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Switching dwarves
After the battle with the fearsome marsh ogre, the adventurers went back to sleep and watch order.
Funhir had the last watch, dwarves do make really good morning coffee, and Eirik shook him gentle when it was his turn to take the watch. You can never be too carefullwaking up a snoring dwarf sleeping with his weapon in his hands. He could see that Funhir seems to have bad dreams.
Funhir woke up and didn't look really that rested but Eirik really needed his last two hours before they should break camp and keep moving. During the last watch, Flói arrived and told Funhir to go home to his wife, and said that Glóin had sent him instead.
Eirik thought it had just past a few minutes when he was woke up by the lovely smell of fresh dwarven coffee.
He stood up, and then looked at Funhir.
– "Funhir, what have you done with your beard? When I woke you up, it was short and blond, now it's long and dark. And Your helmet, what have you done with the horns? And why have you changed your Mattock to a Great Axe?"
For a second Eirik thought the foul dark forces of the swamp had infected his mind and he was grabbing for his sword when Flói said: – "Flói, son of Lóni, at yer service."
The rest of the group woke up, had some breakfast and they packed up, and gave the dead Ogre one last look before the set out south again. The morning, was not much of a morning as the dense fog clouded both their eyes and their hearts.
To be continued...
Through the Long Marshes
The marshes here and there was more like an open lake, with one big difference. You have to carefully navigate between underwater obstacles like dead trees or banks of sand. Miriel the elf took the lookout position again, and she had to guide Lomund through several narrow and very difficult passages.
Flói asked several times from his place at the back of the boat how they dared to trust an elf with such a important task. The hours passed when suddenly Miriel and Lomund misunderstood each other, and the journey ended with the sounds of wood dragged over sand and rock. They were stuck, and they where stuck hard. The boat seemed to be well built and did not leak, which was a good thing.
Flói didn't hesitate more than a second before he jumped into the cold water and started to try to push and rock the boat free. When in the cold water he realized that the water was rather deep, only his head and arms were visible above the surface. Eirik took of his armor and jumped into the cold water too, and together they tried while Lomund tried to give the directions and cheers. C'mon boys, you're almost there. They pushed and liefter and Eirik got the boat loose on his end a few times, but Flói was rather encumbered with all his armor, in the deep cold water, which made him sound more energy carrying his weight than actually pushing and he started to get tired and cold. Suddenly Miriel called out from her lookout position: – "Hold it, we're being watched."
To be continued...
Eyes in the woods
The adventurers quickly took defensive positions in the boat, bows, swords and axes ready, when Miriel once again spoke from her lookout position, but she spoke in Elven tongues that none of the others could understand. Her words were shorty followed by a response, in Elven from the woods, and after a few minutes of Eleven tongues and some laughs, all weapons were lowered except Flóis, who held his axe so hard his blueish frozen fingers now turned white. Those sitting close to him could hear him mutter something that no one understood except Miriel. She gave him a quick look and asked in the common language: – "Why so angry and afraid Mr Flói? You have nothing to fear from these friends. They just laughed at your attempts to move a boat of the ground dressed in metal armor."
The elven ranger party was led by an elf named Gellion. Those who knew their history, particular Elven history, knew that he worked until five years ago as the Kings cup, for King Thranduil himself, being his personal butler. But an incident about five years ago, when twelve dwarves and a hobbit escaped after Gellion had been drinking a little too much wine made him loose that honorable position. Now he leads a group of Borderland rangers, scouting the borders of the Elven kingdom of the woods.
When pleasantries had been exchanged, Gellion offered to help the adventures to get the boat free again. He also told them that his group has followed two dwarves some weeks ago, just a little to the South from here. They followed them for a couple of weeks, but one morning they were gone, vanished. Gellion also warned the adventurers about the strangle weeds growing there, trees with living vines that can grab your neck and strangle you if you are careless.
