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| NBarden |
![]() Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 12:30 pm |
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Joined: 28 Dec 2006
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Hareth was sitting on the roof of his house, sharpening his long crooked knife. Looking out over his fine piece of real estate, he thought to himself, “being an assassin is not a bad living.” Turning back to his knife, he rubbed the whetstone over it, sharpening the edge to a blade sharp enough to pierce the thickest steel armor. “Of course,” he thought to himself, “there is no need for it that sharp here in Harad. Leather is the only armor in use here.” Putting the whetstone into his pouch, he turned to rise and suddenly felt the press of cold steel against his neck.
“Do not move, or you are a dead man.”
Hareth smiled confidently and threw himself on the ground. Slipping under the man’s legs, he grabbed the man from behind and pressed his crooked knife against the man’s throat.
“Do not move, or you are a dead man.”
The man froze, and did not move. Hareth whispered into his ear, “you are anyway,” and drew the knife across the man’s throat. The man fell to the ground dead.
Wiping his knife clean, Hareth stared at the body. “Having a bounty on your head leads to an interesting life,” he thought. He carried the body over to the edge of the roof and hurled it into the streets below. Several passers-by looked up at him, and then continued on their way. A killing was nothing unusual in this town. Hareth finished sharpening his knife, sheathed it, and then headed to the tavern.
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Hareth entered The Tavern and glanced around. The Tavern was just that. A tavern. Not the most creative name, but it was a good place to catch up on the news. The tavern owner had grabbed a pint when the customer entered, but when he saw it was Hareth, he put it back under the counter.
“No ale again?” he asked.
“Of course not,” replied Hareth, “you know I don’t drink. But I did come to see what’s going on in the world.”
“Well, that man over there is looking to hire a fighter,” the tavern owner said, pointing at a man at a table near the door. “He says there is a group from the north coming down here to check on how things are going in Harad, and he wants to destroy them.” Harad had been recently subjugated by the Kingdom of Gondor, and frequently sent emissaries down to monitor how things were going. “I suppose you may want to talk to him.”
“Thank you, sir. I think I shall,” replied Hareth.
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Hareth walked over to where the man was sitting. “Hello sir, I heard you were looking to hire a fighter.”
“I am,” replied the man. “About two weeks ago, I received news from agents in the north that a party was coming down from Gondor to see how things were going here in Harad. I intend to ambush the party and destroy it, and then rebel against the Kingdom of Gondor. But first, I ask what your accomplishments are that I would hire you.”
“I have assassinated three prominent leaders of Harad and killed many unimportant men. After assassinating the Chief Councilor of the King of Harad, there was a bounty placed on my head, and I have had several attempts on my life. Someone tried to kill me earlier today, but he is now lying dead in the streets of Harad. How strong is the band from Gondor?”
“There are 10 men of Gondor itself, along with 10 of the Horse-Lords from Rohan…”
The man continued talking about the strength of the party, their mission, and everything else connected to their journey, but Hareth had ceased listening and his mind drifted back to that fateful day two years ago when his father had been killed by one of those horse lords. His father, the mumak commander had been slain on the very same mumak Hareth was riding. His mind then drifted to the day years before when a band of horse-lords had ridden through his village slaughtering his mother and brother, who was only an infant. And now 20 of the Horse-Lords were coming south to Harad! His heart burned with vengeance and as he snapped back to reality, he heard the man say.
“…and then of course the matter of your pay…”
“Nothing,” Hareth interrupted. “I will not accept pay for this mission.” The man gave him a puzzled look. “This mission is about revenge for me,” continued Hareth. “This is my opportunity to avenge the deaths of my mother, father, and brother. I will not accept pay for this mission. However, I do know a few other people who may be interested in this mission, for money, of course.”
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On his way to his friend Gagnut the Troll’s house, Hareth began to plot a plan for revenge on the accursed horse lords.
