Elveaner, Tyelcie and Yonas returned to the Ironspan and made a full investigation, discoveries of great importance were made. These had ramifications far beyond the region, so it seemed prudent to commit the findings to writing immediately. The intention was to deposit one copy with Yrjana back in Suri Kyla and another with a Ranger if any could be found in the region.
The Rangers would have a faster and well worked out communication method and if the worst happened, the information would definitely end up in the right hands…. an insurance policy.
The following is the bulk of the report as written at the time by Elveaner and Tyelcie, with Yonas mentioned by name to document his invaluable assistance in gathering the information. Here it is slightly abridged so as not to repeat earlier entries in the chronicle……
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We returned to the Lossoth outpost near the Ironspan and then on to fully investigate and find out for sure who these intruders were! We noted significant numbers spread out up the little side valley camped in and around the old Dwarven works. They had large tents, heavy equipment and as we were later to discover large caches of weapons.
The question of how they got there was a difficult one, we found no sign of horses or pack animals, this ruled out a march up from the south. The men were clearly unused to the snowy conditions, there was no way they could have covered the distance on foot.
A Ship seemed equally impossible … one large enough to safely navigate the icy waters to the north of the bay yet maneuver through the iceberg field carrying all the stores could not be easily hidden or pass unnoticed.
No! they did not come by ship either. Something else was going on here.
As we made our way through the camp, the Dwarves workings became more extensive, probably they had been there mining. The men and women became more numerous and entrenched and took on a much more military bearing as we walked deeper, they were definitely some soldiers in uniform, well armed, far more so than any local tribe!
From the look and overheard conversations it was certain , Angmar was where they had come from. This collaborated some of that discovered during the interrogation of the prisoner back at Suri Kyla. This was an organized military force, there could be no doubt, well armed and disciplined. We continued to work our way in only engaging and neutralising the occasional more observant guard, luckily we remained in Stealth, Yonas was particularly good at hiding the few unfortunate bodies in the snow.
More Dwarvish works lined the side valley, but the biggest surprise was at the head. Firstly it appeared to be a dead end but then we saw steps leading up to a large structure with huge doors which looked as if they were in regular use. At the bottom of the steps was something new, a large metal portcullis set in an older arch structure, it was out of place with the rest of the stonework, erected recently. This ‘entrance’ was quite heavily fortified .. it looked like a bridgehead.
Now outside this gate, up to the left stood two figures .. definitely Lossoth Yonas said, so we approached to speak. They were staring at an object, a stone with unsettling markings (it stirred old memories). To myself and Tyelcie it seemed malevolant, to exude malice .. Tyelcie was almost overcome but steadied herself. However the two Lossoth seemed in thrall to it, totally dominated.
We noticed Yonas was looking rather odd also, as if slipping into a dream state .. we persuaded him to move well back and keep watch. Despite much effort, physical and verbal, we could get little sense from the pair… They babbled about Angmar and the Witch King and doom with momentary flashes of coherence about getting word back to Yrjana at Suri Kyla, INVASION!
I am ashamed to report that we could not rescue them, they fought hard and noisily when we tried to get them away, such was the hold this object (or the will behind it) had over them. If we had forced them it would have had the whole camp on us and we needed to get the information away. So I will just say it straight out .. We abandoned them to their fate.
In conclusion .. This is without doubt a direct incursion from Angmar, whether talk of the Witch King, the old enemy, is correct I cannot say for certain but it is possible! They have somehow found a way from Angmar into this deep Dwarven mine working which in turn gives direct access to Forochel. Although far short of the sufficient numbers for now, if left unchecked they could eventually threaten Evendim and beyond with raids or worse, so keep watch and take action as you see fit to deal with this!
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On return to Suri-Kyla a copy was left with the Chief and also with a Ranger we found, a young man named Lothrandir. He promised a swift return of the note to his leaders via his own methods which we did not question.
Heading south toward Pynti-Peldot was our priority now.
