TOR2: T'was the Eve of Midsummer

[Jon]

OOC

I was thinking, if Gilraen wants to talk to Targon, she has plenty of time do so before Periwinkle arrives. It takes a while before Peri walks up to him/them.

[ManWithDoor]

Targon is happy to attach himself to Periwinkle again, as she can both fill in any quiet moment, and likely has a deeper connection with the community and thus can learn about any interesting goings-on. ""With your energy and drive, Miss Periwinkle, I have no doubt you could accomplish anything you put your mind to. I look forward to you giving Mister Bilbo a run for his money, win or lose."

OOC

Not trained in any of those. The lowest TN is for Strength, so went with Song (untrained): 4, Failure.

[Wbweather]

As Hugh waits for the smoking competition to begin, he goes tells Vidal that he is going to go talk with some locals he knows to see if he can stir up interest in trade with the dwarf. He makes his way toward his brother-in-laws shop. Their family has had run a general goods store for as long as anyone in Bree can remember. He is fairly certain that he can negotiate a deal between the two parties. After ten minutes, he arranges a meeting between his brother-in-law and Vidar, assuming the dwarf is willing to meet. He heads back out to find his new employer and stops in to gather any news he can from the local merchants. The village is of course excited about the festival. He makes several subtle inquiries about any news that the locals might have gathered in the last few days.

OOC

Not sure how to roll. I used the Roll 20 website but don’t know how to import my results, so I will just post them for now

Roll

Riddle 2, TN 15, favored. Feet die:4 Sucdess dice: 6,6 total:12 extraordinary success

[silverfoxdmt73]

Fargrim

The dwarf heads over to the stall showing the sign of a pipe blowing a large smoke ring, carved from a single piece of silvery wood. Sat on a rocking chair is a distinguished looking hobbit who greets Fargrim with a smile and a handshake, introducing himself as Simeon Brandywine. He directs Fargim to the ledger on the stall and a with a flourish, produces a quill and ink for the dwarf to add his and Hugh’s names to the list of entrants. At the top of the list is Adelard Took, last year’s champion along with a couple of other names unknown to Fargrim.

After several failed attempts at striking up conversation with the locals, Fargrim seeks out the others.

Hugh and Vidar

Hugh heads to some of the traders he is familiar with from Bree, Vidar at his side who tries to sound out some of the Breeland merchants. Other than the common local produce however, nothing stands out to the dwarf as being of particular worth. Hugh having spoken to his brother-in-law, Larry Oakenstall from Chetwood who has a small stall on the Green agrees to meet with Vidar after the competition is over.

Larry also tells Hugh that he overheard some farmers from Coombe, complaining about the loss of some livestock over the last few weeks. Though the locals are tight lipped and unwilling to go to the local wardens, they have mentioned that their animals have turned up mutilated on the hillside, missing chunks of their corpses.


Periwinkle and Targon

After heading over to add her name to the list for the competition, Periwinkle finds Adelard Took with a couple of his cousins and friends. The reigning champion greets young Periwinkle with a smile and a flamboyant doffing of his hat.

“Ah, Periwnkle, the young messenger from the Shire.” He says, smiling jovially. “Are you thinking of entering the contest today? That is wonderful, the more the merrier!”

With Targon standing behind, towering over Periwinkle the older hobbit looks up, slightly perturbed by the presence of the dour looking northman. “And, who is your ah, companion young lady?”


Ragnarr

Signing up for the smoke ring competition Ragnar sees that as well as a number of his companions, Adelard Took and others, Bilbo Baggins himself now has his name on the list. While Ragnarr visits many of the stalls, none of them have the appeal of his wife’s produce, nor do they yield any gossip outside of the usual farmers complaining of ewe’s being late, crops not growing quickly enough, fences needing repairing and the normal gossip for the time of year.

While he is walking around the Green, a hobbit of young to middle age sidles up to him and introduces himself as Ebeneezer, shaking the Barding’s hand and asking if he was participating in the Smoke Ring Festival later that day?

[Muskrat]

Hugh heads to some of the traders he is familiar with from Bree, Vidar at his side who tries to sound out some of the Breeland merchants. Other than the common local produce however, nothing stands out to the dwarf as being of particular worth. Hugh having spoken to his brother-in-law, Larry Oakenstall from Chetwood who has a small stall on the Green agrees to meet with Vidar after the competition is over.

