By the firelight...

[sonof_thrain]

"Far over the misty mountains cold.
To dungeons deep, and caverns old.

We must away,at break of day.
To find our long forgotten gold.
The pines were roaring on the height.

The winds were moaning in the night.
The fire was red, it flaming spread.

The trees like torches blazed with light."

Aye, scribe. Continuing on my quest is something I intend to do. No dallying about with these so called "games" and "memes" you keep going on about.

Comments

[tapthekeg]

[Have some quiet applause Thorin.]

How beautiful yet mournful a song...

[sonof_thrain]

Indeed it is. [What kind of creature was that?]

[tapthekeg]

[She appears, at a glance, to be a large, anthropomorphic panda bear -- a red panda, to be precise, if the ringed tail is any indication. She's roughly the size of Gandalf, if not slightly taller.]

You have a lovely voice.

[As for the other part...]

Sadly, if you are here, then you are already staying, most likely. However, time in your own world does not pass -- when you return home from wherever you are here, it will be as if you never left.

[sonof_thrain]

[He nodded in respect.]

I have never come across anything like you before. You are a woman? [Yes, Thorin, it was a she. Well done.]

[marcurious]

Now you are, indeed, a bard I would pay gladly to see at the Bee and Barb.

[Mostly because he looks like a miniature Nord, but Marcurio has some tact.]

[sonof_thrain]

Nay, I am warrior. Thorin, son of Thror, son of Thrain. King Under the Mountain. [Or soon to be.]

These words, I have sung for many a year. We Dwarves can sing when we wish it.

[marcurious]

A dwemer? Honestly? I thought you would be...[Taller, Marcurio. The word is taller.]

Well, whatever I thought, I believed your kind to be extinct.

[tapthekeg]

[Well, Thorin could always have been a gentleman and not looking down the gap in her armor... but yes. Though small, those are, in fact, breasts.]

I am. A pandaren, since you are unfamiliar with my race.

[She clasps her hands together, puts her feet against one another, and bows at the waist -- a "karate" bow, with her eyes never off Thorin, but still a respectful bow to a prince none the less.]

I am Lihau Pyrestout, a Brewmaster.

[sonof_thrain]

I know not what a Dwemer is. [He gave the man an odd glance.]

Nay, I am a Dwarf of Erebor. The Lonely Mountain. We are not extinct, far from it.

[marcurious]

Dwemer...Dwarves...Semantics, really. I've also heard you referred to as the deep elves. Blinders of the Falmer. Pesecuters of the Betrayed, according to what must surely be the last snow elf in existence.

But the cities of the Dwemer are empty, aside from their mechanical guardians. Crumbling. Sad, really, as they're absolutely fascinating to explore when the metal spiders and men aren't trying to kill you.

I will admit I've never heard tales of this Erebor. Is it near other ruins? Mzulft, perhaps?

[sonof_thrain]

[At the word elves, Thorin bristled then growled.]

Do not defile our name with those filth! We are nothing like those cowards. Elves. [He nearly spat the name.]

Nay, none of those places mean anything to me.

[marcurious]

Not a fan of the Dominion, I see. Well, you most certainly aren't alone in that sentiment, friend. But I know quite a few elves that feel much the same. The Dragonborn, she herself is a dark elf, and as fearsome of a warrior as I've ever seen. Definitely someone I'm glad is on the right side.

Well, perhaps not. It has been thousands of years.

[sonof_thrain]

I know nothing of this Dominion. [Nor did he care.]

Dark elf? [Was that different from a High elf and Wood elf?] Hmph. I hardly believe that a female elf can be a fearsome warrior. Dwarves are much more suited for that job.

[sonof_thrain]

[He wasn't looking at her gap. He heard her voice.]

Thorin, son of Thror, son of Thrain. King Under the Mountain. [He nodded.]

Brewmaster? Do you brew mead or ale?

