Leaving, Battling, and Wondering

Today I decided I was high enough level to move on from Ered Luin in LOTRO. I accomplished my goals, and it was time to start heading back to Bree to pick up the main story quest. Along with that decision, I also found myself reading the first real battle that took place in the Eye of the World. Well, I guess there were other fights, but they were pretty much one-sided affairs, with only Lan and Moiraine knowing what they were doing or what they were up against. I also virtually visited the scene of the last Wondercon I attended, which was bittersweet.

The Rundown

• Leaving Ered Luin
• A First Battle
• Running in Circles

The Goods

Leavetaking

Today I decided it was time to start winding down my time in Ered Luin. I’ve made some good progress in the region and was even granted the title of Defender of the Halls. I took time to go through a few quests in Gondamon helping out the Dwarves, and Pangolyn advanced most of the way through level 14, so I figure it’s time I can get back to the main story quest.

Back in Bree, I have a few quests waiting for me, with the main one being the first chapter quest. About a week ago, I finished the prologue and tracked down Amdir with unfortunate results. It was sad to see our friend in such a bad state, but we had to take care of things and move on. Pangolyn and I quickly followed up the next session by racing through the foreward quest and kicking off the first chapter of book 1. The only issue was that we were still early in level 13, and I did not feel comfortable tackling level 15 main story quests – hence our journey to Ered Luin.

Our time in Ered Luin has been fruitful, and we are almost level 15 now; and with the added experience under our collective belts, I feel pretty confident we can start up with the first chapter of book 1 tomorrow. So we said our goodbyes in Gondamon and hitched a ride back to the Prancing Pony to meet up with Strider.

Running from Trollocs

The dancing yesterday was a nice diversion, but as expected, dark forces were not far behind the adventurers. With the chapter ending as our fellowship spy the flames back in the city where the Stag and Lion Inn was located, we don’t really start chapter 18 in a good place.

Lan sets a hard pace to get the group along the Caemlyn Road, but it soon becomes irrelevant. There are at least “three fists” of Trollocs chasing them and Fades leading each, and it is clear that fighting will soon break out.

As they spot a Myrddraal, Lan charges him, and the battle is joined. The kids do their best, but they’re not soldiers…they barely know how to use their weapons. Lan defeats one of the Fades, but others are soon there, and in the end, it takes Moiraine’s magic to turn the battle.

With her energy spent and the enemy diverted, the group heads to the safest place they can reach – Shadar Logath…the last place Moiraine wants to be.

Running to Wondercon

Ok, it’s not the time of year for Wondercon (that’s usually around Easter), but the Anaheim Convention Center is where the convention has been held in the past few years. It’s a fun convention and a smaller version of the main San Deigo Comic-Con since the same people run it.

With the last three days of running going between Anaheim/Angel Stadium, Disneyland, and now the Anaheim Convention Center, I pretty much have not been clocking the actual mileage I’ve been running these days. Typically I have been running 3–4 miles a day with weekend runs ranging from 4 to 6 miles. I’m fine with my virtual run of California slowing down a bit while I run through a pretty dense area, but I’ll start adding on the miles again soon.

It’s a Wrap

So while I virtually visited Wondercon’s location today, I physically avoided going to the Comic-Con Special Edition this weekend. I could not justify going and spending time milling around a convention center with 20,000 to 40,000 people who I really don’t know. While I would usually have gone, I did not want to catch COVID. Oh well…hopefully, next year, COVID will be gone, and I can get back to the conventions.

In any case, instead of going to the special comic-con, I played some LOTRO, had some fun reading, and kept up my running streak. Overall, today was a good day, and I hope you all had an interesting and enjoyable day as well.

Ramble 71 Cheetah 5| Leaving, Battling, and Wondering