"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” -The Fellowship of the Ring
The Chronicle of Legendary Deeds
Chapter 1: At The End of All Things
March 19th
As a war rages across Middle Earth, a company of brave young heroes races through Mirkwood Forest to the Elven King's Halls, only to be horrified by what they find there! A fiery massacre; the cruel handiwork of orc and troll! With the element of surprise, the company quickly fell three of the marauding orcs responsible for the merciless slaughter! Half the party advances and encounters a gigantic troll that looms over them out of the roiling smoke! The battle is joined! Suddenly wargs and more orcs emerge from out of the billowing clouds of orange and black and eagerly join the fray! Folco scales a boulder to stab the troll in the back and Naruthirdor throws his voice and confuses their enemies. The troll is vanquished but one of the orcs cries for help with his last breath. Then three depraved warg riders burst through the swirling smoke as the rearguard of the company joins the fight! Vicious wargs lunge and bite with savage fury! White fangs turn red with blood! Ax and arrows fell two of the feral beasts! As fast as evil foes fall, they are replaced by more! Another gigantic troll lumbers out from the shifting soot! Before it can take another step, it is slain.
The battle is ended. The Elven King's Halls are destroyed by dragon fire; a dreadful sign that Smaug has awakened! Then, a mysterious figure appears. The wizard Gandalf! Gandalf the White! So to does the new King of the Elven Hall. Questions are answered and gifts are given as the young heroes accept the white wizard's quest.
Chapter 2: A Fool's Hope
March 20th
And so it was that an unlikely company of young heroes set forth, charged by Gandalf the White to undertake a desperate quest to change the dire course of Middle Earth itself. They journey through the vast lonely gloom of Mirkwood and reach the Enchanted River. The company have no choice but to leave the elf path now, against all dire warnings to the contrary. After much toil, another dawn comes, barely brightening the thick forest-roof. [/list]
March 21st
The young company take their rest on the bank of the enchanted river. Suddenly, gigantic horrible spiders descend upon them from the shadows of the forest-roof and attack! Gilly is poisoned by an insidious spider bite and the ferocious battle is joined! Elbenwin and Glasik are overcome by arachnid venom, and one of the gigantic crawling horrors is set aflame! The two surviving spiders try to flee for their lives into the gloom of Mirkwood, shrieking and cursing bitter oaths of hatred and revenge. But neither craven crawling horror can escape unscathed! Both of them fall, vanquished beneath gleaming swords! The battle is ended. The company rests until sunset. The poisoned heroes recover and cast off the insidious grip of paralysis. Then they continue their arduous journey through the vast darkness of Mirkwood.
March 22nd
At dawn, they reach the Mountains of Mirkwood, and the First Halls of the ElvenKing. Hiding themselves with branches and brambles, they rest and recover from their long journey until the sun sets.
Chapter 3: In the Deep Places of the World
March 22nd, continued
Daylight fades like the hope of the world, and the company enters the fearful ravine of the First ElvenKing's Halls, given over to the shadow of Sauron two thousand years ago. Under cover of night and the twisted trees, the company cautiously, quietly advances through the thorny, tangled undergrowth to the nearest cave mouth. Folco examines it for dangers, Naruthirdor questions a raven, and Rumil breaks down its door. The company cautiously ventures into the dreadful, dark cave. Suddenly, they hear footfalls and voices! The company urgently douses their light and hides, all except Elbenarin, who is suddenly riddled with arrows in the darkness!
Twisted, stunted, misshapen abominations emerge from the shadows! Gilwennen summons light and the company discover they are surrounded by the heinous children of Morgoth! The battle rages on! Suddenly, heinous reinforcements lunge forth from the darkness, including a fearsome, gigantic cave troll whose mighty roar seemingly shakes the tunnel itself! In the face of this dire new threat, the heroes begin a fighting retreat! The troll falls beneath ax and sword and the surviving orcs flee westward!
