The Kinstrife

A Middle-Earth campaign using Warhammer rules run by Louise Sellers

It is March 1441; a civil war broke out in Gondor a few years ago, which saw King Eldacar flee to his Rohirrim kinsmen, his throne taken by King Castamir, on the grounds that his mixed blood made him unfit to rule. (For the full story, see Louise Seller's Kinstrife website.)

Against this background, the loss of a merchant ship in the Ethir Anduin brings together a group of people soon to become involved in the politics of the aftermath.

The characters:

Aerin of House Altayyib – a herbalist acting as an amateur spy for her father (played by Claire Stevens);

Brand, a young scholar hired to instruct Ragnor in Quenya, the language of the Gondorian court (played by Bill Sellars);

Ilvirin: a pirate fallen out with others (played by Penny Feltham);

Misternil: a southron soldier (played by Jim McStravick);

Pimm: a roadwarden, friend to Ilvirin (played by Matt Southgate);

 

Ragnor Curuhuan of House Hyarmenost (a cadet of House Miruvor) – a young noble of a family of Pelargir merchant princes (played by Sheldon Stevens);

Sern: a nefarious cousin of Ilviren (played by Jim McStravick);

Part 1: in which a merchant prince sends his youngest son to investigate the loss of a merchantman carrying a special cargo; by coincidence, another father in Bozisha Dar has sent his daughter to report on the political situation in Pelargir; Captain Neithan proves a hero; ambush on the return.

 

Part 2: in which Aerin sets up practise in Pelargir, finding that her clientele will probably be fellow non-Gondorians; Brand and Ragnor uncover worrying information in the House of the Faithful; this strange group, fast becoming friends, return to the Ethir for various purposes but chilling possibilities emerge once the extent of the recovered treasure becomes apparent.

 

Part 3: in which Ragnor gets in a fight with a cat; Benish Armon turns out to be furnished; Brand disturbs the ashes of the dead; several people talk about their lives; and we return to find Princess Telerien's dinner party has become a murder scene.

 

Part 4: in which Doronil and friends show no change; Aerin gains much glassware and small rodents; Hirluin reluctantly speaks of the banquet; Aerin proves it was the candles; and Ragnor has a strange, troubling but invigorating dream.

 

Part 5: in which Ragnor talks with his father and receives a summons; Doronil and friends still do not improve; Aerin acquires some housemates (Ilvirin & Pimm); Brand recounts his talks with the servants; Brand, Pimm & Ilvirin assault a passer-by, who is put to the question; Aerin and Ragnor talk to Royalty; Brand, Pimm & Ilvirin contact 'the Horrid Scum'; the Loremasters are stumped, bring in the Alchemists; it's either Khoradûr or someone else.

 

Part 6: in which Doronil and friends still do not improve; Brand and Pimm tour the inns and Taverns of Pelargir looking for Amlaith; Ragnor and Aerin interview the families of the victims; Ragnor receives an object lesson in political ambition; and Brand reveals he has traced a document that might help an assassin locate Eldacar.

 

Part 7: in which Ragnor asks for and gets an audience with the Queen; Ragnor and Aerin interview Khoradûr while Brand and Pimm burgle his quarters; Khoradûr gives Ragnor a sinister message for his father; Ragnor tells his father that Khoradûr is the culprit; Aerin finally isolates the poison.

 

Part 8: in which Doronil and friends still do not recover from klytun root poisoning; a small party; Ragnor admits to talking to Conath while on the ship and a clever lawyer sets him free; Bauglir hints at a dark enterprise for Ragnor; Ragnor's dad is most displeased; a lesson in politics for Ragnor; no one knows much about klytun root but there's a book in Minas Ithil…; georgeous Iriel announces her new job in Lond Ernil.

 

Part 9: in which Aerin, Brand and Ragnor enjoy an audience with Queen Mûrabeth who reveals her alternative view of Princess Telerien's political assets; we discuss Neithan and Khoradûr and her Majesty marvels at the 'third choice'.

