Ioreth went ahead to take Tyelpë his elderberries while Talion went to Bree's bowyer to see about extra strings. His bow wasn't Urfael (now Level 2), and so it was far from Unbreakable. He could carve another Basic Bow if it broke in the wild, but spinning Bowstrings was a little beyond him yet; he didn't even have the Recipe for it.

When he made it to Tyelpë's shop, it was to find that he'd already closed up for the day, and both he and Ioreth were gone. Yet it didn't take the Ranger long to find them, following the ghostly blue footprints and the sounds of soft laughter to a small open area not too far from the shop. Once there, he found that the elven smith had either made or borrowed a small winepress, and both elves were squishing the elderberries with their bare feet, gripping each other's forearms to help with balance and giggling the whole time.

Talion leaned against the wall of a nearby shop and folded his arms, smiling softly as he watched them almost dance around on top of the berries, squeezing out the juice. Both of them looked radiant, and he wanted to take the time to just admire them.

They spotted him eventually, and called him over to assist them, adding sugar and spices to sweeten and enhance the flavor. When they squeezed out all the juice they could reasonably get, Tyelpë sealed up the small barrel that they were using to hold the wine, then drew some symbols in charcoal on all the sides. He said an incantation, and the charcoal markings all glowed wine-red.

New Spell Learned! Ferment: used to accelerate the creation of fermented food and drinks. Components: Unfermented Food or Drink, Storage Container, Yeast, Charcoal or Chalk.

Tyelpë's spell had condensed the complete fermentation period from a few months to a few seconds, and it only took him about the same amount of time to have it bottled. There were two bottles of the dark wine, one for him and one for them, which he handed to Ioreth.

Quest Complete! On Cloud Wine: You have brought Tyelpë elderberries and helped him make wine. Reward: Elven Elderberry Wine. Your relationship with Tyelpë has increased to Friends 3.

The elven smith had kept some of the wine back, though, and brought it back to the living area above his shop, where he poured some for all three of them. He handed them their glasses, saying, "Remember, it's strong; take small sips."

Talion obeyed, taking barely enough to wet his mouth. His first impression was of a strong but dry, almost tart fruit flavor, with a thread of sweetness throughout and just enough spice to give it a bit of a kick. It was then that he got punched in the face by the alcohol content; it was almost like downing a double shot of Everclear with no mixer.

The Ranger coughed, then gasped, "Wow!" Ioreth seemed similarly stunned, cheeks already faintly flushed.

"I warned you," Tyelpë said with a grin, but he poured cups of water so they could dilute their wine to an acceptable level.

They talked for a time after that, both about what was happening in the real world and what they had been up to in the game world since they had last seen one another.

Tyelpë didn't seem surprised to hear about Celebrimbor, just grim. "I know of what Cethon has spoken," he said sourly, "The Gwaith-i-Mírdain, the Jewelsmiths of Eregion… once I counted myself among their number, but that was long ago. I left for many of the same reasons that Lord Celebrimbor did."

"What did you have that they wanted?" Ioreth asked softly.

The other elf smiled grimly and gestured to Ithildin and Urfael. "Evolving Items are my gift - or one of them, anyway - based on a few legendary works of Fëanor from before he made the Silmarils. Afterwards they lay forgotten, but I found a few and figured out how to make my own."

"Power corrupts," Talion nearly growled.

"Indeed," said Tyelpë, "No matter how much we might wish it were not so. The other Jewelsmiths were my friends once… but our sense of safety was not all we lost when Sauron came."

Middle-Earth Enterprises pushed out several updates over the following days, one of which let players form clans, build clan fortresses, and conduct raids down into dungeons that sprang up along the edges of the Misty Mountains. Their party ended up joining a clan that Dirhael's friends made, and in the process Talion was inadvertently reunited with an old war buddy of his, Torvin, who was playing as a dwarf barbarian. After they got done teasing each other, they sat down with drinks in the beginnings of the clan fortress.

"So what brings you to Lord of the Rings, Torvin?" Talion asked, handing the dwarf a mug of ale, "You never struck me as the game-playing type."

