"No, it only seems that Thoroncir is injured and with Gilraen tending his wounds, no wonder he likes to lead a charge or two." says Rorimac.
"It's a shame this is a cold camp" says Mulligan, "there is a side of cow down there just going to waste." ;)
"Would someone have some light while I check out the other troll corpses to see if they were carrying anything of interest?"
Satisfied that there are no more trolls approaching, and no one else in need of healing, Ceol goes to the edge of the camp, kneels, and bows his head in prayer.
"There will be feasts enough when we are in a safer place, without needing to worry about picking over a troll's leavings; but for now I hope by judicious caution to best further our chances of seeing such a happy day."
I'm sure someone has a discreet light for the burrahobbit - perhaps one of the dwarves?
Thoroncir has a Dwarven-made lantern that he'd be glad to lend the hobbits, or he could come along and also guard them, if they wish (notwithstanding Rorimac's jest, of course).
Redward approaches the hobbits "My blood's up, and I'm not yet done this night. If you need some help while looking, I would be glad to lend it right now." If it's needed Redward would bless them again, or accompany them out.
Well, Ithilneth, for one, still wants to take look around and will welcome company.
Keep in mind Thoroncir's Shield is shining very bright right now as is Gwaeler's Helm I believe.
I'll add more tonight.
It would be a shame to waste the brightness of my helm. It isn't discreet, but it might be of use. I would be happy to come along if stealth isn't an issue.
Smiling, Theogrim remarks, "That last bit is good words for any dwarf to live by."
If Thoroncir isn't needed for troll-searching, he'll cover his shield with a blanket so that it doesn't attract undue attention from any foes.
With a laugh Gwaelur responds to Theogrim "If traveling with this party has taught me anything it is this, know your limitations. I have run faster, struck harder, drunk deeper, and aimed truer in these last months than I have in my entire life...but I know better than to try my hand at stealth."
"Oh, good, you're all not dead after charging off into the dark... Mulligan, I'm going back to sleep. Best of luck in finding those magic items; I think your forebears have had good luck with trolls in the past.
Gilraen tenderly heals Thoroncir’s wounds. She then goes with the group to look for magic items as she can detect magic and make it easier. Of the 8 trolls on the leader had an item and sadly it is his 9’ long sword. The trolls have very little of value and much that is disgusting. There was a jar of putrefied something. Mulligan was quite nauseous after opening it. The only thing of actually value was the one pouch with spices and seasoning. Mulligan does not recognize all of them, but guess it would fetch 10-30 gold back in Gondor.
Theogrim finds his first taste of pipeweed to be a very strong taste but chokes a lot at first. He does think it might be something he could come to enjoy. He notices it does wonders for calming one.
Prestolwen locates a few odd plants for later study and a little bit of useful herb that she can use in her remedies. Working with Gilraen they had extracted all of the arrows and bolts. The bolts all come through but a few magic arrows are broken or damaged, mostly the elven arrows. The Dwarven made tube shafts are up to the job of killing tough trolls.
Ceol’s prayers make him feel as one with the world.
Ithilneth scouts the area under Folca’s watchful eye and finds no signs of activity besides the trolls.
Those not on watch can get back to sleep. Deor leads the way in this endeavor.
Sala, “I am happy I was able to help in locating the camp, I have no weapon to pierce a troll’s tough hide. I stayed to protect Deor here, but I fear I would have been little more than a distraction to give him a chance to cast.”
Were Deor awake, he would argue that rather than selling the spices, we should simply allow Mulligan to cook with them for us for the next few days.
Thoroncir thanks Gilraen for her healing touch, again kisses her goodnight (if he can do so with a modicum of privacy), takes his armor back off, wraps up in his blanket and tries to get some more sleep.
Ceol rubs down Leofwin, as he finishes out his turn on watch.
Mulligan: "Sala, a good distraction can always be effective when not expected. I don't have much that could stop a troll either."
Rorimac smiles at Theogrim's first attempts with a pipe. " You can keep using that spare pipe of mine for the time being. I'm sure we can get you a proper one soon."
