By evening, Tuiwen and the Woodland courier reach the Elvenking’s Halls. The sealed report passes from his hands to the king’s record-keeper under witness, while the eastern gates close against the darkening forest.
the Woodland courier
The spring remains clear, the hunger is unfed, and the dragon keeps its oath. We left the sealed roads untouched, exactly as witnessed.
Her father reads the outer inscription without breaking the seal. A second messenger is sent toward the mountain road, while healers and wardens prepare supplies in case the guarded spring changes.
Thranduil
The report is received. No road is to be opened, no stone disturbed, and no hand is to trouble the guardian without cause.
The courier remains in the halls to answer questions and preserve the testimony. The dragon stays behind at the spring, guarding its clear water and the sealed deep roads alone.
Thranduil
You have brought us a danger contained rather than a victory imagined. That distinction will guide what we do next.
Beyond the palace, the forest listens. Far away, the guarded spring continues its harmless flow, and the realm begins answering the report with watchfulness instead of alarm.
− Story Quest Removed
Return to the Woodland Realm to face the dragon threat
“"There is something most dangerous lurking in the roots of the mountains, but I am unsure what to do about it."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +2)
In the quiet hall, Tuiwen compares the mountain report with the Dol Guldur account and the Caras Amarth folio. Their separate signs name one danger: a sealed hunger that feeds by bending living water toward itself.
Tuiwen
The danger is contained, not gone. Its roots sought the ancient roads through the springs, but never crossed their seals.
Rhosgobel Lore-Master recognizes the pattern as a parasitic water-hunger, while Forest Warden's Insight distinguishes the mountain's living channels from the foreign growth. The Dol Guldur report supplies its purpose, and the Caras Amarth folio confirms its method.
Oath-Bound restraint prevents Tuiwen from turning knowledge into a reckless command. She understands the proper answer plainly: keep the relief channel clear, leave the deep roads sealed, and let the dragon guard the spring.
Thranduil
Then the mountain’s peril is named and bounded. We will not open what must remain closed, nor mistake containment for conquest.
the Woodland courier
I will add the comparison to the sealed report, separately from the witnesses’ observations. The record will say exactly what was found and what remains guarded.
The king orders the spring watched without intrusion and the refugees’ road kept safe. Tuiwen’s answer settles into the realm’s records: the most dangerous thing was the heartstone’s water-hunger, now unfed, sealed, and entrusted to a willing guardian.
The sealed report passed into Thranduil’s keeping beneath the steady eyes of his record-keeper.
Thranduil
The spring stands. The roads remain sealed. Let no hand disturb either without my command.
Tuiwen
Then it is named, if not ended. That is enough for this watch.
the Woodland courier
I will set the comparison apart from the witness record, and remain to answer what is needed.
Beyond the halls, clear water still gathered beneath the dragon’s vigilant shadow.
Thus the danger was contained, not conquered: a parasitic hunger held behind ancient seals, watched without being awakened. Thranduil’s orders secured the deep roads and the refugees’ path, while the Woodland courier stayed to preserve the truth of what had been seen. Tuiwen left the matter in careful hands, and the spring endured, bright and guarded in the mountain’s silence.