[Brinniel]

The day had come. The Barrow-Wight paced back and forth in front of his tent as he waited anxiously for the others to arrive. And they did. One by one, the BDers showed up hauling large backpacks. They greeted the Barrow-Wight and each other, then quickly went to business with setting up their tents. By nightfall, nineteen BDers had come. The turnout was even better than he expected. Dinner was served and BDers sat around the fire pit in different groups chatting happily with one another.

“ZOMG, the B-W is sooo HOT!!!” gushed Nerwen rather loudly.
The Sixth Wizard raised his eyebrows. “Can’t you even speak aloud with proper grammar? Who could possibly understand you?”
“I can!” Shasta jumped in. “What she’s trying to say is, ‘Oh my, the Barrow-Wight is incredibly attractive.’”
“Thx Shasta!!!!”

Meanwhile Formendacil was attempting to explain to Eomer of the Rohirrim how the Lord of the Rings films abandon the styles of Tolkien.
“Hey,” Eomer defended. “If anything, it’s Tolkien’s fault that he didn’t write about how Legolas skateboarded down the stairs on a shield at Helm’s Deep. That was a brilliant scene.”
“No it wasn’t,” commented The Elf-Warrior. “That was just plain silly. And totally impossible, by the way.”

“Did you know that Tolkien wrote a book about Elanor Gamgee and how she became a shieldmaiden of the Shire and married an elf?” Rikae shared. “It just never got published.”
“Really?” asked Sally excitedly. “Have you read it…and can I get a copy?”
Kitanna rolled her eyes. “That’s not true. And I would know because I’ve read absolutely everything Tolkien has ever written.”
“Well, not only have I read everything he has ever written, but I’ve met J.R.R. Tolkien himself,” commented Boromir88.

Eönwë was busy describing his latest dream to Mithalwen.
“And then…he ate me. Dreams are supposed to mean something right? I swear to you, those balrogs are no myth. They’re out to get me…and my family.”
Mithalwen jotted notes onto a pad of paper. “Yes, and why do you suppose that is?”

“Hey, I know this great Gandalf the Grey Uncloaked joke,” said McCaber. “It goes-“
“Oh please don’t,” moaned Kath. “Those jokes are getting so old…”

Durelin sat next to THE Ka dressed in a ranger outfit and carrying a rubber sword.
“You know, this gathering wasn’t supposed to be in costume,” informed THE Ka.
“I’m RPGing,” Durelin replied.
“Well, you look stupid.”
“Hey, you wanna start something? I’ve got a sword!” Durelin threw Ka a threatening look.
“Yeah...well..." Ka stammered. "Whoa- don’t look now, but I think I see an orc in the trees behind you!”

Nilpaurion Felagund sat on a log all by himself singing random songs. “Praise Eru for this blessed food,” he cried out with every bite he took.
Aganzir gave him a funny look as she wrote some final thoughts in her notebook before getting up.

“Here,” Aganzir handed her notebook to the Barrow-Wight. “Will you take these into consideration?”
The Barrow-Wight skimmed through her notes. “Aganzir, reputation only exists when you’re actually on the forum. Anyways, you only just met all these people…how can you have so many negative thoughts about them?”
Aganzir snatched back the notebook and returned to her seat, huffing and muttering.

“Barrow-Wight, I’ve heard you are in need of new moderators?” asked Nogrod. “You have received my PMs, haven’t you?”
“Yes, all twenty-three of them.”
“Well you will take it into consideration, won’t you? I just know I’d make a great mod.”
“Nogrod, now’s not exactly the time for this. I have a speech to make…so why don’t you sit down…”

Once everyone was finished eating, the Barrow-Wight cleared his throat and the chatting slowly died out.
“I am pleased that all of you could make it here today for the first annual Barrow-Downers gathering. What a great opportunity it is to finally meet each other in person. But this gathering was not planned just because…but for unfortunate circumstances. As you all know, lately there have been many technical difficulties occurring on the Downs. Unavailable servers, anonymous negative reputations, hijacked accounts…and most recently the moderators’ accounts have been blocked. I have been working on these problems for weeks, but have gotten nowhere. What I do know is that there are three Downers who are responsible for this mess…all of whom I suspect are among us right now. Of course, things would be much easier if they were to come and confess here and now…but I highly doubt such an event. So while you all may have thought this was simply a fun gathering, it is much more than that. It is up to us to figure out which of us are the hackers. We aren’t completely helpless against whatever evil plans these hackers may have. For one, you have me the creator. And secondly, I have assigned three members I trust most to become the newest moderators. I will not reveal their identities for the sake of hiding them from the hackers, but do know you have extra help. Now, it is getting late and I’m sure you are all tired from your long journey here. Therefore we will begin our discussions in the morning. So sleep well…and keep your eyes and ears open!”

Night 1 begins.

The Hackers/Wolves may discuss. The Seer may dream. Everyone else should remain silent.

Be sure to turn yourselves invisible if you haven’t already!