Gondor Gambolling 62: In which Gryfflet makes the rounds of some more old friends
8Gryfflet has been awaiting our return, eager to remake the acquaintance of folks he recalls from our trip across Rohan. He has been given a list of people to talk to, and others have work for him to do, ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous. We have fun trying to remember where we net them while passing round bowls of porridge, tinged with a touch of sadness as we recognise those who will appear in the roll of the dead. Once we have picked up all the tasks we can find, Gryfflet sets out to accomplish them while we consider a suitable Lore Question. There is a distinct pause when we encounter Thrymm Red-beard, whom we last met in Wildermore, who gives us a detailed account of his recent adventures which incidentally fills in an interesting gap from the book (as LOTRO so often does so well). He directs us to Harding, who sends us to Ingbert, who is just as objectionable as ever. He is accompanied by his son Horn who also has a tale to tell. He and Nona have been parted by his call to war, and he explains his reasoning to us. Our next stop is his mentor Gléowine, who seems to have been fooled by his prevarication, but we are interrupted by Elfhelm who wants us to help with a small problem. This turns out to be the presence of Merry Brandybuck, who is keeping company with the mysterious Dernhelm. Merry is curious as to what is happening and plans to spy on Théoden, but we don't have enough time so we defer that to our next session.
"Distribute porridge: it's…kind of like delivering pies!"
"I can't remember anything from that long ago!"
"I think I'm walking from here…I'll come in again!"
"I'm on the wrong side of the road!"
"There's something strange and secret going on!"
Lore discussed this week was about Allegory and its various relatives, particularly in relation to the famous quote from JRRT, with a minor diversion into irregular verbs.