Day 62 Sunday To Rivendell: Heading north.

Found the tomb of a Lord and Lady of Ost-In-Edhil.

Day 63 Monday To Rivendell: Heading north.

Battle in an abandoned mine (3 skeletons killed.)

Day 64 Tuesday To Rivendell: Heading north.

Encounter with a malicious man. Battle at the Great East Road. Aldorn killed. (10 Orcs killed)

Day 65 Wednesday Rivendell: The End of the Adventure.

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Guided Tour

Riding through a ravine in the spur of the mountains, Lornath, keeping a careful eye on activities above, spotted a small building nearly two hundred feet up a cliff above the road. He called to the rest of the party and they stopped to investigate.

Seventy-five feet up the side of the ravine there was a ledge, which Gavrad climbed to. From there the way was not as steep, but loose rocks made the climb difficult. Now considerably closer, used his amulet to summon a crow. He flew it up to the structure and examined it as best he could. It was built of stone, about ten feet tall, entirely devoid of windows. Two pillars were built into the front, carved as if they were trees. Between them was set a smooth stone door, over six feet high and four wide.

Gavrad climbed up to the structure, and moments later was joined by Bairagläth, who had shape-shifted into a bear and climbed up the ravine. He shifted back to human form and together they examined the door. It had no handle and resisted attempts to force it open. Next they examined the carved trees. For the most part they were identical, but one of the branches on the right hand tree was separate from the rest. Since it was ten feet off the ground, Bairagläth changed back to a bear and carefully shifted it with a paw. Quietly the door opened inward. Gavrad cast a projected light spell and they peered in.

Inside was a hall some thirty feet long, the far end having been carved into the mountain. It was sparsly decorated with a military feel: a shield hung on the wall halfway down the hall. Running the length of the side walls, at heights of two, four, and six feet from the floor, metal bands about three inches wide had been embedded into the stone.

Still in bear form, Bairagläth climbed down to the ledge, changed back to a man, and called for the elf-rope. Andrahil threw it up and the Beorning secured it. Andrahil and Pendergast climbed up to the ledge. Baldôr tried next, slipped and fell, and had to be hauled up. Likewise Aldorn had trouble and required assistance. Lornath climbed up with no problem, while Fëalókë stayed behind with the horses.

Pendergast started climbing up to the structure. Back on the ledge, Bairagläth changed into a bear. Andrahil took the Elf-rope, looped it around the bear as a harness, then tied it around Baldôr, Aldorn, and Lornath. They climbed as a team and arrived safely at the structure.

Once they had all gathered, Pendergast cast a presence spell and reported he could locate no one inside. Lornath peered carefully through the door but discerned nothing of significance.

"I dinna trust this place," said Gavrad. "Wait a moment while get a wee bit more information." He sat down on the ground in front of the door and concentrated on an intuitions spell.

In the spell, Gavrad walked down the hall. Twenty feet from the entrance the door silently closed behind him. Gavrad continued toward the room at the end of the hallway. Runes glowed on the back wall. They appeared to be an elven tongue, and he knew no languages of the elves. He walked forward again, carefully, but as he approached the end of the corridor, he felt a strange tingling sensation all over his body and spell abruptly ended. He came out of his trance and a little shaken - he never enjoyed dying in his intuitions spells - he reported his findings.

"The bands on the wall are probably a trap of some sort," said Andrahil. "The runes may be the way to prevent the trap from going off."

"We could send Lornath down," offered Aldorn. "I think he knows all the Elven languages."

"Silvan, Sindarin, and Quenya," replied Lornath. "But I don't really want to try out this theory with my life! Gavrad, how much of those runes do you remember?"

"Some," came the reply. He and Lornath discussed this intently for several minutes, Lornath asking questions, Gavrad trying to recall details of the runes. Lornath concluded Gavrad had not remembered enough details to give him a clear picture.

So Gavrad cast a second intuitions spell, using it to examine the runes carefully and note the details Lornath had asked for. Although this time he did not walk to the end of the corridor, the spell ended the same way, with a sudden surge of energy that cut it short. He and Lornath again conferred. The Elf concluded the language more than likely was Quenya: the words "folly" and "pride" were there, and a probable reference to Ost-in-Edil.

Andrahil searched the doorpost, lintel, and trees for some device by which the door would be closed when a person passed through it but found nothing. Casting a detect traps spell, Pendergast spent several minutes thoroughly scanning the visible area of the structure. The floor seemed to be sectioned off in five foot deep sections all the way down the hall: the first section was a pressure plate of some sort that Pendergast suspected closed the door.

Lornath stepped on the first section of hallway and jumped out again. The door swung shut. The party listened intently at the door but heard nothing. Bairagläth changed quickly into a bear and pulled the carved branch to open the door. While Pendergast cast a detect essence and Lornath cast detect channeling, Andrahil stepped on the trigger again. Once more the door closed. Ten seconds later Pendergast noticed a tremendous surge of essence magic.

Now that he had more information, Gavrad cast a third intuitions spell. In this one he first cast a light spell on to his spear tip, then stepped back and tried to jump over the trigger. He almost made it, but his back foot touched the edge. He jumped up, sprinted down the hall to the room, and cast himself upon the floor. The door closed. Ten seconds later the entire hallway crackled to life as lightning arced between the bands. It lasted five seconds before dissapating.

Gavrad looked about the room. It was rectangular, the entire strucure being shaped like a "T". On each side of the end room was bier, and atop each was a coffin. Then the spell faded, and Gavrad, relieved this time the spell was not cut short, told the group what he had seen.

Lornath repeated Gavrad's maneuver for real, cleanly jumping the trigger and sprinting down the hall. Like Gavrad in his spell, he dived to the floor and waited. This time, though, the door remained open and the lighning did not appear. After laying there for a minute, he rose and searched the room carefully.

High up the wall at the very end of the hallway two square metal plates were clearly visible, one on either side. He pressed one of them and the door silently closed, leaving the tomb in darkness. Lornath turned around and saw the runes Gavrad had attempted to had desribe were glowing. They read, in Quenya, "Here lie friends of Ost-in-Edil, they were allies in greatness and with regret we lay them here." Lornath surmised the word "greatness" was probably mistranslated earlier as "pride;" "regret" had become "folly." The two plates he had seen earlier also glowed with runes: one for opening and one for closing. Lornath cast a detect evil spell and found nothing.

