An Awakening Storm – Introduction

Year 167 of the Fourth Age

King Aragon has been gone now for 47 years. His son Eldarion reigns in Gondor and rules the free world. Middle-Earth has experienced decades of peace but lately something has changed. Cold and ice-magic storms frequently strike all regions of the kingdom. Crops are destroyed, famine is everywhere, and unrest grows. Towns have been abandoned as people gather in the large cities for safety and warmth.

The abandoned towns are ransacked and pillaged by something unknown. crops are failing, animals are scarce. The world is dying and becoming a frozen wasteland. The free kingdoms are considering moving to the deserts of Far Harad to escape the cold.

The Royal Court is meeting in Gondor and they receive an unexpected guest – Radagast the Brown. Radagast enters and after he wipes the snow off of his hat and the ice from his beard, he finally speaks.

“We were so easily fooled. The world is dying, he hid and now returns”

“There was one place he could seek refuge in and now he has gathered power and strikes”

Eldarion, always short of patience speaks – “Speak of it wizard, what are you talking about?”

Radagast sits and talks in a hushed tone – “I will not speak his name, but when we destroyed the One Ring he retreated to the only place he could – the Palantir of Minas Ithil in his possession. We thought he was defeated but he was only diminished. The Palantir of Osgiliath was lost in the battle of the Black Gate and the Palantir of Minas Tirith is owned by the Royal Court of Minas Tirith – the location of the remaining six palantiri are unknown”

“Now he strengthens and he has plans anew replacing his failures. He is using the palantiri to wield his power and cover the world in famine, ice, and snow”

“Eight palantiri there are and eight must be destroyed. If even one remains, he will use it to hide and re-gather. They could be anywhere in Middle-Earth. He has no organized armies or fortresses, stealth and secrecy are his weapons.”

Eldarion slouches in his chair. “They could be anywhere, this is a fool’s errand!”

Radagast shares some hope.

“They need to be above ground an in the open air. Likely high in the air above trees to effect the weather. They are likely dispersed across Middle-Earth as all areas are effected.”

“We must move quickly and break them all before Middle-Earth is frozen forever. Once we are destroyed by famine and disease, he will release his hordes to complete his victory.”

“This cannot be won by force. He will move them if an army attacks. A small guild must be formed and tasked with this quest to find and destroy them all.”

An Awakening Storm – the beginning

Deep in thought, Eldarion called for the Royal Court’s seer.

Seldom has the Royal Court at Minas Tirith been in

such turmoil. The King’s Seer has witnessed strange

portents and signs In the great Seeing-stone or paIantir,

and rumors say that he suspects the mirages to be created

by another of the Stones.

The Seer speaks – “I have seen evil visions from the Minas Tirith Palantir’s twin – the Palantir of Minas Ithil. It is not commonly known that each Palantir has a twin that it has a greater affinity to. If we find a Palantir, it can be used to find its twin. I sense that the Palantir of Minas Ithil is sending these images and remains in Minas Morgul.”

“There is a legend as to how two palantiri were lost. After the death of King Earendut, Arnor was divided into the three realms of Arthedain, Cardolan, and Rhudaur. The Annuminas Palantir was retained

by Arthedain and moved to Fornost for safe keeping. The possession of the Amon SuI Stone was disputed between the three realms, because the tower was situated on their common border point. The Stone was eventually moved to Fornost following the destruction of the tower of Amon Sui by Rhudaur in Third Age 1409.”

“In Third Age 1974, the Witch-king launched an attack upon Arthedain, and King Arvedui was forced to flee with the two palantiri. He took refuge in the Blue Mountains and then with the Lossoth people of

the Far North until the minions of the Witch-king had been driven from his lands. Unfortunately, he was shipwrecked and drowned in the Bay of Forochel in Third Age 1975 while attempting to return to his

Kingdom; the palantiri were lost with him.”

“Rumour has reached my ears that many centuries after the shipwreck of King Arvedui, the lost palantiri of Amon SuI and Annummas lay forgotten In the depths of the Bay of Forochel. However, over

the years. the Stones were carried into shallower waters by

freak currents and the constant movement of the ice-pack.

There they were miraculously recovered by the fishermen

of a solitary people known as the Lossoth.”

“The Lossoth have become enamored of the great Stones:

their cold eyes were transfixed by the occasional flickering

flame deep within the hearts of the mysteriously beautiful

spheres. A chamber was erected on a slender rocky peninsula of the Ice Bay. and the newly found treasures were placed within. There, the snowmen revere the Stones- seeking a sign of blessing before the hunt. Recently some images have been received from the Amon SuI Stone by chance. This never happened at any time during the Third Age, since Sauron dominated the palantiri until his banishment. However. at the dawn of the Fourth Age. the way has opened

for users of a Stone in the South to receive vague images

from the Amon Sul Palantir.”

“It was a few weeks ago that I first dIscovered a strange disturbance that seemed to emanate from the North. I had just been observing the rebuilding work at Tharbad when my concentration lapsed into questioning just how far away the Stone could see. Picking up my train of thought once more, I began to move the point of vision further North. I had just glimpsed an ancient fortress perched upon a

jagged outcrop when I suddenly observed a dark and

clouded scene. After a few seconds, the vision receded and

I lost my concentration as the strain of using the Stone

caught up with me. Over the following days. I searched intently for the

same vision, for it had me intrigued. On several occasions

I observed the same brooding, lightlessness that I had

originally witnessed, but was unable to interpret what the

Stone was showing.”

“I am now sure that the lost Stones of Arnor have re-emerged

somewhere on the Northern shores of Middle-earth. Recovering the lost stones of Arnor are the first, best step in finding and destroying all of the palantiri”

Eldarion paused in thought and finally spoke.

“The path is clear – I will summon a a party of well-trusted subjects, acting with stealth and secrecy, to carry out this important task.”

“We will gather in two nights hence at Fionn MacCools Tavern”

The gathering

It was a busy but a quiet night at the Tavern. There were many observers but few adventurers that had answered the call. King Eldarion and his advisors were seated at the main table on the dais and observed the gathering crowd. Soon it became difficult to tell the adventurers from the observers.

King Eldarion stood up silently and the entire room fell into a hush.

“Thank you for answering Gondor’s call!”

“Our need is dire and all we have it but whispers in the wind. We have but one Palantir and memories of where the others were last known to be.”

“One lost in Isengard, One lost in Minas Ithil, One lost in Osgiliath, One last seen at Amon Sul, One sent from the Grey Haven to Lorien, One lost in the realm of Angmar, and One stolen from Numenor by Dark Mage of Rhun”

‘We must find them all and destroy them to prevent Sauron from once again gaining power. Although the One Ring has been destroyed, his malevolent spirit again gathers. The Nine are no more, but the Three have also left Middle-Earth. The board is even”

“Our seer has felt new dark magic through the Palantir. The Dark Mage of Rhun has gathered power in Rhun and the White Witches are abroad. We know a few of their names, The Dweller, The Nomad, The Ascetic, and their leader The Acolyte. Beware the coven. They are seeking the Palantir as well.”

“We will gift this map and bag of holding to the party to hide the Palantir once found from Sauron and the coven. We also must hide our Palantir in case Sauron recovers all the others. Once the fellowship is selected, we will inform you where our Palantir will be hidden”

“Whomever is here to answer the call, step forward and make your intentions known – tell me why I should put my faith in you”

Session 1 Recap

Kifak Battleborn was the first to answers the Kings call. Kifak stepped forward with a tankard in hand and offered his Dwarven Axe for service of the king. After him came Jesoc, a human warrior that offered himself in service of the king. Jesoc was followed by Arbun Bottombarrell, a halfing with who was also eager to serve the king. Finally, a half-elf stepped forward and introduced himself as Hallamir Caidithas. Hallamir likewise offered his services to the king.

The king acknowledged all the adventurers and welcomed them as “well met!”. King Eldarion then looked around and asked if there were any more adventurers would pledge their service. There was some murmuring but no one else came forward. There was some disappointment in the face of the King but he then called the High Seer forward.

The High Seer offered a reading of the adventurer’s fortune that could help with the challenges that lie ahead. The fellowship agreed and each reached into the Rune bag and pulled one Rune stone out. The following fortunes were read:

Kifak – The Spine – Foretells Strength, Breaking weak opponents, and Good Luck

Jesoc – The Sun – Foretells Energy and Success. Need for Self-Mastery and to stay on the path.

Hallamir – Necessity – Foretells a difficult lesson, a destiny and a rebellion

Arbun – Water – Foretells Medicine and spirituality. There will be a disagreement to be overcome.

The fellowship was then informed that the King will award each of them 100 gold pieces and a paid stay the night at the Inn before leaving in the morning. In addition, the King informed the fellowship they could visit any of the local outfitters and select any equipment they require. The king also mentioned that the fellowship will be granted four horses and a mule once they make it to Osgiliath and talk to Elboron.

The fellowship visited the outfitters and acquired an assortment of weapons, armour, and supplies. The fellowship also requested and were awarded two healing potions apiece.

The High Seer stepped forward and offered a bag of holding to the fellowship to contain the Palantir once they were found. The High Seer mentioned the bag of holding will secret away the Palantir from the world and informed the party that no other items should be placed in the Bag of Holding. Kifak accepted the Bag of Holding.

The fellowship offered their gratitude and decided to have a couple of pints and observe the crowd. Hallamir noticed two elves in the corner cautiously watching them and speaking in hushed tones. Kafik and Hallamir noticed an empty table next to the two elves and decided to play a game of cards to see what they could hear. Hallamir was able to understand Elvish and could hear the elves stating that they doubted the faith the king has put in these adventurers and that they would probably be dead in a week. Hallamir spoke loudly in Elvish and upon hearing this, the Elves quickly stopped their conversation and looked down.

The fellowship retired to their rooms and Kifak sat by the window to watch the elves leave and they left about an hour later but disappeared into the darkness after a block.

The fellowship awoke in the morning to a breakfast prepared by the bartender for their journey. They headed off to Osgiliath and although the day’s travel was long, it was uneventful.

They arrived in Osgiliath and sought out a reputable Tavern and Inn in the market district. Jesoc was able to locate a safe Inn and they inquired about Elboron from the waitress. She mentioned that he was the son of the steward and could be found in the Citadel of the Stars located in the middle of the main bridge. She also mentioned that it would be best to seek out Elboron in the morning as asking for an audience at this hour would not be appreciated. She also offered a room at half price since they have business with Elboron.

The fellowship took the waitress up on her offer and retired to their room. The fellowship made for the Citadel of the Stars in the morning and informed the guards that they were sent by King Eldarion for an audience with Elboron. The guards escorted the fellowship in to see Elboron in the hall of records.

The fellowship asked the Elboron about the Palantir that was last seen in Osgiliath and Elboron mentioned that his father, Faramir, requested that Aragorn quest the Oathbreakers to secret the Palantir away in the Paths of the Dead before being finally released from their oaths during the War of the Ring. Elboron shared that Faramir always had a foreboding that the Palantir would bring nothing but despair in the future.

The fellowship was disappointed with this new information but remained steadfast. The fellowship mentioned that King Eldarion promised them mounts and a mule for their travel. Elboron instructed his guards to take the fellowship to the stables and equip them with horses.

Before they left, Elboron gifted the fellowship with four coins that Faramir mentioned would be required to enter the Paths of the Dead.

The fellowship were assigned the following elite mounts:

Kifak – Ásjá (Protection)

Jesoc – Áræði (Courage)

Hallamir – Megin (Strength)

Arbun – Frœði (Knowledge)

Laughing, the guards informed the fellowship the mule was named Fretr (Fart). Fretr was loaded up with supplies and rations.

The fellowship begrudgingly thanked them and set off on their journey to Edoras and the paths of the Dead. The first day passed without incident, but on the first night a scouting party of Orcs ambushed their camp. The fellowship was able to eventually defeat the Orcs in a gruesome battle. Hallamir decapitated all of Orcs and stuck their heads on pikes as a warning to others. The fellowship also noticed that all of the Orcs carried an insignia of a white triangle.

The fellowship continued their travel on the second day without incident and set up camp. Thinking ahead, the fellowship searched around their campsite for any tracks. Finding none, they settled in for the evening and started their first watch. During the first watch they were awoken by an ungodly screeching from above. They could only see glimpses of the creature which looked like a giant disfigured bat.  Eventually they would defeat the unknown horror and examining it closer they confirmed that this was a beast never seen before.

They continued their travel the next day and were delayed a couple of hours by veering off track and having to backtrack. They came upon the gates of Edoras after nightfall and were met with a warning and distrust. After informing the guards of their business, they were escorted inside to rest before meeting Elfwine the Fair the next morning.

Session 2 Recap

The party was welcomed by Elfwine the fair the following morning. Elfwine offered them anything that Edoras could provide once he had heard that Elberon had sent them on their quest. Elfwine also let the fellowship that many other treasure seekers had previously set off for the Paths of the Dead never to return. Elfwine also recommended that they leave their horses in Edoras as the horses will be unable to climb up to Dunharrow and no animals will enter the Paths of the Dead.

The fellowship also asked about the Orcs with the symbol of the white triangle. Elfwine shared that Rohan has seen the symbol more and more frequently, but is unaware of the meaning or purpose behind it. Elfwine also shared that the Orc attacks have also become more frequent of late.

The fellowship thanked Elfwine for his hospitality and only requested general supplies and some holy water before they set out. Elfwine provided each party member with two vials of Holy Water each. The fellowship also agreed to leave their mounts behind and tipped the stable boy to take good care of the horses and the mule.

The fellowship travelled the day to Dunharrow without incident. They made their way up the switchbacks making their way past the statues of the Pukel Men.  They eventually came to the plateau and saw a black pillar looming in front of them with the dark cave beyond. The party felt an overwhelming feeling of fear as they first approached the Black Pillar and decided to camp here before entering the Dark Cave.

The party awoke the next morning and made their way past the Black Pillar after overcoming the intense feelings of fear that caused two party members to drop to one knee. They stoically stood up and moved forward and entered the Dark Cave. Inside the Dark Cave a cool breeze blew all around them. Suddenly the doors shut tight behind them. The fellowship lit torches and decided to move forward.

The fellowship continued down the passageway and came into a chamber with four alcoves that each contained a plain ceramic urn with three skeletons on the ground surrounding each urn. Hallamir looked inside the urn and found that it was empty. The fellowship all placed their coins in the urns with no effect. The fellowship emptied the urns and retrieved their coins. Jesoc strangely decided to take an urn and carry it with him.

The fellowship continued to the south end of the chamber and saw two pillars that glowed white as they approached. The closer they approached, the brighter the pillars shone until the light was almost unbearable. Jesoc and Kifak touched the pillars and found out they were very cool to the touch. Jesoc and Kifak felt stronger and emboldened after touching the glowing pillars. Undeterred, the party shielded their eyes and walked past the pillars down the passageway.

The passageway opened into a large chamber with nothing but a petrified tree in the centre. There were murals of trees and forests on all the walls of the chamber. The party examined the tree and the murals but could not recognize the tree or the murals. The fellowship decided to move on after Hallamir blessed the tree with Holy Water. The fellowship continued south down another passage.

The passageway opened into another chamber with six stone doors. Kifak struggled to open the first door but he was able to eventually open a couple of the doors with Jesoc’s help. They discovered that each room contained a sealed stone sarcophagus.

The fellowship decided to leave the sarcophagi undisturbed and exit to the south. They soon came upon another chamber with all the walls filled with unintelligible symbols that no one understood. The party tried to make sense of the symbols but were unsuccessful. Hallamir touched and prodded the symbols but it provided him with no additional insight. The fellowship decided to once again continue south.

The passageway opened into a larger chamber with an obsidian pedestal with a black sphere resting on it. As the fellowship approached the pedestal, a ghost warrior appeared and questioned:

“What do you seek?”

The fellowship told the tale of their quest and the ghost asked to see the coins. The party all deposited their coins in the ghost’s open palm and the ghost disappeared taking the coins with him. The black sphere also disappeared, leaving behind a black obsidian key.

In his mind, Kifak heard a voice: “Seek the Black Stone in Sarn Erech”. Kifak informed his party of what he heard and the fellowship decided to continue south to Sarn Erech after exiting the Paths of the Dead.

The next chamber was unlike any that they had seen before. It was totally constructed out of black obsidian and seem to narrow more and more towards the exit. The fellowship decided to send Arbun, the halfling, first to see if he could make it through.  Arbun was able to make it through and one by one the others also successfully made their way through. That was until Jesoc attempted to make his way through. Jesoc clumsily lost his footing and fell into the shards of obsidian cutting himself in the process. Jesoc was able to stand up again and make his way out.

The fellowship continued south into another chamber and found four more sarcophagi in pristine shape. The sarcophagi gleamed with a polished sheen and appeared new. The fellowship again decided to leave the sarcophagi undisturbed and continue south. Before they left the chamber, the fellowship was able to detect the smell of moisture and their spirits were lifted as they felt they were coming to the end of the Paths of the Dead.

As the party turned the corner, they continued to smell moisture and then heard the sound of running water. They soon saw water running down the vale in front of them and they were overcome with emotion. They stepped on out the Paths of the Dead into the sun.

All the party members are granted an inspiration for not desecrating remains in the Paths of the Dead.

The fellowship saw that far below them in the vale was the town of Sarn Erech. It was early afternoon and they estimated they could reach Sarn Erech by evening. They journeyed down the vale and soon came upon the ruins of Caleb Anghen – a beacon tower that had fallen into disrepair. The fellowship briefly examined the beacon tower but found nothing of note. The fellowship continued on and came upon the town of Sarn Erech in the late afternoon.

Jesoc recommended to the fellowship that the Crown and Castle Inn was a reputable place to seek food and lodgings. The fellowship was greeted by the halfling owner, Umbar Autumnleaf, who provided ale, food, and lodgings. The fellowship inquired about any local attractions or places that Umbar would recommend they visit. Umbar mentioned that Sarn Erech was a town with many inns and shops and recommended visiting the many shops and markets. Umbar also mentioned the games of chance upstairs. Kifak inquired about a local jeweller as the party wanted to ask about the Black Stone that was mentioned in the Paths of the Dead. Umbar gave the party direction to Tauron’s Jewellers and took his leave.

The fellowship finished their ales and went upstairs to try the games of chance. The fellowship played multiple games of Juggling Daggers, Poker, and Goblin’s Eye and were successful in winning gold in all of them. The party retired to their rooms as the games of chance were closing for the night.

The party awoke the next morning a set off for Tauron’s Jewellers. They were greeted by Tauron and asked about any black gemstones that he may have. Tauron showed the party multiple Obsidian gems, but the party was disappointed as they were all small. The party asked if Tauron had any larger Obsidian gemstones but he did not have any.

The fellowship decided to next check out the market area and visited the booths of many merchants before stopping at Wolf and Gunilds Brewery. Kifak immediately stopped and ordered ales. Kifak inquired if the Brewmeister knew of a Black Stone in Sarn Erech.

The Brewmeister replied: “The only Black Stone I know of is the Black Stone on Black Hill three miles southwest of Sarn Erech. Can’t miss it”

The fellowship quickly down their ales, tipped the Brewmeister, and thanked him for his help.

The party walked for under an hour and came upon the Black hill, with a Black Stone on a pedestal. The Black Stone was a black sphere on an Obsidian pedestal. The party rushed forward looking for a keyhole anywhere on the Black Hill, the black pedestal, or the Black Stone itself. Finding none, Hallamir suggested touching the key to the Black Stone itself.

When the Black Stone was touched with the Obsidian Key, the Black Stone opened, revealing a shimmering black sphere that the party guess was the Palantir. Kifak stepped forward and quickly swept the Palantir into the bag of holding, but not before he a terrifying vision of a dark tower in the middle of a forest. Kifak did not recognize the tower so he bravely reached toward the Palantir in the bag of holding one more time and had the same the same vision again but this time the tower was covered in spiders.

Kifak removed his hand and shared the visions he had with the rest of the party members.

The fellowship discussed their next plans trying to remember where other Palantir were lost. Hallamir suggested that Isengard was the closest and they should return to Edoras, retrieve their horses, and make for Isengard.

The party agreed and everyone decided to journey around the White Mountains rather than re-enter the Paths of the Dead.

Session 3 Recap

The party agreed to journey around the white mountains and return first to Edoras to retrieve their horses before heading to Isengard.

The party continued north and could see a storm above the white mountains. They decided to continue forward and journey up the slopes but unfortunately Hallamir lost the trail and the party needed to stop for the night and try to find the trail the next day.

During the night Kifak heard a sound near the perimeter of the camp and went to investigate. Kifak discovered a scouting party of Orcs that came through the bush and attacked. These Orcs were unlike any they had seen before. They bore the familiar white triangle insignia, but with the bottom half coloured in. The Orc party was comprised of four Orc Garroters and two Orc Ramparts that formed the front battle line. Behind the battle line were an Orc Terranova and Orc Conduit that planned and appeared unlike any Orc the party had seen before.

Hallamir smartly cast a spell to restrain 4 of the 6 front line fighters and the fight was engaged! Hallamir also summoned his drake and went to attack the Terranova and Conduit while the rest of the party engaged the front battle line. Hallamir with one cleaving blow decapitated the Conduit but soon discovered that the Terranova was skilled in elemental spell casting by casting Quake and Sinkhole magic.

The battle ebbed and flowed but ultimately the party was able to defeat the Orc Scouting party. The adventurers subdued one Orc and restrained him. The adventurers questioned the Orc in the morning after they rested. After asking all the questions and getting some concerning information about hundreds of Orcs in Isengard, Kifak gave the Orc his release.

The adventurers re-located the trail and climbed up the pass. Unfortunately, Hallamir could not find the trail down from the pass and they need to camp for the night until they could look for the trail down in the daylight. Kifak saw that a storm was forming and successfully found shelter from the blizzard. The blizzard passed in an hour and the party rested the rest of the night in the cave.

The adventurers emerged in the morning and found the trail leading down from the pass. As they headed down, they suddenly heard a rumbling above them – Avalanche!!!

The party braced themselves and were able to withstand the avalanche – just taking minor damage. But when the avalanche stopped, only three members could be seen! Arbun Bottombarrell was buried. The party frantically searched and they were able to find a pair of halfling legs and pull Arbun out!

The party gathered themselves and continued down and journeyed throughout the night to reach Edoras in the early morning.  The guards recognized the party, welcomed them back to Edoras, and allowed them to enter. The guards mentioned that they could have an audience with Elfwine the fair but not until the morning. Hallamir went to check on the horses while the rest of the party returned to the Inn.

The party drank Ale and tried to gather information about Isengard. Kifak was able to hear rumours from other patrons about the tower of Orthanc being destroyed and hundreds of Orcs emptying to the North-east.

The adventurers met Elfwine the fair the next morning and asked more questions about Isengard, hearing again that the tower had been destroyed and the exodus of Orcs. A Rohirrim rider shared that he was there on patrol and personally saw that there was a hole in the ground where the tower once was and the Orcs leaving in orderly formation. Most concerning, he shared that the tower seemed to be destroyed from outside.

Kifak asked for a private audience and share his vision with Elfwine the fair. Elfwine agreed and listened intently to his vision and mentioned that the dark tower and spiders in the vision could be the tower of Dol Guldur in southern Mirkwood.

The adventurers planned to continue to Isengard first and Elfwine the fair offered a garrison of 8 Rohirrim to support their quest. The party agreed to rest for the night and to head out the next morning to Isengard.

Session 4 Recap

The fellowship left Edoras in the morning with the cohort of 8 Rohirrim riders, horses, and Fretr. As they set out for Isengard they saw that the path was clear and barren ahead of them. It was easy to follow the path and they encountered no one on the day’s journey. The party was able to detect Orc and Warg tracks leaving off to the northeast during their journey. Hallamir was also able to detect that the Orc tracks seemed to join up with another troop of Orcs coming up from the south. The fellowship arrived at Isengard in the late afternoon and the Rohirrim informed the party that they would wait at the gate and guard the entrance. The party agreed and left their horses with the Rohirrim as they entered Isengard.

The fellowship saw that the wall surrounding Isengard had crumbled into disrepair and the courtyard was a barren wasteland. They discovered no corpses, bodies, or any soul living as they crossed the courtyard to the ruins of Orthanc.

As they approached Orthanc they could see the rubble of the tower lying outward from crater with four intact stairwells leading down – this confirmed the theory that the tower was destroyed from the inside. There was a minimal amount of rubble actually in the crater, most of the rubble had fallen outside of the crater. Hallamir studied the stairwells and selected the one with the least amount of rubble.

The Fellowship descended the stairwell and found themselves in a round room with four exits to the north, east, west, and south. The fellowship decided to explore the exit to the north first. As they progressed down the passage, the amount of rubble decreased and the passage seemed untouched by the end. The fellowship found that down this passageway were the barracks for seemingly hundreds of Orcs. They also found signs of recent use in both the kitchen and mess hall.

The fellowship continued back to the main room and chose to next explore the exit to the west. Arbun snuck down the passageway and found a set of metal double doors at the end. As Arbun was leaving to report on what he had heard, he heard sounds of grunting and effort behind the doors. The fellowship discussed whether to move on but ultimately thought it would be best to not turn their back on the room. The fellowship snuck up to the door to open it quietly but when they opened the door it screeched metal on metal that echoed throughout the entire dungeon. The ten Fury Orcs that were training turned at the sound and attacked. The Fury Orcs were training with spears and attacked from a distance and in close quarters. The Fellowship was able to eventually defeat the Fury Orcs. The party searched the Fury Orcs but found nothing of value. Jesoc searched the armor for signs of the white triangles but found none.

The fellowship decided to next explore the passage to the south. The discovered a row of cells that were all empty save one. The party discovered this cell was occupied by a lone female elf. She shared that her name was Aenwyn Leorieth and that she was captured by the Orcs while she was on a scouting mission. Aenwyn mentioned that the Orcs went mad trying to find the Palantir of Orthanc. Aenwyn shared that they couldn’t find the Palantir as she found it and sent it away to be hidden. The enraged Orcs returned to Dol Guldur and left her here to die.

The party found that the cell door was locked. Arbun was able to use his thief tools and successfully picked the lock.

Aenwyn was grateful and shared that she sent the Palantir with a messenger back to the Wood Elves realm. Jesoc asked Aenwyn if she knew what was in the remaining rooms to the south and she shared that these all were torture rooms. The Fellowship informed Aenwyn that they are here with a cohort of Rohirrim that are waiting at the Isengard main gate and that it would be safest for her to wait above with the Rohirrim. Aenwyn thanked them and made her way to the Rohirrim.

The Fellowship explored chambers down a western passage and found that they lead to three gruesome torture chambers where they found dead Trolls, Ogres, and Elves that were tortured to death. The party left the grisly scene and continued south. 

The southern passage came to an end with passages heading off east and west. These passages ended in single steel doors. The Fellowship heard commands being given from behind the western door so they decided to explore the eastern room first. The eastern door opened into a wide circular torture room covered in blood and sweat. Claw and teeth marks were gouged into the floor, ceiling, and walls. Finding nothing else the party continued to the western door.

The Fellowship opened the western door and found what had caused the gouges – a Carrion Crawler. The Carrion Crawler was being trained by two Orc Garroters. The Orc Garroters were emblazoned with half filled triangle insignias. Hallamir thought quickly and entangled the Carrion Crawler and one of the Orc Garroters. This made the battle much easier and the Fellowship took advantage. The party was able to defeat the Orc Garroters and moved on to attack the Carrion Crawler.

After multiple vicious attacks, Arbun unleashed a killing strike that landed between the eyes and the Carrion Crawler fell.

Arbun is awarded an inspiration for his heroic killing blow.

Jesoc carried the corpse of one of the Orc Garroters back to the main room to show to the Rohirrim.

The Fellowship decided to explore the final passageway to the east. They explored what seemed to be barracks for officers as they were more spacious. These barracks were totally empty but they soon heard a low growling yell come from a room to the south – “What is going on out there!”

Out of the officer’s mess hall came a huge Orc War Chief in chain mail adorned with a half coloured white pyramid insignia. A vicious battle ensued but the fellowship were up to the challenge. The Orc War Chief viciously swung his battle axe cleaving the air as it clanged into armour and the stone walls. The Fellowship was able to finally defeat him and gathered their breath. The party searched the Orc War Chief and found that his Battle Axe was a magically infused +1 axe that Kifak took for his own.

The Fellowship exited the underground tunnels of Orthanc and rejoined the Rohirrim to find Aenwyn waiting. Jesoc showed the Orc Garroter to the Rohirrim and the Rohirrim agreed to take the Orc back to Edoras.

The party camped for the night before setting out in the morning.  

Session 5 recap

The fellowship awoke in the morning and discussed whether to go through Fangorn Forest or around. Aenwyn recommended travelling through the forest as it would give cover from prying eyes. The party started on with their two-day travel through Fangorn and noticed immediately that many trees seemed to have been chopped down and there were tree stumps all around them. In the middle of the first day then detected the sound of chopping ahead and sent Arbun and Hallamir ahead to scout out the sound.

Arbun and Hallamir were shocked to see a party of Orc Furies destroying a Derdingle – a meeting place for Ents. Arbun and Hallamir attacked and surprised the party of Orc Furies. The rest of the party rushed forward to assist and saw that this party of Orcs was being directed by a War Mage Hobgoblin in addition to an Orc War Chief. The Orc Furies provided little challenge for the fellowship but the War Mage Hobgoblin was a different story. The War Mage Hobgoblin teleported and also cast Rain of Hellfire on the party. The Orc War Chief was also formidable with his vicious swings of his mighty Greataxe.

Eventually the fellowship was able to defeat the Orc party and Aenwyn took time to bless the defiled Derdingle site with an Elvish prayer none had heard before. The party gathered themselves and continued on. The party camped for the night without incident and they continued on the next morning.