"Neither did you," the other answered, tapping their mugs together in a toast, "but the things we do for family, hey? I used to do some RPGs with my brother when we were younger, and my nephew asked if I'd lend a hand getting the clan off the ground."

"Mostly by hunting, right?"

Torvin grinned at him. "Someone's gotta keep you city-folk fed."

Talion grinned right along with the good-natured teasing. It had been something of a running joke during basic training, that out of their entire group Torvin was the only one who'd actually come in with bushcraft skills. By the end they'd all been roughly equal, but the teasing continued.

"Besides," Torvin went on, "I hear they're eventually gonna be putting dragons in-game, and if you think I'm gonna pass up the chance to hunt one of those, you're wrong."

"Make yourself a nice pair of dragonhide boots, huh?" the Man chuckled and took a sip of his ale.

"You know it."

They talked their way through three slow pints of ale, and Talion directed the dwarf to both Tyelpë and Khazad-dûm for good gear before they parted ways. Then he went back to his family. "Where to next?"

"Khazad-dûm has three fast-travel lodestones somewhere inside," said Idril, peering over Baranor's shoulder at a list he had somehow "acquired", "We thought we'd go exploring, see if we can find them."

"We can cover more ground if we split up," said Dirhael, "and it'll be a good time for me to practice healing."

"Then, assuming we don't all die and get kicked from the game for an hour, we'll meet back at the Eregion lodestone in - three in-game hours," said Ioreth, "Set an alarm and don't be late."

"Yes, mom!" all of them chorused before running off into the dwarven kingdom, giggling like they were still children instead of nearly adults.

Talion raised an amused eyebrow, then turned to his wife. "If I had to take a guess," he said, "the lodestones are probably stacked, one on top of the other. One up here in the living quarters for the miners, one below that for the forges, and the third deeper still, down in the mines. Where do you want to start?"

Ioreth hummed. "Start at the bottom and work our way up, I suppose. It takes all of us to reach the Mana levels necessary to reactivate the lodestones, and the kids are probably going to be hunting whatever monsters they can find rather than searching for them."

"Somehow I think you're right."

They asked directions to the deep mines from a nearby dwarf, who immediately shot them a worried look.

"Oh look, another quest," Talion murmured, just loud enough for Ioreth to hear.

"No one does down to the deep mines, not anymore," said the dwarf, "not since a company of the king's own bodyguard disappeared down there."

"And what were they doing down there?"

"Investigating," the dwarf answered, "People'd been reporting sounds down there, strange lights, drums in the deep… and then the disappearances started."

"Disappearances," Ioreth repeated, already frowning deeply.

"Aye. At first it was just one or two over the course of a month, no more than usual." He shrugged. "This is a mine; it's never completely safe. But it went from one or two a month to one or two a week… then a day. When the whole Third Mining Group vanished, the king sent some of his bodyguard down… and they never came back up."

New Quest Received! Moria: Investigate the Deep Mines of Khazad-dûm. Recommended level 40+. Reward: 1000 gold, level-scaled XP.

Talion and Ioreth looked at each other. "Forty-plus," the Ranger murmured, "Something's definitely down there. Should we call the others back? Or get some other players? I can see if Torvin's still online…"

Ioreth thought grimly for a moment, then said, "I'll send out a message in the clan chat, have everyone who's interested meet us here at the same time as Idril, Dirhael, and Baranor, and I'll let them know to meet us here instead." She was already pulling out the little notebook that collected their various chat servers. "We'll still look for the lodestones so we can fast-travel down, but we'll also investigate, see what we can find."

Talion nodded and led the way, Urfael in hand. They found the first lodestone where he thought it would be, in the heart of what passed for a market on the upper levels of the great dwarven city, and then the second a mile below it in the bright, hot forges.

And then they began their descent into the Deep Mines. Initially Ioreth kept the crystal in the top of Ithildin brightly lit, but as they went deeper, she slowly turned down the brightness, both to let their eyes adjust to the dark and to lower their risk of attracting attention as they left the active areas of the mines behind.

