The Gates of Mirkwood: Discussion

[Tessar]

Set before the Fellowship of the Ring, the story starts in Bree.

A Ranger, Harn by name, was ordered to Bree to protect the city and send reports of any strange happenings back to his commander in the North. For two years, everything remained quiet, and Harn’s reports were mostly of harmless happenings, with little else to tell.

Eventually though, rumor reached him that patrols of Orcs were being seen around Mirkwood Forest with increasing frequency. Since he was stationed in Bree, Harn paid it no mind at first. Then he spotted an orc patrol near Bree, and began sending letters to an elven friend of his in Mirkwood, inquiring as to the orc patrols there.

Kalin, Harn’s friend, sent back that it had been discovered that an orcish fort was being constructed near Mirkwood. Mostly built by the time the elves discovered it, they were hesitant to attack it, and had contented themselves with picking off any patrols that wandered too close to the actual forest.

When Harn learned of the fort, he requested Kalin’s assistance in keeping an eye on Bree, and in making sure that the orcs didn’t attempt building a fort anywhere near or around the city. Kalin agreed and journeyed to Bree, arriving as quickly as he could.

That’s where the story begins.