The Kinstrife
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.
The waters are
slowly putting us to sleep but we have the Karma of Aldarion and Fuinur says we can use it to leave the Well, opening doors
and controlling currents. I briefly wonder how whoever it was with the hateful
voice removed Ancalimë without the Karma but I expect
he used dark sorceries.
We briefly
debate who should wield the Karma. Aerin is descended from Fuinur
but Ilviren is Ancalimë’s
grand-daughter and she dons the helm of mother-o-pearl.
Ilviren finds she can perceive the entire Well
complex and can control the currents. I remind her that we need to find the
fires of Ormal to destroy the Kuilëondo and at her
command the doors behind the thrones open and the currents tug us forward.
We swim along a
passage sloping steeply upward. The water grows warm and then hot,
uncomfortably so. Just as I feel we cannot bear it any longer we emerge from a
pool similar to that by which we entered and we find ourselves coughing up
water in the air.
It’s scorching!
Already my clothes are drying on me and I can feel the heat playing over my
bear skin but I manage to struggle in to my cloak before the heat gets to me. So
do Sern, Brand and Ilviren.
However Aerin and Pimm both gasp in pain as the very
air burns them but Ilviren helps Aerin to cover
herself and Pimm dons his before I can come to his
aid. They suffer no more than what looks like a sunburn and Aerin has an
ointment for that. We move away from the pool…
…And behold the
fallen Lamp of Ormal! Twin to Illuin in the north, it
is magnificent even in its destruction!
We stand on a
rocky promontory sticking out over a lake of fire that apparently pours forth
from the broken crystal of the lamp. Huge shards of rock rise
from the lake, doubtless the remains of Ringil, the
tower that bore Ormal during the Years of the Lamps, before the First Age, long
before the War of the Silmarils, the Fall of Morgoth,
before Numenor and the Bending of the Seas. We gaze
upon a relict of the Dawn of Time.
We must expect
the worst once the Kuilëondo is destroyed. Forlindaal said it would release the spirit of Tevildo and we would have to ‘uncorporate’
him. Brand and Ilviren start chanting and I blood Sucil Serkëva. Ilviren has an arm as strong as anyone and a good eye. She
stands on the tip of the promontory and casts the Kuilëondo
out as far as she can reach, deep in to the Fires of Ormal.
The Kuilëondo vanishes in to the liquid flames and immediately
the fires boil and a hideous, cat-like phantom of darkness springs from the
flames on to the promontory.
The thing – Tevildo, I presume – utters something in Quenya about
rewarding us for its release but I’m already springing to attack, Ilviren at my side. Arrows whine over our heads from Aerin
and Pimm.
We find Tevildo an immensely tough opponent, incomparable even to
the Razarac. Sucil Serkëva barely nicks his flesh and two terrible slashes
of its claws smash Ilviren to the ground, hurling her
yards away. I take the opportunity to blood Sucil Serkëva a second time but again I just
cannot land a firm hit on the monster.
Out of the
corner of my eye I see Aerin stoop to tend Ilviren. I
later learn that she is but bruised horribly and battered unconscious – a
miracle for I had thought at first those claws had eviscerated her – but Aerin
was able to heal her instantly with a single drop of Forlindaal’s
mírunen envinyata.
But with Ilviren down Tevildo turns all
his attention to me. I save myself from Ilviren’s fate only by sidestepping a
vicious swipe and taking another on my shield but the shock of the blow knocks
me to my knees.
By now Tevildo is casting a darkness about me that clouds my
vision, making it harder to land my blows and dodge his. Thankfully Ilviren has returned to the fray, now having blooded Turma Serkëva, the
matching shield to Sucil Serkëva. I
recover myself and blood Sucil Serkëva a
third time and again fail to land a telling blow, thanks to the darkness about
me, but Ilviren puts her blade deep in to Tevildo’s shadowy substitute for flesh.