 

Part 10: in which Ragnor enlists an entourage; Iriel proves to be very pleasant company of an evening; Ragnor 'borrows' a rapier from the Royal armouries; Aerin, Brand, Pimm and Ilvirin all receive mystical presents from an aged seeress; Ragnor, Aerin, Brand, Pimm and Ilvirin set off up the Anduin and a mystical malaise afflicts all those not of pure Numenorean descent caused by an artefact of evil; the artefact and its owner are put ashore and Ragnor gains a personal slave.

 

Part 11: in which our intrepid friends wend their way overland eastward toward Mordor before turning north on meeting the road; a skirmish occurs with nasty, but overall ineffectual, bandits, in which Noruinivien is killed; afterward several friends are reacquainted with Echadil, who has joined a troop of 'rangers'; everyone experiences a mystic dream, courtesy of a local fertility deity; and everyone eventually reaches Minas Ithil to be shocked by the refugee encampment outside the walls.

 

Part 12: in which we learn of local politics and the inanity of bureaucracy; Toürthel is out of business; Brand and Aerin find an antidote to klytun root; about the vault of Anwar Serni; Pimm's late uncle Bergil was a bad poet; Adunaphel was of old one of Sauron's generals; the paucity of cash.

 

Part 13: in which we learn of Celebrindor's interest in Minas Ithil's sewers; we find rumours of a cult who wishes to bring back Adunaphel; Brand and Aerin discover that the source of the Siril may be an ancient artefact buried under Minas Ithil; we hear tavern gossip that Celebrindor has Loyalist sympathies; Ragnor attends Noruinivien's funeral; we visit the Guild of Engineers; and we ride to Anwar's Vault, to which, it turns out, Pimm has the long-lost key.

 

Part 14: in which we explore the vault of Anwar Serni, discovering a tunnel leading under the Ephel Duath; we find in the said vault a moderate amount of treasure, some dragul root and several disquieting documents concerning the Royal succession at the end of the Second Age; we loot the vault of just about anything valuable or useful, despite intervention from foul multi-legged arthropods from Mordor. 

 

Part 15: in which we return to Minas Ithil; Aerin puts in some time at the Houses of Healing in the shanty-town, only to find herself embroiled in a clash between the refugees and a crony of the local governor; meanwhile, Ragnor and Brand read Lasbelorn's notes, discovering that there's a(nother) secret vault hidden in the walls of the Tower of Moon, approximately where to find it and how to open it; returning to the Moonswan, Ragnor finds himself invited to observe the torture of little girls, meet with a possible Black Numenorean and is invited to breakfast with a civil servant; breakfast with the civil servant proves pleasant, informative and (for Pimm) possibly lucrative; a day in the library confirms Ragnor's worst fears regarding the Karma of Aldarion, where to find it and why he needs to; finally Aerin pleads for Ragnor to intercede, which he refuses.

 

Part 16: in which Ragnor and Brand recount events of the last 24 hours to Ilvirin and Pimm; Ilvirin hurries off to help Aerin fend off unwanted mercenaries; Ragnor, Brand and Pimm spend a pleasant evening in the company of intellectual women; we learn of two Adunaphels and Pimm's uncle's girlfriend; finally, at last actually becoming worried, Ragnor leads Brand and Pimm to succour Aerin; who, of course, is preening herself for having saved the little girl and foiled Hargen, the captain of mercenaries.

 

Part 17: in which Ilvren returns; we buy gowns from Morwen the Red's dress emporium; Pimm buys drinks for everyone at the Eagle & Elf; Dringol agrees to discuss Pimm's uncle Bergil's alta-parma; Celebrindor talks about his travels and ambitions, he asks whether we know of a legendary artefact (Calvolului) but when we demure he wields a Word of Power at the dinner table - an outrage!

 

Part 18: in which we learn of the burgling of Ondoher’s house and his disappearance; Pimm undergoes a change of employer; Ranmes conducts us on a tour of the Tower of the Moon; Brand, Pimm and Ragnor discover the hidden chamber and therefrom pillage diverse maps; everyone gazes in to the palantir, several suffering as a result; Celebrindor discovers our theft; we take refuge in a nearby tavern.

