Chapter 3: In the Deep Places of the World

[hedgeknight]

'Bout time, me brother!
Gilly cries, stumbling over the dead Uruks like the others, but where they fail, she drives the spiked end of her pick deep into the hated creature's flesh!
Footman's Pick: [1d20] = 15 Damage: [2d4+1] = 8+1 = 9

Ever at her side, Red attacks too!
Red Attacks: [1d20] = 11 Bite Dmg: [1d4] = 4

[Inferno]

The Lost Halls of the First ElvenKing, Mountains of Mirkwood, Rhovanion, Middle Earth
Night. March 22, Year One of the Fourth Age
Day Four. Damp, cold

Insensate and bleeding, Naruthirdor is dragged out into the night by the wicked, hateful orcs in the thorny ravine!

One vile spawn of Morgoth snickers fiendishly, "It's been a long time since I tasted elf flesh!"



"Not so fast! We should torture this elf a while first. Make him scream for days!" sneers another of the horrific villains.

"Bleed him! Make him suffer for what the elves have done to us!"

"Flay him alive and fry his skin for crackling!"

Meanwhile, inside the orc tunnels, Tinuwen fires two arrows into the wild melee, piercing neither friend nor foe!

Rumil joins Folco to guard the smoke-filled rear flank. Whilst, in the thick of the battle, the last Uruk-hai warrior defiantly, single-handedly beats back the swords and axes of Elbenarin, Elbenwin, Gilwennen, Glasik and Therone with his orc blade and shield!

But, with a battle cry upon her bloody lips, Gilly surges forth despite her pain and drives the spike of her pick with all her dwarvish might into the last Uruk's skull, killing it instantly!



Seeing the last of the Uruks slain, the craven orcs at the cave mouth break and flee into the night, leaving behind their prize, the bloodied broken form of Naruthirdor the elf!

The battle in the Lost Hall of the First ElvenKing is ended... for now!


Actions?!


Map:

Only the lighter areas are visible. All else is from memory.


Non-required Reading (rolls and rulings):

Initiative: Good: [1d6] = 6, Evil: [1d6] = 1 Good wins.
The rangers were attacking U11 with their backs to G20 and G22 so both may escape without a free opportunity attack leveled against them.

PC Status:

• Elbenarin: Male Dunedain Ranger 2: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 6/30
  Elbenwin: Male Dunedain Ranger 2: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 7/30
  Folco Boffin: Male Hobbit Thief 3: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 5/21
  Gilda 'Gilly' Ironfoot: Female Dwarvish Fighter 2: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 2/28
  Glasik Ironfoot: Male Dwarvish Fighter 2: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 21/24
  Gilwennen: Female Elvish Fighter/Magic-User 1/1: Move: 9", AC: -1, HP: 6/8, Spells: 0/1 1st lvl, Light spell
  Naruthirdor Nowe: Male Elvish Magic-User 2: Move: 12", AC: 10, HP: -4/8, Spells: 0/4 1st lvl
  Rumil: Male Elvish Fighter/Magic-User 1/1: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 1/7, Spells: 0/3 1st lvl
  Therone: Female Elvish Fighter 2: Move: 9", AC: -1, HP: 8/22
  Tinuwen: Female Elvish Fighter/Magic-User 1/1: Move: 9", AC: -1, HP: 7/7, Spells: 1/3 1st lvl
  Red: Guard Dog: Move: 12", AC: 6, HD: 2+2, HP: 11/11, AT: 1, D: 1-4, THAC0: 16

PC Magic:

• Light (Gilwennen): Duration: 51 rounds

Player Resources:

• In Darkness and In Doubt (the story so far)
  Before The Fall (realms and maps of Middle Earth)
  The Fear and The Shadow (the story so far in images)
  History Became Legend. Legend Became Myth (clues and player notes)

[Rex]

Rumil of Mirkwood

Rumil will rush out to defend Naruthirdor's body. "Tinuwen can you heal Naruthirdor? I am to weak."

[ravenn4544]

Elbenarin scans the still darkness for any more attackers. Seeing none, he will tend to his brother knowing that they have both suffered in the attack. He'll take a moment to bind his own wounds before lending what aid he can to the others and watching the dark tunnels for further threats.

Wis (15) [1d20] = 3

[OGRE MAGE]

Folco is genuinely pleased that the fighting has ceased, even if only temporarily. He starts going through the bodies of the fallen enemy, hoping to find any scraps of information they might carry on them. If he finds valuables, he tosses them into a pile instead of putting anything in his own pockets.

"I would be willing to bet that we haven't seen the last of these monsters. I think this rabble was only the welcoming party. Do we have a plan to follow now? Where can we rest that we may heal.....and sup? Shall we search for a room in here? Or head back out into the wild while we are still able?"

[wolfpack]

Elbenwin tends to his wounds

first aid:[1d20] = 11

That was a battle to write songs about. We should collect what we can, heal what we can, and delve into the tunnels. If we say in this spot it will be to easy to find us.

[Urson]

Therone
Therone joins the group, providing protection for the most wounded. She wipes the black orc-blood from Acharn with a scrap of cloth from one of the dead.
We are in no shape to fight- or even to explore. We need time to recover. I know this will sound as if I am obsessed with that dead-end tunnel- but it will be a defensible position to rest in.

[OGRE MAGE]

Folco pipes up again.

"We have killed many of their numbers already, and hopefully only females and runts remain in these passages. But they know we have come now, so staying right here might be dangerous if they decide to rally their forces and come looking for us again."

The hobbit continues going through packs and pockets.

"If we snoop around through these tunnels a little, maybe we can find another suitable place to hide and rest. Somewhere they would actually need to search to find us? There has to be another defensible chamber inside here somewhere, right?"

