Fellowship of the Ring Empire Thread

The Fellowship Halls

The Fellowship Halls were a stone’s throw from the tavern. As he passed through the door, he could see various men and women practicing in the training courtyard.

Strong burly men tested their strength against one another in a practice ring. Elves with bows played a game to split each others’ arrows. Clerics appear to be chanting over flasks of water, dipping their holy symbols into the liquid. And up in the hall tower, flashes of lightning could be seen issuing forth on this bright summer day.

“Welcome to the Fellowship Halls.” The traveler turned to find Ray mysteriously next to him again, holding a white staff.

“As promised, let me give you an overview of what we do.”

“The Fellowship of the Ring is a force of Guardians in Meta. We believe in preserving Order and Balance. We began as the White Council, a group of Wizards based out of the White Tower. As we grew, we welcomed like-minded individuals who were not practioners of magic but were believers in our cause.”

“There are different Guardians among us. We have intellectuals who enjoy discussing the latest strategies and tactics of battle. We also have the warriors who like nothing more than a good clean fight. Our individual experience levels also vary but the juniors among us are quick learners and they frequently seek the counsel of our wiser members.”

“This is great, Ray! How do I join such an outfit? Is there a quest I must complete?”

“Nay. Though we often send Guardians on quests, membership is open and free. It is but a simple matter of scribing your name into this journal.”

Register of the Fellowship - http://www.galciv.com/metaverse/empires.asp?id=329

Opening the tomb, the traveler added his name to 19 others, many of them he recognized as legends even in the distant land where he hailed from.

“Welcome to the Fellowship, friend. Train well, your skills will soon be called upon.”

Shaded behind a eucalypt tree, a hooded stranger watches the proceedings intently. A pink and grey galah is perched on his shoulder. Sipping a strange brew, he glances up into the branches of the tree, where a small koala bear gnaws lazily on the surrounding leaves.

"Soon, my creatures, soon.....we shall test the mettle of this so-called "Fellowship".....

"AHHhhh!" Cried the Elves as a great wild man suited entirely in green, suddenly materialized from the surrounding foliage. The leader among them raised his bow in defiance, but the Wild man was covered in blood, and bones... This in itself was terrible enough, but the look in the Green Knight's eyes was nothing short of maniacal. The Green Knight but fingered the great double headed axe he hefted with ease, and the Elven officer dropped his bow and ran. Just then in a gravelly voice he heard

"Wait faerie, I am the Green Knight and I have come seeking Ray the Wanderer. I have completed his quest and ridden many leagues to find you."

Too stunned to reply, and still wary of the crazy Giant, the elven captain cocked a finger in the direction of the newly erected stone tower on the hill. Without a word, the Green Knight gathered himself and headed in that direction, leaving a trail of knuckles and blood in his wake. He drew many an akward stare from the assembled recruits in the training ground, but none opposed him. Finally he took the end of his great Axe and pounded the haft against the door to the tower. The sound was deafening as it reverberated across the court yard, but nothing came of his summons. He pounded once again on the tower door-- harder this time, and was satisfied when he heard the weapons in the training hall fall from their hooks on the walls, as the booming knock continued to reverberate.

A moment later the door did not open, it simply *vanished*, and there stood Lord RayChau in all his finery. A smile came to the Green Knight as he spoke

"Dressed for a party are ye? Figures. I bet ye thought ye had seen the last of me no? Well here I be whether ye likes it or not."

Pausing dramitically the great stranger pulled from his cloak a pair of relics-- if you could call them that.

"High Mighty Wizard Type RayChau I am pleased to report that the woods to the north of here are presently safe as you requested. I present you with the hand of Lord Soth, leader of the Undead *plop*, and the Eye of Vecna, the Orc who would call himself king. *plop*"

The Green Knight noted with some satisfaction how the blood from the eye, and the guts from the hand, made a nice smear on Lord Ray's clean white robe.

"You have done well" intoned Ray, now the guests for our soree can arrive without further hinderance. But tell me how did you find this place?"