He had just begun forming the plan when Gagnut’s cave came into sight. He looked at Gagnut who was trying to learn the finer arts of fighting on a dummy. As Hareth approached, Gagnut lifted hid huge sword and let out a roar, hacking the dummy into pieces. The instructor that Gagnut had hired began to say, “Not that way, you need to…,” but as the troll turned to him and lifted his sword, the man began to fear for his life and quickly ran the other way.
“Gagnut,” called Hareth, “Still trying to learn your fencing?”
“Enough of that!” the Troll roared. But Hareth knew he had nothing to fear. He had been friends with Gagnut for most of his life.
“Gagnut, I need you to meet me at The Tavern tonight. We have a mission.”
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Hareth continued to form a plan in his mind as he walked to the home of his co-conspirator, Zurbog. Seeing Zurbog was not there, he reckoned that Zurbog was probably at one of the other taverns. After checking several of the taverns in town, Hareth found Zurbog. He was in the middle of a game of chess with another member of their band, Eltlas. Hareth watched the game for a moment, as both men focused on the chessboard with all their focus. Finally, Eltlas called a checkmate, and Zurbog replied by banging on the table, making the pieces bounce up and down. Looking up from the game, Zurbog noticed Hareth.
“Hareth! I did not see you! How about a game?” he said, setting the pieces up again.
“Not now,” replied Hareth, “I need to talk to you and Eltlas tonight.”
“Do we have another mission?” asked Zurbog.
“I’ll tell you about it tonight. At The Tavern.”
“We’ll be there,” said Eltlas.
Hareth turned and walked out of the tavern toward his home. He had a lot of planning to carry out his revenge on the Rohirrim.
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After pondering his revenge on the Horse-Lords, Hareth settled on a daring plan. Smiling to himself, Hareth left quickly for his meeting with his friends.
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Hareth arrived at The Tavern early and found the man he had spoken to before. His friends showed up one by one and joined them. Hareth rose.
“This gentleman here has a mission for us. I do not know all the details on the mission, so I have asked him to give us all the details we need right now.”
The man launched right into his explanation. “There is an embassy of 10 men of Gondor and 10 Horse-Lords of Rohan in route to Harad to see how things are in their newly conquered territory of Harad. What they do not know, however, is that Harad is not as firmly under their control as they once supposed. Many Haradrim await their chance to rebel against the iron fist of Gondor, and are prepared to surprise many of the accursed Gondorians outposts in Harad. The elimination of these outposts is no problem, however, I wish to hire professional fighters to ambush the embassy from Gondor and utterly destroy the company. It is necessary that none escape to return the word to their king, Aragorn. After their destruction, and the destruction of all the Gondorian outposts, Harad will rise and launch a surprise assault on southern Gondor, and declare our independence once and for all. However, it is necessary that there be no survivors of our attacks, or our element of surprise will be lost. This is simple enough inside the walls of a fort, however, in the open, it is more difficult. Are you capable of this task?”
They all stated that they were capable of the utter destruction of the band. They then began to discuss the matters of their pay, giving Hareth a chance to contemplate the rashness of his plan one more time. After they reached an agreement on pay, Hareth asked the man to leave for a moment. He then turned to his friends and began to speak.
“Now my friends. You know that since the day my mother and infant brother were ruthlessly slaughtered by the men of Rohan, I have hated the horse-lords. Since my father was killed by an accursed horse-lord, I have been plotting my revenge. This man has given us the perfect opportunity for my revenge. This ambush he is hiring us for is mere play compared to the great enterprise which I have planned. After the ambush on the company of Gondor and Rohan, we shall make our way through South Gondor, Ithilien and Gondor itself and arrive in Rohan. There we shall kill the thrice accursed horse-lord of Rohan, Eomer. Will you come with me?”
Each of the band sat in silence, contemplating the magnitude of the plan. One by one, they all agreed.
“Very good. Now, we will meet tomorrow to ambush the party from Rohan, and set out on our march towards Rohan.”