On each of the coffins runes were now visible, but these were in a language he could not read. It was similar to Sindarin, and he supposed it was Adûnaic, the language of the Dúnadain. Then the runes winked out as Bairagläth opened the door and Andrahil ran down the hall.

"What are you doing in here?" Andrahil asked the Elf.

"I was trying to read the runes," Lornath replied, a bit cross. "They disappeared when you opened the door. Can you read Adûnaic?"

"Yes."

"Good. I'll close the door and we'll take another look."

Lornath pressed the panel with the closing rune on it, and they looked at the lids of the coffins. The names "Lord Felindal" and "Lady Graendal" clearly visible. Over Lornath's protests, Andrahil opened the lid of the coffin of Lord Felindal. The body had disappeared completely, and the robes likewise, but the armour was still there. Andrahil closed the coffin and opened Lady Graendal's. This one was almost empty save for a few pieces of jewellery.

He closed it up again, then walked down the hall to examine the shield on the wall. It was primarily black in colour and bore the emblem of the White Tree. After waiting for Lornath to leave, he snatched the shield from the wall and ran out. He presented this prize to Pendergast for inspection.

"This is amazing," said Pendergast after examining it. "The base metal is adarceur, a very tough steel - tough enough that if you made a blade out if it, you could cut iron with it and it would still keep its edge. The black on the shield is of a different metal that I can't really identify and has been bound to the adarceur using a process I don't understand. The tree is made from ithilnor, and the hawk -"

"What hawk?" asked Andrahil. "All I see on the shield is a tree."

"There is also a hawk on shield, superimposed over the tree. But it is made from ithilden, which normally is seen only by starlight or moonlight. And a deflections spell has been bound into the shield, which you can use once a day. Truly this is a shield fit for a king!"

Andrahil decided to keep it. Then they departed the place, scrambling down the hill to the ledge and using the Elf-rope to make the descent from there to the road. Gavrad came down last, tossing the Elf-rope down ahead of him, and climbing down without the rope. He slipped and fell, twisting his ankle. That delayed the party for an hour while he boiled up an arpsusar stalk to heal the sprain. A couple of healing spells returned him to full strength. Andrahil gave his old shield to Fëalókë, who was happy to cast aside the orc shield that to this point he had been carrying.

At about three that afternoon they travelled again. Refreshed from their rest, the horses bore their riders at a great pace, and they made many miles. By evening they had descended out of spur of the mountains and were on the plain again. They rode on into the evening. Aldorn spotted tracks on the road: four people apparently had come out of the mountains the day before and had travelled north.

They rode for a couple more hours, and as the light began to fade Baldôr announced he had found a cave. But neither Lornath nor Gavrad could see it. Nonetheless, the party left the road and followed the Dwarf for a few minutes until they reached the entrance. It was about five feet high and three wide, and the cave behind was roomy enough for the party. Andrahil entered and examined it carefully, then announced he believed Orcs had camped here a month ago. The remainder of the party had no concern for Orcs and decided to spend the night in the cave.

They posted their normal watches: Andrahil and Fëalókë, then Fëalókë and Lornath, and finally Lornath and Gavrad. The night passed quietly, and nothing came from the mountains or the road to cause alarm.

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Guided Tour

The road ran along the old riverbed: the valley narrowed and became shallower as it ran north. Climbing the ridge to get a better view, Bairagläth, in bear form, found a tunnel hidden behind some bushes. He switched back to a human and called the party over. They examined the tunnel carefully. It was obviously a mineshaft, three feet wide by six tall, with beams of wood supporting the roof.

Andrahil cast a path spell. "The tunnel runs rans 20 feet in from the face, then forks," he reported. "The main tunnel delves further in and the other goes off to the right, parallel to the road."

"Be careful going in there!" said Fëalókë. "My Elf-knife is glowing. There may be Orcs."

Pendergast cast a light spell on Baldôr's shield and they entered the tunnel prepared for battle: Baldôr and Andrahil first, followed by Fëalókë, Pendergast, Bairaglth, and Aldorn, with Gavrad and Loranth in the tail. Once inside, Pendergast cast a directed light spell, and a beam of light sprang forth from his hand. There were no obvious traps at the junction. Baldôr carefully looked around the corner down the side tunnel and saw a pile of rubble: a cave-in had blocked the corridor from floor to roof.

They continued down the main tunnel. A large room was cut into the ground on the left. Like the side tunnel they had just seen, the back of the room had collapsed. Two skeletons could be seen amongst the rubble, victims of the cave-in. Further down the tunnel ended in a large room. Tools were scattered about, as if the mine had been abandonded in a great hurry.

Fëalókë's knife was glowing a little brighter. Having scouted the entire area and finding nothing, he wondered what his knife was reacting to. They returned to the room with the skeletons in it.

"Let's check these out," said Gavrad. He cast a detect evil spell -- and went pale. "Let's get out of here!" he cried. "These things are mean!"

"There is evil in this place," rejoined Fëalókë. "We cannot leave it for it to harm others."

"But how do you kill an undead?" asked Andrahil. "We have no spells for that."

Fëalókë answered, "You destroy the containers that hold the evil, and the evil disappears. Hit the skeletons!"

So with a mighty blow from his morningstar Andrahil smashed the skull of one of the skeletons -- and all its bones collapsed. Baldôr struck the other, and behold, its eyes glowed red and it stood up and faced them. In strode Fëalókë with his elven knife, struck it once, and its movements became disjointed. Now the skeleton made a fist, struck Baldôr, tearing the shield from his arm. Andrahil swung his morningstar and smashed the skeleton's pelvis. Bones flew and their adversary dropped. It was an eerie sight, half on the ground, rib cage and skull still intact, red eyes glowing and arms flailing. Aldorn fired his crossbow through the skull and the skeleton collapsed in a heap, the eyes glowing no more.

"There is nae evil left here," said Gavrad. "My spells shows nothing."