Finally, Talion said in the barest whisper, "There's the lodestone. Looks like there used to be stairs up to it, but they've collapsed. If I give you a boost, do you think you can make it?"

"I can give it a shot. We'll need to bring a ladder or something when we come back down, though."

Received 50 gold, 500 XP.

"I think I see a trail now," the Ranger whispered as he set his wife back down, squinting at the ground, "but it's very faint. Looks like it's heading in the direction of the Third Mining Group's last-known."

"Lead the way."

Talion followed the ghostly blue footprints to a rough-hewn cavern. All the mining equipment had been left behind; pickaxes, sacks of various ores, carts, crates, even lunch boxes and other personal effects.

"They got snatched in the middle of the work day?" Ioreth stated more than asked, then murmured a soft spell.

When she hissed, Talion looked back at once. "What is it?"

"Evil," she answered, covering her nose with a long sleeve, "I used Detect Good and Evil. This place stinks!"

"What kind of evil?"

Reluctantly she sniffed again, then said, "Orcs."

Orcs were still rare east of the Misty Mountains, mostly seen as raid bosses in the dungeons or the occasional captain of a company of goblins from somewhere under the mountains.

"If they're gathering in force, we need to know," Talion whispered, "It might be just an event or something, but if it's not, we can't let them destroy Khazad-dûm. Can you find them from here?"

Ioreth grimaced but said, "Just have to follow my nose."

Talion still took point, following Ioreth's directions - most of which were given by pointing with Ithildin - and signs of dwarvish prospecting and early work at shaping the rock soon gave way to natural tunnels. Yet after they descended further, Talion became aware of… something - some kind of subsensory vibration through the air. Eventually he whispered, "Are those… drums?"

It started getting strangely brighter in the caves and tunnels, right before they came across the bones. The corpses of orcs and dwarves lay tangled together on the ground, armor and weapons scattered over the rough stone. "The king's bodyguard?" Ioreth murmured.

"Looks like it." Talion examined the lay of the land and the bodies as best he could in the dim light. "The orcs knew they were coming. Probably heard them; sound can carry a long way down here. They hid here… and here… and probably somewhere up ahead as well, then ambushed the dwarves from all directions after they passed into this bottleneck."

"I'll trust your judgement. Let's see if we can't find those drums."

Talion took point once more, and as they continued to descend, the tunnels became brighter still, red-orange firelight flickering over the walls. They found a small tunnel - more of a crack - that branched off what seemed to be the main path, squeezed through… and found themselves on a ledge overlooking what appeared to be a large band or small horde of orcs working themselves into a frenzy.

The orcs were gathered in a wide cavern, drummers lining the walls. The rest of the orcs were gathered as close as they could get to the edge of a boiling lake, dancing furiously, and even as Talion and Ioreth watched, at least half a dozen fell into the scorching water and died in agony not too long after. Their fellows barely noticed, more intent on whatever ritual they were doing to call to what else was in the cavern.

Looming over them all was a massive fiery shape mostly embedded in the rock on the far side of the lake. A simply enormous head and part of a torso was all that was visible, with one long arm trailing down into the water.

"Shadow and flame," Talion whispered, "A sword of fire, a blazing whip, and a streaming fiery mane.

"A Balrog."

Talion and Ioreth were still pale as ghosts when they emerged in upper Khazad-dûm once more. When they explained what they had seen to their clanmates, many of them understood right away, and many more quickly learned.

Quest Complete! Moria: You have investigated the Deep Mines of Khazad-dûm… but at what cost? Reward: 1000 gold, 3500 XP (2500 XP plus 1000 bonus XP for delving and returning undetected).

New Raid Dungeon Discovered! Durin's Bane: Do you dare face the Balrog to prevent its emergence? Recommended level 40+, recommended raid size 20+.

"Alright!" the clan leader shouted over the uproar, "Who wants to try for the first-raid bonus?!"

"'First-raid bonus'?" Talion repeated, looking to Baranor.

"Exactly what it sounds like," the wizard answered, "Two hundred percent boost to XP and money drops, which, at a Level-40 Raid Dungeon, is already pretty substantial, and twice the Rare Drop Dice as a normal run. Are we gonna go?"

