Siege of Gundabad RPG

[Boromir88]

Beluf looks at Adranel, and smiles warmly, "Not too long, we've been here for almost a day, and took us less then a day to get here. Sjorging wants to start off before this storm comes and he fears more orcs are on there way." At that he notices Adranel shudder, and almost appear as if her eyes began to water, but she quickly covered them up, and Beluf decided not to ask. "Yes, we are going to King Brand, we need to alert him about the raiding orcs, Dale is in trouble."

There was another long silence, Gelding and Sjorging had wondered off. Beluf continued, "I noticed some tension between you and Sjorging, don't worry about him, he's just got a hard-heart, that is his nickname after all. It's not that he's arrogant or anything, he's anything but arrogant, it's just that it's hard to win his respect, especially if you are someone he doesn't know. I'm not even sure if I've won it yet, but oh well, you get used to it after a while. I tend to keep my distance whenever possible, him and Gelding can worry about themselves."

Adranel simply nodded, but seemed as if she didn't care for any of Beluf's advice, if she wanted to say anything to Sjorging she would do it. "What about this Gelding?" she asked. Adranel didn't care what any of these men thought of her, but she had wondered about Gelding, who always seemed to follow Sjorging.

"Ahhh, Gelding, he's a good lad, you might say he keeps Sjorging in line, eventhough if Sjorging would never admit that. I guess they go a long way back, been best friends their whole life."

They both left things at that, it appeared to Beluf that Adranel wasn't going to say anything about herself, and was starting to get drouzy. Beluf wasn't going to press for answers. Sjorging and Gelding came back, and as the day was coming to a close, they began to prepare some dinner, before they would call it a night.

[Beserker_Warrior]

Snagar woke the next morning with a throbbing head and a nasty temper "Where have those two got too?" he roared, even though it alomst split his head, or so it felt," I sent them off for food last night and they aren't back yet! Bashrank when did you last see those two sniveling litte rats?" Bashrank shuffled forward with a defiant gleam in his eye, " I ain't seen them two since last night Cheif," he snarled," I thinks that they left us here, deserted, I mean. They was always saying hatefull thigs about the Cheif, right buckoes!" Murmered assents came from the other orcs.

Snagar drew his sword and had it at Bashrank's throat in a flash," Maybe they did and maybe they didn't, did it ever occur to you that they could have died in the storm,oh yes Bashrank, I see through your plan, let me go off and find them while you take over here and rally them all to you so you can be Cheif, right," with a viscious slash Snagar slew Bashrank on the spot,

" Anybody else want to be Cheif boys, no, I thought so you sniveling dogs. You score and Bishrah your going on a raid, we need supplies and it's the middle of winter, raid any villages or small towns you can find and be back here quick!" They all mumbled some form of agknowledgement and left the trash heap they called home.

[Firefoot]

Adranel’s mouth watered at the scent of dinner. For the first time since yesterday morning, food sounded good to her, and she was starving. It was only some dried meat and a the type of waybread that the people of Dale used for journeys, but to her it seemed a feast. She was also looking forward to a good night’s sleep after she ate. Though she didn’t realize it, being around other people had given her the will to live again. Beluf especially helped her, and she was relieved that he hadn’t questioned her for details on herself. He reminded her of someone, though she couldn’t place who. She knew she should be able to, and it was bothering her that she couldn’t.

As she ate her share of the meal, she observed the two older men surreptitiously, keeping in mind what Beluf had said earlier. She was grateful for his opinions on them, and though she intended to use his advice she wouldn’t necessarily follow it. What he had said about Gelding keeping Sjorging in line surprised her; she had immediately assumed that Sjorging was the leader of the three. Maybe it was more of a partnership. The rest of what Beluf had said made sense to her, fitting in with the pieces of Sjorging and Gelding’s personalities that she had already figured out. If it took a while for Sjorging to respect someone, it made sense that had been rather unfriendly to her. Well, if he was going to come to respect her it would be because of herself, not because she kept her distance and didn’t speak up if she had something to say.

