The Kinstrife
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.
Afternoon of
Brand and I
make our pre-arranged appointment with Squire Gordacar,
leaving Aerin and Ilvirin
to gather digging equipment while Pimm rests his
wounds.
The
Squire’s office is comfortable but definitely functional. The man himself is
fat, moustached and loudly dressed. He sits behind a desk piled high with
papers. I offer my credentials and he makes a point of carefully filing them
away there and then. He seems surprisingly punctilious but perhaps that is a
virtue in his office.
As a
leading shipwright, I would expect him to follow the sea-faction but in answer
to my direct question he claims to be truly neutral. He can see little benefit
for Umbar in a naval expedition against the Storm King, though he is all for strengthening trade links with
the Raj and points south. He guardedly grants that Gondor’s interests may supercede Umbar’s but feels it would drain Umbar’s
resources for little gain.
Regarding a
landward move, the situation appears very promising: for the first time in
living memory there is a political entity capable of treating with Gondor and, better yet, it seems actively friendly. Of
course, Governor Telemnar feels all is not as rosy as
it seems (a veiled reference to the prevalence of dark cults) but the prospects
for trade look good to Gordacar.
The Squire
evidently thinks like a merchant. He invested heavily in Kunbeshu’s
venture and is confident of a good return on his capital, claiming to have
inspected the hold, but his eye is firmly focused on where the profit lies near
to hand, both in time and geography. Things far away or more than a few years
in the future do not concern him.
I remark on
my intent to tour the Harad after the Great Council.
He warns that I may be frustrated to find any supposed threat melts away under
examination.
In
illustration he trawls through a file of upward of fifty reports on cults in
the Harad. For some there’s a fair amount of
evidence, for others little more than hearsay, rumours of rumours. For a
handful, someone from Gondor has made a specific
investigation, typically finding two or three people indulging in dark rites
and blood sacrifice but the subsequent trials and executions extinguish the
‘cult’.
Brand asks
after his special interest, architecture (I forbear to add ‘funerary’ in
clarification): Gordacar replies that occasionally a
nomadic tribe may settle, especially close to oases, producing a village, and
sometimes a Gondorian noble will build himself a
retreat in the desert. He recommends asking Zimrakhil
to name a good guide.
I state my
remit is restricted to observing and reporting back to the Queen, the Squire
seems happy to hear this. As we take our leave, he gestures to a large sheet of
parchment with many names and claims he hopes to find a way to let the Council
meet as early as possible with everyone present. I think he is taking some
pride in his organisational skills.
We get back
to the Drunken Southron in the early evening where,
over dinner, the others claim to have acquired everything for our excavation on
the morrow.
During our
meal, Brand is accosted by a strange woman in a distinctly ethereal dress who
greets him by name, claiming to be from a society with a strange Quenya name, devoted to the wellbeing of Umbar, seeking to remedy a perceived spiritual affliction
during their weekly meetings.
Introducing
herself as Esgaliel, she says that a few months ago
they became aware of an engineer named Celebrindor
(that man just won’t go away – what would have happened had we not killed
him?). Brand confirms having met him. It seems this society has been monitoring
Celebrindor’s activities, to the point of spying on
his comings and goings at the Engineers’ Guildhall!
Celebrindor
left Umbar a few months ago but society members have
been suffering bad dreams since. They believe Celebrindor
shipped men and materials in to the desert to build something. So far, only
half his workforce have returned. Some of the society have also dreamed of Brand, seeing him as some sort
of saviour who will rid Umbar of this ‘affliction’.
In truth I
scarce know where to look and Brand seems amused himself; I don’t think he sees
himself as a ‘spiritual saviour’, but when he tells her Celebrindor
is dead and that Pimm (also seated at the table) shot
him, she invites us all to their next meeting, the evening of June 25th
at the Fallen Lamp.
Ilvirin
prompts Esgaliel to relark
that something strange is happening regarding Kunbeshu’s
ship, and that they have detected ‘strange vibrations’ emanating from the
foundations of Melkor’s
Esgaliel
seems not quite in touch with reality. My first instinct is to smile cynically
at her manner, yet all she says seems strangely connected with our own
interests. It might yet pay to attend this meeting on the 25th and
it’s not as if we’ve anything better to do.
Word
arrives at breakfast that the Great Council is to convene June 27th,
rather earlier than expected, so it seems Gordacar’s
good efforts have been rewarded and I make a mental note to congratulate him
when next we meet.
Aerin has secured an audience
with Zimrakhil, whom she seems to know well, and is
happy to take me along as a guest. Zimrakhil is very
glad to see her. His house is mainly decorated and furnished in Gondorian fashion but, in deference to Aerin,
he chooses to meet his in a room laid out in the manner of the Raj, with low-lying couches and cushions.
Zimrakhil has
provided refreshments. The food is mainly in the Raj
style leavened with Umbarian and Haradaic
dishes, which are spicy and aromatic but not hot. I think I could get to like
this cuisine.
Aerin and Zimrakhil
chat about family matters but Zimrakhil has not heard
that much from the Raj in recent months, trade having
been disrupted by weather.
I
nudge the conversation to more present matters. Zimrakhil
is hoping the two factions reach a compromise as he feels neither party line in
their current forms would be good for Umbar.
Aerin asks after the island: Zimrakhil knows a man called Ulbar
though he doesn’t like him (he met him through Khoradûr
and takes the opportunity to apologise for advancing the man). Ulbar is the spokesman for the Ethir
fisherfolk currently forming the main labour force on
Tol Cirya. Hearing this, Aerin asks whether Zimrakhil knows of
the Benish Armon cult and
the conversation drifts over Celebrindor and dark
cults in general.
