The Unexpected Unparty! - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Estelyn Telcontar · 04-30-2008, 10:08 PM

In a hole in the ground there was a Forum. Not a nasty, forbidding forum, filled with snooty insiders and flaming trolls, nor yet a dry, dusty academic forum with highbrow essays and no place to have fun: it was a Downs Forum, and that means comfort! It had a perfectly accessible door painted black with glowing green letters on it. The door opened into a many-tunnelled maze of sub-forums provided with inviting threads and lots and lots of space for visitors, for its members were fond of newcomers. There were rooms devoted to book discussions, others for those interested in movies, and still others for the learned, who knew where the answers to questions of import were to be found. From one room peals of laughter came; it was obviously filled with mirth. Other rooms were devoted to the telling of stories.

Estelyn stepped up to the Door briskly and expectantly. Today was a very special day, and she anticipated a party of special magnificence in celebration of the event. It was a birthday – no, not yet an eleventy-first; still, eight was a reputable number of years to have spent among such excellent and admirable members. She silently rehearsed the spontaneous speech she intended to hold: “I shall not keep you long. I have called you all together for a Purpose. First of all, to tell you that I am immensely fond of you all...” (Well, almost all, she thought with a rueful smile.)

She could not hear voices inside as she laid her hand on the knob, but that did not worry her. It was early, and she liked it that way. It would give her time to check whether everything she had prepared for the party was in place. Her fingers turned the knob, but nothing happened – the Door was shut. A sign proclaimed, “Only the dead can pass.”

“But I am one of the dead here,” she thought. “I even have a small key, the very least of keys, yet I must enter to use it. The One Key to open all is held by the ghastly hand of The Barrow-Wight alone, and he sleeps under his mound. What can I do?”

She awoke with a start. The sun was shining into her window reassuringly, and she breathed a sigh of relief as she realized that the horror of which she had dreamt was only a nightmare. Hurriedly she prepared herself for the big day and ran to the Door. But what was this? The barrel that she had filled with greeting mathoms for the guests was now empty, save for the notes and cards that were strewn around it. Apparently others had attempted to come, but she now stood alone. Her nightmare had come true. No food, no drinks, no music, no presents – would there be no party today?

Estelyn Telcontar · 04-30-2008, 11:26 PM

Determined not to let a setback like this stop the most important event of the year, Estelyn pondered the alternatives. Write a birthday greeting and leave? That would fulfill the polite duty, at least, to congratulate the Barrow-Wight on this day. But she felt that it would not be enough; after all, the Barrow was a place of meeting for its members, and that needed to be celebrated with a gathering. If the Barrow could not be entered, perhaps they could...

A precedent occurred to her - long ago there had been revelling outside a barrow. Fortunately this time there had been no loss of clothing involved! A lawn party - that was it. Quickly she took a card and wrote a notice in bold letters:

Quote:

Written birthday greetings may be left here. For all who have time, please join us on the lawn outside for an impromptu birthday party: come as you are, bring what you wish, and let's have fun today!

She tacked the notice to the Door above the barrel and smiled in anticipation.

Rumil · 04-30-2008, 11:40 PM

Rumil was wandering slightly aimlessly, as usual. Important events and mighty deeds may have existed somewhere at the back of his mind but at the front there was very little that might be dignified as thought.

Distractedly, he sauntered across the grim, grey-green threshold that signified one of his habitual lurking spots. There were strange pieces of card and paper notes littering the entrance, a few of which he idly tickled with the tip of his boot as he made his way into the comfortable emerald glow of the barrow. Suddenly he stopped, his eyes coming sharply into focus for the first time in the last half-hour.

'Party? Party! What's all this about then?', then bending to examine a card, 'Alatar must be around here somewhere, and there seems to be some sort of problem with the door. How strange!'. With the tip of his finger Rumil gently pushed the great, but cunningly balanced, slab of granite that served as the barrow door. As usual it swung to and fro at the lightest touch, sometimes seeming to slow down unnaturally mid-swing then speed up again, as was characteristic of this eerie place.

'Hmmm', said Rumil, 'there's something funny about this and no mistake', and pondering, suddenly exclaimed 'It's yesterday!, or tomorrow or something, surely isn't it? Far, far away from my home-barrow, it should be yesterday, but my palantir has forgotten that I have traveled so many leagues and thinks it is now tomorrow. Oh dear my head is aching.'

