The Opening
Late spring stretched into early summer when Bilbo Baggins reconvened the Company of Four in the cozy confines of the Lamplighter Inn in the village of Staddle. As Grandmother Tunnelly set aside generous servings of Venison and carrots, iced tea, and berries, Bilbo introduced his friend, the vigorous and charismatic Adelard Took. As the night waned on, Adelard showed off his smoke-blowing skills (4 time champion of the Summer Smoke Ring Festival), and the company enjoyed one of their finest nights of comfort known. Before Bilbo and Adelard got down to business...
Rumour & Lore
“'Hobbits! Hobbits in those hills! It is said that long ago when the hobbits first crossed the Misty Mountains in the east that some of the Stoors settled in Enedwaith, the gloomglens if you will, but it has also long been believed that they were wiped out during the time of the Plague. 'A recent conversation with a ranging friend I know, and the smoke she had on her proves otherwise to me! Will you seek out these hobbits, friends? It may be that in these dark times, they should be encouraged to continue their journey and rejoin their kindred in the Shire. Darkness is quickly falling across this land. 'You might try searching in the west, for that is the direction the first hobbits likely would have taken.' And, yes, not only opening contact between the Shire & Stoor, but so to trade. The pipe-weed my friend found while patrolling the Gloomglens intrigues us greatly. .”
Bilbo's primary wish is to find the Stoors, reopen lines of communication and, eventually, ask them to consider coming to the Shire where things are much safer than the Gloomglens. Adelard Took, and to a slightly lesser degree, would, however, in the meantime like to open trade on Stoor Smokeleaf, too.
While Bilbo was unsure of Maur Tulhau's precise location, he believed in the city of Tharbad's once-opulent library the group might be able to find answers. Barring that, he knew a broker of information, one Amelia Kern, who might...might, he emphasized with disdain...be willing to assist the group for a price.
The Journey
Summer 2965 of the Third Age
Left from Bree the 31st of May / Arrived in Tharbad June 16th
Travel lasted roughly 16 days due to travel mishaps and bad weather
Scout - Halford w/ Jesup (pony) accrued 5 fatigue
Look-Out: Fingon w/ Magic (decent horse) accrued 6 fatigue
Hunter: Elador w/ Nick (old horse) accrued 4 fatigue
Guide: Ida w/Boy (sturdy pony) accrued 4 fatigue
1. March of the Hard Men
Target: Fingon Finrod (Look-Out)
Event: Mishap (Failure)
Details: Fingon's naivety in the ways of men led him to overlook the passing of a group of brigand or soldiers. It was only when they ventured closer that the Elvish scholar-warrior noted their scowls, swords, and dangerous demeanor. To avoid this potential encounter, the company had to carefully reroute off the Greenway and into the wilds for a bit.
2. Sudden Summer Storms
Target: Halford Brandybuck (Scout)
Event: Despair (Failure)
Details: Despite the warm weather, the initial outset from Bree was troubled by strong storms and hazardous weather that pretty much followed the group over the course of the first week on the road. During the most intense part of the storm, Halford failed to find any reasonable shelter for the company and its beast. The night was horrendously uncomfortable, and it took much of the morning to calm the horses for the trail once more.
3. Fallout of the Rainstorms
Target: Fingon Finrod (Look-Out)
Event: Mishap (Failure)
Details: Blessed as he was with keen eyes, Fingon was meant to lookout not only for incoming troubles but tracks and treads along the increasingly muddied Greenway. But when the old road merged again into the even less travelled North-South Road, even his careful gaze could not meet out a path of providence amongst the washed out and muddied trails left in the wake of the torrential summer storms.
4. Guttering Flames
Target: Fingon Finrod (Look-Out)
Event: Mishap (Success)
Details: As the lights of Tharbad loomed over the misty gloom rising off the slow-moving Greyflood, the group broke for what they hoped would be their last camp of the journey for a while. They all dreamed of beer and roofs and a place to dry themselves off from the never-ending drizzle the weather had offered. Unfortunately, said weather continued, and it took all of Fingon's attention and time to simply keep the fires from guttering out overnight and plunging his company into darkness and cold.