 

Part 19: in which we discuss what to do with the stolen maps; we are spied upon from on high by Celebrindor’s ghastly, grim and ancient raven; Celebrindor threatens to take matters to Heruvorn; the maps are hidden; Pimm shoots Celebrindor’s raven out of the sky - hurrah; Dringol loans Bergil’s alta parma to Brand for copying; Celebrindor, with four cronies, attempts a burglary of the Moonswan; Pimm shoots Celebrindor in the strongroom – nasty; preparations are made for departure, including returning Bergil’s original manuscript to Dringol.

 

Part 20: in which we set off for Pelargir; Ranmes gives Ragnor a brief introduction to the politics of Umbar; we return to Pelargir without event to find Doronil, Merethin and Tegilbor recovered; Ragnor’s father reveals that Tegilbor points the finger at the Queen; Lord Lintoron and the Hyarmenost family turn traitor, but quietly; Ragnor gets a job; Doronil wants to swap places with Ragnor; Brand learns how to resist the Dark Arts and disposes of the maps; everyone is invited to a party.

 

Part 21: in which we find that Ragnor’s party invitation comes from the ‘Straight Man’; Bauglir urges Ragnor to go; we all attend the Underworld Annual Ball; Brand learns more of the Mirror of Fire; Ragnor fights three duels; the ‘Straight Man’ makes an offer; Ilvren beats her brother; the ‘Straight Man’ accepts tribute from the Underworld; we leave the ball; we learn of King Tarannon and his villa in the Ethir Anduin; Beruthiel – the legend and the woman; do we or don’t we?

 

Part 22: in which Ragnor learns on the job while Brand researches Tarannon’s Villa; Aerin sets off for the Ethir early; Queen Mûrabeth appoints Ragnor as her agent to Umbar for the budget talks; we sail downriver and join Aerin in Tarannon’s Launch; we experience marsh-lights and other unsavoury encounters in the marshes; we explore Tarannon’s Villa; the Diary of Queen Beruthiel.

 

Part 23: in which we escape from Tarannon’s Villa by boat; carouse in Tarannon’s Launch; sail through the Ethir with Ranmes; discuss politics over dinner and sail to Umbar.

 

Part 24: in which we disembark and settle in to the Drunken Southron; we take a guided tour of Umbar in the afternoon; we discover the remains of the Temple of Melkor is under Earnil’s Tower on Tol Cirya; in the evening, Ilvirin takes us on a tour of the dockland taverns, in which we meet Rastarin, an (allegedly) reformed pirate; we discuss politics; Ilvirin mentions her father is a cultist; we find the Street of the Smiths; Ragnor has an interview with governor Telemnar, the Queen’s father; we discuss politics and posit an exploration of the Haradwaith to find the source of the Cult of the Dark Lady; Brand locates Bergil’s house on the Street of the Smiths and we find it was recently purchased by the late Celebrindor; we apply to the Governor for access to Celebrindor’s estate as ‘interested parties’.

 

Part 25: in which we enjoy an invigorating fight with six automata left by Celebrindor in the Red House and Pimm suffers severe trauma; we plan an excavation and Aerin finds some letters and an enigmatic map.

 

Part 26: in which Ragnor and Brand meet with Squire Gordacar and find him amiable and punctilious; Brand is accosted by a strange woman over dinner with information on Celebrindor and portents of Umbar’s spiritual affliction; Aerin and Ragnor enjoy an audience with Zimrakhil, who proves genial, knowledgeable and apologetic prone to odd remarks regarding Royal genealogy; meanwhile Brand and Ilvirin dig up treasures from under the Red House, including a piece of the Key to Fuinur’s Well; Aerin reveals she has one piece of the Key to Fuinur’s Well while it is confirmed that I bear the central stone – we now have 3 parts of the five.

