WW XXVII: Wolf of the Rings

[Ozymandias]

Jin strode forward uncomplaining, balancing the now awkward load on his back while using both hands to wield and simultaneously protect his perpetual lantern as he had done for hours now. It had been easy enough, at first, while he had been carrying only his planned supplies, but now with the log as long and thick as one of his legs strapped to his pack as well as the sackfull of green leaves he had filled to most of the Fellowship's bewilderment when they first reached Caradhras, it had become increasingly difficult to continue his 'juggling' on the steepening climb and in accelerating winds.

 

Jin had looked extremely vexed for a few miles now, and continued to until he too was accosted by Filk and the his kind offer. The dwarf's irritated face relaxed considerably, and he even came to a full stop as he turned to address the hobbit.

 

"Thank you, lad. It already promises to be an arduous journey, and I think that this is an excellent way to start it off right," he said, taking the offered piece of candy and, carefully setting his lantern down on a rock, promptly popping the sweet into his mouth.

 

Reflecting on fond thoughts of desserts at Elrond's table as he chewed, the beleaguered jeweler's heart felt unladen, if only for a moment, before thoughts of the quest, what drove them on it, and what was already transpiring occupied him again. But this time, instead of becoming discouraged, he offered Filk his wineskin. "Here, it'll take the edge off cold and tiredness."

 

 

 

(Turin/Akallabeth)

[Savage Dragon]

Raus's mood was defintely taking a turn for the better. Despite the sour mood many were getting from the death of the mule, Raus's recently release for his own self-pity was letting him smile again, which had helped some smile as well. Of course a few misguided fools had interpeted that smile malicously and thier mood towards him had soured even deeper, but Raus was not the kind to let it bother him. No, all in all, he was beginning to feel hapy again, perhaps the gods of this world had finally...

 

No, his opinion on the gods had not changed, they were the ones who had brought him so low in the first place, they were the ones who had taken his Claire. he had not forgotten...

 

 

OOC: Vote for the gods/ Tanuchan.

i have not forgotten...

[Gyrfalcon]

Frerin grumbled and sweated under his heavy burden, despite the chill weather. He had volunteered to shoulder some of the supplies the mule had carried, figuring that their heavy weight would not slow him nearly as much as any of the others, humans, elves and hobbits the lot of them. Perhaps he could have split the load with Jin, but one look at Jin's bulging load told him that Jin could carry few extra supplies.

 

So Frerin grumbled at each loose rock that threatened to turn under his foot, and at the slick patches of ice that threatened to topple even the steady, solid dwarf. But inside, he thought and worried, wondering who might have slain the pack mule to slow the party, for it had to be one of the companions. The wound was too neat and precise for the Orcs, his people hated enemy, and such subtly was completely outside the realms of most Orcs anyway. If Orcs had stumbled upon them, they would have been fighting the monsters off in the middle of the night, not finding a dead pack mule in the morning.

 

No... now who had the necessary skills to sneak in silence during the night and slay the mule without notice? He immediately discarded his kinfolk, Stoomp... well, he wasn't the sort, and he didn't have a sharp enough knife anyway. Jin constantly carried a lit lantern with him, and would have easily been visible. Likewise, the rotund hobbits seemed unlikely suspects, though Yeager, the sharp-eyed one, was possibly quiet enough... otherwise, Megwyn or Garnon or Turin were all likely suspects as well, human rangers well-versed in moving silently...

 

That was the problem, there were too many possible suspects, and thus he'd have to keep a close eye on them all.

 

Especially that Garnorn.

 

(Vote cast for Garnorn/Panther)

[Mynx]

Mattias increased his pace to catch up to Jagkatha and Megwyn, ignoring the glare his fellow elf gave him at his unwelcome interruption.

"So what do you two think about that slaughtered animal?" he asked in a hushed tone. Jagkatha shrugged and shook her head.

"It could have been anyone of us. And too many of us are strangers to one another to be completely sure of anything."

 

Mattias nodded, walking just behind the two girls.

"Well, Jagk, I'll tell you one thing I'm sure of." Looking around, he moved closer to whisper in the girls' ears.

"While I'm not entirely sure if he did it, I'm almost certain I saw Raus around the animal during the night."