When it was time to move the boat, Eirik and Flói once again jumped into the water, Flói without his heavy armor this time, and he already felt that this would not be a match at all for him, so he decided to prank the Elves, who were pulling in the other end with ropes. When they had counted to three to start, he held the boat instead of pushing, and then he gave it a forceful push, showing that he could have moved it himself without any help. The sudden moment surprised the Elves and one of them tripped and fell into the water. Flói laughed at it and so did everybody else, including the Elves. It was time to move on, and later that evening they hit bottom one again, which they said was an omen for a good place the make night camp as they were close to the woods and at the end of the marshes, about the place they were looking for where the dwarves had last been seen.
Flói started a camp fire and put a kettle of dwarven coffee on, while the others scouted the area for signs of a camp, or prepared for supper. The coming of the night brought a sense of despair and hopelessness upon the brave group, as the cold dark fog chilled their hearts. They were just about to have supper, when they heard a sudden loud sound of a breaking branch from the wood. Suddenly they saw a little white rabbit dashing out of the woods.
To be continued...
I really like that 'Long Marshes' render Totte.
Super stuff, keep it up.
Dinner time!
Lomund picked up his bow and put an arrow on the string, and so did Miriel. Eirik and Gorm grabbed their swords and Flói lifted his axe and rushed in the direction of the sound. Then another tree fell, and a huge troll came out of the woods, roaring with anger., chasing the rabbit. When the troll saw the dwarf, he hesitated for a second, licked his lips and rushed towards Flói. The troll was armed with a huge club, or more like a branch from a tree. They met half way, Flói and the troll, and Flói swung his axe and the troll swung his log. The death dance of mortal combat was once again upon them. Both Lomund and Miriel fired their bows, and Miriel showed why elven archers are better than mere mortals. Gorm dropped his shield and once again fought with his sword in both hands.
Gorm and Eirik taking the flanks and Flói running between the legs of the troll. Flói hit the troll with his axe, and both Eirik and Gorm hit it. The troll seems a little slow, and when he fell, he fell with his arm over Flói, who now was slammed to the ground with a huge troll arm over his back. – "Please, can someone help me", Flói asked.
During the battle Flói had made an observation, and he showed the other adventurers what it was. The troll had an old wound on his leg, about dwarven height, a perfect axe cut. They were at the right place. This was the first signs of the missing dwarves. The began to search for more evidence and leads.
To be continued...
Crime scene investigations
Now the adventurers were sure they are on the right spot. The troll that was recently wounded by a dwarven axe set all off searching for signs and leads. Lomund and Miriel found signs of a camp, that was not cleaned out, but seemed to have been left in a hurry, and some firewood had been chopped nearby.
Gorm and Flói really got going and they found a lot of traces. Look here Gorm said. tracks, and it looks like it has been some kind of fight here. Yes said Flói, and here, look, broken and cut bushes, someone as been swinging an axe here. Look over here said Gorm, someone has been crawling here, see these flowers, they always turn brown when they have been stepped on, even if they stand up again. They followed the tracks and found a tree stump. Look said Gorm, someone has been disturbing the moss around the stump, look, there is something hidden under it. They pulled out a small gold ornamented wooden box that looked like the box Glóin had described that the two dwarves were carrying with them, the royal gift from the King under the mountain to the King of the skies.
When Eirik saw the box, he was all fired up. Such splendid work. He said to himself, hmm, I might have done that a little different. Eirik, being a jeweler by trade, knew that this was a very expensive box. He said I can take care of it, to keep it safe. They began to discuss if they should open the box and see what was in it, but the group decided that that was not their business. Eirik felt a very string urge to just take a little peek in the box, just a small peek.
