Yes, well done with the DS corner shops. At those prices I expect even the FK could survive, if he had some pop centres… 
Woodmen.
So who’s holding all the cash? The BS? The LR? The QA?
That’s how your keeping the markets up, right? Making sure one of your nations is rich with gold and having the market based of the richest nation. It’s a great strategy, we’re doing the same thing in another game I’m playing as the DS.
The difference is we’re not getting slapped around as bad as you guys are. What’s the point in hoarding gold when you don’t have PC’s to recruit troops?
Stay tuned to find out…
Tarondor
Lol - I’ll admit that you guys have been playing your initial forces rather well - I certainly didn’t expect we would have lost Durthang and Barad Ungol so quickly. On the other hand, hopefully you’ll admit that we’re doing better on the artifact hunt, which in the long term will hurt you guys more.
Let’s just make sure we survive to the long term! 
That said, Smaug, Khuzadrepa and Lamthanc are all being force-fed orcs to bribe them to fly with us, so that shouldn’t be so much of a problem, should it…?
ESO
?? We are quite satisfied with our artifact success. We never stood a chance of gaining the ROC and you used Khamul, Ji and another assassin to get the ROW. But apart from that I do not see that many artifacts in your hands.
So many mages, so many mages. Now what will I do with them all?
I know, I’ll have them all learn Research Artifact, then LA then LAT! Genius Akhorahil, well done.
Not ONE, let me repeat, NOT ONE of mages even having RA on turn 0.
Still, as has been said, we’re doing perfectly well with the hunt. OK, we let one of the toys slip through our fingers, but if you don’t SEE the others in our hands, all the better for us!
John (slightly disgruntled Sorcerer)
With a heavy heart, we bid farewell to Telumehtar, the stalwart Defender of Minas Ithil. He will forever be remebered by Gondor and all Free Peoples for his staunch defense of Minas Ithil. Along with our faithful South Gondorian cousins, he sucessfully defend the major town four times against vastly superior numbered, but inferior quality, Slaves of Sauron. While doing so, he foiled multiple attempts by the dastardly Dark Servants to both kidnap and murder him. His life was finally cut short while repelling another fruitless assault by the Evil Ones, this time falling heroically while engaged in combat against the Great Wyrm Khuzadrepa!
Following a period of mourning, we shall erect a magnificent statue of him in the town square, and ring the bells long and loud to celebrate his victory: Minas Ithil is STILL Free, and STILL proudly flies the flag of North Gondor! 
Tarondor
NG
I’d like to thank the Free Peoples for the dozen or so artifacts that I picked up just this turn.
I am a bit worried, though, about Ji Indur developing a hernia from all the stuff he’s carrying around with him. Do you think you could make sure that your characters carry only daggers and cloaks in the near future, instead of those heavy suits of armor, palantirs, double-headed battle-axes, and the like?
Yours sincerely,
Tony Zbaraschuk
Cloud Lord 73
P.S. I’ve got an entire nations’ worth of hostages right now. How long do you think it will be before I get two nations’ worth of hostages?
Dear Scumbag Nazguls and their deluded lackeys,
A paltry five kidnapped, and you’re bragging? Ha, that’s barely over 40% of my roster! You have to do better than that.
As for the command artifacts, I wasn’t using them as there really isn’t any DS armed forces to contend with in or around Mordor anyway. Maybe it’ll soothe your poor undead hearts so you can stop boo-hooing over your lack of Curse arties.
Congrats finally to the QA, who looks like he may actually take one of my PC’s this turn. It only took 11 turns for you to eventually do what the CL, FK, IK, Doggies and Dork Lieutenats have failed to do all game.
See you in Mordor real soon,
Tarondor
NG
New scumbag Nazgul entering from the left, i don’t know what has been going on here but there are way too many FP amry icons on my map. Consider it being delt with NOW!
New and Improved LR in the house…
I need to hear from my teammates ASAP.
Din Ohtar
Brian,
Welcome to game 73.
You are in a tricky position (much like 233 where we were on the same side).
Hope DinO and friends are going to stop visiting me!
Adam
EO game 73
Hapless silvan game 233
QA/WK checking in. Just picked these spots up and ran my first turn. Not bad. Block a few armies up north…taking a NG town…getting a few dragons…opps not suppose to say that. Anyway, looks like there where 3 drops and now the positions are taken. See you in Gondor…John
Din O and friends will be travelling the roads of Rhovanion and degrading the countryside it’s way too clean in these parts, i don’t know what the last guy was thinking but; Fresh mind at work here now, i know there will be some vast and fast improvements around here, when doing my work correctly there will be help wanted signs around. So Adam i will be close by so dont go anywhere…
Can it be? Yes, it can?
I now have more hostages than the current character limit. So the FP are definitely down a full nation’s worth of characters. And there are more to come.
I wonder where I’m going to put all the hostages…
CL 73
You know, I thought that army just south of my capital was going to attack me… instead it ran away?
Are the Easterlings alarmed by the disapperance of their North Gondorian allies? Are they perhaps worried about something else?
Ji Indur LXXVIII
A great success with those damn agents!
We’re so grateful Ji can only hold 6 hostages…
Bryn
Woodmen
Actually, only three. I guess I’ll just have to name more agents… 
Or get my friends to hold them for me. (“Psst… want an NG Regent as a lawn ornament? No? How about a Dun mage? We have a special on them this fortnight!”)
Or offer them for ransom at, oh, a million gold pieces per. Maybe.
gothmog got sick and died. i’ll miss him. in mourning, the dk lts will annex 3105/3506 and 3108 this turn.
sm#20 in uk 73
Adam,
I will stop visiting you when you stop producing armies, like that will ever happen.
I also have to agree with my comrade, these hostages are getting heavy to drag around, but i heard mud is a soothing agent for the skin.
Yes my home lands around me are way too clean, need to dirty them up a bit.
Brian
Aww bless, the pointy-ears managed to kill another orc! Thats 3 in as many turns (ok, technically one was a Nazgul and one was a balrog…). Still… it’s not quite as many as Sauron’s assassins.
How many Freeps currently reside in oubliettes in Mordor? lol - forgive me, a humble orc like me can’t count past twenty…
ps dear Elrond, can I have my artifacts back? 
Well, our hostage count is now 24. One and one-quarter nations doing nothing. How much do you think the count will rise by this turn… ?