A quick sum up from last game

• Our intrepid adventurers return to the ship in Umbar and set sail for the inlets north of the city, in search of the secret hideout of the pirates.
• After many days at sea (9 to be specific) they spot the stolen ship and give chase. The pirates boat sails into a narrow channel teaming with rocks and little islets...the captain is confident he can pursue in the this tight environment...all well and good, until a strange fog boils up from the sea with remarkable quickness...(that durn magic agin!) ...moments later the boat is seriously holed and goes down in less than a minute. The water is full of sailors attempting to swim, marines that can't swim (and fully weighted down in armour) and our heroes clinging to various bits of wood as best they can. The marines promptly drown, the sailors and heroes swish about in the currents. Initially separated, our heroes regroup as the current in their area eventually deposits them all on a small rock outcropping. After 18 grueling hours of clinging to the stone the party is exhausted and unable to put a fight when the fog clears and the pirate boat materializes. (Of course a contingent of arrows nocked and pointed down at our poor floundering heroes also helps persuade immediate surrender.)
• Cut to scene - Life in chains! Or at least time for digging. After being captured, blindfolded and taken to an unknown destination, our heroes find themselves part of a work party digging a tunnel in stone. 5 more days pass. On the 6th day they break through to a passageway and all the diggers are taken back to the cels.
  
• Elenbrand manages to pick the lock to the cel and frees his compatriots...and the other diggers, swarthy dark men of the desert. They make friends with the defacto leader of this group, a man named Khalid. Khalid has sworn vengeance on the person who has destroyed his tribe and put him in chains.
• Scouting about the subterranean lair, they discover drunken pirates everywhere. Apparently the pirates were digging for something else, but found a secret wine cellar instead. Sailor's drunken trait kicks in and they all drink to excess. It also doesn't help that these wines have either become vinegar or overproof versions of their original vintage due to the thousands of years they sat on those racks. (Yeah I know, wine normally wouldn't last this long, but hey, maybe they were originally Elven vintages? Could happen!) Anyways, our heroes brutally dispatch the comatose pirates (nasty!) and make their way to the ship hidden in the cunning underwater cavern. They confront the Captain and his first mate, who initially frightens Elenbrand and Tyrion right off the ship! (Pansies!) In the end though, our heroes manage to vanquish the captain and take control of the pirate lair. Now let's get to the Loot.

1. Captain's stuff - Crystal Shard, 10,000 gp worth of gems. Superior quality personal effects.
2. First Mate/Bodyguard's stuff - Superior quality personal effects, purse worth 50 gp.
3. Wine Cellar holding approximately 400 usable bottles of wine from the Second Age of Middle Earth. Depending on the trading skill and the person buying the wine, could be worth fair skookum bucks.
4. Top rated ship of the line (will have to be returned of course)
5. Assorted goods from the bodies of dead sailors, approximatley 20 gp in value.
6. Contents of Secret Library of Vorondil, Master of the Eastern Fleet of Numenor. Variety of texts (Grendel will go ape$#@! when he sees these), and more importantly, a map of Harad back in the second age, when it was mostly grassland and contained a massive central freshwater sea, with 4 cities located there...including the much anticipated Celenestra.

So now here we are. Our heroes have captures the secret hideout, but can't sail the ship out, it needs a crew of at least 40. There are no other boats in the harbour, but the island still has yet to be explored.
Some interesting questions remain.
Why were the pirates here digging?
Why did Kaldumeir arrange for the theft of this ship in the first place?
Where is Kaldumeir anyways?
And who is going to be the one to tell Khalid that he stinks to high heaven and really needs a bath? Actually, after slaving away in the tunnels with pick axe and shovel, the same could be said for all our own pungent heroes.

Da Sweet Axe is de Weapen 'o' choice

Elenbrand listened to the satisfying “whoosh” as the large two handed sword he had in his hands moved with ease as he waited for his new ‘tutor’. He wondered how huge this guy would be…..Grendel had only had him with the last lumbering oaf for a few weeks before making this latest change. Just as he laid his weapon on the rack with many other practice weapons the door behind El opened and a gruff voice spoke to him in broken Westron, “think ya’d beat anywone wit a pig sticker like that one! The blood in dat head o yours must be getting thin up there.”

Elenbrand turned swiftly with the two handed sword and tried to quickly adjust his aim which flew well over the stalky Dwarfs head.

