The Laurelin Herald

Elvish Gathering

2010-02-11T09:49:00.002Z

A large crowd of elves met within Rivendell Valley yestereve.

Gathering to share poetry, song and good conversation, the elves are said to have met within the Hall of Fire in the Last Homely House, abiding long into the small hours of the morning.

Whilst we are unable to give a first-hand account of the happenings at this time, we most certainly plan to do just that in future days as we have been assured that more gatherings of this nature are going to take place every wednesday from 7pm onwards.

Dwarves in Bree

2010-02-11T09:37:00.003Z

The Dwarves of the Mithril Guard put on quite a show for the inhabitants of Bree last night.

The bearded folk staged their peaceful invasion in quite a spectacular fashion. Wearing matching habuerks of blue and gold, they filed into the confines of Bree in an orderly column, pausing briefly within the bounds of the West Gate to display their military discipline with a series of flawlessly executed about turns, weapons displays and push-ups!

They then proved their prowess in lung-capacity and endurance also by running a circuit between the West Gate and the Inn Gate and back before running further on to the courtyard of the Prancing Pony itself.

After another series of short theatrics, they once more ran toward the West Gate before circling back to pass the Prancing Pony and on towards the South Gate.

Their coming, their staying and their going, caused quite a stir of interest amongst the locals who sauntered along to watch, many of them running along behind to watch the entirety of the parade.

We here at the Herald salute our stout bretheren and, left with a feeling of awe at their procession, firmly believe that many of the Men within the city could learn a thing or two from watching the Mithril Guard in future!

A Call to Legs!

2010-02-08T10:57:00.002Z

Lord Khyron Brightwood of Bree-land would wish it to be known that he is sending out a call for every able-bodied man and woman to come to the aid of Bree-land!

The call, heard by very few so far, seeks members of any or no kin who would be willing to join his Lordship on the battlefield in a homewrought militia to defend the lands and its peoples from all hostiles.

For more details, or even just to point and laugh at his silly hair, see Lord Khyron!

Flurry of Outrage

2010-02-08T10:40:00.002Z

The controversial wedding of Gwenbur and Telfaras took place this last week.

Their nuptuals, viewed by many as defying the will of the Creator as well as their respective peoples, were attended by a few supporters of the move and a lot of people who sought free cake.
None of our reporters were willing to take part as guests in the proceedings, but we have reports that everything went smoothly and well for the highly unusual couple.

We here at the Herald wish to extend our congratulations to Gwenbur for her overcoming of the racial prejudice and deeply held suspicions and superstitions held by her folk, the Rohirrim, as well as her ability to finally follow through on a wedding after her rumoured third betrothal to as many males in as many months. Well done you!

We also wish to extend our sincere condolences to Telfaras for the simple fact that he will soon watch his wife wither away and crumble to dust before his very eyes, along with whatever offspring the happy couple produce. We don't envy you!

Contrary to popular belief, there has been no rioting in the streets over this, although it is still believed that the world may yet come to ruin through being shaken apart as the Creator turns angrily in his resting place. Be on the watch for earthquakes, plagues of giant toads, winged orcs and rising seas, people of Arda!
The apocalypse may have already begun: we have had reports that the ever-cheerful Cymaru of the Prancing Pony has recently been sighted sporting a frown!

Bree's Most Wanted

2010-01-17T00:06:00.003Z

A missive intended for the Bree Guard found its way into our possession earlier today detailing the names and bounties for Bree's most wanted criminals.

The ten people who appear on the list would seem to be highly sought after individuals and although none of their crimes are listed, all should be treated with care. The list reads as follows:

1. Ulfr -738 Silver coins. (Missing). A man not to be taken lightly. Been missing for quite some while now. No idea where too.

2. Siward - 680 Silver coins. A man who thinks what he does is right, but causes trouble while following his pride.

3. Siward's buddy (Name yet to be confirmed) - 612 Silver coins. A man usually seen with Siward.
Editors note: We find "Siwards Buddy" to be a wildly inaccurate and grossly negligable turn of phrase. Presumably Siward has more than one friend and, as such, the wrong man may be taken into custody for the crime of knowing someone else. Perhaps the Guard should make an attempt to find out who this mystery man is before putting his name on such a list?

4. Argewyn - 570 Silver coins. Daughter of Cymaru. usually acts unwise, but is seen to be one of the best swordswoman out there.
Editors note: Clearly whoever wrote this list has never before seen a decent swordswoman. It really doesn't matter how talented an individual may be, there is no way that they can be "seen to be one of the best" at such an early age as Argewyn possesses. Also; Argewyn is later stated as "rumoured" to have grown up amongst bandits. Bandits are not known for their superior blade skills, nor their ability to teach to a high standard. Perhaps the Guards should consider learning more of both their target and swordplay before making such wild statements.

5. Faustino - 567 Silver coins. Friend of Argewyn. Rumors says he is from Harad. A big strong man.

6. Seraile - 435 Silver coins. Member of the Defiant Daggers. usually seen around the pony or it's surroundings.

7. ELIMINATED - 410 Silver coins.

8. ELIMINATED - 351 Silver coins.

9. Haldrid - 244 Silver coins. Partner of Seraile, also member of the Defiant Daggers.

10. Reffrey - 199 Silver coins. (Missing) Leader of a band of brigands, Rumors say, this is the group of Brigands Argewyn grew up in.

Considering the majority of these individuals can be seen in and around the Prancing Pony on a daily basis, we at the Herald begin to question the capability of the Bree Guard to do their jobs.
Surely most, if not all, of these men and women should have been brought to justice long ago given that they are each regular faces in such a public and easily accessible place.
Indeed, we wonder if the Guards truly are doing what they are paid for or if, as rumour suggests, they prefer to simply sit around drinking when they should be cleaning up our streets.
In either case, the inclusion of a bounty to each name makes us wonder if the Guard do, in fact, seek these individuals personally or are instead searching for bounty hunters willing to do the work for them. If not that, then do the Guard get a bonus for each arrest made?

At this time, no Guards were available for comment on these speculations, but our Bree based reporter has promised not to give up in her pursuit of the truth in this matter.

All readers are urged not to try collecting on these bounties until reports can be verified. Some of the people on this list can be classed as dangerous and are unlikely to take kindly to being attacked - same as the rest of us.

Fantastical Tales

2010-01-16T23:41:00.002Z

News reached us today of an unnamed northern village that was attacked recently.

The tale told to our reporter by an old hunter was so fantastical that we thought to transcribe his words exactly:

"What I am about to share with you, is something I have not shared with any one else. For my heart is filled with shame and sadness. Not too long ago, I was out hunting with my brother. We went south in hope of finding prey. As we wandered our eyes fell upon a large bird in the sky, much larger then the common birds of prey in the north. We stopped and watched it for a brief moment, it came flying from the south and as it passed us we threw ourselves underneath the foliage of a nearby bush for what we saw filled our hearts with fear. It was a great eagle see, a great black eagle and its cry sent cold chills down my spine.

"After the eagle had passed us we ran into some trouble. For the ground seem to shake and the sound of thousands of marching feet came from the southern trail. My brother ran ahead and just as he turned to tell me what it was he had seen he was pierced by many a crossbow bolt. I screamed and ran towards him, dropping my hunting gear in the moment. When I reached the top of the small hill my heart almost stopped for my eyes fell upon a great host of warriors and beasts. I quickly bowed down at my brothers side and said a short prayer before I begun to run back to the village. The cries of the great eagle constantly reminding me of the marching host.

"I ran and how I ran. The forest behind me seemed to come alive and soon I heard howling of great wargs and other terrifying beasts. As I came to my village I yelled and tried to warn everyone. The black tide has come, I yelled and all who could wield a weapon gathered at the palisades. They looked to my to lead them, to tell them what I had encountered. I knew time was of the essence so I kept it brief, I should have told everyone to run for the hills instead, I should have told them to run.

"They fell upon us as waves upon the shore, first the beasts attacked, but they were easily beaten back. But then the great warriors came, disciplined and fully armoured. Their crossbows fell every man and woman foolish enough to stay on the ramparts. But the great warriors did not attack, they seemed to wait. Then the great cry of the black eagle echoed in the snow cowered valley and the great bird landed in front of the dark army. I could not believe my eyes, the great eagle vanished in a cloud of black mist and as the wind cleared the mist, a young lady had taken its place. All fell silent and the very air seemed to shimmer with some strange power as she slowly walked towards the closed gate.

"She was beautiful, her raven hair flowing in the wind and the clothes were coloured blood red. For every step closer she took we could feel our courage fail us. Just out of range from our spears did she stop. The elders whispered to the young a name, the dark maiden, yes. The Dark Maiden. I could not take my eyes off her and I dropped my spear, several of us laid down our weapons and admired her beauty. But what flowed was terrible, she raised her arms gestured towards the walls and at the same time her voice filled the air. The ground shook and dark clouds gathered over us in the sky. Soon the day had turned into night and with one last gesture from the young lady, the entire wall and gate in front of us fell to the ground. Lighting played amongst the clouds and as the lady laughed her army threw themselves at us, with steel and fangs they slayed every man, woman and child. I myself took a blow to the head and was knocked out, When I came through the entire village were burning and around me I could hear the invaders talking.

"There I was, drifting in and out of consciousness ad around me were many warriors. Standing around me in a circle they yelled and whispered amongst themselves but suddenly some of them parted before and they all fell silent. I could hear a woman's voice:

"Why did you tell me everyone was slain when this, still breathes!" she said.

"The warriors around her did not answer and had it not been for the raging fires around us there would have been a complete silence.I could hear her stepping towards me as I lay on the cold and bloody ground. She kicked me in the guts when she got close enough, I squirmed in pain and looked up at her. It was the same woman from the gates and she smiled and nodded at two of her warriors. They grabbed me by my arms and lifted me so my face was levelled with hers. The light of morning slowly begun to sneak up over the mountains and as the first light struck the village the young woman caressed my face, leaning forward she whispered: "Life has been kind to you but I am as powerful as time..."

"I tried to scream but her beauty had me under some spell, I could then feel how my face begun to age and my once blonde hair slowly turned grey. When she was done the once proud youth that had been me, had turned into a beaten and weak old man. Her warriors threw me on the ground and the woman laughed at me. She then ordered her warriors to strap me to a horse and send me south.

"He has a message to spread to the defenders of the southern lands", she said with a smile and turned towards the rest of her army.

"I did not hear anything more for the last I saw was the heel of one of her warriors boots and then all turned black. How I ended up here I do not know, luck perhaps or possibly even by some darker rout.

"Yes, I were once young and strong, but the Dark Maiden took all that from me in an instant. I do not know how many that has fallen in the snowy north. But day by day I can see refugees arriving, mostly women and children. They all speak of a great host and a beautiful but powerful young woman. Fear and darkness is all that north holds now, but they say that the Dark Maiden does not stay in one place for long. She has even been rumoured to have been seen inside these city walls."

A tale of such high fantasy that we begin to wonder if the man telling it is entirely sane. A magically transforming woman with the ability to call lightning from the skies and take a mans youth with a mere touch of her hand? That would be an act of the Valar and not the work of a worldly force and, insofar as we are aware, the Valar have yet to take a direct hand in any event of Middle Earth since the sinking of Numenor.

Elves questioned as to the validity of these claims have flatly denied any knowledge of vengeful deities, which makes a change from their usual vague responses to even simple questions such as "would you like a drink?"

However, just to be on the safe side, we urge all readers to be on the look-out for, and report any sightings of, beautiful dark-haired women who turn into a breed of Great Eagle that has, as yet, never before been seen in these lands.

New Leads.

2009-12-24T08:07:00.003Z

A new witness has stepped forward to speak on the tragic death of Thurinrat Appleton.

A hobbit, known to the locals as Big Marty, has this to say:
"Well, it was around six 'o' clock, I think, and the moon was shining brightly on the sky. Then suddenly I heard a man jump out of a bush behind me and when I looked I saw him draw a bow and shoot an arrow into Thurinrast's head and then he ran up a tree and disappeared."

This man, the hobbit claimed, had been wearing a green cloak, green boots and had a lot of knives strapped in braces over his shoulder; a description in stark contrast to that of the ones given previously.

Of course, the helpful and concerned citizen then went on to warn our reporter that he had recently seen wolves using knives when hunting deer and that he suspected the feral canines of planning to lay siege to Bree in the coming weeks.

Perhaps, then, his testimony cannot quite be trusted, however some few of our scribes have asked that he get in touch with our offices because they want to know from where he buys his pipe weed.

Daggers are especially Defiant!

2009-12-23T23:16:00.004Z

The Bree Jail house was besieged earlier today.

Members of a group believed to be the be called the Defiant Daggers took possession of the jail house early this evening, barring the doors against all attempts to retake it before capturing one Zeldaran of the Defenders of the Free People and locking the poor man in a cell.

Other members of the Defenders of the Free People, led by Captain Isilorbor Ventris, forced their way into the building in an effort to rescue their captive friend and a fight ensued. Eventually, Zeldaran was rescued and the Daggers were run off.

Perhaps in an effort to save face or boost their moral, an estimated five or six of the Daggers later went to the Prancing Pony where they then all attempted to mug a single woman. Luckily for the victim, a recent arrival to Bree known as Marinette, there were many locals on hand to jump to her defence,

The scene was chaotic at best when our local reporter arrived with one group of people facing off against another before the Daggers were eventually persuaded to leave or else be ejected.
Some witnesses described it as alike to a piece from a pantomime, which begs the question: which one of the so-called Defiant Daggers is the donkey's behind?

Further attacks on the guards.

2009-12-23T03:23:00.002Z

Further attacks on the Bree Guard have taken place.

Freawulf is believed to have been quietly enjoying a drink in the Prancing Pony after his harrowing day when he was set upon by another man. The brave guard narrowly avoided further injury before the unnamed assailant made his escape with two others, a man and a woman.

They were chased through town by members of the Bree Guard and the Defenders of the Free Peoples before being apprehended and arrested.

Unfortunately, shortly after their arrest, the three criminals fought with their noble captors within the jail itself and made their escape. Luckily, they were again caught and brought back to the cells in short order.

This attack is not believed to have any connection to the murder of Lance-Constable Jospaph, his wife Ashwen, or Captain Thurinrast Appleton.

