Friends of Nimrodel: Tapestry of Dreams - Discussion - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

mark12_30 · 09-24-2004, 06:27 AM

"Uh.... Hello....?"

**looks behind several tussocks of swamp-grass, but finds no writers in sight**

"....Dratted Swamp-Elf must have gotten them..."

Imladris · 09-24-2004, 10:14 AM

Well, I wasn't entirely sure what to do. Gwyll's asleep, Aeron's injured.

I was wondering when the merchant with his henchman would show up?

mark12_30 · 09-24-2004, 10:56 AM

Dunno. Not til Tharonwe contacts them somehow. Unless they are already out and hunting??

Who is playing them?

I have my hands full with Amroth, Mellondu, Mellonin, and Nethwador. So feel free....

Imladris · 09-24-2004, 11:01 AM

Yes, I was going to play the merchant and his henchman as they are my characters....but, I was going to bring them back when the two parties (the Gondorian and the Rohan one) merged -- they are still going to merge, right??? I thought it'd create more conflict.

mark12_30 · 09-24-2004, 11:03 AM

Yes, the parties will still merge, but I must have "Tharonwe" there to do it.

Villain, villain, o where art thou?

littlemanpoet · 09-24-2004, 02:09 PM

Sorry friends, I've been either busy (up until last night) or unable to get dial-up to cooperate (last night - grrrr.....).

My thought was to have the merchant and entourage meet the Raefindan group around noon of the current day; Tharonwe is using suggestion instead of anything direct, so they think they're on their own. This suggestion can be written into something Amroth can detect. So I'll make the meeting happen between Raefindan's group and the merchant's group, and Immy can take over the merchant from there.... and Helen can have Amroth show up just as soon as she likes. Of course, I'm writing this not having read anything since two days ago, so I'm sure this'll have to get edited.

mark12_30 · 09-24-2004, 03:00 PM

HE'S ALIVE! hE'S ALIVE!!!!

Er, glad you're back, lmp!!

littlemanpoet · 09-25-2004, 10:02 AM

"According to the lore of hobbits, an evil race of cannibal spirits called the mewlips settled in certain marshlands of Middle-earth. Hoarding phantoms very like the dreaded barrow-wights they seemed, but they made their homes in foul and dank swamps. Travellers in their lands always walked in peril, for many were said to be waylaid by these beings." - Tolkien Reader

Durn it. We goofed... sort of. Tharonwe could have had Mewlips as his "orcs", per se. Phooey. Just goes to show I need to spend more time in Books discussions.

Guess it's too late now..... or is it? >:-)

Imladris · 09-25-2004, 10:49 AM

Are they still in the swamps? IF they are, then it is never too late.

littlemanpoet · 09-25-2004, 07:44 PM

No, they're not still in the swamps, but Tharonwe's activities have been oblique to Raefindan's company, and frankly, I've been scratching my head a bit for just how Tharonwe has been pulling off all his stunts.

To have some kind of creature, called Mewlip, seems useful. I'm not sure exactly what they are, but will let the poem lead me in any descriptions. I'm thinking some kind of humanoid degraded by Morgoth into man-eating, evil creatures. I'll let the poem lead my descriptions, which I have handy in my bookcase.

mark12_30 · 09-26-2004, 09:19 PM

"Mewlips" is really rather a Hobbit poem. I love it, but it is awfully cute.

I have no problem whatsoever with having the source of that hobbit-legend spring to life-- or un-life-- in the swamp, but if we **call** them Mewlips, they become cute and comical and I'd rather dodge that.

We can always explain (after some good, slimy horror) that these creatures were the source of the Mewlips legend for the hobbits.

I'm leaning towards the Swamp-dead, as in the Dead Marshes (yes, yes, that is their name.) They can be as mewlipsy as we want-- but let's call them something else?

littlemanpoet · 09-27-2004, 02:19 PM

I can't see Tharonwe messing around with the undead. Don't know why. I see the mewlips or merlocks, whatever you want to call them, as some kind of night-wakeful cannibalistic humanoid that has developed excellent survival skills for swamp life. Sort of Gollumish without the ring-lust.

Wrong place for this, except that I brought it up in this context,

but it occurred to me that an invisible hobbit-eating Smeagol could possibly be the seed for the folklore behind the poem. Anyway....

By the by, I edited post # 484 to account for Gwyllion's nightmares of Aeron drowning.

mark12_30 · 09-27-2004, 02:24 PM

Eeeeew.

Okay.

Merlocks would be a good name; hints at Mewlips but not blatant.

I'd rather not get sunken into a swamp battle that lasts for months unending-- what kind of thing do you have in mind? Ten of them? Ten thousand?

littlemanpoet · 09-27-2004, 02:47 PM

Maybe a half dozen. There aren't that many, I would imagine, since they probably would eat each other when they can't have human or fish or frog.

mark12_30 · 09-27-2004, 03:36 PM

Ah! All-righty-o.

What kind of resistance will these mewMerlocks have to elves?

An elf in a man's body?

Are they affected by osanwe? Do men freak out about them? Who gets squeamish?

