Middle-Earth Role Playing Campaign

"We are presently not going anywhere," said Dennenor. "We must wait for the rain to cease before heading out."

"This presents an opportunity," said Araquenval. "I desire to get a familiar to assist me. There are many bats here and one would be excellent for the purpose."

"But how will you capture one?" asked Dennenor.

"I intend to set up a tent as catch-bowl over a place where I can see the bats hanging, then cast a sleeping spell to cause one or more to fall into it."

"Just be careful," said Luinár. "I don't have anything that will cure any disease you may catch if you are bitten."

"I am an Elf," Araquenval replied. "We do not suffer from ailment."

"There's a bit of a problem with your plan," said Bradlegar. "The bats just won't fall into the tent if you cast a sleep spell on them while they're hanging up there. They're already asleep!"

"Good point, Bradlegar," Bauglir said.

"Then I shall cast the spell on flying bats," said Araquenval.

Mîriel laughed. "Yes, and watch it fly into a wall, then fall to the floor with its head smashed in! So how many bats do you intend to kill before you give up on this absurd scheme? And how are you going to cast a sleep spell? I thought you stored a shock bolt last night. That's the next spell you have to cast."

"Well, it's one way of bringing down a bat," Bauglir observed.

"Well, he can cast it on Bauglir," said Luinár.

"Perhaps you could use your ring," Araquenval suggested.

"Sorry, I'm not about to use my ring on something that trivial," she retorted. "Expend your shock bolt spell without directing it, then prepare and cast a sleep spell."

"While you are capturing a bat," said Dennenor, "I shall remain behind to keep watch, lest something come in out of the rain and catch us unawares."

The others followed Araquenval into the large cavern. Despite her misgivings, Mîriel helped out by providing a projected light spell. The Elf carefully laid out a tent on the ground, waited a few minutes until several bats were airborne in the immediate vicinity, then cast the sleep spell. Nearly a dozen fell to the ground about them. Most hit the hard rock of the cave floor and perished, but one landed on the tent. Mîriel hummed a funeral tune.

"I will need something to provide a home for the bat for the next week," said Araquenval. "Luinár, could I purchase one of your helmets?"

"I have two I don't need," came the reply. "Take one."

"Thank you," said Araquenval. He wrapped the bat in cloth to prevent it from flying away, then returned to the entrance cave to cast the familiar spell.

"Well, now that's done," said Bradlegar, "so let's go down and explore that sparkling cavern Rhôn discovered last night. Would Luinár be willing to lower people down again?"

"Certainly, Bradlegar," said Luinár. "I'll be willing to lower you down. But we should lower somebody else down first to protect you."

Bauglir put up his hand. "I would like to go down, too. But I don't know if I want her to lower me. I don't trust her. Mind you, you could try dropping me all you want; I won't hit bottom."

Luinár back peddled a bit. "I--I won't let you fall."

"I'll take you on your word for that," said Bauglir, "for what little Númenórian blood you have."

Luinár gritted her teeth, then muttered, "I potentially won't let you fall."

"Don't worry about that," said Mîriel quietly, who was just within earshot. "No, you won't, I'll just cut the rope for you!"

"Will Rhôn be coming down today?" asked Bauglir.

"Rhôn-Hari-Rhôn sees two little ones who cannot fight going into bright cave," said the wildman. "Need someone to protect them."

"Well, you don't have to worry about me too much," said Bauglir. "I can protect myself to some degree, and if not, I can disappear quickly."

"Wild man will go down to protect others," said Rhôn.

Once again they secured the rope. Luinár climbed down and with some effort hammered two new spikes into the tunnel wall. Rhôn-Hari-Rhôn descended and made his way past Luinár. Very cautiously he navigated the steep part of the tunnel just beyond the bend, then Luinár lowered him into the pit. He stubbed his toe on the way down, lost his balance, and fell the last few feet. He landed heavily and tumbled along the tunnel, stopping just short of the sparkling cavern.

"Rhôn-Hari-Rhôn is hurt," he called up to Luinár. "He would like darsurian leaf to hold the pain."

Luinár relayed Rhôn's request to Mîriel at the top, who gave the leaves to Bradlegar. He entered the tunnel and easily made his way down to Luinár.