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The band assembled on the outskirts of the town early the next morning, and began to journey to the assigned place to ambush the company from Gondor… |
Last edited by NBarden on Tue May 15, 2007 5:32 pm; edited 2 times in total -Trade With Me
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| sickofpalantirs |
![]() Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 4:14 pm |
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Location: somwhere, over the rainbow way up high. There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby.
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Eltlas thought about their new mission. It was ambitious and risky. But Eltlas knew he could always leave if things got to rough. He really didn’t hate gondor or rohan, in fact the thing he actually personally hated was a tribe of haradrim whose members bodies lay from harad to minas tirith to the black gate. in other words the war of the ring, and your normal haradrim tribal conflicts had taken their toll. Eltlas thought back to the chess game, Zurbog was a good fighter but wasn’t the smartest haradrim around. Gagnut was a troll enough said. Hareth had a rather large grudge against the horse-lords and would do anything to kill them, even except no pay for this mission. Eltlas had of course made sure he would get a fair share of money for his part in this. Eltlas got his goods together the night before they left. Horse, bow, 50 arrows, dirk, bamboo spear, food water, all the necessities. They met together the next morning and prepared to leave.
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Tuilin rode with the company from Gondor they had met a few haradrim who had resisted and killed them accordingly, but most had been cooperative or at least complacent, things seemed to be going well. Part of this was because When the plague had been neutralized, quite a few rebel haradrim had been killed by the party Tuilin was with and the few that were left weren’t enough to risk war with the armies of Gondor and Rohan. Little did he know about the ambush that awaited him and the party he was with. |
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| shieldelf |
![]() Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 10:24 pm |
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Location: Mirkwood
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Zurbog sat at the meeting, staring at Etlas. Zurbog began to wonder what the horse-lords would pay for his head.
"Nah," he said. "I’m getting paid better for this. He isn’t worth it." As the Harad lines moved out, Zurbog glanced over his shoulder. In the distance he thought he saw something move. Staring there for a moment, he decided he was seeing things. As he turned and followed the rest of the group, he kept having second thoughts.
"Hareth! I think I saw something over the plain!" Zurbog shouted. "We should go check!"
"No, the sun was probably making you see things. We have to keep going."
"Yes Sir"
"Ok, move out."
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Elgalad, sent to help gaurd the company of Gondorians, followed along behind the company on his horse, talking to Tuilin.
"Those Haradrim scare me, Tuilin. I am sure that something is going to happen. Should I go back to Ithilen to get more aid?"
"No, Elgalad, I am sure that everything will be ok. The Haradrim fear us. Nothing can go wrong."
"I will still go and scout ahead."
"Ok."
As Elgalad rode ahead to scout out, he was thinking about what Tuilin said, "The Haradrim fear us, nothing can go wrong."
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As Elgalad rose over a hill, he thought in the distance he saw a group of armed Haradrim. Fearing the worst, he got closer to investingate. One of the Haradrim turned his head toward him, and Elgalad quickly rode back to the company.
"I saw a group of Haradrim moving East. We should intercept them!"
At this note, the company made camp for the night and met to discuss this. |
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| NBarden |
![]() Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 10:37 pm |
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The band continued pressing forward to the place of intercept. Getting a late start, they had been a little behind on their schedule. Suddenly, a half-dozen Haradrim appeared over the crest, obviously running from something.
"Halt!" commanded Hareth. The Haradrim stopped. "What has frightened you so much?" continued Hareth.
"Men from the North!" said one of the men. "I saw them! They will kill us all!"
Hareth paused for a moment to contemplate the situation. They were beind schedule, so the company from the North could have reached the place of ambush, or even passed it by now.
"How far away are they and which direction were they going?" asked Hareth.
"Two miles away, and heading this direction. They seem to have paused fo the night." said the man. "We are trying to warn everyone!"
Hareth paused, mulling the matter over in his mind. He then came to a decision...
"Zurbog! It seems you were right. Tell the others to make camp out of site for the night. We will wait for the accursed horse-lords to come to us."
