Hunt for the Palantíri RPG

[Rinfanawen]

The sky had grown dark as a grim nightfall crept over the sea. Diera sat on the edge of the boat letting one leg hang over the side. She kept the other bent to where she could rest her arms and chin upon her knee. She sighed deeply. Their plan had been perfect. Nothing was going to go wrong. Nothing should have gone wrong, She thought in the depths of her foul mood. She looked out towards the land in anguish. She had failed. She had failed greatly, and now the Elves had escaped. “Despicable fiends,” she said aloud as if speaking to the Elves, but she knew none of them could hear her. It made her feel better though. Somehow, it just seemed to help.

Hardly any light could be seen on the shore. The pale light from the moon and stars cast dim shadows over some things upon the land. There never seemed to be enough light to make out distinct objects. She imagined what the shore looked like in daylight. Such a dreadful thought it was to her. Diera hated the land even more than she did the Elves. Feeling an ill feeling come over her, she stepped down from where she sat and laid on a bench nearby. The stars reflected in her dark eyes that night. Her sorrow-filled face glowed under the light of the moon.

Suddenly quick footsteps were heard on the deck and were followed by a friendly voice. “You look depressed,” Doyal commented as he approached.

Diera placed her wide-brimmed, brown hat firmly over her face. She sighed, “What would you know of it?” She turned her face to where one eye peered out from under the hat. She almost began to laugh at the comical expression on Doyal’s face.

“I know,” began Doyal, “that you are always depressed when things do not go as planned.”

“I am not,” argued Diera, hiding her face once again beneath the hat.

Doyal laughed. “Yes, you are. Just because you don’t show it half the time doesn’t mean you aren’t. I know you better than that.”

“Too well, I fear sometimes,” Diera said removing the hat from her face, and placing it atop her shoulder-length, brown hair. She sat up on the bench and let Doyal take a seat as well. Diera continued, “And I’m not depressed. I’m just frustrated.”

“Well, don’t be,” comforted Doyal. “It’s not your fault the Elves escaped, so stop beating yourself up over it. Besides, it’s wouldn’t be natural for Captain Marreth to give up so soon.”

Diera nodded in agreement, but a strange light on the ship caught her eye and her attention. What’s that? she thought, standing. The light flashed three times toward the land.

“What is it?” Doyal asked joining her.

Diera smiled wickedly. “A signal.”

[Child of the 7th Age]

Boarding the ship with a heavy heart, Luindal immediately retreated to his cabin and was surprised to find both Alahseey and Hilde waiting for him there.

Hilde scurried up to address him, still clutching her broom and cleaning rags. “I am pleased to see that you and the others came through alright. At least most of the others," Hilde nervously averted her eyes and pursed her lips, wondering if she should say more. News of the loss of the two men had already spread through the ship. She quickly added, “Don’t blame yourself, sir. Those caves were never safe. I’ll never understand why anyone would tell you to search there. Too dangerous, if you ask me. It's a wonder any of you made it out alive." She cast a ponted look at Alahseey and then turned back to Luindal, smiling. "I didn't think you'd mind, Captain. Elder Alahssey rushed here right after we got the news of the landslide. She seemed very anxious to wait and talk with you so I let her in.”

“That’s fine, Hilde. Would you like to go down and eat supper now? You’ve worked hard today too. I understand something is being prepared in the galley.”

“Yes, sir. That would be fine. I’ll get my things and go.” Hilde was about to slip out the door when Alahseey gestured with her hand for her to remain and explained, “What I have to say concerns both of you.”

First the Elder questioned Luindal, “You are alright? And the men? After what happened....”

“As well as can be expected. We found no sign of the Stones and two of our party were swallowed up by waters that flooded the side tunnels: one of the Elves from Rivendell and his Lossoth companion”

“Sadly, we have heard. The Elders have sent someone to speak with the family of the man who was killed. The caves seemed like such a promising place to search. Yet the Elders debated whether to send you there first because of the dangers. Still, we felt there was a real possibility of finding the Stones.”

