Fellowship of the Dice

"You do not know that Telurin. Not in the least. None of us can say what A will do. The only way to secure their safety is remove them from Tharbad or protect them with my own life if need be."

Aravule shakes his head, "This is why I wished backing before we moved. But here we are."

"Then let us remove them. I am with you that we must take responsibility to see they are watched over."

"That would be my choice as safest regardless of what we do. But where will they go? And what if they do not wish to leave?" asks Aravule.

He thinks silently for awhile, then says, "What about Lord Elrond. Would he take them in?"

"What about Saruman? He is far closer, powerful, and could help assure them that with our help he shall restore them to their homes."

Watcher shakes his head, "Don't worry about a half dozen merchants who were paying protection money to some thugs and ruffians. That little band of thugs only recently started troubling folks, and even more recently had anything to do with our 'friend' out on the isle. They are far beneath his notice. Besides, I can keep my eye on them like I have others around here." He folds his arms over his chest.

Aravule looks over to the Watcher, "He knows about you." The ranger diverts his attention, but the matter of the merchants isn't settled. "We have a letter." He waves over to Hartley to fetch it, "Where he specifically notes there's a ranger in town that might cause the ruffians trouble. I do not think he was talking about Halleth or I."

Nodding the ranger smiles, "Of course he knows about me. It was the only way I could keep his attention off of you Aravule. He's powerful, with a long reach here, but its mostly of fear, and mystery. He doesn't have as much tangible power as some think. Its growing daily, but there are still good people in Tharbad that resist. More so now that the work of Barkwell's little gang being defeated has spread."

"Then perhaps we should strike now, before his power grows." Aravule's eyes watch the reaction of most everyone in the room, "We have trained warriors, each of us bloody and ready. If you help us, perhaps we can remove him from power now, then return with people to help build Cardolan from the ground up."

Watcher shakes his head, "He's not that helpless. You have what, a dozen maybe if you count the laborers and myself? No he has more than that, and worse control of the Isle. He has no need to come out from there because of your small group. You'll need something to draw him from the isle, something that will force his hand. I can handle a few thugs now and then, I have my contacts in the city, but nothing that will get his attention. Go, find your army or your advice from Saruman, then come back and force A's hand."

Blubbo_Baggins wrote:"I doubt you would say that he is as weak and frightened as a child if you saw him face to face, Halleth. Perhaps he does stay too locked up, but he is perhaps the most powerful of the Wise in Arda, at least he matches the power of Elrond."

Halleth is unimpressed. "What use is power if you stay cooped up in one place, not using that power to fight? Aye, we owe Elrond something for giving us shelter, but he and the elves of Rivendell could do far more. And I'm sure Saruman could do so as well. Of the so-called Wise, I have the most respect for Gandalf, who travels around helping people fight the Shadow, not staying in a refuge, pouring over his books."

Halleth listens to the others' words and says to Aravule, "My liege, I will go wherever you choose to go. But based on what Watcher here says, this may be our best opportunity to go out and seek help from the dwarves. If we stay to help the merchants, we'll only grow more boxed in, with fewer opportunities to go out and recruit followers. It sounds like Watcher has been here a while, so I'm inclined to trust his judgement that we can safely leave the merchants for a little while, to recruit a following so that we may better protect them and others in the future."