Greetings, Players, and welcome to the very first Global Boss Raid in Lord of the Rings! A party of adventurers has gained entrance to the Lonely Mountain in Rhovanion and successfully retrieved the Arkenstone, the symbol of kingship for all the dwarf tribes. Now the dwarves are rallying to their king, Thorin Oakenshield, and preparing to take back the mountain from Smaug the Terrible - but there are fouler things than dragons beginning to move in the shadows. Do you dare join the battle and reclaim the kingdom of Erebor?

This raid will occur in: 7 days. After the first occurrence, this raid will recur: once per month.

First Raid Rewards: +500 reputation with all dwarven factions, level-scaled gold and XP, six (6) Rare Drop Dice, one (1) Card Draw from the Infinite Deck. The Top 5 Players in the First Raid will receive additional level-scaled gold and one (1) Card Draw.

Subsequent Raid Rewards: level-scaled gold and XP, two (2) Rare Drop Dice. The Top 5 players will receive additional level-scaled gold and one (1) Rare Drop Die.

Now that they had the Arkenstone, the company of dwarves and adventurers fled the Lonely Mountain as fast as their legs could carry them, aiming for the ruined city of Dale. It took an hour to find the lodestone, but their party had the activation process down by now. The lodestone was open in under five minutes, and from there they fled through it to Khazad-dûm, where they were received by the king.

The dwarves there began their preparations to reclaim Erebor at once, and sent out more messages and emissaries to all the other dwarven clans that could be reached. Thorin spent hours in conference with clan leaders of all stripes, becoming more manic still now that their victory was in sight, but also sent back through the lodestone network for the rest of their party.

That was how they found out that Esgaroth had been attacked by a pack of orcs while they were in the mountain - but those same orcs had been dispatched by Bard and Ioreth, together with Legolas and the elf Tauriel, who had hunted the creatures from Mirkwood. Tauriel had also cured Kíli of his poisoning, and taught Cure Poison with Athelas to Ioreth in the process; despite being considered a weed to much of the world, athelas was actually a powerful restorative, especially in the hands of elves and Númenóreans, and an ingredient in miruvor.

But the important part was that Kíli limped through the portal, alive and whole and supported by his brother, together with all the others - and the elves too, who were welcomed grudgingly to Khazad-dûm, but they were welcomed.

Thorin hugged both of his nephews with fierce joy, then went back through the portal to meet with Dain, who was only a few hours behind, and Bard came and found Talion. "Escort quest, he says," the sniper laughed, accepting both the tankard of mead and the clan invite from the other man, "An escort quest that got everyone a global boss raid."

"We were being hunted by orcs, you ass, and loose lips sink ships." Talion held up a hand and waved, and in a minute or so, Torvin sat down with them. "Looks like you're finally gonna get a shot at your dragonhide boots, Torvin."

"You better believe it," he said, tapping his tankard against the two Rangers', "But I've gotta get running soon - I haven't been into the east lands yet, so I can't use the teleporters to get there."

"What, you've just been hanging out here in Eriador?"

"The clan needs food, laddie, and the clan's here, not out there." He waived in a vaguely easterly direction. "Gotta make sure we're staying on top of the upkeep, though I'm pretty sure every last one of us is heading for the raid you got us - the second raid you got us."

Which was how Bard ended up hearing the story of the Balrog raid dungeon under Khazad-dûm. "Well," he said when they were finally done, "sounds like you're the one finding all the fun stuff; maybe the kids and I should hang with you."

"I can't speak for any of the others, but that's fine with me. Besides, we could use another excuse to go visit Tyelpë, and getting you a decent sword and light armor would be perfect."

"Who's Tyelpë?"

"His and Ioreth's elf boyfriend," said Torvin, gesturing to the other Ranger with his tankard, then to his own armor, "He does damned fine work though, so can't really complain."

"Hey now. He's not our boyfriend."

"He's clearly our lover."

Talion jumped almost a full meter in the air, then turned, gasping for breath, to his wife. She just grinned at his expression and stole his mead. She drained half the tankard, then handed it back and held up Ithildin. "Seriously though, Tyelpë's the one who made our weapons and Dirhael's current set of armor. You need gear, go to him. It isn't cheap, but the quality is excellent."

Just then, Idril, Dirhael, and Baranor burst through the crowd, and the wizard slammed a spellbook down on the table - one of the spellbooks they had taken from Erebor. "I've found Remove Curse! And it'll work on Dragon Sickness!"

They sent out a call through the clan chat, and everyone who could even so much as cast a single spell met up at the clan fortress to pass it around, along with a dozen other spells for the coming battle - one of which was Ioreth's Hydro Blast. "Dragons breathe fire, you know," she said, "or at least most of them do. There are rumors of cold-drakes in Forodwaith, but that's an entirely different problem. Smaug breathes fire, so we need water."

