Looking for a place to post creative stories? Are you an amateur journalist or cartoonist with the desire to broaden your audience? Post your submissions here for your fellow Windfolians.
Not LOTR related but something I'm working on. Sorry for the format. I need to find a place to place it where it can be linked.
Max was startled awake by a multitude of shouting. He felt Mr. Penna’s arms tighten around him as they were shaken about on their horse. In the dim light, he could barely see the men that were making all the noise. In the light that the moon did provide he could see that they were carrying swords. They had encircled his father. Max watched as his father did his best to defend himself. He struck a killing blow to two of the attackers before being pulled off of his horse.
“No!” cried Max and Mr. Penna at the same time. Max watched his father fall to the ground. The men dove at him. Max could no longer see his father among them. Suddenly, the men were shoved back, in the center of them stood his father. The images of the great Protectors his father had once shown him flashed into Max’s mind.
The men had paused briefly after they were pushed back, but now several rushed inward. With a flourish of his blade his father ended the life of those who were foolish enough to charge him. The rest, seeing their comrade’s fall, had a change of heart and ran off. The battle was over having last only a few minutes.
Mr. Penna loosened his grip on Max and rode over to his father. He looked him over. Mr. Penna tried to smile but Max heard the concern in his voice.
“It is hard to tell in the moon light, Peter, but they seem to have given you a few wounds at least.”
Peter was hunched over, breathing heavily, but returned the half-hearted smile, “A few.” He straightened up. “I’ll manage though. I have to. A few got away. They may bring re-enforcements. We need to keep moving. We’ll worry about getting me patched up later.”
Mr. Penna looked around. “The town we were originally headed for is still several days to the south. However, if I remember what the innkeeper told us at Hedgewood, there is a smaller road that leads off of this one not too far from here. It heads west towards the town of Pike. If we ride hard we should be there in an hour or so.”
Peter nodded, “Alright, that’s where we’ll head.” With great effort he climbed back onto his horse. Once he was seated they headed down the road at a full run. Several minutes later they reached the spot where the west road intersected the southern route. Without any hesitation, they turned and headed for Pike.
Before long they were able to see the lamplights marking the entrance to Pike. They were a couple of hundred yards from the first house when Peter unexpectedly veered off the road. Mr. Penna followed, afraid Peter had lost conciseness and the horse was now on its own heading.
“Peter!” shouted Mr. Penna, “were almost there, try and steer Starlight back to the right.”
“No,” came a weak and labored response, “It’s... to easy... to find. We…. can’t stop here.”
Peter continued his course, skirting around the outside of the town. Mr. Penna pushed their horse harder and came along side Starlight. He tried to grab her reins but nearly lost his hold on Max in the process.
He tried speaking to Peter again. “Peter, we need to get you to a healer immediately.”
Peter fought to speak every word. “Town… to close…further”
“I don’t know if there is another town Peter!” shouted Mr. Penna.
Peter nodded to the field in front of them, “Road”.
Max strained his eyes ahead. In the light from Pike he could just make out a road that left the backside of the town. It was in poor shape and much narrower than the one that had led them to Pike.
“It leads to the southwest,” said Mr. Penna, “I do not know what lies in that direction.”
“Deadlands,” replied Peter as he turned Starlight to follow the road.
Max knew Mr. Penna wasn’t going to stop his father; few could when his mind was set. Mr. Penna must have realized this as well as he spoke no more, instead he followed Peter along the unknown road. The excitement over for the moment, Max fell asleep to the movement of the running horse.
*
Max dreamt he was falling. As the ground closed in he woke up with a jolt. Startled from his sleep, Max opened his eyes and tried to take in their surroundings. Mr. Penna still held Max in his arms but now stood on the ground.
I must of woke when Mr. Penna slid off of the horse, thought Max.
In front of him, several people were helping his father down from Starlight. Max watched them carry him into a nearby house. From behind him, a loud thump made both him and Mr. Penna jump. Mr. Penna turned to see what the noise was. On the ground lay the horse they had been riding. It struggled to breath.
One of the villagers shouted, “Bring them in here.”
