Osgiliath: The Great Bridge - Western Section

Here is the westernmost end of the once great bridge of Osgiliath, which spanned the Anduin in happier times. Once a place of wonder and splendour, with proud homes and palaces built astride the cobblestones, all that remains now are ruins dark and cold. The sound of a rat skittering by may startle you for a moment, but otherwise all is still in the air, and only the smell of decay and rot lingers.

In the light of day, the ruins do not appear so sinister, nor does the oppressive feel of being watched pervade. Still, though, there is little here to make one glad. Broken cobblestones and fallen pillers litter the area, most thrown free of the main road, yet some of the large obstacles remain in place to hinder movements. Away to the west one is able to see the flags and pennons of a large encampment, and over all there hangs the proud flag of Gondor. Contents:

Meldar

Gundburg

Scene: Two Scouting Parties meet on the bridge. An uruk scouting party consisting of 15, and a Gondorian scouting party consisting of 15. Meldar walks at the head of the band of guards that walk up the bridge. There

are about 15 of them altogether, all bearing swords or bows. Many are quite tired, and a few are even yawning. But their Corporal is quite alert, scanning the distance for any foe that may be lurking. It is a patrol of Gondorian Guards, which is obvious from their fine livery.

A small group of Uruk scouts comes trudging over the bridge. Their armor jangling and chinking as they walk. They are led by an uruk-hai, who runs beside the group, near the center. There are about 15 uruks in the party, running in file, 5 people to a row, 3 rows. They break up when they reach the rubble on the bridge, Gundburg taking the lead. He reaches down and grabs the helm hanging on his side, pulling it off and straping it to his head, then looking up again, and jumping over small rocks and boulders.

Meldar slings his fine bow, Awyrfflam, from its position across his back, and brings it to bear in his left hand, all in one swift movement.

Meldar calls on his men to halt, not yet noticing the danger that is imminent.

He takes a few steps forward, bringing his bow to bear, and he looks around with a frown. He can swear he is hearing the tramp of iron-shod feet...

Meldar turns to the guard next to him, and says to him in a low voice in the tongue of the Dunedain: "<UNINTELLIGIBLE SPEECH>" He growls and looks again, the man at his side adding: "<UNINTELLIGIBLE SPEECH>" Meldar laughs: "<UNINTELLIGIBLE SPEECH>" he admits.

The Logaz leader calls a halt and the whole party skids to a stop, looking about curiously. The Dog Gundburg who had taken the lead begins to sniff at the air, anger growing in his red eyes like a flame, dancing about his face in expressions of evil. He grips the shaft of his spear, and scans the bridge ahead of him, seeing the Gondorian gaurd, anger and evil growing in his face quickly. The logaz seems to have noticed them and yells out in the orcish tongue, "<Uruk> Attack Attack! NOW!"

Meldar starts and stands tall, pushing his helm to the peak of his brow. He gasps, and turns again to his guards, a look of determination upon his countenance. "<UNINTELLIGIBLE SPEECH>" he cries, raising his weapon into the air, and waving to his men, who take arms swiftly, "<UNINTELLIGIBLE SPEECH>". He grimaces, and steps forward, beckoning the leader of the orc warband to advance to barter. "What is is it you want, foul uruk foe?" he cries through gritted teeth in the Westron tongue.

Gundburg sees the whiteskin beckoning him on, and growls deeply in the common tongue, "Fool. Cursed Nuisance of a Cur. I will rip your very arms from your body and have them as a trophy to represent the Eye's Glory and greatness!" He Begins on a dash forward as the Logaz yells out attack, and lowers his spear point as he goes. He dodges around boulders and begins to draw nearer to the human. He yells his battle cry as he goes, voice deep and menacing, "GLORY TO THE EYE", steading his spear and aiming it for the humans chest, as he dashes very close now.

You attack Meldar with your Spear...

Meldar dodges your attack.

The Orcish Patrol begins on a wild dash forward with Gundburg, waving their spears and scimitars wildly in the air, many shouts and curses arising from them. They speed onward towards the Gondorian's, some of the forerunners already meeting their attackers with clangs of swords, and yells of curses.

Meldar sees the foul charge come towards him well before the uruk is beared upon him, and he dodges out of the way. He laughs as the spear misses its target, and he takes a firm stance. With a spit at the orc's back, he fits an arrow to his bow, Awurfflam. He grimaces, and says lowly in the Common Tongue: "Begone, servant of the Dark One, begone, and leave us in peace!" But to aid the uruk in its departure, he aims a shot at its evil head...