Doubled over from a blow to belly then a crack to the back of the knees Elenbrand lifted his hands up in a feable gesture aimed at warding off the next blow.

“Get yerself up ya coward before I take me real sweet axe out and cut out that lily liver ye waz born wit” croaked the white haired and weathered skin tutor. “Me names Aurvang Ironfoot and for dis next hour I have de filty task o teachin’ you lot bout real weapons like dis here Axe….nottin. like the Sweet Axe boy…..nocked you down a peg right quick didn’t it?”

“Uh…my name’s Elenbrand….aside from knocking me senseless I didn’t understand a thing you just said except that your Aurvang and that two bladed behemoth is called a Sweet Axe.”

“Das enough…get dat sword again boy and let me beat on ya some more.”

Elenbrand understood enough to pick up his weapon quickly….but it wasn’t until the bruises of many weeks of Aurvang having a bit of fun that Elenbrand decided to come at him with a wooden Sweet Axe of his own.

The young man swung the Sweet Axe admiring the heft and balance even in this wooden replica….maybe this was a better weapon…then he heard the familiar clomp of the Dwarve’s determined stomp and crash as the door flew open. ‘Ah good’thought Elenbrand ‘he’s surprised to see me with the axe in my hand’.

“Get yourself ready boy. De Sweet Axe ain for de faint of heart. Prepare for a beatin, first to knock de odder down buys de pints.”
….Later at the closest tavern to Grendels……”Yere lucky boy I wont drink more den fourscore ale since ya were able to get one shot in on me. Hate ta admit yer getting’ better…but dats what happens when ya swing da Sweet Axe. Yere hooked.”

Sure enough some weeks later Grendel tested Elenbrand’s progress pitting two swordsman on him. The Sweet Axe was sweet indeed.

Here what happened to that Myrial kid?

Hear about what happened to that Myrial Kid?....

A conversation between Grendal and Elenbrand…


“Elebrand, caution now boy! No need to be swinging that damn sword around in my lab” rumbled a grouchy Grendel.

He was getting tired of having these four young adults under his roof. It had been raining nigh on forty days with no sign of it letting up any time soon. The boys were sent to Grendals school with great reluctance from the families, to study all sorts of interesting schools of thought.

“Where is that damn Myrial, he is late again for the next lesson.” Yells Grendel to nobody in particular.
“ All that boy seems to be interested in is reading books, studying and more studying. He acts as thought the words he reads are like golden bits of knowledge that will provide him some sort of enlightenment. Does he not realize your body needs to be exercised along with your mind?”

“Oh well, we will start without him….today we train with swords. Probably why the kids not here! Now Elenbrand, please take the lead and move into your Kata stretching and warm up procedures. “

“Sir?” utters Elenbrand quietly “I am the only student here today and I have a question for you”

“Go ahead, lets sit down then and rest before we move into swords”


“um, I was wondering. I heard through the grape vine that you have not heard “The story” says Elebrand a little sheepishly.

“Go on my son”

“ Well, it happened a few years ago….” “ This story does not start with the usual.. It was a dark and stormy night…. NAhhh… not this one ..”

“It was a week before feast day three years ago. The yearly celebration where all the workers, artisans and shopkeepers place down their tools and wares and celebrate the coming summer.
At the time you had just begun teaching us various enchantment spells and you were very adamant that magic still exists in our land. Well, Myrial was very sure, so sure that he practiced and practiced twice as much as any of the other students.. This you know… he has yet to attend one of your sword lessons, are you surprised?
Anyhow, this was about the time Horsa and his gang had moved into town. Remember him? He was a young, charismatic guy who had quite the following with the local youths and the local girls. Well, one day Myrial decided he would practice his intricate hand maneuvers for his Falcon From spell at the local park. Yes, I know, breaking your second rule. We are not to practice our art in the open where people can see us… Anyhow, sure enough, just as Myrial was getting onto his chanting and hand movements, Horsa walked around the corner with his gang of followers”

“Well, what have we got here… a little fairy trying to fly?” laughs Horsa.

“No Horsa, just practicing my magic” says Myrial enthusiastically, after all, magic exists and he knows it!!

Well, upon hearing this little bit of info Horsa devised and evil master plan to embarass our hero.

Stay tuned for the conclusion.