Mr. Penna and Max were ushered through a second doorway in the same house where they had taken his father. Inside, they were seated in a chair against the wall. Mr. Penna held Max in his lap.
Everyone began asking them questions at once. Mr. Penna couldn’t get a word in edgewise. After a few minutes, a man stepped in from the adjoining room. He hushed the crowd of people. He spoke to Mr. Penna.
“Your friend has been badly hurt. The Healer says she has not dealt with such severe wounds. I know she is determined though, and, in my opinion, one of the best Healers around. For now, all we can do is wait.”
Mr. Penna nodded his head. “Thank you.”
The man continued. “Now, I do have a few questions for you as we are not used to having strangers show up in the middle of the night in such condition. But first.” The man turned his attention to the crowded room. Motioning the people towards the door he said, “All right, everyone out.”
The villagers looked disappointed, but they followed the order and left the house one by one. The man watched them leave. When the last was out he gave a bemused smile.
“That means you too, Evangeline.”
“Aaahh” came a small voice from behind a large cabinet in a far corner of the room.
Max watched as a little girl, perhaps four, like himself, stepped out. Much to his surprise she had ears like a cat set atop her head. As she came close he could also see that she had a long tail as well. Max vaguely remembered seeing one or two others like her back in the city but only at a distance and they were adults.
“I want to stay,” she pleaded.
“No, Evangeline.”
The girl hung her head in disappointment. The man smiled, “I have an important job for you to do instead.”
“Really?” she asked excitedly.
The man continued, “I need you to go over to your home and have Mrs. Tassi round up some food and tea for our guests. I know they will really appreciate it later when we are finished. Can you do that for me?”
Evangeline jumped up and down now, “Yep! You bet!”
Evangeline looked at Max and waved, “Bye.” She ran out the door, her tail trailing straight out behind her.
“Well now,” said the man, his attention back on Mr. Penna, “with things a little calmer perhaps we can get down to business. I am Aric, the mayor of Swiftwater.”
He reached out his hand. Mr. Penna did the same and they shook. “I’m Chiron Penna. My friend in there is Peter Laskaris. This is his son, and my godson, Maxwell.”
The mayor gave Maxwell a polite nod. Max only stared at him. With the commotion gone, sleep had begun to overtake him. The mayor smiled and began to ask Mr. Penna all sorts of questions: about where they had come from, where they were going and what had happened to them. The conversation faded as Max drifted off to dreams of playing hide and seek with the strange little cat girl.
*
The village of Swiftwater lay on the bank of its namesake, the Swiftwater branch of the river Clanrye. Here the water picked up speed and broke upon the increasingly rocky river bed as it flowed towards the Deadlands where it soon dived underground. The backside of Swiftwater village sat on the edge of the Deadlands, a most unwelcoming place made up of rocky canyons, miles of caves, and little else. The only good that came out of the Deadlands were the stones. Though the known land was surrounded by large, impassable mountains, the stones from the Swiftwater quarry were prized and you could find them used in buildings in even the farthest of towns. That was all that Swiftwater had to offer, any other job you might have was only to support the quarry.
It had been two years since they first arrived in Swiftwater. His father’s wounds never completely healed, leaving him with pains that at times made it difficult to move. Most of the time, however, he was able to walk about with only a limp. It was enough though to keep him from rejoining the Protectors, or so he said. Instead, they stayed in the little village. Peter would perform various jobs for the people. He often took Max with him. Max enjoyed that time together immensely. It was time Max had never been able to enjoy with his father when they had lived in the city. He also loved the freedom and openness of the.
Peter’s other job was that of sheriff. Not that the town needed much of one but from time to time someone would try to make trouble. Or on rare occasion a bandit would come up out of the Deadlands in hopes of an easy robbery.
It was the latter which was interrupting their evening. Peter was seeing Max to bed when a loud knock came at the door followed by a man shouting.
“Mr. Laskaris, a bandit was spotted in the village, not far from your house.”
Max didn’t recognize the man’s voice but he couldn’t remember everyone. Peter finished tucking him in.
