Land of Darkness Discussion Thread

[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 Does Oxford house any unpublished papesr of Tolkien's?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.

[Novnarwen]

Hello!

Sorry for not posting the last week. (God, I feel bad!). Been busy, and away. But now, I'm sort of back. Anyway, here are two short 'catch-up-posts'. I hope they will help on my conscience!

This should probably be placed at the bottom of Fordim's reply #95.

Rhând

Seeing the two dwarves lying on the cold ground, the young Haradrim swallowed. Grash had already headed over, and was now grabbing Brór by the arms and dragging him towards a safe corner in the cavern. Rhând went unwillingly, and fairly hesitant, to take the other. He took the dwarf's hands, eyes filled with disgust, immediately understanding that something was wrong. The petty little creature was covered in blood, and his pale face revealed his fate.

"You darned fool!" Frowning, Rhând looked at the dwarf shaking with anger. Again, it seemed like an impossible task to earn his freedom and again serve Him. Already, there was one man down. And realising that only one night hadn't passed since they had escaped, he sighed miserably. Was it possible to go on for days in this land without the whole lot of them getting killed? The thought of returning to Him with only two or three prisoners out of twelve in total, didn't sound very promising. On the other hand, would this dwarf really be missed? By the look of him, Rhând guessed that he was of no worth, but still it bothered him. "Breathe you disgraceful hound!" he muttered. It became clear to him, however, that he had more concerns. The dwarf was one thing, but he was dead and nothing could be done about it. Then another thing bothered him even more: the women. He would have to focus on them now. First priority, he thought. They knew he had taken suverah, and that he hadn't used it to overcome Shelob. Surely, they had to be suspicious when it came to his behaviour and especially why he didn't use it against the monster. He would have to take care of them as soon as they escaped the spider, before they told anyone else.

Rising from his position, he trudged over to Grash's side, eager to know what had become of Brór. "One more dead fool and my chances will be ruined," he said under his breath as he settled himself down with Grash.

"Bring other Dwarf!” Grash looked at Rhând, or Aldor as he knew him, and pointed at the other dwarf. Stupid twit, Rhând thought to himself, turning his attention to the body again.

With great effort he managed to press forwards that Dorim was dead. He tried to look into Grash's eyes, but it was hopelss.The whole thing, Rhând realised, was so ironic that he was just about to break into a great laughter. If it hadn't been for the cloth, which still was tied to his face, the other prisoner would have seen the gigantic smile of his.

***

This one should be placed under, above (wherever you want it basically,) in Bethberry's reply # 100.

Rhând - *** THIS ONE HAS BEEN PLACED ON THE GAME *** - PIO

He turned his attention to the battle. The Spider had in fact been much larger than he had first expected, but he admired her greatness. In his childhood, he had heard of Shelob's mother, Ungoliant. What a great creature it had been. Her disgraceful offspring, Shelob, was, in Rhând’s opinion, almost greater. Of course, this was only because he stood nearly face to face to Shelob, meanwhile he had only heard of her mother, Ungoliant.

Feeling both excited, and nervous, he grabbed his sword. Drawing it out of the sheath, he nodded at Grash, who still knelt by the petty dwarves, saying:" I'm ready, if she comes." A feeling of satisfaction made him giggle with delight. If this didn't make, at least, Grash certain of Rhând's devotion to the prisoners escape, what would? A man with bad intentions would not sacrifice himself in this way. However, knowing that Shelob was indeed busy with her other preys, some of the other prisoners, Rhând felt quite safe where he stood pretending to be brave. The dim light didn't allow him to get a proper look of what was going on. He heard cries of pain and of despair, but also eager cries which came from prisoners who were up for a good fight with the spider. Focusing, his gaze wandering around and at the same time listening eagerly to the battle, he finally spotted one of the women: Darash.

The woman was mainly trying to get to Shelob's legs. Rhând hoped she failed. For a minute or so, he even pictured Darash lying at the ground screaming with pain and horror when Shelob ended her life. One threat would be eliminated by this, he figured, and everything would again be simple, or at least simpler than how things were now. He didn't care much of what his Master would say now. If the women knew and were suspicious towards his behaviour, what else was there to do than kill them? It would only be easier for him if Shelob took care of Darash. His only remaining problem would be this Lyshkia, but he supposed it would be quite entertaining to end her life. Yes, Shelob could be very useful if only she could wipe Darash out of the game. Giggling, still following the battle, he crossed his fingers and hoped that his wish would come true.

Come on... Come on now... Almost, almost.. Shaking and trembling with excitement, feeling the tension in his body increase, he watched the woman stumble. For every step she took, she grew nearer and nearer death. How exciting, he thought to himself thrilled by how the situation seemed to develop. "Now! Come on!" he whispered seeing Darash being thrown to the ground. The climax had been reached; it was only for Shelob to end it. A few seconds passed, Darash lay on the ground and Shelob approached. Rhând waited impatiently for Darash to draw her last breath.

"Darn you Lyshkia!" His body seemed to explode. Seconds before his wish had been granted to him, this other fool of a woman had appeared. She was now fighting valiantly against the gigantic spider. Soon, Darash got to her feet as well, and together the two women aimed for the spider's legs. He cursed his bad luck. So near . . he thought being unsatisfied. He sighed.

Darash caught his eye, as he cursed for the second time. Was she expecting his aid, or had she seen him while he was waiting anxiously for Shelob to kill her?

**

Hope they were alright. If not, then just give me a note and I'll edit.

Thanks in advance,
Nova

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

Nova: I've pasted your post into mine at #95. Mayhap the next time she's through here Bethberry will put your other addition below hers??

Alternately, perhaps Pio might notice this first and insert your post into the appropriate space.

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EDIT: Nova's second post has been placed on the game - below Bethberry's

~*~ Pio

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

Thank you much Pio, you never cease to amaze.

CaptainofDespair: as always, a nice post, but there's one odd geographical oddity in it: the company is on the eastern edge of the Mountains of Shadow so they can only look east to the plains of Gorgoroth, north toward the gap of Udun and south into the vasty distance. . .so Minas Morgul (which is to the west, and thus behind the mountains) is not visible from where we are. Could I ask you to edit out the wonderfully atmospheric description of the evil city (but don't lose it, since we might just be passing that way eventually. . .)

If I might make one suggestion: Morgoroth has the keen eyes of his race, so from where we are currently, he should be able to get a good look at Barad Dur!

Himaran and Kransha: you're not going to make Morgoroth carry Dorim all the way out of Mordor, are you??

[CaptainofDespair]

Ack...that is an oddity...one I was not aware of. I will delete the post, and edit it later...:P

Edit: Well, I posted the editted version. Hopefully it still conveys what I originally planned it to.