(Archive) The Fellowship of the Sword 79 - The Sword Reforged

Sunday, Day 10 of August, 3022.

Real time is Tue Feb 20 2001.

*Note - log submitted by Amano*

The Return of the Quest, Part 2: The Reforging of Anaril

Dol Amroth: Prince\'s Castle - Council Hall

The council hall of the Prince and Knights of Dol Amroth is long, ovoid, and many-pillared, nested in the heart-rock of the promontory of Dol Amroth itself. It is a great hall like the myriad others in the castle--save this subterranean hall is windowless. This is a hall of war planning and secrecy, and it is built with just that in mind. Lighting the room instead are dozens of lamps, designed specially to burn with as little smoke as possible.In the center of this stone hall rests a circular table of polished stone. It is immediately recognizable that this is actually a map of Gondor, Rohan, and lands South, painstakingly crafted, colored to show grassland, stream, mountain, and sea in instantly recognizable detail. Surrounding this are many chairs, elegant and simple but comfortably functional. Every chair is the same, save one large one on the southern end of the room wrought for the Prince himself.

Contents:

Morrandir

Tamran

Mathollor

Lothriel

Erchirion

Indilzar

Thorondur

- Beginning: Those not numbered among the knights of the Order of the Swan are now presented to be blindfolded before passing into the catacombs... -

[Indilzar(#10108)]

\"This I shall accept on the part of the company,\" says Indilzar, \"Save only that Tamran be not blindfolded. For was it not he that was chosen by the Maiden? I cannot think of any further testament to his honour.\"

[Thorondur(#23126)]

Each of the boys now steps to the table, and retrieves a strip of the dark cloth. Thorondur looks to the squire, and the Man of the city his smile is wan and grim. \"Tamran is our friend, and Morrandir our sworn junior,\" he says. \"Neither of these are unworthy, I think. But you know the ancient law, Indilzar.\"

Erchirion remains silent in this matter, for he knows well the ways of old, and the traditions of the Brotherhood.

[Indilzar(#10108)]

\"I reject it,\" says Indilzar firmly, \"For I shall not so anger Her by insulting he who was touched by her Grace.\"

Mathollor turns his head and leans forward as he watches the interplay between the lords. As they speak his attention shifts towards Tamran the object of their discussion.

[Thorondur(#23126)]

Thorondur shakes his head, his smile fading. \"Indilzar, you reject many things, and in the service of the Prince and the Swan it is well -- but do not do this, I beseech you.\" Rather does he look to Tamran and say then, \"You are a man of law, Tamran of Minas Tirith. Will you abide our custom?\"

[Tamran(#30063)]

Tamran slips into the room, behind the knights and squires, as the Knight-Herald speaks. Upon hear the words, the soldier looks at Thorondur, yet quiet he remains.

He glances at the Black Knight, as if answering his question and a nod does he give him before he speaks to him, \"Do not brake your laws, my friend.\" then turning to the rest he adds, \"Blindfolded I shall go. No remorse should I have. Now let us not waste time debating this as the life of the prince is in our hands.\".

[Erchirion(#29344)] A soft smile graces the lips of the Prince\'s son, and a nod of approval is given to Tamran at his answer.

[Thorondur(#23126)]

\"Your sacrifice will not be forgotten, Tamran of Minas Tirith,\" Thorondur says solemnly, beckoning the lad Sirion forth with a simple gesture. The boy stands upon a chair, that the Man need not kneel, and binds the cloth about his eyes.

Young Arathis does the same for Morrandir Wolfsbane.

[Amano(#30032)] Firm a booted footstep sounds behind the lords gathered herein, and a tall figure comes into the sight of those who might have gazed in direction other than that of which was taking place Amano, a youthful knight, who utters not a thing as he draws nigh. Perhaps it was that he had been a ways behind the company, among the squires yet only now is he seen, and bends his watchful gaze upon Tamran.

Indilzar inclines his head and says, \"So be it.\"

[Thorondur(#23126)]

\"Truly you see with your minds,\" Thorondur tells them, smiling softly again. \"Now let us go.\"

[Morrandir(#24549)]

The squire smiles at the lad. \"You did not need to do that, shifting my eyepatch to cover my good eye would have been sufficient.\"

[Thorondur(#23126)]

The boy whispers to Morrandir, \"Shhhhhhh!\"

Tamran has left.