“You stay here, I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Okay,” said Max. His father was having one of his better nights with his old wounds so he wasn’t worried about him.
Peter left Max’s room. Max heard him open the door. A conversation started, but Max was having a hard time clearly hearing what was being said. He listened intently. Without warning a voice came from the open window next to his bed.
“Maxy?”
Max practically jumped out of his skin, despite having recognized the voice.
“Eve,” he said as he shook from the fright she had given him, “don’t do that.”
Max watched as Eve climbed in through the window, an easy feat for her. Not only did she look like a cat, but she moved like one too. “I’m sorry Max, I didn’t mean to scare you that time.”
Max smiled “Sure you didn’t.”
Max was amazed how often she did sneak up on him. Sure she was agile and the thin amount of fur on the bottom of her feet made her near impossible to hear, but with that fiery red hair of hers and her long tail of the same color, you’d think she’d stand out more.
“No, really, Max. I came to get you. You need to get out of here.”
“What?” asked Max dumbfounded?
“It’s not safe,” said Eve nervously. “Please come with me.”
Max smiled, “Eve, you’re silly. Dad just left to go take care of a bandit. He’ll be back any minute.”
Eve began to fidget. “No, Max, something’s wrong. Please come with me.”
Max’s smile faded away. “I’ll wait for dad, I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
Eve began to tremble, “Max, please come with me. It’s not safe here.”
Shortly after Max had seen Eve the night they arrived in Swiftwater he had befriended her. Actually, it was closer to the other way around. Eve was a ball of energy and often dragged Max along on whatever she happened to be up to on a particular day. She rarely gave him much choice in the matter. It didn’t bother him though. Most of the time he would have went anyway. She was odd and he liked that. But in all that time he had never seen her get scared. He was worried now.
“O...Okay, Eve. I’ll go.”
Without a moment’s hesitation she grabbed him by the arm and pulled him towards the open window. She nimbly climbed out, Max followed, albeit more slowly. When he was back on his feet, Eve grabbed his hand and led him along the backside of several houses. Eventually she cut between a pair of houses and crossed the main street in town. Max glanced up the street as they crossed. He saw a large number of men standing outside of their house. He couldn’t see his father anywhere. Max tried to stop, but Eve wouldn’t let him. Instead she led him into the café that also served as the home for her and her adoptive mother. She took him all the way into the kitchen and back to a row of cabinets that lined the floor in the back. She opened the door to one of them.
“Get in, Max”
“What? You’re kidding?” asked Max.
One look at her face told him she was not. The fear was gone from her eyes and a fierce determination had replaced it.
“What about you?” he asked.
“It’s you I’m worried about,” said Eve. “Besides, I can take care of myself.”
As Max watched, claws shot out from the top of Eve’s hands, extending several inches beyond her fingertips. That’s new he thought to himself.
Eve began to push him inside the cabinet. “Now get in and be quiet.”
Max complied, too dumbstruck by the claws to think of anything else. Once he was inside Eve closed the door.
In the darkness Max could no longer detect the passage of time. He sat in silence and wondered what was going on out in the street. The café was too far away to hear anything. Outside his hiding place, Eve made no sound. He had no doubt she was still there though. All he could do was wait.
After what seemed like hours he heard a tired voice.
“Eve, there you are. Have you seen Max?”
There was no response.
“It’s okay Eve. They’re gone. No one is going to hurt Max.”
Max heard Eve speak. “He’s in here, Mrs. Tassi.”
Footsteps approached the cabinet. The door opened. At first the light from the kitchen blinded him, but slowly his eyes cleared. Mrs. Tassi was crouched in front of the cabinet.
“I might have known you two would be together. Now come on out Max.”
Max crawled out of the cabinet as best he could. When he emerged Mrs. Tassi picked him up and held him. Eve stood over to the side. Her claws were still out, but the fire he had seen in her eyes had died out. Now she was on the verge of tears.
Mrs. Tassi laid a soothing hand on Eve’s shoulder, “It’s okay, Eve, it’s over. Now, why don’t you put those things away?”