The group decided to follow the tracks made by the hungry troll and when everyone was busy preparing the boat for a longer stay and fixing their gear, Eirik stepped a side a few steps and turned around so that no one could see what he was doing, and opened he box. What he saw in the box turned his blood cooking and his eyes just stared. It was the largest gem he had ever seen, large as a small fist, red and perfectly cut. He realized this gem would be worth a fortune, not a small fortune that would make you rich, but a huge fortune that would turn you into a filthy rich person. He would not have to work anymore, no one of his friends would either. Why his friends he then thought, his mind boiling with gold fever, he could just take it for himself as a little secret award. No one would know that he took it as no one knew he had peeked into the box. For a few seconds pictures rushed through Eiriks mind, pictures of him sitting in a throne with servants, pictures of him being the next warden of Lake Town. Eirik froze for a second, then made his decision.
To be continued....
If the Drows approved of anything they would approve of this story. Heck I'm a Drow and I therefore give this the Drowish seal of approval.
I suggest you not flash that around many High Elves, Wood Elves or Dwarfs but that's up to you.
Following the trail
Eirik closed the box, wrapped it in some oiled cloth and put it inside his pocket again. He said to himself, what did come over me? He looked around and shouted: – "Everyone ready to go?"
They walked in a single line, Flói taking point as he is short enough for Gorm to look over his head. Eirik took the rear guard, and Miriel and Lomund took centers and watched left and right. They were obviously in enemy territories now. The tracks was as easy to follow as following a stampede herd. Tree were uprooted or broken off where the troll had passed. After a while they found an old trail that seemed to have been recently used.
Suddenly, both Gorm and Flói froze, a vine from a tree reached down to grab Flóis neck.
To be continued...
The marsh one with them in the water made me cold! I can really empathize with that poor dude wearing armor and being in the water- not fun. And I really like the lighting on the following the trail- I feel like I can reach out and touch him!
Late to the party but now pulling up my beanbag to watch!
Ruins from the past
Flói quickly swung his axe and chopped off the attacking strangle vine and it continued to wiggle for a bit on the ground. Now they saw that the tree they just passed looked a little different from the other trees. They quickly moved away from it, and remembered to be more observant not only to the fauna but the flora. This was a very scary place.
They walked for a while when they came to a glenn in the forest, and there were several old ruins, ruins from forgotten times. Lomund thought it might have been a small woodsmen village, abandoned a long time ago. Several black birds had been following the adventurers, and Lomund even tried to shoot one with his bow, but missed. Here, among the ruins, there were many black birds, circling or sitting in trees. The whole place made them feel depressed and low, like someone had put a heavy burden on their shoulders.
A chiming sound was heard in the distance, then they heard it again. They looked around and saw a lake with dark water, in front of an old tower, where the top had fallen off. There was the sound again, they all felt uneasy, but they looked around to try find some traces of the missing dwarves, now when they had a fresh trial to follow. Suddenly they saw Lomund, walking straight to the tower, already knee deep in the black water.
To be continued...
Edit: Finally made a render that looks like what I intended in the first place, add that one too.
Breaking the spell
Miriel saw what was going on, and dashed out on the water and tackled Lomund, then grabbed him and tugged him out of the water. Lomund was in some kind of trance, his mind was not reachable. Miriel, being an elf, has a vast knowledge of the arcane and dark, and she knew a lullaby that when sung in a special pitch could be used to break these kind of spells.
They all decided to plug their ears, Broccoli being the favorite earplug of choice and theory had by know figured out that the chiming sound was involved in this, everyone except Lomund, who needed to hear the song. Flói knew that song too, and together they sung a song for Lomund, elf and Dwarf, and slowly Lomunds mind began to come back to this world. He looked up, like being newly awake and said: – "Hey, what are you doing?" when he saw Miriel and Flói, side by side, singing, and with Broccoli in their ears. This was the first time the elf and the dwarf seemed to drop the hostilities and work together. The group saw this as a start of something new, a first step of friendship.
To be continued...
The mysterious tower
After Lomund had come back to his normal self, which was far from normal if you ask the average person on the street, Miriel decided to investigate the tower. She found out that there was a climbable way on the back side. She went there and Eirik came with her. The others came a little behind, Gorm being very negative about the tower. – "Why bother, it's just a half fallen tower. C'mon, let's try to find those dwarves instead."