"But my knife does," replied Fëalókë. He held it out and all could see it still glowed.

"It may be down there," said Pendergast, shining his light down the hall.

"My shield is broken," Baldôr said to Fëalókë. "I don't want to go into another fight without one."

"I will lend you mine," said Fëalókë. "When we have cleared this place from the evil here I will repair yours."

Four walked down the corridor to the far end: Andrahil and Baldôr in the lead, followed by Bairagläth and Fëalókë. There was a fearsome sight in that room: a tall skeleton with ragged armour, a helm, and a sword, standing ready for battle. All three fighters froze. Baldôr and Andrahil turned and tried to run, but Bairagläth stood in the way, his huge form occupying most of the corridor. Space was tight here, and Fëalókë stood back against the wall, trying to get past Bairagläth.

The skeleton swung hard at Baldôr and hit him. Panicked, Andrahil and Baldôr finally shoved their way past Bairagläth and tore down the corridor past the others. Fëalókë watched in astonishment as his shield, which Baldôr had been carrying, vanished down the hallway. Pendergast retrieved a sunburst from his backpack and handed it to Fëalókë as Gavrad and Lornath advanced behind them.

Bairagläth looked back at Fëalókë. "The logical thing to do here would be to run away in fear." He grinned. "Let's fight!"

"Certainly! Cover your eyes!" the Elf replied, tossing the sunburst. It hit the skeleton squarely in the ribcage and burst asunder. The skeleton flew back against the wall, but in an instant regained its feet and jumped at Fëalókë. The Elf danced aside, noticing his knife now glowed as bright as he had ever seen it. To his dismay he saw the sword the skeleton held carried a dark aura about it.

Lornath came up behind Fëalókë to assist, but at his first sight of the skeleton he cried out and ran hard from the room, down the tunnel, and out of the mine. Bairagläth shape-shifted into a bear and struck at the skeleton. Fëalókë stabbed with his knife. With a savage blow the skeleton struck the Elf in the head with its dark sword. There was a tremendous clang and he crumpled to the ground.

Pendergast cast a spell on the skeleton's sword and it began to vibrate. Rune paper in hand, Aldorn entered the room and read off the holding song he had inscribed on it. Still a bear, Bairagläth made a mighty sweep at the skeleton, knocking it off its feet and smashing its sword against the wall. The weapon broke in two pieces: there was a bone chilling scream and a black vapour spilled from the sword and escaped through the roof of the chamber. Held back by Aldorn's spell, the skeleton stuggled regain its footing.

"I'm going to try to wake Fëalókë up!" called Pendergast. "But he may need something to put him back into shape."

"I'll see wha' I can do," replied Gavrad. He walked over to where the Elf was lying. But as he did so the skeleton came into view. All colour drained from the Dunelending's face and he abruptly turned and ran back down the corridor. Near the entrance he stopped to collect his thoughts, then turned again and stoically marched back toward the room at the far end where the fight raged on.

The bear struck the skeleton and it spun around face first into the wall. Now Baldôr was back in the room, and he hit the skeleton with his morningstar. And the bear attacked again, hitting the skeleton on its shield arm.

Pendergast stepped over to where Fëalókë had fallen. He removed the Elf's helmet and examined it. "Good thing he was wearing this!" he muttered to himself. Then he touched him, releasing the awakening spell he had been preparing. The Elf opened his eyes, blinked, and moaned. Pendergast helped him to his feet and together they left the room.

They were met by Gavrad. "Am I happy to see ye on your feet!" he said, obviously much relieved to know Fëalókë was still alive. "Here, sit ye down and I'll get ye healed up." He gave him a hawrite moss, knowing he would need its powerful healing abilities.

Back in the room, Baldôr hit the skeleton again and the bones of its sword arm flew across to the far side. The bear grabbed the skeleton, spun it around, and slammed it into the wall. The helmet flew off as the skull smashed into pieces, and the skeleton tumbled apart, landing all in a heap of bone and armour.

Andrahil and Lornath reappeared, breathing heavily as if from a long run. Observing the pile of bones that once was the skeleton, Andrahil congratulated Fëalókë on his victory. The Elf's reply was uncharacteristically ungracious.

"Fine help you were!" he snapped. "One look at an undead and you turn tail and run! I am not surprised the Dunlending ran: that Man is afraid of his own shadow. I would have expected more from you, though!

"Dwarf! What were you thinking of when you ran off with my shield! That was grevious loss and could well have cost me my life! And Lornath - are you an Elf or Man? You say you are an Elf, but you ran just as fast as the Men did!"

The party winced under the blistering attack from their leader, but gave no reply nor offered any apologies.

Lornath cast three healing spells on Baldôr, and Gavrad gave him two arlain leaves and a thurl clove to heal him completely. Aldorn and Pendergast examined the two pieces of the skeleton's broken sword. They were white in colour and Pendergast exclaimed in awe, "This was made from the bone of a dragon! Possibly even one of the great dragons of the first age. The black vapour that escaped from it when it broke was probably the soul of some evil thing -- perhaps even the dragon itself -- that was bound into it when it was made."

He examined the remainder of the equipment. The helm and armour were normal, but the gauntlets it had been wearing provided extra protection to people who were parrying. They were too large for the Dwarf, and Andrahil had just yesterday picked up the shield from the tomb, so they gave the gauntlets to Fëalókë.

Now in a better disposition, Fëalókë took the time to repair Baldôr's shield. In the mean time Bairagläth removed all the bones from mine and burned them.

After eating lunch, all save Bairagläth mounted their horses and rode northward. The Beorning chose to travel as a bear, partly because he tired less that way than riding, and partly to familiarize the horses to his presence. By early evening the town came into view. It was well defended: a wooden palisade surrounded it and guards armed with swords and bows kept watch.

"What is your business here?" asked a guard as the party approached the gates.

"We are travellers from afar," said Fëalókë. "We will be staying the night and leaving in the morning. Is there an inn where we can stay?"

"There is," the guard replied. "Down the street here on the left. They have a tavern, the inn itself, and a stable."

They found the inn with no problem. It was run by a young couple, cheerfully juggling responsibilities for the business and their two young children. For two silver pieces they gave the party rooms and a place to stable their horses.