The Adventure
Trouble at the Edge of Town
The company's entrance into Tharbad was first met with resistance. A group of thuggish men atop horses, each wearing heavy, if ill-fitting and incongruous bits of scavenged armour, stopped them in the name of Captain of the Haven Gurnow. Guardsmen they called themselves as they stood between the Company of Four and the sullied, sagging stone walls of Tharbad's North Bank.
River's too deep to ford they reminded the company. Ferries run in the city proper they reminded. And, then hand opened and outstretched, the guard, sneering, simply said, "Tolls to enter mighty Tharbad."
Ida, son of Nar, who had actually seen true cities. True architecture. Well, Ida was having none of it. With a glower and growl and a heft of his axe, the dwarf more shouted than spoke as he demanded his crew be let in post-haste. Clearly flummoxed by the immediate and angry response from a dwarf who wielded easily an axe half again the size of his own body, the guards gave in, mumbling something about apologies, a meeting with Gurnow, and that it'd been some time since they've treated with one of Durin's Folk.
Unto Tharbad Proper
For a time, there was trade
with the wealthy Dwarves of Moria, but they too fell victim to the treacheries
of the Enemy. Kingdom by kingdom, city by city, town by town, the North fell
into darkness. Tharbad faded, too — its population never recovered after the
Great Plague, and much of the city fell into disrepair.
Then, fifty years ago came the
Fell Winter. Those days were bad, indeed — the crops died, and the land froze,
and Wargs came west of the Misty Mountains to hunt. What followed, though, was
worse. In spring, all the snow heaped on the hills and peaks melted, and the
rivers swelled and burst their banks. Well-named was the Greyflood that awful
summer, for the usually-quiet river grew dark and terrible, and floodwaters
poured through the town, washing away hundreds among the surviving inhabitants
of Tharbad. The river in its wrath could not destroy the ancient piers that
supported the bridge, but many arches crumbled, and their mighty stones fell
into the raging currents.
Into this the company enters, a city clinging to the ruins of a despoiled past, but still vibrant in its rugged and rubbled way, a city of two sides, each hugging the turgid waters of the Greyflood, moss-rotted and algae covered stonework sticking out of the sinking ground at angles all askew. Mosquitoes and gnats buzzing, and every so often, a brave soul with wary eyes venturing the mud-slicked stone streets of once-mighty Tharbad.
Library of Tharbad
Taking the advice of Bilbo Baggins the group, after resting at the Bridge Inn, breaks into two groups: one bound for Amelia Kern and the other, Elador and Fingon, for the Library of Tharbad.
The most prominent landmark of
the outer district to the south is certainly the old Library of Tharbad. Built
on two levels and still standing, the library is an architectural marvel, with
high vaulted ceilings allowing for the light of the sun to enter its many
niches, where innumerable rare books and scrolls were stored for protection in
times of war. Long since despoiled of its main riches in gold and lore, the
library is guarded by an old woman, Agna, who cares for the library as best she
can, copying the surviving scrolls by candlelight onto fresh parchment.
Agna, a woman of at least 60
winters, sits in a warm shaft of afternoon sunlight. She carefully,
meticulously scribes a scroll upon fresh parchment.
Here, Elador follows the lead of the impressively sharp Fingon, and the two are able to track through the many parchments and faded books a few mentions of the Stoors who live West of the Misty Mountains, in the great tunnel, in Maur Tulhau.
Amelia Kern's House
While it is more than evident Ida might be more interested in continuing sampling the local ale, he still finds himself bundling after the more exuberant Brandybuck halfling who seems equally excited to meet a person who knows Bilbo Baggins as he is in taking the crumbling skyline of Tharbad. For Ida's part, he can barely stomach the poor stonework on display here...at least the shoddy workmanship that's been used to buttress the mud-sinking city.
The best-maintained house on
the north side of the Greyflood is surely the home of Amelia Kern. And, the
inside is just as well-kept, if not more so. Incense from the Easterlings burns
into coils of savory smelling smoke, posh sofas and chairs are arranged
pleasingly in a sitting room. And the tea she has served is both sweetened with
pure honey as is the glaze on the biscuits.
