The Fellowship of the Fourth Age (Part 1): A New Beginning RPG

[Nogrod]

Hadith

Due to Athwen’s medicines Hadith’s left arm was totally numb. Even if it did make him feel himself the most vulnerable in this envirovenment that seemed to offer violent surprises by the day it was still better than the pain of the last night. Athwen had insisted that he should stay with the other wounded under the makeshift shelter to keep the wound as dry as possible. But Hadith would have none of it. As he was now back to his senses he would also want to know what was going on and so he slipped out from the hastily assembled tent for the wounded as soon as Athwen turned to other patients.

He soon got to the crowd gathering near the pit and after spotting Beloan went to stand beside him.

“Well my lad, you’re feeling better already? I’d like to hear your story of the battle but I think the meeting is starting in any minute now... Are you allright Hadith?” Beloan had looked at Hadith delightedly at first but while he spoke a cloud had started to form over his expressions. The boy looked so pale and weak...

“Yes I am, Beloan”, Hadith answered but avoided meeting Beloan’s eyes.

The older man looked at Hadith quizzically but then decided to not press the question any further for the time being as Aiwendil was coming forwards to start the meeting. Instead he took his cape and folded it a few times and set it then on Hadith’s shoulders.

“Keeps you warmer and drier...” he half-whispered as Aiwendil had just started his speech. He smiled to Hadith caringly and then turned straight to hear what Aiwendil and Lindir had to say.

Hadith was most confused. This man who had showed concern about him and who had trusted him from their first hunting lessons onwards - which it now seemed were ages ago – felt like a father Hadith actually never had had but as flashes of memories from his very early childhood. Suddenly Hadith felt an urge to hide himself in Beloan’s lap and be secured of all the evil the world was throwing at him, all those a father would wash away from a child. But Aiwendil’s words froze him.

The Olog-hai? Those from the tales of the War of the Ring?They really exist? And they’re here waiting for us in the north? Hadith was all fear now. He sure had heard of those monsters. There had been two gamlings in their barracks when he was very young and they used to tell stories of valour and evil of the past great wars. The stories about the battles in front of the Dark Gate and those of the Pelennor Fields had been some of the favourites of Hadith when he was a child, stories he would insist the gamlings to tell over and over again. But that monsters of that quality would be actually alive and real and near them... Hadith’s knees were trembling as he listened to the old man and the elf.

He remebered the stories now vividly. The Olog-hai’s skin could not be penetrated but by an elven blade he remembered the other one of the gamlings, Trucwadh, telling him. They could sweep ten armoured man at arms down with one blow the other, Golondor, had said. They were tall like three men standing on above each other, they had teeth like lions but only three times larger and sharper. No arrow, no sling-projectile would bother them more like a mosquito bite does a man. Ten of them had went through a legion of Gondorian footmen like a party of adults might be shooing little children away from them... How could we, a bunch of rugged slaves with a few aids ever match a horde of them? This is folly!

After Aiwendil had answered Khamir’s passionate words with presence that sent chills all around Hadith’s bruised body he gathered his courage to answer to Lindir’s plea for everyone to speak their minds.

“My mother and father were gruesomely killed by plantation-orcs. They even made me watch my mother dying when I was a lot younger than I am now. I have no pity for these foul creatures and will be one to volunteer in killing them... if my strength just allows it. But what you say about these Olog-hai bothers me even more.”

Hadith made a pause to recollect what he was about to say.

“I mean... even if these orcs would not be baits but would actually fight besides us, what chances would we have against that mighty an enemy even in that case? Wouldn’t it take an army of hundreds or more likely thousands of fully-clad and battle-hardened men at arms – or elves - to fight them? So shouldn’t we just kill the orcs that they may do no more harm to anyone and head west instead out of the way of these mosters? If king Elessar was ready to send a fellowship to help us, maybe he would then grant us a refugee in the west somewhere? And there are people here who could claim a place or another his or her home down south... Maybe he would listen to our pleas?”

[Tevildo]

Dorran listened carefully to what Hadith was saying. His fingers tightened on the hilt of his sword as he heard the ex-slave describe how his parents had been killed by orcs. That was something the Rider could understand. Yet, despite loss of family, Hadith had not lost his head. He was setting out a scale to weigh the danger of orcs and olog-hai and trying to figure out some way that the two could balance out.

Dorran caught Lindir's eye. The Elf nodded to indicate that the Rider should respond to the questions that Hadith was raising. From the very beginning of the journey, he and Lindir had known this was always a possibility.....that the forces against them would seem insurmountable and that they would feel the need to call upon Ellessar for help of a different kind.