Once the sun set, the large common room began to fill with people. Fëalókë asked the barkeep about the tower they had seen earlier that day.

"Oh, it's abandoned," came the reply. "It was a military outpost some time ago. A couple of years back bandits hid out there and attacked travellers on the road. So we sent some people out there and routed 'em out. Hanged the whole lot of them, we did! I told them we should have knocked the tower down."

"We were able to determine the presence of two people, apparently hiding in the basement," Fëalókë said.

"Oh you did, eh? More bandits, I suspect. We'll have to send some more people down there and kill them, too! And this time we really should tear that bloody tower down!"

Meanwhile Aldorn, true to his calling as a bard, told the assembled crowd a tale: a variation on the fight they had had with the five trolls the day before. It was well received and when he was done a small group of men invited him to their table and bought him a drink. But when Aldorn started asking questions about the tower and abandoned mines, and the men clammed up. So he got up, looked around, and was immediately summoned over to another table. They chatted a while. They were mostly young men, itinerant workers who moved from town to town, spending a few months in each. The oldest in the party told him a story about how, in his youth, one of his acquaintances had fallen into a barrow. On coming out he told him how he had fallen on to a ship.

Fëalókë had overhead most of the tale and figured it may have been a Numenorian burial site. Feeling slightly paranoid, he retreated from the bar into a corner and quietly cast a detect evil spell. It showed nothing until a tall man dressed primarily in black entered the room and sat down at the bar. Quietly Fëalókë found each member of the party and reminded them as discreetly as he could that they should not talk about their mission. After asking Andrahil to keep an eye on the man, he retired to his room.

The man ordered dinner, had a couple of drinks, then left to the inn. Feigning drunkeness, Andrahil followed him to determine the stranger had a room on the first floor. He climbed the stairs to the second floor and there joined Fëalókë and Pendergast. The old wizard had stayed away from the common room, taking the evening in his own quarters to make another sunburst.

Wanting to learn more about the man's intentions, Andrahil asked Gavrad if he had anything that would make the man more talkative. The animist went through his herb pouch and held up a small brown nodule.

"This should do the trick," he said, wearing one of his rare smiles. "It's called escasse. We'll mix it in with some wine. If we kin get 'im ta drink it, he'll think we're his best friends an' will probably tell us more than we probably want ta know! Oh, an' he'll feel it the next mornin' too!"

A few minutes later, Andrahil and Gavrad, carrying two wineskins and pretending to be drunk, stumbled down the stairs. They sang a rousing song in front of the stranger's door, then opened it and pushed in.

"This is not your room!" said Gavrad to Andrahil.

"I doesn't look like it!" Andrahil replied. "Say, there's someone here. Have a drink, my friend!" He offered the spiked wineskin to the stranger.

"Wine keeps me awake at night," the man replied.

"Well, this may even help you sleep. Enjoy!" Again he offered the wineskin.

"I want my peace and quiet -- and my rest!" he said. "If you want to drink, you can go to the tavern!" And he pushed the pair out of his room and locked the door behind them. So they caroused off in the general direction of the tavern, then quietly turned around and returned to Pendergast's room.

Fëalókë was not impressed. "That was a waste of time, and may even cost us in the future! You two get your sleep. I will watch this man from outside his room tonight. Gavrad, perhaps you could cast a dream spell about this person and see if you can learn more about him that way." Then he left, spending much of the night outside watching the man's room. He saw nothing out of the ordinary, and early in the morning he returned into his room to rest.

Gavrad cast a dream spell as Fëalókë had asked. From it he learned the man was a scoundrel, a thief, and probably a murderer, with connections to the nastier side of society in many towns. Although the dream indicated he was travelling north, it gave no indication whether he was tailing the party.

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Guided Tour

"Morning," he said to the smith. "I am looking for a throwing weapon. Something like a javelin or a knife."

"I'm not familiar with javelins," replied the blacksmith, "but I have a throwing knife I could sell for three silver pieces."

"Sorry. I can't afford it," said Bairagläth, "Could I work for it?"

"Your offer is kind," replied the smith, "but I have no work that needs doing - at least, nothing that wouldn't take half a day at least."

"Thank you anyway," Bairagläth said. "If you still have the knife when I come back here, will you still sell it for three silvers?"

"That I can do," said the smith.

"Good. Have a nice day." And he left, following the main road to the gate out of the city.

"Where are the friends you came in with yesterday?" asked the guards.

"Friends?" Bairagläth asked, pretending to be puzzled. "Oh, those were some people I met half a day out of town. We just travelled in together."

"Ah," replied the guard. "When we saw you come in as a group, we assumed you were all together. Have a good journey!"

"Thank you," said Bairagläth, and he left town on the northbound road. Once out of sight of the village he left the road and changed into a bear. Then he walked on, parallel to the road but out of sight of it. Two miles out of town he came upon a copse of trees, and there was tied a horse, with a man about Andrahil's height calming it. Bairagläth realized the horse had probably smelled him. He circled back in the direction of the town, wondering whw the man was and why he was hiding out of sight of the road so early in the day. He shifted back into a human and waited for the rest of the party.

They arrived within half an hour and Bairagläth told them about the man and horse hiding out of sight of the road. After discussion, they rode on, armed as if ready to fight, and Bairagläth went back to being a bear. Three hundred feet from the copse, the man appeared from the trees, nonchalantly mounted his horse, and rode off ahead of them.

Suddenly a bear burst from the trees, roaring and running after the horse and rider. Fëalókë kicked his horse into a gallop; Andrahil, Aldorn, and Gavrad followed suit. Ahead of them the rider was having considerable difficulty controlling his horse, which had been alarmed by the charging bear. But he managed to turn the horse southward and came toward the party. In moments they met and all reigned in to a stop, and he was surrounded. They all recognized him as the shady character they had spent so much energy on the night before.

"Thank you!" the stranger said, sounding quite relieved. "Did you see the way that bear charged me? Very unusual behaviour for a bear, that was."

Fëalókë was not moved by the man's display. He walked his horse over to the man's and grabbed its reigns. "Why were you there?" he demanded.

"I was resting and having breakfast," the man calmly replied.