The Wild Druid spoke "Well I marched straight back to that big White Tower of yers, only to find an equally big *closed* sign on the door. Me figures this was some sort of trick on yer part to get out of payin' me for clearing the woods n' stuff. Then me remembers you weren't paying me. So I sat n' thought a bit... got hungry and ate all the pigeons on the roof, then decided to track ye down. That proved tougher than I thought, as you left no tracks, travel as if by magic ye wizards do. But there was that smell."

Smily quietly Lord Ray asked "What smell is that?"

"The smell of sweet perfume", replied the Wild man. Yup like honeysuckle in the morning, or a gaggle of gals gussied up for the town festival, I knew straight away there be Elves within a county or so. Where there be Elves, wizards often frequent. So I followed me nose all the way here."

Stiffling a laugh Lord RayChau replied "I see, well I am glad you are here, and thank you for completing my quest."

The Green man's face suddenly flushed red as he spoke once more "I admit I tricked ye with the quest I gave thee. You thought I was testing your mettle when I was really testing your spirit. Seems like you turned the tables on me as well. I thought you be testing my fighting skills when the real quest was to find you. Well I hope me tracking skills proved satisfactory ta yas?"

With a gleam in his eye, Wizard Ray explained "Yes quite so, and you have earned your right to an ale and the comfort of our hall for the evening."

Lord Ray snapped his fingers and his bloody robe was instantly pristine white once more.

"Harummmph!" groaned the Green Knight

Grinning, RayChau turned to the Green Knight saying

"You may want to clean yourself up for the festivities, after all it is a celebration in your honor."

Visibly pailing, The Green Knight took his leave of Lord Ray. He had faced the Lord of the Dead and his Orc lackeys without fear, but the prospect of a bath? Well that was another matter entirely!

AAR to Follow.

The Redemption of the Woods AAR

Game Paramters as per Ray the Wanderer

Race Picks:

Theleb takes same race picks as Ray in WOTR challenge.

Humans start center right of galaxy
Ents Start NW
Undead start Center SW
Orcs start SE corner
Hobbits far West
Alliance SW corner

Hero finds Corvette
Hero finds Star fighter
Reserach comm theory
Research Univ. Translator
Meet Undead, do not trade anything, immediately attack and kill their colony ship with Starfighter, plunging us into war as per game parameters.
Star Fighter (SF) kills two Undead colony ships
Corvette (COR) kills 1 undead colony ship
Create my second colony, nothing good was close to my home system.
Meet Alliance, they are 6 techs ahead of me. This tells me beyond doubt that the Bright AI cheats; I had only researched 2 and it has my 2 plus 6 others!
Hero finds another corvette
Hero finds another Star Fighter
Drop my 3rd colony on a Class 13
Meet the orcs with my scout.
Have no dialogue option to declare war so send one of my star fighters over there to attack him.
lose one of my SF to an undead COR
Hero hits wormhole and ends up in corner where there are PQ 15 and 26 worlds! So out of range, so frustrating!
Send Hero to pick up space junk items to strengthen its combat value.
Raise taxes to 40%
My COR avenges my SF by killing Undead COR
Research Diplomacy
Meet Carinoids, they are 4 techs ahead of me.
Alliance now 7 techs ahead of me
Undead colonizes last decent world to the north of me by sending a colony ship allong an unexpected elliptical arc. They are beginning to surround my position and they own 2/3 of the board via glactic influence.
Meet Hobbits. They are three techs ahead of me and will not buy universal translator. Wow Sub-normal AI must cheat on research too.
Meet Ents. Trade comm theory/diplomacy for cold fusion and 64 1 turn.
Alliance declares war on Undead to support me. They are largely ineffective with the Undead beginning to conquer them.
Get a COR to Orcs world and declare war by my COR killing an Orc COR and colony ship.
my SF kills Undead Flagship
SF kills undead COR
Drop 4th colony on junk Class 13 world to increase ship range.
5th colony dropped on Class 14 in home system.
Meet Alexians, they are 4 techs ahead of me.
My SF and COR form fleet and kill an Undead Transport.
Research Impulse Drive.
Trade Imp drive/univ trans to hobbits for defense theory/artificial gravity/ 58 1 turn.
Trade Imp drive to Alexians for med theory/industrial theory/photons and 75 for one turn.
Trade Industrial theory and photons with the Carinoids for basic environment/ weapons theory and 11 for one turn.
Sell industrial theory/photons/weapons theory to Alliance for 100 for 1 turn.
Trade industrial theory/medical theory/photons to Ents for Trade and 45 for one turn.
Sell basic environment/industrial theory/medical theory/weapons theory/photons to hobbits for 103 for 8 turns.
Raise govt. spending to 60%
Repel an undead invasion on my naked 4th colony.
Destroy Orc Scout with COR
Destroy Orc Starbase (SB) with COR
Destroy Undead constructer
Destroy Orc freighter
Destroy second Orc SB
Conquer undead colony 3, steal deflectors from them upon conquest, no espionage in effect.
Destroy 2 undead SB's
Sell/Trade all techs with other Civs.
Hero kills 4 undead defenders and 2 constructers.
Conquer undead colony 2
Rush aphrodesiac (United Builders)
Rush Gravity Accelerators (United Builders)
Rush Diplomatic translators (United Builders)
Conquer Orc Home world
Orcs beg for mercy from me, as per game parameters I am forced to decline.
Destroy Orc colony ship
Invade Orc Colony 1.
Orcs eliminated May 2186
Having serious cash crunch sell my only tech for peanuts.
Reduce Govt. expenditure to 50%
My 4th naked colony single handedly repels 4 Undead transports
Conquer Undead Homeworld
Sell aphrodesiac to minor Civs for cash
Last Undead colony destroyed
Undead eliminated September 2187

