Gandalf gathers everyone in Hobbiton and sends the company to The White Towers to attempt to use the palantír held there to ascertain where the forces of shadow are in their quest to find Rivendell.

At the towers all is not what it seems as there are others waiting to use the palantír which has been in use for months. When the charming Cirzor turns out to be more than he seems will the company be able to defend the towers?

Session Log

Gandalf gathers the company to Hobbiton to inform them that the Shadow has dispatched agents to remove the last source of resistance in the west: Rivendell. They move in secret, so the best way to find them may be the palantír held at The White Towers.

The company sets off through Michel Delving towards the towers. Along the way they are delayed by helpful hobbits and face a chilling night in the deep mists of the Far Downs.

Arriving at The White Towers the party is met by Braswen. With Nob’s introduction, Gandalf’s letter, and the elvish songs of Tarandis and Ithildir the custodian is won over and agrees to let the company view the palantí… when their turn comes.

Also waiting in Nadirion, the guest tower, is Woleth. She makes her high opinion of herself and disdain for the wait clear.

The next day Braswen escorts to Nadirion another visitor: Cirzor of Gondor. Braswen leaves Cirzor at the guest tower while she decides his fate. Sitting at the long table of the common room Cirzor complains to Boron that Braswen has refused him before despite his station in Gondor. Seeing a willing listener, Cirzor then offers Boron a gem as payment for a good word with Braswen, but Boron spots that the gem is of Southern cut and finds out Cirzor as a Black Númenórean spy. The company draws blades and takes Cirzor prisoner.

Cirzor claims to have troops ready to assault the towers. The company readies for the attack: Tarandis enters Elostirion to get Edris out while everyone else prepares for battle.

Inside Elostirion Tarandis finds the scholar Edris half-mad with frustration and despair. She manages to shake him back to reality and gets him out of the tower, but not before she gazes into the palantír. In it she sees nothing but an eye of flame and shadow, but she recalls Gandalf speaking of The Eye and her trust in Mithrandir pierces the dread of her vision.

As the company approaches the Black Númenórean camp they spot a fire on the downs some distance away, far enough from the Black Númenórean camp that it could not be their distraction. The company does not fall for the distraction, whoever’s it was, and springs their ambush on the Black Númenóreans and their conscripts. One soldier surrenders and is taken prisoner after the rest are slain.

Back at the towers the company decides to send their prisoners, Cirzor and a solider, to the Gray Havens. They also restore Edris’ spirit and make of him an ally with considerable lore.

Before leaving Ithildir and Nob take their turns to gaze into the palantír. Nob sees nothing but the eye and his soul grows darker, but Ithildir is granted three visions:

• Eriador emptied of anything ancient and valuable
• War with the wild folk
• A blindfolded Black Númenórean looking out over the valley of Rivendell