010 - Meet the Yocals

On the bank of the Isen River

October 4th, FA 15

Most of the company was arrayed in the eat-in tent to have breakfast. Araliniel was one of the last to get in. She scraped the bottom of the pot and sat at the end of the table. "I've had a powerful vision in a dream last night", she said. Galdor turned his sight away, uninterested. Finbert prompted for more information.

"I have seen a sword, under a few inches of dirt. It was in the cellar of a tower, in a ruined fort. Built somewhere on a wide river." She proceeded to describe the fort in as much details as she could. It became clear to Finbert that he had seen this fort in the ruined city of Tharbad. Further descriptions seemed to corroborate with descriptions of Tharbad that many other company member had ran into in their research. The company, satisfied that their path was leading directly into Tharbad, made a note to drop by the fort and check the tower out. "Did you say a Gondolin sword?", asked Galdor.

The company broke camp, which attracted the attention of the other craftsmen camping near the ford. They were most intrigued that the company was not going to wait for the Red Company to escort them through Dunland, but Arnadil failed to sway anyone to join them in the possibly dangerous crossing.

The company lined up by the ford, bid the Rohirim guards goodbye and entered the Isen. Arnadil, Halin and Galdor were on their horses, leading the cart which was driven by Kasper. Finbert and Araliniel were sitting on the cart's bench, beside Kasper. Quickly their attempt to cross the river was detected by a watch of Dunlendings. One of them left and came back with about a dozen other wildmen. They menacingly arrayed, arms in hand, across the road as it crept out of the ford.  The company was resolute that the wildmen would be swayed by a strong show of resolve, and simply plowed ahead. The wildmen, used to deal with cowed tradesmen got taken aback and let the leading horsemen go through by opening their ranks. However, the rank closed by by the time that the cart was pulling out of the water. Some grabbed the horses' harnesses, some inserted the butt of their spears through the spokes of the cart's wheels.

The leading riders realized that the assertive stance's success did not extend to the lumbering baggage. The largest and greasiest wildmen declared in a broken Westron: "Us no sign treaty. This is my home. You pay 12 small silver coins." Sir Galdor, in disbelief, smiled and declared that he would pay the toll and get on their way.

"No, we're not paying. We are the representative of the King of Gondor, and we are on the road, we are not paying any fare.", declared Arnadil in his best mission leader voice.

A lithany of confusion then erupted around the cart as most company members began to argue against Arnadil with varying conviction. Arnadil's opinion essentially was that the Dunlendings were in no right to charge a toll at the gates of their land, and that some 20 wildmen could be dissipated by a small contingent of  cavalery. The problem mainly is that there is no such cavalry, and that any delay would set the company back further into winter. The wildmen could not understand the argument, but were satisfied by the donation of the silver by Galdor and simply walked away. The agument was cut short when Arnadil fell like he was about to faint. He had to get off his mount and catch his breath. After about one minutes, the fog in his mind lifted up and all was back to normal.

Arnadil and Galdor prolonged the heated argument well into the riding day, and relented only by lunchtime.

007 - In the Halls of Edoras

Arrival at Edoras

September 26th : Arrival in Edoras

As the month of Ivanneth (September) was drawing to an end, the company arrived in Edoras. The loss of horses in Firien was a serious setback to the progress of the expedition. Many in the company started to express concerned that heading into the North at this time of year was getting tricky. 

The news that the nephew of Meriadoc Brandibuck was in Edoras spread like wild fire. The King announced that a feast was to be held on that night, and that the company was to be seated as guest at the head table. Arnadil explained in the most possibly vague terms that the company was on a Royal Errand taking them to the ruins of Annuminas. The Queen, remembering fondly the young page Galdor insisted that the company accepts a gift. The gift was a large covered cart pulled by two horses a containing pavilion tents, cooking equipment, cots, a table and stools, and plenty of warm furs to keep them warm in the coming weeks of travel beyond the frontier. The King offered each company member a Rohan horse, exceptionally bred light war horses, and suitable winter clothes for each member. The service of a camp hand was proposed, but the company turned her down. "We can take care of our own camp", declared Arnadil. 

On the following day, Arnadil spent a few hours in the Library of Edoras in search for information about the North, Annuminas in particular. He found many fragments, jotted down a lot of information that he think will be useful to scour the millenia-old ruined city and filed the notes into his travel bag (successful research check). Kasper also spent time in the library, but was quiet about the object of his research.