 

Jagk looked up at Mattias sharply.

"You think it was he?"

Mattias only shrugged before moving away from the girls and once more taking his place in the line, leaving Jagkatha to mull over the information she had just heard as they continued along their journey.

 

OOC: Vote for Savage Dragon/Raus

[Patrick]

The death of the pack mule troubled Warud. Seothen could sense it from the tension in his movements. The upcoming cold of Caradhras would only add to the animal's mysery, but Seothen knew that leaving him behind would have been worse. Both for him and for Warud.

 

He couldn't help his thoughts drifting back to the carcass of the mule, which had so violently been torn open. It had to have been someone from the fellowship who did it. The sentry wouldn't have allowed anyone to come close enough unnoticed. Could it have been Baelestimah. He didn't speak much, but then again with that many animal companions, Seothen seriously doubted that he'd hurt an animal.

 

Dwarves were not overly fond of horses on the other hand, Seothen had heard. But this was a mule and not a horse. Seothen kept thinking, but found noone he could possibly imagine having done this. He would have to watch closer from now on.

 

OOC: no vote

[Lord Panther]

Garnorn found it hard to believe what he was hearing in whispers and undertones around the group. How could they think that a ranger would kill a beast of burdern, when it would be needed in their long and arduous journey. He was just as angry, if not moreso, with the death of the animal, as it would make everyone carry more, and as such, they wouldn't be as light on their feet. That would not be good, if they were to get into a fight...

 

Sure, it was true that he could be very silent when needed, and he knew how to handle a blade... but really, who around here didn't know? Even Stoomp knew how to cut things with a knife. His suspicions ran around his head for a while, before coming forward and presenting themselves to his conscious mind. There was someone in the group that knew very well how to handle a blade, someone who maybe didn't quite understand the need for beasts of burden in such a long adventure...

 

[OOC: Vote for Savage Dragon/Raus Tanathos]

[Vahktang]

Yeager sharp ears heard the others talking.

Raus.

Elves knew things. They could tell things.

And didn't a human take the ring away from being destroyed in the first place?

Or something like that.

 

'I'll keep an eye on Raus, too,' he thought.

[Akallabeth]

Túrin walked along the cold, snowy trail below the mountain, quietly deep in thought about earlier events in the day, jogged into his memory by the increased weight of his pack.

 

Who would've killed the poor creature that had helped carry their supplies? Certainly, the mountain was not the best place for traveling with animals, but they did save other backs and allow for the transport of more supplies. The increased burdens split among the party slowed them down, wasting time that could have been better spent traveling across the mountains, escaping the onset of winter and the evil weather that came upon high places. He had spent short amounts of time in the heights of the White Mountains near his city, but they were mere hills compared to the one named Caradhras.

 

Still, at least he thought they might be prepared. Falmar's order to carry wood with them was a wise decision, though he hoped that they might not need the wood. And most of the company seemed to have packed wisely, bringing adequate protection from the cold. Though that one little dwarf did seem to have problems with that sort of thing...

 

But who had killed that animal? They hadn't seen sight nor sound of any creature other than those they brought along, and a few wild animals. It had to be one in the party...

 

Túrin's eyes fell upon the ranger, Garnorn. A Dúnedain like himself, he ought to have been above suspicion, but he seemed quieter, more withdrawn than the rest of the company. And that shouldn't have been the case this far into the journey.

 

He felt a tug on his cloak, and looked down and to the right. One of the hobbits, Filk, was walking alongside him, jogging to keep up with him. In his hand, he was offering a piece of candy. Túrin smiled, and took it from him, thanking him for his generosity.

"Filk, should you need anything of me, just ask."

 

(OOC: vote for Panther/Garnorn, a semi random pick to lash a couple of bandwagons more closely together..)

[Ayshela]

Linador continued on, navigating both thought and trail apparently unseeingly. The news of the slain pack mule had been shocking and disturbing enough, both for needless slaughter and simple logistics. "At least it was a quick and painless death. Poor beast," he muttered. "Now that leaves us all shouldering part of her burden, and just when we need to be moving swiftly and surely." He walked on in silent thought, hearing fragments of conversation and murmured thoughts around him. Suddenly he stopped and looked further up the pass. "The weather is worsening, and quickly. Mule or no mule, we may not be able to make it through," he said. Yet thoughts ran on - "Whoever killed the poor mule must be in league with those who would stop us. What of Yeager? He'd proven he could move without being either seen or heard. It could be him. It might be him. Yet could not elf or ranger do the same? I don't know. I don't know. But I'll have to find out."