** Victory Conditions Met ***

Will likely play out the game for score and submit to metaverse tomorrow.

"A toast, to the Redeemer of the Woods!"

Ray shouted as he raised his wine goblet.

"Hear, Hear!" The Fellowship echoed as they gathered in the festive halls, honoring their newest member for his valor in battle.

"Our spirits are lifted by this triumph over our devious Undead foes."

"Take heart my friends. Though the Undead remain strong in numbers and power, our spirit is steadfast and our purpose immutable. Let the Lich King tremble at our approach!"

The celebrations continued long and deep into the night.

"This tells me beyond doubt that the Bright AI cheats; I had only researched 2 and it has my 2 plus 6 others!"

"Wow Sub-normal AI must cheat on research too."

Hehe, the AI isn't cheating. They trade techs alot. If your debug.err isn't overwritten, you can see the whole list of trades that occur between them. Not sure whether the AI could extort techs from one another, the debug.err usually only shows them extorting cash.

Beyond the hooded stranger, within a patch of shrubbery, a pair of eyes has been quietly trailing the weary traveler. Pirates may be renowned for their jovial binges, but their dominance stems from lethal training. Perhaps their training has been a tad too intense. A tune drifts through the deranged mind of the concealed pirate.

"Come all ye young fellows that follow the stars,
to our way haye, blow the man down,
And pray pay attention and listen to Pontius,
Give him some time to blow the man down."

Lord Ray informs all visitors that they may enjoy the company of an inebriated pirate, but caution is paramount. The amusing antic of a single pirate is often inexplicably replaced by a gang of their kind joining in a frenzied assault. Often dismissed as simply evil, and many a pirate would concur with that, the true source of their deeds is, in fact, the same as most factions - amusement. Of course, given the misguided nature of pirates, theirs is a twisted amusement. The song continues.

"Pay attention to order, now you one and all,
to our way haye, blow the man down,
For right there above you flies Jolly Roger!
Give us some time to blow the man down."

Looks like we lost zyk0001 to the MWC, good luck!



Thelebk, you got 8 techs by researching only one, and a ton of money! AI does this too, but not as well as you do.