The Haradrim looked puzzled. He had been trying to warn these people of their danger. And now they were waiting for the horse-lords to kill them?
"But sir, the horse-lords will be here tomorrow! They will..."
"Precisely" interrupted Hareth. "Pardon me. We are professional fighters sent to intercept this band. But it seems they have reached the location of ambush before us. Encamp with us tonight near the oasis, and we will ambush them in the morning. This is a fairly exposed location, so we will need all the help we can get. Do you have weapons."
The man, to surprised to speak, simply nodded.
"Good," replied Hareth. "We camp here tonight. Move near the oasis and make sure we are concealed by the trees." |
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| shieldelf |
![]() Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 11:01 pm |
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"Yes Sir," Replied Zurbog to Hareth. "Want me to take a few of the men and set up and ambush ahead of this one?"
"Yes," Hareth said.
"Etlas, come with me." Zurbog told Etlas after he got approval. "You six," Zurbog said as he pointed to the six Haradrim who had confirmed his report. "Come with me also. We will strike these horse-lords and then come back here to help with the main ambush. We will be back tomorow."
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"This looks like a good place to set up the ambush," Zurbog told Etlas as he found a spot in the path in a small valley. "If those horse-lords wish to come attack us, they will have to go through here. Everyone, get your bows ready. This might be a long night."
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Elgalad couldn’t help feeling watched on the way through Harad. At times he thought he could see six different figures watching him.
"I am going back to Ithilien to get more elves. Lets turn back a little and then set up camp and wait for me. I will be back." With that, Elgalad left for Ithilien and the company turned back for a while and set up camp as soon as they could see the forest of Ithilien. |
Last edited by shieldelf on Sat Feb 17, 2007 1:23 pm; edited 1 time in totalElfs pwn, need I say more???
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| NBarden |
![]() Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 11:17 pm |
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Hareth turned to Gagnut.
"Gagnut. Let us scout up ahead and see what the men of the north are doing."
Hareth and Gagnut approached the crest of the hill, and Hareth, his eyes keen from his training, could make out the company. He spied them moving back up the hill and saw a small detachment break off from the main group and ride back towards Southern Gondor.
"Gagnut, I fear we are suspected. Let us join up with Eltlas and Zurbog and discuss what we must do."
Hareth and Gagnut moved towards Eltlas and Zurbog erncampment. Hareth reported what he had seen, and then gave their alternate courses of action.
"There are two alternatives that we must choose from. First, we could sneak towards the encampment in the night and try to surprise them. Second, we could find some Haradrim to aid us and lay an ambush."
After some deliberation, the party decided it would be best to rouse a group of Haradrim and attempt to ambush the company.
"Zurbog! Gagnut! You two are chosen to rally the Haradrim. Trolls have a way about them that makes people comply. Raise a band of about a dozen. We must prepare for a hard fought battle."
After that, Hareth dismissed the two and sent them to raise a band of Haradrim. |
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Add the popcorn smiley to your sig, help it achieve world domination.
What if the hokey pokey really IS what its all about?
As I lay in bed staring at the stars last night, I thought to myself, "where the heck is the ceiling?"
Spotlight on....Sense of Obligation. |
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| shieldelf |
![]() Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 11:24 pm |
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Zurbog and Gagnut aproached a group of Haradrim in a tavern.
"Would you like to help us defeat the horse-lords and gondorians?" Gagnut asked. They said yes.
"Alright! We got 4 more people!" Gagnut shouted to Zurbog. When he realized Zurbog wasn’t with him, he went searching. He found Zurbog playing chess with a person, apparently a captain of a group of 200 Haradrim.
"What are you doing?" Gagnut asked Zurbog.
"SHH! If i beat him, they’ll help us," Zurbog said.
"Oh, ok," Gagnut said.
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After Zurbog beat the captain at chess, they had 204 Haradrim ready to help. Zurbog sent 4 to get more aid and told them to be at the camp in two days. Zurbog and Gagnut marched the group to the camp.