Morrandir has left.

Thorondur disappears within an alcove...

Thorondur has left.

Erchirion disappears within an alcove...

Erchirion has left.

Indilzar disappears within an alcove...

Indilzar has left.

Lothriel disappears within an alcove...

Lothriel has left.

You move aside the tapestry, and step into the torchlit secret passage behind...

Dol Amroth: Prince\'s Castle - Hallway Beneath the Battlements

Day or night, this narrow hall is kept lit by oil-lamps bracketed upon the walls at regular intervals. The faint, waxy yellowish light they give reveals plain walls, where the fill-stone of the keep is visible to either side, and a common dirt floor. Shadowed and dark, this corridor exists for only one reason: The secret portals at either end.

[Thorondur(#23126)]

Now those who can see will see Thorondur move to the wall. He performs... some operation, within the shadows. The floor seems to slide open in the midst of the corridor, and a stairway, lit by torches, is revealed in its descent into darkness.

You pass through the secret door.

Dol Amroth: Catacombs(#14063RVMU)

You stand in one of the many high-ceilinged, valted chambers that lie beneath the Citadel, housing Dol Amroth\'s honored dead. Archways lead in virtually every direction, into shadowed nooks and crannies where only critters scamper. It would be easy to get lost in here, without a light...

The means of burial seems to have varied with time, but in this room you are surrounded by huge monolithic sarcophagi. Each one is embossed with a bronze bas-relief of the Knight it contains, lying in repose with his sword grasped in his hands and his helm on his breast. Looming over the entire scene, like a vigilant undertaker, is a statue of larger than normal proportion, scarcely visible in the light.

[Thorondur(#23126)]

Now within the deep and secret chambers, Thorondur moves to unbind Tamran himself, gesturing to his friends to aid the squires in this task.

[Tamran(#30063)]

Holding someones arm, Tamran slowly follows the stranger down some stairs. Sure steps he tries to take as his guide somehow rushes to the damp undeground room, almost loosing his footing a few times. At lenght he steps upon the even floor and moment later he feels his blindfold being removed. He squints as the bright

golden light hits his eyes.

[Thorondur(#23126)]

Smiling in the flickering torchlight, Thorondur folds the blindfold that had been Tamran\'s in his hands, and gives it to the soldier from Anorien. \"A memento,\" he says with an enigmatic smile. \"Welcome to the long home of our ancestors,\" he tells him -- and all of them at once. \"This is a secret and holy place. Now follow and we will lead you to the shrine of the Waters.\"

[Mathollor(#4469)] Mathollor steps carefully down the stairs his fingers trailing along the sides as he tests his footing. As he enters the room he moves away from the entrance a few steps, before standing waiting his head cocked to one side as he listens.

[Amano(#30032)] Stepping up silently to regard the shadowed chamber before him, Amano turns to

Mathollor, the squire nearest him, and divests him of the blindfold. When this is done, the Isilrim takes a step back, his eyes taking in this place of burial without a visible trace of emotion, detached as though he were keeping his thoughts on what lay ahead, and not what surrounded them.

[Indilzar(#10108)]

\"Indeed,\" says Indilzar, \"for this is the very foundation of Dol Amroth and was wrought long ago by the Men of the West.\"

[Thorondur(#23126)]

Taking a torch from its bracket in the wall, Thorondur then steps forward and walks to the north -- the firelight leading him into the shadows of the past.

[Erchirion(#29344)] \"And it is here that many of those men rest,\" Erchirion says upon the heels of the Indilzar\'s words.

Mathollor nods his head in thanks to Amano and studies the chamber and the crypts.

Thorondur steps into the opening in the wall, and disappears from sight...

Thorondur has left.

You step through the opening, a faint draft blowing against you as you enter...

Dol Amroth: Secret Passage - Near the Catacombs

You stand in a chamber hewn from Dol Amroth\'s bedrock not grey stone here, but rather an orange-red, coppery stuff marked with thousands of flashing crystals, passing westward into darkness. The air is chill and musty, ever filled with the distant sound of dripping water--indeed, the very walls themselves seem to

leak, the rock slimy or covered in lichens and moss. The place does, in fact, bear a striking resemblance to some kind of giant maw or throat--perhaps the gullet of one of the fell wyrms of old?

