A little homesick

Linett says…

I have been too long underground. Today I ventured into the Second Hall of Moria, where the dwarves of old carved pillars to look like trees holding up a cavern roof that seems no nearer than the sky outside. I am no elf, and spend more of my time inside with old books than out under the trees, yet the sight of those pillars made me long to be out under trees and sun again.

Pillars of stone emulate trees in this vast cavern

I have many things yet to do in Moria, many more wondrous places to explore; but I believe I am not far now from the eastern exit of this underground realm. Perhaps I shall make a detour into the Dimrill Dale and fill my eyes with real trees before I wander again under trees of stone…

Becki says:

Linett, that intrepid explorer, is up to level 55 now! Woohoo, time to visit a vault and buy another storage chest! Her new level seems to be making her reckless. She spent a while this morning scouting a path to the Orc-watch…not through the sensible Zelem-Melek route, but through Nud-Melek and the Redhorn Lodes. Thus the above photo postcard…lots of orange and yellow mobs fell to her mighty staff along the way, and she made it to the new stable-master without being defeated once. I call that a good day’s work!

Buried Lore

Linett says…

Bree-folk are a hardworking breed, yet the industrious nature of Durin’s Folk leaves my countrymen far behind, seemingly idle in luxury. Sunlight, now–sunlight and the smell of flowers opening to it in the morning–it is such things that seem the height of luxury to me since I have stepped down into the halls of Khazad-dum. Hardy as they are, the dwarves are perfectly content without these luxuries I crave; or rather, they would think the craving nonsense. To resume the current of my thought: Surely there is no folk in this middle-earth so hard working as the dwarves. It is not long since I fought with the Iron Garrison’s expedition against that foul mystery, the Watcher in the Water. Not long since the expedition took its first steps into the long dark of Moria; yet already they have accomplished so much! What a vast kingdom this was–and will be, I am sure, for there is no one like a dwarf to find a way to accomplish this impossible goal of reclaiming their ancestral mines.

Meantime, sunlight and flowers may be lacking here, but Moria is not without its luxuries for me as well. Following a helpful guard’s directions, I was making my way to the Dolven-View when I turned a corner, off the main path, and stumbled upon a quiet chamber. I might not have found it if I set out to look for it, but there it was, at the very edge of the Dolven-View. The tiny room’s walls were decorated as I like them best: books, old even by a Lore-master’s standards, filled shelves all around me. Later I stumbled upon a similar chamber closer to Durin’s Threshold. Remarkable that the delicate pages were more than a wordy dust upon the shelves, but there they were–records old as Moria itself! Though the urgency of my errand at the time did not allow me to pause and peruse them at great length, I did peek at a few volumes, only enough to provoke curiosity to insufferable levels. I have marked the rooms on my map; without question, if there should be a quiet moment when the goblins are soundly routed, I shall return to make a thorough study of Moria’s buried lore.

Yuletide

Linett says:

Hobbit customs are so peculiar. As I was passing through the Shire, I was able to do some favors for the quartermaster in charge of Hobbiton’s Yule festival, for which he thanked me with an early Yule gift. To my surprise,this festive and gaily beribboned box opened to reveal…a potato! Now, potatoes are a fine thing, but what an odd thing to receive as a gift. I have seen many rare and beautiful things, and many more inexplicable and useless, yet still somehow cheerful, things in the collection of the Mathom Society in Michel Delving, but I am sure I have never seen a humble potato among them.

I shall pass this spud on to my halfling friend Vanita, I think. Maybe she’ll know what to make of it. At the least, she’s a much better cook than I, and she might make of it a nice shepherd’s pie. Mmm, pie!

First Forays

Becki says…

I haven’t even blogged at my regular journal in ages, so I doubt this page is going to see regular use. Could be interesting to blog in character as Linett, however. Don’t expect that to be regular either, though. She’s always busy out questing and such…Actually, I don’t really RP as Linett so it seems odd to blog in character. Not so odd that I’m not considering it! It would be kind of fun, especially as it’s years since I did any character writing (alas for the demise of Terra Group, especially since much of that demise was from my own neglect).

So.

Linett says…

I have seen wonders in all my travels, but I am charmed anew with Hollin. This is a wild and beautiful land, something like home in its greens and its broad vistas and yet entirely different too, as every land in which I travel is different. In this country I could thrive, I am sure. Its youthful beauty belies its ancient history. That history too is charming: the harmony once known here between the Elves of Eregion and neighbor dwarves well befits such a lovely landscape. What a place this must have been in those days! Even now, despite the swarms of fell creatures and incursions of enemy forces, the land of Hollin has charms to spare.