Aristocratic and impeccably
dressed, Amelia Kern is obviously an individual of wealth and taste. The way
she carries herself in the ongoing discussions with Halford show her to be of
refined wit, as well. It is a bit dizzying to Ida, Son of Nar, that somewhere
in their discussion of fine treasures, the political situation of Tharbad, and
their shared acquaintance of one Bilbo Baggins, a deal had been struck to help
them locate the Stoors for but a small retrieval from a nearby ruined tower.
Though he loses the game of chess they played during their discussion, Halford is buoyed by Kern's willingness to share information. He and Ida listen rapt as she explains the situation regarding what she would like...
Rumour & Lore, II
“There's an old tower on the west side of the South Road about two days south of Tharbad. People say there's still treasure buried there from when the Men of the West used to live there. Plenty of people have tried to find it, but the ground is so damn boggy, digging is difficult. Moreover, they say the tower is haunted and you shouldn't sleep there if you value your dreams.
My reading suggests the Numenoreans built waystations along the road from Arnor to Gondor, each one manned by soldiers and a Lieutenant appointed by the kings. The one south of Tharbad lasted longer than most after the fall of Arnor and the Great Plague, as the Lieutenant bedded in and turned the waystation and surrounding lands into his personal fiefdom. Records at the library in Tharbad still mention a Lord Pelethanor active around 500 years ago. Nobody knows exactly when or why it did fall into ruin, but it could be that there is a Numenorean treasure still buried there. Dunlendings know of the place from their trips up to Tharbad, and they know the rumour of trreasure, but they fear it because of the tale it invokes weird dreams of Men of the West.”
Amelia's primary concern is that they recover the treasure from the waystation. As a finder's fee and the price of uncovering Maur Tulhau, she asks for half the treasure found.
Council at the Red Palace
The Captain’s mansion is a
palace, by the standards of these fallen years, and by the name used by the
inhabitants of Tharbad to refer to it: the Red Palace. It was the seat of
princes and lords of Arnor for many centuries, and that of Captains after the
North Kingdom and its successors failed. The current incarnation of the seat of
power in Tharbad is an imposing three-storey building, built upon the
foundations of the previous palaces in the days of the last kings of Cardolan,
to strengthen their hold on Tharbad.
The stonecunning of its makers
was no match for the works of their ancestors, and the Red Palace is a
crumbling and draughty mansion. Its lowest floor was flooded in 2912 and has
never been properly repaired. Still, in an age when many count themselves lucky
to have a wooden hut to call home, the palace is a magnificent abode,
especially by night when it gleams by the light of a hundred candles. The
life-size statues of Elendil and Isildur that watch over the main entrance were
carved by artists who saw the kings of old with their own eyes.
The exterior walls are
plastered red, and the coating has been slowly crumbling away, revealing the
naked bricks under it in large patches. Inside, the palace’s many halls and
chambers are made lively by paintings and inscriptions, even if several have
been defaced in recent years, especially on the ground floor.
It is here the company are escorted
into a large dining room. 3 long tables filled with assorted city folks in what
might pass for finery share the space on the ground floor, where set upon a
raised dais is a table running perpendicular, the table of the
Captain’s Court.
Over a hearty, if coarse meal, the company engages in diplomacy with the assembled "court." Captain Gurnow, while dressed in finery (though it pales to his wife's) is a messy eater, and his silks have stains and crumbs, crinkles and tears...his bluntess in discussion surrounds the fact that he is uncomfortable letting anyone slide on tolls lest others think they can too. He seems grasping, as if he is reluctant to let go of his stronghold's primary power---passage over the Greyflood.
Through careful negotiation regarding what could be opened up to Tharbad via trade, the group convince the court to wave the tolls so that they might travel unimpeded. Also of note, was a young woman named Gwillith. It was her careful, measured, and sly indications that helped ease the group through negotiations with her Captain.
Conflict at the Abandoned Farm
After a long day's travel south, the group spotted the smoke of a campfire off to the west. Knowing it is only an hour or so further until the waystation, it is a relatively quick choice to investigate further before pressing on into the unknown.
Relying on the stealth of the hobbit, the group ascertains the group is eight strong, men and women of clear southern stock, occupying an abandoned and fire-damaged farmhouse and barn. While they speak in their own tongue as Halford eavesdrops, he is able to make out the name Sabian, as well as the fact the group have some sort of "Northerner contact."