 

Part 27: in which Pimm asks if we can visit Tol-Cirya and is told ‘no’; Brand learns in the House of the Loremasters that they have few records of Melkor’s Temple while Ragnor uncovers the likely whereabouts of the descendants of Edhelud Al-Tayyib, who hopefully still have their ancestor’s part of the Key to Fuinur’s Well; Brand also learns that Celebrindor had asked for surveys of nearby stretches of desert to verify them as up for grabs; Pimm reveals that someone tried to kill Lord-Captain Menelmir this morning; Ilvirin says she asked Colfen, Neithan’s Lieutenant, about a tour of Tol-Cirya, he says we shouldn’t as it’s awash with dark cultists and will be raided soon; Governor Telemnar sets Ragnor and friends to investigating the attempted assassination of Menelmir; we tour the dockland pubs in search of Rastorin, who agrees to ask around and report in a few days.

 

Part 28: in which Aerin and Pimm indulge their morbid curiosity; Ilvirin seeks employment on Tol-Cirya; Brand uncovers the probable location of the fifth part of the Key; Ragnor and Brand meet Daeron, the King’s representative, who proves surprisingly likeable and is almost certainly a very shrewd politician; Aerin contacts her Umbar relatives during a pleasant evening meal; Ilvirin finds no old buildings on Tol-Cirya; Ragnor and Brand meet Marmedon, who is an apolitical soldier but advises that Zimrakhil has a hidden agenda; Aerin learns that that the fourth (Umbar) part of the Key was recently purchased…by Zimrakhil; Ragnor and Brand meet Mardil, who dislikes the Navy being above the Law; Ilvirin reveals that it will be difficult to land on Tol-Cirya, by day or night, so we decide to volunteer for Kolfen’s raid!

 

Part 29: in which Rastorin fingers Rhavas as the ‘mastermind’ of the Menelmir attack; we uncover an incriminating letter and trace it to the Umbar civil service; Aerin learns that Rhavas is being hidden in the Southron Quarter; Telemnar advises that Rhavas is the key to unmasking a Sea Faction conspiracy; we attend a meeting of the Pimm/Brand appreciation society in which Brand pulls.

 

Part 30: in which Ilvirin has misgivings regarding Colfen’s religious affiliationms; Brand locates Celebrindor’s construction site; Aerin, Pimm and Ragnor interview Rhavas in the Southron Quarter; Telemnar agrees to a clandestine meeting with Rhavas in the Houses of Healing; Telemnar interrogates Rhavas, who agrees to identify his handler and testify to Daeron; The Great Council opens and we here many speeches for and against each side; Rhavas fingers his handler.

 

Part 31: in which we hear Neithan’s viewpoint and Ilviren and Colfen trade insults over house pets and grandmothers; the Great Council continues but Kunbeshu throws a party to alleviate the tedium; the Great Council continues and out of desperation Ragnor asks a question to relieve the ennui – to no avail; Daeron asks Ragnor to corroborate Rhavas’ story to King Castamir.

 

Part 32: in which the Great Council concludes in confusion; Daeron gives his decision; we all indulge in Colfen’s invigorating raid on Tol-Cirya.

 

Part 33: in which we search the basement of Melkor’s ruined temple on Tol-Cirya; foil an attempted arrest by the Cor-Aran; Ragnor hands accounts of the Rhavas affair and the Great Council to Daeron, for the King and Queen, respectively; Neithan asks Ragnor how his family would react to a 3rd candidate for the throne; is Neithan the Straight Man? We set out for Harad with Zimrakhil and discuss the 3rd candidate with him around the camp fire.

 

Part 34: in which Zimrakhil takes his leave, after revealing the whereabouts of the 4th part of the Key; Misternil guides us to the Tears of Niennor; we have a vigorous scrap with many automata but find the front door is merely an elaborate trap.

 

Part 35: in which we search through Celebrindor’s desert fortress at the Tears of Niennor, discovering numerous warrior automata which we vanquish but not without taking some nasty wounds.