Devious Double Death-Dealings

2009-12-23T01:55:00.004Z

Two men died today in circumstances that shocked and horrified the denizens of Bree-town.

The first, Josaph, was a young man of good reputation and a Lance-constable in the Bree Guard. His slaying was witnessed by another of the guard, Fraewulf, who was understandably distressed, although still admirably professional, as he recounted the tale to our locally-based reporter.

Fraewulf heard the sound of a horn whilst upon his rounds near the Beggars Alley, he went on record as saying, and ran for the Jail House from whence the call emanated. Alas, he was too late to aid his fellow guard whom he found upon the floor, a man dressed in black standing over his fallen companion.
He and the man fought, but unfortunately the brave guardsman was outmatched, receiving a wound to his leg and temporarily losing the use of his sword arm. The terrible murderer then impaled Josaph upon a spike and fled the scene.
Fraewulf took Josaph down from the spike and sought aid from a healer, but sadly the young guard was already dead.

Much later in the day the man struck again, this time with an accomplice.
Thurinrast Appleton, Captain of the Bree Guard, stepped outside the jail house briefly, presumably for some air and was shot in the back. He was set upon by unknown persons, sustaining deep wounds to his left side before being brutally decapitated. His headless body was then dragged back to the jail house and dumped outside.
Guards at the scene reported seeing two men in similar dress fleeing the area on horseback.

In a terrible twist to this awful tale, the woman found beneath the bush yesterday was none other then Josaphs wife.

This tragic triangle of murder most foul is, as yet, unsolved. Both men remain unidentified, thanks to their concealing clothes and full-faced antlered helms, although one of them was seen to be in the company of a man believed to be part of the Bree Brigands shortly before the first of the slayings.

The guards remain alert and suspicious, aided in their hunt by sympathetic folk who also seek answers to the questions of who these men were and why they targeted these two guards and one of the guardsman's family.

Citizens of Bree and outlying areas are asked to be vigilant for the two antlered men and report any suspicious activity in and around Bree-town.

Bloody Murder in Bree-land!

2009-12-22T20:07:00.002Z

A womans mutilated body was found within Bree yesterday.

The woman, believed to be named Ashwen, who had gone missing some hours before, was found beneath a bush between the Boar Fountain and the courtyard of the Prancing Pony. Her heart had been cruelly ripped from her chest. Left atop her was a note addressed specifically to the Bree Guard.

To the bree guard,this is the third killing I have done this week, And still you are no closer to catching me. I am not alone now, I have set up a band of Brigands...

The rest of the note was illegible due to the amount of blood that had soaked into the parchment, however that small snippet is chilling enough.

Attempts are being made to locate the man who had been looking for her, presumed to be a family member, as well as a man who had been reported as following her earlier in the day.
The suspect is described as a shady person with a busy beard, dark hair and clad in black hauberk with a tree on the chest.

Missing Persons.

2009-12-21T16:46:00.002Z

Readers are asked to be on the look-out for a family of three who have gone missing in recent weeks.

The Oakhorns went missing from their home six days ago. It was reported to the Bree Watch by their eldest son, Micaiah, who had discovered the house empty and seemingly unlived in for some days.

Isabelle Oakhorn, a middle-aged woman with shoulder-length brown hair, Samuel Oakhorn, a man of similar age with dark hair and blue eyes, and April, their four-year old daughter all disappeared from their abode in Combe. None of the local villagers have seen them, it seems, and with Watch resources thinned by the recent criminal activity the hunt for this family is not getting as much attention as it otherwise would.

If you see any, or all, of these three people or have any idea where they might have gone, please contact the Watch and Micaiah who works and resides within the Prancing Pony.

A Major Battle! (Event)

2009-12-20T12:03:00.002Z

The forces of Good and Evil look set to face one another in their most brutal battle to date this time next week!

Plans have been intercepted by the courageous commanders of the Free Peoples. Upon translation, these missives revealed that Harmonizer, a notorious Reaver, is calling for all available Wargs, Weavers, Reavers, and Defilers to assist in the assault of the Ettenmoors.

Leaders of the Free Peoples believe this may turn into the bloodiest battle yet and, like their black-hearted counterparts, seek the aid of all able-bodied warriors to join in the defence of these hotly contested lands.

((This is a PvMP event open to all regardless of experience, to be held on December the 27th at a time yet to be determined.
For more information, please visit THIS thread on the Codemasters Official LotRO forums))

Robberies on the Increase

2009-12-17T22:20:00.002Z

A spate of recent muggings within Bree have left the populace in fear of their purses lately.

No one, it seems, is immune to this crime spree with people of all ages being targetted, including two teenagers.

Eoryn, the sweet young daughter of the well-respected barmaid Cymaru, was only seeking to help a lady who claimed to have lost her purse down a crack in the road when she was cruelly set upon from behind. The distressed lady, or bait as we believe, is said to have possessed red hair. Alas, poor Eoryn never got a look at her attacker, though.

In similar circumstances, a young man by the name Micaiah was also lured away from the safety of the Prancing Pony by a black haired woman who claimed to have lost her dog. The helpful youth sought only to aid the woman and was set upon from behind by two men for his trouble.

Word has also reached us of an elven princess who was mugged at the Combe gate. The details of this attack are sketchy, but also included a black-haired woman and suspicious-looking men. It is said that her ladies-in-waiting arrived in Bree a little time later, asking around after these men and a woman who might possibly be called Kess.

Alas, as of yet, there have been no convictions in these cases, but Thurinrast Appleton, Captain of the Bree Guard, would like to reassure our readers that they are looking into it and have already pursued several leads.

If anyone has further information regarding these heinous crimes, we would ask that you report your knowledge to the guards and aid in seeing these criminals off our streets and behind bars where they belong!

Away with the Wee Ones?

2009-12-17T21:40:00.003Z

Rumours abound of a strange young woman inhabiting Bree.

Thelendil, a Breelander it is said, came to the town to find work after the alleged death of her parents when she was only six years of age. An all-too-common story one might think. That is until one learns of the strange circumstanes surrounding this young lady.

Although young, this woman has grey hair! Suspicious enough on its own, perhaps, for what beauty of youth is given to such signs of age? That, however, is not what makes the locals nervous, not on its own.
Tales abound of her strange ways. It is said that whilst she works hard and acts friendly, still she does such disconcerting things as suddenly jumping up to play odd tunes on her lute! Even more worrying are the tales of her being spied leaving Bree to converse with faeries!

Superstition only, it may be surmised, and yet so many tell the same tales of the mysterious young lass and her worrying ways.

Resuming Service

2009-12-17T21:05:00.002Z

The Laurelin Herlad is pleased to announce that we will be resuming service as usual for the forseeable future!

After a long, but much needed, break we return to you with our usual round of unbiased, free-thinking, hard-hitting news from around Middle Earth.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our readers for their patient wait and future support.

As ever, we ask that you send any stories you wish us to publish to the usual mailbox, or via our cleverly disguised homing pigeons, each one tactically placed in a strategic point about the lands, or else give your story directly to one of our many reporters.

Update and the search for more reporters

2009-09-26T20:36:00.000+01:00

Due to some changes in my RL circumstances, the Herald has had to go on hiatus.

I fully intend to pick it up again when my situation is more.... stable, but right now I'm afraid I can't give any time to hunting down stories and playing the game.

Luckily, a life-time sub means I can come back easily enough when the time is right

In the meantime, if there's anyone out there who would like to play the part of a reporter for the Herald, then feel free to contact me through the Herald site.

Enjoy, people, and hopefuly I'll see you all soon!

Miri

Hiatus

2009-09-18T18:38:00.001+01:00

Hey guys,

Sorry about this.

Things are changing a lot for me right now and everything is kinda up in the air, so to speak. The Herald will be on hiatus until I get everything straight again.

As always, thanks for the support.

Miri

The Defenders do it again!

2009-08-29T20:05:00.002+01:00

Reports reach us of a victory in the far off land of Evendim.

The Defenders of the Free Peoples, led by Captain Isilorbor Ventris, landed at the island of Rantost in recent days, there to do battle with the newly returned grave robbers and their angmarim masters.

With the aid of the Wardens of Annuminas, a secretive and insular bunch that many people believe to be the so-called Rangers of the North, the Defenders were able to land their boats with little fuss or noise on the beach of Rantost

Stealthily, our heroes made their way into the ruins and then the fighting began in earnest. The battle was short and bloody. In little time at all, our heroes thought themselves assured of victory.

But lo, just as it seemed that the day was won, there came the brazen call of the angmarim horns!

Looking out to the great lake, the Defenders and their allies saw boats sailing toward them; boats bearing the colours of their enemy. Swiftly the valliant men and women returned to the beach, seeking to stop an enemy landing. Alas, this distraction allowed the surviving desecrators to dig into the ruins once more.

A vicious battle ensued, with the angmarim indeed establishing a footing on the sandy shore whilst from behind the cowardly theives of relics sought to distract and harry the paragons of vituous justice via ambush.

The elves of the Defenders, Rasheke, Elianiour and Aeglor, made a valiant effort to halt the backstabbing tactics of the grave robbers whilst the brave captain led the rest in battling the angmarim coming from the fore.

More boats sped to land and it seemed like the Defenders would be beaten, but bravely they rallied against their foes and gradually the horde before them thinned until the day was finally declared as won!

The Angmarim retreated from the shore of Rantost, their tails between their legs like so many whipped dogs and whilst the Wardens of Annuminas pushed further into the ruins to seek out and destroy the few surviving romb robbers, the Defenders gathered up the wounded to take back to their boats.

Seraile strikes again

2009-08-26T17:32:00.002+01:00

The notorious Seraile has struck again.

This man, noted for his dagger-happy behaviour and habit of striking seemingly at random has held aloft his blade once more, this time toward a woman noted for her kind and generous heart.

Joy Rosebury of the Prancing Pony Staff was innocently getting on with her daily work when she was "grabbed and held" in the kitchen area of the well-known inn.

Luckily for her, Fallidir of healing fame and Captain Isilorbor Ventris happened to be on hand to distract the mans attention.
It would seem that the honourable Captain agreed to pay a ransom for the safe release of Joy. However, Stighelm, having seen the situation, crept up behind and attacked Seraile.
Seeing that his chances to get what he wished were slow, Seraile decided to release the hapless barmaid and run for his life. Fallidir and Stighelm bravely gave chase, seeking to bring the criminal to justice.

Back in Business - OOC

2009-08-26T17:30:00.003+01:00

Hey guys,

Apologies for my recent hiatus yet again, but that's come to an end now.

I've had my time off and now I'm back in LotRO and ready to start writing again, so get those stories in! xD

Thank you for your continued support during my time away!

Miri.

News from Evendim

2009-08-16T10:52:00.002+01:00

Captain Isilorbor Ventris has once again wrote to us to inform Bree of the latest happenings out in the world.

As ever he and his men, the Defenders of the Free Peoples, are fighting on behalf of all the people back home to ensure that Bree remains safe from northern incursions. This is what he had to say:

"The Defenders have been fighting in the city that had cost us our Army so dearly in weeks past. We went there to aid The Wardens of Ammuminas and also to gather one of our own. We fought our way along the streets, around the port, into the upper levels of the city, and we took our friend back with us.

Each life we took felt as if we were avenging the lives lost there so many weeks ago. We chewed a large number of them and sent them into the abyss. I am proud to report that the city will be back in the Free Peoples hands once the forces are gathered."

Keep up the good work, boys and girls!

Brigands in Bree

2009-08-16T10:29:00.005+01:00

Bregir Stoutheart, a Dwarf of the Lonely Mountain, has written to us to report a brigand attack within the walls of Bree.

He was strolling through Beggars Alley, minding his own business, when he was assaulted by two unidentified men. He valiantly fought them off, with one presenting a nice target for a mace and the other "running face-first into" Bregirs fist.

Quite rightly in his missive he asks what the constables are doing to stop this kind of unsocial behaviour and wonders why the ruffians are not already behind bars. We can only echo those sentiments as we too contemplate the possible reasons that such people would be allowed to run riot within the walls of our small town.

With that duly thought about, we can only be thankful that these two criminals were stupid enough to attack a dwarf - a race well-known for its toughness - and not a defenceless woman or crippled man. We can only hope that the encounter with the short beardy one has disabused these people of the notion that what they are doing is acceptable and will go unchecked.

News from the Line

2009-08-12T01:04:00.002+01:00

The following letter made its way to our offices today. We thought to write an article, but decided that what we had been given needed little embellishment.

From Captain Isorlibor Ventris:

"I led a spearhead into the Great Barrows, our goal and mission was to destroy the gaunt lords and put a stop to them raising from their tombs to attack Bree-Land in a wave of undead.

"It was myself, Rasheke, Imrial, Araweniel and Korrvik that descended into the darkness. The air was thick with age, dust and... Death. The smell was like rotting flesh, making us gag and cough. We went down the tunnels and scanned the walls of the tombs. Some were of lords of Bree-Land and their slaves long since dead. We walked along, our white armour of life standing out in the darkness.

"We came to a great hall... And we were attacked. Hands shot from the ground and grabbed our feet, some were trying to drag us down whilst they pushed themselves up. They were undead: the dead made living. Their skin was like the the colour of dry earth, their breath foul, and their eyes... Oh their eyes...! Many were missing limbs and limped towards us, we formed a fighting square and fought.

"It may have taken us about an hour to fend off the undead. I do not know. All sense of time and distance was hard to keep track of. We entered at sunrise, yet it was like night the moment we entered.

"We found each Gaunt-Lord, and defeated them. Imrial killed the first one with a running jump with her spear. She ran across the wave of undead and flew into the air, bring her spear down on the lords skull, he was never to raise again.

"The next we found, Rasheke climbed the top of a stone pillar and fired arrow after arrow at the lord. He brought it down with very well aimed shots, such marksmanship has never been seen by human eyes before.

"I ordered the Spearhead to spread out to clear any undead that might still live. Rasheke followed me, and we found ourselves in a throne-room. I drew Fireblade, and I met the the lord of the Barrow Downs in single combat.