See you around, zyk0001.

I'm looking at my Maso Gigantic map in year 4. Getting bored just looking at the mass of stars waiting to be played. Ah, wonder if I'm ever going to finish this map.

As Ray sits quietly by the fire in the Prancing Pony enjoying a mead after a long day, he overhears good master Butterburr murmuring to a table of the locals, "My man Nob just come in and tells me there's a bit of a disturbance down by the south gate". The worthies exclaim, and begin a lively discussion over what the nature of this disturbance might be, but the wanderer is a more curious sort, and decides to investigate himself.After placing a coin on the table, he quietly slips out the door and heads down the road.

Immediately apparent as he nears the gate is the fact that the gatekeeper is having words with a stranger, possibly even arguing, though he looks as if he's unsure of himself. The stranger is an oddly comic figure, apparently an older man, dressed in a worn and threadbare pink robe with the hood thrown back. His hair is long and tangled, with bits of twig and an occasional leaf sticking out of it. In his hand is a twisted branch that might charitably be called a staff, which he is waving around wildly as he speaks to the gatekeeper.

As Ray makes his customarily quiet approach, he is startled when the old fellow suddenly whirls around and says to him in the voice of a frail old woman, "None of that my lad, We won't fall for your tricks so easily".
A small boys voice says, "Yea!, We know that one, you can't fool us", as the man puts his hands on his hips and sticks out his tongue.
Ray replies, "No tricks here sir, I merely wish to offer any assistance I may", and waves the gatekeeper back to his shed.

As the keeper gratefully retreats, Ray takes the opportunity to observe the old man more closely, though what he sees only leaves him more puzzled. Not only has the man apparently not bathed in a number of days, but his movements are abrupt and jerky, seemingly as if he were going to move in different directions at the same time. Most disturbing of all were the eyes, clouded over milky white and rolling this way and that, the man should at least be dizzy, if not entirely blind.

"So, have ye seen enough, or should We dance for you too?" said the man in a jolly middle aged mans voice.
"His breath reeks of mead, We probably wouldn't like the kind of dancing he'd want to do", Replied the voice of a young woman.
"Hold on, no need for all that", replied Ray. "I merely take an interest in newcomers, and do what I can to help them out". "Perhaps," Ray continued, "you'd like to step over to the Fellowship Hall and see what I and my friends are about".
"Harumphh, so...." said the man in what might just be his natural voice, "you are indeed the wanderer that We have heard about".
"I am indeed, if it is Ray the wanderer that you speak of", said ray with a bow, "at your service".

As the two men made their way up to the doors of the Fellowship halls, the newcomer kept up the conversation without any assistance from Ray, who listened in somwhere between amusement and alarm.

"He's the manners of a dwarf, I approve of that", said a man in his prime.
"If so, why hasn't he shared some of that mead, I ask you?" Replied a querelous old man.
"Oh mead schmead, all you ever think about is your next cup", spoke an equally elderly woman, "I don't know why I ever agreed to marry you".
"Least he doesn't smell like an orc, like that guy at the gate", said the little boys voice.
"That one will have to be dealt with, and soon", said the man in his prime.
"Oh quit going on about killing all the time and look around you", said the young woman, "this place is quite nice"
"Look at that womans fabulous dress", whispered a teenage lass with a little giggle, "I'd look charming in it.
"Staring like a bouch of loons if you ask me", said the old woman, "and not one of them with the manners to offer Us a chair".

As this conversation had gone on, Ray had led his odd guest into the Fellowship Halls, thru the training area, and into the room used for meals and meetings. Along the way many curious bretheren had stopped what they were doing and followed along to see what was about. This last statement broke them out of there fascinated reverie however, and after clearing his voice, Ray said,"Welcome to the Fellowship Halls, please take a seat wherever you like".

Amid the general sound of chairs and benches being put to good use, Ray asked a couple of his people to bring in some food and mead, and call in any of the others that were here in town. When all were seated, he introduced each one, with an occasional aside about their deeds and skills, then politely asked who the newcomer might be.

