As the night fell the villagers gathered around a great fire under the village oak. Húrin and Morwen sat side by side beside the great old tree. Next to them on one side sat Algund and on the other Gethron, both soldiers looking grave but alert, their eyes intensely on the two people on the opposite side of the fire. Blind Ragnir seemed to look at nowhere like he did, and Aerin looked anguished.
Three years old Lalaith didn’t stand the silence and grimness of the situation she didn’t quite understand. She was not content to sit on her mother’s or father’s lap but wanted to go on running around, or sitting in either Ragnir’s or Aerin’s lap like she had used to. Her parents allowed her to climb in the tree for a while but even that fun didn’t last long. Finally, after a few hours of shared inconvenience for everyone – as there was nothing else to do or say for anyone around the fire but to follow her frustration and childish energy only slowly wearing out – she fell asleep in Morwen’s lap.
There was an awkward silence.
Suddenly Algund turned his head towards the gate. “Did you hear that?”, he whispered as the others tried to see into the darkness. “There is movement there”, Gethron said softly reaching silently for his bow.
“Orcs. This is no coincidence…” Húrin muttered between his teeth. He turned to Morwen. “Take Lalaith out from here”, he hissed, “But not to the Guesthouse or anyway far… Sador’s hut… that’s just around the corner, it has a sturdy door which can be bolted from inside”
Morwen looked startled, but still managed to look at her husband stoutly in the eyes, holding sleeping little Lalaith tighter to her bosom. She nodded.
“Go now, But go quietly” he leaned lightly towards her and kissed her shortly on the forehead. Morwen started backing away slowly and quietly.
“Whatever happens, you two, don’t leave my sight”, he said then to Ragnir and Aerin, quietly but clearly. “Fight for your life, but don’t try anything. Algund, Gethron or I myself will put killing either of you in front of any orc-bussiness, if one of you tries to sneak away.” With that he glanced at the two warriors. They nodded back to their lord.
Húrin threw his knife to Aerin. “I know you don’t carry a weapon, but it’s your right to fight for your life.”
Then the orcs were upon them.
~*~
An orc raiding-party, deserters from war, a few self-nominated brigands… whatever they were, it was clear to Húrin, Morgoth had his fingers in this. Of all the nights they broke into their village this night.
It was hard to say how many they were, but Húrin didn’t care of their numbers. He was ready to kill a hundred if it needed be so.
“Four on the left!” Gethron yelled while releasing his first arrow.
“At least six straight ahead!” called Algund drawing his blade.
“Fall back”, Húrin said sternly to Ragnir and Aerin. “You don’t want to receive the first blow”. Before rushing forwards with his sword he glanced the two one more time. “You watch each other as tightly as you watch these vile creatures! Defend, but don’t try to run away! I’ll be watching you. Even save you if I can.”
Gethron managed a second arrow before he had to draw his axe.
Algund was clearly shorthanded against several orcs – and Húrin flew to aid him.
Suddenly, as the battle had just begun, the orcs seemed to vanish in thin air. A black whirlwind blew through them and also Ragnir and Aerin were both gone.
Just as Húrin yelled his warriors to hurry back, there was a real enough orc-club hitting him in the back. He heard Algund roaring “My lord!” and then everything went black.
~*~
Morwen rushed towards Sador’s hut when she heard the fight start. Her blood ran cold but she forced herself to continue running even if she felt she was tripping in her dress with every step she made. Tears in her eyes she tried to reach the hut as fast as possible. Open the door. Bolt it behind you. Get into cover inside. Defend your sunshine. Defend the light of men. Fight like a shewolf.
Lalaith had woken up. She was wriggling in her arms trying to get free from her grip. “No Lalaith, not now! We need to make it to the hut!”
All of a sudden, just a few yards away from the hut, something or someone grasped her legs and she fell face on to the ground, partly stumbling to her own feet.
“Lalaith!” she cried as she fell down and felt her grip loosen form her child.
The last thing she was conscious of, before she was hit in the back with a knife, was Lalaith screaming, sounding more confused than afraid.
~*~
There weren’t that many orcs after all. Maybe a half a dozen. When the phantoms of Morgoth disappeared, Algund and Gethron had only two real ones to deal with. Rushing back they ran into blind Ragnir standing alone with his small blade in the darkness shaking all over. Húrin was down but seemed alive. Gethron stayed with their lord with Ragnir while Algund rushed towards Sador’s hut.
There he found Morwen lying on the ground face down and bleeding heavily from a wound on her back.
“Where is the Laughter?”, he yelled so loud Morwen came to her senses.
“Lalaith!” she cried out. “Someone took her…”, she added murmured, trying to force herself up. With the help of the old soldier, Morwen managed to get up to her feet and they limped slowly towards the Great Hall. Gethron and Ragnir had dragged Húrin there as well.
The door of the Great Hall opened slowly. Aerin stepped to the doorway holding Lalaith in her arms.
“You won this fight. But Morgoth took your hope of a future with his failure.”
With that she closed the door – it was all over.
Left healthy and alive in the end
Brinniel – Húrin
Thinlómien – Morwen
A Little Green - Algund
Eönwë - Gethron
Rune Son of Bjarne – Blind Ragnir
The Quarantined
Galadriel55 – Andróg, the Cobbler (voted into QT on Day1)
Rikae – Haldir, formerly healthy person (infected by the shady Infectors on Night2)
Huinesoron – Hareth, an Infector (voted into QT on Day2)
Kitanna – Huor, the Ranger (infected in the woods by the Infectors on Night3)
Sally – Túrin, the Hunter (voted into QT on Day3)
Macalaure – Grithnir, healthy person (dragged into the QT by the Hunter on Day3)
Legate of Amon Lanc – Asgon, healthy person (infected sneakily on Night4)
Lhunardawen – Sador, an Infector (voted into QT on Day4)
Lalaith – Rían, healthy person (overrun and infected by the Infectors on Night5)
Inziladun – Halmir, healthy person (voted into QT on Day5)
Pitchwife – Turin’s Nurse, healthy person (infected by the Infectors on Night6)
THE Ka – Indor, an Infector (voted into QT on Day6)
Shastanis Althreduin – Brandir, healthy little child (outrageously infected on Night7)
Kath – Forweg, an Infector (unanimously quarantined on Day7)
Loslote – Lalaith, a totally innocent and healthy villager (kidnapped by the last Infector on Night8)
Boromir88 – Aerin, an Infector (self-surrendered in the end of Night8)
~*~
THE GAME IS OVER
VILLAGE WIN!
THE INFECTORS CLAIM THE CONSOLATION PRIZE.
What a game this was!
And it earned a decent finish instead of withering away slowly. Thanks to
Boro for wishing to make it thus.
I suggest we should have the discussion in the “Discussion Thread”, but whatever and where-ever. Let’s try to keep it in one Thread anyway. That means Tol-in-Gaurhoth CXIV – The Evil Breath of Morgoth in Dor-lómin, discussion thread
PS. Well, it was not exactly “all over”. The people in the quarantine were just ill – or some even healthy. One can recover from illness and one can get infected if hanging with people who are already ill, and surely, some people die from illness while others don’t.
I did the “behind the scenes” epidemiological survey to find out what happened to everyone.
Coming in a moment...