Let's Play the Lord of the Rings Online - 'Go Where You Must Go, and Hope!'

[Roarian]

Lone-lands (Part 5)

After a little trip of crow-slaying for Stanric I head out towards Dol Vaeg, which is located just north of the red swamp inside the ruins of an old, circular building with many pillars. I address Northric on behalf of Stanric, and he tells me that we must prepare for the dark future ahead - as his companion Cwendreda will tell me, the ruins of Nan Dhelu have grown darker than ever. His own task is more mundane, but necessary - he has to fill the water-bladders and gather food, since moving a large group of people from one place to another may take longer than they have to find the necessary provisions. To make these bladders I'll need to hunt creatures untouched by corruption, and the boars to the east will suffice… As for the water-bladders, I can get some of them filled at the north side of the eastern Last Bridge which crosses the river Mitheithel - the Hoarwell.



Frideric sent me to speak to Cwendreda, who says he's a strong leader and that it was wise to send her here - she's learned much just by watching the comings and goings within the ruins. She knows that there is wealth to be gained from there as well. The Eglain always kept their distance from Nan Dhelu because the ruins have an ominous feeling to them, but since coming here she's fought against some of the creatures from there, and found they were carrying treasures that would bring much in the way of trade. While I'm fighting and purging these foes, I should loot them so we might earn some money! Figures. She admits that while she bears a great amount of pride, she's also fearful - and no greater fear comes over her than seeing the Master of the Ruins. It roams Nan Dhelu with a wight at its dide at all times, a creature extreme terror. Should I happen upon it, she suggests running - but if I emerge victorious from a battle, she'll give me a reward.

Before heading into the haunted ruins I travel north to shoot boars, as well as fill a water bladder at the side of the Last Bridge, the very edge of the Lone-lands where they lead into the neighboring Trollshaws.



I drop the water and meat off with Northrim before heading back to the Bloodmire. I actually run into some wights before I even get there, out in the hills to the east. Bile-spewers, huh? Lovely. The ruins here are expansive and kind of tough to navigate.



While it's largely linear, the actual route goes around and over itself, snaking along the entire length and requiring you to do some parkour or essentially skirt around the walls of the place entirely until you get up to a higher level where tougher enemies make their home.

The wights are easy enough, sometimes spawning intestinal worms which I then have to fight separately, ew.



It's the gaunt-men that are the real issue here - they're substantially stronger than their wight subordinates and can actually mess with me a fair bit. There's a couple other players around to assist, though, so I start sniping some of these gaunt beings down. After making a long trek around the ruin I reach the highest pinnacle, where a Gaunt Protector hides out between two shrines to Sauron which spread dread nearby. Lovely.



Actually, much of these ruins cause that effect, the gameplay integration of the Eglain feeling that this place is ominous and worrisome, I imagine. I also run into the Master of Nan Dhelu, whose pet wight goes down in seconds, and then spends the rest of the battle basically stuck on a staircase as a victim to my various abilities. Better luck next time, gaunt guy.



I drop off the valuables I looted from the wights with Cwendreda, who thinks that they can filter out the corrupted stuff and sell the rest to traders from Bree-land. She also thanks me for taking out the Master, since just knowing it was defeated brings a wisp of hope to her heart. Destroying the dead can't have been an easy task, as they are beings which inspire fear in even the most courageous heart… Without any follow-up here, I set off for my next adventure.

I head off to deliver my peace offering, and come across the beings Frideric means - large, thin, troll-like beings twice my size, dressed in little more than loincloths and furs, their faces more orc-like than human, their pointy ears poking out from a surprisingly human-like head of hair. As I walk deeper into the Tornstones, a formation of rocks similar to Stonehenge, I find their leader - his name is Kekkonen and he's wearing a pair of absolutely gigantic horns on his shoulders, poking out several feet from both sides of him like the mouth of some giant antlion.



The being addresses me, telling me I smell of meats and furs. Ah, this is a gift for the Jorthkyn? He will accept this gift, yet cannot give anything in return, for they cannot give help to others until they have no more troubles themselves. They've been chased from their homeland and need a safe place to stay!

Kekkonen explains that the Jorthkyn are pursued by their past from their home in the north and east. They fled as the darkness rose around them, and came here to find peace, but peace will not come for them, not while the enemy follows them south. They stay here now, away from forest and bog, ever in the sun to shield themselves from darkness. At night, the trolls will roam free… If they could confront the darkness and defeat it, maybe they could make friends of others who do not wish to succumb to the shadow of evil. I've helped the tribe who wishes friendship with them, so perhaps I'll help the Jorthkyn too? Would I fight the trolls for them, to make them go away? They hide in their bog, far to the south-east, at a place elves call Harloeg. I am tiny, but I should be fine on my own, yeah?

You see, the Jorthkyn left their homes in the hills and stone caves of the north when trolls stirred and took back the land. In their haste, they easily could have overlooked the leader of their tribe, but they were cautious enough to hear his name and see his appearance. He's large and thick in the legs, bearing the look of a warrior and the strength of many. He is called Galríp, and he is the leader of Harloeg's trolls - what a gift would it be to see him defeated! A gift worthy of lasting peace, he'd say, so I should search him out as he wanders the southern swamps, hiding among the trees with his brethren to stay away from the sunlight. While there, I should also look of the written histories the Jorthkyn kept on etched stones - the trolls now sift through their old homes and steal that history…



Before heading anywhere I revisit Radagast the Brown to let him know I destroyed a bunch of wights, but he says there's more to do. The sheer number of wights in Haragmar indicates the presence of gaunt-men, vile necromancers who serve the Dark Lord. Yea, no shit! In ages past they dwelled in the Witch-realm of Angmar, but the White Council believed them all destroyed. Clearly, they were wrong. Only the strongest of gaunt-men, Gaunt-lords, have the power to summon the spirits of the Shadow Realm. The war-singers carry the sigil of their lord, so I should search the ruins I already explored and defeat these gaunt creatures and bring their sigils here to learn which Gaunt-lord they serve.

After a quick revisit to the ruins to re-murder some of the gaunt-men with little issue, I give Radagast the sigils. He recognizes the markings as those of Ivar the Blood-hand. He's a powerful lord of the gaunt-men, and a dangerous and vile creature. It is he who must be behind the corruption of the Red Swamp. Why would a creature like Ivar travel so far from Angmar, though? Power, perhaps, but what drew him specifically here?



This land was the site of many battles in the past, and some say the swamp takes its name from the blood of fallen Men that stained the earth red, but Radagast's knowledge of the place is limited. He does know of a man named Aric, a wise one among the Eglain, who might know more. He's a Stone-speaker, a scholar who studies the stones and collects knowledge from their markings. Aric knows much local lore, so I should travel to him and ask for help. He currently dwell south in Harloeg, and may prove the information I seek.

Frideric the Elder tells me that there's a man I should speak with - and it's Aric again. Thanks, game. He explains that the man is currently keeping vigil at a place inhabited by the cursed shades of Men, over in Harloeg. The shades there are not like the old wives' tales I might have heard about ghosts, though - for one, they seem to have no ill intent! I head all the way south, carefully making my way through the swamps without attracting too much attention from the vermin infesting the place.



I soon get to a bunch of ancient ruins in the south, where I find the man everyone's suddenly insisting I speak to. What's up, Aric? How's this particular damned spot of earth today?

Aric bids me welcome after hearing I was referred to him by several important people, and explains that this is a strange place - the shades of the long-suffering dead walk in the ruins, but I need not fear - they won't do me any harm. Indeed, they may be able to teach me much about this land! Aric knows plenty, of course, but only because he learned from the dead - they hold great secrets, terrible secrets. Ones that they clutch to their chests like fire on a winter's day. Memories keep their hearts warm, you see? No, perhaps I don't. I shall see, though, oh yes!



He says I can learn many things from them, but there is one troublesome shade called Emelin that resists all attempts at communication. Perhaps I'll succeed where he could not? Emelin is difficult, as he's bound by pride and deems the living beneath contempt. If I can prove myself, maybe he'll grant me enough status in his eyes to lend aid. I should beware - the shade will try and win my trust with pleasant words, then send me to my doom. I'll find him at the ruins of Ost Haer.

I head deeper into the ruins and come across the shade of Emelin there, who speaks in old-timey thee-and-thou English. Not in poetry form unfortunately, but I guess these shades are from another culture entirely. 'Thou drawest breath and yet thou dost wish to speak with me?' I'm not like Aric, he recognizes - he's stone-wise and knows the secrets of this land, but even he is despised for his warm flesh and bright-eyed stare. Wisdom will be mine if I prove myself worthy. He asks if I would dare to face his warriors? If I succeed, then he shall help me on my quest. If I fail, I won't see the light of another day… Almost the moment I agree several more spirits spawn in and attack, and since I'm still on my horse it takes a second to get off and grab my weapons while they wail away. They're pretty weak, though, so I prove my worthiness with a negligent slap to the incorporeal bastards.



After defeating his men, Emelin tells me that since I still draw breath, he will speak to me. He's done terrible deeds in the name of kings of old, he says. While evil corrupted this land, he and his men stood by and did nothing, ignoring their charge. Now the Red Maid serves Angmar - something they sword to prevent. Iarwain Ben-adar cursed them to live as half-dead, such was their failure. Do I understand? He'll help me in order to break the curse, but I must do yet more to secure his aid.

See, this land was corrupted by the war that was waged here. Blood, much blood, spilled into the springs of the Lady until all went red, and the springs became a swamp. The Lady, whose name is not remembered, became the Red-maid, a creature lost and corrupt. Ivar the Blood-hand came not long ago and awakened her again and claimed power over her. Now, Ivar is a greater threat than he ever was before. I must strike against him to restore the balance between man and nature. Until the Red-maid can be redeemed or destroyed, Emelin and his men are doomed to this wretched ghostly state. I must travel west to destroy the wight-lord Brudhaw and his soldiers who serve Ivar!

The shade Narthan asks me to look out for a wight named Gostoth. They were lost to Narthan through death, but the shadow in this land has returned Gostoth to life - but not as they used to be, not really. There is no memory there, no knowledge of what came before - his body rose as a wight, and must be laid to rest. The thing which inhabits his corpse now wanders the depths of the ruins west of Ost Haer. I should destroy it! Also, I should look around for something Narthan lost in those ruins when he yet lived, the last remembrance of his wife - a ring. Should I enter that place, I should search for that ring. Though it cannot end the curse, perhaps it will recall the joy that once filled his heart. He fears that even now it is on one of the bloated creatures within the ruins or the surrounding bog…



I head out into the ruins to the west, sniping various bog-wights from afar, as well as parasitic flies and other unpleasantness. High up on one of the hills in the back I find Gostoth, marching around with purpose, and slay him once again.



Further in I run across a Bog-lord and a bunch of noxious wardens which like to spray gross explosions of bile and dread in equal measure. I decide, here and now, to employ some of the tricks I gained form leveling my scholarship a bit - I got myself some fire oil! I set my weapons on fire, and I'm pleasantly surprised that the game updates all my skills to have appropriately fiery names and includes the new special traits gained by employing the flame - it's very cool. Even the sound effects change! Fire is effective, and I start mowing down a whole bunch more of these guys with decidedly less effort. See, between this and the hunter class equipment I crafted, the specialization already paid off!



Up an incline after the Bog-lord I find a pair of Arthedain shade guards near Brudhaw the Wight-lord, though he's not currently a viable target. As I approach, the wight declares that these cursed men are his, and none shall break them from Ivar's will! I object and slay Brudhaw with fiery doom, and he cries out in anguish that he has failed as he crumples to the floor.



With that success under my belt I head back to town, letting Emelin know my success. Since I kept up my part of the bargain, he says he'll speak of the past and of what is to come, now. Ancient Arnor stood here long ago, then was sundered into three nations - Arthedain, Cardolan, and Rhudaur. Arnor's light was dimmed as a result, and the hearts of Men are easily tempted to do dark deeds…

Rhudaur turned against the kingdom of Arthedain, Emelin's kingdom, for there the Dúnedain had been overthrown by an evil chieftain of the Hillmen in the service of Angmar. The warning had come much too late - for the maiden, and for Emelin. The subsequent wars corrupted this land, drowning it in the blood of the innocent. The Lady drowned as well, choking on death and evil while Emelin and his men did nothing to save her. Twice they failed their duty and seven-times cursed were they by the one the elves call Iarwain Ben-adar… Tom Bombadil. When the Lady became the Red Maid, she brought further ruin to her own home, to the land, and to beasts. She was terrible, and the men dared not face her. When there was no more living blood to spill, she slept - until Ivar woke her once more. That is the sad tale - now I should go and return to my master, and speak of the secret past. And remember the fate of the men here, and never fail in my duties…

I next let Narthan know I destroyed his brother Nostoth's shambling wight, and he muses that he's happy his dear friend can rest again - rest at last. With effort, the rest of the shades shall soon join him and know the peaceful slumber for which they yearn. Thanks to my work, he says he's drawing closer to release - and he knows that it is by my hand that this opportunity for freedom was given. I should know that the shades here will be eternally grateful in their eternal slumber. Were there warmth to one such as he, he would know it again thanks to the ring I brought back to him - he will treasure what I have done for him, and recall my efforts always. Aw, Narthan, I wish you the most restful eternal nap you could ever hope for, you nice soul, you.

I head eastwards to the wooded part of Harloeg, as there's trolls in them thar trees. Balt-ologs to be precise, which are substantially larger than most enemies and have more hit-points, but are pretty easy to take down with my current tool-set - my fire arrows are still active for part of the fights, and it does seem to help a fair amount, preventing some of the trolls from even reaching me between the DoT damage and the slowing effects of my arrows combined with kiting them.



Honestly, I remember this being a lot tougher when I played this game years and years ago - maybe a class difference, maybe later patches caused the XP grind to be less steep so you're no longer constantly underleveled and struggling. Regardless, they go down hard.

Galrîp patrols around the middle of the forest, and he looks cool - he's got spiky red-tinged armor and a cool bloody helmet on top. In terms of how tough he is, though, he's only marginally more so than his brothers, if at all.



With the last taken down, I return to the Jorthkyn camp at the Tornstones and let them know I tore the troll leader a new one. Kekkonen is glad that while their homes were lost, the creature responsible for their exile is no more, and they can find peace here in new lands. Wargs and orcs will prove more of a nuisance than a danger, really, compared to mighty trolls. When I let him know I slew a bunch more trolls too and gathered various historical artifacts from their remains, Kekkonen says I possess strength beyond what he believed little people were capable of, and I have earned their trust and given them hope.

Kekkonen decides to accept the offer from the Eglain because of my assistance, as I have shown the Jorthkyn that there is strength in the little people too. I should return to my folk and tell them that they might come to the Tornstones and speak with the Jorthkyn and be friends. I let Frideric know, and he's thoroughly pleased - the Eglain have found new allies in this world, and they'll work with the Jorthkyn to form a bulwark against the evil creeping here. Now, it's time to focus our attention towards the Red Swamp to the north!

I return to Radagast in his tower, relaying the tale of the Red Maid, and he laments that it's a terrible fate for anyone… and this Ivar is a fearsome foe. He prays those youths are found safe and sound… What's that? Ah, but I don't know what's been going on, do I? While I was in Harloeg, two bold Eglan youths set out to save Ost Guruth, ignorant of the dangers they would face. They have to be turned from their quest - pride and honor might compel them, but only death awaits! Else and Eriac entered Agamaur with a small company to find the power behind the threat to their people, but if the Gaunt-lord Ivar has come to Agamaur, he fears they face a power they cannot overcome. They need my help!



The Red Swamp is divided into two regions, Radagast lays out. The southern marshes, Haragmar, are familiar to me. Elsa and Eriac entered Agamaur, the northern marshes, through the Red-pass which separates the two. It's a passage known only to the Eglain people… and Radagast himself. He'll accompany me there, for the shadow that has come to Agamaur is too powerful for me to deal with alone. There's no telling what evil awaits us in the swamp, so I should return to him when I am prepared to leave.

 

[WestOrEast]

I'm really impressed at how quickly you're pushing out updates. Make sure not to burn yourself out, though.

 

[Roarian]

Lone-lands (Part 6)

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Instance: Red-pass

You have travelled with Radagast into the corrupted swamp of Agamaur. Aid him as he travels to the Eglain-encampment to the west.​

Entering Agamaur for the first time through this instance is - creepy. Unlike the Bloodmire outside, which was little more than a regular swamp with red-tinted waters giving the place a weird look, we're now into full-on War of the Worlds territory with red soil, craggy, diseased-looking black trees with reddish or dark green leaves and crooked roots peeking out of the ground, pools of glowing red water surrounding ancient chunks of ruins, and a spooky filter over everything. Radagast stands out like a beacon of light in this dark place, the only part of it that's remotely friendly-looking.



Radagast explains that we must go further west to find the Eglain encampment where Elsa and Eriac will be waiting, so he can better attend the corruption from there. The power which continues to corrupt this swamp is terrible, but it might be we won't have to face it alone - the beasts tell him that there are shades like Emelin's which dwell here and might be convinced to aid the Eglain. Radagast doesn't know why they do not remain with their own kind, but they at least have brought no harm to the Eglain, so that's something. Now, we should hurry - the very trees here scream in pain. He must see what he can do to help them as soon as possible. He tells me to follow him, though he warns me that he cannot promise aid in battle - he will all his strength to face Ivar the Blood-hand and can't afford to spend it too widely before that encounter.

As we wander through the swamp, there are some enemies to deal with - not only are there living roots like the ones in the Old Forest, but corrupted huorns call this place home and rip themselves out of the earth to assault me. Radagast summons a murder of ravens to assist me, calling them friends.



He then walks over to a regular fox, a harmless background animal, and asks it what troubles it - the corruption has affected everything here, hasn't it? He promises to help the fox, then tells it to follow us - and it does. A little further in, a huge Dourroot tree attacks and Radagast warns me about its approach, then laments that such a great tree must leave this earth - but I should hurry. You don't have to ask me twice!



Radagast takes pause at a frog, next, and muses to it that he could not agree more - there are some beautiful ponds here. Come along now, little frog, and follow him to safety! We come to a closed gate, and Radagast detects it's been sealed by some evil power, but he believes he can open it. Flexing a bit of his wizardly power, he manages to get us through. After a couple more evil trees, we stumble across a rabbit, and Radagast strikes up another conversation, asking it why it's here. Apparently the answer is nothing good, as he tells it to follow us like the rest of the woodland critters. A little further in he finds a squirrel who offers him an acorn, and it's asked where it keeps finding acorns in this corrupt place. Radagast is such a weirdo...



Leaving the open swamp behind at last, we arrive at a ruined archway defended by a host of wights and several animated grasping limbs that flop about on their own. They stay pretty passive until we approach too closely, but even five enemies are no match to light kiting, especially since Radagast apparently likes to do a bit of buffing instead of direct combat, and the arm mobs are truly the slowest possible foes even before I bring them a complete crawl. Eh. After taking care of that I follow Radagast through the arch to find Dannasen, a shade, waiting for us. Radagast asks where the Eglain have gone from here, but the shade can't tell us since his superior Neven has ordered him to hold his post no matter what. Radagast suspects there is more to learn here, and asks me to give it a try. He must go tend to the safety of his little friends! He takes his petting zoo and heads towards a nearby ancient tower to find them a place to hide.

I chat with Dannasen, who repeats that Neven ordered him to hold his post, and he must obey. He's the commander, and Dannasen is under his charge, as are the rest of his men. Honor binds them, even greater than the curse of Iarwain Ben-adar, Tom Bombadil. He won't forsake his commander, though he has changed very much - he still can't disobey his orders while he remains. If I wish the shades to fight, I must entreat Neven, whose seat of power is to the north.



Figuring I might as well try, I head a little ways north and east to find more wights on a raised platform - and these I can't attack. Climbing the stairs, I find Neven's corpse transformed into a Wight-lord who is sitting on a stone throne surrounded by the decorations of a fallen nation, with a pair of wight bodyguards.

Neven stands up and declares that my presence here is unwelcome, but amusing. What did I hope to accomplish here, he wonders? It will not matter soon, for he will claim my bones for Ivar - for Ivar and the Red-maid! Arise, brethren, there is life to claim here! I quickly slay the wights and move on to taking down Neven, who angrily proclaims Angmar's army will defeat me - even as he's crumbling to dust beneath my weapons.



Neven has a really fancy chair, and it's pretty awesome in design - there's the face of a human king there with a many-pointed crown and a long beard twisted like roots to form the back of the chair. Atop it are two hands holding two spheres - Palantíri, perhaps? I feel like this particular chair model is reused a bunch in other places, it seems wasted on this out of the way corner of nowhere…



I return to Dannasen and he's aghast that Neven had been turned into a wight - a fell creature of Angmar! How could he have not seen it? Long has he lingered in this swamp after being cursed to bring salvation - or destruction - to the Red-maid, she who dwells within Garth Agarwen, a Power which is now under the influence of the gaunt-men. He was blind to what Neven had become. Now, he shall make amends. Now, the shades shall make their battle and strive to fulfill their curse! He then calls out in his whispery shade-tongue that their oaths hold true - to arms, to arms brethren! It is time to fight Ivar and the Red-maid for Iarwain Ben-adar! With that, a small army of shades congregates around their new leader…

Dannasen sets off in the direction I originally came, warrior-shades manifesting and following him in that direction. Radagast comes rushing out of the tower too and is pleased that I managed to spur the shades into action, and says we should follow them quickly. It's a pretty epic moment as I'm chasing these charging warrior-ghosts across the desolate landscape with Radagast at my side, as Dannasen declares that it's time to storm the gates.



As we come to said gates, close to where we started the instance, several wretched and grim wights bar our way, snarling that Ivar warned them of people such as us, but that Angmar's army shall stop me. None shall pass this place! He commands his minions to slay us, even as the shades move on and start battling various wights all around the ruins to keep them busy and off my back.

There's a bunch of fighting here, with several wights that pop out of the ground after the first ones go down, replenishing their ranks - Radagast isn't much help here, but he does seem to occasionally buff or heal me, so I won't complain. Dannasen tells me that there are others like me ahead, so I should watch my step and follow. I make my way across some fairly precarious stone bridges towards a more central location inhabited by a bunch of mery much alive Eglain from Ost Guruth, though some seem pretty spent and tired. Among them are Elsa the Bold and Eriac the Strong. Ah, Radagast had feared the worst, but he's glad to find them both hale and hearty!



Elsa greets Radagast happily, but he chides her for coming to this cursed place so hastily - he told her it was folly to try! Elsa acknowledges that the old wizard was right, and shall know better in the future. Radagast tell her she shouldn't feel too badly, since it was still a great feat to get as far in as she did! He then turns to me and warns me that he senses our journey here is nearly at an end. I should rest now and speak to Elsa to learn what I may from her battles. Her insights might prove useful in the fight ahead. I speak to one of the defenders and he tells me that they lost many people on the way here - the wights were too many, and the Gaunt-lord cannot be defeated! He declares that they should flee, and then apologizes and tells me to speak to Elsa instead, as his will is too badly shaken to be of any use right now.

Elsa admits that her little invasion force was beaten - there's no hiding from that. This Ivar commands the water, the wights, the very forest itself. He cannot be beaten by her meager force, and she fears there is something far more terrible yet in the ruins to the north. She knows there is little time before some great evil spills forth from Garth Agarwen. Her only hope is Radagast, as only he might be able to stop Ivar. She bids me to go north to the gate of Garth Agarwen with him and stop the Gaunt-lord Ivar there. I head off the ramp towards Radagast, and he tells me that Ivar is not far from here, and while he might not reveal himself immediately, he'll come if we draw him forth. He also tells me that while the road ahead will be difficult, I should not give up hope, for we will triumph today if we do not lose heart!

I fight down to the red water below, taking dome more wights and disembodied arms. At the bottom we travel through the knee-high pools when the red water coalesces into fearsome murkwaters, red water-shades which glow an eerie red in this swamp.



I take a whole bunch of them out while Radagast helpfully begins healing me of my wounds, backing me up against them, even as more spawn. Before long Radagast bids Ivar to show himself already, and the Gaunt-lord does make an appearance, descending the steps and asking who dared to call him forth - have they come to sacrifice themselves like others? He acknowledges the 'fool in brown,' and declares Agamaur is lost, as is the River-maiden! (I was right!!)



Radagast tells Ivar to cease his prattling tongue, as it has no power over him. Ivar says we'll see about that, and Radagast pulls a page from Gandalf's book and says that he trusts in the Secret Fire, thus Ivar has no power over him! 'The power of abyss is mine to command! You shall not stand!' Ivar declares as he attempts to magically compel the Gaunt-lord. Radagast returns by saying nature is his to command… and calling down a lightning strike! Holy shit! Ivar decides he's had enough of this, and shall waste his time no longer, as the Red-maid shall have us all soon enough! With that Ivar slinks off, though Radagast shouts after him that he should not trust in his power over the River-maiden, as she shall be freed from his clutches soon enough!

After Ivar leaves, Radagast tells me that Ivar might command great power, but against a heart full of hope and trust in one's allies, such power means nothing. He thanks me for my help here, saying I have done well this day. Ivar's spreading corruption has stayed, at least for the moment. We must now return to the Eglain encampment and help end this evil forever - there's more that can be done around here, if I am willing. But we won't speak of such matters right this moment.

---

After returning to the normal map, I find myself in Agamaur, at the camp of Elsa and Eriac inside the ruin of Barad Dhorn. I talk to them briefly, but they tell me to speak to Radagast, who's decided to copy his Ost Guruth routine and took over a nearby tower for his purposes.

Eriac tells me that I should prove myself fit to help rid them of the armies that are being raised here. Ivar has the power to summon evil spirits and instill them into the remains of the dead, of which the swamp is not lacking. This evil cannot be allowed to grow in power, so I should head to the southwestern reach of Agamaur where there are many ruins teeming with wights, and destroy the gaunt-men who command them. If I kill those protectors, the curse binding the wights might be broken. He's not sure if this will succeed, but it can't be bad to get rid of the gaunt-men from the Enemy's service! There is also a terror in the swamp which is leading the dead - Reykur remains in command of the wight-army, and according to Radagast he's one of Ivar's most trusted minions. I should slay him to rid the wights of guidance. He's sure I'll find him skulking in the wights' camp…

Eriac goes on to admit that he fears for his people's safety. While the shades I brought to their aid strike against the enemy in their efforts to find the Red-maid they speak of, they cannot hold back the great tide alone. In the eastern reaches of Agamaur the water itself has risen up, as though taking a life of its own, and these creatures of water they've named gloomwaters. How is it possible to fight the very waters of the swamp, though? They'll have to try. Eriac explains that as these things swirl up from the depths, they pull with them ancient tokens of Rhudaur and Arthedain, so I should bring those along as signs of my effort against them.

Inside a nearby tower I first find a small variety of woodland critters, before climbing a familiar set of stairs to Radagast's new study.



This one is pretty identical to the one in Ost Guruth, except he has basically no books in his bookcases and there's a petting zoo. Cute. The wizard's talking to himself, or the animals, as he natters that his new research shall do nicely. He intends to stay here and help the Eglain fight against Ivar, as he cannot allow innocent creatures to be used for such evil purposes. The Eglain and the Arthedain shade were able to stop Ivar's forces for now - but Radagast still has work to do, and tells me that he needs to get going, and to speak to Elsa for now to learn more of what I can do to help. Okay, that was brusque!

Radagast then gives me a backhanded compliment by saying that I've done quite well and impressed him despite being an elf - he finds my kind often lack the sense that his little animal friends possess, but I have shown greater understanding. Thanks? He needs me to do something, of course, which he shudders to ask about. The corrupted huorns and their shepherds, the bog-lurkers, must be destroyed. He can sense that there is no reclamation for these poor creatures, which is a terrible tragedy, but he sees no other recourse that would be more merciful than their destruction. He's also greatly concerned that their corruption was not the work of Ivar the Blood-hand…

He has yet more to say, explaining that my efforts in Agamaur are commendable, but perhaps not enough. The very swamp itself has been corrupted, and he doesn't just mean decayed, for that is a natural progression of life in such places, but rather that evil has seeped into the very essence of the place. If I would, I should return to the swamp and gather the bark from some tree-stumps, as Radagast needs to collect parts from some living things which inhabit Agamaur to discover how Ivar corrupted this place. There's many stumps to the north-west which I can get some bark from.

Despite earlier comments that he needed to set off, Radagast just keeps sitting there and tells me that he's learned from Dannasen that the swamp was corrupted long ago during the wars, and the continued corruption is the work of a creature he calls the Red-maid. He gleaned that the Red-maid was once one of the gentle River-maidens who fell to the terrible corruption of her lands, and her hand now destroys all it touches. Alas, there's a great huorn here, Gloomleaf, which has been swayed by the Red-maid's grasp and its hatred stirs the other huorns in turn. Sadly, this old and great creature must be destroyed, so he asks me to find Gloomleaf somewhere in the northwest and put it to rest.

You know, I feel like this quest-line was paced better once upon a time - it's not the first time I've noticed that sequencing seems rather out of whack, but never as obviously as in the Lone-lands. I imagine that originally you'd be given these quests piece-meal so you needed to take multiple visits into the swamp, slowly expanding your understanding of what's going on and allowing Radagast time to study and talk to NPCs in your absence. Now, though, half a dozen quests are just dumped into your log at once to complete concurrently. It's certainly a faster way of getting things done, and I can't imagine repeated trips to the same area are very exciting, but puzzling out the story of these places isn't made any easier and the drama is a bit lost.

This might also explain why I got the go-ahead to visit Radagast immediately without doing the entire 'make friends with the Eglain' questline provided by Gadaric and Hunulf. I imagine originally you'd actually need to quest around the region to get enough clout to be allowed in, instead of just getting fast-tracked so players who outlevel the area can move on instead of being forced to complete more menial tasks. Exchanging dramatic tension and story progression for expediency - I'm not sure I like that.

Outside, Eriac has more to say after my visit to Radagast - he says that the western stretches of Agamaur teem with creatures long dead which now stalk the ruins, so he asks me to destroy the wights who have stirred back to life.



Nearby, the shade Dannasen says he owes me a debt for freeing him and his brothers from wight control. It was the Angmarim and the Hillmen of Rhudaur who caused the bloodshed which corrupted the maiden, and who are to blame for the curse which binds the shades, so time has come for retribution. His brothers in the south must be made to understand, to be brought evidence of the evil, so I should go to the Rhudauran camp in the north-east and gather satchels which the hillmen there carry. With my help, they shall learn of the corruption and remember the curse!

Long have the shades awaited their chance to strike down the Men who caused the destruction of this land. Now, that time draws closer, the time when they will fulfill their duty and end this curse. But no, they shall not simply end the curse and nothing else. They will seek out vengeance, and deliver it unto the descendants of the Enemy who still feed hatred and sacrifice innocents to this land. I should tarry not to deliver this vengeance! The hillmen are gathered again to the north-east, so I should strike them down and show them that the memories of the dead are not gone, and the shades do not forgive either.



I talk to Elsa, who says I've done much to keep this foothold in Agamaur, but if they're to hold the line they'll need supplies. She bids me to bring a letter to Frideric back in Ost Guruth, as well as a pack to her sister Hana to let her know that Elsa still lives. She's alone now, and she worries for her sibling. She tells me to head back out the southern passage to Haragmar, and from there to the city. I should hurry back and tell folks all is well - for the moment!

Before that, I've got stuff to do around here. While there's yet more quests to get, they're all related to the local instance cluster for fellowships - and I'm not going to take those on solo. I'm not sure if they level up with the player or if they just become super-easy at later levels when you are way too powerful for them, but I imagine if I get around to finishing them I'll put out a special post summarizing that content on its own. For now, Agamaur. Taking out some wights is easy, as there's shambling ones right next door. After that I head out to do other tasks - gathering moss from corrupted stumps, slaying a bunch of corrupted huorns and bog-lurkers, and killing Gloomleaf.



I then go peeking around ruins to find the fairly well-hidden Gaunt protectors who have an entourage of adds to help them out while they try to summon more minions. I need only three, though, so it's not hard to get rid of them. Climbing a tall ruin I find Reykur, minion of misery, who dies pretty quickly to my blows. Kind of a disappointed given the dramatic setting.



Afterwards I make my way east and fight a bunch of gloomwaters, red water-spirits like before, before challenging some hillmen nearby who can occasionally hit like a truck - presumably because they're intended as enemies for small groups instead of solo adventurers. Regardless I take them down, taking special note of the so-called novices which are the strongest of the bunch, before wading back through gloomwater territory to the safety of Barad Dhorn. That was quite a circuitous trip around this place, and I had to go hunt for specific enemies a bunch!



After reporting my deeds to the people at Barad Dhorn, I receive an endless slew of 'well done' messages without much in the way of follow-up, presumably because all the quest-lines were spread out instead of kept sequential. A bunch more quests unlocked related to Garth Agarwen, the instance here, but I'll be back to take care of that particular dangling thread at some later point - I feel like taking on Ivar the Blood-hand in a proper boss-fight should be neat, and I am sure the Red Maid (or Red-maid) for which the Epic chapter is named is a nice bow to tie around the Lone-lands. For now, though, I should head back to Frideric at Ost Guruth and see what's up…

As I arrive back in town I meet up with Hana and let her know that Elsa lives, which pleases her very much. She admits she fears for her sister, since the swamp is such a threatening place full of terrors, but she knows that what she does is for the good of the Eglain. Now, he supposed I should go deliver that letter to Frideric. Before I go, though, there's something else - the Eglain are ever short on supplies, and rely in some measure on the Forsaken Inn. If my travels bring me back there, could I ask Old Mugwort about a delivery of oatmeal to Ost Guruth? …Uh, sure.