"Now you be nice," he said to her. "Don't go dropping me now."

She smiled at him. "I won't," she said.

Quickly he traversed the steep area, then with Luinár's help easily made the bottom of the pit. The Wose stared at him, a chagrined expression on his face.

"I brought the leaves you wanted," Bradlegar said to Rhôn, handing him the darsurian. Rhôn wrapped it around his toe while Bradlegar lit his lantern. He looked around, stuck as Rhôn was with the brilliance of the colours. Bauglir arrived a couple of minutes later, looking a bit pale and unsteady on his feet.

"How much rope is left down there after it hits the bottom?" Luinár called from above.

"At least twenty feet," called Bauglir.

"Hold on," came the reply, "I'm coming down."

"Oh, I would advise against that," said Bauglir. "You will not have the benefit of your own strength to get down."

"Lady should stay," said Rhôn. "If lady falls, Rhôn-Hari-Rhôn and others with him may not make way out. And three at bottom are enough for look at bright place."

"Oh, all right," came the response. "I'll stay here for the time being. But I'm coming down if I hear any strange noises from there."

Weapons at the ready, Rhôn, Bradlegar, and Bauglir cautiously entered the cavern. As far as the lantern could cast its light, they could see the shards of coloured glass covering the floor. A clear path ten feet wide made its way from the entrance off into the room somewhere.

"Pretty man should cast light spell," said Rhôn. "Give more light. Let us see above."

"Well," said Bauglir, "it's a bit of a risk, for I can't really cast that many spells in a day. But the extra light may be worth the risk."

At her place at the bend in the tunnel, Luinár was becoming increasingly restless. Drawing up the rope, she began tying knots in it.

In the extra light provided by Bauglir's spell they determined this cavern was about twice the size of the one above. There were no stalactites or stalagmites and the roof above was smoother. To the back of the room a great mound of glass had been heaped up against a wall. Bones they could not identify were scattered along the edges of the path and at the foot of the mound. Rhôn stooped down and ran a finger along the ground at the edge of the path, picking up a strange greasy substance. It stank terribly and he wiped it off his finger.

Luinár finished tying knots and let the rope down again. "I must know what they're seeing down there," she said to herself. Abandoning her place at the corner, she slowly began climbing down the steep section.

"This is tougher than I thought it would be," she muttered. "In this darkness it's hard just figuring out where I am. That drop is around here some place."

She lifted a foot and stepped back, feeling for the lip of the hole. To her horror she found only emptiness: obviously she had been standing at the very edge of the drop without knowing it. She jerked her foot forward to find the brim, but as she did so the other foot slipped on the wet rock. In a sudden panic she tried to pull herself forward. Just for an instant both her hands were off the rope, and then she could find it no more. Desperately, wildly, she scrambled for a grip in the air, then fell shrieking backwards down the hole.

(Click here to see a transcript of the tape at the point where Luinár fell down the hole.)

The group at the top heard the scream. So did the three down below, as well as a terrible crack when Luinár landed at the bottom. In moments they were at her side. She was lying on the floor of the tunnel, her face ashen, grimacing as she fought hard not to scream against the pain. Just below the knee her right leg was bent at an impossible angle.

"Lady in serious trouble," said Rhôn-Hari-Rhôn. "Break in leg very bad."

Bauglir looked around. "Unless there is someone else around who can lift as well as she can, we're all in trouble. Perhaps there is something down here - a moss or a mushroom--that will heal that break. We should try searching for something."

"There may be," said Rhôn. "Situation could not get worse."

Bradlegar picked up on Rhôn's comment. "I don't know about that. Well, we still don't know what's underneath that big pile of glass in there. You know --the one with all the bones scattered around it. Would not Mîriel have something already to help Luinár?"

"Rhôn-Hari-Rhôn led all searching for plants," came the reply. "Found nothing to fix broken leg. Little person stay with broken lady. We search for plant to help." He looked at Bauglir. "Should searchers stay away from heap of glass?"

"Well," offered Bauglir, "I would not want to try climbing it: it would be too hard on my hands and knees. Nothing has attacked us yet. If her screaming like a stuck pig now did not bring anything, then I doubt anything would attack right away. Now would have been a perfect time to spring an ambush, with all of us just standing around and looking at the result of her wise decisions. Not to rub it in or anything, Luinár."