In the early afternoon of the second day in Fangorn, the party came upon a cabin on a hill in the woods. The cabin looked well kept and the party moved forward – although Kifak was more uncertain and hung back. They found the cabin door unlocked and entered. They were welcomed inside by an elderly woman who was cleaning up a mess she had spilled on the floor.

She introduced herself as Nixe and her pet Raven as Niche. The party was very interested on why she was here and she shared that she appreciated the solitude. When asked if the Orcs or others bothered her, Nixe just replied “They know best not to bother me”. Nixe offered stew and ale to the party which they graciously accepted. Shortly after the party members drank the ale they found that the chill of the cold no longer bothered them. Nixe asked the party questions about where they were going and what their purpose was. The party just mentioned that they were heading north and Nixe asked no further questions. Nixe also offered advice to not go through Lorien as the forest had turned dark since the elves had left Lorien.

The party took their leave but before they exited the cabin Kifak presented a gift of a stone from his village to Nixe. She graciously accepted the gift and wished them well.

The party continued north through Fangorn and Hallamir and Arbun felt something uneasy behind them and when they looked they noticed the cabin was gone! The hill was there but any signs of a cabin on the hill was non-existent – unnerved, the fellowship continued on.

The party came to the edge of Fangorn and decided to camp there before continuing on. The night passed without incident and in the morning the party discussed whether to take Nixe’s advice and go around Lorien. Aenwyn recommended against it as it would require either going close to the Misty Mountains or crossing the Anduin. Eventually the party agreed to continue through Lorien.

The trip through Lorien was uneventful and the party decided to camp at the northern edge of Lorien to remain hidden. The night passed without incident and in the morning the Aenwyn recommended that they use the Old Ford bridge to cross the Anduin, but before that to stop in the city of Maethleburg to visit the markets and seek rest before they make the last push towards northern Mirkwood. Aenwyn mentioned that Maethleburg is about an hour north of the Old Ford bridge but worth the delay. The party agreed and they set out for the two-day journey to Maethleburg.

On the afternoon of the first day the party came upon two stone cairns in the middle of a grassy field. They appeared innocuous and KifaK and Jesoc reached out and touched them. Suddenly, they animated into two Galeb Duhr and the stone sentinels attacked! Their attacks were vicious and deadly with one Galeb Duhr knocking Kifak down to one knee before he recovered. The party defeated the first of the Galeb Duhr and then Kifak measured his opponent and with one mighty swing cleaved the Galeb Duhr’s head off and shattered the stone sentinel.

Kifak is granted an inspiration in recognition of his prowess in battle.

The party continued on and camped in the open for one night. The night passed without incident, although it seemed too quiet. The fellowship made their way to Maethleburg the following morning and with an uneventful day of travel came to the city gates just before sunset.

The fellowship made their way to various merchants in Maethleburg and had custom cloaks, bows, and shields made. They decided they would seek an audience with the Thegn in the morning to inform him of everything they had learned. The fellowship then decided to have some ales and seek lodging for the night. They were disappointed that no gambling houses existed in Maethleburg but found that the ale was of the highest quality. They also heard rumours of more frequent Orc raids on the farmland surrounding Maethleburg.

The next morning the fellowship ventured up to the summit to seek an audience with the Thegn. Before seeing the Thegn, Jesoc wanted to visit the astrologer to get a reading of their future. Jesoc asked about his brother, but the astrologer could not provide any clarity. When Jesoc asked if their quest would be successful, the astrologer foretold that she saw victory, but first darkness. Jesoc thanked the astrologer and tipped her well for her time.

The fellowship found that the Thegn’s tower had a couple of sentry guards. They requested an audience with the Thegn and were granted one. One of the sentry guards guided them in and the Thegn bid them welcome and put out a feast and wine and ale for their enjoyment. The Thegn also told dire tales of frequent Orc raids and the grainaries being and third of what they should be. All was not well.

Slowly the party started to feel very tired and were unable to keep their eyes open. Kifak and Arbun stayed awake the longest to hear the Thegn say “I’m sorry, I had no choice”. Then all was black.

The fellowship awoke in a locked prison cell. Hallamir could sense by the smell and humidity that they were underground. They found that they had all their supplies and armour, but none of their weapons. They could see there was a series of cells down the hallway.

What would you like to do next?

Session 6 Recap

The party awoke in the cells and checked that everyone was present. In talking amongst themselves they heard an unfamiliar voice reach out  “Hello, is anyone there?”

The new voice introduced himself as a Gnome prisoner – Pibbnyck Berrydust. Pibbnyck informed the others than his village was ransacked by Goblins and Orcs and he had been captured. Pibbnyck also let the party know that they were in Goblintown under the Misty Mountains.

Pibbnyck also shared the following information:

• The Orcs used these cells to hold Gnomes and Dwarves that are held prisoner until they come and get them for torture or worse. He has been here for about a week and is the lucky or unlucky last person remaining.
• Your weapons are probably in the room to the south of the cells.
• There are three levels in Goblintown with exits on the 1^st level. There are two exits, Back Door to the north and Wolf Gate to the south. Recommend staying away from the Wolf Gate as it is the main entrance and heavily guarded
• Orcs and Goblins are working together – for what purpose I do not know.
• They have enslaved my kin to serve them in Goblintown.
• Orcs do the heavy work on level 3, while the Goblins are on level 1 and 2.

The party tried to pick the locks and force open the cells with no success. Finally, Arbun cast misty step to release himself from the cell. Arbun went south to the storeroom that Pibbnyck mentioned and found their weapons and a ring of keys. Arbun returned with the keys and returned to open all of the cells.

The party cautiously explored the passages and found that they and journeyed in a circle and were back to their cells. The fellowship explored a passage to the east and found a stone bridge that crossed a pit that seemed to have no bottom. The pit had a very dim red glow that pulsed with the sound of drumming from way below. The party dropped a pebble down the pit with no immediate response.

Exploring further the fellowship heard the sound or metal clanging ahead. They decided to move towards the sound and found a band of Fury Orcs practicing combat. The party engaged the Fury Orcs and were able to defeat them after a furious battle with Jesoc sporting some wounds. The party discovered that during the battle Pibbnyck had run off. Aenwyn said that Pibbnyck was behind her and he was gone when she looked next.

The fellowship continued exploring to the north and west and discovered a couple of passages that ended in rubble. Eventually the fellowship explored a passage running southwest and came upon a storage room and a room holding chained Gnome slaves. The party offered to free the Gnomes but they declined as they feared being killed wandering the passages before they could find an exit. The party reluctantly agreed but promised to send help if they could escape.

Upon leaving the room, Hallamir detected the smell of fresh air further to the southwest and the party agreed to follow in that direction.

The party continued to the southwest and came upon a kitchen with four more chained Gnomes. These Gnomes also politely declined being released and the party again pledged to return. The party explored the next room and found that it was an armoury. Although many routine and discarded weapons and armour were there, there was also a locked cage with several uncommon items.

Kifak pushed Arbun over to try and pick the lock. Arbun was able to easily pick the lock and the fellowship discovered that these items were indeed magical and must have been collected from prisoners over the months. The fellowship looked them over and selected the following items for themselves:

• Blood Moon Blade – Jesoc
• Spellfire Bow – Hallamir
• Mistwalker Armour – Hallamir
• Aenwyn – Dress of Defense
• Arbun – Pick and Pocket Daggar
• Arbun – Ring of True Companions
• Arbun – Myceliaweave Armour

 After the items were gathered, Kifak noticed a chest in the corner. Once again Kifak pushed Arbun over to open the locked chest. Arbun was able to again pick the lock and the chest swung open revealing 2,957 gold pieces. The gold looked to have been accumulated over time as some of the gold pieces were tarnished while others were notched or like new. The party split up the gold and moved on.

The party continued to the southwest towards the fresh air and came upon more storerooms and one more room of Gnome slaves. They continued on and eventually came to a roughly hewn stairway that led up. The fellowship decided to send Arbun ahead to scout the second level.

Arbun reported back it was clear and the rest of the fellowship joined him on the second level. The party explored northeast and found another storage room. The fellowship moved on to the next room and found a Gnome healer that was also chained. The healer informed the party that he heals Gnome slaves that have been injured in their duties. The party asked to be healed and he was more than happy to provide healing. The fellowship then asked if he could provide a blessing.

The shaman said he would but first they needed to show they were worthy be answering a riddle:

“What has a golden head, a golden tail, but no body?”

Jesoc was able to reply that it was a coin. The Gnome shaman nodded in acceptance and produced a deck of cards for the fellowship to choose their blessing. The shaman first warned that fortune sometime decreed a blessing could be a somewhat less than a boon.

All members agreed and moved to select a card:

Arbun – Nose for Magic – Smell traces of magic at all times like you are under the effect of a detect magic spell:

• Conjuration – Blueberries
• Necromancy – Seared Meat
• Evocation – Fresh Flowers
• Abjuration – Oiled Metal
• Transmutation – Crackling Ozone
• Divination – Fresh Pine
• Enchantment – Crisp Pear
• Illusion – Smouldering Cedar

Kifak – Gemini’s Gift – Manifest a magical twin within 10 feet of yourself once per long rest for an hour. It shares all your characteristics and can deal the same attacks. The twin can either take one action or one bonus action but not both. Your twin disappears when it loses half of it’s hit points or an hour’s time has elapsed.

Hallamir – Brewer’s Boon – Mastery over potions. You regain the maximum amount of hit points when drinking a healing potion and any potion you drink lasts twice the normal duration. You are also gifted a corked potion bottle that allows you to summon a potion of your choice once a day:

• 1-17 – potion of rare or lesser value
• 18-20 – any potion

Jesoc – Unseen Pursuer – The hair on the back of your neck stands on end and you feel like you are being watched at all times. This can be distracting at times, especially in battle. Sometimes you feel like you can see the pursuer just at your edge of vision, but then he disappears. Constitution check must be made after every long rest to see if you can overcome this distraction.

The fellowship then offered to free the Gnome Healer but he also declined as he felt he needed to stay here to heal his fellow Gnomes. The party took their leave and gave the healer Gnome some food as a gesture of thanks. The fellowship moved north finding more storerooms and another kitchen staffed by female Gnome slaves.

The fellowship again detected fresh air coming from the west and continued in that direction.

The party saw the roughly hewn staircase leading up in the distance with passages to the north and south before it. The party explored the passage to the south and discovered it was guest chambers with a bed, desk, and a wardrobe closet. Although nothing of not could be found in the desk, the wardrobe closet contained multiple women’s garments with the insignia of a red tower on them.

Finding nothing else of note, the party left to explore the passage to the north and heard Orc and Goblin chanting. Kifak led the fellowship in the direction of the chanting and the party saw a sacrificial ceremony with a dwarf being sacrificed on an altar. The fellowship immediately attacked while Kifak raced to the altar. Unfortunately, Kifak was a step too late as the dagger was plunged into the Dwarf’s heart laying on the altar.

In a rage, the fellowship decimated the Goblins. Kifak tried to revive the Dwarf without success. Kifak respectfully removed the Dwarf’s body from the altar.

The fellowship noticed that there were two passages leading west from the ritual chamber and discovered that this cave housed a Goblin Harem led by an Orc Madam. Kifak, still in a rage, touched the Orc Madam on her shoulder with a shocking grasp. The Orc Madam collapsed, and the Goblin Harlots cowered in the corner.

The fellowship left and returned back to the main passage to continue west following the fresh air. Once again they sent Arbun up the roughly hewn steps to explore. Arbun reported back that everything was clear and the fellowship followed Arbun up the stairs to the first level.

The fellowship remembered that the back door exit was north so they continued north through the passages. They soon heard Orc commands being issued from a chamber to the north and cautiously explored two passages leading to a large chamber. The fellowship saw that there seemed to be a meeting being held in this chamber with a battalion of Orcs, Goblins, and the Goblin King.

The fellowship readied themselves to attack – not even noticing the familiar Gnome reporting to the Goblin King.

Session 7 Recap

The party carefully moved forward and took shots at Orc Guards at the front of the chamber. The party retreated down the passages and the two Orc Guards followed. The party heard the familiar voice of Pybbnick – “Those are the ones I was telling you about!”. They suddenly heard an unfamiliar female voice speak “Deal with them! End them all”. This was followed by the sound of a controlled spell implosion and the female voice wasn’t heard from again.

A deep bellowing voice, which the party thought was the Goblin King, commanded “Get them you worthless grubs”.

All of the Orc guards moved forward to attack, but the party smartly retreated down the passages and were able to deal with the Orc guards two by two. When the first Orc Guard was killed, it immediately turned into ice. Quickly after the ice vaporized leaving no trail of the Orc Guard that once was there. The remaining Orc Guards moved forward and showed their hatred for Dwarves, taunting Kifak – “Coward of a Dwarf!”

It wasn’t long before the fellowship was able to eliminate all the Orc Guards. Each of the Orc guards first turned to ice and then vaporized leaving only a few specks of ice behind.

Once all the Orc guards were dealt with, the fellowship then moved into the main chamber to attack the Goblins. Jesoc and Kifak then ran recklessly into the crowd of Goblins earning themselves inspiration for their bravery and lack of common sense. The Goblin King shoved Pybbnick forward with the rest of the Goblins and shouted “Get them you imbeciles! Protect me!”

Hallamir attempted to entangle the Goblins, but they were able to resist the effect. Arbun targeted Pybbnick and with two arrows prematurely ended the Gnome’s life. The rest of the fellowship was able to easily defeat to rest of the Goblins leaving only the massive Goblin King.

The Goblin King moved forward but the fellowship was too much even for one of his stature. After  vicious rounds of attacks, Jesoc was able to finally defeat the Goblin King. The Goblin King swayed and teetered and fell back towards Kifak. Kifak tried to scramble out from beneath the toppling Goblin King, but unfortunately tripped over his own feet and the Goblin King landed on him with a thud.

Kifak groaned and then screamed “Get him off of me!!!”

The party was able to free Kifak and they gathered themselves. They searched all the Goblins but found nothing of value. The fellowship decided to carry on even though they were hurt and exhausted. They continued north to follow the smell of fresher air. When they got to a fork in the passage, Arbun was able to smell blueberries and fresh air. Arbun told the fellowship that this indicated Conjuration magic ahead. The fellowship agreed to follow the smell of blueberries and fresher air.

They soon came to a stone bridge crossing a large chasm. Floating above the bridge was a Fire Wraith that stared at them and simply asked – “Password?”

The fellowship tried several password ideas in several languages but nothing seemed to appease the Fire Wraith. Jesoc decided to move forward and see if the Fire Wraith would let him pass. The Fire Wraith struck Jesoc with his Scimitar and Jesoc retreated.

Kifak went back to search the body of Pybbnick to see if they missed something. Kifak found that Pybbnick had the half-filled triangle insignia on his garb. Kifak searched more and found a plaque with a white tower insignia. Kifak took the plaque and returned to the stone bridge.

Kifakl showed the plaque with the white tower to the Fire Wraith and the Fire Wraith floated to the side to let them pass.

The fellowship followed the path and the smell of fresher air. Arbun told the party that the smell of blueberries had faded. They continued on and found a series of empty chambers off of the path with nothing but hay, dirt, and bits of food – whatever was here was now gone. They soon found a pit that seemed to serve as a latrine and quickly moved on from the stench.

The fellowship then heard a fluttering sound from their left and went to investigate. They discovered a chamber with dozens of normal bats hanging from the ceiling. Detecting nothing extraordinary or unusual about the bats they continued on.

The fellowship continued marching upward and the air got fresher and fresher. Finally, they heard the shouting of Orcs ahead. They soon saw a chamber ahead with seven Garroter Orcs guarding a closed stone door on the far side of the chamber. The fellowship got excited as they saw daylight streak through the crack of the door.

Kifak moved into the room a showed the white tower plaque to the Orcs. The Orcs sneered and said “She means nothing to us!” The battle was engaged and the injured and exhausted fellowship put all their efforts into battle one last time. They were able to defeat the Garroter Orcs and Kifak opened the door showing light of the late afternoon on the eastern slope of the Misty Mountains.

The fellowship quickly made their way down the mountain side and camped once they were far enough away. They discussed whether to take revenge on the mayor of Maethleburg or continue on to the Wood Elves realm. Aenwyn reminded them that she had given a Palantir to the scout to return to the king of the Wood Elves.

Begrudgingly they all agreed that revenge would have to wait.

Session 8 Recap

The party decided to take a long rest before continuing to the Forest Gate in western Mirkwood as Aenwyn shared that it would be a hard day’s travel to the gate. The party set up watches for the evening and Jesoc and Arbun took the first watch. Halfway through the first watch a cold wind starting to blow and it started to snow. Hallamir and Kifak took the second watch and found that the wind and snow intensified during their watch. By the time morning had come, there was a solid blanket of a half foot of snow on the ground.

Jesoc awoke feeling tired and unrested. His night was filled with dreams of being pursued and chased. From behind every tree or building, he felt he was being watched.

The snow troubled Aenwyn greatly and she shared that she had never seen snow in the part of the land. The party urgently headed off and they undertook the hard day of travelling without any horses to assist them. They reached the Forest Gate in the early evening and decided to take a long rest before entering Mirkwood. Aenwyn shared that it would be two days travel to get to the Wood Elves Hall and that it would be wise to only spent a short rest while within Mirkwood. Aenwyn also warned the party to stay on the path and not fall into the Enchanted River lest be placed into a deep sleep. The party agreed and rested before their journey into Mirkwood.

The party awoke shortly after the sun had risen in the cold, early morning. Thankfully, Jesoc had a restful sleep and was feeling more refreshed.

The fellowship ventured into Mirkwood and stayed on the path. After a few hours they came upon a grisly scene – a dead giant spider beside the path. The giant spider appeared to have been mauled and looked to be here for awhile as it was covered in snow. Aenwyn shared that she has never seen this before and urged them to reach the Wood Elves Hall as soon as possible.

The party continued on and after a couple of hours they came upon five more dead Giant Spiders on the path in front of them. Arbun shot a couple of arrows in the carcasses to make sure they were dead. Once they were sure the Giant Spiders were dead they cautiously moved ahead on the path between the Giant Spiders.

Once they were in the middle of the five Giant Spider corpses, the corpses exploded from within and five Horror Fit Hunters screeched and surged forward covered in blood to attack. The party readied them selves and attacked. The party was able to defeat all of Horror Fit Hunters after fending off their bite attacks.

After the battle was over the party asked Aenwyn if she had ever seen these creatures before and she mentioned that she had never seen them and was as shocked and horrified as all the party members.

Kifak mused out loud: “I wonder how big those creatures get if these were the babies?”

The party continued on and found another dead Giant Spider on the path. They closely investigated the spider and confirmed it was indeed dead but still intact. The party decided to chop up the spider to ensure that another Horror Fit Hunter didn’t emerge. The party chopped up the Giant Spider and to their horror they saw something writhing in the carcass.

The party continued on into the late evening and Aenwyn recommended they stop here for a short rest. The short rest passed without incident and Aenwyn roused them to continue before the sun came up. Aenwyn mentioned that the bridge over the Enchanted River is just a couple of hours away and they should reach it in the early morning.

The party came upon the bridge a few hours later and found that it had been destroyed. Upon investigation they party learned that the bridge had been destroyed on purpose. After seeing that they could not jump across the river, they decided to tie a rope to an arrow and shoot it into the tree across the river. Arbun was able to expertly hit the tree solidly and the party tied the rope to the bridge on their side and prepared to climb across.

Arbun went first as he was the lightest and was able to zip line across. The tree bent a little with the halfling’s weight, but Arbun made his way across. As Arbun landed, four Winter wolves snarled and came out from beneath the bridge. Arbun quickly turned the closest Winter Wolf to defend him as the rest of the party made their way across using the zip line. Jesoc crossed next – the tree bent more but he was able to land on the other side. Kifak went next and the tree bent a bit more but Kifak was able to get on the other side of the river as well. Finally, Hallamir slid down the zip line and just when he crossed the river the rope snapped! Hallamir fell on the bank of the Enchanted River but he was able to catch himself before he slid down into the river. Hallamir climbed up and everyone engaged in the battle.

Four more Winter Wolves came out from the other side of the bridge once they heard the sounds of the battle. Hallamir smartly casted spike growth to hamper the wolve’s attack. Arbun’s turned wolf continued to battle with the party against the other seven Winter Wolves. The party was slowly turning the tide of the battle and slaying the Winter Wolves. A slender wolf moved forward and howled at Arbun’s turned wolf. The party moved forward and slayed the howling wolf. Arbun’s turned wolf was enraged as he saw his mate killed in front of his very eyes. All of the Winter Wolves then attacked the party but the wolves could not overcome the spike growth and the valour of the party. Eventually the Winter Wolves were destroyed and the party managed to get Aenwyn across the river as well. The party salvaged a few wolf pelts and moved on.

The fellowship continued on and made their way to the Wood Elves Hall. During their passage through Mirkwood the snow on the ground increased as they continued east. They finally came the gates of the Wood Elves Hall and Aenwyn was dismayed when she saw the doors wide open and snow blown in the gaping entrance.

Aenwyn rushed forward and the party followed. They found that the Wood Elves realm had been destroyed. There was snow and ice throughout the rooms with dead wood elf warriors frozen in the snow with black arrows in their bodies. Aenwyn led the party to the throne room. They first passed the wood storage rooms and found that the wood storage had been exhausted.

Finally, they came to the throne room and saw the King dead on the thrown with a arrow in his heart and the crown fallen in the snow beside the throne. The floor of the throne room was covered in snow and dozen of slain elf warriors. The party rushed forward to the throne.

Aenwyn knelt down and sobbed. Kifak leaned down and picked up the crown and handed it respectfully to Aenwyn. The party was dejected that their journey had gone for naught. Hallamir knelt down and discovered a compartment in one leg of the throne. Hallamir was able to pry it open and discovered a note and a velvet bag with a spherical object inside.

Hallamir read the note:

Hallamir translated the note for the others:

“Dear Aenwyn, I hope you find this note and this Palantir. Please take the Palantir to the King in Minas Tirith and seek out the line of Dain in the Grey Mountains. Do not use the Palantir, I peered into the Palantir and unwittingly brought our doom. Beware the Curuni eight. But also in doing that I saw a Palantir in Nor Dumm in the Grey Mountains. Time is short. Go to them before the dark one does”

Kifak gathered the velvet bag and confirmed it was a palantir. Kifak placed the palantir into the Bag of Holding.

The party agreed that the next steps would be to journey to Nor Dumm and then return to Lake Town and Erebor on the way back. Aenwyn informed the party she would not be joining them and would instead stay behind and seek out her kinsman to rebuild the Wood Elves realm.

The fellowship wished her well and asked if they could help her in any way. Aenwyn declined as she couldn’t think of anything that would help. The fellowship rested one last time before heading to the Grey Mountains. Before they departed, Jesoc summoned a Dire Wolf steed for Arbun to ride.

Kifak also sent a message to Erebor to find out if they were ok or had also been affected by what was inflicted on Mirkwood. Kifak received a short reply “All is well here.”

They took their leave of Aenwyn and stepped out of the Wood Elves Hall. The walked east and soon came out of Mirkwood and saw Lake town below them and the Lonely Mountain to the north.

Further north they saw the majestic Grey Mountains with a large white winged creature swooping over the snow-capped peaks.

Session 9 Recap

The fellowship decided to journey north on their way to Celeb-Ost. Arbun loaded up his dire-wolf, Judi, with all of his supplies and belongings. Before they set off, Kifak sent a message to King Eldarion in Minas Tirith:

“We have found two Palantir, it has grown colder and is very snowy. We have encountered many Orcs and are now heading to Norr-Dum in search of a third Palantir”

King Eldarion sent the following message back:

“Greetings, that is indeed hopeful news. Things are challenging in Minas Tirith. Cold, ice, and snow have settled on the city. Have sent the palantir of Minas Tirith into exile. Not safe to say where. Be safe and secure.”

The party set off on their two day travel to Celeb-Ost. The fellowship noticed that the weather became colder and colder with more snow on the ground as they continued north. Kifak guided the party and they were able to make their way north without losing their trail and found rabbits plentiful on their travels. After a full day of travel, the party came to a pond and a hollow under an escarpment that appeared to be a good place to camp for the night. The fellowship started a fire and roasted rabbits before resting for the night. The first watch passed without incident.

During the second Watch, Hallamir heard something from on top of the escarpment and went to investigate. Hallamir climbed up the escarpment and discovered two Trolls on the escarpment that were stalking their campsite. Hallamir was able to remain undetected and returned back the camp to warn the others.

The Trolls then attacked the camp and soon the fellowship found that they were surrounded by four Trolls. Hallamir struck at the closest Troll and almost cleaved off an arm with an elegant swipe. With the battle engaged, Arbun misty stepped up to the escarpment to provide a better line of sight for his ranged attacks.

A vicious battled ensued with the Trolls dealing terrible claws attacks balanced by the fellowship backing the Trolls away with Sword, Axe, and arrows dealing damage. The tide was starting to turn with two Trolls being killed when suddenly a Oni emerged from the forest to the south:

“Kill them my children! End them!”

Hallamir smartly cast Cloud of Fog that enveloped the Oni. The Oni terrified the fellowship by flying up out of the cloud right and landing next to Kifak and Jesoc. The fellowship were able to dispatch the other Trolls leaving just the Oni to deal with. Jesoc lunged and grappled the legs of the Oni leaving the rest of the party to overcome the Oni.

The rest of the party converged on the Oni and eventually were able to deal the killing blow. The Oni released a horrifying death scream and dissolved into a purple mist leaving only his mask behind. Jesoc examined the mask and picked it up and attached it to the inside of his shield. The fellowship rested for the rest of the early morning before setting out the next morning for Celeb-Ost.

After a long day of travel the party came to the gates of Celeb-Ost in early evening. The Dwarven guards saw that the party has one of Durin’s folk with them and gladly invited them in. They greeted Kifak and offered to escort them to the Prince-Regent, Narvi the 10th.

Narvi welcomed the fellowship warmly and explained that Norr-Dum was suiffering under a blockade:

“These are dark times – the kingdom of Norr-Dum has been isolated by a Winter witch and her minions. They are trying to starve out Norr-Dum and take the treasure of our kingdom. The Orc Fortress Kula Dulakurth guards one river that leads to Norr-Dum and the lair of Bairanax guards the other river. Those two rivers are the only way through the mountains to Nor-Dumm.”

“We are delighted to have one of Durin’s folk join us. Anything we have is yours. Our stocked river and farming makes us self-sufficient while we mine and smith”

“Visit the Silver Axe, Healer, and Library if that interests you”

Narvi also offered that the fellowship could visit the storerooms, armoury, or Smiths to replenish their supplies. The fellowship gratefully accepted and upon visiting the armory, Kifak selecting a finely crafted set of imposing smoldering armor. Hallamir selected a Dreadhelm which made his eyes glow red when worn. Jesoc took the opportunity to ask the smiths to combine two blades into one for upcoming battles.

The party decided it was time to make their way to The Silver Axe, the only tavern in Celeb-Ost. The party opened the door under the sign and were welcomed into the chaos of a true Dwarven tavern. Lozin Nobleshoulder welcomed the fellowship in and arranged for lodging for the party. The tavern was filled with smoke, shouts, and contests of arm wrestling, ale drinking, and beard pulling. Lozin Nobleshoulder informed the party that entry into the contests cost 10 gold pieces with the winner winning all the money wagered.

A broad smile filled Kifak’s face and he quickly ordered a round of Ale. Hallamir followed that up by ordering a round for everyone in attendance for the meager sum of 10 gold pieces. The fellowship quickly down their ales and made their way over to the contest tables of arm wrestling, ale drinking, and beard pulling contests. Jesoc looked around and noticed that the only non-Dwarves were himself, Hallamir, and Arbun.

Kifak was first to try the arm wrestling competition but on the first try his sweaty palm slipped and he was defeated leaving raucous shouts and yelps from all those assembled.

Arbun decided that strength was not his forte and entered the ale drinking contest and was doing well until losing in the final contest. Jesoc tried his hand at the arm wrestling contest before losing as well in the first contest.

Kifak gathered himself and decided to enter the beard pulling contest. Kifak acquainted himself better and was able to emerge as the winner earning himself 70 gold pieces.

Finally, Hallamir decided to also try the arm wrestling competition. Hallamir’s contests were pitched battles with him barely emerging as the victor in the first two contests before clearly overwhelming the dwarf in the final contest. Hallamir decided to use his winning to buy seven rounds for the entire tavern making him the favourite patron of the tavern.

The fellowship were tired and inebriated and retired to their rooms. Kifak and Arbun retired to a Dwarf-sized room while Hallamir and Jesoc retired to the only room with human-sized beds.

Arbun quickly fell asleep due to the ale drinking contest and was loudly snoring when Kifak decided to send another message, this time to a friend in Erebor asking if things were well in Erebor. Kifak received this response:

“Cold here, Orcs also in countryside surrounding Erebor. Safe so far in Erebor”

Kifak responded back:

“Thank you, see you in Erebor soon. Currently in Caleb-Ost”

Kifak then joined Arbun in a deep snoring sleep.

The fellowship awoke the next morning with mild hangovers. Kifak decided to go to the Healer while everyone else sought out the library. Jesoc was welcomed by the librarian Fonmus Frostfury. Fonmus informed Jesoc that all the books were mining books except for one. That one book was written in an unknown elvish tongue with gold and silver inlays. Upon examination the book looked to hold verses of some sort. Fonmus informed Jesoc that the book was rumoured to come from lair of Uruial – an Ancient Red Dragon. No one know if he still lives, but Fonmus informed Jesoc where the dragon’s lair was. Fonmus also informed Jesoc that the dragon’s hoard was rumoured to include the Tears of Varda – an invaluable artifact rumoured to come from Valinor.

Fonmus gave the book to Jesoc which he gratefully accepted, The party then left the library to join Kifak at the Healer.

When Kifak entered the healer she introduced herself as Kubal Emberborne. Kifak asked about healing potions and Kubal shared that she could give two healing potions to each party member. She gave two healing potions to Kifak and Kifak waited for his other party members to join him.