Luindal sighed and said, “Promising or not, we found nothing.”

“Aye, and the Council of Elders met again this afternoon, trying to decide where you should search next if you returned with your hands empty. Some said you should head straight to the Bay and begin to plumb its depths before the waters became too cold. But then I remembered this.”

She put her hand in her pocket and withdrew an oblong-shaped rock that was no larger than a Man’s palm, on which could be seen inscribed letters. Luindal reached out to finger the piece, then peered at it more closely.

“These are Elvish runes….fragments of a script that would seem to come from a time even before I was born.” He traced the letters with the tip of his finger.

“Aye, it looked peculiar to me too. And I have seen others like it in the same area. When I showed the letters to the Elders, one of them thought it looked like the script he’d seen you and the other Elves use. This comes from a place north of here, about a one-day trek, a stretch of coastline along the Bay that has already seen much ice and snow.” With that Alahseey drew out a map and pointed to the spot where she had found the strange stone. She handed the paper to Lindal to keep and he carefully circled the spot on the map to which Alahseey had referred.

“You think some of the shipwrecked things made their way to this point?” he queried.

Alahseey shrugged her shoulders, “Perhaps. I have seen some strange things in this region. And, if that is so, it is possible the Stones could have landed there too. It is a land both Hilde and I know well, for we both hail from that portion of the Bay. My reindeer herds spend the summer there. The two of us could easily lead you north.” Hilde smiled and nodded her head in agreement.

Luindal remarked, “This seems like a good idea. And, for now at least, I would rather wait to search the Bay. But we need to rest and recover. It would do no good to lead the men out when they are still exhausted and disheartened. I would say two days' rest are needed.... I will tell them to be ready on the third morning to set out for this northern shore, and to plan to stay overnight there.”

“Yes,” added Hilde, “I’ll be glad to help scout the passage and, once we've gotten there, can show you how to build an ice trench, to keep your men warm and comfortable thoroughout the cold night.”

Luindal had to smile at the thought of an ice trench being called warm and comfortable. But he was not unhappy with the suggestion to search further along the shore, since they still had not come up with a practical plan on how to search for the Stones on the bottom of the Bay. "It is agreed then. I will speak with my crew later tonight."

Saying good night to Hilde and Alahseey, Luindal left the map on his desk and then wandered down towards Rôg's cabin, knocking on the door. But before the Shapechanger could respond, the Captain slipped his hand into his pocket and felt the scrap of fabric and button that he'd picked up in the cave. Perhaps, Rôg could tell him which of the men had lost it....

[Arry]

Carandû set aside his blade on the coverlet of his bunk. He’d honed the edge to razor sharpness and now he took up his knife to do like. ‘You know, brother,’ he said as he ran the edge this way and that across the whetstone, ‘perhaps we should speak with the Captain about our suspicions.’ He took his oiled rag and wiped along the blade of the knife, removing the metal scrapings. ‘I’m sure he has thought along these same lines himself, but I’d feel better if he heard what we had thought on it, also.’

‘Annû held up a fistful of arrows he still intended to sharpen. ‘Let me finish these,’ he put in. ‘Or better yet, let me stay here and you go down to the Captain’s cabin and speak with him.’ Carandû agreed, and putting away his knife and sword, pulled on his boots and headed down the passageway to see Luindal.

The door was ajar when he arrived. He called the Captain’s name and rapped twice on the door. There was no answer, but the door swung open and Carandû stepped in to see if Luindal might be in by any chance and had not heard him. A lamp, turned low, which sat on the desk, cast enough light for him to peek about. No one was in the cabin and Carandû stepped back toward the door to leave.