Luinár gritted her teeth; the pain was too much for her to try to speak. While Bradlegar stayed behind with Luinár to comfort her as much he could, Rhôn-Hari-Rhôn and Bauglir entered the Sparkling Cavern again and searched for several minutes. Hiding beneath a black rock they turned up dark green lichen with shimmering blue edges. It was a wondrous find: six doses of gefnul, a very powerful healing agent. Near some mushrooms they discovered brorkwilb, a fungus that several people could take and share their dreams. Seven tiny breldiar flowers they found peeking out of some moss growing by the entrance: that would assist the archers and spell-casters. Further into the cave they found nine doses of zulsendura and three of zur, which would help fighters move faster and enhance smell and hearing. Finally they found nine doses of jegga poison, each with enough potential power to kill a troll. But underground there was nothing to help Luinár's fractured leg.

"Neither can I cast a spell to assist you," said Bauglir after they had returned and reported the result of the search. "Had I not cast this light spell I would have been strong enough to do so. But unfortunately I had no idea you were coming down. You should have told us."

"Need to set leg before anything else," said Rhôn-Hari-Rhôn. "This will hurt." He maneuvered the broken lower half back into line with the rest of the leg, then used her greaves to make a makeshift splint. The pain was even worse than before, but Luinár set her jaw and made no sound.

Now they turned their attention to the problem of getting Luinár back up to safety. They discussed their options earnestly for several minutes: they had no spells to help them out, and there was no one else strong enough to pull them up using the rope. Dennenor's arrow injury was still healing, so he would not be able to help. Rhôn considered trying to hammer in Luinár's remaining spikes to make a ladder, but she had only ten of them and they had sixty feet to climb, so they abandoned the idea.

Bauglir suggested they use a horse to pull them up. Rhôn initially resisted the idea, concerned they would not enough control over a horse to do it safely, but finally agreed when they decided they really had no other options. It would be rough going, though: the tunnel was cut from stone and not perfectly smooth.

Mîriel asked the Elves to bring in one of the Easterling horses from the entrance. They secured the rope to its saddle. The group below tied the rope around Luinár, and when all was ready Mîriel slowly led the horse around the chamber and pulled her sister up the drop. Using her hands and good leg Luinár kept away from the wall as best she could. Once past the edge of the drop, she aided her ascent by pulling herself along the rope, hand over hand. At the bend in the tunnel they paused to reposition the horse and adjust the slack in the rope. Then they pulled her the last part of the tunnel, and she finally arrived at the top, bruised and completely exhausted from the pain and her exertions.

Mîriel asked Dennenor to hold the horse, then walked to where her sister lay on the ground. For the next five minutes she lectured her about her actions, switching languages from time to time, her voice rising and falling in pitch. Luinár could do nothing to slow her sister down. Then she checked to ensure her leg had been set properly.

Down below, the three remaining people checked out the Sparkling Cavern. Following the trail that had been cleared through the glass, they walked through the cavern to the pile at the back. Here there was another mystery: the trail went up the pile of glass, switching back and forth on itself all the way to the top twenty-five feet above them.

"As strange as this sounds," said Bradlegar, "it almost appears as though a giant snail or slug, or something that crawls along the ground, made this path."

"Perhaps that is what made that terrible smelling substance Rhôn earlier found," said Bauglir.

"Very large creature it would be, to make trail so wide," Rhôn added.

"And it burrows through stone," said Bauglir. "Does it also excrete glass?"

"Can we tell which way this thing was going?" Bradlegar asked.

Bauglir quickly examined the trail. "It appears it came both in and out."

Rhôn used an axe to chip away at the mound of glass. The loose glass was only on the outside: deeper in it was solid, as if individual pieces had been glued together.

"The top appears to be within my reach," said Bauglir. "I think I will try leaping to it."

"We don't yet know what's up there," said Bradlegar. "There may be a hole in the top. Then you'd just fall right down again, and we'd have two broken legs to tend to!"

Finding a fist sized piece of glass, Rhôn threw it to the top. It made a beautiful arc, landing right where he had intended it to. They clearly heard it clink on a solid surface three times before coming to a rest.