"The duel was long, and skillful was the lord. Rasheke covered me with his bow, making sure his undead slaves would not try and back stab me. But, at the end of the duel, I defeated him, slamming Fireblade into his chest, and twisting it. Thus ended his second life.

The rest of the Defenders arrived as I finished off the Lord. We laughed and joked, and left the Barrows. It was night when we left, and the night air has never been so sweet."

Once more, an uplifting tale of heroism from the Defenders of the Free Peoples!
Long may their fight against the denizens of darkness continue.

Miracle Birth!

2009-08-12T00:09:00.002+01:00

Congratulations are in order for Alrewulf and Leeyla Éadnes on the birth of their daughter.

Amazingly, Leeyla was not visibly pregnant at her wedding, only a few weeks past, and yet she is now a proud mother to Freyja Leola Éadnes.

No one knows how such a feat can be accomplished, but we have made a note to ask the lady in question just how she hid that baby bump, or else managed to cut down gestation to such a short space of time. Many expectant mothers would surely love the secret behind either.

Still, welcome to the world little goddess and once more congratulations to the new parents!

Mystery Murderer

2009-08-08T23:25:00.002+01:00

An elf was shot dead today near the Boar Fountain in Bree.

An anonymous source informs us that the elf, named as Uledan, was walking through Bree with his companion, believed to be one Saerdis, when suddenly a bolt struck. Uledan was hit in the throat by the projectile and died shortly afterwards. The town guards have been informed.

All that is known of the mystery marksman is that he was wearing clothing and a red hooded cloak. At least, then, he does not need to worry about telltale bloodstains.

Perhaps a more pressing question than that of this mans identity, however, is the ramifications of his actions. Elves are not a particularly forgiving people and rarely, if ever, allow such a transgression to go unpunished. Will Bree now find itself terrorised by angry immortals?

OOC - AFK

2009-08-08T23:19:00.002+01:00

Just to let you know, guys, I've not left LotRO nor given up on this project.

I am, however, taking a bit of a break right now. We all need one from time to time.

Anyway, whilst I'm away, I'll need to rely on all of you to keep me updated on the RP happenings of the server so I can post them, rather than me hunting them down myself which is what I normally do.

So, as ever, send any stories, updates, rebuttals and such to DEHalligan@gmail.com and I'll get them up on the blog.

Ta!

Grey Repository Opens to the Public

2009-07-31T10:15:00.002+01:00

The scribes and archivists of the hitherto secretive Grey Repository have opened their doors to the public for the first time.

In an effort to share and ultimately increase the knowledge of Middle-earth and its inhabitants, the archivists have extended an invitation to all and sundry to come add their own names to the scrolls stored there as well as chronicle their adventures or submit their more personal writings for storage.

Inferno

2009-07-30T14:45:00.004+01:00

A house burned to the ground last night.

The house in Pemberth, which belonged to Blaecwyn and Flowlen, is thought to have gone up in flames through no outside interference. Indeed, a broken oil lamp that was found in the wreckage is believed to be responsible for the fire.

Although it is known that Blaecwyn was away in battle at the time of the fire, it is not known what has become of Flowlen or their two young children. No sign of their passing has been found and they are believed to have perished in the inferno.

Mhelindra, our Bree-based reporter who also served as a nanny to the children of that household, has requested that we treat this story with sympathy and all due respect as opposed to our usual heavy-handed and light-hearted approach.
She would also like to mention that Blaecwyn is, as yet, unaware of the tragedy to befall her family.

Dead Horse

2009-07-30T11:22:00.000+01:00

But, thankfuly, no flogging.

A dead horse was found along the Greenway this morning, between Bree South Gate and the Homesteads. It had been shot in the head with a crossbow bolt.

Whilst this would not normally bring about attention or suspicion, it is to be noted that there were also signs of a scuffle in the area and blood that clearly did not belong to the horse.

Speculation abounds as to the owner of the horse and the circumstances surrounding this mystery. Any witnesses are politely asked to step forward and fill in the hugely glaring blanks in this story.

March of the midgets!

2009-07-30T11:14:00.002+01:00

A lot of small people, and some tall ones too, will be parading through the Shire this coming weekend.

An alliance made up of many kinships and peoples will be joining together to march through this peaceful land as a show of solidarity against the coming darkness, and as an invitation to join them in their noble cause.

Beginning at the Methel Stage near Bywater at 8pm (CET) on saturday, the gathering will proceed through the land until it reaches Michel Delving, at which time they plan to mingle with the local folks and relax.

Everyone is welcome to view this spectacular sight, although they request that only medium to large kinships join them in the march ((single-race kinships with light-RP tendancies and at least 30 members as a minimum)).

Peaceful Wedding

2009-07-29T11:18:00.002+01:00

Last night saw the wedding of Alrewulf to Leelya.

The wedding, which took place in Sasham of the Breeland homesteads, has been the subject of much speculation lately following the recent attacks on both the bride and groom as well as rumours that someone might disrupt the proceedings.

However, we are happy to report that the ceremony went without hitch as, earlier in the day, Alrewulf had hired some security personnel. Siward and Rab, two large and rather intolerant, men from Rohan were on hand to divest the guests of any weaponry and ensure the proceedings continued peacefully - a job they did very well indeed.

Alrewulf himself, dressed in what appeared to be burgundy pajamas, was suitably nervous and jittery in the time leading up to the ceremony but managed not to faint, throw up or otherwise make a fool of himself as his bride entered the plaza.

Leelya, looking resplendent in a short-sleeved blue silk dress of dwarven design, was escorted to the stage by her brother and Amarillis; her mother was present, but her father had elected not to give away his daughter and missed out on her special day.

The ceremony itself, performed by a man dressed as a lime which just goes to show that the happy couple are advocates for a proper mix of fruit and vegetables with their daily intake of meaty substances, was short, sweet and to the point, with the couple exchanging a few words, rings and kisses to a big round of applause from the attendees.

The after party, for which all food and drink was supplied by Cymaru of the Prancing Pony staff, continued out in the open with none of the guests complaining of the dour weather, although at least one person was rude enough to remark that the thundery conditions may very well speak more of the union than the vows had.

Gifts for the happy couple included a tapestry, a puppy, an old silver snuff box and, from Argewyn, an ornate dagger which she gave specifically to the bride under the charming idea that Leelya would one day stab Alrewulf to death in their bed. Indeed, this well-rounded and totally sane individual was the only person refusing to disarm for the proceedings and seemed rather pleased with the notion that her gift would eventually be used to end the marriage under bloody circumstances.

Although dulled by the heavy seasonal rain, the day was nevertheless brightened by the smiles and well-wishes toward the couple, as well as the couple themselves whose shining example of love and commitment in this war-torn world should serve as a message to us all.

Congratulations Leelya and Alrewulf!

In Contrast!

2009-07-28T16:05:00.003+01:00

In contrast to our many stories of a Man in White, today we have one of a Man in Black.

The MiB, wearing a black mask, black clothing and atop a black horse has been seen within Bree-town.

Reiley, a young man of local origin, was traversing the streets near the Scholars Walk when he heard some menacing laughter. At first he could not see to whom the voice belonged and so he kept walking but shortly the MiB, as descibed above, charged up behind and almost ran the young man down!

MiB took out his spear, moving to attack Reiley, so our intrepid traveler took out his sword to defend himself. A short scuffle followed, during which Reiley wounded the mans horse thus causing MiB to dismount and fight on more even footing.

However, MiB would not be so easily deterred and the fighting continued until, at last, with Reiley holding on to MiB's spear in the hopes of not being skewered, another unidentified man came to Reiley's aid.

Reiley was not afraid to admit that when the unknown man pointed his sword at MiB, Reiley ran for his life. Naturally, Reiley would like to thank his saviour for coming to his aid, as would we at the Herald!

We need more heroes and less freaky masked men with eerie laughs!

Missing Girl

2009-07-28T14:52:00.003+01:00

Yet another girl has turned up missing, if that is even possible.

A female of no given description but known by the name Crayeth appears to have disappeared under mysterious circumstances that involved her being seen.

Her last known location was running through the streets of Bree in tears whilst following a man dressed in black on a horse.

The man was on a horse, not the crying woman.

MiW on Bridge!

2009-07-28T14:45:00.002+01:00

The Man in White, or MiW as we like to call him around here, has been sighted again.

Faustino, a regular in Bree and the Prancing Pony in particular, kindly contacted us to report the actions of our most featured persona.

MiW, it is said, was seen atop the bridge of the High Stair recently arguing with an unidentified man over "coins". The argument came to a dramatic end as MiW picked up his opponent and held him over the side of the bridge before dropping him to the hard cobbles below.

Faustino tells us that the unidentified one spat blood at MiW as he fell and then rolled around in agony for a short time before MiW jumped down himself to continue the altercation.

Mid-nuptual sabotage?

2009-07-27T13:53:00.003+01:00

An overheard conversation in the Prancing Pony indicates that tomorrows wedding may not quite go as planned.

It would seem that a handful of unnamed individuals are plotting to distrupt this most precious of days.

Recent attacks on the happy couple which have left the poor groom-to-be injured, the bride-to-be scared witless and the local healer Fallidir with some nasty bruising and dislocated fingers, may have been the precursor to this dastardly plan.

It would seem that someone wants this pair hurt for reasons unknown and will stoop as low as orcishly possible in order to achieve their goal. A jealous lover seeking to come between the couple, we wonder?

All we know is that what should be a day of bliss may well turn into a day of tears.

Further Dwarven Frivolries

2009-07-27T13:52:00.001+01:00

The dwarves of the Mithril Guard would like it to be made known that they plan to meet every tuesday evening in the tavern of Thorins Hall.

All short and bearded folks are welcome to share in the weekly round of drinking and tales within the depths of their nearest mountain hold.

Bottoms up all ye keg lovers out there!

Dwarven Gathering

2009-07-24T12:52:00.003+01:00

Following our recent story on a proposed Dwarven get-together, we are proud to report that the stunted beardy ones did, in fact, have a party.

Feloin, Grissili, Kazorin, Leifr, Orun, Tenofas, Woili, and Skaldri all met up outside Thorins Hall to begin the nights festivities.

Skaldri had this to say on the day:

Things kicked off at the races where we discussed the relative merits of each keg-hopper, placed our bets and ran alongside them, and met a polite young woman named Ileen and a very merry group of hobbits who were playing music and dancing until one of them had a small fainting fit and was taken away for some recuperative alcohol.

After our choices for the race kept losing, we gave up after bankrupting ourselves of tokens and went for a nice spot of fishing. We were all clearly outstripped in the fishing stakes by Kazorin son of Kori, who ended up with a beautiful pile of shining fish right next to him while the rest of us collected weeds and rusty daggers.

Once we'd done our sterling service towards clearing the river of junk, we retired to the tavern for some ale and sharing of tales - for examples, Orun's account of how he slew a troll using only a shovel, after the thieving men of Ost Guruth nicked all his other weapons! And as I type this in tabs, talk of travels to far places has turned to more serious matters - the strange happenings across Middle Earth, and the possibility of some dark power arising.

Future meetings are already in the planning stages, so grow yourself a beard, lads, lose a few feet in height and polish up your bad accents!

Gangland Ganking

2009-07-24T12:38:00.002+01:00

News has reached us of a recent clash in Bree between two rival gangs.

The Rosenthorn Freelance Guild came to blows with... err... some other people near the vault of Bree.

Rumour has it that both gangs compete over profit, trade and posing rights throughout the districts of Bree although the northern areas and the Prancing Pony have been declared as neutral ground.

In this particular altercation, the Rosenthorn Freelnace Guild came out on top, winning an imaginary deed for their troubles.

Meanwhile, the office of Mayor Tenderlach has been under scrutiny of late following allegations of bribery from either one or both of these groups.

Eriador Army Update!

2009-07-24T12:25:00.002+01:00

Isilorbor Ventris would like it to be noted that he is no longer a Legate; that title having dissolved with the Eriador Army. Rather, he is now a simple Captain.

In a more important note, he also asked us to make it known that the Eriador Army has now reformed as the Defenders of the Free Peoples and, along with their new allies the Wardens of the West, will soon be picking up their old routine of defending the lands from all nasty green things and ugly men in silly dresses who work on behalf of a certain floating eye from the South.

We look forward to further tales of heroism and general good deeds from the Captain!

Further appologies

2009-07-24T12:01:00.002+01:00

Further appologies to our readers concerning the latest lull in activity.

With our teams of scribes missing, it has been left down to our Bree-based writer, Mhelindra, to send in her findings. However, Mhelindra also dropped off the map a few days past.

Returned to us now, she tells a tale of how she came to be gone for so long.

"After Sasador declared that he would be leaving Eriador," she said of the events. "I was a little disheartened. A nice man by the name of Faustino thought to cheer me by accompanying me on a walk through Bree.
"All was going well. It was a nice evening and the company was pleasant. I heard the clatter of hooves on the cobbles behind us and thought nothing of it since Bree is often busy no matter the time of day. However, I was quite suprised to find my vision suddenly impaired as a cloth sack was placed over my head!"

Confused and scared, Mhelindra could only struggle as two men garabed and bound her, threw her over the back of a horse and carried her away.

She was taken somewhere indoors, she continued, and made to sit on a bed where the men told her that she would come to no harm provided she did as she was bid and that someone paid for her ransom. They also mentioned, in passing, that they had knocked out the man she had been with and left him by the road.

Fearful for her own saftey, and that of Faustino, Mhelindra could only bide her time in the hope that her ransom would be paid.

"They were true to their promise," she told me. "They did not harm me, but I was ever so scared that they would."

Asked about her release, she had the following to say:

"Luckily, the men left me alone for a while. As it turned out, I had been taken above a shop near the West Gate of Bree. A man came by looking for a weaponsmith: I could hear him calling for service from down the stairs. When he recieved no reply, he came up to see if he could find an assistant and that is when he found me. Quickly, he unbound me and kindly escorted me back to the Prancing Pony."

And a good job that he did, too!

Reports have been flooding in of an angry one-eyed brute of a woman terrorising the towns inhabitants in search of her missing maid. Asked about that, Mhelindra gave a sheepish little laugh.

