Session 21: The Winter Yule and New Companions.

As the four traveled, the rain which was much colder than normal, reminded them that Winter in Bree had arrived. While, it so rarely snowed in these Bree-lands, the rain, normally warm, was frigid and cold during the winter, making travel a miserable experience. The wet clothes wrapped in the cold winds that came with the rain, sent shivers down the spine that seemingly could not be warmed, campfires struggled to remain lit against the rain that seemed determined to drown the light and the warmth as quickly as it could.

Upon arriving in Combe, it was a village in Bree-land located northeast of the village Bree north of the East Road in a deep valley a little further eastward from Staddle, which was on the gentler south-eastern slopes of Bree-hill. Here, they were able to find shelter at a small Inn that charged 2 silver for the night. Inside the tavern they heard locals speaking about the wolves and how they were larger than any they’d ever seen before and far more brazen. Livestock was vanishing every night, undoubtedly claimed by these larger wolves. Upon listening, it does not take long for Frerin, Welton, Maethordan and Lodin, to realize it is not wolves that are doing these things - but Wargs. The four exchange glances as they hear these farmers speak of their woes.

The following morning, the relentless winter rains have turned the roads to mud, and the winds are colder than the night before. Fog has diminished visibility as the four pack up and move miserably through the day, whose sun is hidden somewhere beyond the thick, black storm clouds. There is no warmth to be found and few travel the road, making the journey to Archet a quiet one, broken up only by the rumbling thunder and the sound of rain splashing into the pools of water. Dolly also neighs and makes it known, as tough as she is, she is not enjoying this weather in the least.

Upon arriving at Archet Dale, the grove just before Archet, the ponds where many fish are flooded. The mountains that surround Archet seem to capture the rainfall and dump them directly into the rivers and ponds here. Further ahead, a large wooden gate is sealed and a man, quite miserable, stands at the top of the post, near a guard tower, and barely audible through the wind and thunder, calls out, “Who goes there?”

Lodin called out, "My name is Lodin, we are here on the request of Captain Skyhawk and Gandalf concerning recent events. These here are my companions, Frerin, Maethordan, and Cirion. May we speak with Captain Brackenbrook?"

As the winter rain comes down and the winds howl, the guard posted on the gate shouts, "What business do you have with Captain Brackenbrook?"

"We come with information from Captain Skyhawk and Gandalf. That information is for his ears only. Whether he shares that information with you is up to him, not us." Lodin replied.

The relentless rain seems to freeze the guard for many minutes as he intently stares down at you, perhaps judging, perhaps waiting. "Feh," he mutters to himself, though not heard by you or the others as the rains and wind continue. "Open the gates!" he shouts, and the gate creaks open - and immediately, you are greeted by six armed guards, spears at the ready. "Come in, but be aware, if we detect any ill intent we shall meet it with force," the guard on the tower warns.

One of the armed guards lowers his spear, and shouts over the winds, "Follow me."

He escorts you to a small, wooden cabin and raps on the door. A few moments later, a man opens the door and says, "Yes?"

"Captain," the man says, "this one claims to have business about Skyhawk and Gandalf."

Captain Brackenbrook looks over at each of you, frowns, and then steps aside, and says, "Come inside."

Inside you see a young woman and a teenage boy, in their own room.

"I wish I had enough seats for all of you," he says, apologizing, and closing the door behind all of you. "What's this business you have?"

"We are here to discuss the business of William Stanwick and the heightened danger of an enemy in Felyadûr." Lodin then begins to describe all the events from Gandalf's call to the present, only leaving out Welton's survival at the battle, and mentioning that Cirion joined us at Weathertop before coming to Bree.

He listens to everything, but the mention of William Stanwick clearly shakes him.

