Arriving at Mountain Hall
The fellowship trudge grimly on from the crossing at
Stonyford to the white-water of the river leading to The
Mountain Hall. By the time they near their destination, Hathus is suffering from the effects of the journey and in a foul mood.
The fast-flowing river waters that protect
Mountain Hall are icy cold as they tumble down from the snowy heights of the
Misty Mountains. The waters churn and cascade around the hall, surging down a gully that was shaped and widened by many years of craft. The hall has no protective hedge or walls – it needs only the river and the cliffs. A narrow bridge crosses the river, leading to the knot of outbuildings and storerooms at the front of the hall. Behind the long hall itself, a watchtower rises as if in imitation of the towering peaks around.
When the company approaches the bridge, they are challenged from the other side by the doorkeeper of
Mountain Hall, old Beranald.
“Stay where you are, strangers. Your journey has led you here to seek our hall. I see you are warriors. I must ask who you are, in the name of Hartfast, head of the House of Mountain Hall.”
The fellowship enjoy re-provisioning for the first time in many days before they speak with
Hartfast about rumours of darkness stirring between
The Anduin and his hall.
Hartfast looks like the
Misty Mountains; craggy features, absurdly tall, and a wild shock of white hair. Golden amulets are braided into his grey beard. He has seen more than fifty winters here in the mountains, but he is yet unbowed. He does lean on a stout walking stave more than he used to, but he can still swing an axe or draw a bow with the best of his grandsons.
He is a proud man, and has little time for outsiders – not even the other Woodman tribes are truly welcome here. It is a long way across the River to
Mountain Hall, and
Hartfast considers them distant cousins at best. Behind his back, the other Woodmen call him the ‘tallest dwarf’ for his stubborn pride and standoffishness.
The party discovers two useful pieces of information from the old ruler.
“Aye, there’s something afoot down south, in the Gladden Fields. There’s always trouble in those parts, around The Dwimmerhorn. I pay it little heed – I’ve worries closer to home.”
The Dwimmerhorn, he explains, is an old fort made by ‘evil folk’ that sits on a stony hillock in the marshes. At least, it usually does –
The Dwimmerhorn moves of its own accord, they say, and is never in the same place twice. It is said by the mountain-folk that the fort was built by servants of the Necromancer many years ago. It was abandoned by the enemy several times in the past, but it draws dark things to itself, and is never empty for long. From what he knows, it was somewhere in the western part of the
Gladden Fields. Local hunters may know more.
Monin is invited to listen to the sounds of tap-tapping from deep under the rock of the hall.
"Goblins! They dig in search of our mineshafts and tunnels. They want to find a secret way in to my hall. We’ve killed many on the surface, but they are more dangerous down here in the dark.”
They speak with a well-dressed fur merchant who confirms that at least two reliable trappers are missing in the region. That night, Monin joins a group of boisterous miners in a night of revelry.
Goblins in the Night
During the miserable hours deep in the night, the fellowship wake up to the sounds of shouting in the square outside and run out into the cold air to discover three sneaky goblins making a desperate escape up a high cliff to the East of the town. The goblins manage to escape before they can be brought down with bows, but Sigmarr fortunately manages to discover a scene of a fight, and spots a wounded or dead guard a long way down a cliff above the river.
The Horn of Warning sounds a solitary long blast during the commotion, although none of the locals seem overly concerned by the warning, confirming that a single blast is nothing to worry too much about.
Sigmarr manages to rescue the guard and Hathus uses his medical skills to save his life.
Hartfast is pleased by their prompt actions and invites the fellowship to a ceremonial dinner that night. Monin spends a day of joyous mining with his new friends and notes several potential improvements as, humming a dwarven working song to himself, he marches back to his colleagues. Hathus is over the worst of his exhaustion from the journey and the group spend an enjoyable evening with
Hartfast, where the companions are awarded the status of 'Friends of Mountain Hall', and the assistance of a skilled trapper called
Magric on their exploration of the
Gladden Fields.
Journey South
Magric is a good, albeit somewhat ingratiating, companion and the companions make good progress north of
The Wolfswood on their way to the crossing of
The Anduin at
Trader's Island. As they cross the wide expanse of the Great River, the fellowship can't help but glance at Sigmarr, who is suffering from the many days of hiking. Excited at the prospect of another unknown market, the ferry alights on the narrow strip of land and the companions disembark.
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