Their party, together with Bard and his kids, also went to Bree to visit the elven smith. The elf was hard at work forging weapons for adventurers, commissioned for the upcoming raid pretty much right after the announcement went out, but he did pause and take the time to measure Bard, Sigrid, and Tilda for armor and weapons. Bain wore his wizard robes and so had no use for actual armor like the others, but he did accept a leaf-bladed shortsword to carry on his belt just in case. Bard got a mail shirt with some new leathers to go over it, and a much better sword to hang at his waist, and Sigrid received some leathers of her own, along with some daggers, throwing knives, and a set of Thieves' Tools (as well as directions to a place that could restock her Forgery Kit). Tyelpë didn't have any armor suitable for Tilda, since she was playing as a druid and so couldn't use metal armor or weapons, but he was able to clean up her staff with some elegant carvings and laid a blessing on it that let her use Summon Spectral Animal five times a day without using her Mana Pool.

Both Bard and Sigrid were cooing over the cat she'd summoned when Talion, Ioreth, and Tyelpë stepped away to talk. "I take it things went well with the dragon?" said the elf.

"Well enough," Talion answered, "Bilbo and I were able to retrieve the Arkenstone without waking Smaug, though he's still very much alive."

"And Thorin hopes to make him very dead very soon," Ioreth added, earning a soft laugh from the elf.

"I wish him the best of luck," said Tyelpë, "Though I was still somewhat young, I remember the stories of Glaurung the first dragon, and the difficulty Túrin Turambar had in slaying him. Morgoth has only perfected the great serpents since then, expanded their terrible weapons - and their cruelty."

"'Somewhat young'?" Ioreth repeated, tilting her head.

"Aye. I was born during the Years of the Two Trees, in Valinor, but I was barely out of what you might call childhood when Morgoth came and ruined the House of Fëanor. My parents were among the Ñoldor that returned to Middle-earth, and I went with them - though not of my own will."

"You wanted to stay, but they wouldn't let you?"

He nodded. "Our whole family was leaving Valinor," he said, "and there was no one who would take me in. While I understand his reasons, even so I wanted nothing to do with Fëanor's vain ambition - vain in the sense that it was his pride that had been wounded and demanded redress, and in the sense that it was in vain. Morgoth is a Vala, no mere Maia like Sauron, and would not be so easily thrown down."

"Celebrimbor of Eregion had his idea with the Rings of Power," said Talion, "Do you think that would have come to anything?"

"Against Sauron, yes, I think so. Even just the Elven Three proved to be his match in the Battle of Ost-in-Edhil. If it had been all Nineteen of the Rings arrayed against him, I don't think even the One could have overcome them. But against Morgoth?" He shook his head. "I do not know. I sorely doubt it, but now we will never know with any degree of certainty. Even so, it's still more of an idea than anyone else has had so far."

"Point," said Ioreth, "But what about the Valar? Has anyone tried to contact them and ask for their aid?"

"Have you?"

"I might be a Priestess, but I'm not very religious. But yes, a few times. Nothing."

Tyelpë smiled grimly. Then he opened his mouth.

Tears unnumbered ye shall shed; and the Valar will fence Valinor against you, and shut you out, so that not even the echo of your lamentation shall pass over the mountains. On the House of Fëanor the wrath of the Valar lieth from the West unto the uttermost East, and upon all that will follow them it shall be laid also. Their Oath shall drive them, and yet betray them, and ever snatch away the very treasures that they have sworn to pursue. To evil end shall all things turn that they begin well; and by treason of kin unto kin, and the fear of treason, shall this come to pass. The Dispossessed shall they be for ever.

Ye have spilled the blood of your kindred unrighteously and have stained the land of Aman. For blood ye shall render blood, and beyond Aman ye shall dwell in Death's shadow. For though Eru appointed to you to die not in Eä, and no sickness may assail you, yet slain ye may be, and slain ye shall be: by weapon and by torment and by grief; and your houseless spirits shall come then to Mandos. There long shall ye abide and yearn for your bodies, and find little pity though all whom ye have slain should entreat for you. And those that endure in Middle-earth and come not to Mandos shall grow weary of the world as with a great burden, and shall wane, and become as shadows of regret before the younger race that cometh after.

The Valar have spoken.

Silence fell heavy between them, and hung for many long minutes. At last Tyelpë said, "We have Priests and Priestesses that draw on the power of the Valar to fuel their magic - but the Valar themselves do not hear our cries for aid against the powers of darkness. They have closed their ears to our suffering, and the Ñoldor especially.

"There are some who think that it is because of this Doom laid on us that the Rings of Power failed - or at least did not succeed. Though he refused to take part in the Kinslaying which led to the Doom - and the two others that followed - and repudiated the evil deeds of his kin, Celebrimbor is still of the House of Fëanor, and it is from his hands that the Rings came - and all but Three were lost, stolen by Sauron ere they were made.

"To evil end shall all things turn that they begin well."

"That's not fair!" Ioreth protested, indignant, "Did the Valar do anything to try and stop Morgoth from attacking the House of Fëanor?! Anything at all to avenge those he must have killed?!"

Talion was right behind her, especially when Tyelpë shook his head in response to her questions. "Granted, this Kinslaying probably only added to the problem, but if the Valar themselves did nothing in response to the attack - how is that justice for those fallen?! At least Fëanor acted!"