"That sounds both terrifying and amazing," he says. "Giant Eagles, how I wish I could have seen such a sight." He looks over his shoulder at his wife, who closes the door, so that she and their son can not hear what he's about to say next. "Something bewitched William Stanwick... a blade he found," he explained. "William Stanwick was a good man. Well loved by the people of Archet. One day, he claimed to have heard a calling to a bigger cause - and followed a voice that led him to a blade." He pauses, "I met with Hergrim before he was murdered. He mentioned that there was activity in the mines... but those mines have been dry or any ores for years. No one I am aware of is in those mines. He said he was going to go investigate and come back to me in a week. When he hadn't - I went out to the mines and found William Stanwick running frantically away from the mines, a bloody blade in his hand... what he was even doing out so early in the morning was beyond me... he was screaming about 'enemies were about' but did not hear me call to him... when I went to look for the 'enemies' he was screaming about, whom I'd thought he'd fought, I was expecting goblins... or something... but instead I found Hergrim, slain at the mouth of the cave. I quickly sent word to Weathertop, knowing Hergrim's captain, a mysterious man himself, named Strider, kept a base there."

He pauses, "When we found William, he was out of his mind, swinging this blade he'd found wildly. He cut down several guards before fleeing into the forest in the night and was quickly lost to us."

The Captain seems shook. "What I saw in his eyes... he wasn't there anymore. The man that the people had known and loved was gone. Only his body remained - whatever was inside was a monster now. Dreadful and hollow."

As Lodin shares the news of the Captain taking over Archet, he seems dubious at first, then sighs. "I was nothing more than a sell-sword in my youth, a fighter, a protector," his shoulders sag. "Now I find myself in this position." He is silent for a long moment. "The men here follow me faithfully. I've proved my worth to many of them, some of them are sons of men who served with me." He nods, "Tell Captain Skyhawk, I accept."

Lodin gives a forlorn smile. "Thank you. If you would listen to advice, I think it best if that mine is sealed. We have reason to believe that Felyadûr connects to the mine and the bandits, orcs, and the Cargûl are using them to travel and infiltrate. I have no doubt the voice he was hearing was that of the Cargûl, and where he got the blade. Gandalf has advised to avoid William at almost all costs. He is trying to discover a way to destroy the blade. Unfortunately he does not think that William can be saved. We foiled the plot to poison the well of Bree, but any cavern or well may prove an entry point for our enemies."

"That is sound advice," Captain Brackenbrook nods in agreement. "Something foul about those caves... Sealing them, however, in this weather," he pauses, and the rain pelts against the wooden cabin and the wind howls outside, "will be difficult at best, until the winter passes."

"When and how is up to you. We will be in Bree over the winter. If you need us, send for us. Though the clues will likely be gone in the spring, we must wait to investigate. We will return in the spring. Maethordan, Frerin, Cirion, anything to add?"

"How far are the mines from here? When was the last time you saw William Stanwick? Has there been sight of him since or any other unusual activity?" Maethordan asked.

"The mines are several hours southwest of here, near the lake," Brackenbrook explains. "As for William... it's been a week or two since I've seen him..."

"Any other unusual activity...?" Maethordan shrugged.

The Captain shakes his head. "Other than William's behavior... which was sudden... I can think of nothing else. I know the people of Combe have been reporting their livestock have gone missing and reports of howling... prior to William's change, he'd had me send some of my men to investigate... and they confirmed... They found livestock mutilated and larger than wolf prints in the surrounding area. We've, thankfully, here in Archet, not had the problem. But I suspect that is because the mountains around Archet, there's less forestry for these 'wolves' to prowl."

"Wargs by the sound of it. I have nothing further, anyone else?"

Frerin shakes his head. "When this blasted rain stops and the winter is over, we should look into those caves, and get them sealed if something ill is coming from them."

Welton nods in agreement, perhaps wishing to say more, but recalling Maethordan's words to not speak.

Captain Brackenbrook replies, "You would have to wait until the winter is over. Many of the entrances near the lake are now flooding because of the rains. Going inside or even near the caves would be very foolish, now."

"Expect to see us in the spring." Lodin said.

Returning to Bree, during the early Winter, Lodin sought out Fred and Harry Stoneacre and conveyed the warning that Welton had mentioned - that Torwald Farsong had been found mutilated by the Cargûl, but made no mention that Welton had survived, to avoid circulating any information that Welton had survived the encounter at the brigand’s encampment at Gwathpind.

