Long Lost Leaves - Part III

[Aikanáro]

Tabrîl slowed, allowing Branwyn's horse to draw level alongside her own. It was a question she had expected would be forthcoming, although not from him. She had spoken little with the mortal scholar, believing that they had little in common. He, for his part, had not sought to disturb or offend her, and that in itself was enough for him to have gained her good opinion, so far as this company was concerned.

His question, then, she took seriously, and gave him a wary look. 'It was fairly gained,' she told him. 'We of the Kindi do not take that which is not ours by right. A man of the Ultai gave this horse to me, in payment of a debt. She is a good horse, and I had need of one.' A flicker of concern registered in Tabrîl's eyes. It was important to her that Branwyn understood that she had not taken the horse without reason. 'I might walk with them,' she explained, gesturing back towards Haldis and the mules, 'easily enough, but should there be a threat to this company, I would be of little use there. It is better that I ride ahead.'

She was reluctant to say more of the debt itself, unasked. It was a sensitive thing, very nearly life-debt, due to her own thoughtlessness. It had been some four days ago, when her regular patrol of the area had taken her close to the Ultai encampment.

She had heard, faintly, shouts in some foreign tongue. Tabrîl froze, utterly still and silent as she tried to determine their source. Only a moment later she spotted some few figures in the distance, and she started towards them. Intruders they might be, or others strayed from the camp, and she intended to discover which.

Four there were, she determined as she got closer. Ultai - three of them chasing after the fourth, with hostile intent. Tabrîl frowned. These men were warrriors, were they not? What honor was there in such unequal challenge, three after one, and that one, from the look of it, insufficiently armed to defend himself, much less face opponents such as these.

Tabrîl found herself sprinting after them, fueled by her anger at the injustice of it, among warriors who, to her mind, ought to know better. 'Da têzha!' she called after them. 'Da têzha! Stop!'

They had not stopped, not until she herself caught up with them and stood between them. She had seen more clearly then, the markings that indicated they were of different tribes.' 'What is this?' she demanded of them. 'Have you such fear of this man, that it should take all of you to pursue him?' Tabrîl scowled at them, made a dismissive gesture. 'Some honor you should bring to your tribe - and are you not peace-bonded?!' Her voice rose sharply at this last, and her hand went to her own sword-hilt.

'Do you mean to fight us yourself, then, elf-woman?' one of them asked with a mocking grin.

'Should I? It seems better to me that I let your own people deal with you,' Tabrîl snapped. 'No doubt there is good reason for this, you may tell it to your khan.' One of them started towards her then, intent indeed on fighting her, but his companions seemed to have changed their minds on the matter, and held him back, reasoning with him in their own language, and it was not long before they left, arguing amongst themselves, Tabrîl seemingly forgotten.

It was only then that she turned to the man they had been chasing. 'Why-' she began, and then thought better of it. 'No. Do not tell me why. Simply take more care in future.' He looked to her to be in shock, and stammed his thanks.

'I don't know what would have become of me without - that is, I am in your debt, you-'

'No.' Tabrîl, alarmed, held up a hand to stop him, only then realizing what she had done. It had not been her place to interfere, and yet she had, her anger making her careless. He was a stranger to her, and now he thought he owed her his life, and if Ultai honor was anything like that of the Kindi, then he was beholden to her. He would be obliged to follow after her, leaving behind his people, until that debt was indeed repaid. It was the last thing Tabrîl wanted.

'No, do not say it,' she told him, 'it is a small thing, I did little. You will-' she tried desperately to think of something that might be acceptable to them both. 'You will send to me a horse on the day of our departure, a fine horse, good-tempered and able to carry me far, and that shall serve as full payment.'

If anything, Tabrîl thought, the man's astonishment only grew in reaction to her words. Doubtless he had not expected such kindness from her. It was small consolation, and she left quickly, uncomfortable with the situation.

[feawen]

"Its your head!" Nami grinned back it Branwyn as he turned and rode towards Tabril. Nami half expected to see Branwyn galloping away with Tabril going after him after he had so openly asked the secretive one a personal question. But instead she answered it. Well, that was unexpected!" she thought.