"Us?" spoke the young woman.
"We have no name", said the old man, "We simply are".
The teenage girl giggled nervously.

The people in the hall looked at eachother askance, and one or two openly snickered, while Ray merely smiled. "then perhaps you can tell us why you came to be here, and how we may help you?" said Ray.

"Help Us?" Said the young boy with a puzzled frown, "but we.."
"You could start by bringing out that mead already", Cut in the old man.
"Oh hush about the mead, We have more important business than that to Discuss", replied the young woman.
"You must be more vigilant", stated the man in his prime, "evil stalks near, as well as far from here".

At this, Ray chose to reply, "But sir, we are ever vigilant, and evil has felt the strength of our hand many times, both near and far", to which many of his bretheren nodded and rumbled agreement.

"But you are few, and evil is many", Said the old woman, "and sometimes the few miss evil beneath their very noses".
"We had actually come to offer you Our assistance", Said the man, "While not as renowned as some, We have a number of skills to offer".

While the gathering looked about at eachother with various expressions upon their countenances, the odd little man drank down the flagon of mead that had finally arrived, then settled in for a nap while the gentlefolk of the fellowship made their choice.

Sweet thread and empire name change Ray. We at the MWC appreciate your inclusion of us in your initial thread as the hardworking honest worker class. Perhaps in time some of us farmers will feel the call to join in the fellowship, just as some in the fellowship have already shown an inclination towards our more simple life. Until then good luck in your travels and try to avoid any run in's with those pirates.

There were four towers at Fellowship Hall, one for each direction of the compass. The north tower looked to the north, watchful of an Undead assault. The west tower kept its eye on Weathertop for any signals from that direction. The south tower watched over the surrounding country, much of its view obscured by the Barrow Downs. The east tower, by far the tallest, surveyed the east, seeing over Bree, Hobbitton, the Gray Havens, as far as the mouth of GROSS Bay.

It was in one of these towers that a young wizard was practicing his arts, when tidings of a strange guest came from the Main Hall.

"It doesn't work! I have tried to levitate that small brick for hours," Maike exclaimed with disgust after his two hundredth failure.

He walked over to the winding staircase to rest his mind for a bit. As soon as he walked over, sounds of a great crowd echoed up the tower from the main hall. Such a sound could only mean, an interesting guest had arrived. Maike walked down to join his peers in greeting the man but could not keep his mind off the spell that he had been working on.

In his haste and carelessness, Maike missed a step and tripped down the stairs. Cursing himself as he fell, Maike expected several embarassing injuries to explain to the others. To his surprise, he did not fall at all, but levitated there. Instead he was saved by the spell that he had been muttering under his breath, the entire way down.

Infused with excitement and wonder, Maike stayed in the tower and attempted the spell a few more times with success. By the time, he walked into the main hall, the guest had already fallen asleep.

It was an interesting man indeed, but according to the information gleaned from discussion between other members of the fellowship, the guest was not a man at all, and no one knew who or what had come to Fellowship Hall.

When the guest finally awoke from the nap, everyone slowly took their seats in the hall once again. Maike looked over at the guest and could not detect the anticipation or the weight of burden that most guests displayed while waiting for their acceptance into the fellowship. Instead there was a messy jumble of many emotions. Maike knew not what to make of it but saw that many shared his reluctance to make a decision at the moment.

Ray the Wanderer waited for the entire Fellowship to assemble and take their seats. As the few stragglers took their seats, Maike to walk into the center and spoke.

"Ray the Wanderer, before we begin this afternoon, could I have the honor of asking our guest one question?"

Ray looked at him with some surprise but answered quickly, "Yes, go ahead."

After making the proper introductions, Maike began.

"First, I would like to display an object that is the center of many games."

From his sleeves, he produced a deck of cards and proceeded to show everyone, the cards in the deck.

"In this deck, there are fifty-four cards. Most of them have their value and suit explicitly stated on their face. This, for example, is the Ace of Spades and this the Nine of Clubs."

