Adventures (downloads)
Rescue on the Barrow Downs
Black on the Brandywine
Shadow on the Throne
Journals (contain spoilers)
Rescue on the Barrow Downs
Black on the Brandywine
Shadow on the Throne
Adventures (downloads)
Rescue on the Barrow Downs
Black on the Brandywine
Shadow on the Throne
Journals
(contain spoilers)On a dark and stormy night in the village of Bree, three heroes new to the area enjoyed the hospitality of Barliman Butterbur’s Prancing Pony Inn. Moirli, a Dwarven warrior of Mt. Erebor, sipped a pint of ale and pondered his quest for the lost Book of Durin. Belengol, an archetypical magician, listened to the lively music and was glad to have a dry roof overhead. The oldest person in the room, a Noldor Elven craftsman named Ceredain, quietly pined for days long lost.
Suddenly, a rain-soaked Hobbit burst into the common room, howled that there had been a kidnapping and then feinted to the floor. While Butterbur revived the little fellow, the magician, the elf and the dwarf pressed nearby to ask questions of the Hobbit. After a few minutes of care, the Hobbit revived and while drinking a hot brandy, he told his tale.
His name was Dustor Proudfoot, a merchant in Bree and partner to his cousin, Weldon Proudfoot, a wealthy dyer. He went to speak with Weldon at his home that night but found the door open, and Weldon’s office ransacked and blood upon the floor.
Dustor offered a reward for the return of his cousin and the heroes accepted the challenge. The Hobbit took them to Weldon’s home where they found tracks of Men inside, as well as a bloody dagger of Weldon’s. They determined that Weldon was not merely a dyer, but also a part-time adventurer who kept meticulous maps of the area. Although the maps were scattered among the debris on the floor, the trio determined that one was missing – a map to the Barrow Downs.
Leaving Dustor behind, based on the fact that he would be a bigger burden than help, the group decided to leave via Bree’s South Gate and intercept the kidnappers. While traveling through town, the PCs realized a shadowy character was following them. While the magician and the Dwarf stopped to converse with the gatekeeper, the Elf stealthily ambushed their shadowy companion, who turned out to be none other than Bill Ferny. The Ceredain intimidated Ferny into revealing that a thug named Feyroth who was interested in the Barrow Downs led the kidnappers. Ferny then fled to his dilapidated hovel and bothered the heroes no more.
They followed the kidnappers’ handcart tracks a short way down the road and then found where the villains had gone cross-country toward the Barrow Downs. The party followed across the Barrow Downs, growing increasingly uneasy.
Finally, the group came to a large, flat-topped barrow with a guard posted at the newly opened entrance. They rode their horses up the barrow’s grassy sides and Moirli leapt from his steed and flattened the guard before he could so much as scream. After stripping the low-rent thug of his weapon, the trio questioned him. They learned that they stood upon the Barrow of Harslan, a fallen warrior of Eriadore, and a possible resting site of a palantir. Rather than slay the guard or leave him tied up to the not-so tender mercies of the Barrow Downs, they forced him to vow to not interfere with their efforts and allowed him to flee into the gloom, from which he was never seen again.
After the trio entered the barrow, they found themselves in a low, curving passageway. Their first obstacle was a deep pit filled with murky, dark waters. A rope, tied by Feyroth was secured to the other side of the pit, but using Belengol’s staff, they managed to pull I to their side. Using the rope, Belengol swung over the pit, but his progress was halted when oily tentacles shot out of the water and grabbed him. Ceredain fired arrow after arrow into the tentacles and Moirli crushed several with his hammer as Belengol hung on for dear life. Finally, the creature was forced to withdraw, minus several digits, and Belengol wearily swung to the opposite side of the pit. The creature failed to appear as the other two swung across.
Further down the hall, the party encountered the shrouded bodies of servant who entombed themselves with their fallen master. Although several golden amulets and rich jewels could be seen through the death shrouds, they refused to disturb the sleep of the dead.
In the next chamber the PCs found the bodies of twelve of Harslan’s warriors, who died in the fight that claimed their leader. Although the bodies were desiccated and most of the weapons and armor were damaged, they did find a pair of Dunedain daggers, a Numenorian steel bow (minus the string), and the head of a spear. After hesitating to take the objects from the dead, they chose to take them in the name of fighting the growing Shadow of the East, an objective the dead warriors would no doubt have approved of.
In the last chamber they found Feyroth and his gang struggling to remove a black stone sphere from its pedestal before the desiccated remains of Harslan. Choosing stealth as the better part of valor, Ceredain fired an arrow into Feyroth’s throat, slowing the half-orc brute down, but not stopping him. Moirli charged into the room, sending thugs flying and beating back Feyroth’s bloody advance.
One thug put a blade to Weldon’s throat, demanding to be allowed to flee. While fighting with Feyroth, the PCs allowed the thug to leave back down the hallway after he dropped the Hobbit. It was the thug’s gurgling scream that alerted them to a greater threat at their rear.
Out of the darkness of the chamber of fallen warriors stepped a rotting corpse. It uttered a dark chant and fear struck the hearts of the PCs. The Barrow Wight attacked Belengol who, through unnatural good luck, managed to avoid the undead creature’s icy touch. As Belengol and elf retreated into the chamber of Harslan, Moirli grabbed Feyroth and tossed him into the arms of the Barrow Wight. Evil fed on evil as the Barrow Wight drained the life of Feyroth.
Meanwhile, Belengol magically set the Barrow Wight ablaze. Moirli remembered the Dunedain daggers they group had collected and sunk one deep into the monster’s chest. The creature staggered back and attempted a spell, but was halted when an Elven arrow lodged in its eye socket.
The trio managed to destroy the Wight’s body, but sensing that its evil was not spent, drew the pieces of the mangled corpse into the dawn, where they withered and vanished with a soul-rending scream.
Weldon was freed and Ceredain and Belengol discovered that the black sphere was a false palantir; a fake created to disguise the real location. Together, the heroes and the rescued Hobbit returned to Bree in time for a stout lunch at the Prancing Pony, where they told their tale again and again.