This seems to
enrage the thing and this time it casts a more powerful version of the dweomer
it’s used on me to enmesh us all in a vasty cloud of
darkness. I blood Sucil Serkëva a
fourth time and return to the battle. Ilviren has
been hit again, I think, and by now I am seriously doubting
whether we can slay the beast – does it have any more foul magics
to hurl against us?
But we are not
powerless: Brand, having already trapped its rear leg with a spell of stone,
illuminates Tevildo with another and suddenly I can
see…
…This time Sucil Serkëva bites
deep; I can feel the shock of the impact up my arm (not something I’m used to,
a rapier is not prone to such force) but then I feel a surge of power in the
opposite direction, some dweomer that passes down my arm and through the blade.
Never could I
have imagined the force of that blow. I feel it would have slain a dozen men at
once. With a hideous screech, Tevildo vanishes along
with the darkness and suddenly we’re gazing at each other in shock. I’m on my
knees; Ilviren looks haggard; we’re both covered in
blood.
We retreat back
to the cool waters of Fuinur’s Well
and back at the entrance we rest for a few days to recover ourselves. I have
lost some blood (surprise, surprise) but Aerin has to work truly hard on Ilviren; Forlindaal’s mírunen envinyata
heals instantly but merely puts the wounds in abeyance for a day. Ilviren was already sorely wounded when Aerin used Forlindaal’s cordial and she was hurt further after. When
the cordial wears off Ilviren is in a bad state
indeed.
But Ilviren is hardy and, thanks to Aerin’s ministrations,
survives the initial crisis and begins to recover quickly.
Four days later
we feel up to travelling again and brave the rigours of the desert.
Forlindaal is delighted to see us and takes copious
notes of our adventures. In no hurry to return and feeling that we’ve earned a
holiday, we stay a month.
Forlindaal examines the Karma of Aldarion and
pronounces it a powerful artefact bearing the unmistakable mark of Uinen. It
confers great powers over all waters and upon the weather over the oceans. All
this is no surprise to Brand and I but it’s nice to have it all confirmed by an
expert scholar.
Ilviren and I hand back Sucil Serkëva and Turma Serkëva.
Neither of us feels comfortable with the things; there’s something unclean
about artefacts that demand your blood before performing their function. I am
heartily glad I had the weapon when facing Tevildo
and I cannot imagine we could have beaten him without it but I felt the surge
of power when it slew him and I do not want to feel that power again.
Forlindaal lauds our wisdom and gifts us with 3
homing pigeons which he swears will unerringly find him in the Mirror of Fire
if we need to consult him any time in the future.
So we spend the month
resting, swimming in the lake, touring the rift but eventually we bid Forlindaal farewell and depart for Tûl
Póac.
We reach Tûl Póac safely, loitering just a
few days before catching a caravan to Bozisha-Dar. We
keep the Karma hidden and do not discuss it.
Again our return
to Bozisha-Dar is happily uneventful. It takes time
to convert the huge quantities of treasure in to trade goods for Pelargir but
with Ilviren’s acumen, Aerin’s local knowledge and my background as the son of
a merchant prince we find a suitable cargo of silks and spices.
I honestly have
more money than I know what to do with. The one person in all this who seems to
have suffered the most is Estel. She has lost both
parents and a brother lacking in wisdom and integrity but loved nonetheless for
that.
Estel is a princess and is probably the most
eligible heiress in Gondor, Queen Mûrabeth’s
sister included, but I suspect she will find the columns of suitors after her
hand more of a trial than a joy. I might very well be among them.
I had wanted to
get her a book when we were in Osgiliath but we poor
third sons lack the means for such things. Now I have the wherewithal to do it
properly. Consulting Aerin, it seems there’s a famous collection of local
stories of swashbuckling derring-do called ‘Tales of the Raj’. It seems some of
them are a little racy but Raj society is used to editing such tales for
younger ears.
I commission a
suitably edited translation of the Tales, illuminated to the highest quality.