Imladris · 09-27-2004, 03:49 PM

How do they attack?

littlemanpoet · 09-27-2004, 06:12 PM

How do they attack?

With their bare hands and teeth. Their greatest weapon is stealth and surprise.

What kind of resistance will these Merlocks have to elves?

Um, what do you mean by resistance? At any rate, I suppose no better than humans, being a type of human degraded by Morgoth. Or should they be swamp elves degraded by Morgoth? Hmmmm......

What kind of resistance will these Merlocks have to an elf in a man's body?

Same answer as above?

Are they affected by osanwe?

I reeeeelly need to read up on osanwe. I have my doubts whether we're even using it right. Could Elves affect orcs by osanwe? Same principle, I suppose.

Do men freak out about them?

Yes.

Who gets squeamish?

Anybody not trained for war or will power, I suppose.

Feel free to help me flesh this out!

mark12_30 · 09-28-2004, 11:58 AM

We pause our regularly scheduled programming for a public service announcement:

!!!!HAPPY BIRTHDAY IMMY!!!!

Imladris · 09-28-2004, 12:19 PM

Awww.....

*blushes and bows*

Thanks you guys!

09-24-2004, 06:27 AM	#1
mark12_30 Stormdancer of Doom Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars Posts: 4,349	"Uh.... Hello....?" looks behind several tussocks of swamp-grass, but finds no writers in sight "....Dratted Swamp-Elf must have gotten them..." __________________ ...down to the water to see the elves dance and sing upon the midsummer's eve. Last edited by mark12_30; 09-24-2004 at 07:21 AM.

09-24-2004, 10:14 AM	#2
Imladris Tears of the Phoenix Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Putting dimes in the jukebox baby. Posts: 1,453	Well, I wasn't entirely sure what to do. Gwyll's asleep, Aeron's injured. I was wondering when the merchant with his henchman would show up? __________________ I'm sorry it wasn't a unicorn. It would have been nice to have unicorns. I'm your huckleberry.

09-24-2004, 10:56 AM	#3
mark12_30 Stormdancer of Doom Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars Posts: 4,349	Dunno. Not til Tharonwe contacts them somehow. Unless they are already out and hunting?? Who is playing them? I have my hands full with Amroth, Mellondu, Mellonin, and Nethwador. So feel free.... __________________ ...down to the water to see the elves dance and sing upon the midsummer's eve.

09-24-2004, 11:01 AM	#4
Imladris Tears of the Phoenix Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Putting dimes in the jukebox baby. Posts: 1,453	Yes, I was going to play the merchant and his henchman as they are my characters....but, I was going to bring them back when the two parties (the Gondorian and the Rohan one) merged -- they are still going to merge, right??? I thought it'd create more conflict. __________________ I'm sorry it wasn't a unicorn. It would have been nice to have unicorns. I'm your huckleberry.

09-24-2004, 11:03 AM	#5
mark12_30 Stormdancer of Doom Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars Posts: 4,349	Yes, the parties will still merge, but I must have "Tharonwe" there to do it. Villain, villain, o where art thou? __________________ ...down to the water to see the elves dance and sing upon the midsummer's eve. Last edited by mark12_30; 09-24-2004 at 11:05 AM. Reason: expansion of thought.

09-24-2004, 02:09 PM	#6
littlemanpoet Itinerant Songster Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: The Edge of Faerie Posts: 7,066	sorries all around Sorry friends, I've been either busy (up until last night) or unable to get dial-up to cooperate (last night - grrrr.....). My thought was to have the merchant and entourage meet the Raefindan group around noon of the current day; Tharonwe is using suggestion instead of anything direct, so they think they're on their own. This suggestion can be written into something Amroth can detect. So I'll make the meeting happen between Raefindan's group and the merchant's group, and Immy can take over the merchant from there.... and Helen can have Amroth show up just as soon as she likes. Of course, I'm writing this not having read anything since two days ago, so I'm sure this'll have to get edited.

09-24-2004, 03:00 PM	#7
mark12_30 Stormdancer of Doom Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars Posts: 4,349	HE'S ALIVE! hE'S ALIVE!!!! Er, glad you're back, lmp!! __________________ ...down to the water to see the elves dance and sing upon the midsummer's eve.

09-25-2004, 10:02 AM	#8
littlemanpoet Itinerant Songster Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: The Edge of Faerie Posts: 7,066	Shoot and durn it! "According to the lore of hobbits, an evil race of cannibal spirits called the mewlips settled in certain marshlands of Middle-earth. Hoarding phantoms very like the dreaded barrow-wights they seemed, but they made their homes in foul and dank swamps. Travellers in their lands always walked in peril, for many were said to be waylaid by these beings." - Tolkien Reader Durn it. We goofed... sort of. Tharonwe could have had Mewlips as his "orcs", per se. Phooey. Just goes to show I need to spend more time in Books discussions. Guess it's too late now..... or is it? >:-)

09-25-2004, 10:49 AM	#9
Imladris Tears of the Phoenix Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Putting dimes in the jukebox baby. Posts: 1,453	Are they still in the swamps? IF they are, then it is never too late. __________________ I'm sorry it wasn't a unicorn. It would have been nice to have unicorns. I'm your huckleberry.