"Seems solid enough," said Bauglir. He cast a leaping spell and jumped the twenty-five feet in the air, landing comfortably on the top of the pile.

"What do you see?" asked Bradlegar.

"On the far side of this pile there is yet another tunnel, much like the one we came down," came the reply. "It heads downward at a very steep but regular angle. And strange things ... globe shaped objects ... one looks like an egg. The other is smaller, made of blue glass, with what looks like black ribbons floating through it."

Then he came down the pile, carefully walking the path in it. He showed the leathery egg to the others, saying there were three others like it. The globe was strange: it was about a foot in diameter, light blue in colour, with black flecks or ribbons throughout its interior. These seemed to move of their own accord, but whether they were actually moving or it was just an illusion of its construction they could not tell.

Finally they returned to the entrance. The rope had been let down again. Bradlegar was the first to go up, and with the horse's help he did this quickly and gracefully. Bauglir was next, followed by Rhôn-Hari-Rhôn, each getting a couple of bruises in the process.

They carefully picked up Luinár and returned her to the entrance cave, laying her down on a ledge there. There she cast a couple of healing spells on herself to mend some of the damage she took in the fall, and Mîriel cast two more on her.

"Now, lie down there and don't move," Mîriel ordered her. "If you need to do something more than breath, you ask my permission!"

Bauglir spoke. "We have two of our best fighters injured. It might be an idea for a small group of us to go out and look for a freshwater riverbed. It's a good place to look for plants that heal bones. It appears we are close to the River Angsiril. We should be able to make it there and back within a day."

"That will have to wait until tomorrow," said Araquenval. "The day is far too long to start upon such a quest."

"Pray tell," asked Dennenor of Bauglir, "what is that curious blue globe which you brought out of the tunnel?"

"I'm not quite sure," Bauglir replied. "Would you like to take a look at it?"

"I can tell the keenness of a sword, but objects such as these are beyond my lore. Araquenval might be able to discern its secrets."

So Bauglir handed the globe to Araquenval, who explored it closely. He both felt strangely drawn into it, the floating pattern of black specks and ribbons strangely hypnotic. After a few minutes he put it down and looked at the rest of them.

"Quite the find, my friend," he said. "This is an olorkorna, a dreaming-globe that also has three intuitions spells bound into it: three times a day can you cast the spell. And it helps people with activities that require long periods of concentration or meditation, such as Dennenor has done before."

Then he picked up the egg and looked at it. There was a very light feel of magic to it, and inside he could discern a snake-like organism slowly swimming around.

"This presents the opportunity to use the olorkorna," he said. "I will cast one of the intuitions spells contained within it to see what would happen if I cut it open."

The Elf went quiet for a minute, then said, "I saw that I cut it open, and a thick clear substance flowed forth. Inside also was a creature that appeared to be a worm, very white in colour, with two large eyes on its head. The eyes seemed too large for the head: perhaps the worm was intended to grow larger before it hatched. I did not like looking at the creature; it seemed to repulse me in a way I do not understand."

"And there were three others like it down there, were there not?" they heard Luinár ask. "Perhaps its mother is down there, too? How big do these things get? As big as the tunnel we were in?"

"I cannot say," Araquenval replied. "The spell tells me only what will happen if I try something, but gives me no information beyond that."

The sun was setting, so they prepared for the night. Prior to going to his meditation, Araquenval spent two hours concentrating on the familiar spell with his bat, whom he had named Burzot, then cast his regular spellways spell to store a shock bolt.

A couple of hours into the first watch, Mîriel heard a shuffling noise in the cave. Gaining Dennenor's attention, she motioned him over to her position, then began preparing a light spell. Before she was ready, though, several arrows flew in, one of them hitting Dennenor and bouncing off his breastplate. He called out in Orkish, "What do you think you are doing? Put down your weapons!"

They were not fooled: from inside the cavern Dennenor heard the Orcs laughing, making derisive comments about Elves. While he challenged them to come laugh at his sword, Mîriel ordered him and Rhôn-Hari-Rhôn to the front. She herself held back and prepared her spell again. Bradlegar lit his lantern, then he and Araquenval readied their bows.

