The Towers of No Return: Might

"Going to Mordor!" Cried Pippin. "I hope it won’t come to that!"
Sage of Khazad-dûm
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Level 4
NET, STAKE, SPIDER


Ellisiva was feeling like she was having a good bit of exercise. She doubted she looked at all presentable, apart from among the pirates where being covered in drying blood of various opponents was the look they lusted for. The short distance between the bloody mess of warg and the next door was surprisingly short, but on her way she found a well made, sizeable, and very sharp stake. Ellisiva didn't have enough hands to add it to her makeshift weaponry so she laid the rusty dagger down and hefted the stake instead. She hoped it could pierce flesh with greater ease than rusted metal. Ellisiva pushed the next door open, with difficulty, and found herself in to a dim and oddly quiet room. She squeezed through the gap she had managed to make as there was some holding force behind the door and as it snapped shut she felt a sticky substance all over the back of the door.

Ellisiva waited a moment, but sensed no movement. Her eyes adjusted slightly. The room was incredibly tall, and woven across and along with thick spider's web. She swallowed. In her head, she tried to think of the exercises her father and crew had put her through. Agility courses full of bits of string with bells on to catch her every wrong move. So far, no sign of an actual spider though, so Ellisiva tucked the net into her belt and using the stake to lift the first bit of web out of the way, ducking under and stepping over a low lying string of web at the same time. In this manner she continued cautiously, heading towards the other web covered door at the end of this sticky labyrinth.

She was about three quarters of the way across when she was struck with the almighty need to sneeze. She paused, one foot on either side of a network of web, stuck the stake under her arm and started to massage her nose and face, trying to get the sneeze to go away. Flakes of dried blood started to flutter to the ground as the friction moved the mes son her face and arms. Ellisiva then noticed a flicker of movement out the corner of her eye. Fear crept upon her, coldly growing up her spine and covering her like a shroud. Webs meant spiders. These webs probably meant a big big spider. Still holding her face, stake tucked tightly, she moved her eyes from side to side, and then turned slowly. She could see nothing. Very cautiously she stepped over the web so at least her feet were planted when the inevitable enemy appeared. The sneeze at least seemed to have been defeated. Just as she was reaching for her stake, she heard an unmistakable clack, and with a speed bred into her, the woman dropped and rolled just as the spider loosed itself from the ceiling directly above her and plummeted into its own web. For a moment the beast was all legs, its fat body distorted by all the sticky web, but as the arachnid righted itself, Ellisiva could see its many eyes glaring at her. Without thinking twice, she darted forward and delivered three swift stabs in succession to the bulbous eyes of the spider, gore and liquids and veins and all sorted gushed out onto the floor, sticking to the web and spraying in her direction. Luckily, she had clamped her mouth firmly shut. The legs, the many. many legs kept twitching and Ellisiva couldn't back up much further for fear of being caught in the web herself. That would have been a rather pathetic end indeed. After what felt like years, she felt calm enough to weave her way out of the spider's trap and onwards. At least she had defeated the sneeze.
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Arien
Arien
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@Aethelu and @Queen Nerwen - you have both defeated the spider, although largely thanks to the stupidity of Ungoliant’s late descendants and their inability to remember where they put their own webs. You now face:

Level 5

You find a SHIELD which you may swap for one of your pieces of equipment.

Your opponent is an Uruk-hai. He is armed with a cleaver, but has no armour. Defeat him to progress.
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Elven Enchanter
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Gorfank
Level Three, Net


Apparently the next level down housed the Wargling's parents. Thankfully they appeared to be chained or otherwise hampered, but there was still no easy way to pass by them and get to the next level. Judging from their anger, they somehow knew their child had been hurt. There was a reason you didn't mistreat Wargs! Of course he now needed to deal with angry Warg parents and armed with just a net. He stood in the shadows, thinking. They were fully grown, which would mean they would be harder to defeat. He was a strong orc, but even strong orcs were not dumb enough to take on two fully-grown angry Wargs without some sort of a plan.

Gripping the net in one hand, Gorfank tested its strength. The rope it was made out of seemed to be very sturdy. Perhaps there was some way to turn the net into multiple ropes? Or was there some other ridiculous stunt he could perform? He scanned the roof of the cavern, wondering if there was some way to climb up towards the ceiling and perhaps surprise the wargs from above?

It appeared that there were some roughly hewn rocks that could resembled some form of hand and foot holds, so Gorfank took ahold of them and began to traverse the wall of the cavern. Eventually he found himself above the wargs. Now to incapacitate them. He gripped the net tightly in one first and dropped himself and the net down on top of the wargs. They were certainly surprised and tried their hardest to bite him, but he quickly managed to get the net over both of their heads and pulled tightly, drawing their heads together and stepping back as far as the net would allow him. However, the wargs were still rabidly angry and began to bite each other. Gorfank kept a tight grip on the net and watched as the blood bath occured. The two wargs continued to bite each other all of their faces until they and the net were slick with blood. it was evident that they were beginning to tire or die, Gorfank wasn't sure which and at this point he no longer cared. Before too much longer one and then the other warg fell over unconscious from blood loss. Gorfank quickly untangled his net from their heads, and ran down the passageway, leaving a slight trail of warg blood droplets as he did so.
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Artanis / Éomund / Brandor / Zarâm

Balrog
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Búrzghâsh
Tower of Might, Level 8


The pain in his back surged, but he tried to ignore, gritting his teeth as he collected the sword of the fallen warg rider and the shield, halfway across the chamber. The sword was of decent balance and weight, he made a few practice slashes with it and nodded his approval.

The sound of a trumpet blast greeted him at the entrance to the next chamber. He stood in the doorway, amazed. Somehow they had managed to get a baby mumakil down here. The engineering of that was worth a glass or two at On the Rocks. He looked at the little pachyderm with a hint of sadness. It looked confused and angry. It didn’t belong down here, however deep underground they were now. However, the dilemma he thought he would face upon seeing something like this did not exist. It was a simple case of him or them. And he wasn’t going to lay down just because he felt sorry for the little oliphaunt.

He entered the room, scuttling in behind the shield with the sword raised high. The oliphaunt charged, it’s trunk trumpeting a noise so loud that Búrzghâsh nearly dropped his shield and sword. He was very nearly crushed by the massive feet, only managing to dodge inside at the last second. He swung wildly, desperately, and the slash cut along the creature’s lower back leg but the swing didn’t have the strength to penetrate the skin.

He ran, tumbling as he went, and crouched in the shadows, doing his best to blend with the darkness around him. Oliphaunts had bad eyesight, so he had heard. Perhaps if he was able to hide in the shadows he could gain control of this fight. The creature was flailing about, raising it’s trunk angrily and smashing it against the wall.

He slowed his breathing and began moving forward, dancing back and forth on the balls of his feet. He put all his strength behind the strike. The blade sunk deep in the flesh, he twisted the blade around with a flick of his wrist and ripped it back across in the same movement. The mumakil reared and trumpeted in pain. The sound was so loud Búrzghâsh fell to the ground, covering his ears. The oliphaunt swung around, it’s tusks sweeping the ground. He blindly reached out and grabbed onto the tusk. He was w anked upward and thrown into the wall before he had a chance to recover. Again, the oliphaunt charged, roaring its anger. He rolled into the shadows, going into a crouching position. The sword and shield were near, maybe only ten feet away. If he was careful, he could grab them again. He crept on. Even slower than he moved before. The oliphaunt was angrily dashing about the room, racking its monstrously large tusks against the walls and floor.

He reached the shield, and tucked low as the trunk swung, barely missing getting flung across the chamber again. He grabbed the sword laying next to the shield and stabbed upward, just as the mumakil was swinging it’s trunk back around. The sword jammed itself just under the creature’s chin, finding a soft, fleshy area. The thing roared in pain, raising up on two legs and smashing back down. Stone split beneath it. The trunk swung angrily around, but Búrzghâsh was ready for it. He brought the shield around and angled it so that the trunk would glance off and when the trunk flailed in the air, he struck with the sword slicing it off entirely with a single stroke, using the momentum of oliphaunt’s swing to carry the sword all the way through.

In an instant, blood was everywhere, spraying out of the nub in gallons. The sound was horrible. Pain, fear, rage, and panic. He needed to end this quickly. He blocked a few blows from the tusks, easily slipping through their effective range. He dropped the shield and grabbed the sword two-handed in an underhanded grip. With all his might, Búrzghâsh leapt and thrust the sword through the creature’s exposed eyes. The sword buried itself halfway down the blade before it stopped moving. He let go, breathing in heaves. The oliphaunt sank to the ground, letting out a final whimper before laying still. He didn’t feel as good about this kill as he had the others, but at least it was done. He ripped the sword out of the creature’s eyes and set his jaw determinately.
Strange Fruit got holes in the flesh but it ain't gonn' spoil cause it never was fresh

Arien
Arien
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@Dimcairien Luiniel - your clever use of the net has allowed you to pass to level 4.

You find a STAKE which you may swap out for one of your other pieces of equipment.

Your opponent this round is a Spider - spawn of Shelob or imported from Mirkwood, who can say? Evade her webs which are sneakily strung around the darkened cave, and her venomous bite, to progress to level 5.

@Bïfrøst: despite being Yanked around, you’ve defeated the Oliphaunt! You’re nearly there!

But first you must deal with Level 9.

You find an AXE which you may swap one of your other pieces of equipment for.
You face... a fully grown Fell Beast.

This is going to be a tough one: the fell beast is huge and savage; its wings could definitely break a man’s arm; its teeth drip venom and it has a barbed tail. But it can’t fly well or high in the cave, and it’s not very clever: it relies on its rider for direction most of the time.

Defeat it to get to the last level.
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Búrzghâsh
Tower of Might, Level 9


No sooner had he wrenched the sword from the mumakil’s eyes, than the entire dungeon was filled with the sound of a fell beast. The horrid mixture of a dying pig and a bear filled the entire space, echoing crazily off the walls until it felt like the stones were about to shake loose. Oh no he thought as he inched closer to the door of the next chamber. If he had been impressed by the feat of engineering that had brought the oliphaunt down here, he was even more impressed by whatever madman had decided to bring a fell beast down here. The thing roared again, sobering Búrzghâsh and reminding him exactly where he was.

There was an axe in the doorway, hovering between the inside and outside of the chamber. Another roar. The axe haft shuddered and fell over. Búrzghâsh picked up ax and tested the balance with a few practice swings. Yes, this would do nicely. He dropped the shield, wielding two weapons. He took a deep breath and started bouncing from one foot to the other. It was now or never.

He ran, fast as he could. He was barely five feet into the chamber when a leathery wing swung out from the solid shadowy mass near the door. He ducked, using his momentum to slide on his backside then turned and pivoted onto his knees. He ducked instinctively as the barbed tail whipped over him. He leapt back to his feet and aimed an axe swing at the joint where the wing connected to the body. However, he wasn’t familiar with the weight of the axe and overbalanced himself, causing the strike to glance off the thick leathery membrane. The fell beast roared again. He roared back.

The fell beast’s head swung around suddenly, balanced on a long serpentine neck, and slammed into the orc, throwing him hard into the wall. He ducked, avoiding the chomping, poisonous teeth as the fell beast’s mouth loomed over him.