They finished up their meal in silence and began putting things away. Beluf banked the fire for the night, and the other two began preparing for the night. Adranel helped out where she could, but she felt out of place in their camp, unsure of what she should be doing. It was getting dark, and the only light came from the fire. Adranel had long since noticed that there was only one tent, and figured she would be sleeping outside it, which didn’t bother her. There was a fire, which was more than she had had last night. Finally the activity started to die down, and the four of them were ready to call it a night.

“We’ll be leaving as soon as it’s light out,” Sjorging reminded her. Adranel heard the unspoken words clearly: Don’t keep us waiting.

“All right,” she said, with an undertone of her own: Anything else? I already knew that. Sjorging frowned and disappeared into the tent. A few moments later Beluf poked his head out and tossed her a blanket.

“Here,” he said. “It’s cold out there. Sorry we don’t have another tent or something.” Adranel caught the thick blanket deftly and waved away his concerns with her free hand.

“It’s alright, really,” she said. “Thanks for the blanket, though. Good night.”

“Good night,” said Beluf, the flickering firelight casting shadows on his face. He ducked back into tent and Adranel was left alone. She laid down as close to the fire as she dared and wrapped the heavy blanket around her. During the day, she had been distracted from herself by the men. Now, during the night, there was no such diversion and she was alone with her thoughts. She soon fell asleep, but not before quiet tears had started to trickle down her cheeks.

*~*~*

Old habits die hard, and it had been a long time since Adranel had slept in. When she awoke, streaks of pink and orange lined the ominous clouds that had moved in over night. Sjorging had been right; a storm was coming. She sat up and stretched, wondering again why she had decided to go with these men. She could just go now, before they awoke... she shook her head with a small smile. No, she had said she would go with them, and, if she would admit it to herself, she rather liked Beluf’s company. Night had brought no hint as to who he reminded her of so strongly.

No signs of life yet came from the tent, and Adranel took a few minutes to enjoy the early stages of sunrise. Though her mood was far from cheery, there were glimmers of hope stirring inside her. Deciding she didn’t want to lay around any longer, she got up and immediately considered snuggling right back into her blanket; the temperature was frigid cold. The combination of blanket and fire had kept her much warmer than she had realized. With a shrug, she began methodically folding the blanket, setting it down near the tent when she finished. All the supplies that had been used had been packed up yesterday night so that they might get an early start this morning, so Adranel sat down on a log near the fire and began finger-combing through her hair while she waited for the men to wake up.

She did not have to wait long - only a few minutes to be precise - before they began arousing. Sjorging was the first to appear out of the tent, and seeing her said, “You’re up.” There was a more than a bit of surprise in his voice, and though it was so brief she couldn’t be sure, Adranel thought she had also heard a hint of approval. Adranel smiled as if to herself

“I am. Good morning,” Adranel replied. It sounded stiff, but she was at least trying to be polite. She bit back the sarcastic remark what did you expect?, knowing full well what the answer would have been.

Beluf and Gelding emerged then, and they ate a quick breakfast, not even taking the time to cook anything over the fire that had now died to embers. The four of them all helped to dissemble the tent and pick up anything they might have left unpacked. Adranel was eager to be going, as she had spent the entire day yesterday idle, though she had needed the rest.

“I suppose we’re ready to go, then? If you have a fourth pack, I wouldn’t mind carrying some things,” offered Adranel.

[CaptainofDespair]

With the Sun’s decline, the night slowly crept over the slowly marching host of Gondorians. The darkness also brought its seasonal friend, the winter cold, and no one wanted to be out with those two roaming the land. Not only could the cold kill, but it relaxed the senses, and the darkness was eager to hide the dangers of the night, which included the roving Orcs raiding parties. Thus, the soldiers were craving a safe, somewhat warm hide-out, some place they could rest easy. Apparently, such a place had been found by Mordred, one of the scouts sent forth to find a camp site. It was a small cave, which would provide some manner of insulation from the weather, and was rather easy to defend. Uther was pleased with the find, and ordered the troops to it, with Mordred acting as the guide.

The march was still not as easy as Uther had hoped. Many of the men were struggling to make it through the light snow, which had hampered the movements of the overburdened soldiers. After an hour or so of leading the column, Mordred halted, and whispered to his commander that they were now only a few hundred yards from the cave’s entrance. The lieutenant dispatched a small contingent of soldiers to explore the cave more fully, and to begin constructing the palisades to defend them. The next hour crept by slowly, as the forward expedition finally sent word back that the cave was cleared, and that the stockade wall was nearing completion.