Shortly after all the remaining members of the fellowship joined Kifak. When Jesoc entered, Kubal gasped and said that Jesoc was under a curse. Jesoc told Kubal about the feeling of being stalked and Kubal offered to remove the curse. Jesoc gratefully accepted and Kubal grabbed a jar of leeches from the shelf behind her. She applied the leeches and after some blood-letting and the uttering of prayers, Jesoc finally felt free and unencumbered.

After Kubal gifted two healing potions to each of the other members of the party, Kifak asked if Kubal had some diamond spell components. Kubal said that she indeed did and gave the spell components to Kifak as requested.

The fellowship decided to return to visit Prince Regent Narvi to help decide on where to go first to help to end the blockade of Norr-Dum. They were welcomed by Narvi who congratulated them on their successful night at the Silver Axe. Kifak asked if Narvi could supply any assistance on their quest to end the blockade. Narvi stated that sadly they are just a mining outpost and could provide supplies but that they have no warriors. The fellowship also inquired if the Winter witch could control Bairanax. Narvi said that while she is known to be able to control Bairanax, the ice drake is not known to leave the river he is guarding.

Kifak then asked what treasure does Norr-dum have that would cause it to be the target of a blockade and why Celeb-Ost is not a target with it’s treasure. Narvi shared that while Celeb-Ost has riches, it is a drop in the bucket compared to what resides in Norr-Dum. Jesoc interrupted and shared that they had heard that Norr-Dum has a palantir and asked if that could that be the reason for the blockade.

Narvi shared that he is aware of that rumour as well and that could indeed be the reason. The party shared that they have decided to attack the Orc fortress of Kula Dulakurth and Narvi offered them a boat to quickly travel down the river. Narvi also shared that the river flows under Kula Dulakurth so they couldn’t try to sail past the fortress.

The fellowship sailed down the river and soon saw the dark fortress loom ahead. The fortress looked dark with no sign of activity or light. The fellowship pulled off to the riverbank to plan their attack.

Session 10 Recap

The fellowship sailed down the river and soon saw the dark fortress loom ahead. The fellowship saw that the river split to flow under Dula Kuladurth and fed a glacial lake behind the fortress. The fellowship saw that there were guards in front of the fortress and patrolling the walls. Seeing this they quietly paddled behind Dula Kuladurth to the glacial lake. They disembarked and surveyed the landscape.

The fellowship found that they could scale the rocks behind the fortress and reach the parapet that was patrolled by only one Hobgoblin. Everyone was able to scale the rocks easily except for Arbun. Arbun lost his grip twice but was able to fall quietly so to not draw the Hobgoblin’s attention. Arbun was able to scale the rocks successfully on his third try. 

Once the party was at the top of the cliff they formulated a plan – they would wait for the Hobgoblin to come back right under them and attack him. Kifak prepared for this by summoning his magical twin Kafik using his Gemini’s gift boon. Once the the Hobgoblin was beneath them, Kifak had his magical twin Kafik distract the Hobgoblin and they attacked! Jesoc swiftly attacked and delivered an impressive strike that inspired his comrades. The fellowship was able to easily defeat the Hobgoblin and Kifak threw him from the parapet after quickly searching him for anything of value. The Hobgoblin fell and landed with a satisfying crunch.

The fellowship entered the fortress from the parapet and found a storeroom with a stock of spoiled food and dried meat. Kifak tried a slice of the dried meat but was disgusted to find it was a dried rat. Kifak quickly spit it out and threw it away.

The fellowship continued to explore and saw some passages that led upward but decided to explore this level first. They continued down the hallway and saw an open courtyard. As they approached the courtyard they saw that it contained Winter Wolves. They quietly retreated and saw an Orc Fury guard to the south. The Orc Fury guard had not seen them yet so the fellowship decided to leave and explore the next level above by following one of the passages that led upwards.

The fellowship entered the second level of Dula Kuladurth and explored a long passageway. They came to the end of the passageway and encountered two Orc Fury guards. A battle was engaged and the Orc Fury guards were easily dispatched. More Orc Fury guards rushed forward hearing the sounds of the battle. Hallamir smartly cast Spike Growth – inflicting serious damage to all the Orcs as they rushed forward to attack. Every time the party defeated more Orcs Fury guards, another wave of Orc Fury guards came to provide re-enforcements. The third wave of Orc Fury Guards was accompanied by an Orc War Chief whipping the Orc Fury guards to attack.

The fellowship was able to defeat the Orc War Chief and remaining Orc Fury guards when the last wave of Orcs advanced along with a Great Orc Chief and Helka, an Ice Hag. The fellowship defeated all of the remaining Orcs leaving only Helka. Helka flew forward on her broom and landed beside the corpse of an Orc Fury. To the party’s horror, Helka knelt down and began to feast on the Orc Fury guard gaining strength and growing in size before she attacked. Helka rose up and swung her broom at the party and although she dealt damage, Helka was amazed to see that the party was invulnerable to any cold damage.

Eventually the party was able to defeat Helka, her body dissolving into snowflakes leaving only her robe, a ring, and broom behind. The fellowship gathered the items and searched her robe. They found a note in the pocket of the robe.

“Ice Sister, picked up a trail in Eriador. Staying in Bree before seeking out the Barrow Downs. Will join our Blood Sister, Serke, in Dol Goldur once my quest is complete. Serke has her seeing stone and we will gather our forces. Ice Sister, Nixe, encountered a hapless band of Eldarion’s fools in Fangorn – nothing to worry about. Join us when you are worthy – Blood Sister Agarwaen”

The party investigated the ring and found that it was a Gateway Ring that allowed teleportation via a command word. Unfortunately, the party has no clue as to what the command word is. The party took a short rest before continuing to the upper level by following a couple of passages they could see branching off the main hallway.

The fellowship followed the passageway up and were immediately attacked by four Hobgoblin Firerunners that were guarding four rooms on the upper level. Kifak was displaying the Ice-Hag’s robe and broom to taunt his Hobgoblin Firerunners. The Hobgoblin Firerunners dealt terrifying fire damage but the party was able to overcome their attacks and leaping.

Once the Hobgoblin Firerunners were defeated, a dwarf came out of the room and shouted back “Lord Talin, there is a dwarf out here and a band of adventurers”.

The fellowship was soon joined by a group of over 50 dwarves from Nor Dumm who told the story of how they were overcome at Nor Dumm by the Ice Orcs.

Lord Talin informed the party that Nor-Dumm had been conquered and pillaged 3 days ago. They sent the dwarf wives and children to Erebor under cover of darkness before the attack. Ice Orcs couldn’t find the Palantir so they captured all dwarf warriors and brought them here to torture and interrogate. The Ice Orcs weren’t interested in any gold or silver, just the Palantir. Nor Dumm has been emptied out.

Lord Talin informed them that the Palantir was sent to Steel Fall to protect it from the Ice Orcs. His bravest warrior, Hutek Kegarm, journeyed there and placed it in the Lair of Uruial – an ancient Red Dragon. He never returned. Even the Ice Orcs did not dare to venture there. Lord Talin informed them that the Ice Drake may not be active now that the Ice-Hag has been defeated and that Helka was indeed the Ice-Hag that had attacked Nor Dumm.

Lord Talin apologized for sending the Palantir away but he did not know how else to keep it away from the Ice-Orcs. Kifak was able to send a message to Erebor and informed Lord Talin that although there were some losses, the majority of the Dwarf wives and children were able to make it to Erebor.

The fellowship took a long rest before setting out with the Dwarves to return to rebuild Nor Dumm before leaving them and continuing on to Steel Fall and the lair of Uruial.

Lord Talin offered two of his best warriors, Radric Brewbrand and Thorhok Alehand to assist them in their quest. The fellowship graciously accepted.  

Session 11 Recap

The fellowship set off for Nor Dumm with Lord Talin. The travel was easy and stress free with a party of dwarves showing them the way. The fellowship followed the path besides the river throughout the day before Lord Talin ordered the dwarves to camp for the night. The party veered off of the path to a clearing in the woods. The dwarves set up camp and a roaring fire for the fellowship to warm themselves by. The fellowship found that it was colder at night than they remembered.

Lord Talin invited the fellowship around the fire and shared with them the legend about the Hollowed Ones that appeared just before Nor Dumm found themselves under siege.

“In the candlelit corners of the world, where long-forgotten evils fester, there exists an undead horror that moves unseen among the living. They do not shamble like zombies, nor do they howl like wraiths. Instead, they wear the faces of those they consume, replacing friends, family, and rulers without a whisper of suspicion. These creatures are known as The Hollowed Ones—undead parasites that steal souls and assume the forms of their victims, perfect in every way except for the cold emptiness behind their eyes.

No one knows exactly where the first Hollowed One was born. Some legends claim they are the result of a necromantic experiment gone wrong, an attempt to cheat death that instead created a fate worse than undeath. Others whisper that they are the remnants of souls rejected by the afterlife, forced to steal new bodies to exist. What is certain is that they are not natural creatures. They do not breed, they do not eat, and they have no memories of their own. They are empty husks, always seeking a new life to steal.

A Hollowed One cannot simply kill and take over a body—it must first consume a soul. This process, called Hollowing, occurs when the creature locks eyes with a victim. In that moment, the victim’s soul is drawn out, leaving their body a lifeless husk. Then, the Hollowed One reaches out, touching the cooling flesh, and in mere moments, it becomes them.

This transformation is flawless. The Hollowed One takes the victim’s voice, memories, habits, and even their scent. They remember everything the victim knew—except for emotions. They can fake love, fake sorrow, fake joy, but they do not feel. When cut they bleed, but after a few minutes the blood disappears.

However, this mimicry is not perfect. Small inconsistencies can reveal their deception:

• They avoid mirrors and reflections, where their true form flickers for an instant.
• They struggle with deeply emotional memories, recalling facts but not feelings.
• Animals sense their wrongness and react with fear or aggression.
• If mortally wounded, their stolen flesh peels away in unnatural, waxy strips.”

Lord Talin told the party of two warriors that were found to be hollowed ones in Nor Dumm after returning from a patrol. They seemed like the warriors in every way but animals always responded aggressively to them. The Hollowed Ones behaved strangely and were always seeking information about the secrets of Nor Dumm. Finally, they were discovered after being cut and seeing their blood disappear.

After the warning from Lor d Talin, the fellowship was shaken and slept in fits all night. They wondered if they could trust anyone they encountered. The fellowship awoke in the morning ready to head out with the two Dwarf warriors, Radric Brewbrand and Thorhok Alehand.

The fellowship journeyed on to Nor Dumm. The travel was again easy in the sun making the tales of the Hollowed Ones seem like a bad dream from the previous night. The party arrived at Nor Dumm before evening and the dwarves were elated to find that the dwarf wives and children were waiting for them. There were escorted by a party of dwarves from Erebor to return home.

The dwarves of Nor Dumm welcomed the party to rest before they headed out the next day to Bar-en-Bairanax. Before the fellowship left, Kifak cast Augury and received mixed omens but mainly good omens. The fellowship travelled along the path and came to Bar-en-Bairanax in the middle of the afternoon. A cave entrance loomed in front of them just off of the path – all seemed quiet.

The fellowship sent Arbun to scout ahead in the cave and he first found a passageway to the right that led to a pond and a stairway up. Arbun then explored a passageway to the left and found that it led to a larger chamber and Arbun heard mumbling from around the corner. Arbun returned telling of a cavern lit by torches and a mumbling up ahead around a corner. The fellowship decided to leave Radric Brewbrand and Thorhok Alehand near the entrance of the cave while they explored.

Hallamir sent Lulubell up ahead and she returned telling of two Hobgoblins around the corner. The fellowship moved forward and stealthily surprised the Hobgoblins and attacked. The party soon learned that a Hobgoblin Devastator is a fearsome foe but were able to defeat a Hobgoblin War Mage. After the Hobgoblin War Mage was felled a Hobgoblin Death Captain joined the fray. Jesoc was able to deal massive damage to the Hobgoblin Death Captain that allowed Hallamir to quickly finish him off.

Shortly after the fellowship was able to defeat the Hobgoblin Devastator and the cave was quiet. Jesoc searched the bodies and to his surprise found that the insignia they carried was that of a black lightning bolt. Jesoc was unnerved that this was an insignia that no one recognized.

Arbun explored the rest of the cave and found a Crystal Dragon Egg which he pocketed. Arbun noticed that this was strange as the passageway was far too narrow to allow a dragon to reach the chamber that housed the egg.

Arbun next found treasure room which caused him to call out to the rest of the party – “Uh, guys?”

The party came quickly and found that the treasure room contained the following:

• 8,468 GP
• 12,641 SP
• 17,295 CP
• Cap of Water breathing
• Ring of Waterwalking

Arbun investigated the magic items and found they smelt of crisp pear – indicating enchantment magic. The fellowship decided to take the gold and magic items and to leave the silver and copper pieces behind. Arbun decided to explore the pond with the Cap of Water Breathing and was ready to dive in when he noticed at the last minute that the pond was only 6 inches deep. Arbun twisted his shoulders and aborted his dive at the last minute.

Lastly, Arbun searched the room up the stairway beside the pond which appeared to be a nicely appointed bedroom. They found note folded note on the end table. Kifak opened the note and read it out to the rest of the party:

“Engwa  – the filthy dwarves delivered the Palantir to Urial. Awaiting Helka from Dula Kuladurth before destroying/negotiating with Urial. Once we have the Palantir we will use the Gateway Ring to join you at the Ruins of Annuminas so we can finally return home to Gerlkuneshe.” – Ice Sister Losse

Hallamir shared with the group that the Ruins of Annuminas are by lake Evendim north of the shire and that Gerlkuneshe translated means “Island within a sea on a hill in the barrens”.

Hallamir and Kifak went outside to explore the cave entrance and found that it was scoured by large claw marks – likely from a dragon.

Suddenly, an old crone walked forward picking her teeth and blowing smoke rings. She challenged the party to give her what they have taken from her. The fellowship was unsure what she was referring to and asked what she was asking about.

Losse the hag responded – “Filthy Half-Elf, you have my egg!”

With that Losse transformed into a large White Dragon and roared at the fellowship.

A fierce battle ensued with the White Dragon. The fellowship was shocked to discover that they were no longer immune to cold! Their immunity had worn off at the worst time. The White Dragon unleashed her breath weapon and dealt massive damage to Thorhok. The fellowship all joined the battle and struck the White Dragon again and again. The Dragon again used her cold attacks and finally struck out with her claws killing Thorhok.

Kifak shouted out “You are hopelessly outnumbered, stand down and you will be shown mercy”

The dragon ignored Kifak’s offer and continued to attack. Seeing no options, the fellowship destroyed the beast. Jesoc and the others harvested dragon teeth and scales for future use. The fellowship offered their condolences to Radric on the death of Thorhok and Radric solemnly nodded and simply said – “He died well”

The fellowship decided to return to Nor Dumm to rest and prepare for the final battle with Urial at Steel Fall. The travel was uneventful and the fellowship were welcomed back at Nor Dumm. They quietly presented the body of Thorhok and the body was taken away to prepare for the wake.

The fellowship joined in the wake and celebration of life for Thorhok. The party woke up in the morning with vague memories on much ale, music, and headaches.

Before they departed, Hallamir and others prepared spells. Kifak again cast Augury and the omens were unclear. Jesoc took the opportunity to send messages home and to the king about what they have found and that they were alive and well.  Jesoc also sent a message to Aenwyn warning her of the Hollowed Ones.

The fellowship set out for Bar-en-Bairanax and the journey was uneventful. They found the dragon’s lair exactly as they left it – including the corpse of the dragon now picked by scavengers. Jesoc cast Ceremony and they continued on to Steel Fall.

After an hour they came to a large chasm that stretched horizon to horizon. The chasm was 400-500 feet deep and 80 feet across. Upon investigation it appeared that the chasm was created by claw marks not unlike those before the cave at Bar-en-Bairanax.

Hallamir sent Lulubell across with a bundle of rope and she held the rope while Arbun climbed across. Arbun was able to climb across successfully and he secured the rope so that others could cross. The rest of the fellowship crossed immediately after and the party continued – leaving the rope secured over the chasm.

After a few more hours the party came to the lair of Uruial at Steel Fall. All was quiet with no sound from inside or outside the cave. The fellowship decided to take a long rest before exploring inside.  The night passed without incident and the fellowship decided to send Arbun inside. Arbun was awestruck by the sight of a huge Red Dragon sleeping on a pile of gold and gems. Arbun saw that beside the dragon lay a round black sphere surrounded by a number of items.

The fellowship decided to enter to parlay with Uruial.

Uruial awoke and grumbled – “Why do you disturb my sleep?”

The party shared that they seek the black sphere.

Uruial responded – “I care not for it as it was left here by a tiny dwarf.  But what do you have to bargain with?”

Arbun offered the Crystal Dragon Egg and Uruial accepted that in trade for the Palantir. Uruial grabbed the Palantir gently and offered it to the party who immediately placed it in the bag of holding.

Uruial noticed the party staring at the other items that surrounded the Palantir:

• Varda’s tears necklace
• Drowner’s Pearl
• Horatio’s Impossible Ship In A Bottle

• Sir Varion’s Helm
• Forecaster’s cloak

“Ahhh, you are drawn to those items as well? The Tears of Varda is dear to me but you can take the other items as they were left here by Hags. But you must promise me to never tell anyone else of the location of this cave.”

The fellowship agreed and asked if they could also have the Tears of Varda but Uruial informed them that they should not press their luck. The party retreated and thanked Uruial for his kindness.

The fellowship could not resist the lure of the Tears of Varda though. The party planned a diversion and while Jesoc fell in the mound of gold and gems, Arbun deftly snuck up and snatched the Tears of Varda and made his way back unnoticed.

The fellowship thanked Uruial once again and left the lair of Uruial.

Outside the cave the party agreed to make their way south as they wanted to return to warmer climates now that they felt the cold again in their bones. They agreed to make their way to Maethelburg to retrieve their horses and settle scores before travelling to Bree.

The party left the Grey Mountains and climbed down into the foothills leaving a sleepy, unaware Ancient Red Dragon behind that they stole the Tears of Varda from.

Session 12 Recap

The party climbed down the foothills and found that the weather had changed for the colder. They could see their breath and the ground was covered in snow. Although difficult, the party was able to forage for food and firewood for their travels and camps. The fellowship decided to cut through Mirkwood to make their travel to Maethelburg only two days.

The journey to the edges of Mirkwood was uneventful with Hallamir being especially skilled in travelling in a forest. Soon the fellowship came upon the ruins of a town that appeared decades or hundreds of years old. All the building were in ruin. The party decided to make their way through the ruins as opposed to going around the ruins. The fellowship heard multiple sounds ahead of them. They continued ahead as quietly as they could but unfortunately Jesoc tripped and made a quite a clamour.

Suddenly, the attention of 10 Ravager Werewolves were turned on the party and they moved forward to attack. The battle was pitched, but the fellowship was more than equal to the challenge. Hallamir once again smartly cast Spike Growth which the Werewolves unsuspectedly rushed into. Arbun also cleanly cleaved a werewolve’s head clean off earning the respect and admiration of all the fellowship.

The fellowship gathered themselves and searched the ruins. They soon discovered that the werewolves appeared to have made these ruins their home with bones of small animals and leaves and brush arranged in the buildings for comfort. The fellowship examined the ruins and found the following name engraved on multiple buildings.

“Torech-en-gwath”

Hallamir was able to translate this to mean “Lair of Shadow”. Arbun spotted a graveyard ahead beyond the town and the party went to investigate.

The fellowship soon found that the graveyard was ancient and most of the headstones were written in Quenya but were unreadable. They quickly spotted one grave that was open and surrounded by eight corpses. The corpses appeared to have been there for a long time and that they seemed to be  casting a ritual with candles, chalk outines, and empty vials surrounding the open grave. Upon closer inspection, the party was able to determine that something appeared to have clawed out of the grave.

On the headstone was the following inscription:

Arbun moved forward to translate the text by touching the headstone. Arbun was able to understand that it translated to “Thuringwethil”. Before Arbun could inform his compatriots, a voice spoke to him in his mind:

“I am, who cast

a shadow o’er the face aghast

of the sallow moon in the doomed land

of shivering Beleriand.”

Arbun shared the translation and the verse he had heard with the party and he could see the shock and terror in Hallamir’s eyes.

Hallamir informed the party was he knew of the legend of Thuringwethil.

The origins of Thuringwethil are untold. Her ability to change form suggests that she may have been an Ainu In the form of a vampire, she had at least two great, dark fingered wings with a ghostly appearance^[ and an iron claw at the end of each joint.

Sometime before the Quest for the Silmaril, Thuringwethil became the messenger of Sauron at Tol-in-Gaurhoth, formerly Tol Sirion, often flying to Angband in the curséd^[ form of a great bat to bear messages to Sauron’s own master, Morgoth. She was slain by Huan in Tol-in-Gaurhoth during the Quest for the Silmaril, along with Draugluin, when Sauron sent out his army one-by-one.”

The fellowship was unnerved and quickly searched the corpses but found nothing of note as they seemed to be there for months or even years. The corpses were desiccated and their robes had dissolved into tatters and their pockets contained nothing.

Hallamir informed the fellowship that they would be able to leave Mirkwood in another hour or two and they quickly made their way to exit Mirkwood. They came outside Mirkwood in early evening and travelled away from Mirkwood and set up camp. Kifak was able to find food and firewood for the camp for the evening.     

Kifak and Jesoc took first watch and they soon heard the sound of animals off in the distance. Kifak went to investigate and saw five horses off in the distance grazing on grass they uncovered. Kifak took off his armor to quietly approach the horses and found that they were their horses they left in Maethelburg – even Fretr the mule was there.

• Kifak – Ásjá (Protection)
• Jesoc – Áræði (Courage)
• Hallamir – Megin (Strength)
• Arbun – Frœði (Knowledge)
• Fretr (Fart)

Kifak was able to gain the mount’s trust and ushered them back to their camp. Kifak and Jesoc noticed that the horses each had a saddle and that Fretr had a saddle and two saddle bags.

Kifak and Jesoc searched Fretr’s saddlebags and although the saddlebags both appeared empty, the following items were retrieved when the right saddlebag was reached into.

• Bag of beans
• 4 jars of Keoghtom’s ointment
• Two portable holes
• Two Robes of useful items
• Four sending stones

Kifak and Jesoc traded their watch to Arbun and Hallamir and went to sleep. The rest of the watch passed without incident, although the howling of wolves could be heard in the distance.

The fellowship set off in the morning with their horses hopeful that they would be able to reach Maethelburg by early afternoon. In the late morning the fellowship could see smoke rising from the direction of Mathelburg. They increased their pace to reach Maethelburg as quickly as possible.

When they approached Maethelburg they could see the town had come under siege and was destroyed. There were no guards on duty and the gates were ajar. Multiple spots in the outer fence were burnt and broken through.

The fellowship approach cautiously and saw that all of the dwellings appeared to have been burnt and destroyed. To their horror, the fellowship saw what was generating the smoke. Piles of burnt bodies smouldering. Upon closer inspection the party saw that the bodies seemed to be those of women, children, and small animals. The bodies of men and warriors were missing.

The fellowship increased their pace to reach the upper level of Maethelburg and saw as they approached that all the guards had been killed and placed on pikes surrounding the upper level. The party rushed forward and their location was again given away by their noisy approach.

They were soon rushed by an Oni and a pack of Ice Trolls. The Oni ordered to Ice Trolls to attack and to kill them all. This time Kifak rushed forward to attack and cast Spirit Guardians in the midst of the Ice Trolls. The rest of the fellowship focused first on the Oni and were able to defeat the Oni leaving behind a purple mist and his mask falling to the ground. The Spirit Guardians relentlessly attacked the Ice Trolls and when the Oni was defeated it was only a matter of time until the Ice Trolls were all defeated.

Once the Oni and Ice Trolls were defeated, Kifak reached down and picked up the Oni mask that was left behind when he was defeated. When he looked up he saw the mayor up on a pike in the center of the square. Kifak stepped forward and spit on the mayor.

With all the enemies dispatched the fellowship decided to take a long rest.

In the morning the fellowship lowered the mayor and Kifak cast Speak with the Dead. Kifak asked the mayor what happened to Maethelburg.

The mayor informed the fellowship that Nixe and her horde destroyed the town as retribution for the mayor sending Aenwyn to the Goblins with the fellowship. The mayor informed the fellowship that he was ordered by Nixe to torture Aenwyn for information as Nixe believed Aenwyn has a Palantir in her possession. Although the mayor would betray the fellowship, he could not bring himself to torture Aenwyn.

The fellowship then thought of the other two questions they wanted to ask the mayor.

Session 13 Recap

The fellowship decided what remaining two questions they should ask the dead mayor. After some discussion the party agreed to ask the mayor about whether he is able to contact the hags. Kifak stepped up and asked if the mayor was able to send messages and contact the hags. The mayor simply replied “Yes”.

Kifak spat a few Dwarven curse words and gathered himself to ask the last question. Forming a more fulsome question, Kifak asked how the hags sent messages back and forth. The dead mayor responded that messages were sent via Orc scouts.

The party agreed to rest in the ruins of Maethleburg before setting out in the morning. In the morning, Kifak again cast Speak with the Dead and they asked the mayor three more questions. They first asked about whether there was gold or treasure remaining in the city. Without any arms, the mayor’s head gestured an eyebrow towards the ruins of the coin house that used to be the bank of Maethleburg. The party acknowledged that was probably a no.

Kifak then asked about the names and locations of hags the mayor was aware of. The mayor provided the following details:

• Helka – Dula Kuladurth (Whom the party has slain)
• Ninque – Dol Goldur
• Losse – Bar-en-Bairanax (Who the party has slain)
• Nixe – Cirith Ungol

In a dark turn, the party then agreed to take the mayor’s head with them.

The fellowship set out for four days of travel to Bree if all went well. The first day would take them through a pass in the mountain to Rivendell. The day’s travel was uneventful, and they came to the foothills and climbed their way through the pass. Near the top of the pass they came upon a man kneeling in front of a long dead campfire. The fellowship cautiously approached and soon learned that the man was frozen and had been here for months or even years. They quickly searched the man but found nothing of value. Arbun used his boon and discovered no scent of any magic surrounding the man. It appeared that the man chose to freeze here instead of continuing on.

The fellowship carefully continued up the pass and soon found another long dead firepit. The fellowship examined the firepit and saw that there were claw marks on the logs in the long dead fire. The fellowship carefully continued and Hallamir and Arbun suddenly heard sounds from above and looked up to see two Abominable Yetis lurch forward with boulders raised above their heads. Two smaller Yetis then stepped out from behind the trees to block their retreat.

The battle was engaged with the Abominable Yetis above them hurling boulders and the smaller Yetis moving forward with razor sharp claws. The fellowship was able to quickly slay the smaller Yetis and Jesoc led the way up the slope to attack the Abominable Yetis.

Jesoc ran up the slope and screamed out – ‘Don’t be a wus!’

While Jesoc was engaged with one Abominable Yeti, the other one was hurling boulders at the rest of the party before jumping down and attacking them. Jesoc was the recipient of a vicious ice roar but was able to overcome the effects and slay the Abominable Yeti.

Jesoc let out a satisfied yell – “I told you so!”

Jesoc then jumped off the cliff onto the remaining Abominable Yeti and the entire party surrounded the Abominable Yeti and hacked away. Kifak quickly cast Banishment and the Abominable Yeti disappeared. Kifak organized the party to be prepared to attack once he summoned him back.

Kifak called him back and the party viciously pummeled the Abominable Yeti dealing death in mere seconds.

The fellowship the harvested 80 Yeti claws from the Yeti corpses for future crafting. The fellowship soon reached the top of the pass and could see Rivendell below in the distance. The party continued down and reached Rivendell in the early evening.

The Fellowship descended into Rivendell and were surprised with how warm it was. Unlike the other side of the Misty Mountains, it appeared to be spring in Rivendell. All the flowers were in bloom and the trees were green and lush. The fellowship tied up their horses and reverently explored Rivendell. To their surprise, Rivendell looked to be abandoned and left to nature. The building and houses remained in pristine condition but no creatures on two legs lived in Rivendell anymore.

As they approached Elrond’s house they noticed two trees seemed out of place. The party was shocked when one of the trees spoke.

“Welcome and well-met Elf Friends, please rest and recover in our lands. Anything we have is yours but for the asking.”

Kifak was a bit sheepish and tried to hide his axe. The Ent introduced himself as CedarStub and informed the fellowship that Rivendell was gifted to the Ents and Entwives when the Elves of Rivendell left for the Undying Lands.

The Ents then introduced themselves:

• CedarStub – Ent
• Yewneedle – Entwive
• Yewstump – branchling
• CedarEye – branchling

The fellowship asked many questions of CedarStub and soon learned the following:

• The Ents are aware of the cold weather outside of Rivendell
• The Ents sensed a coldness emerge from Mirkwood months ago and shortly after became aware of more activity from emerging Orc and Hobgoblin hordes.
• The Ents are also aware of crones that have been crossing the woods.
• Crones and Orcs have not encroached into Rivendell
• CedarStub also shared that Ents are able to communicate telepathically at a great distance.

CedarStub was also curious of their journey and listened as Kifak explained their journey from Mirkwood to the Grey Mountains and back down through Mirkwood. CedarStub was especially interested in the fellowship finding the open grave of Thuringwethil in northern Mirkwood.

• CedarStub was very troubled upon hearing the name of Thuringwethil. CedarStub shared what he knew of Thuringwethil:
  • She is rumoured to be a vampire that can take the form of a bat, wolf, or raven.
  • She seems to recover any damage instantly and was defeated only when wearing the Shackles of Manwe
  • The Shackles of Manwe haven’t been seen for ages but are rumoured to have been recovered from Gondolin by Urial.
• CedarStub is also aware of the emerging evil in the Barrow Downs.

