Plans of deception

Amon Sul

The short, windswept grass tenaciously clings to the top of Amon Sul here, poking up around the ruins of what appears to have once been a great tower. All that is left of it now is a wide ring of eroded foundation stones and a fair number of loose stones scattered about the hilltop. The top of Amon Sul appears peaceful and serene. In all directions below spreads Eriador, this hill offering a spectacular and wide reaching view of the land.

Contents:

Gimli

Halbarad

Obvious exits:

South leads to Weathertop - Southern Base.

North leads to Weathertop - Northern Base.

Elladan has connected.

[Gimli(#30149)] The Sun has started her long trek to meet the western horizon, yet still shines brightly in the sky. A few scattered clouds can be seen here and there, lazily drifting southwards. And on top the Weathertop a dwarf stands, close to the edge of the cliff. His bright mail flashes in the sun, as does the battle axe strapped to his back. A long brown beard falls from his chin, almost obscuring the silver buckle of his belt. Atop his head a fine helmet rests, and below it a pair of dark eyes scan the lands below with intensity.

[Halbarad(#30370)]

The sun has started toward the western horizon, and the warmth of an early summer\'s day lingers on.

Near the tower\'s ruin, a figure cloaked in grey lies curled with his back against the lingering stones. A gentle snore rises from it.

[Elladan(#27059)] \"I wish your companion was not asleep. I need to speak with him.\" Next to the mail clad dwarf at the cliff, arms crossed before his chest, stands another figure clad in grey, though clearly too tall to be of dwarven kind. Long black hair is flowing down his shoulders.

[Frarin] A second dwarf appears from the slopes leading to the top of the hill, this one clad not in mail, but in a simple tunic, though a war hammer hangs half-concealed beneath a heavy cloak. About his left leg is wound a bandage, and indeed he walks with a noticeable limp, but no support does he takes, even to climb Weathertop. Perhaps more telling, however, are the harsh scars across the dwarf\'s face, two of them, one across the brow, the other on the left cheek. They appear relatively new, though healing.

As Frarin comes upon the quiet tower ruins, he checks his pace, seeing Gimli, though he says nothing for the time to disrupt the dwarf lord.

[Gimli(#30149)] \"No companion of mine is he\", Gimli replies, his voice gruff, and his eyes not leaving their scanning of the lands. \"He\'s one of those... Rangers, I think they\'re called, and I had naught to do with them before we came to the aid of Bree\", the dwarf lord says. \"But if you\'re in a hurry, perhaps you can wake him, for he seems as if he\'ll sleep until tomorrow\", he adds, as his eyes glance at a moment towards Halbarad\'s prone form. To Frarin then a wave is given, as the Champion of the Baruk Narag turns again to watch.

[Elladan(#27059)] \"Ah, there he comes.\" Elladan\'s mood seems to be lifted as the second dwarf appears. He casts a brief glance at the sleeping man at the tower, then returns to the dwarves. \"Not all have joined Fletcher, good. Master Frarin, upon a word, if you will, he says loud enough for the latter to hear.\"

[Frarin] Frarin\'s brows rise as he is quickly taken notice of, though he recovers swiftly and spares a deep nod to Gimli. To the elf, however, a moment more is taken as the merchant beholds Elladan. \"Son of Elrond,\" he says after a time, bowing as deeply as his injured leg allows. \"I did not know you had come to this land, though my heart is glad to see that Rivendell has knowledge of the trouble that plagues this land.\" And another moment, a strange look entering the dwarf\'s eyes. His voice is gruff, but the words spoken with respect. \"I am at your service.\"

[Halbarad(#30370)]

The man-shaped figure snorts lightly, its foot twitching. But the gentle snoring continues.

[Gimli(#30149)] \"Well met, cousin\", comes Gimli\'s reply to the dwarf, and now his voice is more gentle. \"Have you come for the grand view that this hill offers of the lands yonder, perhaps?\", he asks and then chuckles.

[Elladan(#27059)] \"My task is the road,\" replies Elladan, now with a low voice. \"Two things I would like to ask of you, Master Frarin. First, I would urge you not to mention my name nor where I stem from to the man from Gondor. There are reasons for this secrecy that I cannot openly discuss here. To him I am known as the Herion.\"

[Frarin] \"That and to seek the fresh air that height affords,\" says Frarin to Gimli, not sharing in the other\'s chuckle, though giving a small smile. He looks to again to Elladan and nods. Question lingers in his eyes, but he says quietly, \"Then Herion you shall remain, lord. I know you only by your father myself, for you gave no name...when we last met. But I do not know the man of Gondor of whom you speak. I have met only the men who roam the wilds of Eriador.\"

[Gimli(#30149)] \"The man from... where?\", Gimli asks, as his eyes now regard the half-elf. \"I\'ve never heard of this land you speak of.... is it far away?\", he asks. Clearly, Gimli\'s curiosity has been sparked by the herion.

[Halbarad(#30370)]

Of those men who roam, at least one does not -- not today, at least, not this afternoon. Back against the cool stone of the fallen tower, the Captain of the Dundain continues to slumber.

