After chatting with Aldor, and if he can do so without being noticed or observed, Thoroncir will talk to some of the Rohirric horses in their language. He’d like to know if they’re well-treated, if they know anything of the road between here and Tharbad, news of court at Edoras, etc.
The local horses don’t really get further west than Edoras. They are very well treated and they especially like Aldor. He has a reputation for ensuring that those he connects the horses with are good people and good to horses. As far as court goes, they understand the Chief Mearas is worried about the human King. He fears that the human King will not see another winter. They are all rather fond of the King. The Chief Mearas does approve of the son and his best son is Prince Elfwine’s partner. They think he is a very good human.
Deor notes, “Those marmots must be rough on your fields, Uncle Aldor, without Folca to thin them out. I hear it can be difficult to completely eradicate them from a field, that few mechanical or magical means can really make much difference. You should be careful, Miron, not to let the adult marmots get hold of Swift Wing- my brother lost a hawk that way once.”
However happy Deor is to see his uncle, Deor will drop the idea that he’s anxious to get home and see his mother. He’ll try to get us invited in for lunch, though, since Aunt Gleowine’s pies are famous throughout the district and worth a little extra effort. Deor will also bring up the fact that Elfstan is looking to buy a pony himself.
Thoroncir speaks to horses? Has this been happening the whole time?
The Dwarves ask permission to leave their troop of horses and pnies in one of Aldor’s pastures as they will go have lunch at a nearby inn. They realize the numbers in the complete band are far too high for lunch.
Lorliana asks Deor to speak to her Uncle about letting her acquire a horse.
“Oh, certainly! How could I forget! Uncle Aldor, my friend Lorliana, Loremaster* of Minas Tirith, is looking to buy a good saddle-horse as well.”
*I realize this is probably not her actual title, I’m hoping to learn more by drawing a correction out of her.
Aldor has apparently not noticed Ghân (which Woses are used to), so Ghân looks for some food.
He remembers the Wose saying “When there is a magnificent event with Elvish Bards stringing words together like beads on a necklace and happy men dancing with glamorous women, look for the Wose in the kitchen alone.”
Ghân tries a Speak with Animals on the marmots to see if he can persuade them to move away from the area.
Aldor invites everyone to lunch. He shyly asks the Wose, “Are you possibly one of the Woses that escort King Théoden and help save Minas Tirith? I have never met one of your people before but I have several ancestors that have your Ghân-Buri-Ghân to thank for their lives I believe and if one of them did not live through the battles, I would not be here today.”
Aldor to Deor with a wink, “You travel with lovely ladies lad, good to see.”
He turns to Lorliana, “I would be most happy to speak of horses with you over lunch. I would also be most honored to aid Elfstan is finding a good Pony.”
Ghân Speak with Animals to the marmots and they don’t seem to be very open to moving off. “The Horses are everywhere, there is a plague of them, thundering over our heads, trampling our old and deaf and scaring the young ones. Maybe you can get them to move off and stop causing such a ruckus.”
He then gives a very loud whistle and ducks into his hole as a large Hawk dives out of the sky and grabs a young marmot.
The marmot continues, “And those hawks and eagles, there is safety here at all and trying to move would be a disaster.”
Ghân thanks Aldor for his kind words. He explains about his grandfather (Ghân-Buri-Ghân).
Ghân tries to bring the marmots, Aldor and the birds to an agreement.
He asks Miron and Gil-Gandel if they will search for a place the marmots can move to.
I am sad to say that the Marmots are just too dumb to cooperate.
Aldor has never found a way to rid his fields of these pests. They seem to breed quicker than we can trap them. I know one farmer is trying to use foxes to drive them out. I hope he has some success. I heard one healer say that these pests helped carry the plague years ago.
This is probably a terrible suggestion, but what if we tried to negotiate a settlement: we help find an area of the farm or surrounding lands that Aldor agrees not to use as pasture, and in return the marmots send a detachment of their young, healthy members with us? They might be too stupid for this to work, but I could see a small army of furry scouts that dig like fiends and thrive in plains areas being extremely useful.
He’s had the ability all along, but rarely uses it (in fact this may be the first time in-thread), and none of the party know about it, IIRC, not even Gilraen. The Sea-Knight is just full of surprises! But alas, he can’t speak to marmots. What Exit?, Wiki says marmots (not rats) are thought by some historians to have been the carriers of the fleas which carried the Black Death. Yikes!
Thoroncir thanks the horses for their time (although he’s sorry to hear that King Eomer might be in his last days) and wishes them well. He asks if any other Men or other two-legged people speak to them at all, and if there are any edible treats which he might get for them.
“That day, I will mourn.”
As for this good trader, he is welcome to look my horse over - plainly he is kind to his charges even by the standards of Rohan, where men love their horses next to their own children.
Ghân thinks more about the marmot problem.
Firstly he checks with Gil-Gandel and the rest of the party if there can be a journey delay of a day or two (after all, there is a caravan to consider).