"That is the woman whose children I care for," she spoke with fondness. "She is a hard woman and prone to speaking with her fists for it is all she knows. She spends most of her time up north in Angmar fighting against the evil there, which is why she employs me to see to the needs of her young ones.
"She is good at heart," Mhelindra hastened to add. "And she has always been kind to me. It is just that she takes it very personally indeed when danger threatens those she is close to and so she responds in the only way she knows how."

So let that be a lesson to all: There are men on the streets seeking to abduct women for ransom. Be careful with your loved ones, Bree! Try not to walk anywhere alone and be on the look-out for suspicious individuals.

Inpromptu wedding!

2009-07-20T18:13:00.003+01:00

Word has reached us that there is to be a wedding in eight days.

Leeyla and Alrewulf will be holding their nuptuals in Sasham on the 28th at 7pm (uk time). All are welcome to attend this celebration, but are asked kindly not to make comments concerning how short a space of time it has been between the groom finding out his wife is dead and a new woman coming along to shackle his ankle.

So if you know either of these two, or simply want to jump in for free cake, then be there to share this blessed day with rebound boy and barnacle girl!

Dwarves on the... roll?

2009-07-20T18:05:00.002+01:00

Lock down your ale and hide any bearded ladies for the dwarves are on the prowl!

Or rather the dwarves are on the stagger.

Two days from now (july 22nd) at 8:30pm (uk time) the dwarves will be convening in Thorins Hall for a good old fashioned knees up.
They plan to start the evening with betting on the Keg Race, so be sure to bring your tokens, then moving on to a fishing competition before rounding off the night with drinks and tales.

Stunty beardy blokes only, please, so if you are a dwarf then feel free to join in!

Profound Apologies

2009-07-19T11:35:00.002+01:00

Our apologies on our recent hiatus, readers.

Alas, wargs broke into our offices and ate our scribes. Either that, or we simply forgot to feed them and they wasted away to nothingness. Or it could be that we simply lost them in a ditch after a heavy nights drinking. We are not sure.

A reward is on offer for the safe return of said scribes. That's right, we'll give you something small and insignificant if you can bring our writers back to us in one piece! A half-eaten pie, perhaps, or possibly an attractive quill.

Service should resume as usual in the coming days!

((OOC - I've been a bit side-tracked of late, splitting my novel into a trilogy and playing daft games. I'll be back to LotRO very soon and beginning work on the Herald again either tonight or tomorrow. For now, keep those stories coming in - dehalligan@gmail.com - and I'll be sure to get them written up and posted as soon as possible.
Thanks for the support, guys!))

The aid of the Man in White

2009-07-14T22:38:00.002+01:00

The mysterious Man in White has put in another appearance, this time, though, things are slightly different.

Previously, we have reported on the antics of this unknown individual as being violent, bloody and often without any clear reason. In this latest report, however, it would seem that all bets are off.

The Man in White was recently spotted in Archet. Given past actions, you might be forgiven for thinking that he was there to slaughter the poor beleaguered townsfolk, or at least scare them far more than they already have been. However, our source indicates that the Man in White was there for another reason entirely.

Indeed, he and the woman by his side were seen to hand out bread and other necessities to the townsfolk. His companion, believe to be Joy of the Prancing Pony staff, was not as heavily disguised as the man with her, but was unavailable for comment at the time of writing.

Has the Man in White had a change of heart, we wonder. Possibly the gentle influence a woman has softened his heretofore brutal ways.

Spreading the Joy

2009-07-14T22:35:00.003+01:00

As a lighter aside to the usual dour happenings of Bree, we would like to make note of the efforts of one man who has selflessly been trying to spread some cheer.

Bearn, a member of the Prancing Pony staff has, on numerous occasions, been seen handing out free flowers to the patrons.

Whilst such a simple act of kindness may not seem like much, it certainly does a lot to lift the spirits of those fortunate enough to be given such a gift - proof that a little bit of kindness goes a long way.

Thank you, Bearn, for such thoughtfulness and long may your efforts continue.

The End of an Army

2009-07-13T15:17:00.002+01:00

Our Bree-based reporter, Mhelindra, caught up with Legate Isilorbor Ventris yesterday to confirm the rumours surrounding the destruction of the Eriador Army.

The Legate told the harrowing tale that led up to such an awful event.

"It started shorty after the Battle for Tinnudir Bridge," he went on record as stating. "A few of the Army gathered and made ready to hold back a storm of Angmarim about to attack. There were about two hundred attackers, and only, maybe, seventy defenders. We fought the most bloodiest battle the Army has ever fought. We killed all that camp onto that bridge; the white stones stained to rust with blood, but we held on, fighting under the banner of the Free Peoples.
"We won the day, the Army's handfull were heavly wounded, myself included. The defenders, the Wardens of Annuminas took us in and cared for us.
"I knew then, that the whole Army had to be moved into Evendim and halt this storm before it engulfs all of Eriador.'
"We had five thousand soliders waiting for Battle. All of them Elves, Men, Dwarfs, and even a few Hobbits. We had never before fielded such an Army and we were planning to use it on the Enemys heart; Annuminas."

The Legate then went on to say that his own son had been captured by the enemy and taken as hostage to the centre of the city. With that in their minds, the soldiers had no intent of backing down, instead more determined than ever to win the day and restore a missing son to his father. Even Isilorbors daughter and niece wished to join the fighting on this occasion, not willing sit by whilst a member of their family was in danger.

"Out of the five thousand, fifty were chosen to be the first to enter the city," he continued with a tear in his eye. "We landed on the docks and met little to stop us. We ran to the gates and opened the second level for the Army. They poured into the city, and the battle began.
"The Angmarin guarding the front gates were overwhelmed and retreated back deeper into the city, when a full attack in the streets began. The streets ran red with blood, each side paid heavily for each squad foot taken or lost.'
"We took the first level, we lost many - far too many. When we entered the second level, they moved Trolls to stop us. Angmarin Crossbowmen stood above the houses and rained death on us, but we kepted pushing forward, clearing one house at a time, street by street.
Then... we were doomed. We all heard a single scream at the city's tower...."

The scream came from Gilendil Ventris, Isilorbors captured son.

Upon hearing the childs scream, the resolve of the Eriador Army at first faltered and then failed. What had until then been a battle descended into outright slaughter as the enemy took advantage of the loss of morale amongst their opponents. The Eriador Army scattered and fled in the resulting bloodbath, but their woes did not end there.

Legate Ventris returned to their headquarters to discover that the enemy had gotten there before him. The buildings had been looted, burnt and cast down - the once mighty structures turned to blackened rubble. A wounded elf, Halpendor Goldenleaf, who had been recovering in the headquarters during the time of battle is assumed to have met his end in the destruction of the headquarters, although they have been unable to locate a corpse to confirm this grizzly suspicion.

Now, the Legate tells us, he and those few of his men that he could locate are travelling to Rivendell to recover and reform as the Defenders of the Free Peoples. He asks that all those members of the Eriador Army who still survive travel to the Vale of Imladris and once again pledge their lives to the protection of the lands.

He also asks for information on his missing daughter and niece. Neither have been seen or heard from since that fateful day in Evendim.

Ignoble Noble?

2009-07-13T14:58:00.002+01:00

Chances are that Sir Khelron is not as upstanding a citizen as we were previously led to believe.

This decorated individual from Gondor, hailed for his looks, charm and efforts in the never-ending wars of his homelands, would appear to have a more sinister aspect to his character if his choice of bed-partners is anything to judge by.

Irrianiya, who has never made an attempt to hide her less-than-honest dealings, going so far as to openly ply her trade in public places, has been said to have tampered with peoples drinks whilst in the Prancing Pony Inn. An overheard conversation revealed that the woman in question has, on more than one occasion, slipped mind-altering potions into the drinking vessels of unsuspecting patrons.

In light of his new-found intimate relationship with this wench, we can only assume that Sir Khelron is aware of Irrianiyas dishonest habits and condones such underhanded activities.

The Hunt is On

2009-07-11T19:56:00.002+01:00

A man came by asking for aid from the public.

Hathord, a gondorian man of aproximately ninteen years of age, is searching for an orc.

The orc, descibed as being having pinky-grey skin, facial protrusions, a hunched back and a plethora of scars, is responsible for the slaying of Hathords family, friends, pet dog and the ruiniation of the mans favourite self-portrait.

The tale of this tragedy is too harrowing for us to publish openly, but suffice to say that it caused the young man to desert his post in the army, leave his beleagured lands and people behind in order to traipse the length and bredth of the lands to find the despicable creature.

It is thought, but not known for sure, that the orc in question might be sheltering with its close body-doubles in the encampments to the north of Bree. If anyone knows of the location on this particular ambassador of evil, please contact ourselves or Hathord directly in order to afford this troubled individual some peace of mind.

Incidentally, there is a substantial reward for information leading to the capture and demise of the orc: two peas and a half-eaten carrot.

Too late ladies!

2009-07-11T19:43:00.002+01:00

Alas, for the single ladies out there, it would seem that the visiting nobleman, Sir Khelron, is indeed taken.

He has been sighted getting all cozy with none other than Irrianiya, proving that if one is to be a gold-digger then one has to be faster off the mark than that notorious woman.

Given her flurry of past relationships, we doubt this will last long, but wish the couple all the best - in medical care.

Better luck next time to all those who missed out on the opportunity to bag a man with a fancy title!

Brigands!

2009-07-10T21:18:00.002+01:00

Our very own hero, Legate Isilorbor Ventris, was spied enacting yet another good deed today.

Looking a little worse for wear from his recent battles in Evendim, the noble gentleman nevertheless risked aggravating his wounds when he stopped to aid a damsel lying by the road.

Reports state that the woman in question, Rose, had been attacked by brigands and brutally beaten before being left to die. Lucky for her, Legate Ventris found her, carried her back to Bree and took her to the resident healer, and vegetable botherer, Fallidir for seeing to.

Rumour has it that Rose has been saved by Isilibor at least once before. Another distressing damsel, we wonder?

Bunny Proves Innocence!

2009-07-10T21:11:00.004+01:00

Amarillis has a bunny.

Yay.

Pin the blame on the maid

2009-07-09T21:10:00.002+01:00

Amarillis is back in the news again.

This time as the possible reason for a mans almost-fatal stabbing.

Alrewulf, a sad figure of a fellow featured in an earlier artical as suffering from amnesia, was innocently minding his own business when a man came up behind and rammed his sword straight in.... to Alrewulf's back.

One eye witness said, "He was just standing there talking to some woman when this heavily armoured fellow strode up right behind him. The woman cried out as the armoured man pulled out his sword, but Alrewulf never stood a chance. He were skewered just like that!"

The witness, a local man who declined to give his name in case his wife finds out that he was at the Inn instead of mowing the lawn, went onto say, "Mind you, it weren't the blade what did the most damage. It were the leechers! Fighting about healing methods, they were. That Alrewulf fellow got patched up by one guy, then some bossy woman came along, undone it all and started over again! I tell you! No need for a man to get butchered three times in a day just afore one healer don't like another and wants to be top dog!"

The man then descended into muttering and sheepishly wandered off home just in case his wife came looking.

No one knows precisely why Alrewulf was shown first-hand what it is like to be a kebab, but some claim that it is the fault of Amarillis.

Craign, who has been identified as the attacker, is said to have become somewhat obsessive about the maid and is rumoured to be striking out at any man close to her. This would not be the first time that people have been threatened or harmed for their proximity to the woman, and thus we are not taking this line of speculation lightly.

The only good news to come out of all of this is that Alrewulf is still alive and, if not in the best of health, at least recovering.

New Additions

2009-07-09T17:53:00.002+01:00

Rumour has it that Bree is now host to some honourable guests indeed.

Sir Khelron, a highly decorated soldier from Gondor, has been sighted in the area along with his daughter, Elice.

No one knows why the pair have come. Some speculate that they are fleeing the coming war, although that makes little sense given Sir Khelrons standing and profession. Others believe he simply seeks a place of peace for his daughter, or perhaps someone decent to wed her to.

Fat chance, we say. He would have more luck selling her to orcs as a housemaid than finding a good man in this little town.

Others still make mention of some darker and altogether less flattering theories for their presence, none of which are mentionable in polite company - however, since we sincerely doubt that a lot of our readers could ever be referred to, with any sincerity, as polite, we shall still say nothing just to annoy you. Hah!

In the meantime, fellows, there's a new girl in town. We expect to see the usual round of tedious skirt-chasing, bad pick-up lines and failed attempts to appear interesting and worthy from the lot of you.
Saying that, girls, Sir Khelron does not appear to have brought his wife, if he has one, so we shall be expecting a goodly amount of fawning, simpering, and generally unbecoming behaviour from you lot too.

Elven Generosity

2009-07-08T20:48:00.002+01:00

Two elves came into the Prancing Pony today to bestow a gift upon the staff.

You might be forgiven for thinking that this was an act of kindness, however, you would be wrong.

The gift they gave was a crate of ale they had discovered abandoned along the road and, perhaps in good faith, thought to return it to its owners. However, the Prancing Pony was not the owner of the contents and, after a little testing courtesy of a thirsty dwarf, the gift of drink was politely declined.

Understandably so, we feel, in light of the fact that the tipple was none other than the Swill served to customers in the Forsaken Inn, a brew famed for its foul smell and even fouler taste.

One less theif

2009-07-08T20:26:00.003+01:00

The body of a known cutpurse was discovered outside of Bree this morning.

Tamlan, a local man long known for his less than honest ways, was found dead in Andrath, a little way from Piersons Farm.

Wearing soft leather in rather noticable shades of purple, his body showed signs of struggle. His cloak had been torn and there was some bruising to his abdomen and a small cut to his throat. The death blow, however, was from a sword which had run him through.

No one knows who killed this man, although Pierson did say that he had seen a rather large fellow moving swiftly away from the area during the late hours.

Given that the theif wore eye-catching colours and his suspected assailant was not a small man, we doubt that the pair could have been missed by anyone, but as yet no one admits to having seen either.
We suspect that no one cares, in all honsety, seeing as the victim was a criminal.

Perhaps he stole from the wrong person?

All we know, really, is that we can be sure that our purses are at least a fraction safer, even if ut is only a tiny fraction.

OOC - Conflict RP.