Two small bowlegged Orcs, both under four feet tall and carrying scimitars, came around the corner. The magic users cast their spells: Mîriel's light spell was successful, as was Bauglir's shock bolt, but Araquenval's stored shock bolt spell had no effect. Three arrows flew in from the darkness beyond: they missed, but the group now knew the two Orcs had brought company. Bradlegar tried to return fire, but let go his bow string too soon. It snapped on his arm, and he winced at the pain.

The Orcs may have been small, but they were fast and strong. One hit Rhôn-Hari-Rhôn twice before he could react and left a deep cut in his arm. Dennenor attacked one of the archers, and it panicked when he saw the size of its enemy, but the Elf still found it difficult to score a hit, and himself took a hit from another arrow. It was Bauglir who carried the first part of the battle: axe in hand, he ducked in and around the fighters, and killed one Orc wielding a scimitar and one of the archers.

Suddenly one of the Orcs archers fell asleep: Araquenval had cast a successful spell. "Surrender or die!" he called to the two archers still fighting.

"We will make you eat your own dung!" they sneered back. Dennenor charged forward, swinging hard and low at the last remaining archer. He cut off both its legs and it toppled to the ground, quite dead. Another Orc, one that earlier had injured Rhôn, was now surrounded on three sides: it ducked Rhôn when he swung his war mattock at it, took a hit from Bauglir's axe, then died when Dennenor thrust his sword into its chest.

The fight over, Mîriel gave Dennenor a mirenna berry and told him to bandage his wound, then gave Rhôn a bandage for his arm. They tied up the sleeping Orc and Araquenval requested, "Everyone get out of the Orc's line of sight. I want to question this Orc but I do not wish to frighten him unduly."

"We do this," said Rhôn. "But if Orc gives Elf trouble, Rhôn-Hari-Rhôn kills the Orc."

All save Araquenval moved behind, then the Elf squatted in front of the Orc and shook it awake. The Orc was very sleepy from Araquenval's first spell: obviously it had been a good one. In a few minutes the Orc was awake enough to focus. As soon as he saw it had recognized him, Araquenval cast a charm spell he had prepared.

"Do you speak Morbeth?" Araquenval asked the Orc in its native tongue.

The Orc seemed surprised an Elf could speak its language. It shook its head and asked in Orkish, "You one of Dark Lord's great warrior priests?"

"I am special spy taking the guise of an Elf," Araquenval answered.

"You Olgarim? You look like him."

"I am his brother."

The Orc made a face. "Oh, bad Elf!" he said.

"Well, my friend," Araquenval asked kindly, "why is it you and your lurg make attack on a group that's on a special mission for the Dark Lord?"

The Orc shook its head, then concentrated deeply, trying to count the number of accomplices it had in the party. "Me no think it's lurg," it said at length.

"Hmmm ... whatever." Araquenval paused, then asked again, "Why did you attack us?"

"Me attack you? Oh, bad mistake."

"I'm willing to forget it because you're my friend." The Orc nodded, then Araquenval continued. "We have to make sure none of the other Orcs down here make the same mistake. Because if they make that mistake, it will look bad for you. We don't want that to happen, do we?"

"No ... bad."

"We have not been here before. How many other Orcs are down there? Are you the only ones?"

"Many. Many!"

"Were there any other Orcs coming this way?"

"Ummm ... not today."

"You see, we don't want to run into any more misunderstandings."

"Ahhhh."

It was obvious Araquenval was gaining the Orc's confidence. He continued the questioning. "What else would we find down this hole?"

The Orc grinned, curling back its lip to expose its shaggy yellow teeth. "Worms! Fat, juicy worms! Big worms."

"Good eating?"

"Yesterday they eat Liglath. Bad for Liglath! Me laugh, though."

Araquenval masked his surprise. "The worms ate Liglath ..."

"Yes!"

"Are the worms very fast?"

"Ummm .... no ... sneaky worms."

"Do the worms have shells?"

The Orc looked at Araquenval, puzzled. Araquenval re-phrased his question. "Do they have hard armour?"

"May be. Never see them too close, though. Just when Liglath got taken. Very sneaky."

"Do you have a camp down the hole?"

"Many ... none ..."

Araquenval tried to qualify the Orc's self-contradiction. "All over the place. Wherever it suits you to put your flea-bitten carcass down."

"Uh-huh," the Orc nodded.

"Would you like something to eat?"