Meldar launches an arrow...

Ow! You've been injured for 2 hp's by the bowshot.

ARB: Please RP this injury accordingly.

Gundburg spins on his heels, continueing to skid backwards as he goes, still crouched over from his failed attack. He slams into a boulder, and straightens up, back cracking from the unusual movement. Before he even notices an arrow hits his chest, bouncing lightly off the scale armor, doing almost no damage at all. He begins to dash forward again, running towards the left side of the human, swinging the spear in a straight downward arc towars the humans neck, where the armor stops and flesh continues.

You attack Meldar with your Spear...

Meldar dodges your attack.

The Gondorian Guard Patrol form a stout rank of five by three almost instantly Meldar gives the command. They dash forward, their weapons ready, and bear upon the orcs in front of them. They cry in unison, their voices loud and clear, "For Gondor! For the White Tree and Gondor!"

Meldar uses his wits wixsely, and again dodges the uruk's blow, using the momentum of the foul thing's spear to throw it off balance. He laughs, and says brutally: W"What kind of uruk are you, dark minion? Can you not hit a Gondioran? Shame on you!" He alughs lightly and again raises his bow to shoot. He squints as he aims and looses the arrow, aiming for the nearby orc's back. The Orcs meet the Gondorians in the run, shouts and clangs heard as they move forward. The Logaz retakes the lead, meeting the first Gondorian to come forward, and raising his scimitar upward, swinging it down in a wide arc. Many of the Orcs group together to take a one human on at a time, hoping that they can do more damage that way.

Meldar launches an arrow...

Ow! You've been injured for 4 hp's by the bowshot.

ARB: Please RP this injury accordingly.

Witch-king walks towards you from the east.

Witch-king has arrived.

The Gondorians clash against the orcs, crying aloud as sword clashes against sword. Blod flies and cries mingle in the air withs screams as the two warbands meet.

Gundburg skids to a stop again, the second arrow again bouncing off the side of his armor, doing little more damage than a bruise. He laughs and evil laugh, bearing his green tinged fangs, then takes a few steps forward, leaning over and shoving the long spear forward, hoping to stab the human in the chest.

You attack Meldar with your Spear...

Meldar's bow is knocked out of his hand!

Your attack against Meldar lightly wounds him!

Meldar cries out aloud through gnashed teeth as the spear dents his armour. He is bruised, but not wiunded, yet the shoick throws the bow from his grasp. He stumbles, muttering in the midst of the fracas about "Bloody Sauron," and moves in a stooping fashion to reclaim his prized weapon.

ARB: Meldar has "passed" on his turn to attack.

A small group of fifteen armed Uruk soldiers have met their human foes among the rubble near the west end of the great bridge, their gruff shouts and insults rising over the sharp ringing of weapons as the fight for their lives under the clouded sky's dim reddish glow.

The uruk scouting party continues to battle onward, slashing and hacking into the humans. The battle is fairly even, and neither side falls back or gains ground. The logaz continues to take the lead, only a small wound on his left arm slowing him down.

A black horse clops slowly but purposefully along the dusty cobblestones of the ruins. Atop it rides an imposing figure, robed entirely in black and hooded against sight and weather. The figure seems to ride hunched slightly, as if not fully paying heed to his surroundings. As the rider comes nearer to the sounds of fighting, the horse snorts and halts, looking across the bridge to the unfolding scene.

The Gondorians push forward, their blows ringing more true than untrue, and their gritted cries are loud and gargled. One in the front rank folls with a cry, a spear through his heart. But another steps in his place.

Gundburg snarls as the human speaks the name of his great master, and he raises the spear again, swinging it down towards the humans shoulder in an attempt to hit where the armor does not cover, and again knock the bow from his hands. He snarls in anger as the black spear whistles through the air like a blur, hesitating for only a split second as a fear takes him, as if a great evil is nearby.

You attack Meldar with your Spear...

Your attack against Meldar lightly wounds him!

Meldar drops to one knee in a skid, and manages to grab his bow. His eyes raise to meet those of his uruk foe,. But instead, they see something much mrore imposing, something that inspires terror in him and all that he stands for. Hisb heart misses almost four beats of his heart. It is what he thought was only fairy tales, what he always took as lies, what he wished nhe would never see...