2009-07-07T15:49:00.004+01:00

Yes, yes, I know, I know. This is supposed to be an IC newspaper style blog, and it is. But that does not mean that I cannot, when I see fit, choose to use it for OOC purposes as well. It is, after all, my blog and I put a lot of effort into maintaining and updating it, so I can do as I please.
I am providing a service here, of a sort anyway. I put my time and effort into creating an entertaining read for the people who visit the site. I do not have to do this, I simply choose to.
Naturally, this has been met with mixed reactions. I do not take this personally because it is impossible to please everyone. But that is another discussion entirely.

The above is not the purpose of this little deviation from my usually IC path.
If you want to know what is, then read on. If not, then you are completely free to skip this post, or any other on this site for that matter. My choice to write, your choice to read.

***

I came across the following thread on the Codemasters LotRO forums today: http://community.codemasters.com/forum/showthread.php?t=364695.
It is, to my mind, an interesting thread which, perhaps inadvertantly, raises some questions concerning the way the players look at RP on our server. I, in an uncharacteristic move, added my own opinion. It does, primarily, concern the state of affairs in Bree, however I believe that it is also applicable to the rest of the server and RP community, not just the portion who spend the majority of their IC time inside the Prancing Pony.

The nature of RP in Bree has always been turbulent and, in the time that I have been playing this game, I have seen many threads rise that discuss various aspects of it - nearly all of them concerning conflict RP.

Should conflict RP have any place in LotRO?

The answer to that question is, of course, entirely opinion based. There are many arguments for either side.
Some state that, lore-wise, there should be none since all of our characters are supposed to be on the same side, that we are all heroes fighting a war against oppression. Certainly in the lore as written by JRR Tolkien, creater of this wonderful fantasy setting, it makes little sense for elves to be fighting amongst themselves for he did not write them to be that way inclined, with a few small exceptions.

However, what of the other three races?

Little is known about the private lives of dwarves. They were secretive, sometimes surly and rarely seen except in trade circumstances. Would they fight amongst themselves? We simply do not know for Tolkien did not tell us. It is nice to think that they did not, however, it is heavily hinted that a certain amount of greed played a factor in dwarven lives.
What, then, is to say that occasionaly one dwarf would not choose to hit another dwarf with a large hammer simply because the second dwarf had disovered a much bigger lode of precious metal or gems? There is nothing definitive to suggest either way.
Could there have been inter-dwarf conflict? Quite possibly.

A lot more is known of hobbits. A laid back race of small people whose biggest passions were the finer things in life, they were nevertheless jealous of what they saw as belonging to them, rather distrustful of outsiders, including other hobbits who lived at what they deemed to be too large a distance away, and could become quite nasty if cornered.
Is it likely that they fought amongst themselves? No, but that's not to say that they could not or did not have some rather heated debates - possibly concerning who ate the last of the pie and whose turn it was to trim the hedges.

As for the race of Man...
That one, I think, speaks for itself. Tolkiens vision of Man was not dissimilar to the real thing in the real world. They could be kind, caring, noble and heroic, but they could also be violent, self-centered, corrupt and selfish.
Fighting happened between the different groups of men - Rohirrim and Dunlending, Gondorian and Haradrim, and so on. In fact, there are many Men on either side of this war.
But is it only in war that the race of Man fights amongst itself?
No. There are brigands aplenty in both the original vision of this setting and in the game version. The Gondorians, in fact, were often engaged in petty squabbles between their own fiefdoms. Granted, each would lay aside their differences and rally around their king, or in later days, their steward in times of conflict with outside sources, but they still fought amongst themselves at other times.
Quite aside from larger conficts, though, are the smaller and more personal ones.
Is it likely that two neighbors could come to blows over, say, the ownership of a cow or the mutual desire of a woman? Very.
The Men of the Free Peoples were largely good in nature, but they were far from perfect and, Free Peoples or not, there were always exceptions to the norm, for example Bill Ferny.

Should confict RP have any place in LotRO then?
That's entirely a matter of indivdual opinion but I, for one, cannot see how or why it should be entirely ruled out.

Is there too much conflict RP in LotRO?

I started playing LotRO back on the first day of the pre-order period. Yes, that makes me an old player.
In the two plus years that I have played this game, I have seen many RP conflicts and been involved in some myself. I have only elven and human characters, no dwarves or hobbits, so I cannot comment on what happens in the latter circles, but I can comment on the former.

I have seen elves come to blows - a thing with which I do not personally agree for lore-related reasons. Likewise, I have seen some rather heated verbal exchanges between elves of differing kinships - less lore-breaking than a stright-up fist fight, perhaps, but still a little too far removed from my interpretation of Tolkiens vision of that race for my personal tastes.

The place that I have seen the most RP conflict, however, is in Bree.

Bree, as mentioned earlier, is a rather turbulent place RP-wise. It is in a constant state of flux.
Sometimes, the town is so packed with people that our characters are sandwiched together like sardines in a can. Sometimes it is deserted enough that one could be deafened by the sound of a pin dropping. Sometimes it is peaceful and idyllic enough to put the Shire to shame and at other times one could be forgiven for thinking that the next few World Wars had broken out all at once.

The one thing that can be relied upon, insofar as I have seen, is the cycle in which this goes.

During certain times of the year Bree will be quiet, then it will get steadily busier and busier for a time, then slowly the activity will drop off until it is almost deserted once more. Mostly, this cycle coincides with new content releases and holiday months.

Likewise, the amount of conflict in Bree can be predicted, not by the time of year, however, but by the nature of the kinships frequenting the area.

In the beginning, there was Avasa. This kinship, as small as it was, set themselves up as the bad guys. Originally they did not do very much or attract very much attention as they lurked in their dark little corner of the Prancing Pony trying to look all mysterious and shady in their black hooded cloaks. Rather, they kept to themselves, enacting their bad guy routine through in-kin events and the occasional personal story-line.
However, as they became more widely known, there began to spring up a flurry of good guy kinships, such as the original Bree Guard, to even out the balance between good and evil.
Conflict RP ensued and, for a time, it was difficult to move more than ten paces without hearing about or witnessing a new fight that had taken place. This, I hasten to add, was not soley the fault of either the Bree Guard or Avasa. Rather, people outside of either kinship became involved in the struggle and things snowballed, as they do.

In time, one kinship fell and another, similar, kinship arose to take its place, and so it went, back and forth, a kinship of good guys in conflict with a kinship of bad guys, running concurrent to all the personal conflict that occured between characters who had nothing to do with either kinship.

Of course, this is not a constant. There are, and always have been, periods of peace between the good guys and the bad guys for one reason or another. Likewise, there are periods when there are little to no personal squabbles taking place between individual characters.

The trend that I have observed is quite simple:
If there is an evil kin predominant in Bree, then soon enough a good kin will arise to combat it and conflict RP will ensue.
If there is a good kin predominant in Bree, then soon enough an evil kin will arise to combat it and conflict RP will ensue.
In the periods that only one style of kinship is predominant in Bree, then there will be a period of peace - mainly because it is not all that much fun to be either without having the other.

So, is there too much conflict RP in Bree?
Again, the answer to this question is a matter of personal opinion.
I, personally, find that it evens itself out across the board. The reason that it seems, from time to time, that there is too much conflict RP is simply that it all happens at once. When it is over, peace ensues for a time and people begin to think that there is not enough conflict RP taking place.
Basically, it is a case of swings and roundabouts.

Does conflict RP effect your RP quality?

By that I mean: If you are involved in RP conflict, be it spars or emote fights, does that make you a bad RPer?
Some people believe so.

Some people believe that to engage in an emote fight or an RP spar speaks of a lack of maturity, an inability to settle the differences between characters in a sensible manner and marks you as a bad RPer.

In a real-life situation, I might have to agree, but in RP I simply cannot.

I have witnessed, and been involved in, some very good emote fights. The emotes themselves were well thought out, realistic and fair. There was a distinct lack of power-emoting (meaning that the opposing player was allowed the choice of whether or not any given strike landed through use of the noun "attempt" or similar word usage), no god-modding (meaning that one player was not divested with an almost deific ability to dodge or withstand everything that came their way) and no meta-gaming (meaning that the opposing player was not tracked down through OOC means, but was legitimately involved in the fight on an IC basis.)

Likewise, I have bore witness to the exact opposite of the above, with god-modding and power-emoting galore.

It is that, in my opinion, which sets the difference between good and bad RP, not the premise of emote fighting and conflict RP itself.

Another factor of the Good/Bad RP debate is the ability to accept the IC consequences of IC actions. For example, if you allow your character to be decapitated, then your character is dead. No amount of sticking plasters, glue or stitches is going to revive them from having their head removed.
In a less extreme example, if you allow your character to be stabbed through the stomach, then your character should be, at the very least, semi-immobile for a time. Ask anyone who has had an operation in that area: it is not something that heals overnight and doing cartwheels around the town on the very next day is completely out of the question.

The thing to note most, though, is that you, the player, must allow these things to happen, or not, to your character. No one else has the right to dictate the severity of any injuries to your character, nor can they dictate that you must engage in RP conflict with them. Like any RP, it is a mutual arrangement. You have the choice to have your character walk away. You have the choice to decide if they are injured and by how much.

However, taking that into account, it is considered a bad RP practice to god-mode or power-emote. Likewise, it is considered to be a bad RP practice to begin an RP conflict story with another player only to back out or complain that your character is now involved in such a thing.
In RP, as in all things, there are consequences for your actions.

Back to the question, though.

Does RP conflict effect your quality as an RPer? No, I sincerely believe that it does not.
What effects your quality as an RPer is the way you choose to RP.
If you engage in bad RP practices, then you can and will be considered a bad RPer. However, you can engage in emote fighting through accepted RP practices and be considered a good RPer.

***

The simple truth is that all of us, no matter how much experience we have, will always have room for improvement in our own RP.

Conflict RP, just like romantic, heroic or the more sedate social RP, is a matter of circumstance, mutual agreement and, above all, personal preference.

Some people like to stick to just one kind of RP. Other people like to have a mixture of two or more. To decide that someones RP is bad simply because they like, or favour, a style that you do not is wrong. To decide that someones RP is bad because you find it boring is also wrong and, in many cases, hypocritcal.

At the end of the day, we all have the choice to become involved or not. If you do not like conflict RP, then do not engage in it, be it as participant or spectator. Simply walk away. Do not declare someone as being bad at RP for liking to engage in storylines that you do not enjoy.

If you must judge a persons quality as an RPer, then do so based on how they RP, whether or not they god-mode, meta-game or power-emote. Do so on the basis of their adherance to realistic counters, be it in speech or emote. Do so on how well they convery their character.
Do not judge it on how well thier RP preferences mesh with your own.

Heroics Are Us

2009-07-06T15:49:00.002+01:00

The Herald would like to extend its thanks to the heroic members of the Eriador Army who have recently marched back to war on behalf of the Free Peoples.

News has reached us that in their recent time away, they made all haste to Barad Thasir, there to meet the enemy and prove that all hope is not lost; some brave soldiers will continue to stand up and do what is right for the good of the people.

Legate Isilorbor Ventris, who led the attack, is reported to have first travelled to Oatbarton where he and his men met with a mysterious stranger, later identified as a man named Arathin. Together, this merry band of fighting men set out into the wilds of Evendim to seek the ruins of Barad Thasir, a long dead town of Arnorian origin which has been under the desecration of grave robbers for the past few years.

The ruins were quickly reclaimed from the weak and poorly equipped tomb raiders. However, it was not long before their Angmarim friends descended upon the Eriador Army in retribution. The following battle was savage, we are told, and went on all through the night, but the heart, will and sheer heroism of our local lads drove them onwards until at least, come the first light of morning, the Angmarim enemies were driven back one final time and Barad Thasir was claimed in the name of the Free Peoples.

It is said the Eriador Army returned to Bree somewhat battered and bruised from their encounter, the Legate himself having been hit by an arrow, but they remain undeterred in thier quest to defend the lands. Indeed, now that they have rested and recuperrated, they are marching out once more.

All hail the conquering heroes!

Missing Medic Update

2009-07-06T15:39:00.002+01:00

Cymaru, Head Waitress of the Prancing Pony, assures us that no bannings from the establishment have taken place.

In an earlier atricle, we covered the booting of the inns resident healer, Fallidir, for the unforgivable crime of salad tossing, but Cymaru has hit back at these allegations with her dreaded dishcloth.

In the interests of continued revenue for the establishment and hefty tips for the waitresses, we are told that Fallidir was not banned but merely asked to leave for the evening.

Apparantly, in addition to his tuber throwing antics, he also waved around a sword which he claimed to be blunt regardless of the fact that it made a neat cut in the jacket of one of the staff members. We have no doubt that, had Fallidir remained on the premesis, he could have easily repaired the tear.

However, as Cymaru stated, an attack is an attack no matter what it is done with and assault with deadly vegetables is no more to be overlooked than the often overlooked knife throwing, random stabbings and general beatings of patrons...
Oh.. wait.. the latter occurances are frequently overlooked. Nevermind.

All the same, we have been asked to extend the barstaffs best wishes to Fallidir and let it be known that he will be welcomed back as soon as he calms down and stops threatening people with celery.

Bye-bye Bob?

2009-07-06T15:25:00.002+01:00

A long-standing member of the Prancing Pony staff has disappeared.

Bob, a hobbit described as being of small-person statute with hairy feet and a rather large beer-belly, was last seen lurking in the kitchen of the Prancing Pony doing unmentionable things to pig carcasses.

No, seriously, we cannot mention these things. The Secret Society for the Protection of Hobbit Recipes will lynch us if we do. Of course, then the Not-So-Secret Society for the Prevention of the Protection of Hobbit Recipes will get a bit antsy about the actions of their rivals. After that, it's highly likely the Hobbits For Free Food and Better Pie Fillings will also want in on the action and before you know it, we will all be in the midst of a tri-side muffin war.
But we digress.

Bob is said to have been seen near the entrance to the Barrow Downs, presumably searching for his forgetful and not-terribly-bright daughter Lalia who may be there, or may have gotten herself locked in the privy again.

A search and rescue party will soon be organised to go search for the wayward midgets and, we are told, contact will be made with the Guard (if Bree still has one), the Militia (who seem to have disappeared also) and the Army (who have deserted the town).