After providing the warning to the twins, and watching them flee Bree in the middle of the night, Lodin dedicated his time patrolling and keeping peace with the Bree Wardens, sharing stories with them about what they’d each seen, Lodin holding back some details he did not believe the Bree Wardens needed to know. But listening and sharing their stories, inspired Lodin to write a traveling song that had been lingering in his mind, entitled, “March of the Dragon King.”

One of the nights, he saw Frerin walking down the streets of Bree and caught up with his companion, asking the dwarf what he’d learned about the weapons they’d recovered. Frerin confirmed, the battle-axe was indeed a blade known as “Rukhsfelak, the Orc Hewer” which had been forged by a dwarf named Dirindem, son of Thorroum. The longsword, was “Azanfelak, shadow hewer, or goblin hewer” which had been forged by a dwarf named Azanfelak, intended to be a gift to the Elves as a sign of peace. He discovered that the blade never made it, due to an ironic twist of fate, that while it Azanfelak was on his way to the Elves to deliver the gift of peace between Dwarf and Elf, he’d been ambushed by the very beings the blade had been made to cut down - goblins - and the blade was lost during the attack, assumed to have been taken by the goblins who despised the blade, but found no way to destroy it. The bow, which Frerin identified as “Liantefaikar, the Spider-Bane” was created by an Elf named Isilmë who had heard that the Dwarves had made a longsword as a gift and had wanted to return a gift to the Dwarves. When the Dwarves never arrived, Isilmë had not known the ill-fated journey of the Dwarves, Isilmë was greatly saddened that this gift would never be given. The bow was put away, and soon forgotten. How it ever ended up in the possession of the Ruffians now, Frerin admitted, he could not discover how that had happened. Everything alluded to the fact that Isilmë put it away, hoping one day the Dwarves would arrive. The dagger was “Draugfaikar, the Warg-Bane” which Frerin’s research could not uncover who had crafted such a magnificent dagger.

Meanwhile, Maethordan asked the Bree Wardens for maps of the surrounding areas, and everyone told them the same thing - speak with Anna Wintermoss. Anna, seeing Maethordan, is all too happy to share her knowledge and provides Maethordan the maps of the area of Bree, Combe, Archet. She provides some maps of the scarcely scouted Felyadûr caves. She also provides additional maps of the mines of Archet, which show historically that the mines have been drained of their metals and ores, but she points out that some believe that is not the case - that about two years ago, the miners of those mines began reporting eerie events in the mines, and refused to enter the mines, and simply lying and saying the mines have been drained of resources. She notes that there is a good chance there are still ores and metals in those mines and that if the rumors are believed, and that the caves of Felyadûr run as far as Welton said, then there’s a good chance that the eerie feelings the miners experienced could have been that of the sleepless dead.

Welton traveled the surrounding land, along with Sigurd, the Ranger of the North, gathering rumors and learning what they could. They captured goblins and forced them to speak of what they knew - why there’d been so many of them in the Midgewater Marshes - many goblins died, some proclaiming not to know, some saying they’d never say - but eventually, several of them spoke once the bodies began to pile up - and they’d mentioned that the ‘red robe’ was mining Felyadûr for metals and ore to make weapons for a war that was coming. Welton confirmed that the Cargûl wore red robes.

Lodin, who also traveled to the disreputable Forsaken Inn, sat silently and listened as several men, most of whom frequented the Forsaken Inn were of the hearty type, spoke of a greater frequency of orcs and their ilk in these hills.

Nearly fifty miles away, a young hobbit opened his door after dealing with another evening of driving back wolves and heaved a deep sigh. Hoplite "Hoppy" Glendoodle closed his little hobbit door, set his sword aside and plopped down in his chair, exhausted. He was just beginning to drift asleep when his alert eyes noticed something in his home was different; on the table next to his favorite chair was an envelope. He sat up, quite surprised to see an envelope in his home. Who had put it there? How had they gotten into his home? Were they still in his home? After quickly moving through his hobbit-hole home and discovering no one was inside and nothing else had been touched, he returned to his favorite chair, looked at the envelope again and sighed. He had a feeling he knew who had put it there.