To the north are a pair of great doors, graven with an ancient fresco of the Ship and Swan. To the south stands the mechanism of the secret door into the catacombs, simple now that it is revealed. Near it stands a form carved in bas-relief in the rusty-hued rock--that of a man.

[Dol Amroth: Catacombs(#14063)] From somewhere beyond the wall, someone says,

\"Thank you my Lord...\".

Tamran steps through the arch of the doorway, and into view.

Indilzar strides softly through the portal. He sniffs the air for a moment, \"Long has it been since I have been to this place.\"

Erchirion steps through the arch of the doorway, and into view. Erchirion has arrived.

[Thorondur(#23126)]

Now coming before an ancient set of doors, Thorondur pauses, holding the torch before them so as to reveal the fresco of Ship and Swan that lies there. He studies it for a long moment, then nods to Indilzar. \"Nor I,\" he agrees. \"The Isle?\"

[Tamran(#30063)]

\"What are these chambers?\" The soldier asks, as he looks at the statue and walls.

The torchlight flickers off the walls, reflecting itself in the red and orange of the chamber to this does Amano turn his eyes as he steps within, close upon the heels of the men who now gather here. He quickly diverts his gaze to the ancient doors before which Thorondur Girithlin stands, and silently, he stands,

as if awaiting what might pass here in this hour.

Mathollor nods his head as he turns trying to see all of these halls at once

before focusing on the strange bas-relief.

[Indilzar(#10108)]

But Indilzar is silent and speaks not upon the query.

Indilzar has left.

[Thorondur(#23126)]

\"They are as we said,\" Thorondur tells Tamran, \"and no more. Yet neither are

they less than what they seem: the works of Numenor were not few, and seldom--\"

Now Indilzar disdains to answer him, and disappears into the shadows. The Herald grimaces, shakes his head, and looks to the others. \"Very well. The Isle it is,\" he tells them, and moves to the west.

Dol Amroth: Secret Passage - Corridor

This space is filled with a sense of dark and ancient mystery, in contrast to the lighted halls above. You seem to have stepped back in time to an age where shadowy figures with dubious purposes slipped around

fortifications through passages such as these, upon what errands who could guess? However, you can see that these passages have a practical use for the high-minded as well as those with evil intent, and you make your way cautiously through this unsuspected tunnel, knowing you are protected from prying eyes.

[Thorondur(#23126)]

Thorondur and his torch lead on now, without words: following the passage

northwest.

Thorondur heads down the passage to the northwest.

Thorondur has left.

Dol Amroth: Secret Passage - Under Tirith Aear

This is a dark, little-used and obviously secret passage. The ladder extending upwards into light and free air appears almost as an escape from the dim, close quarters here below the base of the tower. To the east, the passage runs on into the unknown, while to the west a draft of fresher air suggests the presence of a portal into the outside world. In here, however, the outside world seems a misty memory, while the reality is the darkness and the heavy feeling of shrouded secrets preserved here for those with strength of will

enough to probe the depths of the fortress to seek them out.

[Thorondur(#23126)]

Now Thorondur pauses beside a high and yet strangely well-kept ladder, and before a bridge of stone that spans a deep chasm. \"Hearken,\" he says, putting a hand to his ear, \"for now we stand under the Bay itself. Beyond yon bridge, the passage will slant upward again, toward sea level.\"

[Indilzar(#10108)]

\"It was wrought long ago,\" says Indilzar, \"by Men as a resort if ever Dol Amroth was taken. Yet it has not proved to be needed.\"

[Thorondur(#23126)]

\"Let us pray it shall ever be so,\" Thorondur echoes. Then he gestures with his torch to the bridge. \"Who will cross first, O ye men of bold heart?\"

Indilzar looks to Thorondur and says, \"I shall.\" He smiles and strides across the bridge.

Indilzar walks through the door, and onto the bridge, crossing it

easily.

Indilzar has left.

Mathollor shrugs and with a deep breath follows his Knight.

Mathollor walks through the door, and onto the bridge, crossing it

easily.

Mathollor has left.

Amano inclines his head to the Lord Girithlin quietly, walking without sound

after the Black Knight.

