The Green Dragon Inn #11 - The Last Chapter - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Hookbill the Goomba · 03-12-2006, 02:37 AM

The memory of past things weighed heavy on the heart of Fáinu as he sat there in the Inn; drinking ale he thought he'd never taste again. Cree stared him in the eyes and all the more, the 'adventure' seemed closer than ever and full of the bitterness he could recall. The unusual beast had left its mark on the minds of all the travellers, Cree not the least.

Avalon seemed to dance upon the table, unnerved, sensing something more was to be said, almost impatient to hear the rest of the tale. "They were a terrible climb, the Grey Mountains," continued Fáinu, "Heartache awaited us, and we knew it well. Kili and Fundin talked endlessly of how they wished to see the Dragon's gold. They had always known the tales of Smaug the terrible and his horde, only hoping that they could have a share in what was in this Dragon's den.

"We girded ourselves and travelled along a stony path that wound around the mountain. The path was old and broken, we all had to take careful steps so not to risk tripping on lose rocks a paving. Kili had the most trouble in this area, as his feet were small and short, his beard got very dusty and he became irritated.
"Oh dash and blast it,” he cried throwing his pack on the floor, “can we not rest a little, we have been walking for nearly an hour.” I told him that we had to carry on, regardless of the terrible state of the path.
Soon we came to some nearly vertical steps. The wind howled around like a cruel bird, no offence Avalon, almost blowing us off at points. We dug into the stone with knives to stop from falling. Fundin and Kili were the only ones who had trouble climbing this; Elves can climb naturally, especially trees and mountains.

"Snow began to fall as we found ourselves higher than ever. At fist it was light and I at least found it bearable. Soon it became a blizzard; lumps of snow would crash into our faces and we would stumble around like blind mice in an earthquake. Cree, who took up the rear, often seemed to be wading in the snow as it got neck deep. I trudged through the snow covering my eyes with anything, my cloak proved the best for this. However this blocked my vision and I found myself on the edge of the path. So I moved inwards whenever I saw the edge, but still it was unnerving.

"We eventually came to a high peak that overlooked the lands north of the Grey Mountains. The Snow clouds were below us and we could not see anything, but there was a black cloud hovering, all too near to us. We found a cave and camped for the night, knowing that in the next few days, we would probably meet the Dragon and our fate. The cave was warm at least, but I not like that, the burns on the walls told us that the Dragon had been there. We found some bones on the floor.

"Kili looked and confirmed that they were Dwarves. He and Fundin buried the bones in the Dwarf manner, refusing to take any of the weapons that they had been found with. Even if they were made of Gold. 'A Dwarf will keep his treasure,' they said, 'even in death, we must honour that.'"

The mention of the bones had unnerved Cree, it was never pleasant to see death, but that had been the biggest reminder that they would very probably have died in the fight against the Dragon. Avalon seemed to have settled down and was sat eating some cram that Fáinu had given her. The cram the Dale men made was second to none.

"So we awoke the next morning," the Elf continued, "and found that they snow had cleared. But the cave entrance was blocked slightly by snow and fallen rock. It took us a while to move it, but Dwarves are hardy folk. We looked down, down into the Dragon Pit that lay before us. We could see a wide basin, black as cole, riddled with cracks and pits, all of which seemed to give out smog that melted the snow. We could see Orcs down there. There were even some Trolls." Avalon coughed and stood up again. "Yes, Trolls. But no Dragon. It was probably asleep, or pretending to be. We girded ourselves and made our way down towards it. The Dwarves said there would probably be a day’s march before we got there. That was little comfort.

"As we marched, a loud roar was heard, like a hurricane filled with fire. A Bright flame leaped up into the air. I flung myself on the ground, as the burn on m hand seemed to grow in agony. Then we saw it..."

03-12-2006, 02:37 AM	#26
Hookbill the Goomba Alive without breath Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: On A Cold Wind To Valhalla Posts: 5,912	The Path in the Grey Mountains The memory of past things weighed heavy on the heart of Fáinu as he sat there in the Inn; drinking ale he thought he'd never taste again. Cree stared him in the eyes and all the more, the 'adventure' seemed closer than ever and full of the bitterness he could recall. The unusual beast had left its mark on the minds of all the travellers, Cree not the least. Avalon seemed to dance upon the table, unnerved, sensing something more was to be said, almost impatient to hear the rest of the tale. "They were a terrible climb, the Grey Mountains," continued Fáinu, "Heartache awaited us, and we knew it well. Kili and Fundin talked endlessly of how they wished to see the Dragon's gold. They had always known the tales of Smaug the terrible and his horde, only hoping that they could have a share in what was in this Dragon's den. "We girded ourselves and travelled along a stony path that wound around the mountain. The path was old and broken, we all had to take careful steps so not to risk tripping on lose rocks a paving. Kili had the most trouble in this area, as his feet were small and short, his beard got very dusty and he became irritated. "Oh dash and blast it,” he cried throwing his pack on the floor, “can we not rest a little, we have been walking for nearly an hour.” I told him that we had to carry on, regardless of the terrible state of the path. Soon we came to some nearly vertical steps. The wind howled around like a cruel bird, no offence Avalon, almost blowing us off at points. We dug into the stone with knives to stop from falling. Fundin and Kili were the only ones who had trouble climbing this; Elves can climb naturally, especially trees and mountains. "Snow began to fall as we found ourselves higher than ever. At fist it was light and I at least found it bearable. Soon it became a blizzard; lumps of snow would crash into our faces and we would stumble around like blind mice in an earthquake. Cree, who took up the rear, often seemed to be wading in the snow as it got neck deep. I trudged through the snow covering my eyes with anything, my cloak proved the best for this. However this blocked my vision and I found myself on the edge of the path. So I moved inwards whenever I saw the edge, but still it was unnerving. "We eventually came to a high peak that overlooked the lands north of the Grey Mountains. The Snow clouds were below us and we could not see anything, but there was a black cloud hovering, all too near to us. We found a cave and camped for the night, knowing that in the next few days, we would probably meet the Dragon and our fate. The cave was warm at least, but I not like that, the burns on the walls told us that the Dragon had been there. We found some bones on the floor. "Kili looked and confirmed that they were Dwarves. He and Fundin buried the bones in the Dwarf manner, refusing to take any of the weapons that they had been found with. Even if they were made of Gold. 'A Dwarf will keep his treasure,' they said, 'even in death, we must honour that.'" The mention of the bones had unnerved Cree, it was never pleasant to see death, but that had been the biggest reminder that they would very probably have died in the fight against the Dragon. Avalon seemed to have settled down and was sat eating some cram that Fáinu had given her. The cram the Dale men made was second to none. "So we awoke the next morning," the Elf continued, "and found that they snow had cleared. But the cave entrance was blocked slightly by snow and fallen rock. It took us a while to move it, but Dwarves are hardy folk. We looked down, down into the Dragon Pit that lay before us. We could see a wide basin, black as cole, riddled with cracks and pits, all of which seemed to give out smog that melted the snow. We could see Orcs down there. There were even some Trolls." Avalon coughed and stood up again. "Yes, Trolls. But no Dragon. It was probably asleep, or pretending to be. We girded ourselves and made our way down towards it. The Dwarves said there would probably be a day’s march before we got there. That was little comfort. "As we marched, a loud roar was heard, like a hurricane filled with fire. A Bright flame leaped up into the air. I flung myself on the ground, as the burn on m hand seemed to grow in agony. Then we saw it..." __________________ I think that if you want facts, then The Downer Newspaper is probably the place to go. I know! I read it once. THE PHANTOM AND ALIEN: The Legend of the Golden Bus Ticket...