Based on the looks on their children's faces, the three of them planned on going with or without their parents. The two of them exchanged glances, then Talion turned. "Hey, Deri! When's the raid party leaving? Now?"

"Hell no!" Torvin's son returned, "We got too much to do first! The rogues need to scout to get us exacts on the route and what we're up against, the wizards need to open up the portals so we can cut down on travel time, we all gotta get our raiding gear and a shitton of Antifires - we'll send out warnings in the clan chat when we're getting close!"

"Let's go see if Tyelpë has anything for us," said Ioreth.

"Ah, yes, your elf friend." Idril's tone made it clear that she meant boyfriend, and Dirhael and Baranor badly muffled their snickers.

"Just because you don't want to befriend the NPCs-"

"I'm here to fight orcs, not make friends!"

"-doesn't automatically give you the right to tease us for doing so," Ioreth continued, "Now run along and get geared up. Talion and I are going to see our elf friend Tyelpë." Somehow she made it sound like I am taking my husband to "visit" wink wink nudge nudge our second husband.

"Whatever. You do you!" The barbarian threw up her hands and walked away, closely followed by the wizard and the paladin.

Ioreth smiled fondly. "Let's go see Tyelpë. We both know he is not what he seems; perhaps he will know more than he seems, too."

They moved through the portals and arrived right as the elf was starting to close up shop. "Ah, Talion, Ioreth! Come in, come in," he said with a smile, pausing where he was locking up all his gear and straightening.

"Sorry to come in so suddenly and so late," said Ioreth, noticing only then that it was nearing full dark on the surface, "but a new raid dungeon has opened up. I don't suppose you have anything that would help us against a Balrog?"

Tyelpë - stopped, and his face drained of color, same as theirs had. "A Balrog?!" he choked out, his voice at least an octave higher than normal, "There's a Balrog in Eriador?!"

"Under it," Talion said grimly, "Khazad-dûm. Durin's Bane."

At that, the elf looked faint, but they caught him before he could fall and helped him to a bench. "I'm all right, I'm all right," he insisted, "I just… need a moment."

He hadn't pitched headlong into a panic attack, but his fear seemed so real that Talion and Ioreth forgot that it wasn't. The AI was learning, the Ranger thought to himself, and learning fast, to be able to mimic real human actions and responses so thoroughly. It wouldn't have surprised him a bit if one day it became impossible to tell the difference between players and NPCs as the game progressed.

Finally the elf said, "I might have something for each of you, but I need to finish closing up shop first. How large is your Mana Pool?"

That last he directed at Ioreth, who answered, "Almost 2500 points."

"You'll need a lot of Mana Potions to keep you topped up, then; the spells I have in mind can be powerful indeed, but you'll only just be able to cast them, even with Ithildin." He hurriedly finished packing away all his things, then led them both upstairs.

His room was still bare like before, but now he had a few small things they had brought him from Rivendell and Eregion - a statue of a graceful elven warrior on a small but elegant table, a warm bedspread with a winding abstract pattern, light curtains for the two windows. He bypassed everything in favor of the heavily secured chest at the foot of his bed. Originally the two of them had thought it was some kind of artistic bench, a seamless block of wood elegantly carved, but now Tyelpë murmured a spell to unlock it.

When he opened the lid, it revealed all manner of things: a set of elven armor and weapons that wouldn't have looked out of place in a nobleman's house, a few bags of coin in various denominations, a few sets of clothes (some fine, some less so), and a number of books, artifacts, and bottles. It was the last that he started digging through, coming up with the volumes he wanted before flipping to the correct pages and handing them to Ioreth. Talion peered over her shoulder.

Hydro Blast (Mage Classes, 2400 Mana) - This spell conjures ice-cold water from the depths of the ocean where the Vala Ulmo is said to dwell and fires it at the target in a high-pressure stream for 500-1500 damage. Fire-affinity creatures and players take double damage.

Aura of the Firewalker (Mage Classes, Variable): This spell surrounds the target with an aura of cold that absorbs even the most powerful flames. Fire damage reduction is equal to 25% plus 1% per 100 Mana, up to a maximum of 100%. This may be cast on yourself for the above rate, or another player for an additional 50 Mana per 1% reduction.