The fellowship rested in Rivendell overnight and said farewell to the Ents in the morning. The day of travel was easy along the East-West road. The party travelled by the Trollshaw Forest without any hint of trouble. Near sundown they approached the last bridge and saw the light from a campfire across the bridge.

The fellowship approached cautiously and saw that there were three figures around the campfire – a wise man and two women – Mildred Tasker and Daisy Sadler. The party would find out later that they were from Bree. The fellowship asked if they could join them around the campfire and they were welcomed with open arms.

The women explained that villagers from all around came to visit Amarth, a Fate Mage, and for the gift of blood and hair, Amarth would provide a reading and perhaps a blessing or curse the following morning. After some discussion, all of the party members agreed to have a reading by Amarth.

• Arbun drew the Star and Death cards
• Hallamir drew the Tower and Hermit cards
• Jesoc drew the Devil and Emperor cards
• Kifak drew the Magician and Chariot cards

The party thanked Amarth for his reading and asked the woman about happenings in Bree. Mildred Tasker told the party about the following rumours they have heard:

• An old crone and a band Orcs were looking for something in the Barrow Downs – unsure if they ever found it
• They have seen Orcs warriors come back hardly recognizable. Once fierce warriors they came back emaciated, clumsy, and weak.
• Hundreds of Orcs have been defeated and have now gone away.
• Guards are now stationed at the Prancing Pony because of recent troubles.

Kifak asked the women about a locals ales he should partake of when they arrive in Bree.

Daisy Sadler mentioned that Lone Wolf Brewing and Aurora Aleworks are two of her favourites in Bree. Kifak thanked her and gave her some gold pieces for her troubles.

The fellowship excused themselves and set up camp off the road away from the camp of Amarth.

The night passed without incident and while Arbun felt no different in the morning, Kifak dropped a hand axe and was deftly able to catch it with uncanny speed. Jesoc found himself more introspective and thoughtful while Hallamir had a healthy glow and impressive stride in his gait.

The party set off in the morning to Weathertop. It would still be two days before they reached the town of Bree.

They first spotted Weathertop from five miles away and spotted a fire and smoke from the top of Weathertop. As they got closer they saw that the fire had been extinguished, and all was quiet once they approached. The fellowship decided to send Arbun and Hallamir up to scout around and they found evidence of recent activity but no one was here now. Arbun and Hallamir called the others up and they all looked around the summit of Weathertop.

The fellowship explored the glory of the mosaics that was once the fortress of Amon Sul and without warning a horde of Hobgoblins climbed up all around the summit and surrounded the fellowship.

The Hobgoblins immediately attacked but they were easily defeated by the fellowship as Kifak summoned Spirit Guardians and Hallamir summoned a fog cloud. Jesoc smartly pushed Hobgoblins into the Spirit Guardians, hastening their demise.

Once this battle was over the party discovered that the horde seemed to wear scars from previous battles. This seemed to be the reason they were defeated so easily. But what could have weakened the Hobgoblins so drastically?

The party examined the bodies and saw that they were covered by claw marks that they couldn’t identify. Jesoc also noticed they all wore the black lightning bolt insignia.

The fellowship decided to rest for the night here before undertaking the last day of travel to Bree in the morning.

Session 14 Recap

The fellowship decided to rest for the night on Weathertop before undertaking the last day of travel to Bree. The night passed without incident and the fellowship set out after a quick breakfast. The east-west road to Bree was clearly marked and the party easily followed it and reached Bree in the middle of the afternoon. As the party approached the gate, the town guards inquired as to what their business was in Bree. The party informed the guards of their adventures on the road and the Orcs they encountered on Weathertop. The guards nodded approvingly when the party described the manner of which they killed the Orcs.

The fellowship inquired about rumours about the Barrow Downs and the guards mentioned that they should seek out the owner of the Prancing Pony. The fellowship thanked the guard and asked if there has been trouble of late. The guards mentioned the gang of Orcs that were a problem in town but that they seem to have left.

One guard inquired if there were any Orcs in the party and welcomed them in once they confirmed that there were no Orcs in the party. The party entered Bree and quickly made their way to the Prancing Pony.

The fellowship saw the Prancing Pony in the distance and noticed that there were two Half-Elf sentries guarding the entrance. They cautiously approached and entered the Prancing Pony.

The Prancing Pony was busy for an afternoon. Arbun noticed that there were no halflings in the bar even though halflings accounted for a third of the population of Bree. The party sought out the bartender and owner – Arlington Bowman. After some chit chat, Arlington Bowman shared the following information about Bree.

• There has been trouble with Orcs recently coming in and causing problems at the bar.
• Halflings have stopped coming to the Prancing Pony due to the fact that the Orcs started trouble and often fought with the halflings as they viewed the halflings as an easy target.
• The Orcs seemed to be looking for something at the Barrow Downs and mentioned they were looking for a “Black Marble”
• Arlington mentioned they Orcs were led by an old crone that frequently paid their tab and covered any damages they caused.
• Arlington also mentioned that some of the Orcs returned fragile and a pale image of themselves. Many fierce warriors returned weakened and clumsy – unable to even lift an axe.
• Arlington also shared that two guides and Rangers, Mortimer Tiller and Bernard Smythe, were at a table and they could be hired to take the party to the Barrow Downs if they wanted.

Hallamir proceeded to buy a round for the entire bar – eliciting a hearty cheer and shouts of undying affection.

The party then approached Mortimer Tiller and Bernard Smythe and they shared the following information:

• They will guide them to the Barrow Downs for 50 gold pieces
• They will not enter with them
• It is not too hard to find the Northern Barrow Downs. Fog is the main challenge to finding the Barrow Downs.
• Mortimer also shared that the Barrow Downs contained the following crypts:
• Royal Burials of Arnor – North part of Northen Barrows
  • Aristocratic Barrows – Mort Gorthad
    • House of Eldanar Crypt
    • House of Narmenacir Crypt
    • House of Mendacil Crypt
• Royal Burials of Cardolan – South part of Northern Barrows
  • Edain Burials – Tyrn Gorthad
    • Ostoher – Malin Crypt
    • Imrahil – Blackclaw Crypt
    • Baragor – Moringol Crypt

The party decided to not hire the guides and to try and find the North and South Barrow Downs themselves. They then continued to mingle with the other patrons in the Prancing Pony and learned the following:

• Carter and Lily Parson were seated together having dinner
  • Husband and wife that were very welcoming and pleasant.They informed the party that they own the bakery – “Tokens of my Confection” They recommend seeing them in the morning to get some cinnamon buns.
  • The party thanked them and moved on.
• Albert and Herbert Chamberlain were sitting at the bar
  • They informed the party that they were blacksmiths that specialized in custom crafting. The party inquired whether they would craft weapons and armor from Yeti claws. The Chamberlain brothers agreed but unfortunately the cost was beyond what the party could afford.
  • The Chamberlain brothers were very intrigued at the mention of Yeti claws and offered the party 16,000 gold pieces for the Yeti claws. The party accepted and the Chamberlain Brothers exchanged 4 gold bars each worth 4,000 gold pieces for the Yeti claws.

The fellowship then visited the last remaining table and met Baldrick Tinder and Percy Draper. Baldrick and Percy were business owners of businesses that were struggling with all the recent problems in Bree.

• Baldrick owned a music store called Aural Masters that sold instruments and earplugs
• Percy founded the Laboratory of the Verification of Pomology that was investigating the healing properties of pomegranates.

The party was interested to talk to the Mayor and waited until the Mayor, Paul Clerkin, arrived. He was very open and shared as much information as he knew.

The Mayor shared that he reached out to the new leader of the Mirkwood Woodelves, Aenwyn Leorieth, to seek protection when Bree was overwhelmed by the bands of Orcs. Aenwyn had sent six Half-Elf Guards in response. The names of the six Half-Elf guards were:

• Fredlanor Crafina – Ranger
• Tanvalor Trabalar – Ranger
• Emeosrin Venlee – Bard
• Rogkoris Gilthana – Rogue
• Malword Holarora – Rogue
• Galnian Holalamin – Cleric

The Mayor further confirmed the stories and rumours the fellowship had heard from Arlington Bowman and other patrons.

The party then settled in for a night of drinking and burping contests after they had arranged for lodging for themselves and their mounts. The conversation quickly turned to a discussion of religion, old gods, philosophy, and brotherly love. The fellowship eventually retired to their rooms to prepare for the next day.

The fellowship awoke early the next morning and headed out after a quick breakfast. They were sure to drop by the Tokens of my Confection Bakery to get some cinnamon buns. Lily Parson remembered them and told them how the cinnamon buns were so good that people said they have recuperative powers. Lily gifted two cinnamon buns to each party member and Arbun was so enamored with them he bought an additional two for 1 gold piece.

The cinnamon buns were a work of art. They were as large as Arbun’s head and had hundreds of buttery layers covering a variety of walnuts and hazelnuts. The bun was covered with a sinful glaze of heavenly icing that was topped with a single golden gooseberry. The fellowship thanked Lily and carefully packed the cinnamon buns away.

The fellowship decided to travel to Barrow Downs on foot and leave their mounts at the Prancing Pony. They followed a path south through the downs and came upon a gated cemetery that enclosed a series of crypts and barrows. Mist covered the hills and flowed around the crypts. The party moved closer and saw the gate was open and beside the gate there was a sign that read:

“Royal Burials of Arnor”

The fellowship cautiously entered and the gate slammed shut behind them. The party looked around and saw that the fence around the crypts and barrows was at least thirty feet high. The fellowship then set to exploring the cemetery.

There were three crypts in the cemetery with a pedestal in the centre surrounded by four large cross sculptures. Hallamir went to explore the crypt to the northwest and found a sign outside that read:

“House of Eldanar”

Hallamir kicked the door in and found that the crypt was empty. Whatever was here was now gone.

Arbun carefully approached the pedestal and saw the figure of an old crone lying dead on the pedestal holding a black orb in her decrepit claw of a hand. Arbun told the fellowship what he saw and Jesoc quickly sprang forward and ran up to grab the Palantir. He gave the Palantir to Kifak to place it into the bag of holding.

Suddenly from all around the party, Barrow Wights exploded from the ground and moved to attack. The Barrow Wights all moved toward the pedestal and converged on Jesoc. The Barrow Wights unsheathed their swords that were blacker than the night itself. The rest of the fellowship were able to avoid the attacks, but Jesoc was hit twice. The damage seemed minor but both times Jesoc felt his life energy drain from him after each hit.

The fellowship was able to rally to Jesoc’s aid and defeat the rest of the Barrow Wights before anyone else was struck.

The fellowship then heard movement and a low moaning from the south. Another Barrow Wight moved forward but this Barrow Wight was larger and wore a black crown. The Wight King moved forward and opened his mouth unleashing a shrieking song. All of the party were overwhelmed by the sound and felt themselves almost passing out. They all recovered and moved forward to ruthlessly attack the Wight King. They all delivered vicious strikes that staggered the Wight King.

The Wight King stepped back and once again sang his dark melody. This time Kifak fell under the spell and fell fast asleep. The rest of the fellowship was able to recover and moved forward to finally vanquish the Wight King.

Jesoc rushed forward to the corpse of the Wight King and picked up the black crown. Jesoc quickly put on the crown to the horror of the rest of the party. Jesoc was undeterred but was disappointed when nothing happened. Jesoc continued to wear the Wight King’s crown as they continued to explore the cemetery.

Hallamir explored the other two crypts and found them empty as well. The crypts bore signs identifying them as crypts for the House of Mendacil and the House of Narmenacir. Finally, the party explored the pedestal but found no signs of entrances, levers, or subtlety. Arbun searched the hag and found a note in her pocket that read:

“Blood Sister Agarwaen, we have located the palantir of Cirith Ungol – unfortunately the arachnid queen has it in her possession. Awaiting the arrival of Nixe to assist us. – Blood Sister Vasa” 

Arbun also found that the hag was wearing a solitary black ring. Arbun wrenched the ring off of the hag’s finger.

Jesoc had an idea! Perhaps the cinnamon buns would help this feeling of being two levels emptier. Jesoc wolfed down both the cinnamon buns and he soon felt almost normal again.

The party looked around and discovered they had another problem – they were still locked inside the cemetery. Arbun moved forward and tried to pick the lock but he was unsuccessful. Jesoc told everyone to back off and unleashed an Eldritch Blast. The gate wavered but held. Jesoc unleashed another Eldritch Blast and the gate finally flew off its hinges.

The party left the cemetery and decided to go south to try and find the Southern Barrow Downs. No matter how hard they tried to maintain their bearing, they lost their way and end up back at the Northern Barrow Downs.

After trying to find the Southern Barrow Downs a couple of times, the fellowship decided they would make their way back to Bree, stock up, and perhaps hire a guide to help them find Southern Barrow Downs. They were able to find their way back to Bree and arrived just around suppertime and found the Prancing Pony busy with two gambling tables set up for the evening. Arlington was pleased to see them and welcomed them in.

The fellowship ordered a well-deserved round of ales and told Arlington Bowman their story.

Session 15 Recap

The Fellowship drank their well deserved ales and agreed that they wanted to find the Southern Barrow Downs. They noticed that Carter and Lily Parson who owned the “Tokens of my Confection” were having dinner again. They thanked them for the delicious cinnamon buns and promised they would come and see them the following morning before heading out.

The Fellowship next moved to the table where the guides, Mortimer Tiller and Bernard Smythe were sitting. They told Mortimer Tiller and Bernard Smythe their tale of being unable to find the South Barrow Downs. The guides were not surprised and they proceeded to share what they knew of the South Barrow Downs.

“The North Barrow Downs were the graves of the aristocrats. Their restless spirits wander and take vengeance with trespassers. Many looters have sought out the crypts as they were buried with all their humanly treasures.”

‘The South Barrow Downs were the graves of the Edain which includes the Black Numenoreans who were corrupted by Sauron. Some of them were those on Numenor that persecuted the Nimruzrim. (The Faithful) After the fall of Numenor when they attempted to reach Aman by sea, The Black Numenoreans that escaped Numenor sailed for Middle Earth and lived in disgrace in Arnor while the faithful that escaped found the realm of Gondor. Rumour has it that the barrows are protected by some magic that makes it difficult to find so that the Black Numenoreans remain in exiled even in death. We have seen that some graves were exhumed recently – for what purpose we do not know as we never enter the South Barrow Downs”

The Fellowship listened intently and agreed to pay 5 gold pieces each to be led to the South Barrow Downs. They left the guides and went upstairs to play the games of chance.

After hearing the rules of Gyp and Dead Eye Dice, the party decided to play Dead Eye Dice. Kifak and Arbun both played, but the luck was definitely on the side of the halfling. Arbun was able to win three games straight, causing the table to close early.

The Fellowship returned to the lounge and Hallamir was again generous with his purse before the party retired for the night. Before the Fellowship left the next morning, they were sure to visit the bakery and make sure each member had four cinnamon buns for the journey. Jesoc also remembered the horrible singing of the Barrow Wights and made a stop at Baldrick Tinder’s music store. Jesoc bought 2 sets of earplugs for each party member. Hallamir and Arbun also sought out the local butcher – “The Fatted Sausage”. Both Hallamir and Arbun bought some wild game for their companions.

The Fellowship returned to the Prancing Pony and met the guides for their journey. They again paid Arlington Bowman to stable their horses until they returned.

The guides led the Fellowship southward and told the party to just follow them and look at the ground as they led them. The guides seemed to take a series of non-sensical steps but soon the Fellowship found themselves before the gate of the South Barrow Downs.

The guides bid them farewell and wished them luck. The South Barrow Downs didn’t have a gate, but just an open archway. It was again enclosed by iron fencing. They Fellowship could see that eight graves had been dug up and that a solitary figures was in the middle of the eight open graves conducting some sort of ritual.

The Fellowship cautiously approached trying to determine the purpose of the ritual and to stop it from proceeding. Unable to stop the priest, they eventually attacked. The priest was knocked to the ground and severely wounded. The priest touched six tattoos on her arm and six Shadows coalesced from the fog and attacked. The Fellowship was able to defeat the priest and the shadows without too much trouble.

The Fellowship found that when these Shadows attacked they seemed to sap strength from their very bones. Their grips on the weapons seemed weaker and the swings lacked the strength that they had minutes ago.

The Fellowship soon discovered what the target of the ritual was – the eight open graves each had a grave marker and a small figure in the centre of the open grave.

The Fellowship read the grave markers:

• Ar-Gimilzor. The grave contained a figure of a White Wolf.
• Ar-Sakalthor. The grave contained a figure of a White Tiger.
• Ar-Adunakhor. The grave contained a figure of a White Bat.
• Ar-Belzagar. The grave contained a figure of a White Dragon.
• Tar-Ancalime. The grave contained a figure of a Red Tiger.
• Tar-Telperien. The grave contained a figure of a Red Dragon.
• Tar-Vanimelde. The grave contained a figure of a Red Wolf.
• Tar-Miriel. The grave contained a figure of a Red Bat.

Hallamir informed the party that these were the names of eight queens of Numenor from two separate lines. Hallamir also informed the party that the legends told of these queens being corrupted by Sauron and persecuting the faithful.

Kifak cautiously approached and tipped the White Bat Figure over. It toppled easily and Kifak could see writing on the underside. Kifak leaned closer and saw that the writing on the underside was ‘Nixe’.

The Fellowship immediately recognized the name of the crone they met in Fangorn Forest. They quickly decided to sweep the remaining figures cautiously into the bag of holding and saw that they had the following names inscribed in the bottom of the figurines,

• White Wolf – Helka.
• White Tiger – Ninque.
• White Bat – Nixe.
• White Dragon – Losse.
• Red Tiger – Serke.
• Red Dragon – Engwa.
• Red – Wolf – Agarwaen.
• Red Bat – Vasa.

The Fellowship recognized these were the names of the Hags they encountered or that were mentioned in notes they had discovered.To their surprise, when the figurines for Helka, Losse, Agarwaen were tipped, they crumbled into dust. Kifak quickly mentioned that these were the three Hags they had killed. Kifak also noticed that these figurines seemed to have been carved out of human bone. If Kifak had looked closer he would have been able to discern that the bone was from a human femur.

The rest of the figurines were swept into the bag of holding by Arbun and he climbed out of the open graves. Once Arbun exited the grave, twelve Spectres formed out of the fog and moved forward to attacked.

Their attacks were not as vicious as the Barrow Wights, but the attacks left their opponents feeling less powerful. Kifak smartly decided to cast Turn Undead and the vast majority of the Spectres fled. The Fellowship was able to defeat the remaining Spectres easily.

The Fellowship decided to eat the cinnamon buns but although they were once again delicious, none of their strength or energy seemed to return. Kifak also cast Remove Curse in the hope that it would restore their strength and energy, but it also had no effect.

The Fellowship then searched the rest of the South Barrow Downs and the priest but found nothing of interest.

The party decided to return to Bree and were able to find their way due to Hallamir’s expert pathfinding and tracking. Before they left, Kifak cast Divination and asked:

“Can figurines assist in harming the Hags?”

A clear, resounding answer came. “No”

The Fellowship returned to Bree and stayed again at the Prancing Pony. They discussed their next plans and agreed to make their way to Annuminas since it was close to Bree. They noticed that the guides, Mortimer Tiller and Bernard Smythe, were back at the Prancing Pony. The Fellowship inquired about the best way to Annuminas and the guides recommended proceeding north to the outpost of Fornost. It was mentioned that Fornost was a Ranger Outpost that was monitoring the recent activity at Annuminas.

The Fellowship also sought out the Blacksmiths, Albert and Herbert Chamberlain. They asked Albert and Herbert Chamberlain if they would start crafting with the Dragon Scales and Yeti Claws and they would pay upon their return. Albert and Herbert Chamberlain were open to it but requested a down payment to compensate them for their time in case the party never returned. The party tried to negotiate but eventually agreed to the down payment.

The next morning, the Fellowship retrieved their horses and headed north on the Andrath Greenway to Fornost.

After a half day on the Andrath Greenway, they could see the outpost of Fornost on the hill ahead. They came upon a wooden bridge that crossed a ravine that led up to Fornost.

The Fellowship were just about to cross the bridge when they heard flapping above them. They saw a massive shadow and ducked. The Fellowship looked up to see the enormous presence of Uruial land on the other side of the bridge.

Uruial snorted and growled:

“Treasonous Halfling, I believe you have something of mine”

What would you like to do next?

Session 16 recap

The fellowship found themselves staring across the bridge at Uruial. Once again Uruial demanded the Tears of Varda that the Arbun had stolen from her lair.

Jesoc led the litigations, um negotiations. The opening statements revolved around possession being 9/10ths of ownership and that everything in a Dragon’s hoard is previously stolen. Uruial did not find these arguments compelling and restated her position that the Tears of Varda were indeed stolen by a ‘nasty little halfling’.

The fellowship continued to argue that Uruial should have protected the Tears of Varda better since it was so valuable. Uruial agreed and confessed that she placed far too much trust in the party during their meeting.

The fellowship inquired as to why the Tears of Varda were so important to Uruial and she just restated that it was precious and the fellowship stole it.

After some back and forth Uruial demanded that the Tears of Varda be returned and this would be the last time she asked. The fellowship finally acquiesced and struck a bargain that they would trade the Tears of Varda for the Shackles of Manwe that they would return at a later date to Uruial’s lair to receive the shackles.

The fellowship had some reservations about trusting a Dragon, but felt their options were limited. Jesoc crossed the bridge and offered the Tears of Varda along with a blood oath. Jesoc sliced his palm with a daggar drawing blood and Uruial sliced her palm with her claw and the exchange of blood was consumatted with an awkward handshake.

Uruial then flew off with her prize leaving the fellowship behind. The fellowship took a long breath and continued on to Fornost.

The fellowship were greeted by the guards at Fornost and they learned that they referred to themselves as the Wardens of Annuminas. They offered to escort the party to captain Selma Connor and she shared the following information about Annuminas and their duty.

“Annúminas was the city of the Kings of Arnor before the capital of the North Kingdom was relocated to Fornost. The city lay on the south-east shore of Lake Evendim, near the source of the Baranduin river. To the south and west of Annúminas rose the Hills of Evendim.

The city was founded by Elendil in S.A. 3320 shortly after his arrival in Lindon following the destruction of Númenor. With the establishment of Arnor the city became the capital of the realm for several centuries; and was home to the Annúminas-stone, one of the three palantíri of the North-Kingdom, and the Sceptre of Annúminas, originally the rod of office of the Númenórean Lords of Andúnië, the heirloom of and symbol of kingship in Arnor.

Due to losses in the war against Sauron and the Disaster of the Gladden Fields, the number of the Dúnedain of Arnor began to dwindle, until eventually Annúminas was deserted and Fornost became the capital. After T.A. 861 the ruins of Annúminas belonged to the petty Arnorian successor kingdom of Arthedain.

The two relics which had been housed in Annúminas survived the city: The palantír remained for more than a millennium after the loss of its city, but was hidden when the city was abandoned. The silver Sceptre of Annúminas was removed to Fornost by the Kings, and eventually came to be kept by Elrond in Rivendell.

At the time of the coronation of King Elessar at the end of the Third Age Annúminas had lain in ruins for more than two thousand years. Yet Aragorn soon set his mind to preparing a place to stay in the ancient city. Aragorn sometimes came North to his house in Annúminas restored and stayed for a while beside Lake Evendim, and when that happened everyone in the Shire was said to be glad. Aragorn started the restoration of the Royal Library and the Observatory until his passing.

Rumour has it that Aragorn had commissioned a series of challenges to protect Annuminas from interlopers and treasure seekers. Aragorn had worked with Radagast in the creation of these challenges.

A group of Dunedain of the North, calling themselves the wardens of Annuminas, strives to preserve the ancient city of Annuminas and it’s rich history. It is a largely ceremonial role that is now poorly staffed. The wardens of Annuminas were chased off by Engwa and her horde and now are watching the activity from Fornost planning their next attack. The hordes of Orcs and Hobgoblins were seen departing over a week ago.

The realm of Annuminas is in ruins except for the Observatory and the Royal Library. The activity outside the Observatory and Royal Library ceased about a week ago. Occasionally, lights will turn on at the Royal Library but the Observatory is dark. “

KIfak shared that they were there on the King’s command and inquired if they were aware if the Palantir had been found or moved. Captain Selma Connor shared that it had not be found or moved to her knowledge.

The fellowship were offered lodging for the evening which they gratefully accepted. The fellowship left early the next morning and came upon Annuminas in the early afternoon. All was quiet as they made their way to the entrance of the Royal Library.

The fellowship entered the Royal Library and encountered a library that had been restored with archives of the history of Middle Earth. The Royal Library was being cleaned up by a crew of two Tortles and many Nilbogs. They heard that this crew was purchased by Engwa to clean up the library after she rummaged through it looking for information. The Nilbogs were busy, but they answered questions by the fellowship as long as they didn’t remove any books from the library sections.

The fellowship learned that the Tortles and Nilbogs hadn’t seen Engwa for at least a couple of days and to their knowledge she had not found what she was looking for. They also shared that Engwa kept to the upper floors when she wasn’t rummaging through the archives.

The fellowship discovered the following thirteen collections in the library:

• Archives of Finwe
• Archives of Feanor
• Archives of Fingolfin
• Archives of Finarfin
• Archives of Earendil
• Archives of Turin Turambar
• Archives of Thingol and Melian
• Archives of Hurin
• Archives of Beren
• Archives of Luthien
• Archives of Turgon
• Archives of Beor
• Archives of Sauron and Thuringwethil

The fellowship discovered that some collections seems to have been rummaged through more by Engwa and some less. Of note, the Archives of Sauron were in a shambles while the archives of Beren, Luthien, and Thingol and Melian were almost untouched.

Arbun sensed that the entire library seemed to smell of crisp pear, indicating extensive magic.

During their investigations, Arbun noticed that there were barriers preventing the fellowship from accessing the stairways to the second floor.

Soon the fellowship asked the Nilbogs if they could point them to the last book in each collection that Engwa had looked at. The Nilbogs were happy to oblige as long as they didn’t interfere in their cleaning up.

Kifak investigated the last book Engwa looked at from the Archives of Sauron and Thuringwethil. Kifak felt a burning sensation on his forearm and when he looked at his arm he discovered the following tattoo in Tengwar.

Hallamir was able to translate the that Tengwar script symbolized ‘Dur’ – the elvish term for ‘Dark’.

Hallamir investigated the last book Engwa looked at from the Archives of Beor. Hal felt a burning sensation on his forearm and when he looked at his arm he discovered the following tattoo in Tengwar.

Hallamir was able to translate the that Tengwar script symbolized ‘Edain’ – the elvish term for Men.

Arbun investigated the last book Engwa looked at from the Archives of Turgon. Arbun felt a burning sensation on his forearm and when he looked at his arm he discovered the following tattoo in Tengwar.

Hallamir was able to translate the that Tengwar script symbolized ‘Edain’ – the elvish term for Men.

Arbun investigated the last book Engwa looked at from the Archives of Luthien. Arbun felt a burning sensation on his forearm and when he looked at his arm he discovered the following tattoo in Tengwar.

Hallamir was able to translate the that Tengwar script symbolized ‘Meleth’ – elvish for ‘Love’.

Kifak investigated the last book Engwa looked at from the Archives of Earendil. Kifak felt a burning sensation on his forearm and when he looked at his arm he discovered the following tattoo in Tengwar.

Hallamir was able to translate the that Tengwar script symbolized ‘Aear’ – the elvish term for ‘Sea’.

Hallamir investigated the last book Engwa looked at from the Archives of Finarfin. Hal felt a burning sensation on his forearm and when he looked at his arm he discovered the following tattoo in Tengwar.

Hallamir was able to translate the that Tengwar script symbolized ‘Quendi’ – the elvish term for ‘Elves’.

None of the other books caused any effect when they were investigated. The tattoos had no immediate effect other than creating some soreness.

The fellowship continued to explore the first floor and came upon a lounge that had nine heads on pikes in a circle.

Nine desiccated, severed heads were mounted on 4-ft.-tall wooden pikes to create a circular formation with a 15-ft. diameter in the middle of this room. The heads are partially rotted and bear varying facial features, though each of them appears to have had its mouth sewn shut. A single piece of parchment rests on a 3-ft.-high stone pedestal in the middle of the circle.

• The 9 heads all had distinctive features:
  • One bald
  • One long black hair
  • One bent nose
  • One bearded
  • One with eye patch
  • One in a helmet
  • One with an earring
  • One with a tattoo on forehead
  • One with a nosering

The following message was on the parchment:

“Vul vm aolzl zlclylk olhkz ovskz aol jvyylja rlf. Aol vaolyz dpss klzayvf fvb. Zlhyjo ilopuk aol allao vm aol thu dpao vusf vul lfl.”

Finally, the party spotted an armored skeleton resting in a chair. The armor had the insignia of a red fish on the armor and shield.

Arbun was able to determine that the message was not a language but a cipher. While Kifak, Jesoc, and Hallamir set about decoding the cipher, Arbun examined the armored skeleton. Arbun soon discovered a note tucked into a crease in the armor. Arbun found that the note had the following message in common:

 “The bald head holds the key”

While the rest of the fellowship continued to try and solve the cipher, Arbun took his dagger and cut open the mouth of the bald head. Suddenly a Finger of Death ray exploded from the mouth of the bald head and knocked Arbun on his Halfling butt.

Arbun got up and then noticed that the red fish on the skeleton’s armor was actually a herring. Arbun smacked himself in the head and rejoined the party to help to decode the cipher. The party focused all their attention and decoded the cipher to the following translation:

“One of these severed heads holds the correct key. The others will destroy you. Search be behind the teeth of the man with only one eye.”

The fellowship agreed to cut open the mouth of the head with the eye patch. Kifak cut the sewed mouth open and inside he found a single, silver key. The fellowship exhaled a sigh of relief.

