A Fool's Errand
- Admin
- Dec 26, 2017
- 2 min read
Still reeling from dread of the slain Balrog on Zirakzigil, Captain Forvonir, his brother Harvonir and the Elf Minnwen retrace their route back to the Twenty-First Hall. Hope still glimmers – much as does the greenstone entrusted to the Elf's safekeeping and bound for the hand of She who rules Lórien – as Forvonir points out that they would gain a powerful ally should they find the Balrog-slayer. Buoyed by this prospect, along with the urgency of relaying to Lórien news of the creature, the company renews its efforts to discover the eastern gate out of Moria to the Dimrill Dale.
Minnwen's re-examination of the Chamber of Mazarbul meets a literal dead end. The Naugrim acknowledge the existence of an eastern passage exiting the chamber, but its mouth has caved in impenetrably. Fortunately (or not), the brothers find a Naugrim who agrees to point them towards the eastern door in return for a gemstone fetched from the deepest chamber within an orc-infested vault within the dwarven mines.
So begins their adventure in the Forgotten Treasury, a test not only of prowess against formidable foes, but also of memory and wit. Within moments of entering the heavily cobwebbed passages of the treasury, the trio realise that the Naugrim have deviously sent them on a fool's errand, knowing full well that they would be outnumbered and their combat skill sorely tested.
Bright blue glows the elf-blade Rhovancrist wielded by Minnwen, as orc-foe after orc-foe assails the group. Forvonir and Harvonir fight valiantly, the steel of the Captain's deadly halberd ringing out in the gloom. At length, the ring-shaped first level is cleared, orc-filth lying dead all around.
A puzzle of mirrors and light must now be solved, to which Forvonir applies himself with ingenuity, devising a plan to split the group up and attempt rotating six wheels in the correct order, as signals are exchanged between Elf and Men.
Finally the vault is unlocked and a final foe laid to dust after a long and exhausting battle.
The prize claimed, the weary trio return to barter for the information promised them. But will the Naugrim now prove not only greedy but also treacherous?
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