Land of Darkness Discussion Thread

[Himaran]

Sarin: Dwali came to your aid, but is now stuck up in a nitch... thirty feet from the ground. Perhaps, if you wish to continue the battle, Shelob could sort of clamber up there... She's still got Zuromor on her back, but wants to go after the dwarf, as he presents an accessible target.

Himaran


EDIT: sorry about the double post - didn't realize that no one had posted. Doesn't anyone have anything interesting to say??

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

All right -- on to the next stage of the story!

I apologise for the long post, but something as dramatic as the passing of Shelob, I felt, deserved a bit of a full treatment.

At any rate, looking onward.

The company is now on a ledge high up the inside walls of Mordor. We're not far from Cirith Ungol but it's out of sight. For those of you with good maps of Mordor, we're just about directly above the bridge that the road to Minas Morgul uses to cross the Morgai.

It's my hope that we might be able to slow things down bit now (in terms of the action, not the posting!) and have a bit of a 'rest'. It's been roughly 24 hours since the prisoners escaped so I think they're due for some food and water (if any survived the encounter with Shelob that is! ), as well as rest. There's also a lot for the company to discuss. In addition to all the interesting plot threads that have begun already (and please please please pursue these!) we need to figure out:

1) where to go and what to do next?

2) what do do about the unconscious Bror.

3) what to do with Dorim's body.

If anyone wants to scout around a bit, you will find that the ledge to the north peters out and ends at a very long drop down. To the south it goes down and becomes kind of a path that seems to lead toward the Morgul Road. . .

One last thing -- if anyone wants to get in a last post with Shelob, just PM it to me and I will paste it into the beginning of my post.

[Aylwen Dreamsong]

Hey everyone,

I had a couple things to mention here, and one is that my save just before Shelob's end has been filled. The other I have already PMed Fordim about, and that is vacation time. I will be unable to post basically from tomorrow, Tuesday July 27 until Tuesday August 3.

And, as I mentioned to Fordim, you may do as you wish with Jeren, so long as he lives and keeps at least one leg.

-Aylwen

[The Perky Ent]

I've been saved! I've been saved! I've been saved...but mortally wounded. Thanks a lot! How's that for ironic

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

According to your blog, Aylwen, you're listening to No Doubt's 'best of' collection. . .?

"Walking in the Spider Webs" indeed! (But it's not really my fault, is it?)

Pick up!

PS Apologies (and condolences) to all non-No Doubt fans.

PPS Gwen Stefani Rules!

PPPS Just to make this game related so Pio won't delete it: Grash is wearing mismatched socks beneath his armour.

Originally Posted by Aylwen Dreamsong

Hey everyone,

I had a couple things to mention here, and one is that my save just before Shelob's end has been filled. The other I have already PMed Fordim about, and that is vacation time. I will be unable to post basically from tomorrow, Tuesday July 27 until Tuesday August 3.

And, as I mentioned to Fordim, you may do as you wish with Jeren, so long as he lives and keeps at least one leg.

-Aylwen

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

I should just add this note as an edit to my last post, but I really do feel that this deserves a post of its very own.

As I was cruising the Downs and patiently awaiting new posts for the game (gentle nudge gentle nudge) I happened upon the archives.

An entirely cool place that you should all visit if you haven't already (and I'm sure that you all have: I am such a newbie).

At any rate, I found the game thread and realised that it was very friendly for copying and pasting into a word document, which I did. I then formatted it like a proper manuscript and was stunned to see that the game is already over 200 pages long (double spaced) -- that's a whopping great 65 000 words, people! And we're still a week away from the halfway point.

It will be a modestly sized novel by the time we're done (assuming we keep up this torrid pace).

I just wante to share that and to say 'rah 'rah for all the wonderful posts and writers in this game. I cannot wait to see how it turns out. . .

[Himaran]

Well, we are certainly at a crossroads...

