Attercop, Attercop

SouthWest Corner of Mirkwood - Dol Guldur Road

You stand at the south and west edge of what was once Greenwood the Great, now Mirkwood the dark and feared. The wood is thick and heavy with foliage, and stretches off to the north and east. Below you the ground is grass covered in the warm early afternoon light. There seems to be some kind of path that skirts the forest edge.

The forest lies to your east and northeast, beyond that the daylight blinds out all other detail...

The sun shines brightly off the grasslands to the south, and a few shafts of bright stabbing light penetrate the bleak darkness under the canopy though the occurance of these shafts lessen the deeper in the forest you look.

Contents:

Haldir

Uruk Camp

Obvious exits:

South, Road NorthEast, and SouthEast

[+TIME] Middle-earth time is:

Early Afternoon on Sunday, Day 15 of July.

Execute the +TIMEFRAME command for year information.

Real time is: 21:18:50 MDT on Sun Mar 28 2010.

[Haldir(#25231)]

The rafts made by the Mordain camp are nearly ready to sail -- their oaken bodies lashed together with greasy twine, their seams caulked with sticky, unpleasant tar. They are gathered about by their builders, rubbed by clawed fingers, polished by grimy feet, spat upon and rubbed to achieve a rough-hewn shine. But something stays their departure to the south and to conquest of equine lands -- some odd reason unknown to most. What could it be?

The delayer is a wiry-muscled orc clad in rags, who minces now along the Dol Guldur Road with something large and heavy in tow. It is a sack, from which unwholesome liquids seep and long, segmented legs poke.

[Bagaglok(#24847)]

Away from the piles of rafts that await for their embarkment, a red robed orc sits on the trodden ground in front of a black hide tent. The Shaman section of this camp is set a little further away from the rest of the tents, and therefore it is positioned closer to the road.

But, the approaching sack-ladden creature goes unnoticed for now by Bagaglok silent, eyes shut, the uruk would appear to be in some sort of meditation, legs folded beneath, and hands out to either side.

The border guards, however, do take notice, and they easily part for Surtha to enter -- the little orc\'s burden is given an odd glance nonetheless.

[Haldir(#25231)]

The wiry orc trots through the camp, shaking off odd stares and leering questions. He dances with an odd step, and the normal sullen scowl is replaced with a cheerful, silly-headed grin: a dirty bandage surrounds his forehead, much like a headband. Surtha deposits the sack at the side of the tent and peers at the meditating shaman, singing something below his breath: \"Attercop, attercop, cute liddle lucky spiders ...\"

The venom of the spiders of Mirkwood is potent, indeed: this soldier seems to have escaped the most deadly effects, but he has not returned unchanged.

[Bagaglok(#24847)]

A nose twitches at the singing and the smell of the sack\'s contents, but Bagaglok does not open his eyes as of yet. \"Ah, so you have returned at last,\" he says slowly, after a passing quiet. \"And to think I was beginning to suspect the potion to have failed...and you have not come back empty handed -- even better.\"

At last, the orc looks up at the other with a scrutinizing stare. \"Not all unharmed, eh?\" the shaman comments, ere peeking expectantly at the oozing sack, but the expression swiftly turns into a suspicious one as he glances around. \"Inside,\" is all he says, standing and gesturing behind to the tent. \"Away from prying eyes. Mustn\'t forget about the reward either, yes?\"

[Haldir(#25231)]

\"Teehee, yessir. The luckybrew worked,\" is all that Surtha says, heaving the putrid sack into the shaman\'s nice tent with a giggle and tumbling in shortly thereafter.

[Bagaglok(#24847)]

Following closely behind, Bagaglok simply raises an eyebrow at the odd display the smaller orc shows. \"Is that from the potion, or the poison?\" he asks almost unconcerned, but then frowns. \"Don\'t touch anything, lucky boy,\" he grins unpleasantly, pointing to the assortment of disorderly vials and the like strewn about the inside of the tent. It is a dim place, depressing, and there is an ever present smell of honey...and death.

\"Put the sack here,\" a claw goes to indicate a corner, and then the Malkog pauses in font of an old table on one side of animal skin shelter. Curious shiny medals are layed out across its surface. Each medallion is etched with a symbol, and they might seem to glow faintly...though perhaps this is due only to ill lighting.