The Elf was not satisfied. "You were watching the road, waiting for us."

"I think you're harassing innoncent travellers," came the cool reply.

Andrahil called over to Gavrad, "Do you still have some wine?" Gavrad handed him the wine they had spiked the night before. "You have had quite a scare, my friend," Andrahil said to the stranger. "Would you like something to drink?"

The man turned and looked straight at Andrahil. "I still don't drink," he said, a slight smile on his face.

"I am still looking for answers," pressed Fëalókë. "I am an Eldar; I can see into your very soul. I do not accept your explanation."

The man looked at Elf with a genuine expression of surprise. "You guys are really unbelivable!" he exclaimed. "Do you harass everyone like this?

Unmoved, Fëalókë pursued the interrogation. "You were watching the road. Why?"

The man resumed his cool manner. "I was having breakfast."

"Drink with us, friend!" said Andrahil, and again offered him the wineskin.

In a well practised movement, almost too swift to be seen, the man suddenly produced a previously hidden dagger and stabbed Fëalókë on the arm. The Elf reacted just as quickly: in an instant Icetonge was out of its sheath and man was on the road, unconscious and bleeding heavily from a cut to his leg. Gavrad dismounted and examined him.

"Ye hit him hard, that much is for sure," he said to Fëalókë. "He's gonna to die from this wound if I do naught to save him. Do ye wish me ta keep him alive so he can answer some questions?"

"That depends," replied Fëalókë. "Can we get the truth from him?"

"I want to find out why he was watching the road," said Aldorn. "Whether or not he'll tell us the truth is another matter. I suppose Andrahil and Fëalókë can get it out of him with some pursuasion."

So Gavrad bound the wound and cast a frost and burn relief spell to mitigate the effects of Icetongue's magic. That left him unconscious and but in no immediate danger of dying. Next Gavrad examined the dagger he had used to stab Fëalókë.

"This is an unpleasant character, to be sure," he said. "The knife is poisoned with with clytun. You're lucky ye be an Elf, Fëalókë, or you'd be oot like the night for a week!"

"We should get this man off the road," said Andrahil. "We could attract attention here in the open."

They loaded the unconscious man on to his horse and walked back into the grove. There they went through his saddlebags. In addition to rations and a bedroll, he had 15 gold pieces of a mintage they did not recgnize. Hidden on his person and in his saddlebags he had nearly a dozen knives of every type, three of them poisoned. He also carried a herb pouch, which Gavrad inspected. Inside were ten vials: one had 6 doses of asp venom (a level 5 poison, causes loss of limb); 6 doses of urenna (causes 3 to 30 hits of damage); 2 doses of dynallca (a level 3 poison); 9 doses of silmaana (a level 9 poison: scars the skin and does 2 to 20 hits of damage); four others he could not identify.

Pendergast examined the knife collection. Their prisoner had a small aresenal: daggers, a knife with a round blade for assasination, some throwing knives, and a couple of pairs of knives for two handed fighting.

Now that they had a better idea of what they were dealing with, they decided to continue the interrogation. Andrahil tied the man's hands behind his back, then Gavrad cast a couple of healing spells to bring him back to consciousness. Pendergast cast a spell, suggesting he tell truthfully all he knew about the party and to whom he reported.

The man looked at Pendergast, then spoke as if the wizard had actually asked him a question. His voice was calm and quiet. "I have no idea who you are, or why you are so paranoid, or why you appear intent on making my life miserable - and probably short. I have nothing to do with you, so who I work for is of no interest to you."

"Well, that was of no use to us," Andrahil said to Pendergast. "Let's see if I can get some answers from him." Suddenly he produced a rope with a noose he had tied in it. This he put around the man's neck, then looped it round a tree branch and tied to the horse's saddle.

Despite all that had happened, the stanger remained calm. "I figured if I was going to be hanged, it would be for something I did," he said.

Lornath had been watching this whole procedure with growing alarm. Finally he spoke. "I don't know very much about how Men handle their evil people. But among the Elves, those who break the rules are brought before our King and Queen to give account for what they have done. Usually all that is required of them after that is to make amends for the damage they have caused. I have heard in the past we were forced to exile some from our kingdom, but never have I heard of us taking an Elf's life for a crime. Do Men also have a process they follow if they need to do this? Do they not have kings and princes and captains and guards? Who are we to kill this man, especially when he has done nothing to us?"

"That was a good speech, Elf," said the man. "You are right, typically among men we have proper ways of handling these things. But not everywhere; in many places there isn't a process."

"I did not intend to kill him," said Fëalókë.

"No offence," said the prisioner, "but it didn't look that way to me."

"I acted to defend myself when you attacked. You called the tune, so you should be prepared to pay the piper."

"Can I go now?" the man asked.

"Yes," replied Fëalókë, "even though you are an evil person. The knives and the poisons speak to that. But if ever we see you again, even if we meet by accident, we will kill you. You would be well advised not to travel north."

"Can I have food and at least one knife?" he asked.

Fëalókë did not even pause to consider the request. "You may have food and your bedroll, but we will not suffer you to carry knives."

Andrahil untied the rope from the saddle and removed it from the man's neck. Still composed, the man thanked Gavrad for healing him as much as he had, then, obviously in pain, he left the grove and rode southward to the town.

Fëalókë added the man's gold pieces to the party's money pouch and Gavrad stowed the bundle of poisons into one of his own saddlebags. Then they continued north. After a brief ride they reached a river. There they cleaned the knives and tossed most into the water, but Andrahil kept the one that the man had used to stab Fëalókë.

They continued their journey, following the road north. It was still good, for the town they had just visited kept their link to the Great East Road in good repair. Aside from the encounter that morning, travel was uneventful. Early in the evening they crossed the River Bruinen, and a couple of hours after that they were within sight of the Great East Road. Just before the Road Andrahil pointed out a well-worn path that led to a camping spot within a stand of trees.

They pitched camp and set out the caltrops. Fëalókë tended to his horse; it had been walking hard for three days wearing heaving barding. After sunset they posted watches.