Desperately, he threw all his weight behind the axe and swung. This time the balance and aim were true, the axe buried itself into the fleshy cheek of the fell beast, creating a massive gash from the thing’s right eye to the corner of it’s mouth. It roared at him again, spraying a nasty smelling saliva all over him. The fell beast tried another bite but he dodged, ducking under the chin and sliding along the floor until he was out of range from the neck. The whip-like tail though, nearly impaled him, missing by a bare inch as it strung the stone floor. He grabbed it and yanked hard, more out of spite than any sort of strategy. The thought backfired, naturally, as the monster’s tail ripped from of his hand and slammed against his sword arm. The blade went clattering to the ground. He cursed his foolishness then ducked again as the tail came back around.

He gripped the axe in two hands then and stood back up. He roared a challenge to the beast and charged, leaping as he did so. The strike was poorly aimed, but struck, given the force behind it. The axe again slammed into the creature’s smelly hide, gashing another rent. Black blood bubbled and oozed out of the wound, steaming in the cool air. The wing came down and nearly crushed Búrzghâsh, it slammed against his head, as he was on his downward arc, slamming him into the ground with much harder force than he anticipated.

His ears rang and all other sounds seemed far away in that moment. He pushed himself back to his feet and felt bones popping and groaning. His hands still gripped the axe. He began roaring, screaming as loud as he could. The chamber was alive with the sounds of wild, abject violence. He ran back and forth, disorienting the fell beast as it tried to fly above him. The chamber was too small though, and it couldn’t maintain any sort of balance or equilibrium. Every time he turned and pivoted, the beast nearly crashed into a wall, giving the orc an opportunity for a strike. Each axe blow landed, but none of them wounded the creature enough to bring it down. He needed to strike at the wings, without those, the creature would be little more than a large angry worm.

He ran again, back toward the chamber’s entrance, he danced to the side at the last second, rolling to his right as the creature careened to a halt. It slammed hard into the stone, bringing several bricks loose. Using the opening, Búrzghâsh grabbed a hold of the wing with a free hand and threw himself onto the beast’s back. It shook wildly beneath him, doing it’s best to buck him off. He held tight, gripping the fell beast’s side with his knees as he brought the axe over his head. With all the strength he had, fueled by bloodlust, rage, and triumph. The axe ripped through bone and sinew, tore through ligaments and tendons. Black, acrid blood sprayed everywhere. The fell beast roared again, but this time the sound was full of pain. It began lashing back and forth. He held on for half a second then leapt off, hitting the stone floor in a roll as he landed.

The sword was nearby, he dashed and ducked as the tail whipped overhead. As soon as his fingers wrapped around the familiar hilt, Búrzghâsh whipped the blade up into the air, colliding with the tail. A gout of blood bloomed over him and sprayed the walls. The barb flopped next to him with a life all its own, disconnected from its owner. He giggled with mad, raging glee.

The fell beast whirled, around, unbalanced, it’s one working wing trying to make up for the suddenly disability of the other. The creature’s flight lasted only a few feet before it came crashing back down. Búrzghâsh took the opportunity and struck the exposed neck with the axe, then with the sword before the fell beast could move out it’s neck out of the way. It howled again, a desperate painful cry that would have likely hurt his ears had he not been seized his frenzied momentum.

He slid underneath, rolling to his left as the beast tried to crush him with its bulk. Without hesitation, Búrzghâsh thrust the sword full into the belly of the creature, dropping the axe so he could wield the blade two-handed. The orc gripped the sword and ripped forward as hard as he could. The final howl of pain and rage was a terrible, ugly thing. It reverberated off the walls, it even seemed to cling to him as it died away. Guts spilled out of the beast, horrid and squelching. He jumped back, pulling the sword with him. An odor worse than before suddenly filled the room. Black, oozing blood was everywhere, he was already covered in it. Intestines slid greasily out of the beast, unraveling on the floor. Everything that was inside the creature was spilling out. It would have been beautiful if it didn’t stink so bad.
Strange Fruit got holes in the flesh but it ain't gonn' spoil cause it never was fresh

Arien
Arien
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Well done @Bïfrøst. You may have made a big mess... but you’re nearly there.

Level 10

This last cave is composed of a narrow shore, with the rest being a lake of cold, dark water. You can’t tell how deep it is, but it seems to be VERY deep.

The only thing you find to help you is a primitive RAFT. You may bring all your items on it.

And in the lake... you see the ripples as it moves...
A Watcher in the Water. Tentacles. A toothy beak. It’s HUGE, suckers.

Defeat this Kraken to complete the Tower of Might!
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Thalionwen
Tower of Might, Level 4 (option of a STAKE--am choosing instead to retain a NET and SEVERED GOBLIN FACE)


Stepping through the next doorway, Thalionwen ran face-first into thick, sticky strands of spider webbing.

"Ugh." She shuddered. "No secret what's lurking in here."

Fishing about in her pocket, Thali removed her fresh and bloody severed goblin face. She'd have liked to use it to disguise herself, but here it would have to do as a diversion instead. With great care, she side-stepped as much web as possible, then stuck the severed face into the center of an especially thick and stringy patch of web strands. Ensuring she disturbed as much of the web as possible in order to summon its maker, Thali crept off to wait, net at the ready.

Before long, a chittering, dragging sound echoed through the cave. Smiling from within her patch of shadows, Thali watched as the spider surveyed the strange spectacle of the goblin face. Surely if there was a face, there must be a luscious goblin attached to it as well? The spider crouched low over the goblin death mask to inspect it, going so far as to pick the thing up in its hairy forelegs. What, no goblin? That was certainly out of the ordinary. In all its long and loathsome years, the spider had never seen such a thing!

Thali launched herself out of the gloom. Engulfing the spider with the net, she kicked it a few times to lessen its frantic squirming, then dragged it across the cavern and towards the next door, careful to avoid its plunging stinger and clacking mandibles.

"I hope whoever's up next is an arachnophobe," Thali muttered grimly to herself.
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Bealdorhaelend
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Ellisiva Ylva
LEVEL 5
STAKE, SHIELD, URUK HAI

Ellisiva took a moment to try and peel off some of the spider's web which covered her now. It was an unctuous, thick substance, clearly designed to trap and ensnare. The woman was sure it had its uses but frankly it was just disgusting. Feeling a little better (dried blood was still a good look), she proceeded and immediately spotted a plain round shield nearby. She deposited her blood soaked, stick net next to it and pick it up, testing its weight and her grip. It was heavier than she was used to, and a little warped in places but it would definitely great some defence for her. By logic, the enemies were only going to worse and she wasn't convinced her stake would do a lot of damage going forward. Ellsiva adjusted her grip on both shield and weapon and felt brave enough to proceed forward into the chamber.

She had hardly taken two steps when a snarling, spitting Uruk charged out of the shadows, with an old cleaver lifted above his head and dressed in nothing but rags. Ellisiva immediately threw the shield up, bracing herself behind it and took the first and second strikes straight in the centre. The shield held firm, though the noise from the strikes was enough to make her teeth chatter. Looking at the size of her opponent, Ellisiva knew she would not have the weight or the strength to force this one back. She lifted herself up on her toes and started an intricate set of dance like steps, designed to dodge large weapons like cleavers and get her nice and close. Darting in at a moments notice she used the shield to shove the Uruk's weapon arm back, straining his shoulder and jabbing with her stake at the softer flesh of his belly leaving a bloody hole behind. As soon as she had found her mark she leapt back but as the Uruk was distractedly looking at the wound in his stomach, she smashed her shield once, twice into the side of his head. He spun and listed dazedly for a moment, dropping his cleaver, and turning to show her his back and she pounced. Dropping her shield, Ellisiva took a running jump, wrapping one arm around his neck and her legs around his torso and sunk her stake straight through his left eye.

The Uruk howled in pain and a flurry of blows rained on her legs, threatening to pull her loose. She pulled the stake upwards and out, leaping down before he fell and crushed her. Again, she moved out of his way as he turned back towards her, tilting his head so his one eye could see her. Ellisiva panted, as she reached down to pick up her shield, just as the Uruk found his cleaver again. Despite his injuries he was quick across the room, slamming his weapon into the shield and catching its edge almost ripping it from her hands. Ellisiva let out a howl of pain and gnashed her teeth at him, pulling her shield back in towards her body.

The Uruk charged again, favouring his right side as he could see her clearly. Ellisiva crouched, counting in her head and at the very last second danced aside, spinning inwards and shifting her weight to her back foot. She twirled out of reach while simultaneously jamming the stake hard into the Uruk's blind side. The Uruk's momentum sent him crashing into the wall as he curled into the source of pain. Ellisiva followed it swiftly with another two shield blows to his face, dazing the Uruk even further as the blood started to gush more heavily from his eye wound. So close, and prostrate on the floor, Ellisiva knelt down on the back on the shield across the Uruk's back and delivered a final stab with the stake to the Uruk's temple. The beasts head was now a mangled mess of flowing blood and tissue, and he twitched despondently as the life ebbed from him. Rising back to standing, Ellisiva picked up her shield, wiped her face with what remained of her sleeve and screamed down at the body "YLVAAAA", followed by a final kick to the Uruk before departing for the door at the other end of the room.
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Guard of The Mark
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Gatehouse, Tower of Might

Ula, both reluctant to stick her head in yet another of Mordor’s questionable entertainments, but also well aware she needed to make a name - any name, no matter how small - for herself while stuck landlocked or find herself being someone’s supper, walked the path towards the guard with an air of one entirely unsure of their choices, yet accepting of the folly.

At the gate, she nodded her chin towards the door, slipped her salt worn knife out of her belt, and announced, “I’m here for the challenge.” Offering out the blade, she asked, “I leave this with you?”

Arien
Arien
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@Thalionwen welcome to Mordor, goodbye to Goblin Face

You are through to Level 5
You find a SHIELD which you may swap for one of your pieces of equipment.

Your opponent is an Uruk-hai. He is armed with a cleaver, but has no armour. Defeat him to progress.

@Queen Nerwen - another savage kill!
Level 6

You may take the Uruk’s CLEAVER which you may swap for one of your pieces of equipment.

Your opponent is an Olog-hai. He is armed with a spiked mace - and needs no armour as his skin is very tough. Defeat him to progress.

@Glitterati_Goblin

Welcome to the Tower of Might! Indeed you are completely disarmed of all weapons and armour. Karaghan shows you to the entrance - roughly cut steps leading down to...

Level 1 Dungeons

You find a ROPE as your weapon.

An average sized goblin crawls out to face you as your opponent. He isn’t armed and doesn’t seem so tough - but you never know with goblins. Defeat him however you can to reach Level 2.
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Tower of Might, Level 1
ROPE, GOBLIN


The taut sail-ties and ladders of her home made the twisted hemp rope a familiar friend, immediately soothing the tension in Ula’s spine. An unarmed foe, no bigger than she, and a loose length of rope? She was more confident inside this tower than in the whole of Mordor. Walking about without axes and only a brittle knife for company had been a hollow comfort compared to this.

She rounded her opponent in a slow circle, gauging its responses as it hissed angrily in return and guttered a mash of words between belligerent grunts. Slowly, she wrapped the rope the length of her forearm and back again, not in the tight bind of a sailor’s reel, but loosely. Sloppy. Free. As the goblin’s agitation grew it lurched towards her, but it backed away again when she did little more than dart swiftly to the side. Her confidence almost made her toy with the creature, but there was more to this tower than a single fight. Instead, she grasped the loops in one hand, stopped her circling, and braced herself for the goblin’s charge.