Amano walks through the door, and onto the bridge, crossing it easily.

Dol Amroth: Thurilonde

You have reached an underground cave that reaches to the outside world. Upon

the beach you are treading on lay several piers. At the piers are tied several

swift and secret looking ships. It now occurs to you that this must be a secret

harbor for the Prince\'s fleet. You smell the air deeply and it cries of salt.

The cave that surrounds you is beautiful in its natural ruggedness. Towards the

entrance to the cave and out in the middle of the bay you see a tiny island

looking placid against the waves. Near this lonely strand you see a boat with a

man cloaked in deep navy blue standing by it.

With night, you can see the faint starlight and moonlight twinkle, shining

down on that island outside the caves mouth.

[Indilzar(#10108)]

Indilzar steps upon the yonder shore and he says, \"Ferryman!\"

And there by the islet a boat sweeps into view.

He makes no sound but Indilzar says something softly to him. There is a nod and then he turns to the others, \"The ferryman shall take us there.\"

With that, Indilzar steps upon the boat.

Indilzar after saying something to the boatman climbs on the boat and heads

over to the island.

Indilzar has left.

[Thorondur(#23126)]

The torch held in his hand, Thorondur comes across at last, with Morrandir Wolfsbane his squire close behind him. No longer does he step to the fore, however -- looking first to a small boat upon the shore , and then to Indilzar -- as the echo of the waves and the surf fills the cave with its roar.

Thorondur after saying something to the boatman climbs on the boat and heads over to the island.

Thorondur has left.

With a sigh you climb into the small boat. The boatman takes the oars and slips away in the water, after a while the distant island draws nearer until...

Dol Amroth: Island Sanctuary - Beach

A lonely strand of white-sand, barren of edifice or beasts, where little is heard other than the rumble of surf and the whisper of the wind in leaves. The island\'s center is filled with a grove of ancient trees, high as ramparts, in which the calls of birds occasionally float down the currents of air to alight on your ears.

Blanketed in spectral blue is the beach, as the shores of lake Cuivienen where the Elder kindred first awoke, while Elbereth star-kindler\'s jewels shine as brightly in the heavens and touch Arda with their light. The grove inland is black as jet, tugs of wind eliciting whispering voices from the trees--some nearly intelligible, it would seem, to those of more precise hearing...

Far above the grove, touched by the light of moon and star alike stands a cold edifice of white-stone, tinged the same starfire hue as the beach.

[Indilzar(#10108)]

As the others depart from the ship Indilzar climbs up the hill. He then points to a forge that has been set there. By it, is the old Knight Ereinion. In his hands he holds a hammer as the forge and fire grow hot.

Ereinion then turns to the others and says, \"The forge is ready. Bring forth the pieces.\"

[Thorondur(#23126)]

Some distance behind Indilzar, Thorondur too climbs the hill, passing into the grove. Beneath the trees he comes to the altar made of shells, and in this moment, he remains silent and reverent.

Erchirion sets foot upon the beach, and as his feet settle upon the ground once more the Prince begins to ascend the hill, and there he joins the Lord Bragollach and Girithlin. And to them the does the elder Knight-Smith speak, and forward does the Son of Imrahil step, placing into the hand\'s of the Master Smith the hilt of Anaril.

And in surrendering his peice of the sword, Erchirion steps back.

Mathollor stops and stares around himself, before with a shake advancing up the hill. His eyes are bright and hungry look is upon his face as stares at their surroundings. He almost holds his breath as one of the sword pieces are passed over.

[Thorondur(#23126)]

Thorondur lifts a hand to his breast, and slips it beneath his mantle of snowy white. Yet he does not bring forth that piece of the sword he holds himself, until all of this company have attained the hilltop shrine together.

The Smith takes the hilt and looks at it with an appraising eye, \"I have never seen such work. Surely this is nothing like I\'ve seen before.\"

Indilzar then draws forth the red jewel. The ruby of the sword and this he sets into the hand of the Smith.

[Morrandir(#24549)]

Morrandir closely follows Mathollor. Slow are his steps, taking in the majesty of the place as he walks. He halts next to the Herald, watching him expectantly.