Late into the first watch from his hiding place outside the camp, Andrahil noticed movement on the Road. Quickly he slipped into the campsite and alerted Fëalókë. The Elf checked Galadriel's knife but it showed no discernable glimmers. While Fëalókë went to check the road with his superior Elven vision, Andrahil awoke the camp. By now the group was within Fëalókë's sight. He sprinted back to the camp. "Ten Orcs!" he announced, quietly but urgently. The knife, still in his hand, now glowed dimly.

Quickly the party prepared: Lornath and Fëalókë strung their bows, Bairagläth changed into a bear, Pendergast made himself invisible and got out a rune paper with a sleep spell on it, Gavrad also retrieved a sleeping-spell rune paper, and Aldorn readied his crossbow. As the Orcs marched down the road, one of the two archers in the troupe suddenly called out to the others. They all turned to look at a grove of trees where the archer was excitedly pointing. There was a pause, then they broke into a run and charged the camp.

Lornath and Andrahil fired their bows at the speeding orcs: Lornath's arrow hit one of them, breaking its arm, but Andrahil's went wide and disappeared into the night. Andrahil quickly reloaded and fired again, his arrow joining one sent by Fëalókë. Aldorn's hit an Orc and bruised it, while the Elf's hit another in the helmet, and it collapsed. Aldorn shot a bolt from his crossbow but it flew off into the night.

Gavrad tried to read the rune paper, but as soon as he looked at it he gawked and gaped at the unfamilar text and gave up. He retrieved another paper, this one with a holding spell on it. He read it off, and after a moment's confusion realized he had managed only to cast it on himself, so he dismissed the spell. Pendergast was only mildly luckier: he managed to read the sleep spell on his rune paper but it did had no effect. Aldorn prepared a holding song.

Suddenly everyone heard a tremendous roar from the bushes: Bairagläth had stepped on a something and felt it. Undeterred, he ran over to an Orc and they grappled and fought until the Orc fell. Lornath fired another arrow and it flew well, striking an Orc in the leg.

By now many of the Orcs, except their leader who had stayed behind to heal the the arm broken by Lornath's first arrow, had arrived at the front. Andrahil attacked the Orc Lornath had hit in the leg and broke the other leg, then killed it with his next blow. An Orc moved to attack Fëalókë, but the Elf was ready with the knife of Galadriel and killed it with three quick stabs.

Now the Orc leader, an Uruk, moved in to attack Fëalókë, but Andrahil smashed its shield and the Elf killed it with a single hit from Galadriel's knife. One of the Orc archers saw this and turned to run away. Pendergast fired a spell after the Orc and it stumbled and fell, fast asleep.

Gavrad started preparing a calm spell and called to Baldôr to move up and join the battle, for up to now he had done nothing. The Dwarf obliged, attacking an Orc, knocking it unconscious. But even as he did so another Orc approached around the side and headed for Aldorn. Quickly the Bard cast his holding song. The Orc was slowed but not stopped: it lunged forward and struck Aldorn a great blow to the head. Gavrad watched in horror as the man crumpled to the ground. He cast his calm spell on the two Orc archers, then immediately cast a plant facade on himself.

The Orc that had just felled Aldorn looked about with confusion, for where he thought a person had been just a moment before a bush now stood. So it ran past the bush to attack Fëalókë. Pendergast fired off another spell: the Orc's sword began to vibrate madly. A bush shuffled past the old Wizard and he tipped his hat to it. The bush, of course, was Gavrad, headed over to Aldorn to see how badly he had been hurt.

Lornath tried to fire an arrow at an Orc, but the string of his bow abruptly failed and snapped. The Elf saw one of the archers had lost interest in the fight and was wandering off down the road. Both he and Bairagläth gave chase: the bear reached the Orc first and killed it.

The fortunes of the Orc who had hit Aldorn earlier in the battle began to turn; its sword was jittering out of control and an angry Elf was confronting it. The Orc turned and ran. Pendergast attempted to cast a sleep spell but failed. The desparate Orc reached a tree and began to climb. But even as it scrambled to safety, Fëalókë reached up with the kinfe of Galadriel, struck, and the Orc tumbled out of the tree, dead.

Immediately everyone gathered around Aldorn. Gavrad by now had terminated the plant facade spell and was examining him. The healer's face looked grim indeed. "There's nae I kin do for 'im," he said. "That Orc hit 'im with such a blow as I hae nae seen before, and I be sure the poor man was dead before he hit the ground. The best we can do is presevre the body. There may yet be someone in Rivendell who can bring him back to us."

They wrapped Aldorn's body in sirenna grass to preserve it. While the rest of the party went back to sleep, Andrahil and Fëalókë resumed watch. After an uneventful two hours Andrahil went to bed and Lornath took over. The second watch passed without incident, and Gavrad relieved Fëalókë.

Halfway through his watch, Lornath, looking into the sky, saw a great flying creature in the air. A mile up it was, and very large, even for a great eagle. Quickly he and Gavrad woke the camp. No one except the Elves could see it.

"It looks like a Great Eagle," said Fëalókë. "You have seen them before, Loranth. Why did you think it necessary this time to wake us all?"

"It's so big!" said the younger Elf. "So high up, and yet it looks so big. I was afraid it may have been some strange creature sent by our enemies to attack us, now that we are so close to Rivendell and could be out of their sight for a while."

Fëalókë gazed at it again. "It is an Eagle," he said. "Perhaps even their King, for it is larger than any I have seen. I suspect it is hunting. Do not be afraid; Eagles usually do not involve themselves in the affairs of those who cannot fly. This may even bode well for us, for many things that we fear the Eagles dislike also, and so we may be safer with it watching this area."

He and the rest of the party returned to their beds while Lornath and Gavrad continued their watch. All was quiet after that, until the the sky over top of the Misty Mountains brightened with the approaching dawn.

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In the morning they broke camp, tied the body of Aldorn to his horse, and headed west on the Great East Road. Despite the loss of one of their party the night before, there was a sense of excitement, for they were near their destination.

Although it had been neglected for many years, the Road was still in excellent condition, for it had been very well built. At length they reached the River Bruinen, and here a bridge still stood. They crossed over, then turned north to travel along the eastern bank.