The work takes more than a month and costs 1800 crowns but I am more than
satisfied with the result – a present fit for a princess! I still have over 700
crowns (together with my mundane funds) to buy shares in Ilviren’s cargo so I
will be far from destitute when we return to Pelargir.
Ilviren commissions charts of the local waters
(she obviously plans to return) and a ship of her own – the So Much For Subtlety frankly lacks the hold-space for our full
cargo.
Before leaving
we take the opportunity to visit Bozisha-Dar’s most
famous sights – the Ice Caverns – and I will relate our adventures there
another time but suffice to say they are spectacular and I’m glad to have seen
them.
We set sail for
Pelargir and enjoy spectacularly fine weather and the most co-operative winds
we could hope for. I am content that the curse I brought down on our family is
lifted.
Aided by the
Karma, we make superb time. Ilviren’s log says we took 51 days on our journey
south, not including the stop-over in Umbar. This time we take 33 days, sailing
straight to Pelargir.
We berth in
Pelargir. I send word to father and Castaher that I’m
back and request an audience with the Prince. Taking Ilviren
and Brand with me, we gift Castaher with the Karma of
Aldarion; I tell him that I trust he will put it to good use. My thinking is
that either he will convey it to Castamir, thereby supporting his father’s rule
while at the same time confirming his own status as heir apparent. Or he may
oust his father and rule himself. Either way I would hope he will be a more
effective monarch than his father, ruling all of Gondor,
not just the southern coasts.
Of course, if
there is some moral reason why Castamir or Castaher
should not be King, the Karma may itself aid the righting of the wrong, but if
this is so I sincerely hope it does so with only minimal harm to Gondor and its people.
I tell Castaher that the threat posed by Benish
Armon in the Ethir is
averted and the power behind them broken. I am not sure exactly what I intend
to address next but Mordor is on my mind. However I think it will be a few
months before I investigate it – it is not a place to visit without
preparation.
I introduce father
to Ilviren, and together they dispose of the cargo in
both Ilviren’s ships, to the mutual profit of us all. I invest most of my share
in expanding my estates around Restalómë in
Summer 1443
As part of my
duties, I take it upon myself to visit Minas Anor,
since I have heard that Estel is still dwelling there
with Mordulin – when last I spoke with them, in Osgiliath, I had understood that Estel
would return to her principality in Morthond, but evidently a change of mind
has occurred. In view of recent events, I am not surprised.
I speak with Mordulin first. I gloss over our activities in the Raj but
assure her that the Benish Armon
cult is no longer a threat, to Estel or to Gondor. Then the conversation turns to Neithan. I admit outright
that I killed him. I do not regret his death but I do regret that it was
necessary and the grief that it has surely brought to Estel.
Mordulin seems to accept my words as they are
intended, which is all I could wish for. I don’t say it but my disgust at his
behaviour cannot be hidden. I do say that he died nobly and bravely, which
might be some consolation to his sister.
I say I have a
gift for Estel and I would speak to her concerning
her brother but I will understand if she does not wish to speak with me.
However it appears Estel is willing to let me present
my gift in person.
I fully expect audience
with Estel to be more than a little awkward and it
is, but if there’s anything I’m good at, it’s the social niceties. I offer my
gift and explain why I want to give it to her – she, more than anyone else
caught up in the sorry conspiracies of the Benish Armon cult, has suffered through no word or deed of her
own, and I want to offer something to lighten her sorrows just a little. I
think she deserves it.
I find I can
read Estel’s face like the book placed in her lap. She
feels I’m offering this as a sop to my conscience, as if I as, her brother’s
killer, could in some way assuage her grief at my deed with but a single gift.
It is honestly not intended like that but emotions are not subject to reasoned
argument and it would insult her to do so; she does not want to hear that her
brother allied himself with her parent’s murderers.
I simply tell
her that I trust she will get enjoyment from reading it and point out a few
highlights among the stories. I hope she will take it in the manner intended
and read it with enjoyment. No doubt we will meet again one day.
And so back to
work…Mordor?
To do list:
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