I would assume that after the terror of Shelob, the company would not be eager to re-enter the tunnels. So... would they make for Minas Morgul? Suicide. Scale the mountains? Suicide. Hm... where else could they go? After all, none of them are exactly familiar with the passages of Mordor.

Himaran

[CaptainofDespair]

Hmm...good question. I would like to know as well.

I would assume we would have to trek near Morgul, since that is the main way, pretty much the only way, into Ithilien from that side of Mordor.

[Bêthberry]

Fordim, this was a very clever, very fitting end for Shelob. A superb bit of plotting, inspired.

What do we do now for an encore, though?

And since we are on the subject of vacations, at least Aman's and Aylwen's, let's moved down the alphabet to Bethberry's. I will be away--really away--from August 7 to the 23, in the UK. There will be a laptop near me and likely some hotel access, so I hope to be able to keep up with maybe a post a week. Does Oxford house any unpublished papesr of Tolkien's?

Darash has some wounds from the spiny leg hairs to tend to, but I will come up with more than that for a next post. I hope.

[Kransha]

O Captain, My Captain, a fitting end for our spidery confrontation.

Good luck to all those heading to vacation, and some intertemporal good wishes to those who have already been. My summer, as yet, has just been permanently freed up. I am now officially a bum, so I'll have plenty of time to post. All my commitments are gone (Huzzah!).

Bror, for thine information, will probably rise from unconsciousness soon, but he is grievously hurt. Spider venom runs in his veins and will make it inevitably harder for him to do anything. Of course, he'll surely still be eager to get those orcs, but his power is still diminished. If we head the way of Morgul, what might we encounter there? The Ringwraiths might still be occupied at Pelennor (what's the date again?), or, if not, Minas Morgul did house their armies. Might they return to it before the final fight at Morannon? What of the orcs on Gorgoroth plateau? Shall our heroic adventurers be trapped by the forces of darkness? Shall they fall before they reach freedom? Shall I keep forgetting canon and acting like a melodramatic soap-opera narrator?

P.S. Fordim, the quote in your signature; Hamlet? It seems almost too apt.

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

Fordim, the quote in your signature; Hamlet? It seems almost too apt.

Kransha wins the gold boot for correctly identifying the siggy, and a bonus for noting the aptness (aptocity? aptnitude?) of the sentiment to LotR. Tolkien is a great artist but Shakespeare pretty much said it all first!

So many interesting questions about how to proceed, and none of them asked in the game thread. . .

For what it's worth, I agree that to go back into the tunnels would be suicide what with Shelob's spawn about. But perhaps others think this is preferable to the Morgul Vale, which is the only way I can think of. . .

Perhaps Grash might know of a secret way through the mountains that they can follow. If he does, it's probably extremely dangerous and simply swarming with orcs, though.

At any event, to locate ourselves: it is now mid-day of the 16th of March, the prisoners having made their escape on the morning of the 15th. To the north of us, Frodo and Sam are trying to find a way out of the Morgai. To the west, the battle of the Pelennor has been won, the Witch-King has been slain, and Aragorn and the commanders of the free peoples are taking counsel with Gandalf.

What I suggest for the game is that the company stay put for the rest of this day and night, and then again for tomorrow (the 17th) as they will only travel at night when in the open. This means for the next little bit (a week in the real world?) our posts can be more character-driven as we work through the questions and tensions in the wake of our encounter with Shelob.

On the night of the 17th, we will work our way down to the beginning of the Morgul Vale and then lie low again for the day of the 18th. That night we will go into the pass and try to sneak out of Mordor that way. Now, those of you who are familiar with Appendix B in LotR will know that Aragorn leads his army from Minas Tirith on the 18th, so there's a good chance that the new Nazgul leader will be marching his army through that same pass to join Sauron's forces at the Morannon ).

At any rate, that's a quick look ahead. For the time being, tend to the wounded, air your greivances, knit up new friendships, think of our failure to escape, debate our next steps, eat some food and drink some water. . .

OH! And by the way. . .remember Lurg? He's still lurking about somewhere. Heh heh.