[Haldir(#25231)]

\"Dunno. Something bit me, now I\'m happy,\" replies the soldier sing-song, heaving the burlap obediently to the directed corner. Surtha then glances about with overly bright eyes, hugging himself tightly to avoid touching any of the suspicious research experiments.

[Bagaglok(#24847)]

For a while the shaman speaks naught, instead quite occupied with looking over the collection of objects on the wooden table. An amused snort comes then, and Bagaglok reaches to snatch one of the medallions up. \"Fiting, I think you would agree.\" And the medal is held out for the over-happy orc to see: the thing is made of gold and circular, attached to a string that must be worn over the neck. On the glinting surface there is sprawled a spider.

[Haldir(#25231)]

\"Oooohh,\" says Surtha expectantly (still hugging himself and rocking back and forth), his jaundiced eyes wide as tea-saucers ... or whatever the orcish equivalent may be. \"Shiny. Very pretty. Is it for me?\" He seems quite taken with this idea, as might a youngster be with an unforeseen gift.

[Bagaglok(#24847)]

\"Indeed,\" answers the second, though he yet holds onto the trinket. \"I promised a reward, did I not? You may have this, but on one condition. It must be worn beneath your armor or clothes, for none to see lest they learn of it and steal it. The luck should not last for much longer, and this might prove useful once it has run out. It sharpens the wits of its wearer, enabling him to better devise schemes and other such resourcefulness.\"

The robed goblin grins downward, finally moving to drop the medallion into one of Surtha\'s waiting hands. \"Useful, no doubt, by a smaller orc such as yourself. Maybe now you shall not be tossed from the feastings.\"

[Haldir(#25231)]

Surtha\'s giggle is rife with unclean orcish delight, clasping the lucky charm in both hands and bowing deeply to the orc-shaman. \"Thankye, sir! I\'ll hide the shiny, and no one\'ll know, \'cept fer yew and me ... tehe,\" says the orc soldier, fitting it reverently over his scantily-haired head and tucking it into the hollow of his throat, beneath the greasy leather collar that surmounts his rags.

His giggle quiets as he scratches at the dirty bandage. \"Question, sir. What\'s the spiders for agin? If it\'s for more luckybrew ...\" He looks hopeful.

[Bagaglok(#24847)]

Bagaglok gives the orc-soldier a curious, bemused look. \"You enjoyed the potion, I see? No, I am afraid the spider is not destined to help brew more, but rather destined to be used for its venom. Poisoned weapons, you see, are much better than plain ordinary ones. Should you doubt, you\'d do well to ask the leaf-ear king, who could attest to such.\" And the shaman laughs, caring not if the listener understands the reason.

\"If I can concoct enough more of the potion, then I will have most of the camp drink it as well. Should make the river crossing less...stressful.\"

[Haldir(#25231)]

\"Won\'t that be fun,\" chuckles Surtha, his eyes still wide, now a little wary of the messy laboratory and the tall red-robed shaman. \"Well, sir, if yew have anymore missions for me, Surtha\'s here to help. Thankee for the shiny, I\'ll keep it safe and it\'ll keep me lucky.\"

[Bagaglok(#24847)]

As Surtha mentions more help, the Malkog\'s fanged smile grows even more dreadful. \"Good, good,\" he chuckles, \"the lucky ones go first into battle...you wanted Elf the last time, I believe? Catching one will be the deciding test whether you are meant to be lucky or not. Good to eat, but I hope they will not come back. Hard enough to cross the water with angry wargs and -- \" he pauses, glancing the little soldier over once, and the strange state he is in \"--foolish workers.\"

[Haldir(#25231)]

\"I\'ll keep an eye out for \'em, sir,\" says the other orc, now decidedly unsettled by Bagaglok\'s speech and smile. \"Well, I\'ll be \'round the fire if yew need anything. Thankee, again,\" Surtha bows once more, then darts out the mouth of the tent, a dance still in his step. And though he bears the medal with pride and orcish honor, more cautious glances are now cast to that dwelling-place...