 

 

OOC: haven't a clue, but the dice say Venefyxatu/Neriam

[Venefyxatu]

Neriam tried not to swear at carrying firewood on his back ... after all, if they were going up in the cold, it made sense to carry something to burn. But he did hate having his hands full or his movement restricted. He started thinking, to get his mind off the wood on his back. He'd taken some extra because, well, his back was empty anyway.

 

It couldn't have been an outsider ... nobody would sneak up to a group this big and risk getting caught just to slit a pack horse's throat. That ruled out the entire world population minus a few ... good, he was making progress.

 

It couldn't have been a dwarf, either ... a dwarf trying to be sneaky would make enough noise to wake the dead.

The hobbits were too happy-go-lucky ... they could be sneaky, but they didn't have murder in them.

The rangers ... they were special, but didn't they have something with animals, and surviving in the wild? They'd know better than to kill a horse they'd still need.

It couldn't have been Rootmaker either ... if the tree had killed the horse, it wouldn't have been found with a cut. They would've had purée.

That left the elves and the humans ... of those, the Rohirrim was easy to discard : he'd rather slit his own wrists than hurt a horse. Mattias? He was young, yes, but he'd seemed so happy to leave Rivendell and start travelling. Baelestima was out of the question ... he, like Seothen, would probably rather slit his own wrists than hurt an animal.

Linador ... the horsemaster would know how to kill a horse, but he'd probably cared for the animal far too long to just kill it like that.

 

That only left Jagkatha, the elf with the fiery temper ... though she was also a ranger.

 

Shaking his head, Neriam let go of the thoughts and declined Filk's offer with a slight smile.

 

"Thanks, but putting the wood down and picking it up again would hold us up far too long ... "

 

Then, with a grin and a wink, he added, "leaves more for you"

 

 

OOC : Vote for Mynx/Jagkatha ... the dice have decreed it so.

[Savage Dragon]

Raus was begining to hear rumors that Garnorn might be behind the attacks, but he didnt take it too seriously seeing as he'd heard the same rumors about himself. Still it might be smart to side with those against Garnorn, might take some of the heat off of himself...

 

"no," he said to himself, "Claire would be ashamed of me even thinking that. Go ahead and let some of them think i did it. I know i didnt and thats enough for me."

[Ozymandias]

Jin caught conversation in low tones from those around him. Low, except for Stoomp and Filk, of course. It had been so since the strange slaying of their pack mule. The event nagged at his mind as well, of course, but he had tried hard not to think about it; he tried not to think about what would likely already be following them in the dark.

 

He worked his mind stubbornly now to distract himself as those thoughts began to creep back in. He'd head the party's names going from ear to ear more often, it seemed, in those private conversations. Jin had no way of knowing, of course, for he had kept a polite distance when it was clear folk wanted to talk amongst themselves only - so he caught only murmurs and half-heard words.

 

Still, he wondered. Anything at all was good for the fellowship's erstwhile gemcutter to wonder about at this hour. Night had begun to fall again.

 

Even in the cold, Jin began to sweat.

 

He detached a second lantern from his belt.

[Finnius]

The hobbit took a very small taste of Jin's wine, grimacing but instantly feeling warmed down to the tips of his toes, which he rather hadn't been able to feel for a while. He bobbed a thanks to the dwarf and offered to help haul some of Jin's load. After a few minutes, they both agreed that it would be best to let the dwarf handle it himself.

 

Filk walked alongside the dwarf for a few moments, idly chattering in his hobbitish way, and then drifted back along the line. Turin took a piece of candy and offered help, and the hobbit grinned nervously and nodded with a happy smile. The dwarves weren't so bad, and the elves were generally all right, if a bit... snooty at times, but the big people gave Filk a small touch of the cobwebs. For that matter, the walking tree, which Filk had mistaken for a nonwalking tree, wasn't exactly the most ordinary thing about this party.

