Rohan Ramblings 84: in which Gryfflet meets an old foe who meets an unexpected fate
16Gryfflet has been shooting the breeze with Gimli as they assess the defences at Helm's Deep, but now it is time to carry a huge barrel into the Keep. Taking a wrong turn allows him to explore a little further but eventually he finds Aragorn and drops off his load. He then drops off the wall, the most efficient route to Gléowine, his next contact, who is still sporting the same outrageous accent. Gryfflet gratefully accepts the chance to participate in a Storied Tale, thus avoiding the hotbed of complexity that is the Epic Battle system, and finds himself on Helm's Dike helping with the preparations as the Orc army loom nearby. His inspection of said army is interrupted by a call for help from none other than Gamling who leads him into battle until one of Saruman's war machines attacks the gates, at which point everybody who can retreats, only pausing to free some nearby horses. Some more exploration ensues as he searches for Gimli and Legolas who are up on the wall ready for action. Aragorn enlists Gryfflet's help to encourage the defenders and then to gather a small force to sortie from the postern gate. Gryfflet is slightly confused by the timing of this, but is then plunged into another Storied Tale atop the Deeping Wall where Legolas enlists him to cast down the encroaching ladders and fight the arriving Orcs, until the wall is blown up. Éomer debriefs him and recalls his own exploits during the sortie before sending him back to Gléowine, who cues up the next onslaught just before dawn. Théoden sends Gryfflet to the Deeping Coomb with Aragorn where he defuses some black powder devices and defeats assorted foes, when he is not distracted by the darling little mill around which the battle swirls. He is overjoyed to meet up again with the Riders Four who lend him a hand defending the mill. On his return, Gryfflet is not unhappy when Aragorn sends him to the Glittering Caves to find Gimli who is as expected waxing lyrical but still ready to scour the caves for hostile intruders. They are met by a small girl who reveals that the intruders are none other than the Falcon Clan, headed by the blustering Lheu Brenin who starts out enormous but steadily diminishes to the point where the little girl deals the finishing blow! There is just enough time to complete the next Storied Tale, defending the refugees sheltering in the Glittering Caves and rescuing some of Éomer's scouts from marauding spiders, then return to the Hornburg ready for the final assault.
"Just curious!"
"I've missed Gléowine!"
"I want to watch the gate melt, this is so cool!"
"I can't jump over the wall, huh?"
"You mean there are rocks to be piled on things, and I'm not doing it?"
"At least the tower is overrun by polite Orcs!"
"Should be good here, Dunlendings are kind of wimps!"
"He's actually called 'Corpse of Gimli'!"
Lore was thin on the ground this week since there was so much story to cover, but we did briefly touch upon the subject of giant creepy spiders!
For more information about Mythgard on LOTRO, visit http://mythgard.org/activities/mythgard-on-lotro/
Join our community:
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MythgardInstitute/
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/mythgardian
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/mythgardian
- Forums: http://forums.signumuniversity.org/
Mythgard Institute (@mythgardian) | Twitter The latest Tweets from Mythgard Institute (@mythgardian). A center for speculative fiction studies from @SignumU. We offer #free online seminars on #books picked by our supporters.
Mythgard Institute (@mythgardian) • Instagram photos and videos A center for medieval, Tolkien, fantasy, and SF studies, offering fully interactive courses online with world-class scholars and professors.