"I heard that they did search for Morgoth and his ally, Ungoliant, but not for the sake of the Eldar they slew. Morgoth laid open the Two Trees with his black sword, and Ungoliant drank the sap within until there was nothing left of the Trees' light. They stand as withered husks at the Ring of Doom. And it is not justice, not for them, and not for us," Tyelpë said sadly, "but short of trying to pass the Ban of the Valar, there is nothing we can do to make them hear us. The One Above All did more for us these past years than the Valar have in the preceding thousand years, when He both brought you here to help us fight, and sent you away in response to Morgoth's assault. We are alone."

Ioreth was furious, but she still stepped forward to embrace Tyelpë and offer what comfort she could; it was obvious that despite the amount of time that had passed, the wounds history had left on him were still raw. Talion moved in as well and wrapped an arm tight around the elven smith's shoulders. "Can we pass this 'Ban of the Valar'?" he asked.

"It might be possible," Tyelpë answered from where his face was buried in Ioreth's hair even as one of his hands came up to lace his fingers together with Talion's, "but not without the most extraordinary effort. And if Eru gives his blessing to such an expedition, whether we know it or not."

Their party returned to Dale to find that the entire city had been transformed into a military camp. There were dwarves everywhere, of course, but there were also adventurers streaming in from all over, readying themselves for the boss raid in one manner or another. It seemed like they could barely take a step without tripping over someone forging, enchanting, fletching, cooking, brewing, crafting something for the battle ahead.

Of course there were also posts going out all over the in-game world, people looking for an escort to lead them to the boss location. When he saw that on the noticeboard, Dirhael started nudging his father's side insistently.

"Dirhael."

"I'm just saying, if they have to go around Mirkwood, they'll never make it in time for the First Raid. Do you really want to disappoint so many people, Dad?"

Talion sighed loudly.

"I can't believe I let him talk me into this."

"At least we'll all be there, laddie. And we won't be drunk on the way."

There had been a high-level potioneer among those hundreds, if not thousands, who'd answered Talion's post, and she'd passed around a Thought Clarity potion for those whose levels weren't high enough to avoid being affected by Mirkwood. It hadn't occurred to Talion - or the rest of his party - to see if such a thing existed because they had had his bow and believed its Elven Clarity effect to be enough.

But said potion was making things a hell of a lot easier now, making it so they didn't have to worry about staggering through the trees or stumbling off the path or losing their party. Parties were capped at twenty people, so everyone had divided into groups. The party leaders had roped themselves to Talion, letting everyone else follow in their wake - though everyone stayed close enough to both the Ranger and each other that the Elven Road had essentially a solid wall of adventurers along its length, much to the amusement of the Wood Elves who came to watch them pass.

They emerged from the forest three days after they'd entered, and turned to race north to Dale and Erebor beyond.

Talion and his family made almost two thousand gold on that run, despite only charging a single gold piece for the guidance; most of it came in the form of tips from grateful adventurers, though they received a bunch of other stuff, too. Crafting items, ingredients, books, tools, weapons - someone had even given the Ranger an Augment, albeit a low-level one that boosted his Accuracy by 1%. He gave it to the magic-users of the party to look over, so they could figure out how to enchant the other assorted gemstones they had acquired throughout their journey.

The Ranger himself found the area where their clan was meeting, prepared his gear, and then sat down on some of the rubble and looked up at the mountain looming over Dale. The dragon still slumbered within, unaware that some of his treasure had been taken and that an army was gathering to take the rest of it - along with his life.

But that wasn't all, was it? Azog the Defiler and his son Bolg were still alive out there, and if the system notification was to be believed, they were going to attack Erebor, and soon. Talion didn't know if they had warned anyone, but he made a mental note to do just that once he was done musing - or brooding, as his children might have called it.

He and Ioreth were becoming close with Tyelpë, albeit at a glacial pace, but the attempted hacking had driven home that as much as it seemed otherwise, as detailed and clear and real as this world appeared to be, it was still fictional. He had meant what he had said to Ioreth a while ago; they had discussed adding a third, if they could find someone who fit with them both, and he would have gone for a player character over an NPC. Tyelpë wasn't real, and even in-game, he wasn't who he appeared to be. When Talion pulled up his profile, it showed only a little more detail than the last time he looked.

But maybe his problem wasn't really with Tyelpë. Maybe it was with the AI that ran the world. It made people so real that the thought of them not being so - the thought of them being just smoke and mirrors, extensions of another's will, unable to truly act, speak, think on their own - was… painful. Agonizing, in fact.

But was he willing to stop interacting with Tyelpë? Was he willing to avoid the elf, and forget him?

His immediate response to that thought was absolutely fucking not. Even though it was painful, interacting with the elf and hearing about the world from him was half of what made the game fun (with the other half being going on adventures with his family and friends). It was painful, but not enough to make him stop - because that would have been worse.

Oh.

Oh fuck.

"Talion?"

The Ranger blinked in confusion, then turned around. "Tyelpë? What are you doing here?"

"A group of adventures paid me extra to deliver their new weapons and armor, rather than them having to come to my shop to collect it," the elven smith said, hopping down from his cart and tying off the leads so the horses wouldn't wander off, "Didn't want to miss the battle against the dragon, as I understand it."

"There's still two days until it starts."

