"Those you've rescued can ride the horses while the rest of us walk.  One of Men and one not on each."

Nowe stretches and breathes deep.  Ryland's music has returned he, Draugion, and any others affected back to their normal states.  The effects of the Vile'ek are gone.  "I will walk."

Ty leads his horse over and helps one of the women mount after Marni gives her and the other women pants to wear.  "Do I even want to know what that thing was?"  The young man seems visibly shaken despite Galad's aura and presence.

"Your last date, wasn't it?  What was her name?  Bertha?"  Marni grins at Ty who gives her a mock frown.

Ty's nerves settle visibly though with the banter.  "Braeda, and now, she wasn't that pretty.  I thought it was your last girlfriend."

"Don't even start, little man.  My last boyfriend would eat that thing for lunch...if I left him anything.  Jerk."  It is unclear if Marni is speaking of Ty or her ex.  Given the venom in the last word, probably the latter.

Toben nods at Windfang. "Normally I wouldn't disagree with you, but we're still left in the lurch with our missing Direling friend, Harrow. We were promised a certain item for our troubles, and now he is nowhere to be seen. While we may not be empty handed, we can't head back without all the we came here for."

As the rest chatter amongst themselves, he secures his staff and peers east. At the mention of the creature, he adds "If I'm not mistaken, that creature was what the Gonnhirrim called Durin's Bane. Perhaps more casually known as a Balrog. It's a bit unbelievable, but this mist is strong enough to tame that sort of beast."

Ty looks back at the mist.  "A Balrog?!  Eru preserve us!"  Then realization dawns on him.  "Wait, we just took on a Vile Balrog?  And drove it off?!  We are AWESOME!"

Marni rolls her eyes and grimaces at Toben.  "Thanks.  Now he will be completely insufferable."

Galad walks his now loaded horse over to Toben.  "Ty and Marnican take these to safety why you do what you have to.  Perhaps Adonnen and I can join you in the mists.  What all are you looking for?"  His companions gather around to hear the answer as well.

Toben looks over at Ty, who is still tickled with his own performance. "We did fight well, but if anything, I'd say we caught it off guard. What disease is affecting its mind and body may have also been a distraction to our advantage. I wouldn't want another encounter when we have its full undivided attention."

He looks off into the mist as the others gather around. "Harrow Took, a direling and formerly of the Shire, is lost somewhere out there." Toben's eyes shift over to Galad. "Among other things, a carving from a hobbit is what we were tasked to find. We had an arrangement with him, that upon fulfillment, he would trade us what we need."

Draugion perks up slightly towards Toben's statement.

"I don't know if this helps, but I encountered a group of direlings on my way through the Shire. One of them claimed they were named 'Scythe Proudfoot.'"

"Proudfoot?"

He thinks for a moment and then shakes his head. "I don't recognize the name. Did they have a settlement somewhere in the area?"

Marni tilts her head curiously at Toben.  "If you need a Hobbit's carving, won't one of these hobbits do?"  She points to one of the little folk on a horse.  "How long does a carving take?  And as much as I hate to say it, your friend is likely dead by now if he is alone in the mists."

Ryland chimes in. "It wouldn't be right to abandon Harrow. No creature deserves the fate that this vile mist carries. For better or worse, he was our companion at this leg of our venture. We started as intruders in his lands, and he stayed his and other hands from ending our lives. To that as well, I say Toben and I owe him a repayment of mercy".

Toben looks over to hobbit refugees and nods. "I suppose it just might. As with most cryptic quests, the request wasn't exactly detailed or specific. If even if the little one here could craft something quickly, we're still missing two more items and I have no idea what an Ulairi is or where we'd find one. Don't even get me started on the last one. That one seems even more impossible than the other."

The young sage smiles at Ryland's compassion. "Harrow deserves an honest effort at a rescue attempt, even if it was his own fool's errand to run off before we made our escape. The only problem there is we have no idea where he might be and traveling on foot would be folly. Perhaps a more bird's eye view would prove fruitful."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:18, Thu 25 Oct 2018.

"The eyes of a bird and a bat could cover much ground indeed" says Ryland with a wink.

Tobe just smirks and rolls his eyes at Ryland. "Don't expect me to encourage that", he says with a chuckle.

For the first time (excepting the battle) the dark haired man with Galad speaks up.  "Ulairi.  This is the ancient name for the Ringwraiths or Nazgûl, the Riders in Black that were the fallen kings of Numenorean men brought low by their greed of the rings offered by Sauron."  The man's voice is soft but with a rich timbre.  Much sorrow accompanies his description of the Ulairi.  His words are slow as if the memory comes with difficulty, or perhaps words themselves are a difficulty for him.

Ryland taps a finger to his chin for a moment, thinking. His eyes grow wide as he recalls something. "The nine..

"Black as shadows, they move without sound.
 Hold your breath, pray you're not found.
With piercing shriek and Morgul steel,
Horrors from myth, yet terribly real..."

Toben, we need to find Harrow, and fast".

Upon hearing Ryland, Draugion looks to Toben.

"I encountered the group of direlings somewhere northwest of here. I fell asleep among their group, and they disappeared by the time I awoke. The fog was encroaching from the west when I decided to travel southeast, where I found your group."

"Did they happen to say what they were doing so far out into this area? I can't imagine anyone traveling this way just on a whim."

Draugion looks down for a moment.

"I am not sure why they were out here, but they were captured by a group of darklings. I managed to distract the creatures long enough for the direlings to escape. I remember them saying something about the fog 'almost reaching Old Hobbiton,' and they referred to this area as 'The Eklands.' That's about as much as I can recall."

Ryland looks puzzled. "Darklings? Toben, does that ring any bells with you?".

Toben shakes his head. "The ones we came across called themselves direlings. It could be related, but I'm not sure."