Relics of the Third Age: A Lord of the Rings Quest

Arphazêl, Agent of Nurn​

After one of the strangest nights of sleep in my life, it felt almost surreal to have a perfectly normal conversation with Captain Tirndis the next morning. I joined her for our usual breakfast in the morning, even if it was a bit hard to enjoy my meal now that I had a third guest at the table.

Do you have any idea how long it's been since I enjoyed the taste of eggs? The Ebon Knight murmured within the privacy of my mind. I have missed the feel of wind upon my face and a good meal in my belly. Even if all I experience is the faint echoes of your own life, it's still life.

I'm glad. I still wasn't entirely sure about sharing my mind with an amnesiac Nazgûl, but as long as that was my life I might as well make the best of it. I don't suppose there's any food you pine for? I tried to think of any ancient Numenorean cuisine, but that hadn't been a priority during my education about our people. Maybe fish? I suggested. Numenor had been an island, and even after we settled on the mainland we usually stayed close to the sea.

Ebon's silence in response to my question didn't give me anything to work with. Maybe they were trying to remember, or maybe they didn't like being reminded of how much of their old life they'd forgotten.

Captain Tigkiz cleared her throat and set her cutlery aside. "Have you had any further thoughts on where you would like to start, Arphazêl? We have a lot of work to do."

"Rallying the villages," I answered her without a moment's hesitation. "We need to get everyone in Nurn working together. Building up border forts will go much smoother if we have more labor and resources available, and a fresh influx of militia volunteers could bulk up our numbers."

"Sensible," Tigkiz agreed. She scooped some eggs onto her toast and took her time chewing and swallowing before she continued. "Where will you start? Lithlad, Ephel Duath, or going around the Sea of Nunen?"

The way her eye focused on me while she waited for my answer told me that the question was probably another one of her tests. There was no right answer, so it was probably a question of how effectively I could justify whichever I picked. The captain always enjoyed challenging me to exercise my mind.

I started thinking out loud, partly to explain my reasoning and partly in the hopes that just talking it all out would help me find a solution. "All of them probably have resources they can spare. The Orcs have been hitting us from the North and West, there's not a lot more we can ask the villages there to give. It would be a hard sell to get them to give us anything when it might weaken their defenses. We need to mobilize the villages where the Orcs aren't a problem yet."

The Council of Nurn might grasp the need for collective defense, but turning that understanding into a concrete commitment of military resources was another matter. Convincing people to part with their hard-earned coin or go to war to protect Men they'd never met was a lot harder than getting a vague statement in favor of collective defense. If Nurn had a ruler we could compel them to aid us, but for now we had to take the path of gentle persuasion.

I continued sharing my thoughts. "There are more people along the shore, the water's good for farming and fishing. If we want raw numbers of fresh volunteers, they'll have the most to offer. We'll need to train them more if we want to make proper soldiers out of them, but we could put them to work on building fortifications right away as long as we have a few knowledgeable people supervising them. Most of what goes into building a fortress is basic manual labor."

The Captain nodded along. "A lot of the early work once we pick a site will be carrying supplies and digging holes. Tasks anyone with a strong back and the will to work can help with. As far as military training is concerned, sometimes a blank slate can be helpful. They won't have any bad habits to unlearn, and even if it will take time to make them proper soldiers the fundamentals can be learned quickly enough. In some situations, spearmen who know how to stand in a block and point their speartips at the enemy are good enough."

I couldn't think of anything more to say about the lakeshore, so I moved on. "Lithlad has more pastures, and the crops they have don't need as much water. There aren't as many people living there, but we'd be recruiting shepherds and ranchers instead of fishers and farmers. They'd know a few basic things like how to use a sling or ride a horse, and how to handle themselves out in the field."

"Good slingers are valuable," Tigkiz agreed. "Stones and a few leather straps are a lot easier to come by than bows and arrows. We don't have many fletchers and bowyers in Nurn. Heard some of the people who settled there were deserters from Rhun too."

"Which leaves the settlements near Ephel Duath," I concluded. "Most of the people who want to be near the mountains are cutting down trees, mining for ore, cutting stone, or turning those raw materials into something useful. We probably wouldn't want to pull too many people from there, but we could certainly use everything they're producing. We're not building any kind of forts to protect our borders without a lot of wood and stone, and we'll need to rely on their smiths for arms and armor unless we're planning to loot Orcs to equip our soldiers."

"We'll do what we must, but weapons and armor made for Orcs aren't as useful in human hands," Tigkiz concluded. "The balance on their weapon always felt off to me, and that's assuming we're getting relics out of the forges of Gorgoroth. I would imagine that a lot of what the Orcs will be using is old and in bad condition, or stolen farm implements crudely hammered into weapons." The captain grimaced and let out a sigh. "In other words, what half our militia are currently using already."

Orcs had never been that concerned with high-quality craftsmanship. That required a level of artistry that simply wasn't in their nature. Though considering the fate of my previous sword, there was something to be said for making weapons that were crude but brutally effective. A sword didn't need to look pretty to kill.

There is also the question of how you will persuade them, Ebon pointed out.