But, as Uther gave the order for the final leg of the march, there came wheeling out across the snow, a single horsemen. It was one of the other scouts sent out to discover a habitable camp location. But this one didn’t come back with good news. The scout, after pushing his horse the last bit to the column, brought news of a small village, and the carnage and burnt wreckage of what was left after the supposed Orc raid. Yet, the scout was not done. He also had sighted the Orcs, some ways from the village, along a tree-line. As he explored the trees, looking for any prisoners the Orcs might have left behind, he discovered the unconscious body of what appeared to be a man, one of Dale. He had brought the body some ways, upon his own horse, before coming across another scout, to whom he transferred the incapacitated man to. That scout, would be due back any moment.

After his discussion with the scout, Uther, and a small group of soldiers acting as his guard, made their way to cave, where they unloaded their burdens, and prepared to rest themselves for the next day’s march. Slowly went the night, without any signs of the Orcs. The final scout, bearing the body of the man, who was now wrapped in the furs of the soldier, had appeared earlier in the evening, and had taken the man to a tent where he could rest, and be treated for any wounds. Uther spent his night dwelling on the day’s events, and planning a sortie against the Orcs the scout had seen.

********************

Even before the sun had arisen into the sky, Uther was up and about, planning the day’s march. He had been displeased with the first two, in which his men had constantly complained of the harsh conditions, which they claimed they could not fight in. But, he was determined to force the best out of these soldiers, and bring the Orcs to their knees.

With the sun’s ascent into the dim morning sky, the soldiers slowly came to, as did the mysterious man the scout had found the day prior. After the men had finished consuming their morning rations of gruel, water, and small portion of salted pork, they quickly began to pack up their camp, and load the supplies onto the pack animals. Once this chore had been completed, Uther ordered them into marching formation, and gave them the order to move out. Some of the men wished to stay in that cave only a bit longer, for it was warm, and more comfortable than the hard soil of the plains of Dale.

Slowly, the column began to weave its way through the snowy fields. Uther was quite pleased at the moment, for his men seemed to be invigorated, and reborn with a new life. They moved faster then what he expected, and were far more orderly now. Deep within himself, he wished it would hold like that until their task was done. But in his mind, he knew it would not. Mutiny could crop up at any moment, and knowing his luck, it would happen when it was most unwanted.

But he kept up his somewhat stern facade, hoping to keep his thoughts as that, just thoughts. Needing a change of pace, he took himself for a trip down the broken paths of his memory, to his campaigns in Harad, and his tenure as an administrator in Minas Tirith. He slightly missed those days, where life was easy, and he didn’t have much work to do. He was eager to retake that position now. This small stint as a commander was not going well for him, and he generally disliked leading such soldiers, who were obviously ill-prepared for the rigors of war. Maybe he could retire after this, and buy a farm, and live out the rest of his days away from the cities of Men.

But Uther could not keep up those thoughts, and his mind drifted back to the current, almost desperate situation. He immediately began wondering where those Orcs had gone, for he wished to hunt them, and bring them down. He thought for a while, and realized a scout had brought back that man, who has been lying unconscious in the cold snow. Thus he ordered the man to be questioned, preferably by a sergeant, or even the scout who found him. Then, he sat back in the saddle of his horse, and waited for the answers, and for the day to pass him by.

[Boromir88]

After the meal Sjorging and Gelding retreated back into the tent, soon accompanied by Beluf. They all settled down, there was no talk between them until Belup popped up, "You know, Adranel is probably freezing out there. Maybe, we should give her a blanket."

"We don't have extra blankets," Sjorging grunts, "if you want to give her yours and freeze, by all means do so."

Beluf poked his head out of the tent "Here, It’s cold out there. Sorry we don’t have another tent or something.” He tossed her the blanket, Adranel thanked him, and he went back into the tent. Gelding was already sleeping, he also tended to snore a lot. Soon Beluf and Sjorging fell into a dreamless slumber, and morning was about them again.

Sjorging awoke yawning and rubbing his eyes. He got up stretched, and made his way out the tent. To his surprise, Adranel was already up, and getting ready. "You're up" he says.