Many of the orcs in the area tense slightly as they feel a familiar chill, now slight but easily recognized. As yet few of the men of Gondor sense any difference, though one at least sees the black rider and suspects its portent.

The Logaz smiles as his spear rides through the chest of a human, and he steps back looking for a new target. The orc patrol surrounds him, moving forward to take on more and more gondorians. A small dog falls on the right side of the patrol, blood spilling from a wound in his neck.

The Gopndorians all see the Black Rider now, and almost all of them freeze in tero,r, their weapons tumbling like feathers from heir cold hands. They cry aloud, their voices high-pitched and gargling - "The Black Rider! The Black Rider is nigh!!#" They drop their weapons,a nd retreat.

ARB: Meldar has "passed" on his turn to attack.

Meldar picks up a Bow.

Meldar swallows his immense fear and grasps with both hands the bow his ancestors bore, for all the good it would do them. He struggles to his feet, and blinks, hoping that it is all a terrible nightmare. It is not.

Gundburg again lifts his spear, readying to swing it down at the crouching form of the human. A sense of great fear overtakes him, but he tries desperately to push it out of his mind and concentrate on the battle. He guesses at the source of the fear, but it only encourages him more. He begins to swing the spear downwards towards the rising human, hoping to send the point of the spear into his skull as he rises.

You attack Meldar with your Spear...

Meldar dodges your attack.

>From horseback still well distant from the battle, the black rider lifts his robed head and seems to gaze toward the action. In the darkness of his hood it is impossible to say where exactly he looks, though each of the orcs nearby seems to feel a growing chill.

Meldar is struck once by the uruk's spear, and the second thrust passes behind him. He fels the black spike thrust into his white flesh, and he gasps, but he somehow does not feel the pain, as his flesh seems cold, and hid face loses all of its glow. He stumbles, and from the coner of his eye he ees his men reatreat. He swallows all he can swallow, and closes his eyes. He must not retreat. HGe is a man of gondor. He must win, or die for his cause.

The Gondorian Guards fall over each other in their reverse charge. One of the sergeants gasps a feeble rally, but he runs faster than the others. He casts his sword aside, wishing to use both of his ams to run for his own petty life. The uruks hesitate for a second, letting the humans run forward as a fear overtakes them. One uruk falls to his stomach in the great fear, but the logaz seems to try desperately to push it out of his mind, opening his mouth as if to yell an order, but only saying it softly, "Attack now... attack..."

Meldar grimaces and tries to raise to his feet. He fumbles with the string of his bow, and his fingerds are stiff, but he somehow manages to get a arrow to his atring. He swllows hard, and raises it to a rough position rto fire.

ARB: Meldar has "passed" on his turn to attack.

Meldar slings his fine bow, Awyrfflam, from its position across his back, and brings it to bear in his left hand, all in one swift movement.

Gundburg again hesitates as the fear grows inside him, but a great will seems to tell him to ignore it, although he can't. He stops for a second, then takes a step back, snarling as if he is angry that he's afraid, and he stabs forward towards the human yet again, hoping to hit him in the chest and pierce his armor.

You attack Meldar with your Spear...

Meldar's bow is knocked out of his hand!

Your attack against Meldar mildly wounds him!

Meldar's bow tumbles from his weak grasp, and the spear makes a hole in his chest-plate, but only manages to make a flesh wound in his belly. He growls, and falls to one knee, crying aloud in the tongue of his iown kin, "For the love of gondor! Give me dire strength ro live!" But no help comes. Only more relentless strikes...

ARB: Meldar has "passed" on his turn to attack.

The black-hooded rider looks on impassively, his gaze seeming to fall onnothing in the twilight. He remains silent and still as his shadow grows cold and long across the rocks.

Gundburg snarls and takes another step forward, swingign the spear down and forward, hoping to pierce the same hole and enter his stomach. He leans over to add force to the blow, red eyes flaming with anger of the battle, and a glint of fear growing rapidly in them. He doesn't hesitate this attack, but the fear is present in his heart, wavering there.

You attack Meldar with your Spear...

Your attack against Meldar mildly wounds him!

The sun sets and leaves the night in a deep gloom as the smoke from the east covers up any sign of the stars.