"I never said their decision made sense," the smith replied and rolled his eyes, making Talion snort quietly, "But they paid me, so here I am. Can you give me a hand finding them? I don't dare leave this alone - some of it's quite expensive."

"Sure. Who're you looking for?"

New Quest Received! One Hunter Hunting: Find players Alatraxis, Crazy_Sax, ChickenPox, and Skillin_Like_A_Villain. Reward: Improved relationship with Tyelpë.

Talion shook his head at the player names, then waved to the elven smith and set out.

The players themselves weren't actually that hard to find; ChickenPox was actually a member of Talion's clan, so he sent the other player a message in the chat telling him where to go, and followed the glowing blue trail to the other three. They were glad to learn that their gear was ready ahead of schedule, and followed the Ranger back to where the elven smith had set up a small shop with premade gear, mostly things like arrows and throwing knives over armor and primary weapons, though there were a few of those, too.

Quest Complete! One Hunter Hunting: You have found all the players Tyelpë sought. Reward: Your relationship with Tyelpë has increased to Friends 7.

When the other players had gone and there was a lull in others coming to look at the elf's wares, Talion asked, "How long are you planning on staying?"

"Until everything is gone, most likely," Tyelpë answered, "I didn't actually bring that much with me, but if by chance it doesn't all sell, I'll be out of here before the dwarves strike out against Smaug."

"You're not gonna stay and watch?"

Ranger and smith looked up to see Ioreth approaching, smiling warmly at the sight of them. "Certainly not this close," Tyelpë answered with a smile of his own, "I doubt even the other side of the Long Lake would be safe enough. Perhaps if the Lothlórien lodestone were active again, I would go there to see what might be seen, but its arch was still empty when I passed through the hub."

"It's a bit late now, but perhaps we'll have to see about activating it later," said Ioreth, "Do you have family there? Or anywhere, really."

"An aunt and uncle of sorts in Lothlórien," Tyelpë answered, frowning a little in thought, "Familial relationships dating from the Years of the Trees are a confusing web of intermarriages, so I am unsure if aunt and uncle are actually the correct descriptors. But regardless, that is what I've always called them. They were part of the first wave of elves that left Ost-in-Edhil in Eregion to settle Lothlórien."

"Do you miss them?" Talion asked, stretching out a leg so Ioreth could boost herself up off his knee and turn to sit on the edge of Tyelpë's cart.

"Sometimes," the elf replied, "There have been many points in my life when I would have sought their wisdom, but no messages would have reached them and returned in time to make a difference."

"Part of growing up is learning to muddle through things on our own," Ioreth said wisely, handing down a crate of arrows when Tyelpë pointed to it, "I'm sure they felt the same when they were your age."

"I know that you speak the truth," the elf replied, "but it's still hard for me to believe. I have only ever known them as they are now; to me it's as if they sprang from the womb full-formed with the wisdom of ages on their lips."

"Fair. What about parents, siblings, cousins…?"

"My father, at least, committed many evil deeds against our kin in the name of reclaiming the Silmarils that Morgoth stole from us, together with the Sons of Fëanor, so I cut off contact with him long ago. So far as I am aware, he still lives with my mother in Beleriand far to the east. One cousin from my aunt and uncle, though we are not close. No siblings, though; I'm an only child."

"Lucky," Talion grumbled. He had three brothers, though they rarely spoke.

"Yes!" Ioreth said, "Only children unite!"

Tyelpë laughed and bumped her outstretched fist with his own. "I would never wish the Doom of the Ñoldor on anyone, but I always wanted a sibling."

"Brother or sister?"

"A sister, I think. My family has never done well with brothers."

"Sibling rivalry got out of hand?"

"Sibling alliance, but yes. Very much so."

The elven smith left the night before the raid was due to start, eating the evening meal with their entire clan before wishing them all the best of luck and bidding them farewell.

Shortly after sunrise, the armies of the dwarves and the hordes of players who had come to support them assembled outside the ruined gates of Erebor. Talion and his family, Bard and his family, and Bilbo were standing together with Thorin and the rest of the Company when one of the scouts emerged from inside the mountain.

And only one.

As he staggered toward them, it rapidly became apparent that he was gravely wounded, and nearly a dozen healers from as many clans descended on him at once even as Thorin and Company raced over as well.

The scout was still conscious, conscious enough to grip his king's hand when it was offered. "Orcs," he gasped, looking up at the other dwarf with eyes full of pain, "Azog and Bolg - they used were-worms to tunnel into one of the lower levels with an army - at least ten thousand, likely more. They know we're coming - and so does Smaug. He's awake, and he won't come out for us to shoot him out of the sky."

"Then we shall go to him," Thorin said firmly, "and finally end this."

At the dwarven king's direction, the scout was taken back to the camp in the ruins of Dale to recuperate, and word was spread amongst all the combatants to prepare to enter the mountain. Talion gathered his party (and Bard and his family) and said, "It's very likely - almost certain, in fact - that we're gonna get separated in there. If that happens, and we don't get killed and therefore kicked from the game, we'll meet up at Tyelpë's in Bree; it'll be easier than trying to find each other in the crowds here."

