The Kinstrife
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.
August 10th –
Brand makes
contact with one of the three orders of loremasters
in Bozisha-Dar. The Kromet
don’t know much about the Mirror of Fire. Fuinur’s
Well is rumoured to be at its centre but no one has ever penetrated that far,
which is probably just as well. The Mirror of Fire is a vast level area of bare
stone without shrub, tree or any water but below ground there are huge
interconnected caverns filled with water. Several settlements, of which Tûl Póac is the largest, surround
the Mirror of Fire where these waters rise in natural springs but attempts to
drill wells within the Mirror of Fire have all come to nought.
When Ormal fell (the loremasters seem
very sure that it did fall here – this is not a rumour) it smashed a deep rift
in the Mirror of Fire.
It is impossible
to cross the Mirror of Fire by day. Travellers must cross by night and rely on special
tents to protect them from the alca Úrin (literally rays of light from the Sun when it’s
blazing hot). Fierce winds also make travel difficult, but hopefully the Key
will let us avoid them. However there are also monsters…
Sand Devils: spirits of men who have died in desert storms;
they can be repelled or even destroyed by water from a canteen and they can be
‘killed’ by normal weapons.
Undead: apparently ‘not a problem’ according to Brand’s source, but
people who die in the wastes do wander as unquiet spirits and waylay travellers
– these are presumably not the same as sand devils.
Sand Drakes: small dragons – thankfully rare but how small is
‘small’?
Razarac: every witness gives a different
description but the few elements in common hint at a form of troll; this thing
seems to be of fairly recent appearance, I wonder what has made it turn up now?
The Kromet also advises Brand that their Tresti
branch are very concerned about a visitor from the south, an ambassador from
one of the Seven Dominions, who has taken abode in an old tower over a tomb. He
is rumoured to be a warlock with the name Seregûl. In
Quenya this means ‘Blood Wraithe’ – perhaps his
mother had never heard of nominative determinism, on the other hand my mother
called me ‘cunning hound’ so obviously mothers don’t know everything, contrary
to rumour.
Over the next
month we equip ourselves with tents, clothing, camels, etc.
We leave Bozisha-Dar with a caravan bound for Tresti.
The landscape is hilly, rocky and rugged with many narrow winding canyons. I
suspect it is easy to get lost if you’re unfamiliar with the terrain but to my
eye it is clearly perfect country for ambushes.
About a week
out, one afternoon I feel a prickling at the back of my neck and know that
we’re being watched. I warn my companions and the caravan guards to be wary of
an ambush. I support the two guards at the rear and Ilviren
the three at the front. Aerin, Brand and Pimm stay with the wagons in the middle.
Our dispositions
sorted, they attack but of course we’re ready for them. Aerin
and Brand chant spells and Pimm shoots his bow in
support. Nonetheless we’re outnumbered, facing five mounted bandits. Thankfully
we outclass them and after a hard and frantic couple of minutes they withdraw.
We’ve killed six
of them but we’ve lost two guards. However, Curon,
the merchant, is impressed and rewards us with the captured horses. The nice
thing about it all from my point of view is that the escaped bandits should
hopefully spread the word that we’re too tough to take on, which should reduce
the likelihood of another attack.
Tresti is built around the
Brand and I,
with Aerin as an interpreter, pay a visit to the
local branch of the Kromet to discuss Seregûl. They read Brand’s letter of introduction from
their Bozisha-Dar branch and welcome us. They will have someone to brief us formally
if we return this evening.
Evening
So that evening
we return to meet Moffina, a woman who is an
‘unofficial’ member of the Diet of Dunast. She tells
us that Seregûl has come from the Seven Dominions,
which unlike the Raj are still controlled by nobility descended from Numenoreans (not exactly Black, more mid-grey; they came
before the Fall and didn’t ally with the Black Numenoreans
but on the other hand they didn’t support Gondor
against them either, preferring to maintain their independence from both
sides).
Seregûl has all the papers to prove himself a formal ambassador with a brief to enter in to
trade negotiations but his behaviour (they don’t mention his less than
auspicious cognomen) has raised their suspicions.
Seregûl has purchased or leased an old tower south
of Tresti, which happens to be built over an ancient
tomb (or perhaps the tomb happened to be built under the tower – it’s possible
that some long forgotten Numenorean just wanted to be buried at home).
The Diet of Dunast is unofficially very worried about his activities at
the tower but are diplomatically constrained against
moving on him without proof. Of course, the Diet of Dunast
could deny responsibility if a bunch of Gondorian
tourists crassly invade Seregûl’s privacy, but if we
uncover proof of his iniquity they can take more formal action.
Excellent! This
seems to fit my brief and the tower is less than a day’s ride to the south. The
tower used to be called the Citadel of the Clouds but when Seregûl
rebuilt it he changed the name to Marath Seregûl. He’s been there for a good few years now.
We all mount up
and ride south, arriving at Marath Seregûl mid-afternoon. We observe the tower from a distance
but can see no movement. We could just ride up and ask entrance as travellers
in the desert but if he refuses to let us in we’ll be kind of stuck and he’ll
know we’re here. We discuss our plans and the consensus is to lie low and
observe for the remaining hours of daylight and then pay a visit after dark. I
expect Sern’s skills may draw a bonus and I know
Ilviren’s good at climbing.
To do list:
Set up accounts
for money accruing while in Raj
Investigate Marath Seregûl
Take a caravan
to Tûl Póac
Visit Minas Ithil – probably not going to happen now
Talk to the
survivor of the 1st Mordor expedition before entering Mordor
Survey my estates and produce a plan to improve
them – consider Pimm’s offer but be cautious