Ayshela

umm??? too many deaths, too soon. Mattias, Jin, Jagk, Stoomp, Raus.... did I miss something? We haven't lost Jin, have we? Last I knew, he rode out of Moria with Seothen?? (Elrond will have my hair if we have! heh...)

scotch

Trying to IC justify accusations is always fun. *g*

Rootmaker's words were spoken softly, for an Ent, yet they carried to those walking nearby. Linador paid careful attention to their journey toward the gate, yet even as he listened for sounds of pursuers he heard Rootmaker explain his thoughts and concerns. Things were indeed becoming strange in the world, the Ent himself the nearest evidence of one acting against his nature to support good and thwart evil. Nall that was against one's nature was evil, and not all that was according to one's nature was good. Linador's own words sprang back to mind as he reconsidered the deaths along their journey and the times it would have taken stealth and speed. Rootmaker was not by nature speedy, and stealth would be difficult for him. Not so for many of the rest of the party, as had been considered before. Yeager, yes, "But could not elf or ranger do the same?" Megwyn would have been inclined to avenge Jagkatha, perhaps, but not in a way which would have thrown suspicion on her. Mattias was equally capable of stealth and speed. Would it have concerned him if suspicion attached to another? And where HAD he been when the mule was killed, or when Stoomp went into the lake? That last could be readily discovered, and probably best it was. Linador moved up beside Mattias and laid a hand on his shoulder. "There are odd looks and suspicion enough to go around, of late. If you remember where you were as each death happened, why it could not have been you, I suggest you speak of it. Only truth removes suspicion, and the time has nearly come to speak our minds of these events. "But not right now. We're nearly there." They looked across the hall, as many as could see through the gloom. "The bridge is there, the gate beyond, is that right, Falmar?" "That's right. Over the bridge and up the stairs beyond to the gate. It will be guarded, but if we can make it across the gate we should make it out with little difficulty," Falmar explained. "They're gathering as we wait here, but on the other side of the fissure. If we hurry we should be able to get across before they find a way to cross to our side. Let's go." Linador caught Jin by the arm and Baelestimah's pack horse's lead with the other hand and followed Falmar toward the bridge and escape from Moria. OOC: randomness calls for accusation of Mattias/Gryphon

gasp

Linador sighed inwardly, stretching as much as possible as they hurried down the passage. Jin had been so near-desperately reluctant to leave the one lighted room they'd found that when they fled Linador had been unable to persuade in time, or even pull him along, and had of necessity picked him up and carried him into the dark he feared so much. Linador had swiftly silenced Jin's protests, but only by reminding him that he, Linador, would face Elrond's wrath for letting Jin die when Elrond had seen fit to save him. No argument of friendship, of safety or speed had even penetrated the fear he now wore like a ragged cloak. Fortune favour them, it would not be long now until they left Moria behind, a bad memory for other dark nights. Rootmaker's low rumbling comments wrenched Linador's attention from his own worried watchfullness. Mattias? Surely rumours of racial tensions were not enough to base accusation on alone? "I wonder why he thinks that?" he thought. "Even more, I wonder why he said that? I've never known an Ent to speak rashly, or hastily. This seems both, and very strange." He pondered for several more turns in the passageways, then looked from Jin to Rootmaker. "Perhaps not only Jin suffers from a lack of light? Perhaps the deprivation shows differently in Ents? I wonder..." he thought, but held silence. They still had freedom to reach. Fighting was best saved for enemies encountered on the way, not wasting time and energy tearing the company apart before they even reached the far gate. OOC: no vote yet, will be in later in the morning when thoughts have solidified.

*mrrp*? sorry I didn't get to help with the last battle more actively. I wasn't sure what Vahk had in mind in setting it up, or whether it had been stopped there for one of us to pick up and run with or stopped to let the rest of us catch up. *shrug* Wasn't home yesterday, won't be until later this afternoon today, won't be AT ALL tomorrow, so will be posting in brief bits and pieces here and there. We're in night phase, right? which ends... when? (lost little kitten scrabbles frantically under the sofa for the clue she batted under there moments earlier...)

*giggles* good idea, there, since sure as anything you'll get knocked over again soon's you get up. But then, you should be used to being glomped, and fought over who gets to glomp you first, right?

sweetheart

ray-gun

heh.. yeah, there's several versions of this going around. the one I'm most familar with concerns planting a potato garden and the guns which were supposed to have been hidden/buried there.

(oh me...)

Question? Is Rootmaker male or female? I've seen him/her/it referred to as both male and female and it's quite confusing.

Linador slid into a restless half-sleep, watchfullness ever weighing heavily on his mind. Nervous noises from the horses, careful footsteps of those on guard, muffled noises from nightmare-ridden Jin, and the persistent sense of listening for something just out of hearing all drifted in and through dreams until it took several seconds every time he woke to separate dream from reality. Tonight, or whenever this sleep time was, disturbing thoughts of Stoomp wove themselves through memory and watchfullness in dream. HOW had he ended up in the lake? He was clumsy, yes, but certainly even he was not so foolish as to stumble into water which had left Rootmaker shuddering? But who would have, who *could* have, pushed him? Seothen and Baelestimah had been near the gate with their horses, just ahead of him. Jin had been staring at the gate when Falmar opened it, in wonder or in terror wasn't certain. Everyone else had been unloading the packs, hadn't they? Who could have slipped away unnoticed? Again, Yeager had made a point of being able to. But would he, if that were his plan? And could not elf or ranger do so? Elf - a horrible thought. Jagkatha was the natural suspect, and she was hotheaded to be certain. Hotheaded, but not cold-blooded, and she'd not been raging at Stoomp for some time. Irvin had been close enough the lake monster grabbed him first. Could it have been him? Or Megwyn, who was close enough to slash him loose? As if reality heard muddled half-dream, Megwyn was there laying a hand on Linador's shoulder, which was all it took to wake him. He sat up wordlessly, listening, and nodded to the ranger. Making sure his scabbards made no noise on the stone floor as he stood, he caught up his bow and moved into position to wait for whatever made the noises he could now hear clearly. Perhaps as the horses moved across the bridge whatever approached would think they all moved on and become careless... OOC: for once, the dice decree something I could halfway justify... a hesitant vote for Vahktang/Yeager Tickle-Bottom