Zimrakhil believes
the various ‘dark cults’ are a real threat both to, and caused by, Gondor. I mention my intent to tour Harad
and ask for a guide. Zimrakhil immediately says he
will be travelling to the Harad soon after the Great
Council to convey its deliberations to the Southron
Confederacy and will be delighted to serve as our guide himself.
Then
the conversation turns to genealogy: Zimrakhil
believes believes the Royal family is vulnerable as
it hasn’t produced more than one heir in each of the last few generations,
which means that, outside of Castamir’s sons, there
are no collateral heirs.
As
a piece of information, this is known to all with any knowledge of the Royal
family, and is doubtless part of the reason why my own family is so influential
(there being none closer to the throne, offices must be given to those further
away). But it does make me wonder exactly why Zimrakhil
should concern himself enough to remark on it; it’s almost as if he’s been
considering ‘what if Castamir dies with no heirs’.
Distinctly odd as, by his own calculations, the Royal
family currently has twice as many heirs as it’s had in the last five
centuries.
After a
pleasant morning’s chit-chat, Aerin and I take our
leave. Zimrakhil has a very pleasant manner with an eclectic intellectual
bent; I shall enjoy travelling with him in the Harad.
But I shall be listening to what he says and to whom very carefully.
We
return to the Red House to find Brand and Ilvirin
have dug up several treasures:
a)
a silver filigree casing holding a quarter-ring of
lapis-lazuli.
b)
five books: the Herbal of the Haradaic
Kingdoms (in Haradaic); Legends of the Raj (in Apysaic); the Akallabêth (in Adûnaic); a
History of Bellacar, a part of the Raj (also in Adûnaic); and a gazateer of the Raj (in Apysaic).
c)
three scrolls which Brand reckons to be magical
workings of Sleep, Hallowed Ground and Scrying.
d)
a notebook – the logbook of Rirosiel,
written in Quenya, Adûnaic
and Apysaic. The Quenya
portion is Elven history, lore and myths, probably
dictated from the abbreviated style (it looks a lot like some of my early
homework for Brand); the Adûnaic is a history of Umbar and the Haradwaith, which
might bear fruitful reading; the Apisiac portion
(claims Aerin) represents musings on the nature of
sight and concealement, which seems a distinctly odd
juxtaposition of topics but Brand thinks this last might represent research in
to obfuscation and enhancing vision via spells.
To
my amazement, Aerin immediately produces a near
identical item to a). Of course we all recall the legend we garnered from Fuinur’s Well; how the Key to the well was split in to four
parts plus a central jewel, and how these parts were born off to the Raj by members of the Al-tayyib
family, which is to say Aerin’s ancestors, but until
now I had assumed any such jewel would be a closely guarded heirloom held in
the Raj by her father or whoever headed her house.
The
placement of diamonds on the two parts look like stellar constellations and
might just be part of the decoration but may also prove crucial in how they interact
with the lock they are supposed to open. With the two pieces before me, I can
now also see the shape and design of the central jewel and there is no longer
any doubt that my grandmother’s heirloom, the Serni
Jewel, would fit perfectly.
We briefly recall the disposition of the Key
to Fuinur’s Well: Akkud and Likkud Al-Tayyib both took two parts of the key. Akkud
also took the central jewel, with which he purchased the Anwar
Serni vault. This central jewel descended through the
Serni family until finally Granny Serni
gave it to me. I wonder what induced her to do that? I
always thought she just liked me but it odd to pass such a valuable heirloom to
a junior member of your house. Of course, an elder Al-Tayyib
has done exactly the same with Aerin.
Akkud
gave one part of the Key to the loremasters in Pelargir, where doubtless it remains. The other he gave to
his son, who went to dwell in the Raj. Likkud gave his parts to his sons, one of whom remained in
the Raj and the other went to Umbar
to seek his fortune.
We know
this treasure was secured by Bergil from Warlord Sharg in the Raj and presumably
this means this and Aerin’s piece represent the parts
that went to the Raj. It seems likely that the Pelargir loremasters hold their
part still, though probably unaware of its importance or precise location in
their vaults. Only the Umbar part remains wholly
unplaced.
Thus we
have…
|
Bearer |
part |
disposition |
current location |
|
|
central jewel |
to Serni family |
on my person |
|
1st part |
to the Pelargir loremasters |
presumed still in Pelargir |
|
|
2nd part |
to the Raj |
with Aerin |
|
|
Likkud |
3rd part |
to Umbar |
unknown |
|
4th part |
to the Raj |
acquired from the Red House |
It seems,
in view of our location, that the pursuit of the Umbar
part should be our immediate concern – after carefully refilling the hole and
replacing the flags, as I’ve a feeling our remit under Pimm’s
letters of authority don’t permit us to purloin buried treasure, not matter how
carefully investigated.
But we
should also take care; yesterday, we presumed to have no parts of the key
(though I suspected I held the central jewel ever since seeing the Anwar Serni vault) but today we
now have three parts of the five and we think we know where to find a fourth. I
suspect, should this information become general knowledge, there may be others
eager to take them from us to further their dark designs, whereas we need them
to further our own.
Leads to be followed:
Repair it
afterwards the cellars of the Red House – we don’t want to be accused of
damaging or stealing Crown property
Inquire
after Perhaladin – might be a cult for Ragnor
Plan a
visit to Earnil’s Tower on Tol-Cirya
Locate Umbar portion of Key of Fuinur’s
Well