 

Drifting further back along the line, Filk came on Yeager, one of his fellow hobbits and apparently some sort of scout. Filk hadn't known the Shire even had those, though he'd learned a lot during his time away from home. Could another hobbit have done it? No... hobbits could be uppity and cranky and occasionally even snarky, but murderous?

 

It had to have been one of the big people. Filk looked up at his companions, bravely travelling knee, waist, or in some cases, shoulder-deep in the snow, hauling the things they would need on what was already turning out to be a longer and more arduous journey than the hobbit had thought when he'd agreed to it.

 

Who knew the world was so... big?

 

He shook his head, clearing the suspicious thoughts out in a heady rush of chill air and dwarven wine. No, it couldn't have been any of them. He'd rather believe that they were being trailed by an invisible, silent, mule-hating orc than any of the Fellowship turning on their own.

 

But if it was one of them... that ranger did seem a bit distant, almost like he wasn't a part of the Fellowship at all...

 

Hesitant Vote for Panther/Garnorn.

[Tanuchan]

They went on. But before long the snow was falling fast, filling all the air. While they were halted, the wind died down, and the snow slackened until it almost ceased. They tramped on again. But they had not gone more than a furlong when the storm returned with fresh fury. The wind whistled and the snow became a blinding blizzard.J.R.R. Tolkien, "The Fellowship of the Ring"

 

 

The snowstorm blew with fury, the cold wind finding its way through layers of clothing until everybody felt almost frozen to the bones. The smaller folk found it more and more difficult to find their footing, and more than one hobbit or dwarf slipped and was saved by their companions. Loose stones started to fall from the mountainside, and even Seothen and Turin shuddered at the laughing voices that seemed to come with the wind. Finally, Garnorn shook his head.

 

"We cannot go on anymore. Look at them." He pointed at Filk and Irvin, who had both stopped more than a few steps behind and were trying to catch their breathing. "Falmar, there are dark things going on. There shouldn't be a storm this heavy this far south unless we were far higher on the mountain."

 

Falmar nodded. "Caradhras was called Cruel, and had an ill name. Even Dwarves know of it. But we have no choice but to stay here or go back. There is no shelter from beyond that curve ahead, for then we'll be treading a narrow path with the cliff to one side and the mountain wall on the other."

 

"So, here we stay." Jagkatha looked at Megwyn, who nodded her agreement and added, "There is no going back while the storm holds. And we have passed no other place that offered more shelter on our way up than this cliff-wall we are under now."

 

"Shelter?" Yeager mumbled, looking around. "If this is shelter..."

 

A soft cry of warning had Falmar rushing down to the end of the line, and he found Linador stooping over Jin and Stoomp. The latter was shivering, babbling something about a hot bed, while Jin tried to soothe him even being almost blue with cold himself. Frerin was trying to raise Stoomp, who had laid down and refused to get up no matter what the other two dwarves said.

 

"We need fire, Falmar. There's no use for secrecy if that kills us."

 

 

Raus and Baelestinah were quick to gather the wood everybody was carrying. Rootmaker looked down at them, rumbling something entish about fire, and his branches shuddered stronger than they had against the wind and snow when he saw the fire. Baelestinah's ferret-brother hid between the packs on his horse, and the elf could sense wolf-brother's wariness and unhappiness.

 

All around them the snow and wind hissed, but the wood burned merrily and warmed the hearts of all around the small fires that had been lit. Falmar passed round a leather flask - miruvor, the cordial of Rivendell. Just a mouthful for each of them, but it warmed blood and body, and gave them new strength of heart.

 

The night went on, slowly.

 

 

 

Then suddenly, as sleep was beginning to creep over [him]again, he was aware that the wind had indeed fallen, and the flakes were becoming larger and fewer. Very slowly a dim light began to grow. At last the snow stopped altogether.