"The questions you raise, Hadith, are not easy to answer. Before leaving on this journey, Lindir and I stood in court with the King and asked him these very things. Ellessar made it very clear. He would not turn away people with no place to go; nor would he turn a deaf ear if a call came in for more help. There are lands in the west that have the ability to support more folk than they are doing now. My adopted homeland of Rohan is like that. The number of people grow, but slowly. There is good pastureland for raising herd animals. That is all possible."

Hadith's eyes lit up with hope, but Dorran raised his hand as if to indicate there was more to the situation than that. With a sigh, he continued on, "Unfortunately, the other side is not so easy. There are many problems. It would take weeks to get a message through to the court, and weeks more before an army could get here. Meanwhile, we have many people to feed and care for. We can not stay here in the middle of a half empty plain, especially in the rainy season. Game and foodstuffs are not plentiful enough. We can not travel east, since too many Easterlings lie in that direction. I hardly think they would welcome us. That leaves just three possibilities: west, south, or north."

Dorran stared Hadith directly in the eye, "None of us wants to go back so I think we can eliminate south. West is possible. that way you could end up settling in Rohan or another land. Still, it isn't easy. First, we must get over the mountains that circle the west of Mordor. There are only two ways of doing that.... One would have us turn back to the south and cross the hills where the River Poros comes in. Once we get to the river our going will be smooth, but there is a sharp ascent and descent to cut through to the water. We came that way, but it was not easy. And I can tell you this for sure.....the youngsters will likely not make it over. Plus, they will still have slaving parties out looking for us, since that area is close to the plantations. Our other course is to cross near the Tower of Cirith Ungol and Minas Morgul. But that land lies far north. In fact it lies even further north than the land you were going to settle. Surely we would run into the olog-hai. In my mind it would be better to attack them from the security of a sure camp than somewhere off on the road when we do not know when and how they are coming at us."

"I will tell you what I think. Do not despair at the mention of the olog-hai. As I understand it, they are only a small group yet. If we could hurry north and get there before the reinforcements arrive, I truly believe we would have a chance to defeat them. There are things other than brute force. There are tricks and strategems we could consider. I have seen men bring down one of these creatures. It is possible. Meanwhile, we could send a messenger through to the court at Minas Tirith and ask for help. Perhaps, if we are lucky, the extra troopers will arrive in enough time to help us, or at least to beat back the reinforcements if they should arrive at the last minute. The key to this plan is speed. We would need to travel as fast as possible. Fortunately, the way is flat and the injured can be brought on the cart or carried on horseback."

"As to the orcs," Dorran shrugged his shoulders. "I too lost my parents and a brother to orcs. I vote for death. They are not worth the time we would lose in taking them out someplace on the plain. There is only one thing that bothers me. From what Aiwendil has said, it does not appear that there is an orc army on the loose, nor are they allied with the olog-hai. Orcs hate the olog even more than they hate men. I would dearly love to know why a small party of orcs is crossing the plain of Mordor in the rainy season. Only a fool would do that, or someone who had a very compelling reason. But what that reason would be I have no idea. The orcs aren't talking, so I guess we'll never know. But it's possible---just possble, though most unlikely---that if someone could explain to me why they are out here, I might consider letting them live. Otherwise, I say death....."

[Child of the 7th Age]

"All right! All right! Hold yer horses," snapped Makdush. "Let's not be stupid. Those addled fools are taking their time. If it was orcs and uruks with a man in tow, how long would it take us to agree on a sentence of death? No more than it would take us to down a draft! I smell something fishy. Maybe they can't make up their minds."

At this point, the uruk grinned slyly. A new thought had occurred to him. "Hey, maybe we have some admirers out there. Men are unpredictable....elves are even worse. One minute they'll run you through, and the next they'll be cooing like a bunch of babies. If we're lucky, the fools might even come to blows with each other. If it looks like a fight, we might want to hold back for a minute. We'd have a better chance of bolting if they were busy knocking each other up. Anyways, let's think before we bolt. Right now I'd like to hear what's going on up there."

He stared up at the top of the pit and then gestured to Gwerr, "Go on. You or Ishkur get on my back and crawl up to the grating. You want to be careful. It has to look as though the leather straps are still in place. See what's going on. Then we can decide if this is a good time to make a break or not."

[Nogrod]

Gwerr

“I agree with the point… It’s taking too long.” Gwerr glanced at Ishkur and then turned to Makdush again. “So how about you wonderboys get together and we’ll do some climbing?”

Gwerr turned around to see that Colagar was still releasing the last orcs so he addressed two of those already freed. “Zuhut and Griwzan! Come here climb on the backs of these wizard-children. I will then climb on you. Gimme a hand Ishkur.” With that he went to search for the ropes he deemed the most intact and winded them into a coil.

The three Uruks formed a circle beside the wall and took firm grips from each others shoulders. Zuhut and Griwzan got on top of their shoulders and grasped each other tightly. Finally Gwerr climbed up aided by Ishkur and Colagar who had now untied the last orcs.