He opened the letter, read it once, saw the signature and confirmed what he’d already known - the letter had been from Gandalf, asking him to come to Bree and to go to the Prancing Pony to seek out some of his companions that should be there for the Winter Yule. Hoplite "Hoppy" Glendoodle heaved another sigh - traveling in this rain would not be a pleasant experience, but it was never a good idea to ignore a summons from Gandalf - why there was a story that Cedivar Greenhand had ignored a summons from Gandalf and had been turned into a toad for a week! 

When Hoplite Glendoodle had packed his belongings and began to leave Buckland, he was stopped by many who asked where he was going - when he explained he’d gotten a summons from Gandalf, they all nodding knowingly and delayed him no more, each whispering what had happened to poor ol’ Cedivar Greenhand!

The three days of travel were dreadful. By the time Hoplite Glendoodle had reached Bree, he was quite certain that he could not possibly be more soaked and muddy had he tried. The winter rains seem to latch to him, pouring into his skin and bones, the chill rain cutting deep like razors beneath the flesh. Wholly unfamiliar with Bree, Hoplite Glendoodle asked for directions from the tall humans as to how he might find the Prancing Pony, and each one said - as if it were obvious - “Look for the tavern with the sign that says Prancing Pony with a big horse on the sign hanging above the door.” The humans here, perhaps it was the chill winter winds and rains, were quite unpleasant, Hoplite Glendoodle discovered. After an hour of wandering around (sometimes feeling as if he were going in circles), Hoplite Glendoodle found the Prancing Pony and entered - quickly spotting what he’d been told to look for - an odd collection of fellows - a Bardling, a Ranger of the North, a Dwarf, and another human.

As Hoplite Glendoodle approached, he heard the Dwarf saying, as he held a parchment, “I just got a summons from Balin, Son of Fundin, Envoy of Dáin Ironfoot, the King Under the Mountain. I’ve been called back to Blue Mountain because the goblins have grown more bold in their attacks and they’ve asked me to lead an attack against them if my duties here are done. While,” Frerin sighed, “I do not consider my duties here done, I do have a duty to my people and to Dáin Ironfoot.”

“We understand,” Lodin nodded. “Your presence will be missed, my friend.”

Hoplite Glendoodle cleared his throat, “Hello, my name is Hoplite Glendoodle. I’ve just come from Buckland to Bree on the behest of Gandalf to meet with all of you. It would seem he’s asked me to adventure with all of you.”

“You are not alone,” a soft, almost magical voice said. Standing behind the hobbit was a tall, slender elf, who bowed his head slightly. “I too was sent to meet with all of you. Gandalf speaks with Elrond now in Rivendell about a dark blade that has been uncovered and has asked me to come and meet you all as well. My name is Arthanar, son of Balrannor, and a scholar.”

Lodin gestured to the hobbit and elf to join them at the table.

=====================

Fellowship Points:

3 (1 per player) + 2 (Gandalf) = 5

Fellowship Bonus: Gandalf

You can spend a Fellowship point to roll an additional d20 after a saving throw (but before the outcome is determined) and choose which of the d20s is used. 

GM Note: We got a new player who reached out on Discord to ask if the game was still going and had an opening. And since the players Fay and Hobart had left the game and we had decided to continue the game (originally I was just going to fill the roll with Frerin as an NPC, but the story moved so that Welton could also be added, which I thought was cool...) But the new player was interested in playing a Hobbit Captain - so I figured I would exit Frerin (so there was only one Captain role being played) and that the new player takes the role of Captain... but with Fay gone, I also wanted to bring in a Scholar for healing - and it worked out that I had had Gandalf going to Rivendell to speak about how to destroy the "dark blade" William had discovered - that it would make sense that Elrond would send a Scholar Elf to aid Gandalf's company.