I head back to Frideric, who compliments me on safely braving the swamp, since that's not easy - my courage is remarkable! Elsa confirmed as much in her letter, speaking quite highly of me. He promises he'll immediately start preparing a shipment of supplies for the wayward outpost in the swamp. He then tells me received a message from a man - perhaps I know him? A Ranger by the name of Candaith. The details are vague, but apparently I urgently need to talk to him concerning the movements of the enemy up in the North Downs. He's staying near Weathertop, and I suppose I know where?

I ride back west and hit up the inn, where I speak to Anlaf since Old Mugwort is still elsewhere. He doesn't have any oatmeal to give, and there's little to done about it since the supply has dried up because of some problems that have been going on up at Oatbarton. A cousin of Old Mugwort lives in the town, a Bounder by the name of Nod Gardener, and he says there's all sorts of problems there that the Bounders can't solve by themselves. I look like I can handle myself, so maybe I could swing by there in Evendim and do some good? There won't be any oatmeal deliveries until the mess is resolved! He tells me that I can find Oatbarton by heading north from Brockenborings in the Shire, crossing across Bree-land first. Yeah… later. I'll probably overlevel this area a bunch by going to the North Downs first, but I'm not going to skip out on it.

I ride to Weathertop once more to speak to Candaith, who explains that he called me over here to tell me that Esteldin sent word that I'm to go there to speak to Halbarad. I need to hurry, since orc fires burn hot and strong, and each moment wasted is another opportunity for the enemy! Estelsin, Halbarad? I recognize some of these words. It seems my next goal is in the North Downs, so I take a trip back west to Bree first to stock up and finish some loose ends. One of those is my Hunter class quest, the one sent in the mail earlier - Flambard Took once again sends me west to speak with Gytha Lainey at Adso's camp. Apparently she's looking for my help, and it's somewhat urgent, so I should head over! As I look at the possible quest-rewards my eyes gleam - a bow that's a solid 15 dps upgrade over my current one? Let's mosey!



I get to Adso's camp in record time with dollar signs in my eyes, and she says she's glad I came with haste. She's not sure who else to trust to help her with this - few hunters have proven themselves as I have, as the demise of Yellowfang is unmatched proof of my worth. Yellowfang is a mere pup compared to the danger of which she's learned now, however - a hunting-party of wargs, a greater breed of wolves, have come out of the north and are even now making their way into the land of the Little Folk, Hobbits. What little she could learn from the frightened people of the North Downs told her that these wargs are looking for one of their number who came south and disappeared.

This search might have brought them to the Shire, but when they find a wealth of defenseless 'morsels' they'll surely forget their mission and prey upon the people there. We have to find and stop these wargs before they reach any towns, so we should get over there quickly!

---

Instance: A Hunter's Charge

I agree, and we pop up in the Bindbole Word in the Shire, once again in twilight with a glossy filter, much like the fight with Yellowfang before. Gytha is relieved that we're not too late - we've arrived before the wargs got there, but she doesn't know how long we'll have before they reach this place. I should quickly run into town and tell everyone to go inside their homes and not to come back out until the danger has passed - and I shouldn't take no for an answer. Their lives depend on doing what we say! Meanwhile, she'll try to see how far the creatures may have come since she lost their trail.

I run down to the little hobbit town and speak to the folks there. Gammer Boffin is confused about what a warg is, but he figures they don't have any business coming to Overhill, and he doesn't mind saying it. It's late, and he was planning on going inside soon anyway, so he'll turn in for the night and hope this has all blown over in the morning. Otho Broadbelt is disturbed by my warning, worried that his cart has run into trouble and will be stuck outside. He'll shelter with his friend Everard until this has passed. Postman Boffin quickly heads inside as well, and Hart Holeman notes that if these wargs are anything like the big black bear that's caused him no end of grief, they'll surely be fierce! He'll go inside now, no questions asked!



With all the hobbits safe I catch back up with Gytha, who compliments me on my good work - now, at least the hobbits here should be safe, even if we should fail to stop the wargs. Judging from the direction of the tracks before she lost the trail the wargs must be in Bindbole Word by now, so I should look towards the north and try to stop them before they reach town. They'll have split up and are probably prowling cautiously southwards. She'll try to stop any that reach town, but she's counting on me to defeat as many as I can before they get close - if too many arrive in Overhill at once, she'll be overwhelmed and all hope of stopping the creatures will be gone! Ego much, lady?

I run north out of town and soon realize that there's invisible walls penning me in, limiting the range where the wargs might be hiding. Belatedly I realize I have animal-tracking skills, and use them to sneak up on the wargs, who are not actually that far apart from each other and aren't terribly strong. The only one with any real bite is the named leader, Laugzok, who takes a bit of a beating.



After finishing off enough to update my quest I head back to town, having prevented any from reaching my backup at all, and she thanks me heartily for my help. The people of Overhill would have been helpless without me, and it does her heart good to know that these people were saved from the ravages of war.

She's pretty sure that the wargs won't come here again, not for a while, and wonders what exactly brought them here in the first place. I'm sure I'll find out, sooner or later, probably in another Hunter quest… Anyway, for now it's time to head back to Adso's place.

---

Gytha compliments me on my work, saying I was up to the task, and now the wargs know that too! She charges me with this: to always maintain my focus, as a true Hunter does not stray from their path, no matter the distractions. Ehehehe, about that. I quickly snatch my shiny new bow, Cufaron, from her hands and make off to do a hundred minor side-quests instead of whatever highly urgent task I'm supposed to be pursuing…

It's time to head for the North Downs...

 

[WestOrEast]

Radagast returns by saying nature is his to command… and calling down a lightning strike!

Click to shrink...

While I suppose lightning falls under the category of nature, it's still a bit of an escalation from talking to animals that can fit in your hand! Good way to show that Radagast has something to back himself up with, though.

 

[Roarian]

North Downs (Part 1)

Having finished my work in the Lone-lands, it's time to head for another pretty barren and lifeless region of Eriador, the North Downs, where orcs apparently invaded and have been laying siege to the town of Trestlebridge, at least as far as context clues have suggested. I dash northwars past Hengstacer Farm in Bree-land and keep going past the orcs and hills until I see signs of new flora. The bright greens and deciduous trees start making way for more pine trees and grey, rocky sheer cliff faces as I head further north and reach colder climates, the grass taking on a more muted, darker color as I approach a town.



Trestlebridge shares some features with Bree, as another human settlement within a relatively short distance, and is largely laid out in a north-south configuration, with a small westwards bulge towards the Wildwood, a zone that might come up a good while later on.



A little ways in, signs of problems arise - much of the western side of the town is ruined, full of smoking collapsed buildings with the occasional flame still licking at the blackened wood. A man along the way laments that they came upon the town in the night and were everywhere, and they lost so many, so many… The orcish invasion of this place has clearly not done it any favors.



I soon come across Captain Trotter next to Nellie Boskins' House, and he snarls that he has half a mind to lock up every last guard in this sorry excuse for a town after they let this catastrophe take place. Look at the town, people were burned out of their homes and ash is falling like snow! Aggy Digweed was the only one who kept her mind intact during the attack, and if not for her they'd all be dead. Nobody even remembers much of what happened - just Aggy, running to and fro rousing everyone from their beds. He swears he'll see Talbot Hinton hanged for letting this happen, mark his words! Hm, might be worthwhile looking Aggy up and hearing what's going on…



A little further in I find Marla Shelton, who wonders if I'm here to help - so many have gone missing or wandered out to seek help, but only a few of them have returned. Every night, it seems that the orcs grow more aggressive and threatening! Trestlebridge could use a hero. Guardsman Otley hears that I came in from the direction of Bree and is glad the messengers there made it safe and sound. Now that I'm here, it's good to have another sword-arm for the cause! I run to the far north of town, to the covered bridge connecting it to the world beyond, the Trestlespan. Aggy Digweed is there (yes, I know) keeping watch, noting that Captain Trotter is very preoccupied with punishing those who slept through the attack, but she's much more concerned about what might happen if people let down their guard again. She hasn't slept in two days, but won't abandon her post - would I help her?



Aggy refuses to abandon her guard to investigate the carnage left by the previous night's attack, but figured I could help by having a look around. I could search the destroyed part of town and figure how this could have happened. The explosion was deafening - why did nobody wake up? What caused this mayhem? She's never heard of anything like it in her life… On my way south towards the exploded buildings I see Talbot Hinton locked up in stocks, and he's relieved that someone is willing to hear him out. Yes, he was on guard duty on the night of the blast, but he did not fall asleep! Well, he did, but he can't remember anything about it. It's like he was drugged. He only remembers Aggy waking up by shaking him, and fires roaring all around him. Almost everyone slept through the thunderous blast. How can I explain that? But Captain Trotter won't hear any of it…

I climb around the charred remains of buildings looking for clues, and come across a curious black powder in various places, apparently contained within small barrels. I return it to Captain Trotter, who is amazed at this strange incendiary powder - who would do such a thing? He doesn't like this at all, but wants to know how the stuff came to be here, and more than that, he wants to prevent it from ever happening again.



I should speak to Aggy at the span and see if she knows anything about this black-fire stuff. Heading north, Elsie Woodruff tells me that she needs my help too - with the town under threat of more orc attacks, everyone's doing their part in shoring up defenses. She's been charged with getting supplies to maintain the barricade inside the span.

The problem is that outlying farmers were supposed to be bringing in some of the necessary goods, but their farms were overrun by orcs. They barely escaped with their lives and the orcs took their supplies. She'd send for supplies from the south instead, but orcs block that route as well! Someone needs to retrieve those stolen supplies, and quickly. The three things she needs most are a barrel of nails, a crate of hammers, and a crate of saws. The orcs should still have them somewhere at their camps in the north-east. I let Aggy know about the black powder and she concludes that the orcs must have brought it with them, as they've been popping up more and more from the pass of Nan Wathren to the north-east. They must have some magic they're using to bring down the town and choke off the Greenway. We can't let them - they tried to destroy Trestlebridge once, and they'll surely try again if we don't take the fight to them!

I ride across the Trestlespan and onto the grass beyond, and here there's a sudden new development - those mundane quests about killing a certain amount of enemies, a named mini-boss, or gathering arbitrary items? Yeah, they're no longer given by random NPCs in town here, but instead pop up as 'remote quests' which are automatically accepted as I run around doing things. Sometimes just going somewhere is enough, other times there's foes running around with quest rings and killing them gets me a task to kill a bunch of them. The first one here requests me to kill a total of eight Tarkrîp orcs. The upside is that there's not as much quest bloat - I rarely have more than a couple quests to complete since finishing the requirements also means I can remotely complete the quest without reporting in with a town. On the other hand, none of these quests have even the semblance of a story - they're just arbitrary murder-goals or an equivalent.

I go around hunting orcs and eventually crebain for another remote quest. I then come across a small camp of orcs where I find a cauldron with a vile bubbling liquid - it turns out to be an orcish sleeping draught, so I take a sample and destroy the rest. I pick up a torch from nearby and set fire to a stack of black-fire crates as well, setting them alight before they can be used to blow up more buildings. There's also a barrel of nails here, which I take. Efficiency!



The next camp has a similar setup with a cauldron, crates, and a crate of hammers - I sense a pattern. While looting orcs, though, I pick up an old map-page of some historical significance from their remains, and a remote quest tells me to collect more. Sure! I make my way up to the larger orc encampment on a hill, surrounded by walls instead of out in the open, and start taking stolen goods there to take back to town. Inside I find the book that the lost pages belong to, so that's a boon!



I track down the last camp of orcs with a cauldron, some black fire crates, and a crate of saws - that's all she wrote. After giving a quick look at the area northwards - which looks pretty different in terms of biome - I finish off the last crebain and orcs I need.



I finish the torn-apart map book and conclude it will surely be better off in the hands of the people of Trestlebridge rather than a bunch of orcs! I then rush back towards the Trestlespan to inform people of everything I've accomplished in the surrounding area.

Aggy is surprised at how much fire-powder I found, and wonders if it was all destined for Trestlebridge, or perhaps they were planning to bring it along to Bree once they were all dead. Evil surrounds us, mark her words - she's never seen orcs dare to come this close, or interfere with their lives other than to scare travelers on the road. She's never seen this many of them, either. I should let Captain Trotter know about this. I drop off the tools I found with Elsie, who thanks me profusely, but has something else for me to do. You see, the other thing she needs for the barricade is word. In the past they'd fell trees in Nan Wathren, but that place is now filled with orcs. The town was so desperate for lumber, in fact, that her husband Mattie and her brother Noll Tobbit risked leaving town and went north along the Greenway proper in search of trees to fell. It's been long since they were heard from, and she's worried something terrible has happened. Could I search the Greenway for them?

I let the captive guard Talbot know that I found evidence that the orcs brought sleeping-drugs along for their raid, and he's relieved that I have proof he wasn't responsible for his sleepiness. I have to show the Captain at once, so he can be set free! Further south I speak to Marla again, who is amazed I found the Founder's Book - she never thought she'd see it again. While it's in rough shape, she thinks I found most of the torn out pages, so she can go about repairing it. Wonderful! She's given it up for lost.



Captain Trotter listens intently when I describe what I found and sniffs at the potion flask I give him. He is not pleased at the thought that orcs are brewing these foul concoctions, as this means that they've apparently taken to using sabotage when their raids have repeatedly dashed themselves against the defenses at the Trestlespan. He reluctantly says Talbot can be freed from the stocks, but says that the guards must be on alert for any suspicious travelers from this point on. It's a sad day for Trestlebridge. I also let him know about the black fire crates I found, and he muses that if orcs were the ones to set the explosives, how come nobody saw them come into town? Hopefully I've ensured that they won't be back for the same misschief soon, giving the town time to rebuild, but there are still mysteries to be solved here…

I release poor Talbot from the stocks, and he thanks me for my help, and wonders if I've ever suffered the same indignity. It's not a comfortable experience, he assures me! He worries that Trotter was ready to hang him for what happened, so perhaps I even saved his life!



Captain Trotter figures that with this debacle dealt with, we should move on to other issues. He wonders if I found the brewers of the foul potion I discovered? When I deny that, he admits that it's dire news, since it means the enemy's influence stretches beyond the immediate area. He has the troubling notion that Nan Wathren has fallen to orcs. It's a dangerous place at the best of times, but if I wish to help Trestlebridge once and for all, I should wipe out the orc presence there.

Aggy points out that it's similarly unclear how the black powder got into town at all - there's many travelers here, since the town lies on the Greenway. Still, she did hear rumors about an ugly, mean-looking man that came through the previous night. She didn't see him personally, but he made a few folks uneasy and was already gone by the time she went to look for him. Folks claimed he looked more than a little orcish - have I ever heard of such a thing? Ah, half-orc involvement, huh? Between that and the explosive powder, I can guess who's behind this. I set out past the span again and ride north to find Noll Tobbit and Mattie Woodruff camping next to the road.

I tell Mattie that Elsie sent me, and he's glad to hear it. See, they ran afoul of some orcs, and they're fortunate to have gotten away with their lives. But our cart over here, well, it didn't make it out quite as nicely, and it's now missing a wheel. No matter how many trees they fell, they're not getting them back to town without fixing that wheel first! He figures Trestlebridge wouldn't have the wood to spare to make a new one, so he suggests another option - plenty of farmers got overrun by orcs, and while their stuff was stolen and their carts broken up, there might still be a wagon wheel or three that can be salvaged. He doubts they dragged the carts all the way to Nan Wathren though, so he suggests looking in the nearby orc camp for something that would work and get it back here.



I barely have to search for a cart-wheel, as I find one lying next to one of the smaller outside camps a stone's throw away from the questgivers, surrounded by a handful of pretty weak orcs. I bring it back, and Mattie thinks it'll work - it's a bit smaller than the other wheel so the ride will be rough, but as long as they get the lumber back to town, all is fine! While Noll and he go about putting the wheel on the cart, he asks me to go back to Elsie and tell her that all's well. Once the cart is fixed they'll take down a few more trees and head home. They couldn't have done it without me, so I get another round of congratulations - but I should get going, it wouldn't do to wait around for more orcs to show up!

Heading over to the bigger camp this time I find Lugbas, the half-orc schemer behind the explosion in town. He realizes he's been made and shouts that Sharkey couldn't stop him, and I won't either! Interesting.



After taking him down I head back to Trestlebridge to let Aggy know, and she's glad I got rid of the ugly brute, and admits the town will be less welcoming to outsiders now, just out of pragmatism. If such a man would enter unhindered again, and wreak such havoc once more, the town will never feel safe again. Orcs creep ever closer to the gates - these are dangerous times. She figures that I helped the town a lot, but she can see I'm ready to be on my way, so she has some advice. I should follow the Greenway north, but refrain from passing into the shadowed fields beyond - turn east at the crossroads, never north. I'd best follow her advice!

I reassure Ellie that Mattie and Noll are both fine, and she goes: 'Bless you, bless you!' It's the best news she's heard in many days, as she was fearing the very worst. Thankfully her worries were for naught! She just hopes they hurry up and get back already, as she doesn't think she'll get a wink of rest until they're back. I head out and decide to take a peek at Nan Wathren. The entire area is basically without an overarching story - it's several large orc-filled areas in a valley with mundane quests like killing a certain number of orcs, destroy some siege machines, destroy siege plans, and taking out a brewer of foul potions. Technically this stuff is group-oriented, but since I'm a bunch of levels above them and I can kite, I mostly just run roughshod over the entire place aside from the 'boss.'



At the very top of Nan Wathren I find a deeper area called Hîgropor, which is where wargs can be found, as well as higher-tier orcs. I can mostly take these guys down, but more than one is tempting death, so I put those off until I've gotten a couple more levels under my belt and I can clean up the remainder. It's similar to how I eventually intend to explore the group content for previous areas when I can safely solo it. This mostly just applies to world content, dungeons are for a large part scaled to whatever level you go in with, so you can never really solo those. Might find some kinship/guild who will team up to take them on, though, that'd be nice.

After heading north - nothing to turn in since it was all just remote quests in there - I pass a signpost which points to a dark land to the north, Fornost. This is where I was warned to turn east, but I see the flicker of a campfire from the corner of my eye, up a small hill and behind the broken remnants of a wall. There, in the gloomy atmosphere of the fields beyond, I find a trio of people - Mincham the Ranger, Idhremmin the elf, and Colbert the Mad. Mincham welcomes me and tells me that if I'm in need of a warm fire or a meal, I'm welcome to join this strange company. They don't get many people on the edge of Fornost - what errand could possibly bring me here?



He introduces himself as a protector of these lands, and his duty bids him to keep watch over the Fields of Fornost, since they have grown dark and evil. Wise folk don't come anywhere near this place. He also introduces Colbert the Mad - that's what he likes to call himself - who wandered out of the field one day and sat himself down at the fire. It was a while ago, and he hasn't left.



Colbert stares at me with amusement and claims that he came out of Fornost and lived to tell the tale - he doesn't really remember a time before that, but he knows he walked the dark fields and saw many things. He recognizes me as Brulindir the Mad - yes, I must be mad too, to come to this place! There are ghosts here, yes, and evil spirits, and more terrible than any are the bears!



Mincham then introduces Idhremmin, their vigilante outlook - he speaks rarely and smiles never, but his watchful presence easies his fears and lets him sleep better at night, so he doesn't begrudge the elf his silence. He came from Meluinen far to the south-east, but he's not sure why. Idhremmin, of course, doesn't say anything to me. After an uncomfortable moment of staring at each other, he looks away and seems to listen to distant sounds only he can hear. Mincham explains that the elf listens all day, and he doesn't have the keen senses of the elves to know what he might be hearing. He speaks little, but one thing is sure - whatever draws his attention, he fears it. He won't venture into the Fields to seek it.



Deciding to give it a try myself, I plop myself next to the fire and meditate, focusing on my hearing. After a little while I suddenly detect, just barely, a far-off song, both ghostly and unsettling to the ear. I tell Idhremmin about the strange voice, and he looks at me sharply. His words come haltingly, as if the common tongue is strange to him, and he tells me that we can both hear the twisted song. Great evil lies beyond the light of this fire, and if I seek death I should stay here. I should stay far away from the song. Instead of heeding my fellow elf's advice, I dash into the fields below to track down the strange voice, running between bizarre half-dead white-barked trees amidst a sea of fog. There, from the mist, shades take shape - oath-breakers.



A short distance south-west of camp I find a lady wandering by herself, singing simplistic nursery rhymes to herself. 'Tra-lily-la, tra-la!' She sees me and proclaims that it has been long since she had someone to sing and dance with her, come on sing! The lady Idalene suddenly lunges, declaring that I am a fool - she is Olnathron, and Idalene is no more - merely a puppet to her will. Now come to her, come to her and die! I manage to knock Idalene down, and the moment I do, a shade-like spirit departs from her and hovers in front of me, calling me a fool. She was driven from this one, but she's not defeated! We shall meet again! She summons some magic and vanishes, just as Idalene wakes, confused, not sure what happened or where she is. Ah, I saved her! From this - Olnathron!



I lead the confused lady back to the camp, where Idhremmin compliments me on my skills - not many would have survived such an encounter, he claims, let alone drive out the fell spirit without harming the girl hosting it. (Yea, how did I do that with arrows?) After the girl takes a place at the fire and we share a drink, Mincham informs me that she's a girl from a farm not far from here, and the fell spirit Olnathron apparently tricked her into coming here. His duty doesn't allow him to pursue the villains of Fornost unless they are unwise enough to venture south of where he stands into the North Downs. He has to stay here - but I'm not bound by such oaths. Of everyone here, Colbert the Mad knows the most about Fornost and its fell landmarks, so maybe he will have an inkling where to find Olnathron's hiding place.

Colbert warns me that I can't walk the steps he walked without going a tad mad in the process, as the Fields of Fornost are dangerous. He came from the north-west, and saw piles of dirt with bones sticking out, with treasures glinting from within. He saw lights that called him to his death, and he saw graves in every direction he looked. With some basics to look for, I head off…

 

[Roarian]

North Downs (Part 2)

Out on the Fields, I go hunt shades and other critters - there's a couple barghests too. Eventually, a fair distance to the north-west, I find the piles of dirt Colbert mentioned - they're mounds. I go digging in them like a complete crazy person, which checks out, and encounter a variety of odd relics as well as a couple zombies. Because of course there'd be zombies in there. Still, I got a little richer for my trouble!



These wights are actually pretty handy, since they run their mouths: One of them announces that Olnathron curses me, thereby directly linking himself to the threat I'm trying to find. Another shouts that he fights for his home in death, for Tham Lorn. He would die a thousand times over to protect the mistress of Tham Lorn, Olnathron! Hey, that's handy knowledge to have, thanks guy! Now suffer. I next find the lights that Colbert mentioned and investigate a strange tomb in the middle of nowhere with lights flickering inside. I approach the central dais and investigate it, spawning a handful of Will-o-wisp style hateful lights which start beating me up, somehow, followed by a larger conglomerated form named Morraen, which takes more effort to bring down.



Still, I soon disperse the wicked lights, and go hunt for nearby graves, all of which are already disturbed by others. Boy, I'm a good person today! Here I go, graverobbing again!

Before I get them all I run across a red spirit named Achassoth and kill it - apparently it's one of the chief forces of evil in the Fields of Fornost, a prolific killer of Men. I then move on and soon get a warning about another such force - Naethír the Cold. After destroying Naethír, a blue-hued fell spirit, I'm told it was he who drains the warmth from Men - I guess that's why everyone's huddling around campfires around here.



I find the final grave and head back to camp, letting Mincham know of the wights who spoke of Olnathron and Tham Lorn, the waking of Morraen and the lights of death, and all the disturbed graves I found. He notes that if my tales are true, then Olnathron likely retreated to Tham Lorn, but her power has not waned… that's troubling news.

Tham Lorn, it turns out, is a ruin to the west. Mincham has heard dark rumors about that place lately, and it could well be the source of the evil stirring in Fornost. He offers his horse to take me there when I wish to go, but warns me to be careful - I might be a seasoned warrior, but this place is truly evil. I take the horse and get teleported straight to the ruin - that was sudden! Inside, the whole place is lousy with barghests and shades, and a quest pops up to disable burning idols in this place which corrupt the place. It's more Sauron shrines, of course.



Deep inside the ruin I find the spooky ghostly form of Olnathron, and now I can have a better look at her, since she wants to talk first - she's wearing fancy blue-and-gold armor, and her skull is elongated, making me wonder if she's intended to be an elf or something in life?

I speak to her, and Olnathron announces that the Dúnedain cannot withstand the might of the dead, and neither can I. We'll all die, and this land will be covered in a fell shadow! She then starts attacking, and with a couple good hits she goes down for good. That was a bit anticlimactic, not gonna lie.



I take the horse back home, and Mincham is glad to learn I disabled the idols, for he believes they fueled Ornathron herself and increased the corruption recently. Oh, so did I debuff her by doing that task first? In any case, Mincham knows I was successful since a shadow that darkened his thoughts suddenly vanished. The Rangers salute me! Mincham figures it's time for me to ride to Amarion who has stationed himself at Amon Raith just to the east, guarding some refugees of the North Downs. He figures the man could use my help in looking after them. Colbert, meanwhile, says that he went to many, many places in the Fields of Fornost - he came from a group treasure hunters, you know, but they're still within Fornost. He went to Amon Amrún and heard the call of death there. He sought treasure, but he could not withstand the presence there. The place is far to the east, so he asks me to seek out my own death too. Mad, mad, mad!

I head eastwards to the ruined base of a tower high up on a hill, which turns out to be Amon Raith.



There's a handy travel point nearby so I can get back here on horse, so that's good to keep in mind. Up top I let Amarion know that his bro Mincham sent me, and he admits he could use a couple more capable hands around here since there's a bunch of mouths to feed. He tells me I'm free to rest here for a bit, but he's afraid I won't find much peace. Evil things stir in Fornost, while the hills of Annúndir to the east are ravaged by wargs. These people around him look to him for defense. Alas, food is in short supply, and he dares not leave them alone while he goes off to hunt - Amon Raith is of old a defensible position, but he is only one man. If I do travel east, he asks me to hunt boars that roam the ruin of Minas Vrûn for their meat.

That ruin is pretty close, actually, so I make my way over there and spot a big glowing statue in the middle. It's ancient and Arnorian in origin, and starts a quests to find missing relics from this place that looters may have stashed for later recovery, all around the ruin. While taking out boars I seek for patches of disturbed earth - before realizing the genius looters basically spray-painted a white 'X' nearby - it marks the spot. Geniuses.




After gathering those I head north and approach Amon Amrûn, the place Colbert told me about, and encounter a terrifying presence there - Gurthagar, as well as a host of minor shades. Gurthagar is, of course, a neon green fell spirit - a color-swap of the two I fought in the eastern side of the fields.

In the middle of the ruin stands an old stone marker, and when I go to investigate a shade named Dúmorn appears and demands to know who disturbs this place - more thieves to unearth the treasures here? I ought to have a taste of death, then! Dúmorn is enraged by the notion of graverobbers - ahem, awkward - and attacks, and I'm forced to smack his incorporeal ash into ectoplasm. Afterwards I go around the edges of the ruin to find signs of the looters and find a variety of tombs there - and one of them is open. It seems the shades are up in arms because someone took their treasure. Also… I suddenly feel like I'm being watched.



I turn around and discover that Colbert the Mad actually followed me out here, and he admits that I've found him out. The brothers Colbert, adventurers, that's who they were before they went to this place. The brothers Colbert, graverobbers, before they robbed the wrong grave. The brothers Colbert, making a living, before they reached Amon Amrûn. Now it's just one Colbert - Colbert the Mad. It would seem he sent me here as some sort of confession to his crimes of robbing tombs and poking around where he didn't belong. I ask what happened after the grave robbing attempt, and Colbert admits both of them went in, but only one brother came out again. But not really. The shades that stirred as they cradled the loot, they stir now in his mind, always. He can never leave Amon Amrûn, like the shades. Soon he'll be no more than a wandering ghost, just like them…

I have a look around and soon find an heirloom chest lying among some nearby pillars, next to a corpse. I've found the stolen chest that enraged the shades, as well as Colbert's brother. I take up the chest and run my ass back to the open tomb, and drop it back inside. The wrath of the shades is immediately appeased, and Colbert's head begins to clear, the fog receding. How strange! He admits it wasn't very wise of him and his brother to come here and start robbing random tombs - they might be professional treasure-hunters, but they got separated from the rest of the group weeks ago when searching for the riches of Fornost. He wonders if the others are still encamped where they left them… Would I go have a look inside Fornost City? Last he saw they'd made camp within the gate, south-west of the city itself. Indeed, he might head over there himself - Mincham is a fine fellow, but too serious for him.



I drop the boar meat off with Amarion, who declares I am as skilled in the hunt as I am welcome. The meat will last a while, and the wargs and goblins can't stay in Annúndir forever. For now, he can feed the families who have come to him for protection, and he thanks me for the help. I also show him the relics I retrieved from the ruin and he's glad I saved them - clearly it's not safe to restore them, but perhaps it can be done in more peaceful times. He'll keep them safe, and they'll be treasured when he returns to Esteldín to the east, for these relics belong to the Men of Númenor.

Amarion tells me that while I bought time with food, the people under his care won't be satisfied until they have reclaimed their lands from wargs and goblins. We have to be cautious, though. There is a camp of goblins on the slopes of the southern hills, and returning the refugees to their homes would have to start with destroying those goblins, but first their numbers have to become clear. I should travel east into Annúndir and get as close to the goblin camps as I can without being seen, as he doesn't want any goblins following me back to Amon Raith. I'm warned in red text that I actually do have to stay hidden! Nathan Hodges, one of the men under Amarion's care, tells me that I should take out some of the wargs while I'm out there, as he doesn't dare go back to his farm with them still there…

Heading east, I almost accidentally avoid all the goblins around, stumbling instead on a distraught man - Kemp Wheeler - who is under threat from a couple goblins.



The quest tells me the time for stealth is over - a man nearby needs help. I quickly slay the little bastards and speak to their victim. He thought he was done for - he ran from the wargs, only to be ambushed by goblins! I explain that Amon Raith is free of goblins and urge the man to get under Amarion's protection, and he's all too happy to go there. I'm not going any further in, right, he asks? He'd turn back if he were me, as the way there is safe. I dismiss him and go for a little vengeance, gaining a quest to slaughter the goblins and burn their belongings. Die, greenskins! I also get a task to kill the local leader, the Stonehold Chief, to send a strong message to the goblin hordes.



I move on and reach farmland belonging to Nathan Hodges, and put some meat beneath the local scarecrow to lure in wargs for me to slaughter. I actually activate both without realizing they just kept spawning more, so I'm soon facing a whole bunch of wargs at once and relying on my healing skill and defensive buffs to stay alive while I whittle them down. Cool! They soon stop coming, and being a good boy I also fix the wrecked fences around the place with a quick bit of elbow grease as a kindness to the Hodges. Hopefully they'll soon be able to move back here.



Amarion compliments me on my work - it almost went better than he hoped. The goblins must have heard my message that they're not welcome here! He doesn't have a reward that's worthy of what I deserve, he says, but he hopes a small token will serve as a reminder of the good I've accomplished. I let Nathan know about his farm too, and he's happy to get back to rebuilding, soon. Amarion, seeing all I've accomplished here, tells me that with the wargs driven off and the goblins demoralized, the area can soon be set back to rights. He must ask one last thing of me, though - Orthonn the Ranger watches over Annúndir from a lonely post, and very few folk come his way. He asks me to check in with him to make sure he fares well, and offer him news from the western Downs while I'm there.

Before that, though, I head back to the Fields of Fornost and further north to find this treasure-hunter company Colbert was talking about. The front gate is populated by a bunch of goblins and orcs, but once I made my way past them, Fornost itself is pretty barren and empty.



I pass by some broken walls and use the openings to make my way westwards to the south-west part of the ruins, where the treasure-hunters have set up their tents and supplies. Hey guys! Elsie Whitman says she doesn't care about any orcs or goblins, or even treasure around here - it's the worm that keep her up at night! The size of them ain't natural! She tells me they're up north, slithering around the place, and you can hear them hissing from here when things are quiet…



Worms? Huh. I spot Colbert sitting at one of the fires, and he's pleased I made it, noting I'm too curious to stay away from much of anything. He introduces his little band. The folks gathered up in the keep are knocking their heads together for serious plans, while he prefers to sit down here, where sensible folks are thinking about how to just survive. Fornost isn't the most welcoming place, obviously. Reynold Potts wonders if I've seen the poor corrupted beasts wandering the ruins - bears, boars, aurochs - who are hurt by their long stay here. It would be a mercy to put them down, he decides, as they'll starve if nothing is done. Erl Fisher comments that while Elsie is right about the worms, Gajarpan is the worst one. He overheard orcs whispering that they were too scared to get close, afraid she'd eat them. He's never seen this great worm, but it must be fearsome to scare them!

With the rest of the quests oriented towards group play, I go around sniping diseased bears, boars, and mega-cows, before running into my first worm. Rock-worms aren't like earthworms - they're more like giant lizards, man-sized with whipping tails and big toothy mouths. They're like earthbound micro-dragons, in a sense, snarling angrily as I approach. Gajarpan, hiding deep within a corner of Fornost crawling with other worms, turns out to have some small part of the draconic heritage, as he breathes fire. Fire-worms are a thing, huh? Neat. After cleaning up a corner of the city I return and turn in my quests.



