The Four Fellowships

 Highlights: Fanrel visits the East Wall

March 12th


The Freedom Fighters

When we last saw our heroes, they were chasing down some leads in The Great River. Volume III Book 6 showed off some vivid dreams and a lead to the Brown Lands. A Rohirrim warrior by the name of Edbrit brought Nona and I over to something dreadful. There was the dead remains of a massive beast. However he also noticed some riding gear but no rider. We retraced our steps to see if we could figure out this mystery.

  • Gamal in the Brown Lands find the Easterlings saying "Khoratón" or "Black Cloak"
  • Edbrit notices the grodbog and gredbyg blood boil and bubble.
  • Cerdic felt cold at Ost Celebrant
  • Debris is scattered over the battlefield
  • Ifing met a stranger who hissed at him on the road to Stangard
  • A booted footprint is found on the ground. 
  • Magla's goats were spooked by something on the hill.

It wasn't until we met Limthir by the Great River who actually identifies the shadowed figure as Nazgûl. I deduced that the dream I experienced was actually a premonition. Legolas must have shot down the winged beast. The rider must have immediately fell off somewhere north of Thinglad. The ringwraith must have continued its search for the fellowship from there. We hurried back and faced off against this foe but could not stand against its power (Instance: Mists of Anduin). Nona collapsed and we hurried back to Stangard to beseech Horn's advice. Against the authority of his comrads, the two of us took her to see Galadriel outside the House of Celeborn (You get Caras Galadhon Mirror as a reward).

  

In Volume III Book 7, you find out Nona has recovered and wants to look inside the elf city. In the meantime, Galadriel wants you to seek out Corudan... yes, Sigileth's brother. The four of you, Horn included, take a trip down the Great River but stop near Rushgore for the night. You build a campfire and tell stories. 

  • Corudan tells a funny story about Sigileth. You actually find out a little more about her in The Black Book of Mordor Book 5. I happen to still own one of her nice, shiny daggers from Mirkwood's Epilogue. 

    Corudon's bow might not have a name but I named my weapons: Lily's Heart and Cebil's Bark. Though, I did consider naming them: Dez and Troy.
  • You choose to tell one of five different stories. Each one shows a different memory image. If you are curious what they are, you can redo Instance: A Journey by Boat. You can even explain what happened to Nona of you want.
  • Horn's story is about King Fengel and the cursed writing on the stone. The actual Stone of Wyrgende can be seen in the Sutcrofts, East Rohan, at  [52.8S, 63.9W]. If you want to find out more about the lore, go here.
  • Nona tells the story of her brother's sword and the giant Gwiber he slew.

     

The rest of the epic has you piece together what happened to the fellowship at the East Wall.

 

The Fellowship of the Ring

As you investigate the East Wall, you find that the fellowship has left more than a simple cooking pot or a burned hat. You find a discarded pack, bloodstained tree, an area riddled with dead orcs, pierced arrows, and a hidden boat. Personally, I like how how the story is told through the perspectives of each person. Frodo reminisces from all the advice he received. Boromir distances himself so much from the group that everyone except for Aragorn and Frodo receives a label: The Elf, The Dwarf, Frodo's Servant, That Halfling, The Other Halfing. It isn't until after he realizes his madness and protects his friends that Merry & Pippin's names appear. If you want the full story, you can always read the book or watch the movie.

        

 

The Mishapped Adventurers

Eventually you stumble across a fellowship you did not expect to find. Each one with their own unique personality. As Rodwen explains:

"'There are eight of us... well, seven of us, now. In the beginning it was me, and Hestil, and Cúfaron our hunter, and Cuilinn our minstrel. We sought fame and glory and riches, and took on modest quests for even more modest treasure. But the treasures dried up as war approached, and it seemed there were fewer people looking for adventurers-for-hire and more people looking out for their own skins.

Before any of us knew what had happened, we had a lore-master who couldn't stay focused on any single thing for more than ten minutes, a guardian with more bravery than sense, and a warden extolling the virtues of some long-since-fallen city and decrying us our comparative lack of such virtue. And no one to pay us."

  • Rodwen (Champion) retreated and lost her sword. Wilferth, a Rohirrim, found it near the camp. She answers specific questions about the group.
  • Hestil (Captain)
  • Drafli Broadshield (Guardian) gets himself caught by the orcs.
  • Cúfaron (Hunter) boasts of his awesomeness.
  • Ramdir (Warden) wants you to check out spots around the area.
  • Maedal (Burglar) can be found hiding near the camp looking for their dwarf companion.
  • Cuilinn (Minstrel)
  • Isteron (Lore-master) currently with his bog-lurker checking out a cave for herbs.

The whole encounter of the fellowship is hilarious. Details of how they came about is spread across each of the quests. The orcs capture Drafli. Maedal hands you a wooden statue to help boister her guardian's resolve to break out of the cage. He instead thinks you need to find another wooden figurine identical to it. You return back to the camp in failure. Isteron uses the glowers and uh... distracts the orcs... I'm sorry, the whole thing is just so hilarious. If you want to know what happens, check out Instance: Short of Stature, Great in Deed again at the reflecting pool.

      

 

The Frozen Fellowship

All this walking around made me think of the Lost Fellowship in Forochel. They too weren't on the best of terms. You can complete the deed after doing all their quests. You can also get some nifty class-specific items from each one of them. Whichever item you like best you can get 5 of after completing all of them together.

  • Champion, Déornyd - Lost her sister's sword, Gránung. Needs replacing secondary sword. (Reward: Stun Horn)
  • Guardian, Nef - Well the dwarf states: "While I was lost I had the most terrible encounter with one of the local creatures. The beast leapt upon me with amazing speed. It took all my cunning and strength to get away from it! In my haste, however, I seem to have dropped my shield."

    But you start to question his story when you find a squirrel jumping around the broken remains of his shield. He wants his shield repaired but the local Lossoth denies the quality of the shield. He makes the dwarf a new shield but poor Nef doesn't want to deal with the bill. (Reward: Defensive Ward)
  • Burglar, Warstang - Lost his marbles. Tried to return his lost pouch but grabbed the wrong one. (Reward: Stealth Shoes)
  • Captain, Reginald Ward - Lost his herald. Lost his banner. If you try to retrieve his banner during the night, a light will be shining above it. (Reward: Rally Horn)
  • Hunter, Thurmaer - Lost his lucky arrow in a worm. Lost his map. (Reward: Trap)
  • Lore-master, Cenlieg - Lost his raven. Hunt moose meat for his bear but find out Linden's stomach can't handle it. You then hunt elk meat. (Reward: Daze Powder)
  • Minstrel, Burgthryth - Lost three sheets of her prized anthem. Sabre-tooth tiger ripped the strings out of her prized lute. She asks you to chase him down so she can try using cat-gut strings. (Reward: Fake Death)

 

I was going to include The Riders Four in my blog but their story is stretched very thin between Rohan and the Battle of Pelennor. So I decided against it. Though if you want, the wiki has a very detailed write-up. Until then, we have East Rohan to look forwad to.

 

2018-03-14