The Orc looked puzzled at Araquenval for a moment, then said, "No. Me not hungry right now."

Araquenval now slowly and carefully, pausing to make sure the Orc understood all he was saying. "Now, I don't want you to be surprised when you see my friends. They're all charmed by me, and they are working for the Dark Lord as well."

"Uh-huh ..."

"They are people we captured in the other lands."

"Uh-huh ..."

"Now we are going back to the other the other lands."

"Uh-huh ..."

"And we are going to spy on the other lands and commit much mayhem and mischief."

The little Orc understood that idea. Its expression changed from one of perplexity to something that almost appeared to be joy. "Ah! Mayhem-- mischief! Orcs good at that! Me come with you?"

"Well, that wouldn't work as well ..."

And now the Orc looked downcast. Araquenval kept speaking. "The people are Hobbits and Elves and--"

"What a Hobbit?" asked the Orc.

"Short, sweet tasting human with furry feet."

"Oh! Sounds easy to get! Where Hobbits live?"

"Far to the east. Many months of walking."

"Many months?"

"Yes. But we're going there, and we're going to trick the Hobbits, and we're going to lure them into an ambush among many Orcs of the Dark Lord."

"Oh! Which Orcs?"

"From Mount Gundabad."

The Orc made another face. "Oh, me not like them. They big."

"They're not so tough. If you do well, I could make you a leader amongst those Orcs. The leaders don't have to be big."

Now he had the Orc's complete attention. It looked eagerly at the Elf. "Can I get to hurt other Orcs when they say mean things?"

"You get to have other Orcs hurt the other Orcs for you!"

"Oh! Take me with you, master! I serve you, and only you."

"But remember, we have to be very quiet about where we're going. We don't want the other Orcs or Easterlings in these lands to find us. We're trying to keep low, because the Elves have spies among the Orcs and the Easterlings. And they will report our presence back to their Elvish overlords."

He paused, waiting for the Orc to say something, but when it did not, he continued. "Therefore, we are being very careful about revealing ourselves in these lands. We're pretending we're escaped slaves, and many Orcs and many Easterlings are looking for us, thinking we really are escaped slaves. That way, the spies of the Elves won't know we're really spies going to snoop on their lands. Do you understand?"

There was a pause while the Orc digested Araquenval's last speech, then it slowly nodded agreement.

"So, you will help us?"

"I help you, master. This why you hide in cave?"

"Yes."

"Worms didn't eat you?"

"We didn't know about the worms."

"Ohhh ... bad worms."

"How big are these worms. As big as this tunnel?"

"They come from underneath you ... ground shakes!"

"They come up through the rock?"

The Orc was clearly troubled by the thought of the worms. It hissed and spat. "They can hear you walking. Ohhh!"

"Do you have much warning they're coming?"

"Depends, if they wait or not."

"Ah, so they wait in ambush just below the surface. Just like your friend Liglath. We'll make sure that does not happen to you. I don't want that to happen to you, because you're going to make a loyal follower who will be made a great leader of the Orcs of Mount--"

Eagerly the Orc spoke, forgetting it was interrupting its master. "Mount Gundabad! Me get to have Orcs hurt other Orcs! What you want me to do?"

"You will be our guide through these lands as we make our way across the river. Oh, and you're going to love the roasted flesh of Hobbits! Now, we have a Hobbit with us, but his blood is poisoned, so even if he gets killed you can't eat him. You will know what Hobbits look like when you see him, and you will know how tasty they look."

"Me no want to go outside, though. Sun is bad. Me don't see sun very much."

"Well, do you want to be a leader in Mount Gundabad?"

"Yes!"

"Then you will need to go outside."

The Orc nodded agreement. Araquenval said, "Now from time to time I will have to tie you up--"

"What?"

"Well, we have to pretend we are nasty, bad Elves and Hobbits travelling through this land ..." The Orc looked doubtful, but Araquenval persisted. "Don't worry, we'll let you keep your sword."

"Ahh .. sword. All right."

"Now, you don't have any problem killing other Orcs, do you, if they attack us?"

"No."

"Good. Now, what it your name?"

"Maz-hur. My name is Maz-hur."