Max watched as Eve’s claws drew back up into her hands.
“That’s good sweetie,” said Mrs. Tassi. “Now go outside and find Mr. Penna. When you do, bring him back here.”
Eve hesitated for a moment, staring sadly at Max. Before he could see the first tear drop roll down her cheek she ran out of the kitchen and out through the dining area.
“Why is Mr. Penna back so soon?” asked Max. “Where is Dad?”
Mrs. Tassi took a deep breath and let it out. Max saw tears start down her face.
“I’m afraid you won’t be able to speak to your father anymore, Max. That is why Mr. Penna is coming. He will be here any moment to explain things.”
As Mrs. Tassi carried Max out to one of the tables his mind raced. What did she mean he could no longer talk to his Dad. What had happened? He grew very scared, something was really wrong.
Not LOTR related but something I'm working on. Sorry for the format. I need to find a place to place it where it can be linked.
Well, MyLOTRO.com is ideal for that. You can link it right in your siggy (as I do) and there are all sorts of wonderful Wordpress tools over there to play with. Plus, you'll reach an even wider audience.
How interesting. I used to make up little stories, mixed with screen shots, for the amusemnet of my Kinmates. I'll see if I can dig some up to share.... I've had a few harping on me to start doing it again anyway.
Cheers.
Teh Big Piece of Chikinz, Saviour of Pygmiez, Collector of teh Nudez, Hordererer of teh Infamyz
(As recorded by Utulien Malinalda, July 18th, 2009)
Not since Legolas Greenleaf and Gimli, son of Gloin, have the Sentinels who watch over Lorien seen a sight such as is recorded here. Reports from the perimeter of Lothlorien reported seeing one of their own, Utulien, helping a dwarf known as Ringorr gain favor and entrance to realm of the Galadhrim!
The two were proclaimed by witnesses, who had pitched tents in Echad Andestel, as being Green-minded as the two worked tirelessly to pick up orc-filth left needlessly along the shores of the Nimrodel and recycling "slightly-used" arrows from the "very" dead bodies of ill-fortuned orcs who had apparently strayed a little too close to the Lorien border.
Orc-made barricades still smoldered into the wee-hours of the morning and tallies of orc lay slain along the road and country side ranging from the Mirrormere and south, to the borders of the Golden Wood itself as it was apparent both Elf and Dwarf had set out to practice a little population control.
It is probable these two will be spotted inside the friendly confines of Caras Galadhon soon enough as there is a rumor that they take a particular liking to jumping off very high places.... This rumor is unsubstantiated at this time although travelers alone the Great East Road have reported the life-like impressions of what appeared to be a dwarf and elf at the base of Weathertop.
Teh Big Piece of Chikinz, Saviour of Pygmiez, Collector of teh Nudez, Hordererer of teh Infamyz
How interesting. I used to make up little stories, mixed with screen shots, for the amusemnet of my Kinmates. I'll see if I can dig some up to share.... I've had a few harping on me to start doing it again anyway.
Cheers.
lol, you mean somebody's been pestering you besides me? Sweet!
@Jenvieve---did you create "The Rivendell Review"? That's wonderful!
Costume Party at Fil Gashan’s (as recorded by Utulien Malinalda, July 20th, 2009)
Long have the children of the Valar been an ancient and queer race with much of their lore recorded and accounted for in song, poem, and text by the wisest of their kind…. However, a small insight into their mysterious behavior perhaps was indirectly witnessed when a group from Odin’s Hammer decided to attend General Talug’s annual “Slash and Bash Costume Extravaganza” at Fil Gashan.
After enjoying a gourmet meal prepared by Chef Vrarz, of pan-seared mince meat, and given a tour of Commander Greb’s extensive weapon collection, two of our ill-begotten party goers, Utulien and Calliwyn, found themselves overdressed for the occasion and felt uncomfortable about drawing too much attention from the other “guests”. The two resigned to making themselves comfortable in Commander Greb’s quarters while the other members of their fellowship quickly donned their costumes and scampered off to join the War Band Maneuver Line Dance which was just kicking off down the hall.
