K17 - Yavanna's eye

Heading back to the light...

The dwarven company turned to Drolf for guidance. Gimvar's shoulder was mangled and the ranger was on the cusp of collapse. The wraith had had the best of Donarik, which was laying on the ground, breathing weakly. Gimvar, usually a go getter, reminded the company that to get in the Obsidian Tower, they had to bypass a large force of Mirkwood orcs camping a few kilometers down the vale.

Vadek was fidgeting with the obsidian rod. The air coming from beyond the gate was bad. Any dwarf could tell that unless some mechanical pumping of air from the surface was arranged, that this cave would soon become dangerous. Drolf, Kalin and Khazek seemed to be more interested in the daggers pulled out of the elves. Without much debate, they agreed to try to get out of the tower before the trap sprang on them for good. 

They dragged Donarik up the tunnel, into the great hall where the Huorn died. As they passed by the hall's door, Khazek noticed that the elven wraith was circling slowly above the green orb. Donarik was put down against the stairway's walls. Gimvar and Kalin sat down for a rest. Khazek, Vadek and Drolf entered the hall to inspect the orc once more.

Recovering the green orb

The wraith didn't seem to be aware of their presence. As Drolf approached the orb, he saw in a flash a vision of Browek Bridge. The vision was brief, and didn't come back. Khazek poked the orb with the other obsidian rod, but nothing happened. The wraith noticed the dwarves and recoiled further to avoid them. The sight of the dwarves seemed to trouble it. Khazek tried to address the wraith in Sindarin, but there was no reaction. 

They considered pushing the orb down into the chasm, but settled on taking it out of the tower. They had a hunch that this orb was a very valuable artefact which should not get back to the orcs once that they are gone. Drolf argued that the orb was probably very valuable. They decided to lift the orb and carry it outside. Two hundred pounds wasn't anything that couldn't be handled by four dwarves. As they marched away from the hall, the wraith kept a cautious distance, but a keen interest in the orb. Donarik has woken up and could then walk on his own, but felt terrible.

The dwarves made their way to the ground level, with the wraith visible only every now and then. The wraith became a bit more brazen as the dwarves approached the exit. The bodies of orcs and trolls were strewned on the floor: resting in grotesque positions. The wraith got agitated. It swooped down to take a swipe at Khazek but missed. The obsidian rod held by Khazek and Vadek began to glow and vibrate ever so slightly. The doors at the other end of the hall began to open. Daylight began to stream in, the wraith jerked up.

The dwarves quicken their pace to the door. A number of elves slipped in and began to shout and shoot over their head. Gimvar thought he felt the touch of the wraith grasping his ankle as the crew stumbled into the blinding light.

Back to where it started, now with elves!

Friends with pointy ears

The elves hunters helped to drag the orb away from the tower. The leader of the hunter, Gormiel, recognized the orb as Yavanna's eye. An ancient artifact dating from the first light of Middle-Earth. The hunter told the dwarves that they saw them go in and kept an eye on the entrance since. Meanwhile, a few orcs had to be dispatched in order to avoid triggering the alarm.  

As all were catching their breath, Gormiel stated that Yavanna's eye was the property of King Thrandhuil. Drolf interposed himself to block the access to the orb. The local temperature rose by a few degrees.  Khazek asked Gormiel to inspect the daggers. The elf was disturbed: he claimed that these daggers were else extremely ancient and used for a terrible purpose. Vadek pointed out that there was a nest of orc down below. 

The elves spoke to each other in quick half tones. The dwarves tightened the circle around the orb. Something seemed like it was about to explode.