all, they catch occasional snippets of Goblin-song, which helps them to confirm they’re on the right track.
There is one moment of alarm as Amelia hears something snuffling and shambling about in the darkness and realizes that it is a Cave-troll! After a hurried and whispered discussion, the Fellowship decides that discretion is the better option and decides to hide. Fortunately, Otar’s skill at Stealth allows him to cover for the clumsiness of Nur the Younger and there are a few tense moments where they fear that the behemoth has become aware of them. Fortunately, the Cave-troll already has a snack and is apparently not inclined to go looking for another. For the next twenty minutes, the Fellowship listens as the troll noisily eats a pair of cave spiders before continuing on.
The Fellowship hears the Goblins before they see them, sneaking up on a pair of Goblin sentries standing guard over an entrance that they can hear garbled shouts and flickering firelight from. Nur the Elder and Vidar are able to understand their speech sufficiently to tell that they are both quite upset at being left out of “the feast” that is currently going on. To drown their disappointment, one of the Goblins managed to pilfer a skin of wine that they’re passing back and forth and they are therefore quite intoxicated!
After yet another hasty, whispered conversation they decide to ambush the sentries and try to take them out as quickly and soundlessly as possible. The Fellowship’s attack goes off without a hitch as the drunken Goblins can only goggle in confusion before being cut down. Otar and Vidar drag the bodies further down the tunnel and try to make it look like the sentries killed each other in a fight over the wineskin.
Further sneaking brings them into the Goblin larder, where a disheveled and bruised Dindy Brandybuck is muttering to himself as he hustles around the makeshift kitchen that he’s set up. The poor, terrified Hobbit almost passes out from fright when the Fellowship reveals themselves and is especially happy to see Amelia. Although the initial plan was to rescue Dindy and get out, they quickly realize that they have hit a bit of a snag! Dindy has been chained to the wall by a massive chain and manacle that is attached to his ankle.
The lock on the chain is sufficient to defeat Otar’s Burglary skills and a quick check by the more craft-wise among them is enough to determine that breaking the chain or prying it from the wall will require a great deal of time they likely don’t have. In addition, either course will also cause a great deal of noise, bringing the Goblins down upon them. For his part, Dindy explains that he has to get back to work cooking for the Goblins! The Goblin Chieftain, who has the only key to the manacle and chain, explained that Dindy’s continued survival was dependent on whether he could produce a suitable feast and that failure to keep the food and wine coming would result in the Hobbit ending up as dessert!
Of course, the Fellowship points out that whether he gives the Goblins a good meal or not is probably irrelevant, as they'll end up eating him anyway, which causes poor Dindy to faint! After a few moments of reviving him, the Fellowship hears Goblins approaching and quickly take up hiding places. An obviously drunken pair of Goblins shout for "More food! More wine!" at Dindy before taking a pair of only half-roasted rabbits from the fire and heading back down the tunnel. Realizing their close call, they place a watch on the door and sit down to formulate a plan.
The idea of poisoning them is floated, but a reminder about Misdeeds and the Orc-lore of Nur the Elder regarding Goblin eating habits is enough to dissuade them from that. After all, Goblins willingly eat worse stuff than most poisons every day, so there's no telling if it would work! The Fellowships decides that their best course of action is to keep the food and wine going and get the Goblins drunk and so full from their meal that they may drift off to sleep. Once they're unconscious, the Fellowship can either attack them or try to steal the key from the Chieftain and slip away.
While Amelia puts her Cooking Trait to good use and helps Dindy prepare the thickest, heaviest dishes that they can think of, Nur the Younger and Vidar serve as lookout while Nur the Elder and Otar intend to sneak close enough to get a look at how many Orcs & Goblins they're dealing with. After encountering and dealing with another pair of drunken sentries, they scout out what they can of the Goblin Hall, discovering a crude but functional smithy, a maze of reeking Orc & Goblin warrens (empty as all of their inhabitants are seemingly feasting) and a wet, cold and damp cavern where the goblins have stored the beer and wine from Dindy's caravan. For the latter, they choose to rely on Goblin laziness and quickly shift things around so that the strongest vintages are closest to the entrance. With a conspiratorial nod and wink, both Dwarves snatch some of the choicest vintages for themselves, ending up with a couple bottles of Old Winyards.