At the sound of approaching footfalls from the east, the Company scatters. Gilwennen looses arrows into the shadowed depths, striking distant enemies unseen! Then they stand revealed. Uruk-Hai! Large black arrows flood the tunnel! Then tragedy befalls the Company! Gilwennen is accidentally struck down by the missiles of her own companions! The black storm of arrows hurtling out of the darkness to the east drives the heroes back! While to the west, Folco hears fell orc songs of fire and death in the deep! Suddenly, the orcs and the Uruk-Hai descend upon the heroes, surrounding them! To the west, Folco hurls a flask of oil among the orcs who bear oil and torches. It sets them aflame in a roaring chain reaction! While, to the east, the battle with the Uruk-Hai is joined! Orcs fall by fire and by steel. The Company fight with valiance and grace. But against this foe, courage might not be enough. Their swords are notched, their shields battered, and the dark tide of evil shows no sign of relenting! The fortunes of war rapidly turn. The ferocious clash of steel echoes in the deep! In a sudden attack upon their rear flank, Naruthirdor falls! Then the Uruk line is sundered by sword and by ax! Glasik comes to the aid of his grievously wounded sister until one ferocious Uruk-hai remains. True to its warlike kind, it fights to the death, delivered by Gilly's hand.
The battle is ended... for now. In urgent hushed voices, the Company debates its next move and agree to continue their invasion of this deadly, evil realm. Wounded and weary, they creep west, deeper into danger. Folco finds a seam in the rock wall when suddenly Red the dog starts barking wildly!
Chapter 4: In Darkness and In Peril
March 22nd, continued
Deep in the dank gloom of the tunnels, orc-arrows once more fly from the darkness! Gilwennen's light exposes orc archers in the shadows and the Company's vanguard charge them as Folco's secret passage is opened! The advancing warriors are ambushed in a deadly crossfire, and Gilly falls! Elbenwin rushes to his brother's aid as Gilly is carried through the secret door into a troll's lair! From it, Gilwennen hears fell voices in the ravine, echoing off the towering cliff walls! Suddenly, the orc tunnel where the brother rangers are trapped is engulfed in darkness! The Company race to their aid, but is it already too late?! They leap into the jaws of the insidious ambush and Glasik and Tinuwen fall before a plague of orc-arrows! The tide of battle turns against the Company. Gilwennen gets a torch alight and the true horror of their situation stands revealed! By orc-blade or arrow, nearly half the Company is fallen! The rest, outnumbered! Folco rouses Glasik with the orc grog as Elbenarin falls beneath merciless orc-blades! Then his oppressors turn and find their lines have been cut asunder! Outnumbered and outmatched, the orcs flee back into the shadows from which they came! The wounded Company work quickly to save the lives of their fallen companions! The dwarfs and Therone explore the tunnels to the north while Folco is surprised by a Man in the troll cave! A ghastly cannibal kitchen is discovered and the stranger, Vindoboduoc, warns the Company they must leave now while they can!
The wounded Company retreats from the orc tunnels. Under cover of night, they steal through the dense thicket of thorns and twisted, withered trees at the bottom of the ravine floor. From hiding, they look up the sloping canyon walls at cave openings that loom 50 feet above them and cautiously approach one of the yawning dark maws. Behind them, the torches of the Uruks that hunt them edge closer! The Company seeks refuge within a pitch black cave while below them, the searching Uruks slowly, inexorably close in on them. Blind, the heroes inch deeper into the dark orc warren, and Vindo nearly plummets down a stone stairwell to certain death! The Company creep further into the ominous desolation of the subterranean lair and find a ghastly orc-dungeon.
The Company rests as scouts return to the cave mouth and see Uruk torches 80 feet away, motionless! Not wanting to risk torchlight, in absolute darkness they slowly ascend a steep stairwell deeper into the abandoned orc-lair. Suddenly, they are attacked by a plague of filthy feral rats, grown frightfully large and clever! Blind, the heroes flee the diseased scavengers, retreating back to the orc-dungeon and their companions.
March 23rd
The Company survive the night. Dawn comes cold and pale. From the the maw of the wretched orc tunnel, they see Uruk-hai guard the canyon mouth. Using the withered trunks, misshapen branches, twisted limbs and thorny briers that plague the ravine as cover, the Company follows Folco toward their fearsome destination.
