Long Lost Leaves

[feawen]

"well i for one vote we start now. the sooner we start the sooner we finish!" pipped up Nami as finished the drink in her hand. "The night is still young!" catching a few tired looks she continued a little sheepishly, "well it is for me...what does everyone else what to do?"

[orithil]

"Go ahead Radagast" Hedrim said

[Acalewia]

"I would like to hear of our quest. And why Gandalf has chosen us to embark on it," Aelfwine said, ignoring the same tired looks that had assailed Nami. She was curious and that curiosity would not let her sleep until it was satisfied.

[feawen]

Taking a leaf out of Aelfwine's confidence and interest Nami continued "well, im guessing by the ents here present" here Naimi noded towards the two near by, "that this has something to do with them! since the entwives are fabled even to the memory of elves, and yet one stands here with us is most interesting and i am such if gandalf took the time to write us all letters it must have been important! He never did anything without a meaning behind it!"

[Butterbeer]

barli and hamfast were whispering in the corner, wreathed in a cloud of smoke, as hamfast wriggled his toes languidly in front of the fire.

A great Keg of beer stood beside them... Gandalf's own rune was carved onto it

"...that's what old Master Bilbo said, i heard tell ..."

"you don't say, little Master?"

There was more whispering ...

"well, i am a reet out of practice, mind, but i'll do what i can...." said barli.

In the blink of a very slow, almost unblinking eye and amidst much rummaging, belching and cursing in their bags at their feet and the odd stop for a drink of ale and a smoke ...


Barli and Hamfast stood ... and bowing to the assembled company brought out a a small metal triangle and a potatoe pipe ...


"first we should have a little music before get down t'business ..."


Barli, unabashed, and rather formally carefully struck a note on the triangle and Hamfast started up a rustic ditty on da potatoe pipe ...


"if we must away 'ere break o' day..."

"or after lunch..."

"if we must away ere break of afternoon tea?"

"and cake!"

"if we must away ere afternoon teas and cake ..."

Barli rythmically tinkles the trainagle ...hamfast nods, concentrating in the 3-bar pipe rythm ....

outside it is dark... and the shadows of the fire seem to dance and flame almost in some magical rythm to the music ...

[orithil]

"Ahh music" Hedrim said to himself he let out a sigh and after listening to the tune go by a few my times he pulled out a jewel incrested silver lute from his adventuring bag and began playing along to the tune.
There was an eerie presence in the room as Hedrim and the two hobbits continued to play the music.

[Acalewia]

Aelfwine nodded her agreement with Nami.
"True," She sighed and rolled her eyes as the Hobbit, the old man and Hedrim began their musicfest.

[feawen]

At the continuing music Nami turned to Aelfwine smiling, "Would it not have made for sense to have the music after all the talking?" Nami settled her self into a more comfortable postion on floor with her legs crossed under her. Looking up at Aelfwine she laughed " Hobbits are indeed strange! its going to be a long night!"

[Acalewia]

Aelfwine smiled at the elf's comment and sat next to her.
"Yes, it will be a long night," she said.

[The last sane person]

Carnehillion grinned and got himself a mug of ale, before sitting down, back to the wall, enjoying the ditty. Now that the ale had revived his spirits a bit, he cast another glance around his soon to be fellow advenurers, and noticed the decidedly Rohirric looking Aelfwine.

Aha! A fellow citizen of Rohan, hmm, someone whose skills I can count on, I wonder if I should go introduce myself? He was about to when he then noticed the elf next to Aelfwine, and decieded to sit this one out until the other left.

[feawen]

"Hello. my name Nami of the woodland elfs. i come from the wood for green leaves. im am pleased to meet you my lady!" Nami addressed Aelfwine. Nami noticed the look she and Aelfwine received from the human man. "i think someone wishes to talk to you!" Nami smiled and made as if to stand up. "please, tonight is for getting to know each other. dont let me stand in the way!"

[orithil]

As Hedrim plays he begins to sing a song of old that he learn't from the elves...
"A Olórin i yáresse
Mentaner i Númeherui
TÃ*rien i Rómenóri
Maiaron i Oiosaila
Manan elye etevanne
Nórie i melanelye?"

"Mithrandir, Mithrandir, A Randir Vithren
ú-reniathach i amar galen
I reniad lÃ*n ne môr, nuithannen
In gwidh ristennin, i fae narchannen
I lach Anor ed ardhon gwannen
Calad veleg, ethuiannen"

[Butterbeer]

With an enraptured glint in his eye... and tapping his feet in almost perfect unison...and for the first time in his life old Barli hit a sweet note on the triangle in perfect harmony at exactly the right momment...

Hamfast burped.


Pure music and... pure theatre!


Inspired by Hedrim's transcendent singing Hamfast pulls out his prize potatoe...

[orithil]

Seeing the hobbit had pulled out a great potatoe Hedrim remembered the time when he had went to hobbiton and shared a great festival there.
He had been taught another song and seeing the hobbit it reminded him of it so he began to sing....

"Your home behind the world ahead
And there are many paths to tread
Through shadow to the edge of night
Until the stars are all alight.

Mist and shadow
Cloud and shade
All shall fade
All shall fade"

[The Gaffer]

Hamfast struggled to hold back a tear, and in a quavering voice, picked up Hedrim's refrain:

"All shall fade,
All shall fade
The tater crop shall fail.
In hope to save the Gammer's soup
I took the Western trail"

He stroked his sizable tuber and returned it to the sack alongside the leek and onion.

[feawen]

Nami enjoyed music and song as much as the next elf but she used this gap in the strange singing to get the night back on track.
"Excuse me sirs, but may we use this break in your delightful singing to talk about the matter that bought us all together this night?"

[Nuelbar]

"Yes!", EarthShaker bellowed and slammed his leg against the ground while laying down outside the cottage and looking though the peephole(well, it was actually a door, but to an ent it was a peep hole). "Get... on... and... start... your story. The... sooner...we ...start... this... adventure... the ... better. "Don't... you... agree... my... lady?" EarthShaker whispered to Blossomshade but everyone heard it because everyone knows that ents can't whisper. After whispering this he noticed that everyone was orientating themselves again. Something had evidently shaken them up.

[orithil]

"Ah, yes indeed" Hedrim rapped up his lute in cloth so it wouldn't be damaged on the journey ahead, he had figured they might need some music.
"Radagast please tell us what we have been gathered here for.

[Earniel]

"Very well," Radagast said, "I suppose I have delayed this more than enough. You see, the disappearance of the Entwives had always intrigued our mutual friend Gandalf. He travelled far and wide and wherever he came, he always was interested to hear if anyone had seen something out of the ordinary. The appearance of walking tree-like creatures would definitely have made it into market gossip and rumours. Yet he found no clues he could pursue. Then in the last decades, he had to focus his attention on more serious matters concerning the One Ring, and he had to lay his search for the Entwives aside."

For a moment Radagast was silent, a frown of thought on his brow, before continuing.

"The protecting of the ringbearer and the subsequent war required much of him. And I am ashamed to say he did not receive as much aid from his order as he should have... Needless to say, Gandalf felt his task was done and he desired rest at last, which he fully deserved. He has sailed away, now three years ago, into the West on the swan-boats of the Elves. Others must now tread the paths I walked, he said to me before he left, there are many tasks left undone and hands must be found to take them on. And he gave me a task of my own.�

Radagast looked around the gathered adventurers. “I think you can all guess which task he offered me. But he said I should not have to do it alone, he had friends who could aid me. He had selected some of them and had prepared letters to them, which he handed to me with the words that I should send the letters when I had need of help. These are the letters that have led you here today, or at least some of you.�

“That is the reason why you have come here, but let us now turn to the reason of our quest: searching for the Entwives. Hm, perhaps it is best, before I start expounding on the long history of Ents and Entwives and keep you all up till dawn, that I ask you what exactly do you already know of the Entwives so far.�

“Earth-shaker, you needn’t answer this question,� Radagast added hastily, wanting to prevent the Ent from starting a long tale as was the nature of the Ents.

[Ingwe]

Ingwionis walks in, late as usual, A'mael shyly following behind, afraid that Ingwionis' late arrival may be attributed to her.

Radagast closes his eyes in disappointment as Ingwionis shows him a look of urgency in return.

"You arrive late. What troubles you? The matter seems urgent."

A'mael sees another Elf, Nami, and bows to her as a greeting. For shy A'mael, it took her great courage to even motion to someone of her own race, for she had led somewhat of a secluded life.

Ingwionis speaks to Radagast about the matter.

"Radagast, I'm troubled somewhat."

Radagast responds with, "well...what is it?"

"Well you see, many have come here, a summoning greater than that of the Council of Elrond. That must mean that the journey ahead is quite dangerous."

Radagast sighs.

"You honestly do not think you would have been summoned from this distance if it weren't?"

Ingwionis raises his eyebrows as if to say "good point".

"Indeed. The Brown Lands have been vacated of the enemy's presence for some time, what would be so dangerous to those such as us? We are warriors!"

"Ingwionis the young and proud. Many proud warriors were slain during the War of the Rings. Please take a seat, and keep your pride to yourself. I assure you that we are quite safe right now, here in Thranduil's woods, in my territory. In addition, the Old Brown Lands is not our destination, those lands were destroyed long ago. You know this. Our path will take us to a new territory, one that you likely know better than most of us here. You did receive the memo, didn't you Ingwionis?"

Radagast lifts his eyebrows, having imagined what is likely to be in store for the company. He continues.

"Our path will take us to lands most of you have never explored. You would all be wise to take caution. Aragorn has been able to gain some diplomatic leverage with the Men of the East, but news travels slow in the lands of the East. Secretly, Sauron's destruction did not travel just over the West, but through parts of the East as well. There are those who live in the gullies not far from the Sea of Rhun, those who defied Sauron, and as such received retribution from him. The lands of Northern and Southern Rhun were cut off from each other. The Northlands are now filled with pockets of tribal warriors, those who survived Sauron's short war on them."

A'mael speaks for the first time.

"Then that's good. We'll have support if we march through there."

Radagast replies, warning of their intentions.

"Yes, if we were to assume that the enemy of our enemy is our friend, but that is not true in this case. They will see us as outsiders, invaders, those like us who are unfamiliar to them. In our group, we have Ents, Elves, and such the like. The last they have seen of outside influence were the orcs and trolls of Mordor, back before Sauron was sent into the abyss. They are wildmen now, scratching a living from dirt and rock. They have very little to lose, and much to gain from attacking invaders, even those who would not seek to do them harm."

Ingwionis continues with his own warning of the lands of Rhun.

"Radagast is right friends. I don't know exactly where our paths into the east will take us, but I have been as far to the east as the Eastern Sea, and to the Thousand Cities far south of Rhun, to Khand, and around one of the corners of Mordor the Fellowship of the Ring was planning on taking the Ring. You'll see mostly merchants and greedy thieves in the southern areas of Rhun today, but around the Sea of Rhun are those who have a grudge against Rohan, and all of those who supported them. Word has likely reached their ears of how the Ents tore Isengard to shreds, and freed Rohan, the mortal enemy of the Balchoth. If they were to see an Ent or even an Entwife, they would not have much mercy. They would not dare attack Gondor now, because Mordor fell to Gondor under King Elessar. But the Balchoth are a vengeful people, led by tribal violence. And given their proximity to Khand, the Variags have likely assisted them by giving them supplies. Khand is the economic center of Middle Earth. Chances are that any supplies you have here that have a history of use in the East or South have been bartered at some point in Khand."

"The Northmen of Rhun, those from the North of the Sea of Rhun to the Forodwatih, have been gathering resources. They are not so disorganized as when the Blue Wizards your yourself, Radagast, saw them upon your journeys. My home is very close to one of the western-most settlements, Urd. It is from Urd that a large army marched south toward the inland sea."

Radagast pondered this and realized that the mission had become more dangerous.

"Your knowledge of this area will be quite vital. But do you know where they went? How many of them?"

"Radagast, even with my sight it is 100 leagues east of my home. I could see the dust in the air and some shadow of troops marching southward, but I could not tell how many. If I were to give a guess, I would have to say that there were at least five thousand. That's just a guess though. It could be more, and if we're lucky, maybe less."

"Princess A'mael, what have you yourself seen?"

"Um..." A'mael clears her throat nervously. "Radagast, I don't know, I..."

Ingwionis encourages her. "My love, we are friends here. We're not dealing with wildmen, at least not yet."

A'mael turns to him and smiles. She continues to speak while looking at her husband.

"I count at least seven thousand."

Ingwionis signals to his wife to turn toward Radagast. She turns to Radagast and tells him pretty much the same thing.

"Oh sorry, Radagast, I counted...I counted seven thousand."

"Thank you A'mael for this. How does an Elf of the Vanyar not see what one of the Teleri does?"

Ingwionis smiles, embarrassed that his sight is not so good as he would like to believe. A'mael turns to him and smiles, almost laughing.

"They...would attack an Ent...?" asked Earth-Shaker.

Ingwionis replies, looking to the ground.

"Yes, they would. They've been known to attack their own people when they don't recognize them. It seems that when a party passes through their territories dressed in red that they ignore the passers. But usually the passer-bys are not Ents. We could hide ourselves, and Radagast, from appearing too dissimilar, but it would be a difficult feat to do so for an Ent."

Radagast raises his eyebrows, with a possible idea.

"Well for one thing, we could simply avoid the larger villages. How populated could those lands be. Afterall, it's been only 500 years since Sauron's attack decimated that area, and they are likely still scattered. If we did get into any sort of trouble, the trees will hide the Ents, and our company could pass through unnoticed."

Ingwionis delves more into the layout of the lands of Northern Rhun.

"If our path takes us any less than 200 leagues north of the inland sea, we will encounter sizable resistance. Radagast, to you and I, and the Elves, as well as the Ents, 500 years is not long enough to imagine populating an area that large, but through many generations of man, the humans have a way of increasing in number. I've verified this. The lands are filled with more than just villages now. The Thousand Cities south of where the Ered Harmal laid long ago are only a little more dense in population than the lands of Northern Rhun, up to 200 leagues north of the inland sea. Their villages are still spread out, but only by fifteen leagues at the most. 150 leagues Northeast of the inland sea is a line of cities running Northwest to Southeast, in an arc. Those lands are disputed territory, and the peoples living on those borders are at war with each other at least once every month. Since Sauron's destruction, the tribesmen of the North have compromised the peace Aragorn has been trying to make with Rhun. It's a fight over resources. The tribesmen want access to the seas of the South where Ormal fell long before any of us were here, present company of Ents excepted, maybe. The peoples of Greater Rhun won't give them access to it, nor will they supply them with what they need to survive the harsher environment in the north. So they are at war."

Radagast replies hastily: "then we go around."

Ingwionis answers with bad news: "there is no way around, unless we ourselves go to the Southern Sea and make our way around to the furthest east of Middle Earth, only to be required to take a longer journey. It depends on where exactly we are going. We may not even need to pass that far east of Rhun. If that is the case, we're mostly free of trouble...mostly..."

A'mael and Nami were beginning to speak of songs they knew. Radagast, Ingwionis, and Hedrim looked over, so that they would pay attention to the discussion.

Ingwionis says something to his wife at last, "A'mael...we're getting to the part in the discussion where I think we get to find out where we're going!"

Radagast looks at Ingwionis and gives him a strange look, as if Ingwionis somehow seemed bored.

Ingwionis explains his words. "I like maps, it's an old hobby."

Radagast replies. "That is something with which I can associate."