The herbs disappear their way into Mulligan's cooking supplies.
The morning comes swiftly with no further problems. The trolls turn to stone as is their wont. So it is good the search was already done. The day promises to be fair and tracking should not be difficult.
Redward stretches as he gets up. "It's a wonderful feeling to find out that all your companions fight well, and you can trust them at your back." If he's able to repair any of the damaged arrows, he will gladly do so for any of his companions.
Thoroncir rises, smiling to see Gilraen nearby. He bids good morning to his companions, packs up his gear, saddles his horse and dons his armor.
If we're still in suitable terrain for horse then we'll prepare to saddle up and scout that way.
To Sala: "A troll is no kind of opponent for a fencer. Let us rejoice rather that we have those among us with keen lances and mighty axes. :) "
Horses may be ridden but the party will need to stop frequently for Rorimac to track.
What is done with the giant magic sword?
Any other last minute instructions?
Sounds like the sword would be too cumbersome to take with us now. Should we ask the Dwarves to destroy it, if that can be done safely, or should we bury it for later recovery?
I'm sure Rorimac won't mind walking most of the time, and we're in no hurry, but if we get into a fight we may be glad of the extra hitting power of the lancers or the opportunity to run away. As for the troll-sword, conceal it as best we can for now, and we can take time to destroy it properly later.
"It looks a fair day to travel." Prestolwen says and smiles at the company. She settles her pack and is ready to ride.*
*the horse whose name she has forgotten....
"It does, indeed, milady." Ceol smiles at Prestolwen, then swings himself up into Leofwin's saddle.
Mulligan: "If you took the troll sword and melted it down, could you make lots of magical arrowheads from it?"
Rorimac: "I'm quite happy to try and track down where the trolls were heading to. If someone can hold my horse steady while I scout around, I would be grateful"
Thoroncir offers to take charge of Rorimac's horse while the hobbit is scouting. He speaks to it quietly in Horse and explains what is going on, asking for its patience.
"Mulligan, I think it should be possible to reforge the sword into smaller items," comments Ithilneth. "I have passing familiarity with such work, as my father was a smith. The difficulty will be to find a forge with great enough heat to reshape the metal. But I think our friend Deor's skill at fire magic may useful in this matter."
"There is a town nearby, if I am remembering my geography correctly. They may have a forge we could use. Bitur and I have enough experience with forges that me might be able to help as well. Of course it would likely delay us a bit to make that detour."
The troll sword is concealed quickly and the party heads out healed, fairly well rested and ready with full spell points.
The tracking is simple and the path easy for the horses. Most of the time the party can ride three abreast or more. A few places drop down to single file. At about 3 miles south of the hill, there is sudden ravine that is too tough for the horses at all. It is quickly decided that to scout the way down the men with stay with the horses and the Hobbits, Dwarves and Elves (and Half-Elf) will descend and report back.
It takes about 20 minutes to find a safe way down and the Dwarves locate two rock fall traps that Mulligan disables. Mulligan also finds a simple tense rope that needs to be avoided as it probably sets off an alarm. Near the bottom the scouts find a cave opening with some large stones in front of it. It is clear the trolls move these stones out of the way like a crude door and they used it just last night. It looks like at least 1 troll used in early morning before sunup though. So at least one troll still lives it appears.
The climb was tough for the Dwarves and Rorimac. If the party wishes to enter, Gil-Gandel is the best one to send back up to help the men down. The Dwarves are already deep in discussion on how best to move the rocks.
It is only 9:30 am.
Gwaelur examines the rocks blocking the cave entrance to see if he has any ideas on how best to move them.
Bitur looks around for any large timbers that may be useful as impromptu levers. We have rope so we might be able to jury-rig a crude machine to pry the stones apart. Assuming the stones are next to each other we can use one as a fulcrum to wedge the other out of the way, and I imagine we only need to move one to get in and out seeing as our lot is considerably smaller than the trolls are.
Ceol passes the time, waiting for word from those investigating the troll cave, by catching up with his cousins Deor and Theogrim, sharing stories of their families.