Chapter 5: Nameless Things
March 23rd, continued
Charged with a desperate quest by Gandalf the White to avert the dark fate of Middle Earth, the noble Company has reached the Lost Halls of the First ElvenKing, a stronghold of the ancient world long ago fallen to Shadow. The riven gates hangs open like a broken jaw. A chill wind emanates from the pitch darkness within, carrying upon it the stench of death. The Company enter the ancient ruin and are dwarfed and humbled by its vast immensity. They feel acutely the lost glory and grandeur of the elves, here dimmed and forgotten forever. All is deathly still. After long tense minutes of exploration, the Company is attacked by terrifying apparitions that cry with the voices of death! Before they can act, Gilwennen, Naruthirdor, Therone and Tinuwen are possessed by the Houseless! The Dunedain rangers fail to sway them to give up these bodies. Then Rumil of Mirkwood completes the ancient elvish blessing that Naruthirdor could not, and drives them out!
The Company plunges deeper into the lost halls of the First ElvenKing hunted by a band of Uruk-hai! The scale and majesty of this once legendary bastion of elves, even in this sorrowful fallen state, humbles them anew. Folco hears distant echoes of the menacing Uruks that lurk somewhere behind them in the dark. The heroes take shelter in a crypt and wait breathlessly as the fearsome Uruks pass them by! The Company urgently lay an ambush just as the Uruks are returning! The fight is over before it starts! Three Uruk-hai lay dead, their bodies feathered with arrows. Of the rest there is no sign! The heroes hide the bodies in the crypt.
The Company divide. Naruthirdor makes a discovery in the tombs. And the advance scouts make a chilling discovery of their own: a great stone altar upon which lie three Uruks among many treasures of gold. Suddenly, a shadow rises from the darkness! Cold eyes glare forth. Terror takes the Company's scouts. Then a grip stronger and colder than iron seizes them and they remember no more.
The rest of the Company follow to investigate. They too encounter the shadow of horror and evil and wither before its terrible power! Then Naruthirdor casts an elf-spell that restores strength to their hearts! The black shape of power and fear strikes him down, turning hope into despair! Then comes a ringing of swords drawn! Swift and shining, fell and fair, Gilwennen, Rumil and Therone unsheathe shimmering elf-blades and lunge to Naruthirdor's defense! Their swords glimmer like stars in the deepest night as they smite the dreadful shape and tear it asunder! The Company recover, killing three Uruks as more of them flee. They carefully search the vast chamber of tapestries portraying the terror and the evil of Ancalagon the Black, mightiest of Morgoth's dragon-host. The Company discover a secret dwarf door forged of fire-runes! Among fiery symbols of Dwarves and Elves are elf-letters from the Elder Days bearing three riddles! The Company ponder riddles within riddles and then discover the correct password! Suddenly, the fire-runes flicker and the doors open wide! The Company pass through the wondrous dwarf-doors into a great treasure vault of the First Age! There they find the weapons with which the Host of Valinor smote Ancalagon the Black, greatest dragon of Middle-earth, and won the War of Wrath! Naruthirdor and Tinuwen recall ancient lore of magic rings. As if preordained, each of the heroes finds their chosen weapon and names it. As the Company discusses their next course of action, Elbenwin lays his hand upon the black stone sphere and it comes alive with fire and light! The Dunedan ranger sees Sauron and feels his terrible will! Elbenwin withstands Sauron long enough for the Company to wrest the orb from his grip and break the frightful spell! Naruthirdor recognizes the legendary weapons for what they are. And Elbenwin warns the Company that it is possible Sauron now knows who and where they are! The Company flee to the vale and find it filled with orcs ready for war! All is lost! Then suddenly, giant shapes fill the skies! The eagles are coming! The eagles are coming!
