With Balin and Óin safely escorted back to Lake-town, the company takes some time to rest. Thibault and Gram say their goodbyes, Thibault heading north to explore some ruins and Gram traveling southwest back to Rohan. The other company members spend their time training, honing their skills, and swapping stories and yarns.

OOC: For the Fellowship phase, you can PM me your intentions and describe them here in OOC. However, if you’d like to RP a bit, you can post how you’re spending your fellowship phase here in IC. Generally, the fellowship phase won’t consist of much danger unless you’re doing something like patrolling an area for bandits and orcs, so the CP reward here will likely be low, but I will award 1 CP for your fellowship phase IC posting.

"How's about the Silver Flagon? A fine place, and one-and-the-same as where we started.  Jody's favorite here as well, and a place that's kind to folk both different, and from away, Miss Gilmith, seeing as you're both.  We can rest a while, have a bite, and talk about what to do next while they prepare some nice rooms, if you'll be staying there.  Give us a time to think for a bit.  And talk, if the Company will hold."

OCC:  Jody is tired and dirty; underfed and undersmoked, and in need of mead, gaiety, and music.  I suggest some IC posting, an OCC meeting with the dwarves on how best to head to the Eagles with Gilmith smoothing their way, some gear-getting for those that need it, and maybe a moment for a skill boost or two.

In reply to Jody (msg # 2):

Mock is glad to finally have his feet back on dry land. However, the time on the water has not only been survived, it has been necessary, and he resolves to learn more about it so that he can be better prepared in the future. After all, to be afraid where an elf was comfortable was just...humiliating.

He spends some time with the boatman, learning not only how to handle a boat, but also how to catch fish. Now that is a pastime suited to a Dwarf...sitting by the side of a pool thinking about life. There was much to contemplate, too. The effects of the forest, the effects of seeing the gems...the effect on his soul. It was like they wanted to devour him, to turn him into something he should not be. Something that the wars were to stop. But they won the war, so how could this be? There must be something that lives, lived on in the shadows, and threatened to return. Greed, the darkness, it would raise another army, to be sure. He had felt it's fingers clawing at his being. It would get some, to be sure. But not him. Well, not yet, at least.

Fishing. It was good, a time to reflect...oh, and he had a bite!

At first, Gumm doesn’t want to do anything but lock himself in his room and carve crude figurines out of bones.  His skill isn’t great, but he finds this is a great away to reduce tension.  He even tries selling a few of the better ones, but he’s not optimistic about it.

Later, he consults some woodsman in town, then heads out to practice what he learns.  He isn’t the trusting sort, and he wants to be prepared for a worst case scenario in which he’s lost in the woods on his own.

When he is confident that he has improved his skills and shaken off some darkness, he starts doing combat drills again, and tends to his weapons and armor, making sure both are still in peak condition.

Navarre loves the wild.  He loves traveling and seeing the beautiful land, meeting its people  and caring for them, the sense of togetherness it brings.  And if its a thing, to soak up the goodness that abounds in most people.

But there is nothing quite like civilization.  A room with a bed.  A hot bath.  Hard drink, the company of women who aren't dirty and smelly from the wild, and a home cooked hot meal instead of dried road rations.  Kodran gets drunk enjoying the creature comforts of Esgaroth for he knows in good time he wont see it for months.

His last adventure gnaws at him.  The sad almost oppressive feeling from the forest and the Mewlips had him gloomy for a few days, but thankfully he was able to shake it pretty easily.  True that had removed and hid the bell hopefully in a place that it will never be found but the ranger cant escape from the nagging reminder that the Mewlips are alive and well.  Thriving for all he knows.  Ready to do whatever mischief Mewlips do.  Navarre isn't conflicted by his choice now to side step dealing with the Mewlips but he knows its a bridge he's going to have to cross someday, and sooner rather than later.

