Two weeks after Isengard’s gates closed, the White Council gathers in a high, sterile chamber of white stone. Tuiwen stands before Gandalf, Elrond, and Galadriel, her shoulder scar aching beneath its healing skin.
Gandalf
Daughter of Thranduil, place the sealed message before the Council. Then tell us what Saruman sought to hide.
The message case rests between them, its royal seal unbroken. As Tuiwen brings it forward, pale fire crawls along the chamber’s carved stones, answering a pressure from beyond the doors.
Saruman
Do not open it. That seal bears a lie, and the bearer has been ensnared by my enemies.
The great doors shudder. A white, splintered hand of sorcery reaches through the narrowing gap toward the case, while Gandalf raises his staff and Elrond steps between the magic and the Council.
Galadriel
The truth is here, and his fear has named it. Break the seal, Tuiwen, and let the Council hear Thranduil’s warning.
✓ Quest Accepted
Open Thranduil’s sealed message and let the White Council hear its warning
“She opens the sealed message.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled +2)
Tuiwen sets the case upon the white stone and turns Thranduil’s seal beneath her fingers. With precise elven speed, she breaks the wax and opens the message.
The parchment unfolds, revealing Thranduil’s hand and the royal mark. At once, the reaching sorcery recoils from the case as Gandalf’s staff flares between it and the Council.
Gandalf
Read it aloud. Let no shadowed voice speak over the King’s warning.
The words name Saruman’s treachery, his manipulation of Dol Guldur’s corruption, and the danger gathering beyond Mirkwood. They call upon the White Council to unite before war consumes the Free Peoples.
Elrond
These are no accusations born of fear. The seals, the witness, and the account agree.
Saruman
A forged warning, carried by one already ensnared! You would condemn Isengard upon a Woodland king’s suspicion?
Galadriel
Not suspicion. Truth revealed beneath resistance. The Council has heard Thranduil’s message, and it cannot be unmade.
Quest Complete
Open Thranduil’s sealed message and let the White Council hear its warning