Hunt for the Palantíri RPG

[Regin Hardhammer]

Marreth glared over at Jynne. There was something in the man's tone that annoyed him. He wasn't sure what it was, but it was definitely there.

"How is Jarlyn?" Marreth repeated. "You should know as well as I.... My friend has been in bed since our return to the ship. That means that I will have to ask you to stand up in his place. Take a small contingent of men with you, and have them fall in behind my group. I do not know how many armed men Luindal has sent as an escort. But let's be safe. I am determined have Hilde back and safe on our ship. Form ranks now and hurry to the Hall of the Elders where she is likely to be held."

What Marreth did not tell Jynne or any of the other men was that he did not want to have the Lossoth woman in a postion where the Elders could squeeze her for information about the Corsairs and their plans. Not that he had told her too much, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

With that, Marreth strapped his sword to his side and plunged out the door, with the others following behind him.

[Niluial]

Andtuariel watched Hilde suspiciously as she was assisted into one of the boats. Once Andtuariel and the others were securely in the boat she took a breath in and looked at her surroundings. It was odd outside, one couldn’t explain it, the clouds looked so huge with a slight grey tint to them, they looked daunting. The atmosphere was strange too; an uneasy feeling is what Andtuariel felt, a sickening feeling, a knot deep inside her. She decided to think on another topic; she had no idea why she was to lead everyone, but she figured Luindal had seen her strong, determined and very bossy characteristics. Elwë always used to say I make a good leader. She smiled at Elwë who sat beside her. Andtuariel had chosen Elwë and another elf to attend her in the boat with Hilde, among with other Lossoth.

Once they were on the shore she walked ahead with Jannel, a Lossoth, who guided her and the group to the Elders Hall. Andtuariel felt jittery, for no reason at all. Elwë frowned at her as they walked, “something wrong?” he inquired. Andtuariel shook her head, she couldn’t explain.

Andtuariel smiled slightly as they walked through the village. It was beautiful and unique, to her, she had never really looked closely or admired a Lossoth Villiage; the little ice huts, everything so simple yet amazing. Everything was silent; the weather was becoming worse and the snow was thick and heavy. She smiled at the Jannel the Lossoth who was guiding her. She raised her hand high in the air, ordering all to stop. Andtuariel turned towards the Jannel.

“It seems like we will walk miles from here, the weather is getting worse. Are there any short cuts?” Andtuariel asked frowning, her lips ice blocks.

“Yes,” Jannel replied, “there are quiet a few but I think I know the right one to take, it’s the safest. We better be as fast as we can before we all freeze to death.”

Andtuariel chuckled, “at least we have our warm fur coats.”

She smiled at the group and shouted for them to follow her and Jannel. She had to shout as loud as she could, the wind was strong and it carried her voice. Like the snow had done so many times, it cut deep into their skin as the wind carried it. The walk was becoming painful and exhausting but Andtuariel was sure they were to arrive at the Elders Hall soon enough, with that thought she was content.

[Arry]

Carandû watched as Hilde, her hands bound behind her, was assisted into one of the boats tied up at the ship’s side. Andtuariel and two other Elves as well as several of the Lossoth accompanied her in the boat as they rowed toward the shore. Annû and he accompanied Alahseey in the second boat with two of the Lossoth men to man the oars. In the last boat was Rôg with his Lossoth companion, Bear. Luindal had placed another two Elves in with them. And behind all of them were three very small skiffs holding several Lossoth each.

The trip from ship to shore was uneventful. Even so, the Elves all had their bows at the ready. And Carandû kept his eye on Hilde, though she was bound. Any sign of trouble and he planned to dispatch her quickly with an arrow.

Once on shore, Andtuariel took the lead, one of the Lossoth from the meeting showing her the way to the Elders Hall. Following her were a group of Lossoth, ringing the prisoner. Elves came close after, wary, their weapons drawn. And at the end came Rôg and Alahseey flanked by Carandû and his brother with a few armed Lossoth bringing up the rear. A short winding path across a stretch of frozen tundra brought them in sight of a small snowy rise with a great rounded top, ice house on its low plateau. About it, at the foot of the rise were clustered a number of small hewn ice huts, which served as the central part of the Lossoth village. A short narrow path led up the side of the rise.

Carandû saw Andtuariel hold up her hand to call a halt as the group reached the far outskirts of the village. It was beginning to snow; the view ahead was getting hazy. Most of the villagers appeared to have already taken shelter in their homes as the little passageways between them were empty of traffic. He could just see Andtuariel and her Lossoth guide discussing, most probably, he thought, the quickest route to the Elder’s Hall. Satisfied that they could find their way through the increasing obscuring snow, Andtuariel called back along the line for all to follow along closely. Visibility was becoming poor, even for the Elves.

Silently, Andtuariel led the way toward the center of the settlement through the increasing flurries. The rest followed along in her tracks . . .

[Child of the 7th Age]

All the while the group was trudging forward, Hilde fidgeted with her wrists and fingers, desperately trying to loosen the cords. Her efforts were unsuccessful. Nor could she gain the sympathy of the Lossoth guards who surrounded her despite repeated efforts to speak with them and point out the injustice of dragging an old woman off to prison.

By now, the snow was falling in thick sheets: it was difficult to see clearly to the side or to glimpse anything more than a few feet ahead on the trail. Hilde's lone remaining hope was that Marreth would keep his promise and send a band of partisans to rescue her.