Missing Medic

2009-07-05T00:47:00.002+01:00

The latest news from the Prancing Pony suggests that the resident healer has been banned from the presmises.

The man, one Fallidir of unknown origin, has been well known around Bree for many months now as the go-to man for scrapes, cuts, bruises and worse. Indeed, he had found employment as the on-site healer for the Prancing Pony Inn, an establishment frequented by the wounded returning from battle and the place of many a more home-grown scuffle.

Now, however, this man who has done the citizens of Bree so much good has been ordered off the premises and banned from the inn grounds for until further notice.

His crime, and the reason for his banning, are shameful indeed. Truly, he has proven himself to be the worst sort of man in his heinous actions. He should hang his head, we say, pay pennance and leave Bree forever to go live with orcs! Oh yes, such an act of true evil should never go unnoticed or unchecked!
What did he do that was so bad, you ask? Why, he threw a potato.

Yes, you read that right. He threw a potato.

Quite why remains unclear. Perhaps the offending vegetable was not quite boiled to perfection, or else was overcooked and inedible.

Whatever the reason, we are forced to ask ourselves: Have the staff of the Prancing Pony lost their minds?

There are people being beaten and stabbed in there on an almost daily basis and the offenders still walk in to sup their ale, yet you ban your resident healer for lobbing root vegetables?

Holy Maid

2009-07-05T00:19:00.002+01:00

Amarillis has been stabbed yet again.

We at the Herald are not finding this to be a shock and are, in fact wondering if anyone out there could actually be surprised by this turn of events.

To our knowledge, this woman has been attacked a total of five times now. Once by a mystery person for no apparant reason, three times by Ulfr in retalliation for betrayal of trust and theft and now by a man reported to be known as Seraile.

Insofar as we are aware, Seraile is not connected to Ulfr who has, we are told, given up trying to gut the maid in favour of not being gutted himself, scared away, presumably, by a loud-mouth girl and the amazing shiny armour of the heroic captain who, whilst being noticably absent of late, put in a dashing appearance to come to the aid of a friend.

We find it a little suspicious that he just happens to turn up at such times. It is almost like magic. Perhaps he has an innate sixth sense for damsels in distress. Or is that distressing damsels? We are not entirely certain.

Back Room Brawling

2009-07-03T20:01:00.002+01:00

A fight broke out today in the back room of the Prancing Pony.

We are far from suprised by this.

The victor, a rather large man named as Siward, has always been known for his temper and violent tendancies and this day was no different.

After learning that his wife and his friend had both, on seperate occasions, been threatened by the woman Argewyn, he wasted no time in trying to teach her a lesson after he caught her once again spying on his spouse.

Argewyn, it is said, denies following Jenn from the Prancing Pony and threatening her with an axe for the crime of being the once-adopted daughter of Ulfr. She also denies having followed Jenn only a day later in an effort to overhear a private conversation. Likewise, she denies having sent the death threat missive to Mhelindra that we published in this paper only yesterday.

In fact, it would seem that our resident "good guy" denies a lot of things when they circle back to bite her in the backside. Her recent actions - harrassing innocent women, spying and then lying about it - speak only one word to us: Cowardice.

However, let us be fair, shall we? Argewyn cannot possibly be held accountable, nor punished, for picking on people smaller and weaker than she is. She is, quite naturally, above the law, above reproach and to be hailed as a conquering hero simply because she is believed to head a secret society dedicated to bullying people with differing opinions.

As this goes to print, our employee Mhelindra is currently refusing to enter Bree through fear of her life. Rather than seek out stories on behalf of the Herald for the public to read, this gentle and non-violent woman, whose day job is to take care of other peoples children, is hiding in the home of her other employer, too scared to leave lest she find herself "dead in an alley".

To use Argewyn's words "Ugh, I hate people sticking their noses into business they are not aware of!"
Which just goes to show that our lying, bullying and oh-so-noble heroine is also given to extreme acts of hypocrisy. Did she think to look into matters before shooting her mouth off and waving her weapon, she may have discovered that Mhelindra is only one of many writers, that she does not write even a small fraction of the stories we run and that anything she does write is subject to editing by me, the owner of the Herald.

We have, for the moment, only one other thing to say on this subject: If you are so dead against people speaking their minds, having differing opinions and sharing those opinions, that you would threaten the lives of any that do such things, then not only should you be willing to back up your threats, you should also expect reprisals for your behaviour.

Death Threats

2009-07-02T12:05:00.002+01:00

The following missive was recieved by our Bree-based writer, Mhelindra, this morning:

"Ugh, I hate people sticking their noses into bussiness they are not aware of! The guardians or non of your concern, and Neither is the question why we guard Amarillis. We are already aware of the fact that information has been leaking out to the outside.
So remove the page about the herald, or be found death in a alley.

The only thing that is important that we are not the bad-guys.

Argewyn."

It seems to us that this Argewyn person is a little confused over her stance. She claims to be the one in the right, the "good guy", and yet issues death threats to innocent women when things do not go her way.

Surely the idea behind being the "good guy" is to defend the defenceless, to protect those who need it, to be the one on the moral high ground and/or be a bastion against the "bad guys", as opposed to brually murdering, or even threaten to murder, all those who oppose your wishes.

News-flash for you, Argewyn, you are not an all-powerful dictator, you are not the Queen of Bree and we are not your downtrodden subjects, bound through fear to your totalitatiansim regime. The Herald is not under your control and we will continue to write what we choose regardless of any demands from a woman who does not appear to know the difference between what she is and what she claims to be.

Secret Societies

2009-07-01T15:30:00.003+01:00

Yet another anonymous letter found its way into our possession last night. There seems to be a plague of them at present.

This one claims that Bree is currently under the watchful eye of a Secret Society of "Guardians" who are protecting Amarillis, and many others, from harm. This group is said to be led by a woman named Argewyn and it is believed that Captain Dynnagorn Lunarlight is a part of it as well.

However, there are several questionable facts that come to mind. For a start, if this society is such a secret, then how does someone know to come to us about it? Is it, perhaps, an insider or Argewyn herself trying to gain publicity? If so, then it's not much of a secret anymore, is it?

Secondly, how can they claim to protect people when only a few days past an innocent woman had her life threatened by Argewyn for past ties to Ulfr? Surely the attempted murder of a harmless and non-threatening lone woman cannot be considered as protecting anyone.

Thirdly, just what is it about this maid that calls for such a thing? Amarillis is far from innocent herself. She has stolen, decieved, betrayed and aided in the breaking of another womans heart and home, so just why are these people so interested in protecting her?

It sounds to us like they are far less interested in protecting the innocent than they are in justifying their wish to threaten, fight and otherwise bring trouble to Bree.

Review - Initial Impressions of the Dar Narbugud Raid

2009-07-01T13:11:00.002+01:00

Well, it's about time we got a new raid, I think we all agree on that. For once, Turbine did deliver something decent, incredibly.
A gooey, mushroom covered stinking pile of Orc'n'Troll bodies of a raid.

It's a 12-man raid, so naturally you expect difficulty and fun. It's not a place that will be Puggable for awhile, due to it's difficulty, but this is
a very good thing(Difficulty, not the pugging). It'll give it a long life and a lot of fun and wiping. I don't know what is further in, as I've yet to see
what is behind the first doorway, but I'd wage a guess that it's all good.

Oddly enough, you reach the first pair of bosses as soon as you zone in, Blargh and Ruug.

There isn't so much to really be intitally report on, as they are in the first room presented to you.

A large, dank cave full of mushrooms and Mobs. Like a large, stinking pizza you want to kill, instead of eat.

Trash Mobs litter the initial room, and are pretty fun to beat. They come with some new attacks and even a new model here and there. And a mushroom that..
Well.. Apprently it can magically heal by smelling.. Must be how some of those role-players heal.. They sniff 'shrooms.

There isn't really much more to go into yet, without spoiling anything. So, I'll give the Raid a Ulfr mark of 8/10 so far. It may go up, or go down depending
on what happens further in.

~Ulfr, the friendly Bree-town Muppet.

Festival Foolery

2009-06-30T18:59:00.004+01:00

Depth perception is a myth.

Jairyth forgets the location of the nearest potty.

Hard water prevents fishing.

The competition to catch the rare Elf-fish of Bree continues.

Lashback

2009-06-30T14:23:00.003+01:00

We were the recipient of two anonymous letters today. Yes, two. Given the subject matter, we have to wonder why the authors thought it best to claim anonimity at this time... but who are we to judge?

The first is simply a sarcastic character defamation, saying nothing useful or conclusive. Conjecture, bile and spite so neatly summed up in a few well-written lines. It surmises that Ulfr never had the best intentions of his maid in mind based on all of the recent murder attempts.

The second, badly written and difficult to read, states that Ulfr initially fired Amarillis because she had become too close to Dynnagorn and not, as previously thought, because of the item she had stolen from him and later returned.

The second missive also hails Dynnagorn for his kindness, stating that he took the maid in and continues to protect her from harm as neither he or his maid-mistress are convinced that she is out of danger yet.

Backlash

2009-06-30T01:46:00.002+01:00

Ulfr has contacted us to hit back at the accusation penned by Captain Dynnagorn Lunarlight.

We are unable to give any direct quotes at this time because a rather large and very confused moth ate the letter he sent in to us, but we will replicate his reply as best we can.

Ulfr more or less stated that he took in Amarillis when she needed a place to stay, clothed, fed and homed her along with supplying her work that she might have some money in her belt pouch. He also stated that it was he who encouraged her to leave the house and make some friends, never once seeking to keep her indoors or constantly at work as he has been accused of.

Little did he know that his good intentions surrounding the lonliness of this poor servant would result in her lying to him, stealing from him and ultimately ending up the doxy of a man who only sought to take advantage of her naievete.

We here at the Herald remain neutral in this, honestly, but cannot help asking the question: how much does she charge for doing the dishes? Really, we could do with someone to do ours, they just piled up and piled up and now there's a huge stack of them.

Horsing around

2009-06-30T01:38:00.003+01:00

There has been a rise in the reported number of horse thefts over recent months.

Many individuals of an equine nature have gone missing, never to be seen again. All of these horses have been of good stock and good health, so it is not surmised that they are being sold for body parts. Rather, it is believed that they are being sold on to unsuspecting buyers.

We wish to offer the following advice to our readers in response to this:

1) Be sure to take good care of your steed; stable it at all times when it is not in use and invest in anti-theft measures such as decoys or hobbles.
2) Be on the lookout for any horse that looks suspicious; false teeth, freshly dyed coats or racing stripes.
3) If you have any relatives with equine features, lock them up tightly just in case a mistake is made and they are stolen also. We may be wrong about the suspected fate of the snaffled steeds and, let us face it, sons, daughters and wives do not make good glue.

Grave Robbery

2009-06-28T00:42:00.002+01:00

The Bree Cemetary was desecrated last night after a theif opened several graves.

The night watchman spoke of being hit from behind, perhaps with a shovel, and later waking to discover several corpses had been dug up, each left to lie in the night air with a red rose in its mouth.

Sources say that the object of this exercise was not to upset the families of the deceased but to steal some very valuable gold statues that had been buried alongside the cadavers. The statuettes themselves are far too recognisable to be sold openly, but some surmise that they would fetch a handsome price in back-alley trading.

A copy-cat theif, perhaps? Or is our Red Rose Bandit eager to get his hands dirty? Only time will tell.

Confessions of a Flirt

2009-06-27T23:33:00.003+01:00

In a previous article, we made mention of a man who cheated on his fiancee with the maid. Even though we failed to supply his name in an effort to give this person some annonimity, he has come forward and asked for his side of the story to be made public.

In any story it is best to gives ones characters some names in order to make it easier for any reader to follow. In this particular story we have a maid, Amarillis, who apparantly worked for the most demanding and underhanded of masters, Ulfr, but was then rescued by the dashing and noble hero of the piece, Captain Dynnagorn Lunarlight.

Dynnagorn claims that Amarilis had been hired by Ulfr and was made to sign a very restrictive contract although she did not know it, for our hapless heroine was not only illiterate but also too stupid to understand what Ulfr told her lay within the lines of the contract itself and yet still put her name to it. Or possibly a random squiggle in place of her name. A mark of some sort, most definately.

Dynnagorn describes his first meeting with the pitiful maid; "I met Amarillis in the Prancing Pony. Alone, washed out, looking bored. Socialiser as I am, I started to talk with her. It did not take long to realise she had been born into a life, exposed from the real world. She told me she had been let out for an hour or so, the most freedom shes ever had, and she was grateful. It was sad."

Shortly afterwards, he said, he saw mysterious figures following the maid and he thought it wise to follow. Wise indeed for not long passed before the first of what would be many attempts to murder this innocent woman came to pass. Dynnagorn did not go into detail on what happened that night, but he did assure us that this altercation was nothing to do with Ulfr.
We find ourselves asking, though, if that was the first day she had managed to escape the tyrannical hand of her employer, if this little slave girl had only been allowed out from under Ulfr's heel for that one hour, that one day, then why were people already trying to gut her like a fish?

Dynnagorn and Amarillis became close after that. It was at his behest that our brainless maid stole from her master, although she had been warned of the consequences of such an action. Still, steal she did, her own contract no less, and duly brought it to Dynnagorn who, so appauled by it, offered her a job to get her away from Ulfr and into his own bed. Room. Sorry, sorry, we mean house.. err.. employ!

Bound by her contract, however, Amarillis was unable to accept the offer at that time. That is until Ulfr fired her after discovering the theft. Dynnagorn wasted no time in hiring Amarillis who, by then, was living on the streets. He brought her into his home, gave her pets, taught her to read and just so happened to forget to mention his bethrothed, Konstance, who was away on business at the time.

A week after the hiring, Dynnagorn recieved news that his beloved Konstance was missing. She was gone forever, it seemed, far to the south and never to be seen again. Amarillis, however, was there and clueless, but happy to offer her friend support in his time of sadness. How sweet of her.

It was not much longer before there was another attempt on her life and our dashing captain was there to rescue her once more. Rather than give chase to her assailant, whom he freely admits to having seen, he chose to stay by the side of the wounded maid, carry her to a bed and tend to her wounds for "I am not strong enough to make her invunerable, but I would die for her."

