Far away, Mericc stared outside the cave at the same landscape his elvish friend was looking at with a dwindling sense of hope. The Guardian could see no way of leaving the cave without risking not only his life, but now the life of a young woman whom he felt obligated to protect. He felt far too weak to make such a journey even by himself and somehow getting...

The guardian raised his head carefully, remembering the pain of the last few attempts. He could still feel that faint throbbing at the back of his neck that flared up whenever he tried to overexert himself and now added to it was something more. He was cold, colder than he should be even considering his predicament. It was a draining sort of weakness that...

Meanwhile, back at the campsite, his traveling partner was returning. Aqualondo brushed snow off of his shoulders and hair as he entered the make-shift lean-to that he and Mericc had hastily contructed in a ring of trees. The Elf was aggravated, not only was his usual emaculate appearance disheveled and wind-blown, but the guardian was not even there. Aqualondo...

Mericc stares across a strange sea and an unfamiliar land. The platform that he stands upon juts out into the water, planks creak and groan as he shifts his weight and looks around, trying to find something familiar to tell him where he is. But try as he might nothing makes any sense. He is obviously standing on a dock in a harbor, but what is this city, and...

The cold air swirled and danced around the inside of the cavern, tracing centuries old pathways through the pillars of ice and snow that had been there for centuries. At first the movements are formless and natural and at other times something akin to a human face, or a wolf’s jaws will briefly appear before disappearing into eddies and whirlpools of...

As Mericc slept midway through his journey north, in an inn of no consequence, his elven companion pulled a hooded cloak over himself and headed downstairs. He was bored and that was never a good thing where this particular elf was concerned, but in this case Mericc was lucky that his traveling partner just wished for a little drink and merriment before they...

Endhorg the Fierce, Commander of Riverwatch’s forces, paced the floor of his estate that lay not far from the palace. Weapons of every shape and style lined the walls and every once in a while Endhorg would stop and stare at some priceless object, a gift from his adopted father. Vasper’s dance was only a few days away and Endhorg felt conflicting...

“Greetings High Lord Morianart,” Gwindaelin spoke with dulcet tones, curtseying low. “The splendor of your court is spoken of all the way in Dale, though I see now that they are but images of the truth.” With a smile she finished, eyes shining like starlight, and resumed her place at Lord Almavar’s side. Vasper leaned forward on...

The former servant girl, turned Gwindaelin, stood before the barrel-chested brute, the power of her song holding him in her sway. She sang before them both, unbeatable warrior and noble lord, but Endhorg noticed that her eyes were for him alone. With a smile she captivated him and the great man, who had spent his life in martial pursuits, found the flames of...

Stars wheeled overhead as the noble man approached the source of the weeping in his garden. As he brushed away hanging strands of flowers and leaves, he came upon a man-made pond that sat at the center of the garden. By the waterside he found one of his servant girls, staring into the lily-pad laden pond with tears upon her face. As he approached, she turned...

The outpost of Riverwatch sat upon a hill of rock overlooking the River Running as it passed into the eastern most reaches of the Mirkwood forest. It had been commissioned and built by King Bard the Bowman, not long after the rebuilding of Esgaroth on the Long Lake. Its purpose was to protect the trade that came up the river from the south and to provide a...

The Guardian watched the burning embers of the campfire. The fire was getting low so Mericc threw a fresh bundle of kindling into the flames and they flared up in eager acceptance of this new fuel. Giving the fire a cursory glance, the experienced warrior went back to the task he had been working on the past hour or so. With practiced skill he took hammer and...

Laralini looked at Mericc in complete shock, “Mericc, what are you doing?” But Mericc wasn’t listening, his eyes were fixed on the queen of the spiders who sat perched on Tom’s tree, her pincer-like front legs still wavering over the place where Tom’s heart was. “Doesss it speak true my children?” she wondered aloud,...

She had ruled over the spiders of the Old Forest for years beyond count as did her mother and her mother before her. Now her realm stretched across a wide section of the southern forest and she was continually sending out war-parties to expand it even more. Few things came near her borders that were not ensnared and none that were ensnared made it back out...

They pushed their way southeast through the forest, bear, maiden and warrior, looking for any signs or scent of the young man who had gotten lost somewhere in it’s depths. Morko the bear was in front, his nose to the ground in search of the faintest of smells, followed by Laralini, then Mericc as rear guard. The going in this part of the forest was rough,...

The elf who called herself Laralini sat at the top of the hill, regarding Mericc with bright curious eyes as he came up to rest. Her companion, the great bear Morko, lay at her side, his gaze much more watchful and intense, and Mericc thought to himself that no better watchwarden could be found for one such as her. He wondered what errand brought them to this...

The misshapen bears closed the circle around the warrior, and Mericc knew that there was nothing for it but to fight. About half a dozen cruel looking bears with crueler looking teeth and claws now occupied the shallow pool, growling as they stalked the man they planned on making their next meal. They watched him now as he prepared for their attack, shield held...

Mericc made his way into The Old Forest, sword out and eyes on the alert. At first the going was easy since he was still on the outskirts where the brush was less thick and the trees more spread out. Unfortunately he knew that this wouldn’t last long, the forest wouldn’t let him off that easy. He also knew that his previous trip into the woods...

Mericc rode over the West Bree Bridge and into the countryside surrounding Bree. To his right, the slow rolling hills of the south fields spread on for miles and miles, occupied by various farmsteads and landholders who made up the major suppliers of foodstuffs and other raw goods for the area. If one were to travel farther north up the Greenway, he would find...

The light of the fire and the music of the Teller of Tales takes the crowd of the Prancing Pony back years and years, to a time of troubles and war…. The Guardian sat at a table in the Prancing Pony, drinking a mug of honey mead and listening to the minstrel ply his trade by the fireplace. Stories and news flowed like Barliman’s Best in the inn that...