Reynold Potts, thankful for my help, asks me if I could find the source of the vile corruption affecting the animals - unclean water and grass would be his guess for the way they got poisoned. No doubt that's the work of some orc, and a smart one at that. He's heard of defilers and poisoners and the like who live amongst the orcs. Perhaps the local Blogmal orcs have one of their own? Something to look out for. Gareth Copp tells me that lots of orcs and goblins call these ruins home, especially around the gates. They tried to cut off the treasure-hunters' retreat, but they escaped anyway - they still come looking for them at night, but they know how to remain hidden. If I could kill a couple of those creatures, lots of people around here will thank me, as it'll make it a great deal safer…

I head further up into Fornost and destroy some siege weapon parts I find along the way for another remote quest, then track down the Blogmal Defiler to a corner of one level of the ruin, way in the corner. Coward!



With the siege equipment destroyed I return and let Gareth know about that and the fall of a bunch of orcs, and he's happy I thwarted Angmar's plans here, as it will take them much longer to amass the siege weapons they need to invade Trestlebridge or Bree. Reynold is thankful the defiler never got around to applying his lethal animal contagions to people. Done here, for now, I head back across the field - defeating a named barghest along the way who gets his own remote quest - and head eastwards towards Orthonn.

Orthonn is hiding out just across a bridge over a nearby stream, out on a suspended chunk of ruin which resembles many I've seen before - the base of some tower, presumably, though nothing else remains besides severed pillars. Orthonn welcomes me to Ost Lagoros, and wishes he could offer me comfort, but this is a sparse place with little to offer. It's so nice to have company, though! He asks me if I'm willing to collect some firewood and driftwood nearby to bring some cheer to his guttering campfire so we can be warm and comfortable. Grumbling, I start gathering firewood, then swim across the nearby river a bunch to fetch the driftwood from both shores. Hope this is all worth it!



After finishing my chores I sit down next to the Ranger and he's pleased with my presence since he hasn't had company in a long time. He admits that he considers what happened to the local farmlands here as a failing of his own - Amarion and he guard this road, sure, but the wargs moved between them and they did not see them until it was already too late for the farmers. Amarion guards those people now, but Orthonn wants to make up for his negligence too - so would I help gather furs to send to those poor folks? It's not much, but it should keep away the chill of night. Come to think of it, there's another thing - another traveler passed along the road here, a short little fellow, who went west not long before the wargs attacked. He fears the little guy might have been hurt, or worse, so could I look for him around Annúndir?

I make my way north from his camp and hunt some bears and wolves, before finding a warg pack-mate and slaying it - I get a remote quest to do that a few more times, and to search the nearby hill of Haudh Eglan, a burial mound I should have a look at. At the top I find a bunch of bone piles that I quickly rifle through, picking out smaller bones to rule out that they may belong to the short person that Orthonn saw. I also check out a patch of disturbed earth on top, and determine it's been recently exhumed.



I return to Orthonn and drop off his furs, plus I let him see the bones. He's pretty sure none of these belong to humans (or hobbits) - they seem to be goblin bones. It seems the wargs and goblins must not get along all the time - and that's good for us. Let them fight among themselves, and there will be fewer to worry about. I also let him know about the digging at the warg mound, and he's puzzled. Did the diggers find whatever they were looking for? What might they seek? At any rate, I must be weary from my efforts and long travels. Loath as he would be to see me leave, he feels obligated to tell me that there's a dwarf-keep not far from here that offers far more comforts than this campfire ever could. Othrikar is the name the dwarves give it, and the people there are friendly as dwarves go. If I decide to pay a visit, it's north-east among the hills, a stone dwelling of some size.

As I head in that direction I spot some periwinkle nearby - it's a plant that can be found among rock outcroppings in the hills of Nan Amlug. There's also Meadowsweet which can be found among south-facing tree roots in the spider-camp south of Esteldín, and Butterbur can be found growing along the water's edge in the fens near the elf-refuge of Lin Giliath in Meluinen. Orthonn would probably appreciate these, so I decide to keep an eye out…

Othrikar is a sizable stone dwelling, and it's refreshing to see one of these which isn't just a pile of ruins from ancient elves or slightly less ancient human civilizations. Plus there's a whole bunch of dwarves around! Quartermaster Orgrin welcomes me, telling me I can find rest and work there, if it suits me. He muses that a cold winter is coming - he can feel it in his bones. Dwarves are hardy folk, but if they're going to survive the winter, they'll need more supplies. He asks me to hunt down some troublesome lynxes that cover the lands around here, and bring him their fur. He'll craft their hides into warm gloves for the miners.



Nearby, Hornbori claims that the cursed Dourhands weren't content to ruin the operation of the mines while they were around here, but when they left they ruined or stole what food there was. Then there's the orcs and wargs that came down from the north, driving the farmers who used to supply the dwarves out of their fields. And when they venture out of Othrikar, they often have to do it in force due to the Dourhands encamped nearby. In short, there's supply issues! There's a need for meat, and he'll give me a good fee in silver if I hunt some bears for him.

After a quick run-around hunting beasts and dropping off the proceeds, Regin tells me that he's the dwarf in charge of smelting here at Othrikar, and the yields are down again - the silver in the mine is running out. He's heard of a supposed 'father-lode' somewhere in these hills, with veins rich in gold and maybe even mithril - though he finds it unlikely, as Moria-silver has not been found anywhere outside Khazad-dûm. The Dourhands ruined the old prospecting record when they left, so I'll have to find the proper records to locate this father-lode, and he suspects they're still somewhere around Othrikar, perhaps in a chest or locker. If I can discover them, I'll be doing the Longbeards a service! Really, it's in your own town and you can't be bothered to look? Spare me the foolishness of dwarves.



Sure enough, a footlocker not fifty meters away yields the plans, and I bring them back to Regin. But what's this? Most of these records are just ordinary reports and not too useful, but this one… He can't make this page out at all! Could this be the key to the mystery of the father-lode? He can't figure out the runes, and concludes that unless he misses the mark entirely, they're in some form of elf-writing. Now, why would directions to a dwarven mine have been written in elvish script? He wonders if anyone in these parts could understand the language… I mean, I am literally an elf, my dude? Just give it to me, I'll sing it in Sindarin or maybe translate it to fancy-pants Quenya for good measure.

Unfortunately I'm not asked for my opinion, so I take the text around town to find a translator, and discover nearby Birgir Listmaker can read it. His father was a scholar, he explains, and he learned many things from Balin, including some elvish. He passed a fair bit of that onto his son. He checks out the text I found and explains that it's written by an elf who found the dwarves' lode in the first place. That explains the writing, and perhaps why the dwarves of old never mined it, for they would not have wished to ask an elf for help. It appears the records refer to a map that must have once been included, so he hopes Regin still has that map, as the text isn't detailed enough to stand on its own. Regin is perplexed about the missing map, then concludes it must have been taken by the Dourhands. They must've left the elvish text because they also couldn't read it - the map is surely already in the hands of the local foreman who used to have Birgir's job before the Longbeards moved in.

Unless he misses his mark, Foreman Nyrad is with many of the other Dourhands at a camp to the north. This is a big request, but he wonders if I could get that map back from Nyrad, so we can find the father-lode at last. He suspects I'll find it in a chest somewhere for safe-keeping, but he might also keep it on his person so he'll never lose it. A little further in, Hlája Sagasong asks me to take out some hendrevail, or north-hawks, since he thinks the Dourhands have started taming them to be used as spies. Hannar notes that some Dourhands are still skulking near town, probably planning a raid to retake the mines, so he asks me to take down some of their scouts which are hiding in the nearby hills...

I'll get to all that next time!

 

[Roarian]

North Downs (Part 3)

I go around taking down some hendrevail which are only a little ways north in a valley, while Dourhand scouts popular the tops of the hills. I reach Thurúm north of Othrikar and get another quest to take out Dourhands, this time at their main base. It's there that I find a foreman and take him down, followed quite swiftly by foreman Nyrad himself, who's carrying the lost map in his pocket.



Scattered among the camps there's also a bunch of stolen yeast, which I take along to return to town - why would you steal yeast, though? Dwarves must back killer cakes. Further up I encounter a more heavily fortified Dourhand position where a bunch of guards are patrolling - as well as the Dourhand leader of the area, Torfi Hammerhorn, with his personal hit squad. After slaying his entourage I cut him down to size for yet another remote quest. Nice and tidy!

I give the map back to Regin, who's happy we can finally track down the father-lode. Wait a moment, though - the directions are not exactly what he was expecting. They're in the form of a poem, or a riddle…

Find the father in the raw rock​

The lode lies amongst high hills​

Fell falcons soar through skies​

Savage lynx guard the gorges​

Shining the silver, glittering the gold​

A cliff's crags keep the secret​

He appreciates the poetic turn of the ancients, but wishes they were more precise. Regardless, we have at least some idea of how to proceed - the map and the directions indicate that we're looking for something near the cliffs north-west of Othrikar, where I previously hunted hawks and lynxes. All I have to do is find a suitable rock formation that is rich with ore - if I do, I should take a sample to see if it's the real deal. While I'm in town I complete a few of the menial quests, and let Hannar know I killed Torfi Hammerhorn, and he proclaims it welcome news for the Longbeards - long have they suffered under the oppression of those loutish Dourhands, they do not wish to suffer it again! He thanks me for my noble service and offers me a choice of baubles and fancy axes. He's still a dwarf, you know? Hornbori let me know that the yeast was actually for brewing beer - that makes more sense, actually. Bottoms up!

Finding the ore deposit north-west of town is pretty easy, actually.



When I bring a sample back to Regin he confirms that I've found it - I've stumbled on a vein of high-quality gold ore! The Dourhands still need to be dealt with, and all kinds of other dangers as well, but if they can manage that they'll all be rich! He can't thank me enough for my work, and despite the meager reward, I'm told I'll always be welcome in Othrikar. No cut of the treasure, then? Finder's fee? Bleh. I head back to Quartermaster Orgrin who tells me that he just received word that there is one last farmer in the North Downs who's still active - a fellow named Gatson refuses to leave his land to the orcs. It might be that he still has grain to sell, so I should pay him a visit and learn if that's true. I should relay that the dwarves are willing to pay good silver for his produce.

I ride south out of town and towards a crossing in the middle of the open field of the North Downs, and a little south-east of that I find a farmhouse with a pair of humans standing outside.



Gatson is one of them and confirms that he still has grain - he had a rich harvest this year, and he'd gladly sell it off if he could. He hasn't done business with the dwarves before since those Dourhands were nasty fellows, but now that Durin's Folk are in charge, he'd be willing to negotiate. Or rather, he should say, he'd sell it - if he still had it! Those cursed orcs raided his farm and took most of the harvest with them, so unfortunately he can't help me. Unless… Yeah, yeah, lay it on me my man. I've done dumber things for less profit.

Gatson informs me that so far the orcs have mostly just skulked around, stealing things, but he's sure that as soon as they get their courage up, they'll raid the farm again. He is too stubborn to run, and his farmhands like Gilmar here are too loyal to leave him, so he needs me to get rid of the orcs for him. Likely I'll find them sneaking around the fields to the south - get them off his land! Gilmar notes that everyone on the farm has to pull their own weight, even fancy strangers from the south like me. He tells me that Gatson's little herd of cattle could use some new blood, and a wild aurochs would do nicely - but the bulls are too aggressive to drive into the pasture. I should find a good-looking yearling from the wild aurochs, which are generally docile, and lead it back to the farm. Just… stay out of reach of the bulls, yeah? And the orcs too, obviously.

The orcs are doing a poor job of hiding since they're all over the farmlands, and I start taking them out in groups, which quickly checks off this box.



Gatson follows up his request with another - it seems all the stolen grain might still be that orc camp not far from the farm, so if I can recover that, he'll gladly sell it off to Esteldín or Othrikar. The orcs have a big camp to the south and west, but he doesn't know where in the camp they'd be keeping the produce. In either case, there should be four large sacks of the stuff there. I follow the instructions and soon arrive at Gurzlum, where I get a remote quest to take out the Ongbúrz orc chieftain in hopes that his death will send this orc band into disarray. I'm also asked to kill a specific bunch of his minions, which I'm doing anyway. The Chieftain is actually surrounded by the stolen sacks of grain, so I would have gone here anyway…



After finishing off the orcs I go search for the aurochs-yearling, which is pretty easy - it starts moving to the camp almost immediately, and I simply have to follow it and take out a couple of orcs along the way to clear its path. I recall this mission being a lot more finicky back in the day - they must've really cleaned up the area since there's not nearly as many angry bulls around either.

Gilmar compliments my fine job, and gives me a small payment for my work on behalf of his employer. Gatson is glad I found the grain, and admits he'd forgotten about my task since there was another attack while I was away. Fortunately someone else did the world-saving this time - an elf, Londrandir. See, the guy behind me, right over there? He took out the invading orcs. Ah, things are getting ever more turbulent, maybe he really should abandon this farm soon… He wishes he could do something for the second elf that just saved him… Perhaps I could have a chat with him?

Afterwards, Gatson tells me that it's his fault, he supposes, but when I killed those orcs in the field earlier, the rest of them got pretty stirred up. He thinks they're getting ready for another raid on the herd grazing to the south. He'd like me to go down there and help his man Alwin defend the herd from those orcs. Alwin's pretty good with a bow, but he's no fighter - those orcs will finish the herd off quickly, and maybe worse. I should make sure Alwin doesn't get hurt on his account! He doubts I can ambush the orcs this time around…

Lordrandir, a fancily dressed fellow, tells me that he saw the orcs when he passed this way, and couldn't turn a blind eye to their assault. He's glad he got here in time to save these Men. He came down here seeking aid on behalf of Lachenn, the Master of Lin Giliath, a small elven refuge in the lush land of Meluinen down south. It's a small thing, no more than a slight stirring of ill wind, but the Rangers are not in a position to send someone over. Perhaps I would go? Lin Giliath is located very near the border of Meluinen, and if Lachenn isn't around to speak with me, Aglardir should be there instead.



Before heading south I speak to Alwin, who warns me that the orcs are rushing towards us as we speak. Sure enough, a trio of orcs approaches through the grass, but they only become viable targets when they're very near to Alwin and his cow, forcing me to aggro all of them in turn to keep their fire away from the farmhand. It goes on for a few waves, but thankfully most of the enemies are more interested in the guy killing them than going after the rando in the corner, and they go down to the last. Gatson is pleased with my help, but points out that holding off one raid won't solve the problem - the orcs will return. Well, sure, but that's not my problem - take it up with the Rangers. You live like a stone's throw from their main base of operations, grow a spine already!



Heading southwards, I soon spot signs of the lovely decorated walls of a small elven refuge in the style of Edhelion or Celondim peeking through the leaves, complete with fancy red roofs. It's a lot smaller in scale than the last settlements I visited, though.



Near the front I find Aglardir, who I inform that Londrandir sent me to speak to Lachenn. Lachenn, unfortunately, is dead - he was killed when stone-trolls attacked Lin Giliath, sometime before his own company arrived here. He tells me that the stores of the refuge should be restocked as soon as possible, as grief can cause both body and spirit to suffer, but against one of those they can prepare. The stone-trolls ruined the food that was stored here, but there are other sources of sustenance - I should take down some aurochs on the plains to the north, as their meat will go a long way to filling in the gap.



Aglardir explains that Gildor Inglorion brought his company north to spread the word of a great evil stirring in the south, but they found only death. The keeper of the glade was a friend to many of them, Lachenn, but he was slain before they'd even arrived, and the refuge beset by ruin. He's not sure what called the trolls out of their home in Taur Gonwaith, but this place should be rebuilt as much as possible, as that is what Lachenn would have wanted if he were here to ask. Revenge must wait - the trolls scattered the possessions that were stored here throughout Meluinen, so he requests I look out for shattered barrels between here and Taur Gonwaith to the south and bring their contents back here.

I head south into the swamps and find plenty of destroyed barrels, as well as sickle-flies to kill and some butterbur to collect - I'm still slowly plugging away at giving Orthonn, that mysterious heartthrob, a nice bouquet. I also discover a large spider in the area - a queen, it turns out, as a remote quest bids me to report to Esteldín that I destroyed it. I hunt down a few aurochs before returning to Aglardir, who thanks me for the aid and explains that he wants a quick word with me. The grief of his friends is very deep, he explains, since Lachenn was so beloved by many. I should help them if I can, and not hold their harsh feelings against them if their despair seems strident. Thaliollang and Brethilwen were particularly close to Lachenn and held him in high regard, so I should give them comfort, as they lost much to the evil that lurks in Taur Gonwaith…

Medlichen tells me that when the stone-trolls learn that elves have returned to Lin Giliath, they're sure to attack again. There are too few of them around, though, to hold out for long. There is one defense upon which they can call - but there is no certainty that those he speaks of will still answer the summons. He gives me a couple runes, 'canel' they are called - and asks me to lay them on various pedestal stones found in the marshes. Long ago, many of those stones were set east of Lin Giliath in a great curve bending south, but only three have survived the ravages of time and the elements. We must hope that the guardians remember the meaning of these 'canel.' I should return when I've planted all the stones, and we'll see if it worked…



Gandelin says she has need for my assistance as well - an orc defiler, skilled in the use of poisons, joined the ranks of the Ongbúrz in southern Lin Giliath, and has begun to poison the waters of the glade, so all will be ruined. I should slay the orcs in Merenost and collect their venom pouches, so Gandelin can ensure they'll never be used for evil purposes again. While I'm there, I should put an end to the source of the vile poison as well by killing the defiler. I should be careful, though, as these orcs are brutal and without mercy, so I might need some allies. (Weird, this is a solo quest…)

Brethilwen warns me that Thaliollang and Lagorlam are so intent on vengeance against the stone-trolls that they are blind to all other threats, and she fears they will not retain enough strength of will to fight the other dangers nearby. Orcs of the Ongbúrz clan have established a foothold in Nan Wathren, the valley to the south-west that I visited from Trestlebridge's side, and their scouts intrude further into Meluinen with each passing day. I should slay any orcs I find which have crossed into this land, since they pose a great second threat to the refuge.

I head out to complete my missions, coming across various flat stones surrounded by bog guardians - basically the same mobs as in the red swamp back in the Lone-lands, those walking plant elemental things. They don't really pay attention to me placing the runes, though.



I swim my way across the swamp to an island teeming with orcs, and at the very top next to a vaguely mysterious founding stone I track down the Defiler, who I destroy.



After cleaning up the place I head back, letting Gandelin know I took care of the environmental threat. He's weirded out that the orcs would hunt giant spiders, usually their allies, to make their venom. They make themselves stronger at others' expense, sure, but they weaken the Enemy's forces as a whole. Such is the way of evil, he supposes, for the spiders would not hesitate to drink the blood of their orcish fellows either…

I let Medlichen know I placed the rune-stones, and he's bummed out that the bog-guardians have chosen not to come to our aid. He supposes he was too eager to rekindle the old friendship between elves and bog-guardians. Wait, what's that? Look, a bog-guardian has come to town! And more of them! He shamed himself with his despair, but now he sees that it's never wrong to hope! I cross the clearing to speak to Thaliollang, he of the clunky name, and he says he's heard whispers of a stone-troll chieftain of great size who's called Gurmagath by the others. This troll had in his great first a sparkling ornament which once belonged to poor departed Lachenn. It cannot permit to keep the bauble, he declares, so I should seek this troll out and wrest the ornament from him so it may be kept in Lin Giliath in a place of honor.



Before I leave, he also lets me know that when their group arrived here, there was much debate concerning what should be done about the stone-trolls. Many thought, including him, that they should be driven from their home in Taur Gonwaith. There were some, among them Aglardir and Gildor himself, who counselled restraint. Thaliollang regrets the stern words he had for them, but at the time their plan to rebuild this place seemed to do Lachenn's memory a disservice. His friend Lagorlam believed as he did, and journeyed forth to slay the trolls, and never returned. It would put his mind at ease if someone went after his wayward companion and retrieve him from the forest of Taur Gonwaith to the south-east.

Baranwen says that north-men have been seen carrying chests laden with weapons into a nearby cave to the south. While the others dwell on the malefactions of the trolls, she's concerned by the very presence of men from Angmar, not to mention their armaments. Every sword-hilt removed from the grasp of an Angmarim is one fewer blade that can be brought to bear against the Free People. I should seek out the weapon-chests near the troll-cave and bring them back so she can destroy the foul blades once and for all. If even one of them would have otherwise slain an innocent, she shall count it a day's labor worth the toll.

I head for troll country and - I'm sorry, rock-trolls look hilarious.



Unlike the big imposing boys from the lone-lands, these guys are basically big, dumpy obese guys with angry faces, huge hands and feet, and little more than pelts and loincloths as clothing. They're also accompanied by regular-sized hillmen, which makes the contrast all the more clear. They're surprisingly squishy for such enormous burly bois, so I take them down in swift order and gab some stray weapons chests piled up around the outside of a pretty modestly-sized cave entrance. I head inside to find more trolls and chests, only to get another quest to hunt down Favargair the Troll-Keeper somewhere inside. Sure, I'm here anyway? It turns out this troll-cave is huge. It takes me a fair amount of time navigating multiple halls chock full of trolls until I find any real variety. It gets a bit monotonous, actually.



Near the end I find a big throne with a troll up top that's been petrified due to a single beam of light descending down from above. In front of the troll-throne there's a hillman who's apparently controlling these rock-trolls, the Favargair I was sent to smash. After taking him down with a little more effort than the trolls in this place - which is weird, but sure - I grab the last few weapon-chests and retrace my steps, refighting most of the mobs that have already respawned in my wake. That was a diversion, huh?



I go north to find a few more trolls, including Gurmagath, who's hanging out near another cave entrance that is blocked off to me. I kill him and take the ornament he stole from Lachenn. Not far from there I find Lagorlam, the elf I was told to keep an eye out for - wounded, but he's alive despite trollish attempts to the contrary.



He's pleased to see a non-trollish face, and explains that he came to Taur Gonwaith to seek vengeance on the trolls that attacked the glade and murdered his friend Lachenn. Many stone-trolls will never again leave this place, but they still proved a challenge, and he was about to be squashed when I arrived to interrupt proceedings. He thanks me, and tells me we should leave this place and return to Lin Giliath so he can Thaliollang the course of his vengeance. Escorting him isn't difficult - there's only a handful of mobs around, anyway, outside those caves. Back in town, Thaliollang thanks me for lending my strength to his friend, though apparently Lagorlam insists he would have returned without any aid. What a little bastard! The ornament was unfortunately broken due to Gurmagath's brutish fingers, but there's something odder still - there's scratches on the back that spell out 'A-N-G' but the rest is broken off. I can guess what it would say.



I bring the weapon chests to Baranwen, who comments that the weapons are poorly made, and none exhibit the care needed to make a truly find sword. She's not surprised by the lack of craftsmanship, since the Angmarim care little for such things, and these blades are as effective as they need to be to slay the innocent people who are intended to be their prey. I've done well to bring her these weapons, as she'll destroy them and by doing so hope we have saved a number of lives together. Also she gives me a new set of pants.

Aglardir tells me that far to the north and east there's a hidden settlement established by the Dúnedain of the North, a place they call Esteldín. These Men do their best to fight threats in the North Downs, but their numbers are far too few, and the dangers too great. If I'm willing to go, I should complete the original mission of his company and speak with the watch-captain, Dagoras, and tell him that the Nine are abroad and have crossed the river. The Enemy is on the move. This message should not be delayed!

After doing a bit more herb-gathering I swing by Orthonn to give him a nice bouquet of wildflowers, and he's pleasantly surprised, as he does have a great fondness for herb-lore. Thanks for the gift. It's all good, buddy, it's all good. I share his fire for a bit, then set out east towards Esteldín.



This place is pretty similar in some respects to Ost Guruth, in that it's a bunch of people holed up in an ancient ruin, with spiders on one side and swamps on the other. The difference comes in that this place is full of Rangers and their support personnel, and also that it's essentially a long corridor with lands on both ends. Riding inside, there's just a ton of vendors and other NPCs around, since this is the main town around here. Dagoras is also there, front and center, waiting for me.

 

[WestOrEast]

It turns out this troll-cave is huge.

Click to shrink...

given the size of the trolls, it has to be.

 

[Roarian]

North Downs (Part 4)

Instead of speaking to Dagoras, I obviously talk to Ferrif first, who tells me that the hobbits in Oatbarton have a market every year at the Northcotton farm, and by now word has usually spread about the event, as many will change their trip to Evendim to be sure to catch it. There's been no word from the hobbits, though, and he's beginning to worry that there's something wrong, that something has happened! Oatbarton is out west of here on the southern border with the Shire. If I go there, I should speak with the Bounder in charge. (I'm pretty sure it's actually north of the Shire, not south.) This all sounds questionably interesting, but I'm saving the region of Evendim for a little later, so let's get back to something a bit more relevant.

Arohir wonders if I've heard of the Wardens of Annúnimas - they're a bunch of Rangers who guard the ancient tombs and ruins which mark the long-abandoned capital of Arnor. News has come to him that they stand hard-pressed, since bandits and refugees from the North Downs have begun to loot the old tombs in increasing numbers, and darker rumors of Angmarim agents who seek entrance into the ancient city also circulate. I should travel to the camp of Tinnudir in Evendim and find the Ranger Cannuion, who should be most grateful for any aid I can render. More Evendim stuff, huh? I'll get to it later!

Holger Tanner - yes, I'll get to you, Dagoras, hold your horses - tells me that he's got a sad story to tell. See, he was a member of a group of merchants who were crossing the North Downs when they encountered marauding orcs. They fled, but did not escape tragedy, as they camped not far south of Esteldín in a place they later learned was called the Snares. With good reason, as when they slept the camp was raided by spiders, and only he escaped to be rescued by Rangers. One of his companions was bearing a pouch of valuable gems on his person, though, which they were taking to Othrikar for trade. No doubt it's still on his body, wherever the spiders dragged it off to. Could I go into the spider-lair and retrieve it? Without that, he'll be destitute.



I finally speak to Dagoras, and he's aghast at the urgent and not at all delayed news I bring - the Nine are abroad, after all this time! It's fell news, for it can only mean one thing in his eyes - the Ring of the Enemy has been found! He can only hope that the Enemy himself has not already reclaimed it, or the world as we know it is at an end. He thinks that if it were so, Ranger chieftain Aragorn or Elrond Halfelven would have sent word. He thanks me for sending word, and says he'll deliver the news to Halbarad, steward in the absence of Aragorn. He also belatedly thanks me for killing that one spider-queen I stumbled into, and gives me his shoes. The loot in this game is sometimes hysterical, I swear.

Before I leave, Dagoras warns me that there's been reports of wargs moving into the area around Esteldín, and while the Rangers are not yet prepared to face the Enemy in the North Downs, they can't have these foul beasts spying on them. He asks me to hunt down these creatures and slay them - it shouldn't be too difficult to find them, as they prowl to the west and south, hunting for those who would dare to oppose Angmar. If they learn the whereabouts of the hidden base, orcs will be able to sweep down upon them, and their line will be ended. I must hurry before that happens!

I head over to the Snares, hunting some wargs along the way.



I get my first timed quest - I have about four minutes to kill eight spiders in the Snares. It's pretty easy to do, and I also nab the sack of gemstones from a cocooned corpse and return it to Holger in town. Dagoras thanks me for my warg-hunting and wishes there were more Rangers in Esteldín, or they could deal with such creatures themselves, but all their attention is by necessity on the orc army. My work allowed them to gather their forces better, to deal with the greater threat. Finishing up my work here, Dagoras then refers me to Istuienn, saying she can be found further inside Esteldín.

I ride down the length of this pretty narrow town and find a couple of buildings at the end with doors - one leads to a locked room gated behind an Epic Quest, the other is open to me. It leads to Halbarad's study, a pretty well-equipped reading hall with some fancy paintings on the walls. There's also a conspicuous book nearby - 'Of Arthedain and its Settlements.'



It's worn as if many hands have held it, and opens easily on a dog-eared page, which reads:

'...In those days, north-eastern Arthedain was dominated by five great settlements, known commonly as The Five Towns. These were Henneth Rhún, south of Fornost; Duintham, astride an ancient stream; Carnoglin, in the northern hills; Ost Ardúlin, in the lake-lands; and Dolindîr, now called Esteldín. Amongst the Rangers of the North Downs, we encourage our people to visit all five of the Towns and discover the locations of their Founding Stones. It is important to remember who we are....'​

I address Halbarad, who notes that word has spread about the assistance I gave to Rangers in the south, and admits that here in the northern lands my help is needed more than ever! While the eyes of Esteldín have been turned east, news from west and south tell him that the Enemy is moving on many fronts. He fears the strength of Esteldín is nearly spent, and alone they cannot face this greater threat. A council of the Free People of the North Downs must be called - yet before he does so, he needs to know if Fornost, once capital of Arnor of old, has fallen under the sway of Angmar once more. If the Enemy has taken and fortified the ruins of Fornost, we're all in the gravest of dangers… I should travel back to Mincham and ask him for aid!



Outside, Malenfang informs me that long ago, when he journeyed abroad, he taught Asikko - chieftain of the Earth-kin - the Westron letters. In return, the giant offered to write a book describing their kind's leatherworking methods. He needs that book to fulfill a promise he made to a man in Trestlebridge when he came north from Rivendell in the guise of a common leatherworker. He promised to make suitable armor for the people for the fight against the orcs. Would I go to Asikko and ask for the book? The Earth-kin are encamped north-east of town in a hollow along the hillside.

Istuienn is hanging out next to the door I can't enter, and asks me to deliver a letter to Asikko while I'm heading that way, describing the denizens as the friendly Suuri-lehmä tribe. She hopes she can convince the chieftain to openly declare an alliance with Esteldín to strengthen the Rangers' position in the North Downs. I ask her about the book I read earlier, and she states that it's not customary for people who aren't Rangers to do so, but if I wish to know more she's willing to enlighten me. Though… I might wish to undertake the journey myself. The first settlement mentioned in the book was Dolindir, today named Esteldín, so I should return to her after finding the Founding Stone. Hey, I know where to find that one!



The old monument next to Dagorad is well kept, free from dirt and vines, and upon it is a description: 'Here once stood the town and Founding Stone of Dolindir, in the kingdom of Arthedain, which has passed. In this place was established Esteldin, by Arrasuil, son of Arahad, that these lands might never again stand unwatched.' Istuienn is pleased that I've chosen to begin the journey, and tells me that the other four towns can be found all across the land, and gives the same vague hints that the book did about where to find these points of interest. The map is a little clearer, giving me a variety of places to revisit on my obligatory journey back east towards Mincham and other old acquaintances. Joy!

I figure I can leave that for a little later, though, and head eastwards first, skirting around the corner of the central range of hills to the Suumi-lehmä camp. Iivari laments that there was some kind of betrayal by his brethren, and much was lost - the Earth-kin of Rauta-lehmä have taken weapons from the fallen, so I should go and take them back!



Mauno mentions that he long thought the fur of wargs useless, as it rots too quickly after they die. But they've recently found that it may be cured with a simple mixture of harrow weed, a bitter plant that grows on the plains nearby. If I could bring him some hides from dire wargs and a few bushels of harrow weed, he could fashion armor out of it! It might hide them more easily from the Rauta-lehmä and the Angmarim…

Further in the camp I run into Elder Tahvo, who wishes to see my skill as a warrior. Wargs are just little creatures like me, he says, but the aurochs are more like the Earth-kin… big, and difficult to kill. If I could bring some aurochs meat here, then the Suuri-lehmä shall hold me in high esteem indeed! Lastly I speak with Asikko, who is surprised when I ask for his book - he hasn't thought about those days for a long time. Am I Gondranc, then? No, he realizes I'm not - I must forgive him, but it's difficult to know. Little folk all look so alike to the Suuri-lehmä, and his mind is distracted by thoughts of the pain of his own people. I'm not sure who 'Gondranc' is...

I also deliver the letter Istuienn gave me, and he's pleased that Rangers have chosen to honor their oath - the Suuri-lehmä will do the same, but they await the return of the stolen weapons before they can put word into practice. They shall not rest until the Rauta-lehmä return to the old ways, or are removed! Such betrayal cannot be allowed.



As I go out, hunting a couple Rauta-lehmä on the plains, I get a remote quest which informs me that while the Earth-kin long protected the pass through Ram Dúath from Angmar, ever since the betrayal of the Suuri-lehmä tribe by First Hunter Jarkko and his followers, they have become trapped in the North Downs. How exactly did I learn this from killing one of these guys, again?



In any case, I hunt a bunch of aurochs, earth-kin, and collect some grass… until I spot something fairly terrifying. Sitting on a rock a little ways away there's Rotspittle, a level 100 freaking dragon. Okay, he's probably more of a drake than anything, but he's got two million hit points, his character portrait is going crazy with bright green flames and the eye of Sauron, and is it looking at me? Thankfully I can avoid getting close to the big thing and stay out of its way.



While exploring I find a Ranger named Elúr camping out a little ways south of Esteldín. He tells me that the Rangers have always kept woad and orchanel close at hand in order to dye their banners, and he passed much of it on his way here, but it wouldn't be practical to bring it on a scouting mission. If I pick any for Esteldín, they'd be most pleased. Oh boy, more flower gathering? My boy Orthonn would approve! He also tells me that until recently, small goblin raiding-parties were the worst threat around here, but with the arrival of Angmar's orcs, the goblins have been forced into servitude. Now, they watch the front-lines of the host at Dol Dínen under command of the orcs, awaiting their turn to be sacrificed for the greater glory of the Iron Crown. He suggests I don't keep them waiting, and make my way south-east to slay some goblins on the outskirts of the region, and bring back slave collars as evidence of my deeds.