Ioreth hurriedly copied both spells into her own "spell book", then swapped out a few on her list of prepared spells (aka her action bar) to get ready for the raid.

Tyelpë had resumed digging through the chest and apparently found what he was looking for, because when Ioreth handed the books back to him, he returned them to their places, kicked the chest shut, and then strode to the head of his bed to pull Azkâr down off the wall. Then he turned back to Talion. "This you can keep." The elf opened his other hand, revealing a small, flame-shaped gold pendant on a silver chain. "This I want back." He hefted the bow.

"Of course," Talion agreed, and accepted both items from the elf. He stowed his Oak Bow and equipped Azkâr, then took a look at the necklace.

Flametouched Pendant (Very Rare): This necklace has been imbued with the bright fire of the sun. While wearing this necklace, you gain the following benefit: damage from Fire and Fire-affinity attacks is reduced by 50%. Durability 1000/1000. This is a Magic Item; it will require special repairs if it breaks.

"Oh wow. Thanks, Tyelpë."

The elf smiled a little sheepishly. "I know you adventurers don't need to worry about death or disfigurement, but that doesn't mean you can't be hurt. I'd rather avoid that if possible."

Ioreth stepped forward and embraced him, and Talion folded both of them into his arms.

The tunnels of the raid dungeon had changed only slightly, just enough to close the dungeon off from the rest of the mines, leaving an impressive set of doors behind, glowing ominously and carved with twin Balrogs mirroring each other.

Talion forced himself to breathe deeply through his nose. He already knew that this was going to be a bad one, far too much like the ambush that had gotten most of his platoon killed. Worse than that, he was going to spend most of the fight separated from his family. Because of Azkâr's long range and nearly unlimited ammo, he was going to be up on the ledge he and Ioreth had found, focusing fire on Durin's Bane while everyone else - including his wife and children - would be on the floor below, also fighting the Balrog but mostly tanking and keeping its attention, holding aggro.

Serving as bait.

Ioreth seemed to understand the path his thoughts were taking, because she squeezed his hand and leaned her head against his shoulder, even though his armor was in the way. "We'll be alright, love," she said softly, still loud enough to be heard as everyone assembled for the raid, "We have a plan, and a meeting place after the battle." Tyelpë's shop, of course. The elf had made them promise they would come to see him right afterwards; his fears were much the same as Talion's. "If something happens - if one of us gets kicked - we'll vid-chat right after. We'll be alright."

"I know," Talion said, equally soft, and pressed a kiss to her hair. But all the information in his mind didn't stop his heart from pounding doubletime in his chest, his hands from shaking, his whole body from breaking out in a cold sweat. Once he actually got into the fight, he would be steady as a rock, necessity driving him through, but the lead up and cool down were always killer.

Finally, Deri called for everyone to enter the dungeon. The tanks streamed in first, taking on the orcs within, followed by the short-range DPS's, then the long-range DPS's, then the healers and buffers. Talion stroked his fingers down Azkâr's string, then pulled it back and felt the telltale static buzz of its energy bolt forming, then discharging when he released the string.

The bolt passed clean through at least half a dozen orcs, killing the first two and wounding the rest, which were quickly finished off.

At least half a dozen other archers fell in behind Talion, and they fought their way to the crack he and Ioreth had found. Once there, several of them gasped at the sight of the massive Balrog, but they still followed Talion's lead and got into position.

The tanks burst into the chamber, an unfamiliar paladin in the lead with her holy sword blazing bright. Talion glimpsed Dirhael not too far behind, but he was soon lost in the crush below, the last and highest-level orcs fighting hard to defend Durin's Bane. The archers helped whittle away at them until they were gone, then turned and fired on the Balrog.

Some of their arrows fell short, vanishing into the boiling lake, but Azkâr's bolt struck Durin's Bane head-on.

The Balrog roared, loud enough that the walls shook, and swiped out with one massive hand.

