LotS: Cold be Heart and Hand and Bone

[Nefieslab]

The imprumptu gathering of adventurers, of rangers, of strange little people with curious taste in weed and mad old men were having a wonderful time with the bear by all accounts.

But seemingly the world was not yet through with these brave ones for Middle Earth provided them with the promise, the allure, of salvation. Cutting through the biting wind and the howling and growling of their animal foes, a lone cry of a horn split the air.

A ranger's horn from a small ranging party that was returning to Tinnudir.

The small party of four mounted rangers had come together to deal with a strong wolf-pack lead by wargs and were returning to Tinnudir for a night's rest, their duty not yet done but their pains too great to risk continuing this day. Though they were rather close to the party of adventurers, the blizzard reduced visibility to the point that they would be unable to acknowledge the situation, the peril, that their fellow rangers, and travellers, were in without assistance.

They were so close to lending their aid, tired and battered though they were, but the blizzard barred their view - they would need some other way to acknowledge the danger.

In the far distance the howl of a warg split the air, a reminder that the dangers that had brought these rangers together were not at hand but not far from mind.

 

[Phoenix]

Aye! And there's more fight to be had! he shouted, not stopping to help the she-man up or wasting a moment to gather up his rope. There was time for that later, and hopefully no one would trip over it in the meantime. Instead, he scrambled back to grab his bow from where he had dropped it to help with the bear that seemed to have materialized.

It was with some small effort that he made his way back across the bank and to his bow. His fingers felt cold and stiff, but at least he had stayed out of the icy, freezing water. He hoped his fingers would work right and his aim would hold true to attack that confounded bear.

He gripped his bow and pulled an arrow, lining it up with the intent of skewering the bear's neck and hopefully putting it down before it could do further damage to the man who was thrusting his staff around. He pulled back and unleashed his arrow but rather than find its mark in the neck it landed deeply into the bear's shoulder causing it to roar out in anger, but at least pulling it out of its attack on the old man.

For his part, Adathar was too busy with the bear and being distracted by its roars to notice the blow of the horn or what it could mean. If there were wargs or wolves nearby, he wasn't ready to deal with it right now.

 

[Sreeya]

Theon nodded as the ranger spoke (@Phoenix ), and she quickly nocked another arrow as she heard a mighty growl in the distance. Did the gods truly curse them in this place? She couldn’t remember the last time her luck had been so poor. She barely got out alive from the lake and from the wolves, and now there was a god-forsaken bear on top of everything. And….was that a dwarf (@Relent ) she saw toppling over the snowy hill? She could honestly say she had never met a dwarf in person before, and today was turning out to be quite the experience.

The bear already set its sight upon an old man (@Black Noise ) and quickly closed the distance to maul him. Theon lined up a shot with her bow and fired, the arrow sailing through the air with precision. It embedded directly into the side of the bear, and she could tell it began to bleed profusely. The shot was true, and the bear cried out in agony and stepped back from the old man and cried out. However, it still wasn’t dead, and it rose up on its hind legs to claw towards anyone that came close to it.

Theon swiftly moved towards the bear, keeping close to the others that arrived to ensure they worked together to kill the bear. As she moved closer, she heard a familiar horn cry out through the air (@Nefieslab ). She recognized it as the ranger’s call, and she drew out her blade and waved it back and forth, hoping to catch a glint of the light to draw attention to themselves, “OVER HERE!” Theo realized this bear was more attracted by loud noises than scared by it, and it began to start moving towards her at once. Could it be this bear was notorious for hunting men?

 

[Wit]

Míriel was running for her life when the...wizard showed up? He seemed to be dressed like one, but this was not a wizard Míriel could recognize, and she knew of almost all the wizards. This day just got weirder by the minute. Regardless of who he was, the wizard managed to draw the bear's attention. Towards himself and away from Míriel and the dwarf. But now he himself seemed to be in danger.

So Míriel continued this tradition of doing stupid things and continued running, only now running after the bear and not from it. She launched herself into the air once close enough and landed atop the bear. More or less. It's fur was slick from the snow and despite all her grace she wasn't really able to find a firm footing atop the charging beast. She was still somehow staying atop him, her hands held out wide to balance herself as the bear's body shook with each stride. But getting atop the bear had just been the first part of the plan, now she had to do something to stop it before it mauled the wizard.

Somehow she managed to jerk out her knife, and was about to stab the thing when an arrow whizzed in from somewhere and slammed into the bear. That was enough to make the bear jerk, and no longer using both her hands to balance herself, Míriel wasn't able to maintain her balance atop the bear and went crashing to the ground once more. Her knife went flying out of her hand and though it slammed into the bear's skin somewhere, it hardly seemed to slow it down.

Míriel on the other hand was lying flat on her back in the snow, and could hear shouts now. Someone was calling out, maybe help was here, or were they calling her to go help? Didn't really matter, because the drop had knocked the breath out of her, and she needed a moment on her back to get back into the fight.

 

[Gian Greydragon]

Rowan woke up to find his leg bleeding profusely, but the Hobbit that had saved him now had a wolf focused on him. With little strength to spare, Rowan threw one of the knives in his belt at the beast, hitting his mark, but due to the lack of decent footing or aim, it would hit handle-first, pegging the battered wolf in the head, which would hopefully still stun the beast, so the Hobbit could deal a killing blow.

(Will make better posts tomorrow after work)

 

[Arcangel]

The realization slowly dawned on Deenus Jay that the wolf wasnt interested in his pipeweed. No. The wolf was much more interested in making munchies out of him. It approached slowly, shaking its head and pausing for a moment as a knife hilt plunked off its skull. Unfazed, it began to move in for the kill.

And then a tumbling dwarf bowled into the wolf. Between Deenus Jay's goat assisted charge and the dwarf's full body bludgeon, something within the wolf broke, perhaps its spirit, or perhaps its bones and internal organs. Whatever it was, the bloodied and bludgeoned wolf regained its footing, but instead of returning to the fight it turned tail and began to limp away.

"You saved my life! Names Deenus JayayayayyaaaaaAAAAAAAH!" His introduction morphing into a scream of terror as he saw the bear lumbering down the hill after the dwarf. "So lovely to meet you," Regaining his footing, "But i really must be going!"

Niceties out of the way, Deenus Jay Hornblower ran. A breakneck sprint towards Jim, who had stopped several lengths away to root under the snow. Or at least he meant to sprint, though the movement he actually accomplished was more like a wade. Pushing through the snow in all the time that the bear would already have overtaken him, Deenus Jay hopped on Jim and whipped the reins. Jim paused his chewing, before slowly raising his head. Whipping the reins again, Jim finally got the message and began to bound across the snow as fast as he could.

"BEAAAAAAAR!" BEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!" Shouting what everyone already knew at the top of his lungs as Jim bounded around, kinda running away but also randomly changing direction, which resulted in a screaming hobbit atop a leaping mountain goat screaming about a bear galloping back and forth across the field of battle.

 

[Black Noise]

Arrows whizzed and bodies flew into the fray around the bear. Partially covered by the snow and in great pain-had the bear broken something?- Packard forced himself to stand. Leaning on the staff, he watched as the bear charged towards an elf @Sreeya. Had the elf saved his life? He’d have to repay him immediately! Swirling his staff in the air, he decided to use a magic that he knew he was at least moderately good at. Fireworks. Thrusting the staff in the direction of the bear, though nowhere near hitting it with the staff, Packard shouted, “Ha!”

At once, a spinning ball of sparks and flame burst forth from the staff. It screeched as it sailed into the air, smacking directly into the bum of the bear and exploding with a loud POP! In terms of damage, the firework did little more than singe the bear’s fur and skin. However, it was loud and flashy, as all fireworks were, and it caused the beast to slide out of its charge and turn around. Once more seeking the old man, it would charge with the intent to finish him off this time.

Shouting to the others, he tried to give advice, “Hit the bear HARD!”

 

[Nefieslab]

By some stroke of good fortune, the rangers returning to base heard the cry over the wind and, like any good rangers would, they immediately agreed that they had to do their duty and protect whomever had called for their aid. Urging their horses, the four rangers turned in the direction of the call for aid, readying themselves for battle or to administer first aid.

Sweeping onto the scene, they took scope of the situation, with three of the rangers staying close to the edge of the area,

"Come on - ride along with us and we can return to Tinnudir with yourselves! Wounded are the priority - make haste for there is little time to waste!"

The final ranger kept his steed in the snow but off of the frozen lake, managing to avoid the bear and the wolf, the sole remaining wolf who seemed very eager to leave now. As the wolf sped off as fast as it could, the Ranger dismounted from his horse to grab the man (@Gian Greydragon ) and place him upon the horse before mounting up again himself, bringing the wounded adventurer with him back to the main group.

As for the bear?

It was a stubborn beast that could take far more punishment than would seem natural... but even the most stubborn and blood thirsty of beasts drew a line somewhere and this bear drew the line at the sheer noise and burning senation that came from the old man's staff...

The bear roared once more in pain before turning and making off back into the treeline in a lumbering run, leaving the travellers and the Rangers. The lead ranger, an older man by the name of Pan, spoke up,

"Are you all able to make the journey to Tinnudir?" he enquired, not unkindly but it was clear that he was tired, "This place is not safe any longer - we must fall back to where we may have a defensible position and kind folk to aid us. Come - let us be off."

 

[Eccles]

Everything surrounding Olfand was complete chaos to him. He used his right hand to apply pressure on the deep cut in his face in an attempt to stop the bleeding, which seemed to be succeeding as the blood already on his face and tunic dried up. Despite the many splinters in his left hand he used it to pick up the small barrel of honey wine and managed to put it directly to the right side of his mouth. It was an odd sight as he sat there with his arms crossed, one on his bloodied face and the other pushing a barrel against mostly the side of his head. Somehow he managed to do it while on the background a hobbit sitting on a crazy goat cried about a bear and Olfand's quiet camp got overrun with rangers, elves, dwarfs and yes, even Hobbits.

Unfortunately for Olfand his body couldnt yet handle its liquids and after the near-drowning and after three mouthfuls he coughed and dropped the barrel in the snow. His lungs burned and both his face and his left hand were swelling up. He needed some ice to counter it and he knew the only place where he could get proper treatment would be at the fort. "Help me put my gear on my body,-" he said to both the rangers as the others within earshot, "-I should be able to walk there myself.

 

[Orbit]

The wolf was still up after the ranger landed her own shot on it but the next things that happened Vorian could have never predicted, a hobbit (@Arclight) riding a goat into battle and ramming right into the wolf to protect the human (@Gian Greydragon) who nearly stabbed himself falling down. But before he could keep his attention on that for long, there was a new voice that echoed around them and Vorian snapped his head towards that direction, now seeing a dwarf (@Relent) screaming at the top of his lungs and running away from... a bear? Vorian questioned what was happening, something after another just seemed to keep unfolding in front of them and getting worse.

The bear now attacked a wizard (@Black Noise) nearly mauling the man and Vorian did the same as the other rangers in this makeshift party, brandishing an arrow before letting it loose as it sunk into the thick hide of the bear and seemed to piss it off more than anything else. Thankfully it was enough time for the wizard to try and make his escape as Vorian threw up his hands, trying to provide a distraction and waving them around frantically. The bear paid no heed to him whatsoever but that's when a new group of mounted rangers came in, helping retrieve the wounded human as the wolf scurried off and so did the bear. Seemed like they knew this meal wasn't worth all the hassle they came with.

Sliding his bow on his back, Vorian's gaze swept around at everybody, noting that he was one of the lucky ones who didn't get injured during this attack from nature. Then his eyes went to the elf on the ground (@Wit) who jumped on the animal's back before a volley of arrows from and the other two rangers threw her right off. Stepping easily across the snow with a certain grace, Vorian approached the other elf silently before standing over her, his mask and hood still covering his face before he pulled both of them down and providing cover for his neck. It revealed an angular face with deep green eyes, his white hair snagged into a ponytail with long strands of it blowing into the wind. "Are you alright?" Vorian asked before extending his hand to the elf and helping lift her up.

Glancing at the new arrival of rangers and everybody else and then to the ruins, Vorian looked back to the grey elf once more, "We should get inside." Not only was the cold able to freeze everyone's balls off, Vorian didn't want to have another run in with wolves or bears. He's had his fill of those creatures just in these few minutes where everything went to hell.

 

[Sreeya]

Theo yelped in surprise as the old fossil (@Black Noise ) she saved sprang suddenly into action and set off some sparks at the bear. The maneuver worked to spook her, but thankfully, also the bear. The creature roared and lumbered off, and Theo looked around for signs of the last wolf. From the looks of it, the wolf also decided to limp away from the battle after so many foes appeared. Theo quickly pulled back the rope the other man had graciously tossed her way, handing it over, “I owe ye one,” She offered a faint smile before hearing sputtered coughing.

She made her way over to the man she had hoisted from the lake(@Ecclessey ), reaching into her pouch and pulling out some healing herbs that helped as an antiseptic and also with pain. Theo held some of it up to the man, grimacing down at his injuries, “Chew on this, might help ye,” She muttered with her manliest voice. She had no time to learn more about him as the men she flagged from earlier began to make their way down.

As they arrived by the lake (@Nefieslab ), Theo nodded, “Aye I be headin’ down to the Shire to deliver some supplies. Call was out for us ranger folk, no doubt that’s why we all out here,” She gestured to the other rangers there, “Mighty gracious for yer help,” She mentioned as she began to follow the group.

“How’d ye end up here?” She turned to talk to the man (@Phoenix )that had helped save her from earlier. She reached a hand out towards him, “Theo, son of Torin.”

 

[Phoenix]

Adathar watched as the bear turned to run toward the ranger he'd helped pull from the water and noted the blood pouring out of the area from the she-man's arrow. It had been a good hit and seemed to have drawn the bear's attention well enough. It was followed a moment later by the wizard's explosion of fireworks, which seemed to much for the beast and it went running off into the woods. Adathar had learned long ago that of all the beasts in the wild, there were few to be more wary of than bears. A surprise bear could be the end of you.

Moments later, additional troops came out of the woods to help the unfortunate band of travelers, and a sense of relief flooded over him. The danger was gone and the tension and fear began to work its way out of his system. He shook his arms to rid them of the shakes that threatened to take hold and moved to recover his rope, rolling it and replacing it in his gear.

Aye, I as well. I heard there was need of supplies to be delivered and returned as quickly as I could. I have yet to speak with the captain regarding the situation, Adathar added before turning to Theo, who now addressed him (@Sreeya).

It's an honor to meet you, Theo. I am Adathar, son of Abafar, he said taking Theo's hand firmly in his and shaking it. I was returning to help the hobbits as well, but only just arrived. What path brought you to Tinnudir? he asked as he began slogging his way through the snow in an attempt to reach the fortress. The thought of a warm fire and bed sounded much more appealing than staying out in the cold snow.

 

[Black Noise]

Striding over towards a pair of the Rangers who had engaged the bear, Packard grinned and decided to thank them in the only way he knew how. Butting into their conversation, he produced one of his wine sacks and introduced himself, "Ruthren Packard at your service! Glad to see the hobbits will be in such capable hands! I thank you for your support with that beast, and offer up some wine." Of course, before offering any to the pair, he drank straight from the spout of the skin.

Following the main group of rangers with the others, Packard remarked aloud to one of the rangers, (@Phoenix) "I'm so glad this elf boy here came in when he did, otherwise I'd have been in deep trouble." Drinking once more, he started moving off on his own without thought. Speaking to the pair and 'thanking' them was more for his own benefit, it made him feel better about being saved. Leaning more and more on his staff with the more he drank, he looked forward to meeting with the whole group at somewhere with a warm fire.

Warm fire and sweet wine was just what he needed after a harrowing fight.

 

[Wit]

Míriel accepted the offered hand and let the other elf help pull her to her feet. "Yes, I think I am. Thank you!" She replied as she began brushing the snow off of her clothes and her hair. Spotting her spear lying nearby, she began moving towards it as the elf mentioned joining the others. Recovering the spear, she turned back towards the group and nodded in agreement. "Indeed, this storm will not get any better."

Beginning to walk towards the group, she glanced towards the elf once more and tried to match his face to a name. Unfortunately she could not find one, there were still enough elves walking these lands for them all to not know each other. "I am Míriel." She spoke up as they neared the others as introductions seemed to be made. Looked like she was going to be spending the night in the company of these travelers, might as well get to know them.

 

[Arcangel]

After a few spare moments, Jim regained his nerve and stopped galloping across the snowfield, leaving a mess of tracks and a churning of disturbed snow. "BEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!" Deenus Jay Hornblower shouted, and a shout it was. The Hornblower name was known far and wide for their amazing lung capacity, and their loud shouts that blared like horns. His yell came to an end as Jim came to a stop next to a pair of rangers (@Sreeya and @Phoenix).

"Did you see it! There's a bea-buh-buh-buhhh..." His words stuttering away as he turned to point out the bear, realized he had absolutely no idea where the bear was, attempted to find it and inevitably came up empty. "Ahem... I could have sworn... huh." Turning to look even eye'd at the shorter of the rangers as he sat atop Jim, (@Sreeya) his foggy bloodshot eyes met hers. "Nevermind. Deenus Jay Hornblower at your service!" Offering his hand out for a shake. The stem of his pipe found its way into his lips, and he instinctively puffed. Much to his delight a small sparking of ember glowed, and a rank puff of smoke filtered through. Looking back and forth between the two, he puzzled out a thought. "What are rangers such as yourself doing so near the Shire?" Completely unaware that in the days of searching for Marge that he had wandered far and away off the path.

 

[Rom]

Wandering down the shore toward the gathered Rangers and elves, thoughts of a beautifully warm wolf-fur cloak and a heroic tale to tell the lads at the Green Dragon filling his hea... was that Deenus Hornblower on that goat? Hastening his walk into a fast waddle through the snow, Meribres puffed himself up to his full height - an impressive 3'8 - and shook the gnarled end of his walking stick beneath the farmer's nose.

"Deenus Jay Hornblower, you pipe-addled fool, what are you doing so far from your farm!? Bingo Bolger in Oatbarton were saying they'd heard from a cousin, twice removed on their father's side, that the Wolves had gotten to you! The Shirriff himself said that you'd either been eaten or froze to death in the woods! Of all the irresponsible silly queer things you Hornblowers get up too... AND I'M A TOOK! You just wait til my Nan hears about this, your dear mother would be boxing your ears if she could so Nan'll volunte... oh..."

His voice quavered into silence as he looked past Deenus's glassy eyes and took in the questioning stares of the Big Folk gathering around them. Squeaking with fright, the young Took took a breath before planting his staff in the snow and mustering what courage he had.

"And a fine evening it is to meet you big folk on. Meribres " Wolfsbane" Took they call me! I've come seeking that old peddler of whizzpoppers, the wizard Gandalf. What business do Big Folk such as yourself have a weeks journey to the bounds of the Shire, I wonder!? Speak quick, or I'll box your ears I will!"

 

[Gian Greydragon]

Rowan woke up on the back of a horse with a small bandage to still the bleeding. Being thr independent soul he was, he quickly dismounted the horse and wandered into the fort to find some twine to stitch the wounds on his leg shut.

A few moments passed and the kind innkeeper offered him some twine and a threading needle, and a room out of the cold to mend his wounds.

The Ranger was still weary and shaking off the painful ringing headache and the ache in his bones from the bitter cold. Upon attempting to stitch his wound, his nearly frozen fingers could barely hold the needle in place. After dropping it several times, he eventually gave up, but not after sticking himself numerous times. He would re-wrap it and try again later, ordering an ale.

 

[Nefieslab]

The Rangers guide the weary companions to Tinnudir, the old fortress not as empty as it might have appeared. Indeed, several more Rangers were stationed here, using Tinnudir as their base in the area. This meant that there were warm fires, conver from the snow and the wind and Rangers on the walls, guarding the approach. As they neared, Pan son of Antarn, blew onces more on his horn, signalling the arrival of returning Rangers.

The Rangers of Tinnudir welcomed the group with open arms, hurrying them into the barracks so that they could keep themselves warm. Pan waved off a few of the other Rangers and followed the group of travellers inside the barracks where they were offered a rather thin rabbit stew and some ale.

"Apologies for the stew." he declared to them as he passed out some hardtack as well, hardly the best food but it was perhaps the best that they had had in some time considering, "This winter is being particularly harsh and it is hitting us all incredibly hard... none more so than the Hobbits of The Shire."

He nodded to Theo (@Sreeya ) and Adathar (@Phoenix ) who had declared that they were bringing supplies to The Shire,

"There is a great fear that many of the Hobbits of The Shire shall perish in this cold without aid..." he turned to the group as a whole, "We Rangers here have some more supplies - more medicines and the like that will help save lives. Will the rest of you join these two in taking the supplies to The Shire? I know that you doubtlessly have your own quests, your own businesses or adventures... but in this cold hour, The Shire needs your aid."

 

[Sreeya]

Theo nodded to Adathar (@Phoenix ), “Pleasure to meet you,” She kept plodding along, looking all around for any other wolves or bears that might crop up anytime soon. As Adathar asked what brought her here, she shrugged, “I heard about some Shirefolk needin’ help so set out on me way,” She had nothing much more to add. It was tough enough selling herself as a tall adolescent boy. In fact, she realized she should probably stick to keeping her mouth shut if she wanted to keep up the disguise.

Did people out here even care if she was a girl? Theo had to think about that as she kept walking, her thoughts wandering to the female elf that had no troubles simply being herself. Before she could delve further into her thoughts, the old fossil (@Black Noise )she helped earlier spoke up, referring to her as an elf. Theo opened her mouth to correct him, but simply smiled instead, “No problem, happy to help,” She eyed the wineskin for a moment before shrugging and taking a swig. To her surprise, it was astonishingly good, and she took a longer swig than the wizard probably would have liked.

Handing the wineskin back, she looked up right in time as a hobbit on a goat (@Arclight ) almost barged into her. Theo shuffled to the side in a panic and almost knocked poor Adathar clear off his feet as she moved to avoid the charging goat. Mercifully, the beast stopped and the hobbit on top of it blabbered on about a bear and then promptly introduced himself. Theo was still recovering from the fear of being charged by a ram before she finally spoke, “Th-Theo, son of Torin, at your service,” She introduced herself, “We are-“ She was interrupted as the hobbit’s cousin’s sister’s brother (@Rom ) or some other nuisance made a very loud introduction. Were all hobbits so loud??

Theo graciously took the stew offered (@Nefieslab ), though she did note it was more water than anything. She wolfed it down nonetheless, glancing up at the ranger that spoke, “Aye, I came hearin’ about smallfolk needing the help. If it all be the same, I might go hunting for some extra food for the road,” She looked around for volunteers. Theo had every intention to help, but even she was wary about wandering off alone.

 

[Phoenix]

Adathar smiled and snickered quietly as the old wizard referred to her as an elf, trying not to show that he was chuckling. He considered correcting the man, but had been told many times that "but actually-ing" people was considered rude. Granted, snickering at them probably was too. Aye, he's quite the bowman! Perhaps luck be on our side! he agreed enthusiastically with the wizard (@Black Noise). Well struck! he congratulated Theo (@Sreeya).

The goat-riding hobbit came charging in moments later, asking why they were near his farm and Adathar's face twisted into confusion as he glanced at Theo to see if he had misheard the question. We're not near the Shire, he said tentatively (@Arclight), wondering if he'd misheard or if their new hobbit friend was, in fact, so confused. It seemed the latter must have been the answer as another Hobbit (@Rom) swept in to loudly ask what he was doing so far from home.

It wasn't long until they had reached Tinnudir, and Adathar could honestly say he was glad. Woodlander though he may have been, there was something about having a roof, fire, and warm bed when the wind and snow bit this harshly. He stripped off his pack and quiver and set them near his bow, only keeping his weapons nearby as he took a seat near a flame and took the offered stew and thanked the ranger. Much obliged. This will do me good after such a long journey, no matter what state it be in. Thin as it may have been, it was warm and seemed to immediately breathe new life into the cold, weary young ranger.

I'll join you in but a moment! he stated as he heard Theo was going to head out hunting. If there was work to do, he was always just a little bit overeager to be there for it as if he was hoping to prove himself in some way.

What news have we of the halflings? he asked (@Nefieslab). Will there still be a mission to resupply them? he asked.