[Earniel]

"I see," said Branwyn. He wasn't entirely sure which answer was expected of him. Tabrîl seemed oddly insistant in stressing she had gotten the horse fairly. He had only asked how she had come by it, did he not? He was certain it had been an innocent enough question, one that in no way implied she may have stolen it.

Still, he had gotten an answer. A vague one perhaps, just as Nami had predicted. But it had confirmed his suspicion that the horse came from the Ultai. He didn't ask any further, feeling it would be prying into business that weren't his own. Tabrîl had in a way already had been more forthcoming with answers than he had expected.

"Good call," he said with an appreciating look at the mare. "I'm sure she will serve you well."

[Aikanáro]

'She will,' Tabrîl agreed, confident in the assertion. She supposed that was as close to approval as she was likely to get from Branwyn, and that he had refrained from asking anything further was a relief to her. If he had been Kindi, no explanation would have been needed. As he was not, she suspected no amount of explanation would be sufficient.

Tabrîl looked over at Branwyn again as they rode on together. He had studied the Mysteries of his people, she reckoned, and that alone led her to be cautious around him. Yet it also meant that she had more concern for him than for most of the others. He was not a warrior.

'I must ride ahead,' she told him, gesturing towards the vast plains that lay before them, 'but you - this journey must be a difficult one. Are you well?' Behind her awkward phrasing was genuine consideration. The road ahead was long.

[Earniel]

"I am well," Branwyn replied, somewhat surprised that Tabrîl should be concerned about him. But he remembered he had seen the female Elf being equally considerate of Elyssa, the young southron woman.

And from what he had heard, and learned from the others, he could conclude Tabrîl's people dealt with a system of rigid castes, and in Tabrîl's mind he undoubtedly had been assigned to the non-combative class. Which was, Branwyn had to accept, a reasonable determination. He still felt some regret when thinking back to that fateful injury in his youth that had barred the path of soldier for him, while opening the road of study and knowledge.

Still, he felt equally embarrassed and touched at Tabrîl's words. Embarrassed that a woman should feel she should watch over him, and touched that she would consider his well-fare when he was part of a group she originally had wanted no part in.

"I am no stranger to travel," Branwyn said. "I'll be just fine. But don't let me keep you, if you wish to scout ahead."

[Aikanáro]

'Very well,' Tabrîl answered. She believed Branwyn was telling the truth, in saying that he was accustomed to this kind of travel. Even if he was not, she could hardly call it into question again without giving insult, and if he was a seth'en of sorts, a keeper of Mysteries, then that she should not do. If he were to need assistance at some point, doubtless he would ask for it.

Satisfied with his response, she subtly nudged her horse forward, pulling away from Branwyn, picking up speed until she was out at the head of the company, with nothing but the empty plains ahead, her dark cloak billowing and her long, braided hair streaming out behind her. She remembered the arid plains outside Kordâla, far to the east, long ago, and she smiled to herself. Yes, she thought, it is right that this horse has come to me.

[Amael]

A'mael spoke shortly with her husband a few days after their initial talk with Radagast. Her and Ingwionis were now ready to leave. She had Radagast order the eagles to take her and Ingwionis to their home, instead of into Greenwood. Having packed her things overnight, and with Ingwionis ready to go, they took off into the dawn sun. It would not be that long of a journey, just a couple hundred leagues to home. In what was basically a circular journey up to this point, Ingwionis and A'mael had traveled with the group for months now. They had stopped in Rosgobel, and looped around toward the Celduin, having experienced spider bites, strange insects, and strange conversations. Was it over for their journey? Have they come all this way for nothing? Probably so, as A'mael said to her husband whilst taking off on the eagle, "so much for that."

[Earniel]

Radagast watched the Eagles and their passengers disappear into the horizon with mixed feelings. He was relieved that A'mael could now give birth in a safer place, but he knew both Elves were very disappointed that they could not see the quest they had followed for many months, through to its final conclusion.