gotcha... I was wondering if that was a *total* of abstentions and votes, so that it was possible to have eight abstentions and one vote and that vote be the sole deciding factor. Just got everyone pretty well cleared through here for the day, and Broken_Inside decided to do most of the kitchen cleanup for me, so I'm going to take my aching back and lie down for a bit, but WILL be back with a vote post before deadline.

wow... having spent most of my life thousands of miles from the people who matter most to me, i can SO relate to this! *hugs* c'mon in and make yourself comfy, and don't let Wyv talk you out of your geld!

could we get a little detail about the photo, please? pleeeeeeeeeeeeease? (don't MAKE me sic Kaitlyn on you! LOL) ((For that matter, NightFae offered for begging "duty" and she's SUCH a whiner when she wants to be! ROFL))

*g* Fun - oh, most definitely! Enough fun I ALMOST have NightFae convinced to try one of the next games. As for the practical - well, if we must. Though it looks fair to middling to run high on abstentions. For the "it's been a while since I've played" among us, how does that affect the tally of necessary votes for lynchings? IOW, do we need to start pestering the "I dunno" abstentions to throw the dice? *heh*

fletcher

*laughs* wonder how many of us were having so much fun with the story we forgot about voting?

Linador listened carefully, but heard nothing more than the sounds of the Fellowship as they began sorting through what gear had been taken from the horses and mules before they bolted, low conversation among them, and the nervous movements of horses in the dark. Hearing Filk's abruptly swallowed comments, Linador returned his full awareness to those around him, and Jin in particular. His fear of darkness had been barely kept in check until now, travelling through the night as they had been. It had been getting harder for Linador to calm him as the stretch of night travel had lengthened. Now - now it would be ceaselessly dark, and get darker before it got light. With a muffled sigh and silent resolve to keep careful check on Jin, to be ready with constant soothing and support at need, Linador got to his feet and moved over beside him. Kneeling beside him, Linador spoke softly to quell Jin's start. "It's only me, it's okay. We can't go back, so we'll have to go forward, and the quicker we go the sooner we'll be out of here. Would you like me to hold one of your lanterns for you so you can see to check your gear?" Through his fear, Jin recognized Linador and relaxed slightly. With shaking hands he passed one of his precious lanterns over and set the other beside him so he could secure his pack and be ready to travel. Pack carefully balanced, Jin picked up his lantern and looked up at Linador. Linador gave back the lantern with a reassuring smile and said "Stay close, if you like. It may help, it may not, but it can't hurt. You'll be okay." Then he picked up his pack and moved into the darkness with the rest of the Fellowship, trying to remember who had been close enough to Stoomp to have pushed him in. It was a disturbing thought to take into the darkness.

wow... Alaeha's definitely a keeper. =) wandered off to the store late last night asking if I needed anything while he was out - and came back in with a dozen white roses, early mother's day gift! =) *melts*

hey! call Kaitlyn a rugrat, she's liable to bite your kneecaps! heh...

Got it. Aaaand - it's a full moon, will our werewolves be howling? (sorry, just noticed that while outside, and couldn't resist.)

Linador sighed heavily as they stood before the gate of Moria, partly in relief at their arrival yet even more with an unnamed dread based in story and song of the horrors of the once glorious, now fallen city. He moved among the animals, softly caressing them while speaking words of calm and praise for their invaluable help. Those of the party who still had equipment or personal items set about unpacking the most valued items and determining how much they could carry of what remained, leaving many hands to occupy, if not calm, the animals as Linador made his careful way to each. They had all performed valiantly. Leaving one unpraised was unthinkable. Baelestimah's companions were at the front of the line, thus among the last Linador came to. He nodded and smiled to Baelestimah as he softly stroked his pack horse's neck, asking simply "They will be going with you, even into Moria?" "They will," Baelestimah replied. "It would be harder otherwise." Linador nodded, then his attention was briefly drawn by Stoomp splashing his sliding way below the surface of the lake. Tentacles appeared, panicking the animals and sending those to the rear fleeing in terror. As they fled they left room for those in front to run as panick overtook them as well, drawing Linador's attention fully back to the horses and mules he knew and loved. Baelestimah's companions sensed evil, as had the others, and were on the verge of panic despite the known security of Baelestimah and Linador. Baelestimah had Horse Brother, so Linador caught his pack horse and tried to calm him. "Into the gateway! Up the stairs! Quick!" came the shout, and Baelestimah and Linador urged Baelestimah's companions toward the gateway and into the gloom, using every bit of will to guide them from groping terror into depths of darkness. The doors crashed closed, and in a few moments a semblance of calm had been regained. Once a semblance of calm reigned, Linador slid to a seated position on the floor, head back against the wall, trying to catch his breath. "Best to rest with your back to a wall," he thought. "And maybe I can hear if anything hear our arrival and comes to see who or what we are." He sat for several moments listening to the familiar footsteps of the party and the animals, listening intently for far off sounds of anything more.