Windswept

Birthed from a simple message sent to a few far corners of the world by Cedmon Windseeker, only mentioning that adventurous souls are to seek him out in the town of Bree. Though he was simply in search of a few capable warriors to assist his scholarly efforts, mainly finding the forgotten lore of the nearby Breeland ruins, the group would soon suddenly and uncontrollably spiral into a plot that was too great for them to understand, let alone stand against.

Initially, the group was comprised of only four members: Cedmon, the assumed leader of the group by virtue of being the only person who knew why they were there, Lupold, a Man of Dale with great ambitions and greater plans, Dolothrion, a mysterious and mostly silent warrior of Mirkwood who left it up to speculation on why he was there at all, and Galtharian, who was quickly given the nickname Crownlight, an Elf who had no skills but was eager to learn.

Thought the primary goal was to gather in Bree in order to aid in the Windseekers study, the band of adventurers would soon realize that there was no coin to earned from poking around old ruins, and equally as soon would they figure out that there was little adventuring to be had with no roof over their head and an empty stomach. So, soon the real work of this supposed guild began, as they offered their services to the folk of Bree in exchange for food, shelter or coin.

A few years would pass by in that seeming monotony, the Windswept taking up almost permanent residence in one of the rooms of the Prancing Pony, leaving daily to fulfill the many errands the Bree-folk were scared to do on their own, or going further and further into Breeland in search of Cedmon's precious bit of lore.

Nothing much of note would happen with the group for many seasons until one day, one of the members would find that the other three had seemingly vanished into thin air. Crownlight would awaken in the Prancing Pony after one particular night of drinking and merriment to find that their room was emptied out with no sign of any of his companions, except for the coffer of coins that they had worked so long to accumulate.

After much time had passed and there was no sign that anyone was returning, Crownlight would leave to set off on a search for them. What happened on that long journey none could say, but after much time, the Elf would return to Breeland and open an inn, naming it the Hammer and the Harp.

For the next few years, the inn operated as both a safe house for the injured and downtrodden adventurers that passed through Bree, but also as a safehouse for the growing number of people looking to join the organization. Without any of the former members to act as guides, Crownlight had started setting up the Windswept as a group of do-gooders whose most primary task was assisting the people of Bree.

Many things would happen, many new members would join their ranks, many secrets would become known to them, and much tragedy would strike them - and Windswept would face it all together, all certain of their goal.

And yet, a few events would soon disrupt their blissful peace. It would start with the sacrifice of the once-leader, Cedmon, as he cast himself off the towers of Carn Dum. This even caused the new leader, Crownlight, to focus their efforts on trying to find who these enemies of theirs were that operated within Angmar.

Pursuing this plot, and finding that there was a new poison that was starting to be used by their enemies to target them, the Windswept would soon find that in his absence, Cedmon had seemingly made some quite dangerous enemies, and those enemies would stop at nothing to destroy any remnants of his ambitions, including anyone who bore the Windseekers name and memory.

Culminating when the party would finally return to Bree once more, and finding the Hammer and Harp had been burned to the ground in their absence, Crownlight made the decision to disband the organization entirely, deeming this threat too great for them to handle.

Still, despite his ambitions to leave the life of adventuring behind him, he would be plagued by visions showing that another of their companions was being kept in the dungeons of Dol Guldur. Unable to find any rest from these visions, Crownlight would once more leave the sanctuary of home, off to the faraway pit of evil to rescue his friend.

Now, from the embers of the village where they sought refuge, recovering still from an attack that came to them in the dead of night, there is rumor that Windswept is being reforged. And yet, a question still stands - what of the Angmarrim who wished for their demise?