Once off the road their pace slowed considerably: the terrain was stony and rough. Baldôr, never very good with horses, had enormous difficulty with his mount on this new path. He slowed them down so much that Pendergast cast a balance spell on him, and that improved his ride significantly.

The terrain became rougher they further north they rode. They stayed as close to the river as possible. Early in the afternoon Andrahil stopped the party. He had noticed a tree that someone had climbed earlier in the day. Lornath cast a nature's awareness spell and determined no one was still up the tree. Andrahil managed, with difficulty, to find the track of someone who had headed away north from the area. "It is a good tree for someone to climb if they wanted to scan the area," he said. "I suspect maybe an Elf used it earlier today for just that purpose."

At length they came to a river across their path: a tributary of the Bruinen flowing in from the west. They had been looking for this, for they knew Rivendell was in the area just beyond the junction of the two rivers. They turned west to follow the tributary in hopes of finding a ford across it. In less than an hour Andrahil pointed out a discernable path that led to a ford on the river. Here they crossed, Andrahil leading the way so he could find the trail on the other side. He cast a path tale spell and from it saw three Elves of medium height, so he knew they had passed this way some time within the last seven hours. Next he used a path lore spell to determine what lay at the end of the trail. That gave him a strange image, for in his mind's eye he saw nothing of interest: just a nondescript clearing in the forest.

Led by Andrahil, they slowly picked their way through the forest. After an hour Andrahil called another halt; he had come to the location he had seen in the path lore spell earlier. Asking the party to stay where they were, he went another two hundred feet up the trail and cast another path lore spell. This one showed him the same place he had seen in the original spell, but from the opposite direction. From this he deduced they had found the approach to Rivendell. He did a very careful track to see if he could find the trail.

Then Pendergast, who had been concentrating on a long range nature's awareness spell, announced about six or eight Elves were coming in from all directions. One of them, he said, registered a very strong presence, and this one was definately approaching the party.

Fëalókë called out a greeting in Quenya, and from the woods emerged a striking figure, taller than Fëalókë, with golden hair and regal bearing. He hailed Fëalókë in Quenya, then switched quickly to Common.

"I bring you geetings from Elrond in Imladris," he said. "I have been sent to guide you there. My name is Glorfindel." He paused, looking at each member of the party in turn. "You seem to have changed members since we first were informed you were coming."

"We have come through much to get here," replied Fëalókë. "We were faced with many trials, and these some did not pass successfullly. Aldorn was killed just last night, and we are hopeful someone in Rivendell can revive him."

Glorfindel said, "Your mission is known here. I am not surprised you came through much on your journey from Lórien. As for the one who was killed, it is possible we can assist."

Andrahil burst into the conversation. "One of Baldôr's kindred tried to sell us out to the witch-king!"

"Tippy was not my kindred," Baldôr retorted. "He was just another Dwarf!"

"He was a dwarf," said Andrahil, "as so was your kindred!"

Fëalókë glared them both into silence.

Glorfindel spoke, carefully. "I will not name that which you carry," he said, "but perhaps it has affected you all. We should move quickly: the sooner we move the sooner we can help your fallen comrade. Follow me carefully, for the path from here on in may not be apparent."

"It's right here!" exclaimed Andrahil, who had already found a good portion of the trail.

The Elf smiled. "Yes, you may have found the trail, but you could not follow it for long."

So in an eerie silence, the majestic Elf led the party through the trees. In half an hour they came to the lip of a valley that was so deep the bottom was shrouded in mist. Down a winding path he led them, and in a few minutes they came to the valley floor. Now the path turned into a paved road and the forest gave way to orchards and fields.

The party moved slowly, for they were stopped often by people running in from the fields to chat briefly with Glorfindel, who took time to return their conversation. At length they came to the centre of the valley, and there stood a great house with much activity about it. And so they arrived at the Last Homely House before the Sea.

Here their horses were led to stables. Aldron's body was carefully removed from his horse and carried to the healing house. The party was shown their rooms; one had been provided for each, along with tubs and hot water. Each was presented with clothing as appropriate for their race: tunics and breeches for the Elves, fine shirts and pants for the humans, complemented with a cloak for the Dwarf.

They had a couple of hours to themselves after washing up. Lornath joined a group of Elves playing Runball in a field. There seemed to be no real object to the game: one held the ball and was chased by the rest until he was tired, then passed it off to someone else.

Baldôr located the library, where Erollan the librarian found him a map of the northern areas of the Misty Mountains. Another Elf named Dennenor, who appeared to have some knowledge of the areas east of Rivendell and across the Misty Mountains, helped the Dwarf correlate his map with the ones they had in the Library. They both noted, to Baldôr's dismay, that the maps showed the mine his father apparently went to was close to the Orc-holds at Mount Gundabad.

Fëalókë, who had visited here once many years before, spent the time walking the corridors of the House, recalling features of the place.

Pendergast also wandered the halls, finding a small, well-lit alcove with a bench for sitting and books for reading. As he looked over the books, an Elven lady came by and pointed out one of her favourites. She introduced herself as Celebrian, none other than the Lady of the House. They chatted briefly about his travels and Pendergast offered to demonstate his sunburst. Celebrian voiced the thought that probably was not an indoor activity, then gently led him out to the smithies. There Nardhol, the red-headed Elven smith, showed him around his place, swapping ideas and knowledge. Quickly they became friends.

Likewise Bairagläth sought out the smiths, looking for bolas and other throwing weapons. He dealt with a Sinda Elf, purchasing from him four javelins and two bolas. Then he took them to the archery field and practised throwing them.

Gavrad, feeling quite out of his element, remained in his room and waited nervously for the dinner-bell. Andrahil simply enjoyed a long soak in his tub.

At length a single clear bell sounded, and all made their way to the dining hall. Glorfindel was there, and he introduced the party to the Rivendell hosts: Elrohir and Elladan, the twin sons of Elrond; Erestor, the Elven mage; Hilvenar, a Silvan ranger; Vilyadhol, an Animist; Ascarnol, a half-Noldo, half-Silvan warrior Elf; Arwen, the daughter of Elrond; Laurilea, a tall lady Elven mage; and, of course, the Lord and Lady of the House, Elrond and Celebrian.