 

As the light grew stronger it showed a silent shrouded world. Below their refuge were white humps and domes and shapeless deeps beneath which the path that they had trodden was altogether lost; but the heights above were hidden in great clouds still heavy with the threat of snow. Only a few paces from the ashes of their fire the snow lay many feet deep, higher than the heads of the hobbits; in places it had been scooped and piled by the wind into great drifts against the cliff. J.R.R. Tolkien, "The Fellowship of the Ring

 

 

 

Baelestinah shook his head. From Hawk-Brother, he had caught what lay ahead of them - it was clear that there was no way for the Company to reach the Pass now. He reported that to Falmar and those who were gathered at their improvised camp, while waiting for Garnorn, Seothen, Turin, and Raus to come back - the men, being sturdier and heavier in built than the elves, had offered to go and plow their way below, opening a path for the smaller folk. Mattias had gone with them, and now he came back with a smile. As an elf, his light feet ran swiftly over the snow, and he nodded at Falmar.

 

"There is the greatest wind-drift of all just beyond the turn, seemingly a wall barring the way. But it's not as wide as it seems, and the men are digging their way through it. On the other side, the snow grows less and, further down, it's no more than a white coverlet to cool a hobbit's toes."

 

His words brought a cheer from the hobbits, tired and cold as they were, and after a while the whole Company was picking their way down carefully, following the path that the men had dug out. Hobbits and dwarves were helped out, for the snow was as deep as a man's waist, and some were carried on the shoulders of Seothen and Turin.

 

When they had passed through the snow-wall that Mattias had referred to, and gathered once again, there was a deep rumble coming from high and behind. Falmar cursed.

 

"Go, fast - no shouts, just run as fast as you can!"

 

He pulled some and pushed at others, and no sooner than they had passed another curve on their path, the snow avalanche hit past them. Horses and pack mules neighed, brayed, and danced, and at least one more mule was lost to them.

 

Then Falmar looked around, and whispered in fear.

 

"Raus... where is he?"

 

His whisper was lost amid another cry, from both Filk and Frerin. "The birds again!"

 

The sky to the North and West showed patches of dark, moving slowly towards them. There was no need of more warning to put the Company on the move again, as hastily and silently as they could.

 

"There is no choice now but the one I dreaded... " Falmar's comment and his darkened face made Linador look at him.

 

"What do you mean, Falmar?"

 

"The only way past the Misty Mountains besides the Gap of Rohan. The only one fast enough for us, and unexpected enough that we'll have a chance."

 

Linador paled, for he suspected what way that was. But respecting the wisdom of the Elf Lord, he nodded once and also fell silent.

 

Thoughts strayed to the missing companion, but it wasn't until they stopped for resting that they had the time to fully consider what had happened.

 

 

 

It was evening, and the grey light was again waning fast, when they halted for the night. They were very weary. The mountains were veiled in deepening dusk, and the wind was cold.

 

They heard the wind hissing among the rocks and trees, and there was a howling and wailing round them in the empty spaces of the night.

 

'How the wind howls!" he cried. 'It is howling with wolf-voices. The Wargs have come west of the Mountains!'

 

'It is as I said. The hunt is up! Even if we live to see the dawn, who now will wish to journey south by night with the wild wolves on his trail? There was a door south-west of Caradhras, some fifteen miles as the crow flies, and maybe twenty as the wolf runs.'

 

For their defense in the night the Company climbed to the top of the small hill under which they had been sheltering. It was crowned with a knot of old and twisted trees, about which lay a broken circle of boulder-stones. In the midst of this they lit a fire, for there was no hope that darkness and silence would keep their trail from discovery by the hunting packs.

 

Round the fire they sat, and those that were not on guard dozed uneasily. The howling of the wolves was now all round them, sometimes nearer and sometimes further off. In the dead of night many shining eyes were seen peering over the brow of the hill. Some advanced almost to the ring of stones. At a gap in the circle a great dark wolf-shape could be seen halted, gazing at them. A shuddering howl broke from him, as if he were a captain summoning his pack to the assault."J.R.R. Tolkien, "The Fellowship of the Ring"