[Amano(#30032)]No word as yet has Amano spoken, on the long trek to this island and the beach of white sand he remains silent and watchful as he ascends the hill. At last he whispers only, his eyes fixed on the forging about to take place in this isle far away from all he knew, \"Deep in the earth, then the darkness, and yet to fairness and the fruit of our quest still we have come. My heart is glad..\"

With those words he comes up the crest hill, and so draws nigh to those gathered at the shrine.

[Thorondur(#23126)]

\"All our hearts should rejoice this day, Amano,\" Thorondur tells this new young knight sincerely. And when he is at last satisfied that all have come together, he unfolds his hand from around a milky pearl.

The Pearl of Anaril, then, in passed from the Knight-Herald to the ancient smith.

[Tamran(#30063)]

Tamran steps forth into the beach. His looks upon the hill for a moment before making his way upwards. With slow steps, he walks, coming at lenght to a stop besides the Prince, his gaze fixed upon the Bragollach.

Ereinion takes both of the stones and says, \"There value and quality are unsurpassed, and already I see rightly wither they shall be fixed. Yet were there not four pieces?\"

Erchirion smiles, \"Aye good Smith,\" he says calmly, turning to gaze at Tamran, and then he nods, \"We only await the last.\"

[Tamran(#30063)]

Tamran smiles, as his hand comes down and from under his cloak a steel shard is produced - the last piece of the ancient sword. With no more delays, he walks closer to the smith, to which he hands it. No words does he say, for there is no need for any.

[Indilzar(#10108)]

The Smith takes the shard and holds it aloft. It gleams. He then says, \"The steel work is crafted well and the furnace will have to burn more hot than I had though. Pray spare two of your folk to man either of the bellows while I prepare.\"

[Thorondur(#23126)]

The Herald gives a meaningful look to the squires, Morrandir and Mathollor.

Mathollor steps forward quickly and moves to man the bellows his head turned back towards the Men and one eyebrow raised questioningly.

[Morrandir(#24549)]

Morrandir looks across at Mathollor. \"Of course, what are squires for?\" He grins and steps toward the bellows.

Ereinion nods to the two boys and says, \"Begin.\" He then reaches over and sets the fragments on the altar before setting upon his brow a visor, and putting on thick gloves. He then motions, \"Pass me the tongues and hammer.\" This he says to nobody in particular.

Erchirion steps forth, and gathers the needed materials, and to the smith he hands them.

[Indilzar(#10108)] Glancing at the squires, Ereinion says, \"Get to work! The fire must be hot!\"

Mathollor nods to Morrandir before taking one side of the bellows and beginning to build up the heat of the forge.

[Amano(#30032)]Keeping his gaze on the gleaming fragments, until they are laid on the altar, the result of so much hope and toil, Amano seemingly pays no heed to aught else. His lips move silently once, as if he were murmuring a wish, or a swift prayer, for the forging that was to take place.

Then taking some water, Ereinion throws a bit on the coals. A great hiss comes up and says, \"Hotter! It must be hotter!\"

[Thorondur(#23126)]

Calm, his serene face betraying no emotion, Thorondur Edrahil too watches the weaponsmith at work. Folding his hands together at his waist, the Herald presents a portrait of peace.

Mathollor draws in a deep breath before driving the bellows harder and faster.

[Indilzar(#10108)]

The heat of the forge grows such that even those standing back can feel it. Yet the smith drives them on, as he reaches for the shard. He slides this into a vise and does the same with the hilt. He lowers them into the coals.

\"Do not stop,\" Ereinion says to the squires.

Looking to the others the smith says, \"The pieces must be heated tremendously ere I can attempt to amend them.\"

Mathollor draws his forearm over his face as the sweat drips and hisses on the casing of the Forge.

[Morrandir(#24549)]

Morrandir looks up at Ereinion and nods, pumping the bellows fiercly, despite the weariness which creeps into his arms.

[Thorondur(#23126)]

Faced with the heat of the forge, even the Lord Girithlin\'s brow grows damp with beads of sweat. Yet he remains stoic, gazing on without visible reaction.

[Erchirion(#29344)] Silent he stands, near the smith as the metal begins to glow with the fires of forging. A smile is given the smith at the words he speaks, the heat grows, yet the Prince begins to move closer, reaching forth and thus is his cloak released, left to fall in a heap upon the ground.

