Book 6: Act 2 - Men-I-Naurgrim

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...

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Searching the Mill Fort

Post by Vardaen » Thu Oct 05, 2017 3:43 pm

There isn't much to do but wait for Rathar to recover now. Tom tends to him, keeping his fever down as he mutters about walking trees with eight legs. He make sure he gets some water, and is comfortable. Borir and Nalir remain outside for a long while at Brok's grave. Nalir complains pretty much the whole time about everything, but he has some nice words about Brok that he shares with Borir when the others aren't around.

Bofri tries to be cheery, encouraging the search, and he picks around the lower level himself as well, but the weight of the expedition and the trouble its caused, the death and Rathar's condition has taken much of the wind out of his sails.

Varuthil and Finn then set to searching the mill fort. Down stairs is a disaster, rotting pieces of old furniture, patches of mushrooms, crumbling stonework, and more than enough cob webs here and there from lesser spiders that live about. They find nothing, just like Rathar had said. Yet, there is a second floor, and the two warily head up stairs leaving Bofri to keep searching below. The two upstairs find the second floor worse than the first, parts of the ceiling are broken open having allowed years worth of rain to ruin anything that was once up here. Nothing, there is nothing of interest the pair can locate up on the second floor either. This whole thing, Brok's death, Rathar's near death, was it all for nothing?
Search (not Explore)
I'm not telling you what the dice were.

First Floor
Finn - Failure to Find Anything
Var - Failure to Find Anything
Bofri - Failure to Find Anything

Second Floor
Finn - Failure to Find Anything
Var - Failure to Find Anything
"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

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Searching the Mill Fort

Post by Muskrat » Fri Oct 06, 2017 12:11 am

Varuthil looks around grimly, then turns to Finn and says, "From the cobwebs, it looks like Hauler was not the only giant spider to nest here. Maybe we could set boobytraps for them before we leave." She takes another look around and says, "I suppose there's a danger that innocent travelers could be caught in them, but I think there will be few enough of those."

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Searching the Mill Fort

Post by Shurijo » Fri Oct 06, 2017 12:33 pm

Borir nods in agreement with Varuthil. "Aye," he says. He's just not sure what type of traps could be set, but doing anything is better than doing nothing in his viewpoint.

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Searching the Mill Fort

Post by Blubbo_Baggins » Fri Oct 06, 2017 3:43 pm

Finn raises his eyebrows at the suggestion of creating traps in the fort. "I'm not sure what we have on hand that would create an effective trap. And as you said, the road is the one place where free folk might come, though unlikely, and other travelers are likely to use the fort as a stop in the road. No, I am loathe to such an idea - we have little way to do it and it would take much effort to know if it worked as desired."

He pauses, then turns to Bofri, "What do you know of the Dwarves' way stations? How did they keep them supplied? They must have also kept records. This small ruin does not seem big enough for all of that. Where is the storehouse, and where were the records kept?"

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Searching the Mill Fort

Post by Vardaen » Fri Oct 06, 2017 4:03 pm

Bofri wonders, "This would have been the main building, the road warden and garrison would live here. Up stairs should be any of the records and such. Any other buildings are likely long destroyed now or rotted away." He knocks down the cobwebs in the building, "These are normal spiders, nothing of any real size would have lived among Tauler's territory, a beast that big would not have permitted it." He looks up the stairs, he himself and a few others have yet to search those chambers.
Sorry if I gave the wrong impression. THe webs are just normal spider webs from normal little spiders
"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

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Searching the Mill Fort

Post by Blubbo_Baggins » Fri Oct 06, 2017 4:44 pm

"Perhaps others should look around," says Finn. "Though it has long been abandoned, I would have expected more of the Dwarves' work to have survived. I'll tend to camp." He turns to work with Tom at making sure the meal is prepared and that all is ready for the night.

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Searching the Mill Fort

Post by Muskrat » Fri Oct 06, 2017 7:46 pm

Varuthil says, "Well, let's go back upstairs and check for any records. We may find them now that we have something more specific to look for." She looks around a bit and says, "And I can ask the stones of this place what they might have to say, what they can tell me of the time since the free folk left this place."

She goes to the wall and sings softly in Quenya to it, then seemingly pauses and listens, before moving onto another patch of wall.
The Speakers: Riddle seems like the most appropriate skill here.

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Searching the Mill Fort

Post by Shurijo » Tue Oct 10, 2017 12:22 am

Borir suggests, "We can make a sign a ways back from here, saying of the creature that lived there and which will most likely return once we have left the tower."

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The Stonecunning of Borir

Post by Vardaen » Wed Oct 11, 2017 2:32 pm

Bofri and Nalir head up stairs with Varuthil again, the trio are looking for logs or paperwork. There is a small pile of papers, mostly rotted, but it could hold some key information. However Nalir, grumbling, grabs at it, and the whole pile just turns into a wet mess of good totally being ruined. Bofri then gets into an argument with Nalir and the two end up shouting at each other for a while. Tensions are high with the death of Brok, Rathar's condition, and the apparent pointless reason to have come here in the first place. Nalir is berating Bofri and demanding they return home.

Varuthil is trying to sense the stone, she has her hands on the wall, but it seems the spirits of the stone fled or were silenced some time ago. Its difficult to guess at, but it seems likely that having such a beast as Tauler here was too corrupting of an influence and the stone has died or been silenced from its evil presence.

During this time Borir comes in out of the forest and talks about leaving a sign to warn others. The argument starts and he clumps up the stairs with a sign. The second floor of the Mill Fort is in shambles, but he gives it a look over. Everyone seems focused on the debris and furniture, so he turns his attention to the walls and stonework itself. He notices a loose stone, tugs on it and pulls down a small patch of the very wall itself. There inside the niche is a long slender chest alongside several crumbling leather bound ledges, and a small casket.
So I'm allowing each PC 1 Search down stairs, and 1 upstairs and that's it.

Previously Searched:

First Floor
Finn - Failure to Find Anything
Var - Failure to Find Anything
Rathar - Failure to Find Anything
Bofri - Failure to Find Anything

Second Floor
Finn - Failure to Find Anything
Var - Failure to Find Anything
Rathar - Failure to Find Anything


New Search

(1st then 2nd Floor)

Borir 2nd Floor - Rolled:
Feat Die: 9*
Success Die: 5,5,2
Totaling: 21 - Success

Bofri 2nd Floor - Failure to Find Anything
Nalir 1st Floor - Failure to Find Anything, 2nd Floor - Failure to Find Anything (Sauron)

Holy hell out of a million search checks only Borir succeeded or even came close.
"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

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The Stonecunning of Borir

Post by Muskrat » Wed Oct 11, 2017 10:53 pm

Varuthil steps away from the walls and says, "This place is ... dead, if stones can be dead. It is not even that they will not speak to me, it is that they cannot speak. The Shadow lies heavily upon this place."

When she sees Borir discover the secret hiding place, she comes up to him and says, "Good job. Perhaps we will learn something of interest after all."

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