Everyone agreed to that - and since Tilda was still so young (Talion thought she was maybe ten or eleven) and the fight was very likely to get very ugly, Bard sent her straight there, though he kept her in the party and turned XP Share on so she would still get something out of it.

Then they joined the dwarves in charging into Erebor.

They were attacked by orcs right away. Azog or Bolg or someone under their command had set up an ambush right inside the entrance hall, archers up on ledges overlooking the main floor raining arrows down on them from all sides. Talion ducked into cover in one of the many archways lining the hall and started firing at the orcs across the hall and above, seeing a few other adventurers do the same on the far side of the hall. Few of the orc archers had anything in the way of real armor, so it was easy enough to put them down - but in the process he lost sight of everyone else he knew.

When the last of the orcs was dead and there looked to be no replacement archers, the Ranger fell in with another group of adventurers, left the entrance hall - and almost immediately regretted coming on the raid.

Beyond the entrance hall, Erebor was an absolute maze of gold-lined passages and stairwells and bridges all hollowed out of green marble - With. No. Railings. - every last one carved with mathematical precision but no less confusing for their geometric perfection. Talion groaned and kept heading down toward the golden glow of the treasure hoard, keeping as close to the center of the path as he could to avoid falling off either side.

The scout hadn't been exaggerating when he said there were now more than ten thousand orcs inside the mountain; even as far back as he was now in the line, the Ranger and his new group were encountering dozens and dozens and dozens of orcs of all stripes, along with at least ten of the ugliest war trolls Talion had ever seen wielding clubs as long as a Man, all of them howling for blood.

The tanks took the lead when the orcs attacked them, turning down side passages and charging forward to knock the orcs down and trample them under armored feet. Those who didn't go down right away were soon hacked apart with swords and spells. Talion and the other long-range fighters took aim at those orcs further back, working to thin the herd before the tanks even reached them.

Despite the complexity of the maze that was the dwarvenhome, it didn't seem like it took them all that long to reach the lowest level, but Talion didn't dare pause long enough to check the game clock. From there, it was just a matter of following the bodies of both orcs and adventurers through the halls to the main treasure chamber where Smaug laid in wait.

Talion and the fresh wave of adventurers streamed into the room, joining everyone who'd arrived ahead of them just in time to see the dragon open his mouth. "You will burn!" he roared and reared back to exhale a gout of flame over them all.

At least three dozen spells hit the dragon at once, turning fire and water into huge clouds of boiling hot steam. Talion felt it roll over him, but it seemed like the Flametouched Pendant counted that as fire damage because it didn't take too much off his health. But the mist - it blocked his vision enough that he could barely see the players around him, let alone the dragon attacking them.

But they were in the treasure chamber, weren't they? There was plenty of room to spread out, attack Smaug from all sides - but the only vulnerable points Talion could think of were on his head: his eyes, his nose, his mouth.

Talion forced his way through rank after rank of players and NPCs, moving further back in the chamber and to one side of the entrance, and eventually emerged from the clouds - to find that Bard had had the same idea. The other Ranger was down on one knee well out of range of the dragon, shooting for Smaug's eyes and gaping mouth. His health bar was down by barely a tenth, but if they could blind him, it would make it easier for the heavy-hitting melee characters-

Wait.

What was that?

"Bard!" Talion shouted over the deafening roars echoing through the chamber, "Upper torso, left side! Is that a gap in Smaug's scales?!"

The other Ranger didn't verbally respond but did start aiming for it - only to come up empty after four shots. He'd burned through most of his arrows before Talion arrived, but the dragon's hide was so tough that they'd barely done any damage at all.

Despite the mechanics of the game being a great equalizer, Bard was still the better shooter, and Talion knew it. He shoved his bow into the other man's hands and showed him how to get it to grow its own arrows, then took up Bard's bow with his own spare ammunition. There were orcs starting to swarm in from other parts of the mountain, and Bard and the other players below needed cover-

Suddenly Smaug shrieked in agony, and his health bar dropped by a full five percent.

"Got him!" Bard whooped.

"Keep going, keep going!" Talion returned, then put his fingers to his lips.

His whistle was almost as loud as the dragon's cry, and it got the attention of all the players, who looked back at him for just a moment. "Upper torso, left side!" Talion shouted down to them, "There's a gap in his armor! Distance fighters, target it and his face, keep his head back to keep it clear! Close range, give us some cover!"

Of course, then he and Bard had to dive for cover when Smaug blasted fire their way, but that was an opening that every other adventurer took advantage of. The melee fighters charged the dragon and started hacking at his scales as best they could, even as most of the ranged players targeted the dragon's chest. Some still did as Talion instructed and aimed for his face, and for just the briefest instant, the man glimpsed Ioreth in the crowd below, the Priestess letting out a furious battle cry as she swung Ithildin around almost like her spell was the stone in a slingshot, throwing a full-strength Hydro Blast right into the dragon's eyes.

