The Kinstrife

Part 12

In which we learn of local politics and the inanity of bureaucracy; Toürthel is out of business; Brand and Aerin find an antidote to klytun root; about the vault of Anwar Serni; Pimm's late uncle Bergil was a bad poet; Adunaphel was of old one of Sauron's generals; the paucity of cash.

 

Evening April 22nd 1441

 

The city of Minas Ithil is built in a double spiral on a low hill with the tower crowning the top, towering over all (hence the term, I suppose). We enter the Twilight Gate: 18" thick and 30' high, made of steel, it's very impressive, almost oppressive. I wonder if we could emulate such works of yore today?

 

There are four quarters to the city: Queens, Coins, Walls and Shadows. The Twilight Gate enters in to the Quarter of Coins, which is the centre of commerce and the best place for newcomers to the city to find accommodation – provided they have money, of course. We hire two rooms for the night for 3 crowns in an inn by the name of The Moonswan (a very lovely sign) but Pimm vanishes almost immediately and I'm not sure he uses his bed.

 

April 23rd 1441

The locals do not like Heruvorn, their new governor, who never moves without an armed guard and is in the habit of arresting people on sight for the most arbitrary of reasons. He ignores the shanty town (whereas in Minas Anor, so I learned on the boat, the city cares for their refugees and many of the problems of Minas Ithil's shanty town are thereby averted there). Neither is he making any attempt to re-establish the wool trade, which has long been the basis for the local economy.

 

Heruvorn also closed the university and executed many of its staff but the library remains open, though with but a skeleton staff and access is only allowed by application via the Steward's Office. Aerin and Brand both need licenses to visit the library and need my word to get them so we all go together.

 

Visiting the Steward's Office in Heruvorn's half-built palace is a mindless, bureaucratic farce that takes all morning. Everyone is obsequious (to me) and completely inefficient but we finally obtain the necessary licenses (though Aerin's half-blood demands managerial intervention even with my word in support). Finally she and Brand are able to take themselves off to the library while I seek Toürthel in the company of Ilvrin, Pimm still being nowhere to be found.

 

In the market we discover that Toürthel is out of business. Her assets have been seized and we must return to the Steward's Office to register my father as an official creditor. This, of course, takes the rest of the day but now that he's registered father should get a portion of his capital back – assuming anyone does, of course.

 

Ilvrin and I get back to the Moonswan. Brand and Aerin report excellent news: they have found the Herbal and now know all there is to know about treating klytun root. It seems that dragul root is a good treatment for all drug-induced slumbers. Found only in the Forest of Tears of the Suza Sumar, it may be available in the markets of Pelargir; otherwise it can only be obtained through a highly dangerous voyage to the Haradan Kingdoms.

 

While I'm mulling over the implications of such a long voyage and whether Doronil can survive that long, Brand moves on to his theories about our recent revelatory dreams; he believes our visions induced by the Ritual of Hellmoren were about the diversion of the river Siril, which flows through Minas Ithil. He has yet to research Adunaphel but believes he's located the vault of Anwar Serni, about a day's ride away in the foothills of the Mountains of Shadow.

 

Bearing in mind the era of its construction, it seems likely that Anwar's vault was intended to be a (possibly defensible, definitely hidden) place of refuge to which to retreat his family should Sauron have won the Siege of Barad-Dûr. As such it would have been filled with provisions and portable items of value, presumably pending transfer to a fast ship elsewhere.

 

After the Last Alliance had beaten Sauron, the vault would presumably have been deemed superfluous and, on his death, it seems Anwar willed the vault to 'the Guardians of The Mirror of Fire' of whom we Brand can find no mention (though Aerin claims 'the Mirror of Fire' is an area of rocky desert in Far Harad).

 

After some centuries, since the 'Guardians of The Mirror of Fire' could not be found, this will was disputed by Anwar's Serni heirs but, after decades of legal wrangling, no party could establish a clear claim and so the vault was declared 'wilderness', which is a technical legal term meaning that no one has any claim to it and the King no interest. (Perhaps Anwar didn't like his relatives and willed his vault to a non-existent organisation to spite them?)

 

Brand reckons he can find it and is clearly planning a looting expedition. As it seems that legally it and its contents belong to whoever finds it first, I'd far rather any valuables were divided between my companions and I than mere strangers so it seems I must let Brand have his lead sometime soon.

 

Of course, this assumes that Anwar didn't simply will an empty vault to the 'Guardians of The Mirror of Fire' or that unknown wanderers have not stumbled over the vault in the intervening millennia and emptied it of anything interesting. But in such times as these it might yet be useful to have a defensible, hidden refuge available to the family.

 

It is strange that Anwar's heirs sought to dispute the will when they did. Presumably they were then aware of its location or there would be no point to all the legal fees. I can only presume we will find the vault empty – assuming Brand can actually find it, of course.

 

At last Pimm turns up late and shows Brand some scorched papers belonging to his (that is, Pimm's) recently deceased uncle Bergil who, among other things, was a bad poet.

 

April 24th 1441

The next morning I pen a letter to father, to be taken by courier, with the news Toürthel is already out of business and father registered as an official creditor and of the dragul root – if father can obtain it in Pelargir, then Doronil may be up and well to greet us on our return. Otherwise it will mean a long and perilous sea journey before he can recover.

 

Then I go to the barracks to ask after Noruinivien's funeral. She will be buried in Minas Ithil in two days and I advise her commanding officer that I will be present to pay my respects.

 

Then on to investigate Toürthel's affairs. Her premises are boarded up but it is the edifice of a person of moderate wealth with shop front attached and is worth a fair penny so perhaps father will see some of his money after all. I would still like to speak with Toürthel, though.

 

Meanwhile, Brand discovers that Adunaphel was a woman, one of Sauron's generals commanding his southern flank in SA 3429. She was defeated in 3434 by the Last Alliance but held the river Poros until Sauron's final defeat. Quite what we do with this information is questionable; we can hardly return the Siril to its old course, even if we knew it. Perhaps the best we can do is be on our guard in case Adunaphel is active once again.

 

We are short of cash. I have 11 crowns left of my own money and just one of the 90 from father. My companions have already foregone one payment on their wages, I cannot ask them to miss another, and the inn needs 3 crowns every night. It seems time has come to use father's letters of credit. If these are honoured then I shall pay the missing wages as well as that owing today. Otherwise, we shall have to retreat outside the city and sleep rough. (Or I suppose I could sell Al-Han on?)