The One Ring: The Year 2949 - Summer

Introductions

Answering the request of King Dain Ironfoot of Erebor, three strangers gather at the Handy Trope in Dale on the order of their lords and masters. The presence of a High Elf is the primary topic of discussion in the tavern, a man from Gondor and a newly arrived dwarf bound for Erebor garner much less attention.

The Fellowship

Braigeth, High Elf of Rivendell , whose tongue is as sharp as her aim.

Rodon, Soldier of Minas Tirath, who  seldom questions, but readily answers with steel.

Gungnir, a dwarven wanderer from the Grey Mountains,  whose modest appearance belies his embrace of the dark places.

Summoned to the chamber of King Dain, they are greeted by Gebhard Artemon, a trusted

advisor of King Bard , who briefly advises the party to be respectful before announcing them
to the king. Upon entering the chamber, they see King Dain upon the throne, who immediately
dismisses everyone else in attendance aside from Gebhard and the party. Introductions are
awkwardly made, and Braigeth and King Dain take an immediate dislike to each other, neither
doing much to push aside the ages of animosity between dwarves and elves. Dain largely
ignores Braigeth and Rodon, instead focusing his attention on his ‘cousin’ Gungnir. Dain directs
the party to deliver a letter to his son in the Iron Hills, some 150 miles to the east.

The journey is not expected t be particularly arduous as it is mostly flat farmland and fields, but
both Gungnir and Rodon recall that there have been an escalating series of raids by a band of
orcs targeting the new farms being established.

To the East

Horses for the journey are secured in Dale, as are provisions. They have a month to deliver the letter,

but upon consulting the maps it should be no more than 4 or 5 days assuming no interruptions or
inclement weather.

Sadly, the fellowship is unaccustomed to long journeys, and two nights of poorly picked campsites
have left them fatigued when they spy a farmhouse with no smoke arising from its hearth, and what
appear to be carrion birds circling overhead.

Gungnir circles closer, sighting what appears to be a recently slain man impaled on a spear in front of
the farmhouse. Gungnir also catches the glint of steel coming from inside the open door.

The party moves closer, Gungnir peering in through a window to see what appears to be a twelve
or thirteen year old girl clutching a knife. He introduces himself and attempts to calm the girl by saying
that the girl could come with the party , or they could just leave her there.

She responds by collapsing in tears.
Braigeth wastes no time, entering the farmhouse singing an ancient Sindarin song as she did to

comfort the child. To her eyes and ears, an angel had entered the farm, and the child was soothed as
best as could be expected. Myrra revealed that many of her extended family had journeyed back to
Dale to get supplies, and to meet other relatives who were coming here to expand the settlement. Her
mother had fallen ill several days ago, and the impaled man in the yard was in fact her father.

Braigeth set to tending to her mother’s illness, while Gungnir set to stabling the horses and Rodon
set about the grisly business of giving her father a proper burial.

Visitors in the Night

Dinner was prepared by Myrra, a humble stew that was well met by Rodon and Gungnir, and with well

hid disdain by Braigeth.

A lone figure in travelling attire approached the front of the farmhouse.
Both Rodon and Braigeth stepped out to meet him.
His demands were simple: handover the parcel they were given.
Gungnir, who was in the stable, quickly noted the presence of two other ‘travellers’ moving in the high

grass, one with a bow at the ready. Through the course of the conversation, it was… implied that the
traveller had visited this farm very recently, noting the many unfortunate things that could befall folk in
these parts. Braigeth had also heard their strange accents before, centuries before.
These were Easterlings attired as men of the west.

The violence was over in two heartbeats. Gungnir had moved close to the traveller with a bow while

remaining undetected and engaged him, while the deadly arrows of Braigeth and the Gondorian
steel of Rodon  made short work of the ‘travellers’.

The only items of note they found were simple iron coins embossed with the emblem of a white hand.
The company decided that this was in keeping with the business of wizards, as only they would have
the adequate hubris to give ‘secret coins’ to their operatives with such an obvious device.
Myrra and her mother were dropped off a day or two later at a neighboring farm enroute to the Iron Hills.

Braigeth had decided that she was quite done with Dwarven intrigue and opened the letter.

It was merely a birthday greeting from King Dain to his son, along with a note recommending the bearers

of this letter as potential allies in their current troubles… should the letter arrive untampered with of
course.

This last item was unknown to the rest of the party until the advisor to the lord of the Iron Hills was

given the letter and noted its seal had been broken. His response was tempered due to the presence
of an elf, and that this was the type of behavior he would expect.

And...
He had a problem.
“He has not returned, and I have standing orders not to pursue him. I do not however have orders

against asking for help.”

“Shortly before your arrival, he went north, by himself, and against all advice after receiving word

of a band of Orcs in the Wastes.”

“What was odd about these orcs is that they exhibited a high degree of intelligence when they raided

from the wastes… They would strike at night, and fade quickly by morning, they would not recklessly
attack but instead carefully scout.”

“What caught both his interest and ire was that the leader of this orc band referred to himself as Azog.”
“This is a name dearly remembered by Dwarves, and only borne by an Orc of either great ambition

or madness… Perhaps a balance of the two.”

“Either way he has departed , and has not been seen since.”
“If I were to ask our Dwarven brothers, ALL would march into the Wastes in pursuit of this ‘Azog’. “
“This would endanger him if he is their captive, but I can only delay this for a matter of weeks before

I must formally muster a search…”

“We need your help.”