Back at the Earth-kin camp, I return the lost weapons to Iivari, who tells me that he has a request for me - one that his tribe can't help him with. He's preparing the tribe for war, but he's not ready himself! See, his brother stands against him in this war, wielding the weapons of Angmar, his mind filled with their lies. He's not been able to speak to his brother since the rift grew between the Suuri-lehmä and Rauta-lehmä who serve Angmar, and he's not sure where his brother's heart really lies - whether he's torn up inside too. He can't lead his people to war while this doubt gnaws at me, so he asks me to take a message to his brother Oskari somewhere within the Rauta-lehmä encampment at Fashat Laugh, far to the east. Perhaps he can yet be convinced to return before the end.

Nearby, a dwarf tradesman named Ragnarr Hornsounder explains that the Jorthkyn have always been a mystery of sorts - they help his people without asking for payment. He came here to live among them, so their people and dwarves could learn to know each other better. This little group is all that remains of a hunting party from beyond the Ram Dúath mountain range. After crossing the pass, their First Hunter turned on them, throwing things into chaos. Ragnarr is still a stranger here and not fully trusted, especially after this recent betrayal, and will need to gain their trust again. Their tribal totem is the aurochs, and when the First Hunter's group turned away, they took one of the totem skulls with them. He's seen it displayed among the hill to the north-east, so he asks me to collect it to build some trust with the tribe.

Asikko, meanwhile, tells me that his people's pride binds them - and while he doesn't want to fight his brothers, he has been forced to do so. He'll fight when the time comes, though he won't be happy about it. He's also bound by honor, and that honor must be satisfied, even in the face of the First Hunter's betrayal. He admits he knows only names, not faces. The name he knows is Gondranc, a man who knows the crafting of leather and tanned hides. He promised to share the secrets of the art of leatherworking with him in exchange for the letters he once taught. The book he wrote is lost now to the Rauta-lehmä in the east, and he does not dare to try and sneak in to get it - would I go over there to the traitors' camp and retrieve that volume?

I run over to grab the aurochs skull real quick, which is just displayed out in the open on a standard - not very tough, that.



Afterwards I make the long trip eastwards towards the Rauta-lehmä encampments and sneak along the side to reach the chieftain, who is flanked by Oskari, Iivari's brother, who looks like his twin (as do basically all the earth-kin, really.) After taking out the leader of the local rebels, I address a surprisingly passive Oskari who takes my message, and declares that Iivari is a fool who refuses to see the world as it truly is. He thinks words alone can chase away darkness - he does not understand the meaning of power! He asks me to take a message back to Iivari, as it's all the answer he'll receive from his once-brother. Now go, or the Rauta-lehmä shall crush me! On my way back I pilfer Asikko's book from a lean-to near the far end of the camp, then run back to the Earth-kin camp.



Iivari notes that the runestone I was given as a message is a gift that he gave to Osaki years ago - it means 'kinship.' Now he knows the truth - because it's been etched over with a new symbol that means 'without value.' The lies of the Angmarim run too deep, and his brother is beyond his reach, now. He finds his heart no less troubled by what he must do, but now he knows there's no choice… I drop the book off with Assiko, who says that in a time past he would ask his brothers for the book, and it would be freely given - since the arrival of the Men of the North, Angmarim, that has changed - they have forsaken their oaths and follow them without thinking of the damage they do to the land. It's sad the book had to be taken from them with warfare and death, but honor demands it. I should take the book to Gondranc and tell him honor is satisfied - he should use its knowledge well. He also tells me I've helped the tribe enough, and warns me that Rangers must need my help again, as one of them is looking out for me with a watchful eye from not far away…

I take the aurochs skull to Ragnarr, who admits he may have erred - he misunderstood the Jorthkyn. The skull that was taken by the First Hunter was not just any skull, but the skull of the Great Aurochs - the namesake of the tribe, the Suuri-lehmä. That skull has been the symbol of the tribe's hunters for generations, so if I could retrieve that, it would prove Ragnarr's purpose is pure and without ill intent. I should head to the Rauta-lehmä camps to the east again and find the huge skull in some place of reverence or on an altar, since even those lowly curs can't have abandoned all the beliefs they once held dear. It'll be difficult to carry, so I'd better take care - fighting while holding it will be essentially impossible…

I leave camp and track down the Ranger watching me - Melthindir is a little ways up the slope, and he's surprised I've come to his aid - he has many fears tugging at his mind today, so that's nice! He explains that the orcish invasion from the north caught the Rangers unprepared, since many of theri kindred are abroad in other lands, preparing defenses against the Shadow in the East, so their eyes were not turned northwards. This army that came down from Angmar is too great for the forces in the North Downs to defeat without support, yet they must still prepare for fighting. Melthindir's predecessor here stored many weapons and supplies throughout eastern Nan Amlug and Rhunenlad, but he's not sure exactly where. He needs me to seek out these troves and bring them back here - they were all hidden near rocks and trees. It won't be easy, but with a bit of persistence I should find these - they'll be necessary.



I swing by Esteldín real quick to turn in the plants I've been gathering along the way and Assiko's book - neither gets much in the way of a response, though. I'm not entirely sure why I deliver this book to Gondranc when it was someone else who asked for the book in the first place… I guess Gondranc must be the unknown person Malenfang wanted it for? He does mention protecting Trestlebridge, so that much checks out. Eh. I head back east to trawl for ranger troves, which are a bit hard to find since they're spread out and pretty hard to notice - the only saving grace is that with tags turned on, they have a little white name floating above them which makes them stand out more from the ground, beyond just the sparkles of interactable objects.



To the east, back at the Rauta-lehmä camps, I also grab the Great Aurochs skull, which is kind of hilarious - it's massive enough that I basically have to carry it with my entire body. There was some kind of quality of life improvement, here - back in the day this was an absolute slog, but nowadays you automatically get a 50% buff to your speed while carrying it so it's just a matter of dodging enemies on my way back, not trudging slowly that way while staying far away from anything hostile lest I drop the thing. Considering I also get a speed buff from my class, I am zooming across the landscape like Sonic before long, straight back to the Suuri-lehmä tribe's hideout. Ragnarr thanks me for it, but nothing else comes of this quest beyond some loot. Alas.



I let Melthindir know that I retrieved his troves of goodies, and he admits it will take some work to make many of the weapons usable, but they're still better than hoes or pitchforks. He'll start repairing them at once! He trusts my search wasn't too difficult? We have to be resolute and fight back against these orcs before the North Downs are lost, as they'd soon pour into Bree-land and many innocents will be killed and all the north lost! For now, he just needs me to scout - and not the orcs, surprisingly. He's interested in a force of hillmen that came from Angmar after the orcs. He sees this as a big threat to these lands, but everyone's so spread out that they can't fully determine how bad the situation is. I should scout the hillman-encampment to the north-east and also a pass to the north-west next to some strange spiny rocks - he needs to know what's going on in those places.

After a quick horse-ride along the north side of the map, I return to inform him of what I found - small encampments of hillmen to the east, not too many, and a valley to the west full of cold-worms and drakes of all things. Melthindir is relieved the Angmarim force is not too large, and admits that while he knew there was a valley that was home to worms, he didn't know there'd be drakes there as well. He asks me to head to the Ram Dúath passage again, and clear the path of those pesky cold-worms so there's a passage the Rangers can use to get into Angmar without passing through one that's blocked by hillmen.



I've done a great service in scouting, he says, but there's yet much more to do. Those hillmen still have him concerned, so he asks me to inspect these men who long ago swore allegiance to the Witch-king of Angmar. They've never united beneath a single banner since then - that they should now do so again troubles him, and that they're guarding an entrance to Angmar is alarming. Before we can know how to deal with them, we need to know how strong they are - so I should take some out and collect their identifying brooches so we can figure out the composition of their ranks. He also asks me to swing by Elúr down the slope to speak to him about the orcish threat to the south, but I've already done that, so I just get orc-killing.



I needed to go there for Elúr anyway, and when there I also kill Natkam the goblin leader, so his forces scatter without his brutal will forcing them to comply. Since most of the enemies here are a bit on the strong side for a solo player I high-tail it out and drop slave collars off with Elúr to show my work, and he wonders if the orc-generals will perhaps feel less secure without a wall of goblin-flesh to keep them safe. In truth, this was only a small victory, as the enemy army seems vast and the Dúnedian are a dwindling people… C'mon, man, it's okay! I've run into a whole bunch of you already. Maybe invest in the concept of women? Just a thought.

I head north next, to the cold-worm passage, and get another mission to gather their scales and kill off the local Drake Matron that's ruling these things. The cold-worms aren't terribly tough, and the 'cold' part of their name indicates they don't have any fancy fire attacks either, so they go down fast. As I climb the crevices that are technically the far southern tip of Angmar, I also start destroying drake eggs.



Are cold-worms just baby drakes or something? That's what I'm picking up here. Even smashing a bunch of eggs doesn't really help much, the place is filled with foes. Higher up I start running into young drakes, basically tiny dragons, with the occasional adolescent among them, and at the end of a twisting set of paths with a couple dead ends I find the Drake Matron herself, the most powerful of this bunch, and I get a choice of hats for my trouble. Okay, sure.



I ride out the other side into the town Aughaire, a hillmen settlement - but these are friendly ones. Not keen on getting chewed on by mobs fifteen levels stronger than me, I go to the closest stables and hitch a ride back to Esteldín.

I let Methindir know that I cleaned up most of the drake pass and deliver a whole bunch of worm-scales and dragon leather to fashion into new sets of armor. He seems impressed - and he'd better be - but warns that there might yet be other dangers in Ram Dúath which may prove too great for even me. For now I set off to the hillmen tribes to gather those brooches I was asked about. Once I'm there, I get a remote quest to destroy some hillman weapons, shields, and even their food-stocks, as well as take out several of their armorers who keep them equipped. I also kill their leader, a Plague-bearer flanked by a couple guards who's hiding out in one of the tents. I think some of these are war-crimes? Luckily Geneva isn't on Ea.



After cleaning up the last of the objectives and finding a strange iron collar on one of the wargs, I head back to Melthindir to let him know I did my job. He observes that clearly these men are well-armed and supplied, which bodes ill for any chance to push through the eastern Ram Dúath into Angmar. We'll need to redouble efforts against them to make a strong attack against them in the north… Next time, on probably the last part of the North Downs. When I finally get around to doing the Epic Quest in this place...

 

[WestOrEast]

What the heck is with that dragon just sitting around out there, waiting to maul someone who doesn't keep a close enough eye on the HUD?

 

[Roarian]

What the heck is with that dragon just sitting around out there, waiting to maul someone who doesn't keep a close enough eye on the HUD?

Click to shrink...

Rotspittle, the dragon, is one of the so-called Roving Threats, a kind of special encounter for ~level 100 fellowships/groups. They respawn at set times in various locations (I think it's random which one pops up, though) and if defeated you can earn a couple special items which can be traded in with a special vendor for various types of weapons, armor, and cosmetics. There's a second variety of these, the Warbands, which show up in the Rohan expansion - basically higher level roving groups that you have to keep an eye on when riding around on your fancy horse, since they can be difficult to defeat.

Also, yes, sometimes you can get blindsided by a roving threat just kind of smacking you to kingdom come, since some of them do patrol their immediate surroundings. Got my ass kicked by one of them in Fornost, actually, when I took a wrong turn.

 

[Jakobstj]

Of course, the slightly sad thing about Roving Threats is that when they were added during the Gondor updates, they were bad-ass threats even at level cap and required groups to deal with. After Mordor though, the level cap went up far enough that even the ones that are meant for raid groups can be soloed.

 

[Roarian]

North Downs (Part 5)

With my business concluded, for the moment, I check off some more boxes - I travel west out of Esteldín for the first time in a while and revisit the neighborhood of Meluinen and Othrikar to hunt down a couple ruins with Founding Stones within them, ancient ruins of Arthedain that I read about a while ago. Minas Vrûn, Ost Lagaros, Ost Galumar, and Merenost all turn out to be Dúnedain ruins - I ran across a couple of these founding stones before, actually.



There's also inscriptions which place these in time, and somewhat in motivation of their construction:

Henneth Rhún (Near Fornost) : Established in the first year of the reign of Araphor, son of Arveleg. 'Folk shall gather where commerce thrives.'​

​

Duintham (Annúndir) : Founded in the year 1249 of the Third Age. 'At this place did King Celebrindor establish the Town of Duintham, that his people might cultivate the land and feed the people of his realm.'​

​

Carnoglin (Near Othrikar) : Founded in the name of Malvegil, King of Arthedain. With the skills of Thorhaddur the Dwarf and his kindred was this town built. 'United in purpose, may Dwarves and Men be ever bonded in friendship.'​

​

Ost Ardúlin (Near Meluinen) : The face of this monument is marred by what appear to be large tooth-marks, as if several man-like creatures decided to gnaw upon the stone. Though most of the writing has been destroyed, you can discern the words 'Ost Ardúlin' at the top of the monument, and at the bottom the phrase, 'that we might retreat from our cares, and take solace in such beauty.'​

I reach the far west and swing by Mincham, finally starting the Epic Quest after basically completing the rest of the area first - my bad. The order of things here is a bit funky since the epic quest only begins at the final quest hub. Anyway, I let him know that the Enemy might be attempting to retake Fornost of old, and from what he's seen he can believe that they most likely have. From his lonely camp he's seen specters of Oathbreakers stir and fell spirits of Angmar take shape upon the Fields. (I was there!) He's also seen orcs spilling out from the gates of Fornost, so the Enemy is definitely there once more. What he can't know is how strong the enemy forces are in the ruined city. For that, I'll need to help. He fears the only way to know for sure is to test the defenses personally, but his old injury prevents him from doing it himself. (Sure…) I should head north and kill every orc and warg I find, and report on what I find.



I go through slaughtering the various orcs and wargs, then revisit the treasure hunter camp inside to find that the iron collar I found is recognized by Will Widdup, one of the people there. It turns out this fell collar is Krithmog's, lost for half an age. It's been passed from warg to warg, and I found it entirely by chance - it was once used to bind Kirthmog to the service of Angmar, and perhaps it will once again bind him - but this time to his doom! Krithmog is a warg wight that's a boss in the Fornost dungeons, but I'm not going to do that right now. I might get back to it at a later time…

I return to Mincham and he says I've got a truly stout heart to face such beasts - and he only wishes he could have gone himself. (Sure…) From what he gathers, Agnmar did not merely send a token force to Fornost - nay, it appears they sent an army! Fornost has fallen once more to Angmar! He bids me to return to Halbarad in Esteldín and tell him what I've learned. From such a fortified spot, Angmar could dominate all of the North - but there are worse things to worry about. Tales tell of a great evil which inhabits the collapsed and ruined halls of Fornost, and that evil could be called to serve Angmar! I should let Halbarad know now!

I take a horse ride east, back to Esteldín, and inform Halbarad of what's been going on.



He figures he should be thankful he's no longer ignorant of the Enemy's plans, yet the question of how this threat will be faced still looms over us all. The peoples of the North Downs will have to come together for a council to deal with this enemy. There's much to do, and much he'll ask of me in the coming days - if I am willing, of course. The Rangers need support - from the dwarves of Othrikar, who are good Longbeards continually struggling with Dourhand forces, from the elves of Lin Giliath who are dealing with stone-troll issues, and from the people of Trestlebridge, who are under constant assault by orcs. I should go to those places and speak to Dori, Gildor Inglorion, and Nellie Boskins respectively. I think I've already dealt with most of those issues, so this is a bit of a reprise…

On the way out I speak to Istuienn again, who is impressed that I made a circuit of all five lost towns of Arthedain, not really expecting me to make the attempt. Novice Rangers are often assigned this task, she explains, as the beasts that lair in these places make exploration dangerous. Perhaps the Rangers will be able to make further use of my skills in the future…

I decide to head back to Lin Giliath first, heading inside the central building to speak to Gildor Inglorion for the first time - he's a book character that didn't, I think, make much of an appearance in the films. He's the elf who Frodo met near the beginning of the book, in the Shire, and who told him: 'Do not meddle in the affairs of Wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger.' He greets me and says he wishes he could extend me a warmer welcome, but these are dark times. The shadow of the Enemy has grown long, longer perhaps than any had thought, and the elves of Lin Giliath have paid the price for complacency. This Council of Esteldín I'm organizing - he wished he could simply commit to such an endeavor, but it's not that simple. Many of his people are overcome with grief and anger at what happened here recently, and the threats to the refuge are not yet dealt with. Orcs in Nan Wathren are planning to move on the place soon…



The scouts say that these orcs are being led by a great uruk from Angmar named Drukordh, who camps out in the deepest parts of Nan Wathren. Perhaps if he is slain, Lin Giliath would be protected enough for him to commit to the Council. It's a heavy burden, but he would take me with this, if I am up for it. The uruk is a mighty foe, so he suggests not to confront him alone - but if I must, he offers me an elf-stone's strength to prevail with power summoned from deep within. (It's an inspiration buff much like the one against the troll on Weathertop.)

Heading back into Nan Wathren after my earlier forays from Trestlebridge, I spend a little time doing the local repeatable quests again - they've refreshed by now, and it's free reputation with the locals, really. After that's done I head up, towards the higher-level threats, and start getting rid of a bunch of the locals, including brawlers, shankers, a bunch of corrupt altars, and anything else I can find.



There's a host of scholar resources up here as well - I might be coming back later to grind that a little more. Regardless, it doesn't take long before I arrive at a location where I can actually use my elf-stone - so far, I've just been coasting on being higher level than all these mobs, sufficiently so that they fall like wheat before a scythe. I guess those few levels I gained from the start of this zone helped!

Finding Drukordh isn't too difficult, as he's just high up in these hills, surrounded by a bunch of other foes, including a variety of wargs and some food barrels I can burn for another remote quest - they even have a boss of their own, Gloomfang the warg. The wargs give me some trouble, but Drukordh himself is easier thanks to the buff I got, and since it lasts about fifteen minute I use the remaining time to decimate the local orc population and grind up my deeds a little. I'm not sure I've mentioned those, but they're basically local achievements that get you experience for equipable virtues, which are various buffs you can choose between. The system has changed a lot since the old days, honestly, so I'm not entirely sure how that works.



I leave Nan Wathren through the southern passage, which means I end up back near Trestlebridge - right in the ideal position to turn in those Nan Wathren quests from way back at the start of this zone. Captain Trotter is amazed at my accomplishments, crediting me with halting an oncoming war on his people and saving Trestlebridge's homes and livelihoods. I then head into the door next to him to speak to Nellie Boskins on behalf of Halbarad, relaying the invitation to the Council of Esteldín. She thinks I've taken leave of my senses, wondering if I'm unaware of the dangers facing her town - the constant attacks they endure? I mean, I did just decimate the central orc invasion force, lady, I think I got it. Sheesh.



She tells me that if these men in the east truly cared about the threats facing the town, they'd send help with these orcs. (Oy.) They would not have to suffer, to lose all that's dear to them. No, she won't come to the Council, nor anything else, and she shall not be convinced otherwise! Now, if I have no other business, I should be off to leave her to plan the town's defense! Annoyed, I take a handy Hunter teleport back to Esteldín to fell Halbarad in on this. He's not surprised Nellie would refuse the call of the Concil, but that doesn't matter now. Word has arrived that a large contingent of orcs are marching on Trestlebridge, and while the people there are strong folk, he fears they are no match for these orcs, and the chieftain that leads them. I have to go back and help them out! Convenient.

He explains that in the past, the orcs that attacked have come from the Tarkrip tribe, and their bloodlust usually causes them to throw themselves heedlessly into battle without forethought. The orcs that now move on the town are from the Ongbúrz tribe, and these warriors are stronger and more skilled. The townsfolk won't stand up to these forces, and while Halbarad would like to send a party of his men to aid them, all his kind are dealing with matters in the east. The two of us might be able to get there in time, however. I've done a lot already, he says, but he would ask for my help in this battle, telling me I should gather what warriors I can and return to save the town. Naturally, since I'm alone, I get a boost of inspiration for my trouble to carry me through…

---

Instance: The Defence of Trestlebridge

"The little town of Trestlebridge is all that stands between the Orcs of Angmar and Bree-land to the south. Halbarad, Ranger of the North, gathers heroes to help defend Trestlebridge from the approaching onslaught…"​

Halbarad helpfully teleports us back to the streets of Trestlebridge, where he tells me that we have to make haste - we have to convince Miss Boskins about the threat that's nearly upon her! He bids me to follow, and we run through the streets towards Nellie's house, shouting at her to come out.



One of the guards relays the message and she soon shows herself, asking who Halbarad is and what he wants. The Ranger explains that he hails from Esteldín with a dire warning: a type of orcs unknown to her are about to raid the town! Nellie isn't convinced, noting that it's convenient that moments after she refuses his call to come to a Council, suddenly a new threat appears he just happens to help with. That's what I thought!

Nellie declares that she knows how to deal with the orcs without his help, and tells him to head on home - Trestlebridge will handle its own affairs. Halbarad pleads with her to reconsider, only for a guardsman to run in from the direction of the bridge. Nellie turns to him, expecting a new attack, which is of course when the guard declares that a new type of orc approaches. In basically the same wording that Halbarad used, too, so now I'm kinda suspicious he set this up somehow. Poor writing or fifth-dimensional Ranger chess? We'll never know. Nellie recognizes that the Ranger might have been telling the truth and grabs a weapon to head to the bridge and personally deal with this threat. You go, girl!



We run towards the bridge, where several guards are already tackling a small group of Ongbúrz orcs inside the Trestlespan, the covered bridge to the town. Some of them take some punishment, even with the inspiration buff, and they like to gang up on the NPCs, but between the five of us - Nellie, Halbarad, me, and two guards - they go down pretty quickly without any of them really getting a chance to attack me directly. The benefits of a bunch of bodies in the way of my ranged assault, huh? The first wave is done, but it's not the last - more will be coming soon. Halbarad explains to Nellie that these are a different, stronger tribe of orcs, and that even these can be fought - as long as we don't give up hope, we shall yet stand this day!

Another wave arrives, this time with stronger foes that take longer to put down. My usual tactic of fearing one or two of them doesn't really work since they snap out of it when one of the NPCs hits them, but the distraction still helps. Unfortunately the two guardsmen die along the way, but since they were nameless I imagine that's fine.



The final wave approaches, Halbarad intuits, as among the next bunch is an Ongbúrz Battle-lord, who snarls at his minions to 'Smash 'em, kill 'em, destroy these maggots!' The warchief is upon us! After taking down its minions, the actual boss is pretty vulnerable to just unloading all my remaining skills in one mega-burst of damage, and Nellie takes the finishing blow. Huzzah, the day is ours!

Nellie thanks us for our assistance, saying Trestlebridge is indebted to Halbarad and myself. He then says he'll need to get back to Esteldín soon, and turns to me. He declares he's indebted to me as well, since he fears the battle would have turned against the Free Peoples without my presence. He asks me to stay behind to ensure the town is safe through the night, then return to him in Esteldín the next day. This was a great victory, indeed!

---

Back at Nellie's place, she apologizes to me for her earlier behavior, saying it was nearly unforgivable. She sees now that the constant orcs attacks were nothing compared to what Angmar could truly bring to bear on this small town. I risked my life for her people, so she's in my debt. (Lotta debt going around here.) In order to satisfy her debt, she decides she'll start by answering Halbarad's call to the Council. Whatever strength the Men of Trestlebridge can lend to his endeavor shall be his to command. She asks me to visit Halbarad and tell him that she'll come as soon as she settles matters here, as she is still responsible for her people, but she sees now that all the Free Peoples must stand together if they are to remain free. Nice!

I take another 'port to Esteldín, then ride back to Lin Giliath to resolve that loose thread. Gildor is happy to see that I've handled the threat of the orcs in Nan Wathren's highest peaks, claiming he could hear the wails of the enemies from here. Good ears! He tells me that with the threat of the uruk Drukordh gone, the rest are less dangerous, and he's free to come to the Council of Esteldín. Perhaps I could be a dear and let Halbarad know? Yeah, yeah, you're not the first to tell me that today. Just the last paragraph, in fact…

With two boxes checked off I ride due south to Othrikar, where I seek out the dwarf Hannar and tell him I'm looking for Dori.



Alas, he declares, Dori has been captured by the Dourhands! Of course he has. An envoy from the traitors explained that if the Longbeards don't hand over the mines to them, Dori would be killed. When I explain about the Council, Hannar points out that they can't even consider such questions while Dori's gone, as it was only with his arrival and the hoard of gems he brought that hope began to creep back into dwarven hearts around here. With Dori gone and the gems taken, hope is also thin on the ground. If the Rangers wish to have help, then Dori must be freed first - and if I'm their envoy, that's my job. He's being held in the Dourhands' camp to the west…

The largest Dourhand camp is one I haven't really visited before - it's a ways away from the father-lode or where their leadership hung out, for some reason, and inside a large Arthedain ruin that I only briefly skirted the outside of to get one of the Founding Stones earlier.



This time I head deeper in, and find it pretty unexciting - the enemies are pretty normal Dourhands, if in greater numbers. After chopping myself through some of the ruin, I find a side-path with a big cage-wagon in a corner - that's where they're keeping Dori. What, not even any noteworthy guards? Eh. Dori is impatient, telling me that it's about time for his rescue! He also explains that the Dourhands took the hoard of gems he brought, and they'll need to be taken back before we leave, as Othrikar is depending on them.



On the way out of the camp, of course, things get dicey - we're spotted by Dourhands before long and they send their best at us, after an early wave of low-level ruffians and miners. There's multiple waves of higher-level mobs that I fight off using another inspiration buff - because they're handing those out like candy at the moment - as we head deeper in to find a particular chest. After Dori pilfers it for his gems we have to reverse course through a whole bunch more mobs to fight our way back to the entrance.



At some point the signature or elite mobs drop off and we're just kicking the ass of a couple random hendrevail and lynxes. At last, as we exit the immediate surroundings of the ruin, Dori declares we've gotten free from the Dourhands. He then leaves on his own power, so I head back to town to let Hannar know that I've freed him. The dwarf is very pleased, saying that Dori arrived ahead of me and went to rest inside, but he told of my valiant rescue. They're at my service. Before he retired, Hannar also relayed my earlier message to the old dwarf, and he recommended that the dwarves should go to this council. The dwarves shall lend their might to it, and free all of the North Downs from the clutches of the Enemy! I should go now and let Halbarad know about this! That's three for three.

Back in Esteldín, I let Halbarad know I've gotten everyone's agreement for the Council.



He notes that while he awaits the arrival of those who promised to attend, he has one final task for me. See, his chieftain, Aragorn, must be told of what transpired here. Halbarad would also seek his counsel, as the position he finds himself in is unusual. Aragorn has always been the one to lead the Rangers, to organize, to inspire. If only the matter he was seeing to was not of much greater importance, he would be here! It can't be helped, though. By now, Aragorn should have arrived in the elven refuge of Rivendell, over in the Trollshaws. He warns me that a hard ride awaits me, but words must be taken to Aragorn in the guest rooms of Elrond's house…

That's where the North Downs quests end, at least for now. While Halbarad's request to head to Rivendell is manageable enough at this level, and the next Epic Quest is there, I've got another area to tackle before heading to the Trollshaws. While that's the next area in the release version of LOTRO, one of the first new maps introduced in a post-release patch was Evendim, a large water-heavy map to the west of the North Downs. While its epic quests are higher level, on account of its chapter coming out after the release campaign which capped at level 50, the actual zone is dominated by quests of level 30 through 40, overlapping the level ranges of the North Downs and the Trollshaws. Now's the best time to tackle it!

Evendim, here I come!

 

[Roarian]

Evendim (Part 1)

As an area that was added later than release, Evendim is a bit out of the way and in the opposite direction from the 'normal' progression - while heading into the Trollshaws means heading east from the Lone-lands, and Angmar is north of the North Downs, Evendim is back west, in the direction of the Shire. I could just dash through the Fields of Fornost again to get there, but since most of my connection quests actually lead to the southern tip of the area, I take a Hunter teleport to Michel Delving in the Shire and grab the local stables (for easy connections later) before riding northwards through a long passage that eventually brings me to the village of Oatbarton. I see some nice fireworks along the way, it seems the Party Tree is true to its name!



Standing in the middle of town is Nod Gardener, the guy who I was referred to by a Ranger in Esteldín who was way too much into hobbit festivals and was afraid this year's edition wouldn't happen. Nod certainly hopes it'll happen - he's nearly out of pipeweed! I also ask him about oatmeal on behalf of Old Mugwort in the Lone-lands, and he's surprised to hear from the old coot - in truth, there's serious problems around here, so it's a good thing I've come. He welcomes me officially to Oatbarton, home to some of the northernmost farms in the Shire, with crops that have a distinctly sharper taste which makes pipeweed linger on the tongue. The main producer is Northcotton farms, just west of town, and they're getting ready for their harvest market, but there's still a lot to do before they're done! I could go help out, you know…



There's nothing for it - I head west to Northcotton farms, which immediately proves to be a bit of a hedge maze with actual hedges, filled with various hobbit holes, hobbits, and pastoral backyard fields full of random crops. As with the maze aesthetic, it's also difficult to navigate - the map doesn't really help, and there's various places where you can see your destination on the other side of a hedge, but you have to take the long way around. Maddening! I find Albin Northcotton eventually, and he informs me that if I'm here to help - there's a lot to do. See, the hobbits are terribly behind this year, and almost nothing has been done yet - and he doesn't know how he can possibly get stuff finished in time. The harvest hasn't been great, so the hobbits have been spending all their time getting what they did grow to stay alive.



In order to have a proper farmer's market, he explains, there are many things that still have to be done - there must be pies and premiere pipe-weed, the place needs to be cleaned up and the animals have to be made ready for petting, and someone named Nibs claimed he'd be participating too, but he's run into some trouble as well. If I could help everyone get ready, they would be greatly in my debt, he assures me. This might be the last year they can have this market, he worries, and so he hopes to make it the best! He then sends me out to find a whole slew of other hobbits in the immediate vicinity. Rosa Brockhouse about the pies, Milo Longfurrow for help with chores, Gerard Deephole for the animals, Blossom Gamgee for the pipe-weed, and Nibs and Hal Gamgee back in the main town for their own troubles. Sheesh, this guy's demanding!

That's only the start of it. As I arrive at the first of the hobbits, I realize what I'm in for - he explains to me that I need to go around and clean up his tools to get them tidy for the market, but they're strewn all across the fields. Hoes, sickles, pitchforks, trowels… I need to find four of each and they're scattered across the entire Northcotton Farm area, which - as I remind you - is basically a maze.



And while I'm at it, I should also hunt down 12 lamps next to the road and light them, too! I get to work. This really does feel like work, as it's far from the last of these chores, just doing menial pixel hunting across the scattered fields. At least the map gives me a vague indication of the area I should be searching in, I guess. The lamps are a little easier since they're arrayed along one of the main paths, and you can mostly see them in sequence, hopping from one to the next.



I find Rosa Brockhouse along the way, and she instructs me to harvest some wheat to get those pies started, while Gerard Deephole instructs me to find some sheep and bring them back to the farm, which essentially entails a repetitive trip around three corners since all the missing sheep are in the same area and the destination is the same little pen. Feh.



Which is when he tells me to do the exact same thing again with chickens. Same method, too, and they're even right next to the missing sheep - what is this boring nonsense? Then, when done, he sends me out to mud the pigs. Which entails running to the same location, picking up a bucket of mud, and then running into the pen several times. Yes, you guessed it, it's the same quest with different flavor! I swear, this entire area is designed to be annoying as hell and reflect the tedium of real farming…



While hunting down loose tools and a bunch of wheat fields to harvest, I also find Edulf Tunnelly, Rosa's assistant, and she asks me to kill some rats at a nearby windmill to get it ready for use to grind flour from the wheat I retrieved. That's pretty easy, actually, so Rosa quickly makes some flour for me and tells me to take it back to Rosa. I also meet Blossom Gamgee, who tells me to go harvest some pipe-weed and drive off crows in the fields that keep eating her produce.



Afterwards I drop by Rosa's to deliver that flour, and she sends me out to collect some grapes for the pies, then crush them in a tub in the vineyard by standing on top of them in full armor and dancing. Okay, sure. I also find the last of the tools and return them, upon which Milo sends me out… to pull weeds.

Hobbits, gah.

The weeds in question are all over the area immediately surrounding the owner of the farm, which seems to indicate a lack of willingness to get his hands dirty, but I quickly swing around the place getting rid of the unsightly vegetation.



Milo then decides to fix the crow problem by having me collect the scarecrows and setting them up - but actually his reasoning is that the hobbit children love them. Cute. The scarecrows are all lined up, but finding the mounds of dirt where they fit is a bit more difficult since they're spread out across a few streets and I constantly get lost. Milo then decides he needs to spruce the place up a bit more and sends me out to harvest some flowers to give a splash of color and brightness to the proceedings.

Harvesting the flowers comes with some risks, as swarms of biting sand-flies erupt whenever I grab them, and I'm forced to shoot arrows into the cloud of midges until they drop down dead en masse for vague reasons.



I bring the pipe-weed back to Blossom, who asks me to sort it by quality and size of the leaf, as that's indicative of the taste. This isn't actually a puzzle, though - I just have to click a couple of barrels to complete this step. The next step is to take the pipe-leaf a few streets over and place it on a drying rack, as the longer it dries the stronger the taste becomes, and the darker the color of the smoke. I bring the pipe-weed over there, and apparently that 'waiting around' business is for other people, as I immediately head back to deliver the dried goods for the next step in the process.



I'm supposed to sample the goods now, and tell Blossom what I think of each of the three casks. With a smoking animation or three, I get my answer - the first blend is smooth, the second is flavorful, the third is too much to handle. Blossom thinks that sounds like the pipe-weed is ready for the market! I should go the market-grounds and let Albin know! I ride off to harvest grapes from the vine instead, then stop for a moment to mud the pigs - I got distracted. Gerard sends me out to defeat shrews and collect cow feed to fill the troughs. With that done, I plant a bunch of the flowers I got earlier around Albin's place, then head back to Milo to confirm that I concluded his chores, and he sends me towards Albin too. We're getting somewhere!

One of the farms is overrun with shrews, so I kill a bunch of them and then take the bags of feed just laying about the place. On the way back I also find the crushing tub and dump the grapes in, followed by using a dancing emote to do a jiggy on top. The elven slow-dance stuff doesn't really work here - I imagine the jolly hobbit hopping dance is more sensible.



Rosa approves of my jamming session - the resulting jam is fine. Now, eggs! She sends me off back to the animal farm to harvest some eggs from the chickens I rescued earlier - this feels a bit scummy. I saved your life, you owe me your firstborn! I also fill the feeding troughs so the cows have something to eat. With that I've tended to all the animals, so Gerard also sends me back to Albin.

I return the eggs to Rosa and actually level up from the experience - I guess manual labor does build character. The final thing she needs is butter, the most important ingredient, so she sends me off to milk the cows - well, at least I'm just asking for their secretions this time for service rendered.



Holy cow! After getting the milk I have to churn butter, which is just clicking the butter churns a whole bunch of times until I get enough completions to satisfy the quest counter. Riveting. The final step, then, is to head back to Albin's place and deliver the pies - they're some of the best she's ever made, she claims, with a fluffy crust and thick filling, and the most delicious smells! It'd better be worth it after all this running around…

With all the local work done I head out of Northcotton Farms - after getting hopelessly lost for a while because one of the seeming dead ends was actually the way I needed to go to exit the area - I go find Nibs Chubb (what a name!) on a hill to the east of town. He explains that the North Moors are a dangerous place, and not two days ago he saw a wolf on the border of Oatbarton! He hasn't heard of such a thing since the Fell Winter, though he figures Hal Gamgee might have some stories to tell of stranger creatures. Regardless, his oat-farm has been having locust problems so he asks me to take those out, as well as their super-sized queens, and to find anything else that might be amiss around his field, since animals have been turning up dead recently. Vague, but alright.

He also asks me to harvest some oats for him - apparently an enterprising hobbit int he Wetfarthing sent him a letter requesting a large supply, the largest order he's ever seen, and while he didn't much like the idea of dealing with this stranger, these are hard times. He couldn't turn down the offer, even if he doesn't care much for these 'Sackville-Baggins' people, especially the Baggins part. There's queer tales about that family, to be sure… The fields are directly behind his house, so I immediately set out to grab some oats while taking out locust swarms and queens - the latter are singular large enemy, rather than buzzing hordes of little ones, so there's some extreme size difference here. Yikes.



While wandering the fields I come across something weird. Disturbing. A collection of hobbits have gathered around a strange monolithic stone lodged into one of the fields, and tentacle-like roots are stretching out along the ground around it, like it's corrupting the earth next to it. Even approaching it gives me a shot of dread, too. It's an evil-looking relic that's clearly not of hobbit-make, and as I stare warily at it, I can't divulge its secrets. I just feel vaguely ill. The nearby Bungo Grubb doesn't know what the horrible thing is, and asks me that if I learn anything about this thing, I should tell him at once. They're honest respectable folks here, and they don't deserve such awful things placed in backyards without their knowledge! This relic is actually part of a larger achievement/deed where you have to find several relics in different regions, and it's also got an associated set of 'In Your Absence' dungeon quests.



Anyway, the weird relic is odd, but not actually what I'm looking for - that would be the wolves prowling along the edge of the field. Nibs is concerned, telling me that this all sounds like one of Hal Gamgee's old tales - most hobbits don't heed much of what he says. He probably spent too many days under the stars, and that can play tricks on decent hobbits! He figures I should let Hal know about the wolves, though, as he had a story about a giant wolf north-east of town not two weeks ago! Hal is happy to help, explaining that herds of elk have been coming down from the north, running from something - they're spooked. These elk are bringing wolves across the Brandywine in their wake, of course. He asks me to hunt an elk for some meat so we can set a trap for the big white wolf that seems to be in charge of the local pack.

After a swift foray out of town to kill a single elk, I return and show the meat to Hal, who decides it'll do. Now it's time for the trap! I should head nort-east to find the younger wolves, and the big one shouldn't be far off. It'll most likely be hidden up in a cave or hole near the pack, so I should place the meat there to lure it out. Finding the wolf den is insultingly easy, as it's a huge stone structure in the middle of the forest surrounded by half a dozen wolves. There's a rock in front, so I place down the elk meat (after decimating the lesser wolves around the place) and summon forth Bonefang, who I quickly slay.



Hal is pleased with my work, and declares he shall ask his friend Roland in Dwaling to send a letter to his son Sam about the whole affair. With the wolf gone, though, the road to Dwaling is clear - which means people can come down for the market. I should let Albin know!

I drop by Northcotton Farms one more time to finish up my laundry list of chores, and are rewarded with my pick of a whole bunch of weapons - and none of them are any better than the ones I'm already using. It figures, but at least I got a ton of reputation out of this whole tedious affair… He thanks me for my great help, and says the market will open tomorrow. He was hoping I could head up the road to Dwaling and let the hobbits there know that, thanks to some outstanding help, they're starting the market a little early this year. I should find Hob Hillbrow and let him know!

Glad to leave this town behind, I make my way further north down some steep inclines, and soon reach a little camp on the edge of the town of Dwaling, which seems to have been taken over by assholes. I visit Hob Hillbrow, who is happy to hear the market is starting, but admits that he will not be able to make it - not with everything that's afoot here. In these dark times, he asks me to hear him out. You see, Dwaling has never been a very rich town, but they've always gotten by on their own, and many of the Shire's best glass blowers called this place home. Hob's dad before him was a glassblower, the best in the North and East Farthings, and he passed on his trade.



Recently, things turned for the worse for the little town. With all sorts of wild creatures around, folks are afraid of the North Bounds nowadays, and most of them moved away and sold off their property after business came to a halt. A hobbit out of the Westfarthing sent letters and contracts up this way to purchase hobbit holes and land until he got almost the whole town… and that's when the trouble really began. Hob used to get his tools repaired by a dear friend who lived in Dwaling, but he moved away not a week ago. Before he left, he swore he'd finish fixing up the glassworking equipment, though. If I could, I should head into town and see if they were left on the stoop like promised. The hobbit-hole in question is on the north side of town - he'd be in my debt.

Bog Greeneaves comments that he heard the Shire had some trouble with goblins recently, and the same is true here! They're up to no good, as usual, and Bob saw one of them kill a giant spider and drag it back to their camp, though why they'd want to do that is anyone's guess. Maybe the goblins consider spiders to be a delicacy of some kind? It makes him shudder to think about that. He wonders if I could go check out their camp at Bleakleaf Crest south of town, and see what happened to that spider. Maybe it'll explain what these goblins are all about…

I run into Ronald Dwale in town too - there was a mention of him earlier, actually - and he comments that it must have been the beginning of fall when he was on the banks of the Brandywine with his son, enjoying the sun, a fine meal, and a full pipe. His son sat there and played with his favorite toy, a piece of lead fashioned in the shape of a small dog, but it suddenly disappeared and couldn't be found before they had to leave. Ronald tried to console the boy with one of his stories, and he created a wonderful tale about the toy's whereabouts - but if I'm heading to the river, could I look around for it? It has to be somewhere in the Barandalf, the sand marshes north-east of Dwaling, but he warns me that he's heard of strange burrowing creatures inhabiting the area lately, and there's a decent chance one of them ate the toy, thinking it to be food.

This quest is actually a direct reference to a real life toy lead dog that was lost by J.R.R. Tolkien's son Michael, and which was the basis for Tolkien's story Roverandom about a little dog that is turned into a toy by an irritable wizard, and then goes on fantastic adventures to track down the wizard and return to original form of real dog. Cute! Actually, Ronald is one of Tolkien's middle names, and 'Dwale' is a cognate of Tol in Tolkien, so the entire character is essentially Tolkien as a hobbit who likes to tell stories. Well, that checks out!

Elsewhere in camp, Mundaric Sandheaver is glad I've come by, as he's been slowly trying to rebuild what he can - it's taken much effort, but he's afraid it'll soon be for naught. They're glassblowers, here in Dwaling - always have been, always will be. Hopefully. They've been running gravely low on supplies of late, however, as the new 'townsfolk' and the creatures in the sands have kept them from venturing out too far. There's barely enough supplies to finish the next order! Mundaric used to get white sand for his glass-blowing from a dear old friend who would travel to Barandalf, but he moved away not a week ago. (Same guy, I'm guessing?) If I would, maybe I could travel up to the Sand Marshes and get some myself?

I head into town first to find those glassworking tools, and it soon becomes clear things are… bad. Various human invaders have taken over the hobbit village, all of which are hostile and attack me on sight. I cross over some roofs to get to my destination on the north side of town, where the Chief's Captain is guarding the place until I start shooting him with an unhealthy amount of arrows. A satchel of glassblowing tools lie discarded in a corner so I pick them up, but I'm left with questions as to who this 'Chief' might be, and what exactly happened here.



I return to Hob, who explains that the hobbit from the west that he was talking about before, he let Big Men buy up all the land around here - in the Shire, no less! He's already talked to Ronald about sending a letter to old Will Whitfoot, the mayor, but he doesn't know what he can do about a legal contract like the one sent to his door. One of his friends, Pearlina Gamgee, is away in the Westfarthing looking for a snug hole to start over in, and he told her that he'd look after her home while she was away. Those new Men in town have a foul look about them, so he doesn't trust them, even if they do claim they're here to 'help.' If I could, I should check up on Pearlina's home in Dwaling, as I could probably hold my own if any of these ruffians give me trouble…

Before that I travel to the goblin camp nearby, and find it's filled with Gramsfoot goblins, a new clan that likes to chuck spears. I also find the corpse of a spider which I examine, determining that the goblins have let it lie there virtually untouched, but all the ichor and venom have been siphoned away and collected by the goblins. On my way back I check up on Pearlina's house, only to find it's overrun with the Chief's men. That's not great! The Chief's Watcher is messing with the poor hobbit's stuff, so I take him out from afar without alerting his neighbors.



Back at camp, Bob is worried that the goblins have foul plans with the venom, and while he's not sure what they might be doing with it - it can't be good! Maybe if I kill off the spiders, the goblins will go away? There's more than anyone can handle east of here, as the North Moors are crawling with them. It certainly won't make anyone sorry to see the beasts dead. Hob, meanwhile, decides that what I found tells him these Men are in breach of contract. Never in all his days has he heard of decent folk getting attacked in the Shire, though he wouldn't put such treachery beyond the Big Men. He's asked Ronald to draft a formal letter of complaint to the leader of these men, Will Tuffin. He's always in and out of the big hole down in the middle of Dwaling, and he'd like me to take the letter to him straight away. I should take care not to let them bully me! I retrieve the letter from ersatz Tolkien, and he tells me business letters are not his usual fare - he's more used to crafting fanciful stories and letters, but he surely did a fine job.

I head for Dwaling to ring the doorbell at the big hobbit-hole after clearing out some workers. Will Tuffin shows himself - he's dismissive of the letter from 'those little rats,' declaring that this land is owned by him now, on Sharkey's orders. That fool Lotho Sackville-Baggins doesn't know what signed up for! When he realizes I'm not leaving, he starts a fight and I beat him up to within an inch of his life before he retreats back inside, declaring he'll deal with me later as he flees and slams the door closed behind him - he's got work to do here in Dwaling!



I return to camp to let Hob know, who isn't impressed that Will locked the door in my face - isn't that the rudest thing he heard all day? He tells me Bob actually has a spare key to the hole, since it's a public building. He tells me to march right over there and make sure Will reads every word of the letter!

Next time…

 

[WestOrEast]

So how do those hobbit farmers do work when you're not around? Or do they just always wait for others to do the work, collect the profits themselves and hand out a few odds and ends as payment?

 

[Roarian]

Evendim (Part 2)

---

Instance: A Formal Complaint

"An attempt to lodge a formal complaint on behalf of the glassblower Hob Hillbrow led to a violent encounter with the Chief's Men. The time has come to put the ruffians in their place…" ​

I make my way over to the big hole, and find it less than clean - there's a chair burning away in an impromptu indoor campfire, someone's stacked furniture against the walls to make primitive barricades, and everything's grungy and dirty. As soon as I arrive a group of the Chief's Men enter the room alongside Will Tuffin, who wonders if I'm back again with that damn letter. It looks like he'll have to add trespassing to my list of offenses! There are new rules here in Dwaling, you see, and his men here will make sure I make no more trouble.



Will then leaves, and I take on the lackeys, who go down with a modicum of effort to a more melee-focused fight than I'm used to, in these cramped spaces. After finishing that fight and making my way through the hobbit hole, I soon come across a room completely filled with diseased rats - taking them out is quick work, but the moment I finish another one of the Chief's Men charges in to fight, and I'm forced to take him out too. I walk through the next door and face off with the Chief's Wolf-Keeper and her trusty Wolfhound, who aren't too impressive.



Soon enough I catch up with Will Tuffin again, who's still a little shit. I take out his two guards first, then focus on him - and when he's down to low health, he once again scampers and flees into the next room, shouting that we'll see what the Chief has to say about all this! This guy's a bit of a coward, huh?

In the final room I finally meet the so-called Chief, a half-orc, who declares that Will is a fool for ruining Sharkû's plans, and Sharkû does not accept failure! He then whips out a huge greatsword and cuts the human down right there.



He then commands the rest of his guards to take me out. The four guards in there only come at me one by one, though, so I'm pretty efficient in cutting them down before the half-orc himself finally jumps into the fray. One or two of the guards actually try to flee, but the Chief isn't tolerant of that sort of stuff, as seen before. He ultimately dies with a whimper, and I am told that the formal complaint has been resolved. Well, that's one way to do it!

---

I return to the glassblowers' camp and tell Hob what happened. He's troubled that their leader wouldn't take the letter, and admits he didn't expect trouble from these ruffians. He'll have to write another formal complaint written to this 'investor' Lotho and tell him just what he thinks of the character of these Men he has left in the Shire. I also mentioned something about a goblin-faced fellow who mentioned 'Sharkey'? Surely I'm mistaken - there haven't been any of them in the Shire since the Bullroarer's time, and he's never heard of this 'Sharkey' fellow. With all the excitement, I can't be blamed for my mistakes, of course…

With all that I've done to help Dwaling, Hob tells me that it'll be a long time before the place feels like the rolling hills of the Greenfields, but they'll continue to do their best. One thing that does concern him, however, is the Big Folk to the north. Not the ones in town, but the ones that live by the big lake - they were friendly to the hobbits, and used to come down to trade for pipe-weed and glass. Once or twice, he even ventured north to see them. They used to have a camp at a bridge that crosses the river, where a giant man of stone watches the boats pass by. Maybe I could venture over there and see if they're okay?

Before I leave the area, though, I have ongoing tasks - I slay some spiders around town for Bob, who has taken the time to figure out what the goblins might be using the spider innards and venom for.



You see, stories have always said that hobgoblins are the worst of the lot, scheming up new ways to kill folk. He thinks the goblins are cooking the innards of the spiders down to make them into the tar they throw at people. They're probably sore from their defeat in the Shire and itching for another fight, but this time they plan to burn the hobbits out of their houses and holes! I've got to put a stop to it! I should head back to Bleakleaf Crest and burn the pots they're cooking the spiders in with their own torches, and collect the recipe the hobgoblins are using to make their flammable tar, or they'll just start up again.

The Gramsfoot camp is still pretty much the same as before, and I quickly do a repeat of the ascent of Weathertop, grabbing torches and setting fire to bubbling pots of spider viscera scattered around the place, and killing one of the hobgoblins for the recipe. They're no tougher than the regular variety, really.

Afterwards, since I'm already east of town, I head a little north towards the banks of the Brandywine River, where a beach of white sand filled with new enemies greets me. Not only can I see salamanders around - fire-spitting lizards - but there's also flickering 'Limrafn' enemies, basically those witch-lights from the Fields of Fornost, but hanging out by the water. They're lesser fell spirits, basically. There's also a bunch of norbogs around, and swarms of bugs to round out the foe selection.



I make my way around gathering piles of white sand from an entire beach of the stuff - figure that one out - and take out some of the nerbyg until I pick up the small lead dog that Ronald's son lost.

I turn around and head back to camp to drop that off, and he's pleased to see it returned. If my last task wasn't too tasking, he muses, he's in great need for more of my assistance from a fellow lover of the written word. See, not long ago he misplaced an important leaf of paper while walking with his notes, containing the beginning lines of a story he planned on writing for his children. Now that most of the town has been sold off, he's not been able to go back to retrieve that paper. He'd rewrite it, but he can't seem to recall the exact wording, so he wonders if I could search the town and get the original back for him.

I also hand the hobgoblins' recipe to Bob, who thinks this should keep the foul creatures from making any more of their tar. Never would he have thought he'd be saving spiders from a horrible death - I shouldn't tell anyone! I give the white sand to Mundaric, who says it's just in the nick of time, as his lads just finished up the last of the supplies. He tells me that they use ground-down salamander scales as a material to make glass, but ever since Dwaling was taken over that's been less important than other things. That's caused the salamanders to run rampant, and he fears for any hobbit who ventures out into the dunes now. While I'm out there, could I hunt down some of them and gather their teeth? They might be able to make some clothing to resist their cutting bit more with those to work from.



I walk to Wald Hillburrow next, who says that the glassblowers here use many materials to make different shades of glass, and one of the colors he's tasked with creating is red. It's not an overly difficult color to make, but it does require unique supplies to bring out the bright crimson. Salamander-scales are the best he's found, but the stores are low - could I get some from the shore of the Brandywine? Blue is a trickier color, and for that he'll need to retrieve river-stones that the goblins have taken from the Brandywine for their own use. He'd go and retrieve them directly from the water, but the color never comes out right - something the goblins are doing must change the stone somehow and make it more effective for use in coloring glass. I should head to Bleakleaf Crest (again) and retrieve some stones to turn into a beautiful tea set.

Pearl Goodbody says the most challenging part of making glass is getting it to sparkle just so - it doesn't apply to all glass, but most of the time it's essential. The hobbits of Dwaling have found that the limrafn within the dunes carry, or have, or are made of something called 'essence.' She doesn't know exactly what it is, nor how they got it, but it somehow makes glass sparkle… and on that, she's not even sure how they're doing it! I can find the limrafn in the dunes, of course, and she asks me to hunt a bunch of them down and bring back the essence. I should also gather norbog-shells to make a green shade of coloring to join the red and blue. Sure, sand-nerbyg look brown to blend in, but if you crack their shell and look at their underside, they're green as grass!

After that conversation, Mundaric has more to say - he's lived here a long time, he says, and studied the behavior of many creatures, and there's a great danger breeding among the sands of the Barandalf! He speaks of the nerbyg, vile insects that can be found among the dunes in great numbers. If nothing is done, they'll swarm - and whether they swarm north or south doesn't matter, as there are good people in both directions. I should defeat as many sand-nerbyg as I can find, including the huge ones that live further north on the edge of the beach! Sure, I was going there anyway. Redundant quests again, huh? I wonder why this post-release region went with the Lone-lands approach instead of the North Downs one…

I swing by Dwaling to find the lost page of paper, and it turns out the first line is 'In a hole in the ground there lived a boar…' with a red notation scrawled in the margin saying that it's not quite right yet. That's a transparent 'The Hobbit' reference, this time! I drop the page off with not-Tolkien who thanks me for my help, and says he has one last task for me. Among the hobbits of the Shire, a love of languages and written works is quite uncommon, he explains, abut a few of his fellow colleagues and him have formed a small informal gathering of sorts, for those who revel in such arts as the writing and listening of fictional stories. They usually meet in the evenings at the Bird - that is, the 'Bird and Baby Inn' in Michel Delving. With the return of his lost page, Ronald thinks he really should get started on his new book, but he doesn't have an inkling how he should reach his friends in time to tell him of his absence, could I go visit the inn and tell them?

This little writing society meeting at the Bird and Baby Inn is a reference to the real world literary discussion group 'The Inklings', which included Prof. J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. "Jack" Lewis, and they met regularly at the London pub Eagle and Child…

I head back out of town for now, hunting down some goblins for their river-stones...



Then I go back to the beach to slay everything in sight, including salamanders, nerbyg, and limrafn. I drop the parts off with Wald and Mundaric, who are appreciative of my hard work and tell me it's time to take this to the next step. With all supplies gathered, it's time to once more make glass! Blowing glass is an art, Mundaric tells me - one that can be learned quickly, but must be refined for many years of trial and error. He offers to teach me the basics, if I would like that. I should head over to the forge and, using a special rod, work the glass several times until I start seeing it take shape. I just hit the forge a few times, and Mundaric very politely tells me they can maybe use my great creation as a misshapen ashtray or something. Useful, if not particularly glamorous!

With everything around here finished, I take a horse ride back to Michel Delving to visit the Bird and Baby Inn.



Inside I find a trio of hobbits - Jack Lewisdown, an obvious C.S. Lewis reference, as well as Carlo Williams and Owen Farfield - references to Charles Williams and Owen Barfield respectively, other members of the Inklings. I inform them Ronald won't be attending, and Carlo is disappointed, saying he hoped Ronald finished his discourse on his book, 'The Place of the Boar.' That's a reference to his real-life best-known work, 'The Place of the Lion.' Owen was going to read from 'The Silvered Horn', a reference to his real book, 'The Silvered Trumpet.' Jack just hopes Ronald's new book will be good, and that he's not caught up in some silly games again…



I head back to Evendim and let Ronald know I let the group know that he wouldn't be attending, and he's pleased, telling me he's already got started on the first chapter of his new book. Also, old Lewisdown thought he'd be playing games instead of working? He would never think of getting involved in something so silly! In the rewards, I'm gifted with Ronald's pipe, complete with smoking animation. Off I go! Thanks for inspiring this entire game, too.



With my work around Dwaling complete, I begin to head northwards along the Brandywine, since eventually I'll have to reach a bridge with people around it. Across the water I spot a massive ruin built partly into a hill, but I hold off on exploring, since it's too eye-catching not to be part of some questline around here.



Soon enough I ride up a hill and towards another ruin atop it, which is flanked by an absolutely massive statue of a man holding a sword and staff, with a seven-pointed star on his chest and a crown on his head. Looks like I found the big stone guy the hobbits were talking about! In between the statue's legs I can spot a small settlement of tents and a fireplace.



As I ride down a steep slope along a thin carved path, I realize what I've found is a Ranger encampment - there's easily a dozen of them spread around the place, and they're relatively well-equipped. There's almost as many of them in this one small camp as in freaking Esteldín! I speak to one, Sardan, who recognizes the name Hob Hillbrow, though he hadn't heard it in a long time. The Ranger misses him and his little jests, and he's pleased to hear the guy is doing well. When a scout reported seeing Men in Dwaling, he feared the worst, so he thanks me for helping them with the situation. It's precious to think that in these dark times, a hobbit would be concerned about him - a Man. If only he knew how dire things had become! He envies the simple folk…



He also lets me know that on the bluff above the camp there's a catapult that Angmar brought along on its way to the city, but the Rangers managed to damage it enough that they left it behind, and now they intend to repair it for their own use. It certainly won't reach Annúnimas, but that's not the goal - they wish to use it to fling ropes over the colossus, which will allow them to climb up and begin repairing the areas they can't currently reach. I should search the debris scattered along the banks of the river and see if I can find bundles of ropes, pieces of driftwood, small flywheels, and pouches of oil. Once I've got enough supplies I should bring them to Cudhaer at the catapult on the bluff south of here to get the work started.

Daerol informs me that the huge ruin I saw on the way here is called Barad Tharsír, and they know little about it. There's not much left about it in the records, but he knows it was a site of value, as it controlled the shipping lanes and access to the lake from the Baranduin - the formal name for the Brandywine. The robbers at the ruins are a nuisance, but they should not distract from the larger goal - to learn as much as possible from the location and preserve its history. We'll never know where we're going if we don't know where we came from! I should head over to Barad Tharsír and do some scouting for the Rangers, searching out the five doorways he knows about - he just doesn't know where any of them go. Knowing the layout of the structures should be of great help.

Adleithian informs me that something has to be done about the tomb-robbers too, never mind what Daerol argues. The Rangers are stretched thin, though, and must focus on the threats to the tombs of their forebears in Men Erain and the crypts of Annúnimas, even while other areas fall into danger. The tomb-robbers have set up a camp in the ruins of Barad Tharsír and he fears that before long they will cross the river and pass into the peaceful southern lands. I'll be rewarded if I head out there and defeat the tomb-robbers, as they can't be allowed to ransack the place and take away their past… Just not enough to do something about it themselves, apparently.



Gaelnarthan tells me that there are some other ruins up on the hill at the turn of the river of which the Rangers only recently determined the purpose - there was a lighthouse there, believe it or not, to guide ships as they made the turn from the lake into the Baranduin. The keeper of the flame was tasked with recording all the wrecks and tragedies he witnessed from his perch, so search parties could be sent to attempt to retrieve what was lost. But in the waning days of the kingdom, they could not have been focused on recovering too much. I should head to the lighthouse and see if I can find any old records or logbooks. Perhaps we can find a lead to where some of the wrecks lie that were never retrieved, to recover some ancient valuables…

Herthdúr prides himself for the wide array of supplies he carries, and does his best to maintain his inventory. I can imagine his disappointment at the thought of traveling south and not having the various knick-knacks of which hobbits are so fond! No, he has to keep up his stock. But it's not easy, as to travel to Dwaling and Oatbarton you have to travel south-east of Tinnudir and pass through Barandalf - the sand and dunes are filled with vile and dangerous animals. On his last journey, he was surprised by the grasping tendrils of sand-lurkers, and barely got out of there with his life and inventory! That's unacceptable, so if I could defeat some of those sand-lurkers he'd greatly appreciate it, and reward me in kind. They're hiding out in a ruin slightly south of Barad Tharsír, on this side of the river. (I actually passed it by earlier.) I should also turn over some rocks there and kill any crawlers hiding beneath - creepy things!



Heading back eastwards, I soon run into a bunch of sand-lurkers hobbling around the hills, near the remains of the ancient lighthouse - these are the same gangly things from the blood-swamp in the Lone-lands, but in different colors. One of them drops a pile of soggy weeds which soothe the skin when touching them, so I resolve to show that to one of the rangers later. I also hunt down a bunch of crawlers near the edge of the beach, and find a dull ancient ring among the remains, and add that to the list. Beyond that, there's piles of rubble around and after looking through a bunch of them I find a tattered page buried underneath, fulfilling Gaelnarthan's request.



Finishing that off I head for the beach proper and start hunting down supplies - there's driftwood and pouches of coil in plain sight, and I can see more shiny objects strewn along both sides of the river. The map is helpful here, as finding the last item in a given section of the river removes that from the highlighted quest area, narrowing down my search. Some of the items are on the far shore next to Barad Tharsír, so I take a bit of time scouting the place, determining that there's two entrances in the front, one up top, and two passages underground at the north and south side of the main building. I have to slay a bunch of tomb-robbers to even get upstairs though, but at least they're pretty easy to deal with while a level or three above the minimum here.



I return to the colossus and inform Gaelnarthan that I found a page of the logbook, and he admits he feared it was a wild goose chase. He looks over the text and is able to make out a fade message - the last few sentences. The page was from near the end of the kingdom and detailed a shipment of keys from down the river to the Rangers encamped here. They knew they were leaving but wanted to safeguard as many of their treasures as possible. The locks came on a separate ship that arrived safely, but the keys never made it. They still swapped the locks out, believing it was safer that no one could get it, and one of those locks was to the basement of the lighthouse itself. We need to get inside urgently, since some kind of evil has made its home there, so I should go find the lost keys in the listed location of the wreck, and bring them back here.

After letting Daerol know about my scouting, he determines I've found a store-room, a dining hall, a barracks, an armory, and one unmarked room - either intentionally or through the ravages of time. Interesting. While I was off scouting, Daerol read up on some of the things that went through the port, and the records indicate weapons and pottery were the primary exports along the river. Perhaps there's some of those left? There are many pieces of knowledge that were once known and have left this land, smithing and artisanship among the greatest. If some of these ancient items could be recovered, we might be able to make greater things in the future. I should return to Barad Tharsír and see if I can find some things left behind and overlooked by the robbers. A shield, a weapon, and a vase would be of most use to Daerol's studies, so he asks me to look out for those.



I give the odd river weed to Herthdúr, who thinks they look like any other he's ever seen - but the soothing effect is new. Normally they're of little consequence, and you can eat them if hungry enough, but they weren't really special. It seems something happens when sand-lurkers begin to digest the weeds, however, that brings out mild healing abilities from the plants. He's already tried them on cuts and scrapes, and the effects are undeniable. There's no sense in swimming to get more since they're undigested, so he needs me to go out and get more from sand-lurkers themselves. A lightly foul proposition, he realizes, taking dinner right after it has been devoured by another - but he'd like to have more weeds to make some much-need poultices for his colleagues.

I next hand him the odd ring I found inside one of the crawlers, and he says it's certainly from the old kingdom. It must have somehow gone overboard from one of the ships carrying it, and the tide slowly carried it to shore where it was buried and forgotten until a crawler devoured it. There were many ships that traveled these waters, and many storms that harried and wrecked them, particularly along this dangerous stretch of water. He wonders if any more jewelry fell overboard and made its way into the sands? Only one way to know - I should head back to where I found this piece and search the crawlers for any more goodies they might have swallowed. If one did it, odds are there are more! (What is this insane troll logic!?)

Adleithan is happy that I drove off some of the tomb-robbers while I was nearby, and explains that his research shows that Barad Tharsír was the north port of his ancestors on the shipping lane down the Baranduin, and he's not sure why tomb-robbers would be interested, as there can't be much of value left. If they're interested, though, he is too - what do they know that he doesn't? My earlier work served him well, as his scouts tell him that two of the more prominent robbers have emerged from the ruins and are leading the digs personally now. They're key to understanding the tomb-robbers' interest, so I should return there and collect orders from those two particular brigands, Atwood and Oakes, as another clue to solving this mystery.

I head up the steep path southwards again and cross over the hills to reach Cudhaer on the bluff overlooking the Ranger camp, next to a large catapult.



He's surprised, since he hadn't heard anyone was coming to help him out, especially someone who brought all the necessary supplies! What a fortuitous event! He'll immediately get started on the repairs, which will take some time. It's also going to be a loud process, and he recently saw some scouts searching through a nearby stand of trees. If they were to find us, they'd quickly overrun this bluff and destroy the catapult, which is not something we can allow. I should head out to the trees and flush those scouts out so we can be sure the position is secure. (And by flush out, he means murder.)

Taking out the scouts is pretty easy - they're well-hidden, aside from the huge text boxes over their heads, heh. The perils of being an NPC…



I let Cudhaer know I aggressively flushed them, and he just got done with his repairs too - what are the odds? He tells me it's time to let Sardan know that he's ready to launch the ropes up to the colossus. By the time I arrive, it seems catapult-bro has already started firing, so his message already arrived ahead of me. He thanks me for my assistance in the restoration of the colossus, and permits me a special treat - a vision he doubts I've ever seen before. The rope behind him leads all the way up. If I ascend it, I can reach the peak of the colossus and have a look around Evendim. I should definitely enjoy the view!

 

[WestOrEast]

Chief's Wolf-Keeper and her trusty Wolfhound

Click to shrink...

The Chief's Wolf-Keeper's Chief Wolf, 'Keeper'?

 

[Roarian]

Evendim (Part 3)

From the top of the colossus - the climb is just a quick tap of a rope rather than a long animation, thankfully - a fair chunk of the surrounding countryside is visible, dominated by huge ruins of ancient kingdoms and the shores of the lake. The view is fantastic, the game tells me after emoting 'look', but I can see there is yet must to do here… Sardan agrees that the beauty of the lake is enchanting, yet he saw the same thing I did - the ruins are in desperate need of aid. The colossus is but a minor point in Evendim - Annúnimas to the west and the estates to the north hold more value than these ruins. I should go north, then head west at the crossroads to reach Tinnudir, where I should speak to his colleague, Orchalwë.



Before I move on, though, it's time to tie up loose ends. I move back towards Barad Tharsír, killing a couple crawlers along the beach for soggy weeds before wading across to the ruins proper. The three items I'm asked to find are in out of the way places - the vase is through a somewhat hard to notice passageway on the top floor which leads onto a roof - tricky.



The shield is at the backside of the ruin, found by circling around the entire left side, and the sword is tucked away in a corner behind a few tents. Tricky! Along the way I kill a whole bunch of tomb-robbers, as well as Ansley Atwood and Ogden Oakes, and I pilfer both of them for orders, as requested. Finished with another round of quests here, I notice that the two entrances flanking the main tomb can both theoretically be opened - but I haven't got a quest for those yet. I'll be back here soon, I expect. On the way home I swim out into the middle of the river to dig up some lost relics form a sunken ship - I don't actually dive down, I just sort of loot them at range from way below me, which is kind of lame but I guess creating new animations was too much work.

Gaelnarthan is interested in finding out if the key he's looking for is inside these old containers I retrieved, and it turns out it's in the very last one he opens - these are great tidings, as that means we can go on the offensive at last! As mentioned before, the Rangers have been constantly harassed by a creature that they believe lives beneath the ruins of the lighthouse, behind a locked door.



There is no obvious other entrance to use, either. At this point, the Rangers aren't sure how the creature comes and goes, but at least they know where it lives. They've lost enough good men to this monster, so I should take the key and venture beneath the old ruin to slay whatever I might fight, and I shouldn't return until the threat is eliminated…

I drop off the three relics I found in the ruined fort with Daerol who doesn't identify anything new or different at first blush, but refuses to stop there - he will continue to examine them. Most of the items I recovered had the same mark on them that's also present outside the store-room, and he thinks we should focus our efforts there. He's spied a great many robbers entering and exiting that doorway, but they never seem to carry anything out. They must be loading everything into crates and bags on carts - we have to find out what they found down there, as it must be a great deal of stuff if they are waiting to move it until they have everything together. I should venture into the store-house and search whatever containers I find to see what's going on…

After giving Herthdúr the soggy weeds and crawler jewels - and getting no follow-ups to those weird quests - I let Aldeithian know that I got the orders from the two main robbers at the ruins. They tell of troubling things - there's apparently a room where goods that weren't listed on the manifests were taken and stored overnight until ownership could be proven. If this room still exists it could hold an untold fortune of history. While most items have probably been lost to history, there could still be a wealth of small trinkets and jewelry hidden within. The room is reportedly at the south side of the ruins, and from reports the door looks like any other, and it's not deep within. He's amazed it's lasted this long, but even the Rangers thought the place was picked clean - clearly, they were wrong. I should get back to the ruins and find this secret room, searching within for anything I can find. And if anyone disturbs me while I'm there, I should put an end to them!

I ride for the lighthouse first, using the key to open the ancient doors which lead to an expansive underground level. In there, feasting on the remains of a dead tomb-robber, I find the culprit - it's named Carrion, and I'm fairly sure it's an early-bird cameo of the Kergrim creature type, a sort of horrible green orc-goblin-troll thing covered in pustules and weird bone-spikes with claws on the end. Lovely.



Naturally, I put an end to the thing, and get out of there before any of its even uglier siblings come to check up on it. I think they're mostly down in the south somewhere, though.

Next up, I make the trek back to Barad Tharsír and locate the Storeroom towards the north of the ruins, and head inside. I head downstairs and find several loaded carts there, but the moment I start going through them, a bunch of tomb-robbers ambush me from behind and I'm forced to kill them. The carts contain nothing but dirt and rubble - this was a false lead.



Annoyed, I set out for the other room - the unmarked one to the south. This is more promising - I face several tomb-robbers on my way in, and see a large tomb towards the back of the room, ready to be inspected. The moment I do, though… son of a bitch, this one's a trap too! Bart Madgett walks downstairs and is glad to see the false orders he planted worked - he's just disappointed he didn't catch a Ranger with them.



Barad Tharsír has no wealth left, he explains, as they've already picked over and stripped the carcass. He supposes he could leave a treasure here, though… me! Aw, that's adorable. He then attacks me, so he gets an arrow to the face for his trouble. Idiot. Disappointed, I return to the colossus to let people know of the dead ends. I drop by Gaelnarthan first to report my one success - I got the lighthouse monster, he can see that from my filthy clothes! Um, eeeew, I swam through the river like three times since then, how dirty was this thing? Get it off!

I then slouch over to Daerol who is disappointed just like me that I only found a tomb-robber trap, and is wary about what they'll find in the estates up north if the robbers here are already so devious… Adleithian is similarly bemused, noting that it appears the entire thing was a ruse in the end. The robbers have been getting increasingly clever in their attempts to ambush the Rangers, but not quite clever enough to defeat me, it seems. One day, with the rest of Evendim, Barad Tharsír shall see her glory restored…

With the last of my tasks complete, I set out northwards from the colossus to new locations. I head west and follow the path as instructed, crossing an ancient and half-ruined bridge. I arrive at the settlement of Tinnudir, a bunch of tents planted around yet another ruin. I sense a theme with these Rangers. The first person I see there is Horace Roxhythe, a hunter trainer, who offers to show me secret paths with which I can get back to Evendim quickly from elsewhere - but just like in the Lone-lands, I'll have to prove myself worthy of such skills by showcasing my tracking skills. He has hidden a special arrow-head somewhere in Evendim, and if I pick up his trail he'll be able to recover it and prove that I'm ready. If not, well, perhaps another hunter will succeed where I fail? He'll just tell me that he crossed the bridge from Tinnudir to the mainland, so I'll want to start my search there.



I head further in to find Orchalwë, who welcomes fresh blood - I might be just what's needed to begin reclaiming the eastern estates. The land to the east is called the Fields of Twilight, and within are the ruins of several ancient estates, once home to powerful families within the kingdom. They grew grain and raised animals that were used to feed the city and provided work for many of the people. Nowadays they are disgraced by robbers, overtaken by nature, desecrated by goblins, or even serve as a base for Agnmar invaders. It's an affront to all who draw their heritage from the shares of Lake Evendim. Orchalwë has written a journal detailing notes about each estate and the threats availing them, and he asks me to take it and read it as I explore the fields, as a guide to reclaiming the ruins.



Orchalwë also sends me everywhere else - he tells me he's in touch with the elves of Rivendell, and that he calls one named Barachen a friend - he received a letter recently indicating that trouble was afoot in the Trollshaws, and he was seeking advice. Could I go to him, just beyond the Last Bridge of the Lone-lands? Also, he made friends with some Earth-kin while he lived in Esteldín, and wonders if I could check up on them? They live just beyond the Ram Dúath, on the fringe of Angmar. Oh, and could I head over to Rivendell itself too to speak with Master Elrond? He's apparently looking for me specifically, though he's not sure what it could be about. Okay, sheesh, I'll get to all that stuff eventually, get off my case! I move to the next person - and Calenglad wonders if I've been to Esteldín in the North Downs yet? I should consider visiting Nethúr there to deal with the orc threat there. Gah! How about you, Ferrod? Oh, you're wondering if I've visited Aragorn in Rivendell yet? Why are you all tourists?!

Anyway, the first journal entry from Orchalwë's journal says that everything starts at Tham Nambarth, the nearest estate to Tinnudir and thus first priority. While the threats there are not great, they must not be trivialized in their importance - this ruin is being reclaimed by nature itself. It was once a great hall, and that's visible from what still stands today… but that won't be true for long, and not because of looters or goblins. The ivy growing there gets deep into cracks in the walls and slowly pushes the bricks apart until nothing is left standing. It's also threatened by a source that's not really threatening - a herd of elk has settled inside. They'll soon bring predators, such as wolves, hungry robbers, wargs, or goblins. I should tear down ivy while there and take out the elk so they can't lead to worse things down the line.

Culang says he's come into possession of a riddle that may lead the way to buried treasure.



A Dúnadan-landholder buried something somewhere in Evendim, fearful that it might be taken by the Witch-king's forces if Fornost fell, and it seems that his line was extinguished in the battle and his lands abandoned. The treasure, however, remained unfound. Here is the riddle, the only directions he found:

'Two roads pass through green fields.​

Four kings watch the meeting of the ways.'​

He's not sure where that might be, but he figures it might relate to the crossroads east of Tinnudir…

A little ways down the coast sits Calatherdir, who wonders if I've ever seen creatures known as salamanders. They're rather similar in some ways to worms, but seem to be an entirely new breed of creature. They haven't been seen in Evendim until recently when Tyl Ruinen, the island on the west side of the lake, became infested with the things. At night, the island seems to be burning with the flames of these strange beasts. A number of them have also been spotted in the Barandalf to the south, so perhaps they're spreading around Evendim? I should head over to Tyl Ruinen if I'm willing, and discover the source of this salamander plague for myself. There's a ruin at the center, Tollobel, and perhaps there is some clue to be found there as to the origin of the creature.



Near a huge ruined tower stands Cannuion, whom Arohir sent me to find a while back. He's glad to see another trustworthy warrior show up to assist the Rangers against the growing threat of robbers and the like. I've arrived at a difficult time, since the Rangers have been stretched thin by the incursions of Angmarim forces into these lands, and by the number of lawless brigands that have been stirred up by the gathering threat of war. It's against the latter that he hopes to recruit my help - the bands of tomb-raiders have become so bold of late that they've taken to wearing sashes of allegiance to their various unsavory leaders. He asks me to get some of those sashes as proof of their defeat… This is a repeatable quest for reputation, so I give him what I found and move on.

Heading westwards back across the bridge, I soon spot some subtle tracks - which are very subtle in that they glow and have the words 'Subtle Tracks' hovering over them in white. Tracking down the path, which isn't too difficult, I'm soon back to the immediate vicinity of the colossus, and there I find the arrow-head buried up on a ledge along the water. That wasn't terribly difficult, guess I"m decent at my job after all?

I ride over to Tham Nambarth next, cutting down a bunch of ivy before finding an ancient tapestry lying on the ground, which opens a quest to gather seven more shreds to take back to Tinnudir.



After slaying some elk too, my journal updates with a description of my next objective: Tham Varan. There are scant details about this place's history, and the only thing the Rangers know is that tomb-robbers have been swarming all over it lately. It's not enough that the Rangers battle nature and time as enemies to history, but now they have to deal with greedy looters who want to deny those too. It cannot be tolerated!

Tham Varan is only a hop and a skip away, and when I arrive to take out a handful of the robbers I also find a crumbling seal on one of the walls - which, you guessed it, opens a local quest to find a few more of them.



I also find a chipped vase which leads to the exact same deal - fetch three more of them and bring them back to camp. Eh. After finishing up I approach the crossroads, dominated by a huge statue of four kings looking every direction, and I soon spot a stone marker near it with a bunch of holes dug to indicate someone's been sniffing around.



If there was treasure here, it's already been found. The marker has an inscription too:

'To settle disputes, men fight in the ring of stone.​

Outside the wall, my marker lies hidden.' ​

It's another riddle, leading to a new location. Time to keep an eye out for gladiator games, I guess…

The third location in Orchalwë's journal is Tham Ornen. He mentions that he turned a blind eye to one corner of the region for but a moment and something momentous happened that he missed. With everyone focused on the tomb-raiders and robbers down south, a scouting force of Angmarim slipped into one of the ruins and took it over. It's a disaster on several fronts - something here must be of enough value for Angmar to send forces over to find it, something the Rangers don't know about themselves. This might be pivotal to the war effort, and worse still the Angmarim might discover Tinnudir, and possibly Esteldín through there, which cannot be allowed. They must be driven out, and confusion must be sown among those who remain by destroying their plans as well.



Heading over to the ruin in question, I start taking out the Angmar expedition from long range, before slaying the local leader before he gets much of a shot in. On his corpse I find a satchel with several documents written in Black Speech, which I can't read. Still, I can bring them to the Rangers at least. I also destroy a bunch of orders around town, which triggers the next chapter in Orchalwë's book.

The final estate, it seems, is Tham Andalath, the ancient home of a great smith, one who made weapons for the line of kings themselves. While most of his work has been lost to history, his influence is seen in every blade that the Rangers wield. Goblins now camp within the wall of those ruins, foul and wicked things. They're more clever than people think and very devious, but if done correctly they can be tricked into believing something much larger is going on around them to frighten them into a panic. Night and day the flames of Tham Andalath are burning, and the goblins never let them go out. They have to be afraid of darkness, believing something out there would get them if the fires are not lit. If I quench the campfires and play the role of Batman from the darkness, they'll surely flee…



While putting out fires and shooting goblins in the ruined estate, I also find some ornamental blades - new verse, same as the last, I have to find a bunch more of them. The goblins flee, terrified of whatever may roam in the darkness, and with that I also reach the end of Orchalwë's journal, and I'm asked to return it to the owner back in Tinnudir. Sure, let's go do that, I've got stuff to turn in.

I let Horace know that I did his Hunter test, and he says that there's initial scratched into the arrow-head so he can identify it. In reward for my feat I get the ability to teleport back to town - handy - and some bow-chants, which are temporary hunter buffs that I can also craft with my scholarship. I'm a little behind on leveling that, but I still pick up the ingredients so I'm sure I'll get around to it in a dull minute. I give the papers I found on the Angmar captain to Gúrhebnir, who seems interested in translating them, and I also learn that the crumbling seals I noticed suggest the family that lived in Tham Varan hailed from the south - probably Gondor. Nadearon is not too happy with the state of the decorative swords - time and goblins have not been kind to them, but hopefully they can be salvaged anyway. The ancient tapestries are in better state, at least, and he wonders if the pieces all belong to one tapestry or many different ones…



After dropping off all the landscape discoveries with people around town, I head back to Orchalwë, who is pleased that the estates are now in Ranger control - there's still work to do at Tham Ornen, but he believes that the local forces can handle that part. I've done great work, Orchalwë assures me, and hopefully one day he can join his blade with mine and we'll stand before our enemies together. For now, while the estates are in order, there's still more to do to render the Twilight Fields safe. There's still Ost Heryn. Torogethir is charged with watching over this ruined fortress, and while he's been able to do some work preventing the problems there from growing, he has not had the time nor support to solve them. I should head east, towards the North Downs, and find him on a small hill above the ruins of Ost Heryn.

Before that, however, I take a swim.



One of the quests sends me over to the distant island of Tyl Ruinen, but without some kind of paid membership I don't get access to the convenient boat rides and have to make my way there manually. I could do a long run around, but I've got some time - I"ll just swim across. It takes a bit, but since this is a straight shot across nothing, I just spend a minute or two sorting inventory stuff and reading skill descriptions until I run into the coast on the far side. Salamander island, huh? This is basically Komodo but with fire, I guess. Overlooking the island is a tall ruin. Near it I find two people - the Ranger Lúgethir and Humfrey Rumming, dressed in darker hues and with a thick black beard.



I ask the latter about salamanders, and he wonders why I should ask him of all people? Why would a poor wandering lore-master like him know anything about them? Why, he doesn't even know what a salamander is! Never heard of them. Ha, got me there, didn't he? I surely thought the whole thing was Humfrey Rumming's fault, huh? Didn't I? But now I know that he knows nothing. Nothing at all - not about salamanders. Wait, that doesn't make sense. Who would say such a thing? Humfrey Rumming is a great lore-master, you know, so he knows all the lore there is! So he must know something about salamanders. But what? That's the question, and a good question it is, too! This guy is such a ham, I swear to god. I read all his stuff in the voice of BRIAN BLESSED.

While Humfrey keeps chattering on, he explains that in order to find out what he knows, I have to complete a challenge. He has hidden a number of chests all around the island, and one of them contains the answer to his riddle. He gives me a key, but warns me that it can only be used once before it breaks. Here's the riddle:

'Fluttering shreds rent from the fabric of night;​

Fell shrieking beasts that shun the sun's light;​

Dwelling in darkness they fly hidden from sight;​

Clouds obscure the stars when first they take flight.'​

It's not easy, right? He says I should search the island from top to bottom and find the solution. After I get this task, Lúgethir pipes up to say that while Humfrey might wave off the situation and play games, he's here to make sure the situation doesn't become more dire. The population of salamanders needs to be reduced. See, these creatures are an evil breed of draconic nature, and very little of the natural fauna here remains - a few turtles up north, and that's all. The salamanders have devastated everything else. I should grant him a favor and drive off a few of the beasts - hopefully that will reduce their numbers enough to allow normal fauna to reestablish themselves.

I travel south to kill some lizards, and also find a chest there inscribed with a bat - which is obviously the correct answer. I bring it back, and at first Humfrey doesn't want to accept I got it right, since he pegged me for an inept lore-master. Beginner's luck! Fool's luck! No, this isn't enough to get the great secret at all! Well, not he has a dreadful secret of course, it's just that if he did, he wouldn't tell me. Ah, since we both know I solved the last riddle by pure luck, I deserve another chance. He gives me another riddle, and another key…

'Foul great beasts with sharpened claws;​

Black-furred pelts and fanged maws;​

Coursing the woods, they take their prey;​

Torment their victim, at last to slay.'​

Lúgethir has something to add again - since culling salamanders did little to halt the problem, it's time to try a different approach. The salamanders make their nests along the shorelines, and thus that's also where new ones hatch. Seems they're especially aggressive breeders, so I should go over there and smash some eggs to ensure the next generation fails to spawn. I head out to the south again to break some eggs, and run into the warg chest there - and between that and the wolf chest, only the warg is likely to be described as a foul tormentor.



Humfrey now decides that his latest riddle must have been too easy, so easy that even a child could solve it. Well, anyway, the point is that Humfrey's secrets are not for me. I have no conception of the magnitude of his wisdom, and thus the secret of the salamanders is not for my ears! …All right, all right. One more riddle. This one will truly challenge my lore-mastery. He gives me a third key, and challenges me to show even a thousandth of the brilliance of Humfrey Rumming, wisest of the wise! So, uh, here I go:

'Lesser get of Ancalagon's spawn​

Taloned claws and fang-gaped yawn.​

Scatha's tears would surely flow​

Saw he his children laid so low.' ​

Lúgethir hopes the egg-smashing helped, then admits he may have been seeing things - and with Humfrey as company, hallucinations are a risk - but he could swear he saw a young salamander riding on the back of a lake-skimmer as it danced over the water. It'd be disastrous if the salamanders were carried across to the western shore of the lake, where they could begin to multiply without any natural bounds to stop them. I should head to the beach and kill lake-skimmers to make sure this possibility doesn't occur! I go out to kill some nerbyg, and when I return Lúgethir admits he was probably mistaken - the size difference between the nerbyg and the salamanders is just too big. But he's appreciative that I helped out anyway. As for the chest, it's on a small island to the side of Tyl Ruinen - the chest of the worm. Easier to parse the riddle if you know the names Ancalagon and Scatha from the Silmarillion - they're dragons.

Humfrey wonders if I think I've won - well, I haven't! I'll never beat him, not Humfrey Rumming, no! Oh, right, the salamander thing? He'd entirely forgotten. Well, since I acknowledge his greatness and preeminence among lore-masters, he supposes it'd be alright to share his secret, since I've proven myself worthy, barely. Not one in a thousand, not one in a million, could have solved his riddles! So, now, I should listen closely… it happened like this. As one of the greatest lore-masters, he happened to be doing research on the ruins of Tollobel, as it seems the last owner was a great warrior and took a number of trophies from the Angmarim at the Battle of Fornost. And those trophies included a pair of eggs…

Such little eggs they were, too! Well, naturally, it was a challenge to see if these eggs could be quickened after all these generations. I can imagine the pride Humfrey felt when they hatched! Cut little salamanders, tiny little efts, that's what they seemed. Truly learned lore-masters call them efts, you know, and he encourages me to do the same. These cute little efts just wouldn't stop growing, though, and soon they became hostile, and after that came the fire… The things breed so fast! Humfrey managed to pen the original dam and sire in a cellar in the ruins, and since then he's been trapped here. Uh, actually, he's been studying them, yes, that's the truth. But now I've come, and I can kill them! I'm a hero, right? Here, I should take his key and slay the dam and sire, as they breed much more quickly than the rest. Now I know the terrible secret of the salamanders - and I must put a stop to them!



The nearby door to the ruins leads to expansive and barren hallways, and at the very bottom I find the Salamander-dam and Salamander-sire, the original two fiery dinosaurs, and kill them stone-dead. Humfrey is besides himself about the fate of the poor things, but also congratulates me, and says he can finally leave this accursed place - well, perhaps there's a bit more to study yet after all… Anyway, I did a good deed and helped the pursuit of knowledge, but of course it's nothing Humfrey couldn't have handled himself. He was just letting me learn a little myself. I should go talk to the Rangers at Tinnudir and let them know he's very displeased with their handling of this whole problem - a great lore-master can only do so much, and at some point the Rangers should have stepped in. Now, I should give him back his key!

Instead of swimming back I take a quick teleport - thanks, Horace - and revisit Calatherdir. He's happy to learn that the whole thing was caused by that mad old man and the problem is resolved for the most part. It's a pity the Rangers can't patrol these lands better, or they would have never permitted him to get inside those ruins in the first place. It may be that the salamanders are never fully driven out of the area, but at least their origin is known, and if Humfrey was correct about the oldest pair, I may have also slowed down their spread. Thanks for that!

 

[Roarian]

Evendim (Part 4)

I set out east across the crossroads towards Ost Heryn and the North Downs, arriving at a gloomy and spooky area with dark clouds perpetually overhead, though they clear up as I get closer to the North Downs. Weird.



As I arrive, Torogethir complains that after sending me to deal with every other problem they could find first, they finally sent me here. Better late than never, he supposes. He explains that Ost Heryn is an ancient fortress made to watch the pass between the North Downs and Evendim, and she was to answer the call of Fornost and support it if the need came. The need - and the call - did come, but support did not. Ost Heryn abandoned Fornost. For that, all who served within were cursed, branded as Oath-breakers and left to stand their posts until they redeemed themselves. Their time of redemption has come, and we're going to deliver it. Torogethir devised a few plans for doing this, and while he doesn't know if any of them will work, they're worth trying.



When Fornost sent forth the call and Ost Heryn did not answer, it allowed the fortress to fall to the Enemy - but that decision rested solely with the commander. He has paid dearly for his decision, as his spirit stands before the doorway into Ost Heryn, ever watchful of all around. He has never been allowed to stop or rest, and the more Torogethir watches him, the more he pities the man - punished for entity for a decision made in moments, ages ago. He feels like the commander paid his due and his penance should end. For this to be done, he believes the commander must share the fate that Fornost suffered on that dire say, and taste the pain of the defeat himself… I should go destroy him!

While there, I should also look out for tomb-robbers trying to ransack the place, as they correctly presume the ruins to contain valuables. They have not accomplished much so far, since they fear the spirits and try to avoid them. If the two ever meet, the spirits win more often than not. The robbers in the ruins present two problems - not only are they slowly carting off the Dúnedain legacy, but they're not allowing the spirits to rest either. He wishes for me to drive them out and hope that will quiet the restless dead. I should also look for writs of honor that the soldiers signed as they swore their allegiance to the North Kingdom - most of them weren't cursed due to their own faults. Would you follow the orders of your commander, even if they knew they were wrong? Could you blame a soldier for doing their job? I should return the writs of honor and see if he can figure out a way to release the poor men from their torment.

Heading into the actual ruins, there's tomb-robbers all over the place, so those are easy enough to get rid of. There weren't any ghosts around the actual ruin (besides the captain) when I was there since it was light out, but I found some wandering the hills nearby, and those still held writs of honor. Finally I challenge the Oath-breaker commander who inflicts me with dread from sheer proximity, though after smashing his spectral skull he sees things differently.



With all three tasks complete I return to Torogethir, who sensed the commander's spirit departing, so he may have finally found peace after all these years. With the robbers gone and the writs of honor gathered, Torogethir thinks he can put a ceremony together to honor the dead and maybe usher them onwards, their long punishment ended. It'll take a few days for everything to settle down, that's the way of these things, but he'll watch the progress and report back if the effort was successful.

I return to Tinnudir via the Hunter express, and let Orchalwë know that with Ost Heryn silent and the fields peaceful, this is agreat day - one that would be celebrated if there weren't so many other things to do. Annúnimas, the Way of Kings, the Eavespires… all are in need of aid. Inaction here for so long has left a great deal to do, but first we must look to the north, to Ost Forod. A boy - Kelsey - recently showed up in camp and has been lurking around, and he's not sure whether he's scouting the place to see what of value he can get away with, but either way he doesn't trust the stranger. He asks me to approach this outsider and converse with him, to perhaps discover his motives.

The 'boy' is a full-grown man, but I suppose that's the same thing to a long-lived Dúnedain. Kelsey West has come to enlist the aid of the Rangers with the problems that face his people, but all these people are so distrustful! It's almost as if they think Ost Forod is full of tomb-robbers! Certainly times are hard there, and some of his people have turned to plunder, but there are more decent people at his home than the unsavory sort the Rangers fear! I let Orchalwë know, and it pains him to admit that the boy is not wrong - his own impression just now proves as much. He comes for help, something they used to openly give, and they watch from a distance and the shadows, distrustful and on guard. It's time to end that.



There was once an agreement in place with the people of Ost Forod, where they would watch the northern lands and protect the road from Forochel, and in return the Rangers would supply them and see they were taken care of. Both parties have lapsed in this agreement, so I should tell Kelsey that the Rangers will uphold their portion of the agreement and help Ost Forod again. He might not know what that means, but he suspects he'll direct me to see someone who does. Kelsey is pleased that the Rangers promised to help, but points out words are of little value - winter is coming, and the winds of Forochel are cold this year. There's a lot to do in Ost Forod - and rewarding bounties are posted for an adventurer of my level of skill, too! I should just take the north path from the crossroads and I'll be in Ost Forod in no time! One of the arbiters, Basil Gummidge, will be pleased to welcome me and hear of news from the Rangers.

Ost Forod is a pretty large place built inside one of the many ruins around here - there's also a bunch of stuff to do here.



As I enter town, the first thing I spot is a bounty poster - this one is for Thauk the Vile Warg, described as a bloodthirsty creature in league with goblins at Tyrn Fornech. It invites interested parties to find Rowena Parker for details and to apply for the commission - that's easy enough, and I don't really learn anything more except that he mostly hangs around the goblin camp of Túm Fuin to the north. Similar bounties are also offered for other foes - Andy Idden, Harry Hinchcliffe, and Bill Tripper are also accounted for, all with their own pithy nicknames. Sure, I'll fight 'em if I happen to run into any of these people on my way across the region.



Deeper in is Parr Chopley, a hobbit guest in town, who explains that his stomach is always getting him in trouble, and today is no exception. He was in the mood for a nice thick boar-steak - cooked to perfection, sizzling in its own juices - so he went to hunt in the North Moors, but he went a little further than planned and ended up here. Never even knew anyone lived here, as they say it's haunted! Anyway, since he never had Evendim-boar before he figured he'd try some… but he couldn't find any. It should have been easy, right? In fact, he hasn't seen a single boar in the entire time he's been here… that can't be right. How do people up here manage without plenty of them to satisfy their cravings for delicious steaks? It's unnatural! There have to be boars somewhere, so I should go look for them - and I shouldn't come back until I've searched high and low. He's not interested in boar-meat from other places either, it's a matter of professional responsibility and curiosity now!



Passing him by I find Basil Gummidge, and he's a bit dubious about the idea that the Rangers are suddenly ready to honor an old agreement. Funny how as soon as things go bad for them, they seek out help, yet they deny it to others who have needed it for longer. Still, the fact that I'm here shows that a small step has been taken, so let's see how serious they really are. Before there's any dealing with what they want, Ost Forod has to be well-prepared for winter - the storms will be coming soon, and the supplies of nearly everything have gotten very low. If I'm serious about restoring the pact, I should start with the local needs first. I should visit the townsfolk and see what those are. I'm sent out to meet four people - Clark Standish, Ballard Wilmer, Rowena Parker, and Poppy Seaton.



I go to Rowena first to learn that she needs bear-hides to make blankets for the bitter cold, Poppy needs dry logs from the woods in order to make roaring campfires, Ballard needs elk-haunches to build up foodstuffs for the coming cold, and Clark wants me to take out some of the tomb-robbers hanging around town since they're cutting into the same resources as the town by hunting elk and taking wood from the area. Those fiends, feeding themselves and living in relative comfort! DIE!

Towards the back of town is an arena structure which I quickly search for the next stone marker in my ongoing riddle quest - this one's inscription is pretty badly faded, but I can still make out some words:

'From this beach, you can see Rantost,
A short swim across the water.' ​

That's not so much a riddle as just directions, but sure. Not sure what Rantost might be, but I'm sure I'll find out at some point.



I move east of town to the wilderness next - this place is expansive and pretty empty, but with the verticality involved it does feel a bit more lively than similarly wild and empty places elsewhere. Also there's plenty of green here, it's not all yellowed and aged. At any rate, I find a hollow filled with bears and dry logs, and quickly gather enough supplies to last an entire winter.



There's elk all over the place except for with the bears - for obvious reasons - and with tomb robbers haunting across the wilds, it's not hard to rack up a decent killcount there either. I also run into another Roving Threat like Rotspittle - this time it's a trio of Angmar troops, Súnath and his two marksman toadies. Thankfully they pass me by without issue.



While I'm off hunting, I also find Harry Hinchcliffe down a long crevasse, and kill him for the bounty credit later, as well as the tomb-robber captain he's keeping company They're somewhat tougher than their colleagues, but Harry was dumb enough to walk out on his own first and never got their support while he was still alive.



There's also a goblin camp further north-west, where I slay the warg Thauk as he makes his rounds. I presume I'll be back here later for quests, but for now I just take the credit and go back to Ost Forod. Turning in the two bounty quests is a bit fussy since you have to start them twice (once with Basil, once with the person who requested the bounty) as well as end it with both of them too. I also turn in all the requested items from the wilds, and check in with Basil on that too.



Basil is glad that I've shown that the Rangers are serious in restoring the pact between them and Ost Forod, so it's now time the locals step up here to honor their end of the agreement. They said they'd watch over Evendim from the north, guard the trade routes with Forochel, and ensure the enemies of the Rangers did not enter from those lands. They've entered and are already there, that much cannot be changed, but they can be driven back out. I should speak with those four people from before again, the ones I helped prepare for winter, and see what tasks they have related to scouting the threats around the region. They'll know what to do next from here!

I do another lap of the town, and learn that Rowena wants me to confront some more tomb-robbers and take them out - the same type as before, even, so it's basically a repeat quest. Poppy sends me over to the goblin camp to clear out a dozen of those, Ballard asks me to take out white wargs that also live near the goblin camp in the Duskencleft, and Clark asks me to retrieve a satchel of relics the tomb-robbers took from a Dúnadan tomb - it was lost along the way and probably can be found in the Duskencleft now. Figures. Finally, Spring Standish also has a request - she asks me to follow the road all the way north to find the tomb-robber captain - that's actually the same location where I took out one of the bounties earlier. I guess I jumped the gun on those quests…

While standing about twenty feet away from Parr Chopley, I also get an update on my search for boars - I didn't really pay attention and the 30 minute time limit ran out on me. Instead of failing, though, I get an update - there were no boars in Evendim! None at all!



Parr Chopley is disappointed, and wonders if I even really looked for them. I didn't just waste my time doing errands or something, right? No, he trusts me, so he'll just have to do without delicious Evendim Boar-steak. But that just won't do! While there may be no boars, there's plenty of bears - they're no match for a sizzling boar-steak, of course. His pal Ronald Dwale once went on at great length about the similarity of the words 'bear' and 'boar', but he doesn't share the same love of words. They're an inconvenience and get in the way of things - to get to the real meat of an idea, so to speak. Anyway, could I hunt some bears and bring back choice cuts of meat for the hobbit to devour? Thanks.

After quickly visiting the bear den again to stock up on bear meat, I then do a great trek up north to slay tomb-robbers, that same tomb-robber captain at the far north again, and then a whole bunch of goblins in the north-west. There's a handful of wargs around to take down, but most of them are gathered on the higher, western side of the plateau, where I also find the satchel of relics in the bushes next to an ancient ruined wall.



Afterwards I decide I should complete my great round-trip by heading south of town to track down the last two bounties - Bill Tripper is in the tomb-robber-infested southern estate I visited before, and Andy Idden is in another one - the one with the goblins. While hunting these guys down, I also find a scroll fragment - it's illegible by itself, but if I loot some more fragments from other tomb-robbers I might be able to restore the whole thing…



I head back to Ost Forod and hand the bear-meat to Parr, who still complains it's not boar-meat, but assures me he's not trying to sound ungrateful. Bear-meat is also quite good! In truth, the people of Ost Forod don't have it as easy as his own folk in Oatbarton, so he decided to call over some locals and share the steaks with them - it's only right! Keep an eye out for boars! I go around town reporting that I finished all the little errands I was asked to complete, then head back to Basil Gummidge to report that all the immediate threats have been pacified. He's pleased that the north is secured - but I am not entirely sure how this counts as Ost Forod holding up its end of the bargain with the Rangers when I'm literally doing both halves of the job? Anyway, he tells me I'm not done.

With relationships restored, Basil hopes that in the future they can build on it and make it grow and flourish. He's prepared to make a large step towards that, by explaining that he knows where the tomb-robbers make their primary camp. It's a small island at the north end of Lake Evendim named Rantost. (Aha!) Many relics pilfered around the area are kept there until buyers can be found for them, so he imagines the history they are keeping there is immense and invaluable to the Rangers. Months ago Basil sent three of his men to join the tomb-robbers as inside sources, and they are now on the island, still working for him. He's willing to use that fact and have them expose themselves to challenge for control of Rantost on behalf of the Rangers. I should seek the trio out and they'll tell me what to do next…

Aside from that, he informs me there's been a troubling development regarding myself - and it's best I hear it from him than seeing it for myself. I've done a lot of good for the town by claiming the bounties of some of the prominent villains here, so it wouldn't be right to let me walk intro trouble without warning. Someone's been putting up new posters, you see, and Basil's been taking them down whenever he sees them, but he kept one up next to him on the wall so I could see it. I should go read it and take it down, then we can talk about what can be done.



The poster in question is written in a messy scrawl, but the words are clear:

'For the death of Brulindir, Hunter of no account, Cuthbert Sprunt offers two gold pieces. This elf has come to Evendim and caused nothing but trouble. Just ask Mrs. Idden where her boy Andy is, or the widow Tripper why her son Will is missing a brother!' Beneath it there's an unflattering description of me, followed by another angry scrawl: 'If you think you've been wronged in this, Brulindir, 'bounty-hunter', then you come talk to Mr. Sprunt at the Sparring Circle. We'll sort it out, fair-like.'

Basil knows this Cuthbert - he's a villain of the lowest measure, and the sum he's offering for my head is enough to have even the good folk of Ost Forod thinking twice, and there are plenty here who need only think once! I'm a marked elf now, the bounty-hunter became the bounty! He guesses that I want to go to this fight - single combat with Sprunt - and decides that if I can show myself stronger than he is, there would be few willing to claim the bounty. He'll stand by me all the way. We can head over to the Sparring Circle right now and accept the challenge. Though Basil will be watching him closely to ensure he doesn't cheat…

---

Instance: The Bounty-Hunter

"Basil Gummidge hired adventurers from throughout Eriador to bring the ruffians and tomb-robbers of Evendim to justice, but now a notorious tomb-robber, Cuthbert Sprunt, has placed a bounty upon the arbiter's own hunters...."​

After arriving at the Sparring Circle, the enclosed stone place where I found one of the riddle clues earlier - and which is awfully square for a circle - I'm met there by Basil, who observes that Sprunt hasn't arrived yet, so there's still a chance to change my mind. Sprunt's dangerous, he argues, but I shouldn't have any trouble beating him… assuming he plays fair. Not much later Cuthbert shows up, and is not pleased to see Basil there. Basil explains that I'm here to take him up on his challenge - single combat. Cuthbert says: 'That's rich!' before jumping me and starting combat. Basil warns him not to try anything, and for a bit there it's one-on-one combat with the criminal swinging at me with a big axe and cursing my name.



Then, of course, he shows his true colors - partway through the fight he calls in reinforcements, several archers firing down from up above on the battlements. While Basil joins in on my side to tank Cuthbert's blows, I start sniping down the two competing archers. I'm pretty sure the exact encounter is class-specific here.



At the end, after taking down the archers, a third add pops up inside the portcullis of the area - Graham Hinchcliffe, relative of one of the bounties I claimed. This, too, can vary based on class. After taking that guy down I turn back to the fight between Basil and Cuthbert and finish that up as well. None of the people actually die, they're just sitting on the ground, dazed and defeated.



Basil asks me if I'm alright, noting that we taught Sprunt a thing or two in that fight. He knew the man planned on cheating somehow, he just knew it! It's a good thing he was here, but all's well that ends well, as he always says. Or as he's saying right now, at least. He dares to say Sprunt's cronies won't be causing me any more trouble in the future… Well-fought, well-fought indeed! I'm the bounty-hunter, not the bounty!

---

Since I picked up the last couple scraps of parchment along the way back to town, I take a ride back to Tinnudir to drop them off with Culang. He thinks they're an interesting find, and he's always enjoyed puzzles like these. Let's see, this one goes there, that one over here… Ah! Simple! Remarkably, what I found here is an account of a man - an adventurer, shall we say, to be polite to the dead - who scavenged the Fields of Fornost long ago after the Witch-king's defeat. It seems this fellow hid his finds not far away. From my point of view this treasure is a legitimate trove - there should be no reason that anyone could not honorably recover it if they happened to find the location. If I want to find it, according to the scroll it's hidden beneath a marker in Barad Rath, ruins that lie to the north-east. Boy, Evendim sure loves its riddle-treasures…

 

[Roarian]

Evendim (Part 5)

Instead of doing a long run-around, I take a swim straight from Tinnudir northwards towards Rantost.



I find a trio of 'tomb-robbers' around a fire. I speak to Eliot Bencroft, who declares not-at-all suspiciously that he's not doing anything suspicious, just standing around waiting for the next boat. He asks me who I am and who sent me, and when I explain I came from Basil, he decides it's time to get to work. See, the tomb-robbers are far more organized than previously thought, and Rantost is the hive of their villainy. Everything they plunder from the tombs and crypts of Evendim passes through here. The three infiltrators have been watching for a while, and they each came up with a way to hinder the efforts. If these operations can be curtailed enough, it'll give the Rangers an opportunity to strike. With the tomb-rodder threat ended, the relics could be recovered and the friendship between Ost Forod and Tinnudir strengthened.



Eliot himself has been monitoring the patterns of the tomb-robbers - when they come, when they go, who is here and when. He always sees the same people around camp, and says there are only a few who travel on the boats to get new relics, but they don't come ashore. If I could defeat some local robbers, it would take time before any would notice on the mainland and come and support them, giving the Rangers an opening. Leighton Kipps says the robbers store all their relics in crates and barrels deeper in the camp, so he asks me to make a count of how many there are so it's clear how many need to be recovered later. Wal Simpkins notes that rowboats are used to transport relics to the island, so if we burn some of those down they won't be able to make them disappear in the confusion…

Rantost isn't very large, and is dominated by a large central ruin that's home to the tomb-robber operation. I go around burning boats - in a hell of a huge conflagration, too.



I then head into camp to count crates, and then a few barrels higher up on the second floor level. Just by doing this I come across plenty of tomb-robbers to whittle down the population, though respawning means I can never really make it any more manageable. At least they're weak. With chaos reigning within the camp, Eliot decides it's time to start the real offensive. The information I brought tells him it's time to start the assault on Rantost. He's sent word to the Rangers already, and they're now awaiting a signal to get started. When I'm ready, I should head to Leighton and he'll get things rolling…

---

Instance: Thief-Taker's Bane

'A simple quest to recover ancient Dúnedain relics from the hands of the grave-robbers who stole them has gone terribly awry. The thieves will not allow the Rangers and their allies to take their treasures from them so easily....'​

I arrive at Rantost only to get a menacing message that indicates something's gone wrong with the operation. The Rangers are here to fetch the stolen relics, sure, but apparently we've run into trouble. Eliot explains that he'll stay hidden in the bushes to avoid getting identified as a spy by the tomb-robbers, in case his role is necessary again. I should head out to help the Rangers around the island though, as they've set up three different camps at which I found stockpiled relics. One right next to us, one in the center of the ruins, and one on the west side, furthest away. It's likely that the tomb-robbers will be attacking at all three sites before long in an attempt to reclaim that which is not really theirs…



I head over to the closest encampment with three ranger defenders when a message comes that they are under assault. I don't see anyone, but that takes only a few moments - tomb-robbers come rushing in from off-screen and attack, including a bunch of signature mobs that are more difficult than the regular counterpart. Before long other messages pop up from the center and east camp - I'm not entirely sure what governs which one will be assaulted, but I flit back and forth between the three locations to stomp on a new wave of angry assholes, rinse and repeat. There's a ton of these guys, but given the presence of nine Rangers to keep the pressure off, it's never particularly dangerous, just time-consuming.



After some time rushing back and forth I finally get the message that the tomb-robbers have been defeated, so I head back to Eliot in the bushes to get a ready back to camp from him - the day is saved! It wasn't honestly that difficult, but sure.

---

Having completed my task on Rantost, Eliot tells me that he's glad he can lay down the spy role and return to real work. With the tomb-robbers scattered and their bounty reclaimed, he can head home to Tinnudir, and see this new more open and beneficial relationship with Ost Forod for himself. The Rangers let him know, though, that Orchalwë at Tinnudir was hoping to speak with me to thank me for my aid, but he suspects there will be more work to be done… Before I leave, I remember to swim across the water from Rantost to the coast to look for the stone marker of the riddle quest - I find it within a small section of ruins on the edge of the water, near the Duskencleft.



This time, the inscription is:

'On the western shore of mighty Lake Nenuial,
Stone paths run to the water from a flat clearing.'​

Speaking of stone markers, I head back towards Tinnudir to track down Barad Rath, a ruin I've walked past a few times before, when I had no particular reason to be there. This time I go to find a stone marker for an entirely separate quest, the one I got from finding random scraps of paper on the baddies. There's no great treasure at the described place, as it was looted long ago, but there is an old book - a chronicle of the Battle of Fornost. Maybe Culang would find it interesting, alongside the scroll I discovered? Eh, might as well check. Culang admits that while some great treasure would have been nice, the book is a treasure to him - even if the robbers must have found it worthless. He has little to offer me to sweeten the bitter loss of treasure, but he'll give me a book of tracking in recompense.

Orchalwë informs me that with the tomb-robber threat dealt with thanks to my tireless help, he cannot begin to express the extent of his gratitude. I was sent out initially to repair the pact with Ost Forod, but we went above and beyond to deliver Rantost back to the Rangers. Fantastic! With the oath resworn, a great burden has fallen off Orchalwë's shoulders with that wrong now rightered. Now, we can turn our attention to the western shore, and to a friend that's been around far longer than Ost Forod. A friend who stands at the end of his time and weeps for the state of the land. I should use the boat nearby and venture across the water to the Eavespires. There I should speak with Longbough, and let him know that the Rangers will do whatever they can to soothe his pains.

Making my way across the water via Ranger-teleporting (no scenic boat ride, alas) I end up in the Eavespires camp - and its most interesting occupant stands out. He is Longbough, and he's an Ent! One of the ancient Tree-tenders!



I relay Orchalwë's words, and Longbough is pleased that the Rangers recognize that the lake and forests are in pain. See, there's men from the north here who dress like wolves, and they are not like the Rangers from the east. They worship the land, but then use it to create evil and darkness - they're a foul breed of Men, one he does not trust. They've been coming further south, even to the edges of this grove, which causes him great worry… Furthermore, above the lake - hoom - where the water pools and flows, then thunders down across rocks and stones, he sees these men dressed as wolves splashing in the waters. They carry foul bags filled with poison and death with them, and spread it upon the waters. The waterfalls cascading down then dump this foul toxin into the water of the lake. Perhaps I'll help put a stop to it?

Nearby, the elf Lithuifin observes that if Longbough senses that the Even-rills are threatened, he's probably right - he's never been wrong before. The enemy he speaks of are known as the Gauredain, men from the cold wastes of Forochel up north. They dabble in dark alchemy and evil magic, which turn nature into an abomination. I should clear out their camp in the Even-rills, lest more come. His wife Erchiel mentions that Longbough is short-tempered for an ent, and has little trust for the people of Eriador. In fact, if I do want to gain his trust, there's a small matter with which I might aid the camp. She wishes to learn more about the Gauredain, so she asks me to surreptitiously gather a few relics from their camp, and she might be able to analyze them, as she has a great amount of experience with many human customs and symbols.



Speaking with the Gauredain is unlikely to work - these men are nearly feral creatures, and the influence of the orcs means they're unlikely to look upon elves such as us with kindness. If they discover the camp, there's every likelihood they'll attempt to drive everyone out - and while neither Longbough nor her would allow that, such bloodshed on the doorstep would wound her husband Lithuifin who despises unnecessary slaughter. (He was pretty quick to ask me to murder a bunch of them, though…) Erchiel asks me to hunt down some of the Gauredain hunters and warriors that have wandered south of the river - not so many as to cause them grievous hurt, but enough to warn them away from this land. Hopefully I could also take out one of their leaders, a soothsayer shaman who is in charge of these sorts of tribes.

It used to be a rare sight to see Longbough weep, she says, and in the many years she's known him it's happened only once or twice per years - usually when a sapling he knew got snapped in a storm. Over these past months, it's happened more frequently - the pain of Evendim is slowly killing him, and while these tears are created from pain and evil, they're still a great force of life and good. I should take a vial containing a few of Longbough's tears from last week and pur them into the pool at the top of the Even-rills. The waters should be purified and restored by their inherent power.

Near the docks I speak with Remmenylf, who says they're not even sure how long the Gauredain have been encamped within the pools of the Even-rills, so they may have already done great damage to the lake. We have to figure out why they're here! The Gauredain believe in nature and its abilities and powers, but they do not understand where those powers come from. While the people here use the virtues instilled therein by the Valar for good and healing, they use it for more nefarious purposes - they should not have gathered up several pouches of herbs and plants they're using within the pools. I should take those pouches back so Remmenylf can determine exactly what they're poisoning the lake with, and if need me concoct a cure.

He also has a plan to deal with the Gauredain, and spoke it over with Erchiel, who agreed. This plan involves us - and by that, he means me - stealing several of the wards that the Gauredain have scattered across their camps. These wards are simple tribal symbols, commonly used to keep evil spirits at bay by superstitious cultures. That is not to say that such spirits do not occasionally roam the world, of course - but a simple chunk of word wouldn't deter them. In any case, he needs me to gather several and bring them back here, to embark on the rather more clever part of the plan…

With a slew of quests on my radar I head out to find some of these Gauredain. They are basically stone age humans with loincloths and wearing wolf pelts over their heads - the world's shittiest werewolves, I guess.



I ascend the nearby hills and take out some tribesmen and gorge-stalkers before arriving at some of their camps, where I almost immediately take out a soothsayer - these leaders aren't exactly hidden away in this huge camp, huh? I also grab some baskets full of relics and some wards - the latter are tall wooden structures similar to totem poles. After doing that for a bit I make my way to the far north of Evendim, the heart of some of the waterfalls, where I find the pouches of poison the Gauredain are using as well as the central pool in which I dump Longbough's tears.



Back at the grove, I report in with everyone, mostly to general appreciation and minor rewards. Erchiel observes that the relics I retrieved are crude as expected, but they also show more sinister signs - some of the work is influenced by orc and goblin customs! The relationship is distant, and perhaps they've had no dealings for some considerable time, but it does not bode well for any chance to come to a reasoned understanding with them. Lithuifin's tender temperaments aside, she fears that our next course may be one of decisive action - hopefully it won't upset him too much. My descriptions of my battles with the Gauredain also tell her that while these men are as feral as any orc or goblin, they're yet unbowed and carry great pride with them - killing a few won't cow them.

Erchiel explains that as a warrior of some renown, she's all too accustomed to battle, and she always contends with - and offers - threats of death. Against such foes as goblins and orcs the threat is usually sufficient to break their spirits and send them back into the darkness, unless they are driven by powerful masters. Not so much with the Gauredain. As Lithuifin has reminded her, Men such as them who are still free of spirit and pride often place greater value on the unseen and unfelt worlds than upon their own lives. The wards were a clue there, and it's this that we'll play on to keep the two sides safely separated. I might have noticed a number of Gauradan-markers along the shore of the river to the north, which mark the current boundaries of their territory as they see it. But they don't in any way prevent them from crossing further into our stretch of the forest - and that's what we'll change.

She changed several wards I brought along and added a few flourishes to them. If I add these to the boundary markers, they'll no longer represent mere territorial boundaries, but Wards of Doom to the Gauredain, a warning that any who cross imperial their very spirits. These men might not respect the swords and bows of outsiders, but this they will not ignore! I take the wards and quickly trek up the hill to the east, updating the wards there with a new piece on top which just fits right in with the rest.



When I report success, Erchiel figures that it won't work indefinitely, nor stop the most insistent and brave hunters from passing by, but it should prevent open war from erupting in the Eavespires. She then says I should check in with Lithuifin or Longbough to see if more aid is needed.

The ent - hoom-hom - says that while the Gauredain are of no immediate concern anymore, there is another issue to deal with. The trees to the south scream out in agony - they call for help. Big men, giant men nearly as tall as Longbouh himself, are ripping trees from the ground, and he can feel their agony! I ask for Erchiel's interpretation, and she explains that there's a band of hill-giants who have taken up residence at the western edge of the forest. They're nasty brutes who have taken to smashing trees and tromping through undergrowth in such a fashion that it makes Longbough's knots itch just to think about it. She prefers battles of trickery to those of the blade when dealing with people three times her height and one-tenth her wit, so she has a plan for me…

For some years now she's instilled a fear of wood-spirits and sprites in the giants. There are none of those around, at least not here, but the giant don't know tha. Flickering lights in the distant woods, unexplained disappearances of important things, strange and unearthly sounds - all the sorts of things you might use to scare children and keep them from wandering into dangerous woods. The giants are not much wiser than children, and the same ploys work on them, usually. The giants have been growing bolder of late, so perhaps I could… raise their spirits again, let's say? She happens to know that one of the guards on the outskirts of the camp keeps a lucky stone near his person - just a rock of no true value, except sentimental. If I could snatch it away while he's distracted, that'd help. She left a stone cairn nearby to assist in distracting the giant for long enough to pilfer his stuff…

Remmenylf comments that he's afraid things have gone awry and taken a dangerous turn - a stone-giant of some actual cunning and intelligence has arisen in Amon Môth, and such an ominous portent cannot be ignored. Giants are very powerful creatures and dangerous at the best of times, but they are fractious and chaotic, so it's quite rare for them to have a strong leader. The consequences are usually disastrous since few can stand against an organized warband of giants. Even Erchiel and Longbough would find themselves overmatched. In this case, the newly arisen leader must not be allowed to strengthen his control over the giants, or he may overwhelm the forests. It's not within his power to defeat the giant, and the others must stand guard here - so can I handle it?

Lithuifin comments that his wife never explained exactly how they keep the giants convinced that the forest is haunted - it's actually easier than I might assume. He needs me to collect some berries from bushes that grow in this part of the forest first - they're quite sweet, but he suggests I shouldn't sample them, lest I find myself led far astray by their effects. The taste might be good, but they are more intoxicating than even the stoutest of dwarven ales. I should bring a few handfuls so the elf can prepare a fine treat for the giants…



I gather a bunch of berries quickly enough, then head up to fight some giants - they're pretty much huge people in loincloths, living in stone dwellings that are made of gigantic bricks - they look pretty out of place, which makes them kind of interesting. Did the giants build these themselves? At any rate, I eventually track down the lucky stone on the far side of the camp, though instead of distracting the big guy I just end up fighting him. Ah well. He'll be back in a respawn cycle, I'm sure. I take his lucky stone, and since I'm having a relatively easy time taking on these damage-sponges, I also look for the chieftain and slay him and his minions. Apparently these giants keep bears as pets?



I return to camp and give the lucky stone to Erchiel, who says she'll have more complicated duties for me next. Sure? Lithuifin takes the colorful flowers and goes to make a hallucinogenic paste, explaining that giants have a constitution to match their great size, so it's one of the few draugths he can make that have any effect at all on the big lugs. Remmenylf compliments me on slaying the leader of the giants, and says that while Erchiel and Lithuifin have striven for many years to avoid conflict and strife in the world at large, these days it seems ever closer - another war is looming. Erchiel already fought her share, and he's seen it on her face as she dreams of ages past, memories intruding on her slumber and creasing her brow with worry and care. He hopes she'll never have to see any more of those dreams - if it's in his power, he'll help. He thanks me for doing my part.

With all preparations finished, Lithuifin tells me that giants tend to gather each day for a large meal, somewhere in the southern part of their encampment, where they've placed a huge stew-pot. My goal is simple - I should make my way to the pot, quietly, and slip the draught into their meal, then escape before I get stepped on. If I can manage to stay nearby, I might find the following events amusing…

Making my way back up the mountain, I take out a giant or two - I'm not a sneaky type, okay - and toss the vial of mystery goo into the huge stew pot, then make my way to the edge of camp. Almost immediately several giants thunder closer and start eating. Moments later one of them gets a headache, then another complains about the earth moving under his feet. Then, quite abruptly, one of them screams that the spirits are back, and they all start swinging their huge weapons into empty air, hallucinating a deadly foe and swearing they shall all be destroyed, this time! They will smash the swirling light flickery things! Hopefully this will convince the giants that the woods are still haunted - perhaps enough to leave them!



I check in with Longbough again, who says that with the giants dealt, he can finally see the forest floor and what is poisoning the roots of everything here. The Twisted Grove, once a place that he called home, has become foul and corrupted. The trees there now live and move on their own, but not as Ents or Huorns. Instead, they have been twisted into Wood-trolls, dangerous abominations of nature. (I saw one of these in Bree-land!) He's not sure what caused this all to happen, what's driven his woods against him…

Lithuifin says we must learn more about the power which has corrupted the grove and now seeps into the surrounding forest. It's dark and evil, but nothing is known about the source. I should head over there and gather any sickened or dead plants I may find so we can determine what we face. Erchiel, meanwhile, dumps a metric ton of passive dialogue on me as I pass by…



She also has actual stuff to say. Something seems to be amiss on the edge of the forest, she explains, as a party of Wood-trolls led by one called 'Heart-rot' have lived there for some time, but recently they've grown in power and started threatening to twist the forest around them to evil and hatred. I should seek them out and winnow their numbers. Kill enough, and Heart-rot might come out to face me, thus removing the source of this trouble. Hold on, you've known about this for a while and yet your husband is clueless? Communication, people.

Remmenylf says that beneath the Twisted Grove there's a pool of water. From this source, the trees and Wood-trolls' roots bring in their nutrients… and also their corruption. The waters of that pool are certainly foul and poisoned. He's collected some more of Longbough's tears, and asks me to repeat my earlier feat by purifying this pool like the one the Gauredain had infected with their poison pouches.

The trolls are on the far southern side of the west shore, but they're not too hard to find - they kind of stand out as these weird plant-people wandering a clearing. There's also rotten tree-limbs all over the place, so I gather those while taking out trolls along the way. I also descend into the central area where there's a hollow leading down to the infected pool. Heart-rot is there, but beating him up just causes him to freeze at half health and flee instead of dying. Eh. Using the tears of Longbough has no apparent effect on the water either, unlike the last time…



I head back to camp and let everyone know what I did, and Erchiel muses that there must be more to Heart-rot than first imagined. Whatever power lies in the Twisted Grove, its roots run deeper than expected. Longbough tells me that the rotten branches I brought him allowed him to divine what's going on. There was once an ancient tree in the southern forest whom he was well acquainted with, but after the destruction wrought upon the forest during the wars long ago, it became withdrawn and would speak no more - even though his own despair at the acts of Men was nearly as great. Now it seems that Wood-trolls, particularly Heart-rot, have whispered long to this Huorn in its slumber, and reawakened it under their thrall.

Its heart is now black and twisted with their malice, and it will suffer no living thing of flesh in its domain. Hom! Ta-room! Were that all that had transpired, Longbough would pay it less heard, since the Twisted Heart's folly is its own, but now its roots run deep and far, ever grasping and twisting the trees that they touch, and the Wood-trolls will follow in its wake. He can't allow the Twisted Heart to warp the entire forest to its will, so we must stand against it and fell both it and the vile troll that has corrupted it. I should be careful though, for the Twisted Heart's fell powers will be great - but there's no choice! Ta-rum, hoom!

---

Instance: The Twisted Heart

'Longbough the Ent has been roused to anger. The Wood-trolls of the Eavespire are acting in league with a Black Huorn which was once under the Ent's guidance, and Longbough is determined to put an end to their mischief....'​

I arrive at the twisted grove with Longbough as a companion, and he declares we have much work to do - and I should follow him! As an ent, he's not a terribly speedy fellow, so I'm dithering around as he slowly makes his way through the grove and towards the hollow where I previously found a version of Heart-rot. On the way there we're ambushed by several groups of wood-trolls, four or five at a time - normally an issue, but Longbough tanks most of the damage and also has a healing spell, so dying isn't a big risk here despite the numbers.



Longbough explains that currently the Twisted Heart lies dormant, its roots sunk deep into the earth. We must find them, and cut off its sustenance. After four waves of trolls we finally descend the entire ramp and reach the bottom - the same place I tried to use his tears, earlier. This time there's several active roots there belonging to the Twisted Heart, so I quickly destroy those. Longbough warns me that when they are destroyed the Twisted Heart will waken, and that's when I must strike! He then tells me he'll stay below while I head up top to fight the Twisted Heart. He'll make sure the roots can't regrow! This is about when Heart-rot pops up again and attacks, but… it's not looking good.



See, Heart-rot takes lethal damage… and just keeps going. Even unloading into him with damaging spells doesn't prevent him from instantly healing up with a wildly overpowered magical effect on him.



Since I'm not making progress against him I quickly move past him and up the ramp, eventually reaching surface level again. The Twisted Heart is a gigantic animated tree, but I quickly lay into it to whittle it down. At two-thirds health its root regrow and I have to head down again to cut them properly before resuming the beatdown in progress. After another pause at one third health, I finally manage to kill the tree outright after a third round of slaying roots, upon which Heart-rot's super-buff fades and I can finish him off without any problems at all. Victory!



This was one of the more involved boss fights, though for the most part it just entailed running back and forth between two locations and ignoring the annoying immortal mob as much as possible. One time I just jumped down, breaking my ankles but giving me some time to kill roots while Heart-rot made his way down the spiraling path into the hollow the normal, non-insane way. I'd recovered from the life-altering injury by the time he arrived. Gotta love MMO logic! With the Twisted Heart uprooted and Heart-rot destroyed, their corruption will spread no further - it's time to head back to the grove.

---

Eventually the twisted grove will return to normal, but that'll take time - but it's been ever so long since Longbough's blood has run with such heat and fervor! He compliments me on my fighting prowess, admitting he'd almost forgotten the enjoyable haste of battle. Even now he can feel the anger of the forest subsiding due to Twisted Heart's death, and soon some measure of peace shall return here. He thanks me once more, and apologizes for any rudeness to me during our earlier conversations. It's ok, big guy, I'm rooting for you. Anyway, Longbough says the Rangers in Tinnudir probably want to know about Longbough's newfound energy, and he promises not to rest until the west of the lake is filled with peaceful nature again...

 

[WestOrEast]

It's ok, big guy, I'm rooting for you.

Click to shrink...

Boo. Booooooo.

 

[Roarian]

Evendim (Part 6)

Orchalwë, back in Tinnudir, tells me that ents are very curious creatures indeed - so ancient, and so unknowable. He's glad I had the pleasure of not only meeting Longbough but aiding him as well. In the dark times to come, he's sure that ents will prove to be very valuable allies. Now, it's time to turn our attention south… to the city of his ancestors, to Annúnimas. It's the original capital of Arnor, before Fornost took that place in later years. It feels unfair to ask me more, he says, but the tomb-robbers that were driven from Rantost have fled south, and are now threatening the Ranger hold within the Way of Kings. That's where the ancient rulers of the Dúnedain are buried, those that watched over Annúnmias and Evendim from on high. Their memories are cherished and thought about, but their tombs are not to be disturbed.

He's already heard rumors and whispers of another force among the ruins, and he thinks I've already encountered them within the estates to the east of here - Angmar! He fears there will be little time to determine their motives and defeat them before it's too late. It's time to head south to meet up with Nimbellas at his camp and see what I can do to help! No sooner is he finished that I jump into the water and swim straight south - the camp isn't too far away, some distance westward from Oatbarton and the other early areas of Evendim, just on the other side of tall hills.



As I swim up to the edge of the Way of Kings where the Rangers are holed up, I also run into a Kergrim - one of those things from below the lighthouse. Seems there's more of them here!

Nimbellas is glad to get some aid, explaining that the Rangers have been trying to do all they can down here, but with every move they make their enemies are already waiting for them. He's discovered why, but he just hasn't had the numbers required to do anything about it. Not long after I freed Rantost, boats landed here, and Nimbellas watched a meeting between the newly-arrived robbers and the forces of Angmar. Afterwards, the tomb-robbers headed up into the hills and the Angmarim resumed their search. He can only fathom that some accord was struck, and the tomb-robbers are spying on Angmar's behalf and report on Ranger movements from the hills above. In return, Angmar would give the robbers any relics they didn't want. If we are to make any progress in the Way of Kings, the movements must be shrouded from the enemy… so I'll have to take care of those spies on high.



In the window of the ruin that surrounds the camp, Helechír tells me that his people are much concerned with the protection of the Dúnedain heritage of Annúnimas, but they are stretched thin. Because of that, they have on occasion hired more adventurous folk from Ost Forod to help protect the area, and one such worthy individual is Alfred Whitley, who keeps watch over the tombs of Men Erain. If I could, I should head back to the mainland a little ways back and take some supplies to him - there's steps carved into the hillside, that's where I can find him. He's been away for some time and is surely running short on provisions by now! Afterwards, I should check back in with him for my reward.

Maladan says he's been watching the robbers on the hills above us, and they seem focused on two ruins in particular - Tham Sarch and Tham Laegamon. He knows from his days as a child that there's a third ruin - Arthobel. The tower that stands there would make for a good strategic position, allowing for a clear look at the Way of Kings, see the waters of the river in teh south-east, and even Tinnudir is in sight. Last he remembers, the heavy doors to that place were sealed tight, and none had been inside for years. He asks me to venture south-west up the hills to find the entrance and look to see if there's been anyone there recently.



Rodlam asks me to head to Tham Laegamon as well and retrieve longbows which they use to fire burning arrows down at night, and to hunt down some tomb-robbers around the same location while I'm at it. Nethrandir says that Tham Sarch is occupied as well, and he asks me to retrieve their hand-mirrors since they keep using them to signal to the Angmarim, presumably conveying their observations in some coded manner. Oh, and I should kill a bunch of tomb-robbers there too, naturally… Get some new material, guys, you're basically clones…

I head back towards the hills and find that Alfred Whitley's post is empty with blood stains everywhere.



There's a journal that was left behind, however, and according to its latest entries, its author thought he was being followed - a man by the name of Iorthrenar.

17 September:​

And so I return -- for the first time! -- to my ancestral home near Annúminas. My lineage lived long in our ancient manor, and it is a necessary and proper thing that the children of the Dúnedain come at least once to their olden homes.​

​

19 September:​

I stopped at Tinnudir to pay my respects to Calenglad. He warned me that the region grows ever more lawless, and that grave-robbers and brigands are a constant threat. It is hard for me to believe that we have fallen so low that we must truly beware of such things. But I place my faith in Aragorn son of Arathorn and trust that he will restore our ancient glory.​

​

20 September:​

In truth this is a strange land. I had wished to feel welcome in these old lands of ours, but there were uncanny things abroad: strange lights floating in the mere, unnatural snakes, and worse. Last night, I thought I heard Wargs howling in the distance. When the kingdom is restored, these things will change -- I swear it!​

​

21 September:​

I am sure now that I am being stalked. But not by evil beasts -- by men! I hope to make Annúminas tomorrow, though, and surely the watcher and I will be able to hold off any number of mere brigands and robbers.​

I keep going up the hills to find the higher tombs - I take out a bunch of the robbers and take their mirrors, then forget there's another tomb up there and head back, letting Nethrandir know that I've finished his task.



I also let Helechír see the journal, and he's fearful that his friend and another Ranger were slain by robbers and dropped in some shallow graves. Alas, that they should come to the end of their lives in the ancestral lands of the Dúnedain! Alfrey was a good sort, and many of the men who live in Ost Forod are like him - honest and dependable. And yet, there are some in that town who would stoop to scavenging and robbing unguarded ruins. But, to slay a kinsman? That's the foulest of treachery. He asks me to warn some other watchers of the danger, like Sid Waring who keeps watch of this very campsite.

I warn Sid about a possible attack, and the man says I'm a bit late with that - but perhaps not too late. He was just attacked by men he knows not far from here, old neighbors from Ost Forod who have been driven to evil under the orders of Brychan the Bold. These were men he grew up with, mad for wealth they claim lies hidden in these old ruins. They feared no reprisal - you can hear them digging away even now on the next island over. I should head there and teach them a lesson, recovering the relics that were stolen! They may have already carried some of them to another island camp further south, too. I should seek out these camps and tell them that at least Sid Waring has not forgotten his loyalty, or the oaths he swore.

After running over there real quick and picking up a few relics, Helechír is glad we know one of the leaders of this gang now.



He then tells me Glirion, another Ranger, guards a third ruin, so I should seek him out and warn him of the freshly emboldened tomb-robbers. He's at a ruin atop one of the highest hills in Men Erain, overlooking the lake. I'll have to apply some effort to work my way up there to find him, as only faint traces of the old roads remain. Still, I must make haste, for Glirion may already be in danger!

I take the long road back up the hillsides to the furthest side, taking a lower path I skipped earlier because I just didn't notice it. This leads me towards Glirion, who says that the robbers are fools if they expect to find treasure in these ruins - or at least, any treasure they'd be interested in. He then wonders if I'm ready to fight, since I've surely already seen the signs - we're about to be attacked! Here they come! After a quick bout with a handful of robbers that rush in to beat me up - until a random player dwarf shows up and takes them on instead - Glirion declares that was all of them, and I'm tasked with letting Helechír know. Instead, I decide to head further in to finish my other tasks.



After another long ride which takes me up to a higher level overlooking the city of Annúnimas, I find a new camp full of robbers carrying longbows, which I naturally steal from their cold, dead hands. I also visit the ruins of Arthobel, and determine its doors are unopened - the tomb-robbers haven't been able to get in. I return all the way back to camp after that, cheaping out by just teleporting back to Tinnudir and taking the swim instead of running all the way back along the steep mountainside. After dropping off my items and reporting on how many people I killed and why, Helechír decides it's time to take a stand instead of just pacing in place. With the hilltop foes quelled, it's time to get moving!

It's time to strike a decisive blow, and Sid Waring mentioned a man named Brychan the Bold - the leader of a powerful gang of tomb-robbers, the same gang that killed Alfredy Whitley and Iorthrenar, injured Sid and stole the relics he guarded, and the same that attacked me and Glirion high atop the peaks of Men Erain. Brychan has a home in Ost Forod, to the northeast of Tinnudir, so I should return there and confront him! Yeah, maybe later, at some point. It's too out of the way to go there right now.