The company was on the road again, with a four horseman escort ordered to take them to the Fords over the Isen. Before the company left Rohan, and the civilized world behind, Halin insisted in having one more stop at the Glittering Halls.

Next Encounter.

006 - The worst crime is the slaying of a (my) horse.

Sept 11th: An unexpected delay

During the stable fire, not only a stable boy perished, but also about half of the King's horses that were used by the company. Sir Galdor and Kasper's personal palfreys died of smoke inhalation and severed burns. Also, the two smaller poneys used by Finbert and Halin died as well. 

It was decided that Sir Galdor, his squire Kasper and Arnadil as expedition leader would ride to Edoras and request more of the King's horses to resume the company's expedition. The alternative being that they ride back to Minas Tirith, which was 10 days away rather than 5. 

It was also agreed that the surviving ruffians, named Erwin and native of Minas Tirith, would be cared for until the local Sheriff could bring him to justice. Erwin woke up from his coma, both legs crippled, to be told that he was to be executed for his violent crime once Sir Galdor was to come back to the Inn of Grays.

Sept 16th : A brief audience with King Eomer

Nobody expected to meet with the King when they arrived in Edoras, but it must have been a slow day. They first reported to the gates of Edoras and were taken to the castle. Arnadil produced the Royal Edict supporting the mission, reported the tragedy in the Firien wood and requested three more horses for the continuation of the Royal Errand.  Edoras had been a home to Galdor for nearly 7 years, when, as a page of Dol Amroth, he had served in the retinue of Queen Lothiriel after her marriage to King Eomer in TA 3021. Galdor knew the castle very well, including the captain of the guard. Furthermore, Arnadil pointed out that the company also included a relative of Meriadoc Brandibuck. The captain of the guard seemed to be particularly angered by the slaying of horses. He also was surprised by the pedigree of the company members. He excused himself briefly and came back with the King.

It was agreed  that King Eomer was to release three of King Elessar's horses so the company can be reunited. He approved of the punishment exacted on on the bandits, although he pointed out that the crime had been committed within Gondor, although some 50 meters from Rohan's border or so. He bid the company farewell and made them promise to come back to Edoras for a feast.  

Back to timeline.
Next Encounter.

005 - Crimes and Punishments

I smell burnt toasts...

In the early lights of morning, various members of the company woke up to the acrid smell of smoke and the yelps of distress on the ground floor. The first to arrive on the ground level was Finbert, who ran into the landlady and a wounded stable boy. The young man had a bolt deep into the flesh of his thigh. Shortly after, Arnadil, Galdor and Halin arrived on the ground floor. All three had slipped into their hauberks and grabbed their swords. The landlady told the warriors that a marksman was shooting anyone trying to save the horses from the burning stable. There was no windows to observe the front of the Inn, Finbert climbed back to his room to spot the marksmen.  

There was three men, some 25 yards from the Inn. One of them, the goblet thrower, was bracing a crossbow. There was another ruffian with a sword, and a third one with a club. Halin and Galdor climbed back to their rooms to don the rest of their armors. Galdor bursted into Kasper's room to wake him up. Finbert located the crossbowmen and began aiming for the marksman. Meanwhile, Arnadil slipped by the back of the Inn to exit the building from the back.

Once geared up, Halin, Galdor and Kasper came back into the Tavern. In one hand, Halin grabbed one tresle table and held it like a giant shield (that ST14 has got to pay off at some point). The set was staged.

Going tactical with a tresle table

Kasper kicked open the door so that Halin the elderly hammerdwarf could burst out, table first, running more or less blind. Behind 2" of solid wood,  no bolts would be able to overpenetrate through and hurt Halin (GM Note 1). At the same time, Arnadil began to sprint for the ruffians from the side of the Inn, and Finbert shot a poisoned dart to the crossbowman. The dart hits him in the face, cancelling the crossbowman's aim and throwing off the weapon's bracing from a fence post. The two other ruffians fanned out to get a line of sight beyond the charging table (GM Note 2).  The charge was to be made over about 25 yards, a long way to go when one follow a dwarf that is in medium encumbrance (move 3). Arnadil began to cough and wheeze before he was even arrived to the ruffians (GM Note 3).  Arnadil, shield in front, heard a bold zip by and demanded in vain that the ruffians let down their weapons. Galdor broke from the behind-the-table stack and headed for the ruffian with a club while Halin kept on charging towards the ruffian with a sword. There was a few inconsequential exchanges of blows. Some we inconsequential only because of the players' Hauberks (close calls).