To the squires he moves, the same warm smile resting there, and placing a hand upon the great shaft that is the handle of the bellows Erchirion begins to move the bellows, stoking the fire along with the squires, and the flames grow with his added strength.

[Indilzar(#10108)]

Slowly the shards turn to a glow. Now tightening the gloves upon his hands the smith siezes the pieces with the tongues. He then quickly places it on top of the anvil and then with a great swing of his hammer he strikes the sword!

CLANG!

The sound echoes through the isle as the bright sparks of the reforging begin!

[Tamran(#30063)]

The heat from the furnace grows ever hot, traces of sweat rolling down the forehead of Tamran as he looks upon the work of the smith, yet he does not step back. His eyes blink everytime the hammer crashes upon the steel in a repeated beat, seeming to mimic the rhythme of his own heart. And thus in this ancient

place, the old sword of the Kings will be reforged.

Then the smith turns the blade and he strikes again and again! Sweat rolls down his brow as now he falls into his work.

The sparks go brighter and brighter.

He then takes the blade and thrusts it into a bucket of water. There is a great hiss and steam flows forth. Yet then the smith plunges the broken sword into the embers. Then he begins the process anew.

Mathollor shrugs out of his tunic and tabard before attacking the bellows with renewed vigour.

[Thorondur(#23126)]

Now Thorondur takes a step backwards, nodding to himself. The heat at long last has begun, perhaps, to trouble him. Moving further into the shade beneath the shell-built walls of the unusual shrine, he watches wordlessly.

[Indilzar(#10108)]

An hour or more flows by slowly as the slow process continues on and on. Then at the end, the Smith reaches for the stones and these he afixes using pliers to turn the heated gold. He slips this in and then he he begins to polish the blade, fixing the etching therein of the Rayed Sun and strengthening the runes of power that were set thither by the Men of the West long ago.

\"And now...\" says the Smith, \"For the end.\"

And with that he hurls aloft the hammer and he strikes hard the blade of Anarion!

There is suddenly a blinding flash. Much more so than could ever be said to

occur by a simple spark.

[Amano(#30032)]With fascination does Amano keep his gaze on the golden glow of forge and anvil, his fair-featured face limned in the red light as though he were facing the heart of a flame bright and far too hot for those mortal and the sudden burst of light causes him to throw up his hand to guard against the brilliance, squinting from behind his gauntleted fingers.

\"By the Valar..\" he breathes, eyes bright.

Ereinion takes the sword and dips it once more into the water. The hiss of steam is great and it wraps itself about he and those who stand nigh as a mist through which none can see. Yet as it parts, in the gloved hand of the knight is a mighty sword that glows yet red as if the setting sun. The smith then cries, \"The sword that was broken is forged anew! Anaril is reborn!\"

[Thorondur(#23126)]

Even Thorondur Girithlin shields his eyes, reflexively, from the spark of light -- then slowly lowering his arm, his blue eyes widen in wonder. \"The One be praised,\" he cries aloud!

[Indilzar(#10108)]

And Ereinion swings that blade thrice and it cuts through the air like no blade of Men seen in these days.

[Tamran(#30063)]

Tamran watches the red glowing steel being forged anew quietly. He shelters his eyes from the surprising bright flash for a moment, before returning his gaze to the sword - now whole - The sword of the Kings. \"It is done...now let us finish this journey.\" He says, trying to keep his voice calm and even.

[Erchirion(#29344)] The flash overtakes all, and even Erchirion is forced to turn in the light of it, yet he quickly looks back as the smith completes the reforging of the sword, \"Yes,\" he says echoing the words that come from Thorondur, \"The One be praised....\"

Mathollor turns his head away briefly at the flash, then as spies the sword glowing and completed he staggers back away from the heat of the forge. A look of woonder and triumph crowns his face as turns towards the assembled questers.

Ereinion sets down the blade and swaddles it with black and silver cloth. He then presents this to the fellowship, \"Not lightly should any bear this. For by right only the heir of Anarion can wield this sword. Yet even so. Who shall bear it now?\"

[Morrandir(#24549)]

Morrandir smiles, watching the red arc as Ereinion wields Anaril. \"I am suddenly reminded of those old tales of Telchar...\"

[Thorondur(#23126)]

\"There is no heir to the Royal House of Gondor among us,\" Thorondur says, and in that moment his words ring ominous and true.

