The power of the One Ring was indeed formidable. From the moment the fiends of Moria splintered the massive doors to Balin's Tomb, RC began to consider the possibility of having Frodo put on the ring. RC controlled Gandalf, Aragon, and Frodo. K-man controlled the other members of the fellowship. Big-K ran the forces of Moria. The outlook wasn't brilliant for the fellowship nine that day. In the dark mines of Khazad-dum they're trapped and know the cave troll comes.
Big-K evaluated the fellowship and sensed the danger in Legolas' bow. The elf could shoot twice with one action, or shoot once for an increased level of damage. The K-man called this the "mega-arrow" option. The goblins managed to put two arrows into the blonde Barbie-man, but the wounds were not serious. Aragorn managed to heal the elf before the action got too intense. The halflings stayed to the rear, but eventually Big-K, realizing that he could win by killing any four of the fellowship sent scurvy minions who had entered on the flanks to attack the half-pint skulkers. Once again, RC wondered if the situation had become desperate enough to have Frodo slip the ring onto his finger. I told him the situation was not desperate. He thought that it might be, but refrained for the time being.
As events continued, RC had Gandalf cast a light spell to annoy the attackers and put them at a disadvantage in combat. Shortly thereafter, Big-K rolled the trigger for the cave troll to enter. Amazingly, RC succeeded in getting Gandalf to cast a manipulate spell on the creature. He had the brute turn against the smaller fiends. Everyone anticipated great havoc among the attackers when the cave troll would seize, smash, and bash the imps of Moria. That anticipation withered like a tender sprout in an inferno when the fellowship fumbled that piece of fantastic fortune with a terrible toss to return control to the bad guys.
New waves of attackers streamed across the broken fragments of the chamber doors, bringing darkness and nothing more. The cave troll, now free of the spell, strode forward with chain and spear, wearing terror and radiating fear. Gimli wrought stern work with double axes to slaughter goblins. Boromir slew a minion or two. Sam and Frodo with Merry's help surprised the pair of goblins who dared test their skill. Legolas put shafts through a couple as well. RC thought that perhaps now was the time for Frodo to slip into invisibility by using Sauron's trinket, but he held off when he understood that doing so carried the very slight risk that Frodo would fall under Sauron's control--and the game would be lost, along with all of Middle Earth.
The cave troll waded in--right into another of Gandalf's spells. The wizard put a hold spell on the monster. The fellowship kept the initiative. The full-sized warriors stabbed it with their steely knives, but they just couldn't kill the beast--you know, Hotel Moria, you can cry out any time you like, but you can never leave. They inflicted many wounds on the troll, but his Durable Plus attribute prevented him from succumbing to the attacks. Legolas countered the troll's special attribute with a "mega-arrow." K-man went through his ritual of choosing his two dice. He put them together with the sixes toward him before taking them in cupped hands. He licked his lips. He began shaking the dice, as he always did, right up to the point that the numbers were about to fall from the cubes. He cast the bones for a paltry sum. He spent one of his remaining special points to re-roll one die. The result proved but mediocre. Legolas' attempt proved bootless--not doubt he was distracted, thinking about that Lothlorien Leaves and Lembas Shampoo commercial he had scheduled for next week.
The fellowship had the upper hand. The cave troll had been sorely wounded. The Moria imps were dying by the score, but RC thought he needed something more. He deemed the situation to be desperate. The weight of the ring grew heavy upon him. He moved Frodo toward the cave troll. No cowering halfling here. He would bring the fight to the beast. He meant to strike a blow for the shire, to bring honor upon all the hobbits and their countrymen. However, he had been warned that Big-K would direct the cave troll to attack Frodo. He took precautions. It's tough to fight someone you can't see. Frodo could fight RC's will no longer. Frodo put on the ring. RC took up the dice and shook them round and round for the fate of nine travelers and the whole of Middle Earth. He shook and shook while Sauron's eye scanned the land from shore to shore. When the speckled bones came to rest upon the blood-stained floor, Sauron's eye pierced the chamber door. When would the fellowship escape the mines? Quoth the cave troll, "Nevermore." Somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout. But there was no joy for the fellowhip--mighty RC had struck-out. He snatched defeat from the jaws of victory giving control of the ring to Sauron.
Even though good lost in the worst possible way, we still had a good time. Evil was not dismayed at all. RC seemed unconcerned that he had contributed to the mass enslavement of all of Middle Earth to the dark lord. He was imagining what the next adventure would bring.
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