It wasn’t a fool. Not dangerously intelligent, either, but not a fool. Under the right circumstances, the goblin could’ve been trained to be an effective fighter. But, it was clear in the impatient agitation no one taught goblins the basics of fight strategy. It was only a matter of time before it gave in to the anticipation of a fight and came at her, despite that clearly being her aim.

Surely as the sand fell in an hourglass, the goblin screeched an insult to her mother - an odd choice, since she was rather certain goblins had no mothers themselves - and launched himself at her with a strange lopping run, tilted to the side to allow his arm a longer wind to swing hard and fast at her head.

With a low step to the left, she ducked the blow designed for power and little else, bring her arm - loops of rope in hand - up with her as she stood and whipped the stinging load down across the side of the goblin’s face. The blow, timed well to abuse her opponents poorly planned and over-extended swipe, sent the goblin to a disoriented knee for a precious moment. Dropping all but one end of her rope, Ula quickly kneed the beast between his shoulders, bearing him down to the rough hewn stone with her weight.

From there, the fight was over. The goblin was angry, frantic at his loss, but also unskilled. It was a simple matter to toss part of the rope under his head, minding the thrashing, with one knee carefully controlling his movements by the base of his neck while the other kept her well-grounded on the floor under his arm. An end in each hand, rope settled comfortably against her calluses earn doing exactly this - though, perhap, not exactly - Ula heaved backwards until the goblin’s head arched unnaturally backwards. The objections, screams, and shrieks gurgled slowly to a stop.

She waited another sixty count before relaxing her arms. Finally, the body beneath her relax and released the foul odor of a dead thing’s weaken bowels. With a satisfied sigh, Ula stood, kicked the corpse over on to it’s back, and stomped the goblin’s throat for good measure.

There would be no miraculous recovery for this one.

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Shigzud
Level Five, Stake and Shield


Shigzud the mighty warrior had claimed his first real kill. Well, not the first when he would tell the tale later. He was going to be the fierce slaughterer of the tower, tearing down all who stood in his way to reach the top. The bottom. The top of the bottom. The bottom of the top. Whatever it was. As he continued on his way down, the rope was starting to chafe around his chest and shoulder. He hadn't yet found a reason to use it and it was making him uncomfortable, so seemed like time to get rid of it. He unwrapped it from around his chest, pulling it a bit too quickly. He yelped as the rope left burns across his chest. In his great tales, he would claim it was venom from the terrible spider he took down.

The next level was opening up before him. There looked to be something sitting on the floor, something large and heavy looking. He picked it up, finally realising somewhere deep in that little brain that it was shield. That would definitely be helpful, it even looked to be in better condition than his rusty, holed one he'd left at the entrance. But what would he need a shield for?
Moving further into the new area, he made sure the shield was gripped tight in his left hand and the stake in his right hand. These creatures were getting bigger and meaner, he needed to be ready for whatever was coming next.

There was a sudden grunt somewhere. Shigzud spun around, putting the shield up to cover his chest as he turned. It was an Uruk-hai that he locked eyes with, his eyes narrowing and fixed on Shigzud. The Uruk-hai was only wearing tattered clothes, no armour in sight. That was at least something, but then again he had no armour either except the shield. Figuring he should try to be a bit more intimidating, he revealed the stake from behind the shield. He even smirked, after all the Uruk-hai appeared to be unarmed.

That was when the Uruk-hai pulled a cleaver from behind his back. This was bad, that looked sharp. He also pretty sure even at a distance he was taller and had much bigger muscles. Once again, Shigzud the mighty was looking the weaker of the pair. But that hadn't stopped him so far. Now he just had to come up with a plan, a way to get the Uruk-hai off balance so he could stake him.

The Uruk-hai had other ideas though. With a snarl, he charged at him. Why did all these creatures insist on charging? With a loud gulp, Shigzud ducked down and raised the shield up to protect his head. There was a loud clunk as the cleaver made contact and then a strange sound, followed by a thump. He waited for the next blow, but there was nothing. Slowly, he lowered the shield and raised himself, carefully peering over the top of the shield. The Uruk-hai was lying on the floor. Standing a little straighter he could see the cleaver was embedded in the Uruk-hai's head. He turned the shield over to see the dent where it had made contact. Now, Shigzud looked between the shield and the dead Uruk-hai. The cleaver had definitely hit the shield, but it seemed he hadn't had a very good grip on it. When it had collided, the force of the blow had bounced it out of his hand and straight into his skull. The strange sound had been the life leaving the Uruk-hai with a groan as he realised his error before dropping down dead.

Shigzud stood tall and proud. Once again, the great orc warrior had defeated another enemy. The enemies were getting bigger, but he wasn't backing down. He was going to persevere and then he would be the champion of the tower. As long as his luck kept holding out.
Last edited by Aethelu on Fri Jul 17, 2020 11:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Balrog
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Búrzghâsh
Tower of Might, Level 10


He took a minute to breath. He had earned that much. The gore of the fell beast had slid to all corners of the room and the smell was getting more and more awful by the moment but it was peaceful, and that’s what he needed right now. There was just one more level to go. One more staircase down into the an infinite void of shadow and nothingness.

At the bottom of the stairs, once he had gathered himself and descended, he found something he never could have expected: a narrow shore and a massive, inky black lake. There was no need to guess what was down here. He was certain it was already watching him. To his left there was a small raft, a rickety thing that looked like it had been sitting down here, half water logged for ages. He wasn’t sure he wanted to trust his weight to it, but as he looked around, he saw it was the only option, aside from the inherently suicidal option of swimming into the lake.

A ripple, barely above notice, disturbed the surface of the lake. Búrzghâsh watched the ripples as it made its way to him, growing larger and faster as it neared him. By the time it reached him, a small wave crashed over the shore. It was eerie. There was a deep kind of silence here. Nothing echoed, despite the massive size of the chamber. The pitter patter of his feet barely made it to his ears. The quiet here was heavy and thick, he thought he could taste it. He bent low and picked up a rock near the raft, a smooth, round stone with streaks of white down the middle. He threw it into the lake. It soared for nearly thirty feet until it plunked into the lake. The water swallowed the rock and the sound. A larger ripple forced its way to him and crashed against the shore with a sibilant whimper.

He waited. Nothing. Silence. Darkness.

“Nothing for it,” he mumbled to himself as he heft the axe and sword over his shoulders. He pushed the raft out into the water and hopped on. He paddled out into the lake, dipping his hands, pushing himself forward.

A rush of water came up from underneath him, something slimy and muscled slammed into his tiny raft and sent him flying. He tumbled in the air, flipping head over heels. For a full heartbeat, he could not tell which way was up and which was down. He lost his grip on the axe and it went flying away from him, landing with a soft plunk several feet away. He kept his grip on the sword, holding onto it for dear life.

He landed hard on his back, the force of the impact into the water knocking the air out of his lungs. He went under before he could gasp for breath. The water was colder than he thought possible. He felt the chill steal inside and rip away his life energy. He felt sluggish, tired. His limbs had trouble responding, despite the very near and clear danger.

Something grabbed him. Something strong and inevitable. It dragged him down, further into the inky, lightless depths. He began swinging the sword blindly. Desperately, he connected once, twice, three times, but the tentacle was too big, too strong to let go that easily. Having nothing else he could try, Búrzghâsh bit the tentacle. It tasted like slime. He wanted to vomit but he pushed it back. He bit again and swung the sword. It ricocheted off the side of the tentacle. He was dragged further into the darkness, further from the air. He let go with his teeth, leaned back as far as he could and thrust the sword into the wound his teeth had made. The blade slide greasily through, piercing to the other side. Suddenly the tentacle loosened it’s grip. The orc took the opportunity and made a mad dash, paddling as hard as he could in the opposite direction he was being dragged in. He couldn’t tell if he was swimming up, he had no air left to exhale. He needed air. His lungs felt like they were about to burst.

He shot out of the water like a shark. Inhaling mouthfuls of precious air as he did. His lungs were full again. He fell back into the water, it didn’t feel so cold now. His sword was still in his hand.

A tentacle shot out from beneath him, narrowly missing him. Kicking his feet back and forth in an effort to tread water, Búrzghâsh swung his sword two handed. Much of his strength had been sapped by the icy water but there was still the rage inside him. It fueled him, gave him strength when he thought he had nothing left. He was at the end of the Tower of Might! He had made it all the way to the bottom and he was not going to be stopped now! He swung, hard as he could, and made contact. Blood from the tentacle sprayed out like a fountain. There was a sound of snapping and crunching as the weight of the tentacle bend itself backward, ripping off where he’d sliced it.

A sound came from beneath him then that gripped at his very soul. There was a great bellowing, like a raging aurochs, but deeper and angrier. He could feel the sound and the water buzzed. Everything around him seemed alive, and terrified, in that moment. He felt his gorge rise. He forced it down, taking in a final sweet lungful of air.

Down he plunged, sword pointed out in front of him. There was a fey madness on him, a battle lust, a berserker rage. He swung at a tentacle reaching up at him, he barely caught a slimly glint before it attacked him, but he deflected the strike sliced the tentacle down the center, it fell away, limp and lifeless.

A shadow moved in the darkness. A huge, hulking, misshapen thing detached itself from the inky nothing and rushed toward him, a living conflagration of tentacles. It was the stuff of nightmares. But this was the waking world, and he was going to kill it.

They met, orc and kraken, in a clash of chitinous beak on steel. Búrzghâsh let out much of his air as he landed and began swinging downward. The movements were slow, but deliberate. The tentacles swarmed around him, whipping at him, trying to dislodge him. One managed to grab his foot and push him off, but an errant swing managed to snag on the kraken’s beak. He could hear the creaking, a soul clenching sound like the turning of a massive wagon wheel. The sword was stuck, jammed into the crook of the beak. He held on as tightly as he could, kicking out at the tentacles as they tried to grab him.

They broke the surface, the jarring force knocking the blade free of the thing’s monstrous beak. He slashed wildly, losing his footing as the slime reached the air. He slipped and fell, falling from the beak to the creature’s massive, and exposed side. He jammed the sword in, gripping in two hands like a knife. The blade sliced through rubbery skin; a smell so foul burst out that the orc couldn’t avoid vomiting. He wiped his mouth though and struck again, widening the hole in the side of watcher. Suddenly, with a bellowing howl of pain and rage, the kraken dove. Búrzghâsh was caught in the sudden undertow and plunged down with his enemy. He lost the sword as the speed of the kraken increased, desperately trying to shake off the orc assailant. Búrzghâsh, though, would not be denied. He grabbed the gaping wound and dug his fists in, clawing his way inside the beast.

Inside the kraken he began ripping and tearing, kick and twisting. His mouth was full of kraken bile and his sight was hindered by distended organs but he felt the thing slow. He could no longer feel the whipping motions of the tentacles outside. He ripped his way into the stomach and up through the lifeless beak.

He again burst out of the water, breaching like a shark, and swam ashore.
Strange Fruit got holes in the flesh but it ain't gonn' spoil cause it never was fresh

Arien
Arien
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@Glitterati_Goblin - a quick and efficient kill! Move on to level 2.

Level 2 Dungeons

You find a RUSTY DAGGER as your weapon and you still have your ROPE.

Your enemy this round is a half-grown but feisty Warg. Defeat her to reach level 3.

@Aethelu - your incredible streak of luck continues! On to level 6

Level 6

You may take the Uruk’s CLEAVER which you may swap for one of your pieces of equipment.

Your opponent is an Olog-hai. He is armed with a spiked mace - and needs no armour as his skin is very tough. Defeat him to progress.