"However, there are two that do not state any value or any suit. These two cards, the Jokers, have one head, but many faces, have one torso, but many voices, and have one heart, but many intentions. Are they high or are they low? Are they black or are they red? Will it transform to our bidding, or will the opponent fashion it to his designs?"

"We prize the Aces and the Kings, but we pin our hopes on the Jokers to transform into that which we need most. But what if the Joker that we thought belonged to us, works for another?"

Going to miss, the old White Council, but time to usher in the new!

"


Poof. You rang Grasshopper? Hello Ray, Old friend.
Poof.

Now how does that pirate do that????????
Ray: It's a long story. Maybe he'll stay long enough to tell you sometime.

The old man wakes with a start and his head swivels back and forth with a jerky motion as he takes in the scene before him. He appears to be somewhat confused for a moment or two, then realization slowly dawns on his face. These good folk are discussing him, as he had bade them do, as he was here to help them, or get help, he couldn't remember which just at this moment. In any case, it appeared that the young lad who had just drifted down the staircase facing him appeared to be addressing him directly, although it was hard to concentrate on what he was saying since the poor boy was having a hard time keeping his feet on the ground.The voices were all burbling with laughter, and some of it was escaping his lips despite his attempt to appear dignified and attentive.

"Chuckle...giggle...cackle...laugh...", came from his lips as he twitched in his seat. After some few moments of this he finally got hold of himself with a jerk and said "STOP, stop stop all of you!!".
"For once in this month will you all be silent and let me answer the poor lads question?" he asked.
"Pay them no mind lad, they never had to learn a new trick like that and have no idea how hard it is to control" he said.
"In any case", he continued, "We believe I believe you asked Us a question?".
"Something about those cards yes?" he said.
"Pick one, pick one, I used to play this game, but I don't think thats what you meant", He went on, "but more of a moral issue, as in which card would We be"?

"That is essentially correct", replied the young mage Maike.

"Then I suppose you need to understand Our answer before I give it" said the old man with a sharp nod.
"We gave up Our individuality long ago", Continued the man, "for in order to become more, you must sometimes become less".
"In any case, to answer your question", he said, "a single card won't suit as you can plainly see, but a suit would do well indeed".
He finished by saying,"Clubs are much to brutal for our taste, and spades to direct, diamonds... what need have we for diamonds when true treasure lies in the heart".

Gerakken suffers a brief moment of panic. Weeks of surveillance work are in jeopardy. The Tower is empty! All of the magi are gone, like they teleported themselves and all of their possessions in the few hours since the last stakeout. The Spymaster swiftly but quietly roams the Tower, looking for clues. Everything is gone. Nothing to do but withdraw to rethink the situation.

No longer sneaking around, Gerakken walks out of the Tower and down the path. After only a short walk, he arrives at a small village. In the square, there is a large banner overhead: "May the gods favor you for the many gifts you have left us, White Council." Gerakken of course starts thinking about what sort of wondrous magicks have been left behind, but does not need to think long. The blacksmith, the doors to his shop open, is watching an animated hammer work the iron for him. Through the window of a general store, an animated broom is seen sweeping away. Looks like it is time to start gathering some information.

Gerakken enters the store, approaches the young woman at the counter and asks: "Surely those Council wizards have graced so many with so much out of the generousity of their kind spirits, but where did they go?"

The woman replies, "A few of them came into the village yesterday. They started handing out wondrous labor saving devices to the villagers. Their leader said something about thanking us for being such good neighbors and that they were moving into a new keep. He said that they can be contacted through The Prancing Pony." Gerakken smiled a bit as he thanked the woman and quickly set off for the inn.

"This is going to be easier than I thought", Gerakken mused to himself. "That is my base when I spy here. So kind of them to leave an obvious trail." Now that he knew where he was going, the journey would be swift. Gerakken arrives at the Prancing Pony and lurks around, listening for the latest rumors.

