Middle-Earth Role Playing Campaign

And it certainly seemed like May: all the snow had melted away, and in its wake ponds of flowers in yellow, white, and blue spotted the green grass. The oppressive overcast of the winter had thinned to a haze that did not block the warmth of the sun. While they put on their Angmarim disguises, they looked around, trying to gain their bearings.

"There's something in a tree over there," said Bradlegar. "It appears to have been left there deliberately."

"How far?" Mîriel asked.

"Only some two hundred yards."

"Then it's trivial to check it out. Let's ride over and then continue our journey from there."

They quickly arrived at the tree and saw a grisly sight: two planks of wood had been spiked together to form a crude "X", and nailed to it was the badly decayed body of an Orc.

"Possibly that's one of the Orcs that was tracking us," Mîriel observed. "A warning to those who fail in the service of the Witch-King."

To the south Bradlegar and Mîriel could both the see a thin grey line. The tree-line it was, for they were far enough north in Middle-Earth that they had been in tundra all this time. For this they rode, and Bauglir said they should reach it within a day. "Perhaps even today," he said, "for at this time of the year the days in Angmar are long."

Travel was most uneventful; the only thing they saw for several hours was a camp of about twelve tents to which they gave a wide berth. Immediately after the camp they came across a road. This did not surprise them, for they knew of a road ran along that the south of Angmar from Litash to Mount Gram and beyond. It was a rather crude affair built up from stone and gravel laid across the grassland, quite unlike raised paved highway they had encountered after leaving the mine.

This they crossed. While the others rode ahead, Rhôn-Hari-Rhôn stayed behind to obscure the signs of their passing. He spent nearly twenty minutes at this task, all the while watching for any sign of travellers on the road, then mounted his horse and went in search for his friends. He rode a few yards in the direction he had seen them heading, then looked at the ground in considerable confusion, for all trace of them appeared to vanish. But even as he prepared to engage in a thorough search for their tracks, Luinár rode up to him; she had been waiting about a hundred yards away, obscured by the trees, and had ridden to his assistance when she saw him dismount and investigate the ground.

"Was it worth your while?" she asked, amused.

"Well," replied Rhôn, quiet as always, "if Rhôn-Hari-Rhôn cannot find tracks, neither can anyone else in Angmar."

Not a hundred yards south of the road was the tree line that marked the change from grassland to forest. To reduce their chances of being seen, the group decided to stay off the road and ride as close to the woods a possible. After two hours Luinár noticed tracks coming out of the woods and heading east, the same direction they were traveling. She cast a path lore spell. It showed her the image of six rough looking men, but whether they were commoners or Angmarim soldiers she could not tell. They appeared to be armed with longbows and swords.

They continued their ride. Within half an hour Bradlegar spotted the men, walking slowly ahead of them. Carefully they approached, closing the gap between them. They had narrowed it to forty yards when one of the men turned around and noticed they were being followed. He called to the others, who also turned and saw the group behind them.

"Woodsmen," called Araquenval, "have you noticed any others pass this way?"

The men glanced at each other, clearly frightened by the sudden appearance of the group. In time one of them found his voice and stammered, "No."

"Have you by chance stolen anything that should be handed over to us?" Araquenval asked.

One of them pulled a pheasant from a bag and held it out. "It's yours, my lord."

"Come over here."

But the men made no sign of moving, so Araquenval assured them, "You may approach without fear. We shall not slay you." The men approached, but it was obvious they were still very frightened. Araquenval put some kindness into his voice. "Where are you from?" he asked.

"We are from further west. I grew up in the encampment of Morkai."

"Do you travel these woods often?"

"Not often, my lord, but we know them well enough."

"Do you know what lies ahead?"

"More trees. There is a city yonder, but it is still a fair travel. But why do you ask about what's ahead? You seem to be right and proper."

"Are you questioning me?" asked Araquenval. He turned to Bauglir. "Do you still have the collection of tongues of those who questioned me in the past?" Bauglir found a small bag he had hung from his belt and produced it for the others to see.

"You will be guiding us through here," said Araquenval, "making sure we are not surprised by any foe, nor by any trap they may have set. And for your service to the Witch-King you will be given three copper pieces each."

The men's eyes widened. "You are much too kind, lord," said one.

"It will be your reward," said Araquenval. "Now turn around and go before us."

The men warily fanned out in a line in front, and the group followed them about fifty feet behind. Less than an hour later the sun began to set. "Woodsmen," Araquenval ordered, "set our camp."

"Yes, my lord," replied the men. They found a suitable place to camp. The group showed the men where the tents were, and they proceeded to unload them from the pack horses and set them up. Trollfist in hand, Rhôn-Hari-Rhôn pointedly made a circle about the camp, examining the ground. When he was done, he approached Araquenval.

"Camp is secure, my lord," he said.

"Thank you," the Elf replied. Then he pointed to the man carrying the pheasant. "You will prepare the fowl for my dinner."

"And do you have any other game?" asked Bradlegar.

The men produced two rabbits they had snared. "Prepare those as well," Araquenval ordered.

The men lit a fire, prepared the pheasant and the two rabbits, and cooked them for the group. When they were done, one of the men offered the roasted pheasant to Araquenval. The Elf looked at Bradlegar. "Taste!" he commanded.

"Yes, my lord," the Hobbit replied. He made quite a show of slicing off a piece of meat and examining it carefully before eating it. "It is good," he said. Araquenval ate a small portion of the bird, then ordered the remaining meat to be divided among all the others. Bauglir claimed an entire rabbit for himself and ate it all without any hint of remorse.