 

~~~~~

OOC: Raus Thanatos/Savage Dragon is gone, stranded from his companions by the avalanche Caradhas the Cruel sent on them. It's now Night Phase. Specials, please send me your choices within the next 24 hours (roughly 10pm, EST).

 

The Company is now facing a pack of Wargs, as described in the paragraph quoted from Chapter 4 of "The Fellowship of the Ring - Book II", A Journey in the Dark. Have fun RPing the encounter/fight!

 

Further comments at the OOC thread.

 

 

Edit: typos

Edited May 11, 2006 by Tanuchan

[Mynx]

Jagkatha swore in an extremely unladlylike fashion as the Wargs attacked, bringing up her bow staff to block the teeth of one that lunged for her neck. Circling the staff, Jagk twisted the beast's neck, reaching behind her for a short sword which she used to sever the Warg's head from its neck.

Discarding her bow staff out of the way, the elf grabbed her second sword and leapt into the fight, dodging those of her company who fought around her as she focused only on killing the intruding beasts.

[Akallabeth]

Túrin leapt in front of Filk and drew his sword, immediately slashing through the hairy neck of a demonic wolf that had bounded at him. The writhing body fell to the ground, and he turned just in time to crush the skull of another with the pommel of his sword.

 

"That ought to repay you for the candy," he said Filk, and turned as another one of the wargs came at him.

[Gryphon]

Mattias stood calmly on a slight rise aiming and loosing arrows as quickly as he could. Often a warg fell for each arrow loosed.

 

A snarl from behind him was all the warning he had that his secure position had suddenly become dangerous and briefly Mattias cursed himself for not finding someone else to stand back to back with to protect himself better.

 

As the warg leapt Mattias loosed one final arrow taking the giant wolf high in the chest and it coughed in pain then as it landed on him he dropped his bow and drew a dagger, somehow miraculously managing to avoid being torn apart by the sharp claws of the beast. Grabbing a handful of fur Mattias managed to slash his dagger firmly across the throat of the warg and it rolled, dying, coughing on its own blood.

 

Springing free to avoid being crushed Mattias caught up his bow and nocked another arrow, aiming and letting it go at a warg that was about to leap on Stoomp from behind while the battle continued around them...

[Ayshela]

Linador heard the soft approach, stealthy and curiously unwolflike despite the clear shapes and glinting eyes which soon surrounded them. Biting back futile curses, he took his place in as clear a space as was reachable then, arrows flying nearly as quickly as he could nock and loose them. He spun in horror at Mattias' muffled curse, but there was no time to reach him before the already springing warg did. Mattias' skill and reflexes kept him as safe as any of them were, and Linador followed him as he sprang free and caught up his bow again. "We'll need to gather what arrows we may in the morning. But for now, best we guard each other's backs," Linador said as he nocked another arrow and sent it into the warg which had approached, and completely obscured, Jin.

[Gyrfalcon]

Frerin stood with his back against one mighty oak, hammering the flat of axe against the steel boss at the center of his shield, the loud, steady clang drawing attention his way. His companions shook their heads in the brief instants they had to glance his way, but they were not who or more importantly, what he was trying to attract. Indeed, his signal quickly drew the attention that he was hoping for.

 

A Warg loped out of the shadows at the base of the hill, and snarling horribly, threw itself at Frerin, great teeth snapping.

 

Frerin chuckled and bashed the Warg in the side of the head with his shield, sending it skidding to the ground, stunned. Another pair of the beasts thundered towards Frerin, but he had time enough to drop the heavy blade of his axe on the Warg's head, sending it to eternal slumber.

 

"Come on puppies, surely you can do better then that?" he taunted. As if to prove him right, both Wargs charged and leapt at him. A sudden arrow from the side drove into one Warg's eye, and it's graceful, predatory flight became a loose-limbed jumbled roll past Frerin. Deprived of support, the other Warg met Frerin's axe face-first and joined its companions in death.

 

Grunting, Frerin pulled his axe free of its skull and shook it, Warg blood spattering the frost-covered leaves at his feet. "I faced better at the Battle of Five Armies!" he roared into the darkness, axeblade black-red in the flickering light of the bonfire.

 

Another Warg charged up the hill at him, enraged by his taunts. With a wide grin, Frerin met it, dwarvern-forged steel against fang.

[GLJordan]

Baelesimah had grabbed some hand axes form his pack horse during the wait. Now He, Wolf Brother and Horse Brother did the best they could to protect the remaining animals. Ferret Brother stayed on Baelestimah's pack horse. Hawk Brother took flight doing it's best to give them improved veiw of the battle and distract the enemies. Baelestimah used bow when able then threw axes then blades for close combat. Hawk Brother retrieved the axes when he could so they were avaible when he gained room again to use them Edited May 12, 2006 by Giles Jordan

[Lord Panther]

After loosing a few of his own arrows, making corpses of what used to be wolves, Garnorn drew his sword and swung his way into the fray. Careful not to strike one of his companions, or to have a warg fall on them, he made short work of any wolves that came his way, either slicing the neck, or piercing the heart. These were creatures that were definatley detrimental to their journey, so he had no problems with dispatching them.

 

The onslaught seemed never ending, hopefully all the fighters would hold up, so that they would survive the night to continue their journey.

 

{edited for spelling}

Edited May 11, 2006 by Lord Panther

[Sweetcherrie]

Stoomp had been trying to clean his hands on his trousers, when the wargs attacked. He looked up and exclaimed one word.

 

“Puppies!”

 

With his chubby arms open wide, and a fat grin on his childish face, he walked over to one of the biggest wargs around, giggling the word ‘puppy’ over and over.

[Akallabeth]

Turin looked over just in time to see the foolish, round little dwarf named Stoomp toddling towards a particularly large warg who hadn't noticed him yet.

 

Then Stoomp yelled, "Puppies!"

 

Muttering under his breath, and seeing that others were nearby to protect Filk, he sprinted as fast as he could towards the warg that had finally noticed Stoomp and was licking his lips in anticipation.

 

He leapt, and came down on the beast's head with the flat of his sword, giving it a blow that it would never wake from.

 

He said to Stoomp, "These puppies'll bite your head off if you don't take theirs off first. Just keep back, and we'll keep them from you."

[Patrick]

At Falmar's mention of the Gap of Rohan, Seothen's face lightened up, but it almost immediately turned to a look of surprise when the elf finished his sentence.

 

"Why do you not wish to go towards the Gap of Rohan, Falmar? I'm sure that my people would welcome you with open hands in their lands."

 

"There were dark tidings coming from Orthanc, Seothen. We do not doubt the welcome of the Horse Lords, but Saruman the White is not friendly to us anymore. Gandalf has been kept by him, and it is clear that wisdom has left Saruman. I would rather not risk taking the One Ring near Orthanc."

 

"When I left the Riddermark, the Gap of Rohan was still open and the malice of Saruman unheard of. I find it hard to believe these rumours that Saruman, who had long protected us and aided us would have turned against us, but I bow to the wisdom of the elves."

 

Sometime later…

 

Seothen had been just behind Turin when the Dunedan saved Stoomp from a warg, ready to intervene himself if the need arose. But it didn't and as the focus of battle shifted, so did Seothen shift his attention. Half a dozen wargs were trying to circle round the group and attack the animals. With a shout, Seothen leapt at the foremost of the beasts and with a wide sweep of his sword decapitated the vile creature, sending its head rolling down the slight incline. Another of the wargs jumped at Seothen who turned his back to it. The fangs of the creature clanged against metal as he crashed into the Rohirrim's shield, still fixed to his back. Turning back, a thrust was all it took to end the warg's existence.

 

Despite killing two of the creatures things didn't look too good for Seothen. Five of the beasts were now moving at him, some of them circling round him, trying to gain every possible advantage…

[Finnius]

Filk was spared a grisly demise by Warg-bite by Turin's timely intervention, and regretted having thought ill of the big folk. After all, hadn't Garnorn had the absolutely wonderful idea to stop climbing that frozen slope? And now here was another of the Men saving his life from a-

 

Filk was snapped from his thoughts by a low growling at his side, and dove behind a tree just as the Warg snapped its jaws shut around the air where the hobbit used to be. It pressed forwards menacingly, lunging into the tree and tearing off great lumps of bark.

 

Filk circled carefully, keeping the tree between him and the Warg's teeth, and was about to make a break for it when a second wolf crashed towards him. The hobbit scampered up the tree quite faster than he'd imagined he could, and stuck his tongue out at the two Wargs at the base of the tree, scrambling to try and climb with their stubby claws.

 

Then Filk realised he was stuck, and began screaming for help.