Something that he apparantly would not consider doing for his betrothed, whom he left to wander alone and lost in the woods to the south when he could have been searching for her instead of seducing the hired help.

Still, all was not to be perfect and happy in his house, if ever it were, for the missing-presumed-abandoned-and-forgotten Konstance returned home a little over a month after she had first been reported missing and, after learning that her bed had been usurped by another, swiftly evicted the new bedspread from her home and employ and then, understandably, gave the captain his marching orders as well.

The story does not end there, though, for Konstance proves to be as impressionable and naieve as poor beleaguered Amarillias.

After only a week, Dynnagorn once more proposed to Konstance and she said yes. Amarillis was hired once more and Konstance moved back in with them both.

A tragic tale of blind love, faith, betrayal and idiocy, perhaps?

We know not.

All we can say for sure is that once a cheat, always a cheat and that both women in this story would appear to have been taken for fools.

Alas, Konstance, it will take more than a block of Barrow Bree in this case, we think. You should, instead, set him free in the Bree Hedge Maze.

In his own words "I have left a trail of heart break, perhaps endangered an innocent woman by giving her too much." We just bet you did, Dynnagorn.

Accusations and Swordplay

2009-06-26T22:11:00.002+01:00

There was a scene in and outside of the Prancing Pony on Bree this evening.

It began as Mhelindra, our local reporter in the area, was sitting minding her own business near the fireplace in the middle corridor of the establishment.
A man in an antlered helm, later identified as Stighelm, entered the area and hid behind some barrels nearby. He drew his sword, a claymore we believe, and lay in wait.
Shortly afterwards another man, Sasador, happened by apparantly searching for someone. Stighelm stepped out of his hiding place with his sword at the ready and the two exchanged some words.

Sasador, it transpired, had been searching for Stighelm and had in his possession a warrant for Stighelms arrest. Stighelm refused to be taken to the jail house by Sasador, though, accusing him of being a murderer and traitor, and soon the two went outside to continue their argument in a more physical manner.

They spoke again just before the fight began, their comments raising some questions.

You may recall an earlier article in which Legate Ventris issued a public statement to be on the lookout for a handful of "high risk" people, Sasador and Stighelm amongst them.
Sasador, in this overheard exchange, accused Stighelm of plotting to murder another of those named in Legate Ventris' list also naming him, Seraile, as "a valuable ally of the [Eriador] Army."
If that is so, we wonder, then why would Legate Ventris have named Seraile, as well as Stighelm and Sasador, as being a danger to the public?

The fight began in earnest, then, but did not last long. Sasador came out the victor, although he suffered some minor bruising. Stighelm, on the other hand, suffered a stab to his midriff before fleeing the scene.

Afterwards, Mhelindra was able to speak further to Sasador.
He told her that he was no traitor to the Eraidor Army, but that he had deserted for only a few days to aid a friend in need after telling the Legate what he had planned. Legate Ventris, according to Sasador's tale, had taken this quite badly and named Sasador as a traitor.
Afterwards, Sasador had enlisted the aid of Stighelm in order to "defeat" Legate Ventris, an action which he deeply regrets, but changed his mind after Stighelm refused to aid him in such an action.

Upon hearing these saddening tales, we can only say one thing to those involved: Make up your minds which side you are on, people!

The Sweet Songs of the Elves..

2009-06-26T19:07:00.002+01:00

Heren Ranodur would like to announce that their musicians will be convening two weeks from now to stage a public performance.

All are welcome to attend and enjoy an evening of laughter and music.

The gathering will take place at the Spire of Meeting in Rivendell on the 9th of July at 8:30pm (GMT) and is open to all.

A Public Service Announcement

2009-06-25T20:05:00.002+01:00

Legate Isilorbor Ventris of the Eriador Army came to us today wishing to announce the following public statement.

"The Eriador Army will be marching off to war, and will be unable to protect the people of Bree for a time. We would like to issue a public warning while we are away, such as go in groups, never be alone in the dark, and please stay safe."

Wise words from an admirable man, we think. He intimated that he and his men will be going to far away Barad Thasir to continue the good fight from afar, but that they will return in due course. Until then, ladies and gentlemen, we must see to our own safety and be sensible in maintaining it.

To that end, Legate Ventris also asked for people to be on the look-out and careful around the following people, who he named as "High risk":

Seraile, a male, given to wearing a dark hooded cloak and simple clothing in black.
Ceowulf, daughter of Seraile, who is most likely to be seen wearing a blue hauberk and sporting twin daggers at her hip.
Stighelm, male. He is most likely to be seen in green armour and a face-concealing antlered helm.
And Sasador, a traitor to the Eriador Army who also tends toward green armour and a full-face helm.

Legate Ventris also wished to thank the staff of the Prancing Pony for their hard work, fine drinks and the care they give to his men when they are wounded, and the Herald itself for allowing them to place this announcement.

We, ourselves, would like to thank the Eriador Army for the fine work they have done in keeping the streets of Bree safe and also to wish them good speed, a fair journey and as few casualties as possible.

A reminder to those who need it...

2009-06-24T23:06:00.004+01:00

Alright guys... I'd like to step out of character for a moment and address a situation I keep hearing about, so this is not one of my normal RP-related story updates, but is instead a reminder of certain things to some of you out there.

Over recent days, a good friend of mine has been suffering verbal abuse in-game at the hands of a small group of people because of some RP.

These people will invite him into a fellowship, then proceed to insult him over the in-game voice chat system. Of course, because nothing in the voice system is recorded by the game logs, my friend is unable to prove to the GM's that this is happening and thus these people are not being brought to task for their appauling behaviour.

Now I know that the vast majority of you who read this page are sensible, mature and do not need telling the difference between IC occurances and OOC ones, but it would seem that at least one or two people do need reminding of this.

See, IC (or In-Character) is make-believe. It is not real, it is Roleplay. IC is what happens when the character you created with your imagination does something, usually interracting with other people who are also using their imaginations on their own characters to also be IC. The things that happen between characters in this Roleplay game, or any other for that matter, are pretend. IC arguments or fights do not and should not have any bearing on the people playing those characters. Often, the two characters involved in any Roleplay altercation are friends behind the keyboard and what happens between their characters is not an attack on the player, but just a bit of fun between the players.

OOC (or Out of Character) is a different matter entirely. It is real. It might be on the computer and not face-to-face, but it is still real, involves real people and real feelings and reactions. OOC is not make-believe. The things you say or do OOC can effect the player of whichever character you are targetting. Real people have real feelings and cyber-bullying is no less childish and despicable than the real thing.

The difference between the two things is quite clear, I believe. One is pretend, one is not and neither have, or should have at least, any bearing on the other.

To verbally abuse someone OOC about something that happened IC is not cool.
To confuse the two is not cool.

Please, keep in mind the distinctions, the differences, and do not confuse IC and OOC.

Piece of Mind

2009-06-24T18:42:00.002+01:00

A man came to us today with a plea for help.

Alrewulf Éadnes, presumably of Rohan from his accent and shock of red hair, is searching for a woman he thinks may be is wife.

A year and a half ago, he told us, he woke outside of Edoras in Rohan atop a horse. Having no idea how he got there or what had occured in his life prior to that moment, he has only been able to seek connections and answers via the few clues he had about his person: a wedding band with the inscription Alrewulf & Marewyn, a key to a house and a scrap of red cloth. Since then, he has been seeking the secrets to now shrouded past.

After reaching Bree, he discovered that the key opens the door to a house in this very town; a house which had been stripped bare of all belongings and yeilded no further clues as to the identity of its owner or the Marewyn named in the rings inscription.

If you know of Marewyn, or are the lady herself, please do not hesitate to contact us or Alrewulf

Strenuous Denials

2009-06-24T16:48:00.003+01:00

In the ongoing saga of the housemaid Amarillis, we thought it wise to catch up with the lady herself and seek her reactions to the accusations surrounding her bodyguards.

Amarillis denies any knowledge of the Man in White, strenuously denying that he is one of those who proclaims to look after her wellbeing. She did not, however, deny the accusations of theft from her previous employer and, in fact, let slip that she may well have been the maid mentioned in our recent article concerning a love rat.

Theft and homewrecking - these are the things that will grant you the protection of the brightest and best of Bree, ladies.

Asking after the woman recently injured in an ambush along the road, Amarillis voiced concern for the health of Jenn and wished her a speedy recovery.

Drunken Moose?

2009-06-24T16:38:00.002+01:00

With Cymaru's recent sojourn from the Prancing Pony, it seems that Barliman Butterbur, propieter, is run off his feet.

So much so that he was quite unable to prevent a heavily armoured hobbit, hiding his features with the use of an antlered helm, from helping himself to the ale behind the bar today.

The hobbit, who remains unnamed, claimed that he took the ale without paying for it because, "That fat, bald, grumpy man," meaning Butterbur himself. "Scares me."

We sincerely hope that Cymaru is enjoying her pleasure trip to Rivendell whilst her boss loses his hitherto ever cheerful demenour as well as his buisiness.

A Change of Rose?

2009-06-23T14:33:00.002+01:00

Joanna Baltec, a name many have likely never heard, lives alone with her father in a small village. Unable to find employment due to needing to stay at home to take care of her ailing one-armed father, the pair have been hungry and penniless for some time, but not any longer!

"I couldn't believe my eyes!" Joanna told us, wide-eyed and all a-gush with good cheer and gratitude. "I heard a knock at the door, I did, and when I went to answer it there was no one there. I looked down at the doorstep thinking those local kids were playing games again, and there it was, just sitting there!"

That's right, folks. Our intrepid thief, the Red Rose Bandit, has struck again, but in reverse this time.

Over the past week he has been known to have stolen from both the vault and the library, but now he gives it all back in an act of great kindness.

He visited the home of Joanna and her father late on monday night, leaving behind a large sack of gold and his trademark red rose.

We wonder if he has a heart as shining as the gold he has so recently given away, or if he was struck on the head during one of his escapades and has become confused over the idea behind theft. Either way, we applaud his generosity and live in hope that we may also be visited by such a boon.

Heartwarming, it is.

Monochrome Moronics

2009-06-23T13:30:00.002+01:00

Fresh information concerning the Man in White has come to light today.

Reputable sources indicate that the Man in White is none other then one of the self-appointed bodyguards of the maid Amarillis. It is said that he attempted the murder of a woman named Jenn recently because of her past connections to Ulfr.

It would seem that Jenn was once the adopted daughter of Ulfr, but the relationship went sour and the two parted ways. The Man in White, possibly working on outdated information, ambushed the lone woman along the road between Bree and the Homesteads in an effort to bring Ulfr out of hiding.

The source also indicates that Ulfr initially attacked Amarillis by way of punishment after she stole from him whilst being under his employ.

Evidently, this maid is not quite as innocent as previously thought, which might go some way to explaining why a cut-throat villain like the Man in White would be protecting her. Perhaps she really is good at her job and is kind enough to remove the bloodstains from the pristine white clothing.

The questions remain, however, who is he and why does he wear such an impractical colour?

Green Dragon changes colour

2009-06-22T17:21:00.002+01:00

The friday-night booze-up at the Green Dragon in the Shire is being moved to another venue this week as the usual inn is closed for refurbishment.

All dwarves and hobbits who usually gather at this well-liked establishment are being asked to relocate to the Plough and Stars for one night only.

Elves and humans are being respectfuly requested to keep their distance as no one likes tripping over people only half their size and the hobbits are never too happy about being inadvertantly stepped on.

Squashed Hobbit Pie, anyone?

Ales Well?

2009-06-22T14:57:00.002+01:00

News has reached our ears that the head barmaid of the Prancing Pony is swanning off to foriegn lands to rub shoulders with the elves.

Just why she is dropping her duties and comfortable life in Bree to travel dangerous roads in search of the Lords and Ladies is unknown, but sources speculate that Cymaru, a farmgirl from Rohan, is tired of all the low-brow commoners that frequent her place of work and is looking to add some class to her life by taking lessons in how to be snooty.

The Prancing Pony, already understaffed, will no doubt be a lot less welcoming in the weeks to come thanks to this unexpected departure. Barliman Butterbur, proprieter of the inn, is said to be unhappy at this most unwelcome news and grumbling away to himself about being overworked and ungrateful girls.

So, lads, it looks like you will all suffer longer waiting times or else be forced to serve yourselves. You do know how to do that, right?

Shock Kidnap

2009-06-21T14:58:00.003+01:00

Investigations are ongoing into the recent kidnap of Ethelco of the Eriador Army.

Thus far, little is known about the situation except that the Vengeful Shadows have taken credit for the heinous act.

More details to follow.

Man in White strikes again!

2009-06-20T17:53:00.002+01:00

One of the Men in White put in yet another appearance today when he attempted to murder a woman travelling alone.

The victim, a tiny woman by the name of Jenn, was travelling to her home on horseback when she was unexpectedly shot in the arm. The Man in White, described as ''tall and wearing white, you moron," then tried to run her through with his sword.

Luckily for Jenn, the Man in White was quickly chased away by a passing traveller known as Rab.

It is suspected that the perpetrator is the original Man in White and not the one known as Ulfr.

The reasons for the attack remain unknown although it is speculated that the Man in White is simply trying to distinguish himself from Ulfr, perhaps even trying to outdo him on the notorious git scale.

Ulfr Unmasked?

2009-06-20T15:07:00.002+01:00

Fresh revelations have come to light today concerning one of the Men in White, Ulfr.

A reuptable source, who did not wish to be named through fear of reprisals against his family, admitted to knowing quite a lot about Ulfr, having had run-ins with him in the past.

Ulfr, believed to be one Rand, a man in his thirties and an ex-soldier of Dale, is said to have once had close ties with Lord Khyron of Bree. It is speculated that the recent withdrawal of Khyron from public life has contributed to Ulfr's unforseen change of character. With Khyrons noble influence retracted, it would seem that Ulfr's nature has taken a turn for the worse resulting in his recent crimes.

Also attributed to Ulfr is the suspicious disappearance of Oslac. It remains unknown what exactly happened to this individual, but many believe that he did not make it home, as were his intentions.

Our sources indicate that those guarding Amarillis from further attacks may not be quite as clueless of Ulfr's true identity as they claim.