I would imagine by talking to them, I thought back to the Nazgûl. I take your meaning, though. Do I try to scare them with stories about what the Orcs will do if we don't stop them? Should I appeal to their better natures and desire to stand together as the Free People of Nurn? Or shall I point out how we all share common interests and are threatened by common enemies, so it's rational to work together?

I was considering something far less complicated, The Ebon Knight sent back to me with the faintest hint of amusement in their mental voice. You carry a ring of power on your finger. If there is any strength left to it, you could call upon that power. The Rings were gifts to the great kings and queens of Men and enhanced their power and presence immensely. Even the small remnants of that strength could win a few small farming villages to your cause.

I will not use dark magic to mentally enslave people, I am sent back to the wrath, struggling to prevent any sign of what I was feeling from showing on my face. I didn't need Captain Tigkiz asking why I'd suddenly flown into a rage for no discernible reason.

I wasn't suggesting it, Ebon reassured me. If the ring even has the power to do such a thing, Orcs are more easily bound than Men. I was merely pointing out that the Ring's power could lend your words an extra degree of gravitas. It's not stealing away the people's free will or anything so terrible. Think of it more like an aid to your natural abilities. A ruler must carry themselves a certain way and speak with the correct tone to be taken seriously by their subjects. You've seen it with your Captain, haven't you? The ring could simply smooth over any rough edges in your delivery. Make you sound less like an aspiring young lieutenant who's in over her head and desperately trying to find a way to save her new home and people, and more like a confident leader who can be relied upon.

At least that wasn't as bad as I'd feared, though it was still a long way from reassuring. So what's the terrible hidden price I'd pay for using that ring?

No price, Ebon reassured me. Though I suppose if you made a habit of it, you would never learn to command the respect of others without it. Even without the One to command and bind anyone who draws upon the ring's power, it's probably not a good idea to become so accustomed to using the ring that you can't navigate a conversation without it.

I suppose that much made sense. If I always used the ring to make others find me convincing I would never develop the skills naturally. Not to mention there were plenty of unknown risks to tapping into a ring of power. Despite Ebon's assurances that there was no risk of becoming a Nazgûl from using the ring, I wasn't in a hurry to test that theory. Even if it couldn't transform me, it might have other effects. The Dwarven Rings hadn't turned their wearers into wraiths, but they'd still changed the Dwarves who bore them.

There is a risk, Ebon confessed. I will not pretend to know all that might come to pass from drawing upon the ring's power. Nothing ill came of drawing on it in the Morgul Vale to defeat your enemies, at least. All I can say with certainty is that if you fail to win the people of Nurn to your cause, many innocents might perish at Orcish hands. Given the price of failure, it is at least worth considering whether using the ring's power is an acceptable risk.

I will … consider it. The Ebon Knight had made a distressingly good argument in favor of the ring. Only using it on myself to have a more commanding appearance didn't seem so terrible. I wasn't bending others to my will with dark magic, I was just making sure I wouldn't stumble halfway through making my case or end up sounding like a fool.

Captain Tigkiz cleared her throat to get my attention, a knowing grin on her face. "As long as you're there, you could also see if any of the local girls catch your fancy. I know you didn't find anyone in Haemfaerld who suited you, but I'm sure there's someone somewhere in Nurn who would suffice. I know you're at an age where you think about that kind of thing, just don't go causing any trouble for your mission in the process."

I groaned and buried my face in my hands. "You must be joking. I need to worry about winning everyone else in Nurn over to our cause, not finding a cute girl to bring back home."

The smile vanished off her face. "Of course, the mission comes first." I almost thought I'd put an end to the topic, until she added, "However, I think my brilliant and talented young lieutenant is fully capable of attending to multiple tasks at once. It might even help win people over. If a village leader's daughter or sister is fond of you, perhaps they'll take your words a bit more seriously."

"Or they'll dislike me for trying to elope with a member of their family," I muttered under my breath.

"I trust you will have the good sense to not do anything scandalous while you're on Council business," Tigkiz brushed my words off. "Or really, in any situation. Soldiers love gossip more than fishwives, if you become a rake carrying out public affairs, the militia will find out and lose respect for you. A proper courtship or a bit of idle flirting is another matter. I know the Council has been suggesting we encourage relationships between couples from different villages to help foster bonds between all our communities. We don't want all the villages of Nurn to become isolated and insular."

I sighed and tried to put an end to the entire conversation. "I suppose if an opportunity presents itself, I might pursue it."

Just when I thought I was safe, the Captain added. "Of course, if you already had your eye on a certain Gondorian Ranger, it's not too late to join her on patrol instead of—"

"Absolutely not," I cut her off.

Then the only thing that could make this experience more embarrassing than it already was happened. If you want some advice on winning a lady's favor, I could—

One more word and I'll invoke our agreement to have total silence for a full day.

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Where does Arphazêl go first?

[ ] Sea of Nurnen

[ ] Lithlad

[ ] Ephel Duath

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What Approach does Arphazêl take?

[ ] Emphasize the Risks of Orcish Attacks

[ ] Appeal to People's Sense of Community and Patriotism

[ ] Calmly and Rationally Lay Out the Facts in Favor of Cooperation

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Does Arphazêl Use Her Ring

[ ] Use the Ring from the Start

[ ] Use the Ring if the Negotiations go Poorly

[ ] Do Not Use the Ring Under Any Circumstances