Adranel was irritated by this statement, but she could tell he was suprised, and wondered if that was a good thing. She even thought he might have been pleased that she was ready, but what else did he expect? "I am. Good morning." she responds.

Beluf and Gelding came out of the tent. Beluf immediately smiled seeing that Adranel was already up, he was worried what Sjorging would have done if she wasn't. Sjorging said there was no time to get the fire started again, so for breakfast they all settled for some bread, atleast that would give them some energy for the journey ahead.

After breakfast they, all packed and started preparing for the road to come. “I suppose we’re ready to go, then? If you have a fourth pack, I wouldn’t mind carrying some things,” offered Adranel.

"That'll be all right," Beluf responed, "We only took what we could carry on our backs."

"Not unless you wouldn't mind carrying my stuff?" Gelding chucked. Gelding was often the humorous one of the three.

Without any objections the four of them set off, with the storm behind them, and who knows what other evils ahead. They hadn't even travelled two hours when Gelding spotted a soldier, wearing some strange armor, and was upon a horse. "That's a man of Gondor." he exclaimed.

"See I knew King Elessar would deal with these orcs" Beluf said. Sjorging turned and gave Beluf a sharp glare. He was very doubtful of this King, from a distant land, despite his widespread prestige. Sjorging signaled the soldier over, and explained their business.

"This is good news, I'm sure Lord Uther would be pleased to hear what you have to tell, being that you are all from Dale. Maybe you can tell him a bit about these rampaging orcs." said the Scout. Beluf turned and faced Adranel, he was smiling, but noticed something was wrong. "Everything ok?" he asks.

Adranel simply nodded, she was questioning why she even came along in the first place. Now she's going to be around a whole army of soldiers, and from GONDOR. Beluf frowned, he could tell something was bothering her, but didn't have any business to further delve into the subject.

It wasn't long before they all spotted the host up ahead, they were resting at this moment. Sjorging lets out a grunt, he wasn't pleased with this puny army of peasants the King had thrown together. He expects this rubble to break through the fortress of Gundabad.

Sjorging and Gelding approached the captain, Beluf and Adranel had wandered away from everyone. Sjorging explained the whole story of having their town attacked and making their way across Dale.

"We are here for that exact reason," Uther boasts, "to get rid of these orcs once and for all." Sjorging thinks to himself, good luck with that, you'll be lucky to put a dent into the force, with these men you have.

"There's an orc company up ahead that's been roaming through the Dale, burning as they go." Gelding remarks. "Also, it might be good to stop here, there's a nasty storm on it's way, I deem. However, you are in charge, and our road lies onward, not back."

Uther nods and grants Sjorging and the rest of them to stay as long as they wish. Beluf and Adranel were quite a bit away from the camp, they didn't care to talk to any of the Gondorians. They just sat and stared ahead, wondering what was to happen next.

[Firefoot]

Adranel sat silently on a fallen log with Beluf, wondering if this all was some kind of joke. Some cruel, terrible joke fate was playing solely on her. These Gondorians - there were perhaps seventy of them, and that was being generous - expected to get rid of the Orcs? She had seen them, had watched them destroy her village. Though not large, her village must have had at least the number of people here, and those Orcs had overrun them like a pack of wolves would take down a deer. Granted, these were trained soldiers, but what did they expect to do against so many? Did they see any hope in this mission? She suspected that the vast majority of the men there were older than herself, but she wondered if she wasn’t the wiser.

Hearing the foolish words of the general - Uther, was it? - and seeing this small force had brought back the flood of memories she had fought to lock up. The too-familiar lump had risen in her throat again, but she fought it down. For a moment, she considered confiding in Beluf. His village had been destroyed, too, hadn’t it? Had not he lost everything dear to him? So why didn’t he seem to suffer as she did? She banished the thought. He was a still a stranger to her, really, though there was a familiarity about him. What did she need to confide in him for? She was strong. She didn’t need him - or anyone. Why, oh why, hadn’t she just continued on her way alone? Relationships with people brought nothing but pain and sorrow. Once more, she drove back the memories and locked them away, but this time they were nearer the surface, though certainly not by her own choosing. The slightly vacant look returned to her eyes, and the hope she had felt earlier that morning vanished.

