Fellowship of the Dice

"...the North-South Road no longer existed except for the crumbling remains of the causeways, by which a hazardous approach to Tharbad might be achieved, only to find ruins on dwindling mounds, and a dangerous ford formed by the ruins of the bridge, impassable if the river had not been there slow and shallow – but wide."

Unfinished Tales, Part 2, Ch IV, The History of Galadriel and Celeborn,
Appendix D, 'The Port Of Lond Daer ' April 6th, 2957, Eight Months After Arriving in Tharbad

For months the fellowship has been making a name for themselves in and around Tharbad. The old prison has been turned into a livable stronghold of sorts, and personal improvements have evolved throughout the group. Winter has been difficult, you've had stores stolen, allies have moved on, and you've been keeping a low profile not to rouse the ire of the Master on the Isle.

But as spring arrives and the warm weather blooms your eagerness for action blooms as well. You have taken stock of your stores, and find them lacking, you will need to resupply, restock, start to generate some funds or find a more steady stream of resources. The rains have flooded the Swanfleet around Tharbad, and much of the town has flooded as well. The old breakwalls and floodwalls are long in ruins, and the merchants on the banks of the river have moved up to drier ground. They haven't batted an eye, it seems a yearly occurrence to them one they deal with silently.

You've all gathered in the dining chamber, even two of the dwarfs have remained, but Nalir has moved on. You are eating, and planning your next move, sharing some information you've gathered over the winter, and generally catching up.

Someone asks, "What's our next move?"

Halleth says, "Well, we're in no position to strike against the Master directly yet. And if we want to strike against him, we need a following. But people aren't going to follow us if they don't think we're strong enough to strike against the Master. A bit of a conundrum. But I've been thinking on it. If the Master is like other tyrants, chances are he's shaking down some of the local merchants or tavern keepers for money or worse, like slaves. If people live in such fear of the Master, he must be inflicting harm on someone, somewhere, probably through some of his agents. We need to find someone we can help and publicly thwart the Master's agents, providing them with protection--and not shaking them down for money ourselves when we do it. If people see that we can oppose the Master successfully and help the weak--and that we're not doing it for selfish reasons--we may be able to build up that following and be able to move against the Master. Or defend ourselves when he strikes against us."

"Yes," agrees Telurin. The Elf adds "I have one idea that would certainly draw the attention of folk and get them to listen to us, to show that we care to aid them. But it would not be the best way to build long term support. That is, to find a forgotten horde in ruins somewhere, and use the funds to help those who are being paid to keep quiet, or simply help those in need who have some measure of power. It's not a good long term plan, for as soon as our funds dry up so would the support. But it could be a very effective start. I'm afraid, however, I have no idea how to find such wealth, and it seeking after it could prove to be fruitless."

"I really shouldn't mention this at all, as it is fool-hardy and would likely get us all killed, but there are rumors that the barrow downs are full of treasure. It's just that no one in their right mind would go looking for it, and those who have have either never been seen again or never were the same again. I just wish there was a way we could use some of that wealth to help these people. Then again, such treasures are likely to be cursed and may bring a curse on those who them." Hartley shivers at the though of stories he has heard told since his youth about the horrors of the barrow-downs. "No, forget I even mentioned that cursed, dark place."

"Treasure hunting?" says Halleth with some interest. "Now there's a notion." He shakes his head. "But not in the Barrow Downs. Every awful thing you've heard of the place is like to be true. I'd only go there if I was desperate. But it's not an easy matter to simply go out and find treasure. We have no idea how long we would be gone or if we'd even find anything. Trust me on that--I've spent much of my life seeking out lost artifacts of Numenor and the Dunedain." He shakes his head and says, "I think we need a plan that doesn't rely on coin." There is a trace of disappointment in his voice.

Telurin raises his finger after Halleth finishes. "You are right Halleth, we must not hope to find Treasure. What if we keep things simple? Let us use this prison as it was intended. We can let folk know of its availability, and what we will charge to hold one in it. We won't keep more than one or two prisoners at a time, and not for longer than a week. But it could prove useful to gaining allies, and surely the prisoners will be willing to speak with us, especially if we offer them better food for doing so. We ought to hunt for our own food supplies and for that which we will need for the prison first, and then we can let word get out that the prison is running again, even if it is just for short term holding."

"Are we to be jailers now, Telurin?" Aravule clearly does not like the idea from the frown on his face. "We cannot say if people coming to our jail are meant for a cell, or are prisoners of their captors whims. I would very much like to stay away from such endeavors." He looks over at Halleth and then Hartley next. "The Barrows are a dangerous place, and a treasure would be a boon, but a big risk. What is a greater resource than gold? It is people. People dedicated to a cause. With enough people we can fish and provide other services that might be in demand. A King needs a people, and it is about time I started finding them. I suggest we look for the disenfranchised. The poor, the weak and the hungry. Those of a pure heart with hope only buried deep beneath their daily toils. I suggest we start looking in Dunland and the surrounding areas. Those spread into Enedwaith and Lond Daer. These are poor places, with no knowledge of the Master on the Isle. All they will know of is our founding of a kingdom once again. To give them hope that may rise up passed their history of troubles."

Telurin is astonished at Aravule's words, for they are spoken like a King.

He ponders silently for a moment, then adds, "But what can we offer them? Do we simply find these folk and see if we can help them?"

"We can offer them a fresh start, with leadership and hopefully protection. If we work together, we may endure and thrive. Eventually, we shall create a kingdom from the ashes." Aravule nods, "But before that, we need to find out what they can actually do here. Fishing seems a good trade, there is a great deal of water, obviously. We will need food, certainly, and comfort. The jail won't hold many more people. More workers for the jail to aid the dwarfs, and any other spots we can acquire here in Tharbad that we can rebuild. People that can rebuild bridges would be a major boon. Lond Daer may be a great place for that. I suspect Dunlendings won't be too handy and such crafts, but might be good for protection. Outside the walls, perhaps there is fertile land for growing crops. There are things to consider. Maybe there are those in Bree that might want a change as well, it is a nice town, but you never know a man's circumstances."

"But how will we pay for it all? Kings levy taxes. That we cannot do, and I'm not certain there would be much to gather from these impoverished folk if we could. Perhaps if we looked for injustice being carried out against the people who dwell here and stood in their defense? Rather than use our prison as a place to hold captives, we could use it as a sanctuary for for those fearing for their life from this master on the island."