Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Season 1: A Timeline

The view of Moria Station from the Overhang

T.A. 2008

July 10 - Tari commissions a series of figures of the Valar from Gimli
July 27 - Thoron, an apprentice Gunslinger arrives in Moria Station, makes contact with Braith and Sterling, proprietors of the Overhang, and their associates: Kaa, a half-orc 'cleaner,' Gimli, a dwarven craftsman and Jae, a Silvan Elf courier. The Lord Balrog receives a gift: an unhatched Great Eagle egg, and the egg's mother, her wings clipped. The Balrog orders that the mother hatch the egg, whereupon he will consume the eaglet. The heroes decide to rescue the egg.
July 28 - Knowing they will be venturing up into the sunlight if they succeed in rescuing the egg, Gimli begins crafting a series of goggles for those who have lived underground their whole life.
July 30 - Thoron's remaining companions arrive: Galad, his mentor, a fully accomplished Gunslinger (one of the first), and Farson, Galad's other apprentice. An altercation with the local militia. Jae makes contact with MaeLiana, the daughter of a minor elven noble who possesses lore about eagles, and is able to advise the group as to how much time remains before the egg hatches. It is likely less than a month.
The Streets of Moria Station, lit by Gaslight

August 1 - A plan is formed to rescue the egg. Gimli crafts a facsimile egg as decoy.
August 2 - Thoron, Maeliana, and Tari descend through a series of ventilation tunnels about the Balrog's chambers. Once inside, Maeliana entreats upon the mother eagle to give over the egg and allow them to replace it with the decoy. Farson discovers Galad is a traitor, but is unable to stop Galad's treachery, as he is attacked at the Overhang by a group of guardsmen.. Galad attempts to kill Gimli and Kaa in the cold forges. Gimli and Kaa escape through mine shafts and tunnels, eventually coming upon an underground lake where they discover two Dwarven battle axes, treasures hidden at the coming of the Second Darkness. Braith, Sterling and Jae are attacked by Galad, but in the ensuing battle, Galad loses a hand, and Braith claims his pistols. The group returns to the Overhang in time to rescue Farason. Gimli vows to have revenge upon Galad, but Thoron and Farson prevail upon the group to allow proper justice to be served.
The group is visited by Morsein, a strange elf who believes he is the first of his kind in Middle Earth. He arranges with the members of the Kelumé resistance to assassinate Brodish Hair-Dragger, one of the Balrog's highest ranking captains (and Kaa's father). In order to make Brodish vulnerable, Morsein has arranged for a feast for all the elite of the Second Darkness currently residing in Moria. Brodish will be among them. The crew from the Overhang will be masquerading as guests and servants. With the feast taking place on the main platform of Moria Station, an opportunity will be provided to load the stolen Eagle egg into a train car, ready to be taken out of Moria Station.
Lower levels of Moria Station, above the Balrog's Chambers

August 3 - Gimli sets to work on the container for the egg. Galad escapes.
August 4 - The Feast at Moria station: the Kelumé resistance is betrayed by Morsein, Gimli dies in a final confrontation with Galad, and two new allies, Rhavas Grau, a train engineer and Aidan, his fireman, assist the group in escaping with the eagle egg. Tari undergoes a radical physical transformation from her interactions with Morsein. As the train smashes its way through Moria station, the Lord Balrog arrives, only to be thwarted by Sterling, who throws one of Gimli's fallen axes into the Balrog's eye. As the train moves onto the main line leading Westward to freedom, all of Moria Station's forces converge upon the escaping train.
August 5: The flight through the main tunnel of Moria to its West gate is fraught with peril. Despite a number of skirmishes with their pursuers, the Kelumé resistance reaches the West gate and bursts out into the dawn of a new day. Rhavas Grau orders Aidan to initiate a complex mechanism in one of the train cars. The roof of the car is blown, and with Aidan’s fire, a hot-air balloon rises. The adventurers board the car, laden with their luggage and equipment. Suddenly, as the balloon-car begins to lift off, the Lord Balrog descends them from the mountain in full fury. In response, Rhavas Grau takes a massive wrench in hand, and leaps from the airborn car, yelling “You Shall Not Pass!” as he falls upon the Balrog in mid-air combat. The balloon-car carries the group northward as the enigmatic train-engineer grapples the Balrog down to earth, lost to sight and knowledge. The eagle egg hatches, and its cries bring the remaining handful of Great Eagles to accompany the balloon-car further north along the ridge of the Misty Mountains.