As they left the lounge, the fellowship saw that the barriers that prevented using the stairs to the second level had disappeared. Although tempted to go up to the second floor, the fellowship decided to first finish searching the first floor. They first found and old printing press with a single sheet of paper in the printing press. Oddly enough, the single piece of paper was covered with one character – a ‘7’.

It was at that point the fellowship realized that the cipher was a translation where each decoded letter was 7 letters prior to the letter in the cipher.

The fellowship continued into the next room and found that it appeared to be a study room with maps spread out over a large table. In addition, there were two kegs on the table – one keg of ale and one keg of wine. Kifak stepped forwarded to the keg of ale and took out an empty vessel to be filled.

As Kifak touched the spigot on the keg, both kegs transformed into mimics and attacked. The fellowship was able to easily dispatch the keg mimics. Once the keg mimics were destroyed, four of the maps revealed themselves to be mimics as well. The party destroyed the map mimics into scraps of paper without even breaking a sweat.

The fellowship spotted two doors in the corner of the room and approached. They opened the doors and to their horror they smelt a stench beyond anything they had smelt before. While gagging they quickly closed the doors and surmised that these where the lavatories for the nilbogs.

The fellowship agreed that had explored all of the first floor and moved to the stairs and slowly made their way up the stairs. They reached the landing and were attacked by two Paper Drakes. These Paper Drakes also provided little challenge and were likewise sliced into small pieces of paper.

The fellowship looked around and saw that there were more stacks of books and closed rooms. They tried to decide where to go first.

Session 17 recap

The fellowship first looked around and decided to first explore the library collections.

They first came upon the Chronicle of Gondolin. Jesoc noticed a few books were distrurbed and examined those first. The first book was a chronicle of the fall of Gondolin. When Jesoc touched the second book, his left forearm blazed in pain and when he looked down he saw this Tengwar script:

Hallamir looked at the script and shared that this translated to ‘Fortress’.

The party continued west and explored the Chronicles of Thangorodrim. Hallamir explained that this was Sauron’s first fortress in the first age. The fellowship noticed that the books were untouched and moved on.

The party then explored the first room and found it was a study room and saw that in the middle of this room was a bronze brazier. As
they looked within it, they saw the burnt-black corpse of a cat.
Under one of its paws is a small package about the size of
your hand, wrapped in leather and knotted with twine.

They carefully opened the package and found that it contained a deck of playing cards with regal looking felines with the joker cards being dogs. Along with the cards, was this poem:

“Our small feline friends,
Their wit most distinguished,
Pushed to great ends,
Their chances extinguished.”

The fellowship tried to make sense of the poem and tried a few things without success. They first removed the burnt cat. Then the fellowship threw the King of Hearts on the brazier. The card burned with no consequence. The fellowship then tried to re-order the cards which also had no effect. Finally they tried to extinguish the brazier which just relit itself.

Frustrated and out of ideas, the fellowship continued on. The came came upon the the Chronicles of Numenor and noticed that a few books were again disturbed. They explored a few books with no effect. The fellowship then turned the corner and were surprised to see a Refuse Golem. The Refuse Golem asked them for the Gold Key and explained it was required to go to the third floor. The party asked if the Refuse Golem knew where the Gold Key was. The Refuse Golem shared that he did not and the party left to search the rest of the second floor.

The party explored the next study room and found that this room was jam-packed with rows of shelves and piles of open crates, all of them filled with all manner of assorted mundane household objects—coils of rope; candles; dinner plates; taxidermied beasts including a raccoon, a badger, a fox and a fawn; gardening tools; and the like. A single leather-bound book lied open in a small circular clearing in the middle of the room, as if it were deliberately placed there.”

Inspecting the book revealed just a few lines of text written neatly on its open pages:

“The key you seek is here somewhere.
Do not be so hasty, or look past what’s right there.
We all have one.
Some big, some small, some long and tall,
and even when it’s stuffed it can run.”

While the rest of the fellowship tried to understand the riddle, Arbun spoke a guess out loud – “Nose?”.

Suddenly Arbun’s nose was itchy and when he reached inside he pulled out a unbelievably large silver key from the small hobbit’s nose. The party acknowledged that they now had two of the seven silver keys they believe they required.

The fellowship moved south and explored the Chronicles of Menegroth. They explored a few of the books that were recently moved with no effect. The party continued on and came upon the Chronicles of Valinor. Jesoc noticed that one book was disturbed and moved forward to explore it. Once again his forearm starting burning and when he looked down the following Tengwar script appeared:

One again Hallamir translated the Tengwar script and informed the fellowship that it meant ‘Life’. Finding nothing else, the fellowship moved on to the next Study Room.

The party found that room contained eight decorative marble urns arranged a foot apart from each other to form a horizontal line in front of them, from left to right. Hovering above the center of the line, 1 ft. below the 16-ft.-high vaulted ceiling, is a small metal key within a sphere of glass.”

Kifak opened the second urn and it uttered ‘Re’. Confused, Jesoc moved forward and opened the first urn and it uttered ‘Do’. The fellowship quickly understood these were notes and opened the urns in order. When the last urn was opened, the glass sphere shattered and the third silver key fell.

The party continued exploring and came upon the Chronicles of Vinyamar. The party moved on after noticing none of the books had been disturbed.

The party entered the fourth Study Room and noticed the room was empty except for a desk in the centre of the room. The desk was empty except for a single silver key in the centre of the desk. Hallamir cautiously approached and picked up the fourth silver key and the party moved on.

The party opened the door to the next Study Room and were surprised to see a scene out of Alice in Wonderland. This room was set up as a fancy dining room. In the middle of the room, three canvas dolls in colorful dresses are seated around a table that has been set for tea with cups, plates and a platter of scones. Glass-doored cupboards and shelving units full of more plates, cutlery and other table settings line the east wall.

The first doll exclaims: “We’re missing what we need.”
The second doll says: “You can use a perpetual top or a
treetop pulp.”
The third doll says: “We need to repopulate PT!”

Kifak noticed that the place setting was purple and that there was a purple teapot in the cupboards. Kifak grabbed the purple teapot and placed it on the table. The third doll’s head split open with a squeal and the fifth silver key popped out.

The fellowship moved into the last Study Room in the west part of the library and saw that ahead of them the room was dominated by a central altar. On the altar sat a gold offering bowl, a small leather pouch and a small set of golden scales.

Kifak opened the pouch and found that it contained 10 gold coins. Kifak put the first gold coin on the altar. Kifak noticed his backpack was lighter and he was missing 500 gold coins. Kifak then studied the altar and noticed it was an altar for a Deity of Trickery.

The party then used the scale to weigh the coins and found that coins 2 and 3 and 4 and 5 balanced perfectly. They set those coins aside and weighed coins 6 and 7 and 8 and 9. The scale showed that coins 6 and 7 were lighter and the party decided to place the sixth coin on the altar.

The coin disappeared in a puff of smoke leaving behind the sixth silver key.

The fellowship then decided to return to the first Study Room to determine the riddle of the burnt cat. Once in the room, the fellowship again explored the cards paying special attention to the face cards with the images of regal cats. Suddenly Kifak commented that the riddle could mean a cat’s nine lives. The party threw eight more cards from the suite of hearts into the brazier and the brazier extinguished leaving behind the seventh silver key.

The fellowship decided to return back to where the Refuse Golem was and came upon the Chronicles of Numenor, the Chronicles of Nargothrond, and the Chronicles of Tol Sirion. These collections were undisturbed and the party moved on after a cursory investigation.

The party realized they still did not have the gold key. They also noticed that one central office remained unexplored. The entered the office and found a collection of statues.

Six towering statues were set around the room, each depicting nearly identical hooded figures. Each statue was facing a central table covered with ragged cloth atop which sits an assortment of oversized items carved out of the same stone as the statues: a book, a scythe, a dagger, a spear, a hammer and a crown. The fellowship quickly determined that the:

• The first statue’s fingertips are stained black and drip
with ink and pairs with the book.

• The second statue has mud-crusted shoes and pairs
with the scythe.

• The third statue has blood-stained hands and pairs
with the dagger.

• The fourth statue’s hands drip seawater and pairs with
the spear.

• The fifth statue’s hands are covered in soot and pairs
with the hammer.

• The sixth statue is spotlessly clean and pairs with the crown.

The fellowship placed the items in the hands of the respective statues and the statue with the crown knelt down and offered a gold key.

The fellowship returned to the Refuse Golem’s location and found that there was a second Refuse Golem guarding the staircase up. The Refuse Golem asked if they had the gold key and demanded the key. The fellowship refused the hand over the gold key and demanded the Refuse Golems stand aside. The Refuse Golems refused and the fellowship attacked!

The battle was quick and fierce. Jesoc delivered a vicious blow that caused one Refuse Golem to explode in a flurry of papers and parchment. The fellowship moved forward to dispatch of the remaining Refuse Golem with Jesoc and Kifak pushing each other out of the way to get a better angle to attack. The fellowship defeated the remaining Refuse Golem and used the gold key to open the staircase to the third floor.

The fellowship saw that the third floor was centered around a pedestal that looked to be where a Palantir would have rested. Unfortunately, the pedestal was now empty.

Kifak noticed that there was a room to the east where a palantir sat on a pedestal in the middle of what looked to be a steel cage. Kifak smartly decided to send his twin to investigate. The twin noticed that not only was there a palantir on the pedestal, but there were two wish spells in the adjoining rooms.

Kifak ordered his twin to grab the palantir but his hand went right through it. Kifak asked Arbun to smell the cage structure and Arbun could not detect the scent of any magic. Kifak also requested Arbun to smell the Bag of Holding that they had deposited the four Palantirs in and likewise Arbun could smell no scent of magic.

Strange, it was almost like the Bag of Holding was empty.

Kifak then ordered his twin to touch the palantir with his sword. Kifak’s twin pushed the palantir to the floor and it shattered! Silence filled the room when the fellowship heard the shuffling of hundreds of legs behind them.

“So you saw through my little charade did you?”

Out slithered a Centipede Hag which the party assumed was Engwa. Horrified and enraged, the fellowship attacked. Engwa summoned six Lurkers in the Dark to attack.

Hallamir smartly cast fog cloud and this stymied Engwa and the Lurkers in the Dark from teleporting to attack. The fellowship then methodically disposed of them all one by one with a series of unrelenting vicious attacks. The fellowship examined the wish spells and determined that they were fake and obviously created to draw people into the cage. The fellowship was able to discern that all magic was rendered ineffective in the cage.

The fellowship decided to retreat into a well appointed corner oubliette to rest and recover. They didn’t even notice the skeleton of a long dead human in a chair in the corner until the next morning.

Session 18 Recap

The fellowship awoke and immediately noticed the robed skeleton sitting at the desk that they somehow missed the night before in their exhaustion. The robed skeleton appeared to be a mage who had met his end while he was working on a scroll. Arbun was able to detect that the scroll was a scroll of invulnerability but something seemed off about the scroll. Perhaps it was the phrasing or the timing – Arbun just couldn’t put his finger on it.

They took the scroll regardless and then before they left they also decided to take the pen from the robed skeleton. This caused the skeleton to animate and he immediately attacked. Although the mage skeleton had considerable magic, he ultimately was no match for our fellowship.

The party continued on and came upon another robed skeleton working on a scroll. Arbun was able to determine that this scroll was a scroll of invisibility, but it again seemed off. Once again, Arbun could not put his finger on what the difference was. This time the party decided to not take the pen from the skeleton, much to Jesoc’s chagrin.

The party asked Arbun to smell the scrolls and both gave off a scent of fresh flowers – a key indicator or evocation magic.

Curiosity got the better of the fellowship and Arbun decided to use the invisibility scroll on himself. Immediately after he cast it, everything went dark for Arbun – HE WAS BLIND!

The fellowship quickly decided on what to do – Jesoc picked up Arbun on his back and they continued to explore.

They explored some study rooms and found them to be empty. While they were appointed with red candles, red quills, and red ink – they were empty with no robed skeletons or anything else of note.

That is, except for one of the study rooms where they found the following note that seemed to be addressed to Engwa.

“Engwa, Serke has left Dol Amroth for our home with the prize from Minas Tirith. Ninque remains in Dol Guldur to seek for her stone. Nixe and Vasa have split up to search Minas Morgul and Cirith Ungol for their stone. The accursed spider thinks it is one of her brood and is hiding it. Do not fail us, we need the Annuminas seeing stone – T”

The fellowship recognized the names and locations mentioned in the note and were disturbed that it was signed with a single ‘T”. They surmised that this note was from Thuringwethil and she was indeed more than just a rumour.

The party continued to explore the rest of the third floor and found the rest of the study rooms empty except for the red candles, red quills, and red ink. They did come across one more robed skeleton writing a scroll of greater restoration that again seemed off. They took the scroll and once again decided to not remove the pen from the skeleton’s bony hand and continued on their way.

They then came upon what seemed to be a potion workshop. There were a multitude of empty flasks, dry powders, and mortars and pestles. More importantly, there were 8 flasks along the wall filled with coloured liquids:

• 2 Orange potions
• 2 Blue potions
• 2 Clear potions
• 2 Red Potions

Arbun smelled that all of the potions emanated a scent of fresh flowers to indicate evocation. They guessed that the Red potions are typically healing potions and that Blue potions are typically power potions, but had no idea what the other potions could be.

Arbun, already blind, felt brave and decided to drink a clear potion. Arbun quickly drank the tasteless potion but it had no effect.

Jesoc decided to try one of the red potions. Jesoc drank the tasteless red potion and all of his wounds were healed. From behind him, Jesoc then heard Arbun yelp as it seems Jesoc’s wounds had been transferred to Arbun – doubly!

Undeterred, Arbun then decided to drink a red potion. This time the tasteless potion’s effect was immediately apparent! Arbun could see again and his wounds had been healed. From behind him Arbun heard Hallamir scream in pain. It seemed that Arbun’s wounded had been transferred to Hallamir- again doubly!

Kifak was somewhat annoyed with this foolish experimentation and took the remaining potions before anyone else made a rash decision.

The fellowship finally made it into the last unexplored room and found that there were just two purple potted flowers on a table. They poured the last clear potion into a flower pot but there was no effect. The fellowship took the two plants and headed to the observatory.

The fellowship found the observatory with a solid stone door engraved with an image of the white tree of Gondor. There were seven key holes dispersed throughout the tree’s branches. The party inserted the keys and one by one they turned and the door opened.

Unable to remove the keys from the door and secure the door, the company took an hour to rest in the entry way and allow Kifak to place glyphs on the door so that they couldn’t be ambushed.

After the glyphs were in place the party continued on and found a lava river in the next room. It appeared that lava river was only 5 feet across so Hallamir, Arbun, and Jesoc all decided to jump across. To their surprise the lava river was actually 20 feet across and the true width was hidden by an illusion. Hallamir, Arbun, and Jesoc quickly pulled themselves free from the scalding lava and proceeded to set up a line to zipline Kifak over.

The fellowship could see the huge 80 foot telescope to the north but decided to explore the rest of the rooms first. They opened the door and found what appeared to be a study room. Unfortunately, no one looked at the door frame. If they did they would have seen glyphs of warding that protected the room. When they entered the room they all were enveloped in elemental fire damage and left everyone smoking and charred,

From then on, the fellowship explored the other rooms more cautiously – for a while. They came upon a dusty kitchen, astrologers chambers, and barracks. In the last room of the barracks they found a large chest that was surrounded by sand.

On alert, the party fired a few arrows at the chest thinking it might be a mimic. After the arrows bounced off normally, Jesoc approached. Jesoc asked Arbun to smell the chest and Arbun reported that the chest smelled of crisp pear.

Undeterred, Jesoc opened the chest and he immediately disappeared! Jesoc found himself in a chest quickly filling with sand. Jesoc slashed against the lid again and again and the rest of the fellowship could see the chest bouncing back and forth. Finally Jesoc struck a mighty blow and the chest popped open and Jesoc found himself outside of the chest again. The chest then slammed shut and party decided to leave well enough alone and went to explore the telescope.

The fellowship returned to the telescope and found a large 80 foot telescope with four large sections. Kifak looked into the eye piece but couldn’t see any stars! He looked up at the sky and saw a clear night with a multitude of stars. Kifak guess that something must be blocking the telescope. After seeing that the eye piece wasn’t covered, Hallamir sent Tallulahbell flying up to investigate and sure enough there was an orb blocking the end of the telescope. Unfortunately, Tallulahbell couldn’t lift the orb.

Arbun and Jesoc decided the climb the telescope together and they successfully got to the top and discovered that the object blocking the telescope was indeed the Palantir of Annuminas!

Arbun and Jesoc carefully placed the Palantir into the bag but not before Jesoc had a terrifying image of a female Vampyre under a dark starless sky.

Arbun and Jesoc climbed down and shared what they had found and seen. The fellowship then decided to return to barracks of Fornost and report what they had found to the wardens of Annuminas.

The wardens were very disturbed about what they had heard and the state of Annuminas but welcomed them in and offered them food, drink, and lodging.

Before they retired, Kifak decided to send messages to the king to update him and heard some disturbing news. Kifak asked about how many Palantir the king had and was shocked to receive an answer of zero. They learned that Royal Seer was dead and the bag that held all the Palantirs they had found was stolen.

Suddenly, they all understood what prize was stolen by Serke that was mentioned in the note.

The fellowship agreed that their next step would be to visit Uruial and receive the Shackles of Manwe as per their agreement with the Dragon.

They also hoped they could convince Uruial to be an ally and to learn how they could defeat Thuringwethil.

Foolish? Sure, but it is all they had.

Session 19 Recap

The fellowship rested at Fornost before they set out for their reunion with Uruial at Steel Fall. It was expected to be a three day journey that would take them right past Mount Gundabad. Thankfully the wardens of Annuminas had taken good care of their mounts and they were ready for a long journey.

The Wardens also shared the lore of Mount Gundabad:

Mount Gundabad is a mountain in the north of the Misty Mountains. Shortly after the elves woke in the First Age, this is where Durin, oldest of the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves, woke up. He soon moved further south and founded his home in Moria, but Mount Gundabad remained a holy site and meeting place for the dwarves.

In the Second Age, Orcs attacked Gundabad and took it for themselves, one of the main causes of the hatred between the Dwarves and the Orcs. During the Third Age Gundabad was  the Orc capital of the kingdom of Angmar, and remained so even after Angmar fell. However, the Orc populations were severely lessened during the War of the Dwarves and Orcs and the Battle of Five Armies.

Mount Gundabad was used by Sauron during the War of the Ring as a strategic outpost, but it was abandoned after the ring was destroyed. When the ring was destroyed, the three peaks of Mount Gundabad were broken and left in rubble. Mount Gundabad now lies in ruin. Recently the rumours abound of the area being overrun by Vampires and other creatures of the night. Travel is not recommended after dark and the wardens recommend to trust no one on the road.

The Wardens also mentioned that they have seen a village of Dwarves on the way to the Ettenmoor mountains but they have not approached them or made contact with them. The wardens mentioned that one curious aspect of the Dwarf village is that there appears to be no children.

The fellowship departed in the morning. It would take them one day to get to the Ettenmoor mountains, one day to get to Mound Gundabad, and one more day to get to Steel Fall.

The travel was uneventful until the fellowship saw a village in a valley in mid-afternoon. The fellowship approached the village cautiously.

The party encountered a couple of dwarves when they entered the village. They were welcomed by Durgan Emberhelm and Thilda Rockroot. The party noticed that these Dwarves were paler and somewhat darker than other Dwarves. Durgan and Thilda offered to take the party to the town’s leader – Vladin Blackvein.

The fellowship met Vladin in the town’s tavern – The Crimson Cask. Vladin welcomed the party to the village of Grimhollow Delve and was very open with the party that all the villagers were vampires that escaped from ‘her’ control. Vladin wouldn’t name ‘her’ by name and when pressed just named her as ‘T’. There wasn’t any doubt in the party that Vladin was referring to Thuringwethil.

Vladin told the story that they escaped and roamed the wilds hunting and drinking the blood from whatever creatures they could find until they were far enough away and her influence waned. Vladin mentioned that they also had a Cleric that was able to conduct a cleanse ritual to further remove her influence. Vladin mentioned that this Cleric was Borin Ironvein and he could be found in the chapel if they wanted to learn more about the ritual.

Jesoc’s curiousity was insatiable and Vladin answered all of his questions patiently and honestly:

• No, we aren’t under her control anymore
• No, we won’t report you
• We escaped about 2 years ago
• All of us were imprisoned together when we escaped, except for a couple of relative newcomers who joined the village recently – Kargan Deepdelver and Ysmira Axebinder.
• They are a fully sustainable community with hunters, farmers, brewers, goats, chickens, and even an apple tree.
• Vladin explained there are no children because there were no children imprisoned and they haven’t been blessed with children since their escape.
• Aren’t you scared Thuringwethil will come for you? No, we just live without fear of what might be.

The party thanked Vladin for his hospitality and sought out Borin Ironvein to learn more about the ritual.

The chapel was empty but they heard whistling coming from the orchard next to the chapel and found Borin picking apples. Jesoc offered to pick the apples high up to which Borin gratefully accepted.

Borin explained to the party that he learned of a ‘rebirth’ ritual that helped to remove the bloodlust and the influence of Thuringwethil. The ritual involved burying the individual under dirt and a combination of chanting and prayers to remove the bloodlust. Borin mentioned all the villagers had gone through this ritual, even the recent newcomers and it again removed their bloodlust.

The fellowship asked if they could undergo the ritual in the hopes that it might offer some protection. Borin could not speak to that possibility but was open to conduct the ritual if they liked. Hallamir opted out of the ritual and watched the other members of the party being buried and reborn.

Once they were re-awoken, the party members did not remember any part of the ceremony and felt no different. The party thanked Borin and took their leave.

The party returned the the tavern and to talk to Vladin. They met more villagers who were just as friendly as others. Vladin offered them a house to stay in if they wanted to rest in the town before they left in the morning. The fellowship agreed but Kifak cast Glyph of Warding on the door to make sure they weren’t attacked. The night passed without incident.

The fellowship had breakfast before they set out in the morning, Before they left, Kifak sent a message to the captain of the Wardens of Annuminas:

“Nothing to fear from the villagers. Please trust them’

Kifak asked Vladin if there was anything they could do to repay them for their hospitality. Vladin just asked that they keep the village of GrimHollow Delve a secret as they wish to not be bothered.

At the end of the day of travel, the party approached Mount Gundabad. They saw a campfire ahead of them with a solitary figure. They were welcomed to approach and as they came close, the figure threw off a cloak and attacked! This appeared to be an Elf Vampire!

The battle was engaged and this vampire dealt vicious damage. The tide of the battle was turned, but before the party could become victorious the Elf vampire transformed into a bat and flew away.

The party camped here before embarking on the last day of travel to Steel Fall to parlay with Uruial. The night passed without incident and the party set off in the morning. The day’s travel passed without incident and the party entered the lair of Uruial.

The party was greeted by Uruial who proceeding to give them the Shackles of Manwe as agreed to. The fellowship tried to get Uruial to join their cause, but Uruial declined preferring to not get involved in these mortal causes. Uruial repeated again and again that she had nothing to gain and that she had all the titles she needed.

Ururial did share that she knew the that the home of Thuringwethil was Gerlkuneshe and it was hundreds of miles north. It could only be reached by ship or if you were a dragon and could fly. Uruial again declined offers to help them reach Gerlkuneshe – stating she preferred to not get involved. Uruial also shared that the Hags were known to be agents of Thuringwethil in the past.

Jesoc was overly eager in his attempts to get Uruial to join them and Uruial reminded Jesoc twice:

“Watch yourself little man. Know your place.”

Eventually the fellowship realized they would not be able to convince Uruial and took their leave of Uruial and thanked her for the Shackles of Manwe.

Outside of her lair, Kifak cast Scry on Nixe before the fellowship decided to start the next leg of their journey. Everything went dark and Kifak saw the following:

“Nixe was nowhere to be found. There just was a white cocoon on the ground with a immense shadowy figure above it, twisting it over and over and spinning more and more silk. In the corner of the cave, a black orb sat amongst hundreds of spider’s eggs’

Session 20 Recap

Kifak came out of his vision and shared his vision with the party.

“Nixe was nowhere to be found. There just was a white cocoon on the ground with a immense shadowy figure above it, twisting it over and over and spinning more and more silk. In the corner of the cave, a black orb sat amongst hundreds of spider’s eggs’

The fellowship talked about the vision and their fear that this creature was some form of hideous offspring of Shelob. All agreed that was a problem for another day and they would head out to Dol Guldur.

The journey was a long three days to reach Dol Guldur – longer if they travelled through Mirkwood. The party agreed to follow the Anduin river as long as they could before they had to enter Mirkwood.

It was a long three day journey to Dol Guldur – one day to get through the Grey Mountains, one day to Meathelburg and one day to Dol Guldur. Their mounts would slow them down through the mountains but allow them to move quickly after that.

The fellowship climbed through the Grey Mountains and found the weather cold but bearable. As they approached the pass they heard a gnawing sound from over the pass. They cautiously approached and saw a huge dragon skeleton that was being consumed by a cohort of Carrion Beetles. The hungry Carrion Beetles had done their job as the Dragon skeleton was almost stripped clean of all the meat. The Carrion Beetles skittered across the skeleton trying to find the last scraps of flesh.

The party talked about how to proceed and they eventually decided to try and sneak past the Carrion Beetles by staying close to the rocky ledge of the pass. The party all moved stealthily except for one. Jesoc seemed to be distracted and didn’t see a rock sticking out of the snow. Jesoc tripped on the rock and fell in the snow with a great clamour of steel on stone.

Immediately three of the six Carrion Beetles stopped gnawing on the Dragon skeleton and approached their new meal. The fellowship moved forward to attack. The Carrion Beetles were slow moving and did not seem to generate much of a challenge for the fellowship. That is until they were almost dead, the fellowship found that the Carrion Beetles have a rage attack to spew acid if they feel they are close to death. Kifak was the target of this attack from one and survived the attack, but was left scarred. The fellowship was able to defeat the three Carrion Beetles carefully avoiding another acid attack.

The fellowship looked up and saw the other three Carrion Beetles were still gnawing on the skull of the Dragon. The fellowship decided to try and sneak past these last three Carrion Beetles. Once again, Jesoc got distracted and fell over an outcrop of rocks. Jesoc quickly picked himself up but the damage had been done. The remaining Carrion Beetles turned to approach as the rest of fellowship all swore in their native tongues at Jesoc.

The fellowship briefly considered outrunning the Carrion Beetles but decided to stay together and fight. Kifak smartly cast Spirit Guardians to swing the tide of the battle and the fellowship was able to defeat the Carrion Beetles without much challenge, other than a couple more acid attacks from the dying Carrion Beetles.

The fellowship took a short break and searched the Dragon skeleton for anything of value. Unfortunately, the Dragon skeleton had been picked clean with no teeth or claws remaining. The fellowship started down the other side of the pass.

The fellowship came down the other side of the pass and the weather continued to favour travel – the day was sunny and the temperature was warming up.

The fellowship came upon a plateau in the last ridges of the mountains and saw a series of nine graves and a ruined fort. Jesoc sensed that there were undead to the east by the graves and ruins.

The party decided to explore the graves before they continued down. Hallamir discovered the headstones had engravings of Elvish script and informed the party that they were inscribed with:

• Adunaphel
• Akhorahil
• Dwar
• Hoarmurath
• Ji Indur
• Khamul
• Ren
• Uvatha

Hallamir then went to the grave that was separate from the others and shared that it was inscribed with Murazor.

Hallamir shuddered and shared that these wear the Black Numenorean names of the lost kings that became the Nazgul.

Suddenly, a large floating shadow appeared asking why the party was disturbing their slumber. The party informed Murazor that they meant no harm and were just making their way out of the mountains. Jesoc asked Murazor if he know of Thuringwethil. Murazor did not respond to the question but informed the party of their story:

• When Sauron was diminished and he sought refuge in the Palantir, the Nazgul were also not totally defeated but also diminished.
• When Sauron was defeated, his army brought what remained of the nine back to the Realm of the Witch King to be buried here.
• With Sauron not totally defeated, the Nazgul are also banished to a sort of limbo. They travelled Middle-Earth as shadows unable to interact with the physical world. They returned to the place of the burial of their physical bodies to await the return of their master.

The fellowship asked if they could explore the ruins and the shadow of Murazor floated to the side and gestured for them to proceed. The party found the ruins contained nothing except for nine black rings surrounded by nine blacks swords in a circle. Jesoc and the party was tempted to try and touch the rings but they resisted. Arbun smelt an overwhelming aroma of seared meat which indicated a massive amount of Necrotic Magic.

Kifak smartly decided to kick dirt on the rings instead of touching them and saw the dirt fell through the rings and the swords. Murazor then said:

“They are as we are. But power is gathering, we await his return”

The fellowship shared that they are in a quest to stop Thuringwethil. Murazor simply replied:

“We have no desire to stop her”

The fellowship took their leave and continued on. As they left Murazor spoke:

“Next time we meet we shall resolve this”

The fellowship reluctantly decided to leave what remained of the Nazgul rather than attack them in their current state. They made their way down out of the Grey Mountains and set up camp once they got away far enough for Hallamir’s liking.

The night passed without incident and the sun rose the next day on a cold morning. It was another good day to travel and the fellowship followed the Anduin all the way down to Maethelburg.

As they approached Maethelburg they could see that the walls had been fully repaired in a short amount of time. The guard welcomed them in and recognized them. He apologized for their betrayal before and recommended they seek out the owner of The Jealous Pony tavern to learn more.

The party thanked him and made their way to The Jealous Pony. On their way, they saw that the entire town seemed to have been repaired and was thriving.

At The Jealous Pony, the owner, Tolbin Shortwick, offered the fellowship food, drink, and board as compensation for what the past betrayal of the town. Tolbin Shortwick informed the party that the entire town was digusted by the mayor’s actions. Tolbin told the party that the mayor told the town after the betrayal and no one else was aware of the scheme.