The people in the Pony are talkative as usual with each other, spreading gossip far and wide. While they are oblivious to the Spymaster's hidden presence, Gerakken hears the magi have moved because they wanted to break the isolation they once maintained in order to interact with the world more. They were to be sages, adventurers, and keepers of the peace that would be housed in a newly built (and very nearby) Fellowship Hall accessable to the common folks instead of secluded in a remote tower performing obscure rituals.

Gerakken sneaks out, vowing to return for a far more visible and obvious visit to the Prancing Pony later. Time to sneak into this Fellowship Hall and scout it out.

Suddenly in the center of town

Poof:

Hmmm now where's that gunner....

Poof:

"A suit of hearts, he says. Not one but many but not many but one."

"You are indeed a most interesting character, old man"
Ray smiled as he stroked his long white beard.

"The Fellowship rejects none who seeks to perserve the Order and the Balance but would neither rest till those who oppose them are destroyed."

"If your hearts are true, join us in our struggle against the agents of Chaos."

We welcome DarkRaptor and Jakromulus I into the Fellowship.

Feel free to add yourselves into the story if you are into role-playing. Else our vets in the empire are most willing to help you on issues with the game.

Ahh, Ray, I was going to reply to the old man, but it seems you have gotten there ahead of me. I wonder if he has decided to say or leave, I would have like to have a few more words with him before he leaves to pursue destiny.

And we keep getting and losing members, I wonder what all these players are doing. But the empire is but a fellowship, voluntary to enter and voluntary leave. And it seems that few who enter stay to hold a permanent post. The burden is heavy indeed for the protectors of the Ring.
[Message Edited]

Looks like DarkRaptor left already. Thank you for you short stay!

Maybe I should clarify to all that it is not necessary to sign the Fellowship register to visit our Halls. That's a membership, not a guest register.

I'll probably only welcome new members from now on who have stayed for at least a week and preferrably posted something in this thread.

Go ahead and speak to the old man, Gengsta. The MMORPG that we are in stays in stasis until we participate. Looks like he is still standing there listening to us.

Poof. I'll feel free to pop in any time without registering.
Poof.

Will be making my response now.

Damn, my response will have to be on the next page.
[Message Edited]

The young wizard listened to the response of the guest, carefully noting the choice of words and the countenance of the guest as he spoke them.

A few seconds after the old man had finished, a eerie silence echoed through Fellowship Halls. Most did not know what to make of the old man's answer and waited with anticipation for some reaction from the young wizard at the center.

However, the young wizard stood there motionless and expressionless during the silence, not betraying an inkling of satisfaction or disappointment with the answer. A few members of the fellowship were preparing to speak when Maike finally cracked the tranquility with a elusive smile.

He turned to his peers and spoke loudly.

"Jokers represent chaotic characters. They are unpredictable and ever changing. Some are truly wild, guided only by passing whims. You could say these are completely untrustworthy and untameable that even our greatest enemy does not utilize them. Most are by choice, capable of orderly behavior but choosing not to. A certain pirate is a perfect example of these. Others are not truly chaotic characters at all. Instead they follow an unorthodox doctrine so strictly that they seem extraordinary. Our guest, today, falls into the last category. I do not know by what manner he has acquired so many personalities, but each personality is pure and uncorrupted."

"It is true that he will have to fight his many personalities to accomplish what we consider mundane tasks, but I sense that he will play a large role in our struggle against the enemy."

Now the young wizard turns to the old man.

"And you have something that all of us lack. As you can see, the Fellowship consists of wizards, elves, men, and dwarves. Most of us have been bless with the ability to see into the hearts of others. We can sense their emotions, detect their desires, and understand thier toils. But we have not experienced the heat of their emotions, the burning of their desires, or the weariness of their toils."

"Although Fellowship Hall lies in the heart of Bree by the Prancing Pony, we know little of the life of the common folk around us except that it is our duty to protect it. Maybe you will help us in this matter. Maybe you will reveal the joys and sorrows of a thousand hearts and show us what it is we are fighting for."