Miriel, being such a brilliant climber tried to climb up the tower, but came down again as she slipped. She tried once again, and then once more, every time she slipped down. Eirik looked at her a then he climbed up and sat on the edge and said: – "Miriel, is this what you tried to do?".
Lomund came to the tower, and as he had seen the failed climbing attempts, he also climbed up, and so did Flói. Now Miriel and Gorm were the only two not up on the tower edge. Gorm kept bickering about the tower being a dead end. Those up on the tower wall, looked down, and saw an old tower bell. Below, darkess was massive and it smelled really bad, of rot, like when the fishermen had tossed old fish guts in the wood on a hot summer day.
Miriel finally succeeded to climb the tower, and Flói stopped teasing her that a dwarf is a better climber than an elf. Carefully Flói and Miriel climbed down ing to the darkness, with the help of a rope that Gorm had tied to a tree. They tossed down a torch, but saw nothing of interest. Lomund tore off a piece of his cape and wrapped the clapper with it to prevent the bell from making sounds again. Gorm and Eirik followed down.
They found themselves in a low, pitch black basement, moist, and smelling of rotten fish and rotten seaweeds, not the most friendly place they had been to. Miriel saw a staircase leading down to the left, and ahead, darkness was compact. Flói scouted forward, Gorm and Miriel to the left, close to the staircase and Lomund and Eirik went to there right. It was silent, too silent, when Flói saw something in the darkness ahead, and Miriel heard something from the door at the end of the staircase.
To be continued...
What lurks in the shadows?
Flói took some steps into the room to try to be a better picture of what had seen. He saw several humanoid like creatures coming against him from the darkness. For a second, silence was so thick you could touch it, before the enemies came rushing. Lomund drew his hunting knife, Eirik and Gorm their swords. Miriel grabbed her bow and began to shoot. It was a fierce fight as the marsh lizard men attacked furiously trying to bite and claw our heroes. They did not put up much of a fight though and the battle was over as soon as it started. Miriel heard something from the door down the staircase, it opened just a tiny bit, and a face was visible in the opening.
To be continued...
Behind the door
Miriel and Gorm had taken out the attacking lizard men. Miriel thought what a terrible stench, they really smell bad. She looked down the staircase where the door was, and the door was slowly opening, and the face of a dwarf was visible. Gorm also locked down. The dwarves ran up the stairs and Miriel ran to the tower and climbed up and tossed down another rope. Balin was first, but he was so weak that he needed help to climb. He tied the second rope around his belly and then Miriel help him but pulling while he was climbing. At the same time, Flói and Eirik took defensive positions and Lomund raised his bow, ready to fire. They could hear the sounds of many more enemies approaching.
When Balin was safe, Oin came running and he shouted – "We have to get out of here, they are too many, too many I say!". Oin started to climb when the next wave of enemies came rushing, this time led by a huge lizard. Gorm saw him, and their eyes met and Gorm decided he just had to fight him, despite the words from Oin and that his cousin Lomund shouted after him: – "Cousin Gorm, we need to pull back, pull back!" But Gorm was all filled with eagerness to prove himself against a worthy enemy. He shouted back: – "I will take out their leader, keep firing that bow. I know they will flee when their leader falls."
Lomund did not like how the tide of this battle was turning, not at all, but he had to stay and protect his cousin, and his friends Flói and Eirik.
To be continued...
Thanks, I really had "Boromir tries to take the ring" in mind.
Opps sorry dude but I still find it funny.