Chapter 6: To Whatever End
March 23rd, continued
Having won the legendary weapons that smote Ancalagon the Black, the Company are snatched from the jaws of certain death! The emerald shadow of the forest canopy falls away and so do the Mountains of Mirkwood as they plunge upward into the sky, plummeting through cloud and wind, up into the dazzling light of the golden sun! Borne by giant eagles, they fly for the Lonely Mountain and the Desolation of Smaug! During the journey, the Company ask questions of Gwaihir the Lord of the Eagles. After hours of flight, they reach the Lonely Mountain.
March 24th
Dawn unveils a bleak and barren land around the Lonely Mountain, the Desolation of Smaug. The Company ascend the rugged slope and discover the ruins of an old dwarf watch-post. They search the sundered fortress and find a secret keyhole. Vindo picks the dwarf-lock and a door opens in the wall, a secret dwarf-passage into Erebor! For five dark hours they march by the faint light of their flickering blades until they reach a dead end.
The Company discovers and opens a hidden dwarf-door and beyond lies a marvel. Lit by unseen windows high in the soaring vaults, a great cavernous dwarf-hall of Erebor stands unveiled! Suddenly, the Company hears the soft ringing of a sword unsheathed! Neither side advances; an impasse! Then a strange deep voice echoes from the shadows compelling them to surrender! Most of the Company resist. They burst forth from the secret passage and behold a company of orcs of Mordor! A war troll is with them and a heinous figure that claims to be the Mouth of Sauron! A ferocious battle erupts! The heinous servant of the Dark Lord weaves sorceries vile. Elbenarin and Rumil smite the arrow-ridden war troll dead! More orcs fall headless! The Mouth of Sauron is struck down and the surviving orcs break! With fierce oaths of vengeance, the Company run down the fleeing orcs and smite them without mercy! Gilly and Vindo find an immense stairwell descending into darkness. The Company search the gruesome remains of the wicked Mouth of Sauron, but carefully. For even a dead sorcerer is not without peril. Gilly believes she's found the path to the dragon, as the others harvest evil treasures.
Chapter 7: King Under the Mountain
March 24th, continued
At last, the Company descend into the bottomless black depths of Erebor. Hours pass traversing wondrous marvels of engineering unimagined until finally they reach the bottommost dungeon halls of the ancient dwarves, right at the Mountain's root. A whisper away from the dragon-lair of Smaug, they confer in hushed voices upon their next fateful step! The scouts bravely advance, finding golden dwarf-coins on the ground.
The little hobbit enters the dragon's lair alone! His candle reveals fleeting glimpses of treasure beyond imagining! The Company's hearts are filled and pierced with enchantment and desire of the gold beyond price and count! A wretched emaciated dwarf shows himself. Among the treasure, The One Ring is found by Elbenwin! Suddenly, the mound of golden treasure explodes like an erupting volcano! From beneath the dragon-horde comes the great calamity of Smaug! He roars, "GIVE ME MY PRECIOUS!"
Rumil, Naruthirdor and Gilwennen are consumed in flame and perish from Middle-Earth. The Company swallow their fear and counterattack! Through fire and smoke, the legendary weapons of yore flare like summer lightning! Smaug is near death! Desperate and fatal, the dragon roars in black anger: "If I cannot have The Ring, then none shall have it!" And the air is seared by a flash of raging flame that might be the last breath of the last fire-breathing dragon of Middle-earth!
Alas! So passes immortal Tinuwen, joining her beloved sister in death. Faithful Red too is taken by flame. Glasik the dwarf falls upon a river of molten gold but still draws breath! Wretched Smeagol is no more.
The volcanic dragon-flame of Smaug the Great, last of the fire-drakes, melts and consumes the Ring!
Therone fires an arrow true, impaling Smaug! The vast cataclysm crashes down upon jewels and diamonds in ruin and flame and death! Thus falls Smaug, King Under the Mountain, last dragon of Middle-earth!
The sudden silence is shattered by a thundering and a great confusion of noise emanating from Elbenarin's possessions! The wounded ranger produces the palantír, the seeing stone, and the Company beholds terrifying visions of Mordor undone! The Dark Lord, Sauron is dead! His realm is no more! The true quest of The Company is fulfilled!