A World of Danger: Part One

(Lief, your multitude of characters is already confusing me!)

Folstan followed quietly behind the girl. She seemed to be always hiding something, he liked that. They walked into a back hallway and the servant girl showed her a room. Folstan slipped in, hidden by the shadows.

The girl began to prepare herself for sleep. She took off the large cloak that covered her and the rest of her garments. Folstan saw that something metallic was hidden in an inside pocket.

"You may want to stop right there," he said. The girl jumped, turning around and seeing him for the first time, standing in the corner of the room.

"What are you doing in here?!" she exlaimed, running at him. She began to beat on him with her fists, tryint to chase him out of the room. Folstan retaliated, hitting her repeatedly over the head with his wooden staff.

"Stop, stop!" his pitifull voice pleaded. "I'm a friend!"

"That depends largely on what you desire to know," Steward said, sitting down at the table. "And whether I feel like telling you. But before or if I impart anything, I would at least first like to know who I have the pleasure of speaking with."

hushpad, bouyed by a captive audience (or so he thought) was reaching a tumultous crescendo of foot tapping and shrill chirpings from his little flute. As he launched himself through the air from one table to another in an amazing climactical finale to his opus, he was suddenly collared and hurled unceremoniously to the floor by a particularly large and unappreciative patron. He picked himself up and bowed to his audience as gracefully as he could under the circumstances, but his only response was muffled laughter and a few jeering whistles from around the room. "barbarians." he thought to himself.

but these thoughts vanished from his head almost as suddenly as they entered. from the corner of his eye he saw a strange looking girl being shown to the guestquarters. but this was not what fired his imagination, it was the shifty looking dirty old man lurking in shadows and following up the steps behind her! motivated by a sudden chivalrous whim of heroic fortitude, he vanished up the steps in pursuit. With a voyeuristic glint in his eye as he crouched silently in shadows at the top of the staircase, he saw the filthy old man sneak into her room unnoticed!

he was at a loss as to what to do. what hope had he, a little hobbit, against one of the big folk? But all indecision left him as he started to hear shrieks and sounds of a skirmish coming from behind the door. he leapt into action and was upon the door in a flash. As the door flew open indeed he saw a rather pathetic site in front of him, the old man cringing and grovelling under the blows of a very frightened and exhausted looking girl.

"My name is furryballs. What on earth is going on in here?"

Tal and Dain exchanged guarded glances, and Dain said slowly, "As I told ye a moment ago, me name be Dain and me companion be named Tal'niel. As for what we wish to know, we seek a servant of the Dark One, a leader of his raiding expeditions called the Grim Wolf. Would ye know if he and his band have passed through here recently?"

"Through here? No not through this village, although they may have contributed to the strikes around it. I don't know the names of any of the different bands, and they usually don't come that close. Most of the fringe houses of the village have been destroyed by now, but all the ones on this here hill are still perfectly defendable, and they don't dare attack that."

*Lief, Mathron, sorry to do this, but you need to limit your posting to one a day. Its moving too fast for some of the players. As well, Lief, you caracters are confusing. It may be advisable to post the name, a main characteristic, and what they're doing before each post. Will that work?*

"That's what I'd like to be knowing," hissed An' tiar between clenched teeth. "This tramping vagabond nearly scared me of my wits, what he thinks he's up to I don't know."

"No no!" Folstan pleaded. "You don't understand. I want to help you! You missunderstand me!"

"I watched you follow her," Hushpad offered. "I know what I saw."

"Ha!" Folstan responded. "And who would trust a little thing like you? What are you anyways? Never have I seen one of your kind before! Be gone with ya, I'm trying to work here!"

*If Mathron's and my characters are interacting, I think that we'll certainly do more posts than one a day to keep that going. It isn't necessary to slow down then. But where other players are concerned, I suppose I'll slow down some.

Fore Dog, Vardor and Steward are the main characters I'll keep going. The other two I wasn't actually intending to introduce the way Mathron did, so I had to make it a memory. I realized when I was making that one that it would probably confuse some people, but I believe it'll end up being for the best. It explains a couple things characters will be referring to later on.*

* ok, sounds good. Keep going with the game! *

*I have been trying to keep my posts down. I will be posting more, but primarily only if I have two different situations occuring (as in, unrelated characters in different places.)*

Dain looked up quickly at Stewards words, a gasp hissing through his teeth, and Tal frowned. "I would certainly not have thought that they had come through this region, but if they are actually raiding the village... that makes no sense at all! They haven't spent effort on taking it in years, and I don't know why they would do so now. As one of the few havens in the region, its loss would be a great problem..."

He trailed off, apparently lost in thought, and then shook his head. "Well, I can do nothing about such a thing, but doubt that any forces will truly come against the village. With the defenses they can erect, this deep in the forest, it is still far too costly for the Dark Ones men to come against it. Whatever happens, it is more likely my friend and I shall be long gone from here anyway."

"All right, well, was that all you wanted to know? Not much, and something anyone could have told you."

Hushpad glanced quickly at the tired looking young girl. She seemed to have recovered her composure and did not appear to feel threatened by the presence of this dirty old man, evidently she was quite capable of taking care of herself. He relaxed his stance, put his hands behind his back and quoted solemnly;

"In answer to your questions, sir, my character is of the most trustworthy of dispositions. And I am a hobbit by the name of Hushpad, a stranger to these lands, to be sure. But I will not take leave, save by the good grace of our young lady here, as she alone has the right to say who shall stay and who shall leave in her own chamber."

Tal's lips curled into a semblance of a smile, and he said, "Indeed, I had hoped you would be able to tell us more. But it seems little is known in these parts. Still, my thanks for what you have told us, worrisome as it is. For now, my companion and I will be seeking rest for the night."

"That you had best speak to the Innkeeper about, not me." Steward pulled back his chair and stood up, stretching. "Now, if you'll excuse me, the night is getting on and I'd like to be in my own bed to catch it least some semblence of sleep before morning intrudes upon us all."

And so saying, he moved through the crowd and slowly mounted the stairs, disappearing into the upper sections.

When Angar Eidol arrived at the outskirts of the village of Edlyn he paused. His home was the forest, and he avoided the company of others whenever possible, but rumours of the presence of one of Morgoth's more powerful followers had led him to this place. Angar was a Dark Elf; one of the fabled Avari, those of the Firstborn who had refused the summoning to Valinor. For a timeless time his people had shunned the light of moon and sun and dwelt beneath the earth like Dwarves. But before the beginning of the First Age Morgoth had discovered their subterranean kingdom and captured or killed everyone but him. He alone had not been present at the massacre, for he alone had chosen to return to the surface world a year before. Curiosity had saved his life, but it had also turned him into a homeless vagabond. He was an outcast, and a loner by nature, his one companion the albino wolf he had raised from a pup after her mother had abandoned her.

Aldea was also wary of anyone who wasn't a member of her pack, which for as long as she could remember had consisted solely of herself and Angar. She was intelligent as wolves go, and could communicate with her Elven companion.

"You must wait here, Aldea," Angar said to her now. "Stand guard. Howl if you see, hear or smell anything out of the ordinary. I will bring you something special from the inn."

Aldea whined her reluctance to be parted from Angar.

"I know." He knelt and ran his long fingers through her luxurious white coat. "Don't worry, I shouldn't be gone long."

In truth the idea of drinking at the inn appealed to him. The sound of a flute played merrily could be heard, and the glow of the fire within was a welcome sight. As he entered he took note of everyone who was there with a quick sweep of the room before he sat himself at a table in the shadows and waited to be served. He felt the eyes on him, but did not return their stares. He was used to such attention, for he gave most people the impression that he was a servant of the Enemy. Though clearly an Elf, he had a sinister look about him, and the black clothes he wore added greatly to this impression; nor did it help that his hair was also raven black. Yet in his grey eyes there was no guile--only a feral hunger, and at times a hint of sorrow.

Tal watched as the old man left, eyes narrowed in suspicion. But then, he had been filled with little else, of late, and tended to doubt all he met, save Dain.

Turning away, he looked for the innkeeper to see to getting a room - and paused, seeing a newcomer had just entered. Another elf, though one of strange garb and appearance. Tal turned to Dain. "See to the innkeeper and find us some room. I see another of my kind, and wish to find what brings another elf into these parts."

Dain nodded, saying, "There are indeed many odd folk in this place, it seems. I'm still curious as to what that little creature was that was dancing upon the tables, for I'd never seen one before. See to your brethren, and I shall be waiting to discuss more of our destination upstairs when ye are done."

As Dain hurried away, Tal turned towards the corner the other elf sat in, and then walked over, greeting the stranger.

"Indeed it is by rights mine to say, and I do not wish a gally-lag as such this seem to be in my quarters," she sneered in the direction of the old man. "Help me what? Why, pray tell, should I need the aide of one such as yourself?"

Folstan shot an angry face at the hobbit. "I refuse do discuss such things with the likes of that around here!"

Angar politely returned the other Elf's greeting, and invited him to sit. Upon entering, the Dark Elf had noticed him first of all the inn's patrons, and was half expecting the encounter, and half-dreading the inevitable questions. He had been away from his distant cousins for far too long. He had never fully understood their ways, nor they his. But there was something different about this Elf. Angar could see it in his eyes.

"I was just about to have a drink," he said. "Please join me."

hushpad's nerves were on edge. he didn't know much about the big folk, and it was partly because of a curiosity of their ways and motifs that he chose to leave home and travel, seeking out strange lands and beings. one thing he had learnt though, was that as a rule they didn't seem to appreciate having their affairs intruded upon by a meddlesome hobbit such as he, particularly this oafish smelly character.

well he was in a fix and no mistake. his own skin seemed to be on the line, but against his own better judgement he stood firm. after all, he didn't want to be seen losing face in front of a lady especially one such as she, who seemed to possess certain endearing qualities that he couldn't quite put his finger on.

hushpad's stance became defensive:

"come, my strange fellow. let us settle our differences outside, and leave this poor girl in peace in her own chamber. who knows, perhaps i may be of use in your little scheme. methinks you will not find me such a useless weakling that first glances would suggest."

his stern glance gave away the brooding fire in his eyes, and the fear he felt was hidden deep within.