Gwerr crawled carefully towards the grating and took a look. There was indeed quite a heated debate going on. Someone was talking about using them as baits to the Olog-hai. Olog-hai? Weren’t those brainless brutes out of this world already? But I can see their point now… They might kill an Olog or possibly two if they can trap them and using us as a bait then is not so bad idea… So, we must get out of here! The sooner the better.

Just as Gwerr was turning back to crawl to the brink he froze. Chills were going through him as he looked back outside. It was an old man whose voice and presence radiated something Gwerr hadn’t encountered for a long time. It was a power, It was something that did not come from the flesh of the gamling. That’s no mortal man… whatever it is. First an elf, then Olog-hai and now this… You’ve been in tight spots before my lad but this is not looking nice either.

Gwerr’s brain worked now quickly as he started planning how they could escape and fast. Fear paralyses most people and orcs but some get an extra boost from it. Gwerr clearly belonged to the latter group. Without that quality he probably wouldn’t have lived through the centuries he had. Although his full concentration on the task at hand totally numbed his ears and so he had no idea how the discussion developed outside.

Soon Gwerr noticed some good news. Our weapons are there just beside the gaging. Too far to reach from here but after we break the grating they are just a leap away. They really seem to be confident we’d stay down there… Gwerr smiled and went back to work. Slowly and quietly he tied the three ropes he had with him to the very bottom of the bars of the grating and carefully scraped some mud to cover the knots so that if someone glanced towards the grating he would not notice anything out of the usual. Surely if someone was to come and take a closer look their plot would be revealed immediately but they had no choice now. The humans were going to use them as baits to the Ologs and they’d have to escape now.

After finishing with the ropes Gwerr crawled back to the brink and threw the other ends of the ropes down. He himself glided down one of them to the pit.

“Okay mates. Good news and bad news. The good ones are that our weapons are just beside the gacing outside. We’ll pull ourselves up and charge the grating, leap to our weapons and run for it. We should split in pairs or something and meet somewhere farther away.” With that Gwerr glanced quickly at Ishkur who nodded inconspicuously to show him that he had gotten Gwerr’s idea. They still had their horse and the treasure it carried to pick up.

“The bad news are that the human trash seem to be in their right minds even if some here suspected otherwise…” Gwerr looked at Makdush and grinned. “The problem is that there seems to be an Olog or two somewhere around… at least that’s what they speak. And they’re going to use us as baits. And to top it…” Gwerr made a pause to hammer down the point.

“There is not just the elf but there is also an old man I could bet my life is no man. I’ve seen enough these timeless creatures to identify one when I see one. The problem is I haven’t a faintest about what he might be… But whatever he or it is I’d rather take my chances escaping him and the slaves than face the Ologs as a bait.”

[Firefoot]

Johari could not help herself: after the rest of the ex-slave contingency had rolled into their new camp, she had made her way past the new tent for the wounded, her pace a too-casual stroll. She told herself that it was only idle curiosity, but in truth, she wanted to make sure that Hadith was still doing alright. But she was disturbed to find that Hadith was not among the wounded. Inexplicable worry, and, yes, perhaps some panic, rose up from her gut. Sure, he had been unconscious last time she had seen him, but he had been getting better! His wound had not been so bad!

However, she was still mindful of being caught lingering around the wounded when the rest were all gathering for the meeting on the Orcs. She made her way over to the group, but the greater part of her mind was still focused on Hadith. He hadn't somehow been left behind, had he?

He means nothing to you, remember?

She placed that thought firmly at the forefront of her mind and tried to focus on what was being said about the Orcs, crossing her arms across her chest stubbornly at all the words about letting the Orcs live - even trusting them to fight with them. After being so roughly told off earlier, she was not about to open her mouth again unless she felt something absolutely had to be said, but she did nod in agreement with Khamir's bold statements. And after all, he had been the chosen leader of the ex-slaves - who was this "Fellowship" to come in and tell them what to do and how to manage their affairs? And this wasn't the first time they had done so, either. Usupers. How were they supposed to understand?

But her head jerked to the left when a new voice spoke up - a familiar voice. Hadith! But what was he doing out here? Oughtn't he still be in with the wounded?

But to her surprise, she found herself agreeing with some of his statements - at least when they weren't mixed with his hesitant idealism about how much the western king Elessar cared about them and the aid he might send. As he talked, she edged her way along the borders of the crowd until she was standing right behind him. She leaned close and said quietly into his ear, "Perhaps you are able to learn."

[Nogrod]

”Perhaps you are able to learn.”

Hadith was startled by the sudden whisper as he hadn’t noticed Johari slipping to his side. But he was also happy to hear that familiar voice. He still didn’t know what he should think about her but she was one of those few he had gotten to any contact with and thence her presence felt good to him. Although what she said about learning felt really confusing and distracted his mind. Able to learn… what? What does she mean?