If that’s acceptable, he explains to Aldor that he could use the following mixture of spells (starting tomorrow):
1st level (7)
- Locate Animals (to find Marmots)
- Invisibility to Animals (works by touch - the recipient(s) can then easily capture unsuspecting marmots on the surface)
- Entangle (to capture marmots on the surface)
- Speak with Animals (to reassure marmots they are not being culled, merely moved)
2nd level (6)
- Charm Mammal (to persuade marmots to co-operate)
3rd level (3)
- Hold Animal (to capture up to 4 marmots at a time)
- Pyrotechnics (to send smoke down marmot burrows and force them out)
“On the other hand,” mulls Miron, taking care to whisper so that his joke doesn’t reach Aldor’s ears, “We could just cast Invisibility to Animals on the hawks, Charm Mammal the Marmot population to the surface, and then take the rest of the day off.”
After pausing long enough to let the joke sink in he shrugs, amending “I’m afraid I simply couldn’t bring myself to do such a thing without need, especially to such cute critters. Besides, at least in my case, I know very little about local politics, and you never know what will cause lingering resentment to erupt into outright war. Sure, they’re cute, fuzzy, and annoying right now, but could you imagine how dangerous a militant population of Marmots could be if they took it in their minds to begin sapping buildings?”
Miron abruptly falls silent at the last comment, nervously glancing around the ground as he whispers “They can’t understand me, can they?”
Ghân reassures Miron that he was translating everything Miron said into Marmot. :eek:
…
(Wose humour at its very best ;))
“Well, I hope that you informed those adorable little creatures realized that I was being sarcastic,” the elf comments, his warily neutral posture making it difficult to intuit whether or not he gets the joke. “Speaking of adorable,” he continues lamely, his tone suddenly cheery and perky, “Did I ever tell you how much I like plants? Gosh, I’ll even bet that I can make the entire alphabet just with the plants we can see from where we’re standing. Let’s start with everything beginning with “A”…”
As disturbing as hearing a bright, cheery voice emerge from Miron’s cloak and hood is, the odd, frantic gestures he appears to be trying to make with his hands make the elf look downright demented. Had the ranger actually been proficient in a gesture-based language, he would have wasted no time in saying “I don’t think they’re on to us. While I keep them busy listening to plant stories, might I suggest that you arrange yourself behind their burrow in such a way as to enable an appropriately lethal form of preemptive action, should the Marmots attempt to kill us before we can warn the others of their plans?”
However, since he does not in fact speak any gesture-based language, Miron’s attempt at covert communication resolves into a long and deranged sequence in which the elf alternates between making frantically improvised, utterly incomprehensible sequences of signs and performing increasingly disturbing pantomimes of incredibly violent acts, all directed at an invisible foe located at shin height.
Considering the ranger’s reticent nature, it’s likely that at least some of his companions aren’t completely convinced that the elf is joking until he ends his performance by interrupting his own alphabetized botanical litany, interjecting “Thank goodness these things did not see fit to colonize the area around Helm’s Deep, for I fear the battle could’ve turned in the enemy’s favor, had Mordor enlisted their aid.”
With a shrug, he straightens up and dusts himself off, blandly commenting “In any event, I don’t think we should worry too much about the local rodent population.”
Putting such weighty matters as marmot welfare to one side for the moment, I would like to see if it’s possible to pay a social call on King Eomer when we are passing. If he’s not long for this world it would be a shame to pass up on my last chance to meet him, and I am sure he would like to hear how Master Holdwine[sup]*[/sup], Lord Gimli, and some other old acquaintances are getting on.
[sup]* That is, Merry Brandybuck by his Rohirric name[/sup]
Thoroncir edges warily away from Miron, an uneasy smile fixed on his face. He makes sure he’s between the Elf and Gilraen. 
The Sea-Knight cares little for the marmot issue, but is all in favor of dropping in on King Eomer. He would also like to meet the heir apparent, if that is possible.
This is the Ref deliberately ignoring the marmots except to say please check the setup thread for updates, there are 4 posts here that should not have happened at all. I am ignoring it all. Talk to the human and even the horses if you must, not the marmots. The marmots are all hiding and have heard nothing said and they don’t like Ghân much and think Miron smells like a hawk. My apologies to **Glee **and Omi no Kami, but I don’t want to waste any effort on large Marmot populations and no one would seriously want to hold up a day or two for them.
Meanwhile, we still need RogueRacer to check in with Elfstan for a Pony.
In response to Gil-Gandel, Gilraen & Lorliana both would also like to visit King and Gilraen adds, “I was expecting to stop at Edoras, I hope that is in the plans, Aglarond also.
The horses thank Thoroncir for the kind words and mention that Aldor himself has fair ability to make himself understood and to understand us and that a few others occasionally are nearly as well versed as you. All the horses respond to the offer for treats by neighing out “APPLES!”.
Mulligan knows that Master Holdwine and her Uncle Pippin came south at King Éomer’s request. The pair plan to visit again in a few months. Mulligan had already promised to stop by again the next time she headed north.
Over lunch Lorliana arranges for an excellent riding horse, better than her current mount. She is quite pleased and has spare tack. She plans to split her time between the pair in our journey.
Sorry for the delay in posting just when you needed a response from me. :smack:
“Greetings Master Aldor! I’m not related to Master Brandybuck, but my grandfather, Samwise Gamgee, was part of his fellowship in the time of the war.”
After answering any other questions Aldor may have on relationships and who traveled where and with whom, Elfstan continues, “I find myself in need of a sturdy pony such as the one you sold to Master Brandybuck. Do you have any available?”
Elfstan also hopes that Ghan will help him check over the ponies and to become acquainted with the one selected.