Or tried to, anyway; at least two dozen water and ice spells - yes, there was Ioreth's Hydro Blast - struck its open palm with enough force that the hand was thrown back almost to the wall it was embedded in.

More spells flew, and arrows with them, peppering the exposed parts of the Balrog. It growled again and swatted some of them out of the air, then reached for them again. Talion fired at its hand, but this time Azkâr's bolts weren't enough.

Durin's Bane slapped the ground, crushing at least one player and sending others staggering. Yet it had overreached itself and couldn't immediately withdraw, giving the melee players a chance to deal some damage of their own. The Ranger thought he saw Idril bringing her greatsword down in an overhead chop on one of the massive fiery fingers, but at that distance it was impossible to tell for sure.

The battle continued in a blur of fighting and dodging. The Balrog had a few other attacks, one of which was a swipe that forced everyone to press back close to the walls or risk being grabbed and turned to ash or thrown into the boiling lake. For another it spat fireballs that targeted even the archers on their ledge above the main floor.

By the end of the raid, even Azkâr's allotment of bolts (2,900) was almost used up, and Talion's fingers were raw and near to bleeding from firing so many arrows. He wasn't even really bothering to aim beyond shooting in the general direction of the Balrog's body; he was shaking too bad from fatigue to do anything more accurate.

But finally the Balrog roared one last time and slumped over into the water, blazing fire dimming to a dull red glow.

Dungeon Defeated! You have stopped Durin's Bane from emerging and wreaking havoc on the surface world… for now. This dungeon will reset in: 7 days.

Rewards: 3000 gold, 8000 XP, 3 rough rubies, 4 Rare Drop Dice.

Congratulations! You have reached Level 30! You have 3 Character Points to spend.

Talion quickly assigned his points, then examined the Dice. They looked like D20s made of gold with black script, but the sides weren't numbered. Instead, they had objects inscribed into them: a cloak, a helm, a sword, and a wand, among others, and a few he couldn't guess at.

Rare Drop Die: This Item is received as a reward for defeating a raid dungeon and also for completing some high-level quests. You may roll this Die to receive one (1) Item guaranteed Rare or better from the Loot Drop Table. You may roll several Dice simultaneously to increase your chances of receiving a Very Rare, Epic, or Legendary Item, up to a maximum of four (4) Dice. You have 4 of this Item.

Under that was an explanation of what the sides meant. It was fairly simple. The cloak would give him a non-armor but still magical piece of Attire. The helm would give him armor, but first the Die would change to a secondary die, which he would have to roll again to determine if he got one piece (75% chance), two pieces (20% chance), or a full set (5% chance). The sword was any magical melee weapon, the wand was any magical spellcasting weapon, and so on.

Talion looked up sharply when he heard Dirhael whoop. He was just in time to see the last of his son's Dice disappear, only to be replaced by a full set of gleaming metal armor, much stronger and finer than the basic set they had bought from Tyelpë. Deri slapped him on the back. "Nice! That's adamant armor right there, upper-tier, just a step below mithril! Good stuff! You'll need to level up some more before you can use it, though."

Dirhael grinned anyway and stowed it in his inventory. Baranor was holding a new staff, and Idril was buckling herself into a new chestplate of her own (and Talion privately thanked the game designers for not putting the so-called "boobplates" in the game). Ioreth was moving to join them, weaving through the players who were either leaving, chatting, rolling their Dice, or some combination of the three, and Talion quickly made his way back through the crack and down to the main floor to meet up with his family.

"Dad!" Idril cried when she saw him, and she threw herself over to hug him the instant he was in range.

"Yeah, we all made it! Nothing to worry about, was there?" said Dirhael.

"Eh, I don't know. There were a few times where it got kind of dicey…"

"Speaking of dice," said Baranor, "have you rolled yours yet?"

"Not yet. How many did you all roll at once, and what did you get?"

"I rolled them all two at a time," said the wizard, "and got a Ring of Healing and this Staff of Power."