Armed with this information, but still unsure of what it means, the group presents themselves to the Southerners. They are met with open arms, enthusiasm, tea, music and merriment...but our road-weary travelers are wary too. With but a sniff, Fingon detects a poison in the tea. With but an arched eyebrow he conveys the message to the group. And with his many decades of studying, he picks up rythymn of their language quickly and is shocked when they speak of his homeland ... Imaldris.
Squirming under their sudden scrutiny and interest of him, Fingon need not wait long until the South-men, feeling the rising tension and abrasive caution of the company, make their move. Daggers and spears fly free of their sheathes and a great, whirling melee takes up around the roaring bonfire.
And truly, it is the first time the Company is pressed. Still fatigued from long travels and poor hospitality as they were, it would be more than disrespectful to suggest the South-men were not skilled. Sword and spear wove in a dance drawing true blood against Ranger and Elf alike. However, despite wounds, the company recovered, and no man or woman of the south could match Ida's fury, and, in due, time lay to waste all the suspicious folk but one...who lay on the ground, her eyes blazing back up the point of Elador's sword.
Interview with a Dead Woman
Vania, is the captor's name, and she is recalcitrant. Her every response is a sneer, and Halford, the initial interrogator, gets very little from her...but does uncover that she's tried to poison herself. Between the rest of the company they are able to decipher that she has Dunedain blood, and is a member of the southern nation known as Umbar. She speaks of Sibian as an acquaintance but mostly chides the company as protectors of an empty dead land... before they can get more from her, what little poison she did ingest manages to lay her dead.
The group tends to their wounds, buries the dead, and camps for the night.
The Boggy Waystation
The following morning the group sets out for the ancient waystation. They find it. Mostly buried in muck and mire. With a bit of careful planning, good cheer, and the promise of not only treasure but the means to finding the Stoor Hobbits, the group sets to digging. But the work is arduous. Difficult. The mud slides back into the hole over and over and over again. The group ends the night frustrated and fatigued and only a bit closer to what treasures may lie underneath...
However, the group resolves to try again the following morning. Dedicated and diligent digging combined with a better buttressing of the hole...and a song or two from Halford, leads the group to uncover a small chamber in the keep...knowing it is unsafe to delve beneath sodden land to deeply, they excavate what they can: a sizeable gathering of coins and art, not the least of which is a necklace Fingon identifies as the indicator of station here...the Chain of Pelenthor.
Return to Tharbad
Weary, muddy, but now laden with some reward, the company trudges back to Tharbad to complete their end of the deal. Amelia is delighted to see them, and after splitting the rewards of the Waystation, she carefully indicates on Ida's map the vicinity of Muar Tulhau. She says this translates roughly to "Hidden Hole."
The company maps out the trip but realizes with their current bruises, scratches, and general weariness...such a trip might be problematic. Instead, they seek council again with Captain of the Haven, Gurnow and his wife, Lady Stock. Here they beseech the Captain that they would be better equipped to deliver the promised trade goods if they were to only have some safe, honest rest beforehand.
Captain Gurnow, however, is less than amenable to this situation early on. But, the presentation of the Chain of Pelenthor to Lady Stock and a brief history lesson on its importance to the fallen Kingdom of Arnor and the still resplendent Gondor, turn the tide of the conversation.
The company rests for four solid days. During which time Elador grows close with the scout, Gwillith, and learns that she represents the same group she does, The Rangers. Meanwhile, Ida prepares wholly for the trip and learns that the fens between here and Muar Tulhau are troubled not only by bogs but by hill-men known as the Dunlendings.
Summer 2965 of the Third Age
Left from Tharbad the 28th of June / Arrived in Muar Tulhau the 9th of July.
