Fellowship of the Dice

"Bradan has been an excellent guide sir! You and your people have been most hospitable."

Telurin followed Aerondil's example, lifting his hood to remain a bit more inconspicuous. He begin pulling the supplies to shore nearer to their camp so they would be easy to watch, and followed the others to sit around the fire.

Aravule, "That is my hope as well." Aravule is suspicious that this has went so well so quickly. Could he really be that lucky? Either way, the heir walks forward and follows the Dunlending into the building.

"Aye," says Halleth, "Bradan was most helpful. He is a fine lad and will doubtless become a better man." He is somewhat relieved to see Aravule genuinely trying to negotiate and not just demand the prison as rightfully his. Halleth had been beginning to worry about how clearly the lad was thinking and whether or not the death of his father and brothers had darkened his spirit more than they had initially thought

Fearghas motions for Aravule to follow, and so you move back into the Dunlending camp (some of you). Others remain unloading the rafts, and find there is a great deal here, mining equipment, food stuffs, a few ale casks, camping supplies, weapons, but among all of it you don't seem to locate any maps or logs about the colony in question.

Aravule and Halleth join the Dunlendings, "I am happy to know Bradan did you a good service. Sit! Eat." He plops down around one of the fires on a log stool and motions at his men to cut some meat off a roasting deer they have on a spit over the fire. The smell is good, and it makes your stomachs rumble. "We eat, then we talk trade." So for an hour you sit and eat and drink and just make small talk. Then Fearghas, picking his teeth with a small bone, smiles, "Now, we trade. You want old prison building. We can give you it, but what have you to give to Raven Tribe?"

Halleth enjoys the meal. The Dunlending's cooking may be crude, but he's had far worse wandering the wilderness of Eriador. Halleth says, "Well, we have the goods we took back from Nalir--goods he bought with money stolen from us, so it's rightfully ours to trade. How's that for a start?"

Aravule nods as Halleth suggests the goods. It was the first step of negotiations. Having Halleth begin them seemed correct as well, as his further offer is more grandiose and may be difficult to understand from the Dunlendings at first. He hopes that the Dunlendings will take the goods as a good faith beginning to their friendship.

Hartley looks at the leader of the Dunlandings. "Would you care for a bowl of Shire pipe-weed to relax a bit after this fine meal? I often find that the best negotiating takes place enshrouded in a cloud of fragrant pipe smoke?" He offers the leader a pipe and begins filling one for himself. "I always carry an extra pipe, I like to be prepared."

The leader of the Dunlending looks at Hartley, "Pipe weed?" The man doesn't smoke, nor is it a common act among these parts. "You drink in fire and smoke? You Halflings are a strange bunch? Perhaps this is why you are so short." He repeats his joke in the language of his clansmen and they all laugh at Hartley's expense.

Turning from the Hobbit to the Ranger Fearghas nods, "You have Stumpy good? What of weapons and armor? Things of iron and steel?"

"For the most part, I believe the dwarfs have traveling supplies and assorted goods, but there are a few weapons among the goods," Aravule says, wondering how he can change the mindset of this Dunlending warlord. "Perhaps if you help us, and we become friends, you will not need so many weapons. This place is ripe with places to fish, and outside the walls I am sure there is land fit for agriculture."