 

Part 36: in which we finish searching through Celebrindor’s desert fortress at the Tears of Niennor, destroying more warrior automata and acquiring considerable amounts of loot; we then enter the tunnels beneath the fortress, returning Miriman to her village and discovering Celebrindor’s hidden underground fort; then we return to Umbar to liquidise our loot and ask Neithan for a lift home while Ilviren takes command of her ship.

 

Part 37: in which we sail back to Pelargir, taking the opportunity for intimate conversations with Neithan regarding his intentions as the ‘3rd Candidate’, in which Neithan decides on a policy of inaction; Aerin and Brand become retainers of Neithan; in Pelargir Ragnor has a interview with the Queen and a slightly more open discussion with his father, who claims he will put his plans for revenge on hold and that we should maintain the fiction of an estrangement between Ragnor and his father; Ragnor’s father grants him some small estates in South Ithilien but he will keep the day job; for many months life goes on as normal but in Spring of 1442 comes word that Prince Maeglin of Morthon has been murdered and Neithan summons everyone to him at the Ethir Garrison.

 

Part 38: in which Neithan holds council upon the death of his parents, asking Brand to officiate at the funeral; we sail to Tolfalas to find Estel, Neithan’s sister, has arrived, along with her parents’ bodies; we view the bodies and find Maeglin has been turned to stone; an interview with Estel reveals she under some curse preventing her from talking but Aerin casts a counter-spell and Estel recovers her voice.

 

Part 39: in which we dine with Aradan, discussing murder, politics and the dark arts, followed by prolonged speculations regarding the nature of the Benish Armon cult.

 

Part 40: in which Pimm pronounces his opinion on the validity of Maeglin’s will; we have delicate discussions with Mordulin on the subjects of Estel’s treatment, Aradan’s mental state, the likelihood of the involvement of the cat-cult and a political refuge for Estel; Brand and Ilviren speculate on the influence of the Moon.

 

Part 41: in which Brand and Ragnor theorise on the tactics of magical assassination; Brand prepares the funeral oration; Ragnor and Misternil discover Giladan is pure bureaucrat and that Tirazôr has a crush on Iriel; Aerin warns Mordulin of the possible threat of the imminent Full Moon and Aerin, Lorin and Estel spend the night at the Loremaster’s Residence; Aerin cooks up a Raj feast; Lorin reveals what he saw in the Minas Anor Palantir – Maeglin was struck down by a glowing cat but who is the 4th Man?

 

Part 42: in which Prince Castaher makes landfall; Brand blames the Storm King; we plan how to get Estel to safety; Neithan arrives and views his parents’ bodies before being briefed on our plans regarding Estel and the funeral – he agrees for Estel to become Mordulin’s ward; we finalise plans with Estel and Mordulin over a convivial funeral lunch in which Ragnor fails to make small talk but luckily everyone is distracted by the drunken entertainers; the funeral – Neithan publicly grants Estel in to Morduin’s wardship – Aradan really annoys Castaher with Maeglin’s will; the wake – Castaher talks to Aradan in private; news arrives that Prince Adrazor of Belfalas is stricken by the same thing that killed Maeglin; Castaher orders Brand to investigate and appoints Ragnor as Royal emissary to protect the King’s interests – no we don’t get any money.

 

Part 43: in which our gallants sail to Lond Ernil; we find Prince Adrazôr alive but being poisoned; Ragnor takes charge of Adrazôr’s health ‘in the King’s interest’, Aerin becomes Adrazôr’s physician; Brand pays a visit to Iriel at midnight; Aerin beards Ioreth, Ioreth does a bunk; we learn that someone had their throat cut the night of Adrazôr fell stricken; Ragnor stands up Iriel; diverse interviews and investigations.

 

Part 44: in which Ilviren and her crew scour the stews of Lond-Ernil; Ragnor has lunch with Iriel; Adrazôr’s sons return and fall to squabbling at the foot of his sickbed; Ilviren’s investigations discover that Boron was hired by Hwiniel and our heroes track her down to the Blind Voyager, an inn in Gatetown; our heroes elect not to storm the inn.