"Good. Now, Maz-hur, I'm going to show you the other people who are travelling with me." He switched to Common, asking Bradlegar to come and stand beside him. Then he said to Maz-hur in Orkish, "Here is the Hobbit. His name is Bradlegar. Doesn't he look tasty?"

The Orc licked his tongue on his lips and focused on the Hobbit with its gleaming red eyes, blinking slowly. Bradlegar noticed it instantly. "What's happening here?" he asked. Of course, he had not understood a word of the conversation between Araquenval and Maz-hur, so he did not know the Orc believed his people were a delicacy. But Araquenval ignored him and continued talking to Maz-hur.

"Now, remember, this one's blood is poisoned, so you can't eat him, even if he falls over. And me and the others have to keep pretending we're Hobbits and Elves."

Rhôn walked over beside Araquenval and Bradlegar. "You done?" he asked.

"Yes," Araquenval replied. "This is Maz-hur. He's going to help us."

"Oh?" asked Rhôn, clearly skeptical.

"He understands the situation, that we are but travelling through this land, and--"

Again Maz-hur interrupted him. "Hey! You say nothing about Dwarf!"

"That's not a Dwarf," Araquenval told him. "Orcs are to Elves, as Woses are to Dwarves."

"He look like Dwarf to me!"

"Not a Dwarf. He does not have a beard. Wose. Can you say, 'Wose'?"

Maz-hur tried the unfamiliar word. "Waaz" was as close as he got. Araquenval smiled at the Orc. "Very good. With that intellect you will make a mighty, mighty leader of Mount Gundabad! In fact, right now I can actually give you a field rank of Lieutenant of Mount Gundabad."

The Orc looked at Araquenval in awe. "You powerful Sorcerer?" it asked.

"Well, Olgarim is my brother."

Dennenor, who knew Orkish well enough to have followed the entire conversation, now spoke to Araquenval in Sindarin. "How long does a charm spell last?" he asked.

"Two hours," came the reply, but in Common, for Araquenval wanted the others to hear. "I suspect he was completely unaware I had cast the charm spell. There is a good chance he believes my entire tale. I told him I was the brother of a powerful sorcerer named Olgarim, and we are on a special mission for the Dark Lord. We have retained his services, and as a reward I have promised him a position of power in Mount Gundabad. One of the first things we have to get him to do is kill on our behalf. Then he will be beholden to us."

"He appears to be a half decent archer," said Mîriel. "We should keep him out of the front line, though."

Again Maz-hur, not having understood the recent exchange, broke into the conversation. "Now one of those times I must be tied up?"

"No," replied Araquenval. "We're going to untie you now. Remember any Orcs that come up here tonight: don't let then know we're here, or we'll have to kill them. And you'll have to kill them, too."

"I have to kill them. Yes, master. Can I use poison on Orcs?"

"Of course. Is that a sleep poison you have there?"

Maz-hur grinned his yellow toothed grin again. "Long sleep!"

"We don't want you to get harmed, either. We want you to order these other fighters up to the front when we go into battle. After all, you are now a Lieutenant of Mount Gundabad. And once you go to Mount Gundabad, and they hear of your deeds and how well you have served us, they may make you a Captain, or a rank higher than even that."

Araquenval's grandiose talk was making a decided impression on Maz-hur. "Maybe they crown me!" he exclaimed.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. There is already an Orc crowned there, and you might have to do politics to get the crown for yourself."

"Poison!"

"Yes. And I will see to it that you develop to your full potential."

Dennenor went around behind and began to loose Maz-hur's bonds, while Araquenval related the danger from the worms. "They burrow up from under the rock and lie in wait just below the surface. They can hear footsteps of their prey. So we should remember to walk softly while we are in the caverns."

"I wonder where these Orcs came from?" asked Dennenor, speaking Common. "I know we had a difficult time climbing up out of the tunnel."

"Maz-hur," Araquenval asked in Orkish, "the others here want to ask you questions about where you came from, and what route you took to get here."

"Under-ways! Take under-ways, all across the land!"

"I have not been down there, myself ..."

"No, only for Orcs. We know these ways. No one else does."

"Who else is down there?"

"Many, many Orcs."

"This man here--" he pointed to Rhôn-Hari-Rhôn "--wants to know about a room and which way you came from." Then he switched to Common and asked Rhôn, "Can you show him the glass you picked up from down there?"

