After weeks beneath hostile boughs, Tuiwen and Eldred crest the western road. Isengard rises before them, its ring of stone towers pale beneath a storm-dark sky.
Eldred
There. The White Tower. We have crossed the wilds, but Saruman will know what the case carries.
The great gates open before they touch them. Wind pours from the courtyard, carrying ash and the cold scent of deep earth. Behind the battlements, a solitary figure waits.
Saruman
Tuiwen, daughter of Thranduil. You bring a king's warning to a council already divided. Give me the message, and I may yet spare your realm the cost of defiance.
Eldred
Do not believe them. The seals must reach the Council untouched. Their betrayal is already proven.
Saruman raises one hand. The gates grind shut behind Tuiwen and Eldred, while pale fire gathers along the tower's carved stones. The sealed message case rests within Tuiwen's reach, and the road to the White Council lies beyond Saruman.
− Story Quest Removed
Deliver the message to the White Council
− Story Quest Removed
Reach Isengard safely
“"Oh, you old fool!" She trips him, knocks him down and sits on him.”
FAILURE (Poor Brawl, rolled -1)
Tuiwen
Oh, you old fool!
Tuiwen lunges for Saruman's footing. Her leg catches his, and the wizard crashes hard against the black steps, but the pale fire lashes around his staff before she can follow him down.
The ward's recoil throws Tuiwen sideways. She strikes the stones and slides to a halt beside Saruman instead of pinning him, her hand still locked around the sealed case.
Saruman
You mistake a stumble for victory.
Saruman rises unsteadily, gray sparks snapping from his iron-shod staff. His cold composure has cracked, and the gate-stones answer with a faltering glow.
Eldred
That is enough. The case goes to the Council, and your own wards have witnessed your fear.
The sealed case remains unbroken beneath the Woodland Realm's mark and Gandalf's sign. Saruman's gates open at last, not in welcome, but under the weight of the truth he can no longer contain.
Eldred helps Tuiwen to her feet, and together they carry the message into Isengard. Behind them, Saruman stands alone among fading fire, while the long-hidden lie begins its final journey into judgment.
The sealed case rested unbroken in Tuiwen’s hands as the gates of Isengard opened before them.
Eldred
Now let the Council hear what he tried to bury.
Tuiwen
The truth has crossed the threshold. It will not be silenced.
Saruman
The stone itself has betrayed me.
Behind them, the pale fire dwindled around Saruman, leaving him alone upon the black steps.
Tuiwen and Eldred carried the unbroken message into Isengard, where the White Council awaited its final reckoning. Saruman remained behind as the gates closed him out from the truth he had sought to command. The wild road, the threat, and the long burden of the message ended at last in witnesses, evidence, and judgment.