The two recovered wardens remain beside the dry stone cradle, their inspection seal wrapped in cloth between them. One is an older man with weathered features and a gray-brown cloak, broad-shouldered, with a short gray beard and a patched brown tunic beneath it; the other, a young woman with cropped dark hair, slender, with a pale, intent face and a russet leather jerkin, watches the passage warily.
Galadriel kneels beside the preserved residue, studying its branching stains without touching them. The sealed deep road remains undisturbed, while the dry containment loop carries the settlement’s safety back toward the well.
Galadriel
Tell us only what you witnessed. Mark inference as inference, lest a warning become another instrument of fear.
The Older Recovered Warden
I am Rovan. We saw the channel altered before the water turned bitter. We did not see who made the cuts.
The Younger Recovered Warden
I am Mira. The ledger named the eastern diversion, and its last entry cites a surviving witness near the old watch road. We inferred the contamination began there, but did not witness its first making.
Galadriel unwraps the seal and places it beside the charcoal rubbings. The ledger and witness could establish the contamination’s origin, yet neither can safely be treated as proof until their records are compared.
Galadriel
Then we preserve this testimony precisely, recover the Rohan ledger, and seek the living witness. The water may remain contained, but the truth depends upon an honest record.
✓ Quest Accepted
Recover the Rohan ledger
“"I can share some of my food with you and also purify water, if you are thirsty. If you are in need of healing, Galadriel would be the one to ask."”
SUCCESS (Mediocre Healing, rolled -1)
Tuiwen
I can share some of my food and purify water if you are thirsty. If you need healing, Galadriel is the one to ask.
Tuiwen divides her provisions between Rovan and Mira, then kneels at the dry channel. She pours water into a travel cup and draws cleansing light through it.
The gray taste fades from the water, leaving it clear and cool. The effort consumes the last of Tuiwen’s cleansing salts, and the travel cup’s rim cracks beneath the magic.
The Older Recovered Warden
Food and clean water are healing enough for this hour. We can stand, and we can give our testimony without weakening further.
The Younger Recovered Warden
Thank you, Tuiwen. The water no longer carries that bitter trace. I will remember the difference when we examine the ledger.
Galadriel
Your care has restored their strength without disturbing the containment. Let us now preserve the witness, the ledger, and the water’s altered course in equal measure.
“"The question in my mind is whether we are ready to present our evidence in Rohan."”
SUCCESS (Great Reasoning, rolled +1)
Tuiwen lays the inspection seal, the charcoal rubbings, the altered ledger references, and the Caras Amarth folio together on the dry stone cradle. Their accounts form a traceable record from diverted water to deliberate influence.
Tuiwen
The evidence is ready for presentation in Rohan, provided we distinguish what was witnessed from what was inferred.
The seal confirms lawful inspection, the ledger identifies the eastern diversion, and the folio establishes the wider pattern of manipulated reports. Together they support an accusation of altered road-work and Saruman’s design without claiming proof beyond the record.
Galadriel
Yes. We are ready to present the evidence in Rohan. It is sufficient for a formal inquiry, provided we name each witness, mark each inference, and show where the lawful agreement was bent toward dependence.
The Older Recovered Warden
I can testify to the altered channel and the bitterness that followed. I did not see who made the cuts, and I will not claim that I did.
The Younger Recovered Warden
I will present the ledger’s entry and identify the eastern diversion as its stated subject. The record supports our route, but it does not name the hand that altered it.
Galadriel wraps the seal and rubbings beside the ledger references, leaving the watercourse contained and the testimony exact. The party now possesses a defensible case for Rohan: not a reckless accusation, but a documented request to investigate Saruman’s influence.
“"Then we are ready to visit Edoras, where we have already sent an envoy. But we must take care, for Saruman's ways are many and subtle."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled +0)