A light interrogative cough emanated from a far corner of he barrow, where mysterious passageways twist and turn enough to make you dizzy. A click-clack on the floor as of party shoes on bare stone, and a faint squirrel-esque chittering, heard as if in the far distance. 'I know who that is'

'Hail and well met Estelyn!' cried Rumil, glad to see a familiar and friendly face 'I'm not really sure if it's yesterday or tomorrow at the moment, but I got in easily and
I guess it doesn't really matter,'

'After all, I have pizza!'

Estelyn Telcontar · 05-01-2008, 12:26 AM

"Hi there, Rumil!" Estelyn waved. "I want to take a look at some of these greeting cards; want to join me? When we're done, we can head out to the lawn and party there - I'm never too sure about these Barrow doors staying open."

She stooped and saw a card with familiar handwriting - her own! Her eyebrows furrowed as she recognized a complaint she had written in weeks gone by:

Quote:

Hey, Beedubya! What's with the forum? I can't get in and neither can others. There must be something wrong, and you're the only one who can fix it.

That would never do! She couldn't leave that in there on this festive day, could she?! But all attempts to surreptitiously remove the card failed; it was stuck, and it looked like it wasn't the only one of its kind.

"You know what?" she said, turning to Rumil. "Pizza sounds great - let's head outside!"

Rumil · 05-01-2008, 01:44 AM

Rumil trailed after Esty, manfully struggling under the weight of the pizza boxes he was carrying.

Outside the barrow the sun had finally broken through the mist, the grass was warm and fragrant and the air was still.

Pizza was duly divided and consumed...

But there was still plenty more for latecomers,

'Mmmm, Esty', said Rumil, 'Its been great to see you again and share some pizza, but the sun on my neck (not to mention the huge quantity of pizza I've eaten) is making me slowly but surely doze off to sleep. Many apologies, its most un-gallant of me but I can't keep my eyes open any longer, maybe when I wake up later the garden party will be in full swing, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz'

Legate of Amon Lanc · 05-01-2008, 03:50 AM

A barely visible shape silently crawled across the lawn towards the place where Esty and Rumil were sitting (and lying). When it reached Rumil's back, it lifted itself and it could be seen now that it was something similar to an Elven cloak that made it blend with the lawn. From under the hood, staring eyes shone out.

"Hello, Esty," whispered Legate, careful not to awaken Rumil. "Can I sit down?" When she nodded, he took off the cloak, and unfolding it into unexpected width, he sat on a tip of it.

"I have been at the Door," he said then. "And then I saw you. But I expected a party to be going on here - and this far there's not as many people around as I thought." He looked around, at last lifting his eyes up to the sky.

"At least it's sunny," he said. "Quite a pleasant day." He dipped into his pocket and took out a bottle. "You want some?" he asked. "It's not miruvor, but..."

He opened the bottle. But at that moment, strange dense mist came swirling out of the mouth of the bottle, starting to form into the shape of a human-like being. Alarmed, Legate quickly put the stopper back to the mouth of the bottle.

"Sorry," he said. "Wrong bottle. I must have taken my genie instead of... well... sorry for that. But what are we now going to drink?"

Lhunardawen · 05-01-2008, 07:22 AM

"All I have with me is this bottle of water, but you can have it," Lhuna piped in, seemingly from nowhere, and threw the water bottle at the surprised Legate, who caught it deftly anyway. She felt obliged to explain her sudden - and strange, for she was clad in a fuchsia tank top and matching shorts - appearance, so she continued:

"I had a sudden incomprehensible fit of randomness which made me jog around the area, I really had no idea why. And then I came to the Door, and saw the note. Can you believe I only remembered then what day it is today! I didn't want to come here, I'm not dressed for the occasion, but I had to. In my five years here, only now did I get the chance to give my birthday greetings and join the celebration!"

She blushed furiously, but sat down with Legate, Esty, and the sleeping Rumil all the same, catching her breath.

Estelyn Telcontar · 05-01-2008, 07:40 AM

Esty had some musical crackers left from her research on Middle-earth instruments and decided that this was as good a time as any to distribute them. Maybe, she reasoned, people would notice the party if it got noisy!

They contained instruments, small, but of perfect make and enchanting tones. Lhuna, Legate, and Esty got up an impromptu orchestra and began a merry dance tune. Rumil woke up, got on a table and with bells in his hands began to dance the Springle-ring: a pretty dance, but rather vigorous. At least, it normally was, but as he wasn't completely awake yet, the dance was neither...

04-30-2008, 10:08 PM	#1
Estelyn Telcontar Princess of Skwerlz Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: where the Sea is eastwards (WtR: 6060 miles) Posts: 7,500	In a hole in the ground there was a Forum. Not a nasty, forbidding forum, filled with snooty insiders and flaming trolls, nor yet a dry, dusty academic forum with highbrow essays and no place to have fun: it was a Downs Forum, and that means comfort! It had a perfectly accessible door painted black with glowing green letters on it. The door opened into a many-tunnelled maze of sub-forums provided with inviting threads and lots and lots of space for visitors, for its members were fond of newcomers. There were rooms devoted to book discussions, others for those interested in movies, and still others for the learned, who knew where the answers to questions of import were to be found. From one room peals of laughter came; it was obviously filled with mirth. Other rooms were devoted to the telling of stories. Estelyn stepped up to the Door briskly and expectantly. Today was a very special day, and she anticipated a party of special magnificence in celebration of the event. It was a birthday – no, not yet an eleventy-first; still, eight was a reputable number of years to have spent among such excellent and admirable members. She silently rehearsed the spontaneous speech she intended to hold: “I shall not keep you long. I have called you all together for a Purpose. First of all, to tell you that I am immensely fond of you all...” (Well, almost all, she thought with a rueful smile.) She could not hear voices inside as she laid her hand on the knob, but that did not worry her. It was early, and she liked it that way. It would give her time to check whether everything she had prepared for the party was in place. Her fingers turned the knob, but nothing happened – the Door was shut. A sign proclaimed, “Only the dead can pass.” “But I am one of the dead here,” she thought. “I even have a small key, the very least of keys, yet I must enter to use it. The One Key to open all is held by the ghastly hand of The Barrow-Wight alone, and he sleeps under his mound. What can I do?” She awoke with a start. The sun was shining into her window reassuringly, and she breathed a sigh of relief as she realized that the horror of which she had dreamt was only a nightmare. Hurriedly she prepared herself for the big day and ran to the Door. But what was this? The barrel that she had filled with greeting mathoms for the guests was now empty, save for the notes and cards that were strewn around it. Apparently others had attempted to come, but she now stood alone. Her nightmare had come true. No food, no drinks, no music, no presents – would there be no party today? __________________ 'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth...'

04-30-2008, 11:40 PM	#3
Rumil Sage & Onions Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Britain Posts: 894	Happy Day Rumil was wandering slightly aimlessly, as usual. Important events and mighty deeds may have existed somewhere at the back of his mind but at the front there was very little that might be dignified as thought. Distractedly, he sauntered across the grim, grey-green threshold that signified one of his habitual lurking spots. There were strange pieces of card and paper notes littering the entrance, a few of which he idly tickled with the tip of his boot as he made his way into the comfortable emerald glow of the barrow. Suddenly he stopped, his eyes coming sharply into focus for the first time in the last half-hour. 'Party? Party! What's all this about then?', then bending to examine a card, 'Alatar must be around here somewhere, and there seems to be some sort of problem with the door. How strange!'. With the tip of his finger Rumil gently pushed the great, but cunningly balanced, slab of granite that served as the barrow door. As usual it swung to and fro at the lightest touch, sometimes seeming to slow down unnaturally mid-swing then speed up again, as was characteristic of this eerie place. 'Hmmm', said Rumil, 'there's something funny about this and no mistake', and pondering, suddenly exclaimed 'It's yesterday!, or tomorrow or something, surely isn't it? Far, far away from my home-barrow, it should be yesterday, but my palantir has forgotten that I have traveled so many leagues and thinks it is now tomorrow. Oh dear my head is aching.' A light interrogative cough emanated from a far corner of he barrow, where mysterious passageways twist and turn enough to make you dizzy. A click-clack on the floor as of party shoes on bare stone, and a faint squirrel-esque chittering, heard as if in the far distance. 'I know who that is' 'Hail and well met Estelyn!' cried Rumil, glad to see a familiar and friendly face 'I'm not really sure if it's yesterday or tomorrow at the moment, but I got in easily and I guess it doesn't really matter,' 'After all, I have pizza!' __________________ Rumil of Coedhirion

05-01-2008, 01:44 AM	#5
Rumil Sage & Onions Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Britain Posts: 894	Pepperoni or Veggie? Rumil trailed after Esty, manfully struggling under the weight of the pizza boxes he was carrying. Outside the barrow the sun had finally broken through the mist, the grass was warm and fragrant and the air was still. Pizza was duly divided and consumed... But there was still plenty more for latecomers, 'Mmmm, Esty', said Rumil, 'Its been great to see you again and share some pizza, but the sun on my neck (not to mention the huge quantity of pizza I've eaten) is making me slowly but surely doze off to sleep. Many apologies, its most un-gallant of me but I can't keep my eyes open any longer, maybe when I wake up later the garden party will be in full swing, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz' __________________ Rumil of Coedhirion

05-01-2008, 03:50 AM	#6
Legate of Amon Lanc A Voice That Gainsayeth Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: In that far land beyond the Sea Posts: 7,431	A barely visible shape silently crawled across the lawn towards the place where Esty and Rumil were sitting (and lying). When it reached Rumil's back, it lifted itself and it could be seen now that it was something similar to an Elven cloak that made it blend with the lawn. From under the hood, staring eyes shone out. "Hello, Esty," whispered Legate, careful not to awaken Rumil. "Can I sit down?" When she nodded, he took off the cloak, and unfolding it into unexpected width, he sat on a tip of it. "I have been at the Door," he said then. "And then I saw you. But I expected a party to be going on here - and this far there's not as many people around as I thought." He looked around, at last lifting his eyes up to the sky. "At least it's sunny," he said. "Quite a pleasant day." He dipped into his pocket and took out a bottle. "You want some?" he asked. "It's not miruvor, but..." He opened the bottle. But at that moment, strange dense mist came swirling out of the mouth of the bottle, starting to form into the shape of a human-like being. Alarmed, Legate quickly put the stopper back to the mouth of the bottle. "Sorry," he said. "Wrong bottle. I must have taken my genie instead of... well... sorry for that. But what are we now going to drink?" __________________ "Should the story say 'he ate bread,' the dramatic producer can only show 'a piece of bread' according to his taste or fancy, but the hearer of the story will think of bread in general and picture it in some form of his own." -On Fairy-Stories

05-01-2008, 07:40 AM	#8
Estelyn Telcontar Princess of Skwerlz Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: where the Sea is eastwards (WtR: 6060 miles) Posts: 7,500	Esty had some musical crackers left from her research on Middle-earth instruments and decided that this was as good a time as any to distribute them. Maybe, she reasoned, people would notice the party if it got noisy! They contained instruments, small, but of perfect make and enchanting tones. Lhuna, Legate, and Esty got up an impromptu orchestra and began a merry dance tune. Rumil woke up, got on a table and with bells in his hands began to dance the Springle-ring: a pretty dance, but rather vigorous. At least, it normally was, but as he wasn't completely awake yet, the dance was neither... __________________ 'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth...'

05-01-2008, 07:22 AM	#7
Lhunardawen Hauntress of the Havens Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: IN it, but not OF it Posts: 2,538	"All I have with me is this bottle of water, but you can have it," Lhuna piped in, seemingly from nowhere, and threw the water bottle at the surprised Legate, who caught it deftly anyway. She felt obliged to explain her sudden - and strange, for she was clad in a fuchsia tank top and matching shorts - appearance, so she continued: "I had a sudden incomprehensible fit of randomness which made me jog around the area, I really had no idea why. And then I came to the Door, and saw the note. Can you believe I only remembered then what day it is today! I didn't want to come here, I'm not dressed for the occasion, but I had to. In my five years here, only now did I get the chance to give my birthday greetings and join the celebration!" She blushed furiously, but sat down with Legate, Esty, and the sleeping Rumil all the same, catching her breath.