A darted glance showed her that Sjorging and Gelding were still speaking with the general. She wondered what was going to happen, and Beluf appeared to be thinking the same thing. She realized then that he was almost as much an outsider to the two old friends as she was.

“What do you think is going to happen? I mean, your whole purpose was to tell King Brand of the Orcs ravaging the area, wasn’t it? But now... these troops have come,” she commented. More quietly, she added, “Not that I can see what good so few will do against so many.”

“Yes... I see what you mean,” Beluf mused. “I’m not sure what they’ll decide. It might be that they choose to join the Gondorians.” Adranel nodded. What would she do then? She had no place with a military unit. She had difficulty calling it an army - it simply wasn’t big enough. Would she go on alone to Dale? What then? She did not know anyone in Dale, and in fact had only been there once. She imagined that she would end up going with Sjorging and Gelding’s decision. At least she knew them.

So many unanswered questions. Only a few days ago, she had been sure of her future. Everything she had known to be true had been shaken off its foundation, leaving her in a desperate state of unsureness. They sat in silence again, neither sure what the future held in store.

[Novnarwen]

Something was touching his cheek, gently, like an early morning breeze. Liquid of some sort was being forced into his mouth, and it ran down his throat. It tickled. He smiled weakly, and sighed. It had given him a wonderful feeling; it had grasped him like a firm hand. He felt warmth streaming into his body, spreading. As it ran through every vein in his body, it was giving him new life, a new existence. It was as if he had never felt warm before. It was a new feeling, which he enjoyed to the fullest. He moved his head from his resting position, getting the impression that it was light as a feather as his strength was slowly starting to come back.

Suddenly, something cold seemed to stir him from this wonderful dream. He opened his eyes wide. The strength of the light that met him, made his eyes burn in pain. All of a sudden, he knew what it was. "Nonna," he said, his voice willed with anxiety, "Nonna." He continued his mutterings until his eyes had gotten used to the yellow rays that pointed directly at him. Finally being able to fully open his eyes, he was at once filled with disappointment when he discovered that it was not her. Was it not she who usually lit up his day like nothing else? Who was it then if not her? Desperately, he looked around, searching for her amongst the few men that stood in front of him closing about him. He tried furiously to rise to his feet but it was all in vain. His body didn’t function; his limbs were still stiff and cold, frozen and immovable. He grabbed the blanket that covered him from top to toe and pulled it over himself completely. What was this? Who were these men that slowly surrounded him? He hid; he was invincible. No one could harm him, no one.

"He is awake! Uther, he is awake!" A man jumped down from his horse, eagerly coming towards the newly awaked man.

Hurriedly, someone tried pulling the blanket off him, but Ingemar held tightly. How come they still knew that he was there? Horrified by this thought, he started crying. They were monsters! They had to be. How could they else see him, if he was invincible? He felt the strength of a man pulling from the other side of the blanket overcome his own; in a second he lost his grip and the blanket was ripped away from him.

Ingemar stared wildly around, not certain about what to do. Flashbacks of events he recognised, but could not place into time or date, made him cry out in despair. He grew silent as the pictures from his past started rolling around in his head. Norna, his sister, with a basket of fruits and meat, was visiting in his cabin. They were playing, and he was laughing. All of a sudden she was gone, replaced by odd figures whose heavy boots made the ground tremble. They were screaming, squeaking, and making noises like hungry wolves. They bore lit torches. Smoke, heavy dark smoke, like clouds, surrounded him. They embraced him like a friends, performing magic. His cottage was gone, gone behind the reddish curtain.

The man was interrupted; the images in his head disappeared. Someone was grabbing him, holding him firmly by the arm, shaking him madly. A pair of grim eyes stared at him, as if trying to read him like an open book. "What is your name?" the man, who was staring at Ingemar, asked.

Politely, yet hesitating, Ingemar answered; "Innemaa."

A smile appeared in the middle-aged man's face. "My name is Uther."

"Uthee," Ingemar copied.

"He seems a bit lost, probably due to the cold night he has spent outside, or he's had too much beer for one night." There was a roar of laughter, but it was quickly silenced.

"Let's bring him with us. When he's perking up, I'll question him."