The party asked about how Maethelburg has been restored in such a short period of time and Tolbin Shortwick told of three wizards that came to the town and made a deal. They would restore the town in exchange for the following:

• 50% of all town income
• 50% of animal offspring
• 1 children per wizard as servants for 1 year

Tolbin shared that the wizard’s names are Avenior, Enathar, and Dhaleus. The wizards live on the summit of Maethelburg where the mayor used to live. Tolbin shared that the wizards now arrange for supplies of everything Maethelburg requires daily. How they are doing this he does not know.

While there are some people that dislike the bargain, the wizards seem to be living up to their side of the bargain and are treating the children well. The party asked if the wizards would see visitors and Tolbin said they would, but recommended they first take advantage of Maethelburg hospitality and visit The Private Squirrel Pub on the second level for ale and games of chance.

The fellowship thanked him and headed up to the second level.

Session 21 Recap

The party continued up to the second level and found Ryex’s Magic Emporium. They entered and were welcomed by the Ryex Ruille, the proprietor. The party was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the inventory and asked Ryex how he had gathered such a collection. Ryex shared that much of it was initially provided by the wizards and that there are now many more people buying and selling magic wares since the wizards have returned as word is getting out that Maethleburg is a centre for magic items.

After some perusing and haggling, the party eventually purchased the following items:

• Kifak
  • Amulet of Health
  • Cloak of Elvenkind – hereafter known as Cloak of Dwelvenkind
• Jesoc
  • Adventurers Overcoat
  • two Identify scrolls
  • Alchemy Jug
  • Dragon Forge Shield
• Hallamir
  • Cloak of Arachnidia
  • Cottage chest
  • Cap of Water Breathing

Arbun searched and searched but couldn’t find anything to his liking.

Before the fellowship left they asked Ryex if he could tell them the command word of the Gateway Ring they had. Ryex said that he could not and informed the party that even the the Archiwizard, Avenior, would not be able to determine the command word.

The fellowship thanked Ryex and took their leave to visit the Private Squirrel tavern to gamble. The owner of the Private Squirrel welcomed the party and introduced himself as Martin Bordel.

Martin informed the party that they had three games of chance:

1. The Highwayman
2. Darts
3. Ord’s Gambit

The fellowship were enthralled by the possible winning odds for the Highwayman game and played multiple times. They won some and lost some, but eventually ended up on top.

The party then moved on to the Darts competition and watched the halfling champion, Bitan Undertree, willing to take on challengers. Bitan defended his title and won the first few games, but eventually the fellowship was able to defeat Bitan. Bitan then challenged the fellowship to games with higher and higher stakes. The fellowship won and lost some games before finally defeating Bitan.

Martin Bordel congratulated the fellowship on their winnings and offered them four rooms at no charge. The fellowship graciously accepted and retired for the night.

The fellowship ventured up to meet the wizards the next morning and were greeted by a child at the gate. The child introduced herself as Gilly Bunce and inquired as to their business. The party informed Gilly that they were here to see the wizards and she offered to take them to Avenior.

On their way to see Avenior, the fellowship saw open doors to buildings that held hoards of gold and other treasures. It was very apparent that the wizards were doing very well with their arrangement with the town of Maethleburg. Avenior welcomed the fellowship and told a tale of how they were eking out a living in Dol Amroth repairing ships until they were hired by Ninque to help in the restoration and search of Dol Guldur. The wizards eventually left Ninque after she refused to pay them and they came up to Maethleburg where they are now.

The fellowship asked Avenior to examine the bag of holding for the Palantirs and Avenior immediately dropped it and stepped back saying it had Hag magic all over it. The fellowship asked Avenior to also examine the Gateway Ring and Avenior again dropped it saying there was Hag magic all over it. Avenior refused to examine the objects any further.

Avenior having no love for the Hags offered a map of Dol Guldur to assist the party. The fellowship graciously accepted the map.

The fellowship took their leave of the wizards and asked Avenior to let them know if he became aware of any news about the Hags. Avenior agreed and wished them well.

The fellowship gathered up their horses and departed the city of Maethleburg.

As the fellowship left the city of Maethleburg they experienced that it was unnaturally cold. It seemed to be getting colder as they approached Dol Guldur.

The party could see the peak of Dol Guldur in the distance above the Mirkwood forest. Just before the forest they could see what appeared to be a hunter’s cabin. They cautiously approached and Arbun could hear some sounds from inside.

Arbun and Kifak went around to the back and entered only to be attacked by a band of Ettins. The Ettins moved forward to attack and were joined by their chieftain. The Ettins had salvaged this abandoned cabin and defended their home viciously with clubs and morningstars the size of Arbun.

Hallamir and Jesoc barged through the front door to aid their compatriots but not before Kifak had been hit multiple times.

Suddenly Kifak was hit again and flattened! He laid motionless and prone. Arbun moved over to quickly heal him before all life exited his body.

Kifak smartly got up and struck back before he retreated behind a tree. The fellowship was able to defeat the rest of the Ettins and searched the cabin but found nothing of value.

The fellowship continued on to Dol Guldur but decided to return to the cabin and rest before they entered Dol Guldur.

Session 22 Recap

The fellowship journeyed forth to Dol Guldur after resting in the cabin. When they reached Dol Guldur they discovered a single door made of Mother of Pearl with no inscriptions. The party looked for any sign of a keyhole or secret door but found none.

The Party soon discovered that the door was sentient and was in a foul mood. The door soon hurled various insults at the party:

• ‘You buffoon, you will never pass’
• ‘Especially the short, short, little dwarf’
• ‘You really are not that bright are you?’

The fellowship tried to bribe the door witha number of gold pieces. The door simply responded:

• ‘It is not that easy’

Then the fellowship resorted to pleading and asking the door to please open. The door was silent and did not respond.

The door then insulted the party saying that they were all quite dumb and not bright at all.

Jesoc honestly responded and acknowledged that he isn’t bright at all.

The door responded saying ‘fair enough’ and the door swung open.

The party entered and were struck with the immediate stench of Orcs. The first rooms they encountered were storage rooms filled with Orc rations and a dining room with foul Orc food. They continued on and discovered the barracks of a platoon of Orcs. The battle ensued and the Orcs called out for their commanders Grok and Bolg to assist. The fellowship was able to easily defeat the Orcs lead by Arbun’s deft one-shot that cleaved an Orc War Chief’s head clean off. The fellowship searched the bodies and continued to explore after finding nothing of value.

The fellowship then discovered a filthy wash basin that smelt of Orc sweat. The party smartly moved on and then discovered two sparring rooms that were currently empty.

Finally the party listened at the next door and could hear some movement inside. They carefully opened the door and found an Orc War Chief sitting back in a chair. The Orc war chief introduced himself as Thrakzul Ironfist.

Thrakzul inquired to what they were doing here. After the party informed Thrakzul that they were here for Ninque, Thrakzul shared he was tired and he cared not for what they do. Thrakzul warned the party that the bridge was greased. The party tried to decipher if Thrakzeul was being deceptive, but Thrakzul honestly couldn’t care what they did.

The party eventually took their leave and found that the bridge was indeed greased. They carefully made they was across and opened a stone door into the first room.

The fellowship discovered a Roper inhabited this room devouring rocks that surrounded him. The party attacked the Roper and was able to defeat him but not before they discovered what a formidable foe a Roper is. After searching the rocks and finding nothing, the party exited east and climbed the stairs to another chamber with two more Ropers again surrounded by rocks.

This time the party decided to see if they could pass by the Ropers without engaging in battle. Jesoc noticed a large Onyx statue of Thuringwethil as they walked by. The Ropers continued to eat the rocks that surrounded them and the party exited to the north with a sigh.

The party then entered into a quarry room. They could now see where the rocks where coming from. In the centre of the room there was a large pit that was dug and a Troll Hag was at the bottom of the pit looking through the rocks for something. The fellowship then moved to attack the Troll Hag. Although she was also a formidable opponent, the fellowship was able to defeat her.

The party searched the pit for rocks but found nothing of value. It remained unclear as to what the Troll Hag was searching for. The party noticed that there was another statue here but it was broken and left in ruins.

The fellowship paused to determine where to explore next.

Session 23 Recap

The fellowship continued east after finding nothing of value in the pit. The door to the east revealed a narrow hallway with a descending staircase that led to a door at the end. Jesoc pushed Arbun through the door and revealed a large room with a couple of recessed pits, another Roper eating more rocks, and a pool with a pile of skulls in the middle.

Jesoc noticed that on top of the pile of skulls there seemed to be a black sphere that looked like a Palantir. After some discussion, Arbun agreed to be thrown on the pile of skulls. Arbun landed deftly on the pile of skulls and tried to lift the sphere.

Suddenly the pile of skulls revealed itself to be a Hoard Mimic and attacked Arbun. Arbun was able to get back to the party and away from the Hoard Mimic. The party tried to lift the black sphere with Mage Hand, but they were unable to lift it. The fellowship decided that this was clearly a ruse and moved on.

The fellowship decided to try and sneak out of the room and past the Roper, but unfortunately Jesoc once again tripped over his own feet and dropped his sword as they walked by the Roper. The Roper turned to attack and Jesoc absorbed his attacks and smartly used Misty Step to get away from the Roper. The rest of the party stealthily exited the room.

The party found themselves in an entryway and decided to move through the doors to the east. As they opened the doors, they found themselves in what looked to be a shrine. At the base of the stairs the fellowship saw a cauldron surrounded by three undead Hags.

They noticed these Hags were indeed Helka, Losse, and Engwa – the very Hags they had previously defeated. They appeared to be undead and resurrected for some new purpose. The party attacked and destroyed the Hags one by one. Each hag was reduced to a pile of dust as they were defeated.

Kifak started exploring the room and discovered there were no items of note except for three barrels that contained gold pieces, Orc Teeth, and Orc scalps.

For some reason Jesoc, jumped into the cauldron and found that it contained disgusting Orc blood. Jesoc hopped out and cleaned himself off.

The party then decided to deposit a collection of dust, teeth, and scalps in the King’s bag of holding to send a message to whomever stole the matching bag. There was a short discussion about urinating and defecating in the bag but thankfully nothing came of it.

The fellowship continued on and discovered a room where the Hags rested. They found a thatched dreamcatcher above each bed. Arbun smelled the dreamcatchers and confirmed they were created with Conjuration magic as they smelt of blueberries. The fellowship wanted no part of the magic of the thatched dreamcatchers and threw them in the fire.

The fellowship ensured the thatched dreamcatchers were fully burnt before moving on. The fellowship also discovered a small figurine in each bed:

• white wolf
• white dragon
• red dragon

The party recognized that these were the same figures they had discovered in the graves in the Barrow Downs.

Finally, the fellowship discovered a small glass jar with a pixie in each at the foot of each bed. It appeared that the Hags used these for light sources as the pixies would light up when the jar was shaken.

The party heard a voice from behind them, and a small animated cauldron approached and asked what they were doing. The cauldron introduced himself as Stan and shared that he did odd jobs for the Hags – fetching things, brewing tea. The fellowship was clearly annoyed with Stan and sent him away to search for Ale.

Kifak and Jesoc then teamed up to cleverly smash open the jars and free the pixies. Before the fellowship moved on they grabbed a burning log and also threw it into the King’s Bag of Holding.

The fellowship continued exploring and they discovered rooms littered with Orc corpses. These Orc corpses where missing their scalps and teeth. They also seemed to be drained of their blood – it became apparent where the Hags sourced their spell components.

After clearing the second tower of Dol Guldur, the fellowship decided to return to the distant Orc War Chief in the first tower to ask him some additional questions.

The fellowship found the Orc War Chief in his same quarters and questioned the Orc War Chief and were again frustrated with his answers. He again mentioned that he wanted no part of the Hags plans and that the Hags were not honorable. When asked as to why he was still here, we mentioned that it was due to the duty to complete the job he was hired for.

The Orc War Chief asked the party to remove him from his bond. Eventually, the fellowship realized that the Orc War Chief was asking them to kill him.

Arbun eventually loosed an arrow at him and Jesoc attacked. Kifak was clearly disturbed by this Orc and the honour he was showing. Kifak found it was hard to hate this Orc and the duty he displayed. Kifak exited the room while the rest of the fellowship gave the Orc War Chief his release.

The fellowship moved on to the last tower and found a number of empty storage rooms and dining hall before encountering a battalion of Orcs. Kifak was almost relieved that he found a group of Orcs he could hate again and rushed into the middle of them to attack. The Orcs focused all their attacks on Kifak and he took considerable damage until his compatriots came to his aid to defeat the Orcs.

The fellowship moved north and found a Hag sitting in the midst of a pile of rubble cradling a black sphere exclaiming ‘Finally!’. It appeared that the Hag had finally found the Palantir after much digging and searching.

The fellowship recognized that this was Ninque and moved forward to attack. Kifak smartly cast banish and instructed the fellowship to get in position and prepared their actions for when Kifak called her back.

When Kifak called her back, the result was not pretty and was vicious – Kifak called her back and the fellowship destroyed Ninque and recovered the Palantir. Arbun recovered the Palantir and placed it in the good bag of holding.

The fellowship then decided to rest before making their way to Minas Tirith on the way to Cirth Ungol.

During their sleep all members of the fellowship were visited by a menacing vision. A feminine hooded figure approached slowly revealing her green eyes and pointed teeth. There was no doubt who this vision was.

Slowly the vision spoke:

“You have become quite the bother and now you have something that belongs to me”

“You have earned my attention and my wrath. We shall meet again and I shall reclaim what is mine.”

‘Petty fools. You know not what you are dealing with”

With that the fellowship awoke in a sweat with pain wrecking their limbs and tears in their eyes.”

The fellowship rested another night to recover from the damage Thuringwethil dealt in the dream world.

Session 24 Recap

The fellowship awoke from a subsequent rest after the horrifying vision of Thuringwethil. They were shaken and decided to leave Mirkwood as soon as possible by heading west.

The party finally exited Mirkwood after travelling for an hour. They continued west and came upon the mighty Anduin river after another hour. The fellowship saw that two Keelboats were anchored on the other side of the river. The Anduin was at least 100 feet across and very fast moving here but thankfully there was a stone bridge that was close by. The fellowship carefully examined the bridge for traps and decided to cross.

The fellowship carefully crossed the bridge but when they got on the other side they found themselves back on the original side of the bridge again. Puzzled, the party tried to cross again and they found themselves back on the original side of the bridge once more.

The fellowship continued to try different ways of crossing but to no avail. Whether they crossed backwards, on the bridge railing, or crabwalking, they found themselves back on the original side.

The fellowship then decided to send just Arbun and Hallamir over by themselves to see if they could cross alone and to see what happened to them. Surprisingly, Arbun and Hallamir disappeared as soon as they reached the mid-point of the bridge and appeared right behind Kifak and Jesoc. Kifak and Jesoc also tried to cross and appeared behind Kifak and Jesoc.

The fellowship agreed that this must be some sort of magic spell and started to look for clues on how to dispel it. Arbun could smell the scent of Enchantment magic near the foot of the bridge on the near side. Hearing this, Kifak cast Dispel Magic and and the smell disappeared! The fellowship inspected where the smell was the strongest and found a rock just under the water with the following inscription:

“Alison Teodor Barley”

The fellowship correctly deduced it was a password for the bridge, but they confirmed they no longer needed it when they crossed the bridge on the next try.

As soon as the fellowship stepped off the bridge, they heard someone greeting them from their left:

“Trades! Trades for anything at all! Gnimo has whatever you require!”

Gnimo was seated at a table with a sack beside him. Gnimo explained that he could produce any item that was desired for any other item or items of equal value. After some discussion and haggling, the party bartered for the following items:

• Hallamir – Manual of Quickness of Action
• Kifak – +1 Smouldering Armor
• Jesoc – Boots of Elvenkind
• Arbun – +1 Studded Leather

Gnimo shared that he was a visitor from another realm and frequently visits other realms to collect items. Gnimo was so pleased that the entire party traded for items that he then gifted the party with a whistle they could blow once a week to summon him to trade again. In addition, he also gave them Gnimo’s magic discount dice to use when they meet again.

Kifak asked asked Gnimo if he could trade for two Superior Healing Potions before Gnimo left and Gnimo agreed. As Gnimo was about to leave they asked Gnimo if he knew whose Keelboats these were. Gnimo shared with then that they were left by Aenwyn for the party to use. The party was pleased to hear this and when they turned around to thank Gnimo, he was gone.

The party went over to one of the Keelboats and boarded. They carefully untied the Keelboat and started to float down the Anduin. It was going to take the party two days to get to Minas Tirith with the current.

Kifak immediately went to the front of the boat, placed one leg on the bow, and surveyed his surroundings. Jesoc cast unseen servant and had them clean everyone’s boots.

Somewhere in the first hour Jesoc wondered aloud where they left the horses. Collectively the rest of the party slapped their heads.

Kifak then prayed for Divine Intervention to guide him on the waters. Kifak immediately felt more confident and crafted himself an eyepatch to feel more complete. Kifak was able to confidently steer the ship as they glided down the Anduin.

As they sailed down the Anduin, the fellowship noticed that the winter and famine had receded. The snow had all disappeared and the farmlands were green and being tilled.

The fellowship decided to dock for the night and as soon as they tied the boat up they heard screeching from above. Three Vrocks being ridden by Vampire Nightbringers descended and attacked! Kifak smartly cast Spirit Guardians and the fellowship eventually wore their opponents down. They first disposed of the Vrocks and then turned their attention to the Vampire Nightbringers. They suddenly remembered they had holy water and Kifak and Jesoc finished of the last two Vampire Nightbringers with holy water. Jesoc slammed the head of the last Vampire Nightbringer with two flasks of holy water. The Vrocks dissolved into Ichor and the Vampire Nightbringers dissolved into dust.

The fellowship rested for the night before heading off the next morning. Early in the morning, Captain Kifak cut a hole in his eyepatch with his battle axe to see better.

The fellowship slowly sailed down the Anduin. They didn’t really notice the roaring of the falls until if was much too late. The finally realized they were coming up on the Falls of Rauros, but there was no place to dock with sheer cliffs all around.

After quickly determining that there was no way to avoid the falls, Captain Kifak took charge. Captain Kifak steered the boat successfully and only glanced off a couple of rocks.

Finally they were coming up to the falls and seeing no options, the fellowship planned to go over. They gave Hallamir the Drowner’s Pearl and held on.

Captain Kifak guided them well and although the fall was rough, the boat and the crew were intact. The fellowship recovered themselves and sailed the rest of the way to Minas Tirith without any further events. The party again noticed that the weather was warmer and warmer and the fields became even more lush. They could see orchards full of fruit bearing trees. The winter and famine were indeed gone.

The fellowship glided into Minas Tirith and were welcomed by a strange sight. Children rushed to greet them and cheered their arrival. Even stranger, the fellowship noticed that the children were dressed like them. They were welcomed into the city while the children played imagining themselves as their favourite fellowship member!

• “Look! I’m Kifak! Taste my battle axe”
• “Tough! I’m Jesoc. I fight for honour!”
• “Shh! I’m Arbun. I will steal anything”
• “I’m Hallamir, I can find any path!”

The party returned to Fionn MacCools Tavern and didn’t pay for a drink all night they were welcomed as heroes and promised an audience with the king in the morning.

They met King Eldarion in the morning and the king informed the fellowship that the Palantirs were indeed stolen by the King’s Seer and his acolytes who had been replaced by Hollowed Ones. The King shared with them that he had heard that the Palantirs were taken to Serke in Dol Amroth who sailed away with them to Gerlkuneshe. The king also shared two maps that were found in the Seer’s quarters.

King Eldarion informed the fellowship that all of Minas Tirith consider them heroes as they believe the winter and famine to be vanquished forever. The king shared that he knows their situation to be more dire than ever and that their world is teetering on the edge of a knife. The king asked them to keep that secret and to not destroy the hope of his people – for whatever little time they have left.

The fellowship solemnly agreed.

After hearing this the king gifted the fellowship 10,000 gold pieces and two ships in Dol Amroth:

• Sea Ghost – churning hull
  • Captain Elias “Saltwind” Marrow
  • Officer Brigid O’Shaughnessy
  • Officer Tomas Greyhook
  • Officer Selene Driftwater
  • Officer Finnian Blackreef
  • First Mate Garrick “Barnacle” Holt
  • Bosun Mirella Stormsong
  • Quartermaster Joren Tidebreaker
  • Cook Anya “Red Sails” Veyra
  • Sailor Kaelen Moorwake
  • Sailor Dorin “Old Anchor” Vass
  • Sailor Ysabel Seawraith
• Emperor of the Waves – churning hull
  • Captain Calder “Ironhook” Veylan
  • Officer Maris Gullwhisper
  • Officer Roderick “Two-Eyes” Brann
  • Officer Elira Waveborn
  • Officer Silas “Deckrat” Crowe
  • First Mate Niamh Stormwake
  • Bosun Borin “Sea Ox” Darran
  • Quartermaster Cassian Driftmoor
  • Cook Petra “Lanternjaw” Korrin
  • Sailor Thalos Brinehand
  • Sailor Mirek “Ropeburn” Jast
  • Sailor Ysolde Tideveil

The king gave them their leave and wished them well in wherever they needed to go.

Session 25 Recap

After meeting with the king, the fellowship spent some time in Minas Tirith before deciding to move on. They rested and enjoyed the down time before having to journey to Cirith Ungol.

Hallamir spent his days reading while Jesoc visited a few astrologers hoping to get an indication of what his future held. Arbun spent his time enjoying the food and drink while Kifak mainly just enjoyed the drink.

Kifak visited a saddlery and had them craft a beautiful leather eye patch designed with slits to also allow perfect vision.

The fellowship also asked the about whether their horses could be retrieved from where they left them. It was agreed that they would be recovered for a cost of 200 gold pieces.

After three days the king summoned them again. The king informed them of a worrying story of a monastery that hadn’t been heard from in weeks. The king shared that the royal seer also frequented the monastery before his betrayal, so the king asked if they would investigate what had happened to the monastery.

The king shared that the Monastery of Ebon Dome was only a few hours away at the base of Emyn Arnen – a mountain to the south-east of Minas Tirith.

The king then shared a secret he kept most dear, three sacred artifacts had also gone missing after the royal seer’s betrayal. The king shared the following items had gone missing:

• Anduril – Flame of the West, Aragorn’s sword forged from the shards of Narsil
• Angrist – The knife that pried a Silmaril from the Iron Crown of Morgoth.
• The ring of Barahir – While the Ring of Barahir was not known to contain any magic or power, it is notable as one of the oldest crafted objects in Middle-earth, older than even the Palantirs.

The king offered an additional 5,000 gold pieces to undertake the quest and an additional 5,000 gold pieces for each artifact they returned. The fellowship graciously accepted and returned to rest for one more night before heading out the next morning.

Jesoc, always the cautious one, used his divine sense on the king to ensure he wasn’t a Hollowed One. Jesoc was satisfied and shared his findings with the group.

The fellowship left early the next morning and discovered the monastery after a couple of hours. As they walked up to the monastery they could see it was in a state of disrepair. The party cautiously approached and found some empty stables with three dead horses. On closer examination, they could see the horses were killed with a sword, the that the corpses had recently been bitten by rats.

The fellowship continued on and as they crossed a causeway above the courtyard, they could see movement below. Jesoc smartly used Mage Hand to lift a bush and a whole pack of rats scurried away.

The party continued to explore and came upon and another room that was full of garbage and rubble. Jesoc did find a set of double doors to the west that was in good condition and went to fling the doors open.

Jesoc was treated to an odd sight. There was a huge rat skull on the altar, with a Rat King and Rat Prince to either side. There was a company of rats kneeling and praying to the skull. Furious that they were interrupted, the Rat King ordered them to attack!

The Rat King and Rat Prince were worthy adversaries with the Rat King dealing vicious damage on Jesoc with his tail whip. Kifak stepped forward and confidently proclaimed:

“Somebody here call for an exterminator?!”

With that Kifak cast Spirit Guardians and to everyone’s surprise all the mini-Dwarf guardians were all sporting bedazzled eye-patches like Kifak!

The party quickly dealt with the rats through a combination of webs and fire.

The rat disciples were dealt with easily with the Rat King and Rat Prince putting up a good fight. The fellowship noticed that during the battle all the rats started chanting:

“Sneel, Sneel, Sneel”

Unfortunately, those were the last words the rats uttered and the party never did find out the purpose of the chant.

The party continued on and found a door with a hand for a door handle. The door did not speak, but kept on gesturing the shake someone’s hand. A variety of actions were attempted:

• hand shaking
• twisting
• pulling
• offering coins

Nothing had any effect until Jesoc cut his hand and offered a handshake. After this was done, the door slowly opened.

The fellowship then came to a room that appeared to be a dining room and saw two hooded figures seated. The figures bade them to come forward and greeted them:

• “Welcome to Ebon Dome as brothers”
• “We smell that you have been to Grimhollow Delve”
• “Do you know of the ritual that the traitors of Grimhollow Delve use?”
• “The ritual pauses bloodlust or pauses it until blood is tasted again”
• “Did Borin Ironvein tell you what happens if the uncursed take the ritual?
• “Once the curse is passed on, you are cursed. It is just awaiting an invitation.”
• “They have betrayed our mistresses gift!”

The fellowship soon determined that these were human vampires that also escaped from the same fortress as the Dwarves of Grimhollow Delve. But unlike the Dwarves, they have not returned the gift.

The vampire wardens shared that Lord Frath could be found in the eastern most room if they wished to parley with him. The fellowship took their leave and made their way to see Lord Frath.

The fellowship were greeted by Lord Frath and asked him about what happened to the monastery. Lord Frath explained that they did not cause the state of the monastery but merely found it like this and intend to make it their home.

The fellowship then asked about the three items that the king mentioned. Lord Frath mentioned that he had discovered the sword and would be willing to trade for it. Lord Frath mentioned not he did not know where the other two items were.

After some haggling over Cinnamon buns, a deal was eventually stuck with the party offering a Barrow Wight Crown and a Black Ring taken from Agarwaen.

Lord Frath agreed and was most delighted with the Black Ring. In front of their eyes, he put on the ring and transformed into an Orc and back again!

The fellowship was shaken, but graciously accepted Anduril. Lord Frath also provided them with an extensive map of Cirith Ungol that he found with the sword.

The fellowship took their leave and returned to Minas Tirith. They returned to see the king and give Anduril to its rightful owner. The king was pleased and gave them each 5,000 gold pieces.

Before they left they asked about whether there were any experts on vampires in Minas Tirith. The king said that the town of Edhellond was the only location he know of that had that expertise. The fellowship took their leave and planned to leave for Cirith Ungol in the morning.

Before they retired, they tried a variety of things to see if they were undead or cursed. Both attempts were unsuccessful. If the vampires were telling the truth, the curse was waiting for something.

They all slept poorly.

Session 26 Recap

The fellowship spent a few days in Minas Tirith resting up before deciding to finally make the journey to Cirith Ungol. On the second day, a search party came back with their horses that were retrieved. When hearing where the fellowship was intending to go, the king offered to provide a four horse guard to escort them to Cirith Ungol so them didn’t have to lose their horses again. The fellowship graciously agreed and planned to set off in the morning.

The four horse guard met the fellowship at Fionns Macools Tavern in the morning. Jesoc quickly used his divine sense ability to ensure they were not hollowed ones. Jesoc was satisfied that there was no reason for concern and signaled to the party that they were good to depart.

The fellowship journeyed out in the morning and soon rode under the ominous shadow of Ephel Duath, the mountains of shadow. After a couple of hours they came up to the gate of Minas Morgul and the riders bid them farewell. The party cautiously approached the bridge and Kifak detected movement on the parapet above them. Arbun cautiously moved across the bridge and also detected red eyes on the parapet above. Finally, Arbun misty-stepped up to the entry way and saw that the portcullis was raised and that the tunnel led to a green courtyard beyond. Arbun gestured for the party to join him and they all cautiously crossed the bridge.

Arbun didn’t detect the smell of any magic, but the party was still cautious. Jesoc cast light on a rock and threw the rock through the tunnel onto the grass of the courtyard. It bounced and sounded as expected with no reaction. Kifak also wanted to try to throw a lighted rock but unfortunately flubbed throw and the rock ended up hitting the tunnel and rolling down the tunnel to end of short of the grass of the courtyard.

The party cautiously made their way through the tunnel with Jesoc leading the way and a downcast Kifak kicking rocks. They arrived at the courtyard and looked up to see the same sky and stars that appeared in Minas Tirith. No member of the party had noticed that they were now seeing stars when it was daytime and cloudy outside of Cirith Ungol.

The fellowship looked around and saw that there was a wall covered in vines in the centre of the courtyard and that there was a stairway behind them that led to a second floor terrace above the tunnel. The fellowship decided to first investigate the vine wall and the courtyard and return to examine the stairway later.

The fellowship arrived at the vine wall and saw that the vines covering the wall were unremarkable and bore no fruit. The party then saw a number of entrances on the other side of the courtyard and decided to make their way to the south east entrance.

The fellowship entered the room and saw that it was an abandoned merchant store front and supply room. It appeared that this merchant store front was for an antique purveyor named “The Honest Raven”. All of the goods were smashed or decayed to the point of providing no value. The party moved on to the south and east and eventually came up to a entrance to an altar room to the south.

The altar room contained an altar with a sculpture of a spider on the altar with the following inscription on the wall behind the altar:

“I swaddled the newborn dawn in bottomless thread,
And drank the silver sap where twin lights bled.
I bartered with a blackened king for glutted night,
Then gnawed my oath and swallowed spite.
I birthed a brood where terror clings,
In chasms void of moon or wings.
Name me—whose hunger wove the world with blight,
The weaver who devoured living light”

The fellowship approached the altar and saw that the spider sculpture was disassembled with the heads and separate legs being the following colours:

• Head – Blue
• Legs
  • Copper
  • Brown
  • Gold
  • Burgundy
  • Tan
  • Lime Green
  • Teal
  • Maroon

The fellowship was able to discern that the inscription was in reference to Ungoliant, the mother of Shelob. Arbun was also able to smell intense enchantment magic from underneath the spider sculpture.