For their part, Amelia and Dindy cook up a veritable mountain of food, with the trio from the Fellowship hiding whenever they hear the Goblins come back. At one point, Amelia is discovered, but the Goblin in question seems to think he is merely so drunk that he is seeing double and nothing bad comes of it. Nur the Elder and Otar are able to slip close enough to get a look into the feast chamber, where they estimate there are pretty close to 20 Orcs & Goblins seated at trestle tables.
In addition, it seems that the feasters have decided to dress in their Sunday Best. Or at least in Dindy's Sunday Best, as most are wearing some article of Hobbit clothing that they pilfered from the caravan. The Chieftain is particularly resplendent, wearing a top hat, scarf and having squeezed his bulk into a (now) tattered and stained silken Hobbit waistcoat! In addition, they're apparently comporting themselves as Goblins would imagine Hobbit gentlefolk would, with numerous toasts and flowery language and cups drank from with outstretched pinky fingers! Having the most experience with Hobbits, Otar finds the whole vision hilarious and plans to rag Dindy and Amelia about it later.
Creeping back to the kitchen, the pair decide to wait with the rest for the Goblins to fall asleep or into a drunken stupor. After an hours long wait and the consumption of enough food and wine to sate even the hungriest of Hobbit gatherings, the sounds of laughter and shouting start to lessen, eventually fading out altogether. As a trio of drunken, staggering Goblins comes into the kitchen slurring shouts of "More meat!", the Fellowship springs their trap, taking them out. After a few moments of waiting, it is obvious that no one is immediately coming or heard the altercation, so the Fellowship creeps down the passage to the feast hall, where they see all but a few die-hards passed out drunk or sleeping off the meal.
With shouts of "Baruk Khazad! Khazad ai-menu!" and "Greenfields!" the Fellowship launched their attack! Bleary-eyed and suffering from various states of "food coma", the Orcs & Goblins put up a spirited, if haphazard defense. Amelia and Otar join the ranks of the Wounded. The already Wounded Nur the Elder tries to add another notch to his belt by squaring off with the Chieftain, but the large Orc is made of sterner stuff than his minions and Nur the Elder goes down and is Dying! Fortunately, Vidar steps up to defend the older Dwarf from the Chieftain and finishes off the brute.
Leaving Nur the Elder to the healing abilities of his younger friend and Amelia as look-out, the pair use the recovered key to free Dindy and then set about exploring the rest of the Hall. A quick search reveals a modest amount of Treasure, which I choose to make a (*) Hoard. Nur the Younger and Otar discover Precious Objects in their searches! For Otar, it is a ruby the size of a pigeon's egg that one of the Orcs was using as a decoration for his shield (a shadowy figure with one gleaming red eye). Even in its scuffed and cracked condition, it's worth 20 Treasure. Nur the Younger's player has been reading Erebor and asks to be allowed to discover one of the special crafting items there, so he discovers a mithril ingot that one of the Goblins was wearing around its neck.
Vidar makes out the best, scoring the Fellowship's first Famous Weapon! While destroying the various Orc & Goblin weapons in the forge to keep them from being scavenged by others of their ilk, he discovers a particularly heavy (Grievous) axe of blackened iron. After scraping away some Orc "decorations", he is able to identify it as Dwarven craftsmanship and eagerly shows it to his fellows. Nur the Younger is able to tell that the axe was forged in Khazad-dum and points out that there are runes of what appear to be mithril engraved on it as well. Further study will undoubtedly be required to gather any more information as to the axe's capabilities and Vidar vows to overcome any lingering Orcish taint by using it to split the heads of many of that foul race.
Having exhausted most of the food and drink against the Goblins and with most of the caravan's goods ruined (including Dindy's clothes), they do manage to recover a few items for the Inn and some of Dindy's personal items. Not wanting to tarry too much longer, they head back to the surface as quickly as they can, with no interruptions this time.
Emerging into a bright afternoon sky, they decide to move a few miles from the entrance to the tunnels and set up a camp to rest and recover from their ordeal. After resting for the rest of the day and night, they set out to leave the Mountains and make their way back to the Old Ford. The journey is uneventful overall, although they realize that they are being followed by Wolves. Concerned that they may actually be Wargs, the Fellowship makes certain to keep a strong fire and watch and nothing comes of their fears.