Travel lasted roughly 11 days due
Scout - Halford w/ Jesup (pony) accrued 0 fatigue
Look-Out: Fingon w/ Magic (decent horse) accrued 0 fatigue
Hunter: Elador w/ Nick (old horse) accrued 0 fatigue
Guide: Ida w/Boy (sturdy pony) accrued 0 fatigue
1. Just a Little Nap...?
Target: Fingon Finrod (Look-Out)
Event: Ill-Choice (Success)
Details: Blame the warm weather, the lull in danger, the sparkling twilight of the night stars that led Fingon to remember Ilmaldris...Rivendell...Home. It would be so easy to just close his eyes and think of home...and maybe he did, but only for a moment! And, when he awoke, everything was still all fine. Chagrined, the elf resisted further reverie. He returned to his duties, watching after the company, and kept a safe eye for another evening still.
2. The Fruit of Trees
Target: All
Event: Noteworthy Encounter
Details: They heard it first. The sounds of fighting. Shouting. A struggle. But, when they crested the low ditch beside the road and looked out into the fens proper, they could barely believe their eyes. Nearly 10 hill-men, stone axes and thick fur armor, had lashed rope about a large black oak tree...a giant amongst the swamp-stilted saplings...but the tree itself seemed to be fending off the would-be Dunlending lumberjacks.
Fingon quickly spouted the tale of the Huorns...a twisted cousin, often of fell-intent, of the Ents. With little more time to be made up, Ida, son of Nar, bellowed to the Dunlendings in their pitched battle to surrender the tree...as another of their ilk went flying under the beasts murderous branches, they needed little more cajoling...the tree uprooted and rumbled east towards the vaguely visible Misty Mountains.
Left now with the party of Dunlendings, led by the cartoonish outspoken Veef, the company carefully broached diplomacy. And although hands gripped weapons throughout the proceedings, cooler heads won the day (at least they did once the Hill-Men were convinced the group wasn't in league with Rohan).
They spoke of a magical orchard whose fruit could only be reached by bypassing a snake infested set of waters. Begrudgingly, the Hill-Men led the company there. And, together, they engineered, at Ida's direction, a mat of reeds sturdy enough to cross the water's surface. The apples, peaches, and pears within the island (and the ruins indicating architecture belong to Men of the West), were hearty and juicy. Both the company and the Dunlendings parted with belly's full and fruit to spare...and, perhaps, a mutual understanding were they to cross paths again.
At Last Muar Tulhau
The road wound on through summer glen and towards the ominous Misty Mountains, a sight unlike any the group had seen before, for four more days. The air was warm and humid.
Gnats and midges buzzed about, and each foot step sank a quarter inch into wet
ground. As the Misty Mountains loom imperiously in the east, the ground itself
seemed to sink lower. Verdant and green, but wild. Untamed. Brambles and bush.
Mud and reed. Not a swamp, but an unending moor of low grass and swaying
cattails with only scattered trees amongst the mountains foothills to offer any
break from the sun. Eventually, however, the foothills were near. Into the light birch and poplar forest of the mountain foothills, closer and closer to the spot indicated on Ida's maps.
Despite the documentation, it took nearly a full day for the group...Halford in particular...to stumble upon a cavern entrance guarded by two slightly-larger-than-normal hobbits.
Introducing himself got the attention of the Hobbits who instead of immediately wary were immediately delighted that a Hobbit of the Shire had made such a journey! However, upon the retrieval of their mayor, Iolo Spamfast, earnest and more cautious negotiations began. The Stoors it seemed valued their hiding holes and safety from the world at large, and, at least under Iolo's leadership, they were loathe to engage with the more dangerous outside world...
And while efforts to awe the Stoors were met with little success, negotiatons eventually began and through Elador's enheartening words of community with greater Eriador and Halford's knowledge of what truly drives a Hobbit, Stoor or Shire, an accord was met. Trade would be open.
Through the cavern into a beautiful vale between the hill and Misty Mountains sat Muar Tulhau. And here great hospitality and comfort was shown the company, and none partook more joyously than Halford Brandybuck.
Summer In Bree
After the Summer Smoke Ring Festival (during which Halford placed in the top 10!), the group settled into a very nice vacation of sort. Going out on local journeys, helping the townsfolk of Staddle, learning a number of Hobbit songs and games, over the course of the month they had, they grew closer than before. Moreover, Halford and Fingon were able to help Elador learn more about Ayo, the fine sword of his family...tracing its roots to Arthedain.
[Strengthen Fellowship, Study Magical Items]
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