The charge with the table was dodged by the sword-ruffian and Halin overshot the target. Luckily Arnadil was behind and managed to distract the ruffian from striking the dwarf in the back. Halin dropped the table and gripped his hammer with both hands. At the same time, Kasper finally got to the crossbowman and struck him in the leg with his longsword, throwing him on the ground in pain. The marksman was already in a large amount of pain due to the Finbert's "oily sting" poison, and had not been able to shoot again. His crossbow lay on the ground, out of reach while a deep wound in his leg was throbbing.

Arnadil finally abandoned all defenses and struck the sword-ruffian, causing one major wound in each leg and sending the ruffian into a pain-induced coma. Meawhile, Galdor struck the last standing ruffian on his weapon's hand. With his club flung to the ground and both friends neutralized, the last ruffians took off for the nearby woods. Galdor attempted a quick shot at the fleeing ruffian, but the arrow missed and the criminal vanished into the undergrowth.    

Debates on the legality of slaying peasants

While the battle was raging, Finbert had turned his attention to the burning stable. It seemed to be burning from the inside, and the front door was on fire. He found a window opening and jumped inside. The building was filled with smoke. He lost his foot and fell backward, burning his hand on some ambers. By the time that he was back on his feet, Kasper and Galdor were kicking the front door open. Of all horses in the stable, only three could be saved. Kasper's and Galdor's personal horses perished in the fire.  A slain stable boy was also found and pulled out of the building.

Seething with rage, Galdor burst out of the stable and head straight for the once-marksman. He was the goblet ruffian from last night. Bleeding profusely, he was laying on the ground beside his smashed crossbow.  Galdor, accused the ruffian of the murder of the stable boy, and most of all of his horse and took upon himself to execute the ruffian on the spot (GM Note 4). Galdor was also ready to finish off the sword-ruffian, who was laying unconscious on the ground. Arnadil, dissaproving of the such swift justice picked up the unconscious ruffian and took him inside the Inn. While on the table, he applied a tourniquet while Kasper coldly cauterized the other wound with a piece of burning amber. The bleeding was then under control. It was agreed that the ruffian was a murderer, and should be punished for his violent crime with Death. However, Arnadil opposed the execution of a wounded man in the coma. This is when events turned weird.

Kasper went back to his bedroom and came back with a handful of flat and dark stones. He arranged them at seemingly precise positions on the ruffian's body and began something like an esoteric ritual. After a few minutes, Kasper admitted defeat: the ruffian will not come out of the coma as fast as he hoped. The rest of the company scratched their heads and pretended that they had not seen anything unusual. The ruffian was to be taken care of until he came back to his sense, then he'd be beheaded.

And all let out a sigh.

Next encounter.

GM Note 1: GURPS claims that 2" or wood has DR 2. The same as a skullbone or some tough leather. I think that this is probably off and this value should be DR4 (most single sword blow just can't cleave 2" of wood). Anyhow, even if we let the bolt go through 2" of oak, the bolt would get solidly wedged maybe after a few inches of overpenetration.

GM Note 2: I really should have gotten the ruffians to take off: thye were no match for the party and they knew it. Their vengeance was exacted: the barn was on fire and many of the horse were either dead or about to. They did not and here are the reasons (some good, some not): 1) they still believed that the  crossbox would be an effective stand-off threat, 2) they were a bit surprised by the charging table coming out of the Inn, and 3) I wanted the player to try the combat system.

GM Note 3 : We were using Action points, and the rule for Anrnadil is that every time that he expands a FP, he has to roll against HT or state to cough (affliction). Using tactical rules for running 30 yds, keeping track of AP was a bit slow and I should have just abstracted part of the charge, roll to tactics and set the scene closer to when the action started to matter.

GM Note 4 : Much debate erupted around the gaming table here. Galdor argued that, according to the code, in absence of the local lord, he was allowed to exact justice for this violent crime and carry on the punishment right away. Many thought that it should be left to the local sheriff. In the end, Galdor just did it: don't get between a Dol Amroth knight and his mount.