The fellowship tried to assemble the spider sculpture and were dealt painful jolts pf necrotic damage until they finally figured out that the pieces had to be assembled in this order:

• Blue
• Brown
• Burgundy
• Copper
• Gold
• Lime Green
• Maroon
• Tan
• Teal

The altar still remained motionless. The fellowship was puzzled and started shouting out “Ungoliant” and “Shelob”, but there was no response. Jesoc then tried to push on the spider sculpture, but there was no reaction.

Jesoc then noticed that after the pieces were moved into place that there were buttons revealed that spelt out the colour of the piece. Arbun tried to examine which buttons may have been pressed more frequently, but he could not tell.

The fellowship tried various combinations of pressing the letters that spelt “Blue”, each unsuccessful try resulting in the letters just popping back up. Jesoc and Kifak tried to press individual letters from “Tan” and “Burgundy” but they also just popped back up.

Finally Kifak noticed that there were nine pieces, nine colours, and that you needed nine letters to spell “Ungoliant”. The fellowship surmised that they now needed to spell out “Ungoliant” by pressing one letter in each word representing a colour.

• Blue
• Brown
• Burgundy
• Copper
• Gold
• Lime Green
• Maroon
• Tan
• Teal

After pressing the buttons to spell out “Ungoliant”, the altar platform hissed and opened revealing four artifacts.

The fellowship soon found that all the items were sentient as they talked to them. Kifak yearned for the axe but could feel that the axe was cautious about magic. The axe tentatively accepted Kifak and told him that he would need to see him in battle.

Jesoc claimed the Vorpal sword, Arbun the gambler’s blade, and Hallamir the trident.

The fellowship decided to continue to explore rather than converse and practice with their new found weapons. The party moved east down a long hallway and were attacked by huge barbarians unlike anything they had ever seen before. The fellowship would learn later that these goliaths were Desdursya from beyond the northern wastes. The Desdursya attacked with axes in close range and threw spears from far away. The Desdursya inflicted severe damage before the fellowship gained the upper hand.

Just then an even larger Desdursya appeared from around the corner and shouted in a language no one could understand. He appeared to be ordering the other Desdursya and he moved forward to attack! The fellowship moved forward to attack the Desdursya Chieftain and his cohort and after a frantic battle they stood victorious.

The fellowship went to examine the room that the Desdursya Chieftain emerged from and found simple bed rolls, a well, and a chest. Arbun examined the chest and found that it was locked. Arbun confidently moved forward to pick the lock but failed. Kifak stepped forward and asked for Arbun’s tools to try and pick the lock. Arbun was shocked when Kifak confidently stepped forward and expertly picked the lock.

Kifak found that there was a spirit board and a satchel that contained Nolzur’s marvelous pigments in the chest. Jesoc played around briefly with the Spirit Board while the rest of the party showered him with disapproving looks. Jesoc handed the Spirit Board back and they gathered the items up and continued east to explore.

The fellowship encountered a stairway that was collapsed with rubble and moved on. The party moved past a room and were overwhelmed by the stench that came from the room. Kifak told the party that they should just move on, but Arbun couldn’t resist and he entered the room and found a solitary pit in the corner of the room. Arbun tossed a lighted rock down the pit. The rock bounced off the walls and settled at the bottom with a soft ‘plop’.

Suddenly, a Necrotic Worm flung itself out of the hole and attacked! Kifak rushed forward shouting “I Fuckin’ told ya!”. The battle was engaged and the fellowship all attacked together against the Necrotic Worm. The Necrotic Worm pivoted and bit and swallowed Kifak whole! The fellowship continued to attack and to their surprise Kifak erupted out of the belly of the Necrotic Worm dealing damage and shouting insults.

The fellowship all decended on the Necrotic Worm in a fury. They were successful in killing the worm, but the Necrotic Worm exploded in its last moments covering the fellowship in slime. The fellowship all looked at each other and smiled.

The fellowship decided to return back to the Chieftain’s quarters to rest before they continued on. The party used Nolzur’s marvelous pigments to paint a bathtub to clean up.

Session 27 Recap

The fellowship were woken up from their rest by screaming throughout the night. No matter how many times they tried, the screaming would always wake them up. They woke in the morning getting minimal rest and found that their tiredness and wounds were not any better.

The fellowship discussed their next steps and agreed to explore the tower of Cirith Ungol to the east. They left the room to the south and heard some rustling from a room to the south. They explored the room and found two more Desdursya warriors which they were able to quickly dispatch. The room seemed to be a guard outpost with minimal bedding and supplies.

The fellowship continued to the east and moved past a room that was filled with bones. The party examined the bones and found that they were in various states of decay but they all appeared to be either Orcs or Hobgoblins. The party was also able to determine that it appeared the corpses were killed by bites, claw marks or short sword – not the massive battle axes that the Desdursya warriors swing.

The fellowship continued east and found more rooms full of Orc and Hobgoblins corpses. Out of the shadows stealthily approached two Desdursya Shadows. Although they were smaller than there warrior brethren, they were no less dangerous and deadly. They moved forward and attacked with their shadow blades.

For some unknown reason, Jesoc broke off from the party and continued on through a door at the opposite end of the room and surprised two Desdursya Shamanesses. The Shamanesses had a frightening appearance with their skin covered in bone dust

A deadly battle ensued. While the Desdursya Shadows were defeated first, the Shamanesses turned out to be terrifying foes. The Shamanesses were able to fell both Jesoc and Hallamir, but Jesoc and Hallamir were both protected by their compatriots. Kifak smartly pulled the injured Jesoc behind him and cast Spirit Guardians. The mini-Kifak Spirit Guardians were able to assist in finally defeating all of the Desdursya Shadows and Shamanesses.

The fellowship paused and recovered from the deadly battle. They continued east, finding yet more rooms with Orc and Hobgoblin bones.

The fellowship eventually came to a final closed door. Arbun snuck forward and opened the door to see two critically injured Hags being tended to by a Desdursya mage. The fellowship discussed their plan of attack and Kifak cast silence and then the fellowship burst through the door and descended on the Desdursya Mage. The fellowship defeated the Mage quickly under their onslaught with Kifak lifting Ghor’Thrak, the Orc-Splitter above his head to bring him to his knees before Jesoc delivered the final blow.

The fellowship moved forward to question the Hags once Kifak’s Silence spell lapsed.

The Hags both cackled and coughed.

“You’ll never get out of here. She will never let you leave”

“You will not be successful. Even if you escape the spiders more horrors await you”

Eventually they heard the tale of how the Hags retrieved the Palantir from the spiders and paid with their lives. The Hags also confirmed that the spiders are located in the courtyard. The Hags also shared that the Palantir is now with the leader of their cabal, Cofen-Taur. Hallamir was able to translate the name of Cofen-Taur to mean “Empty King”

The Hags continued to taunt the fellowship and Kifak once again raised his axe, Ghor’Thrak, the Orc-Splitter, and decapitated both Hags.

The party examined the Hags and found that each Hag had one white ring. The party found that there was nothing else of value in the room or on the Desdursya Mage. Kifak decided to take no chances and piled the bodies up and burnt them.

The party returned to the room they had used for a campsite last time and rested to recover. The fellowship was once again woken in the night by screaming. They woke in the morning getting minimal rest and found that their tiredness and wounds were not any better.

The fellowship exited the room and continued south-west. They soon came to room with a regal-looking man standing on the opposite side of the room. They would soon learn that this was indeed Cofen-Taur when he held out the Palantir and dared them to cross the room.

The fellowship noted that they had seen Cofen-Taur before – this was the King’s Royal Seer! The fellowship asked how he has arrived here as he was last known to be on a sailing ship. Cofen-Taur shared that he came back for the Palantir.

Kifak asked Cofen-Taur if he was a Hollowed One. He replied:

“A Hollowed One? I am The Hollowed One!”

Cofen-Taur raised his hands and cast a spell on the floor of the chamber. The floor lit up and then returned to normal. Arbun tossed a stone on the floor and it bounced a couple of times before it landed on a tile and was immediately struck by multiple elemental attacks leaving a pile of dust behind.

Cofen-Taur continued to taunt the fellowship to come across, but the fellowship backed away to determine their next steps.

Session 28 Recap

The fellowship agreed that they would not fall victim to the taunting to cross the chamber to confront Cofen-Taur. They retreated and looked for a way to attack Cofen-Taur from behind.

The fellowship then explored a room next to the courtyard and discovered a Desdursya Shamaness dead. They cautiously approached with Jesoc using Mage Hand to see if the shamaness was truly dead. The Shamaness did not stir but the party was still unconvinced. They only approached after Arbun unleashed an arrow into the Shamaness with no response.

Upon examining the Shamaness, they discovered that she was covered by spider bites and appeared very ashen and pale. The fellowship continued to explore the rooms that were next to the courtyard and discovered a dead Shamaness in each room.

Finally, the fellowship were able to make their way around and attack Cofen-Taur from behind. Kifak quickly downed a potion of Fire Giant Strength and cast Storm Door as the battle was engaged! The fellowship was able to defeat Cofen-Taur’s two Desdursya guards easily before the main battle was engaged. The tide of the battle ebbed and flowed with the fellowship finally defeating Cofen-Taur thanks to Arbun’s Gambler’s Blade.

As Cofen-Taur collapsed his face became totally blank and featureless. All the colour was drained out of his face with no eyes , nose, or mouth visible. The fellowship examined Cofen-Taur and discovered the Palantir in a pocked of his robe. Before they took the Palantir, Kifak sent the following message to the king:

“Have something of value to send, confirm you are alone and have the bag. Seer is dead, face went blank. Went by name Cofen-Taur”

The king replied:

“All good, alone. Send Item”

Kifak carefully rolled the item from Cofen-Taur’s pocket into the bag of holding and the bag expanded and felt heavy before it became an empty bag again a second later.

The fellowship discussed whether they should just leave now as they have the Palantir, but Jesoc remembered that the king’s knife, Angrist, was also stolen by the Seer and likely here. Remembering this, the fellowship decided to explore the rest of Cirith Ungol.

They were shocked as they next came upon a four-armed Gargoyle, but were thankful that it appeared to just be a statue. The party examined the Gargoyle statue but found that its hands held no knife and the statue had no switches or inscriptions. They also tried to move the statue, but it would not budge.

The fellowship continued to explore and next came upon a couple of rooms with dozens of Orc warriors. The Orc warriors informed the party that they were not going out there again and shared with the party how they were sacrificed and slaughtered to try and get past the spiders in the courtyard. Kifak successfully intimidated the Orcs to come with them, but the Orcs were following very half-heartedly. Eventually Kifak gave up and sent them back as he saw that they would be no benefit in battle.

The fellowship stealthily crossed the courtyard to explore the rooms on the other side of the courtyard. The courtyard seemed quiet and they were able to cross without incident. They first came upon a storage room where they discovered a chest with four potions – two light green and two dark green. The fellowship was able to determine later that these potions were two potions of short rest and two positions of long rest.

The party continued on a found another corpse. This time it was a Desdursya warrior that was face down with a knife lodged in his back. Jesoc approached and pulled the knife out of his back. Jesoc looked at the knife and confirmed that it was indeed Angrist.

The fellowship discussed what to do with the knife before they decided to throw it in the bag of holding without warning the king.

The fellowship decided to return to the courtyard after exploring all the other areas. When they looked at the far side of the courtyard they saw what looked like hundreds of Desdursya Chieftains watching the courtyard from the balcony. It didn’t look like the Desdursya Chieftains were watching them, but rather something else in the courtyard.

The fellowship slowly made their way across the courtyard and soon heard sounds coming from behind them. Two enormous spiders were slowly coming towards them. The fellowship moved towards the spiders and attacked. Although the spiders were fearsome and deadly, they were no match for the fellowship.

After the spiders were defeated, the fellowship looked up and saw that the Desdursya Chieftains had disappeared from the balcony. Seeing that there was no one left to oppose them, they slowly made their way through the tunnel under the balcony to the main gate.

The fellowship decided to leave Cirith Ungol and return to Minas Tirith before they travelled to Dol Amroth for the final journey.

Session 29 Recap

The fellowship made their way back to Minas Tirith with the Palantir and king’s knife. They were given an audience with the king and and returned Angrist to its rightful owner. The king was thankful, granted them the bounty, and wished them well on their quest. The king again promised them two ships in Dol Amroth and returned their horses to them.

The party decided to call out to Gnimo. Gnimo answered them in a vision and stated:

“My friends, I can not come to you right now. I have set up shop in Dol Amroth. Please come see me here and I would be happy to conduct our business. I will let you know more when you arrive.”

Jesoc searched out the Minas Tirith archives for information on the home the Hags mentioned – “Gerlkuneshe”. Jesoc found mention that it was far in the northern wastes and that various tribes lived in that area. When the Desdursya tribe was described, Jesoc was sure that these were the fearsome warriors and Shamans that they had encountered in Cirith Ungol.

Kifak also prayed to his gods and received a vision of Gerlkuneshe. Kifak saw an Island within a sea on a hill in the barrens. Kifak also saw a castle on the island. The castle seemed to comprise most of the island.

The party then retired for the evening. Kifak sought out a Dwarf-friendly tavern and Arbun gladly joined him.

The party left early the next morning and the day passed without any incident. It was a pleasant cloudy day. Animals and plants were plentiful for foraging. In the early afternoon the fellowship all noticed that the clouds in the sky began to take on a greenish hue.

This continued though out the afternoon and when they set up camp for the night they also noticed that when the moon emerged from the clouds it also had a greenish hue. Kifak took the first watch and the night also passed without any further incident.

The next day was again cloudy and during the morning the fellowship noticed that the green hue in the clouds was increasing. Later in the afternoon, the clouds appeared to becoming thicker as the light seemed to dim.

The party discussed continuing on through the night with the unsettling green sky, but decided to get a good sleep not knowing what awaited them in Dol Amroth. When the clouds finally lifted late that night, the fellowship saw that the moon has become and even brighter green and that green northern lights were dancing in the sky.

The party awoke the next morning to a dark sky. There was no visible sun giving light and the entire horizon was surrounded by a green aura. Up above, the green full moon shone green and the stars shone bright in the dark sky. Arbun smelled crackling ozone as around them – a strong sign of transmutation magic.

The fellowship decided to send messages to Aenwyn and the king. Both Aenwyn and the king confirmed that this green sky phenomenon was occurring in their skies as well. Both Aenwyn and the king shared that their citizens were growing more concerned and panicked by the hour.

The fellowship quickly packed up their supplies and rode straight to Dol Amroth.

The fellowship arrived in the port city of Dol Amroth. The citizens quickly recognized them as adventurers and asked if they knew what was happening with the sky. The fellowship responded that they also did not know and made their way to the Raging Bull district.

They suddenly heard screaming from ahead and found a young nobleman on the ground and his servant kneeling beside him. It appeared that something had burst out of his chest. There appeared to be a small beetle broach on the nobleman’s chest.

They soon found out that the dead young man is Aaron Littlehorn and that his servant is Liam Roogs. Liam informed the party that Aaron and Liam were just shopping throughout the morning and recently ate lunch at the White Buck Inn. Liam shared that Aaron didn’t interact with anyone during the day that he saw. Later Liam remembered that Aaron saw something on ground and picked it up and shoved it in his pocket. Liam shared that he didn’t see what it was.

Suddenly Gnimo walked up and wondered what the commotion was. Gnimo noticed the victim was Aaron Littlehorn and recognized that the beetle broach was a Scarab of Death. Gnimo shared that he has a similar one in his vault.

Suddenly Gnimo shouted :

“Shit, Shit, Shit, this is going to look like I did this! I am the only magic purveyor in town.”

Kifak recommended that Gnimo leave town until this all calms down but Gnimo said that was impossible. He has settled down here for a girl and they were now engaged – Ashley Littlehorn. Aaron’s sister.

The party agreed to help Gnimo to prove his innocence and requested to first see his vault and confirm his Scarab of Death was still there. Gnimo offered that if they could help him prove his innocence, he would reward them with an airship for their travels. Gnimo produced a small box and carefully gathered up the Scarab of Death.

The fellowship went to Gnimo’s residence and bazaar and found an opulent residence. They found out that Gnimo’s full name was Gnimo Nabulee and that he originally came from Umbar. Gnimo shared that he bought his Scarab of Death from a dealer in Harad and that the scarabs are not really good for anything except assassinations. The only people that seek them our are either collectors or murderers.

The party questioned Ronald Walrut, the butler, and heard a conflicting story of seeing Gnimo running through the streets when Gnimo swore he was alone in his office all morning. Ronald shared that the strangest thing was Gnimo wearing a bloodstained shirt with a purple tunic. The party then questioned Jasmin Metalwart, the housekeeper, and heard a conflicting story of Gnimo arguing with someone in his office when Gnimo swore he was alone in his office all morning

Puzzled by this, the fellowship asked to proceed to the vault. Gnimo showed them the vault which appeared to be a cloud of smoke. Gnimo introduced the party to Mugabu – an Iron Golem that guards the vault from the outside. Mugabu confirmed that no one but Gnimo has been to the vault recently.

Gnimo asked them to follow him and the party entered an interdimensional vault. It was a huge space that held valuables beyond belief – including an airship. Gnimo ran to check on his Scarab of Death and found that it was indeed missing. And several other items seemed to have been moved.

The party asked Gnimo who could have gotten into the vault, but he mentioned that it would only open for him. The party exited the vault and Arbun tried to enter it to only walk through the smoke.

The fellowship believed that someone has impersonated Gnimo, but how?

They asked Gnimo to stay here and ensure that the butler and housekeeper don’t leave. They examined the road from the bazaar to the White Buck Inn and found that there seemed to be a trail of blood that slowly trailed off past the White Buck Inn. Arbun searched the side of the rode and found a discarded perfumed purple tunic that came from Valentina’s shop. They visited both the perfume and Valentina’s shop but the shop owners could not confirm who may have purchased it. (Other than it was quite expensive and could really only be purchased by wealthy folk)

The fellowship returned to Gnimo’s bazaar and decided that Kifak would cast Greater Restoration in the hope of trying to recover Gnimo’s memories as they felt someone had altered them.

After the spell Gnimo remembered that Mortimor Yorman, a necromancer, had visited him in the morning and that they argued over the price Gnimo gave Mortimor for a few items.

Upon hearing this, the fellowship made their way Mortimor’s residence and Mortimor answered the door. Mortimor shared that he is interested in historical items and antiquities. He also shared that he often deals with Gnimo but has been home all day.

The party pressed Mortimor for the truth and Jesoc cast Suggestion on Mortimor.

Mortimor spilled the truth! He shared Gnimo had cheated him on multiple deals so he stole a lock of Gnimo’s hair and created a Clone Golem to sneak into Gnimo’s vault to just steal what he was owed. The Clone Golem snuck in and took the Scarab of Death which quickly burrowed into his skin. Gnimo was alerted at the sound of his screams, so Mortimor cast Sleep and Modify Memory on Gnimo to erase all memories of their interaction. Mortimor ordered the Clone Golem to run back to his residence, entering through the sewers.

The Clone Golem ran through the streets but it wasn’t long before the Scarab of Death burst out of him, whereby Aaron picked it up later that morning. Mortimor shared that he was repairing the Clone Golem upstairs as they spoke.

The fellowship tied up Mortimor and took him to the Captain of the City Watch, before returning to Gnimo’s bazaar with the good news.

Gnimo was over joyed and conducted his business with the fellowship and also confirming that they earned the airship for their travels.

Session 30 Recap

The fellowship decided to stay the night in the White Buck Inn before departing in the morning. The party remembered the king mentioning to Jesoc that the monastery in Edhellond was the source of vampire folklore and decided to visit Edhellond before departing north in their airship.

Kifak and Arbun decided to visit the temple of Waukeen to try their luck at gambling before retiring for the evening. Their evening started off with a bang with them winning a game of Highwayman for 20,000 gold pieces. The rest of the evening wasn’t nearly as lucky and they lost most of their winnings before retiring for the evening.

The fellowship awoke the next morning to the same dark green skies. Every villager they saw asked them again if their knew what was going on. The party politely declined and headed to the dock to rent a keelboat to ride up to Edhellond in. While the rest of the party was paying for the boat, Kifak practiced making knots and testing his balance on the boat.

The fellowship paid for the boat and sailed north to Edhellond with Captain Kifak leading the way. The fellowship reached the shores of Edhellond in a couple of hours.

Once a place of learning and contemplation, Edhellond now looms like a scar against the land, its stones whispering of forgotten sins. Local villagers dare not approach, for it is said that those who enter the monastery hear voices — not from the living, but from the damned. Yet treasures of ancient knowledge and sacred relics are rumored to lie within.

The party anchored their boat and made their way to the front door. They slowly opened the door and peered inside. A once-grand hall appeared before them. Faded banners hanged in tatters from the rafters. Ice crusted the floor, glittering like broken glass. Ahead, broken pillars and toppled statues lean drunkenly against the walls.

A heavy silence surrounded the party.

The party cautiously continued on. They next found a room that would have been quarters for the monks of the Monastery. In each of the six rooms, the fellowship found a single skeleton with his arms crossed.

The party smartly cast Speak With Dead and a skeleton rose and shared that they were condemned by Lord Syull. They informed the party that Lord Syull had summoned something unimaginable and that their death was at the hands of those that Lord Syull summoned. The skeleton mentioned that Lord Syull has information about the lore of vampires and that valuable information can be found in the scriptorium.

As the party left to move on, Arbun heard something chanting a prayer in his ear. He shared this with the rest of the party but no one else heard anything. Arbun cautiously moved forward listening intently.

The fellowship examined the door to the north. They found the door was locked and Arbun was unable to pick the door. Hall stepped up and blew the door inwards exposing an unimaginable tentacled green eyed horror inside.

Ilu’rath leapt forward, his green eyes glowing with rage. A vicious battle ensued with this horror. The fellowship had never encountered anything like Ilu’rath before and were injured greatly in the battle. Ilu’rath attacked with both tentacles and mind attacks – transforming Arbun at one point to have the head of a fish. The fellowship were able to eventually defeat Ilu’rath. Ilu’rath dissolved into a puddle before disappearing entirely.

Thankfully Arbun returned to normal after Ilu’rath was no more.

The fellowship explored the room. It appeared to be a chapel with a cracked altar. They explored the altar and it appeared to be cracked from the inside with no signs of it being struck or of magic. The fellowship continued on.

Beyond a set of heavy oak doors lay an open cloister garden, now a field of snow-dusted ruin. Dead vines clinged to cracked stone arches, and evergreen shrubs drooped under the weight of ice. At the center stood a fountain, frozen solid, its sculpted angels weeping icicles. The cold was sharper here, biting at exposed skin, and the silence is complete — no wind, no birds, just the crunch of snow underfoot.

The fellowship exited to the east and entered the scriptorium – a library. The party noticed that besides the books in the library, a solitary skull sat on the table.

They approached the table and were shocked to hear the skull introduce himself as Simon. Simon informed the party that he was Lord Syull’s Oracle before Lord Syull became distant.

Simon shared that:

• Lord Syull and the Monastery were the source of research on vampires in Middle Earth
• Lord Syull’s research eventually caught ‘her’ attention
• Lord Syull was visited by ‘her’ and he became enthralled and he stopped listening to me. He had secretly revered ‘her’.
• She instructed him to assist ‘her’ in her plan. Lord Kyull shared with me that ‘she’ last visited him after her hags had been killed
• ‘She’ fears you – ‘she’ knows you have the shackles
• In her rage ‘she’ captured and turned Urial
• Lord Syull shared an ancient scroll that he had found with ‘her’
• ‘She’ came and retrieved the scroll and instructed Lord Syull to continue his work
• ‘She’ returned to her birthplace on the shores of the Sea of Rhun
• Lord Syull continued his research and opened a portal in an attempt to please her – calling on the ‘timeless ones’
• It corrupted him entirely
• He awaits – what I do not know

The fellowship explored the scriptorium but found no books of note. They asked Simon if he would like to come with them but Simon declined as he felt his place was here.

The fellowship continued on and explored an empty mess hall and pantry that held nothing of value beyond broken dishes and spoiled food.

The fellowship then came before a closed door and cautiously peered inside. Inside, the air felt thicker, almost reverent. Dust motes swirled in the faint light filtering through shattered stained-glass windows. A massive oak desk dominated the center of the room, covered in old tomes and scattered papers. A simple but elegant bed lies against the far wall, the sheets undisturbed for decades. Strange, faint whispers — or perhaps the creak of old wood — fill the silence as you step inside.

Lord Syull awaits on the bed.

“Finally, you have come”

Lord Syull’s robe flew open and unearthly tentacles leapt towards the party. Lord Syull had the same green eyes as Ilu’rath. Lord Syull attacked without hesitation or concern. His attack was so vicious that he fell Hallamir and caused Kifak to retreat. Jesoc entered the breech and with Arbun they were finally able to defeat Lord Syull.

Lord Syull dissolved into a puddle which again disappeared like Ilu’rath.

The fellowship kneeled and decided to rest – aware that some new horror had fallen on Middle Earth.

Session 31 Recap

Before the fellowship left the Edhellond Monastery, Jesoc dug up a skeleton and animated it as a servant. While Jesoc was digging up a grave, Kifak took to using Nolzur’s Marvelous Pigments to create a colourful parrot out of wood. The painting was not Kifak’s best work and one half of the parrots still had a wooden appearance.

The fellowship returned to Dol Amroth and found that their airship had been moved out of Gnimo’s vault and was waiting for them. Gnimo informed the fellowship that he didn’t have detailed instructions on how to operate the craft, so the party would have to figure that out for themselves.

The fellowship stocked up on supplies for their journey and were pleasantly surprised that the air ship was fully stocked with ropes, sails, and supplies. They were about to depart when Hallamir had one final request – a Chalice of Liquid Food. Gnimo was happy to trade and provide a chalice for Hallamir.

Hallamir is awarded two inspirations for strategic thinking.

The party decided to stay overnight and set off in the morning. When they awoke, the sky remained unchanged with a dark green aurora on the horizon. The fellowship made their way to the airship. They found the airship floating 5 feet off of the ground and quickly climbed on.

Jesoc found a comfortable chair on the deck and relaxed while Kifak made his way to the control panel. Jesoc cast Unseen Servant and Mage Hand to pamper him along with his recent animated skeleton. Hallamir and Arbun stood close to Kifak to offer assistance if needed.

Kifak noticed that the Focus Crystal was dark and correctly surmised that it required a power source after reading the cryptic instructions on the dashboard. After Jesoc failed with a Lay on Hands and providing light to the crystal, Jesoc cast Eldritch Blast to provide magical energy. The first blast gave the Focus Crystal a soft glow. Seeing this, Jesoc cast Eldritch Blast again and the Focus Crystal sprang to life and the airship started to rise.

Jesoc is awarded an inspiration for problem solving.

Kifak expertly stepped up and with the grace of a surgeon and patience of a monk carefully balanced the Altitude, Ballast, Aether, Rudder until the pressure, lift, stability, and flow all read out as solid green lines.

Kifak then slowly applied the throttle and soon had the airship rise to 200 feet and slowly start northwest. Kifak was able to then expertly navigate around the White Mountains, Minas Tirith, and Mountains of Shadow.

Kifak increased the throttle and the airship continued northwest to the Sea of Rhun. The fellowship took turns with the watches as the airship continued north west. After a couple of watches, the fellowship saw a swarm coming their way. Kifak prepared by causing Spirit Guardians and was surrounded by a circle of smoking, axe-wielding, one-eyed dwarves.

The swarm continued to advance and the fellowship was soon overwhelmed with a swarm of Flying Horrors led by a horde on Oni’s. The battle was engaged and it was pretty even until Kifak cast Power Word Fortify and yelled out:

“Not on my ship!!”

The fellowship felt a surge of energy and rushed forward to attack. Jesoc stepped forward and decapitated an Oni with a clean strike, causing him to yell:

“Opa!!”

The rest of the fellowship were energized by Kifak and Jesoc and disposed of the rest of the swarm. The fellowship disposed of the carcasses by dumping them overboard and continued on their journey.

As they flew above the Sea of Rhun, Kifak descended to survey the lake and the alleged birthplace of Thuringwethil. They could only see a dilapidated cabin on the shores of the Sea Of Rhun with no signs of activity. They fellowship could not see any indication of power emanating from this location that might cause the darkness and aurora. The fellowship decided to continue on and Kifak caused the airship to ascend once more.

Kifak is awarded three inspirations for his expertise in airship piloting.

The airship continued on and after a couple of watches another black dot was seen approaching. The fellowship watched as the black dot grew larger and larger and soon they could see it was a Black Dragon. Jesoc was the first to notice that it was Uruial. The fellowship did not know how Uruial had changed from a Red Dragon to a Black Dragon.

Jesoc first tried to parley with Uruial offering items with no success. Uruial then swooped down and destroyed one of the ballast balloons. As Uruial swooped around, the fellowship prepared for her next attack. As a last resort, Jesoc lept out to touch Uruial and cast Remove Curse. It was unsuccessful and Jesoc tumbled to the ground.

Uruial then unleashed a second attack and burst the second ballast balloon. Kifak tried to rescue the ship, but it was hopeless. The airship crashed to the ground and left the fellowship stranded.

Session 32 Recap

The fellowship recovered after crashing into the desert. After salvaging supplies, the party continued north east towards their ultimate destination – Gerlkeneshe. After an hour of travel the party spotted was looked liked a temple off in the distance. The party decided to slowly make their way towards the temple.

As they headed toward the pyramid temple, the party treaded across cracked and overgrown flagstones, stepping over fallen and shattered pillars, pushing aside vines and briars.

Then, suddenly, the earth shuddered and gaped open beneath their feet and they fell amid the roar of collapsing masonry. Dust filled the air and the sunlight disappeared.