Arriving at the Old Ford, they reunite with Iwgar Longleg and the remains of the caravan and head back to the Easterly Inn. Their only encounter this time is with a band of Men who are traveling the same direction as they are. The Fellowship quickly realizes that the Men are planning to rob the Easterly Inn thanks to Nur the Younger's Suspicious nature as he overhears their plan to rob an inn to the north run by "wise children". The Fellowship quickly dissuades the would-be thieves and drives them from the camp after taking their weapons and telling them to spread the word that the Easterly Inn is under the protection of the Dwarves.
The arrival at the Easterly Inn is a joyous one, with Dody and Agatha overjoyed to see their kin safe and sound. The loss of a portion of the caravan's goods is a blow, but for now they'll just have to make do and plan for another expedition back to the Shire at a later time. The Fellowship is treated to an absolute feast by the Brandybucks and are told that they may stay at the Inn all Winter with free rooms and board! In addition, he has some Letters of Introduction written by one of their investors, a Mr. Bilbo Baggins, and addressed to various important personages (King Dain, the Master of Lake-town, King Bard and Gandalf the Wizard) throughout Wilderland which he gives to the Fellowship as well.
One puzzling part to Dody Brandybuck however is that he can't understand why Otar and Nur the Elder seem to think its hilarious whenever he raises his glass to give a speech or a toast to the Fellowship!
After some animated discussion, the Fellowship decides to take the Year End Fellowship Phase here, even though there are several months left in 2945. Given their Wounds and various states of Weariness, the prospect of several months of R&R is appealing. For his part, Nur the Younger wanted to return to Erebor, but the rest of the Fellowship is able to convince him of the value of having a base on this side of Mirkwood, so they all opt to stay and use Open Sanctuary on The Easterly Inn as one of their two Fellowship Undertakings.
Concerned about the possible dangers of accumulating Shadow, both Nurs and Amelia opt for Heal Corruption as Nur the Younger and Nur the Elder set up a small forge and smithy for the Inn and Amelia helps out in the kitchen. Hearing about the virtues of firewood collected from the Elfwood, Vidar and Otar go on a few hunting trips where they gather enough spare kindling to grant or enhance their Fire-making Traits for the coming Adventuring Phase. Amelia also gives the bulk of her Treasure to her kin as she realizes that, despite their genuine gratitude, housing and feedin a quartet of Dwarves for an entire season isn't cheap. She decides not to give them the Treasure that she'd taken from the tent of Valter the Bloody, concerned that if it is cursed it may bring harm to her sister, brother-in-law and nephews.
Nur the Elder also passes the time regaling Amelia's young nephews with stories about his younger days fighting Orcs & Goblins and that re-awakens memories of Durin's Way for future engagements beneath the earth. Otar decides that The Stiff Neck of Dwarves is a good thing and chooses to hoard all of his Treasure for the moment, perhaps for a future trip to The Blue Mountains to increase his Standing there. Amelia and Vidar spend time sparring with the Hobbit lass learning to turn her status as Small Folk to a tactical advantage. Vidar, inspired by Nur the Elder's stories, practices the art of tunnel-fighting and picks up Durin's Way as well.
The Fellowship also meets up with Baldor and Belgo again, but opt not to set out with them this time. Instead, they vouch for the pair to a largish party of Dwarves heading back through the Grey Mountain Narrows and are content that they Man and his son will be safe on the return journey.
For the Year's End events, the majority of the news is regarding a gathering in Dale to celebrate the 5-year anniversary of The Battle of Five Armies and that solidifies the Fellowship's plans, as all want to be present for that particular event. Starting in late Winter or early Spring, they'll make a trek back through the Grey Mountain Narrows and head for Erebor and Dale. This journey, their intent is to take their time and try to explore the area around where they believe the Greydelve is located and gather what information they can for possible future expeditions. After scouting and investigation, they'll arrive back in Erebor at early Fall by the latest with plenty of time to participate in the festivities and recuperate with a Year End Phase on the other side of Mirkwood.
After that, they downloaded Hawkin's voice-simulator on their iPads and would play the Gibbet King's reactions to their attacks through it. I still can't stop laughing about it. It's so bad, but so funny. 