The Ring of Healing (Very Rare) was exactly what it sounded like; if he was wounded he would regain 5% of his health every minute, even in combat. A good item for him; as a spellcaster, he had lower health than everyone in the party except for Ioreth. The Staff of Power (Very Rare) served as a battlestaff if he needed to use it for melee with a random chance to deal additional elemental damage, but it otherwise let him cast a certain number of spells per day without using his Mana Pool, with the exact number of spells depending on the level of the spells in question.

"I rolled all four of mine, and got a full set of adamant armor. No magic, though; it's just plain."

"I know, I saw." Talion smiled at his son. "What about you, Idril?"

"All four, but just the breastplate." Idril rapped it with her fist. "But I take less damage from magic now. If I can get the whole set, I'll have a 50% chance to ignore magic damage completely."

"Nice! Ioreth?"

"I did two at a time," she said, and held out her arms and spun to display her new robes. They were made of layers of fine white silk and edged with cloth-of-gold, with artful decorative beading and embroidery in gold thread as trim in some places, and they seemed to shimmer with a bit of rainbow iridescence as she moved.

Robes of the White Council (Epic): These robes were commissioned by Elros Tar Minyatur, first king of Númenor, for the members of the White Council back in the days when it was larger and counted Númenor's kings and nobles amongst its members. Númenor has since fallen into darkness, but these robes still shine. While wearing these robes, you gain the following benefits: Your Mana cost for all light or good affiliation spells decreases by 25%. You only take 50% damage from spells cast on you. You cannot be cursed or controlled except by a Maia or a Vala. If you are cursed or controlled by a Maia or a Vala, the effect's duration is halved. Ordinary folk view you as nobility, and true members of the White Council view you as trustworthy. Additional Properties: These robes are Unbreakable.

"I also got a spell scroll, Flame Blast to go along with Hydro Blast."

"I guess it's my turn, then?"

"Yeah, do it! Let's see what you get!" said Dirhael.

Talion decided to go two by two, and threw the first set of Rare Drop Dice. They both landed on "Attire" symbols, then vanished, leaving a fine cloak of black and silver silk behind. The Ranger picked it up and examined it.

Third Cloak of Arachnida (Epic): One of eight cloaks that Shelob, greatest daughter of Ungoliant, had woven of her own spider-silk for a human lover she took in her youth. ...It's probably best to avoid thinking about what happened to that lover - and the thief who stole the cloaks.

"Hm," said Talion, even as the others winced.

While wearing any Cloak of Arachnida, you gain the following benefits: You may understand and speak to all Great Spiders without the aid of a translation spell. You may climb up, down, and across vertical surfaces and upside down along ceilings, while leaving your hands free and without casting Wall Crawl. You cannot become Entangled in webs from any spider, regardless of affiliation. Additional Properties: This Cloak is Unbreakable.

"Great Spiders," Talion repeated.

"Don't think about it, love; just put it on and roll the next ones."

He switched out his plain cloak for the Third Cloak of Arachnida, then threw his last two dice. One landed on a book symbol, the other on a rectangle with a swirl in the middle. Then both dice vanished, leaving behind a deck of cards about the size of his hand but twice as cards themselves seemed to be the thickness of normal playing cards, but the exact number of them was impossible to count.

You have earned one (1) Card Draw from the Infinite Deck. If you wish, you may shuffle the Deck before you draw, but be careful not to look at the Cards lest you receive something unpleasant.

Talion hesitated for a second, then reached out and carefully shuffled the Cards before pulling a one at random from somewhere in the middle of the stack.

You have drawn the Bow and Blade Card! You receive one Rare or better weapon with which you are proficient.

The Deck shimmered and vanished, including the Card in his hand, leaving behind an elegantly carved bow of smooth, dark wood.

Wildwood Elven Bow (Very Rare): This bow was made of wood from the forest Greenwood the Great in Rhovanion, before it became known as Mirkwood. Despite being cut from its tree, the lingering magic of the forest ensures that this bow still lives, and so it must be watered once per day. Once it has been watered, this bow can grow its own arrows, the number of which is equal to your Player Level X 1 if you are level 1-49, X 2 if you are level 50-99, and X 3 if you are level 100 or higher. This effect resets each day and does not stack. While wielding this bow, you also gain the following benefit: You cannot become lost in Mirkwood. Durability 1000/1000. This is a Magic Item; it will require special repairs if it breaks. Augment Slots: 1.