@Frostbite - CONGRATULATIONS! You have completed all the challenges and are now a Champion of the Tower of Might! Proceed up the rope ladder to the tower entrance to collect your reward (spoiler, it’s just all the items you left with Karaghan before you started your journey).
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Búrzghâsh
Back at the Tower Gates


He made it the shore and collapsed with exhaustion. The orc lay on his back for what could have been hours for all he knew. He was done though. He was done. He could rest down here as long as he needed. His bones aches and his muscles were sore. His back throbbed from where the warg had bit him, but the pain was far, far away from him. All that was now was the quiet sloshing of the water at his feet and the illimitable darkness. His own breath quieted, barely louder than the sounds of the wave.

He must have fallen asleep, or at least half asleep. He jerked, sitting up rapidly enough to make his head throb. Even though the darkness was absolute down here, he could still feel his head spinning. For a moment, he forgot where he was and panicked. He stood up, all the blood rushed to his head and he nearly fell over. Stars flashed in his vision. That’s when he caught sight of something swinging in a nonexistent breeze. A rope ladder. He squinted and rubbed his eyes. It was still there. It wasn’t some sort of cruel illusion. He walked over to it, touched it, pulled on it. It was real alright, and it seemed solid enough too.

He climbed, and climbed, and climbed. His limbs grew numb and his footing slipped a few times but he made it to the top, back out into the real world. He gave the guardian at the gate a smug, self-satisfied smile. “Bet you didn’t think I was coming back out did you? I came here with nothing but a name, and I have a new name. I’m Nyrrigos, Champion of the Tower of Might!”
Strange Fruit got holes in the flesh but it ain't gonn' spoil cause it never was fresh

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Tarz - Disgraced orc marksman

Gatehouse

Last he could remember, he had been on duty, patrolling the plains of Durthang. The other members on the scouting party had been further ahead as he fell behind to have a swig of grog, as the night had grown cold and the ragged wind from the mountains tore at his patchy hide armor and into his skin. When he heard the screams of excitement ahead, he braced to defend his smuggled canteen from the rest of the patrol. However, having turned his attention to the source of the noise, it was clear the other orcs in the party were drawn to something else further ahead. He could see the dancing flickering light of the torch bearers head to some long unused ruins of some old pink skin structure dug into the thorny sides of the black mountain rock itself. He had followed, and had all but caught up with the rear of the scouting party when the lights went out and Nagush screamed, out of sight at the front. He could not recollect how long the ensuing chaos actually lasted, but he could recollect a pair of black-ink-shot eyes peered at his, seemingly from out of nowhere, immediately followed by a wall of ice hitting his chest, and all went dark.

That had not satisfied the warchief when he finally limped back to camp, as the scene of the carnage was immaculate upon his return with two enforcers sent along to determine how exactly a 5-strong patrol, deep into Udun, managed to disappear off the face of Mordor without any more trace than a battered bloodied marksman stinking of grog stumbling back to camp hours after they were due back. He had just about gathered his wits before he officially recounted his last memories of the event to realise his illicit canteen had stayed the blade which bit at him out of the dark in the hills. Come to think of it, they also had not sent out that many patrols since one of the scary looking boys from Minas Morgul had ridden up with orders for patrols along potential entry points to Mordor to be reinforced. The Warchief merely kicked him within an inch of the edge of the warg pit before stripping him of his rank insignia and trusted crossbow and armor. Unworthy. Back to recruit level. Yet, the boss had been too preoccupied to dole out the punishment himself, as the Minas Morgul rat seemed to be unnerved by his addled account. Not that he looked much better than the average rank-and-file fresh recruit out of the mountain dens himself, in his lowly current state.

The hangover was gone, and despite hanging clouds of doubt over why he was still living, here he was standing at the Gatehouse like so many years before. One of his ribs was complaining, and he did not relish the thought of having to trudge through the pits ahead. But it sure beat whatever had the ghost acolytes so riled up and interested about behind him. He had been through the crucible, and though he turned up with nothing beyond the basics as he had so long ago, he hoped they had not come up with too many new ideas in the subsequent years.

It turned out, they had not even changed the gatekeeper yet. Old Karaghan still at her post might be a sign he was in luck. Tarz pulled himself up and his swagger was only slightly less confident than it had been a world ago, when he had set off for the hills a marksman of Mordor.

"Oi Karaghan! Do an old hand a favour and spare us the usual doom and gloom, need to run the course again after drinkin' a spot too much and misplacing some fellas in the hills. Just let us know what's the score, and maybe I'll sort you with some privileges once I make it to Captain hey?"

Arien
Arien
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@Frostbite

Karaghan gives you a weak smile. It’s more of a mouth-twitch. She’s too old for this shire. “Yeah yeah, take your stuff and get out and tell someone who cares,” she mutters. Probably the captains back in the Black Host... will there be a promotion in this for Búrzghâsh? Karaghan no care.

@Krumhûr

Oh great, more fodder.

Welcome to the Tower of Might... blah blah blah. Strip off your armour and weapons then and get in the pit, since you don’t want the opening spiel.

Level 1 Dungeons

You find a ROPE as your weapon.

An average sized goblin crawls out to face you as your opponent. He isn’t armed and doesn’t seem so tough - but you never know with goblins. Defeat him however you can to reach Level 2.
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Ellisiva Ylva
LEVEL 5
CLEAVER, SHIELD, OLOG-HAI

It's a good thing red was her favourite colour, Ellisiva seemed to have become a walking blood bath. She could feel it on her skin, cracking and peeling, like a dried second skin she was trying to shed. Leaving her destruction behind, Ellisiva took the cleaver, avoiding the uruk's wounds which were leaving pools of gelatinous blood on the floor. She pushed her hair back, streaking the blonde with yet more red and leaving bloody finger prints on her own forehead.

As she made her way into the next stairwell there was a deep thud which reverberated against the walls, quickly followed by two more. Was something punching a wall? She re-gripped her shield and newly acquired cleaver. If a beast was making the walls shake it would surely be monstrously huge. There was nothing for it, all that lay behind was death and devastation. Forward, to create more death and destruction was her only calling. She checked herself, physically, before proceeding down the steps. Her muscles ached, but not detrimentally so, she was bruised from jumping and falling, but that was usual in her day to day, her hands were scratched and the blood on her face was drying around her eyes. Quickly, she leaned the cleaver against the wall, spat into her palms and rubbed her face vigorously to clear here eyes a little. Ellisiva picked up her somewhat heavy weapon, hefting it to find the best place to hold it and bounced on the balls of her feet. If she was about to face something much bigger than her, she needed to have some speed on her side.

Another thud. and booming echo cam from the chamber. beyond. She started walking towards her adversary, but with each step and anticipation growing, the adrenaline started to beat through her body and by the time she crossed the threshold she was running. A huge Olog-hai was hitting the opposite wall repeatedly with his spiked mace and Ellisiva had to throw herself flat on the floor, sliding between the beast's legs and just gathering enough wit to drive her cleaver into its fleshy leg. The mace swung down to meet her, threatening to knock her unconscious and pulverise her human flesh, and she brought up her shield to meet it. Closing her eyes at the impact, Ellisiva felt herself pushed forcefully across the room, grating along the stone floor and hitting the wall with a smack. Blackness threatened the edges of her vision and she just managed to keep a grip on her shield and weapon. The woman gulped for air.

The troll was clearly slow and stupid, with limited movement and vision, as it had not brought the mace down for a second attack which would have have no doubt turned her into a smear on this floor. Ellisiva therefore had time to scramble to her feet and dart around to the troll's back before it realised where she had gone. She dodged its flailing fist and lumbering body, and tried to cut in with the cleaver to the flesh under its arm. But here, on the troll's body where there was muscle and scars, her cleaver barely made a scratch. The troll howled though, turning his weight in her direction. She ducked and rolled once more, the mace hitting the floor just inches from her heels. Again, she tucked and rolled, trusting in her speed and the Olog-hai's lack thereof. She kept dodging, and feinting, turning the troll in circles, making herself breathless and a little dizzy.

The troll kept roaring and growling, spitting with fury that it had no managed to squash her like a fly. The swipes with the mace were becoming wilder and Ellisiva found she was needed less agility to dodge the blows. She was banking on it doing something stupid, or possibly comic, like tripping over its own weapon. These beasts had be bred to squash lots of foes all at once, backing up hundreds of smaller foot soldier, they were not designed to fight one on one with a slight, blonde woman.

The spiked mace came down near her foot, and instead of dodging this time, Ellisiva swung the cleaver with all her weight, towards the troll's midriff and belly. The blade hit its flesh and blood spurted. The troll roared once more, reached down and pulled the cleaver from her hand and from its own, flinging it away. It shook with the injury, blood spraying down towards its knees, swinging the mace in to the space where she had just been standing. It swung towards her, howling with race and she found herself screaming back from the corner she crouched into, eyeing the cleaver on the other side of the room. The heat of this fight and all the others were rising in her body. She lifted the shield and ran towards the troll, still screaming, pushing her weight and the shield into the belly wound, hoping to rip it further. She sped towards the discarded cleaver, grabbing it and immediately running back, swinging for the troll's uninjured leg, hoping to cripple it. Gushing blood from its belly, and both legs, the troll slumped to its knees. The mace drifted from its fingers, scouring the floor, its fists reaching for her, but Ellisiva was well out of reach. She planted her feet, let the shield slide to the floor and swung the cleaver, double handed into the left ear of the huge troll. Her blow batted the troll's skull into the wall next to it with a sickening thud. A groan emitted from it. She swung again, aiming for the neck. The blade hit an artery and a jet of blood splattered the wall.

Something was still powering the troll and a huge fist reached for her, blindly hitting her on one side and spinning her off balance. The handle of the cleaver snapped out of her hand and she took the landing badly on her hip and side. Looking up through her now matted, sweaty hair, she saw the cleaver was still wedged in the troll's neck. There was blood covering him from the four wounds she had inflicted but his body still seemed to be trying to move and fight. Palms down on the rough stone floor, she willed her muscles to move her away from the dying hulk of muscle next to her. The troll was now groaning, blood dripping from its nose and mouth. Inch by inch, she pulled herself away from it and then suddenly, it keeled over, sending vibrations through the floor and missing her narrowly.
Family Stealtharm | Sil's #1 Property | Knowledge of a woman, pride of a dwarf | Khazâd ai-mênu!

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Arien
Arien
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@Queen Nerwen: another masterful murder although you are in fact on level 6, progressing to

Level 7

You may take the SPIKED MACE to swap for one of your pieces of equipment.

You face two warg-riders mounted on savage wargs. One orc is armed with bow and arrows, the other with a sword. Defeat them all to progress.
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High Lord of Imladris
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Fuin - The Gatehouse Tower of Might

Her mother had never called her particularly smart, and at the moment Fuin was quite agreeing with her mother. She was at the Towers of No Return, which honestly was a bleeding dungeon and she knew it not a tower, and she as about to give up her weapons and armor to Karaghan. Somehowe she felt like she had done this before she wasn't sure though it was a very very strange feeling. She shrugged pulling quiver and bow off as well as undoing the belt that held her short sword. She was about to go in when a very strong arm went in front of her.

"Right. The armor too."

"And the dagger."

"Sorry out of practice of sneaking that around." She said shrugging out of the leather armor and pulling her dagger. She was given another once over and wondered for a moment if the denizen of the Black Lands had some sort of magic to tell that she had her dagger on her before waving her on.

"Bloody elfs"

"I HEARD THAT!" She called over her shoulder as she headed for the first level.

Arien
Arien
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Welcome to the Tower @Fuin Elda! You may use only whatever you find, and your wits.


LEVEL ONE

You find a ROPE as your weapon.

An average sized goblin crawls out to face you as your opponent. He isn’t armed and doesn’t seem so tough - but you never know with goblins. Defeat him however you can to reach Level 2.
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Fuin - Level 1
Goblin and Rope


Fuin looked at the rope that she was given and raised an eyebrow, as if this were perhaps one of the strangest weapons she'd been given to face off against a creature. She pursed her lips slight as her brow furrowed before she headed further in in time to see a goblin crawling out. She wasn't in the mood to actually fight fairly so she darted to him before he had a chance to actually get fully to his feet, the rope swinging over his head and slipping onto its throat as sh drove a knee into the back of the smaller creature. This was not going to be pretty.

The goblin let out a shriek and flailed and struggled to get his hand between the rope and his throat but she had been fast and he had not bee expecting to be strangled clearly with a random bit of rope by a female elf in Mordor of all places. She snarled her teeth showing as she twisted the rope about her hands giving a sharp pull back her knee keeping the goblins body on the ground crushing the doomed creatures windpipe. It made several more wheezing noises as she kept on it's back not wanting to find out if it had a weapon on it that it might use in it's last moments of struggle. After a few minutes the goblin went still and Fuin sighed getting up slowly and pulling the rope free and putting it over her shoulder for the time being before looking to see if he had any weapons on him that she might use in the next room before she continued on.

Arien
Arien
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@Fuin Elda: You have successfully strangled the goblin and may take your rope with you to...

Level 2 Dungeons

You find a RUSTY DAGGER as your weapon and you still have your ROPE.

Your enemy this round is a half-grown but feisty Warg. Defeat her to reach level 3.
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Fuin - Level 2
Warg, Dagger and Rope


She scowled at the state of the dagger, it wasn't the best blade but it was a better weapon in general than rope. She'd managed to overcome that obstacle easily enough she was sure that she would manage whatever was next. She stood her ground as the warg growled at her the dagger and rope weren't the best for this particular dilemma, had the warg been asleep maybe but awake and growling no. And the dagger, she wasn't sure that she trusted it to actually stay in one piece. Instead she backed into Level 1 with the body of the goblin and cut off a couple nice leg of Snaga roast for the warg and brought it back with her.

She fed the first one to the warg which despite all the fight in her was quite happy to receive a meal, probably not fed often enough here. The act of kindness made it so she could get the warg to follow her in an attempt to get the other leg of Snaga which she threw into the room with the dead goblin getting the warg out of her way. and making sure her dagger lasted at least another round if need be. She hoped the warg wouldn't notice her slipping from Level 2 to Level 3
Sereg a Dîn

Arien
Arien
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@Fuin Elda: alas, you are not the only one to fall afoul of the wording here, but the Warg must be *defeated* not just appeased, for you to pass. Although it is now fed and possibly slower, it may also be stronger from its hearty meal and, muscling the door open, comes bounding after you with a growl as you attempt to cross into Level 3. You will have to kill it or beat it into submission to move on
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Fuin Level 2

She heard the growl and the clicking of the claws as the warg came running across to stop her she turned as it bounded towards she had the dagger still and it looked like she was going to have to use it now. She crouched slightly tense fortunately the beast was slightly slower after its meal and she spun to the side and stabbed the beast in the throat it's forward momentum pulling the blade along through the beasts flesh leaving it bleeding. It yelped shocked at the pain and angered from the pain.

She kept a grip on the dagger as it pulled free the wound was a bad one that would kill the animal eventually but she had no doubt that it would get another few attacks in, she backed away as the animal turned limping towards her with a snarl and lunged again, it's movement slower, clumsy from the deep and likely painful wound. She simply moved out of the way, no need to get herself hurt trying to deal with the young warg when there would be far more dangerous creatures to deal with later.

Once the animal was slowed down didn't have the energy anymore to lunge or overly fight she quickly finished off the animal one last little yelp from it before it went still and she wiped her hands and the dagger on the bit of blood free fur and headed for the third level, knowing the animal would not be bothering her again.

@Sil Denafil Is okay lol lets me post more in here bwahahahaha

Arien
Arien
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@Fuin Elda Well done, that warg won’t be bothering you any more as you step into...

Level 3 Dungeons

You find a NET which you may swap out for your dagger or rope.

This time you’re facing the Wargling’s parents - and they’re pretty angry with you for stabbing their cub. In fact you might say they’re rabidly angry...

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Fuin - Level 3

She dropped the rope and grabbed the net immediately, deciding fighting to rabid wargs would be a bad plan she needed to hinder at least one of them and the heavy net was enough she knew it would tangle up and slow down at least one of them and give her something to put between her and the other warg while she worked on killing both of them. These ones she had no plans on letting bite her the frothing from their mouths was enough to frighten her a little.

She threw the net over the bigger of the two, the male from what she could tell and he didn't care at first and kept coming until his front paws tangled into the webbing of the net and brought him crashing down. He struggled and pulled and the mother lunged as Fuin dove for the now trapped male and ran a hand along it's back and sank the dagger in just in front of her fingers as it thrashed in pain and then went still at least from the dagger down as she severed its spine leaving a very angry and frothing head but as long as she stayed away from that end of it she would be perfectly safe, it wasn't like it would be able to move it's whole body around with just part of it's neck and head. She pulled the dagger out and spun away as the female warg came crashing over her mate thoroughly enraged now

Getting the last of the two wargs down would be a challenge, and she scrambled to stay out of the way of teeth entirely not wanting to be bitten by this rabid creature. The two of them seemed to be dancing about each other Fuin avoiding bites and making the odd cut at the warg to make it back off and the warg constantly trying to bite her while avoiding the dagger now soaked in the blood of both her pup and her mate.

Eventually the elf dodged past the teeth towards the animals barreled chest and the blade struck out and hit the wargs hide, it was tough and scarred and she only managed a small cut on the ribs the blade too dull from being rusted and being forced into the hides of two other creatures she grabbed onto the creatures tail and held tight. The warg wasn't quite flexible enough to get her where she was so she was safe for the moment as the female warg spun angrily trying to get to her as she plunged the dagger into the back end of the beast multiple times until finally it couldn't move the one leg anymore and then she went to work on the other leg causing the warg to begin spinning the other way until the back end of the warg was completely hobbled and covered in blood from the stabs and then she used those holes as hand holds and crawled up the wargs back stabbing as she went bringing yelps from the rabid beast until she got the thing in almost a headlock and slit its throat keeping herself well away form the sharp teeth. As it collapsed on her bleeding out she let out a sigh of relief. The fact the animals were were rabid had been the worst part of this, normally she wouldn't have worried about getting a scratch or a bite, but rabies was not something she was going to mess around with. She got out from under the body of the female and looked at the male he was getting weaker and she went to try to get the net back before she continued on to the next level.
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The Gatehouse, slipping by Karaghan in a mad rush


He strutted up to the Gatehouse with all the arrogant pride of an alpha in his prime; talons flexed boldly, beak raised high, feathers well fluffed. “Cluck” it declared, almost as though declaring a submission, then scratched the floor in a frustrated manner when there was no reply. It was hardly surprising; the Uruk-hai on duty was not expecting any avian competitors, let alone one that hold barely reach knee-height. Fresh meat was rare in Mordor, especially meat that apparently decided to provide home-delivery service as part of the package.

“Cluck cluck” he declared, possibly angry at her lack of attention, or perhaps just oblivious to its present danger and merely vocalising instinctively. A moment later and it cocked its head and inspect her beadily as she set sights on him, licking her lips and reaching for her weapon with all the appetite of someone who has spotted their next meal.

“Cluck-cluck” he started to himself, perhaps realising his dangerous predicament, or perhaps just because that’s the noise he was used to making.

The next few minutes were a flurry of feathers and swinging weaponry as the Uruk-hai tried and, against all the odds, failed to fell the cockerel. At last, after an ambitious leap for the feathered miscreant had the chair tumbling over and left Karaghan sprawled across the floor, the chicken spotted an opening leading out of the room and beyond. With a mad dash of speed it scittered between furniture and the wildly-flaying Uruk to squeeze itself through the open door and down into the dungeons below.

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Naelia - The Gatehouse, Tower of Might

Naelia had heard about the Towers of No Return, but never thought that she had the guts to try and conquer them herself. At least not until now.

Even though she didn't drink much, she thought that she would stop by one of the local pubs (there weren't as many in the Dark Land as there were in other parts of Middle-earth, but minions needed to quench their thirst too, especially after a long battle). It was in this "watering hole" as she liked to call it that someone challenged her to try to conquer the Towers of No Return, when in fact, it was only one that was an actual Tower: the Tower of Knowledge, but since Naelia didn't consider herself wise (she knew enough to survive, but that was about it), she decided to give the Tower of Might a try. One, it was more her style, since being a minion, one often had to fight to survive, especially in Mordor, and two, it might get her in practice for re-joining Mordor's Army, the Black Guard (which she always seemed to be thrown out of, since the minioness was often known to take on too many responsibilities at once, and because of this, one important one always got neglected. It was most often the Black Guard, since sometimes she found it a bit too challenging, even for her).

As Naelia walked up to the gatehouse to seek out the one called Karaghan, she remembered what her challenger had told her to do:

"Leave all your weapons behind, since Karaghan will strip you of them if you don't."

As she was approaching the gatehouse, she could have sworn she saw a chicken or rooster attempting to do the same thing:

"Of all the... ?" the minoness muttered under her breath, trying to focus on what she was here to do, never mind the dinner palate.

"To the one called Karaghan..." Naelia began, in the most powerful voice she could muster (probably a trait she picked up from her father, who was one of Barad-dur's greatest lieutenant's, but not the Lieutenant of the Tower himself, though they were of the same race), "I wish to try to conquer the Tower of Might!" she concluded, wanting to add that she wanted to earn a little more renown in the Dark Land, but decided not to push her luck.
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Arien
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@Fuin Elda Excellent, a struggle but you overcame both the Wargs and may progress to level 4.

You find a STAKE which you may swap out for one of your other pieces of equipment.

Your opponent this round is a Spider - spawn of Shelob or imported from Mirkwood, who can say? Evade her webs which are sneakily strung around the darkened cave, and her venomous bite, to progress to level 5.

@Allacan ob Burzum the Chicken: Alas, poor feeble chicken brain, did you think you could godmode Karaghan? She’s let you go, mostly because she thinks the goblins could do with feeding again - she’ll probably drop by shortly for some roast chicken. Yes, there’s a goblin in level 1. A hungry, hungry goblin. No weapons for you. You’re a chicken.

@Lady of Shadow Welcome to the Tower of Might, Naelia! It’s a good job you’ve left your weapons behind- strip off your armour too, if that means you’re naked, we don’t want to know; but there are spare robes behind the door. Karaghan shows you to the entrance - roughly cut steps leading down to...

Level 1 Dungeons

You find a ROPE as your weapon.