Is the hapless maid in danger from those who profess to protect her? Our source, who showed much concern for her safety, certainly thinks so.

A rose for a book

2009-06-20T14:11:00.002+01:00

The guardsmen of Bree are investigating the theft of precious texts from the library on sunday.

The robbery, which occured in the dead of night, is suspected to have been staged by no other than the Red Rose Bandit.

Mary Hartson, the only employee to have been in the library at that hour, said that a man in a black mask entered via the upper window and placed a rag to her mouth before kissing her on the cheek. When she came to, the man was gone but a red rose had been left at her side.

The theif made off with a number of valuable texts of Dunedain origin, which leads us to believe that he may be of a scholarly persuasion. Given his penchant for roses, we wonder if some of the texts included treaties on botany.

The guards suspect that the victim knows more than she was willing to tell and that perhaps she was so overcome by the gift of the rose that she is protecting the culprit in the hopes of recieving more such boons.

A Visit of Worth

2009-06-19T20:32:00.002+01:00

Rumours abound about the upcoming visit of a rich merchant from the south.

The guards of Breetown are readying themselves for his visit and are, understandably, expecting trouble from the less honest locals in relation to the esteemed gentlemans visit or, more accurately, his purse.

Speculation is still rife as to the reasons for his coming. Neither the mayor, who has granted the man some "special protection" or the Eriador Army, who are tasked with his safety, would comment on just what he is expected to bring with him on his long journey.

The merchant himself, accompanied by his son, has yet to be identified.

((OOC: The Eriador Army are still seeking someone willing to play the character of the merchant for this event. Please contact Andors / Arlirm / Adovacar if you would like to do so.))

Ignoble Protectors?

2009-06-19T18:34:00.002+01:00

The story of the injured maid took a turn for the worse today after her heroic protectors accosted a defenceless old man.

The man in question, one Folkvar by name, known to be in his eighties and not in the best of health, visited the injured Amarillis with a message but was met with hostility from two of those who have appointed themselves as her bodyguards.

Upon entering the room and telling of his reasons for being there, he was met with steel; a sword drawn and held to him threateningly, before being pushed over and subsequently choked by his own neck tie.

Although shaken up by his ordeal, he was thankfuly not seriously harmed.

We went in search of the men involved in this altercation, but were only able to find one of the pair.

Torhtgar, an intimidatingly tall man in his twenties, was at first unwelcoming but was kind enough to grant a few moments of his time to answer our questions.

Of the bared blade, which he admitted to wielding, he said, "I unsheathed it, as he wished to enter and deliver a message to the injured lady. Messages aren't all words. That was mere prudence."

That, then, leaves the question of the strangling, to which Torhtgar answered easily, "I was requested to remove him. I intended to pull him by the scarf, as he was not willing to leave. He slipped or stumbled onto the floor or something and got choked by it, so naturally I let go [of the scarf]."'

Perhaps, given that Amarillis was recently attacked, he is correct in his description of prudent action, however was it really necessary to treat an elder in such a brutal manner?

We spoke further to him concerning the matter at heart. Ulfr, he speculated, "attacked a woman because she would not have him, and threatened death to her protectors. Most of them are her friends, and [guard her] out of duty to a friend."

A noble sentiment from a man who can also be quoted as saying, "I do not profess to be noble, or to have ever acted in a noble manner."

Speculation still abounds as to the reasons that a simple maid would need so many men to guard her. Is this Man in White, Ulfr, so mighty that not even a giant of man can be certain of fulfiling his duty as protector when alone? Is there more to the womans story than being a mere maid? And just where does Torhtgar get clothes big enough to fit his huge frame? Is it true what they say about men with big feet? We can only hope to track down Tohrtgars cobbler to find out.

Aleric unveiled

2009-06-19T17:13:00.002+01:00

Following on from yesterdays news about the new Bree Watch, we caught up with the man who will soon be responsible for keeping Bree-landers safe at night.

A modest fellow, he simply described himself as being thirty-eight year old man native to Bree who has a desire to rid the town of criminals and put an end to all the recent troubles.

When asked his goals for the Watch, he replied "I plan to do a better job than the others."
However, he declined to confirm or deny the rumours concerning shiny badges.

Will it all go as he plans? Only time will tell, but we at the Laurelin Herald wish him the best of luck in his endevours!

The Safety of Bree

2009-06-18T23:24:00.003+01:00

The safety of the Bree-town inhabitants has been called into question of late with the silent disappearance of the Bree Guard.

This is not the first time that the officers of the law have slunk off into the shadows, leaving a breach in the defences of the town and the townspeople left to fend for themselves against murderers and pickpockets.

Luckily, a hero has stepped up to fill the void.

Aleric, a hitherto unknown man, has presented himself as leader of the newly formed Bree Watch.

Given the corruption that eventually ran rife in all of the previous incarnations of Brees answer to law enforcement, we must wonder if this man will prove himself virtuous enough to run his Watch as we believe that it should be or will he, like his predecessors, fall victim to the very people he hopes to clean up off the streets?

Whatever the answer to that question only time will tell, but remember folks that no one man can do this alone. All would-be paragons of honour are being called upon to sign their lives away in service of protecting the town from itself.

Join the Bree Watch now!

There may be a shiny badge in it for you.

The Maids Attacker

2009-06-18T23:17:00.002+01:00

Yesterday, we reported that a maid had been attacked by a Man in White inside the Prancing Pony.

Amarillis, the poor innocent woman in question, is said to be doing well and no longer in a critical condition. To be certain that she is not harmed further, she is also under constant guard.

Meanwhile, some very big burly and, above all, angry men are on the search for her attacker, a man believed to go by the name "Ulfr".

Just which of the Men in White this Ulfr is is, at present, unknown.

Double Vision

2009-06-18T22:46:00.003+01:00

The Man in White made his return today when he was spotted accosting an unidentified person outside the hobbit door of the Prancing Pony.

He was quickly chased off, however, when a second Man in White put in an appearance and fired a crossbow bolt at the first Man in White before also fleeing the scene.

Is one of these men a copy-cat, using the image of the other to get away with his crimes? Are both of them working together to confuse the guards and make it all the more difficult to catch them? Can there really be two men in the world with so little sense as to wear white when doing blood-spilling deeds and are they trying to be seen by being so conspicious? Which one committed which crime?

So many questions, so few answers.

Black Mask for a Red Rose

2009-06-18T16:23:00.002+01:00

A home robbery took place late last friday night.

The victim, an unnamed woman who lives in Keydale of the Bree-land Homesteads, was presumably rather suprised when a man burst into her home waving a silver dagger.

It is said that the man who wore a black mask covering his face forced the lady to lie upon the ground and bound her hands and feet before ransacking the properly for gold and precious items. In an interesting twist to the tale, it was reported that he also kissed her and left the gift of a red rose before departing.

Is this the sign of a hopeless romantic? Or was he thanking her for being so co-operative? As yet, no one knows. It is speculated, however, that he was merely trying to reimburse her losses, although if that is the case then it must have been a very rare rose indeed.

Thus far the Bree Guard are clueless as to the identity of this masked man. One thing we can be sure of, though, is that he is rather more sensible in his choice of clothing than the Man in White.

The Dwarven Fox Hunt

2009-06-17T21:54:00.002+01:00

Tonight marked the 4th installment of the Dwarven Fox Hunt.

This event, run by Thorstyn of the Unfinished Tales kinship, has been highly anticipated due to its success in the past and, once again, we were not disappointed.

With a strong turn-out of thirty particpants all ready and willing to go on the hunt, the evening could not have started better. There was even the smell of romance in the air when two certain hobbits laid eyes on one another, although sadly they ended up in seperate groups.

With the opening speech from Thorstyn done, the participants split up into hunting teams and the rules reitterated, the hunt began!

The Foxes who are, in fact, real people were not required to dress up in furry suits for the occasion. Nor were they shot at or run down with a big pack of bloodthirsty dogs. Disappointing some might say, but bloodshed is not the name of the game on this occasion!

Rather, this game with a misleading name is none other than a treasure hunt with the "foxes" as the clues. Each Fox, identified by a silly act they perform, is given a letter. The hunting teams must find the foxes, put the letters together and retrieve the item that the letters spell out before returning the object to Thorstyn. The first team to return with the correct item is declared the winner.

On this occasion, the foxes were as follows:
Tobyn, Ciawyn, Ghralin, Tourmalynn and Thorstyn himself of Unfinished Tales, Guilor of Unfinished Adventures, Laco of The Greymares and Istdringadir. Together they made complete fools of themselves in good nature and spelled out the item name: Cloth Hat.

Thorstyn, sporting a rather fetching fishing pole and pointy hat, announced the winners as Sygmond, Halendur, Nirnaeth, Aldared, Abhanya of the Silver Blades and Rhiannon of the Silent Minority. He annouced the prizes to include six gold coins, two Mithril flakes, the service of Donhelm for an evening, six beryl and adamant shards, a lot of ale and pipe weed and a new fishing pole for each winner, amongst other things.

Once the winners ceramony was done, a celebratory party took place. Interestingly, by this time Donhelm was already protecting himself in a hauberk. One must wonder what type of service he will be pressed into if he's worried enough to be armoured at a party.

Maid in the Pony?

2009-06-17T20:43:00.006+01:00

A maid was severely wounded in the back room of the Prancing Pony this evening.

Amarillis, an innocent cleaner of bed linen, was attacked by an unknown man. Left bleeding from a deep stab to her stomach, she was heroically rescued by one Garondir before the assailant could do further damage.

Initial reports indicate that the attacker was a man in white, although it is unknown whether it is the same one who is wanted in connection with other crimes.

Speculation abounds about the reasons for this attack. Perhaps the woman did not scrub the dishes adequately enough, or was too slow in emptying the chamber pots? We simply do not know, but perhaps the most important question in all of this is; why is he wearing white? It's such a pain to get bloodstains out of.

A love rat exposed!

2009-06-17T20:33:00.002+01:00

Rumour has it that a certain man known to frequent the Prancing Pony is none other than a love rat.

In this latest scandal, it would seem that a certain someone of well-built stature, with a clean shaven face and brown hair is known to have broken the heart of a fair maiden when he hired a maid who had been fired from her old job for stealing, bedded her without his long-standing betrotheds knowledge and then almost immediately began chasing another skirt.

It is said that his betrothed did, indeed, uncover his unfaithful nature and subsequently fired the maid before leaving the cheating scum in the ditch.

Good on her, we say!

As soon as we discover her name, she will be the recipient of a few well-made mouse-traps and a big block of Barrow Bree cheese.

A Joyous Union!

2009-06-17T18:05:00.002+01:00

A chance meeting and whirlwind romance led to a life union this past monday. Vladrick and Flannery, who some of you may know from the Bree-land area or beyond, exchanged vows and rings in the Dwarven area of Ered Luin.

After meeting in the Prancing Pony one evening, sharing a drink and a chat, they initially went their seperate way, with Flannery believing that Vladrick held affections for another. However, they soon found themselves sharing time together more often, their attraction to one another growing steadly.

Flannery explained that, "one day, I suppose we had been seeing each other for about fourteen days, he asked for me to travel to hobbiton. We sat on the bridge in the moonlight, After recalling a time we had spent there before, he proposed, presenting a symbolic moonstone ring. I accepted. It felt very right indeed."

Sharing a love of dwarven architecure, the pair chose to hold the ceremony in dwarven homestead of Thekksgrof a mere twenty-one days later. One can only wonder at the efficiency and fortitude of the couple to have arranged such an event in so short time!

The ceremony itself went without incident with the presiding official being Tillion, the leader of the kinship Serenity. Both he and the groom, Vladrick, were clothed in attire of black and gold whilst Flannery herself is reported to have been resplendant in a ceremonial dress of white silk, sporting a jewelled belt and a gold circlet that had belonged to her mother.

Of the ceremony itself, Flannery said, "On the day, I dreaded he would not show - I have little luck with men and believed myself destined to be a spinster all my days - but he did, handsome and very ready, although I was nervously tempted not to participate, I did.

"The wedding was a blur, though I recall our vows. He said 'I come to you today just as I am, and I take you just as you are, my cherished wife. Let's never change, but always love each other the way we do today.' I started shaking there and then, nervously replying 'You are my husband. My feet, dance because of you. My eyes, see because of you. My mind, thinks because of you. And I shall love because of you.'"

After exchanging rings crafted of Khazad-gold and being pronounced as husband and wife, the happy couple and their guests retired to Thorins Hall where they celebrated long into the night with drinks, music, dance and laughter.

Heartfelt congratulations and well wishes to Flannery and Vladrick on their union!
May your lives together be long, happy and prosperous!

Shock Murder in Bree

2009-06-16T22:30:00.007+01:00

New evidence has come to light in the ongoing investigation into the murder of a merchant last month.

The hapless man was found near the vault in Bree with a stab wound to his throat. It is suspected that he was killed elsewhere and moved to that location.

Witnesses say that a figure shrouded in white was seen running across the rooftops around the time of the discovery, although no identification could be made.

The mysterious Man in White is wanted in connection with other crimes around Bree-land.

Only a few weeks ago a man was found in the stables beneath the Combe and Wattle Inn. He had been beaten severely and left with a long cut across his collarbone. Barstaff of the inn and guards of the area reported seeing a man in white wearing a white mask, although they were unable to apprehend him.

Also, a wealthy merchant who is reported to have been dealing in the slave trade has been left fingerless. He claims not to know or have seen his assailant, reporting that he was knocked unconscious from behind, however, the Man in White was seen walking through the streets of Bree shortly afterwards. The victim declined to comment concerning his business activities or whether or not he plans to have a fork tied to his hand or go the shovel route when eating.

The Joys of Creation

2009-06-16T21:45:00.004+01:00

Hearty congratulations go out to Majno and Eleanias who are reported to have recently graced the world with mini-elves. Twins, in fact; a boy and a girl named Surinen and Serunin respectively.

Elven births are rare and twins rarer still, so we at the Laurelin Herald would like to remind the happy couple that children are for life, not just for solstice!

Also, congratulations to Majno for his recent 176th birthday!

We wish them, and their young ones, all the best in the years to come.

Rumour has it that Majno and Eleanias do not consider themselves married. Is this, perhaps, a rebellion against Elven tradition on their part?