"I welcome you to Rivendell, haven and home," said Elrond. "I am happy to report the friend you lost yesterday is now alive and resting. We have given him powerful herbs to help restore his mind, for he lost much to his death."

Dinner was an extravagant affair, with many small courses served over the next three hours. Ascarnol and Bairagläth chatted merrily about troll slaying, for the Elf had much experience in that area. The Beorning told Ascarnol about his search for his fiance and the slavers who kidnapped her. Ascarnol listended intently, then offered his sympathies. "I doubt you will find her here," he said. "I suspect she was taken east, not west, for the slave markets there are closer to your home."

Pendergast had a wonderful time of dinner, cheerily nattering on about his alchemical feats. He divided the food on his plate into sections to demonstrate various proportions of chemicals, described explosions, and sent food flying around the table. The elves watched this display with bemusement, for this sort of mental infirmity was unknown to them.

Lornath asked the twins, Elrohir and Elladan, about Hobbits, Periannath in his langauge, for his interest in them had been awakened a month before. They replied they had been part of more than one shadow patrol, quietly keeping watch over the Hobbits as they migrated from the Anduin vales to their new home in the Shire.

Dinner over, they retired to another room. Joining the party for this important meeting were Elrond, Glorfindel, Erestor, Vilyadol, Elrohir and Elladan, and Lorilea. Also joining them was Aldorn, pale and unsteady on his feet, but very much alive. Seeing him, Lornath let out a joyful shout, then ran over and hugged him.

Elrond waited for the others to greet Aldorn. Then he asked Fëalókë to recount the events of their travels since they left Lórien. Fëalókë did, in detail, recounting the unusual number of fights they had been in and their many brushes with evil. There was a pause after he finished speaking: all waited for Elrond to break the silence.

"My people and Galadriel's were using various spells and devices to track your progress," he said at length. "But where we normally could follow your actions in detail, because of the Gem all we could determine was your location, such is its power. I had thought originally we could keep it here in Rivendell, but it is so powerful it is safe nowhere in Middle-Earth."

He paused. "The Gem needs to go to the Gray Havens," he said, "and from there to the Undying Lands. The Witch-King greatly desires this thing, but we cannot risk him getting it. With it, he could become more powerful than even his master. He could also be destroyed by it, but we cannot afford to take the risk that it would fall into his hands."

There was another silence as everyone in the room digested Elrond's pronouncement. Pendergast was the first to speak. "I'm an old man," he said. "Give it to Glorfindel. He can take care of it."

"Thank you for your confidence in me, old man," Glorfindel replied. "But I am not yet ready to make the journey to the Undying Lands."

Bairaglaith, who up to now had listened closely to the conversation, stirred. His voice was unusually forceful. "So it seems you are carrying a gem so powerful even the Elves are afraid of it! And the Witch-King has been watching us. And you people" - he looked fiercely at Fëalókë and Andrahil - "put me into that sort of danger? Why would you do that?"

Elrond looked at Fëalókë. "Why did he not know the whole story until now?" he asked.

"We were wary of taking him into our confidence ever since the events surrounding Tippy and the Witch-King," replied Fëalókë. "We were waiting to learn more about him before letting him know the seriousness of our mission."

Elrond paused. "Meeting Tippy was probably an accident," he said carefully, "but one that worked in favour of the Witch-King. I doubt he sent the Dwarf deliberately to intercept you."

Then Elrond looked around the room, and his gaze fell on Laurilea. It was searching, and she knew his meaning. "I am ready to seek the Undying Lands," she said. "I will bear this with me across the Sea."

"And I will accompany her," said Fëalókë, without hesitation.

Pendergast was the next to speak. "I'm an old man," he said. "I'll stay here by the fire for a few years."

Celebrian said, "We have prepared a cottage for you that you can call your home as long as you want." The old man smiled warmly at the Lady of Rivendell.

"As for the rest of you," asked Elrond. "What are your plans. Will you accompany Laurilea and Fëalókë to the Havens?"

There was silence as they considered their course. Bairagläth responded first. "I'm joining Ascarnol on a troll hunt he has planned," he said. "Then I'm going to cross the mountains and search the Eastern lands for my fiance."

Baldôr spoke next. "I must complete my quest."

"What was that?" asked Bairagläth, eager for information now that the veil of secrecy the party had maintained in his presence was lifted.

"I am searching for news of my father," the Dwarf replied. "He disappeared two years ago while working with a Man on a silver mine in the north of the Misty Mountains. I now have a better idea where the mine is. I am also searching for the Man who showed my father the mine. At first I thought he had killed my father, I found out another Dwarf had killed him. So I want to find this man and get the whole story from him."

"Is the silver mine in the same mountains that I'll be going over to get to the East?" Bairagläth asked.

"Yes, but further north," said Baldôr.

"The why don't you join me, at least to the mountains? We can protect each other."

"Your offer is kind," the Dwarf replied. "I will go with you."

Elrohir spoke. "Elladan and I will join Laurilea and Fëalókë on the journey to the Havens. Lornath, will you also come with us?"

The young Elf's face brightened considerably. "Yes! I would love to see the Havens and the Sea! And you've told me the path leads through the home of the Pheriannath, and I would like to learn more about these interesting little people. Aldorn, will come with us?"

"No, I don't think so," replied the Bard. "I've had enough of adventuring. Andrahil and I are heading south. I'm going home."

"If ye dinna mind," said Gavrad, "I'd like to join ye on that journey. South is where my home is too, and I would like ta see it again."

"Yes, you may come with us. We may need a healer from time to time," said Andrahil. Gavrad was grateful for Andrahil's acceptance, for it showed the man had had a change of heart toward him from their first meeting two months before.

And there was a silence in the room, for the members of the party realized their adventures together were at an end, and a new party of Elves would take the Gem on its last journey. Laurilea looked at Fëalókë. "Would you be willing to carry the Gem?" she asked. "I know the story of its making, and even lost friends in it. But you seem to have borne it with no ill effects."

"Yes, lady," Fëalókë responded. "I am thankful you have this confidence in me. I shall bear the Gem to the edge of Middle-Earth, then present it to you for its journey to the Undying Lands."

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