The road carries Tuiwen, Galadriel, the older recovered warden, and the younger recovered warden south across the Anduin and west through Rohan. The sealed evidence and royal-authorized Dorwinion wine remain carefully packed.
At last Edoras rises upon its green hill, its golden hall bright beneath the open sky. Guards admit the travelers after examining Maereth’s travel record and the king’s authorization.
The Court Herald
State your purpose before the King’s hall, and name the witnesses who stand beneath this seal.
Galadriel
We bring a lawful record of altered road-work, diverted water, and Saruman’s influence upon Rohan’s agreements. These two wardens witnessed the channel’s corruption.
The Court Herald studies the inspection seal, then the overwritten ledger copy. The older recovered warden and the younger recovered warden stand ready beside Galadriel, while Tuiwen keeps the wine and records together.
The Court Herald
The matter is grave enough for a formal reckoning. King Théoden will hear the testimony before any judgment is entered.
The great doors open. Within, Rohan’s court gathers beneath carved beams, and the record of Saruman’s manipulation is carried toward the king’s judgment.
− Story Quest Removed
Determine whether Gondor’s hidden seal represents a genuine alliance
− Story Quest Removed
Deliver the warning to Rohan
“Tuiwen decides to let Galadriel, who is much older and wiser, do the talking.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +2)
The great doors open onto Rohan’s hall. Tuiwen remains beside the sealed records and wine while Galadriel steps forward, accepting the burden of speech without hesitation.
Galadriel
Your Majesty, we ask judgment first upon the record, and only then upon the conclusion it may support. The evidence is preserved, layered, and witnessed.
King Théoden rises beneath the carved beams, an elderly man of powerful build with wind-burnished features, silver hair, and a long golden-brown cloak clasped at his throat. His gaze settles on the sealed case.
King Théoden
Bring the witnesses forward. Let Rohan hear what was seen, what was recorded, and where certainty ends.
The older recovered warden and the younger recovered warden approach the high seat. Galadriel lays out the inspection seal, the charcoal rubbings, the overwritten ledger, and the Caras Amarth folio in an exact chain of custody.
Galadriel
These witnesses saw the altered channel and the bitterness that followed. The records show how lawful protection was bent toward dependence upon Saruman, while preserving the limits of what they personally witnessed.
Théoden’s counselors begin recording the testimony. Tuiwen’s quiet trust in Galadriel has placed the evidence before the throne without embellishment, and the formal inquiry is now opened.
The last testimony faded beneath the rafters. Scribes bent over their records, while the sealed evidence and Dorwinion wine rested untouched before the throne.
King Théoden
Let truth be weighed without fear, and let Rohan answer it with a clear mind.
The Older Recovered Warden
Then our duty is done for this day. We have spoken what we witnessed.
Galadriel
And what was hidden has been placed where judgment may reach it.
Tuiwen
The road had led them here. At last, it could no longer be turned aside.
The inquiry stood formally opened, its records secured and its witnesses heard. Tuiwen remained beside Galadriel and the wardens as Edoras took the burden into its own keeping, while Théoden prepared to judge Saruman’s influence and Rohan’s response. Beyond the hall, the kingdom endured beneath a clean sky, and the long road found its quiet end.