For the last Friday of every month, Roleplayers of LOTRO allows its members to choose a location to relocate our 'At the Sign of the Prancing Pony' event series. As it is the last Friday of the month, this event will be relocated to a new location; moreover, as ROL's community was torn on whether this location should be Umbar or Rivendell this week's event will take place in both locations, at the Pot and Quill (18.4S, 96.3W) and Elrond's Library!
 

This week's (April 25, 2025) hook:

Across Middle-earth, scholars, lore-masters, scriveners, and tutors gather lore on behalf of their lords King Elessar, Legolas Greenleaf, Gimli Lockbearer, and Samwise Gamgee the Brave for Merry Brandybuck of Brandy Hall. As the Hobbits’ Thrimidgeday approaches—a time of spring-feasting, dance, and celebration, and Merry’s chosen date for the full recovery of the Brandy Hall archives—these scholars hurry to complete their labour. But such labour has a cost—scriveners’ hands ache, scholar’s eyes dim—and even the most erudite Man, Elf, Hobbit, or Dwarf needs an escape from books every now and again…
 

Thus it is that in Imladris, in the libraries of Elrond Halfelven the Departed, the scholars of the Eldar and other folk besides set aside their scrolls for a bottle of Dorwinion Red. Yet, as is ever the way with the Elves, where one bottle appears… yet another follows! Something like a party now takes place in the library: Elves gaily converse amongst themselves about the many tales, poems, song, histories, and other texts of learning, lore, and more they labour upon; others still take the flow of wine as an opportunity to sing and dance! It is the most lively the Lord Elrond’s libraries have been since he took the Straight Road to the Undying Lands with many others of his folk….

Yet it is not the Elf-scholars alone who make merry! In Umbar Baharbêl, where Men among the Phetekâri and the city’s many other schools of learning toil upon the copying of their histories and tales in exchange for Gondorian coin, if not its love, the city's scholars tire also. Thus it is that many among them journey to the Pot and Quill, a wine-tavern in the city’s upper levels and drink their fatigue away; between the drinking of wine and beer, and the consumption of many dates and figs, the scholars chatter of their work—of songs of Umbari warriors’ valour against Thorongil the Terror, of the city’s rebellion against the black Heirs of Castamir, of tales of creatures that lurk in the Bay’s depth, and spirits that chill the air of the desert lands to the easts—and some of the more scientific-minded lore-masters among them experiment with various poultices upon their fellows’ wine. These scholars, their chatter and experiments turned loud and obvious by drink, draw the eyes of many other folk who fill the Pot and Quill nigh to its bursting. As with the learned Elves of distant Rivendell, the scholars of Umbar revel in the tavern—and forget, almost, of their profitable work!

 ​Please note that this week's hook responds to Roleplayers of LOTRO's 'Refurbishing the Brandy Hall Archives' special event prompt, which prompts RPers to supply Merry Brandybuck with lore in his quest to restore the ancestral library at Brandy Hall. Once 150 pieces of lore have been collected, a story-based celebration in LOTRO's Buckland will be triggered, as well as the reveal of a brand new project we have been working on for the roleplay community, codenamed Project Kalimac. Reactions to this post on ROL's LFRP Board will count towards the special event's Lore Count.