[SocraticLawyer]

Tinuwen casts her last spell of the day, hoping it is enough to revive Naruthirdor.

Cure light wounds [2d4+1] = 5+1 = 6

She also attempts first aid on Naruthirdor.

First Aid (16) [1d20] = 4

[ravenn4544]

Elbenarin agrees, "rest is needed, but I am not convinced there is any good spot to do so near by."

[ChubbyPixie]

Gilwennen will lend aid to the wounded as she is able.

"The orcs outside will have warned the others in the caves nearby. We must relocate to a more defensible position, be it further in or elsewhere," she says.

[Rex]

Rumil of Mirkwood

Rumil will do First Aid in himself.

First Aid Self (15 Wis) [1d20] = 15

[Urson]

Therone
Therone shakes her head ruefully. You are right, of course. As my sword instructor would say, "tired is stupid".

[hedgeknight]

With an exhausted grunt, Gilly jerks the spike of her pick from the Uruk's skull. She staggers and falls back against the wall, gulping for air. Leaning on her pick, she finds her waterskin and cools her parched throat. She then squats, and wipes the blood from her hands before cupping one and pouring some water for Red.
"We need to...find somewheres...to hole up and heal up," she manages through clenched teeth. "We won't survive another wave like that."

[Scott308]

Glasik Ironfoot

I don't think we have any good options. If we stay here, we're sitting ducks for any more orcs that come our way. I don't believe we've killed off everything but those that ran away. They'll go back to the other entrance and gather more of their kind to finish us off. But if we leave, we run the risk of travelling past several other caves where we could be spotted and attacked by fresh groups of enemies. Here, I can try to defend and prevent anyone from getting to the injured while you rest, but I won't be able to hold out long enough for you to recover health and spells. We may be able to find something elsewhere in the cave that would make a better spot to hide out, but we might not. We might find a group of orcs searching for us. The other thing is that they seem to be able to see in the darkness, while we can't. We need light, and that makes it easier for them to find us, and harder for us to avoid them if we don't know where they are until they've spotted our light.

[Rex]

Rumil of Mirkwood

"Whatever we do, we must do it NOW!"

[ravenn4544]

Elbenarin suggests "If we are to stay in the tunnels, let's head toward the west - it would be further from the caverns that must wind deeper into the canyon walls that surround the valley we started from - if we head east it takes us deeper into their lair.... let us save that adventure until we are rested and ready!"

[Inferno]

The Lost Halls of the First ElvenKing, Mountains of Mirkwood, Rhovanion, Middle Earth
Night. March 22, Year One of the Fourth Age
Day Four. Damp, cold




The gaping maws of the orc tunnels are now empty of enemies. With the death of the last savage Uruk, delivered by Gilly's fell hand, the battle is ended... for now.

Elbenarin, Elbenwin and Rumil quickly bind their wounds (+1hp each).

Tinuwen rushes to Naruthirdor's lifeless form. Sheltered from view by the edge of the cave mouth, she reaches a slender hand into the darkness and rests it upon his brow. Tinuwen murmurs ancient words of their learned people and Naruthirdor miraculously awakens! (+7hp)

Folco moves west toward the smoldering corpses but the stench of burning orc-flesh and the thick choking smoke makes him hesitate. (want to proceed, blind?)

In urgent hushed voices, the Company debates its next move in their invasion of this deadly, evil realm. A consensus is not yet found.


Actions?!


Map:

Only the lighter areas are visible. All else is from memory.



PC Status:

• Elbenarin: Male Dunedain Ranger 2: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 7/30
  Elbenwin: Male Dunedain Ranger 2: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 8/30
  Folco Boffin: Male Hobbit Thief 3: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 5/21
  Gilda 'Gilly' Ironfoot: Female Dwarvish Fighter 2: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 2/28
  Glasik Ironfoot: Male Dwarvish Fighter 2: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 21/24
  Gilwennen: Female Elvish Fighter/Magic-User 1/1: Move: 9", AC: -1, HP: 6/8, Spells: 0/1 1st lvl, Light spell
  Naruthirdor Nowe: Male Elvish Magic-User 2: Move: 12", AC: 10, HP: 3/8, Spells: 0/4 1st lvl
  Rumil: Male Elvish Fighter/Magic-User 1/1: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 2/7, Spells: 0/3 1st lvl
  Therone: Female Elvish Fighter 2: Move: 9", AC: -1, HP: 8/22
  Tinuwen: Female Elvish Fighter/Magic-User 1/1: Move: 9", AC: -1, HP: 7/7, Spells: 0/3 1st lvl
  Red: Guard Dog: Move: 12", AC: 6, HD: 2+2, HP: 11/11, AT: 1, D: 1-4, THAC0: 16

PC Magic:

• Light (Gilwennen): Duration: 50 rounds

Player Resources:

• In Darkness and In Doubt (the story so far)
  Before The Fall (realms and maps of Middle Earth)
  The Fear and The Shadow (the story so far in images)
  History Became Legend. Legend Became Myth (clues and player notes)

[rredmond]

Naruthirdor coughs wetly. Tries not to look at the blood on his clothes. "Runts,"he chuckles to himself, then quickly regains his composure. "Safe to say we can leave now? He asks, trying not to sound too hopeful. "There are many other caves, I don't want hordes to pour into this one without knowing there is another exit. Who is for leaving and who is for going deeper in the caverns? Rumil is right, we must move quickly!"

[OGRE MAGE]

Folco watches the black smoke for a moment, trying to determine if it is just hanging in the air over the dead, or if it is venting out of the complex in one direction or another.

He drags the dead body of the lone orc at his feet closer to the front door, regardless of his findings.