‘I should turn out the light,’ he thought to himself as he retreated back toward the desk. ‘Wouldn’t want it to be knocked over and start a fire.’ He leaned over the desk toward it, his eye caught by a map of the bay left lying atop it, a certain area circled for emphasis. ‘What’s this, I wonder?’ he said half aloud picking up the map to take a closer look.

The sound of footsteps stopping outside the opened door made him turn. There stood a Lossoth woman. Tall and thin, her grey hair in two braids, she watched him with narrowed eyes. Now what was her name?

‘Hilde!’ he said, laying the map down on the desk and turning off the lamp. Carandû stepped out to the hallway where she stood, closing the door behind him. She looked up at him, giving him an appraising look. ‘The Captain - I was looking for the Captain,’ he said to her. ‘Have you seen him?’

She shook her head and scurried off down the hall.

Wondering at her abrupt departure, Carandû returned to his room. ‘He wasn’t there,’ he told his brother. ‘It’ll have to wait ‘til tomorrow,’ he went on yawning widely. ‘I’m tired. Leave the lamp lit for Glahardir and his nephew. Then let’s turn in.’

[piosenniel]

Rôg heaved himself up from the chair at the knocking on the door. A sharp pain ripped through his upper left arm where Freyn had applied the poultice and bandage. He plopped his backside back on the chair’s seat and called out a rather annoyed ‘It’s open!’ to the unexpected visitor. He was still grumbling and rubbing his arm gently when the door swung open.

Luindal peeked round the edge, his brows raised in query. ‘You alright?’ he asked, seeing the Skinchanger’s pale face.

Rôg waved him in with his right hand. ‘I’ll be alright, or so Freyn tells me . . . in a day or so. Afraid I’ll be somewhat out of commission until then.’ Luindal had taken the other chair in the room and sat distractedly fingering something. Rôg cleared his throat, drawing the captain’s attention back to himself. ‘Was there something you wanted to speak with me about?’ He held out his open hand to Luindal as he continued speaking. ‘And what in blazes is that you have in your fingers. Why’s it so interesting?’

The scrap of thick brown cloth passed from the Elf’s fingers to his friend’s. Rôg looked it over, asking where the captain had found it. Once told, Rôg pursed his lips and mumbled a something under his breath. ‘You found this in the cavern?’ he asked. ‘How interesting!’ His fingers rubbed over the small, worn design on the button. ‘It's hard to see, but I could swear that this engraving is a southron motif. A seabird in flight . . . a favored one among the seamen there – brings good luck to its wearer. Interesting . . .’ he trailed off, handing the cloth back to Luindal. ‘The color of the material is similar to that I glimpsed on one of the figures I glimpsed in my unfortunate attempt to get us help. Of course, brown is a very common color. The two are probably unrelated.’

Luindal tucked the returned scrap into his pocket as Rôg reached for a small notebook which lay on the bunk behind him. ‘I’ve been giving some thought to searching the bay . . .’ The Elf spoke up before Rôg could finish his sentence. ‘We may not need to,’ he said, filling Rôg in on what the Lossoth elder, Alahseey had shown him, and where she proposed the Elves should search next. ‘She offered to lead us there in a few days.’

‘May fortune smile on us, then,’ commented Rôg. ‘But . . . in case she turns her fickle face away, come closer and let’s look over these things I’ve jotted down. I’ve been talking to Bear about some of this; he’s given me some ideas.’ He turned the notebook around so that it faced Luindal, and placed it on the table between them. His inkstained forefinger pointing to the diagrams, he laid out some ideas he had had for both himself and for any Elf who might consider himself a strong enough swimmer.

Luindal perused the drawings carefully. ‘A seal and bear’s fat, eh . . .?’

[Lalwendë]

The door to the hut flew open as Tarn unlocked it and stormed in. All that effort and those fools had escaped. They had found nothing and he hadn’t even had a chance to train his seals today. He threw the helmet into a corner, letting go some of his temper, and grasped hold of a lantern from a hook on one of the great whale bones which served as beams to hold up the roof. The lantern was a crude object, but filled with flammable whale oil, a fuel that not all the Lossoth could afford; it gave off a warm light when Tarn ignited it with an ember from deep within the dormant fire. He was frustrated about the events of the day, but his immediate concern was to get the fire going again. He turned over the embers and gradually added more fuel until he had a blaze.