Smaug staggered back with a choked off sound, and Talion brought Bard's bow up-

The dragon opened his eyes again just in time to have one of the Ranger's arrows slam home there. He shrieked again and fell further back, his health bar dropping again and continuing to tick down as the players kept hammering at him-

Almost in slow motion, Talion watched as Bard brought up the Wildwood Elven Bow, drawing the string back and holding for a second to allow the arrow to form. It blossomed from the body of the bow, fletching itself with stiff leaves and a hardened field tip point, before detaching and coming to rest on top of Bard's hand. The other Ranger adjusted his position just slightly - and then let it fly.

Smaug let out one last scream, more horrible than all that preceded it, and collapsed into the sea of gold below, then lay still, the glow of his fire fading to nothing.

"Don't touch anything yet! Remove Curse, Remove Curse!" Ioreth's voice rose from somewhere below, and a second later she was joined by everyone who had even a drop of Mana left in their pool chanting the spells and throwing balls of magic everywhere in the interior of the mountain, trying to cleanse the Dragon Sickness before it could really take hold.

Talion and Bard reclaimed their bows from the other, but then looked around when a familiar voice cried, "Da!"

It was Bain, stumbling out of the tunnel below them, shortsword in hand and bloody, robes and spellbook in disarray. Both Rangers had the same idea and jumped, sliding down one of the hills of gold to reach the wizard faster. He gasped in relief upon seeing them, then demanded, "Where's Mrs. Ioreth?! We need her!"

"Is Sigrid okay?!" Bard demanded.

"She's fine, Dirhael was able to help her, but Thorin and Fíli and Kíli are dying!"

Ioreth must have heard, because she shoved her way through the crowd not too long after, draining the last drops of a Mana Regen Potion. "Show me," she said, even as she tucked the empty vial back into her inventory.

Bain led them back up into the mountain proper in a furious rush. There were still orcs charging through the halls and over bridges, but they were much fewer than before; even without a tank, their small group was able to win handily enough on their way to the dwarves.

When they arrived after a few minutes that seemed to stretch into hours, it was immediately apparent that Thorin had fallen from a great height, together with Azog. The orc lay impaled on a row of decorative spikes lining a ceremonial path and seemed to have broken the dwarf's fall - but not enough to save his life. Fíli and Kíli were not too far away, held upright by some of their companions but nearly as grievously wounded as their uncle. Tauriel was bent over Kíli, working some magic of the Woodland Elves, while Dirhael was doing his best with Fíli.

Bilbo was there, the hobbit weeping openly and clutching the dwarf king's hand, his own sword abandoned at his side. He looked up at the sound of running feet, and scrambled to give Ioreth room when she nearly slid to a stop at the dwarf's side, hands already glowing with healing power.

"No," Thorin choked out, "No - Fíli and Kíli-"

"Thorin!" Bilbo's cry of dismay wasn't the only one that came from those assembled, but it was the one Talion heard clearest.

"It is already too late for me, Master Burglar," the dwarf said with a grim smile, "I go now to wait beside my fathers in the Halls of Aulë for the world to be renewed - I see the doors opening for me with my waking eyes."

Ioreth still cast a diagnostic spell, and Talion saw her expression go tight. The Priestess nodded, and stood to bow deeply to the dying king, then rushed to his nephews and heirs, hoping to save at least part of the line of Durin.

Bilbo dashed the tears from his face and said, "Then I bid you farewell, King Under the Mountain. This is a bitter way for this adventure to end, and no amount of treasure will make it better. Even so, I am glad to have taken part in it - it's more than I ever dreamed of."

"And I am glad to have had you with us - all of you," Thorin managed, "Perhaps in another world we could have lived together as friends - another world where such company and such cheer was valued above hoarded wealth. What a merrier world that would be."

Bard went to one knee, together with Talion and Bain and several other members of the company. "Go in peace, King Thorin of Erebor," said the Ranger, "Smaug is slain, and Erebor is yours again."

"Truly?"

"I struck the final blow myself."

"I saw him do it," Talion confirmed, then nodded to Azog's cooling corpse, "With this, the Lonely Mountain belongs to the dwarves again."

"Then it truly is finished," Thorin sighed, "Farewell, my friends."

And then he breathed his last.

Quest complete.

Thorin was the only one of the Company who died that day; thanks to Ioreth's intervention, together with Tauriel's and Dirhael's, Fíli and Kíli survived their wounds, though they still had a long recovery ahead of them. Their cousin, Dáin Ironfoot from the Iron Hills, took over temporary leadership of Erebor to get everyone organized and take stock of the battle, while all of the adventurers claimed their prizes from the raid and streamed out of the mountain, chattering.

By virtue of excellent shooting, Bard had actually dealt the most damage to Smaug out of any player, but when he found out that Talion hadn't earned the same bonus, he frowned deeply. "You didn't get anything extra? Rude. Hey, AI Admin Person!" he called skyward, "Give assface ("Dickhead," Talion returned.) here an assist bonus or something! It would have taken a hell of a lot longer to take Smaug down without him! Don't know about everyone else, but I was focusing on his head. Wouldn't have noticed a weak spot on his chest. Tunnel vision's hell on battlefield awareness."

There was a moment of silence. Then-

You have received one (1) Card Draw from the Infinite Deck for a Raid Boss Kill Assist.

"Thanks man!"

"Or woman, or neither," said the other Ranger, "But yes, thanks. Let's head to Bree, because I have no idea where Idril, Baranor, and Sigrid are, and I'm pretty sure none of you do, either."