The Eagles would see the two Elves to safety. They had been very willing to help after Radagast had requested their assistance. To Eagles the nest was sacred, and to them it was only natural that A'mael should return to her own nest so that her pregnancy could reach its natural end there. They agreed to carry the couple all the way home. So East they now went, to Ingwionis' and A'mael's home, instead of West.

Radagast and the adventurers that remained, were still going North. Several days later, they were at the foot of the Iron Hills, where Carnen left the hills to run across the Ultai plains. From here on, they would turn east, to travel deeper into the Hills.

"Thousands of years ago, the band of orcs travelled four days from here to the final prison of the Ent-wives," Radagast told the others as they ate together around the campfire. "We'll be lucky if we find the right spot in just four days, though. The land has undoubtedly changed since then. But we are very close nonetheless."

[Ingwe]

Ingwionis and A'mael arrived at their home in only a few hours. Having been a frequent flier since the dark ages, Ingwionis had slept half the way en-route. Two hours of sleep was all that he needed, as was the usual case with him. It was now time to get back to the 'real world' as so he'd call it. He felt as if he may have left something important behind. But even he, as descendant of Ingwe, was beginning to feel something 'fading' from him. During his time with the people of the group, he felt entirely distant from them - even from Radagast whom he had known since his coming to Middle Earth.

Ingwionis stood apart from everyone but a few now. He had already, in a way, left Middle Earth; yet, he was still here. He had only A'mael and his daughter from his previous wife. Oddly-enough, she was older than A'mael. It was an odd family, for sure. His daughter did not prefer that Ingwionis marry a woman so young as A'mael, who was now just several hundred years old; let alone have children with her. Though his daughter loved Ingwionis, she looked down on his decision to marry A'mael, though over the years, A'mael and Inithiel (Ingwionis' and his first wife Onirwen's daughter) grew very close.

He had but his family and the couple of dozen people who lived in his village that he had founded so long ago. He had returned this day, just 4 months and 2 days since he and A'mael had departed. Upon this return, he found the familiar sights he expected, yet the fortress walls of his village he had helped to begin were now complete. Ingwionis' home was now a true seat of the city. The place did not look so barren anymore. Although much of it was now unfamiliar, it was unfamiliar in a good way. Ingwionis was pleased, but much was now bearing on his mind, on his very fëa.

With echoes of his father and his father's father in his mind, and the disapproval that the former had shown, he felt as if he had let everyone down. He had let his father down. He had let his daughter down by remarrying, something all-too uncommon among any of the Elves (even the darker-natured Elves), he had let the party of Radagast down (as it was by his invitation, his order, that he come), he had let down A'mael by letting her come on the journey and then backing down not when she ordered but when someone else ordered it, and last but not least of all he had let himself down. He did not feel worthy to ever leave Middle Earth, and he felt that yet again, he would be parted from A'mael when it should be decided that she leave without Ingwionis. But...he felt 'himself' at least. He had seen the village he had made go from a small outpost on the edge of rough territories to a sprawling suburban complex complete with a wall and defenses given him both by Gondor and by Greenwood. He felt he did not deserve such a thing, and he was right. The people living in this village, and his family, however, deserved it - at least for the time they would be staying here.

Ingwionis opened the door for his wife, and the two walked into their home to find that Inithiel was indeed here. Obviously, she had directed A'mael's and Ingwionis' duties in their stead. A'mael and Inithiel greeted each other first with great approval for one-another. Inithiel then looked at her father, happy to see that he had returned alive. But Ingwionis was happiest of all at this meeting. It gave him the 'crutch' he needed for his wearied mind. Despite his many discredits and dishonor, he felt that there could be some redemption should he remain here, and stay put. The three talked of A'mael's pregnancy, informing Inithiel that she may have another brother or sister. Inithiel was at first in protest, but expressed that she was happy to see the couple happy together. Ingwionis thought to himself, "well, my last marriage lasted but 50 years, this one for 300, so I'm up on my odds in that way at least." Ingwionis always wanted to make the best of a not so great situation, despite how distraught he would always remain over the tragedy of the past.

He had always had restless sleep, unless it was irregular, minimal, or just totally out-of-whack. This night he laid with A'mael, but did not sleep. As the couple had always done, they returned to their 'normal habits' when it came to the late hours of the night. Yet even after wards, Ingwionis did not sleep. Thoughts raced across his mind - fleeting memories as vivid as if he had gone back in time to experience them once more.

He repeated the events of the First Age in his mind, and came to the conclusion that his father was just a total jerk, basically. Ingwionis was lost on the battlefield, and no search party ever was arrayed to look for him. Unconscious for many hours after the final battle, he had awakened in a pit that took him days to climb from. Not Orome nor the eagles remained. All that remained was scorched or sunken land. He was either lucky or...unlucky...to have survived it all. And he was ordered to come home by his father - to come immediately. Ingwe himself had pardoned Ingwionis, yet Ingwion did not. The son and grandson of Ingwe were indeed rebellious against the highest powers, yet Ingwionis knew that now, his dishonor was not total - that no matter who one was in the First Age, one would have a tragic story to tell. Feanor, amongst the most honorable of the Quendi, even had his massive dishonors that carried his legacy as a tragic one.

He still intended to return with Radagast's group: to continue the journey that he had to turn away from, if only for this time. He could not return to the party until his wife had had their child and recovered. No matter who you are, family is far more important than even the most-noble of causes - especially when the noble causes can wait.

[Coffeehouse]

The night had drawn silently over the rooftops of Dorwinion. A few ships were still out in the bay, and some could be seen in the far distance, small specks in the vastitude of the Sea of Rhûn. Quickleaf and Aladji made a slow walk the short way from the 'Three Sails' to Aladji's dhow. Above them some million stars peppered the nightsky, and the Moon glowed high up towards the East and drew an easy glow over the city's harbourfront. Dorwinion lay bathing in stellar light thus. In the West the darkness was total, but peaceful. In the East a glimmer of very faint light still permeated the horizon, as the Sun made its way along the farthest axis of Middle Earth.

Aladji had drawn out his pipe and he was puffing variously sized and shaped clouds into the cool air. The captain's boots stomped along the dock, planks creaking and a nail or two shivering as he went along. Quickleaf's light feet didn't seem to have the slightest effect, and were it not for the flowing, silvery hair of the elf he would have been entirely invisible.

They came to the dhow, which was still bobbing contently amongst all the other ships. It wasn't particularly large compared to the great Sea of Rhûn-bound vessels, but it certainly looked good though it did lie alarmingly low in the water due to its overweight of gold, silver and mithril. Aladji took to a halt on the edge of the peer and stood in silent contemplation, his reflection crystal clear in the dark water below. An easy breeze blew their way and the cloth of the sail shuddered in the wind. Which seem to awake Aladji from his thoughts, and he said:
- "We must make an early awakening tommorrow Kviggliff! We shall need time to hoist all of these goods off of her, and I shall have to call for some helpers."

Quickleaf was yawning heavily, all that wine and tobacco-smoke had made its effect and certainly Mr. Moffahel's rich pies had performed their duty with great skill, but he hopped lightly onto the dhow and surveyed the goods.
- "Indeed Chief! Here time is needed in the plenty! Though, if I may ask, is it completely necessary to make your prayers before the market opens?"

Aladji almost swallowed his pipe.
- "Of course it is important! It is very important! Prayers are vital for good commerce! My industry and endevours would be nothing were it not for the timely intervention of higher powers when I have needed it the most! Khooma-thum! Prayers come above all else!"

Quickleaf stifled the urge to ask more questions, not entirely convinced by the prayer's effect on a good price at the market tommorrow. He had learned from the Raft-elves that it was all a question of supply and demand, and judging by the talk of the Dwarves at the 'Three Sails' it seemed to Quickleaf that opportunity and a good portion of halfminded risk-taking came before anything else in the trade. But he wasn't about to argue it. In any case the old captain had already begun pointing here and there on the nightsky, and Quickleaf was obliged to look.

- "Up there Kviggliff. Now pay attention. Up there you see the 'Joyous Princess' and 'Korreenthean', my two most beloved and trusted Stars of Guidance that God has endowed our sky with! They keep my moneybag always at least half-full and my dhow without a leak" and he smacked the wood of the dhow contently,
- "I shall pray to them both tommorrow, at the House of Prayer. You shall see then, and you will understand my friend."

Quickleaf looked up at the two starsigns, two magnificent emblems on the night sky. But he only wondered why the prayers were due on a Friday morning, when the starsigns were invisible on the morning sky. Why didn't they pray at night?

[Acalewia]

"How will we know we are going the right way? And will we know it when we see it?" Aelfwine asked. Inwardly she sighed. If she didn't stop acting like a school girl during a lesson, it wouldn't take the others long to realize she was still in her teens. Aelfwine knew she was the youngest in the group. And she wasn't sure how many besides Magor knew. Most of the group were warriors with many battles behind them. Once again Aelfwine found herself asking herself why Gandalf chose her to join this Quest.

[Earniel]

"A fair enough question," Radagast replied. "We do not have very much information at our disposal, I fear, but let's review what we do know."

Radagast was happy enough to put all the clues together again. He felt it was important everybody had a good enough grasp of the facts. Everyone would be needed from this point on to scout for this last known location of the Entwives.

"The Dol Guldur papers speak of the orcs locking the Entwives away in caves under a rock with the three spikes, four days travel from the red river. The red river is the Carnen river, where we are camped now. I'm assuming it's four days travel to the east of the Carnen since the orcs mentioned crossing the river Running, but not the Carnen itself. The Hills to the west do not extend far enough to fit this clue. And to the west is where the most Dwarven settlements are, so it is unlikely the Dwarves would not have found these caves by now if they lay on the west-bank."

"So we have a cave-system at four days east from here, marked by a rock with three spires. The rock should be significant enough, or the orc captain would not have mentioned it as a marker. We can add to that Teye's hints. She spoke of a narrow, dry canyon with at the end a grass field and a cliff-face that is marked with the red eye. She also described a large pillared hall, by which I gather that the caves we are looking for are quite large."

So in short we are looking for: a rock with three spires, a narrow canyon, a cliff-face with a red eye and vast underground caves, although perhaps not in that order. It is also possible that some clues have eroded away in the many years that lies between our journey here and that of the Ent-wives. But with luck some remain."

[Coffeehouse]

A sliver of light teased Quickleaf's eyes. The morning sun was still low on the horizon, it's first rays breaking gloriously upon the white limestone houses of Dorwinion in the cool air. Aladji was pulling various ropes at the aft of the ship, singing "Deymaan, fuymaan, melaan... the scent of you, like a rose" repeatedly in a calm voice.

Quickleaf brushed off the cloth that had covered him during the night and splashed water onto his face. The orange light of the sun reflected upon the hull of the dhow and down on the water below, which to Quickleaf looked like apple juice. A small fish was swimming around in circles.. looking lost and all Quickleaf could think of was... Aerin. His mind sprung to the thought of the companionship. He hoped they were still one group, safe, though he doubted it... not without Radagast, whom Quickleaf felt he had not seen for a long time, which was true. The companionship had a habit of running into trouble, but they had fought well on the Celduin, and Quickleaf felt confident that they were still on the move, though how far from or how close to the Iron Hills he had no idea.

Quickleaf looked up to view the scene around him. The air had an easy scent of salty water and many other different smells that were new to Quickleaf. As he looked to the bay Quickleaf saw other captains of other ships preparing goods and hoisting sails, crews tugging and pulling, getting ready for the crossing over the Sea of Rhûn.

Even at this early hour the waterfront of Dorwinion was teeming with life. Carriers dressed in colorful tunics were rushing along the peer, heavily-burdened with boxes, vases, carpets and other goods of commerce that had arrived from over-seas. A colony of seagulls were performing the, Quickleaf suspected, daily ritual of looking out for easy prey whilst orchestrating a collection of randomly selected high-pitch sounds. But they would have to wait a while longer for no food stands had yet been set up.

- "Mey-thaan Kviggliff, I hope you are rested. The day will be long, and we must be off for prayers now. Eat this, for we shall have no feast until we are done at the market."
Aladji tossed a loaf of bread and a long, yellow fruit that curved slightly..
like a miniature crescent moon. It had a sweet fragrance and Quickleaf grew curious.
- "What is it?" Quickleaf asked.
- "Bah-nah-nah" Aladji spoke absent-mindedly, stroking his darkly tanned scalp as he viewed the anchor-chain that ran from the aft of the dhow and into the water.
- "Bah-nah-nah... Bah-na-na... Banana" Quickleaf tested the word. "Interesting name for a fruit!" Quickleaf grinned, his mouth filled with a mash of bah-nah-nah, "Is it Dorwinian?"

- "Yes... I mean no, it comes from across the Sea of Rhûn", Aladji murmured.
Letting go of the anchor-chain Aladji drew a finger to the air and nodded.
- "Well it is holding good, the current is quite heavy here at the outlet of the river, and the wind shall strengthen later. But she will stay put.", and Aladji gave the wood of the dhow easy strokes, - "Finish your bah-nah-nah and let's be off my elven friend!"
- "To your prayers Aladji!"

[Aikanáro]

Tabrîl started to feel uneasy as soon as Radagast mentioned their future path, but she gave no indication, thinking that to do so would be impolite. Perhaps that was all he intended to say, she thought, and continued eating the portion of food she had taken. It had been a long day's travel, and she appreciated a good meal and a little time to rest.

As soon as Radagast began to answer Aelfwine's question, however, she looked at him in alarm. He was talking about those papers - the ones that had come out of that place Dol Guldur. He was speaking of Mysteries.

Tabrîl put her plate aside, leapt up from where she had been sitting, and hurried away from the group. They would know why, she supposed. Radagast would know. She didn't understand why he hadn't warned her. Had he meant for her to hear? That thought unsettled her even more, and she stopped, willing herself to calm down. She was away from them now, and all was well. Radagast did what he did for his own reasons, and it was hardly her place to criticize him.

She sighed, and sat down where she was, at some distance from the others. It was her intention to stay there until she was quite sure the discussion of those papers was finished.

[feawen]

"Erm.." Nami popped her hand up from her postion at the back of the group. "I know we have talked about this before and i do not want to be the bringer of bad news but saying we do find this place, what about the what ever it is that protects the place. We dont know who or what it is. i do not really like the sound of going up against something we do not know anything about. For all we know it by be a creature of the first age and for as large and strong of a group that we are, we are not match for such a being, surely!"

[Midge]

When Magor heard Aelfwine's question, he was surprised. He knew she was young, but as far as they'd come in this journey, she'd been very good at disguising it, her youth reminding her more of an elf's than a human's at times. After Radagast answered her, Magor called out, "Aelf! Come sit beside us and we'll make good company!" He hoped to reassure her of their way and keep her from continuing to worry.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Blossomshade sauntered around and watched the company as they camped and talked. She chuckled at how sprawled out they were, with tents on the left and a make-shift stable to the right and the entire camp looking a bit more like a small tribal village. She was glad to be assisting in a cause so dear to her heart and in her excitement she felt the ent-fire building inside her middle and spreading outward. She let out a feminine "Hoom!" for the pure enjoyment of it. She had no inclination to stop her walking, so she kept right on, while keeping an ear out for the important conversation which held the attention of the whole Company.

[Earniel]

"Oh dear," Radagast said as Tabrîl put down her plate before darting off, while Abasi followed close behind. "I seem to have done it again."

"Blossomshade," he turned to the Entwife that apparently still had more than enough energy to keep walking circles around the camp. "Seeing you're already on your feet, would you mind taking Tabrîl's plate to her? I don't think she was finished eating yet. And please tell her I'll come over to speak with her later."

"You are quite right, Nami," the wizard said in reply to the Elf's question. "We musn't forget the guardian. We know even less about her than about the location of the Entwives' emprisonment. We will have to be vigilant from here on, but in this thing at least, I think I can set your mind at ease: I very much doubt it will be creature from the First Age. There were not many left in the Second Age, and I do not believe those few remaining now will have such power at their disposal as they wielded in the early Years of the Sun."

"It is possible, yes perhaps, that this guardian's strength lies in keeping the Entwives prisoner, and not in brute force. But in the event that she proves too strong for us, we shall withdraw and seek help elsewhere."

[Coffeehouse]

Munching on a bah-nah-nah, Quickleaf followed suit after Aladji who led him away from the dhow and the peer and into the city, amongst the criss-crossing labyrinth of narrow streets.

As they hurried along they were joined by more and more Dorwinians and the odd horse-carriage, donkeys and camels. The white, limestone houses of Dorwinion seemed to grow in height and complexity the deeper into the city they came, the rooftops changing from wooden planks to peachy-red tiles, and down on the sidewalks the seaside bazaars, shops and smaller Inn's gradually melted into bancas, exchanges, shipping enterprises and houses of law.

- "Behold!" Aladji suddenly annouced, halting and pointing to a handsome Inn on their left side. Quickleaf nearly stumbled over, but re-gained his balance and looked at the sign above them. It read 'Kaffa-dinka Dorwinion'.
- "A Kaff-aigh Quickleaf! Have you ever tasted kaffa? Highly stimulating... a cup of it may produce great alertness! I always drink some before I sell at the Market, or if a arduous journey lies ahead of me."
- "I can't say I have Aladji. What is it?"
- "The kaffa-beans grow on plants. In Dorwinion we grow it in our lusher gardens on the Eastern flank of the River, northeast of the bay, but they also come from across the Sea. We shall have a cup after prayers, and you shall see, it is quite good. Served hot!"

Quickleaf had a second or two to muse over that fact. Certainly it reminded him of tea, but he had no more time to ask questions as Aladji hurried on and now they turned eastwards again. Soon they had crossed Dorwinion in a long, winding eclipse, ending up on the southeastern part of the city that touched upon the blue Sea of Rhûn.

Aladji and Quickleaf were sort of spat out from the myriad of streets that Dorwinion boasted and ended up in a large square tiled with massive marble blocks. The square was quite oval in shape and the buildings on each side curved and met at the western and eastern end. On the eastern end however, just before the seaside promenade touched upon the Sea, stood a building quite unique to anything else Quickleaf had yet seen. A magnificent dome stood majestically in front of them, towering high into the clear morning air. On its rooftop a thin sheath of gold glittered in the sun, and below it pure white marble made its walls. On the lowest level tall stone pillars painted red surrounded the outer section of the dome.

Quickleaf surveyed the House of Prayer, slightly in awe, for even the White City of Minas Tirith would have been proud to host such a building.
- "It is perfectly circular, representing unity beneath the Sun." Aladji whispered, "Now let us enter inside and give our prayers Kviggliff."

[Willow Oran]

Haldis frowned. She had been mulling over the news of the shadow creatures since they had left the Ultai and between that and driving the mules, had not desired to say anything beyond the usual exchanges of small talk for some days.

But a now a thought had occurred to her, and it felt like it might be an important thought, so she spoke it, "I have not been able to forget the shadow creatures. If they arrived in the Iron Hills and stayed, I think they might help us, or at least not hinder us, if we act properly. They did us no harm when we released them at Dol Guldur, but just before that I had seen one. It was not pleased by the fighting within the group."
She paused, then turned to Radagast, "Why do you say the Guardian, if it is still there, whatever it may be, is a she?"

[Earniel]

"You have seen one of those creatures before we accidentally released them in Dol Guldur?" Radagast was visibly surprised.

"And it didn't react well to the fight between Quickleaf and Abasi, you say? Curious, most curious. Has that one creature been waiting all that time for someone like us to come by and release its kindred? Or were they even imprisoned at all?

The wizard stroked his beard in deep thought, almost not hearing Haldis' question.

"Hm? Oh yes, I've been calling the Guardian a 'she' since that is how the orcs described her. I know orcs aren't the most reliable of sources, but I think they can be trusted in telling differences in gender at least."

He rummaged through his pack.

"Here, let me just re-read that passage from the orc-report out loud... The guardian you have appointed is way-ward but she turns docile at the mention of the fate of her little ‘pets’, she will do as you command, my lord, and lock her prisoners away for all of eternity.”"

Radagast blinked. "Oh." was all he said.