Tarn busied himself with preparing a supper of coarse, flat bread, smoked herrings and warmed goats milk. He ate slowly, staring into the flames of the fire and thinking about the caves. Faces danced in the blaze and his thoughts turned to the Corsairs and Elves, and their determination to get these stones. He wanted to find them, but that was for his own ends, as they had made the promise of weapons, and maybe power, but he puzzled over the possible nature of these stones, and why these fine people were prepared to risk so much to get them. His seals could find them any number of treasures in this cold sea, but it did not seem that they wanted mere riches. The thought came to him that he ought to go to the Corsair ship, as there would no doubt be more goings on.

As he thought about what was the best course of action there was a loud and brutal knocking at the door. Putting the empty plate down he went to see who dared to disturb his rest. It was Tarlsson, holding Thynne firmly by the collar.

“So, the boy is back?” said Tarn, standing tall in the doorway. “Come in and explain”

Tarlsson was drunk, as usual, and the boy was red-faced, not daring to look at Tarn. “I found him not long ago. Was trying to have a quiet drink and in he comes. Course I asks him what the blazes he’s doing wandering, hasn’t he got work to do, and he says he thought he’d have to find some place of his own to sleep. Finds a boat to sleep in he does. Then he says he woke up and he’s been looking for you most of the day. I say how can he have been? You’re not hard to miss. And I don't doubt you've been looking for his lazy hide, too.”

Tarn realised that the lad had been telling the truth. How could he have found him if he was hidden in the caves? And he hadn’t told the lad he was to sleep in the hut while he was working for him. Still, it was right that he be shown some discipline in front of his father. Bending down and staring Thynne straight in the face he coldly told him that if he was to do such a disappearing act again then he’d be left in the Caves of the Dead. Alone. Thynne shivered, and continued to look at the floor.

“Been trouble down there I hear tell, today,” put in Tarlsson, proud that he had some gossip, and placing a foot inside the hut.

“I know. Goodnight,” said Tarn coldly, trying to shut the door on him.

“Elders have been meeting too. A right little chinwag,” offered Tarlsson, leaning his weight against the door and holding it open. “Someone’s dead, so the story is saying.”

“I know Tarlsson, but I have to have some words with your lad. Strike while the iron’s hot. You know.” It was an excuse, but Tarn did not want the man in his hut tonight, not if he decided on heading out to the ship again. Hearing that his son was to be scolded, Tarlsson nodded, and with a failed attempt to slap Tarn on the back in understanding, which missed due to his drunken state, he turned and left.

“Go and make yourself a bed in the corner,” Tarn grunted to Thynne. He had no intention of punishing the lad in any way beyond making him fear that he was going to reprimanded. Besides, he was thinking about the fact that someone was dead. He had thought they had all got out. Then it hadn’t been such a waste of a day, but he was sure there would be more to learn at the ship.

[Kitanna]

Nilak returned to his hut in a sour mood. Everything had been going great until the Elves managed to escape the cave. Everyone was still wondering on how. Nilak was furious because that meant Marreth would have his crew and the Lossoth working harder to get rid of the Elves.

That was time they could use looking for the Stones. Marreth had underestimated the Elves today and he would probably underestimate them again before all was over. Nilak wanted to return to sending his seals out. Time was being wasted getting rid of the Elves and soon it would be impossible for both sides to search for these Stones.

Nilak made up his bed close to the fire. He laid down and just watched the flames dancing about. Won't be able to sleep watching that, he thought. Turning over did not help much. He now saw the shadows the fire cast onto the wall. Nilak felt like he would never be able to sleep, but eventually he drifted off.