A9S4- The Conclusion

FROM THE BEGINNING: A1.1 At Your Service

A9S4- Knock on Wood

They sat in the empty Prancing Pony Inn composing their battle plans while drinking free ale and puffing on their pipes. How would they avoid being dominated by the queen on her throne? Why didn't the boys fall under the queen’s spell while she sat on her throne? Was it because they were passed out drunk unconscious, or protected by the wooden walls of the cellar? They spent the next hour each on task: Kyan crafted gem staffs (like the Woses used in their hunt) to amplify the Elf Lights that Thran might cast. Theo went to the town blacksmith shop to get metal helmets (to protect their minds). And Thran went to the local Hobbit Scholar’s shop to collect herbs (Redmace as a stimulant since they hadn’t slept for 36 hours. Boiled Hogweed to drink to gain advantage on Shadow corruption checks. And Kingscup as a poultice to remove poison.).

They set out on horses riding out the west gate and along the Great East Road towards the Shire, passing the Barrow Downs. They dismounted abeam the Old Forest when they saw the multitude of footprints that angled into the woods, “The citizens of Bree!” They entered the woods with weapons drawn and Thran off to the side as a flank scout. Thran was the first to hear the cheerful voice and see the waft of pipe smoke drifting from the back of a tree. All were on edge expecting a trap, before they finally realized it was Tom Bombadil with his wife Goldberry at his side.

Tom Bombadil: A mysterious and powerful being, called by the Elves Iarwain Ben-adar (Oldest and Fatherless), who dwelt in the valley of the Withywindle, east of the Shire. Tom was a creature of contradictions, one moment defeating ancient forces with hardly any effort, the next playfully leaping about while singing nonsensical songs. He appears as an old man, at least in Hobbit eyes, with a wrinkled and ruddy face, bright blue eyes, and a bristling brown beard. He is said to be taller than a typical Hobbit, but too short to be a Man, so he seems to have been about five feet in height. His costume consisted of a blue jacket and yellow boots, and he wore an old and battered hat, surmounted by a swan-feather. In his own house, rather than a hat, he wore a crown of autumn leaves, perhaps revealing something of the elemental powers he possessed.

River-woman: A mysterious being (a water-spirit) and mother of Goldberry associated with the Withywindle River in the Old Forest. She lived in a deep pool beneath the Withywindle with her daughter, until Goldberry was taken by Tom Bombadil as his wife. She was saddened to be left alone in her hollow; the reeds in her river sigh in the absence of her daughter Goldberry.

Goldberry: known as 'River-daughter', wife of Tom, she occasionally returns after winter to the river to bathe in its waters.

Tom offered up his pipe for traditional greetings as he asked about their purpose. “So, you too are after the shard I helped Harslan and the hobbits hide a thousand years ago. And I see you have the glove I gave Harlan to help him control Old Man Willow as he put the shard under its roots. It will take the strongest among you to face off against that old Huorn [a wild and dangerous sentient tree, distinct from Ents who are more humanoid and wiser] to reclaim the shard. Strength of mind and will that is.” And just like that, Tom and his wife disappeared. At least they felt refreshed [removed 2 Shadow points] and laughed at the sight of a leaf sprig growing on each of their foreheads. What was in that pipe they were sharing?!

Soon they heard and saw the approach of Breefolk armed with simple weapons. Kyan had the fellowship get in a defensive circle to block the attack without harming anyone. Thran used his Elf Lights spell trying to enthrall the crowd but quickly realized his magic was useless against the Queen's greater Throne control. He then cast Chain Lightning hoping the jolt might set them free. Yet while the lightning chained through at least a third of the villagers, it had no effect on their dominated condition. Then the sound of arrows hitting trees around them or impaling the backs of some of the Breefolk meant there was a real threat to deal with. Orc and Haradrim archers! The Breefolk became unintentional cover for the heroes who returned fire with their own arrows. And that's when the Orcs charged. [Natural 20] And that’s when Kyan saw sunlight glint from a white stoned throne sitting upon a hill far to their right. With the queen upon it!

Why were they not being affected by the Queen's presence on the throne? They smiled as they assumed their metal helmets shielded their thoughts. [No one gave credit to the sprigs of leaves on their foreheads courtesy of Tom.] They could only snarl at the queen as they were occupied by the archers and Orcs while being pestered by the Breefolk. And that is when the Fell Beast arrived overhead to unleash his Black Breath upon friend and foe. But a flight of arrows struck the fell-beast, announcing the arrival of Margo and her Green Company archers. One less foe for them to deal with.

They exchanged arrows with the Haradrim archers and clashed blades and axes with the Orcs. Thran even cast Thunder Wave to knock back the throng of villagers. Which gave Theo the opportunity to transform into a bear to deal with this threat. 

Which allowed the others to rush toward the throne to face the queen. As they charged forward, Kyan mocked her, “Afraid to face us yourself? Lazy of you to sit on your throne and sic your feeble minions on us. You ran away the last time you faced us.” The queen’s answer was her Chain Lightning spell that fizzled on Loegir as the first target. She was also caught by surprise when all of the heroes resisted her legendary Thing of Terror frightening effect.

While Loegir fell stunned by her Soothing Voice spell effect, Thran twanged a stinging arrow while Kyan chucked his spear. And that is when Theo the bear arrived to snarl and snap at her with his mouth full of sharp teeth. Little did he realize her resistance to non-magical weapons and was caught off guard when she reacted with a Reflection ability that turned his bite attack against himself! The arrival of cawing crebain announced success of other minions who must have found the tree, for she herself took off in flight to the South. Her departing mock was to point out the approach of the rest of the Bree villagers.

All realized the queen did not have to sit on the throne to maintain control of the villagers. Which gave Kyan reason to remember how they dealt with the Rod of Pallando. Welding Spider-Bane, he raised the blade over the throne and struck with all his might. Magic against Magic flared in a blinding Black Wave as both magical items disintegrated. Kyan suffered wounds as his permanent Shadow points were burned away. But at least the villagers were set free as the domination spell was terminated.

As a bear, Theo could only howl as his sixth sense warned of approaching evil. But all saw Kyan’s RingRist axe begin to glow which they realized meant undead were nearby. The villagers fled in fear when the three specters emerged from the mound under the destroyed throne. Realizing his claws were useless against the undead, Theo began the slow process of transforming back into human form. Thran got off a stinging arrow before one specter confronted him while the other two engaged Kyan. The specter's Black Dread caused disadvantages when the heroes tried to resist the specter’s Visions of Torment [that caused psychic damage plus damage equal to any current Shadow corruption].

[Which meant Kyan needed to work fast as he and Thran had increasing Shadow corruption!] Kyan’s three attacks and his action surge swing killed one of the Specters. Thran gripped his staff tight as he cast Sunburst that weakened the two remaining specters. They retaliated with their own Grieve attack [that inflicted more Shadow points and Visions of Torment damage associated with accumulated Shadow points]. But soon all specters were vanquished which gave the heroes pause to heal and reflect.

What was it that Tom Bombadil said about the glove found in Harslan’s Tomb? Kyan was ready to leave it behind so that the queen could not use it herself. Until Loegir voiced a dream where he saw one of the members wearing the glove as he battled the queen and Old Man Willow. And where the hell were the Great Eagles, or Radagast?!

They pressed onward across the river and were soon drawn to the death scream of Orcs. The Dark Queen paid little attention to their arrival as she stood under the boughs of Old Man Willow as she directed another Orc to dig at the base of the tree. Like the others before it, the Orc was assaulted by the branches and grasped by the roots and pulled underground to his death. The few remaining Orcs broke ranks and ran away in fear for their lives. If only they knew the legend of Old Man Willow:

Millennia ago, the Old Forest used to be a peaceful place. Then stories began of one particular willow tree that lashed out at anyone who came near, as it snared them with its roots and drug their bodies beneath the soil as if nutrient for its roots. As legend tells: a century passed before the Great Willow directed the trees to attack the Hedge protecting the Bucklanders. In retaliation, the Hobbits invaded the forest and burnt hundreds of trees in a huge bonfire. The blackened and empty blighted area is now known as the Bonfire Glade.

It was up to the queen herself to get the shard. The fellowship tried to thwart her by shooting arrows before they charged. Only to realize there was a Warding Void spell around the tree that prevented their approach and blocked the flight of arrows. It became a test of willpower just to enter the Void to get off a shot or to attack the queen who was now busy struggling against Old Man Willow. Even then, their entry was usually temporary as they failed another WISsave and were ejected from the Void.

And that's when Kyan realized he needed to give the glove to Thran who had the greatest wisdom amongst them. As for himself, Kyan tried another tactic as he pleaded with Old Man Willow, “Are you just going to stand there and let her steal your shard? Tom sends his regards.” His last statement, mentioning Tom, got a reaction as a willow branch snapped out trying to grapple the dwarf who was just out of range. Meanwhile, the queen realized Theo was inside the tree ring and thus cast Beguile on him. [Even though Theo fumbled his WISsave, the sprig of Leaf on his temple saved him from the spell.] While not spelled, Theo was ejected from the ring.

By now, Tom Bombadil and Goldberry sat on a large flat rock and watched. Tom ignored his wife's pleas for him to intercede. Tom refused, "It is up to mankind to forge his own destiny." And that's when Radagast arrived to second the opinion, "If we interfere, we are no better than Pallando who mistakenly created the Throne and Rod in an effort to force his will upon mankind. No, let them fend for themselves. Do you happen to have any popcorn?”

 And so it was, Thran stepped into the ring with ease and dug beside the queen in a race to the shard while both had to resist Old Man Willow. At least Loegir was able to offer a couple of Warden Gifts to Thran’s efforts. And Kyan and Theo were intermittently able to enter the ring to grapple the queen's feet, trying to slow or thwart her efforts.

[Mechanics: the queen (WISsave +17) and Thran (WISsave +15) raced in WISsave versus Old Man Willow's DC30. 3 saves to reach the shard but 3 fails meant they were now in death save rolls: 3 failures = death; 3 saves = escape with the shard.]

It was close. The queen forged ahead until Kyan or Theo interfered. Then Thran gained ground, twice aided by a Warden Gift. Kyan pleaded with Old Man Willow, "You've suffered a great burden all these millennia that had corrupted your true honorable Huorn form. Release the shard to the elf and let us free you of the burden."

 [A tall order for Old Man Willow who indeed had been corrupted for millennia. Impossible expectation! I set the bar at two natural 20s. Kyan rolled a 20 and an 18. I reduced Old Man Willow’s WIS DC to 20.]

As the struggle continued, Kyan and Theo found themselves trapped by the roots and being pulled underground. While Theo fought for his life, Kyan accepted his fate and focused on grappling with the queen to give Thran an edge. And that is how Thran was able to emerge with the shard in hand. And that is when Tom stepped forward to grab Kyan’s and Theo's exposed feet and pulled them to safety.

It wasn't long after that that Old Man Willow expelled the Queen's crown from underground. Her crown set with the three shards she had already recovered.

And so it was, with the shards each secured in an iron coffer, the Great Eagles arrived to take the fellowship and their coffers to Mount Doom where the coffers were thrown into the fires, just like the One Ring destroyed by Frodo.

And the Eagles willingly flew the fellowship back to Bree for a joyous reunion with the rescued villagers and Margo and her Green Company archers. With the minstrel Bardwyn there to craft a new tale of how evil was thwarted once again.