Found;
7 silver candlesticks. Tarnished - easy to clean.
4 crystal rose vases - different designs.
8 metal buttons. Pewter? Very old.
1 diary. Faded. Salvageable.
There are far more orcs here than I'd anticipated. They're packed into Fornost Proper like cats in a crazy old woman's house. The filth they spread across the ruins is diabolical and the stench... it's like someone distilled essence of fox den and seasoned it with sweat, soiled nappy and boiled liver! True, I may not bathe in rose water thrice a day like some snooty strumpet, but there's truly no excuse for making a smell that awful!
Worse, though, is the way they treat this place. They've absolutely no regard for anything! The stunning architecture is lost on their dull-witted minds. The priceless knowledge that can be gleaned from the artifacts or the value in the trinkets is beyond their scope of comprehension. If I could rid this place of those foul cretins then I surely would! Alas, there are too many and I think they're growing suspicious of me.
Would that this place was less inhabited. I could spend years here digging, discovering, enjoying the solitude and the sense of wonder this grand old place so easily bestows. Unfortunately it's not to be. I've had good fortune in dodging the orcs for the most part and talking my way through the situation when no other option presented itself, but my luck can't hold out forever.
I'll be sad to leave this place behind. So much untapped potential. So much yet to explore. It has already opened my eyes to several new wonders. Indeed, the water wights are truly exceptional foes. I've already had several run-ins with the creatures. One almost succeeded in drowning me only two days ago! For a wraith clothed almost entirely in liquid, they have quite a nasty bite. Remarkable!
Still, I'd best get these wounds decently dressed, which is a difficult task given how much muck permeates everything here.
Onwards then.
To Moria.
