Three weeks after the moonrise assault, Tuiwen rides the eastern road beneath a pale morning sky. The defenses still stand, but empty patrol posts and burned watchfires mark their cost.
At a fork between the forest road and the Woodmen’s settlements, black-sealed proclamations hang from a stone waypost. Their wax bears Dol Guldur’s mark, dark and unnervingly whole.
One proclamation is addressed to Thranduil, another to the nearby Woodmen, and a third to the Elves. Each promises preserved homes, open trade, and safe passage under Dol Guldur’s rule.
The seal is genuine enough to trouble the eye, though its authority is not explained. Beyond the waypost, frightened settlements have begun debating whether surrender might spare them another moonrise.
Tuiwen
The seal may be genuine, but the promise has not yet proved lawful or safe.
Wind lifts the proclamation’s edge, revealing identical wording beneath each fold. Tuiwen’s horse slows beside the waypost while the eastern road continues toward the next defensive stage.
No messenger waits nearby. Only the black seals, the scorched watchfires, and the distant murmur of debate offer warning that Dol Guldur’s next assault may begin with words.
She takes these documents to her father with the comment, “The enemy seeks to take with words what he has failed to take by force.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled -1)
Tuiwen
The enemy seeks to take with words what he has failed to take by force.
Tuiwen gathers the three black-sealed proclamations into her Message case, keeping each document flat and separate. Her Oath-Bound caution rejects every promise not supported by lawful authority or proven safety.
She rides directly toward the Elvenking’s Halls, comparing the identical wording, seals, and promised concessions as the road carries her north. Unerring Truth Seeker distinguishes deliberate persuasion from any demonstrated guarantee.
At the halls, Sovereign Heritage clears her passage without delay. The guards recognize the urgency in the king’s daughter and admit her, while the Message case remains sealed in her hands.
Tuiwen
Father, these proclamations offer preserved homes, open trade, and safe passage, but they prove none of those things. They seek to divide the realm before the next assault.
Tuiwen places the documents before Thranduil without opening or altering their seals. Her comparisons show identical language beneath each fold, and the genuine-looking marks offer no lawful chain of authority.
Thranduil
Then we will answer the words without mistaking them for mercy. I will have the proclamations preserved, and the settlements warned that surrender has not been made safe by ink.
“Radagast is a trustworthy ally, and the Woodmen will follow his advice. Lothlorien knows its enemy better than we, and will not be deceived. Our own people are loyal and will never surrender to the shadow. We will stand firm and Sauron will wait in vain for a parley.”
Tuiwen
Radagast is a trustworthy ally, and the Woodmen will follow his advice. Lothlórien knows its enemy better than we, and will not be deceived.
Tuiwen
Our own people are loyal and will never surrender to the shadow. We will stand firm, and Sauron will wait in vain for a parley.
The words settle over the sealed proclamations, stronger than the black wax and more enduring than its threat. No hand reaches for surrender; the hall’s silence becomes a shield.
Thranduil
Then let every answer carry the same truth. Radagast shall counsel the Woodmen, Lothlórien shall be warned, and our own halls shall not be divided by counterfeit promises.
Thranduil orders the proclamations preserved as evidence and sends copies along the guarded roads. The settlements will hear that Dol Guldur offers words without proven safety, while the beacon continues its warning.
Thranduil
We will stand firm, daughter. Let Sauron spend his breath upon a parley that no loyal heart will grant him.
“I will take the message to Radagast personally. We are old friends, and it is wise to listen to his counsel.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled -2)