Book 5: Act 1 - The Borders of the Forest

It is the year 2946 of the Third Age, and the lands east of the Misty Mountains are astir. From the cloud-shrouded peaks above the High Pass to the spider-infested gloom of the forest of Mirkwood, paths long-deserted are trodden once again. Busy merchants carry their wares to new markets, messengers bring tidings from foreign realms, and kings send forth armed men to extend their influence and the rule of law. Some say that a new age of freedom has begun, a time for adventure and great deeds to reclaim glories lost in long centuries of oppression and decline.

But adventures are not really things that people go out and look for. They are dangerous and rarely end well. While it is true that a handful of valiant individuals set out to make their mark on the world, for others it seems that adventure chooses them, as though it is the path they are fated to tread. They are restless warriors, curious scholars and wanderers, always eager to seek what was lost or explore what was forgotten. Ordinary people call them adventurers, and when they return successful, they call them heroes. But if they fail, no one will even remember their names...

Run by the Loremaster Vardaen
Locked
User avatar
Shurijo
Admin
Admin
Posts: 13979
Title: Scourge of the Jedi
User Class: Sith Lord

Book 5: Act 1 - The Borders of the Forest

Post by Shurijo » Fri Jan 08, 2016 5:51 pm

Borir nods and takes the orc spear and and finds another branch to use to make a makeshift litter to drag the corpse back to the inn. "Aye," the dwarf nods. "Looks like they made fast straight to the Mirkwood. Those men just happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time."

User avatar
Vardaen
Admin
Admin
Posts: 66394
Location: Miskatonic University
Title: Great Old One
User Class: Unshackled AI

Book 5: Act 1 - The Borders of the Forest

Post by Vardaen » Fri Jan 08, 2016 6:35 pm

Pipkin is standing at the edge of the forest. "I wonder where the rest of the caravan is the men said they had. We are still a bit from the Forest Gate. Perhaps they chased this man here, then turned around to return to whatever is left of their caravan." Pipkin doesn't help with the body, he's not that big after all, but agrees a burial is in order.
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring

User avatar
Vardaen
Admin
Admin
Posts: 66394
Location: Miskatonic University
Title: Great Old One
User Class: Unshackled AI

Book 5: Act 1 - The Borders of the Forest

Post by Vardaen » Mon Jan 11, 2016 3:32 pm

As the litter is being made Aerth's senses pick up movement within the forest. Someone or something is watching the group from just a few yards inside the edge of the dark forest.

Borir is putting the dead man on the litter, so he doesn't notice the slight rustle in the leaves, the crunching noise on the dead blanket of undergrowth inside the forest.

Pipkin is scanning for the caravan and looks over at Aerth having heard something inside there as well.
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring

User avatar
Trogdor
Emeritus Admin
Emeritus Admin
Posts: 27260
Title: The Burninator
User Class: Jedi Master

Book 5: Act 1 - The Borders of the Forest

Post by Trogdor » Mon Jan 11, 2016 6:03 pm

Pipkin nods to Aerth and then to the part of the forest he heard the noise from. Then he whistles briefly to catch Borir's attention and nods toward the forest again. Just in case this might be the orc who killed this poor man, he readies his bow.

User avatar
Shurijo
Admin
Admin
Posts: 13979
Title: Scourge of the Jedi
User Class: Sith Lord

Book 5: Act 1 - The Borders of the Forest

Post by Shurijo » Tue Jan 12, 2016 12:23 am

Borir straightens himself after putting the corpse on the litter and turns to look at Pipkin and Aerth. "Well, let's get goin'. Give me a hand with this. I ain't hefting this man all the way back by myself."

The dwarf then clears his throat and restates, "I mean, I mean I could carry him all the way back, but I wouldn't want to show off or make the tall folk scared of me."

User avatar
shipwreck
Level 5
Level 5
Posts: 301
Location: Atlantis
User Class: Wanderer

Book 5: Act 1 - The Borders of the Forest

Post by shipwreck » Tue Jan 12, 2016 12:26 am

He had been tracking the orcs for days. Their biting, hacking path was picked up with ease further south and he followed it from a safe distance. The stink of their black blood and filth remains in his nostrils.

The orcs made fast work of those they caught, but they did not see the Wood-goer. Did not see, or ignored, he really wasn't quite sure which. He believed himself to be at home in the woods, able to sneak and cover his tracks as well as any of his kinfolk, but the fair folk were the masters of the wood.

No, he thought as he heard the whisper of their passing, they've just got bigger game to catch.

Today, catching up to the site of the battle, he sees the company and knows them as the heroes of the battle at Woodland Hall. If he felt any fear or wariness he did not show it. Not caring to cover his tracks, he makes his presence known with crunching leaves and shaking branches. The Wood-goer steps out of the eaves of the forest, ax in hand. He stands still, eyeing the company with a pleasant look upon his face.

User avatar
TetNak
Emeritus Admin
Emeritus Admin
Posts: 46375
Location: Seagard
User Class: Brewmaster

Book 5: Act 1 - The Borders of the Forest

Post by TetNak » Tue Jan 12, 2016 1:16 am

"Someone is watching us," Aerth states flatly. He doubts that it could be an orc, they never walk quietly, and they rarely use stealth. There were only three of them, orc likely had numbers. And with numbers they would charge head long into battle with a zeal and lust for death. The man grabs his shephard's bow and wheels about, scanning the forest's edge. "Look alert," he says to the others. Aerth kneels, hoping to keep himself a small target in case whomever is out there has some sort of projectile. When a man pops out of the woods, Aerth yells out, "Who are you? Is this a friend of yours?" He reasoned he must have been apart of the caravan.
"Kings have no friends, only subjects and enemies."

- King Stannis Baratheon, First of His Name

User avatar
Shurijo
Admin
Admin
Posts: 13979
Title: Scourge of the Jedi
User Class: Sith Lord

Book 5: Act 1 - The Borders of the Forest

Post by Shurijo » Tue Jan 12, 2016 1:56 pm

Borir sits the litter back on the ground. The dwarf is clearly not threatened by the man wielding an axe, so he let's Aerth continue questioning the newcomer as he crosses his arms across his chest and waits.

User avatar
shipwreck
Level 5
Level 5
Posts: 301
Location: Atlantis
User Class: Wanderer

Book 5: Act 1 - The Borders of the Forest

Post by shipwreck » Wed Jan 13, 2016 12:34 am

The Wood-goer smiles and opens his mouth to speak but catches himself. He approaches the man slowly, ax still in hand. When he realizes how he could perhaps look threatening he breathes a laugh and slides the ax into its place along his back. His steps slow when he is in within speaking, rather than shouting distance.

'Hail!' he says and smiles. The smile vanishes rather swiftly. 'And no, I do not know the poor fellow. I was coming northwards when I caught the scent of orcs. Slipping into the wood yonder,' he tosses his head back in gesture, 'I followed them from a safe distance. This fellow must have been part of the caravan.'

User avatar
Trogdor
Emeritus Admin
Emeritus Admin
Posts: 27260
Title: The Burninator
User Class: Jedi Master

Book 5: Act 1 - The Borders of the Forest

Post by Trogdor » Wed Jan 13, 2016 4:30 pm

"Hello," the hobbit pipes in. "I'm Pipkin. What's your name?" He gives the man a pause to answer then adds, "have you seen any orcs, or just sign of their passage?"

Locked