AiME S1E4 Lasting Choices

"Lasting Choices" (1x04) is Fabled42's fourth episode of the "Adventures in Middle Earth" campaign. Having just lost two close friends in the span of a few days, the characters find themselves themselves in a dark and angry mood. They depart the sanctuary of the Elven King's Halls and chance upon meeting some new faces in desperate need of their aid...

### Synopsis

The group are aghast at the loss of their companion Imrahil and having been summoned to recall the events of the previous night, they attend the court of the Elven King. At court there appears a figure shrouded in darkness, who claims to be the son of the Elven King and calls himself Mogdred. He takes Wren and the heroes are powerless to do anything to stop him.

Turin had taken hold of an ancient elven artifact, Amon Lanc, a magical glass torch of some kind, something that may have been able to harm Mogdred. However, during the confrontation he was unable to do anything to activate it. Now, furious that the Elven King did nothing to prevent the kidnap of his friend, Turin threatens the destruction of the artifact, proposing that he drop it over the bridge between the companions and the Elven Council if the King does nothing to help them retrieve their friend Wren.

The Elven King, either in a display of xenophobia for which he is renowned or a display of arrogance, calls Turin’s bluff. Turin however, was not bluffing. He dropped the torch over the bridge and shortly thereafter it shattered into a thousand shards of worthless glass. For this, those who were welcome in the Court of Thranduil, namely Iorwyn and Oldhin are banished from his sight for the crime of their friend. Iorwyn makes a big scene to belittle the Elven King and certainly gets the last word before leaving his presence.

Oldhin is angry at the group for the disrespect that has been shown to his home and King, knowing that a stain on his name may never be undone. Berenor whispers to Turin that he agrees with the actions of the dwarf and that in his place he may well have done something even more foolish. Outwardly he admonishes Turin for the slur that has been put upon the elf’s name.

In a gesture of friendship, one that was entirely unexpected, Olothar runs to catch up with the group. He gifts Oldhin with the bow of his grandfather, Dalteeno. In exchange, Oldhin gives him a silver pendant marked with his crest, so that he may remember him.

Once banished from the court of Thranduil, the darkness of Mirkwood enshrouds the party once more, like a dark mood. The actions of the dwarf begin to wear heavily on him and realising what he has done, knows that he will regret it.

As the group continue their travels, they come across an unusual pair. A very tall woman and a beardless dwarf seem to be in a heated discussion. It appears they are trying to see Thranduil. It would seem trolls have taken up residence in Northern Mirkwood and the dwarves that call that place home have been dispossessed. The Grey Delve is no longer under dwarven control.

The dwarf offers the group gold to scare off or possibly kill the troll menaces. Berenor speaks with Oldhin who stubbornly agrees to assist the dwarf but only if it is on the way to their destination to the east. Oldhin obtains true tunnel vision and Lake-Town seems to be the only thing on his mind. It appears he plans to leave the group upon arriving there.

Frar the Beardless and his brother Flor lead the group to a river. A waterfall conceals a cave entrance. Under the cover of the rushing water, Heda, Oldhin and Berenor sneak closer to their target to investigate. Inside they see a hideous grey beast, slowly cooking an elf or human corpse on a spit over a fire. Though they only notice one troll, the heroes astutely note that there are five large sitting stones arranged around the fire, meaning that four more trolls may be somewhere nearby.

As the group reconvenes, Iorwyn alerts the group to the fact she has noticed a large amount of spider webbing, indicating yet more of those hideous giant arachnids. While the dwarves urge the party to attack the trolls, Iorwyn tries to come up with an alternative plan whereby the spiders attack the trolls. The trolls however appear to be hill trolls, nocturnal because of their aversion to the sun.

The group stealth up to the mouth of the cave, having decided to take out the beast while it is busy cooking. However, all does not go as planned. As they move into position and ready to loose arrows, they are betrayed by Flor, who bellows loudly to alert the trolls.

Ever alert, Oldhin, with elven swiftness, lets fly with two arrows that thud into the hide of the troll cook. The beast rages and Oldhin fires a third across the troll’s cheek, wounding it savagely. From the shadow, Berenor leaps forth over a rock and hacks and slashes deep into the troll’s hide.

