A12 – “They’ve Got a Troll!”

[Darrick/Brackrog was absent]

Rowlie puts on his best scowl face as Rambler splashes water on the unconscious orc prisoner. In orcish he interrogates, “How many scouting parties have already crossed the River Running? Where did you cross? What are your plans?” Overconfident and the least bit intimidated, the orc replies, “We’re here to destroy and burn for the main army but 2 days south. Bow now and I’ll offer kind words in your behalf to our leader, the Gibbet. He may be caged in a rolling wagon but his powers reach beyond his cell. He can animate the dead or possess other bodies. Tremble before him for he is…” The sentence cut short as the Breeman’s blade slices his throat. “Blah, blah, blah. He’s bad, he’s evil. Like we haven’t seen that already.” We search the orc bodies finding poison tipped arrows and blades. Not surprising. We press on south.

A11 – It’s All Fun and Games Till Someone Gets Hurt

After traveling to Lorien to report on Dwimmerhorn and the shadowy figure, some of us parted ways for a long awaited fellowship. Rowlie stayed, enthralled by the sweet elvish music. Galanon stayed for rest to purge his Shadow Points under care of fellow elves. Brackrog traveled to Rosgobel seeking his own means of purging his Shadow: by drowning it away with ale…LOTS OF ALE. Meanwhile Rambler traveled east to the Woodland Hall while Ladee traveled west to his Shire. Thus it was early October when the group rejoined at Galanon’s home in Lorien. The hobbit Ladee reporting first, “The goblins are more active having closed the High Pass; for now the Middle Pass near Mountain Hall is still open. And since it was so close, I stopped in to checkup on the families we’d rescued and escorted there. Except the gate guards turned me away; curiosity to thus sneak in. Where I learned the traitor Magric is now advisor to lord Hartfast and preaching isolationism. The peoples happy because the goblin threat has melted away; and their pockets getting lined by gold as they now mine for treasure and iron-ore they smith into weapons.”

Brackrog’s hand clamped down on Rowlie’s shoulder as the Breeman seethed, wanting to kill Magric. “We have more important business. Radaghast suggests we travel to Dale for the 10^th anniversary of the ‘Battle-of-the-Five-Armies.’ He tasks us as emissaries representing our own races. Rambler scowls, “He wants us to party instead of kill a traitor?!” Disorder and division till the dwarf finds the words to restore focus, “The wizard foretells dire events north. There is reason for us to go as we have seen the most over these last years.”

A10 - The Orcs at Dwimmerhorn

[Bill/Ladee was unable to attend]
The shackled man sat in the bog-reeds shaking in fear, not sure if he’d been rescued, or just jumped from the frying pan into the fire. He relaxed as Rambler removed his shackles, then introduced himself as Valar. He’d been lured here by Maggrith and taken into slavery by Orcs in the old fort called Dwimmerhorn. Rowlie decided it would be a very short conversation with Maggrith should their paths ever cross.

Valar narrated the tale of his escape, and the luck of finding a goat path on the back side of the old fort. “There are about a hundred of us slaving away mining ore for those damn brutes. Working near starvation and death. I’d rather get the hell away from here. But yeah, if staying with you improves my survival chances in this fog and bug infested swamp, I’ll lead you to the fort but no further.”