Middle Earth FA63 D&D Game, the Second Adventure, Scouting Ered Lithui

The fiery Red eye would still be a well known symbol of orcs of Sauron.

Ghân would suspect that it is an altar to Sauron and that the orcs are now worshiping him. Ghân is clueless to the other drawing. It might be worth calling Renee in, she does seem studied in history and the undead.

Gil-Gandel wanders over to take a look. “Hm. Someone from the War, such as the Wraith-lord, or the Mouth of Sauron? I forget what the Mouth was meant to look like. The King, Legolas and Gimli were all there though - also the Took. And I’m not sure what became of the Mouth; he wasn’t a wraith, and so wouldn’t have vanished when the Ring was destroyed. Renee?”

Renee looks both over, "I’ve heard about the Eye shrines. They have started worshipping him. They claim that is from where the powers of their shamans come.

The second painting is one of the Nazgul. I am not sure what this means. Gil-Gandel, you are correct, the Mouth of Sauron is a powerful sorcerer and he did escape the downfall. Additionally, no one, not even the wise were 100% sure that all the Ringwraiths were destroyed for good. Some like the Witchking had powers of their own and not just those that Sauron and the nine rings gave them. Some feel there is still a weak dark shadow in Minas Morgul…”

What if the Dark Lord is looking at us through the shrine? Now he knows who we are and where we are, while you study it. It won’t be long before we’re overrun with orcs.

“At least it seems as though the Orcs believe so. I strongly doubt we should meddle with this, and we should see to it that someone close to the King hears about it as soon as possible. ;)”

Cover this up again, make ready to move on, wait for Mulligan’s report.

“Brin, we can at least feel confident of this much: that the Dark Lord himself is no longer in a position to do harm, not this side of the world’s end. He was reduced beyond hope of recall by the destruction of the Ring.”

The cat starts hissing at the eye. Renee asks for her bauble back. She holds it forward and it blazes with a strong light, a light Gil-Gandel finds strongly reminiscent of Gil-Estel, the Star of High Hope or Eärendil’s star.

The Red Eye actually melts off the wall into a puddle of red blood like liquid. She falls back a step into Thoroncir’s arms who of course silently followed her.

Renee gasping for breath, “That was beyond my power, someone looked kindly upon us, perhaps Eärendil himself. The shaman or sorcerer on the other side of that just got a nasty surprise from which they will not soon recover. I think we should move quickly now. Ghân may I have one of your Goodberries for myself?"
Mulligan gives the long whistle for all clear.

The party forms up and moves forward.

Middle Earth thought itself saved when Morgoth fell, yet another rose in his stead. How does that saying go? Here comes the new boss - same as the old boss, or something like that?

Ghân offers to take back the light if Renee wishes and passes her a Goodberry.

(Deor and Renee still have 16 Goodberries each; Mulligan and Gil-Gandel have 8 each.)

Renee laughs at what Brin says, “I never heard that before, but at least each time they grow weaker.”

She turns to Ghân and hands him the bauble, "Thank you for carrying it and for the goodberry.

Ghân finds the bauble is surprisingly warm this time.

Well put, Brin. But if the new boss falls short of the Dark Lord as he in his turn fell short of the Black Traitor, we and those after us may not need to despair.

*makes a note to pay heed when Missy the cat hisses at anything

Deor stumbles forward with the party- that’s the first truly dark magic he’s ever seen, and it’s shaken him.

I take it I didn’t find anything then?

Thoroncir is thoughtful about what he has just seen and learned. He will stow his map and writing kit for the moment, draw his sword and proceed with the party, keeping the fair Renee safely behind him.

Back to Mulligan, the passage goes on a gentle curve to the right. It is 12’ wide and 200’ long. There is an alcove about 100’ on the left and one 180’ to the right. It ends in a double door. The passage is again about 7’ high in the middle and 5½’ near the wall and well worn and ancient.

While we wait for Mulligan’s report, Gil-Gandel muses aloud on old bosses and new ones…

Dark is the night that in day never ends;
Long is the road with no turning;
Grim is the fate that our destiny sends -
Lesson too hard for the learning.
The foe once defeated another replaces,
The work is to do all again;
Beauty and gladness soon evil effaces;
We grieve for hurt taken in vain.
But think not the struggle for nothing was done,
Whatever the woe that’s ensuing;
The triumph today was today’s battle won;
The worth of it all in the doing.
So lift up your hearts and dwell not on sorrow,
But meet this hour but this hour’s need;
The good deed of today’s the good soil of tomorrow,
And someone will tend the new seed.

Keeping an eye out to see if there is anything in the alcoves, I guess I will listen at the double doors then.

Are the doors low enough to the ground to wedge some daggers underneath to prevent them from being easily opened?

Malacandra, well done, yet again. Lovely. But I wonder if the third line from the end is as you meant it to read - should the second “but” instead be “and”?

Elendil’s Heir, no, the first “but” is a conjunction - “Don’t do this {dwell on sorrow}, do some other thing instead” and the second means “only” - “do only what needs to be done now”. Possibly Gil-Gandel overreaches himself in trying too hard to echo “but, this, hour” in that line, but he is only a trainee bard. :slight_smile:

The double doors do open out into the hall. They could be wedged.

Malacandra: Bravo!

Oh good, it may be necessary.

So what do I hear at the doors then?