Vidar agrees to meet with Larry after the smoke-ring competition, then settles in to watch the competition itself.

[Bohemond]

Ragnarr shakes the hand of the young Hobbit. "A pleasure to meet to you, Master Ebenezer. I am Ragnarr, son of Gautarr. My wife, Ulfhild, is selling breads and sweets at the booth with the long table and blue awning. She's a fine cook, and you'd be hard pressed to find a better use of coin than a chance to partake in any of her baking masterpieces. But to answer your question, I am competing, though I dare say I'm no expert. What of you, Master Ebeneezer? Will you be putting on a display of the gentlemanly art?"

[silverfoxdmt73]

Ragnarr shakes the hand of the young Hobbit. "A pleasure to meet to you, Master Ebenezer. I am Ragnarr, son of Gautarr. My wife, Ulfhild, is selling breads and sweets at the booth with the long table and blue awning. She's a fine cook, and you'd be hard pressed to find a better use of coin than a chance to partake in any of her baking masterpieces. But to answer your question, I am competing, though I dare say I'm no expert. What of you, Master Ebeneezer? Will you be putting on a display of the gentlemanly art?"

"Oh, sadly I'm no artist when it comes to the pipe. However," The hobbit says with some enthusiasm. ".. I can offer the discerning gentleman something to help in this competition." Ebeneezer reaches into a pocket in his waistcoat and looks around as if to ensure nobody else is watching, before producing a small cloth bag which he opens slightly, revealing some light brown pipeweed.

"This my friend Ragnarr, is Northern Lights, a wonderfully flavourful weed. More to the point, it makes the most wonderful smoke rings, the likes these Bree-folk have never seen before. If you are interested, I can offer you a sample to use in the competition and if you like the results, I can sell you some for a very modest price." The hobbit looks up to Ragnarr expectantly.

[ManWithDoor]

"Targon, Ranger of the North." He nods seriously at the older, flamboyant hobbit. "Traveling through and watching the roads, as our kind is wont to do."

[Wbweather]

Hugh follows his new employer to the smoke ring competition. "I'm certain Larry will be more than happy to sell wares from Erebor and Dale. Not much of that available in these parts. It would give him a heads up against the competition. But what do you think of these mutilated animals? Doesn't seem Much like the work of wolves or even bears. Not to leave the bodies after taking a big old bite out of them. Rather wasteful if you ask me and wolves and bears aren't wasteful. No, if you ask me, it seems a bit more serious. You think it might be a troll? Or even a (help us all if it is) a DRAGON? Folks around here are likely to be telling such tales before long. What do you think? Have you ever seen such a sight Mr. Vidar?"

[Jon]

After heading over to add her name to the list for the competition, Periwinkle finds Adelard Took with a couple of his cousins and friends. The reigning champion greets young Periwinkle with a smile and a flamboyant doffing of his hat.

“Ah, Periwnkle, the young messenger from the Shire.” He says, smiling jovially. “Are you thinking of entering the contest today? That is wonderful, the more the merrier!”

With Targon standing behind, towering over Periwinkle the older hobbit looks up, slightly perturbed by the presence of the dour looking northman. “And, who is your ah, companion young lady?”

”Mister Adelard”, Periwinkle says with a grin as she swoops down her hat in an excessively ostentatious gesture. “I’m delighted to note you’ve found your manners. I am indeed joining the contest, contrary to your earlier suggestion. May I inquiry, why the change of attitude? Has it to do with my good friend Mister Targon’s presence, perchance?”
She looks up at Targon, and her smile widens.
“Anyhow, I wish you the best fortune in the competition, Adelard. I’ll be seeing you around.”
Periwinkle turns to the ranger.
“Targon, I want to say good luck to Mister Ragnarr before the tournament starts. Can you spot him anywhere with your towering height and eagle eyes? From down here I only see a dense forest of legs and skirts, none of them Ragnarr's.”

OOC

I licentiously made up that Adelard had snubbed Periwinkle earlier in the prancing pony (se my previous post) and I continue to play that. I hope it's alright.