 

Part 45: in which Aradan accuses Ragnor of conspiring with Giladan; Aerin and Brand exhume Boron; Halbarad explains the practicalities of arresting known criminals; we interview Hwiniel, who agrees to give information in return for joining the Cor Aran; Hwiniel gives us five names, one of which is Ioreth.

 

Part 46: in which Aradan and Giladan agree to grant Hwiniel immunity from prosecution; Halbarad gives his opinion on our suspects; we cross the bay to ask for Elvish healing but end up with Elvish clothes, liquor and weapons; Hwiniel names Iriel as closely involved in the conspiracy against Adrazôr but Iriel has flown.

 

Part 47: in which a tedious, if delicious, meal precedes a rista turo; Aradan and Ragnor have a punch-up; Tirazôr shows his colours; a fiendish black cat kills Adrazôr and mauls Aerin and Pimm; Ragnor defends Giladan from another black cat (or perhaps the same one); one last attack kills Tirazôr and mauls Aradan; Iriel makes her escape by ship amidst a dramatic storm.

 

Part 48: in which Giladan denies authorship; Aradan makes a show of princeness; Aerin, Brand and Pimm investigate the drugging of the High Table’s food; Ragnor takes counsel regarding his mission; Ilviren reveals her view of Neithan; Aradan shows himself to be surprisingly ignorant of last night’s events but grudgingly accepts evidence of the true conspiracy; Aradan and Giladan are reconciled – Estel is Princess of Morthond and Giladan will be her regent; our work here is done; Misternil elects to go to Morthond while the rest of us return to Pelargir via Ilviren’s family.

 

Part 49: in which we run before a storm; we spy the wreck of Iriel’s ship; we investigate and find Neithan’s empty grave; we return to Pelargir; Castaher suggests Ragnor joins the Cor Aran.

 

Part 50: in which Ragnor gains a desk in the Sealord’s Tower - the Cor Aran HQ - and learns how the Cor Aran works; Triwath reveals a paucity of intelligence from Mordor; Brand learns the last known whereabouts of the 4th part of the Key – the Chamber of the Karma beneath the Sealord’s Tower; Ilviren thinks Neithan might be in Tarannon’s ‘Villa’; Ilviren reveals she’s been hired to ship a clandestine something out of the Sealord’s Tower at midnight; the Chamber of the Karma is empty but Brand finds a secret chamber beneath a plinth that contains the 4th part of the Key to Fuinur’s Well and documents proving ‘Beruthiel’ was in fact an imposter – the Ancalimë of legend.

 

Part 51: in which Ragnor and Castaher play catch with ‘the buck’; Mordulin summons Aerin and Brand to Osgiliath for the Day of Memory; we make plans for intervening in the midnight smuggling operation; but all does not go according to (our) plans and whatever it is gets away while the Upper and Lower Halls beneath the Sealord’s Tower are flooded; Ragnor buys a present for Estel while Pimm and Sern load the ‘So Much For Subtlety’ with contraband; our intrepid heroes sail up the Anduin; Pimm secures freedom from boarding by the River Patrol; we arrive at Osgiliath to find Castamir has turned it in to a prison camp.

 

Part 52: in which Mordulin greets our heroes; Aerin reveals that she’s been summoned to help Estel interpret her dreams, which involve her brother, Neithan; Ragnor gives his present to Estel and then has a moderately full and frank discussion with Mordulin; he advises of the King’s plans to marry Estel to Castarion; Mordulin intends to take Estel to Morthond after the Day of Ceremony; Estel tells Aerin that she sees Neithan in the throne room at Day of Ceremony with an evil blade about to make a ‘bad’ decision; Ragnor and Estel visit the throne room; Ilviren learns that the blade with which Neithan killed Ornendil was stolen last night; Brand leads the investigation of the Royal Archives.