"You would be correct."

All three of the younger players were already waiting at Tyelpë's shop with Tilda, who was learning how to carve animals out of wood under the elf's careful instruction. She had a rough dog sitting next to her on the bench and was working on a cat to go with it, her tongue between her teeth as she concentrated on her woodworking.

"It gets easier as you keep going," the elven smith was saying, "If you work at it some more so you can make them more realistic, I can teach you a spell that will bring them to life as animal companions - for a while at least."

"Really?!"

"Watch the knife!"

"Ow!"

Ioreth swept over and healed the girl's thumb with a brief brush of Mana, earning a warm hug. Sigrid wrapped her father in a hug as well, and Bain, Idril, Dirhael, and Baranor gave each other backslaps that soon devolved into trying to shove each other into a mud puddle in the road while their parents, Bilbo, and Tyelpë looked on in amusement.

The elven smith turned to the rest of them. "I take it the fight went well, then?"

"Reasonably," Ioreth answered, lips going tight, "Could have gone better, though. Both Smaug and Azog are dead - but so is Thorin."

Tyelpë inhaled, then murmured a soft litany in Khuzdul. "A grievous loss. But the mountain is reclaimed for his people; I'm sure he would view it as a fair trade."

"Yeah, probably."

It was then that they finally went through everything that they'd won from the Boss Raid. All of them had gotten some amount of gold, from Tilda's 100 gold to Bard's 5,000, and a few of them had actually leveled up more than once, both during the fight and from the reward XP after. They assigned their points, then took turns rolling their Rare Drop Dice and drawing from the Infinite Deck. Almost everyone came away with something useful; Sigrid got a Trickster's Bag of Traps, which she immediately threatened to use on Bain if he didn't quit poking her, Bard got a Very Rare sword called Frostbite, and Bilbo got a shirt of mithril mail and a Silver Bottle which could apparently trap creatures inside it and make them friendly for a short while after they were released.

Then it was Ioreth's turn. Right off the bat she got a Rare set of Boots of Waterwalking, followed by a Rare Cloak of the Merfolk, which let her breathe underwater and swim as if unencumbered as long as her hands were free. Her last two Rare Drop Dice earned her a Very Rare Book of Knowledge, which gave her permanent Intelligence and Wisdom score boosts before vanishing from her hands.

Then she drew from the Infinite Deck. The Deck was far more varied in effects than the Rare Drop Dice, including random events and even negative ones (Dirhael's draw had caused him to lose 4 Wisdom points, and Bain's had summoned an imp that stole a thousand gold from him before cackling madly and vanishing). But there was no need to worry - this time, at least.

You have drawn the Glittering Jewels Card! You receive 10 gems worth at least 1,000 gold each, and one Medium Augment.

A pile of gemstones appeared at the Priestess's feet, the one at the top glowing softly with imbued magic. "Your turn, Dad," Dirhael said, crouching to help his mother dump the jewels into her pack.

Talion pulled out all of his Rare Drop Dice, including those from previous raids, and rolled them four by four, ending up with a Rare Boat in a Box, an Epic Mantle of Spell Resistance (which he swapped with the Third Cloak of Arachnida, tucking the latter into his pack), and a Crystal of Truesight.

Crystal of Truesight (Legendary): One of several scrying crystals mate by Fëanor as proofs-of-concept, prior to the creation of the Seeing Stones known as Palantíri (singular Palantír). With this Crystal, you cast the Scry spell as many times as you like with the effects of Truesight.

Truesight: A being with Truesight can see in normal and magical darkness, as well as perceive invisible creatures and objects, visual illusions, and the original forms of shapeshifters or creatures otherwise transformed by magic. In addition, you can see into the Unseen World with the same range.

"I'll trade you for that once I have something worth trading," Baranor offered.

"I'll think about it," Talion said and tucked it all away in favor of calling up the Infinite Deck.

You have two (2) Card Draws remaining.

The Ranger shuffled the Deck, still careful not to look, and drew his first Card.

You have drawn the Moon and Stars Card! You may now see in the dark as if it was dim light, and dim light as if it was bright daylight. You will suffer no adjustment period penalty when going from bright light to dim light or darkness, or vice versa.

"Not bad," said Ioreth, "That'll be handy with all these caves we keep entering."

"You know it," the man answered, blinking up at her as his vision sharpened, and shuffled and drew again without looking.

Behind Ioreth, Tyelpë winced suddenly. Talion's eyes dropped to the Card in his hand as he turned it over.

You have drawn the Shadow Card. Prepare for battle.

Before their eyes, the card started to vibrate. Talion dropped it, and when it hit the ground, it burst into a cloud of black smoke that coalesced into an unpleasantly familiar form in front of the Ranger, a bitter chill rolling through the air.

The Ringwraith lifted its sword with a shriek - Received Power of Darkness Debuff - All stats reduced by 10%, and all checks are done with disadvantage. - and brought the blade down at the man in an overhand arc. Talion only just dodged the creature's strike - which sliced open a rent as long as he was tall in the packed dirt road - and threw himself back out of the way, scrambling for Urfael.

