Radagast leads Tuiwen along an old forest trail toward the western foothills, his pack heavy with supplies and his staff bright with protective charms. Behind them, Calion and the Woodmen guides remain at Caras Amarth, securing the cleansed routes and aid wagons.
The trees thin as the trail climbs over bare stone. Each tremor now travels clearly beneath their feet, rising through the mountain like a slow heartbeat.
Radagast the Brown
The pulse has left the buried roots behind. Whatever wakes below us is moving through older stone, where no living tree can soften its passage.
They reach a narrow pass between dark shoulders of rock. Far above, harsh cries echo from the heights, answered by scraping movement among the crags.
Radagast the Brown
Sauron's creatures have taken the heights. They have not yet descended, but they know something stirs below this pass.
The next pulse rises directly beneath them. Warmth spreads in a faint branching pattern across the rock, forming lines like an ancient hand pressed from below.
Radagast the Brown
There. The mountain has marked its answer. Do not touch the warmth until we know whether it is a warning, a door, or a summons.
“She takes a few cautious steps back and casts the revealing light.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Magic, rolled +1)
Tuiwen takes several cautious steps back across the bare stone, keeping the branching warmth in sight. Radagast steadies himself behind her, staff raised but silent.
She casts the revealing light. White radiance spreads over the pass, piercing the rock’s warmth and exposing lines hidden beneath its surface.
The branching pattern resolves into ancient runes surrounding a narrow stone seam. What seemed like a handprint is a sealed threshold, its marks directed inward toward the mountain.
Radagast the Brown
A door, then, but no ordinary door. The light has shown us its making, and something has pressed against it from below.
The revealing light catches a second inscription beneath the seam: an old warning that names no guardian, only a passage closed while the deep roads remain disturbed.
Radagast the Brown
We know enough not to open it blindly. The mountain has answered your light, and now we must learn what woke behind the seal.
The warmth fades from the surrounding stone, leaving the threshold clearly marked beneath Tuiwen’s radiance. Far above, the creatures fall silent as the pass waits.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn the purpose of the sealed threshold
“"How are we to open it if not blindly? We might release something dangerous. It would be good to know who constructed this door and why."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled -1)
Tuiwen
How are we to open it if not blindly? We might release something dangerous. It would be good to know who constructed this door and why.
Radagast lowers his staff and studies the revealed runes. His eyes follow the inward strokes, then settle upon a small mark hidden beneath the seam.
Radagast the Brown
Your question finds the key, Tuiwen. This was constructed by the ancient Elves as a sealed passage, not a dwelling. They closed it to contain disturbances rising from the deep roads.
He points to three shallow grooves beneath the warning. Their order forms a binding sequence: name the purpose, promise restraint, then turn the central stone sunwise.
Radagast the Brown
Speak the old purpose aloud, and the threshold will judge your intent. It will open only to a seeker who enters to learn and contain, not to plunder or command.
Radagast recites the ancient purpose in a low Sindarin cadence. The seam answers with a muted chime, and the stone turns beneath Tuiwen’s hand without resistance.
The sealed threshold opens inward, revealing a descending stair lit by steady blue radiance. Cold air rises, but no hostile force escapes; the deep road lies open and contained.
Radagast the Brown
Now we know who built it, why it was closed, and how to pass safely. The answer waits below, but it will not be taken by surprise.
Quest Complete
Learn the purpose of the sealed threshold