[marcurious]

I wouldn't ever say that to her face, then. [And he's laughing, because he knows her temper and it can be fierce when she's slighted. And then there's that whole thu'um business.] She's twice the warrior most Nords are, and five times as sly.

And yes, a dark elf. Dusky skin, dark hair, and a habit of shrugging off fire magic with the practiced patience of a master mage. Seeing her slay dragons is a bit breathtaking, honestly.

[sonof_thrain]

I am afraid of no elf. [He despised all kinds of elf.]

They abandoned my people when we needed them most. My kingdom and all it's people were attacked by a dragon. King Thranduil of the elves came to aid us but then turned away and left us. The coward.

Never trust elves to help you. They won't. [He was so very bitter.]

This elf woman a dragonslayer? I doubt that.

[tapthekeg]

[As she suspected. There's something very regal about you.]

A pleasure, your highness.

[She loves that question.]

Both, in fact. I can make most any type that one would wish, but with my own taste to it.

[And her race makes stuff far and above every other living thing in her canon, so...]

I have a flask with me. Would you like some?

[sonof_thrain]

I would like to try some, yes. This is kind, Lihau. Do you always welcome strangers with such a friendly manner? Even Dwarves?

[He offered her a smile.]

[tapthekeg]

Of course! Strangers are simply friends who have yet to sit and drink with you, after all.

And a very good friend of mine is a dwarf. I care less about the race of a person than who they are.

[She withdraws a flask from her bag, offering it to Thorin.]

[marcurious]

The elves abandoned you? Here I've always heard you didn't much get along with anyone. Well, the dwarves from Skyrim, at any rate. The Falmer have certainly come to hate everything but themselves because of it, and while academics are fascinated with what's left behind, Skyrim is no doubt better for their disappearance. The stories I've heard...

But yes! The Greybeards and dragons call her Dovahkiin, and she is, according to prophecy, at any rate, the only one with the ability to slay Alduin, the World Eater. We haven't made it that far in our quest quite yet, but any day now, I suppose, I'll find myself there. The shortened, condensed version is this: She is a mortal born with the soul of a dragon, and she alone can truly kill them by absorbing their very power. She can fight them using their very language, and when they fall, it is truly a sight to behold. I should know, I've help in killing many of them myself.

[sonof_thrain]

True. I just haven't many people like you before. [Talking pandas. Nope.]

You are friends with a dwarf? That is a good sign. May I know his name?

[tapthekeg]

Yes... my people seem to be a rare case. It is a shame.

Of course, though I doubt you would know him -- Kumadin Stonehammer is his name. He is a paladin of the Light and very skilled with weaving healing magic. He is, in fact, the one who helps keep me alive when we engage monsters in battle.

[sonof_thrain]

Yes, they abandoned us all to a lonely fate. [He clenched his jaw. The memory so fresh in his mind. Damn them all.]

I find that hard to believe. It sounds like elven magic and something I have no interest in. If it is true, then perhaps she can vanquish Smaug. He is the dragon which attacked Erebor and killed many of my kin.

Yet, I will be the one to stab his heart and claim back my kingdom. His blood will be splashed onto the floor of Erebor as we sing tales of how he came to be vanquished. I care not for elves or this.....dragonborn.

[sonof_thrain]

The name is not familiar with me. Stonehammer is a honourable title though. [He stiffens as he hears the word magic. What?]

There are no dwarves where I come from who delve in magic. We are warriors, blacksmiths and merchants. None can use magic where I am from. We leave that to the wizards.

[tapthekeg]

I am not surprised. Your world is quite different from mine -- every race can use some sort of magic to my understanding, whether it be the Light, the Elements, or more... darker magics.

[Warlocks. Yeesh.]

His magic is that of healing more than most else. Because I am sturdy, I ensure that those of us who are weaker are not harmed by the creatures we face and he weaves the Light to close my wounds and shield me from such wounds being inflicted in the first place. It allows me to continue to protect those who attack at range or do not have the resilience to be in direct fire.