As fuel for his soul and to appease his conscience Kodran looks to expanding his talents.  He has always loved learning.  Its one of the things that reminds him he's alive.  As he is wandering the markets he happens to pause in front of a blacksmiths shop.  In no time the young ranger is inside talking the smith about working under him.  Brekell is a jovial rotund man with thinning blonde greyish hair whose belly is the only thing bigger than his arms, unless you count his mouth.  The man never shuts up.  But its ok as Kodran enjoys the mans stories and relaxed nature.  Sadly, a weeks time isn't enough to even begin to scratch the surface on what Navarre would need to learn so an apprenticeship isn't in the cards, though the ranger does convince Brekell to let Kodran hang around and help.  At least he'll pick up odds and ends that maybe someday will come together.

But this isn't enough for the duty bound ranger.  After a few hours learning about forge safety and the names of the various tools each day Navarre heads out of town.  Once again in the wild he searches for groupings of foot prints in odd places and signs of trash by a camp fire.  These are the calling cards of packs of orcs and goblins.  Even if he cant run them off he can alert the local watch about their movements.


OOC:
Navarre will spend a few hours each day hanging around a smithy to pick up what he can about Armoury though it isn't enough time to be able to spend points on.  Then he'll find the others and socialize a little.  Then for the remainder of his day he'll head out of town and scout the wild for signs of orcs and goblins.  He would invite Gilmith.  If they can handle anything, kill the vermin.  If they spot anything they cant handle then report it to the local guard.

Worried about being killed in his sleep Kodran will return to town to sleep.

Jody is as cheery and chipper as ever; it's as though the Mirk was nothing more than an over grown garden; grabgrass and carnivorous trees some nettles; the mewlips an irksome neighbor; and lunatic bears an overly frisky pup.

He performed and retold the story a bunch of evenings, until Gloin asked him to tone down or leave out the part about the envoys being captured, and Gilmith  asked him to not tell every jackanape in Esgaroth that there was Heroic Battle to be fought in the Mirkwood...

Jody picked up on that pretty quickly, actually, but it was a fun story to tell, especially if one got a little...creative with the truth.

But during the first few days, he spent in long conversations with Thibault, sometimes in Jody's private room, sometimes in the main hall of the Silver Flagon, where Jody was building up quite a tab - and coterie of friends and followers.

After wishing the explorer well,  Jody goes back to honing his stories, practicing, playing, and talking with the rest of the Company about the land and route to get to the eagles, and the supplies and process necessary to execute on that plan.  He's walking, for sure, unless he can ride on a wagon.  & he's more than willing to help fund the food & supplies chest.

On the way back, Gwydian commiserates with Balin about not reaching the Eagles. He takes a liking to the stubborn, persistent Dwarf, and he makes it a point to try to get to know him better. Although pleased with the reward and having found the Dwarves, Gwydian was still disappointed they were not able to complete the original mission without having to come back. He realized it was a necessity, and perhaps a lesson well-learned. The next time he travels so far from Laketown, he must be more prepared. He could learn a lot from Navarre and the other older adventurers with far more experience in the wilderness.

To that end, amongst his other activities, he makes it a point to discuss with each of the remaining companions what went right, what went wrong, and how they may have done better, as a group, as well as Gwydian individually. To the extent, they are willing to share some of the knowledge of surviving the wilderness, he may not slow them down in the future.  Given the opportunity, he joins others on in their outdoor training.

When the matter of horses comes up, Gwydian tags along. He knows how to ride, but since having gone off on his own, he hasn't had the stable income to purchase and maintain a horse. It's something he's still considering, but then again, they'll only be able to move as fast as their slowest member. With that in mind, he wonders whether a wagon may be more appropriate - if they can navigate past the waterways. This time, before they depart, he'll try to find some maps of the area that may assist their planning.

In reply to Gwydian (msg # 7):

Gwydian is always welcome to join Mock in fishing and contemplation! The shortage of food is one thing that went wrong, clearly, but they did all kind of come together and gather everything left behind.

Mock will make a point of asking Balin why they ditched the jewels though....

Though the others spend the most of their days within the confines of Lake Town, Gilmith spends most of her time away, losing herself within the near confines of the Mirkwood.  The experience in the reaches farther south, the Mewlips and their bell, the raving bear, had all unsettled her deeply and it was good to be reminded that there were peaceful patches of forest yet.  She knew she would have go go back to the Old Forrest Road, if indeed these dwarves and her companions were to traverse it, so she took these moments to steel herself, to seal within her the image of true and pure woodlands.