Rohan Ramblings 81: in which Gryfflet bites off more than he can comfortably chew
16Gryfflet has been awaiting our return in less delightful circumstances than previously, standing in the midst of the burning wreckage of the town of Marton. Since there is not much to do, he decides to let us discuss some lore while he gets on with it, only to run into a bit of a problem. The Mead Hall is more grim even than usual, so he sets about cleaning it up a bit while his Stealth Healer rides to the rescue, and then a passing stranger lends a hand. That accomplished he heads off to find the survivors who are camped in a hidden ravine. Agelwyn, the Thane's wife, requests his help deciding on her course of action, dealing with some of her more fractious subjects as she tries to persuade them to take refuge at Helm's Deep, and subsequently scouting out possible routes. He sets off to investigate the three possibilities, the first of which ends up at a camp full of enormous Trolls who have been abusing the local trees. Between inflicting damage upon their persons and upon their equipment, he allows us some more time for Lore discussion. The second possible route reveals some unlucky victims but Gryfflet is able to deal with their assailant. The third, by way of contrast, presents minimal threat—if one were to ignore the occasional pack of Wargs—so he decides to recommend that one. Agelwyn inevitably has some chores for Gryfflet to complete before their departure, which equally inevitably does not sit well with some of her party who stalk off in high dudgeon. The remainder embark on the journey to Helm's Deep, during which Gryfflet is somewhat surprised to be ambushed by Orcs rather than Wargs: he starts off alone but then the refugees lend a rather eccentric hand which nonetheless wipes out the ambushers. They pause to mourn some less successful refugees before arriving at their destination. Gryfflet hands over his charges and sets out on the next leg of his search for the missing Erkenbrand which takes him to Grimslade. It turns out that the Thane's wife is also hoping for word of her husband who was with Erkenbrand at the Ford of Isen. She sends him out to interview some of her subjects, including her son who proceeds to goad Gryfflet into a race around the town, and others who have more useful requests. That and some more discussion take us to the end of the session.
"Since when are archers this smart?"
"In their defence, there aren't so many vocabulary words in the Black Speech!"
"Tell you what, I'm just going to deal with the severed heads!"
"Is this a trick question?"
"Oh, come on! You stunned me just as I was about to slay you!"
"I'm very patient…"
"Oho! He didn't quite come close enough!"
"This is not a simple scouting expedition!"
"Who cares about a few Wargs?"
"You jumped into the river and you're going to shoot him from there?"
Lore discussed this week included speculation as to Faramir's reaction to finding out the real identity of the mysterious "Thorongil", why Treebeard is so dismissive of Radagast, and Galadriel's temptation by Frodo. Someone asked for the Professor's views on the latest news about the Amazon TV show which raises the subject of what material is available for use.
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