"Sorry about the last time... I was a bit... well, confused and in pain. I'm not sure I remember what was it I said but it clearly annoyed you, didn't it? I'm sorry about that." Hadith managed to utter after a short silence. He was still ashamed of his conduct when they last met.

Johari nodded slightly, a strange expression on her face. If he didn't remember it well... that was good. She half wanted to forget the exchange herself.

"Forget it", she said sharply.

An awkward silence fell over them for a short while. In the end Hadith braved himself to address Johari a new.

"You're alright then?"

"Clearly." Johari answered bluntly but her voice had lost some of its bite.

"Did you kill anyone?..." Hadith asked troubled by his own thoughts on the matter. "I mean like a day or two ago - I tend to meddle with the days - I had never killed anyone, only seen people killed. But now I've done it myself, twice. It feels awful and strange, like it's not me I'm looking at when the images come to my dreams... and still I wish the orcs should be killed before we go on."

With those words, Johari found herself marvelling at Hadith's basic humanity. When had she lost her own? She had felt no guilt at the slaver she had killed, nor in her desire to kill the Orcs.

"Yes, Hadith, I killed a man in the battle." She paused, then felt as if the next words were ripped from her throat. "I felt... feel... no guilt."

"You don't? You don't feel anything? How? Those images do not come to your dreams?" Hadith's voice was raising as he was honestly perplexed and started wondering whether he was an odd one among these people.

All-but-forgotten memories seemed to niggle at Johari's mind.

"No!" she replied sharply.

Their conversation, and in particular that vehement outburst, was beginning to draw glances from those nearby, and she lowered her voice again. "No." And what did that make her?

Hadith was confused once again but realised from Johari’s behaviour that they were watched now by people near them in the crowd. As he turned to look at Beloan he felt like a little boy who had gotten caught of something that is embarrassing. He then falled to himself, partly because of the glances but partly because Dorran was speaking and Hadith was also eager to hear what he had to say.

But he couldn't concetrate on Dorran's speech. So he turned back to Johari once more.

"I was worried about you during the fight... Were you..."

Afraid of where this question was going and the answers it might invite, she cut him off. "I was fine, Hadith, and so are you, now. It's over."

Johari had been becoming increasingly uncomfortable with this conversation, whether Hadith realised it at the moment or not. Hadith did sense an aura of reservation in Johari as well and didn’t try to press the question either.

Hadith frowned almost imperceptibly and turned back to listen to Dorran. His head was just too busy to really understand what Dorran was saying. Either she cares about me or then she plays me a fool… which I am… But why does she play this game on me? And what is over? The fight and the death is over? Anything between us is over? And what is it – was it – between us anyway? And what should it be or not be?

Dorran was saying that he would vote for the killing of the orcs. That was where Hadith came back to his senses. He approved Dorran’s judgement and was ready to applaud when he glanced to his right. Johari had slipped away to the crowd… Hadith turned left to see Beloan. His face looked grave and concerned. Something in Dorran’s speech had clearly made that. Hadith thought whether he could brave asking Beloan about what was it.

[Brinniel]

Shae folded her arms, irritated. After all this time, her head still throbbed, and this endless debate was not helping. The decision was obvious...why couldn't the others see?

She flashed her eyes towards Aiwendil, feeling particularly angry with him. He had completely disregarded Khamir's words, treating him no better than an animal. What did he or any of the Fellowship, save Dorran who indeed spoke wisely, know of how they suffered...often in the hands of orcs. For fifteen years, Shae had been deprived of half her eyesight, so ashamed of her disability she had kept it a secret from nearly everyone. And it was all because an orc, so cruel, so heartless, didn't hesitate to beat an exhausted ten-year-old unconscious. For years, Shae wanted all her pain and suffering to be put to justice. She wouldn't dare let herself pass up another opportunity for revenge.

"This is ridiculous," she spoke up, breaking the silence, "to even consider sparing the lives of these monsters. Orcs have no hearts...they do not know love the way we do. Instead, they take pleasure in torturing and slaughtering innocent victims. Would an orc ever consider to spare one of our lives? Of course not. They are selfish...they only care about themselves.

"How dare you think lowly of Khamir or any of us for wanting justice for our pain and suffering...do you not think we deserve it? Many of us still wear scars...gifts given to us by orcs. These things..." she pointed to the pit, "are no better than beasts, beasts who should be hunted down and killed. Before they become a danger to those around them. Really, I would rather not see anymore innocent lives lost if we can avoid it. So let us kill them now before they have time to find that chance."

Shae was then silent once again. But she kept her head high, for once ever confident of her own words. Scanning the still silent crowd, her eye met Khamir's...and for a second, she thought she saw a smile.