An average sized goblin crawls out to face you as your opponent. He isn’t armed and doesn’t seem so tough - but you never know with goblins. Defeat him however you can to reach Level 2.
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Fuin
Level 4
Net and Stake


She sat and took a breather, the next level would wait just fine where it was as she looked over the blood on her hands and the scrapes on her knees from being dragged around by the wargs tail had caught up to her. She leaned against the body of the bigger warg, it's body was still trapped in the net. She let out a sigh and then got to work pulling the net off of the beast feeling like despite the effort it would take to get off the warg it would likely be more helpful than a rope. As she headed for the door that lead into the next area the rusted and now completely dulled dagger in hand she saw a stake.

She would confused at first but figured that it would likely be useful against whatever it was that was in the next room. She felt the spiderwebs before she saw them and make a face at the tacky feel on her fingertips as she reached out to feel where she was going as the next room was dark. As she touched the web she heard a scuttling and her flesh crawled. the last time she had heard that it had been a spawn of Ungoliant near Doriath.

She gripped the stake tightly, torn between having left the dagger behind, though she doubted that it would survive a carapace of even a spawn of Shelob or the lesser spiders of Mirkwood. The stake was sturdy enough it would puncture through but getting it into a spider with it's venom and possible stinger was not something that she was looking forward to. She let out a soft sigh and moved forward, there were a few ways to trick a spider, the Marchwardens had taught her a few of them. She would try to bait the spider to her here in this tighter opening that lead back to level 4 where it couldn't circle around her easily.

She crouched down and coated her hand in the dirt that was on the floor making it so that when she reached out and touched a web that her hand would not stick nearly as bad before she reached out and plucked one of the webs. the scuttling sound of the spider stopped, she pulled on the web again as if she were trying to break free of it. The Spider took the bait and she could hear it coming closer. The closer it came the more she 'struggled' to get free of the web just like she would if she were actually trapped by the web. Her eyes were adjusting quickly to the darkness, and soon the spider came into view. She sat stood and acted like her one hand was stuck and the spider closed rapidly. Just as it was on her she let go of the web and rammed the stake hidden in her other hand into the spiders head right through its center eyes causing it to shriek and shudder before going limp she pulled the stake free and made sure to put the stake into the spider once more in it's abdomen so that it would not get back up just in case. She let go of the web and tore off one of the spiders legs and began the task of very carefully making her way through the maze using the leg to find the webs and bat them out of the way until she finally found the door and abandoned the spider leg worried what would come next with the stake. Her knees were still hurting she hoped whatever was through the next door was not a larger spider she hated spiders.
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Naelia - Level 1 - Goblin and Rope

The only armor Naelia wore was a chest plate over her regular Mordorian clothes, so as she stripped it off and followed the one called Karaghan, the minioness wondered how tough these "trials" I guess you could call them would be.

Naelia wasn't surprised that the place Karaghan was leading her turned out to be a dungeon, since where else in the Dark Land would you have to fight your way out? "Impressive." the minioness thought to herself as she found a rope on the floor. "Am I supposed to strangle my opponent?" Naelia wondered as she picked it up and waited to see what would happen next. Although she often travelled with a nasty looking whip (which she had to leave behind in Barad-dur, since the person who challenged her to try to defeat the Towers of No Return in the first place had warned her to leave all her weapons behind (and that included her whip). This rope seemed pretty flimsy, even by Mordorian standards, but hopefully it would do the trick.

As she waited for her opponent to make an appearance, she wondered what other "trials" she would have to face in order to conquer the Towers of No Return. "Perhaps I should have went for the Towers of Knowledge after all, since I may have gotten in over my head." the minioness thought to herself, shaking off the thought almost as quickly as it had entered her head."Right, like knowledge will earn you Renown!" she nearly scolded herself when all of a sudden, the nastiest looking goblin she had ever set her eyes upon was upon her, trying to take her out without even a warning. Unlike Naelia (who had the rope she had found), this goblin was unarmed, so he simply tried to jump upon her from behind in an effort to try to knock her down and hopefully knock her unconscious, so that he could keep his miserable life, but he failed miserably in the attempt. It only made the minioness stagger a bit as she approached the nearest wall and tried to knock the sense out of him, in an effort to get him off her. She was successful in this, as he began to stagger as she had done. This gave her time to retrieve the rope she had dropped when he jumped her.

This left enough time for the goblin to recover, and as Naelia turned around to face him, the goblin tried to sneak up upon her a second time, but this time, she was ready for him, and grabbed one of his arms and twisted it behind his back. As he was howling in pain, she managed to get the rope over his neck (which she managed to shape into a noose, though not a very good one, but it seemed to do the trick) and once she pulled it tight, she released the goblin's arm that she had twisted behind his back and grabbed the rope with her other hand as well in order to get a better grip and tighten it against his neck in an effort to try and strangle him.

The goblin was so weak from being first slammed against the nearest wall with such force that it would have put his arm back in it's socket if it were knocked loose (unfortunately, it wasn't, so it just dazed him) and then having his arm twisted behind his back that he didn't have the strength to fight off the minioness' latest effort to end his miserable life. He was unconscious within minutes, but Naelia didn't release the rope until she was sure he would no longer be a threat.
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Arien
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@Fuin Elda Your clever trickery saved you as the spider rushed right into your trap! You proceed to Level 5.

Level 5

You find a SHIELD which you may swap for one of your pieces of equipment.

Your opponent is an Uruk-hai. He is armed with a cleaver, but has no armour. Defeat him to progress.

@Lady of Shadow Naelia has passed the first test easily enough by throttling the hapless goblin into submission. You move to Level 2

Level 2

You find a RUSTY DAGGER as your weapon and you still have your ROPE.

Your enemy this round is a half-grown but feisty Warg. Defeat her to reach level 3.
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Fleeg
The Gatehouse

With his special flower crown stitched and ready to show off, Fleeg made his way to the Towers of No Return. His old ChAoS HerManO had sent him a letter asking if he was in the mood to kill things and… well come on now! Fleeg was always in the mood to kill things, especially with his old buddy Regdûsh! There would be plenty of opportunities for chaos in there. If Reg happened to get an arrow up his butt while they were fighting a horde of spiders well… whatever happens happens. They would have each other’s back at least, no one was allowed to kill them except them. When he thought that out loud it sounded very naïve. Reg was certainly going to let a balrog murder him if he got the chance. Still. It was going to be fun to get up to ChAoS with his BrO. He had made this flower crown for just this occasion. Reg had once referred to the goblin as a turd blossom and Fleeg had responded with “I’m the king of the turd blossoms!” He had picked these flowers from his garden special for this. Why yes, yes, goblins are allowed to have gardens! They don’t just live in dirty hovels with lizards! Fleeg had spend hours stitching together Stapelia blossoms. He knew Reg would love these, they smelled just like him, like rotting meat!

“Allo!” he said to the Uruk who looked like she’d rather be anywhere but where she was. “Have you happened to see a gross looking orc come through here? I’m supposed to meet him and kill a few things. Name’s Fleeg,” he beamed and offered a business card with his smiling mug, a murder hornet, and the name of his tent on it. “Bring that by the Black Market and you can redeem it for a free murder hornet!”
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Regdûsh
The Gatehouse


Today was the appointed day. The fateful, fateful day on which the ChAoS brOs would begin their journey at the Tower of Might. It was not without some ire, though, that Regdûsh ambled up to the Gatehouse, for Fleeg had sent him a rather insulting letter. "Hey you!" Reg shouted at the gatekeeper as he barged through the doors of the tower, fists raised in the air in premature celebration of his victory (HIS, not Fleeg's, of course he wouldn't share credit with that slimy string bean). "I'm here to kill some guys." He pointed a hairy thumb at his own chest. "I'm Regdûsh, and I'm takin' on this 'ere tower with my ChAos BrO. He's a pompous turd canoe by name of Fleeg." Introduction out of the way, he dove behind a massive statue of the Witch-King to hide and wait for his oRb soAhc.

He didn't have to wait long before he heard the pattering of tiny goblin feet, then smelled a horrid stench. It could only be Fleeg. Retching silently, he drew his knife and peered around the statue's edge just as Fleeg piped "Allo!" Argh, augh! Fleeg, were you born or defecated? Reg wondered. Anger rose in him like the lava in Mount Doom at the sight of that stupid smug face. And that crown! What a fredegaring puffed-up bustard. Reg had had enough. He burst out from behind the statue with a roar.

"FLEEEEEEG!!!!!"

He dove and his burly shoulder knocked into his h3rm4n0 d3 c40s, toppling the slime-green goblin. While Fleeg flailed and wailed, Reg jabbed his knife into the goblin's groin, just deep enough to send a message. It'd probably be best not to kill him before they even got started, or whatever. "That'll teach ya to send me insults I can't even read!" he cried gleefully, then slashed the flower crown to shreds. He didn't take care not to cut Fleeg's scalp. Satisfied, Reg stood and wiped his mouth from the excess drool (side effect of a rare medical condition). "Count yerself lucky, ya puking shart-born barnacle. You should see what I did to Art when he read me that letter!

"Anyway,"
he went on, addressing Karaghan once more. "Can we go in now?"
she/her | Esta tierra no es mía, soy de la nocheósfera.

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Naelia - Level 2 - Dagger, Rope and Warg

Still holding onto the rope (though stained with some of the goblin's blood from the first level), the minioness now seemed to advance to the next level (still within the dungeons, it seemed). "That goblin was easier to defeat than I thought, but that was only the first level. These "trials" or "opponents" will probably get trickier as I advance further." Naelia thought to herself as she heard a nasty sounding growl coming from not that far ahead.

She also found what appeared to be a new weapon: a nasty looking dagger that looked like it was about to be put out of service. "As long as it does what its supposed to, never mind its appearance." Naelia thought to herself, as she swung the rope over her left shoulder and knelt down to pick up the dagger. As she was doing so, a half grown feisty Warg tried to charge her as if the minioness had stolen her young (since this Warg appeared to be female, the minioness could sense her resentment towards her as if she were an opponent. Or a mate, but since both competitors were female, Naelia thought it was more of a "trying to protect her young" kind of scenario). She also noticed that the Warg seemed to be protecting her stomach area, and since she was too young to bear offspring, the minioness concluded this must be a weak area, perhaps from some sort of injury, which gave her an area to try and attack, since if it were enough of an injury, another one might put her out of her misery, so to speak.

"I guess that's where this dagger comes in, but the rope might come in handy too." Naelia thought to herself as she began to circle the Warg as opponents in the animal world often do, trying to find a way to administer the first injury. If she could only administer the injury in the vulnerable area, then she would advance further within the Tower of Might (which would probably be tougher than this one, by the way things were going).

As the Warg advanced towards the minioness, she began to stab her with the dagger, causing the creature to whine and whelp in pain every time she got close to the vulnerable area. It was the creature's head that was the problem; every time Naelia got close, she tucked her head in towards her stomach in an effort to protect the vulnerable area, which gave the minioness an idea; use the rope on the Warg to get her head out of the way so she can stick the dagger as far as it would go into her belly, hopefully fatally wounding her enough to put her out of her misery.

Keeping a close eye on her opponent, Naelia tucked the dagger into the waistband of her pants and made the rope into a noose like she did for the goblin on the first level. Then she tried to lasso it around the Warg's neck. She had to try quite a few times, since the Warg may have sensed what she was up to and tried to slash at her every time she got close, which caused her to have to pull out the dagger and stab her to keep the Warg at bay as she continued to try to catch the Warg's head within the noose she had made. When she was finally successful (though she had to keep the dagger ready in her other hand in case her opponent tried to lash out at her in order to take her out first), it would be an impossible feat to crawl under the Warg while still holding onto the noose, so she decided to throw the dagger and hope for the best.

She got close, but the Warg was whelping so much that she was able to let go of the noose temporarily in order to drive the dagger in deeper causing the creature to back away from her and try to bite at the dagger in an attempt to try and get it out. After not being able to reach it after several attempts, the Warg collapsed but continued to claw at the air until she finally lay still. From where she had let go of the rope, the minioness was able to retrieve it, but not the dagger, since if she attempted to try and pull it out and the Warg rolled on top of her, she would be in danger of being crushed and suffocating, so she left the dagger where it was (it was in such an awful shape that attempting to pull it out might have broken off the handle, that's how shabby it looked when Naelia picked it up, so it was probably for the best).
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Fuin
Level 5
Net and Shield


The stake got stuck in the last bit of web and while she managed to yank it out attempting to get the sticky mess from it would likely cost her her life if she remembered how the foes in this tower were. It would be on her far too fast so she picked up the shield with her left hand it was large and somewhat unweildy for her but she had a plan as she saw the unarmored Uruk-hai coming for her. She tossed the net at him it didn't slow down his forward momentum at all but it did keep it's arms busy and from having full range of motion as she held onto the shield with two hands and charged the larger foe, bashing into him with her full weight and speed making a sickening crunch of at least one of the Uruks wrists. That wasn't enough to stop the Uruk though as he bellowed in rage and pain it's wrist clearly hanging limp from taking the full impact. Fuin for her part crouched low as he tossed off the net and came charging again. This time she ducked and swung the shield out clipping the beasts knee with the a sickening thud. THe Uruk stumbled and went down. The cleaver still in hand slashed out for her leg cutting her just barely but the Uruk saw blood and was happy not realizing that the cut was not that deep and now the elleth was on top of him very angry and the shield came crashing down on his skull breaking his jaw. The Uruk tried to push her away dropping the cleaver in too much pain and too stunned from being shield bashed in the head to stab her.

Fuin rained blows down on the Uruk until all that was left on his shoulders was a quivering mass that let his body twitch, and she was covered in splatter, her chest heaving as she stood over the Uruk catching her breath before checking just how deep the leg wound was. It was deeper than she thought and she pinched her thigh shut with her hand and snarled taking the cleaver from the floor where it lay and cut the lower hem of her shirt all the way around before tying off her leg wound. Only half way through and already needing a bandage this was not a good sign. She thought as she looked over the weapons and options she had she was taking the cleaver she'd cut the gatekeeper if he said she couldn't as well as the shield. With her luck there would be a balrog on level 10 and she'd need to defeat it with a herring.
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@Vampire Bob, @Zôrzimril

“Oh great, it’s the grackle brothers,” remarks Karaghan sourly at the outrageous pair, twitching the business card out of Fleeg’s hand. “Yes, I suppose you can go in - but if you’re going to go in together, there’ll be Special Rules to ensure fairness.

Firstly: you’ll get only the weapons and items that are already there. Not one each. Divide ‘em how you wish.

Secondly: you’ll only earn half the Renown.

Thirdly:” she smiles, finally: “I’ll be chaining you together. Your left ankle to his right ankle, a light chain, six feet long.

If you still want to go ahead under these circumstances...”

@Lady of Shadow: excellent stabbing. On to level3

Level 3 Dungeons

You find a NET which you may swap out for your dagger or rope.

This time you’re facing the Wargling’s parents - and they’re pretty angry with you for stabbing their cub. In fact you might say they’re rabidly angry...

@Fuin Elda Wounded, but still victorious, you collect your CLEAVER and move to level 6

Level 6

You have taken the Uruk’s CLEAVER which you may swap for one of your pieces of equipment.

Your opponent is an Olog-hai. He is armed with a spiked mace - and needs no armour as his skin is very tough. Defeat him to progress.
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Naelia - Level 3 - Wargs, Net and Dagger

As she advanced further within the Tower of Might, Naelia wondered what had happened to the chicken or rooster she saw when she first approached: "I guess he ended up as someone's dinner!" the minioness thought to herself as she came across a net on the floor. She decided to swap it for the rope, since because that Warg was a youngling, there was a good chance the parents were lurking around somewhere and the net would be easier to ensnare them in than the rope.

Seeming to sense her presence, there were two loud and vicious sounding growls coming from not that far ahead. "They must have read my mind." Naelia thought to herself, but more than likely they coulld sniff out her scent (since the only time the minioness could be heard from a distance was when she was dragging something heavy along with her, like an impending victim of the Pits, for example).

Sure enough, the minioness spotted them around the next corner, trying to block her way, so that she couldn't advance any further. "Upset about your youngling?" Naelia cooed, trying to get them riled up enough to want to try and attack her. She did in fact go back and retrieve the dagger (which was now tucked into the waistband of her pants, like it was before when she was facing the youngling), since she had a feeling that she might be needing it before she was through with all of this. At the moment, she held the net in both hands like some would hold a sword, ready to ensnare the two Wargs within it so that hopefully she wouldn't have to use the dagger on these particular opponents.

No such luck, since although she was able to ensnare the female's head with the net, the male continued to circle around her, like those in the animal kingdom often do when they're trying to figure out how to take down a potential enemy. Luckily, the minioness was able to hold the net tight with one hand while she retrieved the dagger with the other. Not realizing it, Naelia had to drop the net in the process, making the female try to claw at it in an attempt to be free of it, but as the minioness stabbed at the male, she was able to pick up the net with the other whilst the female was still trapped within it, realizing she had to take out one Warg at a time. "This would be much easier if Orngor was here, since he could distract the male while I take out the female, but he's busy elsewhere. I just hope he doesn't end up getting himself killed." Naelia thought to herself, trying not to let her guard down while she tried to take out these latest adversaries.

Her reverie seemed to work, since as she was having these thoughts, she was holding on tighter to the net (still holding the dagger in her other hand and keeping a close eye on the male) which finally managed to cut off the female's air so that she collapsed minutes later. Not having time to retrieve the net, she dropped it a second time and focused on the male, stabbing him near the stomach area to see if this were a genetic mutation on the youngling rather than an injury.

To her luck, it was, so she simply did what she did with the youngling, threw the dagger until it hit him in the weak spot and then drove in the dagger deeper until the Warg father lay still. After she was sure the Wargs would no longer be a threat, the minioness retrieved the dagger (not bothering with the net for the time being for the way she had the female ensnared within it. Like the dagger, she could always go back and retrieve it at a later time). The dagger however, she managed to wipe on a nearby rag she found probably left by someone else reaching this far within the Tower of Might and coming to a bad end.
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Arien
Arien
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@Lady of Shadow Naelia’s defeated the Wargs but there’s probably not much use left in that dagger...

In Level 4 find a STAKE which you may take, as you currently only have the Net.

Your opponent this round is a Spider - spawn of Shelob or imported from Mirkwood, who can say? Evade her webs which are sneakily strung around the darkened cave, and her venomous bite, to progress to level 5.
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Fuin
Level 6
Cleaver and Shield


"Osse stuff it." She muttered as she saw the Olog-hai in the next level of the dungeon. The large beast headed for her and she headed out into the main part of the room where she would have more room to move considering she would need to figure out how she was going to defeat this massive beast with a shield and a cleaver. Neither of which she felt were going to be particularly useful but she would see better to have them and not need them as it were. The first swing of the mace hit the ground with a resounding crack, and Fuin for her part was glad to have been able to dodge out of the way of the wild swing. Her leg burned as she moved forcing herself to keep ahead of the Olog-hai's attacks, occasionally she'd dart in and smash the shield against the creatures fingers as it held the mace before ducking out of the way again. She wanted it mad. She wanted it swinging wildly and flailing when she finally decided to fully attack it. It bellowed in rage as she hit it's hand with the edge of the shield hearing a finger pop and it yanked it's mace back and she scrambled to get out of the way. it's grip weakened on the mace and it was angry.

Now it was time. The next attack came before she could finish her sentence and she scrambled up the Olog Hai's arm and wrapped her legs about it's head locking her ankles under it's chin. It flailed at her brushing her with mace and hand she'd be bruised but it was hitting itself almost as often as it was hitting her she moved her body out of the way as it struck with its mace harder than before the spike tore her shirt but missed her as he clouted himself in the head breaking the skin. She lifted her upper body back upright and took the shield and smashed it into the creatures skull aiming to make it swing again in pain and rage. It had the wanted effect and the mace came swinging back and she laid back against the trolls upper back her feet likely choking the thing slightly with her weight being supported by her interlocked ankles and she heard a wet crunch and a moan. She felt the beast shudder and it started to fall backwards from the force of its own blow. She pulled herself up and vaulted herself over the things head like a child playing deadly leap frog her hands sinking into soft brain matter exposed from its own attack and she didn't get completely clear and she hit the ground hard with it the wind knocked from her as the beast stayed down.

She groaned and gasped for air, she was getting too old for this, she decided. However there was no going back after one started in the Towers aside from perhaps for weapons. One did not simply leave the tower. "Please be a bloody bunny next." She managed to wheeze out after she finally caught her breath looking at the body of the olog-hai - there was no way that she'd be able to wield that creatures mace. She got up slowly and checked her leg wound and made sure it was just her shirt in tatters before heading onto the next level picking up the cleaver that had gone flying from her belt and the shield that she had let go of when she'd had the wind knocked out of her.

Arien
Arien
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@CHAOS: Another good kill. Shame about your shirt... oh well, doing the rest of the challenge half-topless only makes you more brave, right?
You have reached
Level 7

You may take the SPIKED MACE to swap for one of your pieces of equipment.

You face two warg-riders mounted on savage wargs. One orc is armed with bow and arrows, the other with a sword. Defeat them all to progress.
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Fuin
Level 7
Shield and Clever


She looked at the mace, it as far too large for her to be able to wield it properly she leaves it behind exhausted sore and not looking forward to the next three battles, at least she hoped it was three? Maybe it was four? Hard to tell anymore. She ran her hand over her stomach now partially exposed from the tear caused by the mace. She slipped into the next area and raised the shield just in time to stop the arrow shot at her. "You are definately not bunnies." She said and stayed in the narrow portion right by the door where she could not be flanked by the second and she could keep pressed against the wall and her back to the door. The warg riders and their savage mounts did their best to try to dislodge her from where she had wedged herself the shield protecting her from the second warg the archer for the moment shoots another few arrows at her but she is keeping low enough that the worst she got the breeze from the arrow as it lodged into the door behind her.

One wargs head comes to close and she uses the cleaver she still had cutting at the warg taking one of it's eyes causing it to jerk its head up even as the other crushed her back into the door with its full weight, it's claws scrambling at the shield. Fuin grits her teeth and stabs the cleaver up into the partially blinded wargs throat cutting it's trachea before pulling it back she keeps the cleaver between her and it's maw as it panics realizing it was dying and scrambled before collapsing partially blocking her right side, it's rider would be dangerous but at least she was down to one warg and two riders and the rider would have to clamber over the dead body of his mount to get to her. She is hit again by a renewed attack by the warg as it howls making her wince from how loud it is right in her ear, only the shield protecting her.