With the hills cleared, Nimbellas tells me it's time to make some moves without a contingent of Angmarim showing up to confront us. Before we delve into the crypts and tombs within the Way of Kings, however, we should do some scouting as to the state of the various buildings and the strength and position of troops. I should speak with the rest of the Rangers here and help them with what needs to be done. Nimbellas himself is thinking ahead and says that once the tombs are secured, he'll try to link up with the Rangers standing firm inside the city, but they can't risk such a mission without an understanding of the enemy forces between this camp and the one established in Echad Garthadir inside the city. The sticking point is the eastern gate of the city - it's a bottleneck everyone needs to pass through, unless one uses a boat, which is likely a deadlier option. I should observe the gate if I get close enough…

Nethrandir asks me to take out a small group of tomb-robbers working inside the Way of Kings even now, since without the hillmen delivering intel, it's doubtful Angmar will keep its end of the deal either and come looking. Maladan says that the path between here and the city was once full of grandeur and unrivaled beauty as tombs, crypts, and monuments to those who ruled the North Kingdom lined the road, and you were flooded with a sense of honor, justice, wisdom, and valor. It pains him what's happened over the years - some are destroyed, some empty, some robbed of everything, some swallowed by the lake. It's not the end that men of that stature deserve. I should take an accounting of the state of each tomb while I pass them, to see how time treated them.



He also says that since we'll be exploring the tombs before long, to see who's broken in and to recover precious relics, I'll need to get some way to enter these places. He sent a request to Tinnudir, but none of the keys to the crypts were found within the keep there. The copies have been lost to history. Many of the denizens of the Way of Kings were seen entering and leaving tombs, however, which means they must have their own key they're using. I should go out and collect a handful and see what they'll help me explore.

Rodlam, meanwhile, says that the depths of the lake and tombs contain many things that the Rangers have yet to understand - the Kergrim, creatures that now roam the Way of Kings, are one example of that. It's not clear what they are, but they feed on the remains of the dead - perhaps they're lizards, or twisted men of some sort, or something more ancient and foul. What is known is that they're territorial and hostile, and they stand between us and the tombs. They must be cleared out!

I head out into the Way, exploring the door of every tomb along the way. Haudh Eärendur appears to be in good condition, but there's tracks from carts leading down the way. The doors to Haudh Elendur are sealed shut and haven't been opened for a long time, Haud Valandur is slowly being reclaimed by the lake, but the door looks like it's been opened recently...



Haudh Tarondor stands firm and silent, undisturbed, while sharp and biting orders are snapped off from within Haudh Arantar - the Angarim are in there, looking for something. Haudh Elendil is still awesome in its majesty, complete with long bridge leading to it, and it's survived the ages better than most. (The virtues of being the most famous.) As for Haudh Eldacar? Voices can be heard from beyond those doors too, while Haudh Tarcil is a shell of its former self, as time and the lake have reclaimed most of its glory. I hunt a few kergrim around the place and shake down a few tomb-robbers for their keys, then move on.



At the very end of this procession of tombs is the eastern gate of Annúnimas - and it's heavily defended by Angmarim forces - clearly my foes are numerous and strongly encamped here.



I tell Maladan about my scouting, and he muses that four tombs are being used, one lies destroyed, one is dormant, and Elendil's has retained its majesty. (That's only seven, my dude.) With the threats thinned, the crypts scouted, and the keys in hand, it's time to venture into the tombs in the Way of Kings and clear them out. We'll focus on the four that seemed to have been opened recently - Haudh Eärendur, Valandur, Arantar, and Eldacar. The Rangers have spent time researching each crypt and are reviewing their notes of what they've seen while posted there.

Nimbellas studied the tomb of Eärendur, and explains that the tale of the North Kingdom is one of tragedy - Eärendur, son of Elendur, was the last king of Arnor, before his sons splintered the kingdom into the realms of Arthedain, Cardolan, and Rhudaur. Unfortunately, much lore about those final days was lost with him. He rests still in his tomb, and with him some fragments of those last days that the Rangers would very much like to relearn. He asks me to take rubbings of any engravings I find in there - after taking care of any threats, of course. Tomb-robbers have found a place in there to make a final stand, as within the tomb of Eärendur they scramble to take whatever they can. Once they have enough, they'll leave Evendim entirely. Once I enter, they'll have nowhere to go - and this can be ended once and for all, on our terms. None shall go unpunished for the acts they have committed against the ancestors of the Rangers!



Maladan was in charge of observing Haudh Valandur, and explains that when the Rangers came here, they thought the only trouble they'd have in these tombs would be a few robbers and making sure the walls didn't cave in on them. No-one foresaw these kergrim, whatever they are, and all he knows is that these carrion feeders will sooner kill you than look at you. A group of them has taken to living in Haudh Valandur, which is a problem I need to rectify. Valandur was one of the kings who ruled during the glory days, wide and just, and known to people by his scepter. As he judged a case or complaint he'd carefully ponder the words said, and to maintain order only those holding his scepter were permitted to speak. When he made a decision, the scepter would then shine with light. It seemed that the relic was lost to history, but recently Maladan has seen a kergrim stalking around the tomb holding it… It must be returned!

Nethrandir kept an eye on Haudh Arantar. Little is known about this king's reign, and the tomb he's buried in is a modest place. He was clearly of some importance and must have done something of worth, but that knowledge has been lost. Still, like all Kings of the North, he wielded a ring gifted to him by the Blue Lady. legend has it that some virtue resides within the ring, though no power as significant as the Rings of Power. Still, it's the prize for which the Angmarim search, certainly. I should head over there and drive them out, letting them know they have a formidable foe to deal with and the tomb-robbers won't protect them any longer. I should also keep an eye out in the tomb to see if I can find Arantar's ring to keep it out of enemy hands.

Rodlam inspected Haudh Eldacar, and explains that unlike Arantar - where the Angmarim are just ransacking everything - they're much more methodical in Eldacar's crypt, carefully searching it without taking much out. Whatever they're looking for there must be of great importance, and I should go discover what their goal is, driving out the current group of Angmar troops to buy time. I should also find one of the leaders and search him for any orders he might carry, as that might indicate what the goal of this expedition is. If I can bring them back here, perhaps we can begin to unravel the mystery…

I get started in that order, too - Haudh Eärendur first. Inside there's plenty of tomb-robbers to kill, and there's large engravings everywhere, so I barely have to leave the first room to get both halves of my quest completed here.



Skipping swiftly on to Haudh Valandur, I go about killing the kergrim that have taken up residence, until I find one named Bone-Eater deep within and pilfer the lost scepter from his corpse. That was remarkably easy, actually…



The third tomb, Haudh Arantar, is full of Angmarim forces, and it takes a bit more effort to fight through them - but at the bottom is just a metric ton of graves or other relics, all of whom I can search. After killing most of the Angmar diggers I start searching, but it's a needle in a haystack - it's only the tenth or so I search that finally yields the missing ring I've been after. Haha, call me Indiana Jones!



The final tomb is sedate by comparison, a simple trip down to fetch orders from a commander hiding out in the deepest part of the mini-dungeon.



I give the ring to Nethrandir, who intends to send it to Tinnudir immediately. Rodlam looks over the orders I found and admits he can't understand much of it - but he does recognize a name on there, Amarthiel. Does that mean anything to me? I also drop off the scepter, and report back to Nimbellas about everything accomplished here. He's happy with my work, and says he just received word that the encampment within Annúnimas is under heavy and near-constant assault. Echad Garthadir is the only Ranger foothold in the city itself, so they can't afford to lose it. He thinks he can handle matters in the Way of Kings now, so he asks me to journey over there and assist in the fight!

Traveling there is actually a bit tough - I basically have to cut straight through the Angmar camp at the entrance of the city, then follow the long road dodging Angmar forces - including some trolls - to reach the higher levels of the city. There's no high level mobs yet on this level for the most part, so that's doable - but the deeper into the city you go, the more you get attacked by groups of signature/elite enemies which are tough to take on solo when you're on level for the area. Soon enough I make it to the eye of the storm, though, and find Adadhrond there to greet me. If tomb-robbers gave me trouble, he says, I should probably leave - the battles around here are for true warriors.



There's much work to do here in order to reclaim the city - more than even the Rangers may be capable of. They'll still try, of course, so at least they can preserve some of what is here. Orchalwë has traveled along with this group, and there's much anger within him - Adadhrond doesn't trust his judgment to let him go out into the city on his own, lest he put himself into a situation he cannot survive. As such, he asks me to accompany him, as there's much he will want to do, and I can help them come true. I should make sure that his means of achieving them does not make him fall into darkness… He then gives me a smoke signal, and tells me Orchalwë will come to my location when I use it. Basically, I can summon him whenever I want.

Annúnimas is an odd area - it's not quite solo adventuring for the most part, but since you get a summonable ally, some things are doable anyway. That said, only some of Orchalwë's quests are practical while alone, at least at my level, and some are difficult if not impossible to pull off now. One quest, for example, asks me to put Ranger flags on monuments of Angmar - and while a couple of those are easily reachable at lower areas of the city, a few are up in the more heavily defended areas full of high-end mobs, and those would be tough to get to. I'm also asked to kill no less than forty regular Angmarim and ten trolls, and most of the latter seem to hang out in high level areas too…

Another peculiarity about Orchalwë is that he doesn't just give me a slew of quests now. His quests are location-specific, so I basically have to run to a part of town with him active as an ally, and he'll offer some new small quests that apply locally. One of the first is to collect rubble from the staircase next to the Ranger camp to make assaulting the base more difficult for enemy forces. Later, I'm asked to remove corpses from hanging cages, the remains of Rangers who tried to bargain with Angmar to preserve Annúnimas as much as they could. Burning banners, collecting coins… Orchalwë is just a constant vendor of irrelevant minor quests that implore you to clear out a particular section of the city. There's a handful of more important quests, though, to eventually sate Orchalwë's bloodlust.



After running around the city a bit and dying a few times to getting swarmed by higher-level Angmar forces, I decide to leave the upper areas for a later revisit when I'm stronger. Instead, I go to clean up some outstanding quests elsewhere. One of those is to hunt down the riddle-quest marker on the west coast, which I entirely forgot about earlier. I find a treasure-hunter captain there to meet me, who says he's closing in on a party of tomb-robbers nearby, and with my help they should be able to win. (Is a treasure-hunter not just a PR-friendly version of a tomb-robber though?)



There's a clash between a bunch of tomb-robbers right after, and after wiping them out I find the stone marker they were after nearby, with a new inscription:

'High atop Dol Haedir, beyond the Gloaming Falls,​

Wolf-kin men will guard my last.' ​

Naturally I head back to Gauredain territory, and it's not too difficult to find the next stone marker at the edge of camp, next to a Soothsayer and her pupper. RIP the dog, I suppose. I check this marker for another inscription, and it's an infuriating one:

'The end of your search lies at the beginning,​

My treasure was always there, but you did not see.'​

It was a trick all along, a big diversion! I make my way back to the crossroads east of Tinnudir and instead of digging, I realize that there's a small removable section at the rear of the first marker itself, and inside that space is a moldy book. I take it back to Culang in town, and he examines it for me. Time has not been kind to the volume, but some of it is still legible, and it seems to be the diary of some member of the landowner's family - a daughter, unless he misses his guess. This is a true treasure, he argues, a record from the distant past - far more precious than what he expected me to find. He thanks me for my efforts - it was a long journey, but for such a find to be returned to the Rangers out of the darkness is a thing of joy. In return, he gives me his club. Fantastic - all that work for a stick I won't even use! Humbug.

After that I head over to Ost Forod, as I still have a much-belated meeting planned with Brychan the Bold. When I address him, he declares that he'll do as he pleases, and he'll keep doing it. These lands belong to him and his people, not some filthy descendants of long-forgotten kings! His blade will teach me not to bother him! After beating him up real good, Brychan says he's learned his lesson and promises to change his ways.



I let Helechír know, and he hopes the lesson sticks. He sometimes wishes Evendim was not such a wild place - in older times, even after the fading of the Dúnedain, it was a place of peace, but the troubles of the world disturb even these lands. Even so, I've served with distinction! With that, I say farewell - for now - to the lands of Evendim. I'll be back for the Epic Quest and other stuff, and I'll probably tackle the rest of Annúnimas too at some point - I'm pretty sure the Epic Quest will take me there anyway, probably at level 50+ when it's actually practical to tackle alone. For now, though, I take a teleport back to Ost Guruth in the Lone-lands, say hello to Frideric the Elder, then head out eastwards towards the Trollshaws, Rivendell, and new adventures...

 

[WestOrEast]

I haven't been seeing many other players in your screenshots. Is there a way to turn that off so it can just be you and PvE?

 

[Roarian]

I haven't been seeing many other players in your screenshots. Is there a way to turn that off so it can just be you and PvE?

Click to shrink...

I tend to crop out other players when they do show up, so you get a slightly skewed view of how many people are around. That said, this is an old MMO and I'm playing lower level areas - beyond dedicated guilds running that stuff, it's not going to be very busy. I might also be playing in the off-hours for my server, some of the time. I'm sure there will be more people around later on, especially in cities, but for now it's pretty easy to pretend the entire thing is single-player.

You can't, like, ignore the presence of people in the world - it's an MMO, that's kind of how they work. You'll see others shopping, doing quests, etc - though not very often, in my experience. Instances are an exception - so far I've only done solo ones (or which have a solo option) and naturally nobody else is going to show up in those. At any rate, there's no free PVP out of dedicated areas, so it's not a big issue even if some other player is being a dick. Just ignore dueling requests, block them and move on, you know?

 

[Roarian]

Trollshaws (Part 1)

The entrance to the Trollshaws lies on the far eastern side of the Lone-lands - I've actually been to the Last Bridge before for a quest, but never actually crossed it. As I do so, I actually get a deed for exploring the road leading up to Rivendell, trivially easy to accomplish but a good indicator of where we're headed. These are the last steps to one of the last elven strongholds in Middle-Earth, a pivotal location in both the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings. The Trollshaws themselves feature prominently in both as well, since this is where Bilbo met and fought the trolls, and also where the desperate flight of Frodo across the Ford of Bruinen took place, with the Ringwraiths hot on his heels, saved only by the grace of elven hottie Arwen Glorfindel.

Right across the bridge I find a stable-master - could have gotten this last time and made it easier on myself - as well as Alphlanc and Rochwen.



Alphlanc welcomes me to the Trollshaws, but gives me a warning - servants of the Enemy passed across the Last Bridge and swept into the land no less than two months ago, pursuing a small company. They were hindered at the Ford of Bruinen, and the good people were brought to safety, but… not all the evil ones were accounted for. Barachen maintains a camp to the east, on a hill south of the road, and she asks me to bring a message to him if I'm headed over there. I should report that there have been no agents of evil entering the Trollshaws over the bridge, but none have left this way either. Whatever evil lurks among the ruins of old Rhudaur remains here… She tells me to look for a marker she left on the road to guide people to Barachen's camp.

The Trollshaws have a returning mechanic - like the North Downs, spontaneous quests pop up for hunting a given amount of foes or collecting random items. These quests have even less in the way of relevance now, since they complete on their own without even a dialogue box, and what's there is pitiful. Assume that I'm asked to kill basically every type of foe at some point or another for arbitrary reputation rewards and nothing else - I'll be skipping these in the write-up. While doing these quests, a board drops a flawless tusk, which might command coin from Men or admiration from the dwarves… but in the hands of an elven weaponsmith, this could become a lethal weapon. I should look for one in Rivendell.

A ways down the road I come across a white stone which points south to Barachen's camp. He's set himself up on a flat section on the side of a hill, with a nice view of the area with only a single easy way to get up. Smart! I let him know that I was sent over from Tinnudir to help, and also that Alphlanc sent him a message. He's glad that she hasn't encountered any evil creatures, but it is wise to realize that the unseen evil is often the worst… Still, he's glad of my tidings, and says that if I'm willing to watch the wilderness for signs of evil, I'd be doing them a great service.



He explains that his dwarf-friend next to him, Heithur Ironfist, has requested his assistance with a matter of some urgency, and I should help out if I can. He was part of a company of dwarves that was commanded to bring certain relics from Thorin's Hall to the dwarf Glóin, currently in Rivendell. Heithur traveled ahead to notify his lord that the dwarves would soon arrive, but after they didn't arrive for some days, he grew worried. He's now gone back along the road to seek them, but the ground has been trampled by a herd of wild boars and any tracks are illegible. It may be that if I search among the boar herd to the west I could find some clue as to the whereabouts of the wayward dwarves - it might be that they just paused to eat!

I go look, of course, and find a badly mauled boar corpse with a piece of fabric stuck on its tusk, but no further evidence of the dwarves' presence.



Barachen isn't sure what the cloth portends, and can't even say if it's of dwarf-make or not. Heithur's company might be alive, though he has little hope that's true. Heithur told him a little more about the missing dwarves while I was away, though, as it seems Glóin requested the delivery of some stones of historical value from Thorin's Hall as a sign of good faith for the elves of Rivendell - he is visiting Imladris on a mission of some importance, you see. Heither is worried that Glóin will be made a laughing-stock without such gifts. He's wrong, of course, as Master Elrond treats all with respect and honor and has no need for baubles. He's told Heithur not to worry, but he can't help it. Perhaps the dwarves were surprised before they had come far into the Trollshaws? I should ask Alphlanc if they passed by.

I return to the bridge, and Alphlanc denies seeing any of these dwarves I'm looking for. Is Heithur certain they came this way? If so, that was before she and Rochwen arrived here. Perhaps I should look around the bridge itself very carefully and find some evidence of trouble they missed, or well-hidden by whatever evil fate befell them. I take a stroll around and soon find a shattered dwarf-crate at the bottom of a hill - its contents are gone. Whatever it once contained was stolen by parties unknown. I let Alphlanc know, who concludes this means the dwarves did come by here before they arrived after all. I should let Heithur know about that - and the fact that the dwarven might not have been fortunate in their encounters, given the shattered crate.



Heithur is upset that I found the broken remains of the crate the dwarves were bringing with them - he'd hoped that I might come back with the precious stones, but it sounds that someone else has already made off with them. It's inexcusable! Clearly misfortune befell his companions, and while they may be lost now, the stones they were escorting can still be recovered from whoever or whatever stole them. As he was returning from Glóin's camp to meet his companions, he saw a large number of cave-claws along the road, and Barachen has said the ruins of Ost Dúrgonn lie near there as well, an old fortress of Rhudaur. It'd attract such creatures, as they devour stone. It might be that whatever frenzy has drawn them out of their caves has also driven them to attack armed caravans. Alas, the stolen stones would be just the sort of prize cave-claws would covet… Could I go have a look and look for the stones? Often the pack-leader keeps the choicest morsels for themselves, and these stones would certainly count, so perhaps they yet survive!

I slay a whole bunch of cave-claws on my way into Ost Dúrgonn, only to find a person there - a wounded dwarf named Tóki Whitebeard is laid out on the dirt and wonders if I'm there to help, stuttering and wheezing through his pain. He tells me to be careful, as a mighty cave-claw has slain the rest of his company. He shudders with exhaustion as he explains these creatures attacked only after some trolls stole the stones they were carrying. Before I can get more out of him, cave-claws attack, including an absolutely massive one that's muscled and is nearly as tall as Tóki, who throws down with it alongside me, despite his exhaustion.



After it dies, he thanks me. I explain where he can find Heithur, and Tóki says he'll go to him - after he's rested for a moment. He asks me to track down the trolls who stole the stones, as he believes their camp is further east along the road.

I follow the road further and find a bunch of stone-trolls trouncing around there, and I get several repeatable quests in the area - weirdly enough I even get two quests which are effectively identical in that I need to kill six stone-trolls for both of them, but every kill counts for both of them. What's the point, exactly?



At any rate, I find the stolen stones quickly enough by murdering some trolls, then spend some time exploring - and there I find a special location hiding in the underbrush at the side of an otherwise unremarkable area. Three statues - no, three trolls, stone troll! I've found the spot where Bilbo encountered them so long ago, their petrified remains still looming overhead.



I bring the stones back to Heithur, who thanks me for the assistance on behalf of Glóin of the Lonely Mountain!

Barachen comments that I've been a boon to those assigned to watch the Trollshaws, as recovering the stones stolen from Heithur's couriers was no small task, but I did so without complaint. (That you heard, anyway.) If I have a mind to continue lending my aid, I should find Elladan and Elrohir, the sons of Elrond, who have established a camp in the ruins of Thorenhad, east of here and the north in the Bruinen Gorges. He knows my service will surely be appreciated there. If I follow the road eastward I'll find the camp of Narlinn and Fimgris, who will be able to direct me towards Thorenhad.

I take off to follow the suggested eastern path, and sure enough the aforementioned duo are seated around a campfire within a relatively narrow section of the eastern road.



I ask about directions, but Narlinn asks if I could help around here before I move on. He explains that his friend Arrod watches from the heights above the road, guarding the path to Thorenhad. Fimgris and himself have seen trolls wander towards that path int eh night, and he fears now for Arrod's safety. He might be a skillful archer who can take down a single troll, but more of them? Not even Arrod could manage that. Normally Arrod would send his companion Calendhroval to provide them with regular reports down here, but he's seen no sign of the birds for days. Would I go check up on Arrod and see if he's alright? I should circle around until I reach the ruin on top of the cliff, as that's where I should find him.

Fimgris, meanwhile, comments that there have been worrisome sights for the past few months that something isn't right in the Trollshaws - trolls coming down fro the mountains, servants from the Enemy on the road, and even the beasts of the word are troubled in ways he can't explain. Wolves have long dwelled in the Trollshaws, and though evil by nature, they generally kept to themselves. Now, however, they've become bold and dangerous - he's seen fear in their eyes the likes of which he's never seen before. It's true that servants of the Enemy recently pursued a small company along the road in recent months, but the wolves have only become more unruly in recent days, without an obvious reason. If I could, I should look through the vale between here and Thorehnhad and seek what might have disturbed the wolves so…

After slaying a bunch of wolves along the way, I get some indication that whatever's scaring these wolves into crazy behavior, it's somewhere southwards at one of their dens… something to look into. For now I make my way up the steep hill and around until I reach a higher level above the camp of Narlinn and Fimgris, where I spot a very much alive Arrod.



He's not surprised that Narlinn would get worried, since he's been unable to send reports for several reports, because his companion Calehdroval has gone missing. He sent the bird out to scout the Gorges a few days earlier, but he never returned. He did, however, see a hendroval returning to its nest not far from here, and he fears the worst, since he saw it carry something in its talons. It might have been a rodent, but he doubts it… Hendrevail are often used as spies, and he thinks his bird fell prey to the creature. He can't leave his post, so he asks me to investigate the matter…

I put that on my to-do list and check out the wolf den to the south, feeling a chill as I approach, as though some great evil is present here. I press further despite that, taking out wolves as I go, noting the uncharacteristic presence of a bunch of whole carcasses scattered throughout the den - something is terribly wrong here.



I keep going until eventually dread begins to increase, and I spot the dark form of a Shadow-wolf Elder in the heart of the den, a creature unlike any I've seen before - clearly this dire creature is the source of the evil I sensed. It's a tough cookie too, as it's got easily two or three times the hit points of any of the other wolves, and debuffs me on top of that. Still, it can't fight the awesome force of having done Evendim first and thus outleveling him a bit.



I return to Fimgris, who is appalled at the fact that I ran afoul of a dark wolf of unnatural origin, concluding that while such things are not unheard of, as wolves are evil to begin with, twisted mockeries of great hounds of old are another story. The wargs and their ilk are possessed of foul spirits, but perhaps the beast I found was itself a spirit of some kind. Word must be brought to the sons of Elrond!

Leaving that for later, I go look for a hendroval-nest - despite Arrod's words, any of them will do, so I just find one close to where I am and find a distinctive feather in there. I take it back to Arrod, who confirms that it belongs to Caledhroval - he believes that his companion fell victim not to some hungry bird, but to the work of the Enemy. There have been trolls out at night - he's barely stayed hidden at times - so he has no doubt that the foul servants of the Enemy are present in these woods. He saw the hendroval come from the north-west, from the vicinity of a bear-den in the shadow of Thorenhad, so it might be that the birds are spying on Elladan and Elrohir, and Caledhroval found out. If that's why his bird fell, there might still be evidence present to suggest what exactly happened. I should go to the bear-den and check it out…

Heading over to the bear-den, I quickly clear out most of it, only to discover a rather remarkable thing - Caledhroval, Arrod's trusty bird, alive and well!



Maybe well is an exaggeration, he's wounded and unable to fly, but he's alive at least. I quickly pick him up and scamper back to Arrod, who is beside himself at the revelation that his companion survives. He thanks me heartily and goes to tend his wounds, but concludes that he's now certain that the attacking hendroval was a spy. See, Caledhroval told him what he learned on his patrol, and the situation is more dire than it seems. (Yes, people talk to birds in Middle-Earth. It's a thing.) Apparently there's a whole cave full of trolls not too far from here, and after spotting it Caledhroval went to warn Elladan and Elrohir, only to be intercepted by the hendroval, apparently in league with the trolls. Unfortunately, the bird was not clear about the enemy numbers, so he asks me to scout the cave instead.

I head east and soon find the cave - it's not terribly hidden - and a scouting hendroval flying around outside. After taking down the spy, I take a quick peek inside.



There's some heavy-duty cave trolls in there, with tanky healthpools to match. I take one of them down, then retreat to report on what I discovered. Arrod notes he hasn't heard of them ever venturing this far from Moria - dire news. Elladan and Elrohir must be warned, but they are well-guarded at Thorenhad. He's more immediately concerned for Narlinn and Fimgris who are encamped along the road without any defense against such creatures. I should head down to Narlinn and speak of my discovery. She's obviously relieved to hear that Arrod and his bird are fine, but disturbed at the presence of cave-trolls in the Bruinen Gorges. She decides such a threat cannot be ignored, as the servants of the Empire are encamped on their very doorsteps! Alas, neither she nor Fimgris may leave their post, so she asks me to bring word to the twin sons of Elrond in Thorenhad.

I head over to the ruin in question, one I already saw up above while exploring the bear-den, and meet up with Elladan and Elrohir again - it's been a while, guys! Think the last time we had a proper word was in the Introduction, right? Saw you posing in the Prologue too.



At any rate, Elladan tells me Narlinn was right to send me over, as the evils I've described cannot be allowed to remain on the threshold of Imladris. Elrohir and he shall ensure word is sent to their father. For now, they have some tasks for me. See, while the agitation of the wolves was not new to them, the cause of the madness was unknown until I came. Indeed, they sent another elf named Pothlorn to scout the path to the ruins of Ost Thondol, as wolves were seen in that direction as well, and they wished to know how widespread their roaming had become. Alas, he hasn't checked in. Would I search for Pothlorn along that path and learn if he still lives? It may be that some ill has befallen him, and even then they'd like to know his fate.

Pothlorn is a bit complicated to find, since he's stuffed himself into a narrow crevice in the rocks, almost entirely out of sight. He's happy to see a friendly face, but he warns me that coming here is dangerous - this place is unsafe!



There were many wolves on the path, he explains, and they became more maddened the closer he got to Ost Thondol, which lies on the height just above him. They wouldn't pass the foot of the hill, though, so he pressed on… only to encounter a party of stone-trolls in the ruins. He sensed something else there as well, but he doesn't know what - there were too many trolls to deal with, and he was forced to retreat. If I wish to aid the sons of Elrond, I should head up the hill to Ost Thondol and seek the source of the evil there. Whatever it is, even the wolves fear it!

These ruins are fairly expansive, but since the trolls are hardly any harder than the last batch, I go on a killing tour until I find myself on an elevated level staring down the source of the darkness here - another corrupted animal, like the shadow-wolf before it. This time it's actually a corrupted worm, a big-ass lizard called a 'worm-wight' in-game, implying it's undead. It's certainly dreadful, and its black and red color scheme reinforces the vibes of bad news I'm getting. When I report back to Pothlorn, he's aghast at the idea of a wight in the form of a worm - it's an evil omen. A wight not empowered of itself, but filled with a spirit of evil, placed there by an even greater evil. I have to return to Elladan and tell him what I found, and he'll follow when he's able.



Elladan says that the presence of a worm-wight explains the uneasiness many in camp have felt here for the last few weeks. Pothlorn is right that a greater evil had to have placed the creature at Ost Thondol, and the first that comes to mind is the Black Captain - but he was thrown down in the Bruinen and sent horseless back to his master. Nevertheless, the master of the worm-wight must be found at all costs. Elrohir sent a scout into Nan Tornaeth where some worms dwell, so I should ask him for any updates in regards to that expedition.

Elrohir confirms that his brother is right - Nan Tornaeth is the most logical place to begin searching for the master of the worm-wight, as many worms dwell in those gorges. He sent Calenthon and Malloval to scout the area, and they may be able to help me discover the source of this evil. Calenthon's encampment can be reached by taking the path that leads to Ost Thondol, but when I reach the first fork I should take the north-west path instead. Along the way, I might wish to dispose of some of the worms, as I might find evidence of the evil which has stirred them to unrest.

I follow the path, finding a host of stone-trolls on one side of the path, and worms on the other. I slay a bunch of worms along the way for a repeatable quest, then find Calenthon's camp at the far end of this path. He comments that he would have sent word to Thorenhad if he'd gained any understanding of the nature of the evil that he'd discovered. The tale I tell about the wolves and the wight-worm reminds him of the madness he's seen among the bears in Nan Tornaeth, so he suggests I hunt some of them to find a clue to the cause of their madness - though he has little doubt it's related to the other incidents I've dealt with before…



I go hunt down some bears, only to discover a peculiar collar on one of the, covered in runes. The moment I examine it, I'm nearly overwhelmed by a chilling sensation that seems to emanate from somewhere to the south-west of Nan Tornaeth, not far from Calenthon's camp. I go hunt down the source of this feeling, only to discover the source hiding out in a far corner - a bear-wight, wearing a collar that's very similar to the one I just found. I slay the thing and quickly head back to camp to let Calenthon know.



He's not surprised, given my previous encounters, that a wight was responsible for the madness of the bears, but that brings us no closer to identifying the power which is behind raising these foul creatures. Well, we're slightly closer, as the runes on the collar I found are in a mode used in the old kingdom of Rhudaur. The Corcur, a remnant from the old kingdom who took refuge in Angmar long ago, have returned and established an encampment in the ruins above, seeking to reclaim Rhudaur and make it a great power once more. They have become little more than wild men over the years, however, so he can't see how they could have the power to raise wights. Nevertheless, he sent his companion Malloval to scout the encampment… but he's not returned.

If I haven't figured it out yet, Malloval is a falcon, swift of wing and keen of eye. (What is with you guys and losing your pet birds?) He explains that he uses a special whistle to summon his bird when he's flying afar amid the peaks and valleys. I should take it and climb the hill to the south and blow it so that Malloval can come to me, or at the very least answer with a call of his own. If the latter happens, I should go fetch him, for it's likely he's in danger! I should be wary, though, as the Corcur are dangerous in great numbers. Sure enough, blowing the whistle indicates that Malloval is somewhere on the Corcur-infested hill, and unable to escape. Great! Time to kick the asses of some cavemen…

As I head up, it becomes readily apparent more is going on here than just some hillmen - there's wights around in the camp! I slay my way inside until I get to Malloval's side, and it seems the falcon has been wounded by an arrow and is only able to hop about restlessly instead of fly. (Even though he does so in-game.) He has to be defended against his foes, or he'll surely die!



Which is, naturally, when some enemies attack us. After slaying some hillmen and wights, it becomes clear they're in league with each other, serving whoever or whatever has raised the dead. One of the hill-men bears an emblem with markings belonging to a gaunt-man named Gúrdring, presumably our big bad in this whole affair, so I have to go find him and destroy him once and for all! Don't have to tell me twice… I find him at the very top of the ruin, alongside several wight allies. Apparently he's the 'minion of plague…' Not so much anymore.



I head back to Calenthon, who is glad to hear that the gaunt-man was defeated, because the wights can now be pushed back. An evil such as this might have caused a real problem for Rivendell! I should return to Thorenhad to let Elrohir know of my discoveries and victories in Nan Tornaeth. I may have laid to rest the greatest threat, but there is more to do around here, so he hopes he'll get some more people up here eventually. I ride back to camp via the nearby stable-master and let Elrohir know everything, upon which the elf admits that the presence of a gaunt-man is disquieting - the fact that such a creature could pass so close to Imladris without being detected is chilling, but I deserve thanks for ridding the world of his presence. Elrond will need to know about this…

Elrohir concludes that the evil I found in Nan Tornaeth cannot be ignored, and the camp will need reinforcements to deal with future encounters - where there is one gaunt-man there will be more, or worse yet - a Gaunt-lord. I should bring word of this terror to Lord Elrond, in Rivendell. He gives me directions along the road to his father's place, telling me I should speak with the marchwarden, Anhebir, who will give me directions to finding the Last Homely House, Elrond's residence. Hurry, do not delay for anything!

Only moments after telling me that, Elrohir changes his mind and says that he and his brother will take care of informing Elrond, as there is more to be done out in the wilds. Make up your mind! The Trollshaws are dangerous, as I have seen, and it takes the labor of many elves to keep the wild at bay. South along the river I'll find the wooded hills of Tâl Bruinen, where such affairs are centralized. Echad Candelleth stands high atop one of the hills there. I should head east until I see the river, and I'll see a white marker stone indicating a dirt path which is partly reclaimed by nature, but which will eventually allow me to reach my target. He's certain that Candelleth will have dispatched a scout to guide friends to her encampment, too…