The party awoke to find themselves in a chamber illuminated by yellow glowing gas by their feet. Arbun was able to detect that this gas was Sulfur Monoxide and that they had 12 hours before they succumbed to the poison gas.

The party found themselves in a long, narrow chamber, running east-west. In the center of this chamber is a domed shape on the floor. In the east wall is a blank-faced stone door. The west end of the room is blocked by fallen stone and rubble, apparently the result of a collapse. The side walls appear to have several niches cut into them.

The shape in the center of the chamber appeared to be a small alcove, protected by a half-dome with the open end facing toward the door in the east wall. This alcove is set in a recessed, shallow, tiled well, one foot deep and ten feet wide. The alcove itself is four feet high. The recess contains some sort of display.

The display appears to be a diorama depicting a hunting party of Olman warriors, in feathers and deer-hide garments, in a mountainside scene. Some have pulled down a stag with the aid of a dog, another group is cleaning a small mule deer, and others have cornered a panther with their spears. A scout watches the panther from an outcropping above. He holds a metal staff with a star on the end.

The three niches on both the northern and southern walls are five feet wide and about three feet off the floor. Each niche contains a diorama depicting some aspect of tribal life. The six-inch-tall figures in all of the displays appear to be made of stucco, realistically and brightly painted. The scenes portrayed represent fishing, farming, religion, warfare, the creation story, and crafting.

At short intervals, small amounts of rubble and dirt come spilling into the room from the collapse. Several large stones appear to have wedged themselves tightly, closing the collapse.

The door is carved with a sun symbol and appears to open into the room; there are hinges on this side and scratches on the floor. There is no visible lock or handle on it, although a slight gap stretches across the top of the door. Eight holes seem to have been bored into the door; they are about an inch in diameter, but nothing can be seen in them. The door seems to be fairly thick.

After investigating the dioramas, the fellowship discovered that the staff could be removed from the central diorama. The fellowship appeared stumped until Arbun fired an arrow at the sun symbol in the door revealing a hidden keyhole. The fellowship inserted the staff and opened the door.

The fellowship walked through the door into the next room where stone walls of this corridor were carved to resemble a stack of bamboo-like logs. The passage sloped down from a single door on its western leg, the lintel of which has been crafted to represent a stylized cavern entrance. It leads to double doors of beaten bronze, worked to resemble a forest of seaweed.

The party walked down the hallway to the double doors not seeing the pressure plate on the floor. As they stepped on the plate, the bamboo logs from the walls struck out at them. The logs quickly retreated and the party recovered and exited the hallway.

The fellowship found the next room constructed of large stone blocks, buttressed in the corners. The walls were wet and slimy, and mud covered most of the floor in a thin coating. To the east and west there were stone doors recessed in the wall, and to the north a set of stairs leads down.

In the center of the chamber sat a large polished boulder amid a pile of smaller rounded rocks. The boulder is five feet tall and colored brown with dark streaks and spots. Leaning against it is what appears to be a bamboo staff.

In the mud around the base of the boulder is a moving shape, looking like a crayfish. The crayfish turned and spoke to the party:

“Who is this? Who dares to enter the chamber of the guardian? You had better go, or I will have to discharge my sacred duty! Be off with you before I lose my temper!”

The party tried to negotiate with the crayfish but decided to attack after the crayfish refused all offers. The party was able to defeat the crayfish easily, upon which the central boulder turned and the party discovered that it was Kalka-Kylla – a giant hermit crab. The party attacked the crab and quickly cracked its shell it two.

The fellowship exited to the north and found the walls of this corridor to be wet and slimy. The stucco covering had become saturated with water and was decomposing and sloughing off in spots on the southern wall, exposing the seams of one of the large stone blocks from which this structure was built.

The party saw a gap in one of the blocks and pushed the block to open a passage to a chamber that held a sarcophagus. As the fellowship entered the chamber, they discovered that the lyme had rubbed off of the block and eroded the metal armour they were wearing.

Beyond the plug was a small foyer holding three sealed urns on the east and west sides. To the south were double doors of bronze with glyphs worked into their faces.

Behind the doors was a chamber cut out of the rock with a veil of calcite and stalactites covering the walls. Buttresses rise from the corners, brown shot through with black, and triangular stone pillars support the high ceiling. Occupying the center of the chamber is a colossal monument resembling a giant’s table, covered on all sides with intricate carvings and glyphs. Engraved on the floor in front of the entrance is a seal that displays more glyphs. Opposite the entrance, a battleaxe is embedded in the wall, six feet above the floor.

Carved on the floor before the sarcophagus were the glyphs in the floor seal that translated as

“Ah, defilers! Now you shall join me in my eternal resting!”

“This is the resting place of Tloques-Popolocas, a servant of the shadow-loving Zotzilaha. 54–3-8”

Kifak tried to pull the axe out of the wall but found that it was a sculpture made from the wall itself. Jesoc and the party lifted the lid of the sarcophagus and a vampire flew up in the air – what remained of Tloques-Popolocas.

A vicious battle ensued! At one point, Tloques-Popolocas bit Jesoc and even drew blood before the party was able to pull him off and defeat and destroy Tloques-Popolocas.

The party took the items that were buried with Tloques-Popolocas and continued to explore the lost temple knowing that time was not on their side. They explored a passage that was collapsed and then made their way to the south.

The room to the south was wet, and the walls were covered with a slimy, white buildup. There was about an inch and a half of water and mud blanketing the floor. Many overturned pedestals and pieces of broken statuary lie on the floor, partially buried in the mud. Opposite the entrance to this room is another door.

Jesoc found that the only undamaged item was a silver pyramid on a pedestal. Jesoc opened the pyramid and found 5 gold pieces which he took and the fellowship continued on.

The doors to the next room are made of bronze and are tinted blue from oxidation. Just inside the doorway are two small alcoves. Each space contained an old fountain, cracked and crusted with lime but with flowing clear water. Around the fountain in the eastern alcove, a heap of rubbish litters the floor. The fountain in the western alcove still holds some green scummy water, in which something moves.

A short hall ended in descending steps leading to the central chamber, which is flooded. A dark, foul pool covers the entire floor. A central hall, flanked by narrow aisles, is defined by two rows of massive square columns. The walls were coated with slime, and there were glowing silver lines etched across them. From what you can see of the chamber’s walls, the stone appears to be crudely worked.

Two corroded bronze braziers stand in the pool. Toward the middle of the room, one broken urn pokes up out of the water. In the darkness on the eastern wall appears to be an enormous growth of an overall greenish hue that gives off the same silvery gleam as the slime trails.

The party went to explore the greenish hue and Tecuziztecatl, Lord of the Snail emerged from the water and attacked. Tecuziztecatl was no match for the fellowship and was easily defeated.

The party went to the room on the other side of the room but found that it was locked. After unsuccessfully trying to open the door, the fellowship searched the room and found a key in the urn.

The fellowship exited the room and made their way down several passages with water trickling down from Tecuziztecatl’s lair.

They eventually came to a locked door with splashing and giggling coming from within. The fellowship was eventually able to open the door and they saw a splash as something dove under the water,

The room is lit by a soft light that reveals a section of rocky beach. Beyond the beach is a pool of glowing water, filling half the room and framed by a crystal cavern. Green fronds can be seen in the pool. Light seems to flow from everywhere, the pool and walls glistening like soft moonlight. On the far side of the pool is a set of doors carved with a sun symbol.

The fellowship made their way through the pool to the door on the other side. The party made their way down the passage until they finally came to a great hall where the water stopped.

This hallway was twenty feet wide and had piles of rubble and debris scattered along its length. The walls were covered with frescoes. The south wall displays scenes of a battle between natives and invaders.

The north wall depicts people questing for a new land; their experiences during the journey include crossing treacherous mountains, sailing over storm-tossed seas, and receiving the guidance of the gods in their battles to keep their homeland free from invasions. In the center of the wall is a painting of a pyramid with a temple atop it and the sun shining over the land.

Down the hall to the west is an archway carved in the form of twining serpents. Beyond it, the corridor continues on into shadow.

The fellowship still noticed the glowing yellow gas at their feet.

Arbun estimated they had 10 hours left.

Session 33 Recap

The fellowship slowly explored the great hall and found that the north wall depicted people questing for a new land; their experiences during the journey included crossing treacherous mountains, sailing over storm-tossed seas, and receiving the guidance of the gods in their battles to keep their homeland free from invasions. In the center of the wall was a painting of a pyramid with a temple atop it and the sun shining over the land.

The south wall looked to be more recent and showed a robed man presiding over nine disciples. A glowing eye appears in the sky behind them.

At the other end of the hall was a mural of a black three pointed crown with three glittering jewels in each of the peaks. Kifak moved forward to touch one of the jewels and a portcullis slammed down behind him. The party looked for switches or levers to lift the portcullis, but found none. Kifak eventually teleported out from behind the bars and noticed that a secret door had opened when the portcullis slammed down.

The fellowship carefully explored the passage eventually turning north, They turned a corner and came upon a ten-foot-wide pit that stretched across the corridor. Beyond it was a wedge-shaped stone block or pillar that blocked the passage. Arbun gauged the distance and leapt over the pit. At the height of his jump, lightning shot out of the walls and a singed Arbun fell into the pit. Arbun climbed out and the rest of the party also made their to the other side of the pit without jumping in the air.

Arbun noticed that there were gouges on the floor from the wedge being shifted to the right. Arbun tried to move it but he was unsuccessful. Finally, Kifak helped Arbun and then were able to move the wedge to the right leaving enough space for them to squeeze by.

The party again cautiously explored the passageway and Arbun made his way around a corner and came face to face with two Beholders. Arbun quickly retreated and a pitched battle was engaged. The Beholders fired their eye rays repeatedly, wounding the fellowship before they could finally defeat them.

The fellowship continued on and came upon a sandy room covered in debris with beetles feeding on the refuse. The party quickly moved on and exited into a hallway leading up. Murals along the hallway depicted a robed figure riding a huge wolf towards a black ominous fortress that they recognized as Thangorodrim.

At the end of the hallway, the passage opened up into a larger room. This was a spacious, vaulted hall, weathered and cracked from the ravages of time. The walls were charred and scored. Scattered around the floor were several stone statues of Goblin baboon-like creatures, chipped and tipped over. The remains of a few once-living Goblin baboons, partially eaten, lie nearby, with fungus covering their corpses.

Ahead, two spherical objects floated in the air at about chest height. The spheres had a central eye and about a dozen tentacles growing out of its top. Two more Beholders moved forward to attack! This time, the party were focused in their attacks and were able to defeat them quickly with Jesoc even trying various parkour movements to gain position.

The party continued exploring the passages finally coming to a large chamber. This oddly shaped room was decorated in a wolf motif. The center of the southeastern wall was carved to resemble the face of a snarling wolf with hollow eyes. Near the center of the room was a stuffed wolf, posed as if on the prowl. The wolf’s left ear has been torn off, leaving a jagged scar on the head. Also near the middle of the room stands a stone statue of a wolf-headed man holding a spear.

In the room was a large circular object that seemed to be a calendar. The calendar, a great wheel of stone, was carved from limestone. In the center of the calendar was a symbol of the lidless eye surrounded with various sigils depicting seasons of the year. The stone was ten feet across and is mounted two feet above the floor. On the altar rests a ceremonial dagger of flint and a jade statue of a wolf. At the foot of the altar was a stuffed wolf, posed as if begging or attempting to catch something in the air.

The fellowship explored the five exits from this room finding that one led to a locked door and another led to a crypt with a female corpse hunched in a fetal position. Not sure of what to do in regards to the corpse, the party continued on a came to another large chamber.

This enormous chamber was seventy feet tall with mighty buttressing and a vaulted ceiling. Parts of the ceiling and walls have collapsed, and raw earth has spilled down from a gaping hole in the ceiling. Crushed beneath a fallen block in the center of the room were humanoid remains. Elsewhere around the floor were the chewed and decayed corpses of Goblin baboons. Through a hole in the ceiling, light and fresh air filter in. Above, through this gap, can be seen four Goblin baboons. They jumped around the hole and screamed in agitation, and as they did, dirt began to slide down the banks and rocks in the walls shift slightly.

The fellowship became excited as they felt this could finally be their way out of the temple. First they doubled back to explore the last passage and came upon a large room that held a white willow tree in the centre of an oily pond.

Kifak reached down and touched the oily water. This caused the tree to come to life and throw a boulder at Kifak. The rest of the party came to Kifak’s aid and they were able to destroy the Wraithwood tree by eventually cracking it in half.

Tired and having enough of the temple, the fellowship returned to the room with the collapsed ceiling and scared the Goblin Baboons away from the ledge above. They then climbed up and out of the temple. They found themselves at the foot of ruins.

This was apparently a large building of some sort. All that remains are the back wall and enough of the roof to shelter the altar. All else seems closed off by fallen debris. Several pillars have fallen and they litter the floor. The back wall was covered by a bas-relief of a giant bat-thing, nine feet tall, with a wingspan of twenty feet. In front of this wall was an altar stone, carved to represent a mass of squirming rats, weasels, and worms. On the front of the altar was the head of a screaming bat. Jutting above the altar on either side are a pair of sharp-edged, metal bat-wings, eight feet long. The floor in front of the altar was worn smooth.

The fellowship set up their cabin and took a well deserved rest.

Session 34 Recap

The fellowship emerged from their rest to find that the darkness and green northern lights still remained but the large black shimmering void in the sky was no longer there. The fellowship didn’t know what this meant but it gave them an additional urgency to continue on towards Gerlkuneshe.

The path north east was uneventful. They soon crossed a river and found that on the other side of the river the trail continued through a large chasm. Although the path was some thirty feet wide, the fellowship was uneasy about travelling in the valley. Hallamir had Tallulahbell carry each member up on top of the chasm some 200 feet up. All of the fellowship followed the chasm on the top of the cliff until it opened up into a peaceful field a mile or two ahead.

Tallulahbell ferried all the members down into the peaceful fields and they carried on. The fellowship soon came upon a forest and heard a voice utter:

“Only those who honor the forest may walk its heart.”

The fellowship cautiously entered and walked forward.

They soon came upon a arc of trees that were blocking the path and the party moved forward to investigate. They inspected the trees and could see that there seemed to be a symbol on each tree trunk. The fellowship moved forward to examine the symbols and before they knew it, trees had moved in behind them and enclosed them in a circle of trees.

Arbun then heard in his mind a disembodied voice say:

“From sky to sea and sky again, The circle turns, as it has been”

The fellowship could see the following symbols on the trees:

• Cloud
• Fallen Log
• Mist
• Rain
• River
• Sea
• Seed
• Soil
• Sprout
• Tree

The fellowship guessed that they probably need to press the symbols in some order after Arbun pressed one with no effect. Jesoc stepped forward and pressed the symbols in an incorrect order and was struck with a lightning bolt. Jesoc finally guessed the proper sequence that represented the life of a tree:

Seed → Sprout → Tree → Fallen Log → Soil

The trees moved aside and the fellowship continued forward.

The fellowship continued for another hour until they reached a river that crossed their path. They found four items on this side of the river:

• A boulder etched with faint runes
• A scorched stump still warm to the touch
• A small pond near the shore
• A wind-chime of bones and feathers

Arbun once again heard in his mind:

“From stillness to spark, From spark into flow, From flow into breath, And onward you go.”

Jesoc stepped forward and touched the items in the following order:

Boulder → Stump → Pond → Wind-chime

Jesoc flinched a bit waiting for the lightning to strike, but to his surprise a bridge rose out of the water and the fellowship crossed the river. Before Jesoc moved on he reached down and snatched the Wind-chime and took it with him.

If the fellowship had been paying attention they would have heard the forest gasp.

The fellowship continued on and after another hour came upon a clearing with a single granite obelisk in the centre of a sundial. Around the sundial were the following symbols:

• A crooked pine
• A moss‑covered boulder
• A fallen log
• A ring of mushrooms

Carved into the bottom of the sundial was the inscription:

“Mark the day as the forest remembers it.”

Jesoc once again rushed forward and found that the obelisk was movable and could be pointed toward the symbols. Jesoc quickly pointed the obelisk to the crooked pine, boulder, mushrooms, and fallen log.

When he pointed the obelisk towards the mushroom symbol, he was struck with another bolt of lightning. Jesoc realized that he then merely needed to switch the last two and repointed the obelisk towards crooked pine, boulder, fallen log, and mushrooms.

The obelisk sliently sank and showed that behind it the path continued forward.

The fellowship continued on and soon came upon a clearing with a statue of a hooded figure in the centre surrounded by a circle of rocks.

As the fellowship moved forward to inspect the statue, it shimmered and was replaced by the Forest Queen. Arbun uncharacteristically reacted and fired an arrow at the Forest Queen infuriating her.

The Forest Queen screamed out:

“You have defiled my forest. Now you will pay!”

Suddenly, four of the boulders transformed into Stone Giant Dreamwalkers. The Forest Queen ordered them to attack and a vicious battle was engaged. The Stone Giant Dreamwalkers tried to petrify the fellowship but were unsuccessful. They next struck with their great clubs but the fellowship easily shook off their attacks. During the battle the fellowship saw that the Forest Queen had a madness that seemed to have overtaken her.

The Forest Queen again screamed out:

“I am Yavanna and you have defiled my forest. You will pay with your lives”

The fellowship recognized that Yavanna was the goddess of all living things but some madness seemed to be upon her.

The fellowship continued to battle Yavanna and eventually overwhelmed her. Yavanna disintegrated into vines and she was again consumed by the earth. From the centre of the vines a cackling black shadow emerged and flew towards a black citadel in the distance.

The back citadel shone black with green aurora shimmering on its surface.

The fellowship defeated the rest of the Stone Giant Dreamwalkers and looked towards their doom.

Session 35 Recap

The fellowship continued onward towards Gerlkuneshe under the dark sky lit by the green aurora. As they approached the citadel they could see the tower seemed to be a smooth black surface that easily reflected the aurora.

The fellowship saw that there seemed to be more bugs crawling at their feet as they got closer to Gerlkuneshe. The bugs seemed to be those that fed on decay : Worms, Cockroaches, termites, millipedes, and centipedes.

Oddly enough, Jesoc asked Kifak whether he had the Revivify spell prepared. Kifak mentioned that he indeed did. Jesoc calmed nodded and said good.

Jesoc took out his sharpest daggar and proceeded to stab himself in the heart. He dropped down fully on his knees and finally slammed face first into the dust. He was dead by his own hands. Kifak raced forward and turned him over. Kifak tried to revive him but it was too late.

Kifak then said a prayer to his gods and ancestors, cursed at Jesoc, and cast Revivify on Jesoc.

Jesoc came back to life due to the skill of Kifak. Jesoc gathered some of his own blood that had soaked his clothes in a metal container and arose.

He looked over at Kifak and uttered:

“Thanks”

The puzzled party then continued to approach the river. The fellowship saw the grass swaying on the other side of the river even though there was no wind. They entered the river and approaching carefully and could see that the grass was indeed more bugs moving back and forth. It only appeared to be grass.

Jesoc picked up a rock and threw it into the bugs. They scattered and regathered on the rock. Jesoc used Mage Hand to scrape the bugs to the side and saw that there was normal dirt below.

The fellowship decided to continue on and walked across the river and onto the land. The bugs increased in number as they came closer to the citadel, but they never bothered the fellowship.

The fellowship finally came up to the citadel and it was located on a plateau 3 feet up. The fellowship crawled up and saw that there were no bugs on the plateau.

The fellowship looked around and saw an entrance to the citadel and a graveyard to the right. They first decided to investigate the graveyard.

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The fellowship moved to explore the crypts and suddenly a Skittering Horror appeared from behind one of the crypts. Even worse, Skitter Swarms erupted out of the ground at attacked! The fellowship was able to easily defeat the Skitter Swarms, but the Skittering Horror was a much more worthy foe. Just as they were about to defeat the Skittering Horror, another rose from behind a second crypt.

The Skittering Horror moved forward to attack and Kifak had enough. He cast Spirit Guardians and moved forward to deal with the second Skittering Horror. The fellowship vanquished the second Skittering Horror and the Dwarvish Spirit Guardians rejoiced – dancing with their axes above their heads.

The fellowship explored the crypts and saw that stairs seemed to lead down but an invisible force field preventing entering the catacombs. The fellowship left the crypts without even investigating if there was a lever or switch that might allow them to descend.

The fellowship went to the entrance of the citadel and used mage hand to open the door. The door created open and revealed an atrium with walls covered with murals depicting scenes from another time – nature scenes with a green aurora. They slowly moved forward and saw corrupted Uruial sleeping in the courtyard.

Kifak prayed to his gods and received guidance to “Walk by quietly”. Kifak could see a door on the south side of the courtyard and directed the fellowship to follow him. The fellowship were able to all walk by without waking Uruial.

The fellowship entered a reception room which seemed to have been recently cleaned and renovated. The room was filled with the most wonderful food and drink. A figure was seated at the table. He welcomed the fellowship and introduced himself as Gorthad. Gorthad was a creature that the party had never seen before – dressed in a robe with a white, porcelain face covered in runes.

Gorthad stood up and thanked the party:

“Thank you for bringing what was missing”

The fellowship suddenly felt the Sending Bag of Holding fill up and then disappear. They felt dread overwhelm them. The king must have left the two palantirs in the paired Bag of Holding and they were magically retrieved by her.

The fellowship asked Gorthad about what type of creature he was and he responded:

“I was summoned from beyond the veil. From a place of darkness.”

The party asked about where Thuringwethil was and Gorthad simply stated:

“She awaits upstairs”

The fellowship furiously attacked Gorthad and found him a worthy foe. Both sides struck damaging blows. Finally Gorthad raised his arms and a plague of worms shot out. The fellowship gathered themselves and doubled their attacks, sending Gorthad back to the void. Gorthad dissolved into worms that crawled away. The fellowship examined the wonderful food and drink that was on the table but no one sampled any food or drink – not even Jesoc.

Before they continued on Jesoc took out his canister of blood and summoned a demon to the horror of the rest of the fellowship.

Seeing their concern, Jesoc just responded:

“Don’t worry. I got this.”

The fellowship felt a new urgency now that Thuringwethil had all eight Palantirs. They ran up the stairs to the east but found it ended in an outlook tower that looked out towards the cemetery. The fellowship ran down and ran to the stairway to the west and ran up those stairs.

The stairs opened into a hallway. The fellowship explored the hallway and found that there were two empty rooms to the west that used to have been guard rooms that overlooked west of the citadel – all seemed to be quiet to the west.

The fellowship found another stairwell at the south end of the hallway. They first went up the stairs and found that it led to another outlook tower. This tower was open to the sky and the fellowship looked up to see if the aurora was being generated by the citadel, but they found no indication of what could be generating the aurora.

They ran back down the the first floor and discovered that this stairwell led to another room that they could not reach before. They found that this room was another guard room with skeletons of long dead guards. Suddenly from behind them a Necrotic Centipede burst through the wall. Kifak smartly cast Banishment and the Necrotic Centipede was banished!

The fellowship opened a door to the south and found it contained Amoleth, a Star Warden. Amoleth challenged the fellowship and asked:

“What did you do to my Star Spawn?”

Jesoc then threatened to kill Amoleth and he simply responded:

“I will go back to where I came. Do what you need to do.”

The fellowship and the summoned demon all attacked the Star Warden. The combat was fierce and the Star Warden broke Jesoc’s control on the demon – the demon turned to attack whoever was closest. Thankfully the fellowship able to overcome the Star Warden and destroyed the demon shortly after.

After seeing that stairs led upward, Kifak sensed an ominous presence, paused and cast Fortify.

The fellowship didn’t even pause to explore the room. If they had they would have seen more murals covering the wall depicting rituals under a green aurora. These murals depicted eight white robed figures holding something glowing in one hand pointing toward the sky with a the same void that the fellowship had seen.

Regardless, the fellowship climbed the stairs and found Thuringwethil seated in her throne.

Thuringwethil spoke:

“You may leave, I have have everything I need. I will do what I need to do. There are still some cards to be played.”

The fellowship had heard enough and they rushed to attack. The battle was long and fierce, but slowly the fellowship could see her eventually weaken. Just as they felt victory was in front of them, she transformed into a bat and flew up the stairs.

The fellowship ran up the stairs to follow her and found that Thuringwethil had reformed in the middle of an eight-side star engraved into the floor of what looked to be a shrine. The eight Palantir each rested on a pedestal at a point of the star.

Thuringwethil and the Palantirs glowed with renewed strength and vigor.

What would you like to do next?

Session 36 Recap

Thruringwethil stood defiantly facing the door in the middle of an eight sided star on the floor. There was a palantir glowing on a pedestal at the point of each star. Each palantir had a single blinking green eye in the very centre. Behind Thuringwethil, the fellowship could see an Obsidian spike that looked like it had been carved out if the floor itself. The Obsidian Spike was over three feet tall and is at least a foot wide at the base. It was serrated with downward spiked teeth to prevent whatever falls on it to be easily removed. You can see what looks like to be dried blood on the spike and pooled on the floor.

The fellowship ship saw that Thuringwethil appeared to be full of vigor and strength. Hallamir first attacked a nearby Palantir pedestal but could only crack it and not destroy it. Hallamir’s drake smashed into the pedestal but still the pedestal stood.

Kifak moved forward to attack Thuringwethil and was able to knock her off her feet and make her prone. Jesoc quickly moved forward and placed the Shackles on Manwe of Thuringwethil.

Shockingly, Thuringwethil smiled and spoke:

“Finally, I can go to my rest knowing I have fulfilled my purpose. Didn’t it seem strange that Uruial had the shackles that weren’t seen since the fall of Gondolin? And that Uruial didn’t slay you where you stood for stealing the Tears of Varda? And how she fulfilled her promise to give you the Shackles? Have you ever known a Dragon to be honourable?”

“Did you then wonder at the power of Palantirs such that six gathered together darkened the sky and turned night sky green? Did you wonder at the power of eight palantirs ripping a portal open to the void once they came close to each other?”

“Didn’t you ever wonder how the Palantir’s worked? How they were able to communicate? Why the Palantirs seek to be together, need to be together?”

“Each one was seeded with one of eight eyes from Ungoliant after she ate herself. Melkor was consumed with hatred and madness and seeded the Palantirs for revenge and waited”

“He had seen the time when their power would be needed. So he created them and cast them out over Middle Earth. Even when he was banished to the void, he waited. Using them to watch and listen and wait”

“Sauron sought the ring only to find and gather the Palantirs. But Sauron failed and they stayed lost”

“But then the he spoke to me and we deceived the seer and summoned the plague and winter. I gathered my hags, but thankfully you did most of the work for us”

“Thanks to you, they have all been found and now the ritual is complete. Fearful men can be quite willing tools”

“Now I rest in his citadel” 

Thuringwethil threw herself backward onto the Obsidian Spike and a dark ominous cloud grew from her corpse. The fellowship gasped as the cloud formed into the Black foe of the World – Melkor.

Thuringwethil sacrificed herself to bring Melkor back from the Void that he was banished to!

Kifak cast Stoneskin on Jesoc and the fellowship descended on Melkor. Melkor was far stronger than Thuringwethil or anyone they had ever imagined. Melkor swung Grond – The Hammer of the Underworld shaking the world to its very core. Melkor smashed Kifak and Jesoc, but still the fellowship laboured on.

Melkor was showing some weariness when he looked up at the sky. The Palantirs glowed green and Melkor seemed re-energized. Melkor then cast Fireball at Jesoc and Kifak and left them burnt. Still the fellowship battled on. Arbun and Hallamir attacked at a range but delivered massive damage. So much that Melkor again looked up and the Palantirs glowed green and he was again re-energized.

Jesoc moved forward sensing that this might be his last battle. For some reason, he spilled Mayonnaise from his Alchemy Jug and ran forward screaming:

“I will leave the world a better place!”

Hallamir noticed the connection and had his firedrake eat one Palantir. The other Palantirs stopped glowing green and Melkor screamed in range. Melkor cast Meteor Storm and rained fire down on the Fellowship.

After talking more damage, Melkor looked at Jesoc and cast Fell Rebuke and Jesoc was dead. The fellowship was amazed to see Jesoc stirring and the tattoo that Jesoc received in the library of Annuminas disppear and Jesoc arise, resurrected, and full of energy. The fellowship was inspired by Jesoc and moved forward to finally end it.

Jesoc moved forward to attack and Kifak gave him a wink and cast Phoenix Flames.

Flames engulfed Kifak and slowly spread. The flames expanded and also consumed Melkor. Melkor screamed in rage and when the flames subsided, Melkor was gone.

The fellowship looked back towards Kifak but all that remained was a pile of ash with Kifak’s axe and eyepatch laying on top.

Slowly Jesoc picked up Kifak’s axe and eyepatch and scooped his ashes into the Alchemy Jug. The fellowship barely noticed that the entire citadel started shaking.

Suddenly all the Palantirs exploded, including the one in Tallulahbell. Tallulahbell burped and belched a small puff of smoke.

The floor gave way and the fellowship fell down to the third floor. They quickly made their way down the second floor dodging falling fiery timbers all around them.

Through the falling obsidian rock they saw a way out through a portcullis. Arbun tried to see if he could open the portcullis, but he was unsuccessful.

Jesoc cast Thunderstep to carry both him and Hallamir through the bars while Arbun cast Mistystep and Tallulahbell flew through the bars.

The fellowship fell hard on the ground below and winced as pieces of obsidian crashed down and sliced them. They ran away as fast as they could until they were a safe distance away from the crumbling citadel.

Suddenly Kifak burst out of the Alchemy Jug covered in Mayonnaise and screamed:

“Where is my axe?!”

The fellowship finally shared a laugh and smiled. They had a long journey back but would first rest at the nearest tavern and tell their story. Bards would tell their story in years to come, always ending the song with the traditional breaking of a jar of mayonnaise.

Here ends the story of The Fellowship of the Palantirs – where once again man, elves, dwarves, and hobbits answered the call.