ArPharazon
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King of the Land of the Star
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Post by ArPharazon on Apr 21, 2024 17:42:09 GMT -5
Calion:
Looking down into the well and back to Frali, Calion smiled. "I'm not sure if this counts as a cave, but you never know what treasures might be found down there." He sized up the young dwarf and added, "Though if we are to carry your weight, and of what you find, it might be best if you left your weapons up here."
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ArPharazon
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King of the Land of the Star
Posts: 295
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Post by ArPharazon on Oct 6, 2023 15:14:03 GMT -5
Happy anniversary! \o/
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ArPharazon
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King of the Land of the Star
Posts: 295
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Post by ArPharazon on Jan 22, 2023 18:22:48 GMT -5
Calion:
Raising an eyebrow at Frali's request, Calion shrugged it off as a dwarf thing. Agreeing with Fainan's question, he added, "If it does have some orc-repelling property that they are not aware of, it may help us avoid their detection as we go deeper into enemy territory."
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ArPharazon
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King of the Land of the Star
Posts: 295
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Post by ArPharazon on Oct 5, 2022 15:33:00 GMT -5
Happy anniversary everyone! Let no dragonfire break us apart!
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ArPharazon
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King of the Land of the Star
Posts: 295
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Post by ArPharazon on Apr 3, 2022 17:50:44 GMT -5
Calion:
After finishing chewing and swallowing a piece of fish, Calion looked up, glanced at Auros, and then turned to Telperos. "Well, it wouldn't do to refuse an assignment from Thranduil's halls, especially when I had not met your friend yet. After that, our missions and goals seemed to align."
Sparing Auros a smirk, he leaned forward to Telperos and spoke in a stage whisper, "In truth, he's starting to grow on me a bit."
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ArPharazon
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King of the Land of the Star
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Post by ArPharazon on Mar 27, 2022 16:54:02 GMT -5
Calion:
Letting the others talk, Calion got comfortable on the hay, and grabbed a thin, less than pristine wooden disc from his pack. It had seen multiple functions, including target practice for his knives on more than one occasion. But it still performed well enough for meals.
Also helping himself to the fish, he nodded gratefully as he took Telperos' offer of some complimentary honey as well as some raspberries. A life in the woods made him keen on varied meals, and the portions he took were small enough to not be unfair.
Sitting back, he too cast his eyes on Frali, hoping not to put too much pressure on the dwarf. Calion could use a good story to listen to.
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ArPharazon
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King of the Land of the Star
Posts: 295
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Post by ArPharazon on Dec 12, 2021 18:06:17 GMT -5
Calion:
Agreeing with Frali, Calion aided the dwarf in grabbing some hay bales from the inn and moving them to the new stables. After making sure the horses had enough, he brought over an extra bale for the guard house. While perhaps not strictly necessary, it wouldn't hurt to spread some out to spend the night on. If they were going to stay here a while, might as well make it more comfortable.
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ArPharazon
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King of the Land of the Star
Posts: 295
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Post by ArPharazon on Aug 15, 2021 17:05:56 GMT -5
Calion:
"Destroy? It seems a waste of the food, and I'm sure Auros would like to keep some of the scrolls. If we're going to destroy it, we'd best make sure we take and hide what we want, first."
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ArPharazon
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King of the Land of the Star
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Post by ArPharazon on Apr 18, 2021 15:23:16 GMT -5
Calion:
Following the others out of the stables, Calion noticed Auros deep in thought, and realized it would be up to him to tell the others what they'd seen. He walked over to Fainan and Frali, took a breath, and started, "Well."
He told them about the state of the stables, about the straw for horses - momentarily glancing at his own mount - rather than wargs, and the care with which it had been stored. About the shelves full of meat, with some disgust on his face, though admitting silently to himself that it'd have to do if all other supplies ran out. He continued about the better-looking inventory in the inn's cellar, adding with a short smile that they should probably bring some with them if there was time, and finished with a description of the books and scrolls.
"Auros seemed particularly affected by those, and I can imagine why. The knowledge in them could be vital to our mission, but why they're here should worry us. Someone has been using this place. Not an orc, but one who commands their respect, or at least their fear. Possibly whatever is controlling my brother... and judging by the readiness of the supplies, the orcs expected him here again soon."
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ArPharazon
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King of the Land of the Star
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Post by ArPharazon on Feb 17, 2021 13:55:47 GMT -5
Calion:
Saluting back, Calion smiled at the new ally. "My name is Calion, and it is good to see a friendly face out here. A friendlier one than Auros, by the looks of it!" Thrusting his thumb over his shoulder, he added, "And I think we've found your horse."
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ArPharazon
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King of the Land of the Star
Posts: 295
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Post by ArPharazon on Oct 4, 2020 14:12:34 GMT -5
Happy 23rd anniversary to everyone!
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ArPharazon
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King of the Land of the Star
Posts: 295
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Post by ArPharazon on Aug 21, 2020 12:41:30 GMT -5
Calion:
Stepping forward, Calion made eye contact with the horse, and smiled. "Another horse from Rivendell, I see. And it has been out here for a while. It is your friend's, I assume?" Comparing the bandages Fainan was checking out to the cloak Auros had discovered, he frowned for a moment. "Then that must be his cloak. But where has the rider gone without his ride?"
After a moment's thought Calion looked at Auros. "Did you find tracks leading underground? I do hope he wasn't captured."
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ArPharazon
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Post by ArPharazon on May 26, 2020 19:50:34 GMT -5
Calion:
It was near the end of his watch, and Calion stared into the west. The moon was low, shining its light on the hollow. It was nearly full, but betrayed nothing but greenery as the lone guard stood hidden and alert for any sound or movement. But the night had been quiet. The only sound besides the minimal flow of water had been a small lizard shuffling among the rocks. Calion assumed that it had been equally uneventful during the watches before his, or he'd have been told.
Looking at a full moon always reminded him of wolves and their howling. He knew that it was a mere superstition of men that wolves howled at the moon, rather than at each other, but Calion smiled at the idea. And as the relief of the watch came, and he prepared to sleep, he let his thoughts go towards Helvy. What had become of the wolf when Calaron fell? Was he still alive? And if so, where had he gone? If Calion focused hard, he thought he still felt the faintest spiritual connection with his old companion, and he hoped that rather than it being some wishful thinking, it meant the wolf was still alive, and strong, and with purpose. He smiled faintly as he fell asleep, and let his mind drift to the east.
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Helvy:
Slowly they made their way through the mountains. The momentum had been lost, but the determination remained. Helvy was the undisputed leader, but the sorcerer's foul stench of corruption was now clear to all the pack, and as one they made their progress. They had left the forest behind and even the valley of the river Anduin, straight up into the Grey Mountains. Calaron had visited several orc camps and strongholds there, likely to give orders and prepare them for a full invasion of Mirkwood, after his business in Angmar was finished. But many of these orcs would not see that war. During the day, the wolves would overwhelm any scouts they found, and ravage the orc camps at night. As a well streamlined lupine army they overtook the unsuspecting orcs and feasted on their corpses and supplies. Sometimes a wolf would fall, but still their numbers grew for every new comrade they found among the enemy forces and released from the darkness. And with every new member of the pack, their strength grew, as did their hatred of the prey they chased.
Now the pack of at least several dozen had reached the mighty orc stronghold of Gundabad. No longer did they have the advantage of numbers, and more scouts had been set to compromise the element of surprise. No doubt the lack of communication with forces to the east had been noticed, and the orcs were wary. The wolves did not think as far, but they were intelligent enough to sense the danger, and take greater care with their progress. They silently made their way along the slopes at night, continuing to take on small groups for food, safety and perhaps pleasure, while lying hidden during the day. They would edge their way along orcish architecture and take care to stay away from any entrances. Charging into the mountain at this time would be a quick suicide. So they kept their distance and roamed outside while seeking the sorcerer's exit trail to the west. The pack was patient. As long as there was food to plunder, they could wait.
Running off from another small and now ruined orc watchpost with part of the latest meal, Helvy also stared at the moon, starting to set. Time to find another hiding place for the day.
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ArPharazon
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Post by ArPharazon on May 16, 2020 19:58:45 GMT -5
Calion:
Walking west with Quessëlómë at his side, just in case he needed to hurry back, Calion looked around and ahead. It didn't seem fruitful to scout very far. The ground here sloped down slightly, and was bare of most vegetation. A few dry grasses, shrubs, an occasional dead tree. He frowned. After spending most of his life in the forest, such a scarcity of life annoyed him. Not even the sound of a bird to be heard in the air. This didn't just feel like a matter of altitude and cold climate. The rot of Angmar was close, and it had never left these parts. And so there was no place for orc or man, or elf, to hide. Still, to find tracks, he'd need to look closer. So he went on.
No tracks, no paths that weren't fully overgrown. No remnants of a camp. No footprints. The only signs of any disturbance were the soft prints of the horse's hooves behind them. Calion left none. There was a ridge ahead, running from north to south. Leaving his companion behind for a bit, he crept down to the ridge and looked over it. A short drop of about 5 yards, down to another slope going down as far as he could see. For a moment he stared at the wide distance. The ancient kingdom of Arnor lay down there. Ruins of the cities of the Dúnedain. Forests, hills. If he looked really far, could he see the ocean? No. It was much too far, even for Elven eyes. What he saw was merely mist. The fading of distance. Forcing his eyes downwards as he leaned ever so slightly over the ridge, hidden behind an overhanging bush, he looked at what was directly below him. Nothing here either. Just rock. Dirt. No tracks here.
Calion looked to the sides. On his left, to the south, the ridge slowly grew in height, or rather the ground below it sloped down. Far away it looked rather like a cliff, but if there were caves, they were too far away to be seen or to be a threat. To the north, in contrast, as expected, the ridge shrank and disappeared as the ground sloped up to merge with the terrain on this side. But somewhere along the way, not too far, Calion spotted what looked like a cave. Dropping down lightly and moving along the ridge to the cave, it turned out to merely be a shallow hole. A rock shelter, covered from the west by shrubbery. A natural camping site or hiding place, but not even this place showed signs of use. No prints, not even a broken stick. But there was grass here, like the shrubs fed by a small, almost unseen trickle of water which had apparently also hollowed out the wall here over time. Calion made a note of the location. If they ever needed to retreat or recuperate from a bad encounter, this might be a good place to hide.
After having checked out the entire western area to his satisfaction, a task which had not taken more than several minutes overall, he took Quessëlómë back to Auros at the campsite, where Fainan was just arriving as well. Nodding at his traveling companions, he listened to Fainan's report. When it was his turn, he relayed the poor state of the area to the west, as well as the lack of any enemy presence in recent times. "But," he concluded with a smile, "I may have found a good place for us to rest for the night."
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ArPharazon
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Post by ArPharazon on May 9, 2020 16:19:32 GMT -5
I don't have a lot to say on this other than what I have probably already said. There are no specific reasons for me to be against this, just a general feeling in regards to the Ring that we don't need to plug in to every minor plot point from LotR. Still, there are only three choices for the Ring based on my understanding of its current presentation: that it is a minor ring forged by the Elven Smiths on their way to forging the Rings of Power, that it is a Ring forged by Saruman attempting to recreate the Rings of Power, or that there is another entity trying to create a Ring of Power and this one is even more of a knockoff. I have absolutely no desire for the third to appear in our story, and so would accept either of the first two by a mile if it meant keeping this more reasonably grounded within Tolkien's world. I don't think Saruman would just randomly lose one of his rings though, and this may be a moot point because we might've already discussed which of the above it was and I simply forgot. Also, I don't know about the Helvy part. Wasn't Helvy actually fighting the darkness, not helping it? Was Helvy even there when the Ring was found by Calaron? "He lay in terrible nightmares, as the dark spirit in his head sought to meld with and control his own fëa. He had conversed with the spirit, asking it many questions, but losing secrets and resistance of his own. It was strong-willed, and trained in the sorcery (or so some would call it) of Sauron as one of his old servants, trained to subdue minds under its own domination, take over their bodies, and thus extend its own life. It told Calaron that it had planned to take over a noble Elf for quite some time, to bring chaos to the woodland realm, and sow discord between the Elves and their allies. And now its time had come, for it had planted the ring before him when Calaron was busy in the Northlands, though he had no memory of picking it up. But there the small thing had been, buried deep in his pocket, creating a link for the old sorcerer to complete the plan." Wow, some nostalgia here, finding the right posts. I didn't even remember Calion/Calaron's mother is called Arienel. Does Arien know? Anyway, looks like Calaron found the ring way before, planted before he was captured and rescued earlier in our story. Far before Helvy joined him, in any case. And Helvy is actively fighting the darkness at this point. In fact, he still is in the current chapter, as you will see soon enough. It might be that some lingering darkness is still there, but I don't think it can be linked to the sorcerer's efforts in any way, and would prefer it if it wasn't! And I'm pretty sure we established it was a lesser ring forged in Eregion. Or that was my intention, anyway.
Edit: From the start of this thread (has it been 8 years?): ArPharazonV: I don't think the spirit was hitch-hiking on Helvy, it would require too much tinkering... we know it has been commanding troops, we have felt its power come from the north, and Calaron felt it approaching the outpost... ArPharazonV: but Helvy as a sort of catalyst for communication could work So yeah, unintentional catalyst, maybe. But certainly not an aid.
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