Most of the uruks stop, dazed in the sudden change of emotions, but a few continue on a jog towards the humans straggling behind the retreat, or the ones that fell. A dog stands tall above a fallen human, swinging downward towards him with a black scimitar, glinting in the last light of the day, as blessed night falls upon them.

Meldar gasps as again the spear pierces him, but only scraping his skin. He grins somewhat crookedly, and spits at the uruk. "You should put more force into your thrust, orc, if you want me to die..,." He swallows hard.

Gundburg nods his head crookedly at the human, hissing, "I'll take that into consssssideration, Howssss thissss?!" as he speaks he swings the spear again this time jumping slightly to add much more force to the blow, aiming it for the skull of the human, the glinting silver point slipping swiftly through the air.

As darkness falls over the bridge, the black rider is swathed quickly in shadows. The great warhorse steps again across the stones and away into the night.

The Gondorians scream as the orcs pursue them, their own valour being lost in the fog of war. They are yellow dogs, and should be caught and beaten up. But they are not - their legs carry them well.

ARB: Meldar has "passed" on his turn to attack.

You attack Meldar with your Spear...

Your attack against Meldar lightly wounds him!

Witch-king moves further along the bridge, heading east.

Witch-king has left.

The orcs seem to renew themselves from the fear, and all of them dash forward with amazing swiftness in the night, quickly closing the gap between the Gondorians and the scouting party. And gondorians straggling behind of falling are quickly overtaken and caught in a crowd of uruks.

Meldar falls lengthwise on the hard stone as the spear punctures his flesh. It is not a deep wound, but it is pain-inflicting nevertheless, and he cries out as the vile blood spews out of his chest. He growls and spits blood from his lips, grasping vainly for his weapon. He fails, and he decides to draw his dagger and make a stab at the orc.

Meldar draws a long machete-like dagger from hgis belt, and with a grunt he pushes it at the orc. Hr strikes the armour on the uruk's chest, and it pierces the metal, although Meldar's stab is not very strong, since his main training was in bow, not blade.

Gundburg watches as the knife edge slips into the scales on his armor, but doesn't near his skin. He laughs slightly and steps back, using his keen night-site to locate the bow and walk over to it. Leaning over beside the human, hoping he can't see him, and picking up the bow, then standing back up quickly, fumbling to slip the bow over his shoulder.

The uruks let the gondorians go, and begin to head towards the fallen humans, killing the ones still living, and stripping the dead of their items. There are a few small battles going on, but no one takes notice as the begin to pile the bodies.

Meldar gasps as he sees the orc steal his beloved red bow, and he grunts. He struggles to his feet, and grips his chest-wound, and he splatters the blood from his mouth. He growls and shouts: "You will pay for your foul-doings, Orcish scum!" and he charges at the orc, head bent. His strength slowly returns to him...

Meldar collides with Gundburg, using his sharp shouldee-blades and spiked armour to attempt to pierce the orc's flesh and send him tumbling.

Gundburg steps to the side, avoiding the brunt of the attack, but still being pushed slightly out of the way, avoiding the sharp points on the Gondorians armour. Using his night-vision wisely, He swings the spear swiftly towards the passing human, aiming for his back, hoping to slip the jagged edge into his armor and skin, and rip both apart.

You attack Meldar with your Spear...

Meldar dodges your attack.

Meldar gulps, and avoids the spear by the skin of his teeth. He sees an opening before him, and bending in doubkle, he sees that honour must not stay, and flight is the only option now. He covers his head with his bloody arms, and runs with great loping strides, hoping that he will not be hit again.

Gundburg turns as the human runs, laughing slightly, and swinging his spear in a great arc towards the fleeing form. He aims directly for the back of the humans neck, hoping to rip the entrals out of him and kill him in one swift blow.

ARB: Meldar has "passed" on his turn to attack.

You attack Meldar with your Spear...

Your attack against Meldar lightly wounds him!

Meldar cries out as the kagged spear is thrust into his back. He growls and swears in Adunaic as he grasps at its wooden shaft with his flailing arms, and managies to tug it free. He throws it behind him, and stumbles ionward in a mad flee, the blood streaming from his back.

Gundburg snarls and almost runs after the fleeing human, but instead stops and picks up his spear, letting the wounded form disappear from sight. He yells out a curse in uruk, screaming after the human, yet not following him, but joining the group of scouts left in the middle of the bridge.