When Jody offer to accompany Balin to the Eagles, the Dwarf’s eyes light up. “Aye, lad, that’s the spirit! Yeh wouldn’t happen to be a Baggins, would yeh?”

Óin snorts and shakes his head wearily. “Did yeh not hear the lad, Balin? The forest is vast, all our food has been stolen, and the forest is filled with worse than Mewlips, if you take my meaning.” Óin pointedly avoids looking in Gilmith’s direction.

In reply to Loremaster (msg # 335):

"Oh it should go to them alright. But you need to recover first."

Navarre couldn't really be described as nervous though he is quite watchful over the process of removing the bell and carrying it to the flatboat. While still young he is old enough to understand that plans rarely work out as planned. But the ranger breathes a sigh of relief and smiles again once the bell is secured onto the boat.

Then a discussion erupts about where to go and what to do. While Kodran had fought to bite his tongue for the most part early he felt that the behavior of the dwarves was rather poor. Did they care about no one else in this world save for themselves? If they had their way the entire party would have left an hour ago, the bell trap ready to ensnare its next victims. The thought of it turns his stomach.  But now with Balin's insistence that they continue onward Navarre feels more than ever that he's dealing with a child. He visibly cringes when Jody offers to see the messengers on to fulfill their duty.

Navarre speaks as gently as he can doing his best to show respect.  ”Master Balin.  Its noble of ya to try to see the gift on.  But Lake Town is 'bout a week that way.”  Navarre points. ”An' the Eagles is 'bout a month that way.”  The ranger points again.  ”We got 'bout a days food, maybe two an' every belly's goin' empty.  Lookin' fer food's gonna slow us to slower than a snail on a winter pond.  You both need a weeks rest, some brew an' home cooked vittles.”

“Truth, Master Navarre, Truth indeed.  Erebor, the only option.  If we leave right now, why, I’ll open up my tobaccoes!”

Gilmith keeps a wary eye on Balin, who seems to have his mind fixed on continuing on his journey despite the fact that he has neither the strength nor supplies to do so.  He also seems very keen on the location of the gem... a fact which Gilmith takes to mean that the stumpy dwarf intends to take the stone whether he is supported or not, taking the thing and stealing away if needs be.

Oh well.  Gilmith sighs to herself.  At least she didn't have to worry about the stumpy-legged humanoid actually outrunning her... or any of them for that matter...

Gilmith nods too when Oin mentions the many dangers of the forest this far south, though she misses his insinuation... for there are no Elves this far south but only the dark creatures which precipitated her kind to move Northward long ago...

Certain her voicing her opinion will not change matters in the slightest, Gilmith merely nods along with the conversation and listens.

OOC:  I'm with the group.  Head back to Lake Town.  Also recommend not letting the dwarves have the stone back... or letting them know where it is.  Perhaps tell them we already sent it back to Lake Town...

“Navarre is right.  We must return to Lake Town and resupply before undertaking another perilous quest.  And I urge you dwarves to rest until you’ve regained your strength, although you are free to do as you will.”

He leans on the handle of his great axe, driving its head deeper into the dirt as he awaits their reply.

Gwydian nods along with Balin and appears enthusiastic when Jody opens the door to continuing forward. "That's the spirit," he affirms. "We have an Elf with us," he adds, "Surely she can assist enough to get us through the forest to some place that can provide food. We have money and goods to trade."

Then, the talk turns back to Laketown. Gwydian isn't willing to split the group, and without some navigation, he wouldn't have much chance of finding the Eagles, but he seems confident that the group could keep the Dwarves upright well enough to keep moving forward and not back.

“Goodness, Gwyandian, you’re right! We _do_ have an elf!  And I am sorry about the pinch, Miss Gilmith, but you were ensorcled! Anyway, you could help! And then that could lead to a historic warming of relations! And peace and love for a thousand generations! All because of you, Gilmith.  Whaddaya say?”

Gumm snorts at the peace and love for a thousand generations comment, but says nothing.

Gilmith's eyes go slightly wild as Gwydian suggests that Gilmith 'assist' them in getting through the forest.  Didn't he realize that she was here for little more reason than to ensure they caused as little damage as possible to the elves' homeland?  The audacity of suggesting that she could take over the responsibility of guiding and feeding them was extraordinary, but the Hobbit's response really takes Gilmith by surprise.

Jody's positivity towards the point of insanity smacks Gilmith like a stick in the nose, making her step back on the raft as she searches for the words to respond...  "This. is. MADNESS!"  Gilmith retorts, searching the faces of the others who had suggested leaving immediately for Lake Town.  "Can't you see that it is already going to be difficult to make it back to Esgaroth with the lack of supplies and your exhausted charges?"  Gilmith gestures towards Oin and Balin, who are barely fit enough to stand up let along march along the old forest road.  "Even if we find food and even if you deliver them to the eagles, you seem to be going in the exact opposite direction than you are supposed to, and it will be another several weeks before you get back to Lake-town to claim your prize!"

Bewildered, Gilmith stares at the others, trying to understand the logic that is driving towards sending the dwarves farther into the forest.  And she is beginning to think, perhaps there is some nefarious purpose behind that desire that the party is not telling her of.

OOC:  Long story short, unless someone can explain to Gilmith a reasonable reason why they should keep driving farther into the forest (fast talk roll definitely appropriate here) she's extremely suspicious of the need to go Westward.  Not finishing the mission (they have done what they were assigned to do) and 1000 years of peace and prosperity do not seem to fit the bill.

In reply to Gilmith (msg # 344):

"Trusting elves to feed dwarves is indeed one of the dumbest ideas I have heard. We cannot continue the misson...lives will be unnecessarily lost."

Navarre considers the pitch by the young man Gwydian to be the stuff of youthful fancy.  The difference between how dreamers see the world as 'the cup runneth over” versus how the doers see the world as 'its a dangerous place outside your door'.  But when Jody intervenes to attempt to convince the pair of dwarves to venture a month or more into more danger Kodran chokes on his retort.

He cools his sometimes argumentative temper while the elf and the dwarf speak, coincidentally agreeing.  As the debate goes round and round Navarre reaches into his pack quite thankful that he had the sense to leave it behind while they explored underground, and because of that neat fact his tobacco is dry as the dessert.

The ranger begins coolly but sternly.  He levels his gaze upon the young man, the hobbit and Balin.  ”They ain't wrong...”, he begins while pointing at Gilmith and Mock.  ”You three seem to be forgettin' what's between us an' the eagles.  A whole lot'ta elves.  We ran into a patrol yesterday an' they weren't too friendly to Mock an' you Jody.  I doubt that they'd be handin' out food left an' right to three dwarves wanderin' through their land when they wont say why.”  The ranger pauses a moment to let that fact sink in.  ”I don't think Gimith is here to help us.  I think she's here to escort us out 'a her woods”, Kodran says this last bit with no small amount of respect.   Now his gaze falls upon the pair of bedraggled and exhausted messengers.  ”Need I remind you that Gloin sent you across the wild and you got lost. Locked up in a den of cannibals is more like it.  So's Gloin hires us to come find you and bring you home, to Erebor.  Now imagine if we ignore that and keep headin' to the eagles.  Ol' Gloin's gonna be sick with worry an' might hire a third party to come find us.  He weren't too happy with all our questions an' he almost didn't hire us.  Imagine how pipin' hot mad he'll be if he finds out after a month of worry that you two were fine all along an' that third search party was a waste of money?”


OOC:
I'm not trying to beat a dead horse but I had this post in mind before Mock and the GM sounded off.  So I thought I'd add it to voice my 2 cents.

Light up a pipe and smoke while we talk.

Rangers are naturally Elf-friends.  He is acting as diplomatically as he can, not taking any racial sides but making as strong a case as he can for returning to Lake Town and let our employer make the call if he wants us to escort the pair of dwarves to the eagles.

This message was last edited by the player at 00:33, Mon 06 Jan 2020.

Jody lounges against his pack, and waves his hand dismissively.

"Well, I think it 'twas a good idea.  And if you can't get behind a 1000 generations of peace and love, well, humph, then you might not be as good as you think you are."

Then, speaking more directly to the Dwarf messengers, Jody starts to dig in his pack

"But, returning does have merit.  And then maybe we can help you get to the Eagles! Now, as promised promised, I bet you'd both like some tobacco; I just happen to have a spare pipe, and I'll get it for you [Balin & Oin]...and here is it, it is!"  Jody grins and hands over his more common pipe, smiling from ear-to-ear...until his face starts to fall...

"Then we should press on, ...  and right now, too."  He looks this way and that...

"I have a sense that we won't be alone here for long.  I think..."

And Jody stands bolt upright and grabs for his staff "I think something is out there!" he whispers urgently...

Gumm looks all around, trying to identify the source of Jody’s concern as he readies his great axe.  He is almost wishing for a fight after enduring this seemingly endless talk.

Navarre is relieved when Jody relents his wishful dreams of escorting the pair of stubborn dwarves on a long painful journey.  He is a ranger and that means more than likely if the party was against him his conscience wouldn't allow him to do anything but tag along to the west to aid in their survival.

Just then as Kodran is waxing philosophically about which one truly was the right decision, Jody spots something.  In a flash the rangers hand is on his blade.


OOC:
If I have time Ready my sword and shield.

"We should push off now!" Jody whispers "Get away from this shore before it's too late..."

Gumm grunts in such a way as to indicate agreement.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 11:37, Wed 08 Jan 2020.

In reply to Gumm (msg # 351):

Mock readies his axe and shield in anticipation.

"We have tarried too long already. Lets get these folk out of here!"

Balin snorts at the suggestion that Glóin sent him anywhere. "I certainly hope Glóin isn't putting on airs!" he declares. "If anything, I'd be sending him on missions, not the other way around! The King charged me with our journey to the Eagles, not Glóin ! I don't know what he told you..."

"Peace, Balin," Óin says. "I'm sure our friend the Ranger here is just misinterpreting what my brother told him."

And then, Jody says he hears something, and the Company tenses for yet another battle. The Dwarves had said there were at least a dozen Mewlips--had the company been followed? However, after a few minutes, it is clear that whatever Jody had heard does not mean to show itself.

"Fine." The moment of danger passed, Balin grumpily accedes to the will of the others, but the Dwarf looks none too happy. Fuming, he crosses his arms tiredly and suspiciously looks around. "Now, where's the gift for the Eagle king? You lot said yeh had it, but I don't see it yet." At Balin's request, Mock Ironside draws the brilliant jewel out from his mule's saddlebags and reluctantly hands it over to Balin, but not before Mock looks longingly at the jewel one last time.

Balin examines the stone critically for a second, nods his head, and then says, "All right, then. If you lot are too worried about food stores to cross the forest, let's head back to Lake-town. Dáin will need to send another delegation." He looks wistfully westward. "I did want to see if the Old Forest Road was still passable," he says wistfully. "I guess that's for another time, then."

The group first carries the heavy bell onto the boat, and then loads Gram's steed and Mock's mule. Once everything is stowed away, they set off, rowing against the current back upstream toward Lake-town.

At the end of the second day, the group has managed to put fifteen miles between themselves and the Mewlips, far enough away that they doubt the strange creatures will be able to find their missing bell, and so the bell is sunk in the middle of the river. "May it lie there until the end of the age," Thibault says. With the bell disposed of, the rest of the journey feels much lighter, even though the dark trees of Mirkwood still cluster oppressively along the river banks. Even Balin cheers up, though he still grumbles from time to time about some of his companions' lack of a sense of adventure.

At dusk each day, the group stops and makes camp. Gwydian has good luck catching fish with his improvised hook and gallows-weed line, and Gilmith stalks Mirkwood for game, one day bringing back a pair of pheasants, another day a brace of rabbits.

On the third day of the journey back up the river, Gwydian is once again fishing along the river bank while Gilmith hunts in the forest and the rest set up camp for the evening.

Jody is the first to notice faint cries for help, but then so does Navarre, and Thibault, and then everyone else. In the distance, deeper in the forest, comes what sounds like Gilmith hollering at the top of her lungs, HELP! BEAR! BEAR!!!

OOC: By removing the Marsh Bell from the Mewlips' lair and making the area safer for travelers, each character loses one temporary Shadow point from their sheet.

Gilmith is currently out hunting. Everyone else may post.

Due to Gwydian's fishing and Gilmith's hunting, each PC has only needed to use 4 meals so far. I think we're operating on a share and share alike principle right now, and the idea is that when you return to a settlement, you'll reprovision for the whole company. Please let me know if that's not what you have in mind.

For the journey, a failure on a Will roll resulted in another temporary Shadow point. Check your sheet for your current Shadow point totals.

I've amended the Luck rules to allow a time-based advantage like Luck or Serendipity to be used once per leg of a journey, here the journey from the lair of the Mewlips back to Lake-town.

"Gwydian!"

"She needs help! Oh my! Oh Gracious!"

Jody snatches up his staff and zooms off, cape flying behind him, and helm akimbo!
This message was last edited by the player at 14:44, Thu 09 Jan 2020.

Gumm grabs his axe and chases after Jody, hoping the impulsive fellow doesn’t get himself killed.  He is worried by the mention of a bear, dreading the possibility that it could be a beorning.  He has no desire to quarrel with their kind.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:54, Thu 09 Jan 2020.

In reply to Loremaster (msg # 353):

Mock is nervous on the trip home.He finds it hard to shake the darkness of the forest, and keeps his weapons handy, never feeling comfortable on the water.

When he hears the cries for help, he readies his crossbow and heads towards the sound.

Elves. The nature they love will kill them. Nature was meant to be controlled! Fools...

Navarre had misgivings about leaving the Mewlips behind and intact.  Being a Dúnedainhe's seen first hand the horribleness creatures like this do and thrive upon.  They take what is not theirs.  They take what they did not earn, through violence.  They actually enjoy it.  It's more than survival for them.  They enjoy the suffering of others.  To leave them whole so that they could lure more innocents into their den of horror made the ranger sick.  The simplest way for Kodran to think of them is as if they are a rat trap and travelers are the rats.  This band of would be heroes stole the cheese and without the cheese the trap is much less dangerous.  Someday Navarre will return to right this wrong.  But with each passing day he feels better and better about their compromise.  When they finally dump the dreaded bell into the river and Thibault offers his thoughts Kodran pats him on the back and offers casually, ”I couldn't 'a said it better myself.”

While Navarre is cleaning his weapon he hears the calls of the maiden elf.  For a moment the ranger does nothing.  She is a warrior of the wood, why is a bear troubling her?  Or is she in trouble?  Perhaps she is asking the bear for help?  But quickly Navarre decides the foolish path is to assume and he grabs his gear and chases behind Jody.


OOC:
That is my understanding, share and share alike with food but I understand no one is obligated to share.

Can a Hero Point be used to reroll Will rolls on Shadow Points?

So we're on the 3rd day back.  At our current rate what's our best guess about number of days back to Lake Town?  8?

Leave my pack behind on the boat.  All other gear is on me.  Sword is sheathed, shield is on my arm.

Gumm, a Big Bad Wolf at heart, huffs and puffs as he struggles to keep up with friendly Jody’s ginormous feet.  He reminds himself to give the halfling a lecture on the perils of chivalry when this is over, assuming they’re both still alive.

For security, for the moment, Gwydian will guard the barge.