[Tamran(#30063)]

Tamran takes a step backwards and looks at the Knights, his gaze falling upon each one.

Indilzar nods slowly, \"Indeed, but one must take it if we are to fulfil our vow. But surely this is a righteous deed and would not the spirits of our longfathers be glad of our errand rather than frown upon it?\"

Mathollor picks up his clothing from the ground and kneels as he begins to rearm and dress. His gaze sweeping the circle of men as he studies their reactions.

Mathollor says, \"If it is to be weildedin the cause of the Prince as Lord Indilzar says what could be the harm in one bearing it ?\"

[Thorondur(#23126)]

Then Thorondur says, \"Maybe you speak truly, and our ancestors will smile on our need -- but this sword is not mine. The blood of the House Girithlin came first from the North I at least will not bear the Sword of Anarion into battle.\"

[Indilzar(#10108)]

\"Then perhaps then one of high blood should bear it?\" says Indilzar, \"For to Erchirion this matter touches closely and is he not of the lesser line of Mithrellas?\"”

[Erchirion(#29344)] Gazing long at the blade, the only hope for the brother that he has lost, Erchirion, covered in the sweat of hard labour, for the fires have burn bright this night and near consumed all who stood near in their heat, turns his eyes upon the ground, for if no man will wield the sword... yet that

will not be so.

And before the smith he comes, clothed only from the waist down for his tunic and tabard has been lain aside in the light of the heat, even as those squires who worked the forge with him. Standing there, before the Smith, the Son of Imrahil kneels and his head is bowed to the master of his craft, \"Though I am

not of the blood of Anarion, nor of the line of the Stewards that rule in the lost house of the King,\" and for a moment he is silent, \"I ask only that I am allow this... to wield the sword so that my brother may be set free...\"

[Indilzar(#10108)]

The smith says, \"I am not one to which you should kneel lord. Yet it seems that this is fate. Therefore son of of Imrahil. Take this blade.\"

He then hands the sword over to Erchirion.

[Erchirion(#29344)] Thus the blade is given unto the Brother of Amrothos, and in his hands it rest even as he rises from the ground.

Beyond words is the Prince, for he gazes at the blade, from tip to pommel stone, his hand resting firmly about the hilt. Turning to them, he gazes at all gather, \"We have journeyed long for this moment, and yet we must travel yet further, but not far... For the final hour of our great task has come, and I ask now who will ride with me to the Stone, where we shall bring my brother once more into the light of freedom, and pay they who have taken him dearly for their treachery?\"

[Indilzar(#10108)]

\"So as I have started so I shall go on,\" says Indilzar sternly, \"To the end.\"

Mathollor says, \"As I led the chase for the White Hart, now mayhaps I can lead

the company back and put right was is wrong.\"

[Amano(#30032)]A hint of relief glints on Amano\'s grey eyes, as the blade, heirloom of the Royal House of Gondor, is given unto the Prince\'s son, his head raised, and purpose once more kindled there in his glance. \"What would be more fitting, I cannot think of in this hour.\" he murmurs to himself.

And so does he, declare simply: \"I too, shall go.\"

[Thorondur(#23126)]

\"I will ride with you,\" Thorondur says slowly, \"and the others of the Seven Stalwarts too,\" he says, naming those knights who have been his dearest friends for many years: Derufin, and his brother Duilin, and Calladan, Erindil, Findamir, Rilluin and Dirhavel.

[Morrandir(#24549)]

\"Indeed, it would be foolish to abandon the quest ere the end.\" Morrandir says, eye fixed upon the newly-reforged blade. I shall come.\"

[Tamran(#30063)]

\"I will ride with you!\" Tamran says also, as if stating the obvious.

[Erchirion(#29344)] As all gathered afirm their vows once more to see this through to the end, the Prince smiles at them, \"I know you all are weary, and long to see your families and those you care for,..\" and with these words the gaze of Erchirion moves to Thorondur, \"And I promise you that you shall soon have your wish.. but for now make ready, for we leave with the coming of the dawn. To you I give the rest of this night, to prepare and to rest as you see fit, for the task of the reforging of Anaril has taken greatly from us all... go now my Brothers... and meet me again upon Men Ernil with the coming of the morning sun.\"

-END-