For some time, the escort of Elves and Lossoth plodded onward, although their progress was slowed by a mounting accumulation of snow. In spots, the path had become quite slick. Suddenly, a large field loomed directly ahead, a wide expanse of mown grass that normally served as the market for the town, but which was now empty and blanketed with several inches of snow. Despite the swirling flakes, Hilde could make out the outline of a sturdy wooden structure on the far side of the plaza where the jail and the Hall of the Elders sat. It was the only permanent building in the settlement and one which was well fortified. Once inside, Hilde thought it unlikely that she could break loose, even with the help of the Corsairs. While there were no onlookers or traders out in the middle of a storm, a few canopies and tables still lay haphazardly scattered about the square, seemingly deserted and stripped of their wares.

Hilde peered towards the largest of these vacated trading stations, narrowing her eyes and straining to see if anyone was there. Although she could glimpse little in the darkness of the storm, she was relieved to hear a familiar signal coming from the booth on the far end of the plaza: the hoot of a snowy owl sounded once, then two more times in quick succession. She smiled slightly, then dug the heel of her left boot deep into the snow, and purposely wrenched her leg sideways as she went sprawling down on the slippery path. Her guards bent over to help her up....

[Regin Hardhammer]

Marreth watched Hilde slip on the ice and fell on the ground. This momentary distraction was the perfect opportunity to launch the attack. Marreth and his men rushed toward Hilde, only to be blocked by a ring of Lossoth.

Marreth began thrusting his sword at the Snowmen, but they were able to parry his jabs. Try as he might, it did not look like he was going to be able to reach Hilde. He needed to find a new way to somehow get the Elves to release her. Marreth was not the only one to have trouble, his crew did not seem to be having much success. He selected one particular Lossoth in the middle of the circle and began attacking him. Maybe if that Lossoth was killed it would provide a hole through which the Corsairs might be able to slip through and rescue Hilde.

Marreth’s blows descended swiftly upon the Snowman who backed up with every lunge. Finally the rapier sliced through the Lossoth’s stomach and he fell over dead, his blood trickling out onto the snow. But just as he fell, another one of his comrades who had been standing behind him stepped forward to take his pace. And so Marreth began his attack once more against his new adversary. Try as he might, Marreth was simply not able to break through. He would have to find another way or Hilde was certain to end up behind bars.

[Lalwendë]

Marreth’s obvious satisfaction with the task Nilak and Tarn had carried out had filled Tarn with exhilaration and energy. He had joined the Corsairs as they set off in a great rush to attempt their rescue of Hilde. They were a pack of wolves slipping through the white shroud of the blizzard. The snow came down relentlessly, and soon the party were all so thoroughly covered that they were indistinguishable from their surroundings.

As they stood in the deserted market place, struggling to see anything in the storm, the voices of the Elven party came out of the white sky, muffled but close, and the signal was given to attack. Hilde was defended closely and keenly, and Tarn failed to make any difference to the attack.

Standing back and sighing with exasperation, his exhilaration began to turn to anger. He was as determined as the Corsair captain to rescue the captive, but more than anything, he wanted to continue to make an impression. Nagging at him was a slight sense of surprise that a Corsair should be so keen to save one of the Lossoth, although this was a feeling he could not quite explain.

Tarn impatiently scuffled at the ground with his frostbitten foot to keep the blood flowing, something he was always careful to do when standing out in snow; the old injury still troubled him. He looked down for a moment and saw the sharp edged stones he had uncovered by stamping in the snow. Without pausing to think, he stooped, grabbed a handful of the quartz stones, and began to stuff them into snowballs.

Someone shouted angrily that it was no time to be playing childish games. One of the Lossoth guards scoffed as he saw what looked like a huge man made of ice trying to start a snowball fight. But Tarn, barely able to conceal the laughter rising inside him, hurled the first of his deadly snowballs and it glanced off the head of the guard; his mocking quickly turned to dismay when he felt the blood running from the gash in his brow to his mouth.

[Imladris]

Jynne dived into a clump of evening shadows and watched the Corsairs clash blades with the Snowmen, all the while wondering if Marreth would ever learn that one could not underestimate elves. They were not defeated easily, and had the nasty ability to wriggle free from tight places.

Of course, fighting was never the best way to get things done, he observed thinly. Naturally, you kill the enemy, but then you yourself die along with them. Of course, there were the few that survived, but fighting was not a winner's game. Both sides ultimately lost. Why play a game one couldn't win?

Then he saw her. The female elf. An evil grin cracked his face. Why were the elves so foolish? Sliding from the shadows, he slipped towards her. His dagger whispered from its sheath.

She was hanging around the edges of the fighting. Her fingers fidgeted, her feet tapped as if she wanted to go and help but then thought better of it.

Foolish girl.

Silently as the shadows fell, he wrapped his arm around her neck, and deftly caught her small wrists in his iron fist. She gasped, but swallowed her scream, which was something. Most women shrieked and fainted at the first sign of danger. "Do you feel that?" he whispered, pricking her neck with his dagger. "Fear that, and things may go well for you. I owe you my thanks, though" he added, nodding his head in a mock bow. "The elves were foolish to bring you along. They will do anything to save a woman." Licking his lips, he shouted, "Oy! Snowman leader!"

Some of the Snowmen and the elves had already noticed the elven lady's predicament and had stopped fighting, suddenly wondering what they were to do. Jynne laughed silently to himself. They were men of small stature to be so easily blown apart by a gusty gale.

"Now that we have finished this foolishness," Jynne said silkily, "I would like to make you an offer. Give us Hilde --" he cast a distasteful glance at her (if she had been more careful they wouldn't be here) -- "or your elf will never see the light of the Valar on a westward ship."