The wider court has withdrawn, leaving Tuiwen beneath the pale lamps with Legolas near the doors. Her shoulder remains bound in cool linen dusted with silver.
Thranduil stands beyond the emptied dais, slim and grave beneath his platinum hair. A sealed map of southern Mirkwood rests beneath one hand, its wax marked with the royal signet.
Thranduil
You were right to question the withdrawal, Tuiwen. The order did not come from the captains guarding our southern borders.
Thranduil breaks the seal and unfolds the map. Several roads through southern Mirkwood are marked in charcoal, while one name has been pressed into the margin in a different hand.
Thranduil
Counselor Maereth urged me to abandon every settlement south of the Forest River. She claimed Dol Guldur was preparing an army, but her evidence came only through intercepted reports.
Legolas
Then Maereth may be frightened, deceived, or serving the hand that forged those reports. What will you do, Father?
Thranduil
At dawn, I will summon Maereth before the captains. Until her account is tested, no withdrawal will be sealed. Tuiwen, I want your judgment beside mine.
✓ Quest Accepted
Test Counselor Maereth’s evidence before Thranduil
“Before going to bed, Tuiwen wants a healer to look at her aching shoulder.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +0)
With the court withdrawn and the lamps burning low, Tuiwen seeks the healer before retiring. A quiet summons passes through the adjoining chambers, and footsteps answer.
The Galadhrim healer enters carrying a shallow bowl of warmed water and clean linen. She gestures toward a cushioned bench beneath the pale lamps.
the Galadhrim healer
Sit, Princess. Let me examine the shoulder before you surrender to sleep. The ache may be simple strain, but we will not assume it.
The healer loosens the silver-dusted linen and examines the old wound with careful fingers. The scar is clean, though the surrounding flesh remains tender beneath the healed surface.
the Galadhrim healer
There is no returning corruption, only lingering damage and fatigue. Keep the binding through the night, avoid lifting the arm, and let the tissues mend.
She renews the dressing with cool linen and a trace of silver dust, then settles a folded cushion beneath Tuiwen’s arm. The ache eases into a manageable throb as the chamber grows quiet.
“"Thank you." She goes to bed.”
Tuiwen
Thank you.
The Galadhrim healer inclines her head and gathers the used linen. Tuiwen rises carefully, keeping the newly cushioned shoulder still as she crosses toward the adjoining chamber.
Her sleeping chamber waits beneath pale lamps, quiet and orderly. The hush of the Elvenking’s Halls settles around her, broken only by distant footsteps fading beyond the doors.
Tuiwen lies down without disturbing the binding. The folded cushion supports her arm, and the cool linen holds the shoulder in gentle stillness.
Sleep comes gradually, carrying her away from the court’s questions and the long roads behind her. The warning remains secure, awaiting the next day’s judgment.
Beyond the chamber, the lamps burn low beneath the stone arches. Within their quiet protection, Tuiwen rests and allows the wound another night to mend.
Quest Complete
Determine Thranduil’s next move
Skill Upgrade: Lore Great→Superb
Quest Complete
Learn who urged Thranduil’s withdrawal
New Gift: Unerring Truth Seeker
“After breakfast, she goes to Thranduil's inquiry.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled +4)
After breakfast, Tuiwen crosses the quiet halls toward the king’s inquiry, keeping her shoulder still beneath its cool linen binding. She arrives before the appointed hour.
The inquiry chamber stands open. Thranduil waits beside the map table, while Maereth, an elderly elf woman with a narrow face, braided white hair, and dark blue robes, arranges intercepted reports.
Thranduil
Enter, Tuiwen. Your judgment is wanted, and your early arrival gives us time to examine the evidence before the captains gather.
Tuiwen reaches the table without delay. Before Maereth can cover the papers, Tuiwen’s trained eye catches mismatched wax impressions on two reports bearing supposedly identical seals.
Maereth
Those reports were gathered under dangerous conditions. Their seals may have suffered during transmission, but their warning remains clear.
Thranduil
Then we begin with the seals, not the fear they were meant to inspire. Tuiwen, stand beside me and show us what you found.
“She scrutinizes the reports, seeking discrepancies.”
SUCCESS (Good Reasoning, rolled +2)
Tuiwen bends over the reports, comparing their dates, routes, and wax impressions. Maereth watches closely while Thranduil remains silent beside the map table.
The first discrepancy lies beyond the seals: two reports describe the same southern road, yet name different sentries and give different counts of abandoned settlements.
Tuiwen separates the pages and traces the ink with one finger. The newer account copies several phrases from the older one, but alters each detail that would prove direct observation.
Maereth
You find inconsistencies, Princess, but inconsistency does not prove forgery. A frightened messenger may misremember what she saw.
Tuiwen compares the handwriting next. The copied phrases use the older report’s angular script, while the altered figures follow a smoother hand. The reports were assembled by different writers, not witnessed independently.
Thranduil
Then the evidence is not merely confused. Someone has preserved the appearance of testimony while changing its substance.
Thranduil draws the altered pages aside and marks them for the captains’ examination. Maereth’s expression hardens, but the discrepancies now stand plainly before the inquiry.
Hear Radagast’s testimony about Maereth’s reports
Quest Complete
Test Counselor Maereth’s evidence before Thranduil
Skill Upgrade: Lore Superb→Legendary