Both Ioreth and Dirhael casted holy spells at the Nazgûl, but it deflected the magic almost carelessly. Then it swung its free hand and sent all the other players flying before resuming its advance.

Talion rolled back to his feet, Urfael (Level 5) in hand. He met the Ringwraith's next strike with a deft parry, but the blow felt like it had the weight of a mountain behind it and drove him to one knee. The wraith kept pressing, and the man pushed back long enough to roll out of the way again, then come up and slash at the Ringwraith's unprotected back. It shrieked again and lashed out blindly, and Talion felt it open up an ice-cold stinging cut on his stomach.

The stinging didn't stop, turning to tingling, then complete numbness, which started to spread.

You have been poisoned! Received Morgul Blade Debuff - Health decreases by 1% every 10 seconds until you die or the poisoning is cured.

Shit! Gotta end this fast!

The Ringwraith swung at him again, and Talion threw himself to one side, stabbing out with Urfael in the same motion. The strike took the wraith's health down by a fifth but put him in range of a hard kick that took his own health down by the same amount.

The other players had recovered from the Nagzûl's attack but switched to defense in case it came for them, too. But not Ioreth; she threw Aura of the Valar over both herself and Tyelpë - who'd caught her when the Ringwraith threw them all back, preventing her from landing in his lit forge - and then prepared to fire off another spell, only to have the other elf hold her back. "We can't!" he cried, "Talion has to fight it alone!" Even as he said it, though, he yanked a sword off a rack in his shop and leveled it at the wraith, putting himself between it and the Priestess.

Ioreth spat a word that she must have picked up from Talion or his army friends, then cast Aura of the Valar on the Ranger.

Morgul Blade and Power of Darkness Debuffs temporarily neutralized by Aura of the Valar. Aura duration: 5 minutes.

The Ringwraith advanced on him again. When it came in range of the Aura, its worn black robes started to fray at the edges, just a little bit at a time, and its health started slowly going down - but not fast enough for Talion to kill it by dodging close enough to keep it in range. The wraith made as if to swing - then hit him with another telekinetic blast that sent him (and everyone else) tumbling backwards again.

Then the Nazgûl rushed forward and pinned him in the dirt with an armored boot that seemed to weigh a ton. Talion gasped for desperate breaths, then swung Urfael up in time to deflect the wraith's downward stab to one side, into the dirt road instead of his chest. Then he stabbed his own blade up - right into the empty darkness where the Ringwraith's face would have been.

Critical hit!

The Nazgûl shrieked and stumbled back. It seemed to start almost collapsing in on itself, then burst apart into a cloud of black smoke and whirled away into the sky.

Talion held the position for a moment longer, panting hard, arm outstretched, then went limp, sword falling from lax fingers and clattering into the dust. "Sound off!" he managed, "Everyone all right?!"

A chorus of pained groans answered him. The others were battered and bruised but otherwise all right, and once they themselves were back on their feet, Ioreth and Dirhael handed out healing spells like they were candy. There wasn't anything they could do for the Power of Darkness debuff without casting Aura of the Valar on everyone, but Ioreth was able to cure Talion's poisoning, though she almost had to drain her Mana Pool to do it.

Bard stumbled to his feet and stretched with a heavy sigh, cracking his back. "Well, I don't know about you all, but I'm done for the day. Bain, I know you have homework."

The wizard groaned loudly.

"See you next time," the sniper said to the other Ranger, who was still on his back in the middle of the road.

"Yep," Talion grunted, "We'll be here."

Bilbo bade them farewell as well, saying that he was going to be meeting his nephew soon. When they had gone, Tyelpë limped over and offered the Ranger his hand, Ioreth doing the same on his other side. Talion swung his hands up and let the elves pull him to his feet. "Come upstairs," the elven smith said, "I still have some miruvor left; I don't know if it will do anything against the lingering fear from the Nazgûl, but I certainly don't think it will hurt."

They stumbled up the stairs to Tyelpë's room. There was no fire in the grate, nor were there any chairs or cushions, but the kids didn't care. Idril, Dirhael, and Baranor collapsed in a groaning heap on the floor where they had lain after fighting the Balrog, and Talion, at least, was pushed to sit on the edge of the elf's bed while Ioreth helped Tyelpë dig out the jug of miruvor and pour cups for everyone.

Again, Talion and Ioreth pulled Tyelpë down to sit between them on the bed, but this time he didn't resist or blink in confusion - only sighed and leaned into them, accepting their comfort and offering his own.

Your relationship with Tyelpë has increased to Friends 10.

A/N: If anyone was curious, the Infinite Deck is a reference to both the Deck of Many Things in D&D and Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace, which admittedly I have never read. Don't know if anyone was actually curious about it, but there you go. Also: the spell Celebrimbor was talking about with Tilda would make her carvings into Figurines of Wondrous Power from D&D. Frostbite is a reference to the sword Frost Brand, Bilbo's Silver Bottle is an Iron Flask, Ioreth's Cloak of the Merfolk refers to the Cloak of the Manta Ray, and Talion's Boat in a Box is a Folding Boat and the Crystal of Truesight is the Crystal Ball of True Seeing, also from D&D.