Book 2: Chapter 1 - The Hills of Dunland

[TetNak]

"To Tunum then," Aravule nods, "Many thanks." He steps back and nods to the others, "To the fort. We could use a night's rest on a bed, or at least hay, something." Unlike Halleth, Aravule had not traveled the wild exclusively. He was not unused to it, of course, he was a ranger after all. But still, he did not long for it like some others had grown to. Aravule lowers his voice as he approches Telurin, "We can start making friends, but let's not flaunt our wealth."

[Boronind]

Bláin observes the interaction between Aravule and the Dunlending folk and chuckles quietly at their response about the "pretty words" for he too would be guilty of such speech if he had been the one to open his mouth first. As they depart for the town gate, he bows deeply to them, winking as if to acknowledge their good humour.

[Blubbo_Baggins]

Telurin smiles. "Have no worry of that friend. Though they shall see our ponies loaded up, no matter what we do."

The Elf follows the others to approach Chief Nertun. Along the way he searches through one of the ponies' packs and finds a small brass candle holder with four candles in it.

"I have a gift for the Chief, if it seems appropriate when the time comes. He will be used to torchlight to see at night, and such a small source of light could be intriguing to him. If its use becomes popular, these folk might even grow accustomed to it and desire to trade for candles...so it's not exactly a gift without strings attached."

[Wbweather]

Hartley walks through the town wide-eyed taking in the sights. He speaks little for the moment other than to bow deeply with phrase of greeting in their own tongue, a useful tidbit of information he had learned from Bradan. He tries to ignore the stares of the townsfolk who have never seen a hobbit apparently. "it doesn't appear to be a bad little town." he says to his companions. "I wonder what sort of foods they eat here."

[TetNak]

"If memory serves, you won't like it," Aravule says to Hartley while nodding to the elf. "We will present a gift to the local chieftain, hopefully it will pay off in the end." Looking back to the hobbit, the ranger quips, "These people are not skilled farmers, so I wouldn't expect much. Also, I would expect them to grow irritated if you try to eat sixteen meals while we're here." Aravule flashes a smile as he turns, "Well, let's be at it."

[Muskrat]

Halleth, "Yes, a proper gift for their chief should get us off on the right foot." He follows the others into the fort, looking around warily as he did so, taking in as much as he could of the strange people's town. While Aravule may have been to Dunland before, Halleth had not. This had not been settled by the Dunedain's ancestors and part of the old kingdom of Arnor, therefore he had little reason to seek Numenorian artifacts here.

[Vardaen]

The fellowship head down the road to the simple yet stout wooden gate that holds the only opening in the rock wall. The gate is open now, and some traffic of Dunlendings moves in and out. You head into the gate and a pair of warriors stationed there take notice, and one runs off.

Inside the stone ring wall are a dozen or more simple wooden buildings. Unlike the Dunlendings of the Fells those here in Tunum are settled. Signs of dwarven influence are all about, and these people live a 'city life' such as it is in Dunland. From the guess of it there are about a hundred folks that might call Tunum home, that includes the old, the very young and those who farm on the outskirts. Most of the buildings are simple thatched roof affairs, but there are two somewhat larger ones near the center of the town, each one looking at the other across a open courtyard were a single stone stand. The stone is carved with various geometric patterns and shows great weathering on it.

Folks in the village take obvious notice of you and the beasts of burden you have. People stare at Hartley and Blain. Vara and Balwain both stop at the gate, and put hands on the stone of the wall. "This is our work, its not that old, and is rough quick work but its strong. Strong enough for this land." The coming of so many dwarves into Tunum starts to draw eyes from all sections of the village.

The Stone

[Blubbo_Baggins]

Gift in hand, wrapped in a cloth, Telurin takes a look around the village, continuing to watch for the chief. At ease the Elf usually has a bit of a smile on his face, or always seems at ease, and so perhaps the villagers will not see him as a threat, or they will see him as not grim-faced, and therefore weak.

[Wbweather]

Hartley dismisses Aravule's comments with a chuckle. He is fascinated at the sights and sounds of the little hamlet. This is something very different from Bree or even Tharbad. The part of him that made him want to come adventuring in the first place is very much alive. His experience in the wide world was somewhat limited compared to that of his companions. He tried hard not to gape and stare, but wasn't very successful. He took in the sound of the strange tongue being spoken all around him. He had his pipe going full tilt as he walked leaving a trail of fragrant smoke in his wake. He wondered if folks around these parts had ever tried pipeweed. Perhaps he could teach them the art of smoking.

[TetNak]

Aravule nods to Telurin, "We will have company soon," he says, then looks toward Vara and Blain. "Try to be kind and hold back any sort of retorts they might take as insults or disrespect." It was almost funny coming from Aravule, but he seemed to have a bit of insight in what was happening here, and regardless of his personal feelings, he wasn't going to jeopardize this trip for ego alone.