"Ah, well. I suppose it was too much to ask to get another Azkâr," said Dirhael, "Also that was just a Rare Dice Drop with extra steps."

"Are you complaining?"

"I mean, not really? The bow's description makes it sound like getting lost in Mirkwood's going to be a real problem with the Rhovanion expansion opens up, and now we don't need to worry. Maybe we can charge people to lead them through!"

"Dirhael."

"What? Upper-level weapons and armor aren't cheap."

"You just got a set of adamant armor for free."

"Yeah? And? Tyelpë said I should shoot for mithril, which is the highest tier."

Talion sighed. "We're not gonna scam a bunch of players for a shortcut through Mirkwood."

"It's not scamming! Scamming implies that it's a fake shortcut, or that we're gonna just abandon them in the middle of the forest until they give us all their gold. We're just charging them for a straight shot through."

"...Hm."

They left the dungeon behind and returned to the portal lodestone. Deri had already gone on ahead to inform the king that Durin's Bane was contained for now, netting the guild a huge bonus and an automatic discount at all shops in Khazad-dûm. That last made Dirhael happy; it would be that much easier to get mithril armor when he finally reached the level for it.

They stepped through the portal into Bree. It was still dark on the surface, though well past midnight, with clouds rolling in from the south and the smell of rain on the wind. They all creeped quietly through the streets to Tyelpë's shop.

There was still light in his windows; despite the lateness of the hour, the elven smith wasn't asleep. When Ioreth knocked, he was at the door in seconds to let them in. He didn't have any more chairs than he had a few hours ago, but he had moved one of the benches up from below and pulled the mattress of his bed to lay before the fire. He waved them in and said, "Please, sit. I'm sure you all are tired after a fight with a Balrog, no matter how many people you had with you."

They accepted with relief, and Talion and Ioreth sat down on the bench while the three teenagers flopped down on the mattress with more than a few groans and sighs.

There was a clay jug about the size and shape of a fat wine bottle warming near the fire, one of the bottles he'd seen in the elf's chest earlier that same evening if Talion wasn't mistaken. Tyelpë gave it another stir with a long, thin rod and checked the temperature. Apparently satisfied, he retrieved several small cups, each apparently taken from a different set based on the patterns carved and painted on the pottery, and poured a little for each of them.

"What's this?" Dirhael asked as he accepted the cup. It was only a little larger than a double shot glass, filled with a clear and ever-so-slightly syrupy liquid that reflected gold in the firelight. Talion took a brief sniff of it when he traded Azkâr for the cup; it smelled pleasantly sweet, light and airy but definitely not floral.

"Miruvor," the elf answered, blinking briefly when Ioreth pulled him down to sit between her and Talion when he was done passing out the little cups, "a restorative cordial made by my people. I brought this with me from Eregion years ago, but Lord Elrond's people make it better. Though it is not alcoholic, I recommend small sips anyway so the effects do not overwhelm you."

Talion took a careful sip - and found himself relaxing with a sigh. Even though his wounds from the raid had all been healed within minutes of being reunited with Ioreth, the spells could do nothing for the fatigue and even the ache of injuries already healed, the mind still convinced that the body was damaged and simulating pain to that effect. The miruvor wiped that away a drop at a time as it filtered through his body, moving much faster than it would have in the real world. It was warm, too, like relaxing into a pleasantly hot bath after a long and tiring day.

The teens had barely finished their own miruvor before starting to drowse in front of the fire. None of them could really fall asleep in game, but they could rest, and drift…

Talion finished his miruvor and leaned his head against Tyelpë's shoulder, trusting that if the elf didn't want him there he would move him or otherwise make it clear. Through half-lidded eyes, he glimpsed Ioreth doing the same on the smith's other side. For a moment, he wished… but if wishes were horses, beggars would ride. It was no good dreaming of what might have been if Tyelpë was real.

...Your relationship with Tyelpë has increased to Friends 5. New information is discoverable, if you can figure out what to ask.