When dinner was over, Mîriel approached Araquenval. "My lord," she said, "if we are to travel much longer with these scum, we should check them carefully for lice, vermin, and disease."

"Make it so," said Araquenval.

So Mîriel examined each of the men in turn, but instead of checking them for parasites, she cast a spell to detect evil. The men were not pleasant characters, she learned; they were rough and brutish, a definite danger to everyone they encountered. Speaking in Sindarin, she reported her findings to Araquenval.

Just before they settled down for the night, Bauglir quietly pulled out his dagger and with the help of a telekinesis spell slowly spun it around in the air. The display had the desired effect on the captives as they watched the spectacle, speechless. Rhôn then divided the woodmen into two groups, assigning them to sleep on opposite sides of the camp, where the watchers could keep an eye on them.

Dennenor and Mîriel stayed up first while the others in the group retired to their tents. Two of the men remained awake to keep watch while the others slept outside on the ground. Mîriel kept her sword across her lap and cast a nature's awareness spell.

A couple of hours into the watch the silence of the night was suddenly broken by screams. Both Mîriel and Dennenor looked around and quickly saw that one of the men was being dragged out of the camp toward the woods. Mîriel's spell informed her two large lizards had dashed with incredible speed into the centre of the camp from the woods and were now returning with their catch. Immediately the entire camp was aroused; everyone inside the tents snatched their weapons and dashed outside.

"What's happening here?" asked Araquenval.

"Great lizards taking woodman back to trees," said Rhôn.

"There are four lizards around here!" Bradlegar cried. "Two have the man, and two more are back in the woods!" And he shot one of the lizards dragging the man: the arrow buried deep into its leg. Hissing savagely, the lizard let go.

Dennenor ran to where the lizards had dragged the man and struck the other one, and it too released its grip on its victim. But the other two lizards hiding in the woods suddenly dashed out, grabbed the man, and dragged him the rest of the way into the trees. Luinár, who had followed Dennenor into the fray, managed a hit on one of them.

"You have my permission to attack the lizards," said Araquenval to three of the men who had just been roused from their sleep.

"We can't see anything!" one of them protested.

"Do I have to ask you again?" Araquenval snapped, and he pointed at one of them. A powerful stream of water leaped from his outstretched finger. It struck the man and he spun around wildly under its force.

From where she had been keeping watch on the other side of the camp, Mîriel spotted the two lizards in the trees as soon as they ran out. She ordered the man who had been keeping watch with her to approach and fight. But when he slowly walked to the trees, Mîriel called after him, "No! Use your bow!"

The man turned around. "Don't order me around, woman!" he growled. Then he screamed. Bauglir, who had seen nothing of the lizards and believed the men were attacking the group, had come up behind him and discharged a massive water bolt spell. Before the man could recover, Bauglir killed him with his battle axe.

In the trees, Luinár, Dennenor, and Rhôn-Hari-Rhôn made short work of the lizards, but back in the camp the situation was rapidly spiralling out of control. The two companions of the man Araquenval had soaked now pulled their swords and advanced on the Elf. One of them never made it, for Bradlegar had been fearing treachery and was covering the three men from behind. He fired an arrow at one of them as soon as he made his move and killed him with his second shot.

"Dennenor! Luinár! To me!" Araquenval shouted, then swiftly cast a shock bolt on the other man approaching him. It prevented the man from attacking, and moments later Dennenor arrived and killed him.

One of the men dropped both his bow and sword. Hands in the air, he cried, "I'm not involved! Spare me! Mercy!"

"Then sit down," Araquenval told him. The man sat down on the ground.

But the one whom Araquenval had drenched with the water bolt began to run. Mîriel saw him and cast a light spell to track him, then Bradlegar shot an arrow into his leg, and he crashed face first into the trees. Bauglir followed the man in and slew him where he lay.

"The one dragged away by the creatures is dead," Luinár reported from the forest.

Approaching the man who had surrendered, Araquenval said to him, "I promised three coppers apiece to you and your five friends. Here are fifteen for you." He threw the coins on the ground. "You have until morning to bury your companions, if you wish."

"They aren't worthy of a burial," the man replied.

"Then drag their bodies away," said Rhôn-Hari-Rhôn.

"As you wish, lord," said the man, and he got up from the ground and began hauling the bodies of his fallen companions into the woods.

"Gather their souls for me," Araquenval told Bauglir. "I will be thirsty soon." A look of distaste crossed Rhôn's gnarled face, making him look even uglier than usual. He examined the man's weapons; they appeared to be standard issue for Angmarim soldiers.

When the man had finished with the bodies, with Araquenval's approval Rhôn handed him back his weapons. Keeping his eyes to the ground and making every effort to make no moves that could be interpreted as threatening, the man unstrung his bow.

"What is your name?" Araquenval asked him while he was gathering the copper coins.

"Scarvey, lord," he replied.

"Very good, Scarvey. You may go back to sleep."

The camp settled down again while Araquenval and Dennenor kept the second watch. All was quiet, and Luinár joined Bradlegar and Araquenval for the third. It also passed uneventfully, and in time the sun began to peek over the eastern horizon, bringing another day to Middle-Earth.

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Guided Tour

Day 17: Tracks, Traps, and Bats

Day 15: Farewell to the Tangleood Vale

MERP Campaign #2: Index

MERP Campaign #3: Paul's MERP Campaign

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Based on events played to August 22, 1997. Accesses since September 30, 1998: