Mordor Mischief 4: in which Gryfflet himself is flagging but his enthusiasm is not
8Gryfflet has not been idle since we last saw him, and his Inventory is no longer stuffed to the gills, so he is ready to continue to clear up his to-do list. Undeterred by map madness he plunges back into Udûn in search of lurking spies, signal flags, abandoned packs, and open hatches of which the last is close at hand. On the way he despatches sundry enemies and picks up random pages of lore but the spies prove particularly recalcitrant so we pull out a Lore Question to pass the time. The signal flags prove easier to locate, not least because they seem abnormally blatant for something supposed to be secret, but Kurtil remains enigmatic and unhelpful, saying only that we need to talk to an Overseer named Ushkbál about an unspecified task. Gryfflet sets off but proceeds very slowly, investigating every nook and cranny for possible spies which are still proving elusive. His mood is not improved by the discovery of yet more flags to seek out, but lifts slightly when two spies appear at once followed by a third. More trickle in as we return to our Lore Discussion and once our quota is filled we go in search of the mysterious Ushkbál and those extra flags. Signs of s struggle and a trail of footprints lead to Ushkbál's corpse and a couple of Dwarves who proceed to confuse Gryfflet by caring who did the deed, and Kurtil continues to compound the mystery. It seems that the late Ushkbál might have been not entirely wicked and part of a movement seeking help from the Easterlings who are camped nearby in the camp of Rhûd Vorn: when they return to their home, some of the inhabitants of Mordor hope to go with them. Ushkbál would, as Overseer, have been an appropriate negotiator but for some reason Kurtil thinks Gryfflet a suitable replacement. We continue our discussion as he journeys to Rhûd Vorn where he encounters something unexpected: the Easterlings are somehow convinced that Sauron has not fallen, so they send one of their number to accompany Gryfflet and gather proof. We take this man, one Yordam, to the Black Gate, show him a huge fallen banner, and locate a missing message which proves our point. On the way Gryfflet pops into the Foothold to report on the flag situation which is finally resolved with a complete lack of coherent conclusion. We report back to the Easterlings at Rhûd Vorn and finish the session with a plan for the next few weeks.
"So theoretically spies all over the place here, nothing but spies!"
"It's just kind of useless, I guess!"
"I don't even get the box!"
"What do we seek? I feel like you've missed the middle!"
"OK, so now they're using invisible ink on the signal flags!"
"That's hardcore right there: hardcore on the annoying scale!"
"I've been here, I set loose a whole herd of evil goats from here!"
"Where did you come from, my little jack-in-the-boxes?"
"This corner is going to be tricky!"
Lore discussed this week included the use of Gondorian fortresses by Sauron's troops and the lack of villain redemption in JRRT's writings. We also spent some time considering the quest structure in Mordor which is proving somewhat confusing at this stage. Gryfflet was very happy to achieve level 111, a significant event in LOTRO.