Heda, angry at the betrayal of the dwarf draws her short spears and strikes at Flor. As he pulls his spears four more trolls rush into the cavern, one much larger than the other four and wedged into a suit of chainmail. The brute yells and orders his trolls to toss large nets at the heroes to trap them.

Iorwyn lets loose a howl and gets an immediate response. An old hound barrels through into the cavern to stand with her. Ronyo and Iorwyn are old companions it would seem. They hide behind a huge boulder in the hope that the trolls do not see them.

Turin turns to confront the beardless dwarf who in his defense pleads that he had nothing to do with the actions of his brother. At this moment the darkness of the previous day comes over Turin and he draws his axes before attempting to cut Frar the Beardless down. The dwarf ducks the blows and pleads for his life. Turin however ignores the pleas and knocks out the dwarf, before finally shaking the shadow from his mind. He feels the action will have a lasting taint on his soul.

At the same time, Berenor, furious now, strikes two vicious blows across the throat of the troll he was engaged with and fells the beast. Seeing their fellow die, the trolls rage. One levels its club at the hound and smacks it across the head. The group continues to fight with these huge monsters as their leader yells something in a gruff language to rally his own men against these puny humans (and dwarves and elves)!

Heda, who had been trapped within a troll net, manages to wriggle free of her bind and takes her spears and rams them brutally up under the chin of the troll towering over her, piercing into its mouth and brain, killing it outright. The trolls are starting to lose the edge in this combat, though they are still a deadly threat. Berenor finds this out first hand as a huge club smacks him right across his head. Stunned by the blow but still on his feet he resolves to kill all of the trolls rather than flee as Iorwyn suggests. She tosses sand in the eyes of the troll to blind him and sets her hound upon the creature. Ronyo crashes into the chieftain and heroically knocks the monster over, straight into the fire that was cooking his meal. Berenor takes advantage of the troll’s prone form and leaps on it, stabbing into it with his blades. Ronyo courageously pounces upon the chieftain and tears at its throat, killing the hill troll before it could get to its feet.

Oldhin stands and drops his scimitar. Taking up Dalteeno he whispers to it before unleashing a stinging arrow, magically blessed, which flies true to its target. Oldhin activates the magic inherent in his bow a second time and strikes his target true. At the same time Heda gets very lucky. Having clambered up on a troll the beast tries to club her off and manages to hit her square, almost bashing her brains across the cavern walls. Oldhin is not so lucky, now bashed across the brainpan by a troll wielding a tree.

Amongst the pile of gold, Iorwyn finds a staff, decorated with skulls and bones, which appears to be from the second age. Frar the Beardless is browbeaten into giving up more of his gold than he had intended, to make amends for the actions of his kinsman. He concedes that the heroes acted with bravery in killing the trolls for him and offers them work if they were to travel north to the Grey Delve to fight against the goblins and orcs plaguing the land there. The group bid farewell to the beardless one and rest up, smoke, make some special cakes and relax before the journey onward.

Days pass and the group journey without incident until they happen upon an old dwarven waystation. Within they sense a great evil, something sleeping in the ruin. An ancient and massive spider slumbers and is perhaps the source of all the smaller arachnids that are attacking travellers in the forest. Iorwyn knows, through her book readings, that the beast is perhaps one of the children of the demon spider Ungoliant, a sibling of Shelob.

Berenor insists that the companions slay the evil that lays dormant within the tower. So they stealth forward inside the ruin and search out the lair of the beast. It soon becomes apparent that they have made a grave mistake however as the beast shrieks and stalks into their view. None of them have ever been confronted by a creature of such immense size and power. The spider is a demonic entity, a spawn of another demon of great almost immeasurable power.

While they are able to land blows upon the spider, it soon overcomes Berenor. Turin runs to the side of his comrade aware that he may soon share the same fate. Oldhin makes the decision, as leader, to sacrifice the powers within his magical bow in order that the fellowship may escape. As the spider feasts upon the powers within the artifact, Heda, Iorwyn, Ronyo and Oldhin make good their escape, knowing that they must do something and soon, before the ancient arachnid feasts upon their friends.

But what can they do in the face of such an ancient terror?