“Many thanks, friend Ghan,” says the Sea-Knight, clasping the Wose’s shoulder. “It will probably prove unnecessary, in light of the fair maiden Gilraen’s generosity, but I appreciate your offer. I will let you know.”
Tharbad, through which the party might pass depending upon its route to Imladris, has some points of interest. Ciryatur, the Numenorean admiral whose third son’s sword is now in Thoroncir’s scabbard, won his great victory against Sauron there long ago (see post 1192), and Boromir lost his horse in the river there as he traveled to the Council of Elrond.
DM, do we know if the great bridge there has been rebuilt? How big has the reestablished town or city now grown? It was desolate at the time of the War of the Ring, I see from the Encyclopedia of Arda and Wiki.
Tharbad, through which the party might pass depending upon its route to Imladris, has some points of interest. Ciryatur, the Numenorean admiral whose third son’s sword is now in Thoroncir’s scabbard, won his great victory against Sauron there long ago (see post 1192), and Boromir lost his horse in the river there as he traveled to the Council of Elrond.
DM, do we know if the great bridge there has been rebuilt? How big has the reestablished town or city now grown? It was desolate at the time of the War of the Ring.
[del]Renee[/del] Gilraen responds, "Tharbad is a growing town of mixed stock. It has Men of Gondor, Rohan, Dunland and the Bree area. A sturdy wooden bridge was built and a second greater span of stone is under construction. There is a contingent of Dwarves there supervising and doing much of the work.
Reclaiming and building Tharbad anew was a high priority for reestablishing the North Kingdom.
It would appear to be the much swifter way and better suited to our mounts."
I honestly can’t remember at this point. I thought it was a Moor-growing plant that restored something like 1d10 hit points, but nothing is ringing a bell on the herbology table.
In any event, since I can’t find the post where I successfully searched, I’m happy to say that it fell out of Miron’s pockets during the trek, or somesuch.
For his part, Miron enjoys the chance Anduin might offer for the party to test their skills, but he is extremely hesitant to take a dangerous route if we end up escorting passengers.
In any event, he raises the point that open roads might work against us: at this point, the party has so many members who favor rural terrain that to travel in the open on a well-developed road might needlessly give away some of our natural strengths.
Wow! You’ve all been busy posting this past weekend!
How is Elfstan situated regarding a mount? He rode out with Gil-Gandel when he first met the party to save time, but I’m guessing he didn’t walk to Minas Tirith from the Shire in the first place though, right?
Elfstan will purchase one of the Lanterns of Aglarond provided the description of little is correct. If not, he would like to inquire about a miniaturized version. He will also purchase 8 flasks of oil (he wants individual flasks, not a gallon in bulk). This will all be kept in the bags on his mount for the time being.
Elfstan should still have 38 +1 silver sling bullets, but he will look to see if any better ones are available. He will also check to see if any protective jewelry can be purchased for the chits he has on hand. (just exploring options)
Could I also get a little bit more of a description of the magic thief kit?
Elfstan likes the idea of traveling to Rivendell. He would love the chance to visit. Besides, it’s closer to home for him. Perhaps he will get a chance to visit his family while the party is in the north. Also, it sounds like Hodwain’s troubles may keep for a few years.
Deor votes in favor of either route through Tharbad because that takes us through Edoras, his hometown. He’s also hesitant to go through the Misty Mountains, having heard rather frightful stories about them.
Missile cost:
Basic arrows you can use will have the following costs:
+1 100 per or 1050 per dozen
+2 250 per or 2625 per dozen
+3 400 per or 4200 per dozen
Bullets for slings
+1 80 per or 900 per dozen
+2 200 per or 2250 per dozen
+3 300 per or 3750 per dozen
The lantern is small, it weighs only 1lbs plus oil weight. (nearly 2 lbs full)
Magic thief kit for 2000gp that give a +5% to all thieving abilities.
The thief kit is a magical set of tools that give you a +5% on any of the thieving skills rolls: Pick Pocket, Open Lock, Find Traps, Move Silently, Hide in Shadows, Hear Noise, Climb Walls & Read Languages
Magic Lock picks for 2500gp that give a +25% OL, +15% Find & Remove Traps
Magic climbing gloves for 1500gp that give a +15% to climb walls.
Boots of stealth for 2000gp gives thieves a +50% to move silently and a chance to pass without trace. The chance is ½ Move silently for Thieves and a base 30% + 5% per level for Rangers. For elves it gives a +5% to move silently (base 90% under ideal circumstances).
After some private discussions with the more seasoned travellers among us, and socializing in Minas Tirith to keep up with current events, I am now inclining more to option 3:
We should do well on the “small paths” route as we have many party members who are thoroughly at home in such country - Elves, Hobbits and Ghân for a start, not to mention our several animal companions. Do we in fact have any travellers requiring escort? That may affect our decision.
You really need a route before looking for travelers. Tomorrow you could put out word that you will be leaving in a certain number of days for Tharbad via Edoras and Aglarond/Helm’s Deep. Of course you already have Curunauth son of Celebrimbor. He is eager for a side trip to Aglarond when he hears that Gwaelur is of those good people.
Elfstan lets it be known to the party that he could use a ride to Rohan, where he will purchase a pony (hopefully with Ghan’s assistance).
With his question on the size put to rest, he will purchase a Lantern of Aglarond and the 8 flasks of oil mentioned above. He would also like to purchase a magic thief kit as long as Mulligan (or should we use Angelica now?) doesn’t have dibs or if two kits are available. This should use up his chits and leave him with 163g 2s, but figure he probably drank and ate up some of his gold too.
Does 150gp left sound fair, What Exit? According to my character sheet, he should also have 4 50gp trade gems. Hopefully between the gems and the leftover gold he will be able to afford a good mount in Rohan.
This sounds good, between the two Hobbits I would avoid getting identical magic items that boost thieving as they are cumalative and can be shared. Once we hear what Mulligan’s first choice is we’ll get this resolved and moved on.
I think we have decided against the Anduin route and Brin bids goodbye and good luck. He plans to travel quickly and report back home. He does not mention what he purchased and is headed out that night.
I see where you are coming from on doubling up on the items. Still, with the way we did things in the last adventure, it might not hurt for both to have a good, basic, magical set of tools of the trade. Besides, the kit sounds like a decent bargain. That said, I’m not against pooling our assets as well for the lock picks and/or the gloves. The boots are a wear every day item (and seem to be very similar to what Elfstan already has).
Elfstan, I go light on Cúran and he does not have to exercise hard to keep up with the other mounts in the party. If it does not discomfort you to be carried on a horse ridden elf-fashion, I will gladly see you to Rohan.
Deor notes “My uncle Aldor has a horse breeding farm just outside of Edoras- I’m sure he’ll give you an excellent deal.”
Excited at the prospect of going home, if only briefly, Deor will go out and search for some quality cloth to take home to his mother and see if any exotic spices are available in the marketplace to take as gifts for the rest of his family.* He won’t buy them yet, though, in case we go north by another route.
*In reading about Minas Tirith, I came across a few references that suggested that Tolkien had considered Venice to be very like a city of Gondor, so I’m assuming that it would be a bit of a trade hub and that Deor can pick up some fine cloth and spices that would be unavailable or very expensive in provincial Edoras.
I guess this means sign Elfstan up for the magic thief kit.
Elfstan to Doer, “That sounds splendid. I’m sure between your help and that of Ghan, I will get a magnificent pony. Of course, if it didn’t eat me first, I could probably just ride Ghan’s new canine. That thing is huge!”