09-25-2004, 07:44 PM	#10
littlemanpoet Itinerant Songster Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: The Edge of Faerie Posts: 7,066	Mewlips No, they're not still in the swamps, but Tharonwe's activities have been oblique to Raefindan's company, and frankly, I've been scratching my head a bit for just how Tharonwe has been pulling off all his stunts. To have some kind of creature, called Mewlip, seems useful. I'm not sure exactly what they are, but will let the poem lead me in any descriptions. I'm thinking some kind of humanoid degraded by Morgoth into man-eating, evil creatures. I'll let the poem lead my descriptions, which I have handy in my bookcase.

09-26-2004, 09:19 PM	#11
mark12_30 Stormdancer of Doom Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars Posts: 4,349	"Mewlips" is really rather a Hobbit poem. I love it, but it is awfully cute. I have no problem whatsoever with having the source of that hobbit-legend spring to life-- or un-life-- in the swamp, but if we call them Mewlips, they become cute and comical and I'd rather dodge that. We can always explain (after some good, slimy horror) that these creatures were the source of the Mewlips legend for the hobbits. I'm leaning towards the Swamp-dead, as in the Dead Marshes (yes, yes, that is their name.) They can be as mewlipsy as we want-- but let's call them something else? __________________ ...down to the water to see the elves dance and sing upon the midsummer's eve.

09-27-2004, 02:19 PM	#12
littlemanpoet Itinerant Songster Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: The Edge of Faerie Posts: 7,066	Mewlips or whatever I can't see Tharonwe messing around with the undead. Don't know why. I see the mewlips or merlocks, whatever you want to call them, as some kind of night-wakeful cannibalistic humanoid that has developed excellent survival skills for swamp life. Sort of Gollumish without the ring-lust. Wrong place for this, except that I brought it up in this context, but it occurred to me that an invisible hobbit-eating Smeagol could possibly be the seed for the folklore behind the poem. Anyway.... By the by, I edited post # 484 to account for Gwyllion's nightmares of Aeron drowning. Last edited by littlemanpoet; 09-27-2004 at 02:23 PM.

09-27-2004, 02:24 PM	#13
mark12_30 Stormdancer of Doom Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars Posts: 4,349	Eeeeew. Okay. Merlocks would be a good name; hints at Mewlips but not blatant. I'd rather not get sunken into a swamp battle that lasts for months unending-- what kind of thing do you have in mind? Ten of them? Ten thousand? __________________ ...down to the water to see the elves dance and sing upon the midsummer's eve.

09-27-2004, 02:47 PM	#14
littlemanpoet Itinerant Songster Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: The Edge of Faerie Posts: 7,066	Maybe a half dozen. There aren't that many, I would imagine, since they probably would eat each other when they can't have human or fish or frog.

09-27-2004, 03:36 PM	#15
mark12_30 Stormdancer of Doom Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars Posts: 4,349	Ah! All-righty-o. What kind of resistance will these mewMerlocks have to elves? An elf in a man's body? Are they affected by osanwe? Do men freak out about them? Who gets squeamish? __________________ ...down to the water to see the elves dance and sing upon the midsummer's eve.

09-27-2004, 03:49 PM	#16
Imladris Tears of the Phoenix Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Putting dimes in the jukebox baby. Posts: 1,453	How do they attack? __________________ I'm sorry it wasn't a unicorn. It would have been nice to have unicorns. I'm your huckleberry.

09-27-2004, 06:12 PM	#17
littlemanpoet Itinerant Songster Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: The Edge of Faerie Posts: 7,066	Merlocks How do they attack? With their bare hands and teeth. Their greatest weapon is stealth and surprise. What kind of resistance will these Merlocks have to elves? Um, what do you mean by resistance? At any rate, I suppose no better than humans, being a type of human degraded by Morgoth. Or should they be swamp elves degraded by Morgoth? Hmmmm...... What kind of resistance will these Merlocks have to an elf in a man's body? Same answer as above? Are they affected by osanwe? I reeeeelly need to read up on osanwe. I have my doubts whether we're even using it right. Could Elves affect orcs by osanwe? Same principle, I suppose. Do men freak out about them? Yes. Who gets squeamish? Anybody not trained for war or will power, I suppose. Feel free to help me flesh this out!

09-28-2004, 11:58 AM	#18
mark12_30 Stormdancer of Doom Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars Posts: 4,349	We pause our regularly scheduled programming for a public service announcement: !!!!HAPPY BIRTHDAY IMMY!!!! __________________ ...down to the water to see the elves dance and sing upon the midsummer's eve.

09-28-2004, 12:19 PM	#19
Imladris Tears of the Phoenix Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Putting dimes in the jukebox baby. Posts: 1,453	Awww..... blushes and bows Thanks you guys! __________________ I'm sorry it wasn't a unicorn. It would have been nice to have unicorns. I'm your huckleberry.