Storms at Weathertop. Shadow IV- Discussion Thread

[Eärniel]

Still planning on doing so, but I admit it has slipped from my mind somewhat. I think I should do some re-reading to get back into things.

[Serenoli]

What a lot of things have happened since I went. Beautiful post, Val - especially your descriptions made Amon Sul come alive for me. I liked a lot of things abt the post... liked Beleg, and the references to his family, and i liked your description of the tower. And Gandalf's here... fun!

Gordis, great closing post for perilous journey.

I am glad everything's happening now, for I have a eventless month ahead of me, which means plenty of writing time.... my Eid was very good, btw, though the question was asked in another thread...

[Valandil]

Gordis - instead of both Duilin's posts right after the opener, should the second come in a little later? Gimilbeth will arrive on Nov 12. Should we do posts for that day, or postpone any meetings a day or two, game-time?

[Gordis]

Val, In Beleg's post dated Nov 12 it is told:
“I’d say eight or nine leagues,” interjected his brother-in-law, Nonentir. “If they travel but until sunset, then make their camp before dusk fades into night, they should easily arrive tomorrow, though many are not mounted.”

So I guess Gimilbeth will arrive on the 13. Maybe it is Friday the 13? ;D

And what about Gandalf?

Do you want me to write the arrival post for Gimilbeth?

Also, Val - I have asked you some questions regarding Celebrindol: post # 3 this thread. What do you think?

[Valandil]

gordis said:

Val, In Beleg's post dated Nov 12 it is told:
“I’d say eight or nine leagues,” interjected his brother-in-law, Nonentir. “If they travel but until sunset, then make their camp before dusk fades into night, they should easily arrive tomorrow, though many are not mounted.”

So I guess Gimilbeth will arrive on the 13. Maybe it is Friday the 13? ;D

And what about Gandalf?

Do you want me to write the arrival post for Gimilbeth?

Also, Val - I have asked you some questions regarding Celebrindol: post # 3 this thread. What do you think?

Gordis - you're right! You know, I intended to write that as Nov 11, and thought I had. They started from the Last Bridge on Nov 8, so I figured 5 easy days to reach Amon Sul (8th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th). But I just checked and saw I wrote "12th". We could say they slowed up even further - maybe a bit of a storm, or a wagon repair, or just going 7 leagues per day instead of 8...

Should I just keep the date as I have it then?

I intended for Gandalf to arrive before Gimilbeth.

Yes - I saw your questions, and I'm still trying to figure out the best scenario.

[Gordis]

I think, Val, we better leave it as it is. I love the idea of Friday the 13 - that would be Orbelain (or Rodyn) in Sindarin - "the day of the Valar" - and a holiday.
Perhaps the guys in Umbar traditionally thought the "Day of the Valar" to be not auspicious? ;D

So, Gandy comes before Gimilbeth - fine, then you post next, Val.

And yes, please, consider Celebrindol - Gimilbeth relations, as I will have to mention all this in my post.

[Valandil]

We can sort of do "compression" on Gandalf. We'll just write him as being there already when G arrives. He won't have said much yet - but somewhere along the way will mention that he's come from Angmar, and that he has reason to feel very unsettled about the place. On Angmar me may stay about that vague.

But we should collaborate. Want to PM me on post ideas? I suspect G would come to the gate and just request to be admitted and to see the Warden, not realizing that Celebrindol is there with his family. We can still decide if she'll find this out right away, or if they'll keep it from her at first, while they try to find out why she has come...

I really have to come up with a name for that Warden.

By "holiday" - you mean Fridays, right? More like a "Sabbath" I suppose - and it comes every week. If we set this arrival for Friday, Nov 13 of 1347, that'll mean we're determining days of the weeks to go with all our dates, but that's fine. But 13 has long been held "unlucky" - I think in many different cultures. So it's reasonable it would be in Middle Earth as well.

Well - must be off to sleep.

[Gordis]

Well, 13 was decidedly the unlucky number in ME - universally so, I think - remember the 13 dwarves in the Hobbit?

Yes, I have chacked the LOTR appendix: our (or Shire) Friday corresponds to the "day of Valar". In cultures that are not overfond of Valar (Black Numenoreans) this day may be thought unlucky.

Now, Val, I have thought that the Arthedain guards that met Gimilbeth's party on the 12, told her that Celebrindol and family were at Amon Sul. Unless they were expressly forbidden to spill the info. Were they?

Sure I will PM you my post before posting it in the thread. But first tell me whether Cel's presence was kept secret.

[Gimilbeth]

OK, my post is up - reviewed by Val. Any edits, guys?

[Rian]

The only problem I have with it is those stallions standing quietly next to one another - it seems that stallions are one of those things in RPs that everyone has to have! But they just don't get along! You might want to put in a little fighting between the stallions? At the very least, some bared teeth, ears flattened back, angry neighing, attempted bites, etc.

I did a little research on war horses and found a few interesting things. One thing was that Arabs typically didn't geld male horses, but they used mares for pretty much everything, including warfare (mares get along just fine with each other).

Also this quote from Wiki: "Geldings as war horses : Geldings were once prized by classical steppe warriors as war horses because they were quiet; without mating urges, they were less prone to call out to other horses, easier to keep in groups, and less likely to fight with one another. "

And from the same article, I guess the more social non-top males used to group together somewhat - "In wild herds, the 10% ratio is largely maintained, though via a different mechanism, as a single stallion usually protects and breeds a herd of up to 10 or 12 mares.[7] There are more males than just herd stallions, but unattached male horses group together for protection in small all-male "bachelor herds," where, in the absence of mares, they tend to behave much like geldings. " So I guess the less rowdy ones can be more social, while the more rowdy ones would fight the head stallion and get killed or run off.

Anyway, maybe just the head people had stallions, and to make it more real, we might want to add some stallion-like behavior when they get close to each other.