Feeling empathetic toward his fellow kindred elf, Utulien, quick to comfort the melancholy Calliwyn, offered hugs and feats of physical prowess by performing one-handed push-ups! It was during Utulien’s most muscular pose, (to which he assumed was to Calliwyn’s delight however she secretly thought this an act of compensation for the size of his “Second Age Spear”) that the group’s leader, and dwarf friend, Burnttoast, returned from the festivities with a newly found costume that he managed to “borrow”. Feeling uncertain that the smirk on Burnt’s face was one of embarrassment or homoeroticism, Utulien quickly threw on the extra costume and rushed to join the others.
While “mingling” with the other guests, the group, minus Calliwyn, began to wonder if leaving their female friend all alone and in a room full of weapons was such a great idea. After all, Udún hath no fury like an elf-maiden scorned and the guys feared swift retribution from their female companion! The five of them hastily set off to find Calliwyn a costume and one was procured in short order. Thus the group returned to Commander Greb’s quarters to find Calliwyn, although slightly put off, thankful for the kind gesture….
Teh Big Piece of Chikinz, Saviour of Pygmiez, Collector of teh Nudez, Hordererer of teh Infamyz
Hitting the Books (as recorded by Utulien Malinalda, July 22nd, 2009)
Eregion (Or Hollin, in the Common Tongue), founded in 750 of the second age by a group of Noldorin Elves who survived the War of Wrath against Morgoth at the end of the 1st age and realm of Celebrimbor and the elf-smiths, who forged the Ring’s of Power; is where we will find our tale unfold this day….
Former Odin’s Hammer leader-elect and “The Killers” fan, Lindorandir; Avid virtue huntress and full-time mom, Calliwyn; And consummate champion and otherwise good-looking guy, Utulien, set out for the Library of Tham Mirdain on a quest for enRICHment and knowledge with library cards in hand and an eagerness to dip deep into some dewy decimals!
Their hopes of a quiet evening of studious fulfillment were soon dashed when upon walking through the front doors of the museum the trio discovered the atrium packed as it was “Bring Your Pale-Folk to the Library Day” (and receive a complimentary Noldorin bookmark!) Being unable to convince any of the Pale-folk already present to buddy up to him, Lindo was on his way out the front door when Calli and Utu persuaded him to “fight” past the crowds and find a quieter place to study and reflect.
After a time of hitting the books and bashing brain cells our band of kinsmen had collected all that their knowledge bags could hold and set off for home. As they stepped out the front door Lindo suddenly paused and realized that he had left his limited edition Gil-Galad pocket watch in a room where Commander Pitzor had been teaching a Pale-folk hygiene awareness class. We can only wonder what Lindo was doing in there to begin with but my guess he was still trying for that bookmark!
Teh Big Piece of Chikinz, Saviour of Pygmiez, Collector of teh Nudez, Hordererer of teh Infamyz
Just a pet project when the weather is bad enough to keep me inside Very few subscribers, but it keeps me out of trouble. There is plenty of space available for other Middle-Earth reporting - might send a freep into the Moors to interview a warg in the near future if anyone is daring enough
Just a pet project when the weather is bad enough to keep me inside Very few subscribers, but it keeps me out of trouble. There is plenty of space available for other Middle-Earth reporting - might send a freep into the Moors to interview a warg in the near future if anyone is daring enough
*dresses up*
"The Eye of Sauron sees all but can he see why kids love Cinnamon Toast Crunch"
Looking for a place to post creative stories? Are you an amateur journalist or cartoonist with the desire to broaden your audience? Post your submissions here for your fellow Windfolians.
I have an ongoing storyline on the my.lotro.com site. It is basically storyline built on alts, kinship friends, etc...
Just wanted to give the talented writers in this thread a heads-up that the Summer Blogmoot 2010 is this Saturday on BW. Some of you with BW alts (or even those without, I rolled a warden especially for the event) might want to consider attending.
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Originally Posted by Eadaoin
Teh Big Piece of Chikinz, Saviour of Pygmiez, Collector of teh Nudez, Hordererer of teh Infamyz
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