It's supposed to be funny ;-)
"Boromir tries to take the ring" which makes it even funnier. :P
A major battle
While Miriel was shouting down from the tower: – "Are you coming up? Who's next?" Flói took out several enemies with his axe, but the fighting soon started to take a heavy toll on his body, and he started to get weary and tired. Gorm fought his way towards the large lizard man that he has chosen as his personal target, lesser lizard men falling for his blade. Eirik covered the other flank and took out some enemies together with Lomund who followed his cousins order to keep shooting. But the enemy ranks just didn't thin out, for every enemy they defeated, two new appeared in the darkness. Lomund shouted once again to his cousin: – "Gorm, we need to pull back, this is neither the time, nor the place to be a glory hound". Flói pulled back and gave Lomund a weary look and said: – "I've had enough, I can't fight any more, I about to have it, and today is not the day to die, and this is not the place either."
Flói climbed the rope with a little help from Miriel and Lomund shouted again: – "We're out of here, come now!" but Gorm just shouted back to him: – "No way, he is almost down, my enemy is almost down, then we can leave, when they all flee."
The fight continued while Lomund scaled up the rope telling Miriel and Flói that the others, Eirik and Gorm will soon follow. Just at that moment, they heard Gorm shout from down the tower: – "No!! Eirik is down, Eirik is down!" Flói and Lomund looked at each other and both said at the same time: – "No!, Eirik got the box!".
To be continued...
Dirty dwarves
Meanwhile, two exhausted dwarves where rescued and where now safe, or as safe they could be in a place like this, on the surface. The two dwarves that just didn't believe what just happened. They had been on an important quest to deliver a very valuable gift from the King under the mountain to the KIng of the skies. They had been attacked by a troll at night while in their camp, and the troll as accompanied with dozens of small slimy lizard like monsters, just like those down there now, fighting with those who rescued them. They got separated, and while searching for each other, some kind of evil magic, most certainly Elven magic, brought their minds into some kind of weak state, and they where attacked by hoards of green smelly lizard men. They were two dwarves from under the mountain, they had defeated the dragon Smaug, and hundreds of Goblins in the caves of Moria, but they got caught by these smelly creatures. They had spend a long time in the dungeon, the only food served was raw smelly fish, seaweeds, and smelly water. Their stomachs had more than even a dwarf can suffer and they were weak, very weak.
They had planned to escape, the lock on the dungeon door was already picked, they just waited for the right moment to sneak out and scout the area. They did not know which way would lead out. Then they heard those bells again, and the lizard men started to make funny noises. They thought that finally a company of dwarves had been sent for their rescue. They heard the familiar sound of battle. Screams and metal, and tried to scream for help in the Dwarven tongue, but no one heard them. They decided to open the door and what did they see? An elf, and not only that, an elven woman, who helped rescue them. On their way to freedom they spotted a dwarf and some Bardlings too. Who had sent these people to rescue them? It could not have been any dwarven doings, that's for sure.
Now, they heard the sounds of battle echoing from the tower ahead of them, but they were too weak to fight, too weak to run, they just sat and waited for what would come.
To be continued...
Miriel saves the day
When Miriel heard the desperation in Gorms voice when he yelled: – "Eirik is down, Eirik is down", she made a brave decision and jumped without hesitation down the tower, scaling the walls and pulling her bow, and when she came down she shot the closest lizard man bulls eye in the head. Her dramatic entrance startled the leader, who for a fraction of a second lost his concentration, and Gorm drew his sword into his chest, and the large leader fell silently on the ground.
The other lizard men hesitated and backed away from the killer elf, which gave Miriel and Gorm enough time to time to tie the rope around Eiriks lifeless body. They yelled to Flói and Lomund: – "Pull him up!", while they used the other rope to quickly climb up before the lizard men would regain their will to fight. When everyone was up, Lomund broke the bell bar and the whole thing fell down in to the darkness with a road. They had done it, they had found the lost dwarves and they had survived their first real battle, Eiirk was just unconscious and woke up after a large cup of dwarven ale and some cold water in his face. He has no open wounds, he was just bruised and battered, like the rest of the group.
They quickly started to move back to where they had moored the boat. Óin and Balin felt a little better after Flói had let them share the last of his keg of dwarven ale. They were both very grateful for the rescue but when they heard that Glóin had sent the group, Óin said something about my brother will hear about this. But then he realized that if he would start to argue with his brother Glóin over this, Gllóin would pick on him for the rest of his days for being rescued by an elven lady, so he decide to let it rest.
They arrived to the boat, and it was still intact, and now Flói and Miriel could sit in the boat without having to sit one in each end, progress, but they still deny it. Now, they had to paddle upstreams, which would take several more days. The journey was far from free from dangers, and far from over.
To be continued...
Dinner at the Girion stairs tavern
After four eventless days in the Long Marshes, the group finally came back to the civilized world at the Girion stairs tavern. They all decided to take baths and wash some clothes to rid them of terrible stench of the lizard men, or marsh dwellers as the barkeeper at the Girion stairs called them. It was almost like the very first time they met, just a few weeks ago at the Singing Minstrel in Lake Town. Ale, beer and wine, good food and a warm fire. But this time they had their own story to look back at, something they had done together that had built bonds between them that no preconceptions could touch. Balin stood up on the bench with a raised tankard of mead and shouted: – "Let's drink!", while Óin was busy with his large roasted chicken.
To be continued...
Coming home
After weeks of adventure in the dangerous wild, the group finally arrived back to Lake Town. Not that everyone had their roots in Lake Town, but this where the starting point and they all wanted their share of the reward that Master Glóin had promised them. Not that they only did this for the money, some of them already have plenty of coins in the purse, but a reward for a finished mission is not only a payment, but a recognition, you have become someone that cn be trusted to do dangerous things and come back alive after a job well done.
Eirik went straight home to his beloved Helga. She was injured by those thieves, and injuries can always be dangerous. He was relived when he found her happier and more cheerful than usually.
The other members of the fellowship rented rooms at the Grazing Donkey, one of the better inns in Lake Town. Balin and Óin went to see Glóin and notify him of their safe return. It didn't take long before an old friend showed up, Funhir the Dwarf, to tell the fellowship that their presence were required at Glóins house, tomorrow at noon. He also told them that he now was the proud father of three redheaded dvarven boys, his wife had given him triplets.
To be continued...
I really like the lighting, poses, and the camera angle on this last one. Beautiful! :)
Thanks! Came out pretty good. And the textures on the MFD are V3 Peasant and it looks really good. MFD has so many very good textures.
Being rewarded
Today is the big day, our heroes are meeting Master Glóin, to get the reward for a job well done. They are a little tense, except Flói, who was sent by Glóin to help out. What Flói do not know is that even he will get an equal share of the reward. They met Glóin, òin and Balin in the house in Lake Town which Glóin and the other dwarves used when they are in Lake Town for business. It was a cheerful moment to meet the two dwarves that they rescued. This time Miriel had no problems coming in, and no one disrespected her for being an elf.
The adventurers were handed a chest with silver coins as a payment for the job. Master Glóin payed the generously for bringing his brother Óin, and Balin back. Glóin said that he might have some job for them in the future, but right now everyone had personal business to attend to.
They heard that Funhirs triplets was doing well, and one of the guards whispered to Flói: – "Psst Flói, look, Master Glóin put a flowerpot on his table to cover up the mark that Funhirs wife made with her axe." He said something about that this flower should remind him of the importance of making the right decision, not just the quickest one, and the importance of changing a bad decision to a good one without taking it personally.
Now everyone took off in different directions, after the reward had been split. They all went to go on with their lives or make changes to it.
Eirik had his jeweler business to attend to, and Lomund travelled back to Dale with his cousin Gorm, where Lomund had decided to move back to town and maybe enlist for the town guard.
They all know, deep in their hearts, that adventure would seek them up again, just as i did last time. They did not know when or what, but they did know it would come again.
To be continued...
Next game session is March 2nd, so until then I won't have any more story to post... stay tuned!