 

Part 53: in which we explore a natural cave system beneath Osgiliath and find it to be infested with Orcs; a short fight captures two goblins; Ilviren and Pimm plan how to offload fifty tons of contraband food; Ragnor advises Mordulin that Neithan may have been brought up to Osgiliath to assassinate her and she takes Ragnor on as a bodyguard; one of Neithan’s betrayers is killed and his guards babble about cats; Brand uncovers a history of the ‘Kuilëondo’ penned by Beruthiel/Ancalimë, which must be Iriel’s red gem and Iriel is either Beruthiel’s maidservant, Eryn, or her direct descendant.

 

Part 54: in which our heroes begin the offloading of their contraband cargo under cover of night; Gelmir is killed by ‘Ornendil’s Ghost’ and all the west bank of Osgiliath is thrown in to disorder by riots; order is restored and Angbor, the last of Neithan’s treacherous lieutenants left alive, starts taking hostages from the Calenardhon folk of Wilwarin Hept; Ragnor, Ilviren and Sern visit the leader of the Calenardhon and learn that Angbor is trying to force them to find ‘Ornendil’s Ghost’.

 

Part 55: in which our heroes capture Neithan, the Kuilëondo and the last piece of the Key of Fuinur’s Well and then have a thumping great row over what to do with them.

 

Part 56: in which Neithan seeks to prove his destiny in a duel and is killed; Ragnor’s dad starts thinking of Estel; the Benish Armon board the So Much For Subtlety in a night action on the Anduin but are repulsed by our heroes and Iriel, in cat form, is maimed by Ragnor’s Elven blade.

 

Part 57: in which our heroes sail for Umbar where we provision for a much longer voyage and replace crew killed in the Benish-Armon boarding action. They stock up on cash (which will be in short supply where we’re going) and Brand renews his friendship with the society of floaty-dressed women. Then they weigh anchor for the Raj, taking the opportunity to assemble the Key of Fuinur’s Well and examine how it operates. On arrival in Bozisha-Dar it becomes apparent that logistics will be a problem due to sheer distance, let alone travelling in the desert.

 

Part 58: in which our heroes learn a little about the Mirror of Fire before joining a caravan bound for Tresti; the caravan is attacked by bandits but these are beaten off with the loss of a couple of guards; in Tresti they are given the task of investigating a suspicious ambassador by the name of Seregûl.

 

Part 59: in which our heroes opt for the civilised approach and knock on the door; are given a guided tour of Marath Seregûl; have dinner with their host and swap news of the Seven Dominions and Gondor; learn of the ‘legend of the tomb’ and begin exploring the tower that night while Ilviren distracts Seregûl.

 

Part 60: in which our heroes brave the horrors of Marath Seregûl, encountering fiendish traps, mouldering undead, an evil vampire and uncountable amounts of treasure in a labyrinth.

 

Part 61: in which our heroes arrest Seregûl and his cronies and deliver them all to Tresti for justice before departing for Tûl Póac, braving attack by Dust Devils along the way.

 

Part 62: in which we see Tûl Póac at dawn; our heroes spend a month planning and preparing before starting their trek across the Mirror of Fire; our heroes encounter the Great Oasis – a rift in the desert filled with verdant jungle – and encounter an ancient Elf in a marvellous tower, who proves generous with his gifts.

 

Part 63: in which our heroes practise their Quenya and learn the meaning of the instrumental case before taking leave of Forlindaal and his verdant valley; they defeat the fearsome Razarac, with only minimal injuries; they enter Fuinur’s Well and find it to be much more wholesome than they had hitherto supposed; they learn to breathe underwater; they finally meet Fuinur and discover the Karma of Aldarion is a fake; Ilviren talks to her great-great-grandfather in his sleep; Fuinur expresses contrition for his pride and reveals the true Karma of Aldarion.

 

Part 64: in which our heroes destroy the Kuilëondo and release Tevildo, who is vanquished after a terrible fight; then they return home, gathering rewards on the way, and the Karma of Aldarion is gifted to Castaher; finally Ragnor gives a present of a book to Estel.