[Elladan(#27059)] \"It is quite far away,\" responds the son of Elrond. \"If you look closely at the men, the rangers, you will notice that one of them is different from the others. But that aside, there is a thing much more important I need to discuss with you both.\" His gaze wanders across the opend land to the east. \"They will come along the road and their vanguard will be made up of warg riders,\" he says grimly. \"That is now far more important than the names of people and realms.\"

[Gimli(#30149)] \"We shall rid the land of them, as the Men of Dale get rid of reeds when they plant\", Gimli replies. \"Wargs, or no wargs. But you think they will come to us, then? Their leader would be reckless to do so... or in dire need of a victory to bolster his troops. be as it may\", the dwarf lord says, \'we shall be ready, and once more our axes shall bathe in their black blood\".

[Frarin] Some semblance of understanding seems to enter Frarin\'s expression, for his brows rise and he nods lightly, though says nothing more on the subject. His own gaze follows the elf\'s to the east and it stays there as Gimli speaks. \"We dwarves have experience of wargs,\" says the silver merchant, respectfully allowing his lord to finish before looking back to Elladan. \"They have long troubled the Wilderland.\"

[Elladan(#27059)] The hint of a smile appears on Elladan\'s features. \"Then I need not persuade you to help us bring destruction upon the orcs. In fact I had not thought different about the sons of Durin. They,\" he gestures towards the sleeping ranger, \"are very skilled at scouting. Thus they have found out that the foul ones are lead by a moody and weak general. One who rivals their own vanguard of orc-riders.\"

He pauses for a brief moment, to look at the dwarves in turn. \"And this is what we must exploit. There is a plan that will hopefully make the orcs fight themselves, yet it will involve the butchering of one or two wargs and the odd orc to work properly.\"

[Gimli(#30149)] Gimli grins nastily as Elladan speaks. \"Slay wargs and orcs, eh?\", he says, a dark chuckle escaping from his lips. \"Few words are sweeter to me ear than those. indeed, you can count on the Black Axes of Dain\'s realm to help in such a thing\".

[Frarin] Frarin listens solemnly, only nodding as Elladan and then Gimli speak in turn. A glance is cast upon the sleeping figure. Is that perhaps a glint of heightened approval that creeps into the dwarf\'s face, to hear the elf speak favourably of the Rangers? Perhaps so, but he says nothing on it, only querying, \"How would we draw only a few away from the main contingent? And what do we look to if they fail to set upon one another?\"

[Elladan(#27059)] \"We must work at two places at once,\" explains Elladan. \"One group will slay one or two stray wargs which are usually sent to spy upon the road. The others must then seek unmounted scouts from the general\'s own troop - and slay them as well. Then we put the corpses in one place on the road and apply the jaws of the wargs to the dead orcs. Anyone who comes upon this shall think that the two factions killed each other. It should suffice to fuel the rivalries between the riders and the host commander.\"

[Gimli(#30149)] \"Wargs are wary, and difficult to catch unawares\", Gimli comments, his brow furrowing, \"while orcs are easier to surprise... but, as Frarin says\", he adds, casting a glance at the other dwarf before eyeing Elladan, \"we have much experience with wargs, as they sometimes venture into our lands. We shall do what is needed\".

[Frarin] \"Then it shall be done,\" Frarin says, voice now low with grim finality. \"We need not catch the wargs entirely unawares. They ever hunger for blood, until sometimes their own riders cannot control them. If we move some of our company up wind of the road, and the scouting wolves prowling ahead, we might lure them to us with the prospect of a hunt, only to discover our numbers to be greater than their own.\"

[Elladan(#27059)] \"So it shall be.\" Elladan\'s voice is grim as well and a sparkling has appeared in his grey eyes. \"In the meantime though we should fortify this very place just for the event that the host is wanting to visit Weathertop. A task that should be easy for your kin, I assume, the more since this was once a fortress of its own.\"

[Gimli(#30149)] \"I shall speak to our cousins, but there are few of us here, and we don\'t work the stone with battle axes and maces\", Gimli replies. \"I shall send word of whatever we come up with to help defend the place\". To Elladan a nod is given in token of farewell, and as the dwarf lord truns and walks down the mighty hill another is given to Frarin.

[Frarin] Frarin bows to Gimli\'s retreating back, then turns briefly back to the elf. \"Lord Gimli speaks true, we are mostly merchants and warders. But we have had experience with rude defences during our time in Bree, though the town did not approve. This was once a fortress?\" the dwarf echoes, glancing around. \"Ruins of some place of old, I knew, but fortress I do believe. It is a commanding point. And it shall be fortified, as you counsel, Herion.\"

Looking again to the east for a moment, Frarin then bows low to Elladan. \"I shall take my leave also. Perhaps my debt to you or your brother may yet be held paid by the end of this.\"

[Halbarad(#30370)]

And still? The Ranger sleeps.

Elladan returns Gimli\'s nod. \"My thanks, son of Gloin.\" He turns back to the other dwarf. \"I thank you, too. Master Frarin. Let us meet again at nightfall to inform the others about our plan. I daresay there is not much time left, for these orcs travel with an astounding speed.\" Said that, he turns to walks over to the sleeping ranger.