She grunted and braced herself angling the shield so that she couldn't be crushed completely flat , she would have to kill the warg before she could even think of dealing with the archer. She curled up into a ball and as the warg backed off for a moment to lunge again she tipped the shield up and struck with the cleaver, right across it's nose as it snapped directly at her it's head shoved under the tiny gap she'd created beneath the shield She brought the shield down on it staying hunched over hard to keep beneath the top of it pinning a snapping and snarling beast at her feet. She stabbed at it's eyes blinding it before letting it retreat, snapping and lashing out catching the rider that had been climbing over his dead mount towards her wounding him and she hears his squeal of pain and she moves quickly as the warg thrashes wilding further back letting her move forward for the first time since the beginning of this fight archer was trying to get his blinded warg under control so she had a chance to hit the swordsman. Who swung at her from his unstable footing, she ducked still keeping the shield between her and the archer to keep herself safe from his flying shafts in case he gave up and decided to shoot at her and let the warg thrash as it would. The sword passed over her head clipping the inside of the shield but she is on him. to close for the blade of the sword to do much damage but her cleaver.... SHe rams in into his gut, bare of strong armor as it was meant to be protected by the saddle and body of the warg itself. The minions eyes bug out and it swings the hilt even as she twists the blade and pushes it up into it's lungs leaving it gasping the same way his mount had gone his hit is not strong enough to do damage to her beyond a small cut in her eyebrow where the hilt caught her.

She turned her attention now to the last flailing warg and it's rider who she finally glanced at was struggling with the warg that was thrashing it's head back and forth wildly as if trying to clear something from its eyes that were no more. The rider sees her and tries to shoot an arrow at her but the thrashing makes aiming hard and she is now no longer a stationary target hidden in a corner praying to reduce the numbers against her. This fight now was almost fair as she made it to the side of the beast and cut the leather strapping destabilizing the riders saddle and he swings under the animals belly causing the warg to scramble and struggle its claws catching and cutting into its riders flesh as he struggled to escape his seat even as Fuin took a few scratches from the clawing minion struggling as she plunged the cleaver into the side of the warg letting it's head smash against the shield, and pulled it blood flowing and soon it collapsed crushing the rider beneath it. Eventually anyways. He probably would survive a little while until he didn't have the strength anymore to keep breathing and be crushed by the beast.


She wiped her face with the back of her arm, wiping away some of the blood that has sprayed her from her furious stabbing as well as the small cut over her eye. She waited patiently until she could no longer see the warg that was crushing his rider moving at all, signally that the rider was dead before she decided if she would abandon the shield and cleaver both for sword and bow of if she would keep the shield. She would take a few moment to breath and wait for her eyebrow to stop bleeding.

Arien
Arien
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@CHAOS: another tough battle but once again you emerge bloodied but victorious.

Level 8

You may take the SWORD and/or BOW AND ARROWS to swap for your two current pieces of equipment.

Your opponent is a young OLIPHAUNT. How did we get it down here? Don’t ask questions. It has long tusks, Stampy Feet and it’s not best pleased about being down here, but its eyesight isn’t the best. Defeat it to get to the next level.
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Naelia - Level 4 - Stake, Spider and Net

As she was approaching the next level within the Tower of Might, Naelia could see that the dagger she held wasn't going to take much more abuse, and vowed to exchange it for the next weapon she found.

The minioness didn't need to travel far, since close to an entrance to a dark cave, she found a stake lying on a crevice close to the cave's entrance. That cave reminded her of something: Shelob's Lair! Naelia didn't come across it often, but tried to steer clear of it if she could, since her Ladyship didn't care whom came upon her lair, simply being in the vicinity was enough to satisfy her ongoing hunger.

"Oh please don't tell me my next opponent is Shelob herself!" the minioness cursed to herself, knowing that cursing wasn't going to do her much good. Shelob, or one of her many spawn (though how they got down here to the dungeons that housed the Tower of Might was anybody's guess) was constantly looking on expanding their territory, and if either a prisoner that was trying to escape or those that called the Land of Shadow home, somehow managed to take a wrong turn and end up in their territory, then so be it! It was food or fodder, that was good enough for them, since they cared less who they were aligned with, for good or ill.

Turning a corner, Naelia had to be careful not to be caught in the webs that seemed to cover the cave, so she decided to use the stake to clear some of them away as she advanced carefully and see who came forward first.

The creature that came forward was large, but looked to be a little smaller than Shelob herself, so the minioness decided that it must be one of her many spawn. But weren't they supposed to be residing in Southern Mirkwood near the fortress of Dol Guldur? Unless they followed someone here, perhaps the minions that were sent to rescue her from that confounded Elven kingdom in the north of Mirkwood when her mother decided to "rescue" her (even though her mother often denied this, and said that she was simply trying to teach Naelia more about that part of her that she despised. Why would she do that when she knew for a fact that the minioness shunned this part of her anatomy? She was convinced that her mother simply stated this as an excuse to justify her actions, even though those very same actions resulted in her getting herself killed, so apparently, she wasn't successful). If these "spawn" of Shelob had been here that long, perhaps they were just trying to get back home. Either that, or like any minion, just trying to survive a harsh and unforgiving environment. Naelia liked to believe it was more the latter.

Clearing the stake as best she could of the webbing, the minioness pointed it at the approaching spider (or whatever it actually was, since it may have been some evil being in the shape of a spider, in order to entrap potential victims easier, since if they remained in humanoid form, they may have been killed much easier) as it was trying to find if Naelia had any weaknesses, since it would simply try to attack those areas first.

"If it could only rip out the Moriquendi part of my anatomy, I would be much obliged." the minioness thought to herself, but knew that would probably end her. It may not be much, but like it or not, it was still part of her, so she probably needed it (no matter how small) in order to continuously exist, minion or not.

The spider seemed to have read her thoughts, or else sensed her disposition, since it tried to attack her face first. This is when Naelia began stabbing the spider between the eyes, since she reckoned if it could no longer see its victim, it could no longer attack it. Since the spider creature seemed to back away each time the minioness attempted to take out one of its eyes, Naelia may have guessed correctly, but it wasn't done yet; even though it was nearly blind, it thought that it would try to attack its opponent by attempting to jab her with its stinger, although it was trying to do this by sense alone, which meant that it would be mere luck if it happened to jab her. The minioness however, seemed to have seen this coming, and tried to sever off the stinger with the stake. This is when the spawn of Shelob attempted to throw Naelia across the room, but when the net came in handy; as she was being thrown, the minioness simply tossed the net towards a web on the other side, and tried to land on the net rather than entangled in the webs, since then it would only be a matter of time before the spawn of Shelob crawled over to her and attempted to put her out of her misery, so to speak.

As the minioness was crawling out of the net (she managed to anticipate where the net would land, which made it easier to aim for it), the spawn of Shelob somehow managed to crawl over to her in one last attempt to put an end to its opponent. This is when Naelia did the same thing with the stake that she did with the dagger on some of the Wargs; throw it at her opponent in an attempt to be the one that either ended or slowed down their opponent first. The stake missed the stomach area but pinned one leg of the spider to the floor as it somehow managed to get ensnared in its own webbing!

"It's a little hard to get around partially blinded, isn't it?" the minioness cooed, slowly backing out of the cave, not bothering to attempt to retrieve the stake, since the spider wasn't ensnared in its own webbing enough, so attempting to retrieve that particular weapon was useless. The net, since it was thrown to an area close to the entrance to the cave, was much easier to retrieve, though like with the stake, she had to clear it of any webbing the best she could.
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He who commands the Ruling Ring... commands all

Arien
Arien
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@Lady of Shadow: Naelia has trapped and wounded the spider and manages to sneak into

Level 5

You find a SHIELD which you may take along with your STAKE.

Your opponent is an Uruk-hai. He is armed with a cleaver, but has no armour. Defeat him to progress.
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Fuin
Level 8
Sword and Bow and Arrows


She let the shield battered and clawed clatter to the ground the clever dropped from her hand she was bruised and sore but finally some weapons that resembled the name. She picked up the sword it was light, curved slightly meant for being used mounted but still useful on foot even if it was an ugly weapon. The bow and arrows sported no nicer a look but was just as functional, with a quiver mostly full of arrows. She rescued those she could throwing out those that were too damaged to shoot again, and tested out the draw of the bow. It was heavy enough and she smiled. If she had not been trained by her father all those years ago this may have been a problem.

Instead she walked confidently into the next level of the dungeon and stood for a moment shocked at the beast before her. "How in Namos left nipple did they get you down here?" She muttered, the young Oliphant saw her though and let out a trumpet and charged more or less in her direction. The creature was still monsterously huge compared to her though but the good news was even as she dove between it's tusks and past it's grasping trunk it missed her not seeing her well enough, and giving her enough of a chance to get away from it's stomping feet which were most certainly big enough to trample her even if it wasn't a fully grown beast.

She pulled the bow, the sword wouldn't be terribly useful here and let fly an arrow into the creatures softer under belly causing it to scream as it were in pain and charge around some more, fortunately it was huge and it was easy to tell more or less where the things feet were going to be and it seemed to be having a hard time seeing where she was. She was going to make that task even harder. She loosed a second arrow it didn't sink into the beasts head but grazed the creatures eye blinding it partially and enraging it so that it charged in her direction. She quickly moved out of the way into it's now completely blind spot letting it crash into the wall tusks first causing them to snap off, they were still dangerous but they weren't nearly as long anymore and she had no doubt that the act hurt. She felt a bit sorry for the poor beast. It didn't want to be here fighting she was certain of that but there was now way she could get it out of these dungeons or she likely would. She moved as quietly and as quickly as she could as the beast staggered back from the wall, trying to figure out the swiftest way to end this massive creatures life so that she could move on to whatever was next. She did debate on blinding it completely and sneaking past but that felt cruel to her. Better to kill it than make it suffer, goodness only knew what the minions of this land would do to the poor creature once they realized it was blind and couldn't be of help without exact direction from a driver. She drew back another arrow waiting for the animal to turn towards her slightly aimed at the blinded eye, it was a soft spot in the beasts skull, if she could shoot into the socket there was a chance the arrow would sink into it's brain and that would be the end of it.

She let off the shot after a few moments and the arrow did strike the eye, but not with enough force to pierce into the skull itself at the angle she'd struck the beast did let out a cry of pain and she winced whispering an apology to it as she sprinted out of the way as it lashed out wildly with it's trunk spinning trying to find her with it's one good eye only to find it too put out with an arrow. The draw was not strong enough for the beasts strong skull. She'd need to use the sword. She put the bow away and quietly crept up on the animal dodging the swinging trunk wherever she could until she was ready to make her move. She grabbed onto the beasts ear and pulled herself up causing it to spin towards her unhappy about the weight on it's ear tugging hard she was soon astride it though as it flailed at her with it's trunk she slashed at it with the sword and cut it deeply making it stop it's attacks on her with it's trunk.

"Be at peace" She said softly and took the sword and rammed it into the beasts left eye socket with all her might causing the skull to break and push back into it's brain leaving the animal faultering on it's feet with a final weak trumpeting. She slipped off of the beast it had collapsed down neatly it's legs folding. This was the first fight in a bit that she hadn't ended up worse for wear and she was grateful for that, but was very very much wary of what was on the other side of the next door. She pulled the arrows from the oliphant and put them back in her quiver and headed on.

Arien
Arien
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@CHAOS: you’ve managed to put down the poor young mûmak, not without regret, and stagger into Level 9...

You find an AXE which you may swap one of your other pieces of equipment for.
You face... a fully grown Fell Beast.

This is going to be a seriously tough one: the fell beast is huge and savage; its wings could definitely break a man’s arm; its teeth drip venom and it has a barbed tail. But it can’t fly very high in the cave, and it’s not very clever: it relies on its rider for direction most of the time.

Defeat it to get to the last level.
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