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At the camp, Hareth turned to Zurbog and said, "I am appointing you captain of these Haradrim, making you second in command."
"Ok," was Zurbogs reply. |
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| NBarden |
![]() Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 11:48 pm |
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Up to this point, Hareth had not noticed the multitude of men. He assumed that Zurbog had followed his orders and gathered 12 men. Hareth then looked up and surveyed the throng. He staggered back in surprise.
"This is a dozen Haradrim? I thought I asked for about a dozen?"
"Yes sir, but..." said Zurbog.
"We want to KILL the horse-lords, not run them off!"
"I know sir, but..."
"Send them away at once, after picking out a dozen well-trained troops. Then report back to me, and I will decide whether you truly are capable of commanding soldiers. Remember, before you can be a commander, you must learn to follow orders. Do I have to run everything like the mumak corps?" |
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Add the popcorn smiley to your sig, help it achieve world domination.
What if the hokey pokey really IS what its all about?
As I lay in bed staring at the stars last night, I thought to myself, "where the heck is the ceiling?"
Spotlight on....Sense of Obligation. |
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| sickofpalantirs |
![]() Posted: Wed Jan 31, 2007 8:30 am |
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Joined: 23 Mar 2006
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Location: somwhere, over the rainbow way up high. There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby.
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beginning as Eltlas
"Do i have to run everything like a mumak corps?" Eltlas noticed zurbog was sullen and slightly angry, but if he was smart he wouldn’t try any double-crossing. Hareth was dangerous, especially with Gagnut at his side. Eltlas but a quiet night(or as quiet as it good be under the circumstances.) Morning came. The party started setting up their ambush. It was ready in an hour, they had
(how many haradrim do we have around 20 at this point? or more I will edit this post when i get an answer.) all set up around the point of ambush. 5 would jump out amongst them and attack when the time came.
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posting as Tuilin
Tuilin watched Elgalad ride away."If there is anything soon he will be to
late anyway. A days ride to Ithilien and at least a day getting reinforcements, if he can, then a day back. 3 days. Then eh will have to catch up with us, so probably 5-7 days in all." Sighing Tuilin continued packing up for the ride, and probably battle ahead. They had only seen a few haradrim so he doubted it would be much of a problem. Anyway he got himself ready. "If they do attack, we have enough archers here they will pay for it dearly." Tuilin thought. He doubted any of the Haradrim had heard of him, but he knew he could make a tale for himself if it came to a bloody last stand. He quickly ate some traveler’s rations, and moved out with the rest of the company. |
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(mm)"SoP: you will always be the Official CC Spammer in my heart"
"DáinIronfoot"
Spammers really are amazing creatures. You can learn all there is to know about their ways in a month. And yet, after a hundred years, they can still surprise you. |
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| shieldelf |
![]() Posted: Wed Jan 31, 2007 9:59 am |
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Joined: 06 Jan 2007
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Location: Mirkwood
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Elgalad was near the edge of Ithilien forest. He could see the company moving away from him.
"Now I must get reinforcements or we will be doomed," he thought.
As soon as he was in Ithilien, he ran into Legolas and Faramir with a bunch of Rangers and Elves. He told them what was going on and they both sent him a few troops-- numbering 100. He then left to go follow the company.
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Zurbog grumbled angrily at Hareths’ orders.
"I got them all, he should be happy," Zurbog thought angrily. "Now we are doomed."
Zurbog turned to the captain of the 200 and said, "Give me your best 12 Haradrim then go wait a little to the west of us, keeping out of eyesight. I might need you yet."
Just as the captain left with his men, the 4 men Zurbog had sent to get more reinforcements came, with about 300 men total.
"Follow the other Haradrim and wait till I call for you." Zurbog told them.
They quickly left after the other Haradrim, and Gagnut, Hareth, and Etlas never found out what had happened. Hareth had seen the Haradrim going away. |
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