Meanwhile, Leofwin appears to be quite bored by the entire operation, and starts to snooze.
Thoroncir listens to Gil-Gandel's report, then dismounts and ties a rope lead from his horse to Rorimac's, explaining to each (and to the rest of the parties' horses, if their masters or mistresses wish) in Horse what will happen next. He will lead the horses carefully down to the cave, helping Gilraen if she needs it.
The dwarves are the best for an engineering operation, so I'll content myself with keeping a sharp lookout, and post our remaining Elven eyes to ensure all approaches are covered. Deor, if you'd see that our eyes in the sky are on the alert...?
Gwaelur consults with Bitur some more then speaks to the group.
"No matter what we do, it's going to take some muscle, but we have come up with a few options. Option 1, we start digging. I am not a fan of this option since I don't think we can do it fast enough to get the rocks out of the way any time soon. But we could dig them out. Option 2...we lever them out. Any suitably long and strong branch or will work (something like a small tree trunk is what we would need.) A few of the lances or longer swords might do the trick is someone is willing to put them to use but it's likely to damage them. But, that large 9' sword would do the trick nicely. We will need to send someone back to go get it though.
So...we don't really have options, what we have is a need for some fast riders to go back and bring us that sword to use as a lever. Sorry for the misdirection at the start of the speech.
Redward steps forward. "I'd be glad to head back to the sword. I'm a fair rider myself, and were it an issue I can bless us all with improved strength to handle it on the way back."
"I am also willing to go back; my horse is swift and I am not without strength."
Mulligan wonders if there is a small enough gap to fit through for a small hobbit?
The stones are shaped enough that there is no gap for even a Hobbit. A cat could sneak through but Missy does not appear interested in trying.
The horsemen wait to see if anyone else steps forward or if two is enough.
"Even if you could fit through the barrier, brave Mulligan," Sir Thoroncir says, "we could not come to your aid if you came to any harm. Better, I think, that we open a way for all to go within. I will join those returning for the troll-sword, if needed."
The three horseman ride off. They should return within an hour. They have no problems on the way back and take turns dragging the sword behind their horses.
The Dwarves have readied some small rocks to use with the levers and are ready when the riders return. The sword is lowered down by ropes and are the lances. The Dwarves set the sword between the stones high and have the 4 strongest men on it. They use Theogrim's lance low with themselves and Rorimac on it. They are careful with the lance, not too careful with the sword. As the rock begins to move, they ask the Elves to put smaller stones in the way to hold the gap.
It takes a good hard 15 minutes but a gap large enough for any to get through is created. The sword and lance are unharmed.
How does the party proceed? It will need to be single file.
March 25, 10:45am
"I do not like the idea of just leaving the sword lying here outside. I like less the idea of dragging it with us, heavy and noisy and evil. What should we do about it? Take it back?"
"I feel those best suited to taking a beating should take point and backup, and those of us who can hit from range or cast, the middle. And I agree, taking the sword back would be better than allowing a Troll to come from behind with it."
I'll take point when we go into the cave. I am probably best suited for the job. Bitur should probably be with me in the #2 position (unless he would rather have point, in which case I will gladly cede the point position to him).
As to the sword...is there a good hiding place for it nearby? I would hate to drag it all the way back after we just got it here.
The sword could be hauled back up by ropes again and there are some rocky places to secret it though hardly perfect. It is not as if the trolls could get it in the daylight at least.
Thoroncir peers into the darkness of the cave. He will take point or drag, as needed, but thinks our Elf-captain should determine our single-file order. And yes, best to hide the sword around here.
Yes yes Thoroncir, I suppose it is up to the Gil-Gandel to decide the final marching order. But, while I intend you no offense, you are not quite as well suited for this sort of cave work as Bitur and I are. Nor is anyone else in the party. I can not imagine the elf would be such a fool as to not see that. Would you elf?
Gilraen says, "Good Dwarf, you point is valid, but do not overlook that Mr. Brandybuck here is quite skilled in fighting trolls and most quiet and quite invisible. Perhaps by your own sound and worthy logic, good Gil-Gandel has more to consider."