Rhôn produced a piece of glass. Araquenval showed it to Maz-hur, then said, "There's a room full of this -"

"Ah!" Maz-Hur exclaimed. "Feet still hurt! Worms live there."

Then Rhôn showed the Orc the leathery egg Bauglir had retrieved from the top of the glass heap. Maz-hur shrieked. "Put that down, silly! Worm!"

"What do the worms do?" asked Araquenval.

"Eat! Eat."

"Even these little ones?"

"Maybe me eat."

"Would you like this for breakfast?"

"Maybe."

"I think that can be arranged."

"Thank you, master."

Dennenor, speaking in Orkish, asked Maz-hur, "So, did you climb up out of that room with this shiny stuff in it?"

"Yes, we climb up. We good climbers. We the scouts. We come through worm tunnels. Way back. Liglath get caught. We come through worm tunnel. Good joke, eh?"

"Good joke," Dennenor agreed. "Is this the first time you've been up this way?"

"Long time ago we be here. We the scouts. We go everywhere. We know all the tunnels. All the under-ways."

"Are the tunnels--the under-ways--this large all the way through?"

"Only where worms go. Some big, some small."

"This worm that caught Liglath--how long ago was that? Was it many sleeps ago? Or very far away?"

Maz-hur thought for a moment. "Down past worm-lair. Further down. Further down, little way down. Not long ago."

"Did they make the glass?" asked Araquenval.

Maz-hur shrugged. "Don't use glass. Glass is Elvish stuff. Worm like glass. We looking for jewels when we step on glass. It hurts."

By now Dennenor had finished untying Maz-hur. Slowly he coiled the rope while speaking to the little Orc. "We'll make sure you're well fed. Please don't eat our horses."

"What food you have?" Maz-hur asked.

"Well, we have iron rations -"

"Iron?" asked the Orc in surprise. "Does Dwarf eat iron?"

Dennenor tried to explain. "It's not really iron. It's just what we call it." Mîriel came to his rescue, bringing a sample of the rations for Maz-hur to try. He nibbled at it. "Not bad. Lizard eyeballs better."

"Sorry," said Dennenor, "we haven't seen many lizards around here."

"Lots in under-ways."

Araquenval asked, "Do the worms have acid? Do they burn things? Or do they have big teeth."

"Those tunnels did not look like they were gnawed," said Dennenor.

"Big mouth! Teeth!" said Maz-Hur. "They wait. They hear us coming. They hear earth moving."

"Do they live only underground," asked Araquenval, "or do they go to the surface as well?"

"Under--just under-ways."

"Are they afraid of fire?"

"Hmmm. Don't know. Maybe."

"What works best to fight them?"

"Run! Liglath not fast enough. But Maz-hur was."

Now Mîriel spoke. "Some of us need our rest: we have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow. So let's go back to sleep. Araquenval, you're going to have to figure out how to get your little Orkish buddy to travel under the sun."

"We could wrap him up in a bedroll," said the Elf.

Turning to Rhôn-Hari-Rhôn, she asked, "Rhôn, how badly hurt are you?"

"Rhôn-Hari-Rhôn feels pain from fight," came the reply. "Resting the night will not heal completely."

"So, we'll have to aid the process," said Mîriel. She prepared and cast a couple of healing spells on the Wose.

Then the rest of the party returned to bed, while Araquenval continued to talk of great things to Maz-hur. Some of these the little Orc did not quite understand, and Araquenval noticed he perked up whenever he mentioned nasty things like killing, maiming, and the like. Mîriel retired from the watch and Dennenor joined them. Araquenval took Maz-hur with him to his watch position at the entrance to the cave.

"Maz-hur," he told the Orc, "go to sleep now, while I watch."

"Sleep? It's middle of night!"

"Tomorrow you're travelling during the day. Don't worry, the sun's not out. We made sure it would be cloudy."

The Orc curled up at Araquenval's feet and immediately went to sleep. The rest of the night was quiet, and nothing interrupted the other two watches.

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Guided Tour

Day 9: A Trip, a Tower, and a Troll

Day 7: The Cave on the Nan Angmar

MERP Campaign #2: Index

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Based on events played to May 16, 1997. Accesses since September 30, 1998: