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  1. #221
    Nice update and in-character reactions, Poppyseed!

    P.S. the plot thickens. Diplomatic "negotiations" may play as significant a role as adventuring. Which does Nemir find more distasteful? (I have a guess
    Last edited by Hector Trelane; November 23rd, 2020 at 18:47.

  2. #222
    Meeting up again at the refugee camp that Leaf Sole and Nemir had been staying in, the companions got ready to head north again. Beli showed off his newly improved and decorated mattock and he and Nemir shared a moment of levity as they made a reference back to the shell he'd once thought was gold. Together, the companions travelled through Strandburg to Edric's town, where they saw the people there were gaunt and pale, having been forced to endure a harsh winter with low supplies. At first, they were met with suspicion. Others had tried to rob them not too long ago so they were more cautious than they would otherwise be but they were soon reassured that they had nothing to fear from them.

    Achernar and Astrid tended to the sick while Nemir and Alaric hunted, bringing back a bounty for the townsfolk, and Beli and Beldan worked to improve the defences and stockade that had been set up. Beli also sent back a letter to Erebor requesting food and stone for Edric's town. The companion's efforts uplifted the spirits of the townsfolk and over the evening meal, the companions talked about what had happened with Galford, which the townsfolk thought was strange because they hadn't been attacked - it had just been the cold and isolation with the snows that hurt them. They also learned that a man that fit the description of the man Beli had met in the refugee camp (Kol) resided just outside town so they went to see him. Just getting to his house was slightly perilous, Nemir noted as she glanced dubiously at the various snares and traps they navigated around as they got closer. Kol welcomed them in and offered them food but most of the companions tried to politely refuse. After nearly walking into a long string of goblin teeth, Nemir wasn't eager to risk whatever dubious food he had. In an effort not to offend, Beli accepted Kol's offer and found the meat, though heavily salted, wasn't too bad. Kol talked about a drake to the east and the galford goblins that had gone north-east as the snows melted, abandoning Galford.

  3. #223
    And don’t forget Achernar made another lady friend ...

    Thanks for the write up!

  4. #224
    After journeying on the road for a bit, they found a mine-cave to camp in but three trolls attacked them in the night from the upper ledges. The trolls gave them trouble, pushing rubble down onto where the ponies were and killing all of them apart from the few that Nemir managed to rescue and calm. They also managed to get Astrid and Orelon out of the caves before they could be hurt by the trolls and although it was a tough fight, the companions took them down.

    Beli wanted to search further into the cave to see if there was any treasure but Nemir argued against it, saying that they needed to get moving and find someplace safer, reinforced by the fact that they'd noticed since the trolls were coming from above, this might not have been their lair. Beli and Beldan went further in to explore while the men looked at the tracks above and Nemir took the horses and led them up with Astrid and Orelon. When Beli and Beldan returned and they continued on, Beli showed her the small chunk of copper he'd found and she'd given him a smug grin, knowing she'd been right, and teased him for it.

    The men's tracking of the troll prints led them to the cave the trolls were from which had a lot of treasure in coins, gems and other artifacts. Nemir found a green and ivory pendant necklace that she very much liked - it was beautiful. She put on and tucked under her shirt. She also claimed an elven forester's pruning hook that they'd found because she thought if she asked the right people, she would be able to tell where it was from or who it would belong to since it had a distinctive appendage on it. Beldan thought it was an item of special crafting. Leaf Sole asked whether he might be able to use it as a weapon on their journey but Nemir hugged it close to her chest and told him that she didn't want the potential for it to get damaged - for the lore it carried to be lost - and Leaf Sole graciously accepted her answer. They split the treasure evenly, with only a little remaining but they agreed that the extra treasure could be donated - either to help the refugees a little or to contribute a little to the opening of the Old Forest Road.

    They encountered a dwarf further along the road, who was travelling the other way and asked them whether they'd seen another dwarf. As they hadn't, they told him no, and when he mentioned trolls, they said they'd killed three. He began to grow suspicious of them for some reason even though they were telling the truth that they hadn't seen his brother when they mentioned the trolls they'd killed.

    Further on down the path, they found a broken wagon with a dead dwarf and a hungry-looking juvenile dog. Nemir offered the dog some food and petted him. He was a herding dog with black and white fur and golden eyes. The others repaired the wagon to have a way to carry their newfound treasure in a way that had less of a burden on the ponies and Alaric regretfully told the rest of his companions that he had to turn back to Dale - that he had enough now to buy some things that his farm needed and if he ran this errand now, he could help them this year so they bid him goodbye and good luck as he left with his share of the treasure.

    Nemir took the dog they'd found along with them as they continued their travels, growing fond of him. She fed him and he seemed to like her a lot. The gold of his eyes reminded her of a painting she'd seen back home - of the Mallos flowers that were her sister Itholdiel's favourite - and it brought a smile to her face as she thought of it so Nemir named him after those flowers. She called him Mallos. Perhaps Itholdiel would also be fond of him when Nemir returned home with him once this business and trouble was over. Nemir stroked his fur as she sat with him by the campfire and he wagged his tail happily. He lay over her feet, which were covered only by socks now; her boots lay by her satchel. He's a good companion, Nemir thought. Cevendir, at least, will like him. And I'll take good care of him.

    They reached the caves that held the tomb and found Beornings guarding the entrance but their mannerisms were off. Like they were under the control of somebody else. They looked frostbitten and had ice spears that they chucked at the companions when they tried to get closer into the cave. Still, the companions needed to get into the cave to see whether the ice lady was there so they initially fought to disarm and disable. However, as Beli, Beldan, and Leaf Sole got closer, it became more apparent that these men were already dead and some chanted words in black speech. As they and the companions fought, many of the companions got wounded and grew weary so Beli, Beldan and Leaf Sole fell back to the archery range, where Achernar and Nemir stood. One of the ice spears pierced Nemir's side under her ribs. The companions were triumphant though and after the battle, Nemir clutched her side and groaned in pain.

    Achernar picked up the helmet that the captain of the Beornings had been wearing and said he thought he remembered it in his family before and went inside the cave. Nemir called after him, saying "Where are you going?" He seemed to shake something off and walked back out, saying he didn't think anyone was in there. Nemir agreed that she couldn't hear anything and suggested that they head back to camp to patch themselves up before going in even so, taking her hand off her side for a bit and grimacing at the fact that it was covered in blood.

    Something strange had changed in Beli though; he'd become consumed by a sort of madness. When he rushed into the cave, panic arose in Nemir's chest and she immediately bolted after him, despite the sharp and ever present pain in her side. The other companions also followed, running after him. He was saying "Mine, it's all mine!" and then a little later "curses it's all gone!" as he got into the main bit of the cave and found that the treasure wasn't there. After ten minutes, he came back to them with an odd look in his eyes and a treasure chest in his hands.

    Tears stung Nemir's eyes but she wiped them away before the dwarf could see them. Angry, she marched up to him and yelled "You had me worried! Don't do that again!" Panic and worry stung her voice and throat. She whacked him on the head and repeated herself: "Don't do that again you hear me?" He didn't answer her and Nemir took a few breaths to calm herself. Achernar, meanwhile looked at the sarcophagus and remembered his "fair lady" - thought that the others just didn't understand her beauty.

    With a hand clutched to her side, and beginning to feel a bit lightheaded and dizzy, Nemir began to concentrate harder on her walking as they headed back. She walked at Beli's side and berated him in a long stream of "That was reckless - what if there had been something in there? You could've gotten into danger" and "What came over you to make such a move?". When Nemir paused, Beli snapped at her that perhaps she should look down at her fancy shoes and see they're a bit nicer.

    She was stunned into silence and it took her a moment to process what he'd said. She stopped and looked down as Beli carried on in a huff. He was right. She hadn't noticed it before but her shoes had been adorned with the copper Beli had found. There were bits of it on the ends of her shoelaces and flecks around the toes of her boots, carrying around to the heel and up the back of her boots in a little bit of a spaced out pattern. They twinkled as bits of them caught the light. When had Beli done that? Nemir wondered, looking at his back as he marched on. Her worry, panic and anger just settled into guilt as she carried on, focusing ever harder on putting one foot in front of the other and carrying on until they got back to camp and she could rest.

  5. #225
    Love it!

  6. #226
    Back at camp, Nemir sat on the ground with a sigh and looked at Orelon as he walked over. She could see in his face - where perhaps the others could not - the worry in his eyes and the way he held himself when he looked at her wound. He crouched down next to her and asked in elvish what had happened. She gave a pained wave of her blood-covered hand, and replied in elvish and tried to be somewhat dismissive of the seriousness of her wound. "I'm fine, don't worry. It's just-" she hissed in pain and pressed the hand back to her side - "It's just the dangers of travel, don't worry, we can handle these things". Orelon distinctly did not look convinced. His face grew even more serious, which told Nemir he was still worrying. "Really, I'm alright," Nemir said. She sighed and looked at Beli, who was hunched over his newfound chest. Probably filled with treasure, Nemir figured, or perhaps a set of shiny seashells - he mistook that for gold once before. A smile played at the corners of her lips as that thought came to her but it soon disappeared as she thought about what had transpired. "I should apologise to him," she murmured.

    Achernar was wandering over with Astrid and must have caught what she said because he asked "Why do you need to apologize?"

    Nemir grimaced as she looked at him, then guiltily back at Beli. Achernar began to bandage her up and tend to her wounds with the help of Astrid. "I... went a little overboard I suppose, with my chastising." Nemir ran a hand through her hair.

    Achernar shook his head. "You don't need to apologize to anyone Nemir, you're fine. We're all a little stressed and tired right now."

    Nemir gave him a weak smile and petted Mallos when he came padding over to sit beside her. Once she got patched up, Nemir went over to Beli and put a hand on his shoulder, quietly giving it a little squeeze. He apologised for losing his head, seeming slightly embarrassed, and Nemir returned that apology, thanking him for what he did to her boots. That seemed to be enough for both of them to come back to an understanding again.

    Over the night, Nemir sat with Orelon, with Mallos over her legs, talking lazily in elvish, resting against a tree. Orelon listened as she tiredly rambled about unimportant things and the beauty of the place that Legolas had showed her the previous year - the starlight and the atmosphere that night as they were accompanied through Mirkwood. With a soft smile, she talked about Saxulf as well - how they'd translated the texts. Eventually though, her rambling trailed off and she closed her eyes to rest.

    Achernar asked Beldan and Beli whether he thought it was Frar and the dwarves that had taken the treasure. Beldan gave a noncommittal grunt and Beli looked at him suspiciously, but Achernar's insight told him that they suspected it was but were uncomfortable talking about it. He huffed and said that he'd had enough of the stubbornness of dwarves for one evening, grabbing whatever drink was available and Nemir laughed quietly. She said in a lighthearted tone in Elvish "Ah, I swear the stubbornness of dwarves will be the death of me" then switched to the common tongue to say "You and I both, Achernar."

    They took watches. Acharnar and Beli were up first and Achernar talked about presenting the centuries-old helm they'd found to the king but felt a conflicting tug inside of him. He showed the helm to Beli and they ended up talking about the smith-craft of the dwarves and Beli said "You can see influences of the dwarves in all craft unless you go for that elvish stuff" and they both laughed. Nemir perked up at this and opened her eyes to look at them. She said, "When you have milennia of practice, you can make incredible things so you shouldn't underestimate the smith-craft of the elves" They jumped and said they thought she was asleep but she told them that she didn't need it - not right now - and she was just dozing. In reality, she was tired; the wound had taken a lot out of her, but she could make it through the rest of the journey. She couldn't sleep out in the open like this. Not right now. Uneasiness stirred in her that she knew wouldn't lessen until she was somewhere safe. Leaf Sole, who had woken up for his watch, added a comment of the elves showing Sauron how to make his ring and Nemir's face went white. They laughed again and she, a little uncomforable, said "Well, yes" Leaf Sole apologised.

    On their travels back east to Edric's Town, Leaf Sole, Achernar and Beldan encountered four large boars and narrowly avoided their tusks. They fled but Leaf Sole managed to take one down. The companions arrived at Edric's Town, where they were greeted warmly because of their past efforts to protect the town and help out. They then parted ways to heal, planning to meet back to travel east after a short time at home.

    Nemir discussed the pruning hook with Orelon on the trail home. Analysing the hook, he said that it may have come from a family of foresters who'd fled west after growing weary of the world. The hook would allow foresters to care for the trees and allow for the collection of special herbs that grow at the tops of a type of tree. Orelon told her that he was willing to search for records of that family and she thanked him, promising to work with him. She finds out that with the moonstone, with the right training could help a forester heal the trees. From that information, her mind went back to what Legolas and his party had showed her when they travelled with them and thought that perhaps she could present this artifact to them sometime after they were done with their research. Even if they didn't have need of it themselves, they might know where or in whose hands it could be useful.
    Last edited by Poppyseed; July 9th, 2021 at 15:11.

  7. #227
    Nice write up as always, Poppyseed. This time I missed much of the interpersonal reaction among PCs, so I’m glad to be able to read it here!

  8. #228
    [It's been a while so I'm a little bit behind on the story of where we're at right now but this is hopefully a start at somewhat catching up so this is Nemir's autumn fellowship phase in Mirkwood]

    Nemir returned home to the comfort of her family and was glad to be able to sleep in her bed again, safe and warm. She met with her father about the pruning hook that she’d found and told him about the treasure that she had recovered and collected over her travels along with her intentions to spend what she had to help them. That she’d spend the week she had at home to restore – and perhaps improve her and her family’s reputation.

    She spent most of her mornings bleary-eyed, reading over documents with Orelon and hoping to discover more about the pruning hook while her afternoons were spent writing letters, meeting with other scholars, and building her reputation back up again. Itholdiel had returned home from visiting her fiancé and her gaze was caught to the small scar that rested under Nemir’s eye. She tentatively touched her fingers to it and traced its line and Nemir looked away, embarrassed. Itholdiel shook her head – the disapproval that Nemir was expecting didn’t quite show through – but nevertheless, she ran a hand over Nemir’s now-short hair and said she was still as beautiful as ever. The day before Nemir and her family were to attend a gathering of their fellow nobles, Itholdiel stole Nemir away to go out to the market to talk and shop for the clothes they would wear to it – a long, flowy dress for Itholdiel and a finely-embroidered tunic for Nemir – and a couple of gifts too. Nemir bought a pendant for Itholdiel, and a beautiful dagger sheath for Cevendir, managing to hide them and keep them secret until that evening, when she presented them. They both wore their gifts proudly to the gathering.

    The gathering was in a large, beautiful open cavern with a stone tree, and stone paths winding through the grass. It was a garden lit by lamplight in the branches of the tree that stretched overhead, and scattered around near benches that a few elves sat on. Others lounged on the grass, all of them chatting amiably with each other. Nemir’s parents led Nemir to sit with their friends while Cevendir and Itholdiel went to sit and talk with Itholdiel’s fiancé, Anchon, and his family. Nemir discussed her travels with them and how she’d found her knowledge and the relic from journeying and seeing the world. When one of her father’s friends brought up the question of whether she would be staying in Mirkwood now, she spoke of the danger to the north that she had to aid in preventing. Nemir bit her tongue when her father said that was the sentinels’ job and her mother cut him off. She was inexperienced with politics, yes, but even she knew making the comment that the King wasn’t doing anything about it wouldn’t help her situation. Instead, Nemir moved the focus back to the pruning hook and the Quenyan scrolls and managed to poke at the scholars’ curiosity about the pruning hook.

    Later on in the evening, Nemir’s mother took her aside and said, “Have your fun for another season or three but you will need to meet the sons of Lord Eriston, Lord Calaerdor, and Lord Iordaer.”

    Nemir laughed lightly and nodded, hoping that appeasing her would give her more time on the road. “Perhaps I’ll meet them next winter; I will be returning for it after all.”

    After some time at home, Nemir set off once again to journey, but already the nobles had seemed to take notice of the more confident and skilled way in which she handled and held herself. She made the promise to return home for the winter and gave a fond farewell to Mallos, who Cevendir had said he'd take care of while she was away, as well as to her family and Orelon. This time, they were slightly less worried to see her off again.

  9. #229
    With some time to spare before she had planned to meet up with her companions, Nemir travelled to Dale and visited Saxulf to go over the translations again. He teased her about not visiting for a whole season and Nemir joked about the dangers she’d faced, going up against lots of goblins and trolls, gesturing to the scar on her face and he said she looked more like she’d been battling the social dynamics at dinner tables. Nemir let out a tired laugh and ran a hand through her hair. “That too. Equally as deadly but I can’t stick an arrow through that one.”

    They poured over the translations, sometimes bantering with each other, sometimes sitting in a comfortable quiet as they searched for any clues within it, and sometimes sharing ideas with each other on what they’d found. Nemir felt certain that the person who wrote it was a scribe from Rivendell recording the stories of a minstrel.

    After a while of reading the texts again, Saxulf asked her about what the image on the sarcophagus had looked like and Nemir thought for a bit before doing her best to describe it. It had been a young woman, with her hair looking like it was floating in water and green and yellow colours – like spring. And then she realised. The ice hag had come out of that coffin. Somehow, she must have been corrupted and fallen to the shadow because she came out icy and malevolent. Winter. It all came out in one long, rambling sentence but Saxulf followed along. “She was heartbroken,” he said simply when she was done. Nemir looked up at him with her hands frozen in front of her and she nodded slowly as she pieced it together in her head. “Yeah,” Nemir said with a sombre realisation as it hit her, “She was heartbroken.”

  10. #230
    The companions met up in Strandburg and journeyed north again, following the task that Achernar had been given by the King and this time going eastwards.

    The companions found themselves in the wastes, travelling under the baking sun over the dry and cracked land. It was a desolate place, with little life to it. Far from Nemir's forest home. In Strandburg, they'd heard of a plateu where they might find Erna, and that she travelled the east side of the wastes to hunt drakes. One step closer to who they were looking for. The journey itself was rough going. There was little water that was safe to drink and the water that was safe was brown and dirty. Nemir pulled a face when Achernar and Leaf Sole first brought it back but Beldan strained and boiled it to be as clean as they could make it and they set up camp.

    As Nemir sat awake through the night, there was no sound. Occasionally, there would be a shift in sand far off or the scuttling of a creature and she heard it all but mostly there was just silence. Before drifting off herself, she walked the camp once more and found lizards coming towards them, as big as dogs. They had the stare of a predator. Ready to pounce. Ready to try their shot at eating her, probably. Nemir shot the closest one, killing it and the rest scattered. When Leaf Sole saw it, he realised they were venamous but there was some meat on them that they could eat.

    To keep up their spirits the next night, they shared stories by the fire and Beli shared his song: "Three trolls are too many!" Nemir told tales of home while Achernar shared out the wine. "When we were younger, Cevendir and I would go out exploring in the forest, finding all sorts of mischief. I suppose not much has changed really." she said with a fond laugh, "But you should've seen the look on our mother's face when we'd fallen into a pond and came back covered in mud." A pang of homesickness ate at her as she looked around a little bitterly at the empty land around her. This was nothing like home.

    After a long day of travelling, the Beli, Beldan, and Leaf Sole fanned out to search while the rest kept the camp so they wouldn't get lost and separated. Beli found a way through the land while Leaf Sole saw dust storms on the horizon and as they cleared away, the plateu that had been described. They came together in the evening to pitch camp and tell tales. Buzzards watched them from the dead shrubs they were perched on and Leaf Sole noticed all of the creatures were lean and thin - this was a predator's land. They pressed on the next day and passed through the canyon they'd found and it was rough going. They heard a scream of someone crying for help. Nemir grabbed her bow and climbed the ridge. A person was down below in a treacherous gulley. She looked as if she'd fallen and hurt her leg badly. Buzzards were feeding on the corpse of the horse that was near her. Nemir called down that they'd help her and Achernar shot one of the buzzards. The rest flew off and Nemir worked her way down. She heard more people up ahead but figured that they were perhaps her companions who also needed help until two men popped out from behind corners and shot at Nemir. From above, Beli noticed that the horse had been dead for some time and that something isn't right - he knew Nemir would be in trouble and began to head down to help. Nemir returned the shots - one at each brigand - and caught one in the neck and he died. The woman, who was not injured, and the other brigand began to run but Achernar had a line of sight and shot at the other brigand. The woman managed to scamper away and Nemir didn't give chase. As she noticed Beli, Nemir said, "One of them shot me".

    "You don't look any worse for wear," he replied and Nemir began to look for the way back out of the canyon, radiating irritation.

    "That was a dirty trick," she muttered.

    Eventually, Beldan found what they were looking for - a tent or group of tents out in the distance; it was hard to tell whether it was one or a few. Nemir and Achernar, meanwhile, came across a grusome sight of a corpse faced down with a knife in the back - a goblin blade with poison on the edge - curved, black, wicked. He'd been robbed of any pack he might have had and looked to be from Laketown or Dale. They flipped him over and saw maggots - his chest had been hollowed out. Nemir stumbled back and put a hand over her nose and mouth, making a disgusted noise. They came across a thicket and small pit dug with wooden, sharpened stakes. Packs were strewn about and shredded with bones of people in the pit. Four skulls. Leaf Sole found signs of preying animals on the bones. Beli thought the stakes were for defense and some group made a last stand here. The heat of the day rapidly plummeted and a chill arose as night fell. In the quiet, Nemir heard something and turned around. There was a lizard staring at them and a flock of the large buzzards had also landed and stared. The hunger of the land was apparent and tried to worm its way into their souls and dishearten them but Achernar inspired their hopes with a rousing speech and they found a better place to camp.

    They made it to the top of the bluff, guided by what the explorers found, and up there were three tents - two tattered but one intact and seemingly occupied, with a recently built fire. They approached, calling out to whoever was there but no response. Checking the tent, they found nobody inside either so, not wanting to intrude, they made their camp a little bit of a distance away but enough so that they could still see the three tents. Eventually, somebody calmly approached them with a hood and mask. "You wait patiently, what brings you to my camp?" She removed her mask, looking stern, determined and weary. Even though she was outnumbered, she looked